Chapter 5

The first thing I noticed when we stepped into the rickety old barn that camouflaged the tunnel leading to the portal for Versa was how different it felt to me as opposed to the last time I passed through it.  I was human then and my senses weren’t as acute.  I found it unsettling when the atmospheric pressure assaulted my flesh as we stepped out of the passageway and onto the normal surface density of earth.  It took me a moment to fight off the feelings of confinement and potential suffocation.  Even though Luthias prepped me on the possibility of that happening before we started up the ladder that led from the tunnel to the surface, its intensity surprised me.

“Is Verso underground?” I asked.

“No,” Luthias replied.

“I didn’t think so,” I mused aloud, “but the air is so different there than here.  It seems odd, since all that separates us is a tunnel...”

“We just passed through a magical portal leading to a kingdom that’s protected by magic,” Luthias broke in.  “Nothing feels like Verso; not anymore at least.”

“Not anymore?” I asked.

“Verso looks and feels the way earth’s surface looked and felt like before the wars destroyed it,” he replied.

“I knew that,” I said abashedly. I could feel my cheeks flush as I chastised myself for displaying such naivety. “I don’t know why I said anything.”

“That blush suits you,” Luthias said with a grin.  “I thought nothing could make you more beautiful, but I was wrong.” His comment took me completely by surprise and I blushed even more. He studied me for a long, uncomfortable moment before asking, “Does being alone with me make you uncomfortable?”

“A little,” I admitted.

“Yet, being with Geo doesn’t?” he said with a tone that sounded like a mixture of hurt and accusation.

I looked at him long and hard.  How was I supposed to answer that question?   Should I tell him that I felt guilty because I’d already made my mind up to be with Geo and was only agreeing to my grandfather’s crazy courting idea out of respect?  Should I tell him that even though I’d decided to choose his brother, my fickle body longed to feel his strong arms around me? Should I admit that I ached for the passionate kisses I knew his lips were capable of?  Should I tell him that I often dreamt of our lovemaking and woke up with a gnawing longing for it once more?  What would he do?  Would he swoop me into his arms and free me from my misery? Or, would he turn from me in disgust as he recognized me for the fickle, twisted, messed up female that I clearly was?

I was spared from having to find out when the barn door swung open and two of the town guards appeared. They greeted Luthias with a mixture of camaraderie and respect, but they kept a safe distance from me.  The taller of the two guards kept a stern, watchful eye in my direction while he listened to Luthias explain to them who I was and why we came through the portal.  Satisfied that I was a friend, they quickly approached me with hands extended and made their introductions. I learned that the tall one was named Edgar and the shorter, younger looking one was Carl.

“We’re glad to see you,” Carl said while he pumped my hand.  “Are any more following you?”  When I shook my head ‘no’ he looked concerned.  “Not to sound insulting, but do you think the two of you can handle things without backup?”

I was surprised to think that Luthias would have shared our plans to enter Charles’s vampire kingdom with humans, even if they were the residents of Desolation; which was a very fitting name given to Verso’s camouflage community by the vampire residents of the magically protected Kingdom.

“We’ll be fine,” I assured them.  “I’m their queen, after all.”

“You joined the Order?” Carl gasped with wide eyes.

“The New World Order doesn’t have queens, stupid,” Edgar flung at him. “I think she’s talking about the vampires.” He turned to Luthias and continued, “You didn’t come to help fight off Bartholomew’s army?”

Luthias looked at me briefly before saying, “We intend to rally the vampires together to fight, if need be.

“You definitely need be,” Edgar said briskly as he walked to the door and held it open.  “Take a look for yourself.”

Although Desolation was never much to look at with its rundown buildings and lack of vegetation, what awaited us outside that shack was shocking.  A great majority of the buildings were blown apart.  Those still standing leaned in one direction or another to such an extreme that I wondered if one good wind might finish taking them down.  The streets were barren of any type of life.  It was as if we’d entered a war zone.

“What happened?” I asked softly.

“Bartholomew happened,” Carl volunteered.

“He discovered the mutant encampment nearby.  After he took them out, he swept through here to make sure there were none hiding out,” Edgar said. “As if we’d harbor any of those abominations.”

“Was it necessary to destroy the place while searching?” I asked with disgust.

“We lost quite a few lives during his raid,” Edgar said with obvious sorrow.

“That’s his M. O.,” I said.

“Do you know him?” Carl asked suspiciously.

“I witnessed him in action when I was a young girl,” I explained. “It was ten years ago and I can still remember it as if it was only yesterday.  He slaughtered a mass of innocent people attending a concert because a few rebels were amongst them.”

“You’re lucky to have escaped,” Carl said with a sigh of admiration.

“Yes,” I greed.

I had no intention of telling the whole sordid story of how my mother was amongst those slaughtered. Or how my grandparents swept me away to safety after I’d witnessed my mother’s body being peppered with bullets.  I especially had no desire to share with them that my mother somehow survived and became not only a mutant-vampire, but she was their leader and now that legacy was left to me.

I listened as Luthias filled the guards in on how I was in training under Gwendoline to step in and assume the role of Verso Witch when Gwendoline felt I was up to task. I was grateful that he shared that information with them before he admitted that I was also the queen of Vampire Land and we were on our way there for me to assume my role.  I think the fact that I was Gwendoline’s protégé lessened the bitterness of the news that I was the queen of adversaries.  Although they said nothing, they put just a few subtle inches between us as they looked at me with new eyes.

“You came through here before,” Edgar said. “You were with Gwendoline and Luthias. I thought you were human.”

“I was,” I said softly.

“You’re… you’re not human now, right?” he stammered.

“I’m not human now,” I said softly.

“H- how did you...” he cleared his throat log and hard before continuing. “Can I ask how you came to be the queen of the vampires that are enemies of the one you travel with?” he continued.

“It’s quite the story and if there was time,” Luthias said briskly, “I might be persuaded to share it with you.  Sadly, we are on a tight schedule and need to be pushing on.”

“You aren’t going to pass through without meeting with Tod, are you?”  Edgar asked anxiously.

I remembered Tod from my last trek through Desolation with Luthias and Gwendoline while on our way to rescue Geo from Sybil’s evil clutches.  We visited his house just long enough to query him and a few others about the terrain we’d be traveling over and to receive a sack of food. Tod clearly held Gwendoline in high esteem.  I wondered how he’d feel about the fact that I was in line to succeed her.  As the leader of Desolation, his opinion carried a lot of weight with the residents. It was true that they were the front for a vampire kingdom, but Gwendoline was a human; a magical human, but a human none-the-less.  Would they be as gracious to a vampire witch as they were to the human one?  Even more so, how would he feel about the fact that the future witch of Verso was also the queen of the enemy vampires? After all, it was the Verso Witch who monitored them and provided some semblance of security for them in their precarious, apocalyptic world.

After hearing the news about the actions of Bartholomew and his army, Luthias readily agreed to pay a visit to Tod before we continued on.  He wanted as much information as he could acquire on where the army was, who they were actually targeting, and how many mutant camps were left for us to worry about on our journey to my awaiting vampire kingdom. I found it amusing to hear Luthias refer to Charles’s kingdom as a vampire kingdom when Verso was indeed the same, but I said nothing as I followed his lead and went to meet with Tod.

As we stepped out of the dilapidated barn, my eyes were assaulted by the intense sun.  They reacted far more acutely to its brilliancy than when I was a human. My hands shook as I fumbled for the dark glasses Gwendoline insisted I tuck into the front zippered pocket of my backpack.  I now understood why.  I remember noticing how Geo was particular to wearing them, but I didn’t recall Luthias putting them on during our rescue mission. I assumed it was because I wasn’t really paying attention to such minute actions when I saw him don his with swift self-assurance as he stepped through the doorway behind me.

My delay in putting on my glasses caused a searing pain to course through my head.  I held my fingers to my temples for lack of a better solution and applied pressure, but said nothing. Once again, my ego came into play and I refused to acknowledge my naivety and vulnerability in front of mere humans. I shook the thought away from my head as the pain subsided and chastised myself for such thinking.  Until recently, I was one of those mere humans. 

I couldn’t imagine such ego coursing through Luthias or Geo, so I attributed it to the fact that I acquired some of Charles’s genetics during my torturous transition.  Geo did his best to override the venom Charles so viciously deposited in me before leaving me to writhe and die in agony, but there was too much for him to completely alleviate. This was painfully obvious at the time of my turning. They were forced to restrain me in order to save my poor grandparents and Gwendoline from my desire to drain every drop of blood from their bodies.

I kept pace with the men as we gingerly moved through the streets toward Tod’s ramshackle home.  Since the attack on their town was only days earlier, we kept a vigilant eye out for any of Bartholomew’s men who might have been left behind to monitor the town’s sincerity about not harboring mutants. 

When we slipped into the cool shade of Tod’s home, I removed my glasses in order to take in my surroundings.  Things looked the same as the last time I’d passed through with Gwendoline.  It made sense since, even though a tremendous amount happened, it was only months since then. I quickly spotted the young woman who pined so openly for Luthias while shooting me daggerous looks standing in the corner.  Nothing changed there either. In fact, when she heard about my new identity her attitude worsened. I longed to take her aside and assure her that I wasn’t with Luthias in that way, but even if I found the opportunity, I had no idea how to broach the subject. Instead, I did my best not to fidget while I suffered the hate that radiated from her to me.

After what seemed like eternity, Luthias was satisfied with the information he’d received from Tod.  He assured him that as soon as he could he’d send help to repair the damage done to Desolation and we bid them good-bye. 

This time there was no need for provisions to be handed to us.  Our trip was shorter than the last time and I was no longer human.  We could survive much longer without food or beverage.  I don’t know who was more relieved about that fact, the hateful young woman or me.

Although we were aware of the dangers we’d face with Bartholomew’s army patrolling the area in search of mutant encampments, we weren’t exactly prepared for the intensity of the situation.  It wasn’t going to be as easy to maneuver the lands as it was the last time we ventured out of Verso.  Then it was a matter of simply keeping watch for, and avoiding, his drones.  Now we would have to keep watch for and avoid human patrols that were armed to the hilt with weapons of destruction.  Although it was true we healed quickly from wounds inflicted by humans, Tod warned us about some of the equipment the New World Order invented to assist with their battle for earth dominance. Some of it was reported to be powerful enough to blast a supernatural being to smithereens before he or she knew what hit them.  Their focus may be on mutants, but they were fully prepared for whoever or whatever else they encountered during their search.

The fact that the New World Order was aware of and came to terms with the possibility of supernatural beings roaming the planet didn’t sit well with Luthias.  When I asked him why, he explained that it meant we were one step closer to the war that Geo and he were so fervently trying to avoid.  My embarrassment over his having to explain the obvious was just one more painful reminder of how ill prepared I was to lead a nation of any kind, let alone two.