Chapter 7

First of the 5

The air turns hot with the overwhelming scent of sulfur. The sky had a reddish tint even in the darkness. We continue down the street for a few blocks and I stop. We were in front of an auction house that was in disrepair. The sign was missing several letters so the name was indecipherable. The windows were busted out and there were papers littering the front stoop. The door was hanging askew on its hinges. I send a pulse into the building and get back a ping of energy dark but not exactly demonic. I link to my brothers

They nod and Baker pulls up his shotgun. He enters the building first followed by me with Shyft bringing up the rear. The inside was just as ramshackle as the exterior. The shelves were knocked over and mostly destroyed. There were broken vases and torn pictures on the floor. The smell of decay clung to the air, coming from the back of the auction house. The three of us sweep and clear heading to the back. I kept a small bubble of my energy inside the store so I could follow the 'leash' of energy I had sensed on the ravengers. It went to the back of the store where the horrible smell was coming from. I motion my brothers towards the door at the back of the showroom.

The large double oak doors had runes and glyphs all over it. Some were painted on, some engraved, and some of them were just pure energy. Whoever had placed this here was very good at the art of runeology. Unfortunately, they weren't as effective with energy manipulation because most of the runes and glyphs were barely alive. Most of the energy had either seeped out or it wasn’t properly filled in the first place. My brothers waited for me to finish examining the door. I stood up and turned.

"It is a masterfully protected door but it isn’t powered well. I can break what it has it will just take some time." I said turning back to the door. I start chanting a spell that I had learned from Roland that was designed to reveal the intricate weave of the spells on the door. All the runes and glyphs started glowing with my green energy and I could see the nexus points that helped bind the spells together. I spent the next twenty minutes dismantling the nexus points. A few times I accidently tripped a part of the door and got blasted with the feedback. I finish breaking the nexus points and the entire spell finally unravels and the runes go dark. The doors burst open as 6 ravengers barrel through the entryway. A wave of dark energy spilled from behind them making the inside of the auction house get even darker than it was. We quickly dispatch the ravengers and turn back to the open doorway. A large black wispy smoke like entity billowed out of the darkness. The eyes were yellow lights and the mouth was wide menacing smile. The mouth didn’t move when it spoke.

"Finally, I am free. Thank you for releasing me from my prison." Its voice was very wispy and mischievous. "What can I ever do to repay you. Power? Do you want power? No, I can feel that you three have more power than any other human I have ever met. Though every other human I met was either a collector or dead, turned by the power of my aura into a ravenger. So, what do you want? Info on how to defeat the demons. Yes, that is what I can offer." The corporeal form just hung there making no threatening gestures with its ghostly fingers laced together.

"What the hell are you? Why were you locked up? Shyft stepped forward. The entity smiled and said

"Well that is a very difficult question. I am the living magick of this book." It motions to a large leather book caught in the tail of the ghostly form. "I have no name and was never even intended to exist. Because of the nature of my energy I have been attributed with evil but I just want to live my life. As to why I was locked up it plays into what I said my energy is the cause of catastrophe if it isn't contained." The shadow shrugs. There was something off about this entity and I did not fully trust it.

I look at my brothers and send them a thought

Baker shrugs and replies with

I look back at the entity and ask "So you are saying that you are the magick protecting the book and you became sentient? Is there any way to separate you from the book? And maybe cleanse your energy of the evil side?" The smoke shifts and shrugs

"I have no idea." It says. "But I can give you a lot of information about the demons and how to fight them. I may be alive through an accident, but I have all the knowledge of every past owner of this book and all the knowledge of the contents of this book. All I want is to be free and live one my own." It adds with a sly smile. I look down at the book and then back at the entity.

"Do you mind if I look." I asked the shadowy entity. It nods and moves out of the way with a sweeping flourish. I walk up and kneel next to the book making sure not to touch it. I whisper thw weave reveal spell and gather my energy around the book. The weave of energy in the book sprang to life. Glyphs on glyphs, rows and rows of complicated spell work intricately pieced together. The complexity of the spell work was staggering. It almost looked like a mathmatical equation that would take a super computer months to crack. There were elements and invokations that I had never seen before. Languages that to my knowledge were made up. I let the spell and the energy fade. I look up at my brothers and shake my head.

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"It’s going to take me a lot of messing with to crack this guy. This is the most complex and intricate spell work I have ever seen. If this book is as old as it is whoever wrote this and empowered the spell had set it up to stay full powered for eternity." I look up at the entity. "So, it looks like we are going to have to take you with us." The entity seemed to get very excited about the prospect.

"Oh, I get to go on a road trip how fun. Where are we going?" it asks. It leans in and gazes at me, almost like it’s looking through me. "Ahhhh we are going to find my brothers and sisters." It claps a little like a child.

"You can read minds? Shyft asks.

"No No, not exactly but I can tell what your desires are." It replies slyly. Baker raises his eyebrow

"Shit, you mean the rest of the books are going to be just like this a living entity attached to the fucking book?" he asks putting his hands on his head. I look around the store room and find an antiquated chest that is supposed to look like a pirate crest. I sit down on the floor and pull out a small notebook that I carry with notes and spells that I have been working on over the years. I spend the next hour and a half crafting a suppression and containment spell that would allow us to talk to the entity without its energy even effecting anything around us. It wouldn’t last long, I don’t have the knowledge to make it permanent.

The energy of the book would eventually break down my wards and start to get free. I put the book inside of the chest and close the lid activating the ward lock. The smoky entity gets sucked into the chest and disappears. The box sits there in the middle of the floor glowing slightly. A few minutes go by then a small puff of smoke comes out and forms a bird like creature that forms and land on my shoulder. It turns its green glowing eyes to me and says

"Wow I didn’t expect this. I like this new body. I feel good having the freedom to fly." The bird lifts off my shoulder and does a few laps around the room and then lands back on my shoulder. A thump echoes from the roof.

"Fuck, I have been too busy setting this up to keep paying attention to our surroundings." I said pulsing my sensory energy out in a bubble. I got back a ping. "There are two blood hawks on the roof and three circling around above." I said pulling my bow out.

"Fuck. hawks, I am going to be less than useless unless they get close." Shyft said.

"Just try to wing them when they strike." I yell over my shoulder heading for the door

"Baker can you get the chest?" he grabbed the chest and tucked it under his shield arm. I nod and peek out the front door. "Let’s go guys I think we have a small window of opportunity, but we have to be quick." my brothers nod acknowledging my thought. I look at the bird on my shoulder and say, "This may get dangerous you might want to get back in the box." it blinked at me and said,

"I think I can handle myself in this new body."

"Ok if you think so." I said exiting the auction house.

The street was dark with a red hue and the wind was hotter than when we entered the building. Before the three of us had even gotten onto the street we heard the first scream. Blood hawks are a very dangerous species of demonically changed animals. They have defensive runes carved into their hides and the claws seem to can get through shields and wards easily. They can fly, they have very acute vision that allows them to see magic users' auras, and they have a screech that can make any unprotected person cower and freeze in fear. I yell the thought

to my brothers who immediately take off. I stand my ground waiting for them to pass. Over the top of the roof two taloned claws grasped the edge and a vaguely humanoid womans face, with pale green scales and a razor-sharp beak, peered over. It focused its eyes on me and let a long scream out. Four other screams responded to it. Three large winged bodies fly past the first and dive for me. Using my training that I had done with my brothers I quick fire 7 arrows, one catches a wing, two miss by inches, and the last 4 pierce the chest of the closest hawk. It drops like a rock from the sky and impacts the pavement with a sickening crunch. The other two veer off and swing around to regroup. They split up and try to attack from either side. I try to shoot one of them but miss. I turn to run and create a wall of ice behind me. I wasn’t fast enough one of the hawks raked its claws across my back. I felt the red-hot pain of long magically enhanced claws cutting through my skin and muscle. I fall forward racked with pain. The other hawks take that as a sign and dive for me.

The bird rises off my shoulder and flaps toward the incoming hawks. It gets within a few yards and it starts shooting purplish black energy balls hitting each of the hawks in succession. The last hawk screams and flies off toward the reddish glow, no doubt to report us to whatever demon is controlling the land nearest the portal. The bird lands next to me and says,

"See I can handle myself and watch your back too." Baker comes running up

"Shit man we thought you were right behind us. We were 4 block away before we realized you tried to fight them. How did you survive no one can fight a pack of hawks single handedly?” Shyft was at the alleyway keeping eyes on the sky. I look up at Baker and say

"It was him actually I only got one." I motion to the bird at my side.

"No shit it does have a use." The bird made a small cooing sound and blinked at me. I focused my energy into my back and I could feel the wounds on my back start to itch. The wounds started to close slowly. A few minutes pass by and my wounds are finally closed and not hurting anymore. I stand up, lean down and extend my hand to the bird. He jumps on my finger and rides my hand up to my shoulder. I look over at him and say

"So since you are going to be a companion of mine I should name you. What do you feel about Shade?" The bird inclined its head and says

"Shade? I like it. It's very me?"