Click.
A piece of jigsaw felt like it slotted in place.
"So," I said, leaning back and tapping my chin. "Is it a coup? Or a trap?"
"Huh?"
"Or can it be both?"
"I'm so confused right now." She sighed heavily. "I just came hoping to get some closure or something."
"That's another thing," I said. "Count Saint Germaine appeared within days of my resurrection. Then Hellsings. And the Order on the same day. Then Kalista… They all wanted something.
"You know Count Saint Germaine?"
"Yes."
"Wow. I thought he was a myth." Then she frowned. "Who's Kalista? I don't know that name."
"A succubus."
"Wow. Okay…" She pouted. "How can I compete with a succubus?"
"She represents Scholomance."
"Scholomance is real, too?" She gulped. "Are you kidding?"
"No."
"Huh." She shook her head. "I wish I'd known that when I was alive. I'd have tried harder to make a pact with Hell."
"There's still time," I said with a smile. "But tell me, Netta, how is it you knew I was here?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you hear about me?"
"I didn't," she shrugged. "I saw you."
"Saw me?"
"Well, when my Astral Body separated, I began noticing auras better. Not just people. But places. Mystical places can be brilliant to look at."
"Auras?"
"Yeah. You know. Like, you said you saw a blue glow around my eyes? That's kind of an aura, isn't it? Well, I see them more strongly. Most people have an aura. It's a sort of glowing light. It can be lots of colours, too. It depends on their health, or what kind of person they are."
"And me?"
"You're black," she said flatly. "Of course."
"Of course…"
"But I didn't see you specifically. I saw the tower." She waved a hand at the walls. "Outside, this place glows like you wouldn't believe. It's like a beacon. Or a lighthouse? It's almost blinding."
"Not black?"
"No," she said. "It's more a purple colour. Maybe a bit pink…"
"Hmm."
"When I saw it, I thought to myself someone very powerful must live here. And they could help me." She climbed back into her chair. "I mean, purple's not a bad colour, really. I've met plenty of people with purple auras. They're usually real nice."
"Hmm."
"You hmm a lot, don't you?"
"You didn't know anything about me before you arrived?"
"No. Not until I saw you. Then I knew what you were."
"A vampire."
"Well. Not really. Vampires have a more brownish aura. It's only when the blonde girl told me your name that I knew. Although, I might have guessed given the colour of your aura."
"Oh?"
"I've seen it before. I saw one of your Brides, once. In Vegas."
"Which one?"
"I don't know. I didn't stay to greet her. I like to avoid trouble if I can."
"And what colour are my Renfields?"
"The girls outside?"
"Yes."
"Oh, they're sort of brownish, too. Not like vampires, though. More closer to orange."
"Interesting."
"You think so?" She clapped her hands. "I love auras. But I haven't found anyone who wants to talk about them since the '80s. The '60s was better, though. Man, you should've been here for that. Talk about wild times. I went through so many bodies in the '60s, and it wasn't because they wore out fast. The dope was just… Well… Anyway… You don't want to hear about that, I guess…"
"I'd like to hear about this Order, though."
"Oh?" She sat up straighter, her eyes bright. "What would you like to hear? I know a lot about them, you know. Well, I know a lot about all of them. I couldn't infiltrate them unfortunately. I tried, but most proper Orders have wards against evil spirits and that seems to include me. Very rude. I'm not evil. I'm an Astral Body. Who knew it'd apply to me?"
"I want to know how they relate to each other."
"The juicy stuff?"
"Yes. The juicy stuff."
"Well, let me see. The Order itself is actually a bunch of lodges who work together. You know, like Freemasons?"
"I've heard of them."
"Yeah, well. There's a few big orders, but the IORC is probably the most popular. They've got tradition, right? So, they've got the most credibility."
"Because of Crowley?"
"Not really. The world thinks he died years ago."
"So, he did cheat death?"
"That's the rumour. One of his books hit the market and in it he talked about a new demon he'd made contact with. I think he was trying to recruit people to worship it and make it stronger."
That'd make sense if it was an actual demon.
But a creature from the Abyss didn't need worship.
"Hmm."
"You don't sound convinced."
"Maybe you need to convince me some more."
"Alright," She pursed her lips. "The IORC was founded before that. Around 1907, I think. I'm just guessing. It's a long time ago. Crowley stole my Master's book. He was using that as a lure to new members. You know, come and see the mystical treasure from Old Masters from primordial occult times. You know the pattern."
"I do."
"Anyway, we managed to get the book back. It took about five years, but we got it." She sighed. "Not that it really mattered. Crowley had made a copy, of course. But he still wanted the original back. The result was psychic warfare. We battled for years. Then I got hit. I could only watch as everyone from Alpha et Omega died or just got sick of it all and joined Crowley. He had the greater numbers."
"Hmm."
I had a feeling that her words were important. Like I was a fisherman standing by a lake.
My line was steady.
Nothing was nibbling at the bait.
But there were fish lurking in the deep.
I just needed to pull them to the surface.
"Now they've split again. One side with Crowley, and one with someone else?"
She nodded. "Actually, I think there's a few factions now. One of the strongest is with a man named Mortimer Deem."
"Deem," I said, curling my lips.
"Ah, you know him?"
"We've met."
"Nasty man," she shuddered. "He nearly caught me, once."
"What was Deem's relationship to Crowley?"
"He wasn't a student," she said. "Deem had his own Order which merged into the Golden Dawn, and then he followed my Master and Crowley. Then, when my Master left Crowley, Deem stayed behind. I've heard gossip over the years, but it's mostly gossip. But there's no one in the world who knows more about the occult than Mortimer Deem. He's a dangerous man, Count. If I were you, I wouldn't fuck with him."
"Hmm." I thought of Kalista. "He'd have ties to Hell."
"Who doesn't?"
"I wonder what demon he calls his patron."
"I have a feeling he wouldn't tell you even if you took a hammer to his teeth."
"And then there's the Alchemist," I muttered.
"Who?"
"Saint Germaine."
"Oh." She cocked her head. "You know, there is one thing. There was a sort of revival in alchemy recently. Maybe twenty years ago. I noticed a lot of lodges and covens talking about alchemy all of a sudden. You know, how you could transform yourself? They sold all kinds of bullshit twaddle. Powdered white gold. That sort of thing. Called it the Philosopher's Stone."
I grunted. Charlatans were everywhere.
"The thing is, the IORC heavily promoted it, too." She grinned. "I bet they'd need someone with some real alchemy skills to come up with whatever dross they were selling. Don't you think?"
It was a loose connection.
"Perhaps."
"My master also worked a lot with alchemy. I mean, it was kind of normal back then. He worked on translating a lot of books about it, though. So, he practiced a bit of it. I remember a friend gave him a gem and asked if he could reproduce it."
"A gem?" My eyes narrowed. "What kind of gem?"
"A red one."
"Could he reproduce it?"
"No." She shook her head. "But he thought it had something to do with the book. He was certain of it. He said the basic idea in the book pointed to it. He talked about it a lot. He was obsessed with it for a while. And it's why Crowley took it."
I felt my Bloodline tremble a little.
"Netta, what happened to that book?"
"The last time I saw it, it was with my Master. He died while I was away, though. I was having difficulty getting bodies and had to move to America." She frowned. "You know, there was this little man who was interested in it. He came around a lot for a while. I know he got on real well with my Master. They used to swap books. And he bought some through Master."
"Little man?"
"Yeah," she made a face. "Ugly old thing. But he always had a pretty girl on his arm."
"Did he now?"
"Before you ask, I didn't know his name."
"I don't think I need to ask," I told her. My Bloodline was practically singing. "The book, Netta. What was it called?"
"Oh. Umm…" She screwed her eyes and tapped her forehead. "It was strange. A word I hadn't heard before. Something Mancy. Photo? No. Supermancy? No. That's not it. Oh, I got it! It was-"
"Sophomancy and the Abyss."
"Yeah!" She blinked at me. "How did you guess?"
So.
There it was.
Somehow, my library had been dispersed shortly after my death.
Renfield had gone looking for the tomes.
He'd then wormed his way into Mathers' confidence to recover them.
Clever little man. My debt to him was significant.
Crowley had made a copy, though. Which meant Deem had seen the copy.
Perhaps he even had a copy of his own by now.
But any copies they had were flawed. Did they know how flawed?
Crowley had managed to contact a being he called Chronzon, though. How? I suspected he'd modified the corrupted Rituals in the book. Was his summoning of the entity… a fluke?
Or had he actually mastered sophomancy as I had? By trial and error?
No.
He couldn't have mastered it.
If he had, there'd have been no need for Gibbon Rey to work with Jackson to steal my original grimoire. I had no doubt he'd done this at the Order's request, and then most likely thought to keep its secrets for himself.
The Order must suspect there was something in the original copy that had been missed.
They were right, but without knowledge of void magic, they'd never understand what. It would be nothing more than a doorstop for them.
It wasn't important.
If I was right, my confrontation with Crowley was going to be difficult. And, while I was fighting Deem, the Order would most likely wish to plunder my library. I wouldn't be here to stop them.
If I survived the confrontation, they'd appear at the end and kill me.
I let a smile, cruel and cold, spread across my face.
"Umm, Count?" Netta shrank back from me. "Your face is really scary. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking the Order is desperate to learn the art of sophomancy," I told her, my Bloodline humming with malignant glee. "As a True Master of the Occult Arts, I feel it is my duty to teach it to them…"
***
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I haven't had any feedback on this story so am currently focussing on my other story, 3 Cursed Sisters.