Chapter 12: Vengeance

The portal led them right into the compound. She let them in. The clouds were thick in the sky and night had fallen. The full moon's light illuminated their surroundings. They were clearly somewhere on the other side of the world. Looking around, the team took in the premises. It was eerie, very quiet-even for itsline of business. A thick mist hung around the air hindering their vision ahead and in some areas. Beyond it all, at the center of the compound was a towering office building that stretched well beyond the mist. At the pinnacle of the building was a wide circular platform, likely a helipad. 

A single clicking sound was heard from somewhere in the mist. Then another chimed in, and another, until the sound was so loud and persistent it seemed to emanate from the mist itself. The sounds of coordinated footsteps approached the huddled up team from all directions. 

Suddenly, a hooded figure jumped out of the mist and took a quick stab at Zara's throat with its dagger. Luckily, Trevor was standing right next to her. He anticipated the attack, held her shoulder and pushed her out of the line of attack. ''Get down!'' The creature missed its mark and disappeared into the mist again. With a swift motion of his finger, Trevor's sword was unsheathed and floated beside him. Francis turned to Cain, ''get to that building. That's where she is. Go! Now!'' 

Cain tapped the Olympus ring's Eagle shaped signet twice. ''Hermes! Give me speed!'' In a burst of speed, he was gone. 

 Francis turned to the rest of the group. ''Get ready, this mist will separate us. Miss Zara, remain steady and focused. Your gift is imperative to our success and survival. Strada, hold onto her, she'll need your protection. 

''Easy peasy.'' Strada said. He spat out his gum and took his hands out of his pocket. His expression darkened. He rolled two chess pieces over in his right hand. One was a darkly colored Knight piece; the other was a White-colored Bishop. 

Francis opened his mouth to say something but before he could; the mist swallowed them. 

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In a flash, Cain had burst through the glass doors of the office building. The building had exactly 8 floors. With a sense of urgency, he sped through every nook and cranny of the impressive building in search of his antagonist. Eventually, he found his way to the wide circular platform at the top of thebuilding.

 There she was. She stood on the opposite end, her back showed to him. Slowly, she turned to face him and spoke in a familiar sing-song voice. ''Cain…out of the sick ward so soon? Did you like my flowers? '' She smiled. ''A bit thorny I know.'' 

Cain circled her cautiously from a distance and observed the platform; something had changed. He couldn't feel any power from his rings anymore; it must have been the work of that damn CURSED EMERALD! He tried to will the Weapons Master into an assault rifle. It worked. He doubted he had the strength to summon weapons. Even now, he could feel himself losing blood from the talon wounds of the Olympus ring. He couldn't heal himself either. The emerald was negating his abilities. So, his life was in true danger this time around he thought to himself silently. He pointed his rifle at her and continued circling her slowly. ''What do you want from me Svengali?!''

She smiled and then chuckled drily. ''It's quite simple really, I want you dead. As the last disciple of father Enoch, it is my sole duty and my destiny.'' This time, she spoke in her regular voice. It was raspy and broken. 

Cain sighed. He was losing too much blood, he would lose consciousness soon. ''All this talk about Enoch. I'm sick of it. This ends now.'' 

''I've come to learn that you've eliminated all of my fellow disciples. I will avenge them today. It's over for you Cain. It's time for you to die.''

''For millennia, I've been searching for death. I will not fall at the hands of vermin like you!'' He took off the safety on the gun and opened fire. His ammunition was infinite.

A green hue clouded Svengali's hands. She motioned with her fingers and the bullets stopped right in front of her. One by one, they fell to her feet. "You can't win Cain. You've already lost."

"Shut up." Cain willed his weapon into an impressively long Katana and moved swiftly towards Svengali. He still had some of his speed and strength; far more than whatever the average man could manage. He slashed from side to side skillfully, surprisingly quick even for a blade of that length. His aim was to separate her head from her shoulders but her magic kept on deflecting the blade just when it was inches away from her neck. 

Secretly terrified of his strength even in this state, Svengali feared that eventually the blade would meet her nape. In frenzy, she pointed her arms at Cain and balled her hands into fists. Cain floated into midair and felt his arms and feet being pressed together. His blade fell to the ground with a cold and metallic clang. She squeezed his body with her abilities until his bones cracked and his nose bled; until his eardrums erupted and blood oozed out of his eyes. Then, she let him fall to the ground. His body landed with a thud. A sea of blood formed beneath him. 

With her powers, she manifested a crooked dagger with an emerald at its hilt into her left hand and dived wildly at Cainscreaming; ''Now the finishing blow, I win!!!'' 

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