Sailor Ray and the Beginning of the End Read online

  Chapter 12: The King of Sorrow

  “Her breathing pattern changed. I think she’s up,” I hear Blaze announce. He’s not talking to himself, so there must be other people in the room…Abby and Roc. I take a moment to browse through my memories, soaking in everything that transpired before Blaze had to put me down. I remember everything that happened, and I’m pissed. That witch put me under some sort of spell, the same spell, I believe that resulted in the recent string of bodies popping up in every state that he’s been to. Vartal had come back and possessed my dad, and Blaze had somehow helped him. It all felt so real to me then, but now, I can see how it made zero sense at all. I can’t blame Blaze for chaining me to the bed. I was going to kill him if he didn’t sedate me.

  “Guys?” I open my eyes and see Roc, Blaze, and Abby on the other side of the room, watching me in a joint silence. We’re back at the base and not the hotel, which means a considerable amount of time has passed. Not a good sign. They must not have wanted to risk sneaking me in a public place with the way that I was acting. At least I was stable enough to make the trip and not cause too much harm. “Guys, it’s okay. I’m fine. I’m me, again. I was hit with a spell. I know what that witch has been after all this time. Tr—”

  “Tragedy,” Abby announces, finishing my sentence. “And he’s not a witch, he’s a demon.”

  “A demon? Well, that’s new. Can someone uncuff me now?” I ask after briefly tensing my chains.

  “Sure.” Abby signals for Roc to release me from my bindings and I sit up on the bed, my back now firmly pressed against the wall for support.

  “How long have I been out for?”

  “About two and a half,” Blaze answers. “Not that long…we’re glad that you were able to bounce back.”

  “Same. He made me see shit…horrible shit…and it kind of destroyed my mind. Like, it was slowly evolving into my worst fears. The spell or whatever was feeding off of my fear…my tragedy…and making it spiral out of control.”

  “That sounds about right,” Abby says. “Blaze was able to fill me in on what happened, for the most part. You got hit with some kind of energy—his magic—and it made you hallucinate, just like you said. Blaze was able to fight with the demon, but he got away.”

  “I almost had him, too. Another flashbang,” he says and then shifts in his seat. “He was on the ropes. I did manage to put a tracker on him without him noticing though.”

  “The demon’s name is Alceron, and he feeds off of tragedy and other people’s sorrow.”

  “Like, exclusively?”

  “Yes, exclusively. He isn’t your average demon. He lived so demented in life, that he became one in death. Once I was able to pinpoint his motive, I was able to find out who he was, and how we can beat him… Alceron wasn’t always the way he is now. Something happened to him…well a lot of things happened to him. He was a welsh peasant who found himself in an unspeakable predicament. He and his brother had committed a crime—they stole bread from a wealthy noble and were caught. Resources were scarce at this point in time, so the noble didn’t take too kindly to the failed attempt at burglary. The brothers were to rot in jail, but the noble had something different in mind. He would allow the one who was an accessory to the crime to live, but only if he were to execute the other.”

  “That’s insane.”

  “It is. Even for the time period that all of this happened, it was intense. I think demons had a hand in it. The man could have been a demon, himself. I think so. It takes a special type of person to arrange for such a proposition for something so minor.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.”

  “Of course, Alceron didn’t want to kill his brother, but after coming to the realization that they were both going to die of starvation soon, with his brother’s blessings, he agreed to the noble’s deal. Within an hour, they set it up for the whole town to see. It was merciful in the sense that the instrument of choice was the guillotine. It was quick and painless. Alceron did what the noble told him to do, and he was pleased with his performance. So much so, that he was offered a job.”

  “Let me guess, he was offered the position of an executioner.”

  “Correct. With what he had done, the other townspeople couldn’t look at him. He was alienated for killing his brother, so he took the job.”

  “It wasn’t like he had a choice, anyway.” I huff.

  “As time went on, the noble groomed Alceron, and he became more comfortable with killing. He had ill feelings towards the noble, but he knew that he couldn’t betray him. He was an evil man, but he was fair. The noble payed Alceron quite well for what he was doing, and it led to an interesting relationship. Alceron learned to associate the killing with the rewards he was given by the noble. Women, booze, money, shelter. It all came frequently and for the wrong reasons. The system that noble, and now, Alceron worked under was corrupt. It was like a glorified mafia. More time progressed and Alceron’s memories of his brother sank further and further into the recesses of his mind. He went from just doing executions, to torture, and eventually, to doing the noble’s personal bidding. In time, Alceron became the man he once hated, but realized that the man who forced him to kill his brother had become his greatest friend. That moment became clear to him the moment after he executed his brother’s son.”

  “Demons did him in, but he ultimately made that choice. He’s a psycho, now, and that’s why we have to kill him. He’s attracted to tragedy, and look at all of the shit that’s been happening around here. You were right, Sailor. It wasn’t Sphinx he was after. He was after us. Hunters. Survivors. Everyone here. You and me. Hunters are like a cesspool for tragedy,” Blaze says.

  Damn. He’s not wrong. Everyone in this building’s been through some shit. Janelle’s story alone is almost like a parallel to Alceron’s, if you think about it. All they had to do was break her and things would have ended up completely different. The same goes for all of us. “So, what are we going to do now? Is there any way that we can find him?”

  “There is,” Abby points out. “He’s tucked farther away in the industrial district…not too far from where he lost you guys. Now that we know what he’s after and who he is, there’s nothing stopping us from eliminating him.”

  “He isn’t too tough, but he’s tricky,” Blaze adds. “I could have killed him by myself, but he got away. He ran because he was outmatched. It wasn’t for some sort of greater purpose, but we didn’t know it at the time…that’s why we put everything on hold until you got better.”

  “We didn’t know how extensive the damage would be when you woke up, or if you’d even be you. Alceron feeds off of tragedy, but according to the lore, insanity went hand-in-hand with it. We didn’t know if we would be dealing with Ray the Ripper or what when you woke up.”

  “Thanks, Roc. I get it. I was off of my rocker back there, so it’s understandable.”

  “But, you’re good now, right?” Blaze asks.

  “Sure am. I’m honestly fine… More than anything, I just want to settle the score. He won’t get me a second time.”

  “Okay, good. We’re heading out as soon as you’re ready. We considered taking everyone that we could spare for this one, but ultimately deemed it a bad idea for the same reasons why we’ve been keeping an eye on you while you recover. If a group were to succumb to Alceron’s magic, I don’t think we’d be prepared for that.”

  “Right… Blaze?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Actually, never mind. It’s nothing.” I could have sworn that Blaze was hit by Alceron just like me, but he didn’t lose his shit. Instead, he went toe to toe with him and somehow put up enough of a fight for him to get away. “I’m still just waking up, apparently. I got it now.” I wave my hand in a dismissive manner.

  “Now that we know what we’re up against, we’ve loaded up with sedatives in case they’re needed. We also have Holy Water if you’re able to use that instead and continue on. Sailor was sedated, so we don’t know how long it’ll take to come back to your
senses if you’re hit with his spell. What we do have now as opposed to what we lacked in the first encounter is a base of knowledge concerning what he can do to you if you’re infected.”

  “So the general game plan if you get tagged with his spell is to inject yourself and ride it out,” I state flatly.

  “Correct.”

  “Got it. That won’t be a problem.” Something definitely isn’t right with Blaze. It took some time before my dad appeared, but I saw Blaze get hit right from the jump. Plus, it didn’t tie into the spell’s plot that was fabricated from prying my mind. Blaze getting hit by the spell had nothing to do with anything I was seeing. Vartal and Blaze were working together. “One question before we go… Can I ride with Blaze on this one? He’s the only one that’s faced him besides me, and I think we can take him down together if we get to him first. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that he knows how I do things.”

  “We were going to pair up again for this one, but I was going to have you with Roc, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Blaze should know the interior well enough, and I’ll send over the blueprint for you to study while you’re in transit.”

  “In the event that I lose my shit again, I’m far less likely to shoot Blaze than I am you guys, too. Just being real.” I shrug. “I have the most history with him, and I still went for the shot. I may even be more susceptible to his influence seeing that he already got me once.”

  “Bottomline, if you’re hit with a spell of his, take yourself out of the game. It doesn’t matter who you’re with. We can’t win if we’re fighting against each other and Alceron.”

  “Agreed,” Abby says with a nod.

  “Then it’s settled,” Blaze says after rising from his seat. “Your gear is in the armory. I’ll be by my car find me when you’re ready to roll. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that we lose him.” Blaze leaves the room without saying another word. Roc and Abby leave shortly after, albeit, more polite.

  I take my time in leaving my room, and once I do, I see Janelle down the hall trying to act busy. The other hunters probably were standing watch over my room as a safety measure, and left after Blaze gave them the greenlight. Seeing how she’s looking at me, I can tell she got a glimpse of me getting carried in here, passed out, bleeding, and handcuffed, or at the very least, she heard about it from the other hunters. Either way, she clearly knows that something happened to me, and she cared.

  I acknowledge her on the way to the armory and give her as earnest of a smile that I can considering everything else going on. I have to assume that she’s still in the dark about what’s going on and the potential danger that everyone here is in. Alceron is attracted to tragedy…this place is warded, but I’m not sure if wards can prevent him from sensing emotions.

  Damn it… I don’t know if Abby considered that… And what about Blaze? I’m sure he was hit. I don’t know what happened after the sedatives kicked in, and I’m sure there was a delay before help arrived. The wards around the base would have…shit…none of this makes sense.

  I hurry up and make my way to the armory and grab my things. Adjacent to my belongings are a pair of syringes—the sedatives, I’m assuming. I pack my stuff away and head out to meet Blaze, ignoring the slight soreness in my body from the last encounter I had out in the field.

  When he sees me, he starts his car, and I hop in. From there, he pulls off. Roc’s car is still on the property, and so is Abby’s. I can only imagine that the new intel on Alceron has them second guessing their plan until things are settled.

  Blaze takes a glance at me as we drive, and I act like I’m too preoccupied with my thoughts to notice. “You’re quiet,” he says after holding his gaze for a moment longer.

  “There’s not much to talk about. Alceron punked me and got away… What’s going on with Roc and Abby? Did they take another car or…?”

  “They shouldn’t be too far behind us. Abby had to sort some things out with the Sphinx operation. She was gone for a bit, so things kind of piled up on her.”

  “Got it…” I end the conversation there and wait for us to make it to the backroads on our route—then I make my move.

  I whip out my pistol and point it at the side of Blaze’s head, my finger on the trigger and ready to shoot. I’d rather not blow out Blaze’s brains, but if he gives me no choice, I’ll do what I have to.

  “Sailor?” His eyes dart from me to the round rapidly. “Sailor, what are you doing?”

  “I saw you get hit, Blaze. Alceron hit you with his magic, just like me. When I was hit, I damn near lost my mind, meanwhile, you were able to fight him and force him to make a retreat. Something’s not adding up.”

  “Sailor,” he says slowly. “It’s not like that. You’re not thinking cle—”

  “Bullshit. If anyone’s not thinking clear, it’s you.” He tries to move, but I press the gun against his skull. “Keep your hands on the wheel, Blaze. You know I’ll shoot.”

  “Sailor, I’m fine. It’s me. I’m Blaze. Alceron isn’t controlling me. I’m 100% me.” I ignore him and reach into my coat to pull out my syringe. Holy Water. I’d been planning for this ever since I realized that things weren’t right. If Blaze is somehow being controlled by Alceron, I need to stop him before things get out of hand. “You’re going to inject me? Fine…if that’s what it takes…but I can explain everything.” I punch the needle through his jacket and into his skin. He flinches, but not much else changes once I press on the plunger and empty the water into his system. “See? Nothing. I’m me, so can you put that thing away?”

  “I…saw you get blasted,” I say, my voice now softer, hindered by my disbelief. I lower my gun from Blaze’s head and place it back into hiding, more confused than I was when I woke up. “…Was that part of Alceron’s spell?”

  “No. It wasn’t. I was hit, and you were right to do what you did. I was hoping that you’d forget, but I shouldn’t have counted on that. You’re one hell of a detective, even when you aren’t trying to be.” Blaze sighs. “I never really told you about what happened to me when you left. You know that I searched for you, but you don’t know what I found along the way.”

  “Blaze… What do you mean? You didn’t make a deal with a demon, did you?”

  “No. After you left, I began hunting to pass the time…it was my way to cope. I thought you were dead. We all did. On one of my hunts, I found a witch who was targeting people with broken hearts. She was using blood magic for a ritual. I stopped her and saved everyone that I could that was tied to her spell, but I found something more. I was searching through her stuff and came across a meeting that was to take place. I was reckless. I stopped them, but I did it alone. In the process, I met a vampire, Darius, who had orchestrated the meeting.”

  “A meeting with a vampire?”

  “Yeah, the witch I killed was supposed to meet with him. There were some other witches, too. Long story short, they were working with the vampire to awaken a set of paranormal items—a tome and a bracelet. When used in tandem, they apparently had the power to bring somebody back from the dead. Your death was still fresh, but I had no intention of using it to bring you back. I didn’t even know it could do that until I was in too deep.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “One of the witches tried to turn on the vampire, and that’s when I made my move. I killed the witches, but the vampire escaped with the bracelet. I was able to secure the tome. I didn’t know it at the time, but when I touched it, the tome attached itself to me. It was feeding off of my pain…my rage. The witch fed me the idea, and then over time, things progressed. I became more aggressive and obsessed over the book and its secrets. I wasn’t supposed to be able to use the book without the bracelet, but due to the tome choosing me, I was able to somewhat access its abilities without knowing it.”

  “So, it was more than just a standard paranormal artifact then?”

  “It was. The tome was made from a famous necromancer named Tolelantis. The bracelet belonged to someone just as powerful name
d Amarella. They put their actual soul into their respective items, and with that, their will. Tolelantis found a way inside of me through exploiting the condition of my heart and manipulating it… Eventually, I happened to meet another necromancer, Cornelius Krowe. He had connections to Tolelantis. He actually knew him personally and had lived all of these years by practicing the dark arts. He taught me how to channel Tolelantis’s power to my advantage, and I did it willfully. I knew Krowe was evil and everyone else, but with his help, I was able to hunt monsters better than ever and I was working towards a goal that I adopted. The goal to bring you back from the dead. I didn’t know it at the time, but the more I used Tolelantis’s tome, the more ground he gained on my soul. Krowe knew this of course, but he never told me. It wasn’t until I was too far gone that it became apparent—and even then, I kept going. After searching for Darius for months, I finally found him, which meant I finally found the bracelet that I needed to bring you back. I killed him, but in the process, I pushed too far. Darius bit me, and I had to use the tome to prevent me from becoming a vampire. Abby was the one who saved me from losing myself to Tolelantis. She destroyed the book and locked away the bracelet. I’ve been hunting with her squad ever since. There’s more to it, of course, but I think that using the tome for as long as I did changed me. I’m me, but I think a part of Tolelantis’s power rubbed off on me. I don’t think I can use the dark arts or anything, I haven’t tried, but it’s the only explanation. When I was actively using the tome, certain spells didn’t affect me like how they would a normal person. Magic in general. I think it’s more of the same, now. There’s some sort of residual effect going on with me because of the bond we shared.”

  “And that’s what you’ve been worried about.”

  “Yeah, exactly.”

  “I can relate. I think about Vartal all of the time, Blaze. It’s scary. I think about what I did and who I was when I was with him. It wasn’t me, but at the same time it…was. You know?”