“It’s not much,” The Barkeep started. “Word around the bar is, in some of the more… unsavoury… clientele, that there’s someone up top making some pretty big moves, moves that are going to change everything down here as well.” Sophia and I glanced at one another. She looked just as uncomfortable as I felt with a declaration like that. I picked up my drink and took a sip, noting that it went just as blue as Sophia’s had earlier. “Can you give us anything else?” Sophia asked. “Something more solid to go on?” The barkeep shrugged, “I only hear what I hear Sophia, you know that. If you want to speak to someone who knows more you know what you’re gonna have to do. What me to get him down here?” Sophia sighed, it was long and aggravated, “Yeah, fine, do it. I already have to deal with one smart ass, why not another.” I couldn’t help but think that jibe was directed at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked as the barkeep moved away from us to call this mysterious other person to
By the time we were ready to begin the next stage in our mission the midday sun was already high in the sky. We would have already been on our way to Gunnersbury park if not for the sudden realisation that we had left my car in Soho while we tracked the first rogue Immateria from the alley we had first encountered it all the way down to the City of London Airport. That meant we had to wait around for a cab, have it take us all the way into the heart of London, and then drive all the way out to the outer zones of the city. I had been wrong about the park being in the borough of Ealing. It was actually in the borough of Hounslow, which was right next to Ealing. Either way, it was right out at the edge of the city in an area in my mind that could hardly be called London at all. What could be said for sure was that the park was a beautiful place. We drove up a little dirt path to a little dirt car park and got out of the car. “Almost feels like the countryside,” I muttered, mostly t
The inside of the old tower had clearly seen better days. The air was thick with the musty smell of decay and the brick walls were crumbling and cracked. It was a wonder the thing hadn’t collapsed already. I hoped that it didn’t choose to fall apart while we were still inside. It was a relatively small space with a main open room and a flight of stairs leading up the side of the wall to the upper levels.“You really think we’re going to find something in here?” I asked. “It doesn’t look ancient or grand just… decrepit, really.” “Trust me, Parker. Cultists love places like this, and there’s a good chance that one of them has put something here for safekeeping,” Sophia said. The room was a cluttered mess. A heavy oak table sat at its centre, covered in rat poop and old documents that looked yellowed and fragile. I was sure that if one of us tried to pick them up they’d just disintegrate in our hands. “You search down here, I’m going to go and check things out upstairs,” Sophia said
With our map in hand Sophia and I left the tower behind. Sophia now wore the backpack we had found, with all of the letters and other documents stuffed securely back inside of it and zipped up so that none of them would fall out. It was likely that the letters wouldn’t be useful, but it would be better to have them rather than not just on the off chance that some other hidden detail was written down on them that we’d so far missed. “The temple is back on the other side of the park,” Sophia said. “Right next to the boating lake, though from this drawing the lake is less of a lake and more of a pond.” “It shouldn’t be hard to find then,” I said. “What do you think could be so important about this temple that whoever made the map would risk their lives to stow it away like this?”“It could be anything,” Sophia replied. “I’m betting on some kind of ancient artifact, though. Cults always have an ancient artifact or something like that kicking about.” I wasn’t sure how some random artif
Unlike the tower that we had searched previously there weren’t any upstairs or downstairs areas in the temple, so Sophia and I were able to search the same area at the same time. This meant things were going much quicker than they had before. “What are we even looking for in here?” I asked for what was probably the hundredth time. “If you ask that again I’m going to come over there, chop your head off, and set fire to it,” Sophia grouched. I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t the first time she’d made that threat either. “All I’m saying is, there aren’t many places for things to be hidden in here and we don’t even know what it is we’re looking for,” I sighed. I was right, too. Not only was the space small there weren’t any boxes piled up on one another or piles of garbage perfect for nesting rats. The area was compact and relatively tidy with a series of cabinets and chests of drawers that things could be hidden away in. “Urgh, I hate to admit you’re right, but yeah, you’re right,” Soph
I had been expecting Sophia to direct me back to the pub where my Lab was located when we got back down into the undercity, but that wasn’t what happened at all. In fact, we hadn’t gone back down into the undercity at all. Sophia had led us back to my car and then punched in a postcode deep into the east of England, just north of Cambridge. I’d realised pretty quickly that it was likely Newton’s actual magical Laboratory. No doubt he liked the area because he had studied at Cambridge back when he was still a mortal man. Not all Immateria seemed to divest themselves completely of the lives they used to lead, it seemed. The drive from London to Cambridge took a couple of hours, and in that time I felt the thirst in my throat beginning to build further and further. “I think I’m going to need to uh… drink… soon,” I said as we pulled into the location that Sophia had plugged into my car’s navigation. “I’m starting to feel the thirst grow in my throat.” She glanced over at me, “Y
It took a few moments, but before long the confused form of Professor Newton strode over to the window and opened it up. “Sophia… Richard…? What are the two of you doing up here?” He asked as the window swung open. Sophia pushed past the other Immateria, “Well, once again Professor, you were so engrossed in your studies of the arcane that you were unable to hear us all but breaking your door trying to get your attention downstairs.” The professor had the good sense to look cowed under Sophia’s admonishment. “Ah, I apologise, Sophia, you see I’d just gotten into the midst of a particularly interesting piece of magical lore from an Immateria priest who lived back in the fifth century BC, it was a fascinating work-” The Professor was clearly getting riled into his storytelling. “I’m quite sure it was incredibly interesting, Professor Newton,” I cut him off before he could annoy Sophia too much. “But what we have to show you today will no doubt tickle your intellect just as much as a
My head span as my mind battled with the ragged edges of the transformation to becoming feral. I couldn’t believe I’d let it get to this stage. I hadn’t even been this far gone the first time I’d refused to drink. This time it wasn’t even about refusal, either. Id become so wrapped up in our mission and learning more about the history of magic that I hadn’t noticed how bad my thirst had become. “Quickly, follow me,” The Professor said, I barely understood him through the haze of my weakened mental state. “I fear that young Richard doesn’t have much time left before he turns completely.” Sophia grabbed my arm, her grip was like iron and it almost felt like she was going to crush my bones. The Professor led the way and Sophia followed, dragging me along as I moaned and groaned, desperate for relief from the burning that was in my throat and chest. My breathing had become hot and ragged and I felt as though I was two steps from plunging my fingers into my own body to rip my damn t