Howdy there folks! Welcome to the tenth chapter of 'Rising in the Dark!'
As you have, no doubt, noticed I was forced to change the rating of my story to a 'M.' This was due to the increasingly mature direction the storylines were going in. Thus I had to make the change in order to avoid trouble (I don't want the coppers on my back) and to protect my gentle readers. I hope this doesn't cause any problems for you guys.
ANYWAY: I'd like to take a moment to thank all my INCREDIBLE reviewers by listing their names. They are: Wings of Corrugated Irony, dazzeling diamond, tinianiatt, Elegos-Sirinial-Shamtul, 4evacrazy, .Invisible-Nobody., Ferlinda the Dreamweaver, Emilijah and the girls, Love is an Understatement, Zialicious, Emily, rubies'n'diamonds (tee-hee!), ariesgerl and annoyed person(Yes, I appreciate your input too).
ALSO: thank you very much tinianiatt for being such an incredible Bet-reader. It is MUCH appreciated.
I do not own 'Class of the Titans' and, most likely, never will.
'Not so easy having the secrets of your destiny locked away in your mind is it?'the dark voice asked.
He knelt down on the cold stone floor as the scene played out around him. He could hear the innocent's terrible screams. The scratching ache he heard in the boy's screams burnt blisters across his soul. He wanted to reach out and comfort him; to close his arms around the shoulders that shook with grief, but found himself unable to reach the ones he loved most.
'That story will only end when the final storyline comes to a close. You know which one I'm talking about...'
Grey light filtered through the broken windows of the palatial room. The inescapable fingers of death clawed greedily at every corner of the ancient building. He felt his body shiver when the broken voice of the fighter scarred itself permanently into his memory. He could feel her pain as if it was in his own body and found his mind screaming for the relief that he knew would not come. A strong male voice pleaded for help. Every syllable he cried begged for relief from the unbearable pain.
'The flames will burn out when the crossed blades shine at their cruellest.'
The scene was suddenly altered. The cries of pain and anguish were replaced by silence. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard in the barely lit room. A lone figure stood on the far side of the room. There was no way to tell for sure whether it was male or female. Its face and body was wreathed in shadow and mist; still there was something familiar about it. The aura of having been held dear to the heart hung heavily around this person. The figure stepped forward with its hands cupped and held out in front of it. A nearly burnt out candle lay in the cradle of its hands and shivered in the silence.
A silver cross with sharp edges began to rise behind the figure as it traversed the cobbled stone floor; its evil shadow consuming everything that could be seen. No footsteps echoed as the figure drew closer. All the while the cross grew larger and the flame of the candle diminished.
Years seemed to pass before the figure finally reached the end of its journey. Its pale face was near enough to see, yet still the familiar features remained agonizingly indistinguishable. The figure's lips moved as it began to speak, but no words could be heard for the silence stole them before their message could be conveyed.
Then the flame of the candle was blown out by a cruel wind that emanated from the jagged cross and everything was cast in dead darkness.
'Not so easy having the secrets of your destiny locked away in your mind is it?' the dark voice repeated, before the comfort of consciousness finally threw him back into his body.
Gareth's eyes flew open as a strangled scream escaped his lips. His body was entangled in his sheets and beads of sweat ran down his forehead. He quickly moved into a sitting position to make sure that he was back in his own room. The grey light that filtered through the curtains fell on familiar furniture and confirmed the safety of his surroundings.
Gareth hugged his knees to his chest and waited for his breathing to slow down. He looked out the window while resting his cheek on his knees. The world outside was just barely waking up. He could see the feeble light of the birth of a new day and knew that everything was about to be changed irrevocably. For the final day of the long week had come.
"Gareth, get down here! You're missing breakfast," Athena called.
"I'll be there in a minute!" Gareth called back.
He jumped into a pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt from the closet. He froze when he saw himself in the mirror. His half naked reflection stared back at him critically. The difference in his current appearance to when he had first arrived in the titans' world was striking. Though he was, by far, still not anywhere near what he considered good looking, Gareth could see subtle improvements. His arms and chest were a bit more defined and his slightly chubby belly was slowly disappearing. The most striking change, however, was the mark that was burned over his heart. The wound that Lilith had inflicted with the branding iron had finally healed and left a white phoenix scar in its place.
For a moment he traced his thumb across its lines and wondered what the future held. The troubling feeling that the nightmare he had had was something more refused to leave his mind. That and the horrible way in which his friends' pained voice's still echoed in his ears filled him with more dread than he needed on this particular day.
His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when Athena's voice called out to him again. By the closer proximity thereof, he realized that she was coming up the stairs to get him. He pulled on his shirt as he rushed out the door. He ran into her at the top of the stairs. The annoyed expression on her face could not be missed. Flashing a hyper innocent smile, Gareth squeezed passed her and rushed to the kitchen.
Breakfast that morning was a rather sedate affair. The odd joke about Gareth taking so long to get dressed and Atlanta's vegetarianism was tossed about, but the chill of foreboding that crept beneath the surface could not be ignored completely. It was there in the frown on Jay's face, the way Theresa kept trying to rub her temples without being noticed and in Neil's overly alert eyes.
As the day wore on so did their nerves. It quickly reached the point where no one really felt like going out. Instead, they chose to use their nervousness to their advantage and each one prepared themselves in their own unique way. Herry spent most of his time in his room lifting weights while Odie set up his surveillance cameras. Archie and Atlanta did a long set of stretches and light exercises to keep their bodies primed for action. And while Gareth stood in the living room, trying to remember every move Sunehri and Rosalie had taught him, Theresa was on the roof stretching the invisible fingers of her mind out to pick up on any thought or feeling that would warn them of the attack. Morning faded into afternoon, which died into the unusually red clouds of twilight. The darkness of night crept up on them like a vicious predator bringing with it man's ancient fear of what might be hidden in the dark.
Athena's voice called through the Brownstone and the teens gladly rushed to the kitchen to eat their fill. All but Theresa, that is. She stood sentinel in the dark shadows of the roof and peered out at the night sky. One did not need night vision goggles to see the worried frown on her face.
"You all right?" Jay's voice suddenly asked behind her.
Theresa's breath caught in her throat with a start and for a few moments her eyes shimmered in purple light. Her breathing calmed considerably upon realizing that it was only Jay.
"I'm good," she said.
"Some week, eh?" Jay commented.
Theresa only nodded. Her hand shot up to her breast and nervously moved over the necklace she was wearing. Its circular, blue stone seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight.
"Is that the necklace Gareth gave you?" Jay asked curiously.
"Yes," Theresa said, her voice becoming more alert. "Let's hope he was right about it enhancing psychic abili-"
Theresa's eyes suddenly became wide and she inhaled sharply. For a moment Jay thought that she had had a vision, but her hand quickly shot into the sky.
"Jay, there's blood on the moon!" she exclaimed.
Jay looked up at the moon with a frown. There was indeed a slight red glow about it, but he apparently couldn't see why it was so important.
"And this is important… why exactly?" he asked.
"Blood on the moon Jay," Theresa said in exasperation. "It's only one of the oldest omens there is. It's a terrible sign. It means that something really bad is coming."
Jay looked back up at the sinister swirls of red that surrounded the full moon. When he'd first arrived in New Olympia he would have scoffed at the very idea of the color of the moon being important. Now however…
Jay reached out and gently took Theresa's hand in his. She gripped his fingers firmly and moved in closer to him.
"Don't worry," Jay whispered calmly. "Whatever is coming… no matter how bad it's gonna be… we'll face it as a team. And we'll win, like we always do." Jay pulled Theresa into a gentle hug, trying hard to focus as much of his warmth and strength on her as he could. Unfortunately responsibility outweighed emotion and Jay was forced to end the hug. "We have to go. It's time get ready."
Jay took hold of her hand and gently pulled her back into the building. For a moment she was frozen, her eyes still reflecting the crimson moon. Then, slowly, she turned away and followed him back inside; her free hand never ceasing to trace the outline of the Azurite necklace. She didn't know how to tell Jay that ever since the incident at the Herculean plaza they had been losing the fight against their enemies.
Looking through the dark she could see the smart one rush to his room in the basement. The flash of neon-light as the door closed was a clear indication that his laptop had been opened. Upstairs the others were heading to their individual rooms as casually as possible. Fake yawns and supposed goodnight wishes were to be heard in the otherwise unnaturally quiet air.
It was not long before the last door clicked shut and the mortals opened their PMR's to tap into the surveillance system. The leader whispered a command to the rest of the team and they settled in for the long stake-out. Time drew on at a grinding pace and soon it was well past midnight. The mortals' eyelids were starting to droop for real and they were becoming less alert.
Unbeknownst to the humans in the building she slipped out of the shadows. She had made all her observations and had waited until the moment they were off their guard. It was now stupidly easy to move through the shadows without being noticed. She could feel their emotions and knew that most of them were already half asleep. They were like lambs; totally unaware of the danger they were in and too weak to do anything about it anyway.
Her bare feet touched the floor without making a sound. They slithered across the soft rug and down the basement stairs. The door creaked loudly when she opened it, making the smart one spin around in surprise. She could see from the shocked expression on his face that he had realized the flaw in their plan. They had underestimated her bond with the blonde and were about to pay the price for it.
The smart one opened his mouth to warn them; which she expected. Her body crossed the room and crashed into him at a demonic speed. The laptop smashed to the floor as she slammed him onto the table. She could see the fear in his eyes when her hand snaked across his mouth to stifle his scream.
"I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth and you won't be able to call for help," she whispered into his ear. Her tone was calm, friendly even, yet the hypnotic command in it could not be denied.
She pulled back her hand and, sure enough, the African American boy remained silent. Only his wide eyes spoke of his terror. Her mouth came close to his and she whispered words that invaded the very depths of his mind, numbing his ability to flee.
She was enjoying this even more than torturing the vain blonde. There was a kind of innocence about this one that she found positively intoxicating. Her canine teeth elongated as her lust to feed grew. She decided to go for the classic spot first and, in one fell swoop, ripped his head to the side and punctured his neck with her teeth. His heart must have been beating incredibly fast for the blood positively surged into her eagerly waiting mouth. She drank of him like he was her only source of water in the heat of the desert. Still her lust could not be quenched. His blood was just too sweet and her usual control was slipping fast.
Lilith loved it…
"Nothing's happening, Jay." Theresa heard Archie whispered over the PMR. "Maybe we should call it a night?"
Jay's tired voice could clearly be heard as he sighed on the other end of the line.
"Let's give it one more hour. Then, if nothing has happened yet, we can get some sleep," he ordered.
A loud rumbling suddenly became audible in the PMR's and everyone strained their ears trying to figure out what it was.
"What was that?" Atlanta asked alertly.
"Sorry guys," Herry's voice said shyly. "I'm still a bit hungry."
A collective groan and one stifled snigger sounded through the house. They all settled back in and kept their ears peeled for anything that could be more threatening than Herry's growling stomach. The ticking of the clock passed the time at an agonizingly slow pace. And with lack of eventfulness came weariness.
A loud yawn came and went from one of the team members, but still no sign of the vampire could be seen near Neil's room. There came a moment in which Theresa could have sworn she heard a muffled thud somewhere downstairs, but since logic told her that anything of importance would obviously happen upstairs, in Neil's room, she ignored it. She could, however, not ignore the nagging feeling that something was wrong. There was a strange and uncomfortable warmth on her chest that pressed heavily on her sixth sense.
"Jay," she whispered into her PMR. "Something doesn't feel right. Are you sure we covered all the bases? I sense some kind of danger. Are you sure Neil's safe?"
"Yes I'm sure, Theresa. Neil is perfectly safe," Jay replied soothingly. "The danger you're sensing must mean that the vampire is on its way. So I want everyone to keep on their guard. We don't want to miss our chance to capture this thing." Jay's last words were directed to the team at large and they redoubled their efforts to stay alert.
Theresa didn't say anything more to Jay, but the nagging feeling that the danger wasn't approaching them but already there wouldn't stop plaguing her. The warmth on her chest increased, as if trying to push her into taking action by making her uncomfortable. But what could she do? She didn't even really know what exactly her senses were struggling with.
Lilith groaned in ecstasy as her tongue slid across the fresh wound on Odie's inner thigh. His skin had become slick with blood and saliva making the experience all the more intoxicating. Thin streams of blood were flowing from the boy's neck and chest and stained the table beneath him with a slick pool of draining life. The smell of his blood combined with his infuriatingly delicious taste caused an enraptured growl to hiss from Lilith's lips. Never before had she tasted anything so incredibly addictive.
With great difficulty she pulled her teeth away from the wound. She slithered her body onto the table and locked her legs on either side of the boy's hips. He was pinned to the table like a mouse in a trap. Yet the hysteric fear that had been in his eyes was fading. His skin had become deathly pale and his eyes were beginning to roll back into his skull. The extreme loss of blood was starting to take its toll and still there was no end in sight. For Lilith fully intended to make this a one time only visitation. She didn't plan on leaving him alive.
She took his hand in an almost reverent fashion and brought his wrist to her mouth. His arteries became lividly clear under his skin when her tongue raked across them. The soft crunch-like sound as her teeth punctured his wrist sent Lilith over the edge and her upper body arched back in pleasure. She wasted no time in starting to drain the boy completely. It was time to rip this team's heart out forever.
Theresa's breath came out in ragged gasps as she bent over on all fours. Her sixth sense was wildly out of control.
"Jay, get in here," she gasped into the PMR.
The heroic leader and his team members all rushed into the room in a surprisingly short amount of time. They took on defensive stances and scanned the room for the vampire, but found only Theresa lying on the floor.
"Theresa? What's wrong?" Jay asked, dropping his xiphos and rushing to her side.
"The necklace… it's burning me," she gasped. And indeed it was. Theresa had finally realized that the warmth that had pressed on her chest was the Azurite necklace. Upon coming to that realization she was immediately sent into a spiral of flashing images and painful gasps. "Something's wrong… I can feel it happening now," her last few words had to be said through gritted teeth, for the myriad of indistinct flashing images was becoming too much for her to handle.
"Nothing's wrong Theresa," Jay said tightening his reassuring grasp on her shoulder. "Look, we're all safe. We're all-"
Jay's eyes widened with the beginnings of realization and fear when his eyes fell on the team in front of him. Theresa looked up and came to the same horrible realization as he. Odie wasn't there and he had been unnaturally silent the entire night.
As if to confirm her fears, Theresa's sixth sense stopped paining her so much and she suddenly found herself on her feet. Odie's name flew from her lips as she dashed out the door and down the hall. Jay and the others were hot on her heels. Her feet crashed down the stairs three at a time; her speed making her stumble at the bottom. She was back on her feet and barreling to Odie's door before the others had even caught up properly. There was no time to waste. Theresa could feel Odie's life teetering on the edge of oblivion and she increased her pace to save him. She barely had to lift her hands to direct her powers at the door. She simply felt a glow of power surge through her eyes before the door was blasted off its hinges.
Theresa froze at the apex of the stairs that led to the basement and took in the horrible scene that was playing out below. Odie lay limply on the table in a pool of blood. Lilith's legs pinned him down while her mouth sucked greedily at his wrist. A roar of outrage bellowed from within Theresa and pulled Lilith from her rapture. She looked up just as the fiery fighter lifted her hands to attack.
"Get off of my friend," Theresa hissed lethally as a purple shockwave blasted from her hands and sent Lilith careening into the opposite wall. She didn't hesitate for a moment before running to Odie's side. "Jay, we need to get him to Chiron," she said urgently, noting his deathly pallor.
Theresa hooked both her hands under Odie's shoulders and pulled him off the table, when an unearthly roar caught her attention. Lilith had risen from the ground and stormed at Theresa like an enraged tiger. Her feet leapt in the air and vaulted her over the table as if it was nothing. It took only one brutal blow from the back of her hand to send Theresa and Odie crashing to the floor.
"Everybody, attack!" Jay roared angrily and the group at large stormed the blonde.
Jay reached Lilith first and slashed his xiphos with brute determination at her neck. Lilith, however, expected this move and avoided decapitation by quickly falling on her back. Jay tried to compensate for the failed blow by slashing the blade down on Lilith. Unfortunately, her feet were faster and she slammed her foot into his stomach with devastating force. She was back on her feet and fighting the others even as Jay crumbled to the ground.
Archie came at her with his Hephaestus whip at the ready. He clearly expected her to evade the blow that was to come. Thus he was unprepared when Lilith charged straight at him. Her outstretched arm smashed into his neck, sending him flying backwards like a beaten rag doll.
"Archie!" Atlanta yelled; her voice filled with rage and the beginnings of panic.
Both she and Neil charged at Lilith to attack her from opposite sides. Lilith, however, was a foe to be reckoned with and she easily evaded Atlanta's roundhouse kick by ducking out of the way. Luck, it would seem, didn't always work in Lilith's presence for Neil became the unintended recipient of Atlanta's attack when he ran into her furious flying foot. Atlanta forced herself to ignore the stab of guilt she felt and kept her focus on Lilith. The blonde witch was, for once, on the receiving end of an attack when Atlanta's balled fist crashed into her shoulder. The attack was made all the more effective by the fact that Atlanta's wrist-mounted laser-crossbow discharged mid-punch to burn an angry hole into Lilith's flesh.
The witch roared angrily, her face scrunched up in pain, and retaliated with a devastating salvo of lightning fast punches. The hunter crumbled to the ground, leaving only Herry to keep Lilith from escaping. Lilith charged forward like an enraged mountain lion, her feet slapping the floor with deathly speed. Herry, however, took advantage of his approaching enemy's speed and smashed his interlocked fists squarely into her face.
The witch fell limply to the ground. She lay quite still as Herry approached, his bulky frame towering over her. He froze when she suddenly stirred. As if by some unholy miracle Lilith pushed herself to her knees and looked up at Herry. A thick stream of blood flowed from her, obviously broken, nose. Lilith looked into Herry's eyes and her face lit up with maniacal glee. Her deranged laughter was terrible to hear. Her laughing form seemed to be somewhat unsteady and swayed back and forth as if ready to collapse at any given moment.
Herry's strong hand reached to restrain Lilith, but her faux dizziness disappeared in an instant and she lashed out viciously. Her balled fist slammed into his groin with sickening force. A strangled gasp of pain sprang from Herry's lips as she hit him a second time. Herry crumbled to the ground his body balled up in pain.
"Was that it?" Lilith asked mockingly while getting to her feet. She alone towered over the fallen titans. "Was that all it took to take you pathetic heroes out? I should have attacked you a long time ago."
Her light feet traversed the room quickly and came to a halt in front of Jay's prone figure. She lifted the groaning boy by his hair to look into his eyes. He was too drained of energy to retaliate.
"Let's end this silly game right now, shall we?" Lilith said.
She flicked her wrist and a cross shaped dagger appeared in her free hand. The blade shone venomously as she brought it to his throat, its jagged edge causing a single tear of blood to dribble down his neck upon contact. Lilith tensed her muscles to slit his throat when a sudden whistle sounded behind her. She turned around to find the source of the disturbance only to look into Gareth's blackened irises.
The veins on Gareth's face stood out angrily against his skin. His pitch black irises combined with his angry scowl gave him quite a demonic countenance.
"You hurt my friends," Gareth said in a voice that did not belong to him. He shook his head to emphasize the gravity of her error.
Then a demonic roar, not unlike that of the zombies Lilith had commanded at the plaza, thundered from his mouth and blasted against the walls. Gareth launched himself forward and slammed his fist into Lilith's nose. The witch shrieked and retaliated by rapidly jabbing the point of her dagger at Gareth's heart. He, however, dodged each and every one of her blows by swaying his body back in time with her thrusts. It was like some kind of bizarre dance in which a missed step meant death.
Gareth ducked under her final blow and rammed his shoulder into Lilith's stomach. He half-picked her up from the ground and rammed her body into the opposite wall. The witch used her elevated position to her advantage and rammed her elbow into the back of Gareth's neck. He sank to his knees with a groan, but did his best to continue in his fight. Lilith followed up her elbow jab by smashing her knee into Gareth's face. His head flew back at the same time that Lilith slammed both her fists onto his ears. Gareth heard a loud popping noise and felt a jolt of pain shoot through his head. He fell back on the floor and watched as Lilith advanced on him.
In a last desperate move Gareth lifted his fists and concentrated with all his might. The shadows obeyed his command and, having become tangible, blasted Lilith's body clear across the room. She sprang up and charged at Gareth once more, but the darkness pushed her further and further away with each attempt.
Lilith screamed in outrage when the shadows finally pushed her out the door of Odie's room. She flashed one final look of pure loathing into the room before disappearing into the night. A deafening silence remained in Lilith's wake.
It took several minutes for Gareth to finally muster the strength to get to his feet. He stumbled over to Jay who seemed to be stirring.
"Jay, are you okay?" he asked rather loudly.
"Yeah," Jay said. His voice sounded like it was coming from the other side of a football field. He took hold of Gareth's hands and let himself be pulled to his feet. "Gareth, run to the school and get Chiron and Athena. I'll stay behind with the others."
Gareth nodded at his leader's command and stumbled to the door. He did his best to ignore the throbbing pain in his body and hurry to the school, for the lives of his friends were at stake.
Thanks for reading the chappie folks! Hope you enjoyed it!
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