Aleta
showed Joseph the hotel room into which she and
Firefly had materialised. When they entered the room
they saw that the boy had fallen asleep, sprawled out
on one of the two beds that occupied the room.
She
picked up Spratt's orb, which she had dropped
carelessly onto the floor when she heard Joseph's
pained cry for help. She looked at it for a moment
before finally asking the question that had been on
her mind since she had rescued Joseph from the street
below:
"What
is a vampire?"
Joseph
looked solemn as he paced to the window. He used his
mastery of magnetism to take hold of the metal
fragments in the window frame and pulled it shut
before looking back at Aleta.
"A
vampire," he began slowly, "is the body of
a dead man, animated by the soul of a demon. They
fear the sunlight, for it scorches their skin and
causes them great agony. They do not need food,
water, or air - they feed on the blood of the living.
They can be killed only by decapitation, prolonged
exposure to sunlight, or by a wooden stake through
the heart."
"That
explains why they were afraid of my lumen pulses,"
Aleta said, "but how do you know about
them?"
"Vampires
appear often in Transian folklore. I have studied it
at length, although until today I did not believe
it." Joseph looked down at himself, and saw that
he was still covered in the fetid slime that he had
slogged through in the sewer. "Do you know what
it is that we are to do here?"
"Negative,"
Aleta said. "I have not yet been enlightened by
our mysterious benefactor - but he did say I would
not hear from him again."
"In
that case, I am going to find a bathroom and clean
myself up. I suggest that we then find our companions
and decide on a course of action."
"Agreed,"
Aleta said. Joseph walked out of the room and headed
down the hall, and Aleta wondered why there had not
been any vampires in the hotel. She and Joseph had
examined it thoroughly before returning to the room,
and there was no living creature in the entire
complex - and yet every room had been cleaned
recently and the kitchen was fully stocked with food.
Aleta
glanced at herself in the mirror, and saw how
terrible she looked. The left shoulder of her uniform
was torn, exposing the flesh beneath. Her hair was
filthy, with particles of dust from the Exiles'
encounter with Dragon's Claws combining with her
sweat to cover her hair with a thick layer of grime.
She had bags beneath her eyes, caused by exhaustion,
and a small area around her right hip felt very
tender.
She
stepped toward one of the bedside tables and placed
Spratt's ball gently inside its drawer. She took yet
another look at Firefly and then sat on the other
bed, when she felt a familiar soothing feeling fill
her body.
"Aleta."
"You
said I wouldn't hear from you again!" Aleta
shrieked, jumping to her feet.
"Look."
Aleta
looked all around the room, and as her eyes passed
the mirror, she saw the reflection of a dim blue glow
emanating from the table in which she had placed the
ball. On the bed beside it, Firefly had woken up and
was opening the drawer.
The
soothing feeling left her body as Firefly's delicate
hand withdrew the orb. He stared at it in wonder, and
Aleta stepped toward it.
"Are
you okay?!" Aleta heard Joseph's gruff voice
behind her. She spun quickly and saw the white-haired
mutant standing in the doorway. Water ran down his
half-naked body, but the upper half of his uniform
was tied around his waist to conceal his manhood. A
dark red ellipse adorned the side of his torso.
"We
are fine," Aleta replied. "What happened to
your ribs?"
Joseph
frowned. "I slipped while rushing to your
aid."
Aleta
turned away to conceal a smirk. In Firefly's hands
the orb still glowed, and Aleta took it from him. As
soon as she touched it, pain wracked her body as
control over it was taken away from her entirely.
Golden solid light objects filled the room, and Aleta
spoke in a calm voice that was not her own.
"This
is your task," her voice intoned. "This
world is entirely wrapped in evil. Three figures
command this evil." Her hand moved, and three
solid light constructs grew brighter as all others
dimmed. "Their power is great. They must be met
if One is to be freed."
Another
gesture, and the three constructs receded as seven
indistinct figures became more prominent. They
flickered in and out of existence until seven
shapeless lumps grew more brightly than any of the
constructs seen before, and the one in the center
slowly faded away.
Aleta's
body slumped to the ground and all of the constructs
dissipated. The orb rolled to Firefly's feet, and the
young boy grasped the now dull object and placed it
in the drawer once again. He slammed it shut and
joined Joseph at Aleta's side.
Joseph
felt her heartbeat. It was faint, but she was still
breathing. He roused her gently, and after her
eyelids fluttered for a moment they opened completely
and she bolted upright. She pushed Joseph roughly
away and ran from the room.
A man
floated across the city.
He was
a tall man, but not exceptionally so. He wore no
clothes and possessed very little body hair, but
despite the freezing rain he did not shiver.
He
gained speed as he moved, and as he gained speed he
gained altitude. He blew through the thick clouds
that blanketed the city and emerged into the darkness
that lay beyond.
He
slowed as the air became thinner, but still he
continued forward, seemingly oblivious to everything
around him: the tops of the clouds, the dim stars
above, and flashes of lightning that offered brief
periods of illumination to the otherwise pitch black
sky.
He
continued onward, and in the distance appeared a
bright spark. As the man drew ever closer, the spark
grew both brighter and larger until the man finally
touched down on its perfectly smooth surface.
The man
was on a floating island. From the ground, it
appeared to be just any of the other dark clouds that
enshrouded the world. From above, it appeared to be a
bright spark of hope in an otherwise hopeless
universe.
Everything
was smooth on the island, as though made of glass and
ice and twice as reflective. Plant grew all around,
each emitting light of a different colour and
creating rainbow spectrums that played across the
ground.
At the
center of the island was a small, round building. At
many points on the building's outer wall were images,
but when the man tried to focus on any one of them it
changed into something that he could not recognise
but which nonetheless filled him with a sense of
rapture.
The man
entered the building and was met by an indistinct
nothingness. It was not bright, nor was it dark.
There was no ground, nor was there a sky; but it did
not matter, for there was no gravity to give meaning
to such things.
The man
took one step and found that he had walked a mile. He
took a breath and felt as though all of the mighty
winds of the north had filled his lungs. He exhaled,
and became so light that his body began to drift in
the ethereal emptiness without any prompting from its
master.
After
minutes that could have easily been seconds or years,
the man was joined by another. His companion bore the
form of a woman, draped in white robes from her
shoulders down to her feet. Her long, light hair
draped over her shoulders and chest, and a beautiful
golden tiara sat atop her head.
She
extended a long-fingered hand to the man, and he
bowed to kiss it. As his lips touched the soft,
delicate skin of the woman's hand, he again felt
overjoyed by everything that was in that place.
"You
know who I am."
The
woman's remark was not a question. It had been eons
since the woman had even considered a question, let
alone asked one. It had been just as long since her
last encounter with another living being.
The man
said nothing in reply - he merely watched, rapt, as
the woman danced around him, turning the nothingness
into a solid image that the man recognised as his own
sanctum, where he had spent years of his life trying
to free himself of the accursed monster that lived
within him.
"This
is as much your place as it is mine, Stephen,"
the woman smiled. It was a beautiful smile, even
without the woman showing the beautiful teeth that
the man knew must be there. The man felt ecstatic as
the woman called him by name.
"You
have come here willingly and consciously, and so it
must be that you consider yourself ready. Relax,
Stephen Strange, for soon you will know."
"Your
home?" Scamp asked as her tears began to
subside. "How long have you known?!"
Daywalker
exhaled heavily. He had wanted to keep the fact that
the dark world that the Exiles now inhabited was his
home a secret, but he should have known that that
would be impossible.
"I
can see why you'd prefer this hellhole to the
wonderful eighty-second century desert," Ph-Eros
interposed sardonically. "It has its charms, I'm
sure."
"Shut
up!" Daywalker yelled. "You have no idea
what you're talking about! I've lived here my whole
life. Do you think I'm proud of this place? No. But I
have a duty. Less than ten percent of this world's
population is not a vampire, and I am the only one
that can save them!"
"There's
that word again. What is a vampire,
Daisy?" The tone of Ph-Eros' voice was not a
pleasant one. Daywalker felt as though the other
Exiles was condemning him, accusing him of something
horrible.
"A
vampire is a demonic entity that inhabits the corpses
of the dead, corrupting their souls and turning them
evil. They need the blood of the living to survive,
and exposure to sunlight causes them more pain than
they can bear," Daywalker explained.
"H-how
did ever'one become a vampire?" Scamp asked
timidly.
"Magic,"
Daywalker said softly, "but it was also magic
that protected me. When I was only a baby, a woman
named Rhean, a vampire, spread her curse to thousands
of men across Europe. They crossed the oceans,
creating more and more vampires as they went, but
always keeping them a secret.
"Finally
some superpeople found out about them, and went on
the offensive, but it was too late. Rhean had too
many under her control, and she was ready. She cast a
spell of great power, augmented by a machine, that
was intended to turn every man, woman, and child on
the planet into one of the undead.
"Only
those that were under the protection of the heroes
survived. A woman named Wanda Maximoff protected me
and half-a-dozen others using her magic, shielding
our hotel with a spell that not even she could undo.
My parents were turned, though, and they eventually
turned her."
"Wanda...?"
Scamp sounded as though she was going to cry again.
Like Ororo Monroe, Wanda Maximoff - the Scarlet Witch
- had been around for most of Scamp's childhood.
Imagining her as a vampire was almost too much to
bear.
"There
are two safe houses in this city. My apartment and
the hotel where I was protected from Rhean's spell.
The hotel is closer, and there is food there. I
suggest we rest and then try to find the
others."
"Is
this Rhean still alive?" Ph-Eros asked.
"No,"
Daywalker said solemnly. "I killed her. Now
let's go."
Aleta
sobbed loudly as she sat on the cold linoleum floor
of the hotel kitchen. Her head was nestled between
her knees, and her hands were folded behind her neck.
I
cannot do this! she thought. I had to fight
so hard to overcome my problems with being only a
half-entity, after being forced to share a body with
my adopted brother Stakar for so long*. When
the Hawk God finally separated us, I relished my
freedom. Now, I am a slave to whoever it is that is
pulling our strings... I need to put a stop to it.
[ * - Aleta and her brother Stakar
together formed the composite being Starhawk for most
of the time that they were with the Guardians of the
Galaxy ]
Behind her was a door which led
straight out onto the street and had been used to
unload supplies from trucks when the hotel was still
active. Aleta heard it slowly open, and she snapped
her head up to see who it was.
Daywalker, Ph-Eros and Scamp entered
in single file, each taking on a surprised look as
they saw Aleta on the ground before them. They didn't
say anything, and it didn't take the one-who-knows to
know that something had happened to them. Aleta
didn't care, though, and she let them walk off
without interruption as she returned to crying her
heart out.
Vance...
She wanted her fiance to be there more
than anything, but knew she had no way of letting him
know that she wasn't dead.
He's probably moved on by now, she
thought sadly. After all, I did betray him with
Kristoff. But I need to know, and if the only way to
get back to my own time is to do what our master
wants, then that is what I'll have to do.
Come on, you monster. Enlighten
me.
Daywalker
showed Scamp and Ph-Eros each to a room before
setting off to find Joseph and Firefly. He felt
incredibly guilty about the fact that he cared less
about their well-being and more about the fact that
if anything happened to them while in his reality, he
would feel responsible.
He
found Joseph and Firely, both asleep in one of the
hotel's more sparsely furnished rooms. He decided to
let them rest, and stepped back into the hallway
where he came face-to-face with Aleta, Scamp, and
Ph-Eros.
"Let's
save this world," Aleta said decisively.
Daywalker smiled.
Joseph
and Firefly were roused and the Exiles gathered to
hear Daywalker's plan, such as it was. Food was
brought, and after Aleta told the others what had
happened with Spratt's orb, Daywalker rose to explain
things with more clarity.
"The
three figures are called The Crimson Circle. Up until
recently, there were four members of the Circle -
Nachtgleiskette, The Scarlet Witch, Le Diable Blanc,
and Bloodstorm," he explained. "We ran into
Bloodstorm tonight and killed her, and it was there
that I got this."
He
indicated the burn on his stomach, which was still
far from healed. "It was Bloodstorm who, through
use of her elemental powers, created the blanket of
clouds that covers this world in constant darkness.
Her death won't fix things, though.
"All
of the Circle's actions are augmented by a device
here in New Orleans. Once the device is used to
augment one of the members' powers, it can recreate
the same effect as much as it wants. The only way to
remove the clouds now is to destroy the machine.
"As
the head of the Circle, it is the Scarlet Witch - the
woman who saved me from becoming a vampire - who
commands all of the undead on the planet.
Whenever they feed on the living, her power
increases, and as her power increases, so does the
strength of each of the other vampires.
"Most
of the vampires here were not created through normal
means. Normal human blood cannot sustain the demonic
spirit that inhabits the hosts. When they feed, the
blood is transmuted. Rhean cast a spell to turn the
world's population into vampires, but she left
herself a backdoor so that is she ever turned into a
human again, so would her evil army. The spell simply
transmuted the blood of every human into the same
blood as that of the head of the Circle.
"If
the head of the Circle possessed human blood, so
would everyone that was affected by the spell, and
the demon spirits would be forced out of the hosts. I
think we need to find a way to do that."
"I
agree," Aleta said, "but I don't think
we'll come up with anything until we've all rested.
Daywalker, you said the hotel is safe?"
"Absolutely."
"Then
let's sleep on it."
Daywalker
showed each of the Exiles to individual rooms before
retiring to his own. It was large luxury suite, with
a king-size bed, a spa, a television, and it was the
only room other than the kitched with electricity.
He sat
on the end of the bed and removed the top of his
uniform, wincing as the fabric rubbed against his
burn. He touched the tender spot gently, and as pain
shot up through his torso he thanked God that he was
still alive after Bloodstorm's attack.
He
removed his boots, and as he was about to put them
under his bed he heard someone open the door. He
looked up and saw Scamp standing in the doorway,
silhouetted against the bright lights of the hall.
"Hey,"
he said.
"Hi,"
Scamp said.
"Are
you okay?"
Scamp
entered the room and sat beside him on the bed. She
saw the television at the foot of the bed and said
"Ah didn't think vampires would be big fans o'
TV."
"You'd
be surprised," Daywalker said. "There
haven't been any new television shows since Rhean
cast her spell, but they still play re-runs of old
shows. I don't think vampires can be on TV, because
of the whole 'no reflection' problem."
"Oh,"
Scamp looked down at her feet.
"Did
you want something in particular?" Daywalker
looked at the side of Scamp's head, and finally
reached forward to remove her dark glasses. Behind
them were two beautiful brown eyes, which he saw when
Scamp looked at him directly.
"You've
changed," she said finally.
"Is
that good or bad?" Daywalker grinned.
"It's
good. When we first met, you were real nasty,
'specially to Ph-Eros. But since we came here you've
really opened up."
Daywalker
blushed. "I guess I just didn't know how to act
around other people. When we all got taken to that
deserted planet, I just kept worrying about my world,
thinking that the Crimson Circle would find some way
to transform the last humans while I was gone. I was
scared, and I've been alone for so long that I think
I forgot how to rely on other people for
support."
"I
like you better, now," Scamp said. "What
did you say your name was?"
"I
didn't," he smiled and put on Scamp's
sunglasses. "Blade, Richard Blade."
"I
don't get it."
"It's
from a movie," he said as he removed the
glasses. "My friends call me Rick. What's your
name?"
"Carol,"
Scamp replied quickly. "How old are you,
Rick?"
Daywalker
could tell that Scamp wasn't comfortable answering
any questions, so he filed them all away for another
time and wondered if it was in any way connected to
why she always wore dark sunglasses. He handed them
back to her and she hastily put them back on.
"I'm
eighteen."
"Ah'm...
twenty," Daywalker could see how hard it was for
her to tell him her age, and he started to wonder why
she was asking him so many questions. "Have you
ever..." She leaned toward him and pressed
herself against his arm. "Have you ever...
y'know..."
Daywalker
suddenly realised what Scamp was asking and pulled
away. "No, I haven't."
"Do
you - "
"No."
"Okay."
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Scamp
rose and left the room. Daywalker laid back on his
bed, his arms and legs outstretched, wondering why he
hadn't taken Scamp up on her offer.
He
started to get up, to see if he could catch her in
the hallway, when his door swung open again. It was
Scamp, and she strode purposefully over to him, took
him in her arms, and kissed him.
"Whoa..."
Daywalker said.
NEXT ISSUE: Jensen's
two-part story becomes a three-part story as the
Crimson Circle is confronted in the conclusion to
"Dark Designs"!
