* * * * * * * * *
“Where are you going?” Reggio asked before he even reached her side.
“You can come along if you hurry.” Jade responded to him, not answering his question at all.
Still, Reggio hurried to catch up to her, wondering why she was going the wrong way, and the four of them, with the vampire trailing behind for the first time, made their way across the length of the settlement, moving towards the swamp on its opposite end. The vampire was curious as to why, and about what was over there, so he rushed to get to her side. As he did, a huge gust of wind lifted up one of the mortal’s huts into the air and pushed it right at him. As it was ripped apart in mid air, Reggio leapt forward out of its way as it exploded against the ground behind him!
But he basically managed to ignore it as he reached Jade’s side. “What kind of storm is this, anyway?” He asked her. “It is like nothing I have ever seen before. It’s… it’s just terrible!”
“Of course it is!” Jade told him. “That is because it is Mother Nature’s wrath in one of its purist states.” She looked over at him and smiled. “But as far as I am concerned, this is nothing.” She was trying to sound confident despite her increasing nervousness. That was just one of her countless traits, to never show fear in the sight of any danger.
She then led them into another trail that led them into the swamp on the settlement’s west side. And as they moved deeper down that trail, Reggio began to notice, as did Jade, that it was not flooding as badly in that part of the swamp. This trail was much more winding, leading them around the countless pools of water within the swamp, and the vampire grew more curious with each step he took.
“Why is it not so flooded over here?” He asked.
“I do not know.” Jade answered quickly.
“Well, why are we out here? Where are we going?” He asked instead.
“We are here to seek the aid of others who may know better about this storm than us.” Jade told him. “If anyone has seen this before, it would be them.”
“Them?” Reggio asked, wondering if it was the same natives that Jane had told him about, but neglecting to say that he knew of them. “So there are others here?”
Jade laughed at his comment. “Your blindness makes me feel better about you each time we speak.” She admitted to him. “It was surprising to us as well when we figured out there were others of our kind here, but it is true. We do not know much about them other than they honor our secrecy. They live basically in seclusion, rarely leaving from their village. And we learned on our first visit how they react to strangers. We learned not to disrupt their privacy… but at this point in time I believe it is necessary.”
“So they have no idea that we are coming to them?” He asked.
“Absolutely none,” Jade told him.
“So we are about to disrupt their privacy, something they do not appreciate?” He asked her.
“That is exactly what we are doing.” She confirmed.
But Reggio had to raise his eyebrows and shake his head, “For some reason that just sounds like a strange thing to do.”
“You must remember that you were once a ‘strange thing’, as well, when I found you wondering around and eating mortals along our section of the river.” Jade reminded him. “We too appreciate our privacy.”
The vampire just nodded his head, not able to argue. After all, he was still walking around. He knew that he could have been killed on the spot, so he didn’t say anything else as he followed her, her speed and strength right behind him again. The trail wound around a large section of water with the rain splashing down into it, creating a hundred little ripples at once, one after another, all in unison, crashing and exploding into one another, resembling a miniature version of the lake, and then the path came to an abrupt end.
“Ah, we have finally arrived.” Jade said as she turned and pushed her way through a line of thick bushes to their left.
The three of them then did the same and pushed through the bushes right behind her. The leaves were overgrown and thick, which made it hard to see, especially with all the rain, but Reggio just kept pushing forward and eventually popped out into a clearing, where he saw Jade walking up ahead of them. He took in the sight of the small village and immediately found himself once again with the feeling of eyes upon him. Without even looking around, he just shook his head, figuring that he might want to get used to it since it seemed to happen everywhere he went.
So instead of worrying about it, he just followed Jade, trying not to pay any attention to whoever was watching him. She was walking right towards one of the larger structures in the small village, which was mostly filled with moderate sized wood built homes that were raised up into the air by thick wooden pilings that resembled entire tree trunks. The Speed and Strength were on each side of Reggio as they all three moved to catch up with Jade, but then she was stopped by a rather darkened figure, shrouded by a heavy coat with a large hood that hid his face.
All Reggio could tell was that it was definitely a male, and he smelled just like the warlock he had drained in the chamber’s holding cell. He could not hear what was being said over the countless droplets of exploding rain that kept pounding the ground repeatedly, but during a flash of lightning he did manage to see the warlock’s darkened face for just a moment and read a couple of words off of his lips, “… been expecting you.” Jade then turned and motioned for the three of them to hurry up as she made her way to the building. The door seemed to slide open for them as they all walked in, one at a time.
Reggio had no idea what was going on as they entered into a relatively large room with a big table at its center. He was just happy to finally be out of the cold chill of the rain and in a dry place. But just as he thought that, a single droplet of water fell straight onto his head. He looked up at the ceiling to see another one forming from out of a small crack, bubbling its way out and hanging above him, waiting to gain enough weight to break its hold on the ceiling and begin its descent towards his head. So as he took a step forward, wiping his hair back, he turned his attention to what was going on in the room.
Four others, a male and three females, sat at the other end of the circular table, while the dark figure motioned for Jade to be seated across from them. Reggio remained standing with the Speed and Strength, trying to look as serious as everyone else did.
“We do not have time for this, Lady Jade.” One of the females said immediately. “You have wasted enough time getting here. Soon it will not be safe anywhere in this swamp.”
Jade nodded her head and took a deep breath before beginning. “Well… that is exactly why I have come here before you today,” she said, “To ask for your assistance in this time of great distress. We know nothing about what is happening, but our elders have assumed the worst.”
“As they should,” One of the other females said. “This storm could be worse than any other we have seen in quite some time.”
“So…” Jade paused before speaking again, almost holding her breath as if she were embarrassed to speak her next words, but she knew how nervous she really was. “So what is it, this storm? What is happening?” She asked at last.
The male stood up. “We do not have time for this!” He said as he slapped the table with two open hands. It appeared he was ready to storm out of the room, but an upraised hand from the third female halted him where he stood.
“Sit back down, Suntos.” The third witch said from beneath her hood as she leaned forward. “If our fellow witches are in need of aid… then we must at least listen to their plea.”
The male, Suntos, reluctantly sat back down, clearly upset, and Jade bowed her head slightly, in thanks. The third witch then lifted up her hood and dropped it behind her head to reveal her face. Reggio was surprised to see that she was a different color than everyone else, a darker color, but he dared not show it. The witch looked over at Jade with her almost solid white eyes… her thick brown, dreadlocked hair pulled back into her coat… and began to speak. Regg
io just listened politely as a soft chill darted down his spine.
“This kind of storm is not a strange occurrence here, although the power of this one is quite rare.” The dark skinned witch began to explain. “We warned you upon your arrival here that you would face many terrors, and we did not lie to you.” Her eyes were wide to emphasize her words. “This is one of the most terrifying of those terrors. Thus… we have come to call these storms ‘Terrible’s’. The reason being that there outcome is usually such. We do not know much about them but what we have experienced. We do not know where they come from, but can only assume that they travel great distances to gather as much energy as they possess. Your arrival has helped us learn more about them, though. Your description of the expanse of water out there between your world and ours, the ‘ocean’ as you call it, as wide and enormous as you describe it to be, it would probably serve as the opportune place for their birth and growth.”
As the witch said that, Jade’s eyes lit up, clearly being reminded of Heather’s assumption. Her thoughts lit up, as well, ‘Could they truly come from the birthplace?’
“But other than that, we know nothing about them except of their destructive capabilities.” The dark witch continued. “We have come to look at them as living entities in many ways, unlike any other storm. We have followed several of them inland for many miles, as best as we could, and they just seemed to grow weaker as they progressed onto the land, almost as if the land was killing it. And we have also seen many other of these storms survive for days, furiously, on land. That is why we have come to think of our home as the final resting place for these storms… a place where they go to die. And their deaths are always made to be remembered. They do not just bring rain and wind like any other normal storm. Instead they bring a wind so furious it could uproot the eldest of trees, and rain that could rip one’s flesh from bone. And along with that, from its journey through the ocean, I assume, they bring a seemingly never ending surge of water onto the land, maybe taking back what was once theirs. And from your journey here, I assume you can see that has already begun.”
“Will it not stop?” Jade asked her.
“Not until the storm has died.” The dark witch answered as the other two witches nodding beside her.
“Then we are not safe… at all?” Jade asked.
“None of us are safe, no… not at all.” The witch confirmed with wide eyes.
“Then you must help us.” Jade urged them. “We have no way to escape the water if it keeps rising.”
“And it will keep rising. It will not stop.” The witch assured her, almost hauntingly so. “That is why we have built special canopies in the trees, built especially for storms of these magnitudes.”
“Well, you must help us.” Jade repeated herself. “You must bring my witches along with you.”
“That is absolutely impossible!” The male yelled out as he stood up and slammed his fist on the table. “Those shelters were built for us, with our exact weight requirement. If extra weight is added to any of them, especially in a storm like this, then they could fail at a moment’s notice. We cannot take that chance. Thus, we cannot help you or any of your witches.”
“But what are we supposed to do?” Jade asked sympathetically. “We have no way to avoid the flooding. Do you expect us to just die?”
“Many of our kind had to die in order for us to learn to survive.” The warlock told her harshly. “For instance, Valius… his death taught us that you are far too impulsive to be trusted. And the same may have to happen to you in order for you to learn.” He was referring to a fellow warlock who was killed by the Saint Claude witches, on the very first night of their arrival.
“No, it does not have to be like that, not if you help us.” Jade countered. “Valius’ death was an accident. He never should have been there. I made a mistake. So please… do not force it to be the death of us all.”
A crooked smile tilted upwards the warlock’s lips, “I told you, we cannot help you without putting ourselves at risk. And by doing that, we are all put at risk.” He countered. “So you had better start climbing some trees before it is too late.”
“But… that is absurd!” Jade exclaimed.
“And it is exactly what we did, exactly what we do now.” The warlock told her. “So if it is so absurd to climb a tree on your own, then why do you wish to climb them with us and put us all in danger?”
Before Jade could answer, the argument was stopped by the dark witch’s upraised hand. The warlock shot an ugly look towards her, but kept his mouth shut. The witch paid no attention to him, though. She kept her eyes fixed on Jade.
“How many of your witches would it be that we would have to help?” She asked, more out of curiosity than kindness.
“I will make sure that it is as few of them as possible.” Jade said right away. “The rest of us, King Orleans, myself, and anyone else we can bring, will take our chances in the mortal settlement, in the church, where we have already prepared to hold as many as we can.”
“Yes, but that church is terribly small for all of you.” The witch had to say. “How many do you think that will leave out in the rain?”
“It is hard to say exactly, but maybe forty or fifty.” Jade told her with a smudged face. “I will take as many as I can with me.”
“I understand that.” The witch said. “But what you need to understand is that Suntos speaks the truth. Any extra weight added to any of our shelters could cause them to collapse.”
That comment allowed Suntos to break in, “Exactly.” He said. “We cannot help them.”
“I did not say that.” The witch corrected as she turned her attention to the warlock beside her. “I believe, Suntos, that it is our duty to help our fellow witches, despite the obvious risks. It is an obligation rooted in our blood to do so.”
“Well, Violet, it seems that we clearly do not agree on this matter.” Suntos told her, and then turned his attention to one of the other two witches. “Also, I know that Veronica here completely agrees with me, but is too afraid to voice her thoughts in front of these… others.”
The witch, Veronica, I presume, shot a nasty look towards him. “Do not put words into my mouth when I have kept it shut this entire time.” She told him. “If Violet wishes to aid them, then that is what I will do.”
“Thank you for your support, Veronica, unlike Suntos, who seems unwilling to help his own family.” The dark witch, Violet, said as she held his gaze accusingly.
Suntos then stood up, outraged. “They are not our family!” He screamed in defiance. “If you wish to help them, that is fine, but I will have no part in it!”
As Suntos moved to push past Reggio to leave, he knocked into the vampire’s chest with his shoulder and Reggio did not move.
“Out of my draking way,” Suntos yelled into Reggio’s face, spit flying onto his forehead. “Don’t you know who the drak I am!?”
Reggio did not move right away. He just stared, unafraid, into the warlock’s hate filled eyes, then glanced over at all the empty space that he had to walk around him.
“Vampire, it is okay.” Jade said to him in a calm voice, unlike the tone he was used to hearing come out of her mouth. “You can let him pass.”
Reggio then nodded and moved aside for the warlock to reach the door. Suntos just huffed at him as he walked past him, shooting him a look of disgust as he slammed it shut behind him without another word. But Violet was left staring at the mysterious vampire, her eyes almost quivering. Reggio had gotten used to those glares, however, and hardly even noticed. And before Jade could notice how much more fearfully the native witch looked at him, she quickly laughed her nerves away.
“Do not mind Suntos.” Violet told them after he was gone, taking her eyes off the vampire. “He means well, but sometimes his pride can overshadow his reason. We truly do wish to help you, and to build towards a more caring relationship between us in the future.”
“Of course,” Jade said. “And we wish to build that relationship with
you, as well. It has just been so hard as of late, though, to do anything. Every day in this frening swamp is a constant struggle.”
“As is life, my dear Foreborn,” Violet told her with a softened smile across her lips. “It is something that can be taken away at any given moment, something that must be fought for with each breath we take… and something your friend here doesn’t have to worry about.” Her eyes were once again frozen on Reggio. Her head tilted back as she seemed to examine him, no sense of fear resonating from her at all. “So this is your Arken, is it not? Or should I say… Vampire… the name your kind chose to place upon it?” She spoke with curiosity drooling down her chin.
Jade nodded with hesitance, seeing something cruel within the gleam of her eyes.
“And what a splendid specimen he is… one that must be… appreciated… for what he is.” Her voice turned suddenly dark before snapping back to the matter at hand. “But if you wish to have our help, you must act quickly. Most of our witches are already in the shelters. So you need to get your witches here as quickly as possible if you wish us to split them up evenly and spread them properly throughout the swamp. I will have a group of my most trusted witches here waiting for you to return, and they will take your witches to their proper shelters.”
“Thank you… very much.” Jade told her with gratitude in her voice. “We owe you our lives.”
The dark witch just smiled unevenly at her. “Just go and get your witches. You can thank us after we all survive this.”
Jade stood up and bowed her head quickly before turning around and leading the way back out into the growing rain. She wasted no time and started running as soon as she got outside, basically jumping down the set of stairs outside the building, the vampire and her two warlocks following behind her.
As they left, three shrouded figures took the side of Violet, and her attention shifted over to them. “You know what must be done.” She told them, and they quietly slipped into the swamp behind their recently departed visitors.
The Speed had no trouble keeping up with her as she plowed back through the bushes and got back on the trail. The Strength almost immediately fell behind, trying to run as fast as his oversized muscles would allow him. And Reggio was somewhere in the middle, still having all three of them in his sights. But before long, as they ran down the twisting trail, water splashing with every step they took as the western swamp began to flood; Reggio began to lose the Strength off in the distance behind him. The space between him and Jade was beginning to close. As he got closer to her and the Speed, he heard her yell out over the rain to him, “Go on ahead! Make sure everyone is ready to leave!”
Her speed then darted off ahead of her, quickly disappearing into the distance. Reggio was surprised to see it happen right in front of his eyes, but not shocked at all that it did. As he finally ran up alongside of Jade, he yelled out to her, “I’m going to go on ahead too, and help that little guy out!”
Jade smiled at him like he was crazy. “You do that!” She yelled back to him.
Reggio gave her a quick nod and, to her amazement, took off ahead of her with a speed she never knew he had. He zoomed down the flooding swamp trail, his legs hardly able to be seen. He knew that he wanted to get back to the chambers before the Speed, not only to prove that he could, but because he wanted to make sure he found Jane before it got any more hectic than it already was.
He knew that he couldn’t run as fast as the Speed, but he did know that this side of the swamp seemed to be less flooded than the other, so he used that to his advantage and darted off of the trail and into the thick mud of the swamp. It started to slow him down at first, but then he realized that as long as he moved his feet fast enough, he could avoid getting stuck. After that, he started flying through it, leaping over tall bushes and old fallen trees. Every now and again he would pop back out onto the trail for a moment and run right back into the swamp.
As he got closer to the settlement, though, he found that it was becoming more and more flooded with water. He was soon trudging through an ankle deep stream that was slowing him down considerably. But even closer to the settlement, the land seemed to rise up slightly, and he was able to leap up out of the water and onto a large fallen tree. He ran across the length of it and jumped off into the air, latching onto a tree branch and swinging himself right back onto the trail. It was only a few more strides after that when he popped back out into the open space of the settlement and spotted the Speed at the other side of it, already running back into the opposite side of the swamp.
Reggio ran passed all the mortals as they tried to cram themselves into a large wooden building along that edge of the swamp, closer to the river, and e jumped over the remnants of the blown over hut that almost hit him earlier, zooming in front of the church and then scurrying back into the swamp, rushing into the opening of the trail not far behind the fast moving Speed.
At that point Reggio had been walking that trail all day, and he knew that he could find a few short cuts, flooding permitting, so he quickly darted off into the thickness of the swamp. He was met by knee deep water almost immediately as the land slanted downwards again, but he leapt out of it with a splash and landed on a rotten tree. Before it could crumble beneath him, he kept moving, avoiding the water by taking large leaps over long distances from one object to the next. He then jumped straight across a chunk of the trail and right back into the swamp, lunging over a wide puddle of water and landing on a carved down tree stump with one foot before hopping over a small gap and running across the length of the cut down tree that belonged to it.
Leaping off the tree, he went right over a patch of overgrowth and straight through a shroud of hanging moss before landing in some rocks along what seemed to be turning into a small stream in the swamp. Reggio took a quick moment to notice it before charging along the rocks and breaking through another patch of bushes, putting him right back onto the trail and right behind the Speed. The vampire couldn’t help but smile after regaining his footing and stumbling out of the swamp to quickly catch up to him.
As Reggio ran up alongside him, the Speed looked over at him, giving him a double take as he didn’t believe his own eyes at first. The little warlock then looked at him with complete surprise, but quickly grew angered, shooting him an ugly smirk before speeding off ahead of him.
It took no extra effort for the vampire to catch up with him, and once he did, Reggio looked over and smiled at him. “I thought you might need some help!” He yelled over at him. “You know, considering you don’t seem to talk or anything!”
The Speed shook his head and sped off ahead of him again, this time turning a corner and running across the bridge. Reggio followed right behind him, figuring he was just jealous, but once he reached the peak of the bridge, he was stopped right where he stood by the sight to his left. The lake had caught his attention yet again.
It was moving up and down in violent waves, as if it was breathing, and as a huge wave crashed into the trees of the swamp and exploded right in front of him, he couldn’t take his eyes away. As the water sprayed around him, though, he finally pulled himself away from the sight and hurried to catch back up with the Speed.
As he rushed off of the bridge he saw that the Speed had already made it into the tree. Reggio got there almost a full minute behind him and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. As he reached the bottom he saw that everyone was gathered in the main chambers, crowding the room. He immediately began looking through the faces for that of Jane’s, but found it nearly impossible to do so. He began pushing himself through the bodies in the crowd as the Speed was trying to lead them all outside. It seemed to Reggio that he did not need any help after all, but that was not why he returned so quickly.
“Jane!” Reggio yelled out as he moved through the crowd, the only one of them that was trying to get inside. He pushed through a few more witches and saw her curly hair just beyond them. “Jane!” He yelled out again. “Let me through!” He yelled at the witches that were in his way,
and then grabbed her by the shoulder, “Jane.” But as she turned around, he saw that it was not Jane at all.
“Damn it!” He growled as he kept moving through the crowd. But before he could yell out her name again, he was stopped by the loud and forceful voice of Jade as she made her way down the stairs.
“Everyone, by the furies, calm down,” she yelled out from the staircase, her voice demanding respect. “We need to evacuate ourselves from these chambers, but we need to do so in an orderly frening fashion! We have no time to mess around!”
It took a moment for everyone in the room to quiet down, but once they did, all that could be heard was the raging storm outside, the wind rumbling the ground above them. Jade then began to explain what was happening.
“If what Heather and the natives say about this storm is true, then the lake that we call Pontchartrain will be upon us very soon. It will gradually flood this entire swamp.” She spoke loudly enough for all to hear, and with a seriousness that emphasized her urgency. “Nothing will be spared by this storm’s wrath. These chambers will without a doubt be completely flooded with the sea.”
“So,” Jade went on as she looked around the room, “I believe you have all, by now, figured out that we will not be safe down here. That is why you were all told to gather your possessions and wait here for further instructions… because the only chance we have to survive this storm is to get as high as we can, away from the water that is already filling this swamp. From what I have seen by looking at the lake and walking the trails all day, there is no telling how bad it will get. It could be more intense than any battle you have ever been involved with, or any foe you have ever faced before. And with that being said, I have worked out a deal with the natives… for them to help us avoid this flood. And I need you all to follow my speed and strength to their camp, where you will be split up into separate groups and put into tree top canopies with the other natives for the remainder of the storm, or until it is safe enough to come back down.”
“Why are you not coming?”
“Yes, why must we go with the natives?!”
“Can we trust them?”
Witches from the crowd began asking questions, one after another.
“This is the only choice we have!” Jade shouted before they got too loud, shutting them all up. “There is nothing more that can be done! I am putting my life at risk to try and save yours. This has nothing to do with trust in the natives. Just trust me and do as I say. I will see you all after this fury has passed us.”
At first it seemed that they were going to protest, but Jade’s final words had seemed to quell their emotions, at least for the time being. Everyone was afraid and nervous about what was going to happen, what this storm was going to do to their lives. And many were reminded of The Great Purges, a time when witches were constantly on the run from death, a time that consumed the childhoods of many witches within those chambers.
Jade’s speed and strength didn’t waste time dwelling on the past, however, and they began to lead everyone out of the chambers in a single file line, very civilized for such a panicked moment. As all the witches were making their way up the stairs and out the chambers, Jade was wishing them well as she made her way down the stairs and to the back of the crowd. That is when she heard Reggio yelling out, “Jane! Jane, where are you!?”
She made her way around and saw him pushing through the crowd. “Jane is fine!” She yelled out to him. “She is not leaving with them. But I assure you, she is safe… for now.”
“But what about when the water rises?” Reggio asked once he noticed that Jade had found him. “You heard those witches. I need her with me, to keep her safe.”
“Once the waters rise none of us will be safe, vampire.” Jade told him blatantly.
“Exactly… that is why I need her with me. I can protect her from this.” The vampire’s voice was full of an emotion that Jade had not yet seen.
She smiled at him. “Look, I am sure she would be thrilled that you care so much, but she can take care of herself, as we all must in this case.” She told him. “Right now, though, there are others that may not be able to. I need you to help them get back to the native’s camp in time.”
Reggio breathed a sigh of disappointment. “But… why can’t I go with you?” He asked her.
“That is out of the question, vampire.” Jade let him know. “I need you to stay safe with the others, and keep them safe. Where I am going… it will not be safe at all.”
“That means Jane will not be safe, either!” He barked at her, acting very emotional.
“I told you that no one will be safe in this storm. It is out of my control, out of anyone’s control!” She shouted back at him. “I do not know what else to tell you. Just get back to the natives and help everyone as best you can there. That is where your efforts are most needed. I do not trust the natives to help us if something goes wrong. So I need someone there to help if that happens. Can you do that for me?”
Reggio sighed reluctantly, knowing that he did not want to, but told her nonetheless, “I will do my best. But just know that I will come for you and Jane, as well, when it does.”
“That is fair enough.” Jade said with a forced smile. “Now get them back to that camp and keep my witches safe.”
Reggio held his eyes on hers as he nodded his head and walked backwards for a few steps before spinning around to follow everyone else out the chambers. The room was just about empty. And by the time he made it to the steps, it was. He looked back to see that Jade was already gone, and then nodded to the empty room as he left it, feeling it would not be the same the next time he saw it.
Chapter 10 - And Then The Raindrops’ Howling