by N. P. Martin
"You know," I said eventually as Jordan wiped tears from her eyes. "You can just leave all this. There's nothing to say you have to stick around any longer."
Jordan snorted derisively and shook her head. "It's not that easy, and you know it."
"Maybe not, but what's your alternative? Be a slave till you die?"
"What do you want me to do, Creed? Kill my own father?"
"I did," I said quietly.
"Yeah, and look at you."
I couldn't help but feel shocked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"No offense, Creed, but you're not the most well-adjusted person I've met."
"Well, considering what I've been through recently, I think I'm doing fine, so..." I looked away, angry for a moment as all of my problems presented themselves in my mind at once.
Then I felt Jordan's hand on my leg. "I'm sorry."
"Forget it. You're probably right anyway. I don't know how I haven't gone insane by this point."
"Too late," she said, and laughed, and I laughed along with her.
"So, this thing you said you spent the last twenty odd years searching for."
Jordan released her hand from my leg. "What about it?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, I know it's the Dark Codex."
Her head snapped around to look at me. "How did..."
"Did I know? I had heard rumors before I got here. And given the power your father wields, he couldn't have gotten it from anywhere else."
Jordan frowned then as if realizing something. "Is that why you're really here?" she asked. "To get your hands on the book?"
"Of course not," I lied. "I have no interest in the book. I'm just making sure we're on the same page, so to speak."
She stared for a moment as if trying to tell if I was lying to her. Then she focused on her vodka bottle as she refilled her glass. "That fucking book has been the bane of my life." Her bottle was empty now, and she tossed it onto the floor where it rolled across the boards, coming to a stop near the bed.
"Why?" I asked though I knew the answer already.
"Why?" She laughed bitterly. "The search for that cursed book turned me...into a monster. I've kidnapped, tortured and killed people just to get one step closer to finding it. You have no idea..."
"I'm shocked you found it all. There has never been proof of its existence even. Until now that is."
"My father believed in its existence," she said, quite drunk now as she slurped from her glass. "Sometimes I wonder if his blind faith alone brought the book into existence."
"Stranger things have happened."
Jordan drained what was left in her glass and then dropped the empty glass to the floor. "Would you like to sleep with me, Creed?" she asked out of the blue, her eyes on me.
Slightly taken aback, I hesitated before answering. "You're drunk, Jordan."
"And? You've never taken advantage of a drunk girl before?"
"Not really," I said, smiling politely.
"Of course you haven't, because you're a perfect fucking gentleman, right?" She laughed somewhat manically and then buried her head in her hands as she almost fell off the chaise lounge.
I set my glass on the floor and gently laid my hands on her shoulders, surprised at how hard she felt under her clothes. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."
She didn't resist as I helped her over to the big four poster bed and lay her down on it. When I went to leave, she quickly grabbed my hand. "Don't go. Please."
Looking down at her, I was hit with a wave of sympathy for her. She had probably never known real love, and she was also clearly desperate to connect with someone, which I was happy to do, tonight at least. "Alright." I took my trench coat off and lay it on the back of a chair. Then I lay on the bed next to Jordan, and she rolled into me, placing her arm across my chest as she held me tight. I wrapped my arms around her. "Sleep now."
Jordan mumbled something into my chest that I didn't catch, then fell asleep a moment later while I lay there awake for a good hour thinking mostly about Leona and the Dark Codex, neither of which gave me good dreams.
18
The Universe And Other Things
When I awoke the next morning, Jordan was gone, and the first thing I thought was that I had to get the Dark Codex. And soon, before Grayson unleashed magick upon a world that wasn't ready for it, and probably never would be.
I winced as I rolled off the bed, the previous night's whiskey consumption now making it feel like a whole building crew had moved into my skull and were now going at it hammer and tongs. The first thing I did was check the whiskey bottle on the floor, but it was empty. Probably just as well. If I were going to make a serious play for the Dark Codex, it would help if I was sober.
Sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment, I looked around at Jordan's room. For its large size, there was very little in it, especially in the way of personal possessions that weren't just practical in nature like combat boots, a laptop and a number of weapons strewn around. There were no photographs, no quirky or weird items. Nothing to suggest that only Jordan alone lived there. It could have been anybody's room. Of course, it was possible that Jordan kept her most valuable possessions back on Earth, but something told me she didn't have any such possessions. People who spend all their time punishing themselves over past wrongs didn't tend to have that much stuff around them beyond the bare necessities. Possibly a single item that reminded them of what a terrible person they were, but I saw nothing in Jordan's room. Knowing her, it was a picture of her mother, which she no doubt kept on her at all times.
But as drawn as I was towards Jordan, I knew I would have to shift my focus to the book. So I stopped thinking about damaged women and started thinking instead about even more damaged men, specifically Gordon Grayson.
Where would a bastard like him hide his greatest possession? I asked myself. Up his own ass, perhaps? Down the toilet? Maybe under a nest of vipers under the floorboards?
Fuck's sake. Be serious.
Serious. I could do serious.
I would get the Dark Codex even if I had to kill to get it. There. How's that for seriousness?
Then I thought, how commendable, but that means nothing against someone like Grayson. He had all the power, and thanks to him, I had none. There was no way I could strong-arm him. I probably couldn't outwit him either, since thanks to his no doubt greatly expanded intellect, he would doubtless have every base covered.
Including me.
It was a thought that made me freeze in realization for a second. Son of a bitch, I thought. How long had he been playing me?
Then as I stood up, the door opened, and Grayson himself was standing there. "Did you enjoy your night with my daughter?" he asked, seemingly serious.
I stared back at him, slightly lost for words for a second. "We drank."
He smiled then, and magick arced somewhere inside his mouth. "I'm just messing with you. Come with me. I want to show you something."
My suspicion showed as a frown on my face. "Show me what exactly?"
Grayson smiled again as he made a movement with his hand and I found myself gliding against my will across the floor towards him. "It's something I think you might appreciate, Creed."
When he laid a hand on my shoulder, I got the familiar sensation of teleporting, and then I found myself somewhere else completely, with Grayson standing beside me in his shimmering white robes like some god-like figure. "Holy..." I said, my mouth open wide at the scene before me, unable even to form any more words.
"Holy?" Grayson said. "I wouldn't degrade the magnificence of the universe by calling it holy. There simply are no words to describe what you are seeing, or at least, none that do it justice."
For the first time since I'd met him, Grayson was absolutely right about something--words could never do justice to the wonders playing out before my eyes. But in the interests of full disclosure, I'll try to set the scene for you.
We appeared to be standing on some other planet or moon, surrounded by space.
Somehow, I was able to breathe normally, which was no doubt Grayson's doing. Before us, there appeared to be a gigantic tear in the fabric of space, and the tear revealed a kaleidoscope of furious energy that intertwined and exploded at speeds beyond normal comprehension, the exploding energy renewing itself many times over before I could even blink. The sheer power on display--the mind-boggling energies at work--terrified me like nothing ever had before. And yet, at the same time, there was something strangely comforting about being in the presence of such unexplainable forces. Things were happening that I couldn't even begin to understand, that was so far beyond my comprehension they rendered me dumbstruck in the truest sense of the word. It was akin to taking someone who had known nothing but peace and love their whole lives, and suddenly transplanting them into the middle of a battlefield, knowing nothing of war or hate or even violence. That person simply wouldn't be able to process what was going on around them. Which is how I felt standing there.
Then Grayson's calm and almost reverent voice found its way into my melted mind. "What you are seeing," he said. "Is the inner workings of the universe itself. This is the power that lies behind everything, which creates everything, and ultimately destroys it, only to renew it again. Even I can't comprehend the full glory of it all. I can only witness it like you are doing now. A small peek behind the curtain is all we get." He paused. "But I aim to change that."
The sensation of teleporting again and the wondrous view is gone, replaced by four walls. Grayson's office. "No," I said, crushed by sadness. I spun around to Grayson, who was seated behind his desk by then. "Take me back."
Grayson smiled and shook his head. "I know," he said. "It's hard to let go of all that wonder and amazement, isn't it? When I first made that tear in space, I spent to what amounted to years, off and on, just standing there staring. Mere minutes here and on Earth of course, but out there...many years."
I took a seat across the desk from Grayson as I struggled to find focus again. The images of all that power and energy at work were burned deep into my brain. "I feel like my mind is melting."
"That will pass. In fact." Grayson stretched out a hand, and a charge of magick went into me, causing me to jolt. "Let me quicken the process."
Immediately, I felt like myself again. I was still in awe of what I had just seen, but I was in control of it. "How?" I asked.
"How," Grayson repeated, then shook his head. "Come on, Creed. Let's not play any more games. We both know why you joined us here. I have the Dark Codex, and you want it. Or rather your Division puppet masters want it."
"I'm nobodies puppet."
Grayson laughed as his eyes filled with purple magick. "You're my puppet, Creed. Or haven't you realized that yet?"
I shook my head, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing me look worried, which I was a bit, to be honest. "That book is dangerous, and you know it."
"Dangerous?" Grayson said, scowling now. "Dangerous for whom, Creed? You? The rotten power structures that seek to rule over us? Certainly not the people. The Dark Codex will set the people free. It has already started setting them free."
"You think telling people that monsters and magick exist will empower them? It won't, it will just make them scared, and when people get scared, they lash out."
"Indeed they do," Grayson said. "Indeed they are. Right now, back on Earth, people are lashing out all over the world as they force out the monsters and kill them."
"And how many innocents are going to die in the process?"
"Be real, Creed. You know you can't have a revolution without some sacrifice."
I shook my head in disgust. "You remind me of someone I used to know. He talked a lot about sacrifice as well."
"I assume you speak of your father?" He nodded. "I know your whole story. Your mind is an open book to me."
"Well, that's fucking comforting." Bastard, I thought, becoming steadily more angry and desperate against his overwhelming power.
"Your father seemed like a very driven sort of man. I can respect that."
"Next you'll be saying he was just misunderstood."
"All men of power are misunderstood," Grayson said. "Except by those who have power themselves."
"And you seem to have that in spades, don't you? Thanks to the book."
"The book, yes..." Grayson sat back in his seat as if relaxing. "You know, I've always believed that the answers to unknowable questions were out there in some form, even before I had ever heard of the Dark Codex. I knew there had to be some source of knowledge that would explain everything. After all, why not? We always assume that knowledge must be scattered around all over the place and must be painstakingly uncovered before any truths could be revealed. I never bought that. I always believed in the ultimate source." He smiled almost whimsically. "And as it turns out, my instinct was alway right. My destiny has always been intertwined with the book. I just never knew it until those people died and I had to run."
Fuck it, I thought. I wasn't going anywhere soon. I might as well settle in and wait for an opportunity to arise if one ever did. "If this is going to turn into a story, maybe you could conjure me up a drink," I said. "I'm sure the book taught you how to pour whiskey." I smiled sarcastically as Grayson waved his hand and a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and a single glass appeared on his almost bare desk. "At least it's the good stuff."
"Knock yourself out."
After I had poured my drink, I sat back in my leather seat and tried to appear relaxed as I focused on Grayson. "So tell me. How'd you ever hear about the Dark Codex? What set you on the path to finding it, considering it's always been just a myth?"
"A myth?" Grayson said. "I assure you, it was never a myth to me..."
19
Grayson And The Dark Codex: A Love Story
For as long as he could remember, Gordon Grayson had an interest in science, and in the acquisition of knowledge. From a young age, Grayson questioned the world in which he lived, and was endlessly curious about everything. Later, as he moved into high school and then university, that curiosity manifested into a burning desire to unlock the secrets of the universe. As a scientist already, he knew the current understanding of the universe barely scratched the surface when it came to revealing satisfactory answers. Grayson's burgeoning ego at the time made him believe that he would one day unlock every secret the universe held. It was just a matter of time. He also came to believe in an ultimate source of knowledge. He didn't know what form such knowledge took, but he had a deep feeling that it was out there somewhere just waiting to be discovered by someone committed enough to go after it. At that point, however, going on the hunt for this source of knowledge was no more than a dream. To embark on such a journey, he would need to amass the resources to do so first. So in the meantime, he embraced science, and throughout his academic career, managed to collect several doctorates and diplomas in various branches of science, including in the branch he later came to specialize in, which was neuroscience.
Despite his demonstrated brilliance, however, Grayson was never really welcomed by the scientific community, and this was largely due to his unconventional theories in the fields of physics and neuroscience. His theories about the origins of the universe and the laws that governed it were a bit too out there for most, especially a staunch scientific community that cared more about maintaining the status quo (and their grants) than in considering theories that tore apart and completely contradicted the ones they accepted as near gospel.
"A bunch of conservative fools," Grayson said dismissively as he continued to languish in his red leather chair. His ego was clearly enjoying the chance to tell his story and do himself the justice he obviously thought he deserved. Not having many other options, I drank and let him speak while I listened and hoped an opportunity of some sort would arise, though in what form I didn't know.
"I know the type," I said, commiserating despite myself. "Change isn't their thing."
"Like any power structure, the academic world tries to maintain and perpet
uate itself by whatever means necessary, even if that means going against the very reason for their existence in the first place, which is to find answers. They were less interested in answers than they were in their own confirmation biases. Not that any of that matters now, of course." He smiled, pleased with himself that he thought he had somehow finally proved all of his old academic colleagues wrong.
"No, I guess not."
After the seven people had died during Grayson's experiment, everyone was obviously gunning for him, the law especially. Grayson wouldn't allow himself to be thrown in a prison cell over something he saw as being an accident, however tragic. So he took the only option open to him--besides turning himself in--and he went on the lamb, taking his eight-year-old daughter with him.
"Destiny is a funny thing, Creed," Grayson said. "I would never have wished for those seven people to have perished the way they did, but in one respect, their deaths became a catalyst that would push me further down the path of my destiny. You see, Creed, I'd been planning for years to go in search of the ultimate source of knowledge. The Holy Grail if you will. I put money in a secret bank account for years. I mapped out travel plans based on leads I had come across over the years. I even had a private plane sitting waiting to take me wherever I needed to go. Not my plane of course, but one with a pilot who had already agreed to fly me. The only problem was, I could never find the courage just to get up and go. It would have meant leaving my wife and daughter behind, abandoning my career, such as it was. I couldn't do it."
"Why didn't you do it after your wife died?" I asked him.
His eyes darkened and magick arced off him like he didn't appreciate me bringing up his dead wife. "I see Jordan has informed you of some things."
I nodded. "Just the broad strokes."