THE GOLIATHUS CHRONICLES

Chapter 5- Surprise and Rescue

/

Jezelle Hartman was rather in shock over what she had just heard. The story Ami had told her was nothing short of miraculous...and well, to be frank, bizarre. Who would ever believe that one single human could stop a terrifying killer that had gone on in his hard-set ways for a thousand years? Especially a being like the Creeper...but the evidence was right before the psychic's eyes...the baby creature that was growing in the woman's womb...

"How far along are you?" Jezelle asked quietly, looking a bit pale and with sweat beads on her forehead. Ami smiled faintly...it was obvious she was happy about the child, even if everything seemed against her otherwise. "Well she's almost three months along now."The old woman might have stopped breathing entirely...she certainly held her breath long enough before responding. "Three months? And you're already as big as a house?"
Ami chuckled, a bit startled by her bluntness. "Uhm...yes. That's right. Goliathus was told the child would be born in only four and a half. But I already knew the pregnancy would be unusual. Trust me...I doubted myself, several times, that it was even real."
The way the psychic shook her head almost seemed to be that of pity. "Four and a half months...child you ever wonder if by having this baby, you could die?"
Whatever smile had formed on Ami's face, it quickly faded. She looked as if she might just get up and slap Jezelle hard, but instead she clenched a fist and stared at the ground. "You never learned anything about tact, did you?"
"I'm sorry, honey...but I'm just trying to be realistic. I can be harsh sometimes, I know that...but I say it like I see it. I don't know for sure if you'd die, but it seems a likely chance...I'd say the human body is not meant to harbor such... creatures." For once, she didn't use the word monster.
"Yeah just like I wasn't meant to get pregnant, either. Look Goliathus and I have a connection...we love on a level that others can only dream about...and this child is something that was meant to be. I believe in things like destiny...and I believe she'll have an important purpose...even if her only purpose ends up being to keep her father happy. He needs that happiness...I know he does...he's got a fragile mind and it's going to take a lot of nurturing to keep it from shattering once more." Ami got up from the couch and put one hand gently on her belly. "All I know for sure is that I'm going to love this child. I know it's not going to be easy...I have no idea how I'm going to keep her secret...but I'll give her everything I can."
Jezelle slowly stood up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You're right...you are. And I know you mean every word that you say...child...but...I still got an awful sense about things...I just hope it has nothing to do with you and that baby." Jezelle wrung her hands nervously and paced a few times back and forth.
Sighing Ami ran a hand through her hair and sat back down. "Look it's getting late. Maybe you can come back tomorrow and tell me more about this. I'm really tired."
The old woman nodded and made for the door, but she still seemed lost in thought, even as she walked out...without another word.
/

Hungry.
Goliathus was pretty much sounding pathetic...the ol' trick had worked before when he was in the Atrium...he could make a subtle mental demand for food and get it. But here he had no such luck...and even though he knew this to be true, he kept pleading.
If he didn't eat soon...he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
There was an injured human with him in the prison. Only hours ago, the scent of human blood was making him ill, but now, it was actually starting to smell a bit more appetizing. His groans must have stirred his cellmate, because in the next moment he heard his voice ringing in his ears, bringing him back to some kind of reality. "You must be in awful pain."
The man's sympathy was kind of strange. Goliathus had never known any man to be sympathetic towards him. In fact, what he had really expected was for him to start laughing and mock him for his suffering. He coughed to clear his throat. "I am." The simple answer was all he felt like saying. There was some kind of worry that if he kept talking to the man it just might make things worse. Besides he really hated talking.
"Yeah well...I am, too. These bites on my neck are burning like a bitch..." There was a pause. "Hey you know...I figure if we work together...we can get out of this hell hole. I can barely see you, but you do look like you got some muscle on ya...and I think if you could stand up and go towards that small barred window up there...maybe-"
"I have no legs." Goliathus' eyes narrowed as even he had to squint to see the human in the almost complete darkness.
"You...what...?" Trevor certainly hadn't expected that answer, and his sharp intake of breath proved it. "My gawd...how are you still alive then? You would've bled to death!"
"I would have...had I been human." Eh what the hell. He was in quite a predicament anyway, and he was starting to care less and less if the man found out about him. So let him have it now.
"Shit. You're trying to tell me you're one of those vampires? From an opposing clan, maybe?"
"No, I told you. I hunt them. Just like you." Goliathus' wheezed out the last words, his voice was getting worse.
Trevor fell silent. Goliathus could smell his increased fear, but it was mixed with confusion. He tried to pick up on the man's thoughts, but for some reason he could not.
Sighing the heradus gave up for the time being and tried to go back into meditation...to concentrate on something other then this wretched dungeon and the tempting human. Oh how he longed for some fresh meat...dripping with blood...warm...anything to stop the aching in his stomach.

CAWWWWWWWWWWW!

Clutching his head, Goliathus roared out at the loud intrusion into his mind. That damned bird! He was going to pluck out each and every one of its feathers!
Starcrow. Food.
Growling low, Goliathus shuffled his way over to where the small barred window was and looked up. Sure enough, the raven was there, peering in on the other side.
Food is it? You? Are you going to sacrifice yourself? He attempted to grab him, halfheartedly.
The raven squawked and there was a flurry of black feathers as it flapped its wings madly.
Eat Starcrow! No! No!
The heradus snickered, and tried to get himself closer to the bars by heaving himself up and onto his bloody stumps. It was painful, but it worked for the time being. He was high enough to be almost eye-level with the bars.
Food. Bring. Food.
The raven dropped something through the bars. Goliathus immediately looked down and saw that it was a half-eaten rabbit.
He didn't really care...if it had been squished roadkill he still would have eaten it. He picked it up and swallowed it in three bites, fur and all.
More. It was a definite demand. Starcrow obviously did not appreciate it, and the corvid gave another loud mental squawk, causing Goliathus to snarl angrily, before flying off in search of more food.

Slowly positioning himself back to a sitting position, he knew there was only waiting now. There was nothing else that could be done.
/

The night sky gave way to a large silhouette on the horizon...gliding on a massive wingspan and swaying back and forth, as if surveying.
Indeed, that was what Dinarius was doing, as he looked for his one and only purpose. Yet despite the scent he had picked up on, the crows had diverted his attention and he wondered where the King could possibly be.
"The Ring of Black Fire, can you imagine that Puvo?"
The small bat with an almost identical mane of fur chirped a few times. Dinarius saw the word "DARK" appear in his mind.
"Oh...that's right. The Ring of "Dark" Fire. Well give me a break, I've been buried in stone for a thousand years. My memory's a bit jumbled, ok?"
He could have swore Puvo was chuckling, but maybe it was just his imagination.
"Black fire, Dark fire...what's the difference? All the same to me."
Suddenly a raven went whipping by Dinarius' head, causing him to swoop down instinctively, and almost crash. Managing to steady himself, he turned direction and chased after it.
"Starcrow! Is that you? What kind of way is that to treat an old friend anyway?"
The raven did an amazing full pivot and faced the heradus.
Dinar! Dinar!
"It's Dinar 'ius'. " He sighed, but grinning.
Dinar! Master! Trouble. Find food.
"You never could get the name right, could you? So, he truly is alive then...the King. Where is your master, Starcrow? What kind of trouble is he in?"
Castle. Shadows. Roy...Roy.
"Roy? Whose Roy?"
Frustrated, the raven landed on Dinarius' head and gripped hard enough that his claws sunk in.
"Ow! Will you cut that out?" With a swipe of bigger claws, the bird was hurtled through the air but righted himself rather quickly.
Roy...al! Royal!
"Ohh...Royal...as in the clan of vampires known as Royals. Hmm...let's see...their leader would be...Donovan Williams, if I remember correctly." Suddenly, he snarled, as more memories flooded in at the surfacing of the name. "The bastard that would skin children alive..."
Puvo shrilled a loud chirp in his own anger.
Skin! Bad! Starcrow...feed...master. Go. Find! The raven then turned and flew on in a hurry. Dinarius decided the best thing to do would be to help, and bring food in order to aide his leader. They would sure have a lot to catch up on...hell, he hadn't even MET the King, only heard endless tales about him from the mages. Whereas Dinarius had been created mainly from bats, they told him that the King was human-born, and some kind of "super" heradus. It was amazing when he had heard about just how powerful he was. But there was no time to reflect on it, the present moment called for fast action.
If the King was in trouble, he was going to help!
/

Trevor had remained silent the entire time. He had heard the bird come, heard something be dropped...and heard noises he really wished he hadn't as Goliathus had obviously eaten whatever it was. His eyes had adjusted enough to the low light that he could see something, but not enough to really know what he was looking at.
However, he knew it was something that could potentially kill him. "You'd better explain about who and what you are." Hoping to get answers, Trevor tried his hardest to keep a confident tone in his voice.
Goliathus snorted at the command, but he complied. "I am Goliathus...and a heradus. I am designed a vampire killer." He contemplated telling the man that he had once been a human killer, but decided otherwise. What would be the purpose anyhow?
"A heradus? What the hell is that? I've never heard of it."
"It matters not. But you must stay away from me. I am a being of extreme hunger, and you are smelling tastier by the second."
Inside, Goliathus was struggling wildly. Even with the raven bringing him the rabbit, he could barely contain the incredible urge that was relentlessly grabbing him. Huh...if his creators had only known that this hunger was one of the main reasons he had gone insane in the first place. Why he had become so obsessed with eating that he couldn't stop himself. As the Creeper, he would kill and eat for his twenty-three days even when his stomach was nearly bursting. He would feel hungry even when he really wasn't. That was obviously the work of the demon, but it had only increased an already blatantly obvious weakness.
Trevor slowly moved a few feet further away, towards the large metal door of the prison. "I get it." Was all he said.
Good. The man wasn't going to give any problems. It would at least help him, for now. But if that pesky raven didn't come back soon...

/

Alone now in her apartment, Ami yawned with a full stretch and headed for her bathroom. She grabbed her well-worn purple toothbrush and set to work getting her teeth clean. As she stared in the mirror, she caught a glimpse of something behind her. It was faint, but most certainly there. Almost like a shadow.
Turning around, she saw nothing, just the wall with its flower patterns. Same old, same old... she sighed and shook her head. Life had been a bit crazy lately, and she had to remember to not let the stress get to her. Otherwise, she could start losing grip with reality again...a problem she had as a child but managed to overcome in adulthood.
Somewhat, anyway.
As Ami bent over to spit out the toothpaste, she heard a small crash in the kitchen, as if a bowl or cup had fallen off the counter and shattered.
Must be those damned feral cats again...always coming in through my window and getting into my food.
Setting her toothbrush down Ami headed out of the bathroom and went to her kitchen. Sure enough there was a broken glass on the floor.
But no cats.
The window wasn't even open this time.
For a moment, Ami could not decide how to feel. Goliathus, is that you?
Where was he, anyway? She hadn't seen him in a while. Sure he went out for days sometimes on his hunts, but it had been a bit longer then she would have was a whoosh of cold wind behind her. She whirled, but again her eyes saw nothing unusual.
Crap...what, do I have ghosts now?
Then it all happened at once, and very fast. There was a whirlwind of cold and black around her, a shrieking sound like that of a banshee, and she was gone.

/

Starcrow hurried back to the castle, struggling to stay aloft with the large muskrat he had grasped in his feet. Surely, the master would be pleased with this fat rodent...it was the largest thing he could manage to find. Though ravens would gladly eat carrion, he knew he could not get such food for the heradus. Fresh was best...but where was the gratitude for all his hard work? A bit sadly, Starcrow noted in his amazingly intelligent bird-brain that his master had seemed to forget about him entirely. They hadn't known each other long, but it had been he who chose crows for his familiars.
And the raven to lead them.
He pulled forward faster, his beak open as he panted with effort.

Hanging behind him in the not too far distance was Dinarius, and in his talons he had much better fare. With his strength regained he had been able to hunt quite easily, and had simply located a herd of deer up in the mountains. He took down the biggest and healthiest looking buck he could manage.
He might have overestimated how blasted heavy the thing could be though. Despite his high level of strength, he too struggled with the catch as he flew on. Puvo tried to help by clinging to the nose of the animal and flapping with all his might, but Dinarius just sighed with a shake of the head and a wry grin. Couldn't' beat the little fella, though. He'd give his right wing to help out, if that's what it took, and his loyalty was more then admirable.
"Just keep it up, old friend. We're almost there...I hope." He raised an eyebrow towards Starcrow, who cawed but did not turn around.
Close! Close by.
"Good. Because I think if I have to lug this thing one more mile, I'm going to collapse."

After only a few more minutes, however, the castle finally came into view. Dinarius recognized it immediately...Maniel's old home. It made him furious to know the vampires had taken it over all these years. He sighed, thinking about his own Master...that amazing genius of a mage who had done the unthinkable and managed to create a race powerful enough to destroy vampires.
Something to make THEM afraid for a change.
He missed him. Missed him terribly.
And the closer he got, the more enraged he got.
He had to let go, and screamed out.

/

The howling and eerie call echoed through the night air, and into the prison below the castle. Goliathus snapped his eyes open at the sound. What was that? It sounded much like him...
"Geez. All the creatures of the night must be out tonight." Trevor was still keeping his distance, but his demeanor had calmed quite considerably.
Creatures indeed. Was it one of those Shadows again? Looking over towards the barred-window, it seemed that Starcrow was suddenly there.
Food. He squawked rather softly. The bird was panting and its heart was going a mile a minute.
Goliathus dragged himself over amazingly fast for someone who was a torso with arms. He looked up with widened eyes at the raven, waiting for him to drop it.
Starcrow struggled to force the animal through the bars. There was crunching and squishing sounds as he broke parts of the prey, but finally he managed to shove it through. It was grabbed before it landed, and gone in less time then that.
Is that all? Despite his terrible hunger, he asked the question much less harshly.
All. All from Starcrow. Deer!
Deer? Where? Goliathus was drooling. He thought he could smell the venison. Or was it just his hunger making him hallucinate?
There was a large thud as something landed by the window, completely blocking it out. Then another noise as something else came down...but he heard the whoosh of settling wings and some kind of strange chirp.
What was going on out there?
"Oh thank the heavens I could finally drop that thing!" The exasperated voice was more then surprising to Goliathus. Who was out there?
"Starcrow, get your feathery butt out of the way. I've got work to do."
Squawking at the comment, the raven puffed out, indignant, before slowly moving away.
Whatever was blocking the window was shoved aside, and a small amount of light provided by the half-moon gave Goliathus enough vision to see that there was something MUCH like him out there. He was stunned enough to freeze in his spot, barely breathing.
Clawed hands wrapped around the bars, and with a great grunting effort, the window gave way, bringing crumbling pieces of brick with it and a wave of dust that caused Starcrow to sneeze...as well as Puvo.
There was a hole large enough to climb through now, but Goliathus had not enough strength...or height...to go through it. Trevor, however, saw a chance for escape and he darted over to the hole, jumping up and making his way through before anyone could even react.
"Holy hell..." Once through, he stopped dead in his tracks as he came face to face with eyes that were impossibly blue...and set upon a face unlike anything he had ever seen before.
"Now that's no way to talk to me. Who are you?" Dinarius sniffed at the human just to be sure. Nope, not a vampire.
"I'm uh...uh..." Trevor glanced at the bat with its quivering nose set upon the creature's shoulder, and at the raven perched very close to his feet.
"Uh..name's Trevor...is that your friend down there?" He looked over his shoulder.
Dinarius got down and peered inside. He took a deep breath, but there was only the odor of old human blood and sweat.
"If you're talking about another like me, then yes." He crawled in and jumped down to the floor. Eyes adjusting, he saw a form huddled in a corner.
"Is it you?"

Goliathus blinked, unable to say anything. He had never seen another like him. Not ever...heard of them maybe, but this was the biggest shock of his life. He had always thought he was alone in this big and lonely world. And now right before him was another heradus...who looked even more like a gargoyle then he did. In fact, his increased animalistic appearance made him seem strange even to himself.
Dinarius came closer, and reached out an arm.
After a moment of staring, Goliathus took the offered help and was picked up entirely, then carried over to the window where was he shoved through.
Trevor took a good hard stare at the one who had been his cellmate for the last three days. The man was feeling overwhelmed, but who could blame him? Still, with much courage, he managed a smile.
"Looks like you've got friends."
Goliathus would've responded, but he saw that deer in the corner of his eye and turned to it with a growl. And with quite a frightening and unexpected move, clambered onto it and started shredding it apart with his teeth and hands, gulping down bloody chunks so fast that the animal seemed to be disappearing right before their very eyes.
"Don't go near him." Dinarius warned, his face solemn. "He's in a frenzy."
Trevor didn't dare ask any questions. He just slowly took a few steps back.
"Starcrow, you stay here and watch the human. I'm going to find more...and fast!"
Without futher word, Dinarius took off to the air, after one final look behind him.
The raven looked up at Trevor.
Trevor looked down at the raven.
"So...howcome they call you Starcrow if you're a raven?"

/

Ami came to in a large room of marble floors and grey stone walls. Rubbing her aching head, she found warm blood and a large bump where she had been and clenching her teeth from the pain, she slowly managed to get to her feet.
"Oh that will be far enough, Miss Ami." Looking over, Ami followed the voice and saw a man with black hair and dark brown eyes, sitting upon a throne of sorts in the center of the cavernous room and staring at her. He had a bemused sort of smile on his face.
"Who...who are you?" Ami asked softly, still wincing at the pain and feeling dizzy.
"Someone you're going to wish you'd never met. Tell me, little human, what kind of whore does it take to sleep with a creature like that heradus?"
The starkness of the question caused Ami to understand that this man was a grave sort of danger. One who didn't care about her life let alone her feelings.
She didn't answer his question, only glared at him.
"You must be Donovan."
"Oh...how clever. He must have told you about me." Donovan got up from his throne and with long, purposeful strides, walked up until he was inches from her face. "My little dear...what trouble you are in." His eyes widened in a sadistic fashion that sent wicked chills down her spine. "He killed two of my children you know. So I only find it fitting to kill two things that are very precious to him."
Another wicked grin.
"You..." He looked down. "And that baby of yours."
Ami's heart sank, and she started to tremble. Donovan lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "But we'll start with the baby first, and you're going to see every moment of it!"
Before anything could come from the young woman's mouth, she saw the ghostly white figure shrouded by eerie black folds of cloth, moving about as if serpents, coming towards her.
Ami couldn't help but become frozen with fear, and she couldn't tear her gaze away from its blood-red eyes. The creature opened its mouth, hissing low, but it too looked utterly amused.
"Shadow vampires are very, very good at what they do, Miss Ami. They're experts in torture. They know just how much one pathetic little human can take. So you better hope that Chasseur is in a merciful kind of mood today."
Chuckling under his breath, Donovan shoved her forward and into the waiting arms of the horrid vampire.

Ami screamed.

/

End of Chapter 5