“This is where the bulk of our research is done,” Montgomery explained as he showed Jake and Sara around. “This building houses multiple levels of laboratories under the surface, and an entire university dedicated to the various fields of research. Some of our people have spent entire human lifetimes never leaving the crater. Aside from the university, there is a library of all collected knowledge of the area, as well as a museum of artifacts, soil samples, and other scientific marvels. There is such a rich abundance of research material here that we can easily house geologists, meteorologists, paleontologists, botanists, and all manner of other ‘ologists we might need.”
“May we see the museum?” Sara asked, eager to see what the scientists had uncovered over the years.
“Yes you may,” Montgomery replied. “After dinner, of course. That flight was less than generous with the meal, and I’m hungry.” They went to the cantina for a wonderfully prepared meal, and Sara ate more than the two men combined. Eventually, her odd eating habit came up in conversation.
Montgomery wiped his mouth with his napkin and pushed his plate away, content. He looked at Sara with mild interest upon seeing her eat more food than he had ever seen from her before. “It appears you were hungrier than we thought,” he remarked.
Sara stopped with her loaded fork halfway to her gaping mouth and looked up. She lowered the fork and smiled meekly. “I’m sorry, I’ve just had a voracious appetite lately,” she replied. Her meek smile turned into a gleeful grin and she looked at Jake, who smiled back at her.
“We recently found out Sara’s pregnant,” Jake explained. “It’s been a challenge keeping the larders full with her around.”
“Well, congratulations!” Montgomery grinned. “Oh, children make this dark world a pleasure to live in! How far along are you?”
“About four months,” Sara said, rubbing her belly where the barest hint of a bump was forming.
“I am so happy for the two of you!” Montgomery exclaimed, getting up to hug both Jake and Sara. “Another little one to help bring light into this world, such a wonderful gift! You should have told me sooner. We could have celebrated somewhere nicer!”
“Oh, we don’t need a big celebration,” Sara grinned. “But thank you so much!”
“You don’t know how much we dragons love to celebrate,” Montgomery boasted. “We throw the grandest parties just because we want to. Think of how excited the rest of the Firstborn will be to hear that our newest members are about to bring new life into the world!”
Jake and Sara smiled through it all and promised the excited dragon that they could have a special baby shower after they help with the dead zone. After their meal, they made for the museum and eventually turned in for the night. In the morning, Montgomery took Jake and Sara to the labs and out through an airlock. Dressed in hazmat suits to keep themselves safe from the radiation, they walked through the various research sites and archaeological digs to the ticking of their Geiger counters.
Montgomery knelt at one of the dig sites and scooped up a handful of sand and ash from the eruption and said, “Breathe this in and it’ll lacerate your lungs and form a glassy cement. This was one of the largest causes of death when Yellowstone went up. I couldn’t tell you how many people we’ve found out here with this crud in their lungs.”
“Sounds like it got pretty bad out here when it erupted,” Sara said.
“It was catastrophic to the entire country,” Montgomery stated. “But, America’s allies pulled together mid-war and helped, much to their potential distress. It was certainly a tipping point in the time before the angels came down from Heaven to save us. Before the humans realized what was really going on, the war became very one sided. That was not the aim of the dragon who did this. He only meant to destabilize the fighting and kill as many of the demons battling the rest of us as possible. There were great losses on all sides. Unfortunately, the Firstborn lost too many good dragons.”
Jake looked around at all of the black and grey, intermingled with the green of new growth. “At least the war ended,” he sighed. “I wouldn’t want to experience that again.”
Nodding in agreement, Montgomery motioned them further. They walked until they came to a chain link fence, spanning at least a mile to the left and right, marked with signs barring non-human passage. “Here we have the border to the dead zone,” Montgomery explained. “What I wanted your help with here was to see just what might happen if you entered the dead zone, Sara. We dragons are able to survive in there, but we are balefully affected by the dead magic, so we’ve been sending in our human scientists to study it. At worst, some of them have reported feeling ‘slightly off’ and as if they had walked into a fog. Needless to say, humans are barely affected by this. I was hoping to see how the dead magic would affect you, if at all. You’re a brand new species, if you’ll forgive my scientific talk. Nobody knows what exactly you’re capable of, except, of course, your creators.”
Sara nodded nervously and looked to Jake for support. He smiled at her and nodded.
“I’ll be right here, love,” he assured her. “We’ll come and pull you out the second you feel unsafe.”
“Okay,” Sara breathed. Montgomery opened the gate for her and allowed her to enter the restricted area. About ten feet from the gate, the air seemed to shimmer and wave like oil on water, but somewhat less visible. Sara figured the area with the shimmer was the border of the dead zone. Steeling herself, she crossed into the dead zone and immediately felt a wave of vertigo wash over her. After the initial dizziness passed, she felt as if the was walking through ooze. Everything felt slow and cumbersome. The lack of any form of magic dulled her senses and weakened her limbs. She realized she was moving at a normal pace, but felt incredibly weak.
“This must be what being human feels like,” she laughed to herself. She felt her body begin to tingle as it adjusted to the lack of magic, and she felt strong again. Over the comms, she asked, “How far to the center?”
“About two and a half miles in,” Montgomery replied. “How are you feeling?”
“Got a little dizzy at first and I lost all of my inhuman gifts, but I feel okay now. My strength has returned.”
“Interesting,” Montgomery nodded. “We’ll have to talk to the doctor who made you to really get some answers.”
“Not sure I’m entirely comfortable with that,” Sara responded. “If you really want to talk to him, I may not want to be there for it.”
“Duly noted.”
“Sara, are you planning on heading deeper into the dead zone?” Jake asked.
“I was thinking about it,” she admitted. “You know how my curiosity gets.”
“We do have some scientists down there already, so you won’t be alone,” Montgomery offered.
“Good to know,” Sara replied, and she continued walking. The further in she went, the more she felt the loss of magic. It was as if she was slowly being stripped of her abilities, but she remained as strong as ever. She kept mental notes as she walked, storing the information and sensations away for further review later. The plants that she passed were warped and large, altered by the radiation, but healthy from the nutrient rich soil. She could see where past scientists had cut off samples for study. After half an hour of walking, she came to what appeared to be the center of the dead zone. Scientists lay on the ground, their hazmat suits ripped open and their throats mangled. Dried blood covered the area around them, and some humanoid bootprints could be seen leading away from the area. Hanging in the air above the dead scientists was a small tear in the fabric of reality, an opening to someplace else. No light escaped the hole in space, but the faint sound of wind blowing through trees could be heard from within its depths. Sara was hesitant to get any closer, and decided it would be better to have a specialized team come in to investigate rather than accidentally contaminate the scene. She turned to leave and found she was not alone. One of the scientists had apparently escaped the carnage and was limping out of the nearby copse of trees toward he
r with a hand out, silently begging for help. Before Sara could reach the scientist, something pulled him back into the trees, disappearing in a spray of blood. Sara wasted no time in running back to the gate.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Sara burst through the gate and fell into Jake’s arms, panting from the sprint.
“What happened?” he kept asking her, but all she did was insist that they get moving. She pulled on Jake’s arm, trying to force him to follow her. Fear welled up inside him and he looked to Montgomery for help.
“Best go with her,” the older dragon suggested. They followed Sara as she ran toward the base, and she only slowed when she entered the airlock. She stripped out of the hazmat suit and forced herself to calm down long enough to report what she saw. After she told her story, Jake and Montgomery stared at her in disbelief.
“Was it a portal above the bodies?” Montgomery asked.
Sara shook her head. “It was just a tear, I think. Just the size of a grapefruit. There’s no way a full sized person could fit through it. Besides, portals are open doors to their destination. No matter which side you’re on, you can see through to the other side. This wasn’t a portal.”
“Did you see what attacked the scientists?” Jake asked.
Again, Sara shook her head. “No, I just saw the one scientist get pulled into the trees. I didn’t wait around to get a good look at it.”
“Then we’ll send in some soldiers to accompany the investigation team,” Montgomery stated. “We’ll find out what happened in there.”
Later that day, the investigation team came back with their report. Jake, Sara, and Montgomery met with them and the lead scientists to hear it.
“We came to the area under the tear,” the lead investigator reported, “and we found the bodies, as Sara stated. They were savagely and suddenly attacked, and their throats were ripped out. To be honest, the only time we’ve ever seen something like this was something very specific. From the looks of it, those men and women were killed by a hungry feral vampire.”
Montgomery let out a sigh of relief. “Then, it is something we are well equipped to deal with,” he said. “Did you see the vampire?”
“We did not, sir. We lost its trail in the woods, and we felt it would be better to assemble a larger force if we’re to hunt a feral vampire.”
“Good idea,” Montgomery nodded. “Let’s not lose anyone else.”
“I don’t understand,” Sara interrupted. “I thought the reports said that vampires would be killed by the dead magic? How can one be surviving out there?”
“It’s hard to say,” the investigator admitted. “We haven’t been able to study a feral vampire in years, and even then, each case is different. It could be that the DNA of this particular specimen was altered by the radiation before it turned, or maybe feral vamps don’t have the magical connection that regular vampires do. Maybe it was made feral by entering the dead zone and losing that magical essence, thus losing its grip on its humanity. There are too many unknown variables to figure it out until we capture it and study it.”
“Or, perhaps it was something from outside of our reality?” Jake asked. Everyone looked at him incredulously. “It’s a possibility, however impossible it may seem. We’re dealing with rips in reality, after all. When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
The investigator nodded. “It’s definitely a possibility. All I know is that if it was indeed a feral vampire that means there’s vampire activity in the area. I don’t have to tell you all how potentially dangerous irradiated vampires can be.”
“Which means we need to talk to their leader,” Montgomery muttered. “That’s not a pleasant thought.”
“Why is that?” Sara asked. “Who’s the leader of the vampires?”
“Countess Elizabeth Bathory,” Montgomery answered with disgust. You two head home. I will contact her myself and find out what is going on, then let you know what I find out.”
Jake could sense that there must have been some history between his mentor and the countess, but he kept his suspicions to himself. Instead, he nodded and he and Sara were on the plane home the next morning.
Montgomery spent a few moments outside of Bathory’s bar collecting himself before heading inside. The bouncer gave him a suspicious look, but he knew the dragon was allowed in. He had an appointment. Montgomery composed himself and walked through the door, past the other bouncer, and into the bar itself. From there, he walked through the door to the VIP lounge and approached the countess in her chamber.
“Hello, Robert,” Bathory purred as he entered. “What can I get you?”
Montgomery felt his palms grow sweaty. “Just hearing your voice again irritates me,” he hissed.
Bathory gave him a playful glare. “But, Robert, you used to love hearing my voice.” She saw that she was going to get no response from the dragon, so she let her playful attitude fade away. “Why did you ask to meet with me, then?”
“There’s a feral vampire in Phoenix Crater,” Montgomery reported. “I wanted to know if you knew anything about that.”
“Why would I know anything about some hicks in America?” she asked.
“I was just wondering if you and yours might have been trying to expand your numbers after Ibsen’s death.”
“Well, obviously we were focused on regaining our numbers, but you of all people should know that I’m far too careful to allow ferals to run loose. They give us a bad name.”
“You give you a bad name,” Montgomery countered before he could bite back the words. Calming himself, he said, “That was an unfortunate slip. I am not here to insult you. I came on behalf of the rest of the Firstborn to continue to extend an offer of alliance so we may work together to further decrease the chance of accidents.”
“Your friend, Fafnir, and the wolf, Fenrir, already spoke with me about that,” Bathory said. “They were much more formal and friendly about it.”
“I imagine they were. Neither of them have the history with you that I do.”
“You say history, I say fond memories. Either way, I will tell you what I told them. Keep my people safe from whatever it is that’s wreaking havoc on the world, and we will join you. Earth and its various peoples will be united once more.”
Glad for the one bit of good news, Montgomery nodded. “Good. Then, as allies, I will ask you once more. Do you know anything about the feral vampire attack in Phoenix Crater?”
“I don’t but I know who to ask,” Bathory replied. “I’ll look into it for you.”
“You have my thanks. I will leave you in peace, then.” Turning on his heel, Montgomery showed himself out.
In her chamber, Bathory watched Montgomery leave and waited just a moment longer before snapping her fingers, calling a servant to her side. “Find out what is going on with our people in Phoenix Crater,” she ordered. “If they cannot be trusted to do what they’re told without raising suspicion, then we cannot leave them alive.”
The servant nodded and walked away to carry out Bathory’s orders. The countess rose from her pile of pillows and made her way to her private room. While the bar acted as her headquarters, this room was her home. Here she could truly relax and get away from her usual worries. This room was also where she would spy on those who caught her interest. She moved to her bowl of silver liquid and swirled it with her finger. The liquid spiraled and rippled for a moment, waiting for Bathory to will an image into existence. She thought for a moment, trying to decide who to check in on, and went with the one she had not seen for a few weeks. She concentrated and pulled up an image of the vampire he had put in charge of keeping an eye on the happenings in Hell after Helgrathin’s death. After her brush with Adrian, she had begun to pay closer attention to the other realms of existence. What was left of the contact left Bathory annoyed. A pile of grey dust appeared in the mirror-like liquid among dozens of corpses strewn about what looked like a battlefield. Something terrible had apparently happened
in the weeks since Bathory had last checked in.
“Well this is interesting,” she murmured to herself. As she willed the image in the bowl to move, she surveyed the surroundings. When the image of Laarsa came into view, a wicked smile curled her lips. Flames rose well over the city walls and the tower flew different colors from her last peek. They were her colors. “This is very interesting. Helgrathin did very well for himself.” Upon closer inspection, she saw columns of soldiers marching into the city, also flying her colors. She willed the image to move again and sent it through the entrance to the city, then through the tower gates and up the stairs. Inside, she found the empty throne waiting for her, flanked by six armored vampires. Her smile widened as she realized Helgrathin’s plan had been executed better than anyone had expected. She waved the image away and swept over to her wardrobe, slipping out of the simple, alluring dress she had on. For what she was going to do next, she wanted to look as queenly as possible. It was not every day one was promoted from countess to queen, after all. She searched through her wardrobe but found nothing suitable. Instead, she pulled out a simple set of clothes meant for traveling. If she did not own a queenly gown, she would simply have to have her new servants make her one. Or several.
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