When Worlds Collide - Chapter 3 - Revelations

Luciana's eyes fluttered open and she groaned softly. She could hear the sounds of two voices nearby and she could tell they belonged to a man and a woman. Glancing around, she could see almost nothing in the darkness, save for a small glint of light beaming in from under the door. She appeared be in some sort of cabin, but other than that, she had no idea where that may be or how far she was from the Gale Home. When she went to to rub her eyes, she could feel heavy chains attached to her wrists, weighing down her arms.

 Bound to an old wrought iron bed with only a thin foam mattress beneath her, she sucked in a ragged breath. I'm in trouble yet again, she thought as the tears began to fall. There was no doubt she was in danger, and the seriousness of her situation became apparent as she listened in to the words of her captors.

  "It's only four days until the portal opens and we can receive our payment," the male voice spoke. "They'll come through to take her back and we won't have to worry any longer,"

  "This is so dangerous," the woman replied, deep worry in her voice. "I can't believe we're actually doing this. What if the police find out? What about the capes? Kidnapping a child?! We've never done anything like this before."

  "Four days is all. The time will go by fast, I promise. Besides, there shouldn't be any record she even exists in this world, the police will hardly have any reason to come after us."

  "Don't you feel bad receiving payment for capturing a child? I know the Emperor wants her and that all will be better when she's dead, but something seems wrong about this, Lucas."

  "You know far too well that her power is dangerous. They assured us that it would not be safe if she is kept alive. We have to believe we're doing the right thing. Once the sacrifice is completed, Emmanuel will take his place on the throne and true order will come to Loreithia."

  Luciana frowned -- she had heard enough. Even though she was still unsure what it all meant, she knew it wasn't going to be good. The tears came harder as she turned around onto her side and curled up into a protective ball.

  "Listen," the man's voice continued. "All we have to do is keep feeding her the inhibiter potion and she won't be able to use any of her powers. Now, please Audrey, just be patient. The portal will open, they will come, and we'll get our reward."

  The room fell quiet and the light under the door faded. Luciana closed her eyes.

*          *          *          *          *

  It was difficult, but Dark Flame tried to remain calm on the two-hour ride to the North Woods. Torrent had insisted on driving. As they made their way through the narrow roads, she stared out the window, a million scenarios running through her head.

  Michael had an idea of where they were going. He was familiar with the area and knew only two locations where there were residential cabins. When they saw the glow of lanterns in the distance, he knew they were at the right place. Parking the car nearby, he pulled out his small flashlight.

  The cabin was small, appearing to consist of two rooms -— a common room and a bedroom. In the main area, a woman was reading a novel while a man looked at what appeared to be an old scroll. On a far table, there were tubes and vials and colored liquids -— alchemy equipment.

  The superhero pair made their way to the largest window of the bedroom. The faint sounds of crying could be hear from within. Torrent tried to pull up on the pane with no luck. It was not merely locked, but nailed shut.

  "We're going to have to go on the offensive," he said. "We'll head in through the front door. You take the woman, I'll take the man."

  "All right," Dark Flame said with a nod.

  Readying themselves, Torrent kicked his foot out once, causing the door to fly open. The couple froze in terror, but it was a short pause. As the costumed heroes entered, the man raised his hands, muttering something under his breath. A strong wind gust forward, throwing the duo back. The woman leapt from her chair and ran to a small box in the corner.

  As Dark Flame darted toward her, the woman pulled out a blue bottle and splashed the liquid on the crimefighter. Coughing in the chemical, Sara's head began to swim. A moment later, the woman before her morphed into gorgon. With a scream, she fell to the floor and scrambled backwards.

  Torrent had managed to regain his bearings and lunged for the man. The kidnapper was quick and vaulted over the couch. Grabbing a purple clay ball from the chemical table, he threw it at the hero. The ball exploded in front of Torrent, sending pieces of dirt into his eyes.

  "Get to the girl," Lucase screamed to his wife as he threw another clay-bomb at Dark Flame.

  Sara was still under the effects of the spell and cowered until she saw the gorgon turn and head into the bedroom. Any fear she had was overcome by concern for Luciana. She staggered to her feet to take chase.

  Torrent sank to his knees, screaming in pain. The man at the table laughed.

  "You fools, did you think you could stop us? Someday we will be powerful wizards and take our rightful place in Loreithia."

  "My eyes," Torrent cried.

  With a smug smile, the kidnapper approached the crimefighter. Torrent sprang up, his fist flying into the man's jaw before he clamped his hand around his throat. "Powerful wizard? I don't need magic." He punched him three times in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He then brought his hands down onto the back of his head, sending him into unconsciousness.

  A scream came from the bedroom.

  Dark Flame had made it into the room just in time to see the gorgon pull out a ring of keys to unlock the shackles on the girl's arms. Luciana looked dazed and weak. Mustering courage and strength, Sara leapt forward and yanked Audrey back. The woman hissed and reached into her pocket, pulling out a handful of powder. She tossed it into the air, covering the crimefigher. Sara began to gag, the air leaving her lungs. She dropped to her knees, gasping.

  Torrent entered the room just as his partner collapsed. Rushing towards the kidnapper, he groaned as a strong gust of wind emanated from her fingers, hurling him against the wall.

  I have to do something, Luciana thought, realizing she was going to watch her friends die if she didn't But she was so weak and tired. If only there were...

  "Blood," she cried out.

  Audrey sneered at her. "You stupid girl, there is no blood."

  While the woman didn't realize the significance, Torrent did. He understood that vampires had super-human strength. Ripping the glove off his hand, he fumbled in his belt and pulled out a small pair of wire cutters. Slashing it across the side of his arm, he ran to the girl.

  Dark Flame managed to catch her breath and lunged at Audrey again. As the two struggled, Luciana latched on to the male crimefighter's arm. The haze in her head cleared and she could feel her energy returning. With a thrust, she ripped the metal chains from the wall. With animal-like frenzy, she jumped on top of her female captor, biting into her throat. She heard Sara's screams of surprise, but couldn't see through the haze of anger and hunger. In a few moments, the woman succumbed, crumpling in a heap like a rag doll.

  "No," a voice gasped. Torrent and Dark Flame turned to see Lucas framed in the doorway. He turned and bolted out the front door.

  "He's going to tell the others," Luciana whispered. "More will come for me."

  "Not if I can help it." In a fluid movement, Torrent took pursuit.

  Gathering the girl into her arms, Dark Flame stroked her ebony hair. Luciana child began to cry.

*          *          *          *          *

  The tiny girl stood behind Dark Flame, clutching at her cape. Even though Lucas had a bit of a lead, it only took Black Torrent a few minutes to apprehend him. He'd brought him back to the cabin, kicking and screaming.

  Although she had drained the woman to unconsciousness, Audrey was relatively okay. Sara gave her something to drink and assured she was lucid before moving her into the main living room.

  Torrent had found a line of rope in a storage chest next to the sofa and used it to secure the couple to two chairs. He then stood back and crossed his arms in front of him.

  "Kidnapping can land you in a federal prison," he said.

  Lucas smirked. "I think you'd have to prove where the victim came from, first. Don't think you can do that easily with the princess here."

  Torrent glanced at the girl who pulled back further behind the female crimefighter.

  "Why did you take her, and what were you planning to do with her?"

  The man had the upper hand and knew it. "Screw you."

  Audrey was still drowsy, her eyes sagging. Sara didn't like using strong-arm tactics -- she usually saved the heavy stuff for her brother -- but she realized time was short. Whatever was going to happen was only a few days away and they needed to be ready.

  "Luciana is still very hungry." She walked up to Audrey, stroking the wounds on her throat. "Would you mind if she takes another few ounces?"

  The casualness of her tone shook the woman and her eyes widened. "No, not that. Not again. She's a monster."

  "I'll let her feed again if you don't tell me." She walked over to the man. "Or perhaps we'll have her take a drink from your husband. Between the two of you, I'm sure she can satiate her appetite."

  Luciana wasn't sure what Sara was doing, but she could see Audrey getting more upset and the man was starting to look nervous.

  "You're crimefighters. You wouldn't allow her to do that," Lucas said.

  Dark Flame removed the glove from her hand to reveal dark red scabs on her wrist. "I wouldn't do to you what I haven't done myself."

  Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not, Luciana lunged forward, bearing her fangs. She had seen something like it in a movie on TV. She did her best to growl and look terrifying, though a part of her had to fight the urge to laugh.

  "Okay," Audrey screamed. "I don't care what he says, I'll talk."

  Lucas was clearly terrified too. "All right, I know the girl's power. I don't want to feel it. Go ahead, ask me. What do you want to know?"

  "Everything," Torrent said as he peered down at the man.

  Sucking in a deep breath, the kidnapper began to speak. "The girl is not of this world. She is from another time and place, far away from Earth itself."

  "Are you saying she's from another planet?"

  "More like another dimension, but yes, her planet is different than ours. There, a dark mage rules over the kingdoms and seeks to control everyone and everything. He plans to sacrifice the princess to his daemon god. Only then he will have full power."

  "Father." Luciana held herself against Dark Flame's side, the memories flooding forward. She didn't want to go back to him, not now, not ever. "I won't," she said.

  "You have no choice." Lucas grinned. "More will come, in four days' time. They will come and take you back."

  "Shut up!" Luciana screamed.

  Michael's eyes narrowed. "You were merely her captors? You planned to hand her over to her father who then will destroy her? What's in it for you?"

  "They offered a sizeable payment. Who were we to turn it down?"

  "What was that exactly?"

  "Money, of course, and so much more. In Loreithia, under the rule of the girl's father, we would be free to do what we want with our magic."

  "So how did you get in contact with them?" Dark Flame asked.

  "The girl's father has many connections across the universe. Our communication with him was psychic, though. We were channeling and he contacted us, summoning us to find Luciana and secure her so his men could come for her."

  Torrent struggled to understand. "So if these people travel from world to world, how do they get around?"

  "There are openings, portals, that lead from one world to another. Some appear randomly, and then there are those which follow patterns, much like the occurrences of the planets and the moon. There are some that can even be manifested, but it takes great power to do that. The portal that will open soon will provide a very short window of time, which is why it was important that everything be in place beforehand."

  "We have four days," Dark Flame whispered.

  "You're not going to be able to hold us that long," Lucas laughed. "You can't prosecute us for kidnapping a girl who doesn't exist. We will simply tell them about her and she will be poked and prodded like the freak that she is."

  Luciana shivered as a memory teased. She closed her eyes and pushed it away.

  Dark Flame's voice cracked. "He's right. I don't want someone getting their hands on her."

  Torrent thought for a moment. "I can't keep you forever, but I can keep you until the portal closes. Luciana, which one of these did you say was the sleep spell?"

  The girl grabbed the green bottle. "This one, it will make them sleep until it's broken with the yellow potion."

  "Dark Flame, take the princess outside. I'll be there soon."

  As promised, Torrent returned to the car a few minutes later. "All right, they're safely in the bedroom. I didn't want to bind them, in case they do wake. But it seemed to work. We just have to trust that potion will hold out for four days."

  Pulling the mask from her face, Sara glanced into the back seat. Luciana had already fallen asleep. "What are we going to do with her?"

  "I don't know, but she's dangerous to have around. She's going to have to go soon."

  "But where?"

  Torrent couldn't answer.

*          *          *          *          *

  Sara clutched at the blanket, her breath coming in short gasps. She had the sense to realize she wasn't quite asleep, but in some half-state between unconsciousness and awake. Her head whipped from side to side as she felt the darkness closing in on her.

  Her eyes snapped open. She was her in room, still dark in the night-time. The clock read 3:30.

  "Sara."

  Gasping, she pulled the covers to her chin. Across the room was a woman, more beautiful than any woman she's ever seen. A sense of peace came over her, even though her hands trembled.

  "Who are you?"

  "You must bring Luciana back to Loreithia. She is the one who must defeat her father, or else the world will fall into ruin and his tyranny shall continue forever."

  Sara's heart began to race. "What can I do?"

  "You must bring her to the Temple of the Elders. It's in the forest of Eldarwood near the Gray Mountains. There she will be cared for by those who know how to help her. If you do not, others will come and she will die; the people of Loreithia will suffer and many will perish."

  "But, how...?"

  The woman raised her hand and Sara's eyes felt heavy. A moment later, she bolted forward. The room was bright, sunlight shining in. She glanced at the clock: 7:30. She could hear a light tapping.

  "Who is it?"

  The door squeaked open, a tiny hand appearing. "It's too bright," Luciana's voice cried.

  Slipping from beneath the blankets, she pulled the curtains closed. "It's all right now. Come in."

  The girl she rushed in and jumped ontp the bed. "Thank you for saving me last night," Luciana said. "I was so scared."

  Sara snuggled close to the girl. "I would do anything for you," she whispered, and for the first time she realized how true a statement it was. She pushed an ebony curl from the girl's eye. "You're going to have to go home soon. Loreithia needs you."

  Luciana felt cold in the pit of her stomach and she wanted to cry. She never wanted to leave the Home. She wanted to be with Sara forever. But something deeper inside her knew she was right. "I'm scared."

  "I'll go with you and I promise I won't leave until you're safe."

  "Promise."

  Sara smiled. "Always."