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A little while later . . .
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Kertosis Ithslerorvana may have been insane, but he was no fool. As soon as the Purity vehicles stopped and the firefight was engaged on the ground, he grabbed the Dead Man’s World and made a run for it. He thought his “allies” to be fools for continuing the fight even though they realized they had been duped. As badly as he wanted to see Valar die for aiding in his imprisonment, Kertosis wasn’t about to challenge the Hybrid known as Eliza. She was an unknown commodity and while deserving of destruction simply due to her heavily diluted bloodline, he would choose his own time and place to finish her.
He noticed a slow moving gargoyle swinging over head, and he was sure he had been spotted. He raised the Dead Man’s World over his head and concentrated. He had been allowed to practice controlling the Living Jewel on several Terran or Terran-sympathizer prisoners, and he had learned to impose his will upon the stone. A stream of darkness enveloped the creature and for a moment, even the wielder of the World couldn’t see it. Then, the darkness evaporated, but not before it had extinguished the light burning in the gargoyle’s soul and sent the thing dropping to the earth . . . dead. He took a moment to sneer at the corpse before moving on.
Unfortunately for Kertosis, he didn’t get much further before hearing a dreadful howl behind him. It sounded like a lycanthrope, and it sounded close.
[[ Damn dogs! ]] he muttered. [[ I may have been too quick to spare them back on Terra. I won’t make the same mistake again! ]]
After another several minutes had passed, he heard the swooshing of wings nearby. He assumed it was another gargoyle that had come to discern the cause of death for its fallen comrade. But even with his advanced night vision, he couldn’t see it. This one was flying lower to the ground. [[ No matter, ]] he told himself. [[ Should it cross me, it will . . . ]]
Kertosis had just come into a clearing when he felt rage boil up inside him. On one boulder sat a gargoyle, and on another sat a lycanthrope . . . probably the one he had heard howling. But standing in the trail opposite him was an old, old enemy.
[[ Valar! ]] he snarled.
[[ I’m glad you remember me, ]] the other vampire said. He was holding both hands behind his back, waiting for Kertosis to make his move. [[ I’m not particularly surprised to see you running away, ]] he added, utilizing his innate power to piss people off. [[ You were always good at that part. ]]
[[ You were always so much braver when you had backup, ]] Kertosis replied.
Valar looked first at the gargoyle and then the lycanthrope, making a motion with his head. [[ Leave us, ]] he ordered, then the two other Terrans vanished.
Kertosis was nervous. Valar was FAR too confident. [[ You think you can take me! ]] he screamed. He needed to make his play before the others came back. [[ This time, I’ll destroy you! ]] He pulled the Dead Man’s World from his robes and wielded it, concentrating hard.
[[ For a brilliant psychopath, you’re quite predictable, ]] Valar returned. From behind his back, he produced two Living Gems. In one hand, he held The Dragon’s Breath and in the other, he held The Ocean’s Heart. After a moment’s concentration, he accessed the power of The Dragon’s Breath and created a tiny, tiny bridge to Terra. It was just enough to give him a super charge of mystical energy from his home planet. His eyes glowed red and he concentrated on the air between him and Kertosis, making it thicker. Then he used a telekinetic punch using that air to knock The Dead Man’s World from Kertosis’s grasp and sent it flying down into a ditch. Then Valar closed his small bridge before his enemy could use it to access his own magical power.
Kertosis found himself unarmed and facing off with a crafty opponent. Without magic, he decided to rush Valar, hoping to take control of that cursed ruby. He only got a few steps before a stream of water erupted from The Ocean’s Heart, encasing him completely in a shimmering blue liquid and stopping him in his tracks.
Valar almost looked solemn all of a sudden. [[ Kertosis Ithslerorvana, you were found guilty on Terra of multiple counts of murder. Now, you have committed treason against your people and your world. I determine it to be my duty to enact your punishment now . . . in this place. Kertosis, the power of The Ocean’s Heart is one of cleansing. By my will, I hereby cleanse your body of YOUR will and your magical abilities. I assert my will upon the stone, and my will shall be done. ]]
Kertosis screamed at first, but he felt himself . . . relaxing. His anger . . . his fears . . . his worries . . . they all slowly slid from his thoughts like so much water down an open drain. For a moment, he understood what peace was. Then, he understood nothing.
Valar withdrew his will from the Living Jewel. It wasn’t quite the same as a mind-wipe, but it was close enough. Kertosis would never harm another creature. [[ You can come back now! ]] he shouted to the gargoyle and lycanthrope, both of whom had been waiting nearby. Once they arrived, the gargoyle landed near the now zombie-like form of Kertosis.
[[ And so justice is done, ]] it said in it’s raspy voice.
[[ Justice is done, ]] agreed the lycanthrope.
Valar just stared at his former adversary. He realized that he owed Eliza an apology. There were things in both worlds much more deserving of contempt than someone who preferred the sexual company of their own gender. But at least now, there was one fewer. He directed the gargoyle to retrieve The Dead Man’s World from ditch. He understood now why Eliza hated the thing so much. He had seen, for just a moment, the dark heart of The Dead Man’s World, and he hadn’t liked the look of it at all.
————– ——————
Back at the battle . . .
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By the time Valar returned, the fight was almost over. The vampires had swarmed out of the buses and, with their vastly superior night-fighting ability, they had run roughshod over their opponents in the broken terrain. The gargoyles had taken to dropping large rocks on the Purity soldiers from the heights, and the remaining succubae led by Terillia were essentially toying with the one remaining attack chopper. The machine had run out of ammo and its navigation systems were fried. Eliza was screaming at them to “stop playing with your food” and finish it. A few well-thrown EMP grenades and the last of the Purity’s air power was sent crashing to the ground.
Some of the enemy had tried returning to their vehicles in hopes of making an escape, but the trolls had taken to rolling over anything that moved. Several soldiers surrendered while hanging upside down by their safety belts. One soldier had been trying to sneak up on Eliza, but Veronica had spotted him. She had grabbed him by leg and beat him against a boulder until he stopped twitching. She may not have been looking for a massacre, but no one fucked with her girlfriend.
Eliza was suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, but she knew she would live. Being an enemy commander, she had drawn a lot of fire. It might have been worse except Thug and Tiny had both shown up to block incoming fire. Tiny was still grumbling as he forced the bullets out of his body. Thug was casually discussing when he had taken on the chopper that one time, just to put things in perspective. Tiny told Thug to shut up.
When the smoke finally settled, the Terrans had captured close to one hundred and fifty people. They estimated that several hundred more lay amongst the rocks. But they had suffered their own losses. About ten vampires, three lycanthropes, three gargoyles and five succubae had lost their lives. These winged Terrans had born the brunt of the attack helicopters’ fury, and Eliza realized the debt that was owed them. To no one’s surprise, all the trolls had survived, though one of them would probably spend a few weeks or so regenerating an arm and a leg after a disabled helicopter landed on him. Luckily, he had been pulled clear before it exploded.
Eliza saw that Valar had returned with Kertosis draped over the lycanthrope’s shoulder.
“Is it done?” she asked.
He nodded. “It’s done.”
She looked around. “Round up the prisoners!” she shouted. She turned to Veronica. How long until the Captain arrives?”
“Captain Corbin is only about an hour away. He had to keep his distance so no one would suspect anything. Besides, he wanted to let us handle this. The question is, what happens now?” Veronica was staring pointedly at her lover.
Eliza looked at her assembling troops. “Friends and Terrans, victory is ours.” She had to wait for the cheers to subside. “But we have a choice to make. When I asked you to come to California, I said it would be for a Blood War. The question is, will we continue the spilling of blood? These men are helpless now. We have taken their power away. As a wise person recently told me,” she started, glancing at Veronica, “our ways are NOT the ways of Earth. If humans went to Terran and tried to tell us how to fight our wars, what would we do?”
[[ Laugh at them and tell them to go home! ]] one of the vampires shouted, getting a low chuckle from the crowd.
“You’re absolutely right. So do we have the right to wage a Terran-style war on Earth, though it is violation of their ways and their laws!”
Valar stepped forward. [[ I realize as much as any of you how easy it would be spill their life-force on the soil, ]] he said, pushing the empty husk of Kertosis forward. [[ But that would be too easy. I also agreed to a Radotanida, but these creatures are not worth it. ]]
It was Veronica’s turn. “I know that none of you owe me anything, but I would like to speak anyway. The way I understand it, a Blood War is done to wipe your enemies out for good. Is this correct?” There was a murmur of agreement. “Well slaughtering these men will not destroy our enemies. Rather, it will ensure their survival. You will be seen as the monsters the Purity believes you to be, and the ranks and resources will be replenished. People will become afraid of you, and that fear will draw them to the enemy. The Purity is crippled and dying. Let them die as befitting them . . . whining and crying in their holes in the ground, with no one left to listen to them.”