Well here goes for part 8. It's taken me forever to get these things attached to an e-mail. As a result I can now include myself among the many people that wish to break tiny objects for no apparent reason. (the category is completely over rated by the way.)
Thanks to everyone who's reading this and anyone that's e-mailed me as well. I love hearing from you guys so let me know what you think, the good and the bad. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@yahoo.ca or Mist_dark@hotmail.com I'll respond to either.
The legal part here. You should all know the drill by now. Story is fiction. Author makes no claims to know people in story. If you are too young, go away. If it is illegal in you area to read this, go away. If homosexual themes bother you, go away. Parts of this story are based off the RPG Rifts, all trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
Until next time, Enjoy, Rune
PART EIGHT
Justin and Pyre stood outside a four-story mansion. From the outside it looked run down, like no one lived there. The constant smell around the place told them otherwise. Or so Pyre said. Justin couldn't smell anything unusual, but then he wasn't a dragon. There were a number of vampires inside the building, and it was very close to sunset. In fact the sun was just disappearing behind the rise. They had taken to long getting here and would have to deal with vampires in order to get their friend out. They had come prepared though.
"Ready?" Pyre asked.
"Yep," Justin answered. "How quiet are we trying to be?"
"They'll smell us coming so I don't think we have to be overly quiet, but let's not attract more attention then we have to," the dragon told him.
"Gottcha," Justin replied. "Shall we?" He gestured to the front door. It was the easiest way to start searching the building methodically.
"After you," Pyre said. "Remember that we're trying to find JC first. We don't want to have to meet the master until he's safe. It might go nasty if we do."
"I know," Justin sighed. "You've told me this at least thirty times on the way here. Don't tango with the master, got it, it's not that hard."
"I'm just making sure that you understand what we're up against," Pyre said. "A master vampire isn't something to underestimate."
"I know," Justin told him. Annoyance was slipping into his voice. "I won't forget."
"Good," Pyre said. He pushed open the doors to the mansion and stepped into the gloom beyond. Justin was right on his heels.
They stepped into a large hall. The ceiling rose thirty feet above them. The second and third floors were visible from the ground. A pair of staircases swept upward from the middle of the hallway. The bases of each faced away from one another, bowed inward and ended on the balcony to the second floor. There wasn't a visible way to get to the third floor. Four doors were the only exits on the main floor. Two to the north, one to the west and the last one to the east. Everything in sight was made from a dark cherry.
"Do we go up or explore the main floor first?" Justin asked.
"Let's do the main floor first," Pyre said after a moment. "I don't think we'll find anything on this floor, but we might. Take the east wing and I'll take the west. Meet back here in about fifteen minutes. We'll both do the north."
"Why the north together?"
"The sun never crosses the north, so that's most likely where the master will be hidden. Though probably not on this floor."
Justin shrugged. "Sure." He leaned over and gave Pyre a deep kiss. "Be careful."
"You to." Pyre returned the kiss. He gave Justin another quick one and moved toward the west door while Justin moved to the east one.
Only a pair of drapes separated the east wing from the front hall. A hallway stretch beyond the door. A rich carpet covered the floor and various paintings covered the walls. Most of them were of beautiful ladies in long flowing dress holding on the arms of young noblemen. Though a few were of horrible scenes. One depicted the Black Death with incredible detail. A few tables lined the hall holding candles and vases. There were even flowers in a number of the vases.
Justin carefully pushed open the first door he came to. It slid open without any resistance. The room was obviously used for entertaining. A number of chairs and couches were arranged around a coffee table. The curtains were strung back to reveal a small patio and walled garden. The room hadn't been used in a long time. A small cloud of dust had arisen when he pushed the door open.
The next room was a study. He had fallen in love with the desk that sat against one wall. Huge and beautifully engraved. It was made of a dark wood that he couldn't recognize. This room had been used far more recently then the entertaining room had been. There was no dust to be found anywhere, and even a few plants sat next to one of the windows. Apparently vampires weren't the only inhabitants.
Most of the other rooms were like that. Some being used and others being completely deserted for years. A couple didn't even have anything in them, other then dust. It didn't take him long to search his wing and was working his way back to the main hall before the fifteen minute mark.
Pyre was waiting for him when he got there. "Find anything?"
"Just a lot of dust," Justin admitted. "Though I do know there are more then just vampires living here." Pyre arched an eyebrow and Justin kissed him quickly. "Plants were in a few of the rooms. And I don't think vampires could take care of them properly. Given their..dislike of sunlight."
Pyre nodded. "Probably a human servant takes care of them. I didn't find anything but dust on my side either." He offered his arm. "Shall we take the north?"
Justin accept the arm and laughed. "Of course. How long do you think it'll be before we meet the vamps?"
A hiss broke their conversation. Pyre looked to the two doors to the north. Seven feral vampires had entered the main hall. "I'd say about five seconds."
Justin grinned. "Goodie."
"Let's do this quickly," Pyre told him. He pulled out four stakes and handed two to Justin.
"Why sir, are you trying to seduce me with gifts?" Justin asked with mock protest. He sidestepped a vampire's blow and stake the creature. A cloud of powdered skin obscured the air for a moment before a skeleton collapsed to the floor. "You'll have to try much harder then that to get me into bed."
"As I recall," Pyre told him. While staking two more of the creatures. "I didn't have to try very much at all to get you to sleep with me."
"Just smile," Justin told him. "How could anyone resist that?"
"Yep."
When they'd finished staking the other four vampires Pyre piled them in off to one side of the room and poured holy water in a circle around the bodies.
"I was wondering how you were going to deal with them," Justin admitted. "I was pretty sure burning them was a bad idea. That'll keep any vampires from pulling the stakes out right?"
"It won't stop anything that isn't undead, but it'll deter anything that's evil," Pyre informed. "Change of plans though. We're going up."
"What? Why?"
"The master's up and we can't avoid it. If we kill it we'll be able to get Josh and get out alive. Otherwise we're going to have every vampire in this place down our throats."
"Makes sense," Justin said. "But why up? Wouldn't the master be below ground?"
"Nope. That's where the lessers came from. A master isn't going to sleep with inferiors. Older secondary vampires and the master will always sleep apart. So my bet is the third floor somewhere."
The second floor had been mostly sleeping quarters for guests and their servants. They'd found a few vampires, but nothing that slowed them down. They had reached the third floor without too much resistance. Which meant one of three things. One, most of the vampires weren't here. Two, most of the vampires had slipped out for the night to hunt and hadn't noticed their presence. Or three, most of the vampires were waiting for them with the master. Pyre and Justin were hoping for the first one because neither believed the second one was a possibility.
Pyre stopped when they came to a T-junction hallway. The hallway extended both ways and then turned to the north. He sighed and looked both ways again.
"We're going to have to split up aren't we?" Justin asked.
"I think so," Pyre agreed. "We're starting to run out of time. The master has to know we're here. But it's waiting for us. Go left. I'll yell if I find it. You do the same."
Justin nodded and leaned in for a kiss. "Be careful. I just got you back. I am not losing you to some undead fiend."
"Same with you," Pyre smiled and returned the kiss. "Watch for humans too. Anything that's here that isn't chained to a wall, or us, isn't going to be friendly."
"K."
Justin moved down the hallway to the left. He was floating an inch above the floor to make as little noise as possible. He eased open the doors along the way and found nothing. They had been unused in the last few years. He rounded the corner and saw only a single door at the end of the hallway. Light spilled out from underneath it.
"Looks like something out of your classic horror film or book," Justin muttered to himself. "And any moment now someone in the audience or the reader is going to tell me not to open the door and go inside." He shrugged. "And like the good character I am, I'm going to ignore their wisdom and go in anyway."
He pushed the door open and blinked at the sudden increase of light. When his vision cleared he could see the inside of the room. It was another sitting room. A fire burned in the hearth. Numerous candles and oil lamps were spread around the room to shed light everywhere. A long couch made of solid oak sat in the middle of the room. The cushions were a deep burgundy.
A woman lounged on the couch. She was tall and her long legs splayed across the cushions in a seductive manner. Not purposely done, but more of a habit. Her deep red dress matched the colour of the couch almost perfectly, except for the material. Her dress was silk, the couch was velvet. The cut of the dress could be classified as sluttish and her high heels didn't help the image. Her head was bowed of a book. The word `Alucard' was written on its spine.
"You are letting the heat out," she said without raising her head. "Enter or leave. Either way close the door."
Justin stared at her. She was attractive, but that wasn't why he was staring. The power that rolled off this woman was amazing. It swept over him and threatened to drown him.
She looked at him and arched an eyebrow. "Deaf human?" An invisible hand shoved Justin into the room and the door closed behind him. "Why are you here? I am not a patient woman."
"You're a master," Justin managed to stammer out after a minute. He was still trying to recover from the aura this woman exuded.
She laughed. " You can never slip the obvious past a human. I prefer Yesena, but yes I am a master." She glanced at her book and then closed it. "You still haven't explained why you are here." She set the book aside.
"You have my friend," Justin told her more firmly. He had gotten the use of his voice back. "I want him back."
"You've come here all by yourself to say that," Yesena asked with amusement clear on her face. "You are very brave human, and foolish. You have no right to come into my domain and demand anything."
"I will be leaving with Josh," Justin said forcefully.
"My patience has run out. You won't be leaving here with your friend. You won't be leaving at all." There was barely a blur of movement. One moment Yesena was lounged on the couch and the next instant she was standing next to Justin. "Threatening a master vampire in her own lands is a mistake you will not be able to repeat," she whispered.
She clenched her fist and punched Justin in the stomach. He doubled over as the air rushed out of his lungs. Yesena stepped back a pace and kicked him in the head, forcing him to straighten. She easily leapt six feet into the air and kicked him in the forehead with her heel. Swiftly she pulled her leg back and kicked him with the other. A soft crack echoed through the room as one of her heels broke. She kicked him a third time and used the momentum to flip backward and land. She used her fall to drop to the floor and swept Justin's feet out from under him while throwing the shoes from her feet. The vampire spun to her feet and stood over the blonde's shocked form. She reached down and picked him up over her head and threw him across the room. He hit the wall and slid to the floor. He just lay there trying to get the world to stop spinning while Yesena picked up the couch she'd been sitting on earlier. She had trouble lifting it because of its size, not its weight, despite the fact it probably weighed five hundred pounds. With little difficulty, she hurled it across the room at Justin's prone form. He grunted and lay stunned under the couch.
"Leave him alone," Pyre said from the doorway.
"Another one?" Yesena sighed. "How many of you do I have to kill before.." She trailed off when she saw who else was standing in the doorway.
Pyre stood there holding a youth of about twenty. The young man was dressed in black leather pants and a black leather vest covered his toned chest. His short brown hair was spiked with blue tinges at the ends of the spikes. A blue lightening bolt was tattooed on his left shoulder. Fear shone in his green eyes.
"I wouldn't kill him," Yesena warned. "Killing my human servant will get your friend killed."
"The same goes here," Pyre countered. "I don't usually do bartering, but there's a first time for everything."
"Very well," Yesena conceded. "I'll step away from you friend and you will release Richard. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Pyre said. "Over by the fireplace."
Yesena nodded and slid gracefully across the room. When she stood next to the fireplace she turned to face Pyre again. "Come here Richard."
Pyre released his grip on Richard. The youth didn't exactly run to his mistress's side, but almost. The dragon was to busy seeing to Justin to care how quickly the servant moved. He easily moved the couch and pulled his love into his arms. In a few moments he helped Justin to his feet. Yesena had spent the time fawning over Richard, and he over her.
"Now I believe we discuss the release of our friend," Pyre said calmly.
"What makes you think that I'll release him?" Yesena asked. You no longer have Richard to barter with slayer. What do you have to offer me?"
"Your life," Pyre answered. "You may have been able to defeat Justin, but I'm an entirely different matter. And there is no way you could survive both of our attacks."
"You are forgetting Richard," Yesena pointed out. "He would certainly come to my aid. But even if he wasn't here I have another trump card. Your friend's sanity."
Pyre arched an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked in a deep voice.
"I've got your friend's mind firmly in grasp. You could kill me, I've no doubt about that. But before you could slay me I'd have reduced your friend's mind to mush. And there is nothing that will cure that. Not magic, not psionics, and not normal medicine. He would be forever destroyed. Alive and at the same time not."
"We'd kill you," Justin spat.
"But that wouldn't bring you friend back, Yesena taunted. "His mind would still be destroyed."
"Then we're at an impasse," Pyre said.
"No," she said. "I will allow you to take your friend tonight and since I'm feeling generous I'll even let you take his lady friend. However, you leave after that. We'll meet again, I know that much. But for tonight each of our lives is assured. Mine, Richard's, yours, the boy's and your friends'. Agreed?"
Pyre sighed deeply. "Agreed."
"How do we know you're keeping your word?" Justin asked.
"I'll send Richard with you to show you where your friend is. If I destroy his mind, you can kill my servant." She patted Richard's shoulder when he looked at her in shock. "Don't worry my pet, I won't be destroying their minds. You'll live tonight." She stroked his chest. "I've other things in mind for you this night." She glanced at Pyre. "And if your end is broken, then I'll turn your friend's mind to mush. Seem fair?"
"I guess so," Justin said.
"Good then," Yesena gestured to the door. "The faster you leave here, the sooner you can leave my home. I have needs for Richard this night, so finish your business."
The cell was not just barren and isolating, it was cold as well. The blueness of the walls was caused because they were made of solid ice. It was a faint chill at first, but it did gradually work its way into the heat of Lance's body. Any exposed skin was eventually numbed. For what must have been the hundredth time Lance was thankful that one of the runes on his robe warded off the cold. He simply put the hood up and tucked his hands inside the sleeves. It didn't get rid of the cold completely, but it helped it a lot.
Since he had no reference, time was difficult to judge. Though he guessed that it had been about five or six hours since the woman had brought him here. She hadn't returned since and he doubted very much that she would. At least not for a while. She didn't seem like the type that cared particularly for him, or anyone else for that matter.
"So how long is it going to take for you to talk to me?" Lance asked out lout. He paused for a moment and then repeated the question. He looked at the scythe in his lap. "You know perfectly well that I'm talking to you. There's no point in trying to ignore me. It's not going to work."
"How did you know I could talk?" The scythe asked. Its telepathic voice felt similar to Cro's put had a touch of weariness to it.
"In part a lucky guess," Lance admitted. "But in part because of some of the runes I'd seen on your blade." He shrugged. "They were kind of similar to the ones on Cro's spine."
"Clever," the scythe replied. "But why do you want my opinion on this? You're the one with the magic."
"You've got magic too," Lance said. "Anything that we can use to get out of here."
"No magic unless I'm bonded to you. And that'll take months. The best I can do is advice, and I don't know what you need."
Lance was silent for a while. He set the scythe down on the cot and paced the length of the room for a few minutes. Stopping he turned around and looked at the door. He traced his hands over the ends, searching for a weakness. Finding none he returned to the cot.
"You're what allowed Selvar to teleport around, right?" He asked.
"Yes. But why do you ask?"
"Do you remember what the runes on your `body' looked like?"
"You never forget what a rune looks like if it's been carved into your flesh," Scythe told him. "Which one do you need to know about?"
"Whichever one allowed you to teleport. Just straight teleportation, one person and anything that he carries," Lance told him. He listened carefully as the weapon described the rune in detail. "Can I use you to draw that?"
"As in use me to sketch it into the ground?"
"Yeah," Lance said sheepishly.
"I suppose you can."
"Thanks."
It would have taken him almost an hour of carving under normal circumstances to get the rune right. Working with a scythe as a drawing implement didn't help matters, it took him almost three hours to finish the rune. When he was finished he pulled back from his work and stared at it. The rune was almost invisible on the icy floor, unless you knew it was there.
"That's it?" Scythe asked. "I was expecting something...bigger."
"That's it," Lance said. "And once I activate it, it's going to do its job nicely."
"I sense a `but' coming."
"I don't know where it's going to take us," Lance admitted. "I know the teleportation won't take us anywhere lethal. Or at least it won't kill us in the first five minutes. But other then that, I don't know."
"Well no time like the present to activate it," Scythe told him. "The dragon is around and I think she can sense the magic."
Lance nodded and stepped toward the rune. He stood just in front of the rune, so that the hem of his robe brushed the floor just below the ward. Planting a foot to either side he brought the scythe above the rune. With a quick motion he plunged the weapon downward and smashed the ice that formed his labour over the last few hours. There was a flash of light, a hum of magic, and then the room was empty.
"This isn't one of your better ideas," Chris asked. They were both perched atop a three story building a mile outside of the town that Chris had appeared in. "Is it?"
"What do you mean?" Mala asked.
"Find the Gemini. Follow the Gemini. Watch the Gemini. Sneak in and stop the Gemini from performing what evil plan he's got going," Chris answered. "It doesn't seem like a very good idea. Particularly when you know how dangerous this man is."
"I've been asked to do a number of things Chris," Mala explained. "One of them happens to be stopping the Gemini if I can. Another was to save you from certain death. And since I can perform both, why shouldn't I?"
Chris sighed and muttered "I'm sure this is a good idea in someone's mind." He stood up carefully and stretched. "So when do we go in an neutralize our resident curse bringer?"
"How about now?" She asked. "He's in the library now, or whatever passes for the library in this place." She took a few steps to the left and wrapped her rope around a statue on the edge of the roof. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Mala slipped over the edge of the roof and disappeared from sight. A few moments later she reappeared with a small circle of glass in her hand. "The window's open. Be careful going down the rope."
"Never thought I'd be involved in a B&E before," Chris smirked. "First time for everything I guess."
The inside of the house wasn't particularly well furnished. Or clean for that matter. Layers of dust coated the room and sheets covered a large portion of the furniture. What wasn't covered had been faded by years of neglect and the constant light of the sun.
Mala led the way across the room and into the hallway beyond. She moved through the house as is she'd been there before. She moved with stealth through the halls and if Chris hadn't known she was there he wouldn't have seen her. He tried to move as quietly as possible, but he wasn't nearly as skilled as she was.
Reaching out Chris touched Mala's arm to get her attention. "Where's the library?" He whispered when she leaned close to hear what he had to say.
"Just around the corner," she whispered back. "I think we should go in ready for a fight. Surprise is our only advantage here. He won't have enough time to prepare anything really nasty."
"Great," Chris muttered to himself. "Let's do this then. Are we looking to kill, incapacitate or just annoy?"
"Never annoy a curse bringer. We want him alive if possible. But if he isn't unconscious in the first minute of the fight we're screwed."
"Goodie," Chris whispered as he followed her to the door that was supposed to lead to the library. It was slightly ajar and he could see that someone was inside. Most likely facing the window and wouldn't see anyone entering until it was too late to run.
Everything was going perfectly until Chris slipped in his prowling and fell into a chair. The Gemini spun away from the window and looked at them with utter surprise. Before Mala or Chris could recover from their shock of Chris falling into a chair the Gemini had recovered from his surprise.
"Have you came to kill me?" He asked. His voice carried a note that spoke of a great loss. Like it had when he was rallying the crowd against Chris. The man also paused at the oddest times throughout his speeches, almost as if he were waiting for someone to continue for him. "Be careful in your adventures."
Mala had helped Chris to his feet by this point and kept giving the brunette dirty looks for ruining the only advantage they had had. They separated from one another and moved around the room to flank the man from both sides.
The floor shimmered for a moment and was covered with swarms of insects and arachnids. Chris stopped walking and stared in horror as the swarms scuttled toward him. He took a step backward and then another as the swarms continued forward. The Gemini laughed.
"Chris," Mala shouted. "It's an illusion. He can't have called it so quickly. Ignore it. It's not real." Her shouts of aid were cut short by a shriek of pain. She was holding her body and convulsing in pain. She sunk to the floor whimpering.
The Gemini waved his hand. The crawling horrors disappeared from Chris' sight and Mala stopped her whimpers of pain. The thief slowly pulled herself to her feet. "I must go now." He stated as if someone had asked. "You two will entertain each other."
"What?" Chris asked. He'd recovered from the shock of seeing the insects appear and disappear. He didn't need to ask twice. A wave of heat rushed over his body and his skin began to flush with arousal. The blood rushed to his groin and he was quickly sporting an erection. Lust began to cloud his vision. He'd forgotten all about the curse bringer and stared at Mala. She locked eyes with him and met him halfway across the room. They kissed each other with force and passion. Chris' hands worked at the woman's mask as she worked at his shirt. The mask fell to the floor followed very closely by the shirt. By the time the library door closed, signaling the Gemini's departure, they were both nude and rolling on the floor.
"It takes time without my brother," the Gemini told the wraith.
"I don't care," Wraith said coldly. "I want to feel the pleasure of death washing over me. I want to wade through misery. I don't care if it's human, elven, or even a demon's death. I want to feel the misery. I need to feel it. And you are going to provide it for me." Wraith turned his gaze to an old woman. It caressed her face gently and smiled when she flinched to get away from its touch. "I will content myself with individual deaths for now human. But I want to feel the pleasure that comes from feeling countless mortals suffering."
The woman whimpered in fear and again tried to move away from its touch. While the Gemini watched the wraith ran its fingers over the woman's face again and again. It circled each of her facial features and then stopped to run its fingers through her hair. Pressing gently on each of her eyes it forced her lids open. Smiling at her screams of fear it pushed harder. It was stronger then she was and ignored her feeble attempts to pry its hands away from her face. There was a wet popping sound and clear fluid streamed down her face. The fluid was followed by cries of pain. The wraith smiled and pulled his damp thumbs from her ruined eye sockets.
"I am not a patient creature," it said. "If I could I would steal your power to raise a plague and unleash one myself. But in doing so I'd kill you, and death would steal the power from me." It kicked the woman savagely in her side and walked away from her weeping form. Now tears ran down her face, but her body still shook as if they were. "Raise that plague now. Your brother has already unleashed a famine upon the people he was sent to torment. And yet you haven't. Perhaps you are the weaker of the two."
"Neither is stronger," the Gemini said firmly. "We are as one. We are one. Our power is equal because it is the same."
"I'm sure," the wraith said. "Just raise the plague."
TBC..
What did you think? Good or bad? Let me know. Please?
Rune
(and yes I'm aware of how pitiful that sounds, but all I'm getting in my e-mail account is a bunch of junk mail)