Vivienne

“Status report.”  Raollet commanded and laughed as he breezed past Patricia desperately pulling Franco out of the holy water.  Seeing that the elder vampire was barely moving and letting off smoke as the water kept its relentless shower, Captain Mattson shook his head. “Leave and live a better life, neck junky.”  He walked out of the door and stopped when he reached the balcony that overlooked the rest of Phantasmagoria.  Smoke from the burning vampires seemed to be all over the three leveled building and getting thicker by the second.  Screams from the humans trying to figure out what was going on added fuel to the fire. 

“Captain.  No alarms yet and the last truck is in place.  All four ways to get to the site are blocked.  That should buy you a few extra minutes.”  Heather announced over their shared open line.

“Perfect, Captain Addison.” Raollet smiled and clenched his fists. “I am on the balcony watching.  Captain Kino hold at the doors and wait a few, I have an audible play here.”

“Roger that, Cubby.”  Kino laughed at her own joke.

“Brian.  When Captain Kino and crew open the doors, I want you to send in super-heated rocks.  Aim for the pools of holy water on the ground.  I will outline them for you.”  Captain Mattson saw that the many Thralls were dragging their masters much like Patricia had been. “Three…Two…One.  Mark.”

Opening his palm, Captain Mattson’s magic flared to life and the lines of lime green flowed through the building and highlighted the pools that had or were forming on the floor.  Moments later Raollet watched dozens of fist sized blazing hot lava rocks shoot through the open doors and land precisely where he’d outlined.  “Geomancer…hot damn!”  Raollet jumped with excitement as the rocks landed and sent streams of purified steam into the air.  A scream from his left made Captain Mattson jump and aim his palm defensively.  Seeing a vampire covered head to toe in thick theatre curtains, the old farmer had been unaware of Livia’s presence until the holy steam penetrated her defenses.  Captain Mattson stumbled back from the voluptuous vampire that melted before his eyes, scrunching his nose as the plumes of burning flesh and bone arose from the undead puddle. “Right, Beauty is truly skin deep.”  Waiting for the aerosol vapor to finish its job,  Raollet snickered, “Bang, Bang…he shot me down, Bang…bang..I hit the ground..” as he quoted Nancy Sinatra.  Half kicking the smoldering woman out of his way, Captain Mattson calmly walked to the central staircase. “Perfect Brian.”  He paused. “Kino, come on in and start cleaning up the thralls.”

“About time.”  Angelia commented and rushed the front doors and was instantly in combat with thralls that had finally given up trying their masters. “Captain Mattson, Fuck me this smells like sh…”  She cut off her comment when she was jumped by a thrall. “They see through the fog!”  She screamed and was pinned to the floor by a pair of overzealous thralls.

Captain Mattson sprinted down the steps as fast as he could, trying to reach his pinned friend. “I am com…”  His voice was cut off when another set of thralls tackled him as though he were a football player.  Rolling on the ground, the elder captain began punching the best he could at the enhanced bodies of his enemies doing little to no damage.  Taking a punch to his side, Raollet felt his ribs crack and break from the impact.  Devoid of a breath and only his focus left, Raollet summoned an ink cloud that formed tendrils of points and jammed themselves in the attackers eyes, forcing them off and clutching their eyes. “Use your focus, focus, focus…”  Captain Mattson grabbed his Cubs hat from the floor right when he was pulled up and held in the air by an exceptionally big thrall.  Knowing that there was very little that he could do, Raollet pulled at the thumb that was gripping his throat. 

Across the street in a Civil War era abandoned four story home, Brian stood with The Darla watching as the events of Phantasmagoria unfolded.  Brian walked to the edge of a broken window and kicked the glass onto the ground.  It didn’t take Brian long to understand why the two were on the upper floor of the decrepit house that seemed to be falling apart around them.  He could see the front doors of the vampire’s den and had clear sight to use his practiced spells when The Darla commanded.  His hands fingered the blue rock in his coat pocket nervously for a few moments before he pulled it out and looked at it again. “Want me to open the portal now?”

The Darla had her heavy parka pulled over her head as she watched the battle through the broken windows. “Not yet.”  Pointing one of her tiny gnarled hands, The Darla’s magic flared to life and encircled the giant thrall that had gripped Captain Mattson.  Black and green vines wrapped around the man and delved into his ears.  The Darla twisted her hand and the vines turned to a cocoon. “Captain Mattson…”  her voice sweetly poisoned, “You should be able to break free.”  

Brian raised his eyebrow at the change in tone from Denise’s voice. “Are you alright, Loved One?”  He pointed to the trapped thrall, “Are you going to let him go…”  

The Darla spoke calmly, “Brian.”  She took a deep and exhilarating breath, “If you could assist Captain Kino.  Her squad is pinned down.”  Half turning to look at her student, The Darla’s eyes glowed a butterscotch yellow. “She doesn’t have much time.”  The Darla’s magic pulsed from the crystal and her palm once more, wrapping another thrall.

Forgetting what he was about to say, Brian heard the subtle words and turned his attention to the failing battle.  Flaring pine green, Brian’s tendrils crept into the small cracks of the floor and within seconds the ground around Captain Kino seemed to come to life.  Amorphous mounds of dirt rolled around, yanking and throwing the thralls across the foggy room.  “Loved one the fog…fog is keeping me from being able to see everything.  I can’t tell if I am just getting the thralls.”  Brian desperately confessed.

“I..I will try and outline them, Brian.”  Raollet coughed.  “No, that is too much.  Everyone, pulse your aura for Brian.” Raollet commanded.

Captain Kino came over the link, “Folks get your batons out, let’s crack some thrall skulls.”

Brian witnessed the shift in battle once more and one by one the few people that were left started to outline themselves in green. “I still can’t really see the thralls, damn it.”  Brian growled in frustration, “Should I focus on what I think are shadows, Loved One?”

Sighing deeply once more as a black tentacle seemed to send a red pulse into her, The Darla clenched her withered fist. “You and I both see Captain Kino and crew.  They are fighting hand to hand.  Don’t panic like you see the others doing.”  Twisting her dark hood so her eerie yellow eyes were looking directly at her student, The Darla continued. “Magic is about focus.  We are safe up here, focus your efforts in front of our people.  Where they are swinging you can be certain that they are hitting something.”  She slowly turned and quietly resumed her spellcasting.

Brian felt the rush of energy pulsing from his mentor and disregarded the deep yellow glow from her hood as a side effect. “Yes, Loved One.”  Analyzing the line of fighting, Brian rolled the big dirt mound to the first person in line and ordered it to start swinging at the first shadow in front of an outline.  

Captain Addison came over the link, “That’s the alarm.  Folks you don’t have much longer.  Code went out from inside the building.”

The Darla growled in frustration and sent out multiple thin strands of green twisted with black. “Captain Jonah, Feel free to use any delay possible to keep EMS from reaching the building.”  The Darla watched as a few black strands wrapped around people trying to escape, sending more pulses of red into her. “Jonah?”

“I have already flattened the tires on the trucks, Loved one.  We have maybe two minutes of holy water left in all four tankers.”  Captain Jonah paused to speak to the other casters within his small four man unit. “Apprentices.” He waited for them all to respond, “When your truck runs dry, get a distance away and light the gas tanks.  Create a wall of fire.”

The Darla chuckled to herself, “No…none of you can escape.”  Flinging her ropes of magic again, she captured another five people, with a couple outlined in green. “Brian.  Look right, I think you might be interested in the side door.”  Pulses of red streaked up to The Darla and she sighed once more. “Captain Mattson, head to your left.  There is a door that is about to be breached.”  The Darla smiled at the hole in the floor where Brian had ripped up the soil. “Perfect.”  She waved her thin fingers and the bones of her fallen disappeared into the pit.

Hearing the advice from The Darla, Brian pulled himself out of the battle and looked to the side of the building and knew instantly the female form that came sprinting out. “Casey..”  Squinting to see beyond the mist that trailed behind his ex-girlfriend Brian cursed to himself, “Fuck..Who’s that she’s carrying?”

The Darla cackled with delight, “We are short on time, Brian.  Don’t go..”  She laughed to herself as she watched the big man take off down the steps. “Good.  Good…”  The Darla resumed capturing and draining everyone she spotted with her twisted tentacles.