"Yes, we need details of every incident that went down the murder street. Especially the first one." Elias spoke, balancing the receiver between his raised shoulder and ear.
"Yeah, tomorrow, also bring out. I don't know, you know of any ghost dispelling charms. We might need it." Finished, Elias placed the receiver back on the telephone setting his sights on the open grimoire.
Binding 101. A powerful binding requires an equally powerful object to hold the malicious spirit, that or an object of with a strong presence.
Materializing out of thin air in true ghostly fashion, Thomas tip toed around the floor littered with newspaper clippings, squinting at the open page of the grimoire he asked, "Why are ya reading a blank fucken book?"
Ignoring him Elias retrieved a different blank book from his drawer and started jotting down his notes.
"All murders happened within the empty street, everyone gives the whole place a wide berth. The idio – murderers, all had a voice telling them to kill their companions. Which means the spirit is bound to the location and can affect people with its malevolent will."
"Definitely not a lingering spirit, curse or undead. So that leaves specter or a wraith, maybe a phantom? Which one could it be?" Elias recited his thoughts while crossing out the words.
"Reckon it's a damned wraith, mate. Proper mad murderous bastards, the lot of 'em," Thomas chimed, sounding eager to lend a hand.
Elias had been giving the ghostly hitchhiker a cold shoulder ever since Thomas almost landed him in jail. Attention starved, the ghost had become a lot more chatty and Elias had every intention to exploit that, "Why are you so sure?"
"Listen, mate, specters, they're proper focused on wearin' down their prey, yeah? They wanna slip into their skins, get all human-like. But them wraiths, nah, they're a whole different breed," Thomas explained, arms folded across his chest.
Elias caught the ghost shrugging at the end of his sentence. "What are you, Thomas? A wraith or a specter?"
Thomas avoided Elias's gaze drilling into him, the ghost disappeared leaving behind the words, "Who knows?"
Elias shook his head, he had an idea about what Thomas was. But he needed to be sure to be able to do something about it.
This whole charade would have been a lot easier if he had a reliable way to raise his mana.
Sinking back in the chair, Elias reflected on the deal he landed himself in.
No harm shall be done from either side direct or indirect. And within the month Elias and Lily will bring down all ghosts within Rayton that posed a threat to the ghosts in the graveyard.
Amidst all this, the two of them will be accompanied by a ghost each; the ghosts are there to strictly monitor them and aren't under any compulsion to help. And Elias Thorn will not be allowed to touch the miasma in the graveyard for any purpose until he fulfils his end of the bargain.
Failure wasn't an option, Elias wanted to bang his head on the table. He had somehow managed to land himself between a turf war between ghosts. And he was expected to finish off these murderous spirits within the month.
His head resting on the table, Elias muttered under his breath, "Bullshit."
Rubbing his eyes Elias got back to his grimoire looking up information on both spectres and wraiths. He'll be damned if he believed any word out of the ghost in his head.
The day was over, uneventful, as Elias kept his head buried in the books.
Until the sounds of shifting furniture broke Elias from his trance. Turning in his chair to investigate he saw Thomas skipping and cracking his knuckles in the center of the hall.
"What are you doing?" Elias asked with creased brows.
Craning his neck to the sides, Thomas brought his fists up taking a boxers stance, "Eh, getting ready for the next round."
"Next round of what?" Elias blurted out, flabbergasted at the odd behaviour.
Throwing out a few practise jabs, Thomas replied with a sneer, "Survival, mate. Can't just rely on sigils when dealing with my kind. Yer' weak as shite, and someone among us should know how to handle a proper scrap with the dead, yeah?"
Unbeknownst to Elias his grip tightened around the edges of his chair. Thomas words struck a nerve — another ghost to confront while not even being a real spell slinging necromancer was madness. He had a plan, yes, but when had that ever worked out for him?
Rising from his seat, Elias faced Thomas head on, imitating the ghost's stance he declared, "Teach me."
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"Day of reckoning," Elias mused, bitterly. Approaching the pawn shop, he winced at the display window mirroring his bruised and battered reflection. Especially the black eye that had swollen up over night, the ice pack helped but not that much.
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Shaking his head, he pushed the creaky door, stepping inside. The bell jangled over his head, prompting Phil, the owner to glance up from behind the counter but soon, he recoiled seeing who entered his shop, "Oh, it's you."
"Blimey, they got you good. Haha. So what are ya here for?" Phil's voice was tinged with a mix of fear and surprise.
Not questioning how this bastard knew of 'them' Elias kept his calm. Today wasn't the day for some well deserved thrashing for the pawn shop owner.
Right now he needed an object with presence. Whatever that meant.
Considering the violent nature of the ghost Elias had to subdue, what he needed was some kinda weapon. Taking a good look at the products on display, he explored the shop wares.
A full plate armour was set on a mannequin by the door. Hanging on the walls were a set of swords that looked old, exactly what he was looking for but they were definitely out of his budget.
"Do you have any weapons? The older the better." Elias asked, giving up on finding anything relevant among the things on sale.
"Ah, brother. You should stop your violent ways, it's not good for the soul. But I do have what you need." Phil preached while sneaking off to the storeroom section.
Elias saw him go and went to pocket the blood stained brass knuckles he had spotted earlier. Running his hand over the 'borrowed' brass knuckle in his pocket, he smiled when he felt the crust of dried blood on the knuckles.
Earlier when Elias was looking through the items, Thomas had only reacted to the brass knuckles. In the ghost's own words: feels like getting shanked in the kidney.
And that would do for now. Elias nodded to himself, he could barely sense the traces of death around him. A problem he was constantly reminded of.
Righ then Phil came out with a wide range of antique looking weapons. Elias pretended to be interested, browsing through them, his prize already secured. Even so he randomly asked for the price of an old spear.
"Twenty thousand only," Phil answered, loud and clear.
"You're serious?" Elias gave him a hollow stare. He had known this miserly bastard for a few days and even then he wanted to strangle the wanker. It was a wonder how the pawn shop owner had survived till now.
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"Motherfucker needs to call it a scam shop." Elias fumed, as he made his way through the outskirts.
An inhumanly tall man brought his cleaver down separating some meaty ribs before swiftly wrapping it. He paused when he noticed Elias. Sun shone on his bald head as Orno raised a brow at him, "What?"
Elias slammed the two hundred bills on the table. "Goat's blood, two buckets."
The purchase was swift the second time around as Orno didn't bother asking questions. Elias, now with a bloody bucket in each hand was well on his way.
Nearing the murder street, the eerie chill creeped up on Elias, the crumbling brick buildings loomed overhead, their windows boarded up or covered in grime. Even the desperate squatters didn't dare populate these buildings.
From the corner of his eye, Elias spotted a feral black dog watching him from the shadows, it's eyes gleaming with hunger. He paused when he saw the abnormally long claws and fangs on this dog. Before he could back off the dog was gone, like a daydream.
Grounding himself, Elias focused on the weight of the buckets in his hands, remembering his mission he pressed on. He could entertain the thought of turning back all he wanted but deep he knew there was no other option other than confronting the spirit of the cursed street.
Finally arriving at the edge of the murder street, Elias's heart pounded in his chest as he scanned the desolate surroundings for any sign of his accomplice. And then he saw her, the mouse girl, stood just beyond the threshold of the forbidden street, Lily's wary gaze met his.
Despite the familiarity between them, there was a silent understanding that neither dared to breach the invisible barrier of the cursed realm. Facing down the murder street, Elias stood side by side with Lily.
"You're drunk." Elias commented while his nostrils twitched at the bad odour, his gaze still was locked in on the desolate street looking out for any surprises.
Instead of giving Elias an answer, Lily took her flask and downed the remainder of it in one go.
Putting down the buckets, Elias sighed, "You said you will get the intel – Is everything okay?"
Lily threw her flask to the side, "This place was infamous as the brawl street. Many gangs used to come here to scrap it out for the fun of it. Nothing too grim, rather it was considered to be the safer parts of the outskirts."
Putting a hand on her waist she continued, "Then it all stopped when someone found a little boy's corpse here. Face swollen to the point of being unrecognizable."
"Ever since then, it's been the go to destination for crazy people who like to beat their victims to a pulp. Or so they say. But you read the news it's always voices in their head according to murderers."
Elias rolled the sleeves of his shirt, "I memorized the names of the victims I found in newspapers, that took a while. Any idea what the boy's name was?"
Lily turned towards Elias, frowning, "There's a crazy wolf lady living inside my head that only ever talks about cannibalism or worshipping the blood moon. We're tangled in a deal with our literal souls on the line and now you're taking me to a well-known murder spot."
Elias met Lily's gaze head-on, he raised a finger to emphasize his point, "For starters, I don't want to kill you. I couldn't even if I wanted to, you're way stronger than me, a mundane human."
Raising another finger he continued, "For seconds, that deal also has my own soul on the line and I would much rather have a living breathing ally with me."
With three fingers poking Lily's forehead, Elias asked, "What's in blazes is a blood moon?"
Without waiting for a response, Elias changed his question, "Nevermind, what was the boy's name?"
Lily shrugged, resigning to her fate, she stood on her tiptoes to inspect the Elias's black eye, running a gentle hand over the swollen eye, causing him to wince in pain. "Yeah, ignore the fact that there's another moon that only a few zealots can see. As for the kid... Anton. His name was Anton."
Elias felt a shiver run through his back, he snapped his head around. His body tense and ready.
"T-thought someone was standing behind me." He stammered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, he brought his attention back to Lily.
"I'm getting the creeps already. Anyway, keep an ear out. If you hear me scream, use whatever undead repellant you have and haul me out." Elias instructed Lily, he noticed the mouse girl staring off into the distance, her hazel eyes dilated, reflecting the murder street.
Unsettling emotions took over as Elias didn't get a response from the beast girl, putting his hand on her shoulder he couldn't help but ask, confused and concerned, "Lily?"
Only to watch in bewilderment as she paled and flinched at his call before bolting away without a word.
"Oi, at least say something before you bounce. And why it's gotten colder all of a sudden." Muttering to himself, Elias saw his breath turn to vapors in the chilling air as walked into the maws of the infamous street with his bloody buckets held tight.