CHAPTER 46: THROUGH THE SEA OF STARS

Amanda watch Samuel charge toward Elma, he grips her and jumps into the air and sinks his teeth into her neck as they fall into the sea. Little gems of light begin to appear from the sea, illuminating its blue colors, a beauty without an admirer as almost everyone aboard the ship seems to be possessed by Legion.

A good number of them ignore Amanda and jump into the sea after Samuel.

He seems to be their target.

"Why are you after Samuel? You have never had any problems with him before so why now?" Amanda asks one of the possessed bodies.

"Alucard, son of Dracula has summoned me to make good on my debt to his father. I am simply fulfilling my duty," he answered and the blond shrugs her shoulders.

"Then are you aware that Samuel Stone is also Dracula's son," "Illegitimate. He was only born to be a sacrifice like the rest of his bastards," Legion says.

"Oh, okay" she says and two wings pop out from her back. They are big and covered with light brown feathers and their edges sharpen like numerous daggers attached to the edges of her wings.

"Why don't we strike our own deal," she suggests, "If it includes stopping my chase then no," Legion says.

"Suit yourself," she says as her eyes glow in beautiful blue colors; she waves her hands around and a little ball of fire appears on her palm, she say words in a strange tongue and hits the ball of fire on the ground, creating a force of flame that circles around her and hits everyone on the deck.

She flaps her wings hard and flies off the ship without waiting to see the extent of the damage. She looks into the sea and dives in.

The waters wet her clothes and her hair, her wings feel heavier with the currents and the pressure of the waters. Her head turns from side to side as her eyes search like a hawk, watching to find Samuel, Rachael or Elma but the sea must have swept them into deeper depths.

She dives deeper and she sees that she is not alone in the search, Legion is here as well. The demon has possessed several passengers from the ship and they seem to be searching for the rest of the group as well.

She sees a few of them spit bubbles from their mouth as they run out of oxygen but they do not retreat to the top of the sea for air instead they keep on searching and she listens to their heartbeats as they slowly fade.

They die but their body now belongs to the demon that borrowed it.

Her bright eyes see clearly in the dark but it is much easier to see than she expected courtesy of the glowing gems under the sea, they light up the waters like bulbs. Their lights are seductive and seem to call to those in the sea, they look like stars that were placed in the sea by the creator to guide people.

People who are foolish enough to think their beautiful colors are a promise of unexpected pleasantries usually fall prey to their strange powers.

The stars underneath the waters move gradually and almost predictably but there are some that move faster than one would expect, disappearing and appearing out of the blue only to disappear with whatever creature it comes in contact with.

Could the stars have swallowed them? Amanda wonders as she searches. She reaches out with her mind but all she senses here are black pitches of dead minds which she assumes to be Legion but no Samuel, no Elma and no Rachael.

Her heart skips a beat as her fears take shape in form of a thought, "They have entered another realm,".

Samuel opens his eyes and finds himself moving at uncontrolled speeds in a vortex of water and space. He spins round and round and he feels his wings break at the edges as the force of the spin becomes heavier. He screams as he fights to overpower the force but he fails.

He can't think straight with all the spinning but he lashes on to the thoughts of Rachael's smiling face when they were on the ship. He holds on to it dearly as he struggles to maintain his sanity.

The vortex spits him out and he lands hard against woods and tables. His large frame scatter books and candles and he raises dusts all over the place.

He hears a loud thud; something dropped as well or someone.

His eyes watch closely and his claws shoot out of his fingers. He growls and his gaze his sharp, the moment Elma stands up from the ground he charges swiftly and jerks her above the ground.

He slams her against the wall and pins her by the neck, "You, of all the things you had to do. You threw her into the sea and now she is missing," he roars into her face and his grip around her throat tightens.

"I was possessed," she struggles to say; her voice is light and almost a whisper but not for his ears. Samuel knows what she says is true but it does nothing for the anger that feeds on his heart like a parasite.

His hair looks silky with the wetness of the waters he just came through.

His fangs stick out as his grip begins to create cracks on Elma's neck. He wants to kill her, he wants to kill her so bad but he hesitates. He sees no reason to kill her yet, this wasn't her fault.

He growls and releases her and let's her fall on her knees.

His blue eyes look down at her briefly with disgust before he turns away. He checks his wings and groan as he touches their broken edges. He retracts them and begins to take in the new environment he finds himself.

There are no windows anywhere in the room but the room is mostly made of wood, from the floors to the walls. There are two tables on opposite sides and a broken table in the middle which Samuel must have broken. There are some dusty books on the floor and some strange looking gadgets; the room seems to have been abandoned for a while.

"You know, I wouldn't hurt Rachael but you are starting to piss me..." Elma is cut short by his gaze and a growl from his lips. She looks away for a second before returning her eyes to him, he doesn't seem interested in what she has to say.

A door opens and they both turn their heads to the character that walks in.

Samuel raises his brows as he recognizes the man, he immediately charges but the man extends his hands forward throwing Samuel backwards and against the wall.

He groans, "McAllister," "Mortem," the man responds.

He stands at an average height with laid back black hair with grey mixed into it and thin eyebrows. His brown eyes hold the sphinx's gaze as he brushes his long goatee with his free hand. He wears a strange looking attire with long sleeves that are big but tight at the wrists and he wears two rings on his fingers that catches the eye.

His cloth is colorful having colors like a rainbow without the clouds.

He looks to be in his early 50s maybe.

"As I live and breath, the son of Dracula appears in my store," McAllister says, "Now what are the odds of that," "Release me, let's talk like gentlemen," Samuel says, trying his best to be calm.

"With all the rage I feel coming from you I'm not sure that is a good idea," McAllister says.

He turns his gaze to the blond woman in the room, her blue eyes watch with caution. She has heard of this man, McAllister, not much but enough to know that he is a powerful sorcerer.

"A vampire, not really your taste if I recall. Except she is some tool of yours," he says, "I am nobody's tool," she snarls at him.

"Alright. So what are you two doing here?" he asks with raised brows, "Fuck you McAllister," Samuel says.

McAllister releases him and he lands on his feet; he draws a deep breath and McAllister throws a small and shining object towards him before he can move.

Samuel catches it but his limbs freeze, ignoring the commands from his brain as he stands still like a statue with only his eyes and mouth to move.

"What did you do to me? What is this?" Samuel asks furiously, "It's a golden coin. I got it from a Leprechaun in a bet. Apparently he planned on freezing me so he could steal the gold on me at the time but he never knew who I was," McAllister says.

"I am not interested in your fucking story. Release me this instant," Samuel shouts, "I thought you wanted us to talk like gentlemen, Mortem" he says. The sorcerer returns his eyes to the vampire, "Since he is in no condition to talk, answer me. How did you two get here?" he asks.

Elma swallows her saliva as she senses this man to be a dangerous being. He just froze a Sphinx twice with ease and he doesn't feel threatened in the very least.

"We fell through the Sea of Stars," she says, "Oh, the Sea of a thousand worlds and somehow it decided that the son of Dracula should fall into my store. Fate can be quite fascinating, can't it Mortem?" he says.

Samuel rolls his eyes.

McAllister looks at the scattered properties that lie around the dusty store. He sees marks carved on the wall like a sharp object cut it, "Your wings I presume," he points out.

"It's been a while since I faced a sphinx. A matured one at that. Come, show me what you are made of Mortem," he says and begins to chant some words before slapping his hands together.

Before their eyes the scene changes and they find themselves standing in a courtyard.

The places looks like a ancient compound with ancient Japanese structures, a minka.

The walls are painted of red and the doors are of light brown colors.

The compound is circular in shape with the courtyard in front of the building and the bright skies smile on them with a clear view of the heavens.

Samuel is still stuck with his arms around the piece of gold that holds him as a stationary prisoner, "What is this? What is this place?" Samuel asks, "My home and if you are unlucky, your grave" McAllister says.

He opens his hand and the coin flies back to him. Samuel sighs and glares at him with his freedom regained.

"You want to see what a matured sphinx can do, eh? Let me show you,".