Chapter XVII: Shadows and Darkness

AN:

Hey there, Fan-fic-folks!

Quite enjoying this Jade Court vibe. Those breath-stealer types are quite interesting to hint at. :)

Thanks for reading and, as always, please review.

With no particular warning or signal, Ancient Mai seemed to know it was time. "We need to leave." With a shrug, we all collected ourselves and followed her out. She crossed an open courtyard that was surrounded by nothing but ghostly trees where buildings seemed intended to be. There was another unadorned Paifang at the other side and she crossed right through, vanishing from sight.

We followed her in.

We found ourselves in another part of the jungle-esque environment, only now we were right up against those distant mountains. They loomed over us like quiet watching giants. Though I think the watching part was just my imagination. There was still that feeling like we were being watched, and I still couldn't see anyone.

Ancient Mai and the others were now a distance away from the archway again. I dashed again to catch up.

She lead us up to a rough-hewn wall that suddenly was a set of ornately carved double doors. She pulled two vials from somewhere and drank them both down, then pulled two wands from her belt. We all watched as she then whistled, calling a dozen animated stone statues from the forest around us. One of them was one of those ward-dogs, which she tapped on the head.

"There have been no signs of anything leaving these doors. They're still in there."

I stepped up next to her. "What kind of numbers are we looking at?"

"Unknown."

"What kind of power level are we talking?"

"Unknown."

"Are we totally fucked?"

"Unknown."

I blinked at Ancient Mai, who looked guilelessly back. I grinned. Maybe not so scary after all.

Ebenezar tapped his staff on the ground and the doors creaked open. The air inside rushed out with a scream. He turned to us. His face was utterly amused. "Well. Let's go into the creepy cave, shall we?"

It actually wasn't a cave. Or if it was, it showed no sign of it. The inside was carved and decorated with dark brown wood across the floors and intricate carvings across the walls and ceiling. It was kind of pretty, if a little bit much for a store-room. There was very little light inside, barely the hints of dying embers on torches and sconces around the room.

It was clearly some kind of processing room, with nothing inside it, but places clearly set aside for temporary storage of stuff being moved through.

Ebenezar gestured and Luccio moved ahead, with Ancient Mai's stone allies walking in line besides the walls. Well, prowling in line - they moved smoothly and with dexterity, like the animals they were pretending to be. Though you probably couldn't expect them to move like the other half of their origins - how did rocks move, anyway?

Suddenly, one of them - an odd monkey-like thing, maybe a lemur? - straightened and a gem embedded into its' chest glowed a sickly green. Ancient Mai's eyes narrowed, and she tapped the creature. "There is a toxin in the air." She turned to me. "Can you cast a filtering spell for yourself, or will one of us have to provide it?"

I shook my head. "Gas mask was never high on Dresden's list of priorities, so... no. You'll, uh, have to hook me up, if that's alright?"

"I would not have offered were it not." She waved an idle hand, muttered a word, and a small bead of light crystallised in front of her. She gestured me to get closer as the new crystal began to grow metal appendages that morphed into a... hair clip? "Turn around." I did so, and she put the crystal clip into my hair, around the base of my skull. "This will filter your air, and protect your brain should anything get through the filtration." A pause, then- "Do not fiddle with it."

I made some vague sound of gratitude - that was weird - and we carried on. Luccio had simply put on some kind of silvery bandanna that covered her mouth and nose. Ebenezar's shimmered shield looked like something out a sci-fi movie. I couldn't see whatever Ancient Mai had, but I assumed it would be some enchanted item like she'd given me. It made sense, given her interests.

The stone dog barked and trotted over to a section of the wall. The wood had been ripped apart and torn away. Beneath the wood, huge scratches, each line inches apart, had been gouged into the carved and smoothed rock of the inner walls. "Fuuuuck." I breathed out.

Luccio gave me a look.

"I don't know anything... Vampy that does this." I continued, "Anyone else more knowledgeable about shit wanna say what this is?"

Luccio shrugged. Ebenezar never moved, staring at the wall.

"It is not of the Jade Court." Ancient Mai said simply. She gestured the Stone Monkey forward and it gamboled over to the scratches. It quickly climbed up and suddenly the tip of its' tail opened up to become the mouth of a snake that bit greedily into the scratch. The green gem glowed. "Toxins once again. Perhaps the source of those in the air."

She leaned in to study it further. So, I headed over to Ebenezar. "Sir? Do you know what this is?"

He sighed. "It's only a suspicion, but it's the only thing I know close to this. Never seen one myself, but my teacher called them Reavers. Undead creatures, constructed by a necromancer of power - the giant claws, poisoned wounds. They're fast and smart, but not very tough. I think you kids would call them a 'glass cannon'."

Never not surreal to hear Ebenezar reference modern trends. Ugh.

"If it is one, keep an eye out. You need to hit it before it hits you."

I nodded. "Okay. Should we bring this up with Luccio and Ancient Mai?"

He snorted. "They've been listening this entire time, Max." I looked back at both of them. Ah. So they were. Well then. "You found anythin' else from those marks, Mai?"

She shook her head, and straightened up. "Nothing beyond the toxin and the spread of the strike. They may be your 'reavers' or they may yet be something else. We shall have to keep watch and see."

With that ominous statement, we continued on yet again. It was a few minutes of quiet walking down increasingly damaged corridors before it happened. Out of nowhere, dark things with glowing red eyes launched themselves forward and chomped down on several of our stone pets.

Ebenezar immediately slammed down his staff and threw a bright light that illuminated the situation. Darkhounds! In the dark, they'd been all but invisible. In the light, we could see them fully. They looked like dogs, if they'd been pumped full of steroids and drained of all water. Their muscles bulged and their veins and skin seemed almost sagging.

Their teeth were sharp though, and they scraped and screeched across the stone of our pet companions. I immediately began throwing fire. Stoker's recommended cure for the Black Court Plague. Or one of them, anyway. Two of the dogs went up immediately, but it seemed like more only joined them.

Out the corner of my eye, I could see Luccio's sword flashing as she slashed through the creatures, accompanying her strikes with bursts of flame.

Ebenezar and Ancient Mai had gone back to back in the middle of the corridor, she striking out with various enchanted tools and tricks, and he simply killing. Between us, we took them all down in minutes. "So, we've reached the outer perimeter." Luccio remarked, casting a quick spell to clean the blood off her blade. "They must be out of Renfields or the more martial thralls."

"Dresden always said the dogs were there to be alarms. The Renfields can't hear for shit, so the dogs made up for them."

Luccio tilted her head in acknowledgement. "Perhaps. Either way, we've made contact. We need to be even more alert from here."

"Fair point. I'll keep my eyes peeled."

As we crept quietly down the corridors, back in the shadows, I could feel my nerves rising. I hadn't been up against the Black Court properly before, but I knew about them, just like everyone else.

Vlad Dracula, son of the Dragon himself, had done something to create the first Scourge, inviting something In that turned him into the first Black Court Vampire. They were fast, cruel, and hungry, but vulnerable. One book detailing their weaknesses had taken them from probably the strongest of the Vampire Courts to almost irrelevancy. They were still strong, but it's hard to underestimate the psychological impacts of being hunted endlessly for centuries. Far as I know, most of the Big Hitters still left were the ones who'd gone to ground and hidden the best, only coming out to do things they were sure wouldn't draw attention.

That meant hit and run strikes. That meant smart and sneaky.

That meant- "Shit!"

Without warning, long, sinuous fingers wrapped around my leg and claws dug in. I got a brief look at the expressions of surprise on everyone else's faces before they - I - vanished. I found myself dragged upwards and through a thin tunnel faster than I could think. As I screamed, the claws dug deeper into my leg. Quickly, another claw wrapped fully around my head and slammed me into a surface.

I passed out.

Fucking head trauma.

I woke up to nothing.

All was silent, I was sightless, and everything sucked.

Stupid fucking claw monster lair things. Why do they always kidnap me? It's never Ebenezar, never Dresden. Motherfucking sexist monsters. I tried to move my hands, to grab a wand and mutter a word and bring light into this dark place, but nothing. I was stuck in place, and when I tried to speak, nothing came out.

I felt calm. Too calm. I focused for a moment and noticed it - a spell, influencing my emotions. Keeping me... docile. I could think angry things, but I didn't actually feel the anger. Well. I'd leave that alone for the moment. Instead, I turned my senses outward - no Eye, but enough magical energy to at least detect any power in the- woah. There were four spots of arcane power so strong that they threatened to pull my paltry energy into them.

I pulled back immediately, but it was too late. Barely a heartbeat later, a voice, crisp and crinkled, crept into my ear. "So. The little wizard is awake. I have to admit, I am surprised. You must be strong-minded to wake so soon. Our tricks usually work so much longer than this-" The mysterious voice turned wry, almost dryly amused. "-not that we can really tell time all that accurately down here. Damnable breath-stealers couldn't be bothered to put a clock down here."

I tried to respond, only remembering two words in that I was somehow silenced. Fuck.

A chorus of whispers and murmurs, right at the edge of hearing, flitted throughout the room. For a moment, I thought if I just strained enough, just paid enough attention, maybe I could make the words out. But no.

A claw, long and serrated, grazed my cheek. I hissed as it suddenly sped up, drawing blood. There was another chorus of barely-audible mutters. The voice in my area spoke calmly, "Peace, brethren. I have matters well in hand." Despite seeing no movement, the voice felt like it had turned away, and then it turned back. "Now. We have a fortuitous serendipity to discuss, you and I. As you know, your kind wishes us to alight this place. We also wish for this. There is no need for conflict - this can be resolved with... conversation. And perhaps a little commerce?"

It... was trying to bribe me? Something tugged at my mind, an unfamiliar influence. I snorted soundlessly. The voice paused, "My. An interesting little wizard indeed. Mayhaps keeping you should be part of our conversation. The things we could learn. And the things we could teach."

Suddenly, another voice, still ancient and still crisp, appeared in my mind. Contrary to the Vampire, this one didn't creep. Didn't skulk or hide. This one strode in like an actor, wont to own the stage and draw all the limelight to them. "Make the deal." Weatherwax said.

"What?" My mental voice echoed in the dark cavern of my mind.

She sighed. "You heard me, Max." Exasperation. A familiar tone. Heh. "Make the deal. Ask them for the Breathing Dark. Say it's a nod to the situation you find yourself in. They'll try push back." A snort. "The petty creatures. You know what to do."

And in a flash of light and flamboyance, the old woman's voice vanished from my mind. "Weatherwax?" I tried.

Nothing.

Well then. Breathing Dark, huh? Wonder what the fuck that is. Some kind of spell? Ingredient? Ancient demonic doodad?

I turned my magic inward once again, focusing on what didn't belong. In moments, I found the stench and followed it down my neurons to the Broca's region. A little spell there, hanging out, silencing me. I burned it out.

My mouth suddenly freed, I yelled out a word and filled the room with light. A dozen vampires, and a dozen thralls, all screamed. With another word, the light filtered down into a beam, a spotlight focused entirely on me. I pulled a little of Weatherwax's confidence into me. A deal, huh? "I don't want to find out what you ancient things think a school should be. I want the Breathing Dark."

The vampires, still gasping over the sudden burst of sunlight, snarled as one. It was oddly comical, seeing the scourge pull together and react in unison, like they were about to burst into song asking their greaser leader about his summer romance.

One of them, older and someone more rigid than the others, leaned forward out of the mass. I could barely see them, through the light that leaked into the rest of the room. His flesh was almost bone white, contrasting with the deep, rusty brown of his suit. For a moment, I thought his eyes were covered in bandages, but I quickly realised it was skin. Folds of it, that sagged down over the top half of his face, leaving his mouth the only visible feature. It spread wide, revealing black, cracked gums and two sharp teeth. "The Breathing Dark? You, of all people, wish for that, little wizard?"

"It seems appropriate," I spread my arms wide, "given the 'fortuitous serendipity' we find ourselves in."

The Vampire Man laughed. It was not a pleasant sound.

"Perhaps it may be appropriate for the situation, but I am afraid it is most inappropriate for our conversation, little wizard. I would not wish to harm such an interesting thing as yourself with something as dull as the Breathing Dark."

"That's fair," I responded simply. "I certainly won't force you to give me anything." The vampires seemed to relax at that. "But as you said, this could be resolved with conversation. If it can't, then I'm afraid that all we have is conflict."

And I turned up the sunlight, just a little.

The Vampire Man raised what may have originally been an eyebrow. "Perhaps you are less interesting than I thought, resorting to threats like so many of your kind."

I shrugged. "Whatever works, dude." Maybe I should incinerate a Renfield, just to make the point?

The scourge looked at each other.

I stepped out into the room, coughing lightly as the others bickered. "Excuse me!"

Ebenezar whirled, staff pointed directly at me. His eyes glowed briefly for a moment, before he moved quickly forward and clasped me on the shoulder. "I'm glad to see you, Max."

"I'm glad to be seen again too, Ebenezar."

Luccio and Ancient Mai were both eying me. I gave them a shrug. "I got them to agree to leave. They'll repair the damage, wrap everything up, and get out of here, come nightfall - if the Jade Court will give them a clear path to the portal."

"And in exchange?" Luccio asked. Her voice was... terse. I guess I had gone rogue again, but in fairness I didn't exactly go looking for the situation this time around. It wasn't my fault. Really.

"Well, they don't want to die." I frowned. Huh. "Or un-die? Whatever. They want to get out of here and back to their un-lives."

Ancient Mai frowned. It was not a pleasant sight. "I do not like it." She said, words as severe and stentorian as it was possible for anything not carved into stone tablets to be, "But the Jade Court will likely accede - they have no wish for such destruction in their lands, or to truly attract the enmity of the Black Court."

The three council members collectively winced. Which didn't surprise me. Honestly, if Weatherwax hadn't suggested it, I probably wouldn't have gone for it. But the old woman hadn't steered me too wrong yet and there was no way I could've actually taken all of them on my own. Thank fuck they bought the sunlight bluff.

Luccio and Ebenezar seemed like they had a headache, but they turned to Ancient Mai. Luccio spoke first. "Are you still willing to come with us, Councillor Mai?"

"Once the Court provides what I need, yes." One of her stone animals trotted over and sat beside her - she ran a hand across the dog's head. "You walked from the distant way?"

"Yep." I grinned. "It was quite a hike."

"Indeed." She seemed amused by me again - that faux-guileless look all over her face. "There is a shortcut back. If you wait outside the portal, I will show it to you once my dealings are done."

"Understood, Councillor." Luccio responded. "We'll see you shortly."

Ancient Mai looked through the Mill with great... skepticism. She even hmmphed over the place! But she came, and she followed us all through to the War-room. I couldn't help thinking over our little group now - Chloe and I, Weatherwax, Luccio and Ellis, Caoimhe, Ebenezar, Listens-to-Wind, Liberty, and Ancient Mai. Quite the powerhouse. Pity the Gatekeeper too busy, uh, Gatekeeping? Or being gatekept. I still have no idea.

I frowned through the group, counting off in my head. "I'm not the most... dues-paying member of the Council, I know, but there's only two of you left, right? That Cristo dude and the big guy himself?"

Ebenezar nodded, and gestured to Liberty, who began the briefing. "Councillor Cristos' chosen hiding place is in the middle of a warzone - for the last three-hundred years, the area has been home to two Peik-ta Cults, a collection of miscellaneous Guardian Spirits like Yetkhat, and a few magical organisations that extend throughout that part of Asia. Cristos and I were called in to intervene about a hundred years ago, and it's been a cold war ever since."

She leaned over the map. "He should be hiding in-"

Suddenly, the room erupted into blaring lights and noises, and then a voice began to speak. "-can't keep this up for long. They've found me! I don't know how many, but I can't keep this up for long. They've found me-" The message looped a few times before Ebenezar slammed his staff down and cut it off.

I looked over at him. "Cristos?"

"Yes. I was goin' to suggest we go find the Merlin first, to help with handling the warzone, but it sounds like Gregori could use a hand." He looked over to Liberty. "Is there a way we can use?"

"Yes." She responded confidently, "Here. It's a short walk from his hideout, so we can be there in minutes."

The Senior Council - most of it, anyway - stood tall, and the room brimmed with power. This experience had hit them harder than I thought. They'd been some of the most powerful things on the planet, and now they'd been beaten. I hadn't even noticed it. But now, they could do something. We could take the fight back to them.

"Alright!" I clapped my hands together. "What are we waiting for? Let's go kick some bad guy ass!"

For once, Luccio didn't seem to disagree.