Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction, which will include t/t and m/m relationships, and probably some sex too. If it is illegal in your area to read this, or if you are not old enough to read this (you know who you are), stop here. Otherwise, please enjoy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a companion story to "A Light in the Darkness." The story lines are related and the characters occasionally interact, and the frequency of this will be increasing. My sincerest thanks go out to Tarton and Phoenix Rafael, who kindly edited this chapter. And thanks to everyone for writing such encouraging emails.
I am now posting my stories to a Yahoo!Group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jaygordon_1981/ as well. I'm putting them up there a little in advance so I can make final edits before submitting to Nifty, so if you are interested, you can check it out. It's membership requires permission to avoid spam and flames, so just let me know!
Things That Go Bump, Chapter 24
"Spreading Terror"
The pressure Sebastian felt around his neck was extreme, and he knew the ancient vampire wasn't trying to choke him. She was trying to manually decapitate him. Just when his world started to go black, however, and his pain reached its peak, he felt the pressure abruptly lift. He vaguely heard Avery begin to move as well, just before Sekhmet howled in pain and terror. A nearly deafening roar was her foe's response, as it slashed at her back with its heavy paw. Wherever it struck, her flesh sizzled as if in flames.
Sekhmet rounded on the white bengal tiger, giving it all her attention, and it thanked her with a quick slash to the face that blinded her in one eye before she knocked it to the ground with a ferocious blow. The beast was stunned, not dead, however, and Sekhmet was seriously injured. She fled quickly back toward the east side of the park where her compatriots were meeting heavy resistance from Christen and Musa and their forces. Sebastian and Avery took off after her, but even injured and even in the sunlight, Sekhmet was a formidable foe. Resheph and Aethon were facing off against Christen and Musa when Sekhmet joined them.
Aethon, between blasts from Christen, quipped, "You've seen better days, girlie!"
"You're not doing so hot yourself, for a god," she retorted, conjuring up a fireball to throw at Sebastian. So they stood facing off, four consuls and a band of wizards against three of the Old Ones, one almost incapacitated.
"It could be worse," Avery muttered.
"Never say that," Christen whispered sharply.
"Indeed," bellowed a loud voice echoing off the concrete walkway. Sammael walked toward them clapping his hands wickedly. "It almost invites trouble, does it not?" As if to illustrate his point, Sammael lifted two fingers and pointed them at Avery, before giving them a little flick. The man flew back, crashing into the wall of the nearby gift shop and crumpling to the ground.
Sebastian reacted instantly, raising a hand at Sammael, but his eyes narrowed and he pointed at Sekhmet and yelled, "Incindere!" drawing deeply on his rage. At first nothing happened and his supporters and enemies alike looked on in surprise. But then Sekhmet began to scream. She could have been a tornado siren, it was so piercing. "How important is your plan to you, Sammael? I called up the fire INSIDE of her.... You can still save her, but not here, not now, not fighting us...."
Sammael glared at him, then looked at Sekhmet, then back at Sebastian. "This is NOT OVER, vampire! This is just a taste of what's coming...." And then, he and his compatriots were gone, simply vanishing with a wave of the demon's hand, again at a huge expenditure of energy. He would have to expend more to work the counter spells to save Sekhmet. But Sebastian knew he was a slave to his plan, and his minions were more susceptible to magick than he was.
"Get this place clear and sweep the parking lot for stragglers.... Any vampires or wizards he brought with him are still here," Sebastian called. They had precious few minutes before swat teams and authorities would show up. Sebastian would deal with them but some things were best done without oversight. The Council's forces disposed of three more vampires and two dark wizards, and helped the human authorities clear the zoo.
In the parking lot, they made a key discovery: Sammael's mobile command unit, with its communications systems and trackers operational. Sebastian made sure his people transported the unit away to a secure location for study. With any luck, they would get enough information to begin striking out at Sammael's operation around the world.
The consuls returned to Sebastian's manor with their troops and collapsed, exhausted, in the living room. "Well," the waiting boys demanded.
"We beat them back," Sebastian said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "But they'd already done so much damage.... And we wouldn't have stood a chance in a fair fight...."
That scared the young men. Sebastian was arguably the strongest, most knowledgeable opponent arrayed against Sammael. Musa saw their faces fall and tried to reassure them, "Have faith, young ones! God is with us!"
"To bad he didn't show up with a big-assed sword today," Avery grumbled under his breath, earning a frown from Musa, Chase, and, surprisingly enough, Sebastian. "Well, it would have been nice," he added grumpily. "Sekhmet could have taken us both," he said, indicating himself and Sebastian, "if it hadn't been for the damn tiger...."
"Tiger?" James asked with a wry smile. "This has got to be good...." So the men filled them in on the whole story, leaving out none of the horrific detail. The fact of the matter was that they all knew that, sooner or later, these ... boys ... would have to fight.
"But ... having their command unit, won't that help," William asked, sitting forward.
"Yes," Sebastian allowed. "In time, it should give us access to their communication, and perhaps even an archive of information. But it probably isn't the only one, and the fact is that Sammael and his minions have the power to move around at will, just like we do...."
"But," Avery corrected, "they expend tremendous amounts of energy to do it their way, unlike us.... Unfortunately," he began, but broke off.
"What," James asked, but Chase had already discerned.
"They feed off of chaos.... So the more energy they expend, the more they need to feed," Chase said, grimly.
"I'm afraid so," Sebastian added. "But our best people are on the unit, studying it.... We'll know more very soon." After a pause, he looked at Chase and William. "I suppose we need to get you boys home?" They nodded. "Alright," he said, pushing himself up. He and James led them downstairs, along with Sam, who took them through the portal and saw them safely home, after Sebastian and James said their goodbyes.
When they returned upstairs, Musa said, "It's hard to imagine sending those boys into battle against these ... creatures...."
Sebastian nodded, but said, "No choice, Musa.... William is nearly as capable as most governors, and Chase...." He paused briefly and shook his head. "It takes a terrible toll on him, but Chase is able to do things no one else is.... Yesterday afternoon, we saw him ... destroy a demon."
"Banish?" Christen asked.
"No.... Destroy. As in nothing, matter or spirit, remained...."
"Impossible," the woman replied.
"Indeed," Sebastian nodded, raising his eyebrows to indicate that, nevertheless, the impossible had happened. Musa grunted and returned to his pondering silence.
Shortly, Musa and Christen moved to return and said their goodbyes as well. Avery had gone looking for Sarah, leaving Sebastian and James alone. "We're going to have to get into it soon, you know," James said when no one was left to hear the rebuke in it. "You can't protect us from it when the whole thing looks like it might turn on what WE do...."
"I know," Sebastian said with a deep sigh. "But ... I'm glad you weren't there to see.... It was terrible...." After a pause, "There are many things that I've done that were more destructive of life, but they ... they treated the weak, the defenseless as targets in a sick game.... I could never do that.... I suppose it's why I never got to be as powerful as they are...."
"Their power is stolen," James insisted. "Gaining power that way, they're parasites.... Better to be weaker than them than get power that way.... You'll still be strong after they've expended all the power they've got...."
Sebastian smiled and took James's outstretched hand. "I hope you're right.... Maybe I'll let William and Chase go on a mission soon...."
"I think that's a good idea," James said with a smile. "I'll take good care of them," he added.
Sebastian smiled at him and raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure you will...."
James poked a finger into his ribs and laughed. "Don't push me," he chided. "But I'm going too...."
"I know," Sebastian responded. "I don't have to like it...."
"No more than I do watching you go off without me," James asked, raising his eyebrows.
Sebastian nodded and smiled.
"Clearly, we weren't ready," Resheph complained as Sammael worked carefully over Sekhmet to try to mend her wounds. He'd already put out the fire Sebastian had set inside her, but the damage done by the tiger was persistent.
"Clearly," Sammael scowled. "I wasn't prepared for them to respond so quickly.... This was meant to strengthen us, not weaken us further...."
"Perhaps ... we should separate for a while.... Spread the destruction around?" Aethon asked, longing to have his leash loosened. Sammael's glare was unsympathetic.
But Resheph added, "It would distract them.... Divide their forces...."
"Perhaps," Sammael allowed. After a moment's deliberation he looked back at them. "Tomorrow. Two days.... Be as visible and destructive as you want, but return here by the end of the two days...."
"Where would you like us to go," Aethon asked with an excited grin.
"Europe, Asia, anywhere you please. Just make it bloody and visible. And take Peter with you.... Make him ... participate...." Sammael smiled to himself. The boy had proved he was willing to kill, but could he do the work? Terrify and torture? He can learn, Sammael thought to himself. "First thing tomorrow," he muttered as he returned to his careful work.
The next morning, Sebastian and James showered early and joined the others, getting back to their daily routines. Sebastian and Avery visited the site where Sammael's command unit was being studied between James's training sessions.
As they entered the little facility, the guards snapped to attention. "High Consul! General!" The soldier barked with a salute.
"At ease," Sebastian said, smiling and rolling his eyes so that only Avery could see. But Avery just smiled. He had been a part of the wizard-warrior structure, so he understood.
A young woman in a lab coat emerged from the unit and smiled. "Sebastian!"
He gave her a quick hug, and asked, "How are you, Meg?"
"Enjoying myself with this thing! It's amazing!"
"I'm glad," he laughed. "You've met Avery Salazar?"
"No," she said, giving Avery a thorough looking over. "Pleasure," she said, extending a hand. "Megan Fortier...."
"Now, what can you tell us," Sebastian said, getting back to business...."
"Well, there's good news and bad news...."
"Bad news first," he sighed.
"We can't break the encryption yet...."
"Damn! What's the good news," Sebastian asked.
The woman smiled cutely. She had been a coed at Radcliffe studying science when she was turned in 1914. She had finished her studies and earned multiple advanced degrees in physics, mathematics and computer science over the years. But she would always look like a bubbly, busty, blond nineteen-year-old.
"Damn fools forgot to log out before they went on their rampage.... As long as we keep the unit powered up and running, we can monitor communications on this channel...."
"But," Sebastian asked.
"There are seven alternate channels of information we don't have access to.... But an eighth of their information is better than none. And that's real-time intelligence.... We're decoding documents fast now, so we're beginning to piece together some of the structure of their organization...."
"Good," Sebastian replied, the hope returning to his voice. A moment later, he asked, "Identified any low-risk targets, like research facilities or inactive safe-houses?"
"LARRY," Megan yelled, making Sebastian laugh and shake his head.
"WHAT?" came the gruff reply of an older man.
"BOSS IS HERE!"
They heard quick, heavy footfalls and a middle aged man in ridiculous clothes with a little bulge around the belly waddled into view. "Sorry about that, consuls! I thought it was just another unnecessary interruption!"
"Not at all, Larry," Sebastian said, smiling at the man. "I was just asking, have you identified any targets so we can begin our counterstrikes?"
"A couple of heavily fortified safe houses in Europe, packed with dark mojo-slinging bastards and some mean old blood-suckers.... No offense...."
"None taken," Sebastian said with a laugh. He liked the old fool. "And excellent, get me the coordinates as soon as possible.... Any low risk targets?"
"There's a boat in the Atlantic they're using for something...."
"To tricky for what I have in mind," Sebastian said, shaking his head.
"Well," Larry said, "there's a communications center in Canada, somewhere in the fucking permafrost.... Doesn't seem very well defended but it could be important.... Disrupt their com and maybe give us some clues about decrypting their channels...."
"Perfect," Sebastian said. "Get some of your best people on pinpointing its location, and begin feeding me locations of potential targets.... It's time to make some dark mojo slingers and mean old bloodsuckers bleed...." Larry laughed and nodded, waddling off.
"What's the deal with him," Avery asked when he was out of sight.
Megan's smile faded. "Human.... Used to work for the NSA. Little boy was killed by something dark and scary.... Sebastian's organization helped kill it, and he wanted on board, so I agreed to train him up for our needs. Good man, but he's got an axe to grind with the darkness, so he's loving this!"
Sebastian laughed darkly and nodded. "It's time for the bad guys to learn you can't just do what you want.... There are consequences...."
Shortly after Avery and Sebastian returned to the manor, they got an alert and logged on to the shadow network. Americ had posted an alert of violence in Prague. He'd posted a screen shot of two figures leaving a popular youth hostel. It was Aethon, with a mad grin on his face, with his arm slung protectively across the shoulder of a sick-looking Peter, whose face was, nonetheless, smeared with blood.
Sebastian closed his eyes and exhaled, cursing. Avery hailed Americ, asking, "What's happened?"
"The youth hostel...."
"Yeah," Avery said.
"EVERYONE!"
"What?" Sebastian asked.
"They struck before dawn.... Everyone was in for the curfew.... Every single resident who made it home was killed, and every employee on duty. Right now it looks like Peter did four, Aethon did ... dozens...."
"How can you tell," Sebastian said, getting a sick feeling.
Americ sighed, "Because Aethon makes a mess, or leaves his victims looking like they died of starvation.... Peter strictly drains them, or kills them quick and clean...."
"Small fucking mercies," Avery barked. He remembered the handsome boy and shook his head. The boy was gone.
"Get people on the streets there and in nearby places.... We need to know where they strike next, and be ready...."
About that time, a young Indian man, Phoolendu Prabhu, hailed them. "Consuls," he said, exhaling heavily, "We have an attack in progress in Delhi, sirs!"
"Exact location?" Sebastian asked, grabbing a cloak and wand, as well as some weapons as the man answered.
"Outside the main entrance of the Lotus Temple, sir!"
"Very well, Governor Prabhu.... Contact other consuls, as well as General Roth, directly and let them know where we are going.... I'm taking my personal retainer, as well as Avery Salazar, into the field immediately...."
"Thank you, sir!" Avery had already summoned Sebastian's men and opened the portal. Sebastian led them through.
Immediately, the stench of blood and death filled his nostrils, but something else, too, and he pushed back against the door to close it, preventing the wizards from coming through. Quickly, he took cover and called Avery's cell. "Tell the men, full hazard gear.... There is a biological agent.... It's Resheph here...."
"Plague," Avery muttered and passed word to the wizards. "Take cover and take care while I put a notice out...."
"Sure thing," Sebastian muttered quietly and pushed the phone back into his pocket. He could tell by the screams that Resheph had moved into the Temple complex, looking at his watch cursing. He couldn't wait so he rushed ahead. He passed groups of people huddled in fear as he followed the fear. 'Poor bastards,' he thought to himself, 'they probably think they've been spared....'
Long before Abraham's birth, Resheph was feared and revered as the god of the plague. Sebastian had no idea how old the monster was, but he knew that by the time Resheph turned him he had already mastered enough powerful magick to conjure and control diseases. Local populations served him faithfully, lest ultimate destruction befall their whole communities. In a city like Delhi, Resheph could wreak the kind of havoc he couldn't have dreamed of in Mesopotamia. Never mind, he was alive again and pissed.
"Resheph," Sebastian called loudly when he got closer.
"Sebastian! You move quick, my pet...."
"Not anymore," Sebastian spat in disgust.
Resheph laughed a hearty and familiar laugh. "Oh the things I used to do to you.... The things you used to beg me to do to you.... I enjoyed you longer and more thoroughly than any monster I ever made or met...."
"I am not a monster," Sebastian cried, closing in on Resheph's position, taking little heed about how out-classed he was.
"Tell that to the male temple prostitutes in Jerusalem," Resheph laughed. "Or perhaps we should inquire about your memory amongst the Romanians?"
"I was misled by a master," Sebastian replied, turning the corner and coming face-to-face with his one-time lover, and murder victim.
"I'd forgotten how beautiful you were," Resheph sneered. "Being dismembered will do that to you...."
"I kept you contained for centuries.... Were it not for Sammael, it would have been forever...."
"Evil is strong," Resheph answered, "and determined.... You should have destroyed me completely, when the technology became available.... Why didn't you?" The question was legitimately curious.
Why hadn't he? Why hadn't he at least put a small piece on a rocket to the sun, or at a nuclear test site? "I don't know...."
"Perhaps," Resheph smiled, taking a step forward, "you wanted to be able to put me back together if the situation called for it.... Or perhaps there was still a little of that old affection.... Tell me do you still cry out my name in the dark?"
"I rarely sleep anymore," Sebastian answered coldly, "and when I do, I never think of you...."
"Ah, yes, James.... Handsome specimen.... I could teach him so many things...."
"Don't YOU EVER so much as say his name to me again, or I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Sebastian's anger seethed as his eyes narrowed.
"Ferocious, like a little dog in a handbag! I ate one a few moments ago, just to watch its master cry.... I don't fear you, pup! And if you could DESTROY me you wouldn't be standing there!" With a swift move, Resheph threw a flaming ball of energy at Sebastian.
With intense concentration, Sebastian caught it between his hands and poured his hatred into it, swelling it to the size of a basketball and chanting a little spell before throwing it back. Resheph was surprised when he caught it and taken aback by what he did with it. But he wasn't suspecting what happened when he dodged it: the ball turned course and struck him hard in the back, knocking him on his face.
"Don't mistake me, Resheph," Sebastian hissed. "I may not get you today, but I'm much more powerful than the last time we met and that didn't go well for you. You were always good with the big punch, but I've learned finesse!"
From beneath the floor, vines erupted and wrapped themselves around the ancient vampire's arms and legs. At first he broke them as he writhed, but they grew stronger and tighter until he was almost contained. But at just the wrong moment, a bolt of lightning rushed down at him from a nearby warlock and caused him to jump. Sebastian's concentration broken, the restraints failed.
Sebastian lashed out in fury at the warlock with a killing blow, before facing off again with Resheph. "You have grown," the ancient smirked. "I underestimated you...."
"In that case," Sebastian laughed, "you're really going to love him...."
Resheph laughed as if Sebastian's attempt to distract him failed, until he felt his feet leave the ground. Turning his head, he saw Avery standing, his arms outstretched, ropes of energy pulsing from his palms and wrapping around Resheph, squeezing tighter and tighter.
Suddenly, the humans' screaming renewed, and Sebastian looked back and forth between the direction of the cries and Avery. "GO," Avery cried, straining from the effort. With one last look, Sebastian ran off to save the civilians from the dark forces attacking them. Slowly, Resheph pushed back against Avery and began to free himself.
"You are strong wizard! Killing you is not a waste of my talent," Resheph laughed.
Avery laughed and raised a hand, murmuring, "Be silent, beast...." Suddenly Resheph fell silent, unable to speak, or vocalize noise. "All this silly banter. You'd think you were a television supervillain, when, in reality you are just a relic of a bygone age, an old vamp with a little skill in weird magicks...." The air around Avery crackled and the light dimmed as paused for effect. "The age of man has come, and I am the most dangerous man on earth...." Black fire shot out of his hands toward the vampire, crashing into him with a roar of power and a billion angry, destructive impacts. Finally, Resheph's voice returned to him and he roared in pain and rage. The clothing and skin was ripped from his chest, the bone and flesh of his ribs bare.
He fought against his desire to retaliate, instead throwing a energy ball at Avery and running as Avery avoided it. Before Avery could focus on him, he had opened a portal and disappeared. So Avery ran off to assist Sebastian in finishing off the warlocks and vampires.
When they returned to the manor, they were exhausted physically and psychically, having both expended tremendous energy in the process of beating back Resheph. Between the two of them, they had nearly finished him twice. They'd taken out ten warlocks and as many vampires, but thousands of people were infected, and dozens were already dead. Upon their return, they learned that Aethon had struck again, this time in a village near Prague, quite publically. The news of the village's demise was running on CNN, with some grainy video of what looked like people ripping into the villagers with tooth and claw. The fear would spread worldwide. The secrets things were spilling into the open, and that was good for no one. No one but Sammael.
There was little more to be done, however, for the day, as Avery and Sebastian were spent. Indeed, James had to help Sebastian upstairs to bed and see to his feeding personally. As they lay sweaty in bed -- the feeding had prompted a bit more vigorous activity -- Sebastian lay his head on James's chest and explained to him what they had learned and that he would let James lead a group, including William and Chase, to capture the communications outpost Larry had told him about, as soon as its exact location was pinpointed.
"It'll be fine," James said, running a big hand down the smooth skin of Sebastian's back, making him shiver. "We've got to get in the mess if we're gonna finish this thing," he added.
"I'd hoped I could protect you all.... You're all so ... good.... This kind of war can change a person...."
James rolled onto his side so they were face to face and stared deep into Sebastian's eyes, his cheeks dimpling at the corner of his smile. "It won't change us.... Not for the worse anyway...."
"How can you be sure?" Sebastian asked.
"Because we are all in love.... It may not be everything, but it'll keep us grounded...."
"Unless," Sebastian began, but James put a finger on his lips.
"Don't," he cautioned, slipping a hand from Sebastian's waist to his ass, drawing his body flush to his own. "Not now...." James replaced the finger with his own lips, initiating another round of lovemaking, this time not fast and fierce, but slow and meaningful.
"Sebastian did this," Sammael asked, dismayed.
"No," Resheph said, with a painful exhale. "Salazar did the worst of it, but ... Sebastian could have killed me by himself if that warlock hadn't distracted him.... Last time he had an army of hundreds and barely succeeded...."
"I warned you," Sammael said, as he continued to work on dressing Resheph's wounds. Then he called for a few young sacrifices to fuel the vampire's recovery. It wouldn't be fast if the black fire was what he thought it was.
"What now," Resheph asked.
"Aethon is successfully spreading terror, and your action was quite grandiose, if ultimately thwarted.... I'm about ready to send the council a message...."
"Sounds bloody," Resheph said through gritted teeth.
"It's not that kind of message," Sammael said with a cryptic smile. "But it might destroy the Council...."