Genesis

Shaun Townsend stared at the sheer wall of ice before him. At the bottom of the crevasse, the sun was but a memory, its beams of light only able to penetrate the depths enough to bathe the walls in a deep azure glow. How far down had they climbed? Shaun wondered. He watched introspectively as the last members of his platoon repelled down the wall. As a member of the private security firm known as Saturn, he was used to being dropped into hostile locations to deal with unknown enemies, but this was not Afghanistan, Colombia or the Congo. This place was desolate. The only life for miles was a colony of penguins, and he seriously doubted that anyone needed an armed security force of twenty to deal with penguins.

The paranoia was like a virus, creeping into every crevice of his thoughts. He was not a coward. He would gladly rush head first into a firefight with insurgents any day of the week, but the glacier was like an alien planet and the unknown was far more frightening than anything he could imagine. The scope of the mission was the least of his worries, however. His fingertips stung from the bitter cold. The wind-swept plains of ice at the surface seemed to pierce through the white alpine soldier get-up he wore with little problem, and while it was warmer down deep in the glacier, there was some lingering anxiety that his fingers might be too numb to pull the trigger of his assault rifle when the time came.

“Okay, men, I want four squads of five. Squads one through three will serve as both scouts and the front lines. Squads four and five will stay behind with our benefactors.” The platoon’s commanding officer spoke up, snapping Shaun back into soldier mode.

He was in squad five. More sitting and waiting was just what he did not need. Babysitting duty meant more time alone with his thoughts—more time to worry. He needed to confront his unseen foe head-on, not wait until it ambushed them in the dark. The ghostly green glow sticks that lit the path into the icy caverns provided just enough light to keep the soldiers from getting lost. If someone or something wanted to sneak up on them, those little lights would not help one bit.

Base camp was small, with squads four and five forming a semi-circle around the so-called benefactors that they had been hired to escort. Shaun listened to the hushed murmurs of the pair. What little he knew about them was that one was a lady doctor, though he could not learn much from her appearance. She was just as heavily bundled as he was. Her companion, however, seemed right at home in the cold. Shaun suspected he was an Inuit or a Sherpa from the look of his dark skin, but even that could not explain why the man was dressed more for a ski trip than an expedition to the Antarctic. He did not even wear gloves.

The ice creaked as they waited, echoing in a way that sounded as if the whole place might cave in at any moment. Other than quiet whispers amongst the squads, and his own breathing, this was the only sound that Shaun could hear. Radio contact with the other squads was impossible this far down, so the only hope to hear if trouble was coming was to keep as quiet as possible.

Silence only made things worse. Every sound became something far more than it actually was. Water dripping became footsteps on the dark path; a squad mate shifting positions sounded like claws scraping against the ice; and that low rumbling from deep within the cave—well, that could have been anything. Anything made the hairs on Shaun’s arm stand up. The rumbling sound was getting louder and no longer sounded like mere rumbling. It sounded like an animal growling. He lifted his rifle and pointed it at the darkness, his breath coming faster. That is when he heard the screams.

Shaun was no longer alone. Squads four and five stood up and took aim towards the void as gunfire reverberated throughout the cave. Shaun’s heart threatened to burst from his chest as the sounds of his squad mates, deep in the tunnels, dissipated. The sound of fifteen guns became ten and then five and then there was silence for but a brief second. In the next moment, Shaun thought his ear drums would explode. The sound pierced the darkness and filled the cave to its brim. Miles away, penguins would huddle together for protection. It could only be described as the screeching of a hawk mixed with the roar of a lion. It was unearthly and inhuman. It was the sound of victory and of death. Shaun knew that squads one through three were no more.

“They’re dead! They’re all dead!” One of the members of squad four screamed.

“Get a hold of yourself, soldier!” His squad leader ordered as two other men held the screaming man down and quieted him.

Shaun was shocked to see that he was not the first one to crack. Somehow, the madness had decided to spare him. Seeing another man lose it, calmed him. He was stronger than that. As long as he was still living and breathing, the mission could not be counted as a loss.

“There’s still a chance that they’re alive, you know.” The dark-skinned man spoke up, drawing the attention of the remaining two squads.

This was the first time the man had said a thing the entire mission and his sudden outburst made Shaun study the man much more closely. He still could not place the man’s nationality, but he did notice something curious that he had not seen before. Black lines of ink extended up the man’s neck and across his face, as well as along the backs of his hands. He had never seen tattoos of that sort, but from their positioning, it seemed as if they traced the man’s circulatory system. Shaun wondered if the rest of the man’s body was tattooed in a similar manner.

“Our orders are to stand guard and to escort you out of here should something go wrong.” The squad leader responded.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that something has already happened, and unfortunately for you, I have no intention on leaving here empty-handed.” The man spat back. “This leaves you with two choices: either you waste your time trying to force us to leave, or you go into that cave, rescue your friends, and complete the mission. I really suggest you choose the second option.”

“The mission parameters are to keep you alive. We can’t do that if—”

“We can take care of ourselves,” the lady doctor chimed in, “but you will regret it for the rest of your lives if you leave those men behind.”

The doctor’s singsong way of speaking and the pleasing timbre of her voice struck a chord in Shaun’s mind. Even without seeing her, he knew that she was a woman worth impressing. She inspired courage in his heart and at least for a brief second, he felt like he could take on anything.

“I think we should—” Shaun spoke up, only to stop when he heard several of his squad do the same. It seemed like they all had the same idea.

“Well, then if we’re all in agreement…” The squad leader trailed off. “Form lines and move out.”

Lines meant two rows of them in single file, hugging the cave walls. Lights were kept off to ensure that whatever dwelled at the back of the cave would not see them coming. The light from the glow sticks was beginning to fade, but it was enough that they knew where they were going. Shaun tried his best to keep quiet as his frazzled nerves slowly returned. His boots felt clunky as they trod against the icy floor, each step daring to give their position away. The narrow tunnel continued into the dark for what seemed like miles. Shaun gripped his rifle extra tight, wringing his hands against the cold steel as the sense of dread palpitated in his brain. He thought he might crack when a rush of cold air struck him in the face.

Shaun opened his eyes, not realizing until that moment that he even had them closed. Before him, the tunnels opened up into a large chamber which was glittering in colors he could barely imagine. There were two orbs, propped up on tables of ice, in the center of the chamber glowing with white light. So much for the element of surprise, Shaun thought. His attention soon turned to the other parts of the room. At the back wall was a literal hill of silver, gold and gems, which all seemed to sparkle in the light. Misshapen ice sculptures were strewn about the room haphazardly. They looked as if the ice had just accumulated into human shape, rather than having been expertly crafted. The extravagance of the chamber could have been overwhelming, if not for the shape of a man dressed in a white coat and ski goggles leaning against one of the central pillars. Even from the tunnel, Shaun recognized the man as their commanding officer.

Without hesitation, all ten soldiers rushed forward to the aid of their fallen commander. The squad leaders attended to him as Shaun and the others stood guard. There was no sign of the other men, nor of whatever or whoever had attacked them, but Shaun waved his rifle about as if he might be ambushed at any moment.

“Sir, sir, are you all right? What happened?”

“Don’t worry about me, son. Worry about yourselves,” warned the commander. “I think whatever attacked us is still lurking about somewhere.”

Shaun’s mind was abuzz to the point that the conversation between the commander and squad leader went right over his head. He was too concerned with his own safety. He scanned the room through the sight of his rifle, spinning it around anxiously and hardly stopping to take a long look at anything, though the longer he stood there, the more little details he noticed about the room. For instance, there were bones in amongst the bed of treasure, most of them tossed to the side, cracked and gnawed on. The remains did not look human, though that was of little comfort. Dead penguins and seals creeped Shaun out just as much.

“Where are the rest of the men, sir?”

“I don’t know,” the commander coughed. “Gone, dragged away into the darkness. You should all leave before it’s too late.”

Even creepier than the remains of dead animals, were the sculptures. From where he stood, Shaun could now see their faces, which were twisted and painful looking, as if carved in the likeness of a man screaming. Unsettling would be putting it lightly. He hated the way that their macabre faces stared at him. Why did they have to be so close? He took a step forward, poking one of the sculptures with the barrel of his rifle and then jumped as the ice cracked. Shaun winced at the sound. Several members of his squad turned their attention to the cracking sound. Shaun waited for the commander or one of the squad leaders to berate him for making so much noise, but nobody said a word. As the ice cracked and broke from the sculpture’s face, the frozen visage of the commander came into view. Shaun stared into his dead eyes and now blue skin and then back at his squad leaders.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.” The ersatz commander’s voice spoke, becoming more guttural. “You all should have left while you had the chance.”

The man Shaun thought to be the commander stood as guns were pointed at him. His eyes turned as white as snow, and rows of gleaming shark-like teeth grinned at the soldiers. His body convulsed as he took a step forward.

“Stay right there! Not another step fur—” The squad leader’s voice disappeared.

In an instant, his throat had been torn out by the now clawed fingers of the man. Both squad leaders dropped to their knees, as blood gushed down their chests and stained the icy floor crimson. The man’s skin was turning grey and it began to shine like the treasure behind him. The last thing Shaun saw before he opened fire was that the man was starting to grow.

The sound of gunfire was deafening. It echoed through the chamber and ricocheted around the walls until its origin became lost. Shaun slid across the floor as he emptied his magazine. He pressed his back against the pillar to reload just as a cloud of blue and white blew past him. Had he landed a single shot? He could not be sure, but he hoped that the silence that followed his retreat meant that the creature was down. His gun clicked, ready to be fired again, as he peered around the corner and his worst fears came true. He was alone. The rest of the squad now stood in perpetual agony, flash frozen into mere sculptures, doomed to decorate the great hall for all eternity. Worse than that, the beast was nowhere to be seen.

“Fuck!” He cursed.

“You humans are a crass lot, aren’t you?” The deep growling voice asked. “I had thought I was done with your lot centuries ago, but it seems that there is no corner of this Earth that your kind do not infest.”

“Strong words from a monster,” Shaun shouted as he stared at his last chance for survival. A grenade now rested in his hand. He was still not sure what exactly he was dealing with, but he doubted there was anything that could withstand an explosion at close range.

“Monster? You dare call me a monster? You are the ones that invaded my lair without warning. You are the ones that brought weapons, whether it be to cause me harm or steal my riches. You are the ones that are the monsters.”

“Yeah, well, I see it a little different. Now, how about you come out of hiding. I have a little surprise for you.” Shaun replied.

“I am afraid, human, that it is I that have the surprise for you.”

With a thunderous rumble, the ground shook as the creature landed on the icy floor. Its large eyes stared daggers into Shaun, who trembled in its presence. His bravado and his explosive plan were forgotten in an instant at what stood before him. Those large eyes were attached to an equally large, lizard-like head, which was covered by silver scales so large that they could each be a plate of armor unto themselves. The head led to a long neck and to a massive body, framed by two equally impressive wings. A ridged tail extended from the back of the creature’s body, wrapping around its four clawed feet. There was no way that this creature could be what Shaun suspected, but there it was, as clear as day—a dragon.

“Dragons don’t exist!” Shaun insisted.

“Who are you to tell me I don’t exist? I am standing here right in front of you, am I not?”

“I-I…”

“Enough of that. As I said before, I do not wish to harm you, despite the fact that you are incredibly rude. However, I am left with a bit of a problem. You see, I am beginning to wonder if there are perhaps more of you just waiting to trespass upon my home on the other side of that tunnel.” The dragon explained. “I have a very busy day ahead of me—counting my treasure, hunting for seals, etcetera, and I am in no mood to deal with further interruptions. Therefore, I have an offer to make. You tell me how many more are waiting back there and I will let you and you alone go free.”

The dragon grinned, showing his rows of teeth, ones that could tear Shaun in half with little resistance. Shaun swallowed, his heart beating in his throat.

“Make your decision quickly. I do not have a taste for humans, but I grow hungrier the longer you keep me.”

Shaun stared at the dragon’s gaping mouth. In his head, there was no other option. If something was going to go down the hatch, it was not going to be him. The grenade’s pin hit the floor and Shaun’s arm flung forward, hurling the explosive device at the great lizard.

“I choose death!”

***

“That’s quite the little trick you have there, Dr. Heart.” Digo said with a smirk. “You nearly had me running down the tunnels with them.”

The doctor flipped the hood of her coat back, letting her mousy brown hair loose about her neck and shoulders. She sighed as she removed her goggles, revealing hazel eyes, which were almost immediately covered by a pair of wire frame glasses. The heat of her breath billowed out of her thin lips in little puffs of smoke as she exhaled.

“I take no pleasure in sending those men to their deaths.”

“Never said you did, but may I ask how you did it? It’s just… I didn’t know that you were, you know, special like me.” Digo held up one of his tattooed hands, as if to remind the doctor of his own abilities.

Dr. Heart unfurled her scarf and tilted her head back so that Digo could see her throat. Right in the center, there was a mark, a circle to be exact, with a curved ‘W’ shape inside of it and a line extending from the top of the middle hump up to the edge of the circle.

“Before you ask, no, it is not a tattoo. It is a seal of sorts. This one in particular mimics a siren’s song, and unfortunately, just like a siren, I have sent those men crashing into the rocks.” The doctor explained, and then wrapped the scarf tightly around her neck again.

“Don’t blame yourself. It’s our ‘Dark Master’ that sends us out on these missions with cannon fodder all the time. We both know that these missions would go a lot smoother with a few more people like ourselves.” Digo spoke with contempt in his voice.

“Let us just hope that their sacrifice yields the intended result.”

The explosion rippled through the caverns, shaking the walls and sending ice and snow raining down to the floor. Digo and Dr. Heart looked up from their conversation and back towards the tunnels. Neither one looked particularly worried by the sound. The only brief moment of anxiety came from Dr. Heart, who looked up the wall of the crevasse to make sure they were not going to end up buried in ice.

“They certainly seem to be having fun, don’t they?” Digo chortled, slowly removing the light coat he wore. Beneath its warm embrace was the rippled body of the dark-skinned man. Tattoos traced the length of his body in lines, all emanating from a central tattoo, designed like the human heart printed where one might expect it to be.

“I worry about how cavalier you are becoming in regards to others’ lives, Digo.”

“It was just a joke, Doc. I might be laughing on the outside, but believe me, I am no happier than you are about the senseless loss of life. Knowing that all of this is for some megalomaniacal jackass makes my blood boil, but we don’t have any other options at the moment.”

“I know.”

“I’d rant some more about it, but it looks like it’s show time.”

Heavy, out-of-breath breathing preceded the man long before he came into view. The sound of his boots racing against the ice came next. As the man came into view, his skin was close to white and sweat poured from his forehead. Mangled blond hair clung to his brow. His white coat was stained with blood around the chest and the shoulders were singed from the blast. Digo approached the man slowly, though the man was constantly looking over his shoulder, as if waiting for something to follow him out of the tunnel. Finally, the blond man skidded to a halt a few feet away from the bare-chested Digo.

“Take a deep breath and tell me what happened, son.” Digo placed his hands on the young man’s shoulders.

“It killed them all. That’s what happened.”

“You look like you made it out okay, though, Mr. Townsend. I can call you Mr. Townsend, right?” The darker man asked, reading the name off the man’s chest. “How did you escape?”

“Didn’t you hear the explosion? I waited until it was about to strike and then I threw a grenade down its throat. I didn’t stick around much longer than that.” Townsend’s voice came panicked. “We have to escape. Call for help. Get us out of here while there’s still time.”

“We’ll call for the copter in a moment, but first, I have to know. What was it? I mean, you saw it, didn’t you? What attacked you?”

“It was a—” The young man’s eyes widened, the pupil and iris fading away and leaving only white as he clutched his stomach.

He looked down to see a long, inky blade reaching out from Digo’s arm, and now buried deep in his stomach. Silvery blood ran down the length of the blade as he stared into his attacker’s eyes in disbelief. Digo just grinned confidently as if mocking him for his own arrogance.

“How did you know?” The young man’s voice gurgled as his hair started to change to a darker, slate grey.

“You’re still alive.”

Digo twisted his makeshift blade in the belly of the beast and then withdrew it in dramatic fashion. The dragon in human form collapsed to his knees as more of his ruse was revealed. Sharp teeth now lined his mouth and scales started to bespeckle his complexion. Dr. Heart shook her head and knelt down in front of the defeated creature.

“Do you even think before you go stabbing things? How are we supposed to airlift a dragon out of here?” She sighed and dipped her fingertips in the silver blood. “You are lucky that I am here.”

“Hey, I figured trying to lift the thing out of here would be far easier than dealing with it in an open space. So excuuuuse me, princess!”

The doctor quickly drew a seal with the dragon’s blood onto its forehead. Her eyes closed and she mumbled under her breath as her hands quickly formed symbols of their own, and just when Digo was sure that nothing was going to happen, the doctor touched the center of the seal. The seal glowed with white light and the creature writhed in pain, its back arching and its now clawed fingers digging into the ice below it. As the writhing stopped, so did the changes to its body.

“What did you do?”

“I made it easier to carry. Now, get on the radio and get us out of here.”

***

“No, I am not going to come back to the foundation now, Digo. I thought I told you on the plane ride home that I had other business to attend to first.” Dr. Heart spoke into her bluetooth headset.

She tapped on the steering wheel of her shiny black BMW, one of the many benefits of working for the rich. Twenty-four hours earlier she had been bundled up with nothing but ice for miles. Her appearance and the neighborhood around her were a far cry from where she had been. She now looked the picture of perfection. Her hair was tied back into a neat pony tail, its mousy brown color now carrying a bit more bounce and sheen. The difference of having a proper shower and a little time in front of a mirror was amazing. Makeup was applied in just the right proportion—lips stained red, just a bit of eyeshadow, the rest blended in so that it was barely noticable—to give her a tiny bit of allure.

“Just put him in the cell and be done with it. He is not going to change back until I remove that seal. Do I really have to be there for something this simple?”

The doctor groaned at her coworker’s incompetence. If it were not for the fact that she was enjoying her time off, she would have had far less patience with the man. She relished the chance to dress like a woman again. Being stuck in a grubby lab coat all day long seriously chafed at her feminine sensibilities. While professional women might be glad to be rid of their heels at the end of the day, she relished the chance to put them on. Dressed in a sharp red blouse that hugged her curves and a black pencil skirt, she was as comfortable as she had ever been, and it did not hurt that it gave her that hot teacher look.

“Let him do whatever he wants with him. If he drains him dry, that is his own problem, not mine. Listen, I really do not have time for this. My stop is just around the next corner. I promise I will come back as soon as I am done here.”

She turned off her phone and tossed the headset onto the passenger seat. Interruptions from work were the last thing she wanted today. It was far too nice a day to let this get to her. A deep breath later, everything was right with the world.

There was barely a cloud in the sky, and the ones that were there were the big puffy ones that took on all sorts of neat shapes. The sun was bright, but thanks to a gentle breeze, it was not impeccable weather for an impeccable neighborhood. Everything seemed to be made of brick on the affluent city street. Cars equally as nice as the one she was driving were parked along brick sidewalks that only left enough space for the trunks of leafy green trees to sprout through. White stone walls fenced in small yards in front of old brick homes. People walked their dogs and seemed generally happy. It was a place the doctor would not have minded settling down, if she were able.

Dr. Heart swung open the black wrought iron gate and walked up to the cerulean blue door. The same color paint was on the window frames and parts of the roof, making the two-story house stand out from the rest of the red brick homes in the neighborhood. The doctor’s heels clicked against the pavement as she climbed onto the short porch. She could see right through the front door’s window to see how nicely maintained the home was inside. There were hardwood floors and an old chandelier hanging right inside the doorway. She carefully adjusted her skirt and did one final check of her makeup before ringing the bell.

In a matter of moments, she was face to face with an older woman—well, older in comparison. The woman looked to be in her mid-forties. The lines in her face instantly gave the doctor a motherly vibe. Her hair was the same shade as hers and was held back in a long braid, though unlike Dr. Heart, she was starting to show a little bit of grey. She wore a blue sweater that matched her eyes and when she smiled at the doctor, she could not help but smile back.

“You must be Doctor Heart. I must say, I expected someone a bit older,” said the woman in a curious tone.

Crimson stained the doctor’s cheeks. Though she was probably young enough to be the woman’s daughter, she never thought of herself as young. Perhaps her schooling had made her grow up faster than she should have.

“Trust me, Mrs. Shaw. I am more than capable of—”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just, you spoke with such authority on the phone that I just assumed…” Mrs. Shaw trailed off. “Well, you know what they say about assumptions.”

“No harm done, Mrs. Shaw. Now—”

“Marilyn,” the older woman interrupted to a confused look. “Please call me, Marilyn. Oh, and please have a seat. Where are my manners?”

The younger woman took a seat in an antique looking chair with hard wooden arms and a plush back. She crossed her black stocking-covered legs and offered Marilyn another warm smile with her ruby lips.

“Shall we get to the matter at hand? How is Hannah doing lately? Have there been any more incidents?”

“No, but she’s been keeping herself holed up in her room since then, especially when my husband is home.” Marilyn sighed. “She’s convinced that we’re going to send her to a new foster home.”

“Are you? Knowing Hannah’s abilities, there is likely some validity to her fears.”

“I would never do that, but after that fight I can’t say that neither I nor my husband have given it thought.” Mrs. Shaw looked up at the stairs as she wrung her hands in the hem of her sweater. “She just doesn’t understand that people think things that they don’t really mean. Nothing is superficial to her.”

“She is a child. She is going to believe whatever she hears.”

“That’s why I’m hoping you can help her, Doctor. She needs to know that we love her and want her to be part of our family for a long time.”

“I will do my best.”

***

Earmuffs—the little girl was wearing earmuffs, on a sunny day, in the middle of summer. Dr. Heart quirked an eyebrow at the curious sight. They were pink and fuzzy and stuck out prominently on the backdrop of the girl’s flat blonde hair. The absurdity of the fashion choice had the doctor off-guard before she even had a chance to say hello, but then again Hannah did not look to be in the mood to say hello in the first place. She was huddled into the corner of her bed with darkened eyes, brushing the hair of a Barbie doll so hard that the head looked like it might pop right off. Seeing a girl dressed in a pastel yellow t-shirt and torn jeans staring at her murderously was disconcerting to say the least.

“Um, hello, Hannah. My name is Doc—”

“Leave me alone. I don’t talk to liars.” Hannah spat.

“Why do you think I am a liar, Hannah? We have only just met.”

“That’s not your real name. Only liars use fake names, therefore you must be a liar.” The little girl turned to the side, squeezing her doll even tighter.

“Oh?” The doctor gave a little smirk. “It seems you are far more talented than I gave you credit. Very well, I will introduce myself properly. My name is Shoshana Tate and I am here because you are very special.”

Hannah did not look any more interested, despite the fact that Shoshana had dropped her ruse. It was rare that the doctor told anybody her real name, but then this was a special circumstance and it was not like she could hide it from the little girl.

“I know. You’re here because I can hear other peoples’ thoughts. You think you can help me, but you’ll be just like the rest of them. Once you realize what a freak I am, you’ll abandon me just like my parents did, just like the Shaws will do.”

“It pains me to see someone so young with so much angst. Nobody ever gained a thing by feeling sorry for themselves. I am here to help, yes, but I want to help in a way that no one has helped before. I want you to embrace your abilities so that you do not spend your life locked up inside some dark room.”

“I’m eleven years old! I’m practically a teenager. Let me guess, next you’re going to tell me that you understand what I’m going through.”

“I would compliment you on your perceptiveness, but you easily could have just read that in my thoughts.” Shoshana smiled. “So, rather than convince you with words, I guess I will just have to show you. Do you have a piece of paper I can borrow?”

Hannah looked at the older woman curiously. Her thoughts suggested that she was going to perform some kind of magic trick, but the little girl did not understand how that would convince her that this woman understood a thing. She pointed to a stack of computer paper alongside crayons and colored pencils.

“Oh, that will do nicely. I hope you like butterflies.”

Shoshana picked up a purple crayon and scribbled something on the top sheet of paper. Hannah sat up on her knees trying to see what the woman was doing, and then probed her mind for clues, but the words in the woman’s thoughts were in some other language. After a few moments purple light radiated from the design Shoshana had drawn. Hannah watched in awe as the piece of paper folded itself at a very fast rate. Once finished, there was a very intricate origami butterfly sitting where the piece of paper had just been.

Hannah slid off the bed cautiously and inched towards the paper butterfly, stretching her pointer finger towards it. It had to be some kind of illusion. Hannah was positive that the woman was trying to trick her by thinking that the magic trick had been real. Just as she was about to poke the paper bug, it fluttered into the air like a real butterfly would.

“How are you doing that?!” She demanded.

“Did you really think that you were the only one in the world with special powers? I have been practicing magic since I was old enough to draw my first seal.”

The butterfly landed on Hannah’s head, making the little girl shrug her shoulders and cross her eyes trying to look up at the pseudo-insect. She swiped at her hair to get it to take off into the air again, but as soon as it did, it burst into a rain of confetti.

“Unfortunately, my constructs do not last as long as some of my other spells.”

“You know other spells? What else can you do?”

“Oh, a great many things.” Shoshana grinned at the little girl’s interest. “But every spell requires time and knowledge of the proper seals. It took me a long time to learn how to harness the true power of my gift. You are no different, Hannah. If you work at it, you will be able to do amazing things.”

Hannah gazed wide-eyed at the doctor. In that brief moment, she envisioned a future where she was not alone, where she had friends and people that she could count on. The fantasy overwhelmed her. She thrusted her arms around Shoshana and buried herself against the taller woman’s body. Shoshana smiled warmly and stroked the girl’s hair.

“If you want me to help you, I am going to have to visit regularly. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes.” She said, her face still muffled against the woman’s body.

She pulled away briefly and smiled for the first time since Shoshana had arrived. Like the typical eleven year old, she was missing a few teeth. That smile made her look like a child for the firt time, rather than a girl growing up too fast.

“Then we also need to talk about the Shaws. You are going to have to do your best to get along with them. I know they are just your foster family, but they care for you a great deal. You are going to have to remember that.” Shoshana lectured. “You cannot go telling them each others’ thoughts. People think things all the time that they have no intention of acting upon. Do you understand?”

Shoshana was shocked to see the expression on Hannah’s face change so drastically in just a few moments. Her heart sank as she saw the fear in the little girl’s eyes.

“Don’t let them hurt me.” Hannah pleaded.

“Hurt you? Have the Shaws been hurting you? I just can’t believe that Marilyn would—”

“Not them…” Hannah muttered, looking towards her bedroom door and then towards her second-story window.

Even without being told, Shoshana seemed to know what was about to happen. She pulled Hannah into her arms and crouched down to shield her as the glass shattered. Men swung into the room, dressed in full riot gear. A few more came in through the door. Whatever the reasoning for this, she could not help but think that sending a squad of heavily armed men after either her or a little girl was a bit excessive.

“Hands where I can see them!” One of the men shouted.

Shoshana hissed at the man and showed him her hands, though she did not move away from Hannah’s side. She glared at the men like a protective mother, wondering how quickly she could eliminate them if she needed.

“What is the meaning of this?” Shoshana demanded answers.

“That is none of your concern, Ma’am. We’re here for the girl. Hand her over and neither you nor the people downstairs will be harmed.”

She had no intention of doing any such thing, even as the men pointed their guns in her face. That is when she looked more closely at the men’s vests. She saw ‘Genesis’ printed there in bold white letters, and suddenly it all made sense.

***

“I knew you were evil, but this is just too much. She is a little girl, for heaven’s sake!” Shoshana shouted as she stormed into the executive offices of the Genesis Foundation.

“It’s nice to see you too, Dr. Heart.” A man’s voice chuckled in an almost serpentine voice.

“Let her go, Bacchus! I will find you another telepath if you want one so badly.”

Bacchus was a man whose age was difficult to pinpoint. His features were youthful, from his chiseled chest to the flame-red hair atop his head, but there was something about him that made him seem like he had decades of experience behind him. He sat in his makeshift throne, leaning back nonchalantly with his hands behind his head. The doctor’s pleas did not do even the slightest thing to remove the smirk from his lips, and why should they? He was the head honcho of the Genesis Foundation. One whining employee was barely worth his time.

“And why shouldn’t I just keep the one I have? It wouldn’t be fair if you got to keep her all to yourself. This is what happens when you don’t share, Doctor.”

Shoshana snarled. She had known he was mad—how else did you explain someone wanting to be called the Dark One, Dark Lord, or Dark Master—but she never suspected that he was this insane.

It had been three years since she had been recruited by the Genesis Foundation. Bacchus had been quite interested in her special talents, telling her that he had never seen someone with power like hers. When he offered her a chance to get paid to further those abilities, she jumped at the chance. It was not long after she joined that she learned that Bacchus had powers of his own. He was a sort of vampire, though not in the sense that one usually thought of when they thought of vampires. He was still, after all, human even if his ability was rather vampiric in nature. He had the ability to borrow the powers of others by consuming their life force. It just happened that blood was a particularly good source. The more he drained, the more powerful he became, even developing the ability to shapeshift into his victims. However, the blood eventually worked its way out of his system and the powers left him. That was where Shoshana came in. He hoped that through her ability, he could figure out how to keep these powers permanently. It had been less than a month since she had discovered a seal that could do just what he wanted. Now he was gathering beings with great power that he could steal for himself, but never in her wildest nightmares had Shoshana believed that one of those would be a child.

“If you think I am going to help you kill a little girl, you have another thing coming. If you do not let Hannah go, you can forget getting my help at all.”

“Oh, my dear doctor, do you honestly think that your refusal to take part is going to save the girl’s life? If you do not cooperate, I can always just drink her dry.” He licked his lips. “I can feel her squirming already. It would be such an intimate affair.”

“You are a monster. You know that, right?”

“Perhaps, but I am a kind monster. Her memory will live on inside of me, and since you seem to be so attached to this little girl that you would hide her from me, perhaps I will take her form from time to time. I am quite good at role play. I could even call you Mommy. You would like that wouldn’t you?”

“You make me sick.”

Bacchus sat up straight and glared across his desk, his carefree arrogance dissipating from his face. He looked like the Son of Satan, sitting there in his red and black leather jacket, left open to show his bare chest and the trinkets hanging around his neck. This was the one time that he did not look like some spoiled rich brat, though he still knew how to throw a temper tantrum like one.

“I’m quite sick of your tone. I’ve treated you far better than you deserve. The only thing stopping me from bleeding you out and finishing your work myself is that I thought you understood my ambition.” He growled. “You have the same thirst for power that I do, and yet you treat me as if my way of getting it is wrong? I take my power where I can get it, and I am not going to let your sudden moral compass stop me from getting what I want.”

He was right. He could have torn her apart a month ago when she had discovered the seal, but here she was still amongst the living. That tiny bit of fear for her own life silenced her.

“And do you know what hurts me the most? You never once considered that I am not the one you should be angry with. How do you think I found out about dear Hannah in the first place?”

That was a good question. Nobody knew about her extra-curricular activities. She had gone through considerable trouble to make sure that Bacchus did not know about Hannah’s existence, because she had known that he would want to take her power for himself.

“Fawn!” Bacchus called.

A girl no older than twenty crawled out from under the desk. Shoshana’s cheeks became hot, seeing that the girl was wearing nothing more than a pair of black lace panties. She had a hazy look on her face, looking like she was half-drunk as she stared at the man. She licked her lips which were painted black, as black as her raven locks. A butterfly was tattooed on her lower back. Her pale skin was more than Shoshana wanted to see. She felt a sickness growing in her stomach, knowing what the girl had likely been doing the whole time she was talking to Bacchus.

“What can I do for you, Master?” She cooed.

“Please tell Miss Heart about our little visitor earlier today.”

With the girl no longer under his desk, Bacchus reached for a glass of wine, holding it up in the air and blowing on it. White flecks of frost coated the glass. Clearly wine was not the only thing he had to drink that day.

“Well, I was in here cleaning, wearing just the cutest little french maid outfit—Master so loves when I wear costumes for him—when that big man with all the tattoos walked in. He said that he put a tracker on your car or something like that, and that you were doing something that Master would be very interested in. After that, he started to get boring.”

“Good girl, Fawn, and you are absolutely right. I do enjoy your costumes. Maybe you should give Doctor Heart here some fashion tips once she is back in my good graces.”

Shoshana looked like she wanted to vomit. She expected more out of Digo. He was supposed to be on her side, and apparently he was ratting her out this entire time. Her boss’s perverted grin and the girl giggling at his suggestions was not helping her keep her lunch down either.

“Apparently, your good friend, Digo, has been spying on you for a month now. He tapped your phone, put a GPS tracker on your car, who knows what else. I am frankly surprised that he did not come to me with this information sooner.” Bacchus spoke before taking a sip of wine. “I will make you a deal, Dr. Heart. I find you far more useful to my organization here, so you take care of your good friend and I will think about sparing you and the child.”

Rage filled the young woman’s heart. She had not decided what she was going to do to Digo yet, but she needed to know why he would betray her. She pivoted and turned full face the other way before storming off again, her heels clicking heavily against the marble floor. The last thing she heard was Bacchus calling to his assistant.

“Fawn, I think I am in need of some more assistance. Be a dear, would you?”

***

All he heard were the drums. The sounds of his homeland pounded in his ears endlessly, relentlessly, driving him forward, helping him close the gap between him and his prey. Digo could feel the man’s heart beating, knowing that he would soon silence it forever. There was no escape for his most hated enemy. Soon, Bacchus would be dead and he would be free. Dreams like this always put a smile on the man’s face. Warmth spread through his veins, keeping him blissfully aware of the woman creeping up his bedside, intent on causing him considerable pain. Her thighs brushed against his as she straddled his hips, her nylon-encased legs rubbing against his loose jeans. Carefully, she pressed a blade to his throat as she hovered over his prone form. The dream would have to come to a close without the happy ending. Groggily, Digo’s eyes opened, staring into the hazel-colored eyes of his friend.

“Dr. Heart?” He asked, the words making the knife seem even closer.

Her plain brown hair was falling out of her ponytail. Her glasses were nowhere to be seen and she was pinning him down on his bed, giving him a wonderful view down her blouse. If it were not for the knife at his throat, this would have been a lovely way to wake up.

“Unless you want a paper cut from which you will never recover, I suggest you not make a move.” The woman threatened.

“What’s this all about?”

“Are you serious? Do not play dumb with me. You have been spying on me. So, unless you want to die like the rat you are, I suggest you get to explaining yourself this instant.”

Digo showed no shame at what he had done. All he did was sigh, the sign of a man who had nowhere to hide. Shoshana could see in his eyes that the accusations were true.

“Fine, but this conversation will go much smoother if you take that knife away from my throat. I don’t want you slipping and cutting me.”

Though she did not look happy to do it, Shoshana pulled the paper knife away from Digo’s throat, trailing it down his bare chest and pressing it to the heart tattoo. She peered into his eyes, not needing any words to tell him that she could still take his life at any moment. Her knife might have been made out of paper, but it felt as hard and sharp as steel. Once she had completely removed the knife from his body, Digo sat up in bed and took off the headphones that were still playing a heavy drum beat.

“Talk.” She demanded.

“I had a family once,” Digo began. “I had a family and that man took me away from them because of my power. However, that man also promised that he would provide for my family, and thus I stayed and became his soldier. I would gladly have done anything that he asked me to do, until the day he came for my blood.”

“Get to the point.” Shoshana was already losing her patience.

“He ambushed me, sunk his fangs into me and drained every last drop. He now had my power, but that was not enough. He would not let me dry. His scientists replaced my blood with ink, leaving me as a wraith under his command. I could never return home, for now I was a monster, just like him.” Digo explained. “I waited and plotted my revenge, and that is when you came along. You did not see him for the devil he was and actually sought to help him gain even more power. I started tracking your movements and spying on you, knowing that you were much closer to him than I, and when I learned that you had power of your own, power that could help me get rid of Bacchus once and for all, I knew I had to show you what kind of man he really was.”

“I feel like I have been saying this a lot today, but what kind of man does it make you that you would risk a little girl’s life in order to get your revenge? You are no better than he is.”

“I suppose not, but at least now you see the truth. You must want to be rid of him just as much as I do.”

“Even if I did, he has Hannah now. She will die unless I do what he asks.” She looked down at the knife in her hand. “I was supposed to kill you, you know, but I could not do it until I knew the reason why you betrayed me.”

Digo looked at the knife, as well. He easily could have disarmed her by now, but Dr. Heart was his best chance to get revenge on the man that separated him from his family. If he did not have her help, he was better off dead.

“And what have you decided?”

“Nothing. I do not know what to do. Honestly, you both deserve to die if even a hair on Hannah’s head is harmed, but if I kill you here now, I do not know what to do next. Surely, I cannot trust Bacchus to keep his end of the bargain and let Hannah go. He will still kill her. That leaves me with the option of escape, but he will just find someone else to track us down. If I do not kill you, he will kill Hannah for sure. None of my options are very good.”

“It’s quite the dilemma, but I believe I have a solution that will solve all of your problems.”

Shoshana lowered her knife further, wanting to trust in the man again. If he had an idea, she owed it to Hannah to hear him out.

“I have been studying the seal on the dungeon floor lately. This is how you planned to transfer the life force into Bacchus, correct?”

The doctor nodded.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about it and I started to wonder, what would happen if more than just the person’s life force was transferred? What would happen if someone’s mind and soul were transferred as well? Could a human brain handle the stress of two or even more people struggling for control?”

“Theoretically, it could be done. The seal would need to be altered, however, and someone would still have to give up their life in order to accomplish it. Are you suggesting that we sacrifice one of the prisoners just to destroy Bacchus?”

“No, we cannot risk one of them striking a bargain with him and letting him regain control. It would have to be someone who hates him with every fiber of their being.” Digo looked at the doctor seriously. “I am suggesting that I am the one that is sacrificed.”

***

The dungeon in question was not a dungeon at all. It was not dreary, dark or anything else that one usually associated with a dungeon, but then it was hard to think of a dungeon being found in a modern day building at all. The only thing dungeon-like about the place was that it was in the basement and was where the Genesis Foundation kept the prisoners, test subjects, or whatever you wanted to call them. It could have been the basement of any building in the city. It was wide open in the middle, where Shoshana had drawn her seal in red paint on the concrete floor. For as big as it was, the seal could have been an inlay in the floor. It circled around the entire room with a door placed at each of the cardinal directions. These were the cells where prisoners were kept. Lines extended from the seal into each cell, which in turn each had a seal drawn inside. Once the seal was activated, anything inside those cells would have its life force drained into whomever stood in the center of the main seal.
Shoshana rushed into the dungeon from its adjacent hallway, immediately running to the cell on the west side, which until a few hours ago had been completely unoccupied. She stood up on the tips of her toes and peered in through the cell door.

“Hannah, are you in there? It is Dr. Heart.”

“Shoshana!” The little girl’s voice called out.

“You have to call me Dr. Heart, dear. If I can get you out of here, we will need my real identity to still be safe, or else people could track us down.”

“But you have a plan, right? I should be able to call you anything I like.”

“Yes, I have a plan, but there is still a good chance that something will go wrong. I need you to remain calm and do what I say until I get us out of here. Can you do that for me, Hannah?”

“I guess so,” she responded, “but I’m really scared. Everybody here thinks of such horrible things. I told Jokull to stop it, but all he does is growl.”

“Who is Jokull?”

“He’s the dragon, well, he says he’s a dragon, but I think that I would know if there was a dragon around. I saw him through the window and he just looks like a man with bad skin to me.”

“I will make sure that you do not have to worry about dragons or anybody else very soon, so be a good girl and I will be right back. There are still things I have to do before we can escape.”

“Okay, but please hurry back. I don’t want to be in this stinky room anymore.”

The woman had to work quickly if she was going to finish the alteration of the seal before Bacchus found out that something was going on. He would eventually send someone to make sure that she finished off Digo, and when they found the room empty, she did not even need to guess where the first place he would go would be. She tried her best to keep her worries out of her head, knowing that Hannah was likely listening to every thought that crossed her mind. Work was the best way to keep her mind busy, and so with a paint can and brush in hand, she started to alter the seal. Whole lines needed to be changed, parts had to be removed. It was not an easy task to scrape the dried paint from the floor. The next time she worked for an evil madman, she vowed that she would remember to use paint that was a little easier to use—water colors might make a good substitute.

With her mind focused, she was able to work much faster. She would occasionally send comforting thoughts to Hannah, just to make sure the girl was not afraid, and the girl would almost always respond with ‘I’m fine.’ Shoshana hated how mature Hannah was. Once this was over, she would make sure she got to have a proper childhood before she became a woman.

Fur tickled the back of Shoshana’s neck, and made her jump, sending her paint brush skidding across the floor and adding even more work to what the woman already had to do. She shivered as the creature continued to rub itself against her, oblivious to the fact that she was not in the mood for furry affection. She swatted at the back of her neck only to swing right through thin air. She grumbled and sat up straight, looking around for the affectionate creature.

“Kit! This is no time to be playing around. Get back in your cell this instant.”

As if it had just stepped out of a whole in space, a little orange fox with more than a few tails popped into view, its paws sitting right in the wet red paint that Shoshana had just put down.

“Kyu?” It tilted its head to the side, wondering why the human did not want to pet it today.

Kit had a habit of escaping from her cell, though she did not wander much farther than that. She had taken a shine to Shoshana in particular, but was sort of the official pet of anybody that came into the dungeon. Only Bacchus himself had no clue that the little creature was constantly escaping. He should have known better though, seeing as Kit’s primary ability was teleportation.

“If I pet you, will you let me finish?”

“Kyu!” Kit announced, which was apparently fox for “You betcha!”

Shoshana gave her momentary distraction a scritch behind the ears and underneath the chin and then patted Kit on the head, letting the little fox know that it was time to go. She gave the woman’s hand a good-bye lick and then curled up into a ball, folding in upon herself before disappearing.

With a few more strokes and a little bit of clean up, Shoshana was able to finish the changes to the seal. All that was left was to wait for Bacchus and to hope that the paint would dry before he arrived. Watching paint dry had never before been so nerve-racking. One step in the wrong place, and the entire ruse could be undone. Shoshana tip-toed around the drying paint lines like she was playing hopscotch, and then disposed of the paint can and brush in the boiler room, where they would go undiscovered until it was too late. Digo was waiting for her in the stairwell that led down into the basement, and he had the keys to the cells. He considered it one last insurance policy to make sure that the doctor actually altered the seal even though she had told him several times that she had no reason to not go through with her part of the bargain. The plan was to free the prisoners and have Digo hide in one of the cells. When Bacchus came looking for them, which he undoubtedly would, Shoshana would trigger the seal and watch as Digo tore the evil man apart from the inside.

“Digo! Everything’s all set. Bring me the keys!” Shoshana shouted at the stairway door, unable to see her partner in crime amid the darkness.

“Oh, my dear doctor, I would have given you the moon, but you decided to settle for some inert hunk of space rock,” the hissing voice lamented.

Shoshana backed away slightly, back further into the hallway as Bacchus’s tall figure strode through the door, his fingers clenched around Digo’s throat, carrying the man with one hand like he was as light as air. Digo struggled, but his struggles were all he could do to keep himself from choking to death. Escape was not something he could even think about.

“I should have suspected that you were too weak-minded to kill this little pest for me. I hope you feel bad about disobeying me, because my poor little Fawn was just devastated when she went searching for a dead body and found none.”

The doctor’s eyes were locked on Digo’s squirming form, wondering why he was not putting up more of a fight. Digo could turn ink into a deadly weapon and his body was full of the stuff. At that range, the man could have lopped Bacchus’s head clean off, but there he was struggling like a child. It might as well have been her up there squirming for her life. Digo’s eyes met Shoshana’s, sensing that she needed him to fight.

“He has my blood.” Digo muttered, his voice scratchy as his throat threatened to close.

“You’re not surprised, are you? I might be a bit greedy, but I like to keep a few vials around for special occasions. I would say that my ascension into godhood is quite special, wouldn’t you?” Bacchus taunted, stepping closer to the woman.

“Run!” Digo squeaked out as the grip around his neck tightened.

Her feet felt like lead. She knew she needed to run, but the only place to run was back into the basement, where there was no place for her to hide. She could try to get past Bacchus, but he was high on both the dragon and Digo’s blood at the moment. How could she compete with someone on his level? She looked to Digo for help again, knowing that he would fight if he could. She was out of options again, and this time was looking death in the eye. Then she saw her one and only hope, dangling and jingling at Digo’s side. She had an ace up her sleeve that she would never have thought of, but she needed the keys to save herself.

“I am sorry!” Shoshana pleaded, dropping to her knees and lowering her head so that Bacchus could not see that she was looking at the keys.

“That’s more like it! Hmm, but it might just be too late, my dear. I no longer see the benefits of keeping an insubordinate doctor like yourself around.” Bacchus seemed to be contemplating what to do with her. “Now, I could use another handmaiden. I could keep a much closer eye on you that way, and well, I do so enjoy Fawn’s special skills. What do you think of that?”

“Anything!” Shoshana lied through her teeth. “Anything if you let me live.”

Still dragging Digo around like a rag doll, Bacchus moved closer again to pat the woman on the head and accept her into his throng.

“Excellent, now we will have to think of some new cute name to call you, how about—”

Before the devil could touch her, Shoshana ripped the keys from Digo’s belt loop and took off running in the other direction. Heels were not the best things to escape in, but all she needed to do was make it to Jokull’s cell and release the seal on him before Bacchus caught up. As she stumbled away, the wannabe god snarled.

“You stupid bitch! Now look at what you made me do!”

Bacchus smashed Digo against the wall and glared at him, his eyes burning red. He bared his fangs at the helpless man, as the tattoos on Digo’s body started to bubble with life. This was Digo’s last stand, his last chance to buy the doctor enough time to escape. Mentally, he struggled to keep Bacchus’s control over him to a minimum, but as the stronger man squeezed his throat, he lost. The ink in his body hardened and turned into spikes that burst through his skin at every pore. The ink poured down his brown skin as his life began to fade. It was as if he had been pierced by a thousand needles all at once. Bacchus tossed his dying corpse to the side.

“Look out! He’s coming!” Hannah screamed from her cell.

Shoshana fumbled with the keys, trying to unlock Jokull’s cell as quickly as she could. If she had been watching a horror movie, she would have criticized the dumb woman on screen for not finding the correct key fast enough, but now she was in this cliché horror scene and could do nothing to speed up the process. Why would anybody carry around a huge ring of keys and not label them anyway?

“Hurry up, you pissant human!” The dragon demanded. “I long to feast on the bones of my oppressor.”

“I am going as fast as I can!”

The key finally turned in the lock and she swung the door open. She held her palm out to the dragon, who was still in the shape of Shaun Townsend and mumbled a few things under her breath.

“Rele—agh!” Shoshana grimaced as her spell was interrupted.

Fangs, or at least the surgical implants Bacchus had put in to resemble fangs, sunk themselves into her neck. Her blood oozed between the man’s lips and down her neck. For some reason, as the man drank, she thought that at least the blood would not show on her blouse. Although the bite only lasted a few seconds, light-headedness took her over. She crashed to the ground as Bacchus tossed her away like a piece of garbage. He had more immediate trouble to deal with. Even though she had been unable to free Jokull from her seal, his cell door was left wide open.

The half-dragon’s scaled skin provided the perfect barrier to dull Bacchus’s strikes, and even though he could not make use of his breath weapon, his claws and teeth still made excellent weapons of their own. He swiped at the redheaded man repeatedly, trying to shred his flesh. He would no longer allow himself to suffer the indignity of being locked in this human vessel. Somebody had to pay, and this man was as good of a target as any. It was he, after all, that had drained his blood earlier that same day while he was still too weak to fight back. Grogginess had long since left Jokull’s body, leaving him very capable in battle once more. Bacchus was easily a match in strength though. His punches might not have done much damage, but the force of them kept Jokull from gaining any traction. The battle was playing out less than a foot from the edge of the cell. A sick grin crossed the vampire’s lips, which then pursed into a perfect little o. He took a deep breath and with a mighty blow, he sent an icy blast into the dragon’s eyes. Jokull reeled back. While the cold did not affect him, the bits of frost and snow in the blast momentarily blinded him. Bacchus spun around on his heels as a large shield of black ink expanded from his arm, hardening into the perfect battering ram by the time he spun back around. The indigo shield crashed into Jokull’s already reeling body and sent him flying back into his cell. Bacchus slammed the door shut emphatically and then turned back to his waiting victim.

“Well, that was a nice work-out, but I would hate to keep you waiting any longer, darling. Not to sound like a pretentious food nerd, but your blood is the essence of umami.”

“Kyuuuu,” which translated to “Not so fast!” Kit called loudly.

The cute little creature was hissing, standing its ground between Bacchus and Shoshana. The fox was not about to let anybody harm her favorite person in the whole wide world. Kit bared her teeth and her reddish-orange fur raised up like a cat’s, each of her tails sticking out straight. She was just as ready for battle as the dragon had been.

“This is priceless! Little girl, are you going to want to fight me next?!” Bacchus called out to Hannah, though the girl was too busy cowering in the corner of her cell to answer.

Kit snapped her jaws as Bacchus got closer, trying to make herself seem bigger than she actually was. This was the only way she knew how to fight.

“I don’t know who let you out of your cell, but believe me, I am not above kicking a puppy.”

His foot swung out towards the multi-tailed fox, expecting that it would be just that easy to dispose of the snarling little creature, but he came up empty. He spun around, wondering where Kit could have gone. Nothing, the fox was nowhere to be found, and then CHOMP! Bacchus screeched in agony as the little beast bit him hard on his ear. He felt a brush of fur and then CHOMP! Another bite landed on his hand. A flurry of bites at every extremity enraged him. What the hell was this creature, and why was it so fast? He cursed himself for not paying closer attention to the prisoners that were brought into his care. SNAP! Kit bit right down on his nose. Bacchus panted as he tried to keep up with the flashes of orange fur. He was not going to let all his ambitions be squashed by a common house pet.

“Show yourself!”

Bacchus’s eyes widened as the next bite hit him where it would hurt the most. That little rat had somehow gotten into his pants, and chomped down on his pride and joy. Bacchus snarled and slammed his fist where the fox had just been, only causing himself further injury and embarrassment. He sunk to his knees, grasping at his manhood in pain. If anything, Kit proved that she could handle herself in the wild against a much larger opponent. Her natural instincts were to finish him now. The fox popped back into existence and lunged at the man’s throat like a cheetah trying to take down an antelope, but unlike the antelope, Bacchus was not defenseless. That brief bit of distance that was required to allow Kit to build up enough speed to tear the man’s throat out, was also enough for him to counter-attack. Ice flowed from his lips again and coated the little beast before she could disappear again, and rather than tearing out his throat, she became nothing more than a Kitsicle, falling well short of her target.

“That does it! No more interruptions. No more friends coming to your aid. I am going to enjoy every minute of this!”

His eyes were aflame as he picked Shoshana up by her blouse. Her vision was blurry, but she also had one last trick up her sleeve. Bacchus’s only weakness was his hubris, and she was going to use that to make sure he met the proper fate. The attacks from Jokull and Kit gave her just enough time to create one last seal with her blood, concealed in the palm of her hand. As she stared into the eyes of the vampire, she pressed her hand against his face and muttered a quick incantation. The blood glowed red for just an instant before Bacchus forced her hand back down to her side.

“What was that supposed to do? Blind me?”

“Actually, yes, that’s exactly what it was supposed to do.” Shoshana said with a smirk.

“What a pathetic last stand.” He muttered before sinking his teeth back into the woman’s flesh.

As Bacchus gorged himself on her blood, and consciousness faded from her body, Shoshana smiled, for she had altered his perception of reality, ensuring that he would never see that the seal on the basement floor had been altered.

***

When Shoshana opened her eyes, and she realized that she was inside one of the cells, she knew that her plan had worked. Bacchus had made the mistake of telling her that he kept vials of Digo’s blood around for a rainy day. From that moment forward, she knew that he would never pass up the chance to have her powers at his fingertips permanently. She rubbed her head, and slowly stood. The blood loss was a lot to overcome, but she had to see the man’s downfall for herself. She stood up on stocking-covered toes and peered out the small window. Sure enough, Bacchus was seated in the center of the large seal, in deep concentration. From the looks of the paint smudge marks on the floor, her perception altering spell had worked as well.

There was one last thing she needed to do before the end. She needed to apologize to Hannah. The little girl did not deserve to spend all of eternity locked inside the head of a madman, and she wished that she could have done more for the girl.

“Hannah, are you there?” Shoshana thought, knowing the girl could hear her, and not wanting to disturb the incantation.

“Yes, I’m here!” She called back.

“You have to be quiet, Hannah. Concentrate really hard and you should be able to send me your thoughts, just like you can hear mine.” The doctor responded silently.

At first there was no answer. There was a good chance that this part of her ability was not ready to develop, but then it came like a whisper at first, and finally she could hear the girl’s thoughts being broadcast straight into her mind.

“…just don’t know what to do. I think Digo’s dead. Kit is barely clinging to life. I thought you were dead too, Shoshana.”

“I will be fine, sweetie.” Shoshana replied, though even in her thoughts her voice sounded trepidations. “Are you scared?”

“Terrified.” Hannah sounded like she was about to cry. “I don’t want to die. I’m only eleven years old. There’s so much I never got to do, never got to say.”

“Listen to me, you are not going to die. You are just going to go somewhere else. You might think you have died, but you will still be able to think, to speak, and your friends will be there with you. You may not be able to see us, but I will be there with you, as will Kit, and even our grumpy dragon friend. It might sound scary now, but we will be together.”

“But he will be there too…” Hannah muttered.

“Do not worry about him. His body might be strong, but our minds are much stronger.”

Hannah became quiet again. Whatever she was thinking, she must have wanted to keep it to herself. Shoshana slumped down onto the floor and placed the pillow from her cot against the wall. She sighed as she rested her cheek against it, waiting for the inevitable to come. As optimistic as she sounded when she talked to Hannah, deep down she knew that overcoming Bacchus’s thoughts were not going to be that easy. He was used to sharing space in his own body. What made her think that he would not be able to ignore four other voices in his head? Fortunately, Hannah interrupted her again before she became too much of a defeatist.

“I wish had gotten the chance to apologize to Mr. Shaw.” She broadcasted.

“You never did tell me what happened between you two. It might seem silly, considering the situation, but I am here to listen.”

“They were always nice to me, the Shaws, but I just didn’t want to believe that I deserved such a perfect family. Every chance I got, I looked for cracks, but they never came, not until we went out to dinner one weekend.” Hannah said with a sigh. “It was a nice family place too. I should have been having fun, but instead I was listening to Mr. Shaw’s thoughts. Our waitress was a very pretty woman, though not as pretty as you, Shoshana. I heard Mr. Shaw thinking about her and that’s when I snapped. I don’t know if I thought he was going to cheat on Marilyn, or what, but I just blurted it out. I called him a pervert in front of everybody.”

Shoshana listened in as Hannah told her the story. In reality, Marilyn had told her the same story over the phone when she first inquired about Hannah, but this was the little girl’s chance at some redemption and she was not going to take that way, not with their lives about to change forever.

“I kept calling him that. I tried to convince Marilyn that he was going to cheat on her. I don’t know why I did it, but I wish I could take it back.” Hannah sobbed. “I don’t want that to be their last memory of me.”

“They loved you, Hannah. Their memories of you will be nothing but good. You must always remember that you were and are loved very dearly. If I had a daughter, I would want her to be just like you.”

Bright scarlet light poured in through the window. The spell was already under way. Shoshana breathed deeply and hoped that what came next would mean the end of the madness. The light trailed along the lines in the floor, under the door and to the smaller seal that she had drawn there. Soon her vision was clouded with the red light. It was the only color she could see. Her body began to ache as the light seeped in through her pores. It became everything that she was, and she became the light.

Energy engulfed Bacchus as he sat in the center of the seal. He opened his eyes to see the life force flowing into him from every direction. He could hear everything, things that he could not have ever learned on his own. For instance, in her last thoughts, he heard that the dear doctor’s real name was Shoshana Tate. It was a pity that he would never get a chance to use that against her. He could see the centuries of the two mystical creatures’ existences flash before his eyes. He had never been more in tune with the world around him. The power was intoxicating. No longer would any mortal being be able to keep secrets from him. He could be anywhere he wanted in an instant. He could fell his enemies with a single flick of his hand. He began to cackle wildly.

“Wait until Fawn sees the new me! Hell, forget Fawn, I can have any woman I desire. I can have every woman I desire. I am all powerfu—”

“Do you ever stop talking?” Shoshana’s voice rang in his head.

“What the—you’re supposed to be dead!” He shouted.

“Afraid not, ‘darling.” She responded venomously. “I am afraid we are going to be spending a lot of time together.”

“I’ll revel in the chance to rend your mind, just as I would have rended your flesh.” Jokull’s dragon growl sounded.

“Kyu!” Kit chimed in, no translation necessary.

“This is what happens when you mess with little girls!” Hannah added.

Bacchus clutched the sides of his head as his body began to twitch.

“Get out of my head!” He screamed, falling to his knees.

His body began to convulse, something was pulsing underneath his skin. His hair changed colors rapidly, shifting from its red to Jokull’s white, to Hannah’s blonde, then back again. Breasts swelled on his chest and then receded back into his body before he could even register the change. Every aspect of every person now inside of him was trying to take control of his body. He grew at an extraordinary rate, wings sprouting from his back, his face extending into a reptilian muzzle. The dragon in him roared as its considerable size filled the small basement room, pushing against the support beams until they could not take the pressure. The ceiling started to crumble and fall as his body changed again. He panted wildly as rubble crashed down around him. He was losing control and fast. The onslaught of four voices constantly reverberating in his brain was all he could take. He was no more. His body collapsed to the center of the seal and he looked up at the ceiling. Time seemed to slow down as a large piece of it gave way and tumbled through the air. He closed his eyes and the large piece of rubble crashed to the floor.

***

“Caitlin Foley, reporting live from the Genesis Foundation’s downtown research facility, where this afternoon the entire building collapsed under mysterious circumstances.” The young reported said into the camera.

Her short and spiked blonde hair blew in the wind as the camera focused on her. The overlay for Channel 7 news was in the forefront, with the headline stating Genesis Building Crumbles. Caitlin had a sort of natural charm in front of the camera, but she was often criticized for being too young to be taken seriously. If you had asked her, she would have spat at the idea that she was anything less than a professional. She was twenty-five years old, after all. She was no newbie in front of the camera. She knew it was just a matter of time before they made her anchor. Besides, she was a hell of a lot more attractive than any of the other girls at the station, and she knew it.

“Authorities have yet to say what the cause of the incident is, but there is indication that all employees are present and accounted for. Conspicuous by his absence is the CEO of the Genesis Foundation, the man known as Daniel Bacchus.”

The camera zoomed in on the background, showing the rubble that was caused when the building collapsed. Policemen had cornered off the site and were making sure that nobody got too close. Firemen dug through the rubble, just to make sure that everybody got out alive. Everything was still a bit hectic, but the camera did pick up something interesting. Through the dust, a flame appeared. As it came into focus, the flame began to take the shape of a woman. Even from the distance they were at, her thick mane of naturally fiery red hair stood out. It was difficult to tell what she was wearing, other than the white of a lab coat, closed over her curvaceous form. The cameraman seemed entranced by the appearance of this woman, completely neglecting the intrepid young reporter in favor of watching this woman. She knelt down at the side of the rubble, seemingly attending to the body of someone that was injured in the collapse. It was difficult to tell from the distance they were at.

“Reports are coming in now that there was at least one man injured in the collapse. He is described as a dark-skinned man with many tattoos, though the identity of this man has yet to be released. We are told that doctors are attending to him as we speak.”

Was this woman the doctor in question? The cameraman was distracted, and remained distracted until Caitlin pulled the camera back to look at her.

“What are you doing, Cam? We’re live on the air.”

He pointed to the woman and Caitlin grinned at her opportunity. With the way she was dressed, the girl assumed that this woman was someone that worked at Genesis. It would be a real coup to get an interview with her. She gave tugged on Cam’s shirt and directed him to get closer to the woman. Almost as if on cue, the woman looked up at the camera and approached the reporter and the cameraman.

“Hello, Miss, my name is Caitlin Foley, and I’m with Channel 7 news. If you don’t mind, could you tell us a bit about what happened here today?”

The woman stared into the camera with her dark cobalt eyes. As the camera zoomed in for another close-up, Cam could see how beautiful and yet strange she really looked. Her skin was much darker, more tanned than one would expect from a redhead, and the hair was not just red, but a mix of red with highlights of blonde and brown. She was short in stature, and in addition to the white lab coat, which unfortunately did not have her name on it, she wore a pair of black leather pants and was surprisingly barefoot. Her exotic beauty was entrancing and those cobalt eyes could have pierced a man’s soul.

“Um, Miss, are you listening? Could you at least tell us your name?”

Cam framed her face perfectly in the center of the screen as the diminutive woman stared back at him. Her pink lips pursed and then finally she spoke.

“My name is Sho…” She paused, as if she was unsure of her own name and then spoke again. “My name is Shota. Shota Heart.”

~ by Cady Graves on September 17, 2010.