Cassandra Pendragon
"Wow." My eloquence might have suffered a little but I'm sure you wouldn't have fared any better, if you had been in my shoes. Every time someone had mentioned the fabled network of portals the vampires supposedly controlled I had imagined a dusty room with a few ancient symbols along the walls, maybe an appropriately dark and spooky corridor with cobwebs to complement the stereotype but, oh boy, had I been wrong. The corridor very much existed, but it was neither narrow nor dimly lit. It was a broad walkway, secured by a sliding slab of granite underneath the burned out ruins Captain Dawn had once called his home.
The trip there hadn't been fun. As soon as Alassara had led me towards the basement my heart had begun beating quickly enough to dance to the rhythm, the memories of my fateful encounter with Aurelia still vivid enough to make me weary. Fortunately we had soon taken another turn as the fanged woman had led me past looted chambers and broken doors, reminders of the enthusiasm with which the people of Free Land had celebrated the Captain's demise. She had stopped in front of of a mouldy, crudely made wall, an utterly unremarkable patch of stone I wouldn't have spared a second glance, if I had been on my own. With nimble fingers she had traced the outline of an intricate glyph through the gaps and the wall had simply slid to the side, rumbling like a starved dragon.
A few hundred steps later we had come to a closed door, carved from silver and etched with detailed pictograms of worship and sacrifice, human sacrifice I might add, that had looked more like the entrance to a grande temple than anything else. With a grunt my guide had pushed open the interwoven sheets of metal and ushered me through, revealing an honest to god underground pyramid, surrounded by an eerily glowing lake. The waters were calm, not even a single ripple marred the angular reflection of a four story building, reminiscent of a Mayan temple. It had been erected on an artificial island, at least I thought so, since not even a speck of dirt was visible around the foundation. The shimmering black ashlars seemingly floated on the dark waters and the tip of the building just about tickled the roof of the cavern.
Pale light, flickering from huge crystals, positioned on the four corners of the pyramid, filled the room with dancing shadows, their quivering outlines similar enough to living nightmares to make my tails curl up. The faint echo of dripping water was an ever present music, its eerie rhythm an unheard melody that dictated the ebb and flow of darkness and light. To me it almost seemed like a monument to the unchanging evanescence of our ambitions, a fitting place for forgotten priests to sacrifice the life of their flock to an irrelevant deity, whose name had long since turned to dust. The suffocating stench of mould and decay, mixed with a very faint hint of spent magic, emphasised the oppressive, destitute feeling that had been creeping over me ever since Alassara had opened the last door.
"Wow, as in I'm impressed, or as in I expected something more," the vampire asked.
"The former, even though I'm not so sure if that's a good thing. The place is imposing, I'll give you that, but I wouldn't bring my fiancée here. How old is that thing," I asked while I jerked my head towards the foreboding stone edifice in the distance, "and how do we get there? Fly?"
"If you want to. There's also a spell that allows footholds to rise to the surface. Whoever built this place knew a terrifying lot about magic. My brother and I needed decades to figure out the most basic uses of every enchantment engraved on the pyramid. Which should also answer your second question. I don't know. Old, really old, probably not as ancient as you but I'd wager this thing has already stood here when my progenitor was nothing but a mortal child."
"Terrific. And you're sure it's safe?"
"Nothing ever happened to us. Why should it be any different now?"
"Because I'm with you. As little as my race is known, chances are that whoever managed to build something like that might have known about us." She shook her had, smirking.
"Sometimes you still surprise me. No mortal who knows of angels and demons would ever bother with crafting safeguards. Why go through all the trouble only to watch them break like rotten wood when it matters? If it makes you feel any better, I'll wait here, though. You can have a look around and call me, as soon as you're convinced that it's safe." With a satisfied smile I replied:
"It would make me feel better. I'm probably just overly cautious but with the way things have turned out in the past…"
"No need to explain. Truth be told I'm quite flattered. Before you go, there's another thing, though. Since we're alone, probably for the last time in a while, I have a question to ask. Would you, that is Ahri and you, would you consider becoming Layla's godparents?" I froze, struggling to wrap my head around her words. Had she truly just asked me out of the blue to care for her child, in case something happened to her? What was wrong with her? Of all the people… my meanderings cumulated in one of my most favourite words:
"Huh?" A quiet chuckled escaped her before she replied:
"Is it really that much of a surprise? Look, with Ahri and you gone and your brother well on his way to starting a war with Amon, I'll most likely become involved, one way or the other. To me, dancing with an ancient sorcerer isn't risk free, by any stretch of the imagination. Should I… die or maybe even suffer a worse fate, I want my little girl to be safe. Whatever the circumstances. I know you wouldn't leave her high and dry anyways, but I thought… you'll have much less trouble with my family, if it's official." I still felt like a truck had had a field day with me, entirely unable to process that anyone would want either Ahri or me as guardians for their child. A failsafe in case everything turned to shit, sure, but as a first choice? No. Way. To buy myself a little more time I clumsily attempted to change the topic:
"Speaking of which, how did it go with the Madame and her girls?" She tilted her head and eyed me from the side, clearly conveying that she knew perfectly well what I was up to and that I wouldn't get around an answer, sooner or later.
"Neither good nor bad. Ever since the ones you changed woke up it's been the talk of the… town? Tree? With the less than veiled hints you dropped here and there most of them already figured out that they'll become something similar over time. They don't much care to embrace my offer as long as they don't know what they'll turn into without my intervention. The Madame is a different matter. She's really is sick. Terminally. Even with her magic awakened it's unlikely that she'll see more than another summer or two. The pond doesn't help much, either. What ails her…I've seen it before but I don't know what it is. A malicious growth that slowly eats away at her life." Cancer, most likely, but knowing what it was didn't mean I could a thing about it. The problem was, that, if I was right, magic would only exacerbate the growth, not reverse it. "Vampires are immune to sickness and disease. I'll probably turn her during the next full moon."
"And she doesn't mind the control you're going to have over her?"
"Of course she does, but it's much better than the alternative. I'm wondering, though, could you, or one of your friends for that matter, heal her?"
"Me? No. The dragons? Probably not. Greta? Maybe. She knows a terrifying lot about life… she might be able to burn away the… infected tissue while keeping her alive. Still, chances are that she'll just as easily kill as cure her."
"You sound like you know what she's going through. Do you?"
"Maybe. There are worlds out there which are much more advanced than our little piece of Eden. I've spent centuries there. Bottom line, the body is a complex miracle that regenerates itself all the time. Think of it as filling a cup. Once it's topped off, you're healthy again. The problem starts when you keep on pouring water. In this example you'd have a wet table, if it's your body growing out of control the result is a bit more serious. If I'm right, whoever attempts to heal her will have to cut or burn away every part that's spilling water."
"I see." With a soft smile she added: "and what about my question?"
"I… we'd be honoured to," I replied with only a tiny bit of hesitation. "But… are you quite sure?"
"Cassy, are you really that blind? I've told you before, you and Ahri were the first people Layla took a liking to and now she's practically inseparable from your sister. Also… you did offer to take her to the Emerald Island so she could learn. Which means I'm basically going to entrust my daughter to you anyways. Is it really that hard to believe that I'd like you to promise to keep on doing so, even if I'm not around?"
"No, it's not, but, like you said, I'd do it anyways. I just can't wrap my head around why you would want someone, who can provide only the bare minimum of what a godmother is supposed to be, to become Layla's guardian. I'll keep her in one piece and protect her to the best of my abilities, but I'll hardly have the time to take her to the zoo or shopping, never mind advise her when it comes to vampires or, god forbid, boy trouble. I'm… I'm no mortal, Alassara. So I ask again is this really what you want?"
"Absolutely. I don't expect you to hold her hand, even though I think you would, while she's growing up. I do expect you to tear through anyone who'd harm her, though. On this, I think, we can agree. Like you said, you'd do it anyways. Why hesitate?"
"Because people close to me have a tendency to get hurt," I groaned exasperatedly. She flicked my forehead and for a moment I was stunned into silence, staring at her wide eyed.
"What was that for?" "Being an idiot? She… we already are close to you. Yes, you have more baggage than most but so do we. Could you stop acting like you're nothing more than your enemies? Honestly. It's getting pretty exhausting."
"Fine," I replied while I rubbed the red spot. "We'd love to."
"Aren't you going to ask Ahri first?"
"She's sneaking through the palace, trying to protect her ward. I did tell you the story, didn't I? Frankly, I'm starting to lose track of who knows what. Anyways, I don't think she'd appreciate the interruption and I already know what she's going to say. Honestly, we both adore your kid."
"Only mine? It feels like you're fawning over everything that's still growing." I shrugged.
"Guilty as charged, even though I don't think you really understand what we consider a child."
"Don't be too sure. It doesn't take much to figure out you're regarding even your own grandmother as a kid. Is there anyone, besides Ahri of course, you take even remotely serious?"
"Pretty much everyone. Being young doesn't discredit you in any way. Why is it that suddenly everybody seems to be interested in my worldview? Over the last days people have asked me left, right and centre who I am. I thought most of you would already know me well enough. I'm not really complicated, at least I don't think so." She chortled.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that. I'm sure one day you'll find someone who believes you. As for why I'm asking… you're leaving. I'm probably not the only one who wants to know more about you and time is running out."
"You'll be seeing me again, much sooner than you think. But speaking of time…," I turned around, my gaze travelling over the murky waters to the foreboding pyramid. "Anything you want to tell me before I have a look around?"
"There are no traps, if that's what you mean. It took my brother and me several years to unearth even the most obscure records of what those things could have been. Piecing together what little we've found out and the few tidbits you've shared of Amon's past, I think it, or rather every portal, is a remnant of the empire he so desperately fought against. Every gateway is located in a temple, similar to this one, and the reliefs you'll find inside depict scenes of conquest and worship. I think I've even seen those magical constructs, you know, the ones you fought against when you met the spider. Even though your descriptions weren't overly detailed, they still fit. It also makes sense. To govern an area as large as you said, you'd need a method to quickly get from one place to the other. Considering their innate strength was able to create godlike creatures through simple beliefs, I can just about imagine how they could craft such a network."
"Except it wasn't them. It was the spider. Shassa created those creatures, not the people of that age. If you're right, there must be several destroyed junctions, pyramids Amon razed during his conquest. Are there?" She nodded.
"Most, I'd say around ninety percent, aren't working. You'll see once you're inside. The actual portals are stone arches, the destination inscribed along the top. The functioning ones are brimming with power and the others are simply… dull, lifeless. That's also why my brother claimed that he might be able to get you across the ocean. Several gates lead there but, and that's the strange part, they aren't… dead, but rather deactivated, I'd say. Couldn't Greta have told you as much? Isn't she already merging her roots with the magic?"
"She is, but apparently it's a bit more difficult than she expected. Chances are that she'll be able to incorporate at least one gateway, but, while she can tell where they're leading, she can't know which one connects to the path I want to take, not until she has full control. That's why we're here. I've got to pick the right one and then tell her."
"Couldn't I simply have done the same? I know which one leads the furthest north."
"You probably could have, but I also wanted to see what I'm getting myself into. Not that it has done me much good in the past, but at least now I know what I can expect. And I still want to have a look around. Now more than ever. If you're right, it probably was Amon who closed the portals, leading to his new home. Now, chances are he simply tore down the relicts of his past, since he hasn't used them to get here, but what if one or two survived? I'd very much like to know if there's a chance that he suddenly appears on our doorstep with an army in tow."
"If he had been able to, he would have done so long ago," she stated with just a bit too much hesitation to make her sound convinced.
"I quite agree, but better safe than sorry. Also, if he knows about the network, he'll probably try to get his hands on one still functioning junction or the other. Are there many temples on the southern islands?"
"Three. This one, one so far to the south that there's nothing worth mentioning around and the third…," she trailed off, her eyes going wide.
"What," I asked impatiently.
"I haven't used it myself," she explained, "but my brother often brought fresh blood from one of the slave islands through here. Which means…"
"One of the islands Amon is taking control over is definitely connected to this place. Shit."