The Keepers
Part 11
by Elizabeth

~~The menace watched the copper haired male lay 
sprawled across the white sheets, a blanket covering 
his lower extremities. Naked from the waist up, his 
pale skin glowed in the dim light of the borrowed 
room.~~

    //You're strong, so very strong...but only as 
long as that Lazarus bastard protects you. Brothers 
you might be, but I shall prove that blood is NOT 
thicker than water. There are things in this world 
stronger than blood, Young Dragon...things like 
power.//

    ~~Focus shifts. The menace now observed the young 
woman with hair like flame and the brother to Young 
Dragon, sharing a bed. The female lay curled against 
the male's back, her arm lay wrapped around the man's 
waist, both still fully clothed as they dozed.~~

    //Power surpasses all...it severed the ties that 
bound four other brothers, The Elder themselves. They 
are as old as man, and they were not immune! They 
were powerless before me, a force as old as time 
itself.//

    //Power can separate blood and flesh...it 
separated The Elder, and I shall see to it that it 
separates you as well.//

    ~~Focus shifts. The Demon Lord sat in deep 
contemplation with a mortal female, one who controls 
magicks she knows far too little about.~~

    //Foolish brother to Young Dragon...how will he 
murder you? What method will he choose to dispatch 
your miserable soul when he knows what you are about 
to do? You will take that which would have saved him, 
and for that you will die. Rest assured, though, you 
will see my face before that special moment. Before 
he spills your blood, you will know the name of 
Morpheus...and by my will, you shall know that your 
very species will follow you to the grave!//

**********

    Julia sat bolt upright, a scream in her throat. 
She could barely think through the hazy flood of 
confusion and fear in her mind, all she knew was that 
the world was going to end if she didn't do 
something.

    "Julia, darling?"

    Warm hands encircled her arms, helping her to a 
sitting position.

    "Stanley?" she gasped uncertainly. The voice was 
much younger than that of her elderly friend, and 
several octaves deeper, but some distant note in his 
tone rang blessedly familiar in her ears. Her heart 
was still pounding in her throat, her adrenaline 
singing in her veins.

    An older, yet startlingly handsome face filled 
her vision. "Not exactly, but damn close. And it's 
Paul now."

    "Paul." she breathed. While the name was new, as 
was the face, it was still the most comforting sight 
she'd yet to behold. Instantly, her arms went around 
his neck and her face found solace buried in his 
strong shoulder. His arms encircled her as he made 
soothing noises in her ear.

    The nightmare slowly faded from her consciousness 
in the strong comfort of Paul's arms, yet the name 
still rang in her mind with a haunting shadow of the 
malevolent evil she'd felt.

    MORPHEUS....

**********

    Jim's face emerged abruptly from the pillow it 
had been buried in. He grunted incoherently, his gaze 
fixed blankly ahead of him. Dazedly, he tried to 
remember where he was and what had woken him up. A 
lingering wave of black malice touched him, and he 
recalled his nightmare.

    //I'm at Gene's house for the night,// he 
realized, his head flopping back into the pillow. 
//Morpheus...that's the damn...whatever it is...that 
caused the hospital explosion! Goddamn, that sucker 
nearly killed my brother, and nearly made off with 
me! Shit!//

    Rolling over onto his back as best he could while 
tangled up in his sheets, Jim groggily tried to find 
The New York Groove. Surprisingly, the cool breeze of 
his brother's presence instantly hit him. Mike must 
have been looking for him, too.

    \\Jim?\\ The faint impression of words touched 
Jim's thoughts.

    //Easy, Mike.// He collected himself, letting 
Mike pick up on the stable calm. //Dream. Completely 
fucked up evil dude. You dig?//

    \\Dig, baby brother. Dug it right out of my head. 
I had it, too.  Morpheus?\\

    //Hospital baddie. We caught ourselves a killer 
just like old times.//

    A wave of nostalgic joy swelled in his chest, an 
echo of Mike's emotions.

    //Better tell the gods, ya reckon?//

    \\No threat, no worries. Big Bad has it all 
wrong, so no threat. Dig?\\

    //Dug it right out of my head. No idea that 
Little Demoness is also the littlest Dragon. Is Rhea 
okay?//

    \\Little Dragon was spooked for me, stayed while 
I slept. Cuddly little critter.\\

    //Hey there, you ain't no redneck so don't breed 
like one!//

    \\I'm behaving, don't shit yourself. Sleep, baby 
brother. I worked too hard to magick you back, don't 
blow it.\\

    //I dig, Mike. You sleep, too.//

    \\Will do. Love ya, brother man.\\

    //Love ya, big brother.//

    Jim withdrew from The New York Groove and rolled 
back over on his stomach.  He gathered the pillow to 
his chest and sank his face into it once again, 
feeling sleep overwhelm him.  Mike had warned him 
that he was going to have little to no energy after 
rising from the dead, but Jim was surprised it was 
hitting this hard.

       As the drowsiness crashed over his head, he 
thought about the wicked force that tried to kill 
Mike and him, along with several hundred innocent 
people.

    //So the big bad wolf has a name now.// he yawned 
silently. //What you can label, you can fight. It's 
real as long as it has a name.//

    //No one messes with my brother. Morpheus, soon 
enough your name's gonna be Mudd.//

**********

    Mike slid out of The New York Groove and backed 
up slowly until he felt the reassuring hardness of 
the wall against his back. He slid down the wall 
until he was squatting on the other side of the room, 
as far from the bed as possible. He stared at Rhea's 
feet in front of him as she lay sleeping peacefully.

    As he began to tremble violently, he felt an 
obscene sense of pride for being able to hide from 
Jim the way he had. His twin had never picked up on 
the things inside of Mike's head, not once. He didn't 
know about the rest of the dream...a portion that 
only Mike had born witness to.

**********
    ~~Focus shifts. The menace once again gazed upon 
the peaceful sleeping visages of the second Young 
Dragon and his female companion.~~

    //With enough power, you can reach into distant 
realms beyond your comprehension, Dragon Heir. The 
realms of this world...and the next.//

    ~~A dark spectral hand parted the shadows and 
reached into a realm of light and strength that sat 
deep in the heart of a man back from death.~~

    ~~The male's eyes flew open and his mouth opened 
in a soundless scream.~~

    //The realm of death is one I know very well, 
Dragon Heir. You have known it intimately as well.//

    //And knowing my world has made you mine.//

    ~~The spectral hand flexed, and the male's face 
went slack. Smoothly, the man rose from the bed and 
went to a nearby chair. From the jacket that hung on 
its back, he extracted an object he had to unfold.~~

    ~~A folding combat knife gleamed in a sliver of 
moonlight.~~

    //I can taste your fear...your disgust...your 
panic...oh, how I miss that!//

    ~~The man turned, and shuddered violently as he 
resisted the power that controlled him. Still, he 
moved ever closer to the sleeping woman that still 
lay vulnerable.~~

    ~~"No." The man hissed, still struggling. "She's 
family, I won't hurt her"~~

    //Family! There is no value in family! Only power 
matters...and right now, power is the one thing you 
do not have!//

    ~~The man reached the bed and leaned over the 
girl, twining his fingers in her hair, tilting back 
her head.~~

    ~~"I can stop you. I WILL stop you. I won't do 
this!~~

    //You can do nothing!//

    ~~The blade pressed against soft flesh, just over 
the artery.~~

    \\JIM! JIM!\\

    ~~Angry heat stung the menace as the man fumbled 
psychically for help.  All at once, a channel of 
power flared, filling the realm that the menace 
controlled. The realm shifted from one of strength 
and light to one of flame, of unending power and 
purity forged in fire. The pain was terrible!~~

    //Damn you all! Mark my words, you have NOT seen 
the last of me! Evil is eternal...it encompasses 
all...you shall never escape my notice, and you will 
NOT win again!//

    ~~With furious vengeance in its heart, the menace 
fled.~~

**********

    And with icy terror in his soul, Mike finally 
dropped the combat knife still tightly clutched in 
his hand.

**********

    In the next room, Gene's superhuman ears picked 
up the clatter of the knife hitting the floor.

    Shannon frowned as Gene's head turned sharply 
towards the sound. "What, what is it?"

    It was a long time before Gene turned to look at 
her again. "The sound of disaster averted. I believe 
our Risen Dragon has just been introduced to 
Morpheus."

    Shannon's eyes went wide in shock. "Morpheus? Oh, 
Gods..."

    Gene nodded. "The Evil One has made the first 
move against us. The war for mankind's existence has 
begun."