Chapter 2
Warehouse Blues
Crystal and Marcella stopped near a large warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned for several years, as they looked up, they saw a small sign hanging from it:
Warning:
Building unsafe.
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!
"Oh, great, wouldn't you know it, they'd set up shop in an abandoned warehouse that's slated for demolition." Marcella commented, the sarcasm lacing her voice was very noticeable,
"Perfect place, no one would think to look in here." Crystal replied, noting that it was the perfect hideout,
"Yeah, true, let's get this over with, so I can get back to that arcade, and whip your ass in Zombie Mayhem." Marcella commented,
"You've been spending too much time with master in the Rec Room again, Marcy." Crystal replied, shaking her head, of all the times to issue a challenge, she had to do it during a covert mission,
"That mean you're backing out?" Marcella asked, arching an eyebrow,
"Have you ever known me to back down from a challenge," Crystal commented, then, she added, without hesitation, "bring it, little girl."
"Consider it brought, and paid for . . . you're going down!" Marcella stated, moving her head in a circular movement of her neck,
"Not if I take you down first." Crystal replied, that's when a sound caught their well trained ears,
"What was that?" Marcella asked,
"Not sure, sounds like someone's toying around in there with something." Crystal replied, pressing her ear to the sheet metal wall of the warehouse, that's when voices came to them, they were chanting in a language that had been dead for years . . . Aramaic,
"That's Aramaic," Marcella stated, catching it instantly, "I thought that died out centuries ago."
"Apparently not, ready to do this?" Crystal asked,
"Yeah, let's put a stop to this, before they do more damage than even they know conceivable." Marcella stated, grabbing from her armlets, a set of sword handles, she pushed a small switch on the side of the handle, to reveal laser blades.
As they walked into the warehouse, they saw something they never thought possible, centered in the middle of the cavernous warehouse, was a huge fire, burning away, around it were several men, some wearing those loud hula shirts that they had seen for sale at Duke's Lane, one of them was dressed in long black robes, with silver trim, they had guessed that he was the one leading the group,
"Man, I don't believe this, we come in here, thinking that we're stopping a cult, instead, we get revenge of the male Gidget's." Crystal stated, laughing slightly,
"Looks like a bunch of surfer dudes, and beach bums." Marcella commented, sheathing her laser swords, and smiling devilishly, she added quickly, "Oh, I just got one hell of an idea."
"Oh, let me in on it, sis." Crystal replied, the same wicked smile coming over her face,
"Well, it looks like a good scare would easily make them run for cover, so, why not give them what they want." Marcella stated,
"You mean, we play the demons." Crystal replied, looking at Marcella like she had lost her mind,
"Why not?" Marcella asked,
"News flash, Marcy, we're Dhampir, not demons, I doubt that'll work." Crystal pointed out,
"They don't know that, besides, we're only going to scare them into giving up that book they got, no big." Marcella replied,
"I still think this is a bad idea, sis." Crystal replied, going along with the plan,
"Just wait until I give the signal." Marcella stated, they waited in the shadows, effectively hiding themselves from view, until Marcella nodded, and walked out into the dim light of the fire pit,
"Wouldn't you know it, we always get stuck with the freaks." she stated, looking with disgust at the men present in the room,
"Tell me about it, sister, I hoped we'd at least get some cultists, or someone with a knowledge of the texts, instead, we get . . . sandfleas." Crystal added, appearing out of the shadows on the other side of the room,
"I noticed, what's the occasion, boy's, surf not high enough for you?" Marcella asked coyly,
"Hardly." the man in black stated, he had a smooth, deep voice, almost like their former master before Ron, but it still didn't sway them,
"Then, what is it?" Crystal asked, looking the group over, hoping that none of them would stand up, and notice they weren't demons, as they had yet to show their powers, and she really hated to do so,
"The path to ultimate power. I expected some response, but a pair of Dhampir is definitely a surprise." the man, whom Crystal and Marcella took to be the leader stated, in a somewhat bored voice,
"So, you figured us out, boy. But do you have any idea what you're doing?" Crystal asked,
"Unlike my boorish companions, I know quite well." the leader stated, in a stiff voice,
"Oh, really, enlighten me, then." Marcella commented, her sarcasm reaching a new high,
"I plan on summoning a very powerful demon, it requires a sacrifice, so my . . . companions are needed." the leader stated,
"Oh, well, that's not all that will be sacrificed . . . dude." Crystal commented, putting a heavy amount of sarcasm behind the word dude,
"Do tell." the leader commented, in a very bored voice, it was maddening, both girls were quickly beginning to lose their patience with him,
"You're the one reading from the text, right?" Marcella asked,
"Naturally." the leader stated, a question in his voice,
"Well, guess what, dumbass . . . that makes you the demon's first target." Crystal explained, even though she had no idea what she was talking about,
"You really think so, don't you, the texts say that I will be protected." the leader stated rather sniffly, as though the girls were nothing more than bores to him now,
"One thing you need to do, is learn to read, jackass." Marcella stated,
"A jackass, am I? We'll see who's still standing once this is all over with." the leader stated, and he began to read from the book in front of him, it was Marcella that moved first, striking with a swiftness that had never been seen by the assembled lot before, hitting the leader of the assembled group with a stiff right hook,
"You think this is some kind of a joke?" Marcella asked, her powers at peak, her eyes glowing crimson, her fangs exposed,
"You're sicker than we thought." Crystal commented, her powers too were at full capacity,
"Call it what you will, bloodsucker, but I intend to finish with this ceremony." the leader stated,
"Oh, man, did you just screw up." Marcella stated, shaking her head, as Crystal's ears began to resemble curls of raw beef, turning redder by the second,
"How so?" the leader asked,
"Well, you see, my sister here tends to take offense at people that call her that word." Marcella replied, as she tried to contain Crystal from attacking,
"But it's the truth, you cannot hide what you truly are, Dhampir." the leader stated,
"Dude, shut up," one of the swimming trunk wearing men stated, looking at the leader with fear etched into his face, "you're pissing them off."
"SILENCE!" the leader roared, the man quickly became silent again,
"He's got a point . . . dude." Crystal stated, as she moved up to the leader, her fangs at full length,
"As you wish . . . minions, attack the infidels." the leader stated, in an almost bored voice,
"Dude, don't make me hurt you." Marcella commented, shaking her head, and rolling her eyes, as one of the beach bums walked up to her, and took up a boxing stance,
"Bring it, hot mama." the guy said, with a heavy surfer kind of drawl in his voice,
"Don't say you weren't warned." Marcella stated, as the man moved in for a nasty uppercut, which she dodged nicely,
"Please . . . don't tell me that's all you got." Marcella stated, commenting on the weak shot the young man sent her way, to which he became embarrassed rather quickly,
"Well, if that's all you got, you're in some serious trouble, kiddo." Marcella stated, hitting the man in the head with a kind of double axe handle smash, knocking the man out in one blow,
"Talk about a weakling." she quipped, looking at the young man, shaking her head, and smiling widely, revealing her three inch long fangs,
"Well, what's it gonna be, bum, you gonna fight, or run, I'm giving you a chance to get out of here." Crystal commented to the man that was standing in front of her,
"Well, I'm not going nowhere, lady." the man replied, an expressionless look on his face, that's when the smell of burning ropes hit Crystal's nose,
"You've got to be kidding me, Marijuana, get real." Crystal commented, shaking her head to rid her nostrils of the foul smell that had invaded them,
"How did you know?" the man asked,
"I can smell it all over you, you smell like a hundred feet of burning ropes." Crystal replied,
"Well, do something about it." the reefer head commented,
"Thank you, no, I would prefer not to be stoned." Crystal remarked, sending a beautiful side kick to the man's gut, knocking the wind out of him,
"See what happens when you smoke too much of that stuff." Crystal commented, as her right hand made contact with the man's jaw, effectively breaking it with one well placed strike, and knocking him out cold.
Within a matter of seconds, there was only three standing in the room, the leader, Crystal, and Marcella.