Intertwined Fates 19: Harbinger

Chapter 19: Harbinger

"I'm sorry baby, but we have to do this as well. We can't let this problem get away from us," said Carl.

"I know, I just want to find him. I didn't want him tangled up in this mess," Joy sighed.

"We should check this place out; one of Miranda's minions might be hanging around here," Aaron suggested as they approached a nightclub.

"It will be alright, Joy, we'll find him," said Carl as they walked into the club.

"I'll go look on the second level," Aaron told them.

"Ok, we'll stay down here," said Carl.

"I feel so helpless," said Joy as she and Carl moved through the dance floor looking for anything that might give them a lead.

"It will be ok, Joy, we will find something. Stay positive, we'll get them back," said Carl as he turned and hugged her.

"Thanks, Carl," said Joy as she lightly pressed her lips on his cheek.

***

'I don't even know what I should be looking for up here,' thought Aaron as he walked up the staircase. When Aaron got to the top and entered the lounge area, deep blue strobe lights flicked on. When Aaron recovered from the sudden change in the light he saw something peculiar against the wall and floor near the corner of the room.

'That's strange,' thought Aaron as he kneeled down to inspect the strange crystals now only visible because of the neon glow of the strobe lights. He pulled out a bottle from his jacket and scraped the glowing crystals into the bottle, screwing the lid back on tight.

***

"I found something upstairs, Carl. I'm going to go back and give this to Laura and see if she knows what it is," Aaron said holding up the bottle with the crystals still faintly glowing from the strobe lighting.

"Ok, we're going to go look through some more places," said Carl.

"I'll tell Laura that you're still out," said Aaron.

"Where do you want to go, Joy?" asked Carl

"I don't think we'll find anything in another night club, so I think we should be looking for abandoned buildings and such; ones that could possibly have a large basement area. It wouldn't make for a very good hideout if you had to block out numerous windows," said Joy.

"Ok, I know there are a couple of old warehouses just outside the city that could be a possible hiding spot," Carl told her.

"Isn't that where the old Cross hospital is?" asked Joy.

"I think so; we should check that place out," said Carl.

"I have a good feeling about this, Carl," Joy told him.

***

"Should we go in and check it out?" asked Joy, pale moonlight shining through the windows of the abandoned hospital.

"Yeah but we'll have to be careful going in; we don't know if anything is lurking in here," said Carl.

"You'll protect me though won't you?" asked Joy sweetly.

"Of course; let's check this place out," said Carl opening the front door. After looking through the hospital for sometime they came across a side exit. They went through the door and discovered the blackened scorch marks on the concrete where the guards that had been pursuing Kally and Jake died.

"What's this, Carl?" asked Joy as she came across the burns.

"Looks like burn marks there," said Carl.

"I think we may have found something here," Joy said.

"I think so to; let's look at some other places first. There are a few warehouses and factories that we could check out," said Carl checking out the shattered door on the abandoned warehouse.

"It looks like Kally and Jake could have been here," said Joy inspecting the shattered door.

"Let's hope," said Carl.

After scoping out the nearby buildings for sometime they were about to give up when Joy said "Carl there looks like something is going on in that building," as they approached another derelict factory.

"Stay here, Joy. I'm going to take a closer look ok?" Carl said.

"Ok, be careful," Joy replied.

Carl crept closer to the building and with his enhanced vampiric night vision, saw distinct shapes moving in the gloom of the derelict building's windows.

"Ok, I think we've found the right place, Joy. We have to go back now and tell everybody were it is," Carl said.

"Do you think Michael is in there?" asked Joy

"Yeah, I think that's a real possibility. I don't think they have Kally and Jake anymore though," said Carl, he grabbed her arms as she went to move towards the building. "Joy, don't get any closer. We need to approach this silently. They'll see us before we can do anything. I'm sorry Joy but we need to go,"

"Alright, but I'm coming back," said Joy determinedly

***

"Gregor, the time has almost come to initiate our plan. I'm worried about Igor though," said Miranda placing her hand on his chest.

"Why? What's going on?" asked Gregor

"He seems to be secretive of late, like he's hiding something. It's a creeping feeling I have," said Miranda.

"I'll talk to him, Miranda, I'll know if something is going on," said Gregor.

"Thank you, Gregor. The target is nearly in sight. I've discovered how to tap into the energy of the demon gate. If we can draw the energy from the gate as the last demon emerges we can become so powerful that the Queen and her court won't stand a chance against us," said Miranda, a dangerous gleam lighting her eyes.

"So this is why you're worried? You shouldn't have to. I've known and been friends with Igor for centuries, he's not like that. He's not one to be power hungry. You shouldn't have anything to be worried about," said Gregor.

"This is a lot of power. I want to be sure I can trust who I share this power with. I trust you, Gregor, I just need to know if I can trust Igor," said Miranda

"Ok I will. There won't be anything to worry about I assure you," said Gregor dropping a gentle kiss on her scarred cheek. Miranda shuddered in pleasure as tingles rushed through her body.

"Thank you, Gregor," she said as she caught his gaze. "I would like to know how you've come to trust him so much."

"He's saved my life more then once. We've been together through a lot of things. I met him around 200 years ago. That's the first time he saved my life," said Gregor.

"Ok, go on. This sounds great," said Miranda as she grinned.

"Ok then. You do know that Igor was a pretty competent sorcerer?" asked Gregor

"Yeah, he still seems to be," said Miranda "Please continue,"

*

'Great, this is just what I do not need right now,' thought Gregor as he raced through the torch lined streets of the small town, a gang of irate peasants pursuing him at speed.

He crashed into the corner of a building, grimacing in pain as blood began flowing more freely from his already wounded shoulder. He needed to feed and soon or he would risk becoming the raving monster that he knew he kept in check inside of himself; the very thing that he never wanted to surface again.

He turned the corner and cursed colourfully as he realised that he had been running toward a dead end.

"Brilliant," he muttered.

He could hear the peasants closing in behind him but he didn't have the strength to jump or even to climb onto a rooftop.

The dancing reflections on the walls nearby from the peasant's torches began to glow brighter as they got nearer and Gregor glanced around, realizing that he was trapped.

He did not want to have to fight them but if it came down to it then he would...to preserve his own life he would have to.

The mob came around the corner and caught sight of him.

"Cursed demon!" one shouted in angry Russian.

"Spawn of the devil!" cried a woman.

As Gregor tensed, pain rolling over him as his demons tried to break free from his hold, a dark shaped dropped down before him.

The shape formed a sphere of glowing energy and threw it at the mob. They screamed and cowered back in fear as the sphere of energy formed a curtain of flames between them, effectively cutting the mob off from it and Gregor.

"Who, or what are you?" Gregor asked.

"My name is Igor. Let's get out of here shall we? Those flames will not last forever," the dark shape replied.

Gregor nodded gratefully and Igor grabbed his shirt, flattened his palm towards the ground and the two of them rose up and disappeared over the rooftops leaving the peasants stunned and frightened.

*

"Well that is certainly an interesting way to meet new people," said Miranda as she smiled at him.

"I know. After rescuing me from those peasants he got me blood so I could rest and heal. One of those peasants had gotten a spear jammed in my shoulder. It felt good to finally have my shoulder working again. I got to know him really well, he got me introduced to Markus," said Gregor. "He's always seemed to be very loyal and honourable,"

"Well I'm still not sure of Igor though. He has been acting a little oddly. I'd love it if you did check for me," said Miranda.

"Sure, I will. I was supposed to be meeting Igor soon anyway," said Gregor as he drew Miranda into a long kiss. After breaking it off he murmured

"I'm supposed to protect you, so of course I'll check it out,"

Miranda smiled to herself and knew that this man was all hers; he'd be perfect for her to share the benefits of the power that she hoped to receive.

***

"Igor, what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Gregor after he had entered the magic chamber.

"The power focus is getting stronger and more stable. We can harness the flow and share its energy," said Igor.

'Damn, Miranda was right. Igor had been acting suspiciously,' thought Gregor. "The demons? That's a huge amount of power, Igor," said Gregor.

"I know it is, I need your help with it Gregor. The power field won't be stable unless there is enough space for it to go. if I don't have anybody else with me the energy could become very destructive with no place to go. It will just be wasted," said Igor.

"So how much longer do you think it will be before the demon emerges?" asked Gregor

"At the most two nights, then the storm demon will return to make way for the pestilence demon. Once we harness the power of the demon gate we can deal with the demons and seal the gate up before The Destroyer emerges," said Igor.

"What do I need to do then?" asked Gregor.

"Don't tell Miranda. She'll take all the power for herself. Once we have the power we can take control," said Igor, the demons lurking barely concealed in his eyes.

Gregor shivered involuntarily as a wave of Igor's power lust washed over him. 'Miranda had every right to be worried. It seems that even after 200 years I never knew the real Igor,' thought Gregor sadly. "I won't tell her anything. She asked me though to tell you that she thinks the demon gate could be harnessed," said Gregor.

"Tell her the power will be too random and destructive to be able to be harnessed," said Igor.

"I will," said Gregor not betraying his emotions. Gregor took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves as he walked down the corridor.

***

"Demon dust, that's what this book says it is," said Laura as she inspected the luminescent crystalline powder.

"This is probably something Flavros used on an unwitting victim of his," said Aaron.

"I'd say so. This book was commissioned by Pope Clement VI. It seems a group of inquisitors from Nottingham just barely managed to avert doomsday. It says here that the Black Death plague was the work of Saurtos, the pestilence demon, the one who would bring forth The Destroyer. So if Carl and Joy have been able to find anything we can use the banishment spells and rituals in here to deal with the problem," said Laura.

"Well that would be good, one less problem we have to deal with. Then we will be down to two problems we need to deal with," said Aaron.

"Did you find anything of use, Laura?" asked Carl as he entered the room with Joy.

"Yes, I did actually. This book was written by the priests who were responsible for averting doomsday and two of these priests have been given sainthood. So I can say that what they say in here will be very useful. Did you find anything out there, Carl?" asked Laura.

"Yes, we found a derelict factory that's crawling with people and an abandoned hospital with scorch marks on the pavement just outside a side exit, with the neighbouring warehouse's side door smashed in," said Carl.

Laura smiled and then said "Seems as though Jake and Kally are safer now. Hopefully we will hear from them soon. Until then, I'll organise the assault teams. We've had more vampires drifting in; I'm a bit worried now that our enemies might know where to find us,"

"It'll be alright, Laura, we can defend ourselves," said Aaron, he then gently rubbed her neck.

"I'm going to go round up everybody; we'll strike them as soon as possible tomorrow. It is getting too late now to do anything about it," said Laura.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. I'm exhausted, so I'll see you guys later," said Aaron.

"I want you to stay here when we go tomorrow, Joy. It's too dangerous for you," said Carl worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Carl. I can take care of myself," said Joy.

"I want you to stay here so I know you're safe," said Carl.

"Carl, I'm going to come with you. I'm going to find my brother," said Joy, tensing up.

"I don't want you in any danger baby, they are vampires and you're human. They can kill you in the blink of an eye. I don't want you coming with me tomorrow it's not safe," insisted Carl.

"You'll have to stop me, I'm coming," insisted Joy.

"Joy! I don't want you getting hurt. Please stay here," said Carl.

"I'm sorry, Carl, but I have to do this. If it weren't for me, my brother wouldn't have been caught up in this crap," insisted Joy, then she walked out of the room.

'I need to convince her to stay here tomorrow, but she'll hate me if I force her to,' sighed Carl worriedly.

***

"Are you quite certain you can contain so much power little man?" scoffed Flavros as Igor opened a large power circle around the demon gate.

"Of course I can. I have somebody to share this power with," said Igor, he then smirked evilly at Flavros then said "Then I'll have no further use for you," motioning towards the gleaming runed dagger on the table. Flavros froze as he recognized the symbols engraved into the hilt and blade.

"Where did you get that?" demanded Flavros, knowing that the dagger played its part in banishing them the last time they tried to end the world.

"Wouldn't you like to know? You can't compel me to speak the truth," Igor smirked.

***

"Typhoon, there is something you need to hear before you pour that energy into the gate," said Flavros as Typhoon entered the chamber. Typhoon looked up at Flavros who was still working on breaking out of the prison. "There's a vampire sorcerer planning to hijack the energy flow. He's set up the energy ring under the gate,"

"So overconfident; these vampires think they are immortal. I can do something about that now. He's in for a surprise," said Typhoon.

"Good, then you can use that extra energy to break this damned cell. I don't have any more energy left to spare," said Flavros.

"I will, and then we can rain extra havoc. It's very fun out there; there is so much to ravage," said Typhoon.

Flavros cackled evilly and then Typhoon got down to setting out the power ring. He reached over the middle of the ring feeling for the disturbance where the fissure was. Once he found it he placed his hands over the fissure and began to pour raw energy into the opening. It began to shimmer brightly then it began to slowly spread.

An ungodly roar erupted from the shimmering fissure in the room as a massive tearing sound split the fracture wider and wider until the head of a monstrous creature emerged. What could be considered a smile etched its way onto Typhoon's face as the monstrosity pushed and tore its way through the splitting opening.

It roared again and the room trembled as the monster's back legs pushed out of the now gaping hole shimmering in the centre of the room, its lizard-like tail sliding out of the gaping fissure and thumping to the floor. It stood like a gigantic mutant raptor, its back bulged with sharp and shiny protrusions, the red-black colour of its scales shimmering over its body. It raised its monstrous head, too hideous to describe and hissed out a rasping noise, speaking in a rattling tongue to Typhoon.

"The air is certainly too clean. Lets do something about that shall we?" said Typhoon. "Now lets see what we can do about this cage," Typhoon asked as he brushed energy pass the shimmering cage. While Typhoon meddled with the cage trying to break it open, Saurtos observed it with its monstrous demonic eyes, the ground thumped as it moved over.

He lashed his thick heavy tail against the cage dislodging the stones. The energy barrier faded away and Flavros stepped free. "Now we are ready to unleash the havoc upon the masses," cackled Flavros.