Leviathan (Fist of Light Series) (20 page)

Before I had even finished explaining, Kathryne was already on board. We didn't discuss the risks, because we both knew they were extreme. As this seemed to be the only possible solution, we didn't have much of a choice.

“Pull over,” she told me. “I'll drive. Do you need to be in physical contact, or does that matter?”

I looked over at Jeeves, but he shook his head. “We'll be traveling through the link and into his psyche. Our path lies on a completely different route, but it couldn't hurt to have the extra contact. It may strengthen our attempts.”

“Might help.” I rolled my shoulders and mentally lamented my tired brain while pulling over on the shoulder of the road.

I opened the driver’s side door to the sound of a roaring engine, while a pair of lights blinded me. Watching the truck disappear into the night, I listened as the annoying beeping that informed me of the open door commingled with the chirping of grasshoppers. Sucking in a lungful of cool air, I figured I was about as prepared as I was going to get. Kathryne's silent form brushed by me, her clothes lightly brushing up against my own. Her fiery demeanor seemed slightly dimmed, but whose wouldn't after everything we'd been through. We were all exhausted, our success in hiding it varied. Staring at the ground, I followed the countless cracks in the pavement.

“Everything will work out,” Kathryne squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

Nodding, I tried to push all my doubts to the back of my mind. All they would do now would splinter and crack my carefully constructed efforts like the worn road below me. Bringing my tired eyes up to meet hers, I gazed at her seriously. Only then did I see the worry lurking behind her sparkling emerald eyes. Only then did I realize that my efforts needed to be doubled, my outward demeanor strengthened. I took strength from her faith in me, from the warmth of her touch radiating through my body. She was giving me a precious piece of her power, trying to help.

Gently, I detached her hand from my arm and held it in my own hands. “Keep it. You'll need it. I can't have something happen to you too.”

Kathryne cracked a smile, and it gave me more strength than I could ask for. “Stupid, suicidal boy.” She punched me on the same spot she’d been holding before.

For a moment, I thought I sensed the roiling tide of her emotions, but the feeling passed. “We'd better get going.” I reluctantly released her hand and stepped back.

“Yeah, we should.” She bounced lightly on her heels for a moment before jumping into the car and shutting the door after her.

Jeeves smirked when I got into the backseat, shaking his head. “Not a word.” I wagged a finger at him.

His smile took on a condescending cast and I refrained from lashing out at him, since it wouldn't have accomplished anything besides making me look stupid. “I wasn't planning on saying a word, although there might have been a couple choice
words
that might have been imparted. But I'll leave them to your imagination, because we've got a job to do.”

“Right,” I put my hand on Jas' clammy forehead.

I couldn't help but notice the stark difference from holding Kathryne and briefly bemoaned my fate before closing my eyes and concentrating. In a moment, I found myself in the locus of my being, standing before the two nodes of power. Both power sources appeared to have taken on a slightly reddish hue, possibly due to the bonds alterations, or maybe because we were so damn tired. Exhaling, I examined the weighty, wiry web-like link that had firmly attached itself to my node. In turn, Jeeves' power source was linked to mine. Therefore, all three of us were inextricably linked, in a roundabout manner.

“How exactly are we going to do this?” I looked over at Jeeves dubiously. “It's not like there's some freeway we can ride.”

Jeeves raised one elegant eyebrow. “Isn't there?”

“Stop speaking in riddles, man.”

Jeeves made a sweeping bow that could only be considered sarcastic. “Of course, your highness. As you have hopefully noted, you've the power to influence the inner workings of your mind. Following that principle, much like in the Dreamscape, that link is as you wish it to be. What we are looking at is your subconscious understanding of the connection between you two. In this instance, it’s a vine-like extension that touches upon the nexus. I informed you when we started all those months ago— this entire plane is reliant upon your individual perception of reality. And so it is subject to change if you will it to do so.”

“Ah.” I squinted and titled my head to one side. “Well then. That link there is actually a wormhole of sorts, a nice, safe connection between our two psyches.”

“Apply your will to the design, like with any application of your magic, or creation of new landscape or laws in the Dreamscape.”

I ignored him and continued my verbal description. “All you have to do is jump in and it'll take you straight to the other side. Easy as pie.” I held back a yawn while fighting my psyche to implement this change.

I wasn't quite sure it was the best idea to do this kind of work when dead tired, but there wasn't much of a choice. Once satisfied with the construction of my design and fairy certain it wasn't going to spit me out in the underworld, I told Jeeves it was ready.

“How about we flip for it?” I shot a hopeful glance at Jeeves.

I flipped my quarter into the air, watching it spin end over end. He snatched the coin out of the air before it reached its zenith.

“No. Absolutely not. You won't be using that trickery on me, boy. It's your design and so it falls to you to test the thing.”

“All right,
all right.
” I put my hands up in surrender. “No need to get testy. See you on the other side.” I flashed a grin at the double meaning.

Under his narrowed gaze, I ambled up to the link and stared up at it. From up close, it seemed to be a bunch of tendrils interwoven into a singular mass. Shaking out my hands and cracking a few parts unnecessarily, I got my nerves to calm down somewhat. That done, I bent at the knees and propelled myself upward, into the wormhole. A multi-colored array of lights rushed past me, so fast that they all blurred together. Traveling inside a tight channel, there was nothing but blackness pervading the rest of my senses. There might have been a zooming sound filling my ears, but that might have just been my imagination adding in extraneous things for dramatic effect.

Then, as fast as it had begun, the world righted itself again. I found myself on a field of luscious color, one blood red and the other a forest green. Rolling hills extended infinitely in the distance, lorded over by a stormy sky. This might have been a peaceful place before, but now it was an active war zone. Another couple seconds of searching revealed Jas and his dark double, who was whispering sweet nothings in his ear below a bloody tree. It looked like I wasn't entitled to sole ownership rights on multiple personality disorder.

Now that I'd located the central point of this arena, it became clear one side was doing a whole lot better than the other. This might have been the Were's home turf, but the vampire had the upper hand. Bloody hills roiled and expanded, seeking to gain dominion over more and more land, insatiable,
ravenous
. Sprinting up to the tree, I looked up at the blood-red leaves, soaked in a viscous liquid that left nothing to the imagination. The dark counterpart was implementing a hostile takeover that could only end in tragedy.

The sky above spat lightning and broke open, spitting rain down onto the roiling hills. Holding up my hand, I made a face when it became obvious that blood was falling in the place of water.

“This is much worse than I anticipated,” Jeeves rushed up to the tree and the two combatants.

“The vamp looks like he's...”

Jeeves nodded, completing my train of thought. “Playing on weaknesses, fears, cracks in the other’s armor. A silent, deadly kind of warfare, bringing him low by playing on insecurities. The Skin Walker in Jason was unable to save his father, unable to resist the temptation of blood, despite his initial resilience. This would be only one of the many examples he'd use. After all, they are both essentially the same being, just two sides of a single coin. He has a lifetime of mistakes to draw upon.”

“So the dark passenger there is essentially just a big bully.” I drummed my fingers nervously on my crossed arms while trying to ignore the blood rain.

“Essentially. A crude way to describe the relationship, but not incorrect.”

“Can't we just kill the bad one and keep the good one?” I scratched my head.

“No,” Jeeves' voice made me look over. “Killing either would be catastrophic. They are a singular unit, despite their dual representation. Eradicating one of them would certainly bring doom on Jas as a whole. No, we must restore a sort of tenuous balance.”

I sat cross-legged before the two halves of my friend. “But won't helping the other Jas give that side the upper hand? Then we'd be in the same spot as before.”

Jeeves shook his head slowly, thinking. “The vampire seeks to bring about his adversaries demise without direct action. But his claims, whatever they may be, likely present some credence to his tormented mind. Likely, they always will. Therein, there will always be some form of internal struggle. That dark part of our nature doesn't wish us to succeed, but rather to witness our downfall. The deepest insecurities of our mind, plaguing us constantly, doggedly, there with us at every step. Wishing us to give up, give in, end the fighting, fall in the black abyss and never climb out again. It is a part of our nature, human or otherwise.”

I found myself nodding grimly. “I think I've got it. So what'd we do?”

“We have to snap the Were Jas out of his downward spiral before the vampire gains control over the entire plane.”

“Okay.” I crouched down next to the “good” Jas' ear and started hollering.

“Not like that.” Jeeves threw up his arms in disgust and sat behind the bad egg. “Two can play at this game. I'll focus on destabilizing the vampire while you run counterpoint to whatever it says.”

Jeeves got to whispering in the dark double's ear while I sat and rocked back on my heels, unsure of what to say. I knew Jas wasn't a bad person, despite his prevalence for running down every bit of tail that showed itself. He was a good friend and always showed up when he was needed, no matter the circumstances. He was with me in my darkest moments and pulled me out of the rubble when hell on Earth finally took a vacation.

Despite his defects, he was a much better person than I could ever be. I knew there was nothing he could've done that would have changed the outcome of his father's death. I was right there with him, riding reluctantly in the passenger seat of his mind. It was a miracle he’d held out as long as he did before going berserk on the first edible put in front of him with that insatiable hunger. Plus, there was a whole bunch of foul play with how we got to that cavern in the first place. Not only had the event been a setup from the start, but the Royals had twisted up his thoughts, drove him into a frenzy of thirst, masking his rational mind. Resisting that kind of influence from so many separate and powerful enemies would be next to impossible for any single person.

I hit myself upside the head for acting like such a dunce. I got down to work, repeating my words aloud for Jas to hear. After a few minutes of this, I stopped my constant stream of words to look around at the surrounding landscape. Recently, the roiling mass of red had encompassed the majority of the rolling plains, slowly pushing the green out of the picture. Now the red was slowly being beaten back, retreating under superior force of arms and greater fortitude of mind. Excitedly, I gazed at the clouds above, which were now releasing a constant stream of crisp, clear blue water, not the tainted color of blood. Looking over to check on Jeeves' progress, I grinned at the sight of the dark double with his hands clasped over his ears, fangs bared.

As I watched, the red tide receded to the tree then obstinately stood still, fighting to retain an even footing. Haltingly, the vampire took up its whispering again, but Jas wasn't listening so intently any longer. He leaned back against one side of the tree contentedly and the balance was struck. Blood red leaves gave way to sparkling green ones, filled with unshakable life. Both sides had become entrenched in a kind of WWI struggle, now. Each side refusing to give an inch, neither gaining any significant advantage but unwilling to strike a truce.

“We've done it!” I slapped Jeeves a high five, which, as we were both incorporeal, actually made solid contact.

“Yes, well…” Jeeves replied uncomfortably, massaging the affected area with his other hand.

We both watched as the clouds dissipated, their masses broken up and sent on the winds. Giant beams of light shot through the breaches, shining down on the plains. Before long, the storm front had disappeared and the sun’s rays projected warmth down on us.

I settled down a little, becoming serious again. “You think he'll be okay?”

“He'll make it. Whether he can continue to combat and withstand the dark whispers of this new part of him is still uncertain. However, he is a strong adversary. There will likely always be a struggle between the two. As you pointed out, like oil and vinegar, vampires and Were don't mix. But maybe one day they will coexist peacefully, if not wholly happy about their arrangement not seeking the other’s downfall, either.”

A surge of sleepiness surged and threatened to overwhelm me. “I think it's about time we get some shut-eye, then. I'm running on fumes.”

“That would be a wise course.” Jeeves stood shakily, agreeing. “Do not forget The Call, Caleb. There is evil afoot in this dimension, wholly unrelated to the vampires and their vendetta. It
must
be confronted.”

I was too tired to talk about it but recognized its existence. “I know.” Before Jeeves disappeared back down the rabbit hole, I asked one more question. “Wait! What about the sun? What should we do?”

“I think you'll find that question has already been answered,” Jeeves replied groggily before flashing out.

My head had become three times heavier and my eyelids even more so. I just wanted a quiet place to go and sleep until the universe fizzled out and died. Sighing and fighting against the inevitable for a few more minutes, I concentrated on returning to consciousness. It took far more effort than it should have in my sleep-deprived state, but after a couple seconds I was back. I knew, because the little aches and pains told me so, coupled with the more intense gashes and dark bruises accumulated throughout the recent fighting in both the cavern and arena. I'd hardly noticed adding them to my collection at the time, but then I had been entirely focused on decimating those out to hurt Jas.