667: Issue #11 Pt. I "The Beginning of the End"

...With great power there must also come—great responsibility!

Amazing Fantasy #15

I had been able to compile a rather good list of the 667 by the time June rolled around. There were still a lot of gaps and people I couldn’t quite locate yet, but the list was getting there. The Council had been kept up to date with my findings, but besides my research, things had been even quieter than before we discovered Claire.

The city of New Orleans hadn’t given us much thought in the passing months since our exposure and we figured that to be a good thing: lay low, stay quiet, and keep ourselves busy with locating the others while we waited for the other shoe to drop with this Seven Year Reign business…but nothing was happening and we all were dying of ennui.

So, you’d think that it wouldn’t have come as a surprise to me when Jackie gathered us all in his living room at the end of May to have a talk.

May 27th, 2017

“What is this all about?” I asked Jackie as he directed me to the sofa. Claire entered the room with a towel on her head fresh out of the shower and Salome was closely behind with Khaine.

The rest filed into the room and took their seats before Henri came through the front door with Naomi and Angelica appeared from the kitchen with Nate on her arm.

“We all need to have a little talk. Everyone accounted for?” He asked and we all nodded.

“Are we in trouble?” Adam questioned, nibbling on a scone from breakfast.

“Not at all, quite the contrary. The Council and I have been talking and we think that it is time you all go back to living your lives.” Jackie perched next to me on the arm of the sofa.

“Huh?” I looked up at him with a quizzical expression.

“I second that huh.” Adam arched an eyebrow.

“Things have been quiet the past six months, save for your little trek to Scotland, and we think that it is safe for you all to venture out on your own. As much as I enjoy your company and Adam eating up all my food, we think it’s best if you all go back to some sort of normal living, as much as that is possible.” Jackie patted my shoulder.

“You’re kicking us out then?” Adam chuckled.

“No, I’m letting you live. We think that it is safe for those of you who had jobs previously to go back to work and for those of you that don’t, to possibly find work and live on your own.” Jackie nodded at him.

“Where are we going to go?” I wondered aloud, anxiety slowly creeping up on me.

“Well, Adam can come back home with me and Nate was telling me that he’d love to have him help run Nightcrawler.” Henri interjected.

“Too much work for just one geek?” Adam winked at his best friend, but there was something off about his speech.

“It’d be nice to have the help. Angelica is a great hostess, but I need someone who can relate to the crowd better.” Nate nudged Angelica and she playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

“What about the rest of us? Where are we going to go?” Salome piped up as she held Khaine’s hand.

“Cassandra has decided to move back into the old antebellum and offered the swamp house to those of you who don’t have a place to go. That way you don’t necessarily have to live under the thumb of the Council.” Jackie explained.

“And work? What about those of us who don’t have jobs?” Naomi asked, glancing at me slightly.

“Well, Khaine and Sal seem to have their finances under control and Naomi has work at the CCS, so that leaves Claire and Violet. You both are welcome to come work at the nightclub with me.” Jackie offered.

Claire thanked him, but I just grimaced at the prospect. I didn’t want to bartend anymore; I just wanted to write and work on my list of 667 even though I needed to carry my own.

“Does Violet really need to get a job though? I mean, she does more good for us with her research and writing.” Adam must have seen the look on my face.

“No, it’s okay. I need to get a job. Got to pull my weight around here.” I retorted, but I wasn’t happy about it.

“You don’t need to if you don’t want to. I’m assuming Cassandra will want rent and we can cover you.” Khaine reached over Salome and poked me in the knee.

“But I need to eat too.” I laughed wryly.

“We won’t let you starve, Vi.” Salome leaned into me and laid her head on my shoulder.

“Then there you go.” Jackie gestured at me.

But it wasn’t just the rent and groceries or me not having a job…if we moved, it also meant that I wouldn’t be around certain people twenty-four hours a day and for some reason that bothered me. Of course, we all had to get on with our mundane lives and not focus solely on the supernatural aspect of it lest we go insane. And most of us were technically foreigners in New Orleans…it was Adam’s home.

“Okay,” I responded with one word.

“Alright, then. Cassandra has already moved out of the house and left some furniture behind for you all to use so you can move in whenever. I will miss all of you, but I need my bachelor pad back.” Jackie popped his collar with a smile.

And with that, we were dismissed to go our separate ways, but this would be the last day we all lived together…the last day that Adam would be right there if I needed him.

May 29th, 2017

All of us were packed up and waiting by Jackie’s front door for Khaine and Henri to get the cars. I was holding my laptop bag in one hand and my rucksack with the other, staring at my phone when Adam tapped me on the shoulder.

“You gonna miss me?” He whispered close to my ear.

“It’s not like we’re going to be far.” I quipped, not taking my eyes off of my phone.

“Well, I’ll miss you too, Vi.” He joked back, but he sounded a little wounded.

I finally turned to him, “Of course I’m going to miss you.”

There was a weird silence between the two of us for a moment. Adam’s face was expressionless as he stared into my eyes and I focused my third one on the chestnut colored orbs before me.

“Car’s here!” Henri opened the door and snapped Adam and me out of our staring contest.

Naomi appeared beside me and slipped out the door; she had already taken her car to the house and got her things situated the day before and was going with Henri into work as he promised to drop her off when they closed the shoppe.

I saw Khaine pull up in the brand new SUV they had bought and he hopped out to grab bags while Salome and Claire brought the rest of their things downstairs.

“Well, see you Violaceous.” Adam winked at me, grazing my hand with his fingertips as he slung his military duffle bag over his shoulder.

“See you, Smaug.” I smiled slightly but fought the urge to become weepy for whatever reason. It wasn’t like I was never going to see him again, but I just didn’t like the impending separation.

He exited the house but turned over his shoulder slightly to smile at me before climbing into Henri’s truck with Naomi.

I just stood there as I watched him drive off like it was the last time I would ever see him.

“Ready to go, Vi?” Khaine was standing right in front of me and I hadn’t noticed. He picked up my suitcase and I just nodded at him as the rest of us climbed in the SUV and drove off towards the house in the swamp.

(*)

Cassandra was waiting for us when we arrived to give us the grand tour of the house we had already been to several times before.

“There are only three bedrooms; sorry about that. Two of you are going to have to bunk together besides Sal and Khaine.” She had taken us upstairs and was flicking on lights in the bedrooms as she went.

One room already held Naomi’s belongings and I decided that she had claimed that one all for herself; that left me and Claire with the smallest of the three rooms since Khaine and Salome would obviously be taking the master.

“There is one full bath in the hall here, then a half bath down near the kitchen.” Cassandra detailed as we got to the master and Khaine set his and Sal’s bags just inside the door.

“Do you mind me bunking with you?” I turned to Claire, not exactly excited about the prospect. I really liked her and we had gotten extremely close, but I liked my privacy even more.

“That’s fine with me.” She smiled sweetly at me.

“Then everything is good? I got you all some groceries as a housewarming present. I don’t really expect rent from all of you since I bought the house outright, but it needs some work done so if you want, you can fix things up as payment if I ever decide to sell it. You will have to cover utilities, however.” Cassandra and the rest of us had come back down to the living room as she hovered by the front door.

“Sounds doable.” Khaine pursed his lips and nodded.

“Thank you so much, Cassandra.” I robotically thanked her for her generosity even if it wasn’t what I really wanted.

“It’s no problem, darling. We’re just across the swamp and there are two boats down by the dock for easy access.” She handed Khaine a set of keys and informed us that we’d have to make a few copies before waving goodbye and hopping in her car.

“Look at us adulting and shit.” Khaine chuckled as he flopped down on the sofa and clicked on the tele; there was cable, surprisingly. Salome joined him and snuggled up to his broad chest when Claire turned to me.

“I’m going to go unpack, you coming?” She asked.

“I think I’m going to look around for a bit,” I replied.

She just nodded at me and disappeared upstairs while I wandered through the kitchen and out back.

I had never been behind the house before and noticed a door to the left of the back door and opened it up thinking it was a closet.

“A sunroom.” I was pleasantly surprised. The room was empty and a bit dusty with water stained windows that opened up to the bayou behind the house.

It was perfect: quiet, spacious, and nestled away from the rest of the house.

“What are you doing back there, Vi?” I heard Salome call out from the living room before bare feet padded up beside me.

“The house has a sunroom.” I gave a half smile as I thought about what I could do with a space like that.

“You’re thinking of turning it into a bedroom, aren’t you?” Salome poked me in the shoulder.

“You think Claire would mind?” I turned to her.

“Mind what?” Claire snuck up on us as we checked out the sunroom.

“Vi is thinking about taking the sunroom,” Salome spoke for me.

“I don’t mind, Violet. It’d be nice for us all to have our own space here just like we did at Jackie’s. Plus, it seems like it could make a really fit writer’s nook.” Claire gave me a slight hug.

Maybe she was right. Maybe the space was what I needed to feel like I wasn’t being stifled by sharing a room with another person.

“I could do so much with this.” I murmured, tapping my lower lip.

“Go for it then.” Claire elbowed me.

I nodded, “Maybe I will.”

The two stood by my side for a moment as I surveyed the room before wandering back off to the living room as Claire announced that she was going to take a nap.

I stepped into the sunroom and noted the fact that there was no furniture and I’d have to find a way to come up with a bed and maybe a desk to write, but the windows that shed their murky light into the room were perfect.

I started plotting out how I would set everything up as I strolled around the space when Khaine popped his head through the doorway and spoke.

“Sal and I are going to go out and get some things for the house, do you need anything?”

“I think I’m okay.” I shrugged, running my finger along the hazy windowpane.

“You sure?” He double checked with me.

“Yeah. Just trying to figure out what to do with this space.” I remarked, gazing around at my surroundings.

“Well, Claire said she was going to take a nap and even though she is here with you, I don’t feel safe leaving you alone.” Khaine backed out of the room.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” I followed him to the hall near the kitchen.

“Even so, I think I should leave you with something to keep you safe.” Khaine had his mouth screwed to the side as I spied Salome lacing up her boots in the living room before walking towards us.

“What do you have in mind?” I wondered where he was going with this.

Khaine wiggled his eyebrows and whistled; the same whistle he used when calling the Hounds.

A cloud of black smoke plumed in the living room and a hound unlike anything I had ever seen before came bounding forward.

It was not surefooted or graceful like the others and landed on the hardwood with a skitter before losing its balance as it came crashing into the wall and slid right up to my feet, tongue lolling like a puppy as it panted up at me.

“Not you again.” Khaine sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Not who?” I looked down at the dog, its bloody red eyes trying to focus on me as the right one wandered off to the left before trying to refocus.

“Dingus.” Khaine looked up towards the ceiling as the hound barked at the name.

“Dingus?” I cast him a confused look as the Hellhound started to chase its reptilian tale in circles.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him. The last few times I’ve summoned the Hounds he has shown up and he’s not the brightest crayon in the box.” Khaine pointed a thick finger at the dog that was now chewing on his massive paws.

“He’s cute.” I felt bad that Khaine had given him such an insulting name.

“He’s something,” Khaine furrowed his brow as the hound bounded off into the kitchen and began pawing at the cabinets looking for food, “Let me summon another.”

“No, no. I like him.” I smiled slightly as I watched Dingus investigate the kitchen before making his way to my new room.

“You sure? I don’t really know how much good he will do as far as protection.” Khaine was unsure about my decision.

“I’m sure he’ll do great.” I snapped my fingers by my side and surprisingly the hound came right to me before it began licking my open palm with its sandpaper-like tongue.

“Whatever you want, Vi. If he gets to be too much just tell him to go home; he at least knows what that means.” Khaine shrugged as Salome met him with purse in hand.

“Sure thing.” I grinned, patting Dingus on his massive head; he was easily as tall as me sitting down.

“Alright, we’re off. Call us if you need anything.” Khaine waved as he and Salome exited the house, leaving me and Dingus alone in the kitchen.

(*)

“What do you think?” I asked the dog as I stood in the middle of the vacant sunroom, still trying to figure out what to do with it.

Dingus barked and the windowpanes shook as he started to leap around me.

“You’re right; I should probably start by cleaning these windows. How am I going to get natural light with such dirty windows?” I replied, patting my thigh for the dog to follow me out the back door to get a better look at the windows from that side.

“Okay, so I’m going to need rags, a hose and bucket, and possibly a ladder because I am not tall enough to reach the upper panes.” I surveyed the windows while I talked to Dingus as if he were another human being.

I marched into the house and raided the cabinets before finding an old dishrag under the sink, some dish soap, and a bucket out back. After searching in the marshy grass I discovered an old hose and followed the line to the spigot before turning it on. The nozzle immediately sprayed Dingus in the face, as he was too close. and he went galloping into the swamp, crying the whole way.

“I’m sorry, boy. Come back; it’s just water!” I hollered out to him as I turned the hose on the windows and began wetting them down.

Dingus came loping up behind me and hid his nose in my free hand as I continued to spray the windows. I paused to fill the bucket with water before adding the soap and dunking the rag inside.

“Dammit, I still need a ladder.” That was the one thing I had forgotten.

Before I had a chance to go hunt for one, Dingus tucked his nose between my legs and hoisted me onto his back as he doubled in size, making it easy for me to reach the top windows.

“I don’t know why Khaine thinks you aren’t bright. You might as well be the white crayon.” I laughed as the dog marched right up to the windows and let me start scrubbing them with the soapy dishrag.

In no time the windows were practically clear and I could see the mid-afternoon sun sparkling inside the vacant sunroom.

“Now what? I need furniture, right? A bed? Maybe a dresser and a desk…a T.V. would be nice too.” I slid off of Dingus’ back and began pondering aloud.

The hound barked in response as I tried to think of ways to obtain the furniture I needed.

In my deep thought, my eyes fell upon a sizable shed that lay to the left of the house shrouded by heavy leaves and thick trails of Spanish moss.

“I wonder what’s in there.” I started to walk forward as Dingus happily trotted behind me.

“It’s locked.” I paused in front of the double doors when I spied the padlock attached to the door handles, “Let me call Cassandra and see if she has a key.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed her number.

“Hey, Cassandra.” I greeted her when she answered the phone.

“Hello, Vi. How are you settling in?” She queried.

“Good, actually. I had a question for you.” I got right to the point.

“Go ahead.”

“This shed out here in the side yard, do you have a key for it? I was wondering if maybe it had some furniture in there or something I could use for my room.” I walked around the side of the shack to look for windows where I could peer inside, but there were none.

“Oh, no. That shed was locked when I purchased the place and I was never given a key so I didn’t mess with it. What’s wrong with the furniture in the rooms?” She replied curiously.

“Oh, I actually decided to let Naomi and Claire have their own bedrooms and I’m going to bunk in the sunroom.” I came back around to the front of the shed, Dingus following me the whole way.

“Oh, well I may have a few pieces here. I have been toying with the idea of redecorating and I have a pull-out couch and a few other items I’m willing to part with.” Cassandra informed me.

“That’d be great. The sunroom is completely void of furniture and even though I have spent many a night sleeping on a bare floor—”

“It’d be nice to have a bed. I am more than happy to let you have these things, Vi. Let me give Henri a call and see if maybe he can swing by after work and pick the stuff up with his truck and bring it your way. I’m afraid all of this wouldn’t fit in my little car.” Cassandra graciously offered her furniture to me.

“That would be wonderful; thank you so much, Cassandra.” I thanked her. Even though I hadn’t been that fond of her since Halloween, I was still grateful.

“Right. Let me just call him here and see what I can do. I’ll try and call you back when I sync up with Henri.” Cassandra ended our conversation and I hung up the phone.

“So, furniture may be covered, but I’m still curious about what’s in here.” I yanked at the lock, thinking that I could just want it to be unlocked and it would be.

Before I even had a chance to do so, Dingus charged forward and spewed what looked like red-hot lava onto the metal, melting the lock down to nothing.

“Or we could do that,” I smirked, patting the dog on the head.

The day had been completely still and unnaturally muggy up until this point, but a gust of cool wind blew around us and I shuddered.

“Rain must be coming,” I muttered as I reached out for the handle to the door and creaked it open.

A smell like decaying earth and stale incense met my nostrils. Before I could turn to walk back to the house for some sort of flashlight, Dingus’ head lit up like a torch as he marched forward into the dark.

“Careful, boy,” I warned him, reaching out to yank at a bristled tuft of fur on the back of his neck.

Inside was not what I expected.

I expected an old lawnmower, rusty tools, and maybe some storage boxes…but that wasn’t what I found at all.

Instead, I was met with what appeared to be a long workbench with a resin top, lined with shelves above it that were filled with rusty mason jars and old amber colored bottles.

“What is this?” A reached up for one, “Asofetida? Cascarilla. Rusty nails, snakeskin, sulfur…black cat fur?” I pulled a jar down from the shelf and analyzed it.

Dingus suddenly seemed nervous and began whining as he pressed himself up against my leg.

I looked around the rest of the shed and noted a rotten wooden table encrusted with red and black wax and other indiscernible particles of matter before catching sight of a dusty bookshelf packed full with old books and more mason jars full of semi-precious rocks and glittering crystals.

“This was someone’s ritual space.” I breathed, turning to face the door.

I shiver crept up my spine as something dawned on me and my eyes fell upon a marking on the backside of the door.

“Oh, shit.” I uttered, eyes wide.

I had this distinct feeling that someone had possibly cast some sort of magick on the shed and I had inadvertently crossed a threshold that I shouldn’t have.

“Let’s get out of here.” I laid my hand flat on Dingus’ head as he whined at me and I led him out of the shed before reaching out to shut the doors.

“Son of a bitch.” I cursed as something on the handle ripped the flesh of my palm when I shut the door. Blood began to run freely down my wrist as I clutched my hand tightly and the hound cried out, pulling me towards the house so I could clean myself up.

Maybe I should have left the shed alone.