Sorcerer's Creed Books 1-3

by N. P. Martin

  Grayson waved his hand again, and the images in the air disappeared.

  "So we're all supposed to just follow you from now on?" I asked.

  Grayson nodded. "And you will."

  I was going to say, "Or what?" but I already knew the answer. Without the Dark Codex, there would be no standing up to him.

  "Stop this, Gordon," Marie Grayson said as she stood beside Jordan.

  "Mom, don't," Jordan said, knowing full well her mother was wasting her breath.

  The Grayson in front of me disappeared suddenly, and the Grayson on the throne turned to look at his wife. "Stop?" he said as if he couldn't fathom what she was asking. "Why?"

  "It's wrong, Gordon," Marie said. "You know it is."

  Grayson snorted. "Wrong," he muttered to himself as he shook his head. "There is no such thing as right or wrong, my love," he said. "There is only me and the laws I hand down. Either you obey, or you don't."

  "This is why you brought me back?" Marie asked. "To watch you become a tyrant?"

  "I brought you back so we could rule the world together," Grayson said, his madness seeming to come to the fore now. "The three of us. Together. Can't you see that?"

  Marie shook her head. "I'd rather be dead again."

  Grayson's face darkened as he stared at his wife. The arcs of energy surrounding him became more agitated as he stood up and seemed to grow in stature until he was towering above everyone. "So be it."

  "Athelstan," I hissed. "The fucking location. Now."

  "I have it," Athelstan whispered back as he stood close to me. "I have the exact space-time coordinates."

  "Give me them," I said just as Grayson reached out a hand and grabbed the top of his wife's head, causing Marie Grayson to suddenly start shaking as purple energy flashed from within her body.

  "No!" Jordan cried. She pulled out her gun and fired upon her father, but the bullets disintegrated even before they got near him. Then the gun itself disintegrated also, and Grayson put his other hand on top of Jordan's head, causing her to immediately shake and vibrate like her mother as similar energy flashed from within her.

  "What is he doing?" Athelstan asked after he had given me the coordinates of the Dark Codex's hiding place.

  "Killing them," I said, then looked at Sanaka, who had his eye on the now encroaching disciples behind us. "Help them!"

  Sanaka turned to look at Grayson and outstretched his hand as a pure red sphere of energy formed in it, which he then blasted at Grayson. The high-speed energy ball hit Grayson in the head, causing purple and red sparks to explode as if out of his skull. Grayson cried out and was forced to release his wife and daughter, who both fell to the floor.

  At that point, I seized the opportunity given to me by Sanaka to close my eyes for a second so I could enter the Chaosphere and form the required magick for a retrieval spell powerful enough to retrieve something from a different dimension. It only took me a few seconds to conjure the magick. The hard part would be getting the magick to reach across time and space to the exact coordinates given to me by Athelstan. It was something I had never done before, so I wasn't even sure it would work. But as always with magick, I never let my doubts interfere in the process. When I cast the spell, I did so with the absolute conviction that it would work.

  As I continued to work the spell in as discrete a manner as possible, Grayson was staring angrily at Sanaka. "You are powerful, sorcerer," he said, his voice now more of a growl as it seemed to have dropped an octave, although it could have been the magick interfering with my perceptions, which sometimes happened. He glanced down at Jordan, knowing full well she had lowered the wards that previously blocked the use of magick in the place apart from his own. I had to give it to Jordan. For someone who professed to hating magick, she had certainly picked up a few tricks along the way. "Surprisingly so, but nowhere near powerful enough to defeat me."

  "I don't have to be," Sanaka said calmly.

  "What?" Grayson asked, seeming confused for a moment.

  "He says he doesn't have to be," I shouted, just as the Dark Codex in all its shining beauty came falling out of the air and into my waiting arms. The book was heavier than I thought, and I almost dropped it as I clinched it to my chest.

  "Very good, Creed," Grayson said. "Enjoy your little moment of victory. It won't last long, I assure you."

  We'll see about that, I thought as I prepared to teleport out of the Grayson Dimension, taking the Dark Codex with me. But a second later, our surroundings changed, the walls and ceiling falling away to reveal a different location, one that I instantly recognized as being Liberty Square in Bankhurst, characterized by the giant obelisk in the center and surrounded by grand stone buildings. Needless to say, the place was already in chaos as people ran around in fear and bewilderment at their unexpected change in circumstances. They no longer had access to the magick that had previously allowed them to become like gods in their own right, and they were also clearly terrified of the giant Grayson God who towered almost as high as the obelisk.

  Surrounded by Grayson's hooded disciples, my first instinct was to teleport out of there, but I quickly found that I couldn't. A smugly smiling Grayson standing amongst his disciples told me why I couldn't. "I should have disposed of you long before this, Creed," Grayson said as he reached out his hand and used his magick to rip the Dark Codex from my grip and into his own waiting hands. "You simply don't have the power to go up against me. No one has."

  "So you keep saying," I shouted angrily, and then sent a blast of magick his way, which he just absorbed into himself.

  "Prepare to die, Creed," the giant version of Grayson boomed. "Kill him! Kill them all!"

  The order was to his disciples who now completely surrounded Sanaka, Athelstan and myself. I could see no sign of Jordan or her mother, so I assumed they were still back in the Grayson Dimension. Probably for the best.

  To say I felt vulnerable as the hooded disciples closed in would be an understatement. Every one of them was armed with a bladed weapon, and I had nothing but my magick if it even still worked in this Grayson world. Neither did I have my trusty trench coat on me, having left it back at Sanaka's Sanctum, so that meant I would have no protection at all from the knives about to stab me to death.

  I tried to teleport, but nothing happened. "Shit!" I looked at Sanaka and Athelstan. "Can you use your magick?"

  They both shook their heads as the disciples moved in closer. "No," Athelstan said as he looked frantically around. "But then I'm immortal, so what do I care, right?" Despite his joking bravado, he still looked afraid.

  Sanaka had his sword out and ready. I would have said he could save us, but I knew he couldn't, despite his unmatched skills with the sword. There were just too many disciples surrounding us, and now I could see that they all had magick in their eyes as well. "Fuck this!" I shouted as the odds of survival lessened with every passing second. "Fuck you, Grayson!"

  Then the disciples closed in, and the stabbing began.

  28

  Face Off

  I awoke to the taste of blood in my mouth, pain all over my body and to the sound of someone calling my name. "Creed?" the familiar voice said, a voice I hadn't expected to hear again. "Wake up, Creed, damn it."

  My eyes gradually came into focus, and there she was kneeling over me. A beautiful sight. So beautiful, I thought I was hallucinating. "Is it really you?"

  "It's me," Leona said. "Who'd you think it was, the Virgin Mary?"

  I tried to laugh but my stomach hurt too much, and I cried out in pain instead. "Oh, Jesus..."

  "Stay still," Leona said as she ripped open my shirt. "You've been stabbed. Multiple times."

  "Sanaka?" I mumbled. "Athelstan..."

  "Sanaka is nearby. I don't know any Athelstan."

  Then I remembered Grayson's hooded disciples descending on us, violently stabbing and slashing at us with their long knives. I remember trying to defend myself, but being completely outnumbered, despite Sanaka trying to keep the crowd at bay with
his sword. Then I remembered falling to the ground and seeing the pool of blood oozing out around me. My own blood. "Grayson?" I said.

  "Not far away," Leona said as she held up a bottle of something. "He's changing the city. Turning it into a giant prison." Leona began to pour whatever was in the bottle over my wounds, causing me to scream as the liquid burned its way in. "Sorry, Creed. This is the same stuff you used on me on that island. You remember? Hey, Creed, stay with me!"

  "I'm...here..." I said as consciousness threatened to leave me again.

  "You'd better be," Leona said as she continued to pour the healing potion on the rest of my wounds. "I didn't come all the way back here just to watch you die on me, you hear?"

  Even through the pain, I smiled. "You're...back?"

  Her face hovered over mine for a moment. "Let's face it. You need me. I leave for two minutes and now look at you."

  I tried to laugh, but couldn't. "I...really missed you..."

  "Tell me how much later, once you take down that fucker Grayson."

  "But I can't..."

  "No," said another familiar voice. "But we can."

  "Ray?" I said, hardly able to contain the emotions that had by then built up in me as my uncle's grinning face hovered over mine.

  "Did you think you'd have to do this alone?" he said, then gave a dismissive laugh. "Come on, son. This is too big for even you. You haven't been the only one working on taking that bastard Grayson down. In fact, I've brought a few friends along to help us."

  I managed to lift my head an inch to see a large crowd of people standing behind Ray. "Who are they?" I asked.

  "Sorcerer's, my boy," Ray said. "The best in the universe." He put his hands on me then and used his magick to finish the healing process that Leona had started. Within a few moments, most of the pain I'd been feeling was gone, and I sat up.

  "You don't understand, Ray," I said. "Grayson has so much power behind him."

  "Maybe," he said, helping me to my feet. "But there's enough of us here to keep him occupied while you get that damn book off him."

  I looked past to crowd of sorcerers and witches standing behind him, a veritable sea of magick obsessed weirdos. There must have been nearly a hundred of them. I looked back at Ray. "I guess it's the only shot we have."

  "Then we'd better make it count," Ray said.

  I turned to Leona then, who was standing two feet away, dressed in the leather outfit she always favored while working for Division, including her twin custom Berettas which were strapped to each leg. God, she looked amazing, and even more bad ass than ever. I went to her and threw my arms around her, hugging her tight to me as she did the same. "We don't have time for this," she whispered, her soft skin and warm breath on my neck.

  "We're having a long talk later," I said as we pulled apart. "A long talk."

  "Sure," she said smiling. "I'm sure you've plenty to say. As always."

  I smiled back and shook my head. "You know it. Sweetheart."

  She shook her head. "I'll let you get away with that this one time."

  "Alright," Ray said, barging forward in his battered trench coat, his long gray hair tied back in a ponytail. "We need to do this now before there isn't a world left to save."

  I looked out into the distance to see the giant version of Grayson about a mile away as he walked along, rearranging whole city blocks as he went, occasionally sending the odd burst of magickal energy down below, presumably to help round up the herd into the prison he was building. "Alright," I said, just as Sanaka joined us. "Let's do this."

  "I cannot find Athelstan," Sanaka said.

  "Shit," I said. "We need him to destroy the book."

  "I'll find him," Leona said. "He can't have gone far."

  After giving Leona a description of Athelstan, Ray, Sanaka and I led the army of magickslingers down the street towards Grayson. It wasn't long before Grayson noticed us marching towards him. Within seconds, he had teleported his towering form high in front of us. "What is this?" he asked, seeming amused by the gathering in front of him. Then he spotted me. "You really are a cockroach, Creed, aren't you? You just won't die, will you?"

  "You'll die before I do, Grayson," I shouted back as I stood with my ripped and bloody shirt blowing around me.

  "Bold words for a man about to take his last breath," Grayson said. "All of you are about to take your last breaths."

  "Now!" Ray roared suddenly, and all at once, the gathering of magickslingers, including me, focused all of their magick on Grayson, aiming to hold him for as long as possible. It was unheard of for so many sorcerers to be gathered in one place, and even more so for them all to combine their power and focus it on a single target. The magickal energy hitting Grayson must have been immense and too great for him to block. And indeed it seemed to be so as the giant Grayson became rooted to the spot, unable to move as he strained against the power holding him, and within a few moments, he was brought to his knees.

  Jesus, I thought. It's actually working.

  "Now, August!" Ray said. "Get the book!"

  He didn't have to tell me twice. By that point, I was mightily pissed off with Grayson and his fucking godwalking antics. The only thing I wanted to do was go home with the woman I loved, and that bastard Grayson was getting in the road of that.

  I didn't need Athelstan to tell me where the book was this time because it was obvious where it was. It was embedded in Grayson's chest, glowing like a beating white heart. I shifted all of my energy and concentration onto the book and began to pull it from Grayson's chest. But as soon as he felt me go for it, a surge of anger must have gone through him, enough for him to get back to his feet and to begin sending out blasts of purple energy into the crowd of magickslingers behind me. I saw one of the sorcerer's get hit with the purple energy, which instantly incinerated them. Short-lived cries of pain could be heard all around as Grayson continued to pick off those who stood against him. Before long, there wouldn't be enough of us to hold him, and then that would be that. He'd kill us all.

  So I redoubled my efforts. But it still wasn't enough. Grayson kept picking off the magickslingers while smiling balefully at me as if he knew it was just a matter of time before he was able to break free and annihilate us all.

  And it would have been just a matter of time.

  If the monsters hadn't shown showed up, that is.

  29

  The Power And The Glory

  Just as all hope of defeating Grayson started to leave me, and as the number of sorcerers standing against him got less and less, something incredible happened.

  Every supernatural in the city seemed to come from nowhere all at once. Vampires, werewolves, even bloody demons and some very rare weredragons came charging out of the streets and clambering over roofs as they went tearing towards Grayson. Hundreds of bodies launched themselves at the wannabe demigod, swarming over his giant form like insects, biting and tearing and ripping and shredding him. Grayson was so taken by surprise he stopped firing out his energy blasts and crashed down to his knees once more under the weight of the supernaturals surrounding him. It was an amazing sight, and for a few moments, I could only look on in awe.

  "I hope you are not going to waste this opportunity by standing there scratching your bollocks," a familiar voice said, and I turned to see The Crimson Crow standing beside me, looking as glamorous as ever despite it being a borderline apocalypse.

  "You," I said. "I have a bone to pick with you."

  "Pick your bones in your own time," Ray shouted at me then. "Just get that bloody book, so we can finish this bastard."

  I turned back towards Grayson then and focused everything I had on getting the Dark Codex out of him. Thanks to the swarm of supernaturals keeping him busy, Grayson's defenses were tied up enough that I was able to snatch the book from his chest, and a few seconds later, the Dark Codex came whizzing into my hands. Immediately, I clutched it to my chest and pulled my torn and bloody shirt over it. "No one look at it," I said. "Especially you, Angela."


  The Crow made a face at me and then turned away. "Get on with it then."

  I ran across the road and huddled inside a shop doorway with the Dark Codex. My breathing was erratic, and my heart was pounding as I opened the book.

  Only to find that every page was blank.

  "What the fuck?" I said, thinking that Grayson had made a dummy copy and still had the real book somewhere else.

  "The book will answer your most burning questions."

  I looked up to see Athelstan standing there with Leona. "You're alive," I said.

  "After coming back from the dead twice, yes, I'm alive," Athelstan said as he gazed upon the book like it was a very old former love.

  "Whatever you're going to do, do it now," Leona said as she stood with her back to me. "Grayson is pissed off, and he seems to be gaining ground again."

  Athelstan came closer and stood over me. "The book will sense the answers you are looking for," he said. "The full text is never revealed to anyone. You learn only what you need to learn."

  "Okay," I nodded. "Got it."

  I turned to the first page of the book and stared at it. Then after a minute, text began to appear on the page, and as the exquisitely written words became visible, my jaw almost hit the floor as I read what it said. It was not the answer I was expecting. Instead, it was the answer to a completely different question that had been haunting me for decades: Where in the universe are the souls of my mother, brother, and sister?