103: Into the Fray – Pt. 1

“Get them out of here,” Elder Emery shouted as the building evacuated. He sent his summoners and priests to safety as Victoria, Derrick and Marcel returned to help aide the others injured from the blast.

“Have you seen Rowan?” Marcel inquired as he lifted a priestess to her feet and ushered her toward an exit.

“No. I thought you two were together at the initial detonation,” Derrick answered.

“We were but in the chaotic aftermath, I lost track of him.” He pushed another struggling archmage to their feet and just as he was preparing to reenter the blast zone, a tuft of blonde hair stumbled from the rubble. “Ro!” Marcel exclaimed and rushed forward.

“I’m fine,” Rowan waved off his bodyguard as he took in their surroundings. “What in the bloody hell happened? Did the entire sodding building crash down on us?”

“There!” Marcel shouted, pointing toward the dam located behind the water treatment plant. Water was seeping through a crack near the top of the construction and it was steadily getting bigger.

“The blast from the containment room must have damaged the building’s foundation. We don’t have much time before the whole thing explodes. We need to evacuate the area,” Emery shouted, turning toward the gathered crowd.

“And go where?” Marcel asked. “That water will reach us no matter where we run.”

“Outside. Gather everyone as quickly as you can and I’ll teleport them to safety,” Victoria offered.

“And expose the world to the supernatural? That is unacceptable, Julian replied.”

“There’s no time to debate this. I’ll add in a concealment spell but we need to preserve as much human life as possible. Now hurry,” Victoria said, rushing toward a group of civilians leaving the plant.

Victoria waited for the last elder to exit the building before rushing toward the center. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, her hands opened and extended as she began conjuring a spell, searching the facility. After ensuring the place was clear, she turned toward the gathered crowd. “Derrick, shield me?”

He nodded and placed himself in front of her as she began forming a cloud around the panicked group. Once fully shaped, she used her magic to teleport everyone to a safe location in the nearby town, making sure to place a memory spell on them about the course of events.

“Well done!” A booming voice called out behind her. Victoria turned and found herself staring into the sinister face of Elder Charles Cassatt. His cold eyes held no amusement watching his former colleagues work to combat the chaos he had created. “That’s very impressive, Victoria. I can’t wait to see how you plan to stop what’s coming next.”

“Stop this, Charles,” Julian implored. “Look at what you’re doing! All of this is unnecessary.”

“NONE OF THIS IS UNNECESSARY, JULIAN!” Cassatt shouted in response. “I tried to be patient. I tried to be diplomatic; to do things the way the council decreed. But you are all too stubborn and small-minded; blinded by centuries’ old standards. You’ve lost touch with what it means to be vampires. WE are the ruling class. WE are at the peak of nature’s echelon. No more kowtowing to lesser beings or ingratiating ourselves into a society that’s long since forgotten about us. With the Destroyer’s help, I will forever secure our place in this world.”

“Wow,” Victoria whistled, listening to the man’s rant. “You know, when you began this campaign of terror against supernatural kind, I thought you were nuts, but hearing you speak, you are just outright delusional. You really think slaughtering other supernaturals to revive an old-world psychopath is the solution to vampires becoming the superior beings? Do you really believe you can control someone like the Destroyer?”

“Oh, I can do that and more, Victoria. Just wait and see.” With a gust of wind, Cassatt had vanished from sight, his ominous threat lingering as everyone waited to see what exactly he had in store for them.

Since his apparent escape, the Elders had not caught sight of the Destroyer and now with Cassatt in the area, they had no idea what to expect or where from. “We need to bolster our defenses, there’s no telling what these two have planned and I don’t want to be caught off-guard,” Victoria suggested.

“What exactly are you thinking?” Emery asked, watching as she placed a protection spell around them.

“Well, for starters, we need to get the remaining council members away from the plant. That dam won’t hold for much longer and not all of us have preternatural speed.”

“Consider it done,” Julian said, motioning toward one of his archmages to carry out the order.

“I’ll also need to see the room where the Destroyer was held. I have to know the type of magic I’m dealing with.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Emery replied, exchanging a look with Julian. “Her magic may be able to reseal the runes.” Julian sighed but didn’t try and protest as they led Victoria down a long flight of stairs into the basement of the large building.

They walked into three secured rooms all fortified with steel and concrete and down a short passage into the dungeon. There was a sizeable hole in the center of the floor that had blown through the runes inscribed on the ground; the spells placed by her ancestors to ensnare the Destroyer.

Kneeling down, Victoria ran her fingers over some of the crude writing, recognizing it from one of the many dreams she’d had of this place. Walking further into the room to begin her cast, dark magic crawled across her skin with the unsettling sensation of dozens of spiders. She waited to feel the foul energy reach its peak. Once it did, her eyes shot open and she aimed all of her magic toward it. 

There was a significant amount of pushback, and she knew she was on the right track. There was definitely something else here. She prepared another spell, and as she did, she felt a spike of magic hit her from the side and was instantly dropped to her knees. “Not uh, uh, not so fast,” Cassatt hissed, throwing the elders, Derrick, Rowan and Marcel into the wall behind them as they tried to rush to Victoria’s aid. “I can’t have you meddling with my plans just yet, my dear.”

Victoria screamed as Cassatt aimed more of his power toward her. Clutching at her chest as she felt her heartrate increase, she lifted her head to stare into the eyes of her tormentor, calling on to her own magical abilities to escape his hold. Using all of the energy she could muster, Victoria flicked her head, directing a powerful blast toward Cassatt. Catching him off-guard, she watched as he fell from his elevated position, landing hard on a large boulder that had been unearthed in the blast.

The moment he fell, his magic dissipated and the vampires were on their feet with Derrick at Victoria’s side, helping her stand. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be fine,” she hissed, rubbing a hand over the area most affected by Cassatt’s magic. “I need to draw what I can from this room and we need to get back outside,” she said, moving again to the centermost rune. When her hands touched the ancient script, she felt the earth move and paused at what she knew was coming next. “He’s here.”

“It never ceases to amaze me how easily hatred can be used to bend people to your will.” His voice penetrated deep into Victoria’s psyche. It was one she had heard on several occasions beginning in childhood. One that had been in her dreams shortly after rediscovering her magic. She didn’t even have to turn around to know to whom it belonged.

“Fane…”

“My precious, Victoria. It’s been a while. But I always knew it would be you. Even when your mother took you from me. I knew eventually you would find your way back to me and we would be together again.”

“Again? If you think invading my dreams gave us some sort of special relationship, you couldn’t be further from the truth.” His head tilted in confusion and a sinister smile stretched across his lips.

“You don’t remember. Of course. And I’m sure your elder friends weren’t too keen on helping with your memory problems either. No. They were too busy molding you into their perfect little weapon.”

“Why me? Why have you been so interested in me?”

“Because you and I are connected; we’re bonded by blood and an inescapable destiny. Everything you’ve done, all you’ve learned and the spells you’ve cast all came from me.”

As the words escaped him, Victoria was hit with a sharp bolt of energy, so fast it felt like a lightning strike and felt just as painful. Again, the others in the room with her were thrown back and held within the mighty force of Fane’s enchantment. “AHH!” Victoria cried as more volts of energy surged through her.

When the electric circuits finally fizzled out, she was left huddled on all fours panting and struggling to make sense of what had just happened. Whatever hex Fane had used, restored a state of cognizance Victoria hadn’t realized was missing. Memories from her childhood, of her interacting with her “dragon man.” Nights spent creating magic with the very man now standing in front of her. He had been an integral part of her youth even if her parents believed him to be an imaginary friend.

“Now do you understand? The witchcraft you possess is part of my lineage. You and I are the same, Victoria. I felt your birth and united with your essence.”

“Good. Then it should be easy putting you back into your cage,” Victoria growled, climbing to her feet. Fane’s head tipped back with dark laughter and he shook his head as if admonishing a child stealing a cookie.

“Won’t happen. These elders of yours for years kept me in captivity, poking into my affairs to find a permanent solution for my imprisonment, thinking their plans unknown to me. It was all a matter of manipulating the right people at the right times to get what I wanted. Cassatt was easiest,” Fane said, staring toward the fallen elder with an evil sneer. Cassatt still rested motionless against the rock he’d landed on, but his eyes were open, alert and piercing into Fane’s.

“His hatred of his brethren made him a willing subject to hear the messages from the veil. He believed me a minor threat, just another lackey to serve in his death cult, perhaps. Little did he know that I was the originator of his Shadow Council. His pride made it impossible for him to truly grasp the greater power of which he served; ME.”

Hearing his words infuriated Cassatt and he struggled to his feet to face the man he’d worked for years to resurrect. Fane laughed at his meager attempt to stand and without hesitation, snapped his fingers, instantly disintegrating the man into a cloud of red mist. “As a child, I once learned of an insect whose bite could kill with ease, though it appeared nothing more than a tiny gnat, a speck scarcely worthy of acknowledgement. But you see, it’s the things you dismiss which will hurt you the most, left to fester.”

“So, you’re back for revenge against those you believe wronged you? You’re a monster that had to be put down. Can you really blame the council of elders for finding a way to do just that?”

“No. Make no mistake, Victoria, I hold no grudges. But I have every intention of regaining my status now that I’m earthbound once more. And I’ll destroy any and everyone who tries to stop me.”

While they spoke, the council had formed a magic circle around them and were moments away from performing a ritual binding spell. “Foolish!” Fane growled. Without warning, an intense power blasted from the center of the room like a bomb going off. It shattered windows, demolished walls and blasted doors off hinges. Fane levitated above the gathering masses and disappeared through one of the large holes blown out of a wall.

As everyone scattered to hide and shelter themselves from the flying debris, Victoria let loose her own energy, freezing the room and suspending matter in the air. “Get out of here!” she shouted, barely recognizing her own voice as she commanded everyone to safety.

Once everyone was clear, Victoria released her spell and rushed out into the field with the others. “Are you hurt?” Derrick asked, moving to her side as she emerged from the building.

“I’m fine,” she replied, brushing off his attempts to check her for injuries. “What happened?” she asked, turning toward the Elders. “I thought you said my magic could reseal the runes.”

“It should,” Elder Julian spoke. “I am not sure what that was. Your spell appeared to be right on target.”

“And what about the other magic?” she inquired.

“‘Other magic?’” Elder Emery asked quizzically. “What other magic?”

Victoria opened her mouth to answer and just as she did, another explosion rocked the lake. This one centered more near the center of the large body of water. “Please, tell me this is residual magic from you,” Marcel said, looking toward Victoria as the detonation caused a wave as tall as the power plant to come crashing down behind them. “Oh fuck.”

Again, Victoria conjured up a time spell, allowing those in her company to move to higher ground before being swallowed up by the murky waters of Ember Lake. “What is happening?” Julian shouted, staring at his compatriot in confusion. They both turned to Victoria and she sighed.

“It’s Fane. All of this is happening just as it did in my dreams; his resurrection, the lure I felt toward that magic. Fane’s re-establishing his connection to his ancestral magic and this time he’s playing to win.”

The thunderous sound of running overtook the din of flowing water. The group turned back toward the lake to see a large horde of undead—skeletons rushing through the nearly formed rift the last explosion created. “What in the…” Emery’s eyes held disbelief and affront as he watched the army of bones rush toward them. “Just as I thought he couldn’t get any lower, he’s using the bodies of our dearly departed in this unspeakable war of his.”

“Worse than that,” Victoria said, “If these are dead supers, it means their bones will hold the balance of their magic. Fane’s basically created an undefeatable army with a near impossible supply of soldiers.”