Warrior of Light
mrsquishr
Chapter 6: What you Find Creeping in the Shadows
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It was stifling to be trapped in a child’s body, and a terribly lonely existence. Too young to have many freedoms, and too old to relate to any of his peers. His body was still too weak to implement many of the methods he had planned, and he was itching for action of any sort.
Last time it wasn’t as bad, with the novelty of a second chance still strong and being recruited for the war effort at a young age providing the perfect distraction. This new life of peace was grating on his nerves and though his paranoia had faded somewhat after years of nothing happening, it would still flare up occasionally and send him into a spiral of training and conspiracy.
At 10 years of age most of Lucien’s peers were still insufferable, and his 5th grade year was shaping up to be no different than those preceding it. He had been trying to occupy himself with learning skills he hadn’t had the chance to explore before and had become an avid musician receiving lessons in singing, piano, and the guitar for several years. He had even become a bit of a computer wizard, sinking into the world programing and digital security with an almost desperate excitement.
It wasn’t enough for him. Though fun he had hit the point of diminishing returns with both, and it was obvious to everyone that he was bored out of his mind. Something had to change, and soon. Otherwise, he might just loose it.
By this point he was almost praying that someone would try their luck and attack him, and he had started to wander deep into the woods in the hope of drawing out something like that Dark creature from years ago. Anything to break up the monotony.
It was almost winter by the time he got his first lead; a familiar trail of bodies had been reported in a nearby town, and rumors of strange sightings were spreading. He spent the next month investigating before finding a trail and developing a game plan, finally putting it into practice in late November.
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Waiting for his parents to fall asleep he opened his bedroom window and dropped to the ground outside, before making his way into the backyard. Lucien had developed a habit of taking nighttime flights recently; the freedom he felt when gliding high above the ground soothing his strained mind, and the cool radiance of moonlight calmed the burning Light.
In a mirror of those previous night’s Lucien let his wings fade back into reality, the immediate influx of Light spreading through his system with a faint burn. With a powerful flap, he shot high into the sky, and punched through a thin scattering of clouds. Coming to a rest thousands of feet above his hometown, he looked down at the scattered lights. It all looked so small from up here, his worries fading away as he relaxed.
Up here he didn’t have to put on a mask for anyone, didn’t have to restrain the power flowing through him, and he could feel the air around him begin to heat. He couldn’t completely relax of course, someone would defiantly notice a small sun popping into being in the sky, but even this wasn’t enough to ruin his good mood.
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He turned slowly towards a cluster of lights on the horizon that came from his destination and began to accelerate towards it. His wings were not actually able to support his full weight, even as a larger than average 10-year-old, but the Light was able to cover for many sins. In this case, a small bending of the laws of physics was child’s play compared to some of the reality bending feats he had witnessed.
Cruising for several minutes at high speed he angled himself lower as he grew closer to the city, finally swooping in for a landing on a dilapidated warehouse on the outskirts of town. From the previous flights he had made to this area, as well as his investigations on the computer, he knew that this was where many of the bodies had been discovered. They had all been drained of blood and dumped in locations like the warehouse he was standing on.
Hopping to a nearby crane, Lucien took a seat on the edge and spread his awareness over the area. His senses had been improved by infusions of Light, his eyes bearing the most significant change. He had discovered a handy side effect of their ability to absorb extra light, and that was incredible night vision; being able to see in the dark of night almost as well as in the middle of the day. Starting at the far corner of the industrial district, Lucien began to scan the area for anything out of the ordinary.
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It was a few minutes after midnight when he finally spotted something, a figure slinking between buildings dragging some oddly shaped object behind it. Standing, Lucien crouched on the edge of the crane to get a better view.
As the figure stepped into the light of a streetlamp, he was instantly reminded of the creature from the forest. It was the same grey pallor, the same dull red eyes, and he could barely make out a speck of Dark in its chest. Interestingly, the speck was much smaller than the one he had seen previously, the mystery only deepening as he watched the thing stop by the door of a warehouse.
The creature unzipped the bag it had been dragging and pulled what was obviously a human corpse from it, bringing the neck to its mouth. Lucien watched on in disgusted curiosity as it began to feed off whatever was left in the body and noticed a strange phenomenon. That small speck of Dark started to change as the creature fed, growing slightly larger with each swallow.
As it pulled its mouth away from the neck Lucien could see blood coating the lower half of its face, and it tossed the body through the open door of the warehouse before looking around and turning to leave the way it had come.
Tilting forwards off the edge of the crane Lucien swooped silently towards the figure, stepping lightly onto the ground a few feet away.
“Hello there,” he greeted the thing, “nice night out, huh?”
The creature whirled around at the sound, locking onto his small form. A low hiss escaped its mouth at the sight of his wings, and it stepped back warily.
“A child?” Its voice was cold and raspy, raising goosebumps on the back of Lucien’s neck, though filled with surprising wariness. “What is a child doing here, and with white wings like those. What are you child, and what would you want with me?”
Lucien smiled at the thing before him, spreading his arms and wings out as if to make himself seem larger. His pupils were still blown wide to see in the darkness, and he must have made for quite the sight.
“Some questions need answering, and I believe you might be able to accommodate them.” He replied, “answer truthfully and I may let you go unharmed.”
The creature frowned, displeased by this response.
“Let me go? You think you can kill a vampire by yourself? After the meal I just finished I possess powers beyond anything you could match!”
Lucien just smiled wider and let the leash on his power slip a bit. Immediately the air around him wavered in a heat haze, and a harsh glow began emanating from his wings. Something in the vampire in front of him seemed to recognize the danger it was in, and he could see the fragment of Dark quiver in the glow of his Light.
The creature once again looked unsure of itself, and a cold sweat broke out on its brow. It had never felt like this before, and the icy hand of death seemed to brush up the back of its neck.
“Questions you said? I can answer some questions, no problem at all. What do you wish to know?”
It seemed to regain some of its confidence as it spoke, straightening in pride. “I am almost a century old now and hold many valuable secrets!”
Lucien drew his power closer to his body, and the creature visibly slumped as the pressure on it was relieved. He considered it carefully, scrutinizing its appearance for several seconds before responding.
“Really now? Well, it might just be your lucky day then vampire. Valuable secrets happen to be my favorite kind.”