This one didn't take too long to write. I was surprised I could get this much out of it. Anyway, it's here so let me know what you guys think of it. I want to hear from you. The good and the bad. Questions are always welcome. Drop me a line. Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca
Thanks to everyone who've e-mailed me. I love hearing from you guys (and yes I'm fully aware that I'm begging for e-mail here). In particular I have to thank Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Aphrodite, Keif, Di, Hamando, Tom and Mark. There's always someone else, but I can never think of them. If you want a few good stories to read check out Millinium love, BSB and Nsync Chronicles, Brian and Me, and Lance In Shining Armour. Search and rescue is also worth checking out.
Legalities. These start to get old after a while, but one must do what one must. This story in no way reflects the sexuality of the members of Nsync. If they're gay it's not my business. If you're too young in your area or it's illegal I would leave now. Also if homosexual themes offend you (check your internet skills) and leave as well. Parts of this story are based of the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
Anyway, remember to enjoy the story. You obviously do if you've gotten this far. And remember to e-mail me.
Until next time, Rune
PART EIGHTEEN
Sleep fled from Evelyn a few hours before sunset. She left her bed and pulled on her robe. She walked across the room to light the fire and then flagged down one of Selvar's skeletal servants for a pot of water, a tea set, and some tea. When she was sure the skeleton had her request down she sent it off to retrieve what she'd asked for. While she waited she made her bed and opened the drapes to let the late afternoon sun into her room.
Selvar had been polite when he said he had enough room for everyone. He had enough room for a few hundred people, and then still have room to spare. Her room alone was at least as big as her cabin. A large window occupied one wall, while the fireplace took up another. Two doors led from the main room she was in. One led to her sleeping chamber and the other led to the hallway. The walls were decorated in various tapestries. Some depicted magical rituals while others showed forest scenes. A huge carpet covered the stone floor. On it were a few pieces of furniture. A small table sat in front of the couch and two end chairs. All of which sat facing the fire. Another two chairs sat by the window. Torches and candleholders were placed strategically around the room.
A soft knock came at the door. Evelyn answered it. The skeleton she'd sent to gather things for her tea had returned. It shuffled into the room and sat everything down on the table. After Evelyn had checked to make sure everything was there, she thanked it and sent it on its way.
When the door closed behind it she had to laugh. The skeleton was only an animated construct. It didn't care that she had thanked it. If she'd asked it to it would have run itself into the wall repeatedly. Oh well,' she thought. Old habits die hard.'
She began to busy herself making the tea she always had after she'd woken up. She wouldn't be hungry for another few hours, but she always wanted tea when she woke up.
The water had just finished boiling when another knock came at the door. This one was as soft as the first, but seemed slightly more insistent. Setting her cup down she answered the door again. Joey was standing on the other side. A troubled look etched on his face.
"Yes, Joseph?" Evelyn normally had to concentrate, even slightly, to use her various psychic powers. Her empathy activated itself. She could feel the waves of confusion rolling off Joey. Confusion mixed with anger, pain, sorrow and loathing. "Come in dear." She took his arm and guided him to the couch. She closed the door and sat down next to him.
Joey sat there staring at the table for a few minutes before he said anything. "I killed him." He said simply.
"The bandits?" Evelyn asked. She phrased it as a question, but it was more of a statement.
"I took a man's life and didn't even stop to think about it," Joey said as if he hadn't heard her. "I cut him down." A tear worked its way down his cheek. It was quickly joined by another.
"You had no choice Joseph," Evelyn said quietly. She took his hands in her lap and held them. "He was going to kill us, all of us if he had the choice. But you stopped him. If you hadn't someone else would have had to."
"But Chris didn't," Joey said. "He just knocked his out. Even you just put yours to sleep. I killed mine. I cut them with a sword made of my own mind."
"Joseph come here." Evelyn pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and clung to her as if she were the last stable thing on earth. She started to rock him gently back and forth, whispering to him occasionally to let him know she was still there. Eventually he cried himself to sleep.
She just held him while he slept. Now and again she'd brush the hair from his face and dry his tears with her hand. But she didn't leave his side until a third knock came at the door.
Sighing she willed the door to open. From her position she could see the door clearly. JC stood posed in the hallway ready to knock again. He looked startled at the door's sudden movement, but didn't say anything.
"Come in Joshua," she said quietly. "Just don't wake Joseph."
"How is he?" JC asked as he entered the room. He closed the door quietly behind him.
"He's been through a lot in the last little while. I imagine all of you have," she said while looking at Joey. She managed to untangle herself from him and laid him down on the couch. She disappeared into her sleeping room and returned a moment later with a blanket. She spread it out over Joey and kissed him gently on the forehead.
"You care for him a lot, don't you?" JC asked her as they moved to the chairs by the windows.
"I'm a mother Joshua," Evelyn said as she sat down in one of the chairs. "It's all I truly know how to do. I've known him for a few months, but in that time I've come to love him as if he were my own child. I would do anything to keep him safe, and it pains me to see him in anguish like this."
"I know that feeling," JC said. "Not the mother part obviously, but feeling the pain of your friends when they're hurting."
Evelyn smiled. "A good friend always knows when his friends are in pain. They may not know why, but they know the pain is there." She glanced at the table and poured JC a cup of tea. She pulled both her cup and the fresh one across the room telekinetically. She offered the new one to JC who accepted. "Now what is it exactly that you came to talk to me about?"
"Actually I came to see where Joey had gone off too," he admitted. "I heard him leave his room and followed him here. I waited out in the hallway for a bit wondering if I should find out what was wrong."
"I'm not going to tell you what Joseph told me," Evelyn told him. "If he wishes you to know, he'll tell you. If he doesn't give him the space he needs to recover until he feels comfortable telling you."
"You make it sound really easy," JC said. "I haven't seen the guy in months and then when he does show up he's in pain. I don't like it. I don't want to have to watch him wringing his insides trying to cope with something he has to talk about."
"He will talk," Evelyn said. "You just have to give him time. He feels comfortable talking to me because I represent a maternal figure. You are a peer and brother to him. He's spoken fondly of you, Lance, and Justin, as well as Christopher. He wants to have you respect him. I doubt he wants you to see him in what he considers a moment of weakness."
"But I don't care about that," JC said. "He's like a brother. I could care less about his weaknesses. We all have them."
"We both know that, and part of him does as well. But at his point in time, he doesn't realize it." Evelyn sipped her tea. "Give him some time, he'll come around."
JC laughed quietly. "No wonder Chris and Joey like you. You're like a mother to everyone you meet."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Anubis groaned as consciousness returned to him. It took a couple of minutes for him to realize where he was. The room was made of sandstone and lacked any decoration. He hung, spread eagle, by chains in the center of the room. He had been stripped of any clothing.
"You were brave," A man in a red robe said. "Very foolish, but very brave."
Anubis glanced at him and snarled. "And what do the Acolytes want with me?"
"Actually we didn't want you," Red told him. "We only wanted Set, but you decided that you would come charging to his rescue. Since you showed up, we thought we'd put you to some use."
Red moved across the room and behind Anubis. There was the sound of clinking bottles. He returned to sight carrying a medium sized bottle in his left hand.
"If you're even worth the title of a god of death, you are aware of what I'm going to do to you."
"Every god knows what the Acolytes can do to them," Anubis sneered. "Though not all of us are willing to grovel to stop you from doing what you want to do anyway."
A smile crossed Red's lips, but didn't touch his eyes. "Under most circumstances you would be correct. But under these circumstances you are wrong. Very, very wrong." He uncorked the bottle and began pouring the contents out on his hands. He rubbed the oily contents into Anubis' skin. "The times are changing, and what we originally thought of as an annoyance, has become far more important. In fact the time of prophecies is at hand. At least some of them." He finished rubbing the oil into the god's skin and moved back to put the bottle away.
"We need your help," Red said. "Or more accurately we need your minions."
"Kidnapping Set and myself is not the best way to secure our help."
"If we simply wanted your help, then yes, we went about it the wrong way," Red agreed. "But fortunately for us, we don't want your help. We only want your minions. And we will get them."
"Unlikely," Anubis laughed. "I control my minions, not you."
"True. But I know how to steal that control, and I plan to do just that," Red stood in front of him and looked him the eye. "Normally we would need all six Acolytes to perform the ritual that strips a god of their power. This time though we aren't stripping you of your power. I'm going to do something far worse to you, and there only need be one of us here to do that. Besides the others are busy performing similar rituals."
A very masculine cry echoed from somewhere outside the room. Anubis' ears twitched to catch the sound. It came again before it stopped suddenly. The echoes still carried through the room, but their source was gone.
"It would appear that Set is finished offering his aid. I doubt the others will be much longer either." As if to punctuate his point, a female scream followed the male one. It lasted longer but was also cut off. "Apparently Hel is also finished. She was hard to get, but once we had her in the chains it was easy to take care of her."
Red slipped behind Anubis again and returned with a knife with three blades. "Now, we do have a schedule to meet and we don't want to fall behind. This is going to hurt a lot, but fortunately you won't care. The pain will block everything else out."
He slashed upward with the knife leaving three bloody trails across Anubis' chest. The god screamed in pain. The blood dripped down his chest. Another slash created a similar set of marks crossing the first. The X that was now cut into his chest bleed profusely. The blood ran down his legs and dripped off his feet. Red moved behind Anubis and created another X on his back. The blood was flowing very freely now.
"As I said before, we have a schedule to keep. So I won't be able to keep torturing you. It would be entertaining to keep this going all night, but I simply don't have the time." Red drew the knife back and slashed the god's throat. A new wave of pain shook the Anubis' body. "All good things must come to an end." The Acolyte drew the knife back again and embedded it in the god's heart. More blood gushed from the wounds and pooled on the floor.
As the god died a filmy white mist appeared around his body. The Red Acolyte reached out and touched the mist before it dissipated. "Your minions are mine to command now."
The nine of them sat around the end of the dark table in the dining hall. Their places were set except for plates. Selvar sat at the head of the table with Lance at his right. JC sat on his left. Beside JC sat Joey, Selena, and Chris. On Lance's right sat Justin, Pyre, and Evelyn. Numerous candles lit the room. A fire at the far end of the hall added both light and heat. A skeleton stood behind each person holding an empty tray.
"I trust each of you slept well," Selvar said. He gestured to the skeletons and they all filed toward the back of the hall. They disappeared through a small door that apparently led to the kitchen. "Were the beds comfortable enough? It's been a great deal of time since I've had so many guests."
"The rooms were fine," Pyre said.
"And the beds are really comfortable," Justin added.
"Not that those two would have complained if the beds were as hard as rocks," Chris snickered. "They occupied themselves with other activities."
Selvar arched an eyebrow at the blush that was rapidly rising in Justin's cheeks. "It would appear that someone is jealous. Wouldn't you agree Justin?"
"Play nice," Lance said. He leaned over and kissed Selvar quickly.
"I would do nothing but," Selvar smiled.
"Oh please," Joey rolled his eyes. "Get a room."
"I have several," Selvar commented. "But there's a time for everything."
The skeletons had returned from wherever they had gone off to. Their trays each had a large dish of fruit in the center of it. Each skeleton took its place behind the person that it had left. They waited there until Selvar motioned to them. Once given their commands they stepped forward and placed the dishes in front of their respective person. Great care was taken to make sure that their fingers didn't touch the food. When the food was on the table they stepped back and remained motionless.
"If you'll humor me," Selvar said. He bowed his head and whispered something under his breath. Everyone else at the table followed suit. "I rarely have guests, so I try to be as host like as possible." He glanced over the table. The skeleton behind him abruptly left its post and disappeared through the back door.
"Where did it go?" Justin asked. He picked up a fork and began eating the fruit on his plate. He picked up a piece of kiwi and fed it to Pyre.
"It went to get a jug of juice and a jug of water. I noticed there wasn't any on the table," Selvar answered.
"How did you tell it what to do?" Joey asked. "I didn't hear you say anything to it."
"I mentally told it what to do," Selvar replied. "It's similar to telepathy. When I'm with in a certain range of my minions I can communicate them without verbally telling them what to do. It makes controlling them far easier."
"I bet," Joey said. He noticed Lance feeding a strawberry to Selvar. He shrugged. "When in Rome." He pushed the fruit around on his plate until he found what he was looking for. Picking up a raspberry he tried to feed it to Selena.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" She asked avoiding the incoming berry.
"Trying to feed you," Joey said. He was starting to flush. "Why?"
"I hate raspberries," Selena told him. "Try that one," she pointed to a piece of apple with her fork.
Grinning Joey picked up the apple piece and tried feeding that to her. She accepted this time. "Better?"
"Much," she said simply.
"Napkin Joseph," Evelyn said.
"What?"
"You crushed the raspberry in your hand. Use your napkin to clean it up," she told him. A faint smile was traced on her lips.
"Oh," Joey said.
Selena giggled and took her napkin and cleaned off his hand. "There all better now."
"Thanks," Joey said. He looked up and caught the look on his dinner companions' faces. "What?"
"Never mind," Lance said. He picked up his fork and continued eating his meal. "Do you suppose your skeleton got lost?"
"It is taking a long time isn't it?" Selvar asked. "I wonder where it's gotten to."
"Your skeleton is fine," Maria said. "I sent it off to do something else. I thought I'd meet our guests and bring the drinks myself."
"YOU!" Pyre yelled. He leapt from his chair and flew across the room at Maria. The woman was so shocked that she dropped the jugs in her hands. The clay shattered when it hit the floor spilling the contents of each jug over the stone.
Pyre took Maria squarely in the shoulders. She rolled backward and kicked him in the stomach. He flew over her head and landed on the floor. Both of them rolled to their feet facing one another.
"What is the meaning of this," Selvar demanded. All traces of humor were gone from his voice. He stood there every inch the lord of the castle. The fire danced in his green eyes.
"She," Pyre spat. "Is a vampire."
"I'm aware of that," Selvar snapped. "That does not explain why you have attacked her."
"All vampires must die," Pyre said without taking his eyes of Maria. "Again," he added grimly.
"I will not tolerate attacks on the persons in this castle," Selvar said coldly. "End this at once."
"Not until she's dead," Pyre said.
A few dozen skeletal hands shot through the stone floor and pulled both Maria and Pyre to their knees. Their hands were pinned by the skeletal ones, as were their legs. There was no way they could harm each other in their constraints.
Pyre growled at Maria. He pulled at the arms, but they didn't give way. He was effectively trapped. Maria hissed at him and turned to mist. She moved across the room and stood by the door she'd come through. Once there she reformed.
A rush of movement caught everyone by surprise. An instant later Maria was pinned against the wall by Justin.
"He may not be able to slay your evil at the moment," he whispered. "But I most certainly can."
"ENOUGH!" Selvar shouted.
A few more skeletal hands shot from the wall. Each of them latched onto Justin and pulled both him and Maria to the wall. She once again turned into mist to escape. Once the arms had Justin pulled against the wall more hands appeared and held him fast.
"Maria I would ask that you leave us for the time being," Selvar said sharply. "I will apologize for my guests behavior. Once I understand their actions." He turned to face Pyre. "Well?"
"I believe I will field that question," a male voice said. "Though I ask that the vampire stay."
Selvar spun to see who had entered his hall. A tall man stood by the entrance to the hall. He was just over six feet tall and had a very pale complexion. His hair was jet black and cropped close to his head. A black goatee graced his otherwise smooth face. He was dressed in black dress slacks and black boots. A white shirt was worn under a black vest.
"Who are you?" Selvar demanded. "My hospitality is rapidly running short. As is my patience."
"Completely understandable," the new comer said. "I am the Guardian of Night. I've come to bestow my gift, and I apparently arrived with my usual perfect timing."
"My apologizes Guardian," Selvar said.
"No need to apologize Selvar," the guardian told him. "Your actions are justified. If you would remove the restrains on those two I will clear this whole nasty issue up."
Selvar nodded. The hands disappeared back into the floor and wall, releasing Pyre and Justin. They returned to the table looking slightly upset, but didn't say anything. Maria stayed where she was by the door.
"As is obvious by their actions," the guardian began. "These two are vampire hunters. They destroy the vampire menace because, for the most part, the creatures are very destructive. However, now and again you come across a vampire that is different. One that fights the bloodlust urges that its master tries to impose on it." He looked directly at Justin and Pyre. "Maria is one of those rare vampires."
"Why should we believe that she is any different then the others?" Justin asked. "I've seen the atrocities that these creatures have committed."
"True enough. I believe I'll have to show you Maria's mind," the guardian said. "Maria come here please." The vampire complied without a word. She walked to the guardian's side. He reached out and touched her forehead. She collapsed to the floor the moment his finger touched her skin. With a blur of movement he was standing next to Justin and Pyre. He touched their foreheads as well and they both collapsed in their chairs. "Normally I would use other methods, but we have limited time."
"What did you do to them?" Lance asked.
"They're having a nice little chat in Maria's mind," the guardian told him. "They're seeing things from her perspective. How she fights her bloodlust."
"How long will it take?"
"A few hours." The guardian turned to look at the others. "You already know that there is a battle brewing. Time is rapidly approaching the date that battle will take place. You must be prepared. Each of the Guardians will bestow a gift upon you. I've come to give mine tonight. Or more accurately, give my gift to Maria."
The Guardian of Night walked back to the unconscious vampire. He touched her forehead again. Under his touch Maria changed. Tiny little blemishes in her skin smoothed out and disappeared. She became more beautiful as each second passed. She began to exude an aura of incredible power. As a vampire she always had an aura about her, but now it was increased dramatically. After her body had stopped changing a fine mist oozed from her body. It swirled around her and vanished into the air. The guardian got to his feet and stepped back.
"What did you do to her?" Selvar demanded.
"Relax my friend," the guardian said. "I've upgraded her status. She is no longer tied to the ultimate vampire lord. No vampire can force her to do anything, she is a master vampire now."
Selvar gasped. "You can do that?"
"She is my creature. A creature of the night. Only I can call her to do anything against her will. She will know all of the changes made to her when she wakes."
"Thank you," Selvar said simply. "She's always been afraid that she would be forced to do something that she didn't want to do."
"That is no longer a problem," the guardian said. "I have other matters to attend to so I shall take my leave. I will send the rest of my gift later. It will arrive in the next day or so." The Guardian of Night walked toward a gaping shadow on one wall and vanished into it.
TBC
What did ya think? Let me know. I'll take e-mail at either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I'll try to respond promptly. I usually do.
Rune