Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 01:18:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rune Therain <mist_dark@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Harbingers: part 5

I'm back.  Here's part five.  Hope you guys enjoy it.  It's taken a bit of
work to get this onto paper (so to speak).  A lot of crappy things.  Work
in particular.  Not to mention getting ready for school.  And for those of
you who haven't tried applying for college yet, you will hate forms.  So
many stupid forms.  I hate forms.  Okay, I'm done ranting about them.  For
the time being at any rate.

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me.  I love hearing from you guys, it helps
a lot to write when I get feedback on what you liked and didn't like.  And
I'm constantly blown away by the people who tell me that they sat down in
one sitting read all of Saga.  I know it's not a really long story in
comparison to some, but still.  I couldn't do that.  Very impressive.
Anyway, e-mail me.  I'm a junkie and I want to hear from you guys.
Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca

Special thanks to Kenitra (the one you should thank for pushing me to write
a story in the first place.  She writes Millennium Love.  Check it out.).
Shade (great guy.  Hate your country, but like you anyway.  Writes BSB and
Nsync Chronicles.)  Aeoros (Freaky Mexican.  Great guy though).  Matt,
Hamado, Tom, Di, and Aphrodite.  There are others, so many others, but
those are a few of the biggies.

Okay the legalities: This story in now way is suppose to suggest anything
about Nsync.  If they're gay I don't know, and it's their business.  You
might want to read this story with the idea that five of the characters are
based off five people that really exist.  If you're too young in your area,
or it's illegal in you area to read this, then leave.  If homosexual themes
offend you, I'd hit the backspace key several times.  You've made a huge
navigational error.  Parts of this story are based of the RPG Rifts.  All
trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.

That's about all I have to say here.  Enjoy the story and remember to
e-mail me.

Until next time,
Rune


PART FIVE


	The blackness rolled away and JC entered the waking world again.
He immediately wished he hadn't.  He was being held against the wall by
manacles.  Every time he moved they bit into his ankles and wrists.  He
could turn his head, though just barely.  He did so and noticed Lance
similarly strapped next to him.

	"You awake yet?"  JC whispered.

	"Yeah," Lance whispered back.  "Any idea where we are?"

	"I don't know," JC said.  "The last think I remember is being told
to go to sleep by some vampire, and then I woke up here."

	"Same here," Lance said.  He looked around the room, as much as his
manacles would allow him to see at any rate.  "I wonder how we're going to
get out of here."

	"You won't be," a female voice said.  A moment later the speaker
came into view.  She was a reasonably tall, dark haired woman.  A deep read
dress, or what passed for one, clung to her body.  "You will find it
completely impossible to leave this castle.  Alive at any rate.  And since
Sayer wants you alive, you won't be leaving."

	Lance rolled his eyes.  "Nicely cliched.  Let me guess, you'd be
the master vampire that's ordered our kidnapping."

	"Wrong," the woman said.  "I am a master vampire, however, I only
ordered you're kidnapping."  She poked Lance in the chest.  "His arrival is
a bonus."

	"Do you happen to have a name?"  Lance asked.  "Or do we refer to
you as `the vampire'?"

	"My name is Yesena," the vampire said.  She backhanded Lance.  "And
I demand a certain amount of respect from humans."

	"Try dressing the part then," Lance offered.

	Yesena backhanded him again.  One of her nails caught his cheek and
tore into it.  A fine line of blood appeared and trickled down his cheek.
The vampire drew a finger across his cheek and wiped the blood off.  She
put her finger to her mouth and licked the blood off her finger.  She
seemed to savor the blood for a moment before an odd look crossed her face.

	"Very good," she said to Lance.  "Very good indeed."  She grabbed
his chin and forced him to look her in the eye.  "But not good enough.
CHANGE"

	JC watched with mixed emotion.  Part of him was horrified that this
entire thing was happening, and part of him watched in amazement as his
friend began to change.  Lance's blonde hair became a brilliant red and
grew until it fell to his mid-back.  He grew an inch his figure changed
under the robe.  The front of his robe pushed outward as breasts appeared.
The face seemed to move of its own accord.  The robe pulled inward and
wrapped itself around Lance, changing colour as it did so.  In less then a
minute Lance had changed to become a stunning woman in a deep green body
suit.

	Yesena let go of the woman's chin.  "Clever.  Though foolish.
Please tell me you know why you've thrown your life away."

	The woman spat at Yesena.  "You were sent to find the Seeker," she
sneered.  "And you've failed.  What do you think your masters will think of
that?  You're minions grabbed the wrong person.  Grabbed two, and neither
was the one you wanted."

	"I'll deal with that problem," Yesena said calmly.  "You, however,
have much more pressing problems.  I wanted Lance, and you aren't him.
I've been asked not to kill him or his friends, but you're fair game.  I
can torture for as long as I want and then slowly kill you."  She pointed
at JC.  "Whereas, I can only torture him."  A wicked smile crossed her
face.  "I do believe I'm going to enjoy this."

	Yesena walked to a wall and pulled down an interesting looking
item.  It was about three inches long and looked almost like a needle.  On
the end opposite to the point was a large ruby.  It sort of looked like a
hatpin.

	"This will work better without your clothing Changeling."  The
vampire pulled on the edge of the woman's clothing and it came away in a
single cloak.  "Interesting.  It's been sometime since I've seen one of
these cloaks."  She folded it neatly and set it on the floor.  "I'm getting
distracted.  Not a good thing.  Back to business."

	She lightly touched the woman's skin with the pin.  She was
rewarded with an ear-splitting scream.  Yesena smiled and touched the woman
again.  Another scream issued forth.  A wicked gleam crossed over the
vampire's features.












	The Guardian looked at herself in the mirror.  Each Guardian had
decided to spend what may be their last moments of life alone.  It was a
choice that was difficult to make, but would prevent the others from being
distracted from the task they would have to face.

	The mirror did not reflect her as she once had been.  Age was
setting into a face that had not changed since long before Egypt fell to
Rome.  A few wrinkles had appeared under her eyes.  Nothing to detract from
her beauty, but it was enough.  She knew her time was growing short.  She
would die within the hour.

	She would die alone.  Alone physically, though not in spirit, or
love.  She had known a love so great that it couldn't be expressed.  Even
an empathetic bond couldn't explain what she had.  Poets had tried over the
ages to put love into words, but it never worked fully.  They had come
close, but never captured it completely.

	The thought of her death didn't scare her.  It never had.  What did
scare her, terrified her actually, was what her death would mean.  Every
Guardian knew they would be replaced.  That they could step down from their
office and become mortal again, to die as a mortal.  That was acceptable to
her.  It had happened before.  She was eons old, but she had accepted her
position from the previous Guardian.  She had had the position passed to
her.  The person to replace her wouldn't have that.  Assuming that there
was one.

	What truly scared her was what her death would do to the Balance.
It could destroy it.  Her death could destroy everything.  And, indirectly,
it would be her fault.  She'd seen the rise and fall of hundreds of
empires.  Witnessed the deaths of countless people, and never batted an
eye.  She knew these things had to happen.  The complete erasing of
existence wasn't suppose to happen.  At least not to her.

	She looked in the mirror again.  More wrinkles had appeared and she
was starting to shrink as she hunched slightly.  Her eyes still had the
gleam of life in them, but she wasn't sure how much longer it would remain
there.

	Death was a funny thing to one that had lived as long as she had.
It takes on a whole new appearance.  On the one hand she waited impatiently
for it to come for her.  And yet on the other she feared it.  She wasn't
afraid to die, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to do any more for
the world she so loved.  That is what she feared.  The lack of power that
death would allow her.

	Sighing again she looked in the mirror.  She'd aged again.  To be
truthful to herself, she had no idea why she kept looking in the mirror.
Each time she looked in it she was older.  It didn't matter if it was
seconds or minutes that had elapsed, she was always older.  Eons were
catching up with her.

	She looked away from the mirror and hobbled over to a bed.  The
Guardian sighed deeply as she sat down.  Agony screamed through her body as
she forced it to move.  With a great deal of effort she lay down on the
bed.  Adjusting her dress she closed her eyes.

	A long hoarse breath escaped her lips before she stopped breathing.
A calm look passed over her body.  A slight glow encompassed the body and a
pale bird rose from the corpse.  It had the head of the Guardian whose body
it had just risen from.  It glanced over the body once before flying
upward.  Before it touched the ceiling it vanished.












	"You're capture of the ice dragon was well done Sayer."  The
substance that made up the glowing ball swirled in on itself.

	"Thank you Master," the priest whispered.  He was kneeling in front
of the ball with his head bowed.

	"She will be a useful ally," the ball continued.  "You made sure to
put the proper enchantments into place before you took control of here."
It wasn't said as a question.

	"Yes Master," Sayer said.  "She can't break free of my control.
And if she manages to any harm she tries to inflict upon me are inflicted
upon herself ten fold.  She isn't a stupid creature.  She knows she's
trapped."

	"Good," the ball replied.  "How is your work with the Gemini?"

	"They are difficult to control Master," Sayer admitted.  "I have
them now, but I have to make sure they have their attention attracted by
something at all times.  They are so feral.  They live for sensations."

	"Which is exactly why they will be useful.  Chaos is feral.  And
the twins will spread it across the land.  Death and destruction will reign
out of control.  Nothing will stop it."

	Sayer nodded.  "Of course Master."

	"Now there is the tiny matter of your failure.  Or rather the
failure of Yesena."

	"My Lord?"  Sayer asked.

	"She has failed to capture the Seeker.  I want that man in my
possession.  Or at the very least your possession.  Get him for me Sayer or
I will be very displeased.  Yesena has failed me.  I do not wished to be
failed twice."

	"My Lord I will not fail you again."

	"See that you don't.  I suggest sending Neva.  She will have the
power to be able to deal with any interruptions.  Make sure she is aware
that I want only the Seeker.  No one else."

	Sayer bowed his head again.  "It will be done Master."












	"What do you mean JC's gone?"  Chris asked.  The panic was evident
in his voice.  "Where could he have gone?  And why didn't we hear
anything?"

	"We didn't hear anything because we were on the other side of the
castle," Justin told him.  "Any ideas on what took him?"

	"Vampires," David answered.

	"Are you sure?"  Joey asked.

	"Positive," the youth replied.  "I can smell them.  And there was
someone else that was alive here too.  The sent is off though."

	"What do you mean?"  Lance asked.

	"It smells like you Master, and different."

	"So JC and some other person was here and were kidnapped by
vampires?"  Justin summed the situation up.  David nodded.  "Damn," Justin
swore quietly.  He smashed his fist into a table that stood next to a
chair.  The wood buckled under the force and sunk into the floor slightly
before shattering.

	"Justin," Lance admonished.  "Please don't break my home."

	"Sorry Lance," Justin said.  He had the good grace to blush.  "But
those creatures have invaded your home and taken our friend.  I hate them."
He blushed again.  "Sorry David."

	The youth waved it off.  "Don't worry about it.  I've been called
worse.  But we have to figure out what we're going to do about your friend
and whoever was with him."

	"Right," Lance said.  "We don't know where they went, and they'll
still be traveling."

	"They could be just about anywhere Lance," Chris pointed out.  "I
mean they could be half way to Mexico by now."

	"They're still on the island," Lance, Justin and David said at
once.

	"Huh?"  Chris said.

	"Vampires can't cross running water," Justin said.  "It's a
weakness they have.  If they're going to cross it they have to be sealed in
a coffin.  Usually willing servants take care of them then."

	"So they're still on the island, so what?"  Chris asked.  "It's a
big island."

	"It is," David agreed.  "But there are only a few places that could
house a vampire."

	"Why?"  Lance asked.

	"Vampires are inherently evil.  We are creatures of darkness by
nature.  Some of us try to fight what we are, but we're a minority.
England is populated by spirits of light.  The Faerie may be mischievous,
but they aren't evil.  And they don't like to have evil around them.
They'll usually drive off vampires."

	"But there are a few places that they could be hiding?"  Chris
asked.

	David nodded.  "A fair number actually.  But we'll be able to weed
out large areas of land.  Any place known to have faeries is out.  Rivers
are out and probably most lakes.  That should cut down a fair bit of the
island."

	"How did you learn to do all this?"  Lance asked.  "You seem so
young.  How old are you?"

	"Ninety-five," David said.  "You're suppose to pick up a few things
in that length of time.  I just like being the age I was when I was turned.
So my personality seems to change when the situation demands it."

	Chris whistled.  "Impressive."  He looked around the room and then
back at David.  "Do you think that we can get him back?"

	"I don't know.  We can try though," David said truthfully.

	"I wish Pyre was here," Justin said.  "He's good at this sort of
thing."

	"Found him," Joey chimed.

	"What?"  Everyone chorused.

	"I found Pyre," Joey said.

	"How?  Why?"  Justin stuttered.

	"Well when David mentioned vampires I thought he could help so I
went looking for him.  I just used the basin of water to scry his location.
It was really easy."  Joey had a grin plastered to his face that said he
was very pleased with himself.

	"You're enjoying this aren't you?"  Chris asked.

	"A lot," Joey grinned.  "So do you want to know where he is?"

	"Of course," Justin said.  He had an impatience about him suddenly.

	"You know I could just keep this a secret for a while," Joey said
slowly.

	Justin was across the room and holding Joey by his shoulders.  "You
wouldn't dare," he whispered.  "I could do so many nasty things to you."

"Since you put it that way."  Joey leaned in and kissed Justin on the nose.
"I can take you there just after sunrise."

"But I want to go now," Justin pouted.

"Not a chance," Joey told him.  "There is no way I'm blundering through the
forest at night.  Even if I do have a rough idea where I'm going."

"Alright," Justin conceded.  "But I'm holding you to the sunrise thing."

"Of course you will," Joey said.  He patted Justin on the cheek and walked
past him.  "You wouldn't be Justin otherwise."










	"Separation is..."

	"So painful..."

	"But it..."

	"Must be so..."

	"For the...."

	"Greater good."

	The Gemini embraced tightly and kissed passionately while Sayer and
Wraith stood on watching.  The two kissed for a few minutes while the
onlookers conversed.

	"That is really disturbing," Sayer said.

	"The fact they are two men?"  Wraith said.  "Or that they are
twins?"

	"Both actually," Sayer admitted.  "Though it's mostly the second
one."

	Wraith laughed.  "You mortals are so fickle.  You don't realize
that in the grand scheme of things this sort of thing doesn't matter.
Nothing you do truly matters unless the Sisters have woven it into their
tapestry."

	"They aren't sisters," Sayer said.

	"They are close enough to count.  Three women bound for eternity to
weave a tapestry that they have not ability to truly touch.  Set aside from
existence, to make existence.  A cruel joke."

	"Perhaps we'll change that," Sayer said.  "Free them of their duty
by destroying their tapestry."

	"Or this might be part of their tapestry," Wraith offered.

	"You might be right," Sayer agreed.  "But I think not.  The Fates
have no working with chaos."

	"Of course," Wraith agreed.  "But to the business at hand.  Are you
sure separating these two is the wisest choice?  They are dangerous
together, but at least they are somewhat sane."

	"They'll be easier to control when they can't draw on each other's
power," Sayer told him.  "Besides they each have duties to perform, and
they must be completed."

	"Where are you sending the one?"  Wraith asked.  His sightless gaze
took in the dark men that were still locked in a tight embrace.

	"I have a position in the city that he'll be able to fill nicely,"
Sayer told the wraith.

	"Which city?"

	"I think I'll keep that information to myself."

	"You know Neva hates them," Wraith said.  "The only thing that is
keeping her from killing them is your will.  She's tried several times
already to get someone else to kill them for her.  You can stop her from
taking a direct hand, but she's trying with every ouch of her power to
thwart your plan."

	"She can try, but no one will help her," Sayer said confidently.
"There's nothing she can do to hurt this plan."



	"Mala?"  Arvia called.  "I have a task for you."

	"What is it?"  The Blonde thief asked.  She was leaning up against
a pillar while the priestess stroked Evelyn's brow.

	"A friend will be in a bit of trouble very shortly.  I want you to
go to the city and help him out."

	"Where is he?"

	"He's not there at the moment, but he will be shortly.  You'll know
who he is very easily."

	"How?"

	"He'll be the one making the biggest fuss."  A smile crossed
Arvia's face.  "Trust me, you'll know him to see him."



TBC.



So there it is.  Let me know what you think.  Mist_dark@hotmail.com or
Mist_dark@yahoo.ca Hope to hear from you guys,

Until next time,

Rune