by Sean Davies
The dark purple creature just laughed, its mouth elongating to a disgustingly abnormal size as it made the horrid metallic grinding sound of its amusement, long metal fangs glowing in the reflected torchlight. The Overlord's body suddenly became far more muscular as if it had been inflated like a flat tire, and its hands and feet became claws. Its red eyes remained quite human but they were filled with a sick, psychotic, sadistic amusement.
Lewis discarded his stun gun and began unloading precious Sanctium rounds from his real pistol. Bullets hammered into the throne as the Overlord deftly dodged them with inhuman speed. Half a clip was gone in an instant and the creature jumped from pillar to pillar, clinging to them on all fours like an animal. Winston tried to get a clear shot, but it was no good. Lewis on the other hand fired until his gun was spent, and it was as he reached for his spare clip that the Demon made its move.
It launched itself from the top of the nearest pillar straight into Lewis, sending them both sprawling. The Demon was on him in an instant, pinning each of his limbs with its clawed hands and feet. The Overlord's mouth grew larger and larger, like a snake dislocating its jaw, as it went to eat Lewis' head.
As this was happening, Winston was taking aim, the endless shooting practise his father had forced him through as a child now seeming like a blessing. He was far from a pro, but he was a good enough shot to put four bullets into the creature before it came for him.
"Move to the side!" Lewis cried as he rose to his feet with feline grace.
Winston dived to the side with as much speed as he could muster. The creature was much faster by far, but at least he was out of the way of Lewis' counterattack. The blonde Book Wielder summoned a thick lance of ice and threw it like a javelin into the creature's back, and it howled as it was fastened to the pillar in front of it.
The bullet wounds Winston had inflicted upon it were starting to grow as the Sanctium ate away at the unholy creature like an ultra-powerful acid. It was still strong though, and began pushing itself backwards in an attempt to free itself.
Lewis walked over to the Overlord and raised his now loaded pistol to the thing’s head.
The Overlord seemed to gaze upwards for a moment. “…betrayed me!” it snarled, half slurred, before Lewis unloaded the entire Sanctium clip into the creature’s head until it was nothing more than mush.
"Eat that," Lewis said sternly as he regained his composure.
"Cliché. Very, very cliché," Winston said, relieved that the ordeal was over.
"Hey, shut up. You saved my life so I won't slap you this time," Lewis chuckled.
The rest of the Demon's body melted into a pool of black slosh. Lewis leaned over and started sniffing.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Winston.
"Come here. Does 'Sanctium' smell like bleach to you, or kitchen cleaner, or some kind of soap?"
"It smells like dead Demon, and no, I'm not sniffing it. Trying to work out the secret recipe?"
"Yeah. This might help my theories. The Trinity say examined Sanctium rounds are rendered inert to prevent anyone else getting the formula, but that won't apply to spent rounds, will it? I'll gather some of this prick's remains and you search for the Artefact."
The Demon Overlord's remains fizzled into nothingness and the room began to spin with a sickening speed. Both Book Wielders held their hands to their mouths and fell to their knees as the fabric of the Gloom was altered around them.
Suddenly they were on the top floor of a derelict looking World G.O.V.T building with murky window panes, and dusty desks sporting rusty old typewriters in lieu of computers. The whole place was lit by a glowing white feathered quill that fell into Winston's hand; it was the artefact.
"Looks like those theories are going to have to wait for another time," said Winston as he walked towards the remains of his predecessor that were now slumped ungracefully on a desk top.
"Yeah," sighed Lewis. “Well, mission accomplished. Now let's get out of here. Don't forget about the energy potion." Lewis retrieved his vial and downed the contents in one hit.
"One second." Winston struck his lighter and cremated the old Book Wielder's remains as he drunk his potion. It tasted sweet and sugary, and put the spark back to his worn out body and mind.
Using the quill as a source of illumination, the two Book Wielders left the building via the staircase, as the enchanted elevator had also vanished when the Demon Overlord had died. All other evidence of Demon habitation was also gone; the Overlord had woven all of what they had seen previously into existence. The building looked just like all of the others in the Gloom. Even all of the damage caused before and after their arrival was no longer evident. They travelled in silence until they reached the grisly statues where they had first met.
"Well, hope your boss is pleased with the quill," Lewis said. "Don’t forget to put a good word in for me."
"Don't worry, I won't. It was good working with you." He reached out and shook his hand. "I'll see you at the Hotel Noir soon."
"Make sure their bar is fucking well stocked for me," he laughed, and walked away.
Winston walked back to Olex, who did a happy dance on his four legs when he saw him. "It's good to see you too. Now can you take me back to the hotel please?"
The Spidercar chirped and whistled steam in a pleased acknowledgement. Winston climbed aboard and soon they were on their way.
He didn't know if it was the thrill of battle, the energy potion, the fact he had succeeded in his almost suicidal mission, or a combination of all three, but he was feeling fantastic.
Olex brought him to the hotel where the Mayor was waiting for them both.
"Winston, my boy! You made it out alive!"
"Yes Mr Mayor, it's good to see you again." He exited the passenger section of Olex and was immediately set upon by the Mayor, who gave him a friendly hug that almost squeezed the life out of him.
"I take it you have the artefact? It is very powerful, very powerful indeed!"
Winston held the quill up so that the Mayor could get a good look. "Yeah, I managed to get it from the Demon Overlord, and now that I have it I'll be on my way. Thank you again for allowing me passage of your city."
"Before you go I have a proposition for you," the Mayor said in a hushed shady voice. "I take it you know what that quill does, my boy?"
"Not a clue to be honest," he replied, slightly embarrassed.
"Not to worry my boy, nor did I when I first saw it glowing in the hand of that Demon filth as he dropped down from the sky on the back of a dragon."
"Dragon?!" Winston interrupted.
"Yes, a dragon, my boy. You don't have them in your world? What a strange place it must be, strange indeed! Anyway, they're gigantic nasty things, wings, tails, scales, that kind of thing. They live far above the purple haze."
"I know what a dragon is. I just didn't realise you had them here."
"We have all sorts of wondrous things here, my boy, but I fear we've gone off topic a bit. I went and questioned that Demon after his dragon had flown off – rude fellow shredded some of my people before he answered me, and then had the nerve to 'claim' the tower for himself. Demons are so rude I tell you, so rude indeed!"
Winston burned with curiosity. "What did he say the quill does?"
"That, my boy, is where my proposition comes into things. That quill, if held by the correct person, can create stable holes between the plains. Think of it like drawing doorways between your world and mine. Now, your world is full of such yummy life-filled delights, and my world is full of things that your people crave equally enormously, correct?"
Winston could see where this was going and he liked it. "That's correct, Mr Mayor,” he smiled. “Are you proposing a trade of sorts?"
"Ah, my boy, you are a bright spark indeed! You've hit the nail on the head. Think of it, my people gather the things that your world want and your people gather all the things we want, and then we just trade them through a hole and
everyone’s happy. No mess, no fuss!"
"I'll talk to my people and be back to arrange things with you at the next available opportunity, Mr Mayor." He reached out and shook the Mayors fabric puppet hand.
"Fate was too kind by allowing us to meet young Winston, too kind indeed! I look forward to doing business with you. Until next time!" He waved goodbye.
"See you soon, Mr Mayor," Winston said as he walked off towards the hotel, smirking slyly, knowing he had potentially just hit the jackpot.
The tall Receptionist was waiting for him as he entered the building. "If it pleases Sir I have made the elevators functional."
He hesitated, not wanting to throw away his run of good luck at the bottom of an elevator shaft. "Are you quite sure they're safe?"
"Oh, quite safe Sir! By orders of the Mayor himself!"
"Okay, in that case I'll take one."
Winston was ushered to a relatively intact elevator lit by similar witchlight lamps to the ones in the lobby. He tapped the button for the top floor and a cage slid over the entrance.
"Thank you for visiting us Sir, we'll be seeing you next time." The Receptionist smiled his all too big smile through the cage bars as the elevator slowly but surely took Winston up through the decayed old hotel.
When he reached the top floor he found it was also lit by witchlight lamps, and the furnishings were now above the Gloom average. A mostly clean red carpet had even been laid along the floor leading back to the autocrat suite. He hastily followed it and went back to his book, putting the quill into his pocket as he laid his hands on the open pages of his book. Everything started spinning until it was just a blur of incomprehensible colours, and then with a sudden gut-retching stop, he was back in the real world.
Chapter 2:
A Night to Remember in the Real
Lucius was still sitting behind his polished oak desk sipping red wine laced with blood from a fine crystal glass. He wore an expensive black suit with a red tie, and his long jet black hair was tied back neatly with a ribbon of red silk. He had a handsome angular face that was deathly pale faceted with eyes that were as crimson as fresh blood. To a regular human unbeknownst to the world that hid behind their own, Lucius' eyes would appear a more natural colour, as was the illusion power of all Supernaturals. Anyone who knew the truth could see their real colour. Vampires all had red eyes, Werewolves had yellow, and Mages had purple.
The room was well lit by elegant lamps (thankfully electric, not witchlight) and exquisitely furnished. Half a dozen members of Lucius' personal guard, Supernaturals and human alike, were also in the room. All were well dressed in costly suits and well-armed with high calibre pistols.
"I take it you have it?" Lucius said in a soft calm voice that still managed to command great authority and respect.
Winston produced the quill. It was no longer beaming with light as it was in the Gloom but it still glowed slightly. "That's not all." He recounted a detailed event of what had transpired within the Gloom.
Lucius was taken aback. "So not only did you succeed in bringing me the artefact, you can speak to the Freaks, you made a deal with them that will greatly empower my gang beyond all others, and to top it all off you found me another Book Wielder that wants to defect from the Trinity? I think this is the start of a wonderful working relationship." He reached over his desk and shook Winston's hand. "Welcome to the Shadow Circle."
He tried to hide his excitement about being let into the gang and replied as nonchalantly as possible, "Thank you Lucius."
"Now you hold on to the quill as it seems that you will be utilising it in the near future. I'll begin making the arrangements necessary to get this trade with your Mayor friend in the works. We'll add you to the payroll tomorrow. You'll receive a generous amount of Credits every week and a bonus lump sum for what you've done tonight, and if all goes well with the trade agreement you'll receive a substantial amount more per week. In the meantime you'll be required to make regular trips into the Gloom across our various territories to keep us well supplied. All sound acceptable so far?"
"Yes, definitely, perfectly acceptable." Winston made his book shrink until it was the size of a pocket-sized notepad and put it away in his suit along with the quill.
Lucius continued, "I'll have a luxury room here made available for you to live in. If anyone mundane outside this place asks, say you work here as a hotel manager. Everyone here in the hotel is under my payroll so don't worry about it too much inside – just stay smart. I checked your files and they say you currently live with your parents in Woodsholme. Will this move be problematic?"
"No, it shouldn't be. I told them I was coming to the Capital City for a job interview and that I could be living somewhere here if it went well. We're not that close anyway, to be honest."
"Good. Well that should make this go a bit smoother then. You'll travel to your home village tomorrow with your personal guard, who you will be introduced to tonight, to pick your things up. While you're back in those parts, do a resupply run for your old boss Gregory at his club. He should've told me about you a lot sooner than he did, but he's still a good Captain of my gang nonetheless.
“Whilst you are in Woodsholme I shall look into acquiring this Lewis character and get him to ferry a message to the Freak Mayor ironing out some o2f the trade details. Hopefully he’ll be able to understand well enough – if not we’ll have to resort to something like diagrams and a ‘thumbs-ups’ until you return to speak to him,” he chuckled. “If all goes well we’ll be able to attempt the trade when you are back and you’ll be a significantly richer man.”
"Okay, sounds good.” Winston looked down at the dust covered, demon splattered remains of his best suit. “I don't suppose there's any chance I could get a change of clothes?"
Lucius laughed. "Yes, of course, you must be in a hurry to get out of that decimated suit. There should be a suit of your size going spare in this place. You will be dining with me and your personal guard in the outside dining area shortly. Marissa Aluniana will be singing on the outside stage so there's going to be some highly respectable guests attending, including the Governor of the Capital himself. I'll call for a member of staff to prepare a temporary room for you to wash and change in, then come down to the restaurant when you are ready."
Lucius called for the hotel staff to make the necessary arrangements and soon after there was a knock at the door. He left the room and followed the hotel worker to his temporary room.
The rest of the hotel was just as grandeur as Lucius' Autocrat suite. The Hotel Noir was one of the most lavish locations in the Capital, and it made a fine headquarters for the Shadow Circle.
He entered the room and admired its elegance, wondering what his actual accommodation would be like if this was only temporary. A fine quality black suit was laid out on the queen size bed. The Shadow Circle's emblem, three golden circles contained within a larger one, was sewn into the top pocket of his suit jacket. A red handkerchief had been folded and placed within so that a triangular tip protruded from the top.
Winston removed his valuables, stripped off his soiled suit, and threw it in the trash. He had a good wash in the shower and combed his hair back into place with some courtesy hair gel. He quickly got dressed, reequipped himself of his possessions, and resized his book so that it would fit in one of his suit pockets. He peered into a mirror, made sure he looked the part, and then left the room for the restaurant.
Taking a thankfully safe and real elevator down to the ground floor, he made his way to the restaurant. A large amount of staff, visitors, and guests were flittering about for the night’s festivities. He pushed his way to the front of the queue for the restaurant to the member of staff in charge of admittance.
"Ah, Mr Reynolds, we've been expecting you. Come with me please." The man led Winston away to the grumbles and moans of the queuing people they had left behind. Waiters and waitresses hurriedly moved out of their way. He liked the feel of being a VIP.
They
walked through the restaurant, passing humans and Supernaturals alike wining and dining beneath crystal chandeliers. The amazingly well-laid tables were stacked with all sorts of expensive gourmet food. Plump turkeys and chickens, dishes of caviar, giant lobsters, and copious amounts of wine and champagne were being enjoyed by those lucky enough to attend.
The topics of conversation mainly revolved around Marissa Aluniana, the rumoured creation of a new branch of Military Peace Keeping Forces, the recent death of Autocrat Edgar Aurelius, and the voted succession of his son Edgar II.
Winston greatly enjoyed being a part of this walk of life. He was a quiet young man, polite and reserved, yet he hated the dullness of everyday life. Before he found his book he had thought himself condemned to a tediously bland existence. He wasn't ugly enough to be undesirable but not handsome enough to be attractive. He was smart but not enough so to take it to a useful level after compulsory schooling level. Now he was special though; fate had brought him to the highest echelons of a hidden society, and he loved it.
They approached a set of glass double doors. Two members of staff opened them for Winston and his guide, and they walked into the outside dining area. It was set in between the vast ‘U’ shape of the Hotel Noir building. Lights had been strung along the pretty flower trellises and a wooden stage had been set up at the far side of the dining tables. Busy stage hands were arranging a tall silver microphone and tinkering with dormant spot lights.
It was slightly less crowded outside than it was inside, but the guests here were even more distinguished. Military Peace Keeper officers and World GOVT staff casually mingled with the various high ranking members of the Shadow Circle. The Governor of The Capital was already seated, his fat arms around the shoulders of two scantily dressed stunning women sitting either side of him. He was the spitting image of his puppet counterpart, the Mayor of the Gloom Capital. Seated directly in front of the stage were Lucius and five other people.