by N. P. Martin
"You’d do well to remember that, Max."
"Oh yes? And what do you mean by that exactly?"
"You’re the one with the supposedly superior intellect. I’m sure you can work it out."
Max laughed. "You humans. So funny."
I shook my head as I turned my attention to my upcoming trip to the Realm of the Dead. As I would have to separate my spirit from my physical body, I would need a safe place in which to leave it while my spirit was in the other realm. There was only one place in the city where I would feel comfortable leaving my body, and that was Sanaka’s Sanctum. My mentor would watch over me while I was away, and hopefully be on hand with his skill and expertise if anything happened.
Deciding to walk the couple of miles to Sanaka’s Sanctum, I crossed the road and headed towards Little Tokyo. Thanks to the rain that continued to lash down, and the late hour of the night, the streets were almost empty of people. I liked the city when it was quiet like this. It was peaceful, and gave me cause to remind myself how much I loved the place. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the world. Especially not Ireland. Just being there brought back a plethora of memories and feelings that I had kept pushed down within myself for years. That, combined with Max’s continual rummaging around inside my head, had left me feeling raw and scraped out. I simply wasn’t used to being shaken around like a fucking snow globe, as long buried thoughts and feelings swirled around me unabated. Normally, I kept that part of myself locked down tight, and for good reason. The past was the past, and that’s where it should stay.
Max sniggered. "Says the man who is about to embark on a journey to find the souls of his long dead family members."
"Fuck you, Max," I said aloud. "If I want your opinion, I’ll fucking ask for it. Which I don’t."
I stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk then, which wasn’t my doing, but Max’s. "You know what?" he said. "I think I’m in the mood for a killing spree. What do you think, Creed? You want to get a little blood on your hands?"
"All right, Max," I said, trapped in my own body once more. "I get it. You’re in charge."
Max backed off, giving me back control once more. "Don’t interrupt my TV time again."
I started walking. "You interrupted me, for fu—just forget it."
Somewhere inside me, Max laughed quietly to himself, causing me to grit my teeth and shake my head as I rounded the next corner. As I did so, a black limousine pulled up on the road alongside me. Even before the darkened window rolled down, I knew who it was. "A word, Creed," the voice of Angela Crow said from inside.
Great. What the hell is wrong now?
Sighing, I got inside the limousine, at least glad that I could get a drink while I was in there, which Angela already had waiting for me. She knows me so well. "What’s up, Angela?" I asked her as I accepted the whiskey she handed me. "If this is about earlier with Jennifer, I told you—"
"It’s not about that, although you are lucky I didn’t tear your head off, molesting my daughter like that. It was a disturbing sight."
"I agree, it was. It was also the work of the demon inside me."
"Terrific work as well," Max said.
"You need to get rid of that thing."
I refrained from making a duh sound, even though I wanted to. "Yes, I’m working on it. What do you want, Angela? There’s somewhere I have to be. More to the point, how did you find me? You always seem to know where I am."
Angela, dressed in a white evening dress, wearing high heel shoes the same shade of red as her lips, smiled. "I think you forget sometimes that I tasted your blood long ago, when we first met. I can find you anytime, Creed."
"That’s comforting. Thanks for reminding me."
"I was going to contact you directly, psychically, but I thought it better if we speak in person."
I swallowed a mouthful of whiskey and nodded. "Well, I’m glad you didn’t. One voice inside my head is enough."
A slight smile appeared on her face. "You will get yourself into these situations, won’t you, Creed?"
"I try not to. This one was out of my hands."
She nodded slowly as she continued to smile. There was something different about her. She wasn’t normally so avuncular. "The reason I wanted to see you is because I want to thank you properly for bringing Jennifer home to me."
"How is Jennifer?" I asked, curious to know.
Angela hesitated for a second before answering. "She’s okay. She’s still getting used to being back. Many years have passed."
"And you two? How are you two getting along?"
Again she hesitated, as if she wasn’t sure. "Better than I hoped, I suppose. She at least doesn’t hate me anymore."
"Well, that’s something."
She narrowed one eye at me. "Are you being disingenuous, Creed?"
"Disingenuous?" I shook my head. "No. I’m glad things are working out between you and Jennifer. You know how much I care for her. I want her to be happy, if happiness is at all possible in this world."
"I see you’re feeling the pinch," she said. "You’ve been through the wars lately, Creed."
I snorted. "I’m still in the fucking wars, and about to go into an even bigger one."
"What do you mean?"
I explained to her where I was going and why. "You aren’t the only one who misses their family."
"I don’t understand what you hope to gain," she said. "Your family is gone, Creed."
I then explained to her the deal I made with Max. "Besides that, I think my family is in trouble. At the very least, I can help them move on to their rightful afterlife."
Angela sat staring at me a moment, then said, "We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, Creed, but I consider you a friend. You know how many true friends I have?"
I wanted to say none, but I just shook my head.
"Very few."
"Well, thanks Angela. I appreciate that."
"You’re a good man, Creed. You deserve some happiness."
"I’ll be happy when I help my family move on, and I get rid of you know who."
"Are you talking about me again?" Max said. "I have a name, you know."
Yeah. Asshole.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Angela said. "Besides keeping you out of jail?"
"Yes, actually," I said. "You can give me a lift to Little Tokyo."
She shook her head. "That’s it?"
I fixed my eyes on hers. "Just don’t hurt, Jennifer."
She held my stare, and for a moment I thought I had made her angry as her eyes briefly flashed red. Then she turned away and looked straight ahead. "I’ll try not to."
17
Three's A Crowd
It took me a while to find Sanaka when I went inside his Sanctum. At first, I thought he wasn’t home, but I soon sensed his strong presence, so I set out to find him. The trouble, as I said before, is that Sanaka’s Sanctum is huge inside, containing more rooms than your average municipal building. There are hundreds of them, and probably many more that I don’t even know about, so finding Sanaka can be a problem sometimes. Eventually I did find him, though, in the south wing of the Sanctum. Though technically, he wasn’t in the Sanctum at all, but in a forest environment that was only accessed via one of the rooms. When you opened the door, you stepped straight into lush forest that had rays of sunlight streaming through the trees, and a babbling brook running through it. Sanaka was sitting crosslegged in the grass, his eyes shut as he seemed to be meditating. I knew better than to disturb him, so I sat with my back against a tree and waited.
"He has quite the abilities, your mentor," Max said. "As humans go, he is one of the most powerful I’ve come across."
"Is that admiration in your voice, Max?" I asked him as I allowed the sounds of the forest to wash over me.
"Merely an observation. In the grand scheme of things, he is still a pawn in a much larger game. Like you, Creed."
"That’s good to know."
I was barely paying attention t
o Max. My mind was on the upcoming trip to the Realm of the Dead. More specifically, I was wondering how my entry into it was going to work, and whether I would be able to enter the place in my physical body as I did to the Underworld recently. Then it occurred to me to ask Max. No matter how well versed I, or even a master sorcerer like Sanaka, was in the ways of the multiverse, I could never hope to know as much as a pure supernatural being like Max.
"The answer is yes," Max said, eavesdropping on my thoughts as usual. "You may enter the Realm of the Dead in your physical form, but I wouldn’t advise it."
"Why not?" I asked.
"I would see a physical form as a liability. It’s a dangerous place. Why take the risk?"
"You’re just worried something will happen to me before you get your answers."
"Precisely. Up to you, though. At least if you die, your soul won’t have far to travel."
I shook my head. "Hopefully it won’t come to that."
When Sanaka finally emerged from his trance-like state, he didn’t seem surprised to see me when he opened his eyes. He said nothing as he got gracefully to his feet, and then picked up his sword off the grass.
"Now why would a man like that need to carry a sword in his own Sanctum?" Max asked, his Evil Creed avatar having now appeared next to me, never failing to creep me the fuck out.
"It never leaves his side," I said quietly. "That’s just how it is."
"Sort of like how I never leave your side, eh, Creed?"
I nodded and gave a tight smile. "Yeah, sort of like that, Max."
Max laughed, his eyes now on Sanaka as he came towards me.
"You look tired," Sanaka stated bluntly, his eyes dark pools of pure calm.
"Haven’t been getting much sleep lately," I said.
Sanaka nodded. "Come. One last tea ceremony before you depart."
Aside from the fact that I didn’t even mention why I was there, his choice of words disturbed me a little. One last tea ceremony, as if I would never get the chance to do another.
I fucking hoped otherwise.
When I served the tea, I sat down across the low table from Sanaka. Max sat to the left side of me, also in a kneeling position. Taking the piss, the cunt.
"Where’s mine?" he asked.
I was about to answer in the normal telepathic manner when Sanaka did something I didn’t expect. He turned his head slowly, and looked Max right in the eyes. Then he said, "Tea is reserved for the pure of heart, not for demons."
My eyes widened, as did Max’s.
"Did he just speak to me?" Max asked. "I think he did."
"You can see him?" I said to Sanaka.
Sanaka looked at me and nodded. "Yes."
I shook my head. "How? I thought only I…"
Sanaka gave the merest of smiles and said nothing.
"I told you this motherfucker was powerful, didn’t I?" Max said, his disturbingly wild eyes now on Sanaka. "I knew I shouldn’t underestimate you, old man. My instincts were right. I’m surprised you haven’t tried to banish me yet."
"And let you kill my student in the process?" Sanaka said.
I was a little miffed by him calling me his student, even though I should’ve been used to his bluntness after twenty years. "Did you cast a spell?" I asked him.
Sanaka sipped from his tea cup before placing it carefully on the table. Then he nodded. "An All Seeing Spell," he said.
"Of course," I said. "I should’ve known you would. If nothing else, Max here cuts a dashing figure, right?" I chuckled at my lame attempt at a joke.
Sanaka didn’t crack a smile, but Max did. "Very good, Creed," he said laughing. "Lucky for me your mentor here didn’t pass on his sense of humor along with his sorcery skills, or I would’ve lost out on such wit."
"Yeah?" I said. "Well, lucky for me I got possessed by such a snarky motherfucker, because that’s just what I needed. A demon to take the piss out of me all day long."
Max laughed and looked at Sanaka. "We’re like characters out one of those buddy movies you humans seem to like so much, aren’t we? Like Lethal Weapon or Tango and Cash."
"Really, Max?" I said shaking my head.
"Sorry," Max said. "My references probably aren’t up to date. I haven’t been here in a while."
"No shit."
"Maybe we could hit the cinema when we get back, eh, Creed. There’s this—"
Sanaka’s fist slammed onto the wooden table. I all but jumped, and Max snapped his head around. "Enough!" Sanaka said in a gruff voice.
A tense silence ensued that lasted about ten seconds, before Max cut in. "He looks calm, but he has a lot of rage in him, your mentor, doesn’t he?"
I puffed my cheeks out, shaking my head as I sheepishly looked at Sanaka. "This is the kind of crap I have to put up with all day. Just banish him. I don’t care if it kills me."
"Do not tempt me," Sanaka said, his normal composure now frayed around the edges slightly. Such was the effect Max had on people, when he wasn’t senselessly killing them, that is.
"All right," I said as I got to my feet. "I think it’s time for me to go."
Sanaka nodded and stood up. "I have already prepared a room for your body to stay in while you are gone," Sanaka said.
I followed him out of the room and down the hallway to another room that had a magic circle drawn on the floor. "I thought just being in the Sanctum would be secure enough," I said. "You didn’t have to go to all this trouble."
"The circle and the spells I’ve cast will help me recover your soul quickly should you need to get back here in a hurry," Sanaka said. "Also, one can never be too careful."
"Agreed. But how will you know if I’m trouble or not?"
"I will be able to monitor the state of your soul from here. If I feel any signs of extreme distress, I will try to pull you back here as quickly as possible."
"Extreme distress?" I couldn’t help snorting at that. "Something tells me that extreme distress will be my normal state once I get to this place. You know how these missions go. Especially with a demon traveling with me."
"I will use my judgement," Sanaka said.
I nodded. "Okay. I trust you."
Sanaka gestured towards the magic circle. "Lie down in the circle."
I did as he asked, and lay back on the wooden floor with my feet inside the circle. All I had to do now was cast a Disembodiment Spell to detach my soul from my body. Then I could leave the Earthly Plane altogether.
"Thanks," I said as Sanaka stood over me. "I know you and Ray think I’m crazy for doing this."
"You do what you must," Sanaka said.
"Wise words," Max said. "Wise words."
Shut up, Max.
"And one more thing?" I said to Sanaka. "Could you keep an eye on Leona while I’m gone? She can handle herself, but just the same, I’d feel better if…"
"I will watch over her," Sanaka said.
"Thanks."
Our eyes made contact for a short moment. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw a hint of worry in my mentor’s eyes.
I didn’t know whether to be flattered by that, or bloody scared.
In the end, I chose scared.
18
Journey To The Realm Of The Dead
In terms of esoteric lore, what I did when I left my physical body was astral project. My soul, or intermediate body, separated itself from my physical body so I could travel through matter and the Earthly Plane, until I reached the Astral Plane. Generally, when a soul departs the Earthly Plane because the physical body has died, that soul will travel automatically to the River of Souls, located in the Astral Plane. From there, the soul will travel down the river to the Realm of the Dead, where they will await processing. Obviously, I did not want to join the myriad other souls floating down the river, so I had to make my own way to the Realm of the Dead.
I was already familiar with the Astral Plane, having travelled there on a number of occasions for various reasons. I even have a Sanctum in the Astral Plane, a place where I main
ly go to practice casting some of the more dangerous spells in my repertoire, so I could do so without the negative consequences that might arise if I did the casting on the Earthly Plane. I have a pretty good handle on my magic abilities these days, so I rarely visit the Astral Sanctum anymore. Besides which, the Astral Plane itself can be a dangerous place. There are plenty of predators roaming around the ether looking for stray souls, or souls who deviated for whatever reason from the entrenched pathways. Souls like my own.
"Don’t forget me. I’m still here." Max’s disembodied voice still echoed inside my head, though it sounded more distant and discombobulated than it did before, almost like he was speaking to me from underwater. It was weird, to say the least.
"How could I forget?" I as I traveled through the misty ether, well aware of the shadowy shapes that often passed me by, some of which were massive. Most of these shapes were creatures who live in the Astral Plane. They may once have started life as something else, human for example, until they ended up trapped, or just unwilling to go anywhere else. Eventually, the ether changes these souls into creatures who hunt other souls. If one of these things eats your soul, that’s you gone forever, and there is no shitting you back out. Given how easy it is to get lost in the Astral Plane, travelers often fall prey to these creatures as they try to find there way in the ether. The winds are strong and constant in the Astral Plane, making you feel like a ship lost at sea sometimes, all the while blowing you toward some astral monstrosity just waiting for its next meal. It also doesn’t help that it is so hard to navigate in the Astral Plane, as it is nothing but ether with pockets of land that float around the place like something from a Dali painting.
It was because of these navigational dangers that I cast a Mapping Spell, which manifested a thin silver thread that trailed off in front of me into the distance. All I had to do was keep following the silver thread and it would eventually lead me to the Realm of the Dead. Lucky for me, magic didn’t stop working just because you had no physical body anymore. If anything, my magic felt stronger without the confines of the physical body to hinder its flow.