Magestorm: The Reckoning (4 page)

9

The four outcasts moved into a small motel well to the Northeast of where their cabins had been.
 Despite the assault Dhane had launched to throw the others off their trail, the group was not about to stay put and risk being surprised by their enemies.

“Are you all set for the night?”

Samantha looked curiously at the mage.
 Clearly he was planning on heading out again, but the sun was about to set, and surely the vampires would be out in force.  There would be no stopping him, though.  Now that his nose was out of the spell book pages, he seemed different.

“I’m good, but what are you going to do?”

“The vampires should be scrambling about now.
 I need to go and see exactly what effect I’ve had on them.  It will only take a couple of hours.”

“Dhane, how did you know where to find the other vampire patrols?”

With a smirk, grabbed his jacket off a chair and pulled it on.
 Thinking for several minutes about exactly what to tell her, he decided now wasn’t the right time for the truth.

“
Let’s just say I have a friend keeping an eye on things.”

That was all he would give her before heading out the door.
 The dark would be good cover, but if they had found the vampire bodies he left, the patrols around town would be much heavier.

It was almost midnight when he reached his location.
 A cemetery on the outskirts of Thauma was open enough to spot anyone approaching, and nobody visited here in the middle of the night.  After ten minutes of waiting, his inside source arrived, climbing from a manhole before casually strolling up to Dhane.

“Hello, Demian.
 How does the evening find you?”

“Very well, very well.
 Did I do good with my directions?”

“Excellent.
 I found the patrols no problem.  Left them a message too, which should stir things up.  Funny how everyone has forgotten about you, lurking right beneath their feet.  I hope you’re being careful though.  If they catch you...”

“Oh they won’t, they won’t.
 I am too clever for them.  In and out I go, where I stop, none of them know.”

Demian gave a smile a
s he spouted his little rhyme and Dhane had to laugh.  They started walking through the graveyard, glancing around periodically to ensure they were still alone as they talked further.

“What are they doing now?”

“Many went to search the East, looking for you.
 They all know it was you.”

“Good.
 I want them afraid, so when I march through the front door, they don’t even want to fight; they just want to run away.”

As they continued to talk, a figure moved in the shadows, hiding behind gravestones.
 The person was trying to get close enough to find out what was going on.  

“I wanted to thank you again for copying the book like that.
 I know it was a lot of work, but you really saved the day.  You’ve been a good friend, and I know you were to my father as well, before his madness.  I’m just sorry I can’t take away what was done to you.”

“No, do not even think of that.
 I move on, you move on, we all move on.  I...”

Without breaking stride or showing any signs of spotting the intruder,
the vampire’s superior eyesight tracked the figure in the dark shadows.  Once he had a good bead on the person, he elbowed Dhane gently.

“We have a visitor, unwelcome visitor.”

“Can you tell who it is?”

“No.
 I think it’s a woman, by her size and hair length.  Can’t see the face though.  Not a werewolf, or I could smell the blood clearly from here.”

All Dhane could think was Heather.
 Surely that crazy stalker bitch had found him to torment him further.  If it was her, God help her.  This wasn’t the warm and fuzzy, weak Dhane she knew before.  And her past transgressions were not forgotten.

“Let’s shake hands and you head for the sewer.
 If she follows me, you should be able to get the jump on her.  Don’t kill her though.  If it’s Heather, I want to deal with her myself.”

A nod and handshake later Dhane was working his way back through the graveyard, this time headed towards the West.
 He wasn’t going to give even a hint of the direction he came from, just in case the spy got away.

He reached the edge of the cemetery and was about to jump the fence when he heard a shriek.
 Demian had caught her.  Rushing over to where they were struggling on the ground, he was disappointed to find that it wasn’t Heather.

“Samantha?
 What are you doing out here?”

“I had to see where you were going, and make sure you didn’t get yourself killed.
 Since when are you working with a vampire?”

Shaking his head, he helped her up
with a curse.

“Give me a couple minutes.”

He stepped away with the vampire, far enough for her not to hear.  There was one thing further he needed to know about, and he only hoped his friend might have the answer.

“What do you know of that monster Elisabeth is using?”

“Oh, yes, that thing.  You know your father was using vampire blood, seeking a cure for so long.  He did many things, many different things, and that was one of the results.”

“Algernon created that thing?”

“Yes, it was one of his more successful attempts, if you call that thing a success.  Monster was linked with the great wizard, commanded without words, only thoughts.  The vampires took the creature when Algernon was dispatched.  Figured he belonged to them since he was made using their blood.  Until now, he had been stored away, far away.”

“Interesting.  That must be why he looked at me that way.”

“What way?” Demian looked at him curiously.

Dhane smiled.

“The same way you did the first time you saw me.”

Dhane thanked him
and said a real farewell this time.  He glanced disappointingly towards Samantha and started walking towards the motel without saying a word.  Angry, she caught back up to him and grabbed his arm.

“You are not going to keep me in the dark, us in the dark.
 We are your friends and we’re going through this whole thing too.  You’re not the only one who lost Lila.  You’re not the only one who is being hunted.”

Tears started down her cheeks and he grabbed her and pulled her close.
 Caught up in his own plans for revenge, he hadn’t thought about how the others were dealing with this whole mess.  Samantha was right; he needed to let them in.

“Let’s get back to the room and I’ll explain everything in the morning, to all of you.”

With a head nod, she composed herself and started walking with him.
 For the longest, neither said another word.  Finally Dhane decided to let her in on who Demian was.  It was an odd conversation, trying to explain how the vampire had been a close friend of Algernon.

Of course, that led to other questions, with
all of the other vampires hating Dhane’s father.  The whole story of Algernon and Marissa would have to wait until morning though.  They finally rounded a corner and the motel was just ahead.

They went inside the room
and Samantha plopped down on her twin bed.  She wondered if she would be able to sleep at all now.  So many questions were running through her head, it was beginning to pound.  Too bad they didn’t have any aspirin.

The mage slipped off his shoes and socks and sat on his bed across from his friend.
 He knew he should probably tell her more, so she could understand things better.  That conversation would have to happen with Cassandra and Amber tomorrow though, so better to tell the story to all of them at once.

“Are you okay?” He finally asked when she didn’t move for several minutes.

“I’m just... it’s so weird.
 Things were supposed to be better here.  Cassandra was building a great society of our kind, and now it’s just... it’s all gone.”

“I think the first problem was the separation of our kind from the others.
 United, the three groups have control of Thauma and are hunting us.  We tried to stay apart, like we were somehow better than them, to police them.  I think, if we had solidified with the others, we wouldn’t be in this situation.  Our relationships would’ve given us stronger numbers to withstand a few rogues.  Now the rogues are the ones with all the power.”

“You may be right.”
 She got up and walked over and sat down next to him.  “Do you think things will ever get better?”

Dhane nodded, though he wasn’t sure he believed it.
 Instead, he thought things would take a dramatic turn soon, and either they would get a foothold again, or collapse completely.  Running was the best option for Xander and Nicole, Cassandra and Amber.  At least they had a chance at real lives.  He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to see to it.
 You just have to be patient.”

She looked up at him, eyes full of sorrow.
 “I believe you.”

Gently, she brushed her lips against his
, kissing him.

10

Elisabeth stood in the park and glanced around the neighborhood.  This didn’t feel right.  Somehow, she was sure Dhane wasn’t here.  Nonetheless, Charles and Sebastian had their troops searching every alley for any sign of the mage.

“We’re getting nowhere.
 It had to be Dhane or one of the werewolves that did that to my vampires.”

“Yes Charles, I’m sure it was.
 We can’t get payback if we can’t find him though.  I’ll double up the patrols and we’ll expand further from this spot.  If he shows his face, we’ll grab him.”

Charles wasn’t
really satisfied with that answer, but he didn’t have a choice.  At least the increase in patrols would put Sebastian’s wolves in harm’s way just as much as his vampires.  Maybe they would look harder when it was their own kind missing.  He marched off to lead his people in their search, noting that failure was not an option.

“
Did that take care of him?”

“Yes, Sebastian.
 You are going to deliver the extra patrols, correct?”

“Possibly.
 I may need a little...persuading though.”

The flash of a dirty look came across her face as he winked and smiled.
 Busy with their flirtation, they didn’t realize they were being watched by more than one interested party.
 

Heather watched from a rooftop nearby, the voices echoing up to her like sweet music.
 She, too, was sure Dhane had killed the vampires, and that made her mind race.  Perhaps he was finally turning into the man she wanted, she needed.  Turning around, four vampires stood silently, waiting for orders.

“If they increase
patrols, then that will mean a decrease in security around the Grand.  Undoubtedly this is when Dhane will strike, trying to retrieve the spell books.  That is when you will grab him.”

“Yes, my queen.”

“Good.
 Now go make preparations for my visitor.”

They nodded and walked off, leaving her to imagine the great ‘what ifs’ that might come from the second coming of the great wizard.
 Maybe, just maybe, it was time he joined her as the king.  Then this weak witch they were following could be destroyed.  The thought made her smile broadly.

“Very good.”
 

Far below, in the sewers, another interested party listened contently.
 Unaware of the vampire on the rooftop, Demian heard the planned patrols and smiled.  Surely Dhane would want to know about this.  It would leave him the perfect opportunity to stage an assault or robbery at the Grand.  It was time to truly begin his revenge.

11

The morning came with new questions for Dhane.
 Samantha was lying in bed next to him, his arm around her, their bodies firmly against each other.  They were still dressed from the night before, and after some heavy petting, exhaustion got to both of them and they slept together in the literal sense.  He hadn’t slept much, though.  There was uncertainty about what exactly the night before was about, and in the back of his mind Amelia still lurked.

Samantha began to stir and he wondered if he should slip away while he had the chance.
 It was possible she was simply distraught and needed closeness, which she may regret now, or act weird about.  He slowly pulled his arm off her, and she took his wrist and pulled the arm back over her.  So much for regret.

A while longer they laid there, and then she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
 She walked over to the dresser and dug through her clothes for something to wear.  Without a word, she vanished into the bathroom and the shower kicked on.

What the hell do I do now?

He didn’t have to think about it long, as a knock on the door drew him from bed and
he cautiously looking out the window.  With a sigh he opened the door to Cassandra and Amber.

“You want to go get some breakfast?”

Dhane nodded and they waited for Samantha to get dressed, while he simply
changed his shirt and threw on fresh socks with his shoes.  For two hours they sat at a nearby restaurant, going over all that happened when Dhane left for six months, and what he’d been doing in secret with the vampires.  Cassandra and Samantha barely ate, but Amber wasn’t fazed and finished off all three plates.

After all the questions were answered, they sat silently in the booth.
 The truth about Algernon was a shock to Cassandra.  If the council had known, maybe they would’ve treated Dhane differently.  Probably not, but maybe.  She found one more question.

“So, you have memorized the spell book then?”

“Yes, but that’s not all.
 In fighting the vampires I started using a series of spells from the two spell books my father had.  There’s a pattern inside the spells, which links them together.  It was in that pattern that I found the serpent tongue spell.”

Cassandra’s eyes got wide.
 Nobody was entirely sure if that rumor was true, that Algernon had such an ability.  It seems he did, and now Dhane did too.  But that likely meant...

“Oh God.”

“What?”

“Elisabeth will likely have the ability, too.
 That’s part of what made Algernon so hard to stop.  It’s hard to counter a person’s spell if you can’t hear what it is.”

Nodding, Dhane stood up from the table and walked outside.
 He hadn’t thought of that, and if she did figure it out, the battle between them would likely destroy anyone and everyone around them.  Time was of the essence, and he could only hope she was behind in her studies.

“Dhane?”

The soft voice made him close his eyes and take a deep breath.
 Opening them, he turned around to face Samantha.  She looked so sad, so lost, that all he could do was force a smile to try and relieve her worry.

“Hey, are you done eating?”

“I am.
 Not really that hungry to begin with.  Listen, about last night...”

Ah, here it was.
 After much reflection, she must’ve realized that things wouldn’t, couldn’t work between them.  The kiss was a mistake, for sure.  The cuddling afterwards, all night, was just so she wouldn’t feel all alone in what had turned into a very cold world.  Right?

“Yeah, last night.
 It was fine, I know...”

“I wanted more.
 All night I waited for you to touch me, to take me.  Am I not attractive to you?  It’s okay, I understand if that’s it.”

“No, it’s not that,” he put his arms around her and hugged her, hoping she wasn’t about to start crying.
 “I just didn’t feel right about doing that considering everything.  You were in a sensitive state, I think.  And then there’s...”

“Amelia.”

She looked up into his eyes and he nodded.
 Though he didn’t know where she was, Amelia was the only thing he wanted.  The funny thing was, by the time he realized that, she slipped from his grasp.  Even preparing for a war that could very possibly cost him his life, he longed for her touch just one more time.

“You don’t even know where she went or why she left.
 Maybe things weren’t meant to be with her.”

“I know, I just...”

“I’m not trying to push you or anything.
 Tonight, when I go to bed, I’ll be naked under the covers.  If you want me, even just for one night, join me.  If not, there will be no hard feelings.”

Samantha started walking down the sidewalk back to the motel.
 After a couple of minutes, Cassandra exited the diner with Amber and looked at Dhane curiously.

“What was that about?”

“You don’t want to know.”

The three of them walked back to the motel together, mostly in silence, thinking about what may lie ahead.
 As they passed the motel office, the clerk came running out them.  He was a lanky young man, all arms and legs, and looked as coordinated as a one-legged dog.

“Sir, I have a message for you.
 A gentleman stopped by last night, but I wasn’t able to catch you before you left this morning.”

The clerk handed Dhane an envelope that had his name on the front, and simply a “D” on the back.
 He didn’t really want to open it in front of Cassandra, but he didn’t really have a choice right now.  Reluctantly he tore open the envelope and looked at the expected scratchy writing of Demian.  After studying the spell pages he had handwritten, it was easy now.

“I have to run.”

“Where are you going?”

He hesitated.
 If he told her, surely they would come along.  On the chance that Elisabeth had learned the serpent tongue, it was too risky for anyone but himself.  Besides, if it turned out to be a trap, he may need someone to rescue him.  Cassandra closed her eyes took a deep breath.  Finally she opened them, not happy, but nodded in understanding.

“Be careful.”

“Always.”