Warlock: The Beginning (Chapter 2)

I walked past the bouncer and straight into the bar. It had been years since they had asked for my ID, I knew the owner, Ralph, after a few jobs I had done for him. I had never talked to most of the bouncers, but they knew me on sight, and when your boss tells you not to bother someone, most people keep their heads down.1

The place was called Blood Magic, but it was filled with humans. It was one of those places where humans went to pretend to be something else. Few Otherworlders ever set foot into Blood Magic, which is why I went. Less chance of being recognized. “Ben!” came a cry from the bar. Well except for the owner. Putting on a smile I went to talk to the old man.2

“Ralph, good to see ya,” I said as cheerfully as I could, while he put down a mug in front of me. We had this unspoken agreement, I don't know how it happened, maybe he just likes me, but if he pours me a drink without me asking, he doesn't expect payment. In return I regale him with stories of what I'd been up to.3

Ralph was a short, stocky man, round all over, but especially in his face. His brown eyes always seemed to be waiting on the punchline to an incredibly funny joke. IF you looked past the surface, though, you could tell the plump man was constantly scanning the building. I've never figured out for what.4

Inhaling deeply, Ralph's face took on a look of concern. “Al, take care of the bar for me,” he said to someone in shadows, before picking up the mug he had set down while simultaneously filling a second. “Ben, a word in private, please.” 5

He led me through the bar to a small back room. It was a meeting room, small, private, a few old chairs and round tables, but that was it. By the time I had closed the door, Ralph had set the mugs on the four-person table in the center and turned on me.6

“What the blazes do you think you're doing?” he demanded, his normally cheerful voice exploding with a promise of violence. “I like you, Ben, that's why I don't normally ask questions when you won't talk about things, but this is too much. Showing up to my bar, in the middle of the afternoon, when you would normally be just waking up is odd, but fine. But you smell like blood and death, enough so that a human with a bad cold would be able to tell what it was, and that is not alright.”7

Ralph is something else. No one knows just what, and he refuses to admit his ancestry. He claims its for the same reason that he doesn't admit political sides; bad for business. He looks human-enough, but he smells, well, like nothing. His smell is nothing more than the scents surrounding him, no base smell like all other beings have. All Otherworlders have a great sense of smell, good enough to at least figure out what another person is, but no one can find Ralph's base smell. It's just one thing that Ralph has never admitted, and probably never will.8

When I didn't respond he continued with his verbal rebuke. “I understand that you are a Hunter, and I'm fine with that. I know you and your Were friend hideout here sometimes, and that's fine too. But this is worse than usual. This time I have to know what you got into. For once I can't just overlook this. Explain, or leave and don't come back. I will not have you threaten my well-established business, I just can't allow it without reason.” Ralph doesn't make idle threats, so I walked to the center table and plopped into the chair facing away from the door, downing half my mug in one swig. It was a smooth beer that, normally, I would have enjoyed much more.9

“My day started early today,” I began, my back to Ralph. When he didn't move, I continued. “It was a standard Head, nothing special. I brought Mar along, just in case. When I got there, nothing stood out, everything fit, no surprises in the making. When the Head came out, he told me the Mage Guild had put a bounty on me, even took bribes for current hits. After a short scuffle, Lira, my ex if you remember, showed up. She sounded like she was hunting me and I flipped.”10

Ralph still hadn't moved, hadn't spoken, or given any indication that he had even heard me. He just stood there as I downed the rest of my brew in another swig. “The next thing I remember was Lira clinging to the wall in terror, Mar holding me against the other one, the Head and his merc dead at my feet, and my hands covered in blood. It was dead silent, no sounds could be heard by anyone. Mar and I had a quick talk through signs, and she told me to meet her here, so I came straight here.”11

“You said your hands were covered in blood, but never mentioned cleaning up, what happened to the blood?” Ralph asked softly.12

I wish I could have told him something better, come up with some lie, or even just ignore his question, but I couldn't, so I told the truth. “It just sorta disappeared. I honestly don't have any clue. It looked as though it just seeped into my flesh.”13

Ralph made a sound awfully close to a hiss and I sensed him draw back from me. “Who did you piss off, Ben?” Ralph asked. I hadn't seen or heard him move, but hwen he spoke he was sitting, the second mug in his hand. “You're a magic-user, and Mage Guild takes care of it's own, so it has to be a power play.. Who would think of you as a threat?”14

“As a Warlock, Ben isn't part of the Guild,” came Lira's voice from the door. I spun around to find her and Marilynn standing just inside the door with four mugs. “Whoever put out the hit has a personal problem, not a political one. It's someone high up, too, I didn't know about it 'till I found Ben today. I thought fast and played off the knowledge, hoping to cause some confusion. I'm sorry, Ben, I didn't think it would...cause...” she trailed off, unable to finish. I wish I knew what I had done, why it scared her so much.15

“Why did you show up today?” I asked warily, still unsure I wanted to know the answer.16

The two girls walked to the table and sat before Lira made any move to answer. Marilynn handed me a mug, and Lira placed her second mug next to Ralph. After everyone had a new mug, Lira spoke. “I was planning on going to your apartment later this evening, probably around when you usually wake up. While doing some errands in the area of that warehouse, I felt your presence, and decided to drop by, save myself a trip.” She paused to take a large gulp of her beer, almost as if bolstering her confidence. “I need your help, Ben.”17

Let me make one thing clear. A wizard asking for help is rare. A wizard asking for a non-wizards help, even more so. But a wizard asking a warlock from help is just unheard of. Even when we were dating, Lira would refuse to ask for my help. It's not about a lack of trust, or anything like that, at least not anymore, it's about pride. With that said, something was wrong. I controlled my surprise with some difficulty, and watched as Marilynn's ears pricked up, a very wolf-like reaction, and Ralph's eyebrows rose. Slowly I sipped my second beer.18

“Whatever problem you got yourself into, as you can tell from earlier today, I'm in no position to help with,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone.19

I went back to sipping my beer as the room exploded with sound and movement. The other three were yelling, mostly at me, but I couldn't make out what they said. It was an overload of sound and emotion. After a few minutes they realized I wasn't paying attention, and they started to quiet down. Finally, they all sat quietly staring daggers at me as I stared into my mug. “What is it you have gotten yourself into, then?” I asked softly.20

“You're the only one that can help me, Ben. The only one who can protect me,” Lira pleaded, desperation creeping into her voice.21

Still not wanting to get involved, I neutrally asked, “From what?”22

Ralph and Marilynn froze, as if they were afraid moving would silence her. Lira took another gulp from her mug, opened her moth, closed it, and then downed the remainder of her drink. She took a deep breath, paused, then blurted quickly, “Demons.”23

Cold ice filled my veins, and terror gripped my very soul as the room exploded into angry shouts once more, this time the shouting wasn't directed at me, for which I was fairly grateful. Demons are evil. Period. They're creatures who live in the Otherworld, a parallel world all supernatural beings trace their heritage to. It's a confusing reality that few understand. I asked an old wizard about it once. He told me that Otherworld is ancient. More-so than this world. Earth was, in fact, created during a war in Otherworld as a place of refuge and healing, a safe-haven. When the war ended, some choose to stay, others went to forsake what they were, but when all was said and done, all of the races had a group or two on Earth. All that is, except for Demons.24

It was the Demons' love for destruction that kept them in Otherworld, and by the time Earth became a land of pain and destruction millions of years later, the doors between world would only open from Earth. So while the other races watched humans evolve, the Demons took over Otherworld, turning it into their own domain of pain and torment.25

Every once in a while some idiot will summon a Demon from Otherworld. One time, I got caught up in a fight with a Demon during a Hunt. The experience almost killed me, and it was only against a lesser Demon. It's definitely not something I want to repeat.26

How do I get wrapped up in this shit? I thought to myself. Things were settling down again, less yelling was happening, and I could start to pick out what people were saying. Ralph, who I had failed to notice jump up, lost in my thoughts as I was, was sitting back down.27

Mira, next to me, stared into her mug, one hand cradling the mug, the other balled up within her hair. Lira had her hands wrapped around her mug tightly, her eyes staring unfocused a few feet above my head. And Ralph? He was leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. A smile of almost bitter amusement seemed to creep across his lips. “Marilynn,” he said softly. “Are you the only sane person you know?” Despite myself, I barked a short laugh while Marilynn giggled. “Seriously, girl! Why do you put up with it?”28

“They're my pack,” she replied almost too softly to hear.29

Lira was still staring, unfocused, above me. In a detached, distant voice she whispered, “Will you help me? I don't trust anyone else.”30

The severity of the situation crashed back upon me, and I had to take a deep breath. “Explain why you need protection from Demons, first,” I answered, knowing I would regret it.31

“It was this morning,” she started in that same detached, distant voice. “I've been sharing an apartment with Minda Crow, and ever since Armen John took over as head of the Mage Guild, she's had these bad feelings about what's been happening.”32

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Armen John? Junior or Senior?”33

She looked at me, surprised I knew the name. Armen John Jr. had been my college roommate. He had majored in Anthropology, and business administration, with minors in accounting, psychology, and computers. I had majored in History, with a computer minor. He had been the top of every class, easily the most popular guy on campus..and my roommate. With him, everything was a competition, from women, to drinking, to betting, to classes. I had my share of wins, but more often than not, I lost. After college he disappeared, and I haven't heard from him since.34

“Junior. Anyway, she disappeared after a few nights of 'investigating,' as she called it. She always told me where she was going, though never what she was doing. If she didn't come back by eleven in the morning, I was supposed to find her. This morning she didn't return.35

“When I went to where she was supposed to be, all I found was a Demon. Now, I'm not so stupid as to think I could have escaped unscathed if it hadn't wanted me to, but next time I might not be so lucky.” She hadn't moved through her little speech, and when she finished, all she did was tense up, as though expecting someone to start yelling again. I couldn't disappoint her.36

“NEXT TIME?” I roared. “What the fuck are you thinking?”37

“I have to find Minda,” she replied in that same detached voice that was starting to get on my nerves. “With or without your help.”38

My mug was three-fourths full, and I downed in it one and a half gulps, and watched as determination slowly painted Lira's face. I looked at Marilynn, knowing what I would see. She looked back at me, and we were resolved.39

“We'll help,” Marilynn said. “Ben, you're staying with me until this bounty in gone, though.”40

I knew why she wanted me with her. Her living arangement would keep all but the most ignorant Hunters off my back, and I could take care of those. That didn't mean I liked it, but I couldn't argue the point, at least not yet.41

Standing up, I turned to Ralph, who had a bemused expression on his face. “Thanks for not kicking up out, Ralph,” I blurted, unable to think of anything else to say before we left.42

“You're always welcome here,” he replied. “By the way, you still don't remember what happened in the alley?” I shook my head, perplexed as to why he was asking. “Research 'Blood Magic' as related to Warlocks.”43

When he didn't explain I couldn't help but ask. “What are you, Ralph? Really?”44

“When the time comes, Ben, you'll find out. Until then, I think you three have some things to take care of.”45

I followed Marilynn and Lira to the door. I opened it to a near silent bar. The only sound was the bartender rattling off a list of drink prices and specials.46

“You don't have to protect anyone,” came an oddly familiar voice. “I truly only want to talk to them. No harm will come to anyone, and then I'll be gone.”47

Standing in front of the bar was Armen John Jr.