by Peter Saenz
Once we get past them, we step in to a foyer area where we hear loud music playing. I recognize it immediately. It’s “Night Shift” by the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. I listened to the Juju CD over and over again in high school with my then group of fellow outsider friends. The initial foyer room is dark and lighted by flickering electric lights here and there, made to look like dripping candles. The scent of Patchouli lingers strongly in the air.
Scattered around are various women and men clustered in groups of two and three. They are each dressed as if they were going to a very hip funeral. A few look at us with slight interest, but the majority ignore our presence, too wrapped up in their own imagined fabulousness. I make a concerted effort to keep my magic as dull as possible so as not to attract too much attention. The majority of the club attendees are wearing some sort of medallion or elaborate necklace, but my trained eye can see that none of them are devotional amulets or markings. Tobias and I begin slowly moving through the room and into the much louder room directly ahead.
We leave the enclosed foyer and find ourselves in front of an elaborately wide staircase. At the bottom is a much larger ballroom. After we descend, we take a look around. Inside we see a DJ dressed in black, working inside an enclosed waist-high booth. More attendees are in the dance area swaying back and forth, dramatically flailing their arms around in awkward poses. Tobias nudges me on the arm and whispers into my ear, “Wendy says that the two up against the far wall are witches working for the Initiators. The third one is in the restroom.”
I subtly look in their direction to see two women deeply engrossed in conversation. One is wearing a devotional amulet while the other has a strange symbol on her neck. The tattoo, I’m assuming, is meant to take the place of her amulet. Since my first merging with Fenrus, I have noticed my hearing has improved dramatically. I try to focus my concentration on filtering out the music, talking and general noise around me so that I can zero in on what they’re saying.
“Do you think this one’s gonna last?”
“I don’t know. She definitely has a lot more spunk than the others. Let’s hope she has more brains too.”
“But if she does join us, we’re gonna have to share a cut of our pay with her.”
“Not if she knows what’s good for her. If she does turn herself over to us, we’re gonna have to make sure she knows her place around here.”
I lean into Tobias and whisper to him, “They’re planning on what they’re going to do to Mika if she agrees to join them. There’s some sort of hierarchy among them. It’s not going to be pretty.”
With a look of worry, Tobias says, “We have to work quickly. According to Wendy, the entrance to the basement is in the management office, near the DJ booth over there.”
I look towards the booth and sure enough, there is a door behind it with the words ‘Management’ etched into a small sign hung on it. I nod at Tobias and we slowly move toward the door. When we get closer to it, we notice two guards standing off to the side. They notice us walking toward them so we stop at the DJ booth instead. When the DJ spots us, he takes off his headphones and leans into us. In a cockney accent he says, “Oy, what can I play for you two?”
I notice the guards look away, satisfied we aren’t going near the management door. I turn to the DJ and say over the noise, “Can you play ‘Stigmata Martyr’ by Bauhaus?”
He replies back, “Will do. I got a few other songs to play before that one, but I’ll put it on the play list.”
I give him a smile of thanks and the two of us walk away towards one of the empty patron tables in the corner. Tobias says, “It’s a good thing you think fast on your feet.”
I reply, “We need to get past those guards without being noticed. What we need is some sort of distraction to keep the guards busy.”
We scan the room, looking for anything that can help us. Across the way we see a straight couple talking to each other very closely at the bar. After a few minutes a third person walks over to them, taking the female away by the hand. I silently will for the now moving couple to walk towards the management office door. I focus on their anger and will it to intensify. Soon the person left sitting at the bar rushes over to the other two and begins shouting. I will for their passions to overtake them and soon one of the men hits the other. The girl screams and the two body guards near the management door rush over to stop the fight. I will for the boys fighting to now direct their anger towards the bodyguards. When they lash out at the guards, two more guards appear and attempt to restrain the attackers. They eventually get the men pinned and start heading them toward the foyer area. Tobias puts his hand on my shoulder and motions toward the remaining two guards. They follow their cohorts into the foyer to make sure everything is okay.
Suddenly behind us I hear someone say, “That was a very sneaky thing for you to do.” Stunned, we turn to see a man standing behind us. Around his neck I see a devotional amulet. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to turn you in. I’m just surprised someone had the gall to do something like that here. I’m Joshua by the way.”
Tobias and I look at each other, unsure of what to do. Joshua breaks the silence by saying, “I hate this place. The Initiators stole me when I was a teenager. Said that they’d kill my family if I didn’t agree to join them, so here I am. See those two over there?” He motions to the two witches we had seen earlier, still engrossed in their own conversation. “Two of the most miserable cunts I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. They’d stab you in the back the first chance they can get. They and the Initiators deserve their own special section of hell as far as I’m concerned. You’re missing your chance by the way. The guards will probably be back in a minute or two.”
Tobias asks, “Why are you helping us?”
Joshua smiles and says, “Because I never had a real chance of getting out of this hell hole. Something tells me that you two just might. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the other two don’t see you. You should go now.”
I tell Joshua thank you, to which he nods and walks away. Tobias and I walk quickly to the management door. It is locked from the inside. I sense Tobias pushing his will on the lock and it opens. We look around, confident no one is watching us and slip in. Once we’re on the other side of the door, we prepare for an attack but are surprised to find no one there. For all appearances, the room is an empty office space. There are only find two computer work stations and a filing cabinet. Tobias points at a closet and says, “Wendy says that the entrance to the underground area is through there.”
We open the door to find a long dark set of stairs going downward. We quietly descend the stairs, one step at a time. When we near the bottom, we hear a set of three voices yelling at each other in what seems to be Mandarin. Tobias and I slip behind a set of crates near the bottom of the stairwell, peeking between the cracks at the room now in front of us. On the other side of the crates is a medium sized room with a table, chairs, and a hanging light in the center. Around the table are what seem to be the Initiators, one of which is the same man I saw attack Mika from behind in my spirit travels. Lining the walls are rows upon rows of countless devotional amulets. They no doubt belong to Wendy and the other ghost victims. Knowing that each amulet represents a death by the Initiators and their ancestors causes my emotions to rage. Tobias points off to the side where I see two of the hired guards sitting at a smaller table. Beside them I see the faint outline of a door. That must be where Mika is being held. The room is close enough that we just might be able to transport ourselves to Mika directly. The use of that level of magic though will definitely get the Initiator’s attention. Our only chance of getting Mika now is a direct attack. My heart is racing a mile a minute and I can see sweat appearing on Tobias’ brow. I take his hand and give him a gentle hug. When we let go, we take a deep breath, ready for what we must do next.
Tobias and I jump out from behind our hiding spot and send as powerful an impact spell as we can muster against the three Initiators. The spell sends them flying ag
ainst the far wall. They fall to the ground unconscious. The two guards see what’s happened and pull out individual hand guns. They point the barrels in our direction, but before they can pull the trigger I will for their guns to fly out of their hands. I then take my hands and fling them at the guards. Though they are several feet away from me, the guards reach for their necks as if they are being choked. I then raise my hands, which causes the guards to lift off the ground as well. I fling my arms to the side and both guards fly in opposite directions. They too impact nearby walls and fall to the floor unconscious.
The two of us race over to the hidden door and look for a way in. Nothing. No door knob or latch to be found. Tobias put his sword into it’s scabbard and attempts to use magic to open the door. The effort is wasted though as a powerful spell seems to be holding the door shut. I join him in the attempt and can feel the magic begin to give way slightly. We keep up our diligence despite the great toll it takes, taxing our power. Just when I am about to give up to rest a moment, the door finally opens. Inside we see Mika sitting on a cot with her hands bound behind her. The hexing stock is still fitted tightly fixed around her neck. Her clothes are dirty and torn, and tears have wiped away the majority of the dirt from her soot stained cheeks. When she sees Tobias and I, she looks on in confusion.
“Who are you?”, she asks. She squints her eyes a bit to get a better look. “Tobias? Devin? Is that you?”
Forgetting we still have the glamour spells upon us, Tobias and I will the illusion spell to dissipate. When it does, the look on Mika’s face completely changes. “It is you! You found me! I can’t believe you found me!” New tears appear on Mika’s face as we take her into our trembling arms.
Tobias says, “We’d never give up on you. We don’t have a lot of time though. We need to get you out of here quickly.”
We remove the ropes binding her hands. The hexing stock however has a lock on it that both Tobias and I are just too exhausted to try to take off magically.
Frustrated, Tobias says, “Never mind that now. We’ll take it off you later. Let’s just get out of here!”
The three of us move out of Mika’s prison and into the Initiator’s meeting room. They are still out cold, as are the guards.
“This way!”, I say, motioning to the stairway ahead. We reach the stairs and begin our climb up. I turn back to Tobias and Mika and say, “We’re gonna make it!”
“Not quite”, I hear someone reply.
I look in front of us and see one of the witches from the club standing at the top of the stairs, smiling as she releases purple energy at us. It hits us like lightning. The pain is excruciating. I’m overcome with pain as the world around me begins to dim. In seconds my body shuts down and I black out.
*******
When I come to, I find myself magically held to a far wall. I’m in a standing position with my legs slightly parted, and my arms held outward, just above my shoulders. Mika and Tobias are on either side of me, held in the same position. Unlike me though, they are still out cold. As I turn my head to see if they are alright, I notice all three of us are now wearing hexing stocks around our necks. It creates a dulling effect on my thinking process. I try to muster my strength to get free, but my will power is close to non-existent.
I look down and see that there is a body on the floor. I focus as best as I can to see who it is. I soon realize that it’s Joshua. After a few minutes of non-movement, I can tell that he is no longer breathing.
Across from me there is a discussion occurring. I lift my head slightly and see that it is the three Initiators speaking with the two female witches from upstairs. Unlike the Initiator’s previous discussion though, this one is spoken in English.
“Now that Joshua’s no longer in the picture, I think Alice and I should take over Joshua’s cut. He’s not going to be needing it anymore anyway.”
In a sarcastic tone, the female Initiator says, “Sharon, how could you be so cold to your recently dead friend? Joshua’s body isn’t even cold yet.”
Sharon replies, “That asshole was never my friend, and you know it. Let’s cut the shit Mei. We do most of the work around here. Sure, Feng brought in the mulatto girl, but if it wasn’t for us, she would be long gone by now. And now you have two more potentials to add to the pool on top of it.”
The Initiator from my previous spirit travel speaks up, saying, “Yes, let’s cut the shit. How much do you want Sharon?”
Alice cuts in and says, “We want fifty thousand dollars. Each.”
The three Initiators begin angrily shouting at the two girls in Mandarin, but the two female witches cross their arms and stand their ground. The other male Initiator says to them, “That’s three times the amount we pay you both together for one witch!”
Alice gets a dark look on her face and says, “That’s the point Wei. You don’t have one witch to brainwash now, we gave you three. Do you honestly think we don’t know how much you three make off of all the shit we do for you? In the last year alone you’ve made millions of dollars from the tasks we’ve done. If these three end up on our side, you’ll be making even more. A hundred thousand is table scraps to what we REALLY should be getting and you know it.”
Wei is obviously fuming with rage and says, “But there’s no guarantee that these three will even end up working for us. For all we know they’ll end up like Joshua and the rest before him.”
Sharon answers, “That, as you know, is not our concern. We get paid for each witch we bring to you and a, let’s be honest here, very small cut of the profits from each of the heists you send us on. Getting them to join us has always been your job to do, not ours. And in case you’ve also forgot, we’re not like the weak witches you’ve stolen before us. You’ve never had to hold anything over our heads to work for you. We &emdash; like &emdash; profit. Just like you. Our track record speaks for itself. We’re good, and you know it. Our pay should reflect that.”
The three main Initiators talk among themselves for a few moments, leaving the two underlings to stand waiting for their final decision. When they finish, Mei turns to the girls and says, “Fine. You will get fifty thousand each. BUT, there’s a catch. If at least one of these three turns over to our side, you’ll be able to keep your new salary. If none of them do, you get the old salary with no more bitching for more.”
Alice says, “That’s not fair! You’re the ones who do the brainwashing, not us!”
Feng chuckles and says, “Then you better make sure that if our brainwashing doesn’t work, that yours does.”
Sharon angrily says, “So you’re increasing our job duties too then.”
Mei says, “Yes! Now shut up and get rid of this body! I don’t want it stinking up the place, and be quick about it!”
Alice and Sharon angrily eye Mei, then walk over to Joshua’s body. Sharon rips off Joshua’s devotional amulet and throws it at the wall. When it hits the others, the amulet stops and slowly creates a space for itself among the many other amulets. Alice then levitates Joshua’s body into the air, gliding it across the room towards the three main Initiators. The three of them then begin to chant in Mandarin. A few moments into it, Joshua’s body begins to convulse and thrash around. Joshua’s spirit is lifted out of his body’s shell and gradually disappears into nothingness. When the chanting begins to subside, Alice lowers Joshua’s body to the ground and covers it with a cloak.
“If you don’t mind,” Alice says, “ I’ll keep him in the hidden room until the club closes upstairs. It’s really cool in there so his body will be fine for a few hours. Sharon and I will get rid of it before sunrise.”
The three siblings then point to the hidden door and mutter a few incantations together. The door opens, allowing Alice to then levitate Joshua’s body inside. Once Joshua lands against a far wall, they magically close the door shut again, with the body inside.
Sharon then sarcastically says to the Initiators, “Funny, I thought you said that only you three together were able to open and close that door.” She and
Alice move to the bottom of the stairway, ready to leave. Before she does, Sharon turns back to the Initiators and says, “I guess you were wrong.”
Mei is about to lunge at the two girls when her brothers hold her back. Alice and Sharon giggle to themselves and leave up the stairs.
Wei says to the others, “She’s right. By rights those two male witches shouldn’t have been able to open the door. They must be exceptionally powerful to have broken our enchantments.”
I can tell he is about to walk over to me so I close my eyes and pretend to still be unconscious. He grabs my face in his hand and moves it side to side, examining my features. “I sense a very large chi inside this one, more than the other two. The three of them are tied to one another somehow. It must be why they risked coming to get the female. I sense they could either bring us great fortune or great danger.” Wei then releases my face, letting me rest my chin against the hexing stock around my neck.
Feng interrupts, saying, “There’s a wildness about that one. Something is not right with him.”
I hear Mei say, “What do you mean?”
Feng answers, “I don’t know. There is more going on with him than just common Craft. What I fear is that these two knew exactly where to find her. What if more come looking for them? We can’t afford for that to happen. It will be just like what happened to our parents years ago.”
Mei says, “That won’t happen with us. We’re a lot smarter than they were. Besides, if anyone comes, we have Alice, Sharon and the paid guards here to help us. Nothing’s going to happen. Wei, what are you doing?”
