The air smelled strongly of smog and smoke and many bodies pressed too close together - a scent I had come to associate with large cities - as Rosaline, myself and my four Crystal Guards step off the private jet and onto the Atlanta tarmac. Just in front of the small stair leading from the plane’s exit is a large stretch limo, the door already open and the chauffeur standing beside it waiting for us. We wasted no time in climbing into the vehicle, which drove off as soon as the chauffeur sat behind the wheel, not wanting to linger overlong on the runway and possibly disturb air traffic. As we drove down the Atlanta streets, I couldn’t help but look out the darkened windows and frown.
My messenger was already dead. The Geas I placed on him alerted me the very instant King Rex used his magic to touch his soul. While I didn’t know the specifics of his fate, it was very clear that he was no longer of this earth. I knew this was a possibility, which was why I sent a dispensable prototype of my Crystal Cursed servants, but I was still rather disappointed with his lack of manners and civility at the very least. Didn’t kids today know not to shoot the messenger? I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s going to set a precedent for just how the next few hours will go. I sincerely hoped not, there was too much riding on this for things to go south. He may not know it yet, but King Rex needed me just as much as I needed him.
I’m pulled out of my musings as the car slows, and looking out the window I see that we’ve stopped in front of a large apartment building. Now that I’ve begun looking for it, I can taste the metallic tang of dark emotions in the air, conspicuous only because of the absence of their more positive counterparts; a sure sign of a changeling occupation. “Well, it seems we’re here,” I mutter to myself as I make my way to the car’s door. The chauffeur has gotten out by now, and once he opens the door my entourage and myself all step out, standing on the sidewalk in front of the building complex. Looking around I notice several sets of eyes on us, and even more hiding just out of sight. Clearing my throat, I loudly announced, “I’ve come to see Alvarium Rex.”
I don’t have to wait very long. Only a few second later, a young man walked out of the front door of the building, flanked on either side by a pair of slightly imposing characters, and I feel a brief surge of magic as several more, just out of my sight, use magic to conceal themselves, and I smell their hostility in the air. “Hello, Prince of Shadows,” the young man in the center greets me.
I nod my head towards the man in the center, obviously King Rex, and can’t help but smirk slightly. I feel a small drop of pride towards him for being capable enough to already know that name. “It seems that you are just as resourceful as I had taken you for. If there’s no need for introductions then lets please be on our way, we have much to discuss,” I said, stepping to the side and motioning to the open door of the car. His eyes flickered wearily between myself and the open car. I can’t help but smile a little wider as I said, “You may bring you guardians along if you wish.” I get into the car myself, my entourage following me, Rosaline sitting on my left and the guards sitting on either side of us.
Rex narrows his eyes, which flash a bright green from amidst his otherwise human face. “You are a Gatekeeper,” he said, his tone indicating it was not a question. I could feel his thoughts darkening, and even though I couldn’t see it directly I could smell the increase of hostile intent in the air, and I felt several out-of-sight weapons being trained on me as Rex draws a gun of his own and levels it at me. “Tell me, how do you know me? I’ve ever only told my name to but one human. She and her group are all dead now. Why should I not kill you now that you so brazenly waltz into my territory while shouting my name for the world to hear?”
Contrary to what he probably expected, I begin to laugh loudly and boisterously. My laughter lasted for a moment, and even though he didn’t show it I could tell I’d caught Rex slightly off-guard. “Gatekeeper? I figured it was obvious enough,” I said, removing my sunglasses to reveal my own abnormal eyes, a smile still on my face. “And I know you because I made it my business to know you, and I take business very seriously. As for killing me however, well,” for a moment, my smile became malicious, drawing attention to my unnaturally prominent canine teeth, and I released the careful lid I always keep on my anger. In that brief moment, my rage subconsciously lashes out in a bright flare, and with it comes my magic, causing gravity to suddenly triple for about a dozen yards in every direction all around me, and I could hear at least one out of sight changeling fall to its knees. It lasted only a moment though, and as quickly as it happened it’s done, gravity lifting and my rage dimming, though I could see the changelings in front of me panting ever so slightly. “You can try to kill me if you like, but you won’t. You’re too smart for that. Besides, you don’t even know why I’m here yet.”
Rex just narrowed his eyes further as they began to glow more brightly. “Does it matter?” he asked rhetorically. “You are here, and not on my terms. You know my secrets. And that little stunt makes the wrong impression of your motives. You are a threat, plain and simple.”
Inwardly, I sighed. It seemed he didn’t understand strength or his position here, and my words weren’t getting to him. Perhaps a gentler approach then. “Ah, ah, ah,” I said, shaking my finger and scolding him like the unruly child he was acting like. “I am only a threat if you make one of me, and that is something I trust you have no intention of doing. Besides, I am here to be an asset. As a gesture of good faith…” I broke off my sentence and turned to the unnaturally beautiful blonde woman beside me. “Rosaline, if you would be so kind?” I asked her.
“Yes, of course Your Highness,” she said immediately, her and my guards all joining hand and going still, turning their focus inward. Nothing happened for several moments, and I feel the vague sense of cautious apprehension coming from the changelings, but then, quite suddenly, the air in the center of the car stirred. It began to swirl and tremble and shake, slowly filling with magic. It grew and grew, slowly filling the car with a pink mist that smelt of cherries until it split out onto the street. As soon as it left the threshold of the car door I could see the eyes of the changelings go wide as they realized what it was: Love, so pure and thick and sweet that it filled and choked the air with a vague invisible mist. I saw their shoulders slump as they relaxed ever so slightly, and I knew that more than one of the changelings around here must be gorging themselves on the air-borne feast. After a few moments, Rosaline and the guards opened their eyes and unclasped their hands, the love mist abating as they did so.
“I assure you, my intentions are pure. Do not make animosity where there need be none, and we will get along just fine, much to our mutual benefit,” I said, smiling at their reaction. “Now, are you coming, or should we talk of international politics out in the open?”
Rex and his guards seemed to relax even further. “Fine, but remember this: hostility and lies have a particular odor. I smell it, and I’m out,” he said, holstering his firearm and walking back towards the apartment buildings behind him. “You drive; I’ll fly. Forgive me, but I don’t trust you enough to get in the same car as you, dark one.”
I can’t help but smile even wider. ‘This kid isn’t as dumb as he looks,’ I thought to myself. With a wave of my hand, I shut the door and open the sun-roof. “Very well, follow me,“ I said, gesturing for the driver to get going. “I know of a place not far from here.”
*~-/^\-~*
After nearly half an hour of driving, we arrived at our destination, a specific warehouse in Atlanta’s industrial district. I had chosen this particular warehouse because of a very specific reason: word on the street was that countless homeless and destitute people of Atlanta were disappearing in this specific area of downtown, and knowing what I did, it wasn’t too difficult to draw a connection from the disappearances to Rex and his hive. If I had to guess, this area was a feeding ground of his, and more likely than not, one of these very warehouses were housing several entombed meals. It was my hope that if he was in a more familiar environment and felt a little more in control he might be a bit more open to negotiation and the very place where he made small triumphs over the people of the city day after day seemed like a good place.
It wasn’t long after the limo stopped and my entourage and myself stepped out that Rex and his guards landed, dropping the spells they were using to make the eyes of anyone passing by simply slid over them and not take notice, dropping their disguises as well, and revealing their true forms. The first thing one would notice about them, were their insectile appearance, their bodies covered in dark chitin and limbs disjointed and bent at odd angles, and their eyes like massive compound eyes, large monochrome and faceted, all except for Rex himself, whose eyes were a brilliant green and predatory. The guard changelings stood about the height of a man, slightly hunched over with their knees facing backwards and a finned crest atop their head, Rex in contrast towered like giant at nearly eight and a half feet tall, with a full head of dirty green hair and several antennae growing from the top of his head in a crown-like formation. He briefly looks around as he landed, and asked, “Why did you choose this location?”
I simply smiled, and said, “I thought talks might go a little more smoothly around here.” Turning away from him, I reached towards the warehouse door with my hand and my magic gripping it by the handle and hinges, and with a gesture of my hand I swing it open silently. “Let’s go inside,” I said, walking ahead of him and purposely showing him my back as my entourage and I make our way inside.
Once we all made our way inside, I walked to the center of the warehouse, where I faced the door and held out my arms to either side. With my palms facing upward, I made a jabbing motion with my claws towards the ground to my left and right, and with a great heaving motion a twin pair of thrones made of dark crystal burst from the ground. Sitting in the slightly more ornate of the two, I slammed my left fist against the arm of the throne, causing thin wall of the same crystal set emerge between the seats, and with a sweeping motion of my left hand it extended, making a flat topped table. With a gesture of my right hand, several crystal stools rose up on either side of the thrones as well, enough for my entourage as well as Rex’s guards to sit. Looking to him, I gestured for him to take the seat across from me.
Rex eyed the offered throne apprehensively for a moment, before reaching behind his back and magicing up a bottle of water. “I’d rather not touch it,” he explained as he put the bottle to his lips and took a large mouthful and spit it out, but not before imbuing it with his magic. The magically imbued spray of water quickly condensed into a small cloud, which Rex promptly sat on. “Now,” he said, “what’s so important you had to interrupt my lunch?”
I couldn’t help but feel my smile fall a bit at his mention of lunch; I knew full well he was most likely referring to the messenger I sent. I was still rather upset by his actions with that, but heeding my better judgment, I decided to downplay it. “Yes, well, I do hope you’re willing to reimburse me for his life insurance, at the very least. Good employees are so very hard to find these days,” I said, making light of my displeasure. “No matter, on to business. As I’m sure you’ve surmised by this point, I’ve had my eye on you for a long while now, and I thought it time we finally met, King of the Earth Hive,” I spoke, carefully eyeing Rex. When I was sure I had his attention, I continued.
“We are a lot alike, you and I, and in more ways than just the obvious,” I said, gesturing vaguely towards his grotesque form and my own smoking eyes. “We’re both Kings without a Kingdom, lost amidst the sea of humanity, despite having left such trappings behind long ago. The world goes on with or without us, blissfully unaware of just what happens all around them, just beneath the surface of their small, ephemeral little lives,” I said, and couldn’t help but give a small wistful sigh. “It won’t last forever. Things have changed, and changed drastically, you and I are living proof of that. This whole world is changing around us, and we are the instruments of its evolution. Things are rapidly moving to a new world order, and I fully intend to be at the top.” I felt my eyes flash, and my gaze bored into Rex’s. “And I want you there with me. It gets lonely at the top, and you have more than proven yourself capable to lead, whether it be a hive or humanity. That’s why I have come here today, that’s why I have sought you out. I came to make an offer of allegiance, fully and completely. I have waited as long as I could, but things move apace, and the walls are closing in. I know you have felt it too, Keeper of Chrysalis, and neither of us will be enough on our own. Let us join together, and become so much more than we would be apart,” I said, holding out my hand in a welcoming gesture.
Rex simply eyed me throughout my little speech. “I know there are more to your motives than just that,” he said, scoffing, “you are a snake, I can smell it. I know of your partner’s tyranny; my partner lived it personally. Oh, don’t be so surprised,” he barked, although truthfully it really wasn’t that surprising. “Changeling royalty is very long lived and very hard to kill.” He glared at me for a moment before going on, saying, “But back to the topic at hand. If I were anyone else, I would be split between admiring your courage or criticizing your stupidity for coming into my nest. But I’m not anyone else, and you are an intruder into my kingdom. Yet here I am, listening to you spout hot air and empty words. You talk of an alliance; what do you have that I cannot obtain on my own? You talk of being on top; why would I ever want to be there when I can infest the foundations of society, rotting it from the bottom up, and make the world dependent on my control? And you talk of the walls closing in. Whatever do you mean? I have eyes and ears in both worlds and I only see the boundless horizon. Things are moving, yes, but when have they never not been?”
I couldn’t help but frown a bit at his response. The kid really didn’t get it, did he? “Perhaps I overestimated you. I thought you at least of all people would know that we are not our partners. The Darkness has changed, long ago. Being trapped in a prison of ice for a thousand years tends to do that. Thankfully, after many trails and long nights he and I were finally able to see eye to eye.” My eyebrows curled downward, and my face better mirrored my inner anger as I answered his insinuation, “And I’ve never had much love for Tyrants or Dictators and I’ll have no such thing ever bound to me if I can help it.” I closed my eyes a moment and sighed, and when I opened them again my gaze was sharp and piercing, boring directly into Rex and the dark smoke flowing from my eyes a little more freely. “And you are fooling no-one but yourself. You know it’s coming,” I said, taking a deep whiff of the air, the scent of Ending and Hunger and Beyond hanging thickly in the air around Rex. “I can smell its stench all over you,” I said, holding my gaze a little longer, before sighing and calming down.
“You didn’t lie,” he replied after a moment, “meaning you believe your own words to be true. Whether or not you actually act on those beliefs remains to be seen.” I could both feel and see the magic gathering in his eyes as he seemed to reflexively cast a spell of soul seeing, and gazed at the expanse of Dark Void where my soul should have been. “Forgive my blindness to my own stench. I cannot smell much over the odor of your anger and the distinct lack of the vast majority of your soul. Correct me if I am wrong, but I doubt that spells impending doom. Unless, of course, there is something that you are not telling me?” he asked, scratching the back of his head as he spoke.
I was silent for a long moment, and only my many years of practice prevented my face from showing my disbelief. ‘He really hasn’t noticed,’ I thought to myself, flabbergasted. “You really don’t know, do you?” I asked disbelievingly, my composure broken a bit as my tone becomes both sad and wistful. Sighing deeply, I continued, “Be glad in your ignorance then, I wish I did not know what I know now.”
For a brief moment, I allow the slightest bit of my control to slip, and I feel my physical form trying to break apart. The edges of my body blur, wavering and becoming indistinct, as if viewed through a thick fog or pale smoke, and the temperature of the room drops several degrees. When I spoke again, my voice had changed slightly, taking on an ethereal echoing quality that seemed to come from many different directions at once. “I know what I know because I must. It is my burden to bear, and I will foster it on no-one else. I hear its call, deep within the whispers of the Void. Live well, King of the Earth Hive, Keeper of the Shifting Gate, for when the time comes we will all have a role to play.”
Just fast as it came the moment is gone, and I slump in my chair, slightly more weary and a vague hint of exhaustion settling in. “It is no matter I suppose. For now, let us deal with the more immediately pressing matters. You aren’t going to remain anonymous much longer. Already they talk of you in Equestria, and the Gryphons sharpen their claws in fear of the images your name invokes. I myself can feel the troubles of this world closing in. You’ll find I am not one for wasted words.”
Now, my lips curl into a razor-thin smile. “If you really feel that you would have nothing to gain from our partnership, how about I offer you the one thing you will always desire: Love, bountiful and unending,” I said as I reached forward and began to sculpt the crystal table between us like wet clay. When I was done, the previously flat surface of the table was replaced with a perfect scale replica of an unknown and beautiful city, the architecture utterly alien and the streets arranged radially like a snowflake around a massive spired citadel in the models center. “In a few months’ time, far from here in the frozen north, my kingdom shall at last appear in this world. It will be a place of glorious majesty, unrivaled beauty and love enough to coat the very air we breathe. When it comes, I will seize my throne, and from my seat atop the world I shall do all within my power to see the earth itself united under a single banner, our banner, the banner of the Gatekeepers.”
I grew silent for a moment and a grin split my face as thoughts of the future ran through my head, delicious and tantalizing. Slowly though, my smile fell. “But I can’t do it alone,” I said, not looking up from the vision of my future home, “The Equestrians will oppose me, as they have my counterpart those many years ago. I doubt the leaders of earth shall stand idly by either, and for that I will need to be ready.”
I looked up from the model of the Crystal Empire and looked into Rex’s eyes. “The point I’m trying to make is simply this: I need you, and whether you know it or not yet, you need me. As I said, I’d like to make an allegiance between our two empires. For the moment, a mutual partnership between Greenfyre and SpyreShades, our two front companies.”
As I spoke, I leaned back into my throne, crossing my legs and steepling my fingers. “For now let’s start small. Perhaps a trade agreement? I’m sure you have something you’d be willing to part with... some gems perhaps? In return, I will be rather generous, and offer you a small Caribbean Island, on which to found Greenfyre Incorporated’s corporate headquarters in international waters, free from Man’s laws and away from prying eyes.” I said, watching Rex’s face a he mulled it over for a moment. “Do we have a deal?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Though I could see the conflict in his eyes, Rex seemed to sprout his first genuine smile since the conversation began. “Perhaps. Or perhaps not. It seems that you do not know me as well as you think you do. I still have my secrets. I do not need an island of my own; I have more than enough personal space,” he said, putting a strange emphasis on the last two words. “If you want my gems, buy them on the market like everyone else. That said, I’m not completely unwilling to trade. I know that SpyreShades deals with drugs. I’ve bought and sold to them before through some of my own underground workers. I also know that my venom is one hell of a drug after you process it a bit. Will you buy? Of course, I have other things that are about to hit the market after the patents go through. Your para-military should love them. And I want hard cash, nothing traceable.”
Rex paused for a moment, contemplating. “When you first mentioned your messenger, you did not seem to have much of a reaction to his apparent demise. Yes, I never said that I had killed him nor was it him that I was feeding upon. He is very much alive.” My expression never faltered, but I could tell he knew I didn’t believe him. He shrugged, and said, “I’m getting off topic. My point is I feel that you would be willing, I offer my hive as “stress relief” for your employees. Or, if you need someone gone for good or their loyalties “swayed”, well, I’m always looking for a good snack. Is that agreeable, crime lord Victor DiVinci?”
My expression remained forcefully neutral as the wall behind me slowly frosted over with dark crystal, and several different kinds of gemstone began to grow throughout the thin sheet, growing quickly and blossoming like a myriad of flowers. “It’s not the gems I need, but your willingness to trade. Don’t bother offering to make someone ‘disappear’ either; I have many ways of taking care of my own business.” I snorted softly, my lips falling a little. “As for my messenger, don’t even bother trying. I knew it the moment you touched him. He is lost to me now. I thought that might be a possibility, and that’s why I sent a disposable prototype of one of my early Crystal Cursed. You can keep whatever you gleaned from him; consider it a gift.” My face carefully shifted back into its typical neutral state. “But if you are still willing to trade in small amounts, then it is a start I suppose. I will accept this, ‘Venom’ of yours. Will there be anything else, William?”
Contrary to what I expected, Rex smiles widely at my use of his real name. “You’re too damn all-knowing for your own good. It’s like changeling chess, where both sides know way too much about the other. So, do you see too much to get the big picture? Who knows,” Rex said, rocking back and forth on his could seat. . “As for your so-called ‘prototype’ — genius, if a bit outdated. I have you pegged, you know. That’s far too polished to be anything but a nearly finished product. The thing is, you’re missing nearly a thousand years of magical development. Your work is flawless... for the relative time it was created. Actually, I think Celestia wrote an unpublished manuscript on the relevant theory about sixty years ago. I only happened to stumble upon it by accident due to a quirk of a spell of my own invention,” Rex mused. “Though it’s unlikely that you will ever see that information. Ah well. But seriously, I know you have ways of ending your enemies’ lives, but I see a good meal there, or a potential replacement target. I have nothing against helping and trading with your company, for the right price - people included. Mmmm, yes, we’ll trade. Your card, please? For later, you see. I assume that you do not wish to fly out here every time we need to talk. If we keep this relationship strictly business for now and you keep that nasty temper I smell on you under control, well, we’ll see where this goes.” Rex passed to me two business cards of his own, explaining as he did, “Elizabeth Grace and Michael Brook. She is the head of Greenfyre’s sales department; he is just an average Joe. I personally quite like wearing those two; they have very nice voices. Give them a call.”
I can’t help but smirk a bit at Rex’s reaction to my usage of his real name. “I find that knowledge is power, and power is something I greatly desire,” I said, though I felt my face fall as I go on. “As for the big picture...” I said, my eyes flashing. “I see more than I ever wanted to.” For a moment I’m silent as my mind ran dark with heavy thoughts. Shaking my head to rid myself of them, I continued. “Anyways, it seems we’ve reached an agreement for now. If you want me to connect you to my Human Resources Department however, you’re going to need to offer me more than simple illicit substances,” I said, handing Rex a business card in return, “Here is the contact information for my Atlanta Regional Manager. If you ever want to talk business, the easiest way to contact me would be through him.”
“But… if you ever find yourself in a situation in which you are in dire need of assistance, use this,” I said, as I reached out into the space beside my throne, and laid my claws against the air. With a downwards scratching motion, like nails on a chalkboard, oily smoke-like darkness trails from my fingertips, hanging in the air like a rent of darkness in space. Without missing a beat, I plunged my arm into the hole of darkness elbow-deep, fishing around for a moment before my hand closed around what I was looking for. Grasping it firmly I pulled it out, and the small cloud of darkness dissipated like smoke on the wind. Opening my hand, a large crystal sits in my palm, the whole thing a mess of swirling colors, of black, acid green, purple, light blue and bright pink, and on its surface was transcribed an intricate and beautiful pattern of ancient runes, many of which had long since been lost to the ages. It was something of my own design, a special Beacon Crystal, filled to the brim and almost bursting with a perfectly balanced mixture of both Hate and Love, each measured just so to cancel out the other. “When you ever find yourself truly in danger, from within or without, use this. Drain it of all its love, and it shall become brittle; break it then, and I shall be there to assist you in your darkest hour,” I explained as I handed the crystal to him, my eyes boring into Rex’s own as I tried to convey the true meaning behind this gift without words. Whether or not we were on tense but amicable terms now, the fact remained, we were still both Gatekeepers, part of an incredibly rare breed, and call it an old father’s instinct, but I felt the need to look out for this kid, whether he wanted it or not.
Rex looked at me oddly for a moment, before taking the offered crystal from my hand and pocketing it. “Thanks… I’ll be in touch.” As he stood up, he said, “Remember, waste disposal isn’t the only service we offer, nor is our venom the only product. I won’t say much now, it’s all very hush-hush, but I assure you, it will be a blast.” Rex stopped as he was about to pass through the warehouse doorway. With a rush of green flames, he resumed a human shape, and in his hand he held a small emerald. “Oh, by the way, here’s your messenger, very much alive. Golems work wonders as prosthetic limbs. And, sixteen,” he said, tossing me the gem.
“Sixteen?” I couldn’t help but ask as I snatched it out of the air.
“Why,” Rex replied, “the number of assassins you had aiming at me, of course. The basic notice-me-not has two flaws. Your enemy lies in the spaces you don’t look, and emotions drift in the breeze. There are sixteen holes where my senses don’t look and there is too much emotion here for you, Rosaline, and your four guards. I can point out their locations, if you want. Now, how many did you count?”
I only smiled, calling his bluff. “I’m aware of and rather intimately familiar with the notice-me-not and its limitations. It’s rather hard to hide from the shadows themselves after all,” I said, waving my hand towards the shadows at the far end of the room where I could Feel Rex has hidden his own assassins. “And I have no need of such things,” I said, the light in the room dimming further, despite the fact that it was almost noon outside. “If I truly wanted a high-value target such as you dead, I would do it myself. I’m sure any assassin I sent would be dead themselves long before they got anywhere near you, and would just end up being wasted.” Reaching into my coat’s pocket, I pulled out a small globule of glass, inside of which was a small caliber bullet that had a faint caustic green glow to it. I was a personal invention of mine, something I prepared specifically for dangerous situations like this when my staff might be forced to interact with members of Rex’s hive: special bullets, laced and infused with pure Hate energy. The effect of its use was rather akin to that of silver bullets and werewolves. Tossing the neutralized ammunition to Rex, I explained, “This is what you’re most likely feeling. I’m not exactly one to come unprepared.” Quirking an eyebrow, I gave a small chuckle. “I find myself rather thankful we are not enemies; we’d most likely end up destroying each other.” I smiled again. “Is there anything else?”
“You say you have no need, and yet there they are anyway. As you said, you’re not exactly one to come unprepared. And I just wanted a number, because you most certainly didn’t point to them all with that vague little hand wave. Hint hint, they’re not all aiming for you,” Rex replied. “Come on, take a guess before I go.”
For the first time since the meeting started, my face fell into true and genuine frown, and my anger struggles against the careful mental bonds I keep on it at all time, the smoke of my eyes flowing a little more freely in response. I like to think of myself as a calm and collected individual, but if ever there was something that truly angered me, it was threats against those I cared about. “I see what matters, and I do not take kindly to threats against my Subjects, Boy. Your seven little guards don’t intimidate me.” The various crystals around the room reacted to my worsening mood, and the stools that my guards sat on grew upwards slightly, curling around them protectively, and around Rosaline in particular. After a moment, I managed to get myself under control again, and the crystal returned to normal, though the bits around Rosaline lingered. With a deep, calming breath and a sigh, I said, “I see what matters. You have guards, many with their sights trained on me, but not nearly enough to be a real threat. Of them there are only seven that are worth worrying about.” My eyes flashed caustically. “But if anyone of them were to try and take from me what was mine, they’d be dead before they hit the floor. Now, would you like to continue this pissing match, or are we in accordance?”
“Good, good. There are seven living guards here, two of which are hidden underground. Six others are astral projections that feel real, but couldn’t actually shoot. None of them were aiming at her; that little repressed crush she has on you is too cute. But no, you missed number eight.” As Rex spoke, a hidden changeling stepped out from behind one of my guards, despite the fact that there was no room for him to have conceivably hidden there. “Goodbye!” Rex shouted, and with a sudden flash, all nine changelings vanished into thin air.
I smirked as he left. Pulling out a cigar from my coat pocket, I put it to my lips where the end spontaneously combusted. “Like I said kid, I see only what matters. Until next we meet, King Alvarium Rex. Arrivederci.” Taking a long puff of the cigar, I blew the smoke out my nose. Turning to my right and looking at Rosaline, I asked her, “Did you get all of that?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” she responded, pulling out the recording device she had hidden on her person. “I got all of it.”
“Good, good. That should be enough for now.” Taking another long drag of the cigar, I sighed. “You know, in a way I both pity and envy him. I just hope he’s strong enough to make it.” After a moment, I shook my head free from such thoughts. Climbing to my feet, my entourage did the same, and all the crystals around us faded to dust, ash and shadows. “Come along now, there is still much work to be done,” I said, leaving the site of my first interaction with the King of the Earth Hive behind.
*~-/^\-~*
No more than a few hours later, I stood surrounded by swirling Darkness. By now, my plane had touched down at my Houston offices, and my guards and assistant disembarked, though I had not joined them. Instead, I had elected to stay behind as they left Atlanta, and was to find my own way back. That could wait however, for as soon as the sun had set, I Stepped from the realm of this earth, and into the Place of Shadows.
I stood as a mere spectre of my physical self, my body wavering an indistinct like a dark cloud, fading to a wisp from my waist down and my hair flickered like a black flame. My eyes were the only thing that remained completely visible and unchanged here. I wondered this not-place, my senses on alert and taking in everything there was to see around me as I walked the spaces between the towering monolithic shades of real world constructs, mirroring their counterparts in the actual city of Atlanta. All around were the bright Soul-Sparks of the city’s residents, going about their daily lives, blissfully unaware of the Shadow-walker in their midst until the occasional unfortunate soul came into contact with my spectral form, then they would tremble and flicker as the ghost of death briefly gripped their souls. The only reason I didn’t simply fly above them was my unfamiliarity with the Realm of Shades where it overlapped with Atlanta, and I didn’t trust myself with whatever other creatures patrolled the skies of this city’s Darkness. Back home at least, the denizens of the Dark and I had an understanding: I was king and all that title entailed, and so long as they remembered that, and stayed out of my way, they were permitted to continue their existence. I was here on a simple scouting mission, and I felt no need to find and conquer whatever ruled this place.
Thankfully, my mission wouldn’t take very long, for mine were not the only pair of eyes searching the Darkness. Beside me was an apparition of my partner from across the Dimensional Divide, his consciousness brought here with my own magics. His own body was like mine, wavering and indistinct, his mane flowing like fire and his body trailing off into the darkness from the mid-riff back. When he had first seen himself he chuckled, commenting that he looked like an evil spirit of hatred that had once haunted his home long ago, a beast called a Windigo. I laughed in turn, remarking that he wasn’t alone, and that I myself looked rather like a genie.
As we walked the Shades of these foreign streets, we kept our eyes and ears open, and it wasn’t long before we were rewarded for our diligence. We stopped in the city’s center as the stench wafted on the ghostly wind, and all around we could feel Its sickening presence. It lingered here, in this city, just like my home town. We could see it disgusting tendrils just at the corners of our vision, disappearing as soon as we turned our head to look and even the foul taste of the thing choked the air. Most of all though, Its dark call rang almost deafeningly throughout this place, and even the Darkness itself seemed to writhe agonizingly in response. “It seems that you were right, Victor,” Sombra grumbled in his deep voice, making no effort to hide the disgust on his face.
“Indeed,” I said, nodding my head. “Though I wish I wasn’t. The Walls of the Veil are weaker here than anywhere else I’ve ever seen, even weaker than at home. At least two different Gatekeepers were Bonded in this city, and so it seems that my theory that the Gatekeeper Phenomena and That Which Hungers are intrinsically linked only gains more and more credibility. We will have to examine the place where Selene’s Connection first began to be sure, but right now it looks like our fears are becoming more and more confirmed.”
Sombra nodded, agreeing. “Yes, we will look there as well, but that will have to wait until a later date. I’ve been on your side long enough now, and my body calls my spirit home. It is becoming too difficult to maintain this form. You have what you need and the Keeper of the Shifting Gate has been warned, you should return and begin preparations for what is to come,” he said, his form beginning to fade. “We shall speak again at the witching hour, to discuss our plans.”
“Aye Sombra, we shall speak more later,” I said, as my companion faded away, his eyes lingering and the last to disappear. Looking down at the object in my hand, I gripped it tightly, as if I were afraid if I let go it would be gone without a trace, never to be seen again. “I have what I need, I just hope it will be enough.”
I turned to go, but as I was leaving, I looked back, my eyes searching the expanse of Darkness until they alighted upon the heaving, writhing mass of Alvarium Rex’s soul. “Good luck, kid. You’re going to need it,” I whispered, and in the next moment, I was gone.