Report Two: Welcome to Wonderland

I can't remember what it's like to be me.
I want to be what I was.
I don't want to be what I am. 

- Dark, The Book of Memories

It was all a blur for the young Ishtar. He had never been thrown into such an unusual situation before--which even surprised him. The man who sat before him eating a scanty meal of toast and marmalade had just told him that they were in the middle of nowhere to hunt vampires. To top it all of the man sitting in front of him was some sort of vampire himself.

But from Ishtar's understanding vampires didn't exist. They were just a story told by people who wanted to scare little children. So now, he had a magical creature sitting in front of him, it was all to surreal. A few hours ago he had been in the warmth of his own bed.

The thing that made Ishtar uneasy this whole time was the silence coming from his book. Had he imagined the conversation he had with it? Had he dreamed his past life? What the hell was going on!

"It's funny that you'd who up on a day like this," Mik suddenly said, causing the young chimera to jump. "It's Halloween, you know? All the bad stuff comes out tonight."

"Bad stuff?" Ishtar's eyebrows twitched.

"Bad stuff. Like vampires and werewolves and other critters that'll eat humans alive. You might be safe, I'm not all that sure, since you were human at one point." He shrugged and continued to eat his toast. Apparently it was the only food he could stomach as a vampire half breed. That was the best term the could come up with for his condition--Ishtar felt lucky for once.

Mik continued, "Also I have a guest coming over later today." He couldn't stand the direct sunlight like most vampires, but he could stand evenings. That was probably why someone was coming over, though Ishtar could only wonder who it could be, he was too afraid to ask. And Mik provided nothing more as they ate in silence. 

It was going to be a long and awkward day.

Mik slept through the hours of the morning while Ishtar paced.  There wasn't much for him to do in the place. Apparently Mik was a serious vampire hunter with nothing on his mind but that. The little chimera's tail swished in frustration. The book was still silent, and it's eye had dimmed. Ishtar was worried. That's all he could do in the almost silence. The soft tapping of his feet and the swishing of his tail were the only things to break the silence. He couldn't do anything else.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Ishtar froze. Mik made no move getting up. There was another knock. Ishtar looked around frantically. He hadn't the slightest idea what he should do.

The front door clicked open. Ishtar froze dead in his tracks as he watched someone slip in through the doorway. It was a woman with unnatural red hair that trailed down almost to the floor. Her eyes were purple, and her clothing was... unusual. Bondage was the first word that popped up in Ishtar's mind, and horror was the second as he noticed the large toothed sword that she carried, along with the blood covering it and her clothing.

And Ishtar was standing in the middle of the floor. Crap. Crap. CRAP.

The woman looked at him with an eyebrow raised. The left part of her face seemed to be scarred up, and so did her expression. She half smiled and half grimaced at the boy who stood in front of her. "Ah, you must be Ithacos," she smiled weekly.

"Ishtar! My name is Ishtar!" he quickly corrected, and then he slapped a hand over his mouth. He was talking back to a woman with a giant sword!

She rolled her eyes. "Ishtar then, even if it's a girl's name." She shrugged and set her sword down. "Ber, wake up Dark, would you?" she muttered at the sword she was taking out from its tiny sheath. It  was large with a blade jagged and teeth like extensions. Like his book, it had an eye in the blade that swiveled around to watch the people in the room.

However, the sword began to glow, the young Chimera backed up, nearly running into the wall behind him. He watched as the sword changed into a human in front of him. A human with the same disturbing eyes that were directed at the book as it sat on the table. The human sword, dressed in nothing but a simple pair of pants, boots and gloves that reached almost to his shoulders, walked over and picked up the book called Dark. The eye glowed red on the book, and the man abruptly dropped it.

"What the hell was that for?" the book hissed.

"Wake up and great your maker, moron," the man said.

"Ber," the woman said in a warning tone.

"Tsch," the man replied with his back to the woman, "He should show you some respect and take another form at least."

"Not in front of the boy, he has a right to choose then, doesn't he," the nameless woman said with a slight smile on her face. Something that frightened Ishtar more than anything else. It was too much to take anymore, he had to act.

"Who are you? Why are you here? What's going on?" he blurted out. Magic, demons, angels, talking swords, dragons, none of it existed.

Her smile grew wider, "My lovely boy, I'm the Angel of Wrath, Malice, and Burning Hatred. You should know me best, since you secretly harbor my sin. Now of all times you should admit it to yourself, or the spirits will get you."

 She wasn't joking. He knew it, but he had to act skeptical, "So you're the blood soaked angel called Wrath, why are you here and what are you planning to do with my book?"

"Aren't we putting on a brave outlook on life my emotional little boy?" the smirk on her face threatening to split her face in two.

He would have growled if she hadn't decided to move closer and closer, pinning him nicely to the wall. Her attitude suddenly changed to one of impatience in a fracture of a second. She slammed her hand against her wall as her sword snickered in the background. "I'm going to tell you a secret boy," she whispered into his ear, "You're the only good and living one in this building."

Ishtar swallowed hard. He hoped she wasn't implying death in the near future.

"You also have a very dangerous quest ahead of you," she murmured slightly, "My virtue was kind enough to spare you, so I can't deny him that you see." She leaned back and Ishtar automatically relaxed. "But my little cowboy, please take care of my book. He's very dear to me."

She looked to the doorway and beckoned her sword follow. They slipped through the entryway to Mik's room.

The book was left on the floor with Ishtar against the wall. He slid down it with a miserable expression. He had to get stronger and leave this place, otherwise he would die--or something much worse.

Strength was something he never had.