043 - Into the Storm

[Tullaryx]

There was a chance that this man who called himself Tyne could renege on his promise. It was a chance that he could afford to take. His growing business empire, illicit as it was, would survive if he perished this evening. Anselmo was a good consiglieri and to his utter surprise a very loyal one. Loyalty from those he considered his lessers was something he never saw much of in his old world. They were either so afraid of him that they became useless, fawning sycophants or they sought to try and manipulate him into doing them favors. Such fools didn't stay in his company long past their usefulness. Anselmo would do well in his absence. The last distracting thought to go through his mind was whether Anselmo was prepared to initiate Plan Omega is he fell this night. Loyalty or not, Plan Omega would mean the death of death for this world and the havoc it would bring.

But now wasn't the time for such trivialities. He had a mage to survive and kill, if necessary. Tyne wasn't the only mage of this world who might be able to assist him, but he was one of the powerful ones that he could find, so far.

"You have to be good to have found me, Mr. Johnson," Lionel heard the mage in the darkness. "I have many enemies but you I have never heard of until tonight. I wonder if you truly understand who you are up against. You have proven yourself to be resourceful in even drawing first blood, but I assure you that I'm more than you could ever handle."

Lionel stayed silent and let the mage continue to meander and ramble his importance and power. He'd seen better men and things try their hand in goading him to make a mistake. Some were close to being successful, but most just amused him in their attempts. All they did was made him find them that much sooner and easier.

"If you know of my involvement in the affair you mentioned then you also know that I could've killed you as easily as one kills a fly with a book. Now, tell me what you're really here for," the half-breed assassin paused in his skulking in the dark as he heard a slight pop then a rushing of air coming towards him. "Your talk of transdimensional portals and other such things seems like the ramblings of a delusional individual."

He heard and smelled the new fireball coming his way before he even saw it flare into blinding life. This one manifested much closer to him than the first one. He knew that his normal reflexes would be too slow for him to try and dodge the flaming orb. Lionel went into Celerity-mode and watched as the enviroment around him suddenly slowed down to a trickle. With Celerity slowing time to a trickle Lionel ran to another part of the forest. He felt the fireball's impact at the spot he just vacated as he exited Celerity-mode. He didn't use his vampiric-given abilities much since it meant he would have to feed on blood sooner or later. While he did feed on the natural stuff just hours before there was still only so much he could for so long a time before he would use up what the blood gave him.

"Very good, Mr. Lionel," he heard amusement in the mage's voice, "I see that you're not as you normally appear to be."

Keep talking, fool, Lionel thought to himself as he calmed his heart-rate. Another thing he didn't like about Celerity was how it made his heart beat like crazy as it pumped blood through his system as fast as inhumanly possible.

"I don't recognize what power you seem to have. You don't have the marks of the magi and you don't have the smell of the mutagenics. For all intents and purposes you're nothing but plain-old human." Lionel saw the mage phase out of view then sensed his materialization right behind him. "It would be a pleasure to cut into you and find out what makes you tick."

His reaction was more his old training and skills rather than his new abilities. Pivoting on his left foot, Lionel swept right next and behind the mage Tyne with his right hand flashing downward to release the telescoping, iron baton. He stabbed the iron baton into the mage's side before the man had reacted to his move. Lionel could feel and hear the sizzle of iron touching the mage's skin.

Lionel's face broke into a grin as his studies on the magickal paid off. The tip of the iron baton had been sharpened to a point and pierced the mage's clothing to touch the flesh beneath. It was a shame that he needed the mage alive more than dead or he'd have put more pressure in the stab. Instead the counter only got Lionel a roar of pain then one of rage as Tyne's recoiled from the feel of iron.

"Not so confident now," Lionel said just before the magickal wave of force eminating from the mage reached his crouched form.

"You were lucky but your luck won't hold up," he could hear the return of pain and more fear in Tyne's voice.

With a backwards roll to ride the pressure wave of magickal force, Lionel minimized the force on his body. Before he'd even set his feet to steady himself, he'd thrown the baton in the mage's direction. The attack was more for distraction than anything that might hurt the mage. He could see the look of fear on Tyne's face as the baton flew through the chill night air right towards his face. Lionel slipped back into Celerity and watched time slow down. He could see with clearly which direction to take. He was staying in his Celerity state longer than he'd care for, but he was rewarded in his effort.

Lionel sped in the direction Tyne was moving to in order to avoid the baton. The half-breed assassin slipped iron knuckles over his left hand and threw out a lefthook right into the mage's face. He felt Tyne's face impact violently with his fist and saw blood spill out into the night. Tyne's right cheek sizzled as the iron made contact and reminded Lionel of bacon sizzling in a pan.

"Fuck!" Tyne shouted in pain and this time around the mage's instinctive reaction to the assault was to violently lash out with a release of uncontrolled magick. He was thrown bodily into a neighboring tree. His slight twist while airborne change his angle of impact enough that a sharp, broken off branch failed to impale him. Instead he felt a rib or two break from the impact against the tree.

"You'll pay for that in blood," Lionel heard the rage in the mage's voice and saw the man's arms raise into the sky. He didn't know exactly what short of words the man was chanting, but he knew better than wait for the man to finish.

Lionel pulled out from under his jacket his primary weapon and with a slight click from the safety being released he let loose with several three-round bursts in Tyne's direction. The magickal energies surrounding the mage like a shield flashed as the solid-iron slugs impacted. The slugs couldn't penetrate the shield but each impact seemed to pain the mage. The UMP shook in his hands as he continued to fire the weapon until empty. The last three slugs impacting the shield finally caused Tyne to lose concentrating and slip in his incantation.

With Tyne's concentration down and his failed incantation creating a power backlash which washed over the mage, Lionel tapped into his energy reserves and went into Celerity once more and flashed straight towards and behind the faltering mage.

Right arm slipped around Tyne's neck with the mage's Adam's Apple resting in the crook of Lionel's right arm. Lionel pushed his left forearm right up against the back of Tyne's head and pressed forward. He could hear the mage's breath catch and his voice gurgle as he slowly choked the man. Lionel held on tight and continued to apply pressure with his left arm even as Tyne feebly tried to get loose and batter Lionel with his hands.

"Now, do we have a deal?" Lionel whispered close to Tyne's ear.

"What deal....?" Tyne answered in a whisper as he struggled to get air.

"A deal of me staying my hand from killing you and for you to help me get home," Lionel pressed harder.

"I am not anyone's....slave," the mage uttered in panic as Lionel applied more pressure. "That's not a deal I can't agree to."

"Then I will have to kill you then," he was about to kick the man's legs from under him to finish the job when the mage interrupted him. He must've read his mind and knew he wasn't bluffing.

"Ok....ok," Tyne agreed quickly. "I agree to your deal."

"That's better," Lionel replied. "But just in case you think you can renege on the deal..."

The half-breed reared his hand back then flashed forward to clamp on the mage's jugular. The attack and feeding took less then half a minute, but Lionel was able to bond the mage to him until what he wanted was accomplished and at the same time replenishing his reserves. He detested having to blood-bond the man, but he knew enough not to trust Tyne to stick to the deal.

"If I die. You die. It's that simple. Only I can reverse the effect of the bond. You have my word that I shall do so once you do or get what I need to get home," Lionel released Tyne and spat out some of the blood that still clung to his tongue and lips. "Unlike you and your kind I keep my word."

Tyne fell to his knees in exhaustion and for the first time fear in his eyes as his underestimation of the man, no this creature, finally sunk in. Lionel knew that his kind was something that was rare in this world and he also knew that it was the only advantage he had over those who lorded over the planet. He hoped that this world didn't adjust to him and his abilities before he was done.

"Now, go home and clean yourself up. You have much researching to find just exactly where my plane of existance resides and if my world still exists," Lionel said with contempt to the prostrated mage. "I shall give you a loose leash, but do not think I won't know of any plans to betray me. Succeed in accomplishing my request and you shall live. I might even reward you with power to supplement what you already have. But you'll have to succeed. You have no other choice..."

"Yes, master..." Tyne dropped his head in shame and knew he had no choice...
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