Out of Time Chapter 6--The World Explained

My Oriental Dr. Frankenstein was holed up in his laboratory, as usual. Tugging his googles from his eyes, Sai beamed at me. He looked genuinely glad to see me. “Mikhail Constantine!” He crowed. “It is good to see you again! It has been three long days, you know, and we have missed you profusely.” He turned to Tyren, and a worried look crossed his kind face. “Tyren! What happened to you? Are you ill?”

“I was attacked by ten accursed ones while I was following that lead. I killed four, and M.C. killed the rest.”

Sai turned to me, shock and awe written all over his face. “Six? How?”

I shrugged, so Tyren answered for me. “He used a heart-stop spell. It was very effective.” She shrugged and nonchalantly suggested, “You should train him. He is apparently a very powerful mage, heir or not.”

Sai chortled. “Indeed. My suspicions are increasing.”

She bowed and swept out.

“Okay,” I said, turning to Sai. “First of all, explain this war to me.”

The old man chuckled. “Yes, I suppose that is a good place to begin.” He pushed a pile of junk off what I now saw was a chair. Sitting down, he gestured for me to do the same.

 “This story begins years and years ago—probably around 1000 B.C. The king of the demons, a creature called Leviatan, was making an attempt to take over the world. The Vampire King, Werewolf Chief, Fey Emperor, and Prime Mage overcame their differences and all joined together to stop him. They did, too, with the help of a young female mage. They could not kill Leviathan, so they sealed him away in an inescapable tomb. His forces fled to the four winds, and it was thought the world was safe. However, it seems that—unlike most powerful leaders—Leviathan planed for possible defeat and left instructions to his forces, should we win. After a regrouping, and adding many more of these ‘accursed ones’ to their number, they have returned, and are attempting to resurrect their king. If they accomplish this, the world as we know it will cease to exist.”

“How do the heirs and the resurrection stones play in?”

 He frowned. “How did you know about the resurrection stones?”

I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “Oh, you know, I dreamed about a conversation you and Tyren had the morning I left.”

His eyebrows rose. “Hm, it would seem that your path is further intertwined with hers than I thought. In answer to your question, three of the original leaders and the female mage sealed the tomb so that only they or their direct descendents could open it. In addition, nine stones must be in place for the magic to work. These stones were scattered. However, the demons have found eight of them.”

“Where is the ninth?”

Sai shrugged. “I have not a clue. It could be anywhere.”

“Tyren knows where it is,” I guessed.

Sai shrugged again. “Perhaps. I would not tell anyone your theories, however. You could put Tyren in more danger than she already is in if the demons catch wind of it.”

I nodded my understanding. From now on, I would share my theories only with Sai. “Do I get to know where the tomb is?”

“Oh, of course. Everyone knows that. It is under the megalith known as Stonehenge.”

“Stonehenge? I thought that was for sacrificing and stuff.”

Sai laughed. “No, it is the containing tomb of the most dangerous creature on earth.”

“Okay, so demons. What are they?”

“They are another race of this earth. They have powerful wicked magic, red skin, black blood, fangs, and glowing red eyes. Some can fly, but not all. The sun blisters and burns their skin, so they cannot be in it for long.” He paused, thinking. “Silver and iron drain their life energy.”

“Don’t tell Tyren I said this, but they sound like vampires.”

Sai shook his head. “Vampires are not nearly as evil. They are more humanoid, have red blood, have nothing against the sun, and normal-colored skin and eyes.”

“I thought vampires burned up in sunlight.”

Sai shook his head again. “No. They do sunburn easily, but they do not burst into flames. Human legends tend to twist stories and intermix the races. Besides, vampires must consume blood. Demons feed off of life energy.”

“What is life energy?”

“It is what keeps your soul tethered to your body. It leaves in your last breath when you die. Demons feed off it, and it always kills the creature they are feeding off of. Demons are also the only creatures that have a weakness to iron. Silver weakens all the others—except humans of course. Humans have no weakness to any object, however, they are the only ones who can become another race.”

“Like when they turn into vampires?”

“Or werewolves, or accursed ones,” a new voice commented.

I grinned at Tyren. She nodded, a friendlier light in her eyes. Tatiana appeared behind her. She waved at me, and whooped. “Oh yeah, we got the heir back! And we don’t really need the vampire heir. Tyren’s bad enough.” The werewolf ruffled the vampire’s hair. “You would hate him anyway. He’d probably usurp you with your pathetic leadership skills.”

“Thanks, Tatiana,” Tyren responded dryly. However, I could see that comment had unintentionally hit a mark. It was then that I realized that Tyren was not as confident as she acted.

“Okay,” Tatianna continued. “We need another name besides ‘accursed ones.’ Not only is it stupid, but Tyren is not allowed to name everything.”

“How about zombies?” I suggested.

They all stared at me, and I guessed none of them had seen any zombie movies. I pantomimed a zombie with a dumb look on my face and my arms outstretched. “They walk like this and eat brains.”

 “Ew,” Tyren stated.

Sai folded his arms in his sleeves. “Some cultures eat the entire animal, including the brain.”

By the weirded-out look on the vampire’s face, I guessed she was imagining the same thing I was—Sai eating a brain with a pair of chopsticks. It was both humorous and gross.

“That’s disgusting.”

“Says the girl who drinks blood on a regular basis,” Tatiana’s voice was so dry, I’m fairly sure she had a desert inside her mouth.

Any retort Tyren was about to make was cut short by a knock at the door.

“Enter, please,” Sai called.

A small, slightly pudgy man with very pointed ears and bright orange hair stepped inside. Orange feathers stuck out of his hair at random angles.  I guessed that the tip of his head most likely met my elbow.

“Julian, this is M.C. We believe there is a possibility that he is the mage’s heir.”

The small man wrinkled his freckled nose. “He smells of very powerful magic,” he said. His voice was rather deeper than I expected. The Irish accent, however, was completely expected. He was even dressed in green. Julian was the stereotypical Leprechaun. I wisely did not point this out.   

“Julian is the Emperor of the Fey,” Tyren explained.

I shook his hand. “Uh, pleased to meet you. I’m M.C. king of nobody special.”

Tatiana slapped me on the back, nearly sending me sprawling. “Um, hello, you’re the mage’s heir! That’s pretty special.”

Tyren sighed as if she needed the patience of a fisherman to deal with anything that came out of the werewolf’s mouth. “We do not know that for sure, Tatiana. Please refrain from announcing that to the world.”

 The werewolf snorted, and seemed about to comment back, but Julian beat her to it. “The power of this young mage may even rival Sai’s abilities if properly trained.”

Sai beamed, his hands disappearing into his sleeves. “And train him, I will.”

I chuckled. He definitely reminded me of Yoda. It would help if he was green, though. Shorter, too, or course. I’m pretty sure he could whip up a light saber.

Julian nodded. “Good. If he proves to be the heir, then we only have the vampire king’s heir to find. How is the search going with that, Tyren?”

The vampire shrugged, slightly uncomfortable. “Uneventful. Are you sure it’s a good idea to be looking for him? After all, would it not be better to leave him unknown?”

Tatiana harrumphed. “Look, snaggletooth, I would love to leave vampires out of the picture entirely, but we all agreed we should find the heirs before the Demons and their slaves do. Thus far, we’ve got me, Julian, and M.C. All we need is the bloodsucking heir. I know you’re all worried he’s going to take over your authority and all that, but we need to find him. Besides, didn’t that one demon mark him? I mean, if they find him before we do, we could be in deep you-know-what.”

Julian sighed. “I am inclined to agree with Tatiana, Tyren. It is nothing against you or your leadership. Frankly, I would be content to leave you in charge.”

“I wouldn’t.  Clearly, this thing needs the skill of a werewolf.”

Sai sighed. “Tatiana, we have been through this. Vampires make better leaders because they are calmer and have better judgment.”

“You mean they’re cold and calculating. They would just let their best friend die if it was too risky to save them!”

“Enough!”

Everyone immediately shut up. Even I did, and I hadn’t been talking. We all looked to Tyren expectantly. The vampire was pinching the bridge of her nose again. “No more squabbling like fledglings. I am the leader, and that is final. If we want to re-evaluate that when we find the vampire king’s heir, we will. For now, we will not discuss it. I have things to do. Good day.”

She bowed and left. We all stared after her, looking guiltily at one another. Making some excuse, Tatiana and Julian quickly exited. 

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Sorry guys! My excuse of the week is two high schoolers and a 50 year old lady are currently living in my room. I am on the floor. I am not pleased with this. The place is more cluttered than Sai's workshop. I am also writing a big research paper. That is my excuse. Have a good week!