The Book of the Magi

by Billy Spencer

  Jessica and Azabel went to go check on Joey, Nick, and Oracle to make sure they were all fine. Joey was pretty upset by what Lucuris told him of Matius, and couldn’t believe he was helpless to the Warlocks spells. “I can’t believe I let him get to me,” Joey said to Lucuris looking down to the floor thinking to himself. He never liked when enemies got the upper hand on him.

  Lucuris pated Joey on the back and just smiled at him. “How do you think I felt? I almost killed the guy for making you guys like that,” Lucuris said to Joey. Lucuris didn’t get really why Matius let them go, why he would keep a promise he didn’t need to.

  “I swear next time we run into that asshole I’m going to kick his ass,” Nick said out loud pacing back and forth, trying to calm down.

  Jessica looked at her friends and was relieved they were all ok. But she felt a bit ashamed and sad that she wasn’t able to help Lucuris. “I dunno what happened there, why I froze like that,” Jessica said to Azabel looking down at her hands and saw that they were still trembling a bit.

  Azabel then sat on the floor staring up at Jessica, and smiling at her. “hey, don’t be down girl. You tried your best, and we are only human,” Azabel said to Jessica trying to cheer her up.

  “I can’t do that again Azabel. Next time I will help Lucuris, me and Odin together,” Jessica said to Azabel with determination on her face.

  Lucuris was with Abigail and Nick talking about what happened when they got to the field, and why they needed to talk to them with Azabel. “We brought this guy who’s an expert on vampires he can help us with why their kind would side with demons,” Lucuris said to both Abigail and Nick.

  “You fucking kidding me? Guy talks about vampires on the internet, doesn’t make him a fucking expert,” Nick said to Lucuris as he looked at Azabel who was talking to Jessica.

  “Nick is kind of right Luc.We don’t even know this guy, and he could be working with these demons who knows?” Abigail said to Lucuris with concern on her face, and crossing her arms.

  Lucuris didn’t get why they didn’t trust Azabel, he wanted to try and get to the bottom of everything and just felt more mysteries kept revealing themselves. “He came with us willingly; he wants to help us. When you guys were trapped, Azabel and Jessica were there to make sure you guys were ok. He was there backing me up for support,” Lucuris said to Abigail determined to show everybody to trust in him.

  Abigail and Nick just nodded to Lucuris and the three of them along with Joey and Oracle made their way to Azabel. To find out why the demons were attacking them constantly, why the Black Mages and Warlocks use to be one. To see the link between the vampires and everything, and to save the towns people that Matius had kidnapped. Lucuris’s determination was sky high, and he was ready for a war if it had to come. He would not back down from fear or doubt, but rise to the occasion and stare evil down into the heart of the abyss.

  Chapter 23

  The next day Lucuris and his friends decided to meet up at their school for some research, and to get a better understanding of the situation.

  Lucuris and Joey stayed in the library together looking through books and just trying to make sense of everything. “It feels so empty in here man,” Lucuris said to Joey while flipping through the pages of a book.

  “Yea, kind of dead silent. Lucky for us though we have a couple of friends. But seems everyone else is either hungry or just trying to rest a bit,” Joey said to Lucuris just looking at the spine of books and reading their titles.

  Lucuris could tell something was up with Joey, by just hearing the sadness in his voice. “Joey, tell me what is really wrong? You have been pretty down after last night,” Lucuris said to Joey as the both of them had books in their hands and sat down at a table.

  “Matius Is what is bothering me. I only thought of him as some sort of folklore, and by him saying he created the black mages? That is only something our people heard in fairy tales,” Joey said to Lucuris staring out of the window and just looking at the trees.

  Joey began telling Lucuris about all he knew about the Warlocks and The Black Mages.

  The story of these two classes is an old and almost forgotten tale. The warlocks like any other type of people with greed on their mind, wanted to exceed the power that was within them. In order to do that, they had to build an army. They tried for years upon years to build perfect beings that could harness their powers that is when the Black Mages were created.

  The black mages relied on the Dark arts of magic, calling upon the elements of the planets and the unknown. They were powerful, but the warlocks saw them as still weak. For all the darkness within these mages, they would not kill an innocence and would try their hardest to avoid killing anyone in general. They would not let their souls become corrupted with pure darkness.

  The warlocks saw this type of behavior as weak, and thus saw Black Mages as a failed attempt at creating their army. But luckily for the warlocks they had a separate class of people to call upon. These beings have obtained the warlocks abilities also, but they were no Black Mage. These people were titled Blood Mage’s, and were also able to use the Dark Magic of the warlocks, but also Blood Magic.

  These Blood mages hungered for the Blood Magic, like some sort of addiction. The magic gave them pure power and domination upon their foes. The Blood Mage’s used people as sacrifices to obtain their power. The order banned the use of such magic years ago, and saw it as just pure evil. Seeing it corrupt people and the destruction that was left in the wake of a blood mage, was something no being should ever see.

  But our stories have it, that a warrior of light who battled the blood magic. A warrior once like a black mage, fully transformed into what was titled a Paladin.

  Joey looked up at Lucuris held his friends’ hand firmly as they both looked out the window. “That warrior of the light, that Paladin Lucuris. It was your father who became one, he was the one who fought that day,” Joey said to Lucuris lowering his head with sorrow in his eyes.

  “My father became one? But he didn’t survive, that Mage killed him,” Lucuris said to Joey thinking about who his father was.

  Joey could see Lucuris wanted to know more, he felt torn because he didn’t know anymore when it came to his father and what happened that day. “I wish I was there that day to see what happened to your dad. All I know is that he saved our people in a time of need, and that for him to take that Blood Mage with him into some unknown place, was hard for him. He left the woman he loved behind, his only child, and the people he saw as family,” Joey said to Lucuris as tears began to run down his face.

  Lucuris could see how much pain Joey was in. To feel so vulnerable, so alone and just all out afraid was something he himself felt all too often.

  “I never knew my father, but glad you are here to tell me about him. But always remember Joey, even though he is gone, he still lives inside of me,” Lucuris said to Joey as he smiled at his friend.

  Lucuris could see that they had a lot of stuff to do when it came to these demons. They had taken everyone in their town, and Matius said the world even.

  “I feel sorry for everyone who can’t defend themselves, but I won’t give up on saving them Joey,” Lucuris said to Joey as he began looking through the books. “Demons can keep trying to enter this plane, but we will always send them back,” Lucuris said to himself in a small whisper.

  “Yea we will figure this out...I know Azabel is helping Nick and Abigail right now with their vampire thing,” Joey said to Lucuris as they both dug deeper and deeper when it came to mystical magic, and demons. The both of them could sense it, they didn’t know if it was their powers or just pure instinct, but both of them felt a shadow watching over them.

  Chapter 24

  Abigail and Nick were busy with Azabel just looking through the school and seeing if there were any people left. They didn’t want to believe that they were the only ones left in town, and wanted this whole situation just to be some sick dream.

  “Man, it’s so weird just seeing t
his place empty. Oh no, there’s backpacks everywhere, like someone just grabbed them and disappeared,” Abigail said out loud as she was holding onto Nicks arm tightly.

  Nick kept one eye on Azabel at all times, he didn’t trust the guy. But seeing the hallways, empty classrooms, and just being by themselves creeped him out a bit. He didn’t want to believe what was happening was true, he didn’t want more demons to fight. To him he felt violated by Matius, and just wanted the nightmare and the thoughts of the evil they face to go away. “Doesn’t make sense, why Matius would do this. Like if he was this sort of powerful warlock then why is he working under someone else? Why would he take people hostage, when he could just kill them,” Nick said to Abigail as he held her hand tighter, just trying to reassure himself that everything was going to be ok.

  “Maybe it wasn’t him that took them, but someone else,” Azabel said out loud as he looked at the classrooms that they were passing.

  “what do you mean someone else?” Abigail said to Azabel as she continued walking down the hallway just looking at everyone's belongings.

  Azabel knew that there was something weird going on, especially when it came to his town. He knew that darkness was beginning to cover it, but always denied it because he liked to overthink things. “What if the ones who took the people were vampires. Maybe the vampires have everybody in our town and plan to turn them, and when Matius was talking about the world, maybe it’s this. Maybe he’s trying to create his own shadow army?” Azabel said to Nick and Abigail just talking faster and faster with each thought racing through his mind.

  “you got to be shitting me? If that happens, then what the fuck do we do?” Abigail said to Azabel as they all stopped walking and faced each other.

  “I tell you what we're going to do, were gonna find them and fight them. All these people are trapped, and we are their only hope,” Nick said out loud as he bent down and lifted a backpack from the floor, thinking of the person who owned it and what they were thinking when they disappeared.

  “I know they won’t attack us in the day, we would be able to see them too easily. I just need a bit more time to figure out where they could be,” Azabel said to Nick and Abigail rubbing his head trying to think of locations.

  “wait, wait a minute. Didn’t Lucuris kill that vampire chick? shouldn’t they not be able to like be vampires if their head vampire is gone?” Nick said to Azabel looking confused. He didn’t really understand much about vampires, but he seen enough movies, and read enough comics to know the basic stuff.

  “you’re joking, right? Just because you saw these crappy movies or read some weird fiction, doesn’t make it true,” Azabel said to Nick as he started to laugh a bit.

  “What is so funny Azabel?” Abigail said to Azabel trying to understand why he was laughing at the situation. Placing her hands at each side of her hips, she was getting annoyed. She knew times were dark, but still this was no laughing matter.

  “so-sorry about that. I just always find it silly people believe anything that is written up. Anyways, yea in stories that is what usually happens, kill the main vampire everything goes back to normal like it never happened. But for me anyways and what I have read in many books, usually you kill the head of the vampires the one she first bit becomes the leader and it is them who is really the threat. I like to call these vampires the Night Watchmen,” Azabel said out loud.

  Nick was completely knocked back, and shocked to his core. “so, these are the real threat, the main vampires who control everyone else. So, the one Lucuris killed was some sort of decoy? or better yet she was the main vampire and since she died, her first bitten became the new leader, really?” Nick said to Azabel pulling at his hair in frustration.

  “So, there’s no way to stop them at all, because even if we kill the Night Watchmen as you call them, they will keep coming. It’s like an endless fight, what a sick fucking joke,” Abigail said to Azabel as she got her hand, made it into a fist and slammed it into a wall. The impact of her punch left nothing on the wall but marks of her blood, and an injured hand. “Fucking, shit!” Abigail said to herself as she grabbed her hurt hand and fell to the floor.

  Nick went to Abigail’s aide, held her hand softly in his, and just stared into her eyes. He didn’t want to put the woman he loved in danger; he just wanted her safe. But he could see her frustration when it came to these creatures. These vampires attacked her brother, the one she swore to always protect, and the one time she didn’t, he almost died. “Abigail it’s gonna be ok I promise. We will find where these vampires are, and kill every one of them,” Nick said to Abigail as he held her hand and started to kiss her lips.

  “Uh, gross...really at a time like this,” Azabel said out loud trying to shield his eyes from their lip locking.

  Abigail kissed Nick for a few more seconds before she began to stand back up. “Sorry about that Azabel. You are right we got to find these Vampires if they are even here, but we should probably meet up with Joey and Luc, see what they all found out,” Abigail said out loud trying to think hard about these vampires. She always thought about the boogieman as a kid, and saw that her nightmares as a kid were coming true it seemed.

  “No not yet, there’s something I want to talk about with you two,” Azabel said to Abigail as he held out his hands.

  “What is there left to talk about man?” Nick said to Azabel looking confused as to why he didn’t want to go see Lucuris and Joey. He thought that it was weird that he seemed so calm, and was glad to keep an eye on this new member of the group.

  “I know about you guys, every one of you,” Azabel said to Nick looking him in the eyes.

  Nick didn’t know what this man was talking about, but he didn’t like the tone of his voice and the way he was looking at them. “What the fuck do you mean you know about us?” Nick said to Azabel raising his voice in anger, as his temper rose. He then grabbed Azabels shirt, almost lifting it off the man’s body and slammed him on the wall putting pressure on him, and pressing his body against him.

  “Nick stop, what are you doing?” Abigail said to Nick as she started to grab him from behind trying to break his grip on Azabel, but he was too strong.

  “No Abigail I want answers from this guy, and want them now,” Nick said to Abigail as he just ignored her and continued to press his body against Azabel. “Now tell me, what do you know about us?”

  “Lo-look it’s nothing bad, or some sort of blackmail crap. I just know about your summoning techniques of summoning different beings, even demons,” Azabel said to Nick trying not to look him in the face. Azabel wanted desperately to get away from Nicks clutches, but couldn’t even break free of his grip.

  “Wait a minute, how do you know about our techniques?” Abigail said to Azabel getting closer to him now. She didn’t know what this guy knew about them, or how the information got out. All Abigail could think of is she could not let any harm come to Zee. To her this creature was a fierce dragon, maybe a bit small, but Zee never gave up on her, and she loved the creature.

  “Not your techniques really, just that you guys can summon demons is all,” Azabel said to Abigail still trying to get out of Nicks clutches.

  Nick slammed Azabel to the floor as soon as he heard the word demons. “They are not demons! They are familiars, and our friends,” Nick said to Azabel pointing down at him, trying not to let all his rage out. To Nick Amaterasu was a part of him, and hearing someone talk about her that way disgusted him.

  “Look sorry it was an accident. Familiars, I got it, sorry I called them that. But I just knew about it cause your summoning abilities are like Lucuris, and that Matius guy who said he was a Warlock said he had those abilities,” Azabel said out loud almost yelling, curling up into a ball.

  Abigail went towards Azabel, and looked at him for a second, just seeing the sadness on his face. “look, it’s ok man, just know we are on the same side, and I mean all of us. We don’t like demons, and neither do our familiars, but if we are like my brother and Joey then it just means
we have even more reason to defeat Matius,” Abigail said to Azabel as she started to help him up.

  “what reason is that?” Nick said to Abigail as he stared out of the window trying to just ignore Azabel.

  “By just showing them that we are not alone in this fight. That our powers, abilities, whatever it is connects us. Even though Matius may have created the Black Mages or the summoning he isn’t our keeper. We make what our future will be. We will win no matter the cost, whether it be vampires, or demons, Matius and his master will pay. Because we have our friendship, our love, our humanity to show them that we are not easily destroyed and forgotten,” Abigail said out loud as she gave Nick a slight punch in the arm.

  Chapter 25

  Jessica and Oracle went to a separate building that was close to the main one. This building on the college campus was used as a technology building. Oracle thought that they could use the computers to try and look up information on the people’s disappearances and try to see if anyone online knew what was happening. He knew that there were computers in the library, but he always loved this building.