by Michael Dean
When we crashed back to the ground, all the while getting punched and stabbed by Sierra and Molina’s stilettos, I whipped my wings around in sequence with wherever their strikes were aimed at upon my body. After a few successful defensive maneuvers, the duo leaped off me and allowed me to get back to my feet.
“I thought I told the two of you that if you ever sought me or my family out again, I’d kill you. Now, I will follow through with that promise. You will soon join Shimmer in oblivion.”
“Kill him.” Sierra waved her stiletto filled hand in the air and signaled her rabble to charge at me.
A legion of vampires ran around the Queens and rushed me. In a blind flurry I began whipping my wings around while throwing punches. I also managed to reach into a few chests and take some hearts away from the relentless blood blisters as I did so.
Wave after wave of hundreds of fangs came at me in a rush. Bodies were flying all over the place, not to mention some dying in the process. They were no match for me. I had become more powerful than I was when I fought Shimmer. I was also faster. The horde couldn’t so much as land a blow or sink their teeth into me in hopes of stunning my body. I was of course immune to their bite anyway, but that didn’t matter.
After what felt like I took out a few hundred of them, Sierra and Molina ordered their followers to back off, leaving the three of us standing in a circle, completely surrounded by their army.
“We know we cannot defeat you while you possess the Demon Dagger, traitor. We know we must get it from you.” Molina called out.
“You’re not strong, or fast enough to take it from me either, so why do the two of you persist?” I slid the weapon in place behind my back.
“Because Christian will not give us a death of glory. He would have humiliated us before he killed us if we would have refused to come after you.” Sierra clarified.
“We would have suffered immensely before he sealed our fate. We’d rather go out as warriors…a beautiful death…like the one you gave our Lord Shimmer,” Molina added.
“I can respect that. You’ve proven to be admiral foes. Your long reigns on Earth will end here. Come…accept your destiny.” I adhered to their wishes.
The two nodded at me in approval.
“Warriors...when we die, your final command is to attack the traitor. Fight to the very last one. You have served us well for centuries…this is your last test of faith. Will you die for us?” Sierra roared back at the flock in which they yelled back, honoring their Queen’s requests.
With that, the twins hunched down and began to circle me. I readied for their attack by positioning my wings at my side like I was in a shell. When they were on either side of me, they attacked. When they got to me with their lightning speed, I was faster…much faster. I flicked my wings and hit them. This sent the both of them into the air. I leaped up and grabbed both of them by the neck and then landed back on the ground. They squirmed in my grasp and I slammed their heads together in front of me and released them which caused the two to fall to the ground in a heap.
I allowed them to gather themselves for a moment and the two of them back-flipped and landed on their feet. They paused for a second before charging me again. The Queens whipped body parts around at me with ninja-like style and precision. I blocked every blow with my wings. The duo, at the same time, tried to sweep my legs, a move they’d pulled on me in the past, but I managed to reach down and grab both of their ankles as they did so. I spun them around like I was in the hammer throw competition in the Olympics, releasing them into the crowd around us. They smashed into some of the spectators and bowled them over. I marched to the center of the circle and readied for their next advance.
It took a second for them to recover, but the twins leaped way into the air out of the crowd and came down at me with a kick. Yet again, I was faster, I reached up and grabbed Sierra and pulled her into the ground before I snagged Molina, giving her the same treatment. The ground was unforgiving. Cement, dirt, and rocks shot up around me in every direction as if triggered by underground landmines.
I could tell that the two of them were weak, where as I was very fresh. I peered down at them, almost feeling sorry for them. The twins were once great and powerful symbols of the vampire kingdom on Earth, nearly feared by all, now, because of me, they were nothing but a poor reflection of their once mighty past. Their skin-tight clothing had become tattered and dirty, their will to continue the fight was fleeing them. In an almost pathetic attempt, Molina slowly got to her knees and thrust her stiletto towards my leg. She was so slow about it that it took minimal effort in reaching down to grab her by the wrist to stop the attempt. I snagged the weapon out of her hand, tossing it into their crowd of followers.
I leaned down, picking her up by the chin and held her up before me.
“Leo…my body of steel…how are you going to take my heart? I want to die now…end this life of torture.” She grimaced in my grip.
“I’ll show you. When I got struck by lightning in order to finish Shimmer, something remained with me. A secret I’ve kept hidden since for tactical reasons.”
Molina simply smiled.
I closed my eyes, letting my body charge up from within. I could feel the energy welling up within me. I opened my eyes and saw the electricity surrounding my body. Molina began to scream as her skin melted off along with the steel core Shimmer had coated within her ages ago. I took my free hand and reached inside her, pulling her heart out in my palm. It beat a few times before it started to turn to ash as did the rest of her body. In seconds, she had dissipated, wiped away from existence for eternity.
Still charged, I looked down to see Sierra staring up at me. She had given up. I lunged down to her and in the same manner, grabbed her by the chin, lifting her in the air. Like her sister, Sierra’s last sounds were that of pain. She screamed as her flesh and steel melted. Just like before, I punched into her frame and yanked her heart out. In mere seconds, she too had joined the same fate as her sister. The entire hierarchy of the Vampire Lords among the world of men were now gone forever. I’m sure the bloodsuckers would find themselves a ruler somewhere along the line, but as for now, they were leaderless.
As I powered down, I looked to the vampire orphans and waited for them to follow through with their Queens’ last request. But, just as I anticipated, they began to back away from me in fear, knowing they would surely meet their ends if they came at me. It didn’t take long for them to scatter in every direction like cockroaches. They didn’t possess the courage their masters had. They were leaderless cowards.
Knowing they were no threat to me now, I wasted no time in heading for my spot to confront Christian and free my friends. I just hoped I wasn’t already too late.
CHAPTER 16
UNFORGIVABLE
I was soaring above my old home in a flash. I looked down to see that Christian and his doppelganger had yet to do anything to my friends. His Drift Demons were perched all over the trees around my spot, but none of them were on the ground with the two Christians. I flew down and landed in front of them.
“Just in the nick of time,” the Christian holding Scruffy noted.
“You almost made this a little too easy for me.” The other Christian holding Sam continued.
“I’m here now…let them go, Christian.” I demanded.
Both of them chuckled sadistically.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Leo. You’ve been taking and taking from me, now it’s time I take from you,” the one holding Scruffy replied.
“How dare you say that to me, you’ve taken everything from me, why are you doing this when it’s me that you want? You and I both know that I can’t defeat you…take your revenge out on the one responsible. You’ve been waiting for this chance for a long time. Come take it.” I walked towards them.
“Easy traitor…easy…don’t make me become…how do the humans say it…gun-shy?” The Christian holding Sam expressed as he pulled hard on his chokehold.
“What do you want, Chr
istian?”
The two of them began to laugh.
“I want to make you suffer before you die, Leo. That’s all.” A third voice echoed from amongst the trees behind them.
Out of the woods came a third Christian. He approached the scene with a cynical grin and stood between his two other doppelgangers. Now there were three of them and I didn’t know which one, if any of them, was the real Christian.
“You’ve made me suffer, for longer than I ever knew. My human history is stained by you.” I replied.
“I’ve done no such thing. You’re responsible for your own suffering.” The middle Christian answered.
“You played me. Right from the start.”
Middle Christian laughed.
“I know it was you that was responsible for taking my old life, when I was Leonard Smithey. I know about his family and the choice you forced upon him.”
“And yet, here we are again with a choice to make. How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t do that, Leo. It was you. You chose to let your emotions consume you…you chose to take your own life. All along it was you. I thought you realized by now that demons only push a prospect…they don’t make the choices for them.”
“So I guess it was your choice then to kill my wife and child…to kill Darryl Kite?” Scruffy and Sam looked up to their captives in fear when I mentioned that. “You broke the law, Christian. Whether it will be me, or something else, your deeds will not go unpunished.”
He started to chuckle again, “That is where you’re mistaken, Leo. You see…you’ve done all the work for me, a masterful piece of work I overseen. I cannot deny to myself that I slaved over this well laid out plan for years and you made it all happen.”
“Why don’t you enlighten me about it, Christian,” I responded, having some idea about how he was setting the stage for a much grander picture by using me.
“You were easy,” he began to pace in front of his Throg’s, “you cared so much in life, but your darker side was strong. You didn’t have a problem killing as a soldier, but yet your compassion for human life always remained…and you were a powerful human, internally and externally. But you were stupid, much like now. I knew I could get it right this time…with you. All I had to do was step back and let you do your thing.”
“My thing?”
He grinned, “Yes. When you became a Drift Demon, you had more human like qualities that carried over with you for reasons I still don’t fully comprehend. More than any demon I’ve ever encountered. I knew it would be an asset when it came to you relating with these human peasants.”
“So…me caring for them was an advantage…to you?”
“Indeed. When you started to fall for the human girl, I knew this was my chance.” He flashed a menacing smile.
“A chance for what?” I studied him.
“A chance to take what’s mine…what I deserve.” He clinched his fist.
“And what would that be?” I pressed.
“You see, when you fell in…love,” he winced, “I knew you’d be foolish enough to pursue the girl. I was in the room that night, as you apparently are aware, when you failed our prospect, Darryl. I could have taken over the job for you at any time when I knew you weren’t going to follow through, but I waited. When you saved the girl, you set a plan, long dormant in me, back to the surface.”
“What plan?”
“A plan to rule the world of men, my lad…but I needed the council for Earth out of the way first. I knew they’d never let me have sole control of their followers and all the decision making that’s involved. They wouldn’t serve me…under me. Shimmer and Agrelia would never let me have all the power, even though I was the most powerful among them. Lord Bellock wouldn’t allow me to do as I wished without consulting the council first either.” He looked flustered.
“Lord Bellock still won’t let you do as you wish even with them out of the way.” I pointed out.
“He is stuck in Hell. Satan will not let him out. His son is a threat to his father up here on Earth. We all know why Bellock is hell-bound. We know the story. Satan will not let his son have the world.”
“So…while Satan keeps his eye on his son, you go unnoticed in the human world?”
He stopped pacing and glanced at me with a sadistic grin.
“Now you’re getting it, Leo. You’re a late bloomer, but I knew you’d get here eventually.”
“So you knew I’d defeat Shimmer, Agrelia, even War? A lowly Drift Demon?”
“No…but with some help, I knew you could…with my help.”
“How did you help me?”
He snickered, “When you were chasing Agrelia that night, do you remember the neutral portal?”
“Yes?”
“How did you think you got access to a demonic realm…angels? They cannot open neutral portals that lead to hell realms, only heavenly ones. Only high ranking demons can do that.” He fanned out his arms and bowed. “You’re welcome.”
“Shimmer?” I questioned.
“Shimmer was always a cocky, self-absorbed boob. I knew you needed something more to overcome him and his might. To be honest, I didn’t think you were going to take him out which would have left me sorely vexed. But when that storm approached, I knew I could trigger the elements in your favor. Like always, as long as it’s a dispute with Hell that is being settled with no human involvement, I knew I could trigger the lightning. It worked.” He stepped closer to me.
“But how did you know that the lightning wouldn’t weaken me enough to fall victim to Shimmer?”
His smile grew much wider, “Because, much to my dismay, I realized that you were gaining in power. The highest of ranking demons can absorb some world elements and use them as weapons…channeled through their bodies. I will grant you this, Leo, you are a powerful soul, enough to even rival me, which you have, but not strong or smart enough to defeat me. So, when the storm rolled in, I knew you’d be able to handle the lightning. On that note, you have another ability now…don’t you?” He grinned at me suspiciously.
“That means…you have the same power…with the lightning charge?”
“Of course I do…I have many…many that you do not have as well. None of your powers are a mystery to me, Leo.” He pointed at his doppelgangers.
“Even War? War…Darryl was an obstacle for you?”
“Of course. As for Darryl, that was just a little surprise for you to make sure you got the job done. I needed your demonic fury at full strength. War would have been my only threat to controlling the world. Lord Bellock could command him to turn on me at any time. He would have taken control of my army. So before Hell could get word of my plans, I needed him out of the way. You accommodated that. Now I have full control…for the most part. Thank you.” He continued to smile about his brilliance.
“For the most part?”
“Well…there is the matter of you now. You see, I couldn’t have gone around killing all the council members myself, I would have been condemned by Lord Bellock into the confines of Hell for such actions. Your quest for Diccittidel was my way. I just had to make sure you succeeded. You had to be the traitor…not me. Now all that is in my way for total world domination is you, a problem that I will soon remedy. You walked into the demon’s lair my dear boy. I can’t thank you enough.” He chuckled and walked back between his doubles.
“It’s been you the entire time. You truly are a mastermind, Christian.” I clapped at him with sarcasm.
“Cheers, my lad.” He grinned and bowed again.
“Now that we got the ‘this is your life’ crap out of the way, we can get back down to the business at hand.” He walked over and patted Sam on the shoulder, then turned and did the same to Scruffy.
“You’re right, but as we stand now, you still have me in your way. Your thirst for power cannot be quenched quite yet…I’m still here.” I approached the Christian trio.
“Yes you and one other small detail remain the only remaining obstacles that I must attend to. But t
hose are simply formalities at this point.” He raised an eyebrow.
“What is the other obstacle?” I asked.
“Oh now, Leo, you musn’t know everything. The last detail is for myself. You’ll find out soon enough…if you survive.” He winked.
“Fine…have it your way. Let’s do this.” I took a few steps back and flexed my wings ready for battle.
“Which one of you is the real Christian?”
Just as the middle Christian was about to speak, another voice called out from behind me.
“The one in the middle is the real Christian.”
I turned to see Argento and Elysia were approaching. They stepped up on either side of me and smiled. As they approached, all the Drift Demons in the trees took off, leaving their Demon Lord, Lords, whatever, alone.
“Cowards!” The Christian holding Sam called out to them.
“Now that you are all caught up, Leo, and now that Christian has admitted his plans, we thought that your long awaited call of distress should be answered.” He nodded.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the hand of Michael himself and his happy little helper…what an honor.” Christian mocked their arrival.
“You’ve been breaking the rules, Christian. The heavens have not been blind to your atrocities.” Argento turned a stone face to him as he and Elysia took off their hoods.
“Your side has been bending the rules to suit yourselves for centuries, turning the humans against the underworld. We all know that the heavens are just as much to blame for human activity as we are.” Christian scoffed.
“Don’t turn this into an illogical sell-job, Christian. We don’t push humans into decisions, only your side does that. All to serve Hell’s own needs. We protect those from the likes of you. We just monitor, we do not interfere.” Argento stood firm.
