Captain Graves' piercing eyes, glowing faintly, swept over the boys. His face was rugged, with sharp features that spoke of countless battles. His voice, when he finally spoke, was a deep rumble that seemed to resonate in their bones.
"So," he said, his tone heavy with authority, "these are the Daywalkers?"
'Daywalkers? Why would we be Daywalkers? It almost sounds like something from a book.' Alex can't help but think, even when the weight of the man pressures him. Even with his knees buckling under the pressure, Alex still, in fight or flight, tries to figure out what's going on.
Alex felt his knees buckle under the weight of Graves' presence, his heart pounding like a war drum. Max and Randy stood frozen, their breaths shallow, as if the air itself had grown too thick to inhale.
"Report."
Vespera stepped forward, her earlier charm replaced by a steely resolve. "Captain Graves," she greeted with a slight nod. "They were chased by a Brood Brute. I dispatched it, but..." She held up the orb, its grey hue catching the dim light. "They're unregistered."
Graves frowned and, with a flick of his wrist, the oppressive aura Vespera had cast over the boys dissipated, leaving them gasping for breath.
"No use keeping them subdued," Graves said, his voice like the growl of a distant storm. "They haven't even awakened yet."
He leaned down, bringing his face level with Alex's. Seeing the scars that run along his face, Alex can't help but wonder what kind of beast had to injure this monster that can fly through the sky.
"Tell me everything," Graves commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. "What happened before the Brute found you?"
'Scary.' Alex gulps, knowing that whatever aura that held them was easily swatted by this man. Not knowing what these two want with them, Alex can't help but be defensive.
Even with understanding that these two have the power to kill whatever those demons or Brutes, as they called them, are. Alex can't help but notice that they put importance into the fact they are supposed Daywalkers.
Meaning that they need them for something, which means he can use that to their advantage.
"And what's in it for us?" Alex, whose voice cracks, tries to put up a front to deter the man from taking advantage of them.
"Hoho, tough guy, huh? Well, you ask what's in it for you." Grabbing Alex by the shoulders and lifting him off the ground, Graves then steps on the broomstick that launches them into the air.
Soaring high above the building tops, a view one that you could only see through a plane was laid bare in front of Alex.
The cold air piercing his skin and wind gashing against his ear like a thunder dome.
His resolve can't help but lose its valor upon seeing the sight in front of him.
The sun that he was so accustomed to seeing was no longer there. The only thing that remained was a tiny speck like a star in the night sky, shining down its last warmth on a rock far away.
One spot in the deep of the sky, a large moon can be barely seen with minimal lighting cascading off it like the reflection of a mirror.
To the city that laid before his feet, the once bustling city now was quiet. Alex saw a quiet hum of lights bringing in the only light for miles. The rest being a wasteland of darkness, only ever changing from the rolling hills.
Alex was forcefully turned as a large castle took up his view. Its maroon edging highlighting its grey walls with its peaks reaching even higher than him.
Along its tops, broken pieces of the roof can be seen, and even the grand walls were marred by gaping holes, large enough to swallow a house.
However, once his eyes land on a dark figure on the side of the walls, Alex couldn't help but shudder.
A hulking beast loomed in the shadow of the castle, its size reaching the raptures of the walls. From its hole, blood leaked like a waterfall.
"W-what is that thing?" Alex, in fear, asks.
Smiling, Graves points his hand at the monster. "That thing is a Sovereign level Behemoth, one that rules all of the Darkwood Seaside. That city that lays below you is the once home of Humans 2 centuries ago, left to being a courtyard for the Behemoth."
"But how does that relate to me?" Alex asks, as he just wanted to know why he should answer Graves' questions.
"You ask what's in it for you, right? Well, the answer is quite simple: everything. Your life, your friends, your family, everything. So let me ask you one more time: what happened before the Brute showed up."
'It seems trying to act tough isn't going to work. Just go along until you can find a way back home.' Alex, coming up with a game plan, then speaks.
"Fine, I'll tell you. We were walking to school when all of a sudden it got darker and colder, and before we knew it, that demon came out and attacked us. We ran towards the fire station hoping to get help from them. However, we ran into that lady. That's about it."
Alex, having shared everything, looks Graves in the eyes. Eyes that stare right back at him as if searching him for something.
"When it turned darker, did the leaves wither away?" Graves asks.
"Yeah, they did. What about it?"
"It's what I fear." Graves, sighing, sets Alex upon his broomstick, still holding his shoulder so that he doesn't fall.
"The answer is simple yet the worst, for I know how you ended up here. See, that Sovereign was an underling of the Primordial Erebuzal, one that for the last 2,000 years has been trying to take over Earth."
Alex, not sure of what that really means, was rather confused. "So, like a super demon is trying to take over earth?"
"Ehn, well, you know what? I'll just let Vespera tell you. I ain't good at this stuff."
Quickly, they land back down on the ground where Max and Randy can't help but be amazed at the fact Alex got to fly.
Alex stumbled slightly as they landed, his legs still shaky from the flight. Max and Randy rushed over, their eyes wide with a mix of awe and lingering fear.
"Dude, you actually flew!" Randy whispered, but fell silent as Graves turned to Vespera, his expression grim.
"Take them to the Academy," he ordered, his voice carrying the weight of command. "Merlin needs to see this immediately." His eyes narrowed at the darkening horizon. "Erebuzal wouldn't waste power on a single ritual. This is just the beginning."
Vespera nodded, her earlier playfulness replaced by sharp focus. "The Ten Families will need to be informed. If more rituals are happening..."
"Exactly." Graves mounted his broom, the wood crackling with barely contained energy. He paused, throwing a look over his shoulder that made Alex's stomach twist. "Oh, and Vespera? You get to explain everything to them." His lips curved in what might have been a smile.
Before any of them could protest, Graves shot into the sky like a dark comet, leaving them with more questions than answers. The silence that followed felt heavy with unspoken dangers.
As Graves vanished into the dark sky, the rigid set of Vespera's shoulders softened. Her serious expression melted into something warmer, more approachable.
"Don't mind him," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "He gets like that whenever something important happens. Besides," she pressed a hand to her chest and gave a small theatrical bow, "I believe we got off on the wrong foot. Name's Vespera Starlight, Vice Captain of the Wraithblood and heir to the Starlight Crown."
Alex opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Max—in typical Max fashion—beat him to it.
"Max Greyson," he announced with an exaggerated bow and flourish of his hand, "heir to the Greyson family house and," he threw what he clearly thought was a charming wink at Vespera, "a young bachelor, I might add."
SMACK!
Randy's hand connected with the back of Max's head.
"Dumbass! This isn't the time to be flirting!" He glared at his friend in disbelief. "For all we know, she could be a demon in disguise!"
"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Max rubbed the back of his head, glaring at Randy.
"What do you mean 'what for'? You just tried hitting on the lady that killed that freakish demon! Are you actually brain-damaged?"
Max's confident expression faltered. "Oh yeah... she did kill that demon, didn't she..." The memory of Vespera's deadly grace seemed to finally pierce through his hormone-addled brain.
Alex could only facepalm. Sometimes he wondered how he'd ended up with these idiots as friends.
"I am so sorry about this," Randy said quickly, suddenly very aware that they were bantering in front of someone who could probably end them with a flick of her wrist. "My friend here tends to speak before he thinks, please don't mind him." He grabbed Max by the collar, forcing him into an apologetic bow.
A sound like silver bells filled the air as Vespera giggled. "It's quite alright," she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "My natural aroma tends to have that effect on Initiates. I'm actually impressed that you two," she pointed at Alex and Randy, "are keeping your heads clearer than your friend."
"What aroma?" Alex seeing his chance to understand what had frozen them earlier couldn't help but ask.
"You're telling me you don't feel anything near me?" Vespera's voice took on a musical quality as she approached Alex. Her movements were liquid grace, hips swaying with an almost hypnotic rhythm. The air around them seemed to thicken, carrying a scent like midnight flowers and something darker, more intoxicating.
Alex's heartbeat quickened as she reached for him, her fingers trailing along his chest with deliberate slowness. The touch left trails of warmth even through his shirt.
She circled behind him, her presence overwhelming every sense. When she rested her head on his shoulder, her breath ghosting against his ear, Alex felt his mind going fuzzy around the edges.
'Is this what Max felt? I can see why he lost it, —right now all I want to do is...' Alex gulped, trying to hold onto his thoughts as they slipped like water through his fingers. Something deep inside him stirred, fighting against the supernatural charm even as it pulled at him.
"My, my," she purred, her words like honey laced with poison. "To stand so calm while I'm this close..." Her fingers traced up to his shoulder, each touch sending sparks through his nervous system.
"Most men would be on their knees by now, begging for my attention."
She pulled back suddenly, leaving Alex swaying slightly, his mind struggling to clear. "Well, it seems you're right. Even Fledglings can't handle this without using their own power to negate the effect."
Her smile held a mix of approval and intrigue. "How fascinating."
Randy and Max stared, jaws dropped – though whether from the display of supernatural charm or from watching their friend stay standing through it, Alex couldn't tell.
"Enough messing around I need to take you to Merlin and there we will be able to answer all your questions so hold onto them for now."
Drawing her sword, Vespera carved a sigil into the ground large enough for four people. The blade left traces of light in its wake, like silver threads being woven into reality itself. Sheathing her sword, she looked at the boys with a smile.
"Come stand over the sigil with me—it won't work if you don't stand on it." Seeing their caution, Vespera's smile widened. "Don't worry, I won't bite." Her eyes flickered with mischief. "Unless you ask nicely."
Not willing to give the vixen any more opportunities for teasing, the boys quickly moved to stand beside her on the glowing sigil, its light pulsing like a heartbeat beneath their feet.
Vespera raised her arms skyward, her cloak billowing without wind. When she spoke, her voice carried an otherworldly resonance that made Alex's hair stand on end:
"Stella lucis, viam monstra Astrum Viae Portalis Per sidera ambulamus Spatium transit, tempus fluit Portam stellarum aperio!"
The foreign words seemed to ripple through the air like stones dropped in still water. Alex felt a strange energy course through his body, making his skin tingle as his feet slowly left the ground.
Each syllable of the incantation seemed to pull them further from reality. Randy let out a startled yelp, while Max's usual bravado dissolved into wide-eyed silence.
The world around them began to blur and stretch, reality peeling away like layers of an onion until they were surrounded by streaking lights.
It reminded Alex of those sci-fi movies where ships jumped to lightspeed, except this was terrifyingly real. Randy and Max fell to one knee, their bodies struggling against what felt like an ocean of pressure bearing down on them.
The cosmic energy pulsed through them in waves, each one hitting like a tsunami trying to drag them under.
But Alex... Alex felt different. Where his friends struggled, he felt a strange sense of belonging. Each wave of energy made him feel simultaneously more weightless and more solid than he'd ever been, like he'd finally found his natural element.
'It's a little like a bubble bath,' he thought, reaching out to touch the edge of the light surrounding them. 'Where the bubbles are light and float but the water is heavy and drags you.'
The comparison felt childish given their situation, but something about the familiar thought helped anchor him in this sea of strangeness.
The light vanished without warning, reality snapping back into focus. Alex's feet finding solid ground again as gravity took ahold.
Turning, he saw Max and Randy doubled over, their faces a matching shade of green.
"Oh god," Randy groaned, his glasses knocked askew. "I think I left my stomach somewhere between here and..." Before he could udder his words, he lurches up his breakfast.
Joining him Max too lurches.
Vespera's silvery laugh echoed through the chamber. "Don't worry, it only gets better the more you do it—unless you're like wonder boy over here." She gestured toward Alex, her red eyes gleaming. "First my aroma doesn't affect you, and now teleporting? You just keep getting more interesting." Her tongue traced her lower lip as she studied him like a particularly fascinating specimen.
'Great, now I'm some kind of lab rat,' Alex thought, suppressing a shudder at her predatory gaze. He focused instead on helping his friends to their feet, trying to ignore the way Vespera's eyes followed his every movement.
"Thanks," Max and Randy mumbled in unison, still looking slightly green.
"No problem."
With his friends finally vertical, Alex took his first real look at their surroundings.
'This is place is huge, bigger than even the gym back at school. Makes me feel small.' Alex thinks as he takes in the room.
Six pedestals formed a perfect circle around them, each crowned with a bowl emanating a different colored light. Beyond these, massive pillars stretched upward until they vanished into the shadows of the ceiling.
Ornate lamps protruded from the pillars at regular intervals, their flames casting dancing shadows across the marble floor. At the far end of the chamber stood a door the size of a drawbridge.
Two armored guards flanked it, each as tall as a car and eerily motionless. Their dark armor seemed to absorb the room's light, marked only by silver emblems on their chests—identical to the one Vespera wore.
Before Alex could study the guards anymore Vespera walks in front of them waving them over to follow her.
Walking behind Vespera like ducklings following their mother Alex and his friends make to the guards.
Saluting Vespera the guards speak. "Vice-Captain!"
"At ease. Monty, Atlas, these three are the Daywalkers that Captain Graves reported, we are to speak with Merlin at once, so do let him know were here." Vespera tells.
"Right away Vice-Captain." Both Monty and Atlas turned black like shadow then sink into the ground just as fast as they turned.
"What?" Max unable to hold in his thoughts speaks out.
"Don't worry about that you'll get the chance to understand in a little bit." Vespera clearly not willingly to explain every little new thing that is happening around them.
Rising back from the floor both Monty and Atlas arise like zombies from a grave.
"Headmaster is ready to see you Vice-Captain." Monty then brings out a small rope.
Vespera grabbing it then holds it out in front of the boys.
"Grab this it'll send us over to Headmaster."
Knowing that they don't have much choice in the matter the boys each grab a part of the rope.
Vespera then gives it a quick tug like one would to open a door. The rope then flew out of their hands each strain of the rope looping together to make a large circle.
Slowly though the looping rope can be seen creating what looks to be a portal into an office.