STIGMA 3: Ubiquity

Chapter 3 -

Day 3 – Lawrence – Connected

"Protect her always."

I am eight years old and those words are the last my father will speak to me before his supposed death. I am the oldest of the Clarke twins. I must look after my sister.

I am nine years old. I've been separated from my sister now for over a year. I'm in a comfortable home with nice people and a dog. Life is calm and quiet. I can't forget my sister's face and yet I can't remember her name. They tell me that my name is Adrian and my sister's name is Alexandra but something seems wrong with that name. It's like a secret but I don't know the answer to it.

I am nineteen. I am starring across the room at a young woman my age. Her chestnut hair is short and falls only to her chin but her eyes, those eyes...I know those eyes. I know her name. It is Alexandra and she is my sister. She looks at me and stops dead. Then she bolts across the room and nearly tackles me to the ground in a hug. Tears wet her eyes. "It's you. It's really you."

"Lawrence." A soft delicate voice shatters my memories. I look up. Micah's soft brown eyes are concerned.

"What is it baby?" I'm lying on my bed. It's now after midnight. She is standing in my doorway. I didn't even hear her come in. Her dark hair is out of its usual bun and flowing wildly. She's come a long way from the quiet reserved seer that I met all those years ago. From the teenager always following the shadows of her superiors to a graceful confident young woman; the only woman I wanted.

"I've been seeing very disturbing things." She sat down on my bed. "It seems that our worst enemies may be ourselves."

My thoughts were cast back to the scuffle in the gym an hour ago with Vergil and Logan. After that I couldn't disagree with her.

"Have you seen anything else?" I dared to ask but Micah shook her head.

"No but I wouldn't have to be a seer to know that things could turn very ugly with those two. Especially when it comes to love."

"Logan barely knows her or at least he doesn't know her the way Vergil does."

She sat down next to me. "So you approve of their relationship?"

I frowned. "I wouldn't go that far but I doubt my approval or non-approval would matter to Riska. If he's all she wants then who I am to stop her?"

"He'll make her happy." She snuggled up next to me.

I wrapped an arm around her waist. "A prediction?"

She laughed softly. "I don't need to be a seer to see the obvious."

Eventually she falls asleep but I lay stone cold awake that night. Sleep would not seem to find me. It didn't matter. I would soon be pulled out of bed by the following text message:

Get your ass out of bed. I think I found it.

I stare over at my sleeping girlfriend and feelings of guilt arise within me. Did she know what secret I was keeping from her? Did she know that I would leave our bed that night?

"I'm sorry Micah." A whisper in the dark seemed lost on her. I ran a hand through her raven hair and left the room.

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"What took you so long?" Dante was leaning against a rock on the side of the road next to Rookwood Cemetery. His bike was parked next to it.

"I don't have a bike?"

"Point taken." He stood up. "Come on. We don't have all night."

"How did you find it?"

"You really wanna know the answer to that?"

"Point taken."

Dante led me into the cemetery. The sun was now an hour away from rising. We stopped at a recently dug up grave. This grave had a symbol on it, one my sister had reported through to STIGMA over a month ago when she and Dante had been gotten into a fight with vampires in this very same cemetery.

"So this is where his heart is kept?" I asked.

Dante shrugged. "Not sure."

"Well let's find out." I paused. "How does this work?"

"Probably the same way everything that's locked works in our world." He pulled out a dagger and sliced his hand open. Blood dripped onto the symbol. "You just gotta have the right key."

The symbol glowed red and started to emit light. The light became brighter and brighter until it exploded. Dante and I went flying in opposite directions. I landed roughly fifteen metres back against a tree. Pain shot through my left shoulder blade.

"Dante?"

The dust cleared and I heard a familiar voice. "Well that wasn't the right key."

I laughed and then groaned remembering my shoulder. "Got any more ideas?"

"Depends. You a virgin?"

My face warmed slightly. "No."

"Well then I'm out of ideas."

"What about Vakos or any or the other vampires? A master vampire might have the power in their blood to open this." I paused. "But we'll have to wait until night fall when they can walk in the open."

"No need." Dante offered me his hand to pull me up. "Why go raising the dead when we can find the living?"

Two hours later a forest green Mercedes pulled up outside the cemetery. The driver of the car came to us rather quickly with an important package.

"A sample of Mistress Vakos' blood as discussed." Nikolai pressed the container into my hands. "She also delivers this message. I hope you know what you are doing."

"So do I." I muttered. "Give her our thanks. We'll report into Sparda and Vakos when we have something."

"We look forward to it." He bowed and left.

I looked at Dante. "Wanna do the honours?"

"Nice try Larry. Your turn."

I shrugged and opened the container. The smell was more....well potent than human blood was. I gingerly poured some of the blood onto the symbol. Nothing happened."

"Back to the drawing board." I muttered looking down.

"Try adding more."

I tipped the whole container on it. The symbol glowed blue and the bottom panel of the coffin slid backwards.

"Nice." I knelt down and pulled a mini flashlight out of my pocket. The compartment was only a foot deep. "Holy shit! Dante take a look at this."

The devil hunter knelt down beside me. "Jackpot."

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"If we attack here," I could hear Xerxes, the vampire master as he pointed to an area on the map, "We can gain the element of surprise."

"Don't suppose this helps gentleman?" Dante threw a metal case on the table. "Ladies," he gave his most charming smile to Carmen and Vakos. Carmen rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Sparda stood up. "Dante, Lawrence, what did you find?"

"A map of sorts." I replied. "We think it might show us the way to the location of Krases' heart."

Vakos opened the case. A small amber globe sat inside. "My god, this was beneath us the whole time."

"What is it?" Carmen asked.

"Krases once flaunted this in front of the entire court at a time when he believed he was beyond all his enemies, beyond all threat. But this went missing just before our coup took place. It was around the same time his enforcer Claudio fled to America."

"He didn't flee." Xerxes voice was almost a whisper. "He was protecting his master. Burying this under the final medallion that would awake Krases."

"Hang on people, doesn't this all sound a bit too convenient?" Dante interrupted. If this map is so important then why was it just left there?"

"Dante's right." The elder of the Sparda twins cut in. "It's possible that his heart may have been moved already. And when we go to find it-"

"We'd be walking into a trap." I finished.

Sparda put his hand up to indicate that he wanted silence. "Unfortunately my sons are right. We need to exercise caution here. But firstly I'd like to see this map."

"Certainly." Vakos took the orb to the fireplace. "Vergil, would you be so kind to hold it over the fire."

I watched as Vergil took the orb from her and held it over the fire. It started to glow bright red.

"Please turn off the lights in here." Vakos requested. I found the main power switch near the entrance and turned the power off. The only source of light now was the orb glowing red. Then suddenly it burned bright orange and shadows emanated from its light and a strange map of places I had never seen were displayed on the walls around me.

"This is a map of the world as we knew it during the Roman Empire." Xerxes commented. "Look for anything unusual like a marker."

I had a vague recollection of the geography from my history classes in high school. One thing that seemed to stand out was a small symbol that was in the coffin that had held the medallion.

"Sparda, what about over there?" I pointed to the symbol.

"That's in Egypt."

"Sparda, there's another one in France and in what we know now as Iran." Carmen cut in. "We'll need to get teams out there immediately."

"Wait Carmen," Vergil didn't sound like he was convinced. "What if these markers are just to confuse us. What if they're different points that triangulate to a single location?"

Carmen started fumbling with her headset, "Derrick I need your best analysts in here on the double. Get anyone that specialises in map reading, map building, satelliate triangulation, code breaking whatever I don't care just get it done."

There was silence. "Derrick, are you there?" She put her headset on speaker.

"Yes Ma'm. But we have bigger problems at the moment?"

"What is it?"

"There's an army of demons attacking Caruso Port Town. It appears they're heading in our direction."

"Krases!" Sparda snarled.

"He's trying to wear us down until dark!" Erykah was out of her chair and ready for battle.

"Derrick, put out the emergency signal for all agents to report here ready for combat. Then contact Tony Locke. Tell him it's time. It looks like the vamps are bringing the fight to us."

"Yes Ma'm."

"And Derrick, don't forget about the team I need."

She turned to Sparda. "My Lord. What are your orders from here?"

"Prepare for battle. I want this place protected." Sparda looked at the the vampires. "You three will need to stay within STIGMA. It's not like you can go outside anyway. Your flock are still under the complex. Please awaken them and have them prepare to protect STIGMA from the inside should need the arise."

"And us?" Vergil questioned.

"Vergil I want you to go find Alex and bring her here. Dante, Adrian you will come with me. I have a very special assignment for you two."

Author's Note: Once again I must offer my apologies to you all. But hey we're getting there slowly.

Next Chapter: Storm and Fire