by L R Deney
Chapter 11
Karl Dunkelstein, Fuehrer of the Orden der Schwarzen Sonne, kneeled before a tapestry that depicted the dark spiral symbol itself. Clad in black robes, the ritual he was casting was one of many he needed to do in preparation for the grand ritual that would bring about the long awaited Fourth Reich. Lighting several candles, he recited a few lines of ancient, Germanic verse. It required precise, methodical formula.
So naturally some stooge would come in and interrupt him. A rank and file member walked in wearing a classic, trenchcoated uniform of the SS, breaking the peace of the spell that was being cast.
“This… had better be important,” warned the Fuehrer.
“Of course, I wouldn’t have interrupted you otherwise,” responded the underling. “Chadwick has returned from his hunt.”
“Send him in, this had better be good.”
The underling saluted and turned to step out of the chamber before sending in Chadwick Sallow, his right hand man. The only man he trusted with anything.
“So, do we have the degenerate’s friend?” Karl asked, pushing back his head to reveal long, silvered hair. At one point it was perfectly blond, but age had long destroyed that hue.
“No, both of them eluded us, my Fuehrer,” Chadwick replied.
“Both of them?”
“The degenerate, he’s indeed escaped Azramoas. His interference cost us the quarry we sought and subsequently eluded us.”
“Eluded you? How can it elude you? You should have the entire Order searching for it and its friend. How the fuck did it elude you?” A black and red bolt erupted from the Fuehrer’s hand, bounced off a wall, and struck one of the guards posted outside, causing him to explode into red chunks.
Chadwick’s forehead filled with several beads of sweat. “We had him and the girl cornered in some apartment complex. The faggot was desperate, running away from me, but after he disappeared into one of the apartments with his girlfriend, they vanished. Breaking down the door only revealed an empty apartment.”
“Fool, the answer is staring you right in the face and you’re too stupid to realize it.”
“What, my Fuehrer?”
“It destroyed the anchor to a sanctum. You were eluded because whatever had been there was gone. What do you think we’re doing here? It’s probably found a completely different location to anchor it’s sanctum by now and you’re wasting time with me. Was I wrong to invest my trust in you?”
“No, Fuehrer.”
Karl stepped down from the altar and grasped Chadwick by the shoulders. “Then prove it to me. Allow the lowlier grunts to continue gathering our sacrifices, but take our best and go look for the degenerate. It could be anywhere now; all points are connected within the astral plane. And be careful, Azramoas is looking for this creature as well. No suspicion towards us must be raised.”
“What about our asset in the Council?”
“He can only do so much for us. His hands are tied if our order is exposed.”
“Understood, the Council of Magic shall not learn of our existence, even if we have to eliminate some of their hunting parties.”
“Good, my faith in you will not be misplaced after all,” the Fuehrer replied as he turned away from Chadwick and stepped back up to the altar. “Find me this ‘Staci Drenvauder,’ find out where it’s anchored its sanctum. Find out where it’s gone and what it is doing.”
“Yes, Fuehrer!” exclaimed Chadwick with a salute.
Karl smiled to himself. “Now leave me. I must restart the ritual and add a plea for forgiveness for this interruption.”
“Yes, of course,” Chadwick replied and obediently hurried out of the chamber, eager to be leaving the Fuehrer’s presence. One more fuckup and he’ll meet the guard’s unpleasant fate….
Chapter 12
Sweat streamed down Staci’s brow as she etched in the wall with her finger a rune of binding. The entire sanctum shook, straining and shifting side to side in the astral as the anchor was being formed. Deep exhaustion and stress was starting to mount upon her, the ritual always notorious for being extremely draining.
The location she picked looked good. It was a nice, isolated house for rent out in Kent, Washington, inconspicuous enough for Melanie and her to come and go as they needed. It would be hard for their enemies to pinpoint them out here, as there would be far fewer witnesses to give it away. It was safe, secure, and actually rather pleasant and peaceful to boot.
The tremors went on for a while; it had been almost half an hour now, until they came to an abrupt stop. Melanie looked around in shock; she had clearly expected the rumbling to have gone on for a lot longer. But when Staci stumbled backward in exhaustion, she was quick to catch her in her arms.
“Oof… thanks,” the witch said, looking back at Melanie with a smile. “I would have wound up flat on my back.”
“I’ll always have you.” Melanie smiled back. “Are you okay?”
“Ohhh yeah, I’m fine. I only feel like I’ve been run over by a freight train. It’s no biggie.”
“That doesn’t sound like a ‘no biggie.’”
Staci laughed loudly for a bit before leaning on Melanie to regain her balance. A hand went to her head and she slowly shook it. She looked back to the sanctum entrance and smiled as the runes settled in and phased from visible sight. They would always be there, but the human eye would not be able to perceive them until they were broken. The sanctum was successfully anchored again.
“Yeah, probably not,” Staci admitted with a chuckle.
“Do you need anything?”
“Probably a very long nap?” Staci looked at her hopefully.
“Yeah, fucking why not? I’m a little tired myself, all that running from Nazis.”
“Well okay then, let’s get back to bed.”
The two women, together, stumbled back up the stairs. Staci was completely exhausted, so she needed the most help up the flight. Eventually, when they reached the bedroom, both of them collapsed together on the mattress. Both the covers and the pillows felt so warm and inviting.
◆◆◆
It was early next morning when Staci finally roused from her sleep, but when she looked over toward where Melanie had been, she was disappointed to find the spot she had occupied to be empty. She sat up and looked around, still seeing no sign of her girlfriend. Stroking her chin in momentary thought, she slid out of bed.
She wandered through her sanctum for a bit, uncertain of where Melanie had gone. It wasn’t until she heard a sizzling crackle as she passed through the downstairs that she realized what had happened. She hurried toward the kitchen and found her frying up some scrambled eggs and bacon. The smells were positively mouthwatering.
“Good morning, sleepy head,” Melanie teased, smirking at her.
“Come now, my dear, I’m sure I only slept for a little longer,” Staci responded with her typical urbane manner as she gestured around the kitchen before pointing toward the cooking food. “That is looking rather recent.”
“Um… yeah, well, um… you caught me there!” Melanie flashed her a wider grin.
“Of course I do, girl.”
Staci glanced around the area briefly and her eyes settled on the coffee machine. It was not active at all and the pot was completely empty. She let out a mock exclamation of horror as she sped toward it, the comical display causing Melanie to laugh softly. Staci reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out filters and a bag of coffee. Within moments after a few scoops into the machine, coffee was finally brewing.
“Whew, crisis averted,” Staci exclaimed, wiping her brow.
“You really do belong in theater,” Melanie said with a laugh. “By the way, the bacon and eggs are ready.”
Staci nodded before fixing herself a cup of coffee, Melanie shortly following suit. Quickly enough, both women were seated at the table with plates full of bacon and scrambled eggs. Staci savored the taste of both, finding each bite pleasurable.
“These are really good,” the witch rema
rked.
“I’m glad you like them.”
They ate briefly in silence. It was simple, mundane moments like this that could be the most enjoyable. A lot of excitement wasn’t necessarily a good thing, such as finding oneself fighting off a bunch of Nazis or magical cops with pain staves. No, just simple, beautiful domestic moments like the two of them eating scrambled eggs and bacon together while drinking coffee.
“Soooo, I think I need to make some kind of counter-offensive against the Nazis,” Staci said, breaking the resplendent silence. “They’re going to be looking for us, and I need to bloody their nose a bit. Also, the Azramoan Watch is going to be looking for me, so that’s another factor that’s complicating our lives.”
“I’m sure you can come out on top of this, you’re pretty badass.”
“Aww… why thank you. Yes, I’m sure I can come out on top as well, it’s just figuring out how I get there. Even the best victory requires a plan to reach it.”
“Okay, so what do we know about the Nazis?”
“Several things. First off, they’re clearly operating in Seattle, so they’re anchored somewhere close. Two, they’ve infiltrated the SPD, and maybe several other neighboring police forces. And another thing, they seem to hold some kind of influence in the Council of Magic, but I don’t exactly know who or how. Also, they’re gathering up racial minorities for a grand sacrifice. Thus, we can complicate these affairs of theirs as much as we need to to disrupt their plans for good.”
“They’re in the Council of Magic?” Melanie asked in astonishment.
“I don’t know if they’re ‘in’ it, but they seem to be influencing it in some way. Perhaps someone’s a sympathizer. There’s a few who have fascist leanings that are viable suspects. I don’t know who died and who lived when Kadmon’s horde attacked, but it’s possible the person survived, judging by the Speaker’s assassination. I never liked him, but he didn’t deserve that. Maybe just a few kicks to the balls.”
Melanie had to smile at that one but shook her world. “That’s kind of depressing. This whole world seems to be spiraling out of control since… that guy became president.”
“Emperor Cheeto the 45th? Yes, well, that’s what happens when no one addresses the social issues that’re causing the inequity we’ve had for decades… centuries….”
“Oh yes, no question about that, I know full well. That shit’s pretty much my entire life.”
“Yeah, our world is not the best that it could be. Unfortunately a lot of our population is unwilling to change its behavior.”
“Yeah, people blame him for all of it, but really he’s just a symptom of the racist culture of this country. Even that stupid slogan was bullshit. MAGA my ass.”
Both of them stared down at their empty plates. The delicious food was finished and gone.
“Well, enough politics. We need to get to business. Our enemies aren’t going to sit around and wait for us.” Staci stood up from her chair.
She led the way toward the front door, face full of determination. The Nazis may have pulled off a few victories, but they have far from won. Melanie trailed behind her, trying to keep up. Waving a hand, the door swung open and Staci stepped out.
Outside, the house was semi-private, with plenty of trees and bushes obstructing a clear view of the yard. Such privacy was exactly why the location had been chosen. It was optimal for their needs to be discrete. The house itself was a two-story and painted a beige color. A long driveway from the garage led to the road.
“It’s pretty here,” Melanie observed as she walked out of the house after Staci. Behind them, the door suddenly slammed shut.
“Yeah, added bonuses help with location,” the witch replied with a friendly, toothy smile.
“So where are we going?”
“First off, we’re going to check out Ravenna Park. Maybe the Fairy Godmother can lend us some aid again.”
“Oooh.”
Staci smiled at the response as she started the way down the walkway. Melanie kept up pace with her and before she knew it, their surroundings were shifting around them. A few more steps found them walking into Ravenna Park, down into the valley that contained the small creek which Staci knew Lanis to frequent.
As they arrived at the tiny bridge that crossed the creek, both women began to notice something quite unusual. While the large boulder still dominated the area near the path, the area was eerily quiet and still. Nothing stirred, not even a chirp of a bird. It was like the area had died. Even the place itself seemed darker than it should have been.
“Shit,” Staci grumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Melanie asked, curiously looking around.
“The way into the fairy realm is shut. She won’t be able to help us, she’s closed us off.”
“Well, that’s good, at least she’s safe.”
“No, that’s bad; it means our enemies have been here….”
“A brilliant deduction, Staci Drenvauder,” a voice said from behind. Both women turned around to confront it. The voice belonged to the one called “Chadwick.” He was flanked by two other members of the Black Sun. “How kind of you to make it so easy for us to find you. We didn’t even have to try.”
Staci narrowed her eyes. “How long have you been waiting here?”
“Oh, for quite a while. Since late last night, I think. We realized you probably would seek assistance from your fairy friend who lives here. Too bad she saw us coming, tsk tsk.”
“That’s the problem with you fascist villain types, always talking when you should be fighting!” Staci declared as the whip composed of Hellfire erupted from her hand, catching the Nazi magicians off guard.
One of them was struck by the whip and caught fire, the fascist’s flesh melting off in a familiar manner as his bones were cooked and split. Chadwick let out a roar as he sent out the red lightning toward Staci. She shoved Melanie to one side before darting in the other direction, the bolt struck a tree instead and caused it to shatter, shards of wood exploding everywhere. One of the shards found itself impaling Chadwick’s other minion through the eye socket. Staci couldn’t help but laugh.
“Looks like you’re alone, Chad,” the witch mocked.
“I’ll have you know, sir, I still quite outnumber you,” Chadwick raised his hands in signal and several more of the fascists appeared from various positions throughout the park.
“Aside from the misgendering, you actually surprised me, Chad. Bravo. Your Fuehrer must be impressed.”
“Staci, what do we do?” Melanie asked, climbing back to her feet.
“That is simple,” Chad interrupted, “die.”
“You’re forgetting something, Chad,” Staci replied, a widening smile growing on her lips as the Nazis closed in.
“And what is that?”
“I have a… demonic connection!”
The witch cracked her whip several times, eyes glowing bright green as she continued calling upon her demon infused power. Several dozen pentagrams began appearing on the ground throughout the area before demonic entities started erupting from the glyphs, surrounding the Nazis. Chadwick stumbled back at the sight.
“Left Hand of Kadmon, what is your bidding, my mistress?” one of the demons asked.
“Take these Nazi motherfuckers out while Melanie and I vamoose.”
The demon turned its gaze to the Nazis. “As you wish….”
The fascist bro-club found itself fighting off the demons as Staci seized Melanie and summoned forth her shadow wings and took off into the air. They left the sounds of battle behind them, but Staci realized that they couldn’t go too far from where they were ambushed, so she carefully landed them in someone’s wooded back yard, that way no one could witness their conspicuous flying.
Banishing her wings from sight, Staci took in a few deep breaths. “That was far too close.”
“You couldn’t have known it was a trap,” Melanie said, placing her hands on Staci’s shoulders.
“I should have suspected it. They kne
w we were associated with the Fairy Godmother.”
Melanie nodded, then they crept around the house, out of the back yard, and Staci initiated another travel spell. She took them back to the sanctum anchor but found a distressing sight waiting for them. The house she had utilized was surrounded by people in purple robes. The Azramoan City Watch.
“Fuck!” exclaimed Staci.
“How did they find it?” Melanie asked in shock.
“They might have detected a ripple.”
“What is a ripple?”
“It’s like the ripple you see when a pebble disturbs water, but instead the water is existence and the anchor the pebble. Usually they go unnoticed, but someone must have been watching for one.”
The fact of the matter only served to infuriate her. The fact that the Azramoan authorities were watching meant someone was tipped off that she was moving her sanctum’s anchor. Now there were probably around twenty watchmen walking around the entrance to her home. There was no way her and Melanie would be able to get to the front door without being caught. If the watch was willing to expose the arcane world, they were more than prepared to seize her immediately. Which means her sanctum wasn’t safe for the moment.
“They’re over there!” one of the watchmen declared, hurrying to lead the charge.
“Shit…” mumbled Staci. “We have to go, Melanie.”
“Yeah.”
Turning around, Staci led the way through another traveling spell, but to shake off the officers of the watch, she took them to a distant warehouse district on the other side of the world, then she slipped through another portal into a park. She kept stepping through portals until they were standing out in the woods somewhere.
“C’mon,” Staci directed, stepping into the plant life, risking snags in her clothing, Melanie following as requested.
They huddled near a log, underneath heavy bushes, and waited. They waited there for about a half hour, quiet under strict orders from Staci. Waiting and waiting, but nothing came. The forest remained undisturbed.
“Okay, we lost them,” Staci remarked.