WOLVERINE'S WORLD - THE LEAVE-TAKING
In my experience, people tend to become rather alarmed when you consort with demons.
Anna, for example, was worried. And frightened.
"Is that what I think it is?" she asked me as she gestured towards Blaze.
Emma didn't say anything, but from the look in her eyes I could tell she was just as concerned. She and Anna were still in bed together.
I still had Blaze's chain-leash in my hands. Olivia, her weapon ready, was watching Blaze closely. Rahne, her body language that of a Blood female ready to spring into action, was also closely watching the demon. Blaze seemed to ignore them as it waited quietly. It was motionless and its eyes were empty as it gazed intently at me. It seemed to exude a palpable aura of impending violence.
As always, the trick was to direct that violence towards a deserving target.
We were on the far end of the barracks bay, just outside the small, private room in which Anna, Emma, and I had spent the night. Anna and Emma were still inside the room. By now, both of them had abandoned the bed and were scrambling into their clothes. Under any other circumstances, I would have found that a rather enjoyable sight.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time. And besides, we were increasingly surrounded by ghosts - that can be distracting. They were formless, but drifting at the edge of my vision. And their sudden presence was, of course, a sign.
"Blaze is a demon of vengeance," I explained to the others. "It has other names, but it tends not to use them among mortals."
Anna slowly shook her head as she pulled on her trousers and buckled them closed.
"Are you out of your mind, James?" Emma hissed in disbelief. She had just tied shut her white cotton inner-robe.
I shrugged. "It is a weapon. Nothing more."
Blaze chuckled at that.
Rahne didn't say anything, but I could tell that she was also concerned about that state of my sanity.
That particular conversation ended when Ancient Strange suddenly appeared.
The astral form of Ancient Strange is quite different from how he really looks. The real Stephen Strange is elderly, wizened, and appears quite frail. In his transparent astral form, Ancient Strange is tall and in his early middle years. He wears the dark-blue and black garb of the Sorcerer Supreme - in addition to his red and gold-edged cloak - with serene authority. His hair is dark, with a touch of silver at the temples. His face in unlined and his eyes are clear and alert.
I don't believe the difference between Strange's two forms is a matter of vanity. Fundamentally, an astral projection represents the projector's perception of self. The old often have a tendency to see themselves as they appeared when they were younger. I know I do.
"Ancient One," I said as I bowed formally, "this is an unexpected pleasure." Ancient Strange doesn't leave his Sanctum Sanctorum very often, even as an astral projection.
"Hello, James," Ancient Strange replied - after giving Blaze an appraising glance. The demon smiled thinly at the mage. Ancient Strange didn't return the smile.
"I take it I don't have to introduce you?" Ancient Strange asked me dryly.
"We've met before," Blaze said amiably. "James and I once killed a lot of people together... well, that's assuming you count Creed as people."
Shaking her head in exasperation, Anna looked at Emma and said, "Oh, for God's sake. This is what happens when you marry Methuselah."
Emma nodded in sympathetic agreement.
Ancient Strange looked back at me. "I understand you have a plan. Cyrus thought you might need help. He sent me a rather urgent message."
I nodded in Blaze's direction. "At my request, Cyrus has cast an enchantment on Blaze. When invoked, Blaze will appear to be the Destroyer. It will even emit a mystical aura similar to that of the Destroyer."
"And - if detected - that will attract a response from the dark-elves," Strange said thoughtfully. "Especially if they are under severe military pressure. They might decide they need to seize the Destroyer as quickly as possible."
"Yes," I responded.
Ancient Strange was looking at me intently. "That is something that Malekith might very well decide he must do himself."
"Yes," I said.
"He won't come alone," Ancient Strange warned me.
"I know."
"Your plan is quite dangerous," Ancient Strange continued. His concern was obvious.
"I know," I repeated. Then I glanced at Emma.
"Emma, please call Benjamin, Faye, and Rose. We'll need help."
Then I looked back at Ancient Strange.
"Do you sense the spirits?" I asked him.
The Sorcerer Supreme hesitated - then he nodded.
All around us, there was a great stirring in the planes beyond. On the edge of my vision, I could see dark drifting shadows and white mists. They were the wraiths of those Malekith had murdered, and they were beyond number. The spirit world was actually straining under their weight. Both Ancient Strange and I could feel the... I suppose the best word is 'pressure'... of the presence of Malekith's untold number of victims.
Rahne could also tell that something was wrong. She kept glancing around, but couldn't seem to find the source of what was bothering her. She couldn't quite focus on the spirits. Not yet.
Ancient Strange, of course, knew what it meant. The spirits were here to see the end.
The only questions left involved the nature of that ending. And the cost.
So much was becoming clear now. The meaning of the last few weeks was now obvious. After years of only occasionally interrupted isolation, I'd met so many others and they'd became a part of my life - just as I became a part of their live's.
It was all for a reason. We had been gathered together to deliver an ending. Throughout untold millennia, Malekith had wrought horror and death. The cosmos remembered. Earth remembered. The Old One remembered. The Blood remembered.
I remembered.
For so long, Malekith had remained beyond my grasp. But no longer. He was here. The arrogant bastard was back on Earth. None of what had happened made sense if that wasn't true.
Rose was the last to arrive. She floated down from the sky and landed with gentle precision on the front porch of the barracks. Then she stepped inside.
Benjamin and Faye were present. Benjamin was wearing the loose-fitting leather armor of the Spider Legion. There was a spider-emblem on his chest and the three stripes of a sergeant on his shoulder. Faye was dressed as we'd first met her - in a simple dress, worn-out sandals, and a head-scarf that concealed her green hair. We'd just barely managed to contact them before the Legion marched.
Rose and the demon locked eyes for a long moment. I've known Rose for so long that I knew what she was thinking. The chains wrapped around the demon was all she needed. With a twist of her power, she could send it flying.
"Leave it be," I ordered quietly.
Rose looked at me. "So it's finally time?" she asked. Rose knows a great deal more about me than most people.
I nodded.
She glanced back at the demon. "And we're bringing this damn thing along?" Rose asked warily.
"It's powerful and if anyone is vulnerable to the furies of vengeance, it's Malekith," I replied. "He's spent millennia tormenting and killing. The spirits of his victims are calling out for justice."
"Besides, I do owe Jim a pretty big favor," the demon added. Perhaps there was a smile on the corners of his thin lips.
"Bet that's an interesting story," Faye said to Benjamin. He nodded his head in silent agreement.
"Some Creed were playing with magics. They somehow managed to bind me," Blaze added calmly.
Olivia had the key to Blaze's chains. She handed it over to me and I released the creature.
I could feel the restraining magics enchanted into the chains and the iron collar flicker and die as they clattered to Blaze's feet. Blaze then stretched its arms and twisted its torso from side-to-side in what looked like relief. Honestly, I don't know how much of Blaze's human-like behavior is real, or memories of his host body, or an artifice to make others drop their guard around him.
Then it reached down and effortlessly tore the collar loose from the chain. Blaze tossed the collar to one side and then experimentally hefted the long length of chain that was left. He seemed satisfied with it.
"I hope you know what you're doing!" Olivia said to me. For the first time, I noticed that Olivia's eyes were different. When we first met, her eyes were bright blue. Now they had taken on a darker shade - almost gray. Like thunderclouds.
"The signs are all there," I told her. Of course, Olivia didn't know that she was one of the signs.
Olivia hesitated. Then she bowed her head. Her beliefs and mine are different, yet congruent. And just as seekers have responsibilities to the Priestesses of Lady Storm, they have responsibilities to my kind.
"I will follow you, honored seeker," Olivia told me softly.
"Oh!" Rahne gasped.
We had left the barracks. Ancient Strange needed open space to do the casting I'd asked of him.
The others - except for Blaze - gave Rahne a concerned look. I put a hand on her shoulder. She seemed rattled.
"What's wrong?" I asked, although I suspected I knew the answer.
All around us, invisible to most, a horde of spirits waited. They were still and silent. Waiting for what they hoped would come.
Rahne crossed her arms in front of her and put her hands on her opposite shoulders. She does that sometimes - it makes her look even younger.
"Something's wrong," she replied hesitantly. "There... there are people all around us. People who aren't real."
Rahne was new to this. It had taken her some time to sense what was happening. And she didn't completely understand what she was experiencing.
I gave her shoulder a squeeze - Rahne was trembling slightly. "They were once very real," I said. "It's all right, Rahne. They mean us no harm. Quite the opposite, in fact."
Ancient Strange was examining Rahne closely. Blaze was doing the same. However, the expression on Ancient Strange's face was one of curiosity and concern, while Blaze's was more sardonic.
"It's the dead," Blaze told Rahne. Insanely, its voice somehow actually managed to sound friendly. "They want Malekith, too. We should deliver him to them."
The others were looking at us like we were mad. I didn't blame them for that. This sort of vision was beyond their grasp.
"Why can I see them?" Rahne asked me as she peered around.
As we spoke, Ancient Strange gently shooed away a tiny, inquisitive, ghost - almost certainly that of a child. Then he gestured and a pulsating tear appeared in midair. It swiftly expanded into a gateway to another place.
I leaned forward and gave Rahne a kiss on the forehead. It was the most intimate gesture I'd ever allowed myself with her.
"Rahne," I told her gently. "You're a seeker."
(Author's note: I normally post once a week, but the next chapter is important - so it might take longer than usual.)