Magestorm: The Reckoning Read online

  MAGESTORM

  THE RECKONING

  By Chris Fornwalt

  1

  Samantha woke up from a nightmare and had to calm herself down. These kinds of nights were frequent since moving to the cabin in the woods. The dream was filled with vampires, everywhere, stalking her, hunting her, and finally trapping her. No spells would work, and they closed in, about to take a bite out of her when...she woke up.

  Damn it!

  Living a life of fear was not what she envisioned when she moved here with her friends. She leaned her head up and looked over to the table where a light was still on. There, quietly studying his spell pages was Dhane. He’d barely slept or ate since getting out of the hospital.

  Samantha got out of bed and tried to fix her now-long blond hair before she walked over to where he sat. Peering over his shoulder, she realized how complicated these new spells were. No wonder he had been taking so long to study them. Strangely, he never seemed to practice them, at least not that she saw.

  “Dhane,” she said softly, putting her arm on his shoulder, “You really should try to get some sleep.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Without looking up, he turned the page and continued to read. Samantha let out a sigh and walked to the kitchen area. A quick glass of water and she was headed back to bed. In the morning, the mage would undoubtedly be asleep at the table, or sprawled out in the corner chair. Despite her offers to take turns having the bed, or even sharing it, he couldn’t seem to let himself relax long enough.

  Back to sleep, and back to the nightmares, Samantha continued with another night of restless sleep. By now she figured she’d be used to it.

  Dhane continued his studies through the night and into the morning. There was something strange about the collection of spells, but he wasn’t quite able to put his finger on it. Regardless, when he came face to face with Elisabeth again, she would surely know all these spells by heart. He damn sure would as well.

  As he read, he ran a finger over the scar on his forehead, which continued down on his cheek. It was a habit of his, tracing the uneven skin as a reminder of what happened. He had been lucky enough to not be blinded, and instead only had a slight reduction in vision and a horrible mark on his face. It was about all the luck he had lately, it seemed. That, and Demian copying the spell book. The vampire’s paranoia had worked out just fine.

  Once he finished the last page again, he glanced towards the window and saw the first signs of light coming through the trees outside. He walked over to the door and pulled it open. Birds chirped at the morning sun and he took a deep breath of the fresh air.

  “Where were you going before you got led off course, father?”

  “Dhane, who are you talking to?”

  A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Samantha was awake. He forced a smile and looked back out the door. Stepping outside, he pulled the door shut behind him and strolled into the forest, leaving the confused witch behind.

  The woods were thick, making it difficult to find the cabins if you didn’t know where they were. Of course, that was the point. A single dirt road which led to another dirt road, and then finally to the highway, was the only way you would know there was anything here other than trees. Secluded, the remaining members of the council tried their best to stay out of sight.

  He strolled through the trees aimlessly, unsure of where he would end up and what he would do there. Finally he noticed a clearing ahead. Stepping out, he was at a cliff overlooking a vast area of trees, a river, and mountains in the distance. It was breathtaking.

  For hours he sat by the cliff, first simply admiring the view, then going over plans in his head for how to re-establish the council with werewolves and vampires included. Finally, he practiced the spells he had learned, going through each carefully to try and find what was familiar within them. He finished, and watched the sun head down over the horizon.

  As he walked back to the cabin, it occurred to him that he hadn’t eaten all day. His stomach growled and moaned, and he quickly realized he didn’t even know where he was. Lost in the woods, he had a better chance than when the vampires left him.

  It took over an hour to reach any signs of life, but finally he came across a road. Following it north, he found a restaurant and went inside. The specialty was steak, and Dhane was starving, so he ordered the largest they had, a baked potato with all the fixings, and corn on the cob. The food came and he tore through it like he had been starved for a week.

  Once he finished, he leaned back in his chair and felt like he would explode. The waitress stopped by and topped off his drink, and sat the check on the table.

  Oh, damn.

  Suddenly he realized he didn’t have any money with him. This was just great. Now he’d likely end up in jail, or worse, he’d get his ass kicked. He drank slowly and noticed the waitress kept looking over. She knew he was stalling, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. After another twenty minutes, the waitress spoke to a large man, easily six feet, and husky. The man walked over and took a seat at Dhane’s table.

  “How’s it going, son?”

  “Well, it could be better.” Dhane adjusted in his seat nervously.

  “Was the food not good? You seemed to eat it well enough.”

  “No, the food was fine, I mean great. Only, after I ate, I realized I hadn’t brought money with me. So, I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what to do.”

  The man nodded, not surprised in the least by the answer. “We don’t get many freeloaders around here.”

  “He’s not a freeloader,” a voice came from behind Dhane. A handful of bills were dropped onto the table, and a large black man named Terrance sat down. “He’s my friend.”

  2

  Elisabeth strolled around the Grand Hotel, admiring her new home. Several of her allies would also make this their residence. They were preparing a new, better council, one led by her, with Sebastian, Charles, and Heather holding high positions. It was actually less of a council, and more of a monarchy being put into place. And who better than her to be queen?

  The old council room would be her ‘throne room’, for lack of a better term. She had arranged the chairs so that she sat in the center, facing the door. To her sides would sit her higher-ups, and others would simply report to her, standing or maybe kneeling. She hadn’t decided which yet.

  The table was the same old table that had always been there. It was good for keeping the werewolves at bay, since it prevented them from changing to wolf form. The effects of the table on vampires were less clear, though it appeared to allow them to go out in the sunlight.

  “Ma’am,” a vampire approached, “the room has been completed, and the monster has arrived.”

  “Very good.”

  Elisabeth followed the vampire back into the lobby where a crate was being moved in using two dollies. Charles was standing by, leaning against the front desk with his elbow. His hands were clasped in front of him at his stomach, and his tall, lean figure made him look weak. The dark, piercing eyes shifted from the crate to the witch, and suddenly his image went from weak to terrifying.

  “Your servant has arrived.”

  He spoke with a grin that didn’t only make his appearance worse. The fangs were prominent and sharp, and it was a crooked smile which wasn’t really meant to comfort anyone. The vampire wasn’t misunderstood, as Lila had thought. Instead, he gave more truth to the thought of a ruthless vampire than anyone would have imagined.

  “What makes this creature work? It’s not exactly magic.”

  “Not exactly. If your father was alive, you could ask him.”

  That froze Elisabeth in her tracks. Had Algernon created this abomination? It wasn’t outside the
realm of possibility. It would also explain why she was able to give her commands through some sort of telepathic link with the monster.

  “So what is it then?”

  “It was created using vampire blood, while he was desperately seeking a cure for mortality. This was his greatest success, such as it was.”

  The large box was pried open to reveal the creature standing idly inside. Normally the vampires kept the thing on a gurney with wires attached to ensure the creature was still alive. Now that they had finally seen it move, they were less concerned with it being fragile.

  “How did you find it? I mean, after Algernon was overtaken, why didn’t they destroy this monster?”

  The creature followed her silent command and stepped out of the crate and to the center of the lobby. The skin of the beast was a sickening greenish tint with a glossy look. It looked almost like a wax museum creation for a hall of monsters exhibit. As the crate was removed, a few other vampires and werewolves passed through, looking at Algernon’s creation with both curiosity and horror.

  “Since he needed vampire blood initially, just to keep it alive, there was always a couple nearby. When things got hectic, Algernon hid away the creature as best he could. However, fear that the monster couldn’t live without the constant blood transfusions, he told two vampires of his location, and asked only that they keep it alive. They did, but as they grew weary of supplying blood, they came to my father for help.”

  “And you simply held on to the monster, waiting for the right time to utilize him.”

  “Indeed. We assumed it would have to be Dhane, but it became clear he couldn’t be converted to our side. That’s when we started a big research project to find if there were any other offspring of the Great Wizard. Lo and behold, we found evidence of a girl. The final step was getting into the records the witches kept, so we could confirm you were the right person. Clearly you are, with your ability to direct the monster.”

  “Clearly.”

  She ordered the creature up the stairs without opening her mouth, and it obeyed without hesitation. They reached her chambers and she opened the door before directing him inside. In a far corner was a closet-like area, custom built just for her new soldier.

  Once inside, the monster stood silently, as though asleep standing up. It would wait that way until new orders were provided. Safely in her area, Elisabeth sat down on her bed and stared at the enclosure, amazed at the lack of sound and movement coming from within.

  A sudden thought came to her mind, and she walked over and opened up the door again. The creature didn’t open its eyes, as there was no command for it. Carefully, as though she was trying not to wake it, she pulled down his pants to see what there was.

  Interesting.

  She pulled his pants back up and ordered the monster to open his eyes. He did so, and she pulled off her shirt and dropped her pants. Standing there in her underwear, she waited for any sort of reaction from the thing. With none coming, she proceeded to remove her bra and panties. Standing naked, there was no reaction.

  The creature closed its eyes when ordered to do so. She closed the door and returned to sitting on her bed, not really sure of what she expected the creature to do. After wondering for a few moments if there might be any werewolves in the building feeling frisky, she decided that would be a bad idea, all things considered.

  Lying back on the bed, her hands slid across her body, delicately touching her breasts. Teasing the nipples very gently at first, she quickly pinched them, making herself gasp. Cupping her left breast fully in her left hand, the right hand slid down her stomach and between her legs.

  After a few moments of massaging and tracing, she thrust two fingers inside herself and smiled. For the next half an hour she proceeded to pleasure herself, mixing gentle with rough at just the right times. She was going to climax today, even if she had to do it herself.

  3

  Dhane stepped out into the cool air and took a deep breath with his eyes closed. After holding it for several seconds he slowly exhaled as he opened his eyes. Terrance stepped out and gave him a slap on the shoulder.

  “What say we get you home before you cause any more trouble?”

  The mage glanced over at the wide grin on the werewolf’s face, and he couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was completely unexpected to see him again, and he was amazed by the perfect timing. Good thing they got past the little issue of Dhane putting a spell on him the first time they met.

  “What brings you to these parts, Terrance? I thought you guys are supposed to stay away from us cursed magic folk.”

  “I’ve actually got a couple of reasons. First, I have a box in the car of Lila’s possessions Tyler got from the hospital when he checked out. I thought you or Samantha might want them.”

  They walked over to a used blue pickup truck and climbed inside. Terrance handed over the box and started the truck. Unable to open it and reopen the wounds he had been trying to block out, Dhane just stared at the box.

  “Which way to your cabin?” Terrance tried to take his mind off things.

  “North, I think.”

  The werewolf flashed a confused look before he threw the truck into drive and they started off. Hopefully they weren’t driving off aimlessly. Within a few minutes, Dhane realized where they were, and he pointed them down a couple of dirt roads to the secluded location of the cabins, well within the woods.

  Samantha was peering out the window carefully when the two men got out of the truck. Living in constant fear had made her very cautions. Quickly she recognized the men, however. Bursting through the door, she was clearly furious about something.

  “Dhane! Where the hell have you been?”

  “I went for a walk.”

  “All damn day? We wanted to search for you, but we didn’t even know which directly you went. For all we knew you were lost in the woods, or worse.”

  Dhane walked past her and into the cabin, carrying the box of Lila’s things, and not saying another word. The witch turned her glare to Terrance.

  “Was he out with you this whole time? Is it too much to ask for a little common courtesy from you guys?”

  “Sorry. I came across him at a diner, trying to figure out how to pay a check with no money. I think it’s probably good that he ventured out, but his head still isn’t straight. Keep an eye on him.”

  “That’s precisely what I’m trying to do.”

  She had lowered her tone, but the anger was still there. There was pain mixed in, probably of not knowing where Dhane had gone, or if he was in trouble. Too much loss lately was weighing on the lot of them.

  “Listen, I come with some unpleasant news. The vampires really are hunting for you, for all of us. They have hunting parties everywhere, working a grid search, spiraling outwards. You guys need to be careful, especially with Amber in your group. Warn Cassandra.”

  “Why don’t you come and tell Cassandra yourself?”

  “I don’t dare stay long. Two of us here is too much werewolf blood in one place. They’ll home in if I don’t get out of here. All of us are staying clear of each other as much as possible. I haven’t seen Xander or Tyler recently, but we’re staying in touch.”

  Terrance looked around, peering into the darkness in the forest. The thought of a nervous werewolf made Samantha queasy. Maybe it would be best for him to leave quickly, before they were in real trouble.

  “I’ll pass on the message right away. How are the others?”

  “Xander and Nicole are staying way down south. Xander does have Tyler making occasional trips near Thauma, then leaving an obvious trail towards the east. The hiding makes his skin crawl, though. Really, it does for all of us. We just have to keep focused right now. It’s all about survival, and hopefully things turn around before long.”

  “Thank you, Terrance,” Samantha hugged the werewolf and he gave a sad smile in return. “You really are a good friend to us. I hope the day comes that we don’t have to hide from one another.”

  “I only
wish I could do more. Stay strong.”

  He climbed back into his pickup truck, gave one last wave, and pulled back down the road. Once he was out of sight, Samantha looked into her cabin to check on Dhane. Sitting quietly at the table, he was staring at a small box he had carried in.

  Do I even want to know what’s in the box?

  Deciding it was best not to ask, at least for now, she hurried up the path to the other cabin, eager to fill in Cassandra so they could decide if they needed to move or not. She was completely unaware of the three sets of hungry eyes watching her.

  4

  “We should take her, in the darkness,” the vampire in the dark red spandex shirt said as he nearly drooled on himself. “She looks tasty.”

  “No, she would cry out and lead the others to us before we could finish her.”

  The vampire wearing a long leather trench coat picked at his teeth with a toothpick. He was the leader of this group of hunters due to his calm nature and evil, calculating mind. The other two didn’t even question his orders.

  “Instead we take the mage, all alone in his cabin. Then, we wait until she returns and ambush her. Then we’ll deal with the others in that distant cabin. Pick them off one by one; this will be easy as pie.”

  “Heh heh, I like pie,” the tall lean vampire in jeans and no shirt chuckled.

  They carefully snuck up to the cabin and peered in through the windows. The young man inside was still staring at a cardboard box, oblivious that he was even being watched. Satisfied that they could take him, three on one, the shirtless vampire scratched on a window furthest away from the front door. Dhane heard the noise and, predictably, went over to investigate.

  The front door burst open and the other two vampires charged in. The wizard was startled as he spun around. With his eyes wide he looked over the intruders. He knew there was no escape from this, and expected a crippling fear to rise within. Instead, he became utterly calm, like some kind of spell, a meditation spell maybe, had come over him. Of course, there was no such thing as a meditation spell, so he wasn’t sure what this was.