FicWad

FIVE
Chambers is located five blocks from the cemetery. I travel right through Stroke Newington Street, passing the new church on the right, and the old church near the Town Hall. There are a few examples of 18th century houses and a plaque of Daniel Defoe, on a property on the corner of Defoe Road. Past the L-shaped waterway, a remnant of the new river, and right of two ponds. The building is medium sized with a limited seating area at the front, and a large standing area in the main part of the bar. There is a long large mirror to the rear that makes the pub seem larger than it is. The bathrooms are labeled demon and human. No violence is permitted, though no one could fight even if they wanted to, seeing that the pub is magically protected.
Griffon is an extremely powerful wizard who takes his job very seriously. The first thing he did when he procured this place was to cast a spell on it. Anyone who uses violence is physically removed from this place. The same goes for humans as well as demons. Nothing can harm you once you're inside. That's how Griffon likes it. Vampires, by nature, are repelled from this place before they cross the threshold.
Now, Griffon doesn't look like what we think a wizard should look like. He doesn't carry a wand or wear a pointy hat, though he does have a beard that has been cropped short. He's only four-eleven but he has an impressive build for being so short. He was born a gnome. Gnomes are a shorter version of humans with a power to look into the future or the past, and learn from it. They are born with a huge knowledge of the cosmos, the Earth and minerals, making them perfect for wizardry. Gnomes develop the ability to 'swim' through the Earth – walk through it. They can also see inside all living and non-living things. Since they never worry and attend therapeutic events frequently, they live several hundred years.
Today Griffon is wearing a dark blue tunic and black drawstring pants. Around his neck is an impressive crystal lightening bolt that he received from his father when he became a wizard. His hair and beard are a rich auburn color. When you look into his eyes they change from green to emerald. Power emits from him like a flowing river.
The pub is crowded despite the time of day. Different demons and even some humans sit eating a bunch of scones, Devonshire clotted cream, strawberry jam, and cups of cream tea. The atmosphere in here is friendly and familiar. An elf named Kaal works as a busboy for Griffon, who rescued him from slavery. He has a very complicated past. His eyes are a strange gray with flecks of brown, his hair is course and brown, and his clothes are baggy. Griffon is training him to be a wizard. Kaal is getting very good at it too. Right now he's cleaning off an empty table and mumbling to himself.
I stride up to the bar where Griffon is talking to a human customer. He smiles at me and holds up his hand for me to wait. Taking a seat at the bar I wait. My mind is still trying to wrap itself around the concept of dream-leaping. This is a whole new can of worms. If he can come into my dreams I must be getting worse. Maybe my connection to him is what's making me act differently?
I hope Griffon can shed some light on it.
When the human female walks back to her table Griffon travels down the bar to where I sit. His smile is warm and full of pride, like his voice. “Hello Vala. How are you doing this fine morning?” he asks.
“Not so good I'm afraid,” I answer.
The bar is up to Griffon's chest so he can see the customers and what's going on in the establishment. The bar stools are also short so that the customers can't try to intimidate him. From where I'm sitting my neck reaches the top of his head.
“What's happened?” he asks.
I tell him about the dream first without leaving anything out. Then I describe the demon in detail so he knows exactly what to look for. After going in the back he comes out with an old book. It looks antique and has a binding that you can't find anymore. It's seven inches thick and worn on the edges. He frowns thoughtfully as he turns the pages.
“Aha!” he says, and flips it over so I can see. “Is this the demon you saw?”
The demon is called a deumus. It's the goddess of the Calicut in Malabar that devours the souls of humans. It has four horns on top of its head and feet of a rooster. Its nose is pointed and its teeth are hooked and sharp. There's a picture of it clutching a soul under its claws, the humans mouth is open in a silent scream. This demon stole my blood!
Why did Ambrose send a soul demon after me? Why didn't he just come himself? What is he planning?
“Thank you Griff. This is very helpful.”
He smiles, “No problem.”
After he returns the book to the back I order an imperial stout. This drink is a dark beer that exhibits a strong malt flavor, a hint of blueberries, and is quite rich almost resembling a chocolate dessert. I gulp it down as Kaal comes over carrying a tray of dirty dishes and hands them over the counter. Today he's wearing a faded blue T-shirt with the words, 'short but dangerous', and baggy jeans. His dark hair is spiked and his blue eyes are intelligent. Though he's not as powerful a wizard as Griffon, I can still sense a power all his own. He's definitely progressing.
“Hello Vala,” he says as Griffon takes the tray.
“Hi. How is work going?” I ask, but not about the pub.
He shrugs, “Not bad. Griffon says I'm getting better.”
I nod in agreement. “You have a very strong magical aura. I can feel it from over here.”
He beams proudly.
Unlike me Kaal has no sense of magic. I feel magic like a breeze on my skin whenever I'm near a wizard, including Griffon. Kaal only sees it in the eyes. With power comes understanding, and soon he'll be able to feel it too.
Griffon comes back with a rag for him.”Clean off the tables and then you can take a short break for lunch,” he says. Kaal nods and hurries off.
I watch Kaal leave and then look at Griffon. “I'll be back. Alden is leaving for a retreat today, and I promised I'd see him off, and give him news about the demon. How about one more stout for the road?”
He refills my glass and I down it before leaving.

# # # # #
I take a shortcut through a tunnel and come out the other side to walk a short distance home. In front of the building is a dying garden, the grass brown. Throughout the garden were once beautiful flowers, from blue geraniums to white daffodils. Since neither of us garden the flowers are mostly dead. The building itself looms ominously above me. There's a crawl space leading to my private entrance to the study. I often go through the front entrance, but this time I go the secret way. I find Alden inside the study pouring over an old book. A pen and paper sit beside him with scribbled notes. When I walk in her holds his hand up for me to wait. I'm surprised he could hear me. Any time Alden reads a book he gets lost in it and doesn't pay attention to the things around him. He reminds me a lot of my father. Edmund was always too involved in his books, which is why it was so easy to get him killed.
My mother Thalia was out on the field one day fighting a group of vampires. My father came too hoping to retrieve a book he had been missing. This was no ordinary hunt, this hunt was orchestrated by Ambrose. I was still too young to have known my parents weren't indestructible.
I came hoping to spend time alone with my parents. I hid and watched from behind a tombstone.
Thalia was so graceful jumping over graves and staking vampires. Edward was standing off to the side when a vampire attacked him from behind. In horror I watched it rip my father's throat out. I must have made a sound because the next thing I knew I was being held by a vampire. Ambrose held me while I watched my mother get gang jumped by his vamps. I was forced to watch them mutilate her body, though I fought like hell to get away.
When it finally ended I figured he would kill me too. Instead he drained some of my blood. I remember how painful it was when he bit me. To this day I still wish he had killed me too. Then he forced me to drink some of his blood to get back to health. I wasn't close enough to death for him to have changed me. Even after they left I stayed behind with my parents until the Council came and got me.
I won't let Alden die that way.
Finally he looks at me. “I found some information on a ritual that I think Ambrose is trying to accomplish with whatever demon attacked you.”
“Griffon was able to identify the demon.”
I explain what Griffon found.
“What is the ritual?” I ask.
With the information I gave him about the demon, Alden was able to confirm the ritual he found. This demon is very powerful when teamed with a vampire. Especially one as old and omnipotent as Ambrose. While Alden gets his bag for the retreat I read over the ritual. It requires the blood of Ambrose and I to be mixed and drunk by both parties. Upon which time I will be held onto an altar where I will be drained of my soul. The deumus will be able to devour my soul, and I will be doomed as a vampire to do Ambrose's bidding. It seems simple enough but I know it's not. Not by a long shot.
I follow Alden outside where a greyhound bus is waiting filled with watchers, elders and future hunters. Fulgor, the main elder, greets us. He has graying hair with streaks of black and sorrowful green eyes. He's wearing a long blue pullover and wool trousers. He's really old school. When he looks at me he smiles. “It is good to see you again, young hunter. You look very much like your mother,” he says kindly.
I smile and bow slightly. “Thank you Fulgor.”
He turns to Alden. “We have one final stop before we head to the adytum. Do you have everything you need?”
Alden nods. “Yes sir.”
“Good. Let us go then.”
Alden turns to me while Fulgor enters the bus. His eyes are filled with fatherly concern. “Vala, be very careful. I want to see you alive and well when I return.”
I try my best to reassure him, but no matter what I say I can't completely dispel the worry we both feel. If Ambrose succeeds in taking my soul Alden will be reassigned to another hunter, and I will be damned for eternity. Once you become a vampire there is no turning back. Neither of us wants that to happen. “Make sure to tell the Council what is going on. I want them to keep me in their thoughts and their spells. Hopefully together we can defeat Ambrose.”
Alden promises and gives me an intense hug.
I watch them drive away before heading inside. I have some things to do before I head back to Chambers. Things that might decide my fate, tonight.