Taxis are pretty rare in America since most Americans have their own cars.
So, a lot of the time, if you want a ride, you have to call and book one in advance. Trying to hail a cab on the street? You might be waiting forever.
Luckily, Lydia's luck was on her side today, and she made it to the Sangiviki Bar in under half an hour.
Inside the bar, the tall, glamorous owner was slumped over the counter, sighing dramatically. Hard to tell if it was because business was slow or something else entirely.
The Sangiviki Bar was practically deserted today—just a handful of customers, barely enough to call it a crowd.
The owner, plus her three daughters, outnumbered the patrons.
No surprise there. After the whole Elder Council fiasco, the FEA was cracking down hard on vampires, making them extra cautious.
A lot of vampires saw the writing on the wall and bolted to the East Coast.
Most vampires have some kind of record, after all. Getting caught by the FEA wouldn't end well for them.
Athena, the owner, had some serious connections, so she could keep the bar running.
Business was taking a hit, though. Good thing Athena didn't care much about the money—she ran the bar mostly to kill boredom.
"Athena, you've got to help me!" Lydia burst out the second she stepped into the bar.
She and Athena went way back, so Lydia didn't hesitate to beg for help.
"Lydia? What's going on?" Athena asked, still looking half-asleep, like nothing could spark her interest.
The two had a decent relationship. Back before Lydia hit it big, she used to pick up gigs through the Sangiviki Bar. Over time, they got to know each other well.
After Lydia's TV show took off this year, she stopped taking those gigs, but they stayed friends.
Lydia rushed to the counter, stammering as she tried to explain what happened. She was so rattled that her words came out jumbled, and it took a good ten minutes to get the story straight.
Athena propped her chin in her hand, eyeing Lydia curiously.
"A succubus faked her death and came after you? What's her deal? Just revenge, or what?"
The question caught Lydia off guard. She hadn't even thought about the why behind it all. Now that Athena mentioned it, something felt off.
"You're right, that's weird! The succubus controlled two of my coworkers, then faked her death to slip away during an FEA raid. I think she's after me because I figured out she wasn't really dead. Damn it! She's definitely up to something!"
Lydia pieced it together quickly, getting a rough sense of the situation.
"Did you tell Saltana?" Athena asked.
"Yeah, I called her. She said she's looking into it."
Now that she'd figured out why the succubus was after her, Lydia remembered something else.
"Oh, Athena, there's another thing—something terrifying. I just saw the Dark Mage!"
Athena, who'd been on the verge of dozing off, snapped to attention at the name.
"You're sure? That bastard actually showed up?"
"I'm positive. How else do you think I escaped that succubus?"
Athena gave Lydia a once-over. Someone as weak as Lydia surviving a succubus encounter was a miracle, but Athena hadn't thought about it until now.
"Hang on a sec!"
Lydia watched as Athena pulled an ancient-looking rotary phone from under the counter. It looked like something straight out of World War II, the kind where you have to spin the dial.
Weirdly, the phone had no cord, making you wonder if the old relic even worked.
Athena spun the dial a few times, and the call connected almost instantly.
"Hello, this is Athena Dimitrescu. I need to know if the Dark Mage is still in custody. Yes, yes… uh-huh. Thanks for the info!"
Athena hung up and looked at Lydia with a resigned expression.
"That jerk really did break out of prison."
Lydia had already seen the Dark Mage with her own eyes, so Athena's confirmation didn't shock her much.
"Athena, what do we do?"
"The best thing is to stay as far away from that guy as possible, but…"
Before Athena could finish, the old phone started ringing.
"Hold on, let me take this. Hello, Athena Dimitrescu speaking."
"This is Wolf Jackson, Chief of the Underworld Police Department. Ms. Dimitrescu, you called about that guy. Do you have any leads on him?"
The way the Underworld Police Chief referred to the Dark Mage as "that guy" gave off serious "You-Know-Who" vibes.
"Yeah, I've got a source who saw him," Athena replied, matching his vague phrasing.
Apparently, the Dark Mage was like Voldemort—say his name three times in a row, and you'd summon him. No one wanted that.
"Phew! That's the best news I've heard in a while!"
Just then, a cool old guy in sunglasses strolled out of the bathroom, making Athena roll her eyes.
(Wolf Jackson, played by Willem Dafoe)
"Mr. Jackson, do you have to come out of the toilet every time? It's bad for business!"
"Desperate times, Ms. Dimitrescu. Cut me some slack!"
The moment Wolf Jackson appeared, the two or three remaining customers bolted.
Athena crossed her arms and glared at him.
"See? You scared off the last of my customers!"
Wolf coughed awkwardly, trying to diffuse the tension.
"Ahem! Ms. Dimitrescu, if we catch that guy, the Underworld Police will compensate you. Now, what's the intel on him?"
Athena's eyes gleamed with a sly look, though her expression stayed neutral.
"You'd better! Or I'll be calling to complain about the Underworld Police. Lydia, tell Mr. Jackson what you saw."
Lydia's face lit up like she'd just spotted a lifeline. As a medium, she was no stranger to the Underworld Police. They worked together often.
If you needed to track someone down in the underworld, the Underworld Police were your best bet—safe and efficient.
The Underworld Police were happy to work with law-abiding mediums, too. Sometimes, spirits from the underworld slipped back to the living world to cause trouble, and mediums like Lydia provided crucial tips—like now.
After hearing Lydia's story, Wolf looked thoughtful.
"Sounds like that guy is in Los Angeles. Miss, can you take us to him?"
Lydia hesitated. The Dark Mage had left a massive shadow on her psyche, and she wasn't sure the Underworld Police could handle him.
"You sure you can deal with him?"
Wolf grinned confidently.
"I've brought the Underworld Police's elite squad. We'll bring the Dark Mage in, no problem."
Reassured by Wolf's confidence, Lydia nodded.
"Alright. I don't know if he's still at my place, but I can take you there to check."
Wolf nodded, then turned to Athena.
"Ms. Dimitrescu, I'll swing by your bar next time to make up for this. Duty calls today."
Athena smirked. "Just don't forget my compensation."
"I won't," Wolf promised.
With that, he grabbed Lydia and headed for the bathroom.
"Wait, why are you dragging me to the toilet?" Lydia yelped.
"To get to your place through the Spirit Realm, of course! It'll take minutes instead of waiting for a cab."
Sure, Wolf was the big-shot chief in the Spirit Realm, but in the human world? No car.
"What? Can't we get to the Spirit Realm some other way?"
"No time to waste! Let's go!"
"Ahh!" Lydia let out a scream, followed by the sound of a toilet flushing.
Athena, still at the counter, shook her head.
"Poor Lydia. Good thing hardly anyone uses the bar's toilet, or…"
The Sangiviki Bar mostly served vampires, with the occasional wizard or werewolf dropping by.
Vampires don't have bodily functions, so they never need the bathroom.
Still, crawling through a toilet would traumatize any normal human. Even Athena, who hadn't been human for a millennium, wouldn't dream of entering the Spirit Realm that way.
Too humiliating!
Lydia should be grateful the bar was empty except for Athena and her daughters when it happened.
Not long after the bathroom commotion died down, the bar's door swung open again.
Athena's eyes lit up when she saw who it was, but her expression quickly turned sulky.
"Roy, you finally showed up! I thought you forgot about me!"
Roy looked a bit sheepish. Last time, he'd had a wild night with Athena and made some promises—promises he forgot about when other stuff came up.
Truth be told, if it weren't for this situation, Roy wouldn't have come to Sangiviki. He had too many women to keep up with.
"Sorry, I've been swamped. Once this mess is over, I'll stop by for a drink."
Athena's face lit up, her smile harder to contain than a machine gun's recoil.
"That's great! My daughters and I will be waiting!"
The three vampire daughters flashed Roy warm smiles.
Saltana coughed twice, cutting through Athena's flirty glances at Roy.
"Ahem! Athena, I sent Lydia here to lay low. She didn't show?"
"Oh, Lydia? She was here, but Wolf Jackson, the Underworld Police Chief, took her."
"Wolf Jackson? Underworld Police?" Roy and Saltana exchanged confused looks.
Athena explained, "The Underworld Police keep order in the Spirit Realm. It's run by some powerful ghosts. Wolf Jackson's the chief."
Roy knew about the Spirit Realm—an ancient discovery by wizards.
"Why's the Underworld Police Chief in the human world?" he asked.
"Because a dangerous fugitive called the Dark Mage escaped to the human world. They need to catch him."
Roy and Saltana shared a glance, sensing things were getting complicated.
"What's this Dark Mage's deal?" Roy asked.
Athena scratched her head. "He's a legendary wizard from the late Middle Ages. Got this crazy ability to make things happen just by thinking about them. Super powerful, but his head's a mess. Caused a ton of trouble, even after death."
Roy frowned. "If he's that much trouble, why's he in the Spirit Realm and not hell?"
"That's the thing. He loves pranks and chaos but rarely does anything truly evil. His crimes while alive weren't bad enough for hell, so he ended up in the Spirit Realm. Honestly, if he could go to hell, the Underworld Police would throw him a going-away party."
Roy got the gist of the Dark Mage's situation, but another question popped up.
"The Dark—"
"Shh! Don't say his name too many times, or he'll show up! I'd like to keep my bar in one piece!" Athena interrupted, clearly spooked.
Roy realized the Dark Mage's reputation for trouble was no joke.
"What's his connection to Lydia?" he asked.
Athena hesitated. "That's kind of personal for Lydia. Let's just say he's been obsessed with her since she was a teenager—wanted to marry her, even. This time, she probably escaped that succubus thanks to his powers."
Saltana snorted. "Sounds like a super annoying stalker."
"Ha! Pretty much!" Athena agreed.
"Where'd they go?" Saltana asked.
"Wolf took Lydia to the Spirit Realm to get to her house faster."
"Her place in the San Fernando Valley?" Saltana pressed.
Athena shrugged. "Probably. I don't know much about Lydia's home life."
"That's gotta be it. Roy, let's head to Lydia's!" Saltana said, grabbing Roy.
Athena waved a handkerchief, throwing Roy a flirty look. "Roy, come back soon! I've got a surprise for you!"
Roy was genuinely curious about Athena's surprise—no ulterior motives, just curiosity.
But there were bigger things to deal with. He hopped into the car with Saltana.
"Bumblebee, I'm giving you an address. Drive us there," Saltana said.
"No problem, Ms. Rivera!"