The steamy markets on Baker Street reeked of the fumes of rotting meat
and fish. Each stall looked more horrible than the last. The mixed toxins travelled among Londoners rushing for the freshest cuts. A feminine figure strode amidst the morning chaos. Her cloak of mud-strewn black hid a
large, black tome that hung from a chain across her body. And the smell of
fish turned her stomach. She tramped along the main street toward the river
which itself smelled no better than the meat market. Sooty, smog-smeared
houses inert flanked her in a gloom of silence.
Commonfolk peered at her with bewilderment. Men and women in the
street stretched their arms for charity. At one doorstep, a young mother fed
her newborn from her breast. The woman’s dull, empty eyes yearned to sink
into an ocean of guilt and sorrow. Yet, the woman in black reached the next
doorstep and marched past them.
221B Baker Street. Its door blackened with dirt and dust from years of
negligence, and thick webs stretched and split as she heaved it open; the
scent inside hit her with dust, must, and stale grime.
“Don’t waste time,” came a voice from the murky shadows in the back.
With his face contorting in the half light, the tall hunchbacked man stepped
closer to the entryway; tugging his wistful, thick black beard as he spoke, “He
hasn’t lived here in years, ma’am.”
She stepped back, eyes narrowing at him. He appeared to study her with
interest, homing in on the large black book, inflexible in her grasp. Imprinted on the centre of its cover was the number 9 in fierce red lined with gold.
She returned the curiosity with a formal introduction.
“Amber Wolflight, High Enchantress of Darklight, the Warlock & Sorceress Academy. I’m here on business, and you are...?” She kept her eyes
locked on him. She did not trust many these days, and threats lurked in every
corner.
“He moved away a long time ago. If you’re going to his former room,
don’t make noise. You don’t want to wake the neighbours.” The man chuckled, leaving the building.
She took the stairs to the second floor. Two rooms were empty as she
passed open doors. Amber frowned and grabbed the book hanging from her
waist. Black fumes mixed in royal purple ripples came off the tome, infusing
her palm with power. With a wave of her hand, a door opened wide at the
end of the hall. The door led to a torn apart room. A set of smoke pipes lay
on a counter next to an old mug. The furniture was upturned and coated in
thick dust with no sign of life. The two shattered wide-open windows illuminated the room.
Where are you? Amber pondered and knelt beside the window.
Almost as a response to her inward musings that she had reached a dead
end, a wail echoed down the street outside. She headed downstairs, out into
the street, and followed the street towards the noise. Amber became wary. A
trail of droplets turned into thick patches of vermilion that led to a back alley. The man who had spoken to her only moments ago in the building was
almost unrecognisable—his body crumpled in a heap, twisted, and bones
crushed. Dark purple ooze flooded out from the man’s wounds.
“May God grant you wings,” she murmured, knelt beside the body, and
closed the man’s eyes.
Many voices around the area approached in countless whispers. She took
a step back and her body transmuted into a thousand shards of shattered
glass. Every single piece of glass stood still and motionless for a few seconds
in the air in a state of calamity before they twisted inward into nothing, leaving behind a deadly, empty silence.
I have a question. What is a tome? You seem to reference it often. Also the man dying? I didn't see that coming. I really thought she was looking for a different dead person inside the house, but instead she ended up finding him instead. Just wow.
A dark fantasy where the lives of nine people meet in the midst of an interplanetary battle between wizards and alien deities set in the Edwardian Era.
Note: This story is an extended preview of the actual novel, "Warlocks & Sorceresses: The Timeless Grimoire". The original novel was completed and published in digital and paperback print edition in April 30, 2021.
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