Prologue
Star City
November 5th, 2015
"Thank you John, I owe you one." Oliver Queen said, leading the british exorcist out of the underground bunker, called the Arrow cave.
"I believe I owed you one, mate." Constantine replied. "Hows about we call it even, eh?"
"How about, anytime or anywhere you need me, I'll be there." Oliver proposed.
"I'll take that." John said, before turning serious. "You know, the hair on the back of my neck has been standing up since the moment I got into town."
"That would probably be our current problem- Damien Darhk." Oliver stated, and upon seeing his friend's face pale, Oliver said worriedly, "Oh, you've heard of him."
"You watch yourself around that one, mate." Constantine warned. "He'll make what you saw in the other realm look like a bloody gnat."
"Well, is there any helpful advice you can give me?" Oliver asked, as Constantine entered the elevator.
"Yeah, leave town… while you still can." John said ominously, before the elevator went up.
Ten minutes later, John was in the taxi of his best friend, Chas Chandler.
"Alright, John, anywhere else?" Chas asked. "I've been waiting for over an hour."
"Sorry mate, time moves slower in the spirit realm, you know that." John apologized. "Just get us out of this city as fast as you can. I just learned from an old friend that Damien Darhk is here." Chas almost spat out his beer.
"Darhk? Here?" Chas asked.
"Aye. From what I've heard, he can take on entire armies by himself without so much a scratch on his suit." John scoffed, lighting a cigarette. "Just get us back to the millhouse." Nodding, Chas floored the gas pedal, and sped back to Jasper Winter's millhouse in Atlanta, Georgia.
New Orleans
Jim Corrigan exited a diner and began to walk down a busy street. As he was thinking about the adventures he had with the exorcist John Constantine and Zed Martin, he heard a scream in an alley. Remembering the last time he heard a scream in an alley, a ghost had killed someone, Jim pulled out a gun and walked cautiously. Turning a corner, Jim pointed the pistol at a figure with his back turned to him.
"Hands up, and turn around, slowly." Jim said calmly. The figure, clearly a woman, raised her arms in the air, before turning around. She was wearing a black coat and pants, with blonde hair and a black hat.
"This wasn't me." The woman insisted. "I saw a homeless looking fucker stab someone in a ritual like killing." Two years ago, Corrigan would have scoffed, but after working with Constantine twice, he was ready to believe there was some type of magic behind the murder. Especially, when Jim looked past the body of what appeared to be a middle aged man, was a winged bird symbol, drawn in blood. Jim froze. He's seen that mark before. That would be the third killing that week.
"I believe you." Corrigan said, lowering his gun. "Listen, I might need you to take you to the station for questioning." As he led the woman out of the alley and into his squad car, Jim got out his phone and put in the numbers 404-248-7182. As he was waiting for the caller to pick up, he asked, "What is your name, miss?"
"Kyle." The woman replied.
"Last name?" Corrigan asked again.
"I never had one." Kyle explained. "I kept moving between foster homes until I was 18. But the last people who took me in were named Simpson."
"Alright, then we'll mark it for the record as Kyle Simpson for now. I'm Jim Corrigan, by the way." Jim concluded, before the phone finally picked up the call.
"Who is this?" A gruff british voice was heard.
"Hey John, I need your help." Jim said.
"Sod off." John quickly said. "I just came back from bringing someone's soul back. Not to mention stopping the Rising Darkness last month."
"Yeah, well, I just found a murder that might be connected to a religious cult." Corrigan stated. For a few seconds, nothing was heard on the other end.
"Alright, mate, I'll be right over." John said, before the call ended.
"Same old John…" Corrigan muttered, before arriving at the police station.
Chapter 1
Millhouse
Atlanta, Georgia
Constantine shut his phone, walking over to Chas.
"Oi, mate, I need another ride." John said casually. "Our old friend Jim Corrigan needs help."
"Sorry John, I'm supposed to be with my daughter this weekend." Chas apologized.
"C'mon, Chas." John pleaded. "Jim is working on another case that needs my expertise." Chas sighed, taking a swig of his beer.
"Fine." Chandler said. "I'll take you there, but you'll have to find your own way back."
"Deal." Constantine said, before they left the millhouse and drove off to New Orleans.
7 hours later
"Thanks, Chas." Constantine said, exiting the cab. "I owe you one."
"Just remember you're finding your own way back." Chas said, before driving off. John put out his cigarette before walking inside the police station, being met by Corrigan.
"Hey John." Jim said, leading him to where Kyle was in the interrogation room.
"Who's this?" John asked.
"Her name is Kyle Simpson." Jim explained. "She claimed she witnessed the murder."
"Gimme a minute with her, mate." The demonologist said, entering the interrogation room. Kyle looked up.
"Ello, lass." John greeted. "It's Kyle, isn't it?"
"Yes." Kyle replied.
"Alright, good. I'm working with Jim." Constantine said. "Now, I need you to tell me what you saw. Can you do that?"
"Yes." Kyle said. "I was walking down the street, when I heard a strange noise in an alley, like a man screaming. I began walking down the alley, only to see what looked like a homeless man stabbing another man multiple times with a ritual dagger, and painting the wall with a symbol and writing a phrase."
"Do you remember what the phrase was?" John asked. Kyle shook her head.
"No." She said. "It was in another language. Possibly Latin. I screamed, and that's when Mr. Corrigan found me." Just then, Jim opened the door and walked in.
"Do you remember where that alley is, Jim?" Constantine asked. Corrigan nodded. "Alright then, let's go."
"I'm going too." Kyle said.
"No you're not, ma'am." Corrigan said, matter of factly. "This is police business."
"Bullshit, this guy's going." Kyle said, pointing to Constantine. "So I'm going."
"I think I forgot to introduce myself." John said, reaching into his coat and extracting a small card, before giving it to Kyle.
"'Exorcist, Demonologist, and Master of the Dark Arts'?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm working on it love." John muttered, before adding, "It's more of 'petty dabbler'."
"Given what I've seen, I could use an exorcist." Kyle chuckled, much to John's confusion.
"Fine, you can go." Corrigan said, impatient. "But we have to go now."
"Right." Constantine and Kyle said, before exiting the station and getting into Corrigan's car. Jim started the engine, and drove off to the alley, intent on solving the murder.
Chapter 2
Around ten minutes later, the trio arrived at the crime scene. Already it was covered in yellow tape and cops.
"Sorry, we can't let civilians pass." An officer said.
"Oh, sorry about that mate." Constantine said, pulling out a playing card and showing it to the officer. "I'm inspector John Constantine."
"Enough of that, they're with me." Corrigan said, showing his badge.
"Okay, have a nice night, Mr. Corrigan." The officer tipped his hat and left.
"What the fuck was that?" Kyle asked.
"One of Constantine's magic tricks." Jim grumbled. "That card takes the appearance of whatever he needs at any given moment. So what did you mean by you've seen things?" Kyle looked around, before leading the detective away from Constantine.
"In 1990, my foster brother and I were attacked by a doll possessed by the soul of a serial killer." Kyle said. "I know it sounds crazy."
"It would, but the last time I was with John, I saw literal ghosts and voodoo controlled corpses." Corrigan said. "I've come to expect the supernatural."
"Oi! If you two are done, I've taken a look at the body." Constantine barked. "The victim appears to have their throat slit with a rather large knife, then a large stab wound through the heart."
"Wait, I recognize that guy." Corrigan said. "I arrested him for multiple homicides a couple weeks ago, but he got out on bail."
"So, someone killed a killer." Kyle piped up. "I don't exactly see a problem with that."
"Nor do I." Corrigan said truthfully, remembering when he and John killed a child murderer instead of arresting him. "But we have to find out who did this in case they kill an innocent next." Constantine nodded, looking at the mark on the wall.
"That mark looks familiar." John said, flicking his cigarette and setting his own hand ablaze.
"Is he fucking crazy?" Kyle asked. Corrigan shook his head.
"No, he does this all the time." Jim replied. John raised his hand, shining light on the bloody symbol.
"It's the mark of the Blackfire cult." Constantine murmured, his voice showing a twitch of fear.
"The Blackfire cult?" Corrigan and Kyle asked.
"Aye, it was a cult I went up against a few months back, just before I stopped the Rising Darkness." Constantine explained. "It appeared the Rising Darkness was giving the cult more power. I thought I stopped them, but I guess they're back to tango again."
"Then we need to find them and stop them once and for all." Kyle declared. "Could you find anything else?"
"No, except…" Constantine knelt down, inspecting the body closer. "It appears a great amount of blood was drained."
"Interesting." Corrigan said. "But I'm not seeing how that helps us."
"Just an observation mate." Constantine said casually. "And that's what we're going to find out." Constantine stepped out of the alley. "Come on, I'm starving for a bite to eat." Shrugging, Corrigan and Kyle followed the exorcist out of the alley and towards a diner.
Chapter 3
"You know, I remember this as the last place Zed and I had dinner." Corrigan said, taking a bit of his steak.
"Yeah, right after we shot that murderer dead." Constantine muttered, drinking from a weinstein.
"So how is she?" Corrigan asked.
"The last I saw her, she was fine." Constantine said, continuing to drink. "So what's your story, Kyle?"
"I don't like talking about it too much." Kyle said, shifting weight on her foot.
"You told me-" Corrigan began to say, but Kyle shot him a dirty look, prompting him to be quiet.
"How are you guys doing?" The waitress came over.
"Oh, we're fine, ma'am." Corrigan said, paying attention to his food.
"Are you sure?" The waitress asked.
"Well, we could take the check." Constantine said, finishing his drink. The waitress nodded, and five minutes later, they were all out of the diner.
"So what now?" Kyle asked.
"I guess we have to wait until another body turns up." Corrigan said. Just then, they all heard a scream coming from another alley.
"Prayers answered, mate." Constantine said, running to the alley. Kyle and Corrigan quickly followed, just in time to see a shadowy figure stab a man, then leave. Kyle tried following the figure, but it was too dark, and the murderer escaped.
"Fuck." Kyle muttered. "I couldn't see him."
"Don't worry, this'll end soon enough." Constantine reassured her, checking the body. "Hmm. Multiple stab wounds, just like last time. And next to it… a bucket."
"A bucket?" Corrigan asked. "What for?"
"Possibly to collect the blood." Constantine said, before looking at the body. "I've seen him before. He's one of Papa Midnite's men."
"The guy who tried to kill you a couple years back?" Corrigan asked.
"Who's Papa Midnite?" Kyle asked.
"He's a voodoo priest." Constantine said. "And I'm going to pay him a visit. But first, let's see what he saw before he died. Jim, got a taser this time?"
"Yes…" Corrigan said, before John took the weapon and grabbed a piece of the corpse's clothing.
"Great." John said, before casting a spell. "Se, ning bo, churni bar-to, rango tur, all se la ting!" John turned on the taser, and shocked himself, beginning to see a vision of the victim.
"What's he doing?" Kyle asked, worried.
"Piercing the veil." Corrigan explained. "It's a Tibetan spell. Apparently, it helps him connect with the person's spirit."
"You've seen him do this?" Kyle asked, as blood began leaking from Constantine's eyes and he was convulsing.
"Yes, two years ago, when we were tracking down a satanist." Corrigan said, just as Constantine collapsed on the floor.
"What did you see?" Jim asked.
"I saw through the man's eyes." Constantine said, standing up. "I saw him walk
down an alleyway and give change to a homeless man, and then… then homeless man took out a knife and stabbed the poor bugger to death."
"Did you see what he looked like?" Kyle asked.
"Old, wearing a cheap brown coat with an orange beard…" Constantine
muttered. "But that's it."
"Great, now what?" Kyle asked.
"Well, I'm going to see Midnite." Constantine said, walking down the street. "If you follow me, you might want to wait outside. I'm afraid you two are ill equipped to handle his voodoo."