Pain and Malice

The village soon became a distant memory as the wonderous plains burst forth into desert once more, the sun soon becoming a cursed thing to the trio.

Neptune, who was more used to the coolness of his watery home and shaded forest, hardly had the energy to move on. The number of breaks they took soon doubled, even with the Energy Capsules Elfin provided.

"Curse this heat..." murmured Neptune, his cool voice dropping to a wheeze. The heat was really bad for him.

"Neptune?" Elfin turned to check on his friend. "Neptune? You have to hang in there alright?" The Piscian's body was starting to lose its bluish glow.

"Should we stop?" Jason asked. His lips cracked with each word.

"What do you think?" Elfin asked back.

Jason looked around them. He could see telltale signs of an impending storm. "We can't stop...but..." he trailed off. Neptune was starting to slow down even more.

"How long can you keep up a force field?"

Elfin hesitated, then replied, "Not too long. Half an hour at the most."

It was not enough time for Neptune to recover, Jason knew. Their only hope now was to find an oasis somewhere.

Having spent most of his teenage years travelling in the deserts of the outbacks, Jason knew these places like the back of his palm. Under the guidance of his old mentor, he became an expert in dealing with sand worms, avoiding their nests and foretelling if a storm was approaching. In the outbacks, a sandstorm was normally heralded by incredible temperatures, followed by slight winds that one could hardly feel. The greater those winds were, the more destructive the storm.

"I can't..." Neptune toppled into the heated sand. Jason and Elfin immediately rushed to his side, with Elfin pulling out a Capsule from his Inventi. Jason drew his canteen.

They had to stop. There was no other choice.

"Half an hour," said Jason grimly.

"Half an hour," repeated Elfin as he activated the force field.

*** *** ***

They were called Spires. Tall, dark and menacing structures of black. In the Wastelands, they were the most beautiful things around.

Malice Jowls circled a Spire slowly. Time was at his side. He stopped rather abruptly and with his right hand, reached out to touch the base of the Spire. It was cold.

When Spires were due, they lost their heat completely, leaving their surfaces icy cool, like an ice ball on a white winter morning.

Malice licked his blue lips sadistically. Looking up into the sky, he saw that sunrise was near. He pulled his cape around himself, and tugged harder. He vanished, and in his place was a bat.

A vampire bat.

*** *** ***

Half an hour was almost up.

"Jason! The force field's weakening, we have to leave!" shouted Elfin over the roar of the winds. Jason could hardly see outside the field, for the sand had practically buried them.

"How you feeling Nep?" Jason asked. He had gotten into the habit of calling the Piscian 'Nep' for short.

Neptune replied by nodding. His color seemed to have returned to him.

"The force field's going out!"

A great wave of sand swept Jason onto his back, and the strong winds sent him flying backward. He glimpsed a flash of blue zoom past him like a bullet. The sand cut his cheeks harshly.

More sand. Suddenly, a last huge wave of sand blew over Jason, and the storm stopped abruptly. It was like a fireworks display, except with sand. Seconds later, Jason's vision cleared, and as he rubbed the excess sand out of his eyes, he saw a huge dent in the desert ground. On it was a black figure.

Or rather, floating above it.

A dark cape was draped around the male figure. Blood-red eyes shone, compelling, in the sun. Greasy hair was littered about his ghostly, pale face. As he descended towards the dented earth, the heat of the sun disappeared and immediately ominous clouds blocked out the flaming orb. It became dark as night.

If it weren't for those eyes that drew Jason's attention and refused to let go, the slayer would have noticed that both Elfin and Neptune were gone.

*** *** ***

Malice Jowls' lips curled into a cruel smirk. Fear my wrath, you heavens. Hide from me, sun! he commanded silently.

The clouds immediately took their cue and covered the sun, a hindrance to his limitless armada of spells. Now no longer floating in mid air, Malice whipped his cape away, and it floated eerily in the darkness. The young man before him stared, sitting on the sand, lip trembling.

The vampire's smirk grew wider.

*** *** ***

The Spire started to tremble. A spirit stirred within it, starting to take physical form as the Spire grew colder and colder. The dark surface became transparent, as if the blackness was sucked inwards. An unformed hand pressed against it. Then the face appeared.

It was like a rotting head, with bits of flesh missing here and there. Whatever creature it was, it had pointed ears, like an elf. Not yet ready to hatch, the gremlin waited.

It waited for Malice to feed it.