“You gave this monster the Dagger of Jilayia?” the levels of Teddy’s disbelief were heading into orbit.

“I had it lying around,” Northcutt chuckled to himself, enjoying his private joke.

“Why are you helping him?” I asked.

Northcutt leered at me. “Didn’t you just hear him? What he said? He has a way to give people magic. No strings attached. Do you think I enjoy scuttling around the Bureau? Cleaning up messes? Careful never to offend the wrong people? It’s fucking bullshit. The world has changed for me since I learned about magic. We aren’t the top of the food chain any more fellas.” He looked between Teddy and me, searching for some commonality. Finding none, he continued to roll up his sleeves. “If you're not first, you’re last. I am done wiping mage butts and hoping I don’t get fanged.”

He showed us his arms, a detailed piece in sky blue on his left arm, and an angry red mosaic on his right. “Fire and Ice, baby. I signed up to be customer number two. But first, we have to test the process.”

Northcutt moved over to Tina and roughly pulled her from the bench. She struggled but could do nothing against her bonds or his iron grip. Northcutt produced a folding karambit from his belt and flipped it open. Tina’s eyes went wide as he tucked the knife into the waistband of her skirt and cut outward and down. The knife sliced through her skirt with a long ripping sound and the skirt fell to the floor revealing a pair of tasteful black silk thong panties. And there, just below her left hip bone was a freshly done, red tattoo.

I stood up as Northcut pulled the half-naked Tina over to the Sleeper and the tree. My corrupt boss pulled Teddy’s Rhino from his belt and pointed it at me. The Sleeper grabbed Tina and shoved her into a chair, securing her to it. Northcut walked back to us keeping the gun pointed at me, but he was looking at Teddy now.

“Don’t judge me you smug motherfucker. I’m just smarter than you. You don’t know what it’s like to be normal. Totally normal. We’re defenseless. We’re food for these people. One wrong move and you’re dead. Like your friend Patrick.”

Teddy looked stricken. An entire Shakespearean play worth of emotion passed over his face before he finally mastered himself. “Why are you providing items to the Reliable Reliquary?” he finally asked.

Northcutt smiled the shit-eating grin I had already seen several times over the last few days. “Oh, you found out about that, did you? That’s just about money. I’ve got an ex-wife and a pretty decent coke habit. I also had to kick up quite a bit to the old man for the ink.”

Tina screamed through her gag. The Sleeper was kneeling in front of her with his eyes closed. He had one hand on the tree and one hand pressed against her hip.

“I figure it’ll be worth it though.” Northcutt sneered. He leaned back up against the table, with Teddy’s pistol pointed at us. “Now just sit back and enjoy the show. I figure you two will be powering the matinee.”

I then got to see my first magic ritual. The tree pulsed and throbbed in time with the Sleepers mutterings. Tina’s eyes were wet and she was mumbling something urgently through the fabric around her mouth. The Sleeper lowered his head and closed his eyes, ignoring her pleas. Tina thrashed ineffectually at her bindings while the Sleepers chanting reached a crescendo. With a final yelled incantation he pulled his hands away from Tina and the tree with a flash of red light. Everything was silent for a moment. Tina lewdly thrust her hips up off the chair and pressed her chin to her chest so that she could see her tattoo. It had changed from a bleeding mess of hastily scribbled runes into an elegant, stylized ball of flame. I watched in amazement as ink flames peeled up and off the ball before evaporating into nothing. It looked like it was burning her skin. The small section of the tree the Sleeper had been touching was also changed. Rather than the bloody patch of skin, it was now smooth and healthy-looking bark.

The Sleeper stood and admired his handy work for a moment, staring at the flickering tattoo. From where I was sitting and the way Tina was standing, it looked like he was giving her crotch a thorough examination.

“Incredible,” he muttered reverently, and I had to stifle a giggle at the absurdity and danger of the situation. He plucked the dagger carefully from the rear of his Fundoshi where he had stored it. He then gently cut the bindings loose from Tina before roughly slinging her toward Northcutt by the wrist. She stumbled, nearly falling on legs that had to be mostly asleep before the hulking man grabbed her with one arm loosely around her neck and shoulders. The Sleeper returned the dagger to his waist and loosened Tina’s gag before moving to stand behind her right shoulder.

“Do it,” the Sleeper encouraged her. “Just like before, how I showed you. Speak the words.”

Tina was sobbing now, her sad noises finally coming through with the gag removed. It wasn’t the sound of a broken woman, but rather one that was trying to hold things together with everything she had. But she wasn’t moving fast enough. The Sleeper seized her by the arm and pulled her away from Northcutt. He roughly pointed her to an open area of the room and forced her to raise her right arm, standing behind her.

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“Do it, bitch.” He growled at her. “I don’t need you whole for the testing.”

Tina shuddered in his grasp but kept her arm pointed outward. She spread the fingers of her hand. The Sleeper loosened his grip and watched the air in front of Tina intently.

“Iacta flamma,” Tina stuttered out weakly. I felt the air grow a bit warmer, but nothing happened. Tina lowered her arm and slumped defeatedly.

“Try again dear. Say it like you mean it.” The Sleeper instructed helpfully. He aimed her by the shoulders back at the space and the room held its breath again.

Tina thrust her arm out more forcefully splaying her fingers wide. “Iacta flamma!” she bellowed. This time the air ignited and a whoosh of flame erupted from the end of Tina’s fingers. The stream of fire pushed forward about ten feet before ending in a ball of flame that licked at the air before fading away. Tina’s eyes glowed faintly of red and she moved her arm a few degrees to the left. The blazing torrent moved with her arm. After a few seconds, Tina closed her fingers into a fist and the fire went out. She was breathing heavily but otherwise appeared unhurt. She looked over her shoulder at her captor.

The Sleeper grasped her by the shoulders and spun her around. He looked deeply into her eyes, searching for something. He looked over to Northcutt, Teddy, and me.

“Her life force is undiminished. If anything, it’s increased. She pulled power through the veil.” His voice was flat and monotone, disbelieving. “I’ve done it. After all these years. Despite the astronomical cost. I’ve done it.”

I looked at Teddy and his mouth was open, just a bit. “To my knowledge, we've just witnessed history,” he said dryly, clearly impressed. “Despite the unorthodox and quite frankly despicable means, this is quite an achievement.”

The Sleeper smiled at Teddy maliciously, happy to have at least one appreciative voice. Northcutt was more concerned with his due. He pulled a set of handcuffs from his belt and snapped them onto Tina’s wrists, securing her arms behind her back. He pulled her over to the chair she had just occupied near the tree and sat down, throwing her to the floor.

“It’s my turn now.” Northcutt looked over at Teddy and me. “Neither of you chucklefucks move, or the bitch dies.”

“I got your dry cleaning, you son of a bitch!” Tina screamed before taking a heavy boot to the face from the Chief.

“Shut up, whore.” he said dismissively. Then to the Sleeper, “Let’s do this. I have to get out of town ASAP.” He tucked Teddy’s gun into his belt and rolled his sleeves up a bit more, before deciding to remove his shirt entirely.

“Yes, of course,” the Sleeper said dreamily as he began to move toward Northcutt and the tree. “Time is ever a factor.”

“What'd we do?” I mumbled to Teddy. This was the first time that both men had been away from us.

“Farfalla is up in the rafters. I don’t know her game, but we should wait until she makes her play before…”

“Oh, shit,” I interrupted Teddy.

The Sleeper had walked up behind Northcutt. He pulled the Dagger of Jilayia out from his waistband and plunged it into the center of Northcutt’s chest in one smooth movement. Tina started to scream through bloody lips. I wasn’t sure what I expected. Blood? Gore? The scene from the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where that dude ages a thousand years in a few seconds? It wasn’t any of those. The dagger entered Northcutt without resistance or a sound. The Sleeper held it in place for just a moment before pulling it out just as easily.

The enormous ruby on the crossguard of the dagger flared to life, and a dull red light suffused the warehouse bathing everything in an otherworldly glow. Then, the Chief was just dead. He went from folding his shirt neatly to slumped over in his chair. Tina’s scream echoed through the warehouse as his body slid forward and thumped onto the ground. His eyes were open, and he looked like he had been dead for a few hours rather than a few seconds. Tina screamed again as Northcutt hit the floor, scrambling away from him as best she could. Her second scream was a bit muffled and I realized that the Chief's kick had broken her nose. Blood flowed freely down her face and into her mouth. The collar of her blouse was slowly staining red.

The Sleeper ignored the body and the screaming and examined the dagger the way one might look at a Q-Tip pulled from an ear. He rotated something on the hilt and then plunged the dagger into the tree. The red light slowly faded as the tree shuddered and shook. As we watched, a new branch erupted from the trunk and stretched obscenely upward. The Sleeper watched with a satisfied smile on his face before turning to us.

“That is much more efficient,” he told us. “By an order of magnitude.” He held the dagger up and looked at it appreciatively. He walked over, leaving Tina bleeding on the floor, and sat across from us on the bench. “I’m so glad that at least one of you appreciates the significance of this occasion. You will both go down in history.” He looked at Teddy as he spoke. His voice was intimate like he was explaining a favor he was doing.

I spit on the floor. “You expect us to sit here and let you stick us with that thing?”

Teddy sighed and the Sleeper looked thoughtful. “You could fight, I suppose. But I will subdue you. The result will be the same, but less pleasant. I promise.” His eyes gleamed with malevolence.

Teddy sat up as straightly as he could and cleared his throat. “What’s your proper name sir? I refused to address you by that silly moniker.”

The Sleeper looked at Teddy appraisingly and smiled. “It’s been a long time since anyone asked me that. Normally, I would refuse. Names can hold power. But since you asked so nicely and you certainly will be dead in just a few moments, I suppose I can indulge you. I was always a sucker for manners. You may address me as Mr. Adler.”

Teddy grinned again and I knew that smile. He was up to something. “Well, Mr. Adler. I, Benjamin Theodore Ruthersford the Third hereby challenge you to a duel.” The air around us shimmered.

The Sleeper/Mr. Adler laughed uproariously as Teddy stared daggers at him. He eventually stopped, wiping a tear from his eye. “Oh wait, you're serious?” He started laughing again. “Why in the nine hells would I?” His voice trailed off, the laughter dying suddenly. “Why would I,” he started again, gritting his teeth. The air around us flexed and contracted, distended with arcane power. “Why,” Adler tried one more time, shaking slightly with unseen effort.

“Surely, you aren’t afraid to accept my challenge, Mr. Adler? I literally have the use of only one arm.” Teddy chided him conversationally, motioning toward his sling with his chin.

The pressure in the room redoubled. It felt like we were a thousand feet under the sea. Adler was sweating. “I accept,” he finally gasped. The air shimmered again, and the pressure was gone in the blink of an eye. Adler looked winded, sucking air in and out. He looked supremely annoyed and as Teddy’s partner, I had a good idea what he was thinking.

“Excellent,” Teddy said before slowly standing and brushing off his pants with one hand. “I expect you’ll want to settle the matter immediately?”

“Yes, immediately,” Adler grunted.

Teddy’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Then, let’s set to it.” He looked at me with his shit-eating grin. “Straightaway.”