Sorcerer's Creed Books 1-3

by N. P. Martin

  Ray shook his head. "I told you to stay away from those books under the basement, especially the ones in the trunk. They were put there for a reason, boy."

  "It was an emergency, Ray. Do you think I would have gone near the book if I didn't have to? It doesn't matter now anyway. Baal already has his claws in me."

  Sitting back in his chair again, Ray regarded me as he resumed puffing on his pipe, a cloud of thick smoke surrounding him. "Well then, you don't have a choice, do you? You have to do as the demon says and hope he spurs your soul."

  "We have a deal," I said. "As long as I do what he asks."

  "Oh, August," Ray said. "How long have you been in this game? You've never known a demon to break a deal?"

  I shook my head, thinking of the demon that massacred my family. "Goddamn it." I thrust a hand out and caught the whiskey bottle that came flying off the mantle. Unscrewing the cap, I took a large mouthful of the amber liquid, wincing as it burned its way down my gullet and pooled in my sour stomach.

  Then I looked at Ray and said sardonically, "What were you saying earlier about me being a Master Mage? Maybe strike that one from the record."

  2

  Hanging Around

  Ray stayed for another hour or so as we passed the whiskey bottle back and forth, and occasionally that pipe of his, which he refilled more than once. By the time I walked him to the front door, I was half drunk again, not to mention stoned out of my head on whatever herbs Ray had in his pipe. Everything seemed brighter to my smoke soaked brain, and I'm pretty sure I was tripping slightly as well because sometimes when I looked at Ray, I saw the face of Mr Black. This despite the fact that Ray and my father shared little in the way of physical similarities. Ray often joked that his brother Christopher was left on the doorstep one morning by the milkman. By a demon more like, I'd say.

  "So how long are you going to be in town?" I asked him as we stood in the hallway with the front door open, darkness and cold air still present outside.

  Ray made one of his smiley faces and said, "Maybe a while. Maybe less. I have some business to take care off, some people to see."

  "Like the Crimson Crow?"

  A guffawing sound came out of Ray's mouth. "Please. That old bag?"

  "Old bag? Last I checked she still looked like a supermodel. And she walks around in the daylight now."

  "Yes. Thanks to you."

  I shrugged, seeing dancing lights out on the street, unsure if I was hallucinating or if it was something else. When I blinked, the lights disappeared. "You do what you have to to stay alive," I said in a slightly distant voice.

  "That you do, my boy. That you do. Now give your old uncle a hug before he whisks off into the night."

  Smiling, I stepped forward and hugged my uncle for a long moment, glad that he was there. At that moment at least, I still had family, and I wasn't alone. "Thanks for coming here, Ray."

  Ray patted my cheek with his surprisingly soft hand. "Anything for you, August. You know that."

  After Ray had left, I shuffled around the Sanctum for a while looking for Blaez, wondering where he had gone. When I failed to find him, I gave up and went downstairs again, too fucked up on whiskey and psychoactive herbs to worry that much. Blaez was probably huddled away in some corner somewhere anyway, recovering after being dead. No doubt it took a lot out of him.

  I sat in the living room for a while, staring at the walls as they seemed to move and shift under my wavering gaze. Eventually, the moving walls started to make me feel sick, so I made an effort to get up and move around the room for a bit. This seemed to clear my head slightly, enough that I felt like grabbing my phone from my trench coat hanging over the chair so I could call Leona. She would be in New York by now if she traveled by helicopter. She answered after several rings that seemed to go on for a long time. "Hey," she said. "Kind of a bad time. I'm about to go into a briefing."

  "Oh, right, sorry," I said, hearing a gaggle of other voices in the background, gruff voices mostly, belonging to men in uniform and dark suits probably. "I was just calling to see how things were going."

  "I don't know much yet. Just that there's been a string of murders here. Pretty bizarre by all accounts. Definitely magick involved."

  "Sounds like my kind of case. I wish I could be there to help you." As distasteful as sifting through murder scenes was, it seemed more appealing than having to stay where I was to deal with Baal, especially after everything Ray had told me about the demon.

  "I think Brentwood wants your help on a different case. Expect a call from him s--yeah, I'm coming. Creed, I gotta go. The briefing is about to start. Are you okay? You sound slightly weird. Weirder than normal anyway." She laughed, sort of.

  "I'm okay. Just tired, I guess."

  "I'm sure. Get some rest, Creed. I'll call you later."

  "Sure," I said, but she had already hung up. "Bye."

  I stood with the phone in my hand for a second, looking at it like I was expecting answers from it as if it would tell me what I was doing with a woman like Leona. A woman who was married to her job--to her way of life--and probably would never have the time for me that I felt like I needed from her. It was frustrating at times, how brief our irregular encounters often were because one or both of us had other business to take care off. It was a three-year relationship that hadn't moved much beyond casual, which seemed to suit Leona more than me.

  Wise up, Creed, I thought to myself. Look at the life you lead. The life she leads. There's no room for deep and meaningful relationships. This is as good as you are going to get.

  As depressing as that was, I knew I was right. I wasn't a normal person. Neither was Leona. The fact that we had sustained at least some sort of relationship for the last three years was a miracle in itself. Surely that was special enough? Anyway, what was I going to do, marry her?

  A small laugh of amusement escaped my lips at the thought. I shook my head. Time to get back to planet Earth again. To reality.

  "Fuck it," I said. "I'm not hanging around here feeling fucking sorry for myself any longer," I said it aloud because I was trying to rouse myself into action. It was either that or continue to sit around waiting for Baal to make an appearance, and God knows when that would be. Whatever the demon had in store for me, I would deal with it at the time. Until then, I grabbed my trench coat and did the only thing that still made some sense to me.

  I went out to work.

  3

  Forsyth

  A short while later I found myself standing in a large, spacious room with oak paneled walls and an elaborately carved wood paneled ceiling. The rectangular room had no windows and was lit with low lighting from the lamps attached to the walls. The carpet was a deep red shag pile. The color of blood. Easier to hide the stains that way. The room also had a fully stocked bar along half of one wall. Large cushions and bean bags were scattered all over the place, and at the very back of the room, there was a huge fabric corner suite, on which lay a vampire named Forsyth. Beside him lay two naked girls, one on either side of him. Both of them beautiful, one blonde, the other brunette. They didn't look much older than seventeen, and they each had blood trails running down their arms were Forsyth had evidently been feeding on them. Not that either of the girls seemed to mind as one rubbed at his exposed chest, the other his flaccid cock flopping out of his trousers.

  The girls smiled over at me, and I smiled politely back. Normally, Forsyth tended towards boys for his sexual pleasure, but on occasion he entertained girls, just to remind himself how much he loved the boys better. So he told me once.

  "Creed!" Forsyth said, waving a wine glass at me that contained either wine or blood, I wasn't sure. "What a wonderful surprise. Would you care to join us? These two are delectable. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you joining us, would you girls?"

  "The more, the merrier," the blonde one said, and both girls giggled, as did Forsyth (somewhat more ironically), who knew full well I would never join in his depravity.

  I shook my head. "No thanks," I
said. "I'm here on business."

  Forsyth sighed dramatically, his long wavy fringe bouncing off his forehead. "Always business with you, isn't it, Creed? Lighten up and come have some fun, if only so I can see what you're packing inside those scruffy but still sexy trousers."

  "You couldn't handle what I'm packing," I retorted, wondering why I keep getting into these mock flirtations with the vampire, especially since Forsyth didn't see those little moments as mock anything. He wanted into my pants, and he made no secret of it.

  "Is that a challenge?" he said with a smirk, his dark brown eyes staring mischievously at me.

  "Not at all," I said, my eyes going to the bar now and the bottle of outrageously expensive whiskey sitting on one of the under-lit glass shelves. "Just a fact."

  Forsyth gave a throaty laugh. "You don't how horny that makes me."

  I glanced over at him as I crossed to the bar. "I can see how horny it makes you. Put it away, for fuck's sake."

  "Does it make you uncomfortable?" Forsyth asked.

  "I just feel sorry for you, having a dick so small."

  Forsyth laughed. "Whatever Mr Straight Magick Man."

  "Oh," squealed one of the girls, the brunette I think. I was too busy savoring the smell of the whiskey in my hand to notice which one. "You do magic?"

  I said nothing as I poured the whiskey into a crystal glass.

  "Oh, he does magic alright," Forsyth said. "Magic with a K."

  "What's that?" one of the girls asked.

  "How about I show you?" I said after sipping from the whiskey glass.

  "Oh please!" both girls said in unison, sitting to attention like a couple of kids about to see a magic show.

  "You ready?" I asked, putting down the whiskey glass.

  "Yes!" they screamed, a little too loudly, probably from the coke Forsyth undoubtedly fed them.

  "Alright," I said, cracking my knuckles. "Here we go." I started to move my hands around like I was conjuring some wondrous and mysterious magick from the air.

  The two girls were on the edge of their seats now in rapt attention as if they expected to see me pull a white rabbit out of thin air. Even Forsyth looked captivated as he waited to see what I was going to do.

  "And..." I clicked my fingers, and both girls disappeared as if they had never even been there. "Vanish." I picked up my whiskey again and downed it one.

  Forsyth seemed shocked for a moment as he looked from side to side. Then he laughed uproariously and started clapping his hands. "Bravo!" he shouted.

  I bowed my head slightly as I poured another whiskey. "Thank you."

  "So where are they? What did you do with them? Did you send them somewhere horrible like a werewolf bar?"

  "No, you cruel bastard. They should be in one of the other rooms in this mansion of yours."

  "There's over forty rooms in here."

  "I'm sure they'll find their way."

  "Or someone else will find their way to them. There are other vampires in this house, not all of them as soft as I."

  I chuckled. "Soft? Give me a break."

  Forsyth flashed a devilish grin at me, his erect cock still standing proud. "I know, right?"

  "Put that fucking thing away will you before I make it disappear as well."

  Forsyth looked vaguely horrified by the thought of his cock suddenly disappearing. "Please don't"

  "Zip it up then."

  He sighed. "If I must."

  I was glad to see him put his bulging cock away and stand up. As usual, he was dressed flamboyantly in a frilly shirt, a glittering waistcoat and tailored tweed trousers. He carried himself with cocky aplomb as he came to the bar and started making himself a gin and tonic. "So what brings you here anyway, Creed? I thought you'd be resting up after saving the world from that thing that tried to come through that portal."

  "How'd you know it was me?"

  "I could think of no one else who could stop such a monster. Plus I have spies who placed you at the scene."

  "Of course you did."

  Forsyth finished making his gin and tonic and took a large gulp from the glass. "It's my job to know what goes on around here. You know that."

  "Well," I said. "You can thank me for saving your ass by telling me about this vampire you want me to be find."

  Forsyth cocked his head to one side for a moment as he stared at me. "Why are you here, Creed? You just saved the fucking world. You should be at your Sanctum shagging that military hardbody of yours. What's her name? Leona? Where is she tonight?"

  "New York, on a job." I downed what was left in my glass and poured another.

  Forsyth stared for another moment, making me uncomfortable. He had a habit of seeming to look right into you when he stared. "I see now. You're pissed at her, aren't you? For not being here."

  I shook my head. "That's none of your business, Forsyth. I'm here because you asked me to come here a while ago. Now I'm here, tell me who you need me to find."

  "Alright," Forsyth said, seeming happy enough to drop the subject thankfully. "Only I don't need you to find anyone now. More like retrieve something for me."

  "Retrieve what exactly?"

  "A flash drive containing all of my business accounts. I've been robbed, Creed."

  "Who the hell would be dumb enough to rob you, Forsyth?"

  "A werewolf gang from Red Hill. They kidnapped Marcus a while back. You remember Marcus? He did all my accounts."

  I nodded. "If I recall he did you on occasion too," I said, remembering walking in on the two vampires one time as they were having sex.

  Forsyth smiled. "Yes," he said. "Marcus and I got down and dirty sometimes. God, I'll miss that humongous cock of his." He seemed to drift off for a second, then he shook his head and gulped down the rest of his gin and tonic before making another. "Anyway. I did some digging and was finally able to attribute poor Marcus' death to the stinking werewolf gang. Luckily for me, the drive is encrypted, and those dumb animals are probably too stupid to ever get past the encryption. Still, I'd like my property back."

  "I don't understand why you need me. Why don't you just send a load of soldiers in to wipe them out and get the drive back?"

  "As much as I'd like to tear every one of those stinking mutts apart with my bare hands, the Crimson Crow has forbidden it. She's trying to get elected to the city council, and she doesn't want a war breaking out in the city and making her look bad. And God forbid the delectable Miss Crow should ever look bad. I still hate you for fixing it so she can walk in the light. Why won't you do it for me, Creed?"

  "You know why," I said, pouring another whiskey, thinking to myself that maybe I should slow down on the drink, especially since I might soon have to deal with a bunch of irascible werewolves soon. "The Crow would kill me if I gave the ability to any other vampires." Not strictly true, but it's what I told other vamps like Forsyth to keep them off my back. As far as Angela Crow is concerned, she can't kill me without killing herself in the process. If I die, she dies. That's how I rigged the spell I did on her a long time ago now. Not that anyone but her and me knew it.

  "No one would have to know. I'd stay under the radar."

  I laughed. "You wouldn't know how. Staying under the radar is not your style, Forsyth."

  Forsyth laughed back. "No, it isn't, is it? Oh well, a nightwalker I shall remain."

  I leaned my elbows on the bar. "The daylight wouldn't suit you anyway."

  "Perhaps," Forsyth said, slightly forlornly. "Still, to bask in the sunlight, just once..." He trailed off for a moment, then shook his head. "Fuck it. We can't have everything, can we Creed?"

  "No."

  We both went silent for a bit as we sipped on our drinks, during which time my thoughts turned to Baal. I wondered when he was going to show up again. He said it would be soon when we last spoke in The Wonky Shamrock. Despite being under the demon's thumb, I thought at the time the business I had with him would be fairly straightforward. Find whoever he wanted me to find and that would be it. Now I wasn't sur
e, not after what Ray said about the demon always having a hidden agenda. Which I should have known, of course. Nothing was ever straightforward when it came to demons. But I had been through the mill going up against Mr Black, and I allowed myself to believe that things would be easy with the demon. Now I was almost certain they wouldn't be.

  "Things on your mind, Creed?" Forsyth asked me. "You're even more broody than usual. Anything I can help you with?"

  Sighing, I said, "I'm just in one of those tricky situations I can't get out off."

  "I know a bit about tricky situations. I've been in many over the centuries." He smiled somewhat salaciously.

  "I bet you have."

  Forsyth smiled, showing his fangs slightly. "Point is, I might be able to help you if you tell me what kind of trouble you're in."

  I sipped on the whiskey and put the glass down again. "At this point, there isn't much you can do for me. Maybe down the line, though. I'll have to see how things pan out."

  "Anything you need, my friend." Forsyth raised his glass and nodded at me.

  "Thanks, Forsyth. I appreciate it."

  Leaning off the bar, I stood up straight and inhaled deeply, deciding I shouldn't drink anymore if I were going to be dealing with a bunch of werewolves soon. "Alright. How do you want me to handle the werewolves? I could just steal the drive back from them. An Invisibility Spell and a bit of time and I'm sure I could find the drive. Unless you want a message sent. Which I hope not. I'm not an enforcer, as you know."

  Forsyth nodded. "I know you like to remain neutral in these matters, Creed. But I don't need neutrality in this situation. I need someone to remind those mutts that they can't steal from me and get away with it."

  "What do you want me to do, wipe them all out? Not my style, Forsyth. There's plenty of independent contractors out there willing to shed as much blood as you want."

  "I know that, but I can't trust anyone else with that drive. I need you to get it. And I hate to say it, but you sort of owe me for that scroll I managed to get for you a while back."