Past Lives: Hotel California Book One: An Urban Fantasy Series

by R. J. Wolf

  “It’s a place I left a long time ago,” Gary said as he watched Eric. “The mountains look a lot better than these ratty towers.” He snapped his fingers and the snowy landscape faded and was replaced with the tarnished brick wall of the building next door.

  Eric scratched his head. “This can’t be real. None of this is possible.”

  “Says the man that escaped from hell. I’m just happy I got you out of there when I did. At least now we can think about how to play this.”

  “So, so you’re like some kind of witch?” Eric asked.

  Gary started to laugh. “Maybe you’re not Eric,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m a warlock.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  “Yeah, there’s a difference.”

  “So, am I a warlock too?”

  “No…you were a psychic. No telling what you are now.”

  “Why can’t I remember? There’s nothing…nothing at all,” he said and tapped the side of his head.

  Gary leaned forward and grabbed a bottle from the coffee table. It was filled with a dark brown liquid that he tipped and poured into two glasses that materialized out of thin air.

  “Here, drink this,” he said and offered a glass to Eric.

  “Is it some magical potion that’s gonna make me remember everything?” Eric asked as he tapped the side of the glass and held it up to the light.

  “Quite the opposite,” Gary said with a laugh. “It’s a two-hundred-year-old bourbon…it’ll probably make you forget even more.”

  Eric shrugged and downed the entire drink in one gulp. He sat the glass back onto the table then stumbled into the bookshelf.

  “You might want to sit down,” Gary suggested. “It’s unusually strong.”

  Eric laughed then thumbed his hand across a row of books. “All this…this magic,” he slurred. Shuffling backward, he fell onto the couch and leaned his head back.

  “Still can’t hold your liquor huh? What would Anna think?”

  “Anna,” Eric whispered.

  “Sorry.”

  “Tell me about her…please.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “What was she like? What was I like?”

  Gary smiled and sipped his drink. “She was beautiful, but a force to be reckoned with. The most powerful witch I’ve ever known.”

  “Witch?” Eric asked.

  “Oh yeah…one of the good ones and she loved you something fierce. You guys, you guys were everything.” He nodded his head slowly as his eyes unfocused and blurred. A faded stream of tears rolled down his cheek and he took a deep breath then swallowed another gulp of bourbon.

  A horn blared outside, and tires screeched. Angry voices made their way upstairs and Gary turned his head toward the window as he wiped his face. The world was always on the verge of tearing itself apart.

  Eric stared into the swirling black above him, letting the commotion fade away. There was something calming about the stars and the deeper he looked, the more entrapped he became. His mind wandered to dead ends, black holes where his life had been erased and there, his curiosity grew.

  “What happened to us?” Eric asked. “Where is she?”

  “I wish I knew,” Gary replied. “Necromancers and black mages pull people back from the hands of death all the time. But she pulled you from Hell. There’s a price to pay for that.”

  “So, she’s dead?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what to think anymore. You were dead, Eric. Gone for good, but here you are. Who knows, maybe she’s out there somewhere. We gotta get you sorted out first though, don’t we?”

  “And when we let love bind our fate, what power does death hold?” Eric mumbled, but he heard the words as if they were spoken by someone else.

  “What was that?” Gary asked as he sat up.

  “What?”

  “What you just said? It’s what Anna told me the last time I saw her.”

  Eric didn’t reply. He stared at Gary with an anxious worry in his eyes. There was an odd sensation he’d been feeling since the warehouse. Like he wasn’t alone in his head, like someone else was there, lurking in the shadows.

  “Maybe you remember more than you know.”

  Gary suddenly jumped up and rushed to the bookshelf. Pushing a shelf to the side, he revealed a safe built into the wall behind it. He pressed his palm against it and it swung open with a painful whine.

  “You remember this?” he asked as he pulled out an ancient-looking book and held it up.

  It was bound in a dark, brown skin that resembled leather, but wasn’t. The pages were thin and covered in an ancient writing. The air around it hummed with power and smelled of brimstone.

  “It took us a decade to retrieve this,” Gary continued. “And the lives of several friends.”

  “What is it?” Eric asked as he leaned forward.

  “It’s how we get you your memories back.”

  CHAPTER 5

  THE GALDRABOK

  A dim light flickered in the window as the candle melted to a puddle. The city had finally calmed, and the streets were barren, except for those that walked their entire lives in the shadows. There was an underworld that existed, a separate society that didn’t care for the laws of man. The night was their home.

  As the dark pressed on, Eric stretched across the armchair and fell asleep. His mouth hung open, a throttled snore bellowing from within like a sleeping dragon. He’d forgotten the night, forgotten the home he’d come to love. Now, he was a stranger that struggled to make sense of a reality he didn’t know.

  Gary glanced at him and frowned. Eric had once been the fiercest warrior he’d ever known. Together, they’d stood against the commission and held the fragile accords in balance. Now the dark powers were pressing their advantage and Gary could feel the changing tide, swelling with greedy power, but he was alone. And the one man that could change it all didn’t even remember his own name.

  Eric let out another rumbling snore and Gary cut his eyes.

  “A lot of help you are,” he jabbed then mumbled an incantation.

  “Whoa!” Eric suddenly shouted and jumped up.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Spiders…I could’ve sworn there was a spider on my face.”

  Gary looked away and grinned then glanced at Eric before turning back to the book. He carefully thumbed through the brittle pages, taking care not to fold or bend them. The thin book was over a thousand years old and while a spell helped to keep it together, it still needed to be handled gently.

  Eric took a deep breath then ran his hands over his head. Swinging his feet onto the floor, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “So, this, this Galbrick…”

  “Galdrabok,” Gary corrected.

  “Galdrabok…what is it?”

  “It’s a very old Icelandic grimoire.”

  “And that is?”

  Gary turned to him and started to laugh.

  “What?”

  “I should record this is all. You’d find it hilarious if we ever get your memories back.”

  Eric stared at him. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to find it amusing or annoying. While Gary had a lifetime of memories and friendship to look back on, Eric didn’t know him, he didn’t know anyone. And he took it on his word alone that they were friends.

  Gary read his look and straightened up as a hint of sadness washed over his face. “You used to look at zeroes like sheep. The really blank ones anyway. Always walking around in their own little world like they owned the place, but so completely ignorant. If it wasn’t for guys like you…I don’t know if one of them would be left. And now…you’re back, but you’re not back. It’s weird.”

  “I wish I could remember. There’s this entire world, an entire life, that I know nothing about.”

  Gary smiled. “Well this,” he said and tapped the book. “This is gonna bring it all back.”

  “This Icelandic grimoire?”

  “It’s powerful…ancient. There are only a few books li
ke this, full of archaic spells, incantations that were lost over the generations. These are from when man first learned magic from the underworld, when they first learned of the innate power that dwells inside all of us.”

  Eric bit his lip in skepticism. He couldn’t understand how any of this could exist right under the world’s nose. He had no memories, no history to pull from, but his basic understanding of things wasn’t gone, and magic wasn’t real. He knew that much.

  “Still don’t believe any of it, do you?” Gary asked as he watched Eric struggle with what his eyes told him.

  “People would know. How could you keep it secret?”

  “There’s an entire organization just for that, just to keep the world in the dark. Zeroes are more gullible than you’d think.”

  “Why do you talk about them like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you hate them.”

  “I don’t hate them…if anything I pity them. The commission, it’s supposed to keep the balance. Keep darkkin and all underworlders secret from the rest of the world. They’re supposed to keep the zeroes safe, but all they really do is justify the killing.”

  “What are underworlders and darkkin?”

  “All magic folk share common ancestry from a plane of existence much different from this one. Some are more removed than others, but we are all underworlders. Darkkin come from a line of underworlders that were tainted with black magic and demon blood. Vampires, Lycan, dark mages…demons of course, all darkkin and there are plenty more of them. Doesn’t mean they’re all bad, some choose to do good, but many would have this world cast into hell. They’ve got the commission in their back pocket.”

  “But don’t you…we work for the commission?”

  Gary laughed then turned another page in the book. “We’ll get you back, Eric,” he said and tapped his finger against the page. “It’s all right here.”

  Eric sighed and leaned back into the oversized armchair. He watched as Gary flipped through page after page with the same blank look on his face. It was tedious and pointless Eric thought, but he certainly didn’t have a better idea.

  Drifting into thought, he let the apartment fade away and focused on fragmented images that floated through his mind. Dark visions of torment and pain were always lurking at the edge of his consciousness.

  He stepped into the abyss and felt himself fall away. There was nothing, but a deep, all-consuming darkness that stretched its arms and welcomed him home. He could feel a paralyzing, terror inching up his spine. Then in the distance, a faint scream.

  Roaring, flames burst to life in front of him. They danced across the emptiness, creeping and slithering wildly like they had a mind of their own.

  Eric jumped back as the flames crawled up his leg. The crackling pyre roared, and Eric looked down as the blaze took shape and stared into him with human eyes. A raspy, voice spoke, calling his name in a familiar tone and Eric let out a strangled howl.

  The fire moved higher, working its way up his torso until it had a stranglehold on his neck. Eric gasped for air, but the flames were everywhere. As the inferno rolled across him, he closed his eyes and gave in.

  “No!” Eric suddenly shouted.

  He jumped up from the couch and whipped his head around. It took a moment for his senses to return. He was drenched in sweat and felt like his skin was boiling, but he was still in the apartment.

  Gary was sitting across from him. He was gazing at the book with a clenched jaw and an angry look on his face. Swallowing, he ran his fingers across the cover and groaned.

  A page had been torn from the book, leaving the jagged remains behind. On the next page, there was a handwritten note and Gary knew exactly who had authored it.

  “It was chaos that brought you. It was chaos that bound you. And now, the stars shall find your fate.”

  “Damn it!” Gary roared.

  “What?” Eric asked as he tried to wipe the sweat from his face.

  “Zoey has the spell we need.”

  “Who?”

  “Your sister-in-law.”

  CHAPTER 6

  THE KING OF CENTRAL PARK

  “I really feel like I should go with you,” Eric said as he watched Gary toss random items into a dirty old bag.

  “That would be a bad idea.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I like living and you just came back from the dead.”

  Eric sighed. “She can’t be that bad.”

  “She tried to hex you on your wedding day. She hates you, Eric.”

  Eric made a childish groaning sound and looked around the apartment. “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “Stay here. Stay out of sight and stay out of trouble.”

  “What am I, a baby?”

  “You’re acting like one. Look, something is going on, Eric. I don’t know what, but its best you keep a low profile. At least until we can sort this amnesia thing out.”

  Eric nodded then slumped back into the chair. “How long you gonna be?”

  “She’s just on the other side of town. Well, the other, other side of town. As long as she doesn’t try to kill me, it won’t take long.”

  With that, Gary slung the bag over his shoulder and headed toward the door. “Oh”, he paused and turned around. “Try not to touch anything. This isn’t your normal apartment.”

  “What if I get locked out?”

  “Don’t go outside.”

  “What if the place catches on fire and I have to go outside?”

  “Why would you need to go back in?”

  “I don’t know…things happen. Look, a few hours ago I was in a grave. I don’t like the idea of being stuck inside of anywhere.”

  Gary squished his face like he’d eaten something sour, then began to mumble under his breath. He twisted his fingers then flailed his hand in front of the door. “Okay, just wave your hand in front of the peephole and you can get in, but don’t leave!”

  “Yeah…I got it.”

  Gary pulled the door closed and rushed down the stairs. A sense of fear and adventure coursed through his veins with the euphoric tingle normally associated with drugs. All underworlders were called to the night. Gary was no different.

  He stepped outside and felt the crisp air brush against his face. Grinning, he closed his eyes and sucked in a lungful. With more agility than his body looked capable of having, he leapt from the stoop and sped off down the sidewalk.

  As he passed the alley, he glanced at the rusted car and smiled. He wouldn’t be needing the debilitated sedan. The night was a place for magic.

  Stopping in the middle of the road, Gary took a quick look around. The streets were abandoned, but that didn’t mean they were empty. The shadows teemed with life and in the distance, he could hear the low hum of trolls lumbering in the deep.

  He would see them later. The path to Zoey’s house could only be accessed from the troll ferry, but he didn’t need to worry about that just yet. He had another stop to make. With one last look around, Gary snapped his fingers and vanished.

  He reappeared in Central Park underneath an old bridge with vines hanging from the arch. His feet slammed into the ground and he steadied himself before straightening his legs and soaking in his surroundings.

  “Hey!” a sharp voice cried. “No apparating in the park!”

  Gary turned and found a stout man stepping from the shadows with an angry look on his face. He stood just shy of four feet and had long, silvery hair that fell to the floor like a horse’s mane. His nose was long and narrow with crooked bends where it’d been broken several times. He blinked his abysmal eyes then twisted his mouth in disgust.

  “Gary,” the dwarf growled.

  “Noll,” he replied trying to hide the fact that he hated depending on his kind.

  “What do you want?”

  Gary frowned. “What do I want? What do I want? How about a little civility for an old friend?”

  “Friend?” Noll scoffed. “Last time I saw you, you were trying t
o pawn off a fake gilded dagger on me.”

  “Give me a break…I thought it was real.”

  “Well, I almost got killed trying to sell it.”

  “It was a gift, Noll.” Gary took a deep breath and rocked onto the balls of his feet. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Promises,” Noll mumbled. “I’m busy, Gary…what do you want?”

  “I need a coin for the ferry.”

  “And?”

  “And I’m going to see Zoey.”

  Noll chuckled and shook his head. “You need to make funeral arrangements then.”

  “Do you have anything or not?”

  “I might…how important is it to you?”

  “Important enough that I’m here asking a friend for help.”

  Laughing, Noll ran his fingers through the silvery strands as they brushed across the ground. “Friend…you keep saying that. If we were friends you’d be asking me for a favor and I’d likely expect you to return that favor at some point.” Noll let his words hang in the air for a while. “Are we friends, Gary?”

  Gary opened and closed his mouth then rubbed his dry hands across his wrinkled face. “Of course, Noll,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I always thought we were friends and friends do…favors for each other.”

  “Good!” Noll said, smiling from ear to ear. “I’ve got this, this um, artifact that may or may not be banned. If I had a friend, a friend that worked for the commission, maybe that friend could help me get this artifact into the city. I’d be inclined to do a favor for a friend like that.”

  He leaned against the wall, his lips bent in a painful grin exposing his slimy, brown teeth. Gary was already regretting his decision to see him, but Noll was likely the only living creature on earth that knew just how to get to Zoey’s soft spot and he was pressing his advantage.

  “What is this artifact, Noll?”

  “You gonna do it or not?”

  “It’s my job, Noll and the commission are the last people you want to cross.”

  “Yes or no?” Noll replied.

  Gary grumbled and clenched his jaw. “Fine!” he snapped.

  Noll smiled again, flashing his filthy canines. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rusted bronze coin that was shaped like a crescent moon. Rolling it across his fingers, he flicked it into the air and Gary casually opened his hand and it fell into his palm.