by Ryan Attard
Chapter 1
"Hello, brother."
Family. No one can push your buttons like family.
After the day I'd just had, the last thing I was in the mood for was my sister Gil and her schemes. I had just gone through a traumatic touchy-feely session over the grave of my dead surrogate father. Let's just say I was still a little… raw.
Sighing into my phone, I walked out of my office basement and into the kitchen.
"What do you want, Gil?" I asked, holding my phone between my cheek and shoulder as I rummaged around for sandwich material. Given the amount of booze I'd drunk at Sun Tzu's place not that long ago, I desperately needed something to soak it up with. I never got drunk—couldn't, thanks to my powers—but stomach aches were still very much a possibility.
Abi and Amaymon chose that moment to loudly barge in through the front door. Abi, my secretary-slash-apprentice, wiped her feet and glanced at me. I waved her off. Behind me, Amaymon, my cat, hopped onto the kitchen counter, ready to pounce at anything that looked tasty enough. I nodded, acknowledging their presence, and went back to what my sister was saying on the phone.
"I got a job for you, Erik," she said from the other end of the line. "Something huge."
"How huge?"
"Tearing-asunder-the-universal-planes-as-we-know-them huge," she replied. My hands stopped piling meats into the sandwich and gave the phone call my full attention. When someone uses words like 'asunder,' people usually think they're exaggerating or blowing things out of proportion. Not my sister. If she says the universe it at stake, I can take that to the bank.
"Why call me?" I asked. "Is this Sin related?"
For months, we'd been searching for clues to one of the six remaining Sins but there was no trace. Gil's plan of slowly turning this town into a juicy magical buffet for the remaining six was still in its initial stages and even then, it was a long shot.
Gil sighed. "Not sure, yet. I called you because I need the heaviest hitter I know to guard a convoy I have coming in. And despite some major attitude issues, you are as good as they come."
I grinned. "Are you dying?"
"Don't be an ass, brother," she replied icily. "Now put me on speakerphone. You're going to require your partners for this one."
I shooed the cat away from the half-finished sandwich and pressed the speaker button. Abi sat on the couch silently as I came out of the kitchen and into the lobby, which often serves as an office. I placed the phone on the large mahogany desk adjacent to the pair of couches facing each other.
"We're listening," I said as I grabbed my sandwich and threw a slice of ham to Amaymon.
Gil cleared her throat in a quick, soft sound. "Have you ever heard of an Etherium Key?"
Amaymon choked on his ham. "Seriously?"
The cat wasn't technically a cat at all. Rather he was an all-powerful old-school demon and earth elemental who had been reduced to kitty size for being a bad boy. And despite the fur and purring, he was older than the planet's first rotation. Few things fazed him, so I had learnt a long time ago that when he choked on food, I had better listen.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Actually, I'd rather your familiar fill us in on this one, Erik. I, myself, am not very clear as to how the mechanics behind it work," Gil replied.
All heads turned towards the cat, who let out a short satisfied purr. He loved the attention.
"It's essentially a teleportation device," he explained. "It's made out of etherium, which isn't found on this plane to begin with. My guess is your ancestors brought it back as a souvenir." His tail twitched in annoyance. It was those same ancestors that had imprisoned him in his feline form.
"An Etherium Key, or as some of us know it, a Dimension Pendulum, works by soaking up the planar magic of one plane and vibrating with it, creating a counter-wave of planar energy and opening a rift into another dimension. But it's not a random process. The Pendulum keeps a trace of the last place it's been to and 'records' that within itself. The rift is usually a dimensional bridge between two very specific places. That is, if the dimension itself is still accessible. If there is no plane to go to, you'd end up in the Void, and nobody wants to go there."
Amaymon tended to get a little too technical sometimes. I was no Einstein—most of my knowledge came from getting the crap beat out of me, swearing a lot, and eventually learning what to do and not to. Not a method I would recommend to most wizards.
"Hang on," I said as I swallowed the last of my sandwich. "So basically whoever has this pendulum thing can move between this dimension and another one?"
"Shunting," said Amaymon.
"What?"
"Moving between dimensions or planes. It's called shunting."
"Erik told me it's called Planeswalking," Abi interjected.
"Erik plays a lot of Magic: The Gathering," Amaymon shot back. "Hence why Erik can't get laid."
"Shut up," I replied.
"Will you please," Gil's stern voice came from the phone on the desk, "stop fooling around and take something seriously for once?"
That shut us up. Not because of the insults: we were used to those. No, it was because Gil was obviously panicked. You see, my dear twin sister was the epitome of an ice queen. One solid crystalline fortress that let nothing in or out—the perfect self-contained machine. For a while, I had even thought she was an android.
Gil never, ever lost it. When she did, it meant something big was about to happen, or there was perhaps more to the story than she was willing to share.
"My apologies," she said once silence settled in, "but you must understand the delicacy of this situation. This device is a game changer. With it, we may have a way to attack the Sins in their home dimension. We can give chase wherever they run and kill them once and for all. We can find their power source and sunder them from within. But in the wrong hands, all that can change. At best, we can expect an even higher influx of monsters. At worst, I believe it could tear a hole so large in the fabric of our universe that two or more dimensions will collapse together."
I exhaled loudly. Time to get serious. Silently, I glanced towards my apprentice. She had her weapon, a thin golden rod, in her hair, holding it in a bun. That was none other than Sun Wo Kung, the Monkey King, and Abi's own personal magical weapon. She'd gotten it literally hours ago, in a fight that would take weeks to recover from.
She nodded back, her eyes hard, making it clear she wanted to be part of the action. The apprentice got full points for enthusiasm but she often overestimated herself. Being told that she was special had somewhat inflated her ego, and in our world, the first mistake most wizards made was likely to be their last.
On the other hand, Gil hadn't mentioned any actual threat; just the possibility of one.
"What's the job?" I asked.
"The Key was found in Nicaragua by a few of my agents," she said. "It's on its way here. You are to intercept it as soon as it departs from Redwood. They've had ambushes the entire time they were crossing the Mexican border. The convoy is worn thin."
"Worried about more attacks?"
"No," she replied. "I'm worried about the Nexus. The attacks we've had so far are nothing compared to what I think will happen once the Key enters the northern California area. That's the edge of the Nexus. The deeper you go, the worse it'll be. I need you to make sure it gets to the mansion safely."
"How far out is it?"
"Two days. You'll intercept it the day after tomorrow."
I did some mental calculations. A day off was just what the apprentice needed. I could use a break too. Meanwhile, I could send Amaymon to scout the area and clear a path if necessary.
"Okay," I told Gil. "I accept the case. The standard fee applies to you too, though."
“I was rather hoping for a quid-pro-quo form of payment,” she said. “Wherein I scratch your back if you scratch mine.”
"You want me to work pro bono for you, the richest person in the northern hemisphere?"
She actually chuckled. "Fo
rmer richest person in the hemisphere. If I ever find that traitor, I'll vivisect him alive."
She was referring to a mole who, a little over a year ago, had let my family's entire monster collection loose and taken a sizable chunk of money from Gil. She still hadn't found the guy, and I didn't envy him one bit. It was only a matter of time before she found him, and I really couldn’t tell if she was joking about that vivisection.
Gil let out a sigh. ”You have your instructions. Good night, brother," she said with a tone of finality. "Happy hunting."
The line went dead.
I got up and pocketed my phone. There were still a few more hours of daylight I could use but there wasn't much I could do. Still, it couldn't hurt to have a game plan.
"Alright," I said. "Here's how we're gonna tackle this. Abi, you go rest up."
She opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off.
"You had a tough day and don't tell me otherwise. Just go take a nap or something. Tomorrow, you get familiar with that new toy of yours," I said, pointing at her hair and the weapon embedded in it, "and make sure you have it all under control. I don't want any dead weight on my missions."
A little over a week ago, Abi and I had had a very serious talk, the kind one has when they're called to the principal's office, or the judge lets them off with a warning. Abi kept making amateur mistakes, and I wanted to cut her off from field work. She showed me her worth by getting the Monkey King to submit to her, but I still wasn't convinced. I know from experience that rebellion and hotheadedness don't go away—ever.
But she nodded and that was that.
"Amaymon," I said, turning to the cat. "I need you to tail this thing. I don't really trust Gil, not when she's that jumpy. Tomorrow, I want you to find the convoy and scout them out. Clear a path to Redwood, but make sure they don't see you. Got it?"
"Aye, aye, Skipper," he replied.
I frowned at him.
"Sorry," he said. "Pirate special on the Discovery Channel. Not much else to watch since you're too cheap for proper TV. And by that I mean boobies. Lots and lots of boobies."
"Ironic," I shot back. "I see a boob right here."
"Cheapskate."
"Pervert." I sighed. This could literally go on for days. "Alright, people. You know what to do-"
"Did you just paraphrase your sister?" Amaymon asked, cocking his little feline head.
I glared at him and pursed my lips. "Shut up. Anyway, as I was saying, we have our mission. Let's try not to screw it up too badly."
Chapter 2
Last year I thought I'd experienced the most uncomfortable car ride of my life. We had just rescued Abi from being taken by my sister from a hospital. Back then, my now-apprentice was being targeted by the Sin of Lust—a super-demon that hunted down succubii for their life-force. And we did that by abducting Abi before anyone else could. I know; not the best of ideas.
At the time, the traumatized Abi had opted to sit quietly without making a single sound.
Now, it was the complete opposite.
"So..." she started, about two seconds after we were on the road. "About that story Amaymon told me-"
I groaned on the inside.
"You mean the one I told Sun Tsu and Amaymon in confidence?" I retorted.
She raised an eyebrow. "You told Amaymon. What did you expect?" She pursed her lips, and I could practically see the cogs in her head turning as she struggled to phrase her next question.
"Was it all true? The phoenix, the loss of magic, you killing your dad, the old mentor-”
"Tenzin," I said, perhaps with a little more aggression than was intended. “His name is Tenzin.”
"Tenzin," she repeated. "Was it all true?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
That earned her a very nasty look from yours truly. I expected questions, concerns and more questions. But pity? Hell, no! Pity is the one thing I wasn't going to stand for. I'm not ashamed of any of it. Was I a brash young boy who constantly put himself and his sister in danger? Yeah. Did I kill my own father? That bastard tried to kill me first and use us for some bogus ritual. So, hell yeah, I killed him and I don't regret it.
And did I fall into a depression so bad that I summoned a wraith, which ended up killing two innocent bystanders? Yes. Yes, I did. Their blood was on my hands, and no matter what anyone says, no matter how many lives I saved, their lives were gone.
The only good thing that came out of telling Sun Tsu and Amaymon my backstory was that I relived, even for a faint moment, that happiness I had felt when I was around Tenzin.
"Don't pity me," I half-growled at my apprentice.
"I'm sorry," she replied, looking away. Then, after a small pause,
"But what am I supposed to say?" She turned to face me, as much as the seat belt would allow her to. "I mean, seriously, what am I supposed to do? Feign indifference? You mean a lot to me, Erik, and I hate that you had to suffer that much."
I smiled and decided to give it up. "Thank you. And I mean that. The problem with me is that I have seen, and still see, a lot of bad shit, and that sometimes makes it hard to appreciate the good stuff that happens around me."
"You have a serious case of PTSD."
I rolled my eyes. "Are you really gonna go all psych major on me again?"
"I'm not just a pretty face," she replied. "Although really, look at me. I am pretty."
"You're a succubus."
"Witch-Succubus hybrid," she insisted. "And I'm still pretty."
"I don't need a psych major to know that's insecurity," I replied.
"Yes, I'm insecure. And I work my issues out by being pretty and hanging around you, Mr. Denial."
"Hey!"
"I call 'em like I see 'em," she said with a shrug. "You need to work out your issues."
"I have a very healthy system."
"Do tell."
"I work out my deep-seethed anger issues and frustration at the general world by expressing myself on beings of a supernatural nature."
She rolled her eyes. "You mean, you hit things."
"Damn straight."
We drove down Redwood Highway 101 in silence. It only took about half an hour before we saw it: a convoy of four military-grade Hummers and a large truck. The truck was in-between two Hummers, its steel hull reflecting the early afternoon sun.
I drove past them in my brand new red Mustang, and honked my horn twice in rapid succession. As we zoomed by I glanced at the men inside. Inside were Gil's ninja wizards, trained specifically to take down anything that didn't belong on this plane. The only difference between me and them was the fact that I was trained to be a one-man army, whereas they relied on numbers. That, and they took their prey alive for whatever sick reasons Gil had.
I spun the car and drove after the last Hummer, intending to overtake the entire convoy and be in the lead. Knowing me, I would have probably yelled something like, 'Welcome to Eureka. Leave your sanity at the door'. Yeah, I was that tacky.
I shot past the two Hummers at the rear and the truck, and was about to yell my genius one-liner when it all went to hell.
The ground shook, like a small earthquake, and the concrete of the road cracked all around us. A few yards in front of us, on the spot where the tremor had started from, appeared a lone guy clad in black, with a black hood over his eyes.
The sound of concrete ripping apart echoed all around us, and the biggest spider in the history of giant spiders tore its way out into the open.
The subsequent events seemed to happen in slow motion: the guy with the black hood climbed on top of the spider as if it were a pony. I recognized the spider as a Tsuchigumo—a monster from Japanese mythology. I had the worst luck with those.
It stood on eight legs, as all spiders do, but every one of its leg segments had a series of hooks and bristles, each thick enough to impale a Hummer. Its body was bulbous and grotesque. This spider wasn't sleek and neat like the ones in The Desolation of Smaug. This was more like an oversized flea had had sex w
ith Godzilla.
From what I supposed was its ass, a series of stingers jutted out like a cactus, and thick viscous strands of webbing tethered it to the ground for stability.
The worst part was its head: a giant, round piece of bristling meat with four saucer-like eyes. Each had a thick membrane running down the middle, where eyelids shot outwards, essentially dividing each eye into two. From its mouth a pair of mandibles the size of flagpoles jutted out. Behind them were several rows of jagged teeth rubbing against each other like a shredder, emitting staccato clicking sounds that promised only pain. Worst of all was the long sucker-thing that waved from tongue to neck, spitting acidic saliva all over the place. I could feel it lock eyes with me, singling me out, and all of its bristles stood on end. My insides churned.
From the verdant surroundings of the 101 highway, an entire platoon of armed men popped out and opened fire from the assault rifles they carried. The summoning of the Tsuchigumo spider must have been a signal. Who needs a flare when there's a T-Rex sized version of Aragog?
The first two Hummers veered heavily towards me. I accelerated into the vegetation, off the road and into the ambush, just to avoid being squashed by a spider leg.
"Hold on," I heard my voice yell, as the car crashed into a squad of gunmen who were shooting randomly at my car, while diving aside to avoid being killed. That was fine by me. I was more pissed off about the bullet holes in my brand-new car. The damn thing had just come out of the shop.
The Mustang stopped abruptly, probably shot dead by the ambush. Soldiers skittered towards us, bearing firearms. I leapt over the open top of the car and rolled atop the hood, facing them directly.
A million bullets tore into me. I screamed in pain until more bullets ripped my lungs apart and I was reduced to a gaping, bloody scarecrow. With my one good eye, I saw Abi pull out her hair pin. The thing shone in a golden hue and extended into a seven-foot staff. With skill I didn't know she had, she began striking her opponents in rapid succession, bashing their skulls over and generally kicking some serious ass.
I focused the magic within my body, making my regenerative powers work harder and faster. Taking on an apprentice had its advantages: like helping me retrain my basic skills. A few years back, I had to wait a few seconds before I was back in shape after healing. Now, thanks to better training, I was already healing the moment the first layers of skin were being torn.