Crimson Claws & Fangs ch.21

    In the large lavish living room of Litmet’s penthouse Litmet, Ananth, Count Fontaine, and Mike now in his human form stand before a floating green energy lined viewing portal. They watch as Peter is dropped in the Dark Forest by Rhuen. With a wave of her hand Litmet dismissed the portal.

 

   “It seems Ananth’s pet is lost and his plan failed.” States Fontaine with an air of superiority.

 

    Ananth ignores him & looks to Litmet, “It seems our plan didn’t go as we though M’lady.”

 

     “You’re plan?” says Fontaine, “That was that human’s plan with help from us.”

 

    Ananth looks at him with a smile, “Why do you think I had you take that human from the prison along with me? As you know Litmet and I were in constant contact while I was there. We had a plan that seemed to be working until now.”

 

    Mike thinks listening to this, “a plot involving Peter?”

 

   Mike turns to Litmet and asks bluntly, “What plan would that be?”

 

    Litmet unphased by his tone says, “A human going after a were-dire created by Versa, a mate to Rhuen. The pair of them recently had children, so they would be near each other. By having this human go after this were-dire he would likely provoke Rhuen. Add in those cops. Rhuen’s method has always been to overwhelmingly eliminate those who oppose him. I know him…” Litmet stops looking as though she were remembering something from long ago, “Those cops would have called in back-up, and Rhuen’s ancient temper would have gotten the better of him at the thought of secrecy making him want to hide from those he views as ants. He would destroy them utterly, exposing himself to the world. They would have spread tales over the news of devils, sent more police and armies after him as he raged until he would take no more and destroyed the very structure of this modern civilization. This would have made the people ripe to be controlled by us as the only ones to protect them from the chaos, Rhuen’s own offspring would not dare oppose him, yes, instead they would follow his example taking what they wanted from the ruined Earth he left behind. This world would be ours to remake in our own image with out any thing…or any conditions to prevent this.”

 

     Mike thinks, “My God, they want to rule the world.”

 

     After a pause a second thought occurs to him, “Rhuen could have destroyed the armies of the world alone? She didn’t say the dire and the other monsters would rise as an army to destroy the world, just him by himself. Just one can do all that?”

 

    Litmet smiles, “Yes, your thoughts are correct. One Dire as you call them, has the powers of a god. Especially one as old as Rhuen, the ruler of the House of Rai, can do so much more than what he was ever likely to show some pathetic human hunter harassing him.”

 

   Litmet turns her head away from Mike and to Ananth, “Perhaps it would have been better to try and use one not as un-predictable as Rhuen, and whose women were not so near by to control his anger. If not for the younger ones being so afraid of their elders, if not for the others who have no such strange games of secrecy with these humans as The Rai, not bothering with this jewel of a planet, if not for that damned Hinnen Ahm, this silliness would have been done with long ago.”

 

    Litmet stops with a smile on her face, “Ananth, come along its time.”

 

    She turns to Mike, “It will be night soon go out and do what ever you want I have something to take care of.”

 

    Litmet and Ananth watch as Mike exists the front door of the Penthouse. They turn and head to the master bedroom they had left empty for many months now. In this room on the bed sits the black cocoon that Rick had formed around his body. The slanted eyes of this armored dagger of a cocoon now glow red.

 

    “So this is your Litkin.” Says Ananth.

 

   As they stand there the glowing stops as the entire center of the cocoon cracks open like a mechanical egg, it folds back oddly dry as Rick naked as the day he was born, only dryer, steps out like vampire from his coffin.

 

    Rick sits up on the bed after he climbs from the cocoon looking down on himself thinking, “I am naked?” As he thinks this the shadows seem to form on his body molding into the shape of a black t-shirt and jeans. He looks at Litmet wide eyed and rushes over, noticing he is also now wearing black shoes, to a nearby wall mirror. In the mirror he stares in awe, he looks younger, any signs of wrinkles, blemishes, even black heads, are all gone. Instead of looking like his forties he looks to himself like a twenty something model version of himself.

 

   “I could hear and see everything while I was in there.” He says to Litmet, “Thanks for the leaving the TV on, not sure your little Jaracakas pet would have kept me sane.” He says with a chuckle while indicating the small cage with a boa constrictor like animal in it, which is blinking and sipping milk from a bird water dish.

 

     With a wave of her hand the shadows swallow up the cocoon and its webbing from the bed and new bedding appears on it. One looking now would never know a massive demonic looking cocoon had just been sitting in this room.

 

    Litmet says to Rick, “You are now more powerful than you were before. You have greater mystical powers even.”

 

    Rick chuckles, “you know I almost expected to come out of that thing looking like a giant bug or something.” He examines his face in the mirror with a smile, “this is a very pleasant surprise.”

 

    “You should go out and test your new abilities.” Says Litmet, “in fact head to the roof, you will find you can now mold shadows into armor on your body, and even sprout wings from your back, not that you really need them to fly.”

 

    A hour later Rick flies above the city with his black demon like wings jutting out of the black of what looks like black polished medieval armor. As he flies about he senses nearby another figure flying about. With his night vision he sees crouched on the edge of a building a grey gargoyle like creature with a striking pointed head of red hair. This creature is watching the streets below and lying behind it is the body of a man. Rick can sense the body is a vampire, and somehow the creature is too, but different. In all his years in the Order he had never seen such a creature.

 

    Mike had been gone for a little over an hour hunting in the dark, he had found and fed on a local thug thrall Moroii Fontaine had on a list for him to exterminate. Sitting on this roof like a beast guarding its territory he senses another approaching him from the air, something he hadn’t seen before, but his thirst wants more and this creature will do. He lunges into the air snarling towards this flying armor.

 

    Mike strikes at the creature he doesn’t know is Rick, only to miss him as he vanishes in a burst of speed. With a strike of his fist to its head Rick sends Mike tumbling towards the ground. Now angrier than it has even been the beast that was Mike has felt for only the second time since his transformation real pain from an opponent. With a great thrust of his wings he lunges at Rick again, with a few exchanges of fists and claws Mike finally manages to grab Rick’s arms and tries to rake him with his back feet only to find his claws creating nothing but sparks.

 

   Although not visible on the outside Rick could feel Mike’s rake attack and with his arms pinned feel his strength. He knew this creature was stronger than he first thought and had to end this fight quickly. Blue flames shoot from Rick’s wings as he sends them both spinning through the air. Mike lets go only for Rick to grab his arms in return. Like a flaming cartwheel they spin through the air that would spark a few UFO calls from people in the city below. Rick throws the now dizzy Mike into the roof of an abandoned ware house denting the metal roof. Rick lands nearby and forms from his metal sleeve a black broadsword. Rick holds the blade to the throat of the beast, “now its time I finished this vampire thing.”

 

     Mike, made dizzy and now slammed into a building finds his mind clearer than normal for this monster like state. He looks at the face of the thing he has been fighting and can’t believe what he sees uttering in his growling voice, “Rick? Rick Richardson?”

 

    “What?” says Rick withdrawing his sword, “who are you?”

 

    “I…I’m Mike…Mike King.” He says.

 

   Rick says, “We’ll see about that.” Rick sends bolts of green electric bolts from his hand knocking Mike out.

 

    Rick returns to Litmet’s penthouse with the unconscious Mike held by his ankles like a hunter’s catch. He drags him through the roof entrance to Litmet’s penthouse and leaves him on the floor. Mike blinks his eyes as he is starting to come to, yet still almost completely numb and unable to really move. Litmet enters the room in a slit legs black dress with a glass of red wine in her hand and Ananth in her Egyptian woman’s form wearing a fishnet dress and cleavage revealing top.

 

    Litmet looks at Mike on the floor and says to Rick, “Dragging back your prey? I was half expecting to turn on the news tomorrow and hear an entire arboretum had been destroyed. Interesting you have turned to animals, strange taste though.”

 

   Rick says, “Okay fun and games aside, this thing claimed to be my old partner Mike King, it even recognized me. Now the person its claiming to be is the one you showed me was destroyed by that Rhuen thing.”

 

   Litmet waves her hand at Mike turning him back into his human form, and even restoring his cloths. Mike stands now no longer numb and looks at his hands and touches he chest in complete disbelief, “the curse has been lifted” he says in utter disbelief. He looks at Rick overjoyed, “That monster Rhuen destroyed my body, took my soul, and trapped it inside the body of that monster. I was human by day and that mindless demon thing by night. But now, now it’s over!”

 

    Litmet sets down her drink on a stand and with a chuckle says, “No, Mike King, this is not a cure. It is only a temporary pause in your curse, only the one that cursed you can undo it.”

 

    Rick apologizes to Litmet for thinking she had tricked him, much to Mike’s surprise as he looks between them, noticing Rick’s armor turn to shadow and change into black cloths.

 

   “What!?” screams Mike as the situation as he imagines it dawns on him, “She is a demon Rick! Those powers you have, you were able to beat me, I can take down vampires like rabbits and you were able to beat me. Those powers you have. You sold your soul to this demon bitch didn’t you? You’re not curse like me, you have complete control over it.”

 

    Rick angry says to Mike, “The Order is evil, it wants to control the world not rid it of evil. They take magical objects and monsters trying to use their power to build up an army and an arsenal to usurp the world’s governments and bring back the dark ages. This woman here showed me the truth, just because something lives in the dark doesn’t mean its evil.”

 

    Mike says, “You have no idea, these monsters want to rule the world. I’d rather have the dark ages of religious rigor, plagues, and inquisitions, and all than the hell these monsters would bring on the world. Better priests rule the world than devils. I turned into a monster, and I was forced to join these vampires out of desperation. Being used as an enforcer for that pale bastard Fontaine, and this devil cat bitch. I was biding my time, studying them so I could destroy them when they least expected it.”

 

    Before Rick can utter a rebuttal Litmet grabs Mike by the throat lifting him off the floor, “We exist, that is all there is to it. No good, no evil. There are no good guys or super-villains in this or any other world. This world needs a fresh start, one way or another before it destroys its self. You need to learn the truth about what is out there for yourself. That must be why Rhuen cursed you. But instead of going out to learn the truth you have been sheltered from it by that fool Fontaine, stuck in a world you can only see as evil. And myself as this evil Overlord out to destroy this precious world you hold onto as if it were this Utopia from Nirvana. With Fontaine using you as a henchman and all.”

 

    She looks thoughtful for a moment, “Well no more. You will not be going back to him, and I am going to tell him if he even tries to get you back I am going to shove him in a safe so small he will wish for the days when he was in those crates Rhuen left him in.”

 

    With her free hand she sends a green beam into the air which opens to reveal a rocky beach in day light, she flings Mike through the portal saying, “Lets see how much mercy you get in Italy.” Litmet closed the portal behind him.

 

    On this rocky beach Mike stands up and brushes himself off thinking, “Italy, the Order, of course. They will be able to help me. I’ll show that demon, we are the good guys.”

 

    Back in the still night covered L.A. California Rick says to Litmet, “He never was very bright. It’s why I broke off our partnership in the Order. He kept getting us almost caught by talking too much with local authorities everywhere we went. I guess he figured people would just accept this whole sacred Order crossing borders and taking justice into our own hands with out question or problems with it like we were some kind of superheroes.”

 

    Litmet looks out the window saying, “well all those un-pleasantries aside, it’s almost dawn.”

 

    Ananth in twisting herself in a seductive little dance like motion says, “Are you coming to bed mistress?” Ananth eyes Rick as well when she says this with a smile on her face. Litmet looks at Ananth and back at Rick with a smile on her face, “I think we may need a bigger bed.”