Into the fields of Summer - 103. Flames of Darkness 2

Chris POV

I got out of the tube, it seemed the rest of the guys had been having an in depth discussion about me, behind the sound proof glass. They all exchanged cautious glances as I exited the tube.

“So, what did it say?” I asked Sarad and Zenfar.

“There’s a lot of data that we need to work on,” Sarad replied.

“Give us a day or two, I’m sure we’ll be able to give you something more detailed,” Zenfar added.

“Ohh. I see,” I replied with a hint of disappointment in my voice. I really wanted to get this over with.

Victor sensed my concern and scooted up beside me, my boyfriend simply whispered, “give them time, I’m sure it’s going to be worth the wait,” he said with a smile. Gosh I’m so in love with this guy. We’ve been together for several months now, sometimes I can’t still wrap my head around the fact that behind his teenage facade, is a 260 plus year old vampire.

“Okay, let’s go, we have to plan what we’ll disclose to the VHC and WCC,” Patri said as he nodded towards Victor. Though unspoken, it was made clear that Victor would take the elves’ side on this one, rather than the VHC.

As we walked back to Patri’s office, I whispered to Victor, “Aren’t you going to get in trouble over this?”

“It’s not even a choice when it comes to you Chris. I’d always choose you,” he said with a warm smile.

We spent more than an hour discussing the things we thought of disclosing to the VHC and WCC. Having Victor on our side helped, he gave us insights about the machinations of the two councils, and even went further in discussing what he knew about the councilors and senior officials of the other races. We might have Yal’s spy network to give us statistics, but nothing could beat the first-hand experience that Victor brought into the conversation.

As we finished our discussion, I heard Patri chuckle as he set his gaze on my boyfriend. “You’ve been a big help to us Victor. I can definitely see you being my grandson-in-law,” Patri teased.

Victor was speechless, and I couldn’t help but blush.

“ZoHal, there’s no need to tease these two love birds, it’s early days, but yeah, I can totally get behind a royal wedding,” King Ethnar piped in with his own mischievous grin.

“Uh.. ahm, I don’t know what to say,” Victor stammered, as he did his best to politely avert the piercing looks from my grandfathers.

My uncle let him off the hook, or so I thought by saying, “It’s okay Victor, these two oldies are just teasing.” Victor was able to compose himself a bit, but my uncle just had to add, “I’m not sure if it’s possible or not, but with Chris, it seems almost anything’s possible, so I’d really like to play with cute princes and princesses as nephews and nieces okay?”

Victor went as pale as a ghost and I wasn’t far behind him, much to the amusement of my family and friends. I can’t believe this day started with me dreading how to talk about the entire thing with Yonthar, now here I am talking about having kids with my family! ‘Geez, I’m only 18 give me a break!’ I thought.

—- 

We made it back to earth with a few minutes to spare before the conference call. Victor returned to his place while the rest of us prepared for the conference call.

The co-chairs of the WCC, Juan and Luigi, were joined by August, Olaf, and three other alphas to represent the werewolves. The three alphas were not WCC councilors but were close confidants of several absent WCC members and served as their proxies in the meeting.

Reza, Konrad, Victoria, Jeppe, Luca and Victor were on screen to represent the VHC.

I was joined by my uncle, Yal, and Kalron to represent the elves.

“It’s good to see everyone’s in good spirits. Congratulations everybody,” Luigi said, as he started the meeting.

“Our victory however did come at a cost,” Konrad ruefully replied. It was clear he didn’t like losing some agents in the process, but it’s the reality of the situation.

“How many did we lose?” Victoria asked.

“We lost 7 in Grand Rapids last night. 4 vampires and 3 werewolves,” Juan replied.

“We lost 5 in Indianapolis, 3 vampires, 1 werewolf, and 1 elf,” Konrad added.

I then looked at Yal, as embarrassing as it is, I’ve forgotten to ask how our contingent did in Cleveland last night.

Yal cleared his throat then added the statistics for our mission, “We lost 6, 3 werewolves, 2 vampires, and 1 elf.”

I did the math, and we lost 18 in a single night. I gritted my teeth in frustration at the cost we had to pay, to put a dent in the demon resurgence.

“At least we were able to rescue the Anami turned agents,” Victor said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Yes, that’s something we could celebrate. Also, we were able to save several hundred human prisoners. We were able to rescue 424 in total from the three compounds,” August added.

“Just 424? I thought 10,000 went missing from Detroit?” Jeppe asked

“They’re still unaccounted for,” Juan replied.

“No, I’ve accounted for them or most of them at least,” I tersely replied with a grim expression on my face, remembering how I was able to stumble upon such an information.

“Huh? What do you mean your highness?” Luigi asked.

“Chris? What are you trying to say?” Reza asked as he furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Before Yonthar arrived, Victor, August, and myself, we fought against three demons, one of them I was able to capture, and I was able to read her mind,” I replied.

“What did you find out?” Konrad asked.

“Some of the people abducted from Detroit, were turned into those demon enhanced fighters that some of our teams fought, but there’s something else,” I softly said. I took a deep breath to calm myself, keeping the anger and frustration building inside me in check. I’ve already shared this information when I went to the realm, but repeating it a second time wasn’t easier. “Yonthar already used several thousand of those people to create the demons we fought. He harvested their souls, infused it with malignant energy, and crafted demons. Yonthar ripped souls from each and every one of his victims. From what I gathered from the female demon, each demon is composed of at least 20 human souls, although some are made up of more.”

“What?” Victoria said as she choked in disbelief.

“So, we’re working against 500 demons now?” Jeppe observed in a calm fashion.

“I don’t think that’s the case, the demon creation process is a tedious one and the success rate is rather low, and let’s remember they’ve used some of their victims as demon enhanced guards, so maybe were working with 100 or so demons,” I replied.

“Since our mission has killed more than 20 of them, does that mean we’re working with 70 demons on the loose now?” Olaf asked.

“That seems to be the case,” my uncle confirmed.

“So, where’s the rest of them?” Reza asked.

“Our surveillance drones captured images and videos of several individuals escaping the compounds when it was clear we had won, though we can’t be sure that all of those were demons,” Kalron explained. He looked at his tablet and after several swipes, he was able to share with the rest of the group several images that showed a video snippet of individuals escaping the compounds.

“70 demons eh? That’s quite a lot,” August mused.

“At least Yonthar wasn’t able to build an army of a thousand,” I replied.

“Well, I guess you’re right, but 70 is still quite a lot.”

“It is, but we’ll just have to prepare for it. I doubt they’ll make a move so soon after such a heavy defeat,” Yal said as he exchanged looks with me and my uncle.

“I guess you’re right on that one Yal,” August said.

“We have to train harder and prepare ourselves for a possible retaliation,” Victoria suggested. The female vampire wore an expression of frustration and anxiety, she had every right to be both.

“We should keep the local alphas and vampire governors on high alert,” Victor suggested.

“Definitely,” Olaf agreed.

“There’s more,” I piped in.

“What is it Chris?” Luca asked with concern in his voice. As handsome as he is, his face couldn’t hide the fact that he was afraid things were going to get worse.

“There are more generals on the loose,”

The faces of several people on screen went a few shades paler at that moment.

“Are you serious?! How do you know that?” Olaf remarked in disbelief.

“Calm yourself Olaf,” Luigi said with a commanding tone.

“How many?” Reza asked.

“I don’t know, but several,” I replied.

“How did you get hold of this information?” Olaf asked.

“Yonthar said it to me before he died,” I replied as I exchanged furtive looks with my uncle and Yal. Victor shot me a worried expression on the screen as well. Bringing up Yonthar’s death was sure to evoke questions from the rest.

“Is it possible that Yonthar is lying?” One of the werewolf alphas asked.

“I hope that is the case but I don’t see any reason for him to lie,” I retorted.

“A single general was able to wreak so much havoc, I mean look at Detroit, a few more could do so much worse,” Konrad piped in. The head of Stratos was visibly shaken by the news of other generals, but it seems his mind was already working on plans for a response.

“Any updates on the humans?” Luca asked.

“What of them?” Victoria sighed, it’s clear she wasn’t placing any bets on a strong human response to the situation at hand.

“The American government is rebuilding FRUSI, the Canadians, and Europeans seem to have caught wind of that something’s amiss and are already beefing up their respective organizations as well,”

“We should have people from the VHC and WCC reach out to them,” Reza suggested.

“I’m sure they’ll jump right into it. They wouldn’t miss such an opportunity,” Yal remarked.

“Though we don’t want the humans to know of the return of the elves just yet,” My uncle noted. He was calm, yet firm on that point.

For the next hour or so, we discussed how to tweak the training programs of our agents, and enhancing the security for vital vampire and werewolf facilities across the world. For the elves, bolstering the security on the portal compounds was already a given, Jetan was already hard at work on that.

As soon as the video conference ended, I breathed a sigh of relief, no one tried to fish information out of me regarding how I defeated Yonthar. It seems, with my powers, the rest didn’t seem to think it was too far fetched for me to beat a demon general.

—- 

I spent Saturday morning hanging around with Leo. I welcomed the chance to spend time with my best friend, the past few days have been hectic for me.

“So, how’s training?” I asked Leo while we were eating breakfast.

“Not bad, Nomir and Etalos have been helping me every now and then but I’m having difficulties with the fire spells. Nomir’s an earth elf and Etalos is air so they can’t help me with fire based magic,” Leo sighed in slight frustration.

“So, you’ve been focusing on energy and protective spells then?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Wanna go to the realm this afternoon? I’m sure, we can find a fire elf to teach you some stuff.”

“That would be nice,” Leo said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Cool, consider it done then,” I smiled back at him.

“I guess having a prince for a best friend has its perks,” Leo teased, as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“I guess it does,” I said, smiling back at him.

“So, how’d the conference go last night? August has not shared a lot but from what I’ve heard, you totally crushed the enemy in Cleveland,”

*sigh “The conference call was routine, same old same old, lots of old guys discussing stuff,”

“I hope you don’t think of me when you’re referring to the old folks,” My uncle said as he walked in on us. He had a mischievous grin as he joined us.

“Nah, you’re not that old,” I grinned back at him.

“Good!”

“Oh, uncle, you’re a fire elf, right?”

“Uhm, yeah? Did you forget, I taught some of the stuff you know?”

“I didn’t, I just wanted to ask if you can teach Leo over here some fire spells,” I replied.

“Certainly, I’d love to teach Leo.”

“Really?” My best friend said with a mix of surprise and excitement in his voice.

“Of course, I heard that you’re just about to reach the bronze level, that’s impressive.”

“Yal told me, in a week or two Leo’s energy level should reach bronze,” I confirmed.

“That’s great!” My uncle exclaimed.

“It’s just bronze though,” Leo said with mild disappointment in his face. He was clearly frustrated about not being of a higher level.

“Leo, when you arrived in the realm you registered as Copper+ right?”

“Yes”

“That was just a few weeks ago, reaching Bronze- in such a short time is impressive, most elves wouldn’t even dream of such a rapid level of development.”

“Really?” Leo said with a higher pitch. He eyed my uncle for a few seconds to check if he was joking but it was evident my uncle was serious.

After breakfast, we went to the training area where my uncle spent time teaching Leo some fire spells. Etalos and dad also joined us a few minutes later, to work on dad’s air magic.

The hour long training session was productive. Leo was able to improve the range of his fire based attack spells, while dad was able to strengthen his defensive air spells.

My father wasn’t far behind Leo in terms of energy level, Yal noted that in a month’s time he should breach the bronze level as well. I met Etalos as a Bronze+, he recently reached Silver-, Yal and my uncle have theorized that being near me helps people have higher energy levels. Zenfar and Sarad are actually curious to test Victor, they have this feeling that he’s not Gold level anymore. I wonder if feeding him my blood has helped him, I’d have to admit that my boyfriend has certainly become stronger and faster the past few weeks.

—- 

“Chris, I think we should look into building a portal here in your place. I mean we can’t always have you transport us,” my uncle suggested, while we were eating lunch.

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right, but isn’t it a security risk though? On top of that, how do we even create a portal?”

“I’m sure father has some insights in making sure only a select few can use the portal. As one of the creators of the realm, I’m sure he knows the ins and outs of the barrier, with that we can minimize the risk of any unwanted intrusion.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Having a portal here would certainly make our lives easier. I wouldn’t be dependent on you to take me to and from the realm, as your secretary I have to cross quite often,” Etalos remarked.

“I see your point,” I replied.

“It would be cool, to visit the realm every now and then,” Leo said.

“Just make sure you keep it a secret from Reza and Konrad, or they will be here all the time for a shopping spree in the realm. Those two would make a killing selling our goods at a high margin,” Yal joked.

“Hahaha, I see where you’re coming from, those two certainly have an eye for elvish products,” I replied in amusement, remembering how both vampires spent most of their money buying paintings, sculptures, and tons of other stuff when they visited the realm.

—- 

In the early afternoon, I was joined by my uncle, Yal, Leo, and Etalos in crossing into the realm. Nomir was left behind to guard the house, while Kalron and Jetan remained to coordinate with the other races on the intelligence gathering process. Despite the defeat of Yonthar we remained on high alert, especially for a possible attack from the other generals or whatever remained of Yonthar’s demon army.

My uncle was able to find several Akros agents to help Leo with training. Etalos on the other hand went to visit my office in the palace complex, I think he had some files and emails to tend to.

With the 12 hour time difference, it was early in the morning, so the palace was emptier than usual. With the enhanced security measures implemented, no corridor was left without a guard. Good thing Zenfar and Sarad were able to adjust the alarms to my energy signature, or the noise would have jerked everyone from their sleep.

“Almost forgot the time difference,” I said.

“It’s okay, we elves don’t need much sleep anyway. I’m sure you’ve observed you barely need sleep. It’s more of cultural thing rather than a physical thing for us,” my uncle replied.

“Still does not make me feel better about treating the wee hours of the morning as work hours though,” I muttered in reply.

“Don’t worry about it, everyone that’s on duty right now are suppose to be on duty, we’re not disturbing anyone,” Yal chimed in, from behind my uncle.

“So, I’m guessing, Patri, Matra, and Uncle Selvenus are still asleep?”

“Probably, but there’s only one way to find out,” my uncle said with a mischievous smile as we made our way to Patri’s office.

A green light on the panel after swiping our hands, told us that Patri was in his office.

“Woah, Patri, didn’t expect you to still be awake,” I said in surprise as we walked in.

“Just finishing some stuff,” Patri replied.

“I hope we’re not bothering you,” I said.

“Of course not, anything for my favorite grandson,” Patri teased.

“I’m your only grandson.”

“Precisely,” Patri said with a playful smirk.

“Father, I suggested to Chris that he should place a portal in his house. What if he is unavailable when any of us need to cross to Greensburg immediately,” my uncle said.

“Actually, Selvenus and your mother have been talking about that as well, that is something that we’ve been considering for a while now.”

“Where are Matra and Uncle Selvenus anyway?” I asked.

“Hmm, your Matra, has been preoccupied with local government affairs in the southern province, while Selvenus, has been busy beefing up our security forces.”

“I miss them,” I replied.

“They miss you too,” Patri said as he shared in my longing for both my grandmother and uncle.

“When do I get to see them?”

“Your Matra should be back here in the Capital in a few days. While your uncle is making the rounds across several training centers throughout the realm, he’ll be back here soon as well,”

“Okay,” I sighed with mild disappointment. “Anyway, how do we go about making a portal in Greensburg?”

“I’m sure you’re already aware, the portal in your place will not be an ordinary one. It should be something only a select few will be able to use. If either end is compromised, it’s a direct entry point here to the palace or to your place in Greensburg,” Patri said.

“Yeah, is there a way we can program the portal to only allow specific individuals to cross over? Also, what about the issue of the required energy to trigger the portal?” I asked.

“With your energy level and skill, I’m sure we can work around the limitations of a normal portal. You barely feel any resistance when you cross the barrier, right?”

“Yes.”

Patri chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Chris, the barrier strengthening process has not ceased. We’ve increased the strength of the barrier by almost 50% now,” Patri replied.

“Really?”

“Not to mention, recently we’ve been tagging along with you. That’s certainly impressive,” Yal said.

“Okay, I’ll share my knowledge of the barrier. With your powers, I’m sure you’ll be able to craft a specialized portal with ease,” Patri said, as he stood and approached me. My grandfather touched my head with his right hand, instantly I felt warm and tingly all over. The surge of information, regarding the nature of the barrier rushed into my head, it was exhilarating and almost overwhelming at the same time.

I was breathing heavily when the deluge of information from Patri ended. Patri smiled at me and said, “so, you think you can make a portal for us?”

“Uh, I think so yeah,” I nodded in agreement.

“Good! Work on it, when you feel refreshed.”

“Yeah, I’m still a bit dazed right now,” I replied.

“Since you’re here anyway, I think we should discuss your image in the realm,” Patri said, changing topics.

“Image?”

“Chris, it’s been weeks since your Ascension, and you haven’t made any official public appearance yet,” Yal explained as he gave my shoulders a light squeeze.

“Do I really have to?” I whined.

“Chris, you know better than that. Of course, you have to be presented to the public,” my uncle said as he raised his eyebrows at me.

Of course, I knew this was a long time coming but it doesn’t mean, I should like or look forward to it.

“The media has been in a frenzy since our recent victory over the demons, they want to know more about you. As of now, you’re this mysterious powerful prince that people only hear rumors about,” my uncle continued in almost a warning tone.

“I’ll have the PR team work with Etalos to discuss some public appearances okay? A tv interview is in the works as well.” Patri said with finality in his tone. I couldn’t help but reluctantly agree with their plans. It’s been a long time coming, I knew I had to face the public sooner or later.

—- 

Leo was just finishing with his training when we reached him in the training area. My best friend, looked visibly exhausted from a long training session. It was also obvious from the look on his face, he was determined to see this through, and he was happy with the results he’s been seeing so far.

I could sense that Leo’s fire based attacks are hotter and stronger and have more energy than before, he’s certainly improving at a phenomenal speed.

Seeing Leo conjure a fire ball with ease made me proud of him, I know how hard he has worked to reach that level of proficiency. I’m sure in no time he’ll be able to materialize arrows and whips of flames as well.

“Wow Leo, that was good!” I cheerfully said as Leo approached us after his session.

“You’re just saying that,”

“No no, I swear you’re really getting better.”

“Honest?”

“Yeah, absolutely!”

Leo smiled and replied, “thanks, I’m really trying hard you know.”

“The results are showing buddy,” my uncle chimed in, with a proud smile of his own.

“Leo, before you and William, we’ve never had any records of humans having elemental skills, this is really something,” Yal said.

“Well, I guess we owe it to Chris,” Leo said as he smiled at me.

“Huh, why me?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t have anything to do with me and your dad suddenly gaining powers, I think the common denominator with all this groundbreaking stuff is you Chris,” Leo replied.

“Uhh,uhm,” I stammered.

“No need to be humble or polite about it, if anything, I’m glad to know my powers come from you,”

“Leo, your power is yours, and yours only,” I replied.

“Whatever, you’re still in denial,” Leo teased.

—- 

We made it back in Greensburg just in time for dinner. Victor joined us for the meal, however Leo and August were both absent as they had a date.

We tried to avoid discussing demons and our jobs over dinner and instead focused on other stuff, like Etalos and Nomir’s love life, hehe. My bodyguard kept a tight lip, while Etalos couldn’t help but blush and squirm in his seat, as Yal and Victor did their best to find out if he had any love interest.

“Come on dude! You’re a cute guy, don’t tell me there’s no one!” I exclaimed.

“Uhm, Sorry, can’t say,” Etalos replied just above a whisper.

“I don’t believe you, I think there’s a special someone but you’re just not sharing,” I teased.

Dinner ended with both my assistant and bodyguard, not budging a single inch regarding their love life, I super swear I’ll get it out of them soon! Oh, I’m so tempted to just grab the information from their minds but where’s the fun in that?

—- 

We were gathered in the living room watching a movie when I started feeling sick. I excused myself to go to my bedroom to rest.

“Everything alright Chris?” Victor asked as he noticed my discomfort.

“Yeah, I’m fine, probably just tired.”

“I’ll join you, in your room. I’ll keep you company,” Victor said, with a hint of worry in his voice.

I didn’t decline and allowed Victor to cuddle with me as I fell asleep.

The sun was brightly shining in the sky, as I found myself in the middle of a grassy field. The air felt crisp against my skin, the place, although beautiful was eerily quiet.

A moment passed, with a blink of an eye, I found myself staring at a mirror image of myself.

“Glad you could come visit,” the other me said. His voice different from my own, his tone filled with vitriol and anger.

“Who are you?”

“Forgotten me so soon?” My mirror self, smirked at me.

“Where am I?”

“Questions, questions, tsk, tsk,” the guy spat, as he slowly approached me.

I did not feel that I was in any danger but I felt confused and uncomfortable with my circumstance.

“Don’t come any closer,” I forcefully said.

“Why?” The guy said, he cocked his head, as if to challenge my command.

“I don’t even know you, I don’t even know what you are,” I replied.

“Oh, dear boy, must I remind you?” The guy sneered.

The grass field was immediately engulfed in a sea of purple flames and the eyes of my other self, turned bright purple.

“Yonthar?” I asked.

“Bingo!” The guy said, as he continued his slow approach to me.

“I know you can’t hurt me, I’ve already defeated you,” I said.

“Who said anything about hurting you?” He smiled.

“What do you want?”

“Everything...” he replied, with a sinister and hauntingly disturbing smile.

“Huh?”

“Christopher Stewart Rogers beyn Haldruin, tsk tsk tsk, you may have defeated me, but do you have it in you to absorb several more demon generals?” Yonthar asked as the purple flames around us grew larger, the clear blue sky turned bright red as well.

Yonthar stepped closer and placed a finger on my chest, as if to poke me.

“You my boy, you’ve done the unthinkable, but how long do you think your luck will last?” He asked.

The ground around us started to shake and crack, as the grassy field was filled with a malevolent presence. The haunting energy, full of spite and anger, consumed the entire field.

“All of this is inside you, how long can you hold it in?” Yonthar asked, as he raised a single eyebrow at me.

Purple fire serpents wrapped themselves around Yonthar, as the demon general continued to stare at me.

“I shall, patiently await your fall into depravity,” Yonthar said with a smile, and just like that, he vanished and I was left alone in the field. The demon remove is presence, nowhere to be found, and the bright blue sky returning to its full glory.

“Chris! Chris! Wake up!” I heard as I opened my eyes.

“Huh?” I said.

“I looked around, to the worried faces of my boyfriend, uncle, and Yal.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Chris, are you okay?” Victor asked as tears streamed from his eyes, my boyfriend couldn’t help but hug me tight.

“Uhh, yeah I’m fine.” I replied with a raspy voice.

I raised my hand to return Victor’s hug, that’s when I saw my arms covered in streaks of bright purple veins. My entire body was covered in pulsing streaks of purple energy.

“What happened?” I asked again.

Victor pulled away from our hug, looked at me straight in the eyes, he gave me a light peck on the lips and then answered, “you fell asleep, then suddenly you started releasing waves and waves of aura, the entire neighborhood, if not all of Greensburg is flooded by you energy right now,”

“Uhm, I didn’t mean to, I don’t know what happened. How long was I out?”

“Just a few minutes,” Victor replied.

Without warning, I spontaneously burst into purple flames. Victor jumped away from me, but it seemed that the flames didn’t carry any heat with them.

My room was filled with bright purple light, and I felt my body releasing wave upon wave of energy.

“What’s happening now?” Yal asked my uncle.

“I don’t know, Chris, can you control it?” My uncle asked.

“Let me try,” I replied.

I closed my eyes and reeled in my energy. I felt my chains and made them wrap themselves around the energy I was releasing.

From a distance, I could hear the rusting of the chains as they moved and adjusted, moments later I felt something click within me. I opened my eyes and everything was back to normal. No purple flames, and no leakage of energy.

“Chris?” My uncle nervously asked.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Your eyes,” he directed my gaze to the nearby mirror.

I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes were still brightly flashing purple. I called upon the chains again, after a deep breath, I opened my eyes, then I saw my blue eyes staring back at myself.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“What the hell was that?” Yal asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m fairly certain it’s something major,” my uncle replied.

“I’ll ask Kalron if the energy sensors picked anything from what happened,” Yal said.

“Are you feeling better Chris?” Victor asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, with a faint smile on my face.