Chapter 4: The Remnants of the Black Soulstone

Li-Ming watched the old man carefully, noting everything about him. The old man, Ebenezer McCoy, made care not to look her in the eye. From what Valla said Dresden told her, Wizards here can gaze into your soul. So he must've decided he didn't want to see what actions made her the lady she was today.

"Look." He said after a while. "I know you're from another place where monsters roam free. And so you need your magic to survive. But the White Council has strict rules against certain types of magic, and you're breaking them." She had just finished explaining her spells to him and what happened since she got here. Apparently, killing people with magic wasn't allowed here. As was altering someone's mind, controlling the flow of time, summoning these 'Outsiders', forcing shapeshifting on others, necromancy, and binding people to your will. She and Naziba were guilty of breaking most of those laws. "And while we're thankful for your assistance against the Red Court, we can't let you keep breaking them. If you agree to stop, then I will 'misplace' my report of any law-breaking."

"Wizard McCoy. I assure you we never meant to break any magic laws. But we don't have them back home. Perhaps you could explain why these laws are so important your council is willing to kill for them." He was frightened by her. He nearly jumped out of his skin when they shook hands. His power made her remember her old master, a crotchety little man that, while strong, was short-sighted. When dealing with demons, one needed all the power they could have. And she could fix so much with her spells. As she thought that, she remembered her first tutor's spellwork for a small desert town. She had meant to solve the town's water crisis, but instead she somehow froze the entire place and its inhabitants solid. She herself died battling… something. She never really learnt what killed her, and her spirit didn't remember either. Most of the Magisters would see her tale as a cautionary one, meant to warn mages of meddling in the natural order of the world. But Ming saw it as something to drive her ever onwards. Maybe if there had been more study on the effects of forced-climate change, the town would still be there. "While I am aware that mages going evil can be a terrifying enemy to the world, it does not seem to justify all these rules your White Council have."

McCoy stared at her without looking at her, a strange and disconcerting thing. His gaze became curious, as though something about her confused him. "Alright then." He said. "As far as I can tell, your magic is completely different to mine. So I guess that would explain why you don't know." He cleared his throat with a cough, causing her to sit more upright. If this Council would be willing to kill her for the slightest infraction, she would at least like to be aware or why. "In our world, magic comes from your very life. You put a part of yourself into anything you use magic on, and that magic affects you back. Killing and Mental Magic are outlawed because they corrupt the user. You are using your very life to do something anathema to it, and so it twists you into something darker. And when you alter someone's mind, a part of them is aware of what you've done and will fight it. Such a struggle will drive them insane, and that rebounds on you."

One of the scrolls they found on their journey came to mind. "Like with King Leoric. His journals showed he was aware that something possessed him, driving him to do horrendous acts. He tried to fight it, but in the end he lost and became a mad king."

"That's a good way to describe it. That is the danger of mind magic."

She didn't quite like the look in his eyes. "I'll have you know that Leoric was not under a spell. He was possessed by Diablo, one of the Great Evils of Hell."

"Ah." He seemed surprised at that. From what Father Forthill told them, it was very difficult for beings to possess someone here against their will. "Well, um… I just…" He coughed again as he got his mind back on track. "Anyway, the biggest danger is that you'll find ways to justify breaking the rules even more. One of the most common ways Warlocks happen is that they use it to get out of homework, or to grab something without paying for it. Then they use it to get the person they love to fall for them, or have people give them money. Then they're forcing themselves on the girl they like, and making her go along with it. And then they usually jump straight to having people kill for them." Interesting. The fact he called it the most common way meant that this was a recurring problem.

"And I suppose Necromancy and altering time cause the same problems?"

"In a way. When you alter time, you run the risk of just making things worse for everyone. Like having the bad guys win or something. And those that can see into the future can be driven mad by paradoxes. And would you really want someone call up your ancestor's bones to fight for them?"

"I would." Naziba said from his corner of the room. He had been staring at McCoy for a while now. "My people find no shame in such a thing. They see it as them helping us even in death."

"Well, most people do have a problem with it."

"So killing, mind-altering, time-altering, and necromancy can cause one to become insane." Ming ticked off her fingers. "What exactly is wrong with shapeshifting and Outsiders?"

"The White Council don't have a problem with you shapeshifting yourself. But casting it on someone else is usually permanent. And even if you have a counterspell, the mind has almost always been altered irreparably."

Naziba understood him. "They have the minds of beasts instead of men, and forget themselves."

"And that's as bad as killing them. And as for the Outsiders, well they desire to destroy everything. And we have to do anything we can to stop them. So anyone caught even so much as discussing them in a manner we find threatening, are killed before they can undo all our work."

"Believe me, that we can all agree on." Even though Adria was finally dead by their hands, her actions could not be undone. Leah was still gone, and now the Great Evils have escaped. For all they knew, they were rampaging around while they were stuck here. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud banging as Dresden came running through the door. He looked very distressed.

"Hoss?" McCoy asked in confusion. He did mention that he was Dresden's mentor when he first met them. "What are you doing here?"

"He agreed to have at least one of us accompany him until we find out why we need his help, especially after than Fallen Angel attack. And I'm guessing someone forgot about that." Ming said as she stood up. Dresden at least had the decency to look guilty.

"I thought I could at least go one day without being attacked. But I nearly got whacked by a weird fallen angel. I mean, his head had two faces."

Two faces. A chill went down her spine, and Naziba looked just as worried. "And did he have four arms, floated about and took on the appearance of a child?"

"You know about it." He wasn't asking them. Ming cursed under her breath before heading for the courtyard, everyone else not far behind her. Father Forthill agreed to let them use it when Haedrig showed up this morning. Everyone else was out there checking their equipment, or training their skills some more. And more importantly, Tyreal was waiting out there.

"We have a serious problem." She nearly shouted as they entered the courtyard. Everyone immediately turned to face her as she grabbed the Book of Demons from their stash. It was a record of all the demons and other monsters they had faced on their adventures. She quickly turned through it as everyone crowded around a table not too far away. Once she found the page, she slammed the book down before Dresden. "Was this the demon you were attacked by?"

"Yeah, that was definitely it." Tyreal took the book from him, looking very worried.

"Belial." His deep voice intoned. "The Lord of Lies is here. And if one Great Evil is in this world, then so too must be the others."

"That's our mission." Korgaroth said. "The Great Evils escaped to this world, where they have grown soft from the lack of demons. They will be easy prey for them."

"Agreed. They are most likely working alongside the Fallen Angels. This does not bode well for anyone."

"Hold on." Dresden interrupted. "I just got attacked by a freaking Lord of Hell? For what?"

"Most likely to possess you Dresden. It is one of their favourite techniques. Gain the power of an enemy, and rob them of their greatest warriors. From now on you are to not go anywhere without one of the Nephalem. Only they can kill a Great Evil now."

Dresden sighed. "Can't we just get the Knights to kill this creep? I kinda don't really want a shadow. I've had enough of that already."

"Dammit Hoss, quit being such a baby." McCoy ordered him. "It's not going to kill you to have a roommate for a few days."

"And from what my mentor told me, when they fought against several Great Evils their success was down to a healthy dose of luck." Ming mentioned. "And they were all at their prime. I rather doubt that the Knights of the Cross could handle them all."

"Not to mention we will need soulstones to contain them." Tyreal added. He had a point. With the Black Soulstone shattered, the Great Evils would only escape again. Fortunately, Tyreal was responsible for creating the original soulstones in the first place. "As much as I hate to say this, until we learn more you should avoid killing them unless your life or another's is at immediate risk. Hopefully, they are only possessing their hosts through fragments of the Black Soulstone." Dresden sighed in defeat. Honestly, she didn't know what he was so worried about. True, they were the most inconspicuous people, but from what they saw as they searched for the 'studio' they were hardly the strangest lot in this city. "If you are truly worried about being in danger then we can have Shen and Haedrig make you some form of protection."

"No." He replied. "I've got a lead on my case, and I want to get to it before it runs off. I'll just have a Nephalem and hope I'm not that unlucky." He pointed to her. "Ming, I want you with me. You stand out the least."

"Very well then." Tyreal said. "The rest of you, I want you to study the notes made on the Great Evils. We should work under the idea that they are all in this city." Tyreal continued giving orders, but Ming and Dresden were already walking away. As they got near the great doors leading out into the city, they started rumbling to reveal a purple-covered cart. At the reins was a very familiar plump woman. Ming smiled.

"Funny how our resident Vecin is the last of our group to arrive in this city. Did you lose your way? Or did you simply miss the fact that we would be whisked to another world?"

"Hardly child." Myriam replied warmly. "I just knew it would be almost impossible to explain this world to you. And for your information I ended up in the middle of Kansas City. Oh those metal carts are so aggravating. They nearly killed my horses many times. And the riders are so rude. But, I am here. And just in time apparently." She smiled at Dresden. "So good to finally meet you Mr Dresden. You are certainly rather handsome. Why, if I didn't know that Ming was with Eirena, I'd try to 'hook' you two up."

"Uh… Thanks, but I'm good." Dresden seemed at a loss for words.

"No you're not. If you were good, then you wouldn't be so upset about Susan's new partner. Relax. He has about as much love as a boulder. You should try asking that nice guardswoman out. She is always there for you."

"As much as I'd enjoy seeing Dresden squirm under your words, we really must be going. But if you finally have any words of advice, now would be a wonderful time to share them."

"Pah. Very well. Ming, beware a tall man with bulging muscles. He'll have trouble understanding the word 'no', and will distract you from your mission. Dresden, don't take your coat. You will only lose it to the thief."

"You mean thieves." Dresden replied as she rode pass. But Myriam merely looked back and chuckled at him. "Wow. Is she always like that?"

"Always." Ming handed him her amulet. Her armour should protect her from most threats, unless Dresden was unlucky enough to meet another Great Evil. "Come on. Put this on instead. We have a carriage to catch."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."

"So what's a Vecin?" I asked Ming once we were in the taxi. I partly noticed that Shen had made it to the church, along with some guy with an anvil, but I was a bit preoccupied with getting to the Shroud before it ran off. According to the Loa, it was on a boat called The Etranger. My plan was to wait for the owners to clear out, and then sneak in to grab the Shroud. Ming would be on lookout, could use her magic to scare them off, and then we get out of there and start dealing with the Lords of Hell springing up.

"The Vecin are a nomadic tribe most well-known for a magical ability called The Sight. It allows certain members to see into the future and give warnings, though sometimes Myriam has been forced to avoid telling us the truth to achieve greater victory." She looked almost normal in her cloak. If I didn't know she was a wizard I'd have thought she was just an average shifty lady. Right now though, she looked pretty solemn. Maybe she was thinking about Leah, like Valla had been. "If only we had her along with us before, Leah might still be alive."

Something she said about this 'Sight' got me a bit confused. "How do the Vecin avoid going crazy? We have laws against seeing into the future for a reason."

"So Wizard McCoy mentioned. I'm not too sure. How do Seers work in this world?"

"Dunno. I think they're future-sight is on all the time."

"There you go. The Sight comes to Myriam only when she wants it too. Or when something important is approaching. Since she doesn't have it on all the time, I imagine that if the future changes she won't know until she hears about it." That would explain why the Vecin can change the future willy-nilly like that. Hell's Bells, if the Council learnt about Sanctuary they'd throw a fit. "Now then, I would like to know our destination and our plan of attack. Are we to barge our way through this impenetrable fortress?"

"Uh…no. Actually it's a boat."

"You surely mean a ship." She replied, frowning slightly. Guess she didn't get small things like this.

"No, I mean a boat. As in a small vessel meant to hold at most 4 people."

"…They are keeping such a holy relic hidden on a mere ferry boat? What about protection? The Church would most likely swarm the vessel when they learn of its location. A fortress could last against them for quite some time."

"Except we don't have fortresses anymore. Well, most ancient magic creatures have some fortresses, but regular people have to settle for far less. Besides, it's less conspicuous."

"I am afraid I don't understand. But then again, most of my foes believe they are invincible and can announce themselves with abandon."

"Right then. As you explained, if you were looking for an important Holy relic, the first place you'd check is the massive imposing fortress in the area. So if you knew that, where would you hide?"

I could see her eyes light up as she got it. "Why, you'd hide in the place people would be least likely to look. So that's why they're in the boat. I…never really thought like that before."

"I suppose that demons are all too keen to rush you and your friends."

"That they are." She turned towards the window, settling for observing the city as we went along. It didn't take much longer before we arrived the Harbour. I always thought of it as like the parking lot of an ocean-going Walmart. Far too many boats for my liking. Ming just stared at them in amazement.

"Your world certainly enjoys having plenty of everything, doesn't it?" She said as she saw all the boats, and heading over to a nearby barbeque area. "And this contraption. What does it do?"

"It's a barbeque. We cook things on it." I tugged her gently, but firmly, by the arm. The whole time we've been here so far I've gotten the very strong feeling we were being watched. I thought it might be a member of the Red Court, but it was still too bright for them. They'd get charred to a crisp as this rate. Maybe the thieves have a lookout or something.

Or it could be another Denarian.

"Ok, so here's the plan." I whispered to Ming, who I had made cling to my arm to attract less attention. Hopefully, everyone will mistake us for a couple instead of a detective and his super-powered bodyguard. "Once we find the boat, we'll wait for the thieves to leave, and then I'll sneak in below to find the Shroud. While I'm doing that, you will wait somewhere close by and keep an eye out for if the thieves are coming back."

"And how exactly am I to contact you if they do come back? Wave my arms and squawk like a chicken?"

"Just use your magic to scare them. I'll get the hint, run on out of there, and then we hightail it out before the police come after us." I really wished the Blue Beetle hadn't conked out on me today, but Ming could fend them off for us.

"Your guards are strange if they would aid criminals."

"You're forgetting that we'd be the ones leaving with stolen property. The police work under the assumption that if it looks like something, it'll probably be exactly what it looks like." By now, I had found the Etranger. It was a nice little boat, big enough for a good-sized cabin. It was clearly old, but well cared for. Ming and I stood a bit away, watching the water as I listened. It's not really a magical spell. It's just focusing on certain noises.

"Unacceptable." A quiet, female voice said. Her accent was a mixture of British and Spanish, just quiet enough to not be noticeable. "The job entailed more expenses that estimated. I'm raising the price to reflect that, nothing more." There was a pause as the person on the line responded, before she spoke again. "Would you like an invoice for your tax return then? I told you that the quote was merely a guess. It happens." Another pause. "Excellent. As scheduled then." There was a bit of noise as she moved things around, before the phone rang again. I used this chance to get us closer, and see if I could look in through the windows. There was a tall lady wearing a long gown of dark silk. She was listening to the phone before speaking again. "I'm sorry. You have the wrong number." She hung up and dropped the robe. I'm not a peeping tom, this was all professional action. I noted she had some good curves. See? Professionalism. As we watched, she entered a steamy bathroom, closing the door with a snap behind her.

This was our big chance. As far as I could see, there was only one thief in there. I didn't know whether it was Anna Valmont or Francisca Garcia, but as long as she was busy here I could get the Shroud and get out without too much trouble.

"Find somewhere to sit where you can watch the boat." I whispered to Ming. "I'm going in. Remember, keep an eye out for anyone entering the boat."

"I will. And you keep your mind out of the lady's washroom." Ming replied slyly as she walked off to a nearby seat. As she parted, I quickly moved down the gangplank. As I explained to Ming on the way in, while they were the real thieves, we couldn't really ignore the law without getting into trouble. I entered in as stealthily as I could. The stairs didn't creak, and I didn't bang my head against the doorframe. Inside, it wasn't really much. A double bed, a laundry and dryer combo, and a kitchen unit with two fridges.

Wait. Two fridges? I sneaked over and opened them up. The first one had all the normal fridge things. Food, milk, perishables. The second one was fake, a safe hidden inside. I was about to try opening it when I had a thought. The Churchmice got where they were by being smart. Just like with the fortress idea, this was way too obvious. I had a look around the room, mindful of how little time I likely had.

Of course. I lifted the laundry basket, and found the Shroud under a load of washing. It was wrapped tightly, and looked like a folded shirt than anything else, but as soon as I touched it I could feel the power.

"Damn I'm good." I whispered as I grabbed it. And ran right into a gun as I turned around. The gun was a cheap .38, something you'd get cheap and easy. It certainly didn't fit the pretty girl in the dark clothes holding it.

"Damn I'm good." She echoed, smirking at me. I cursed inwardly as I raised my hands. I hadn't even heard her or sensed her. And that cheap gun could still kill me. Where the hell was Ming? "Drop the package. And don't think your friend will be able to help you. She's a bit busy with some horny dude."

I couldn't tell if she meant horny as in horned, or just sexually active. I suddenly remembered Myriam's advice. She already warned Ming about the guy, and according to her I was going to lose my coat to this lady. As I dropped the Shroud, she smiled at me. "Good. Now, that coat looks nice. Hand it over, slowly." She stopped smiling as something meaty slammed against the ground. She turned slightly to try and take a look, only to stop as she found Ming's sword right in her face. A gun may be faster, but it wouldn't take much for Ming to stick her like a pig.

"That sound was a 7 foot man hitting the ground harder than a charging bull." Ming said menacingly. "Unless you want to go through this dingy of yours you will drop the weapon and surrender." Anna Valmont – as it definitely looked like her – dropped the gun and held her hands above her head. I grabbed the Shroud again and was about to leave when the bathroom door slammed into my face and Garcia came out guns blazing. That would've normally worked easily. But if I've learnt anything hanging out with the Nephalem, is that they never play by the rules. The bullets impacted against a shimmering shield, before dropping to the floor. Ming swept out one hand, and small wave of force blew her against the wall. "Now then, where were we?"

"We were about to get out of here." I said, my voice muffled by my broken nose. "Can you make some shackles for these girls? I'm sure the police would love to question them."

"I'm afraid I'm not that good Dresden. But I imagine that they have shackles of their own."

"What the hell are you?" Anna asked softly. I guess she didn't know about magic. That meant she didn't have a clue what kind of monsters would be after her.

"What I am is a tireless force of good, dedicated to stopping the legions of Hell from destroying the world. You, on the other hand, are a lowly maggot that does not care what happens as long as you make some meagre gold. It is people like you that cause Evil to remain to this day."

"Oh great. You're some religious whack-job."

"Actually, she's telling the truth. And several Lords of Hell are after this thing. If they find you, they will kill you."

"And probably rape you, eat you, use you for magic, and then torture your soul. It's what they like doing."

"Not helping." I told her, annoyed. "Look Ms Valmont. Something's already gotten Gaston. If you saw his remains, you'd dump that Shroud and run as fast as you can."

"I'm not some kind of religious nut-job like you and this bitch. You're not going to scare me. There's no such thing as demons."

Of course, that was the moment two monsters came crashing into the boat.

"Andariel!" Ming shouted as she started backing away. The demoness screeched at her before lunging with her large claw wings. Looking at her, I could believe she was from Hell. She had the whole shebang. Hooved feet, clawed hands, pointed ears and glowing eyes. Her hair stood on end, and she was dressed very skimpily. Her companion was also female, with curves that led to legs that were back-jointed like a lion's. She had green metallic skin, and the customary two pairs of eyes belonging to all Denarians. Most strikingly though, was her long mass of hair that looked like it belonged to a love-child of Medusa and Doctor Octopus. It was a writhing mass of metal strands, stabbing into all available surfaces to support her.

Anna recovered from the shock of the attack, and grabbed the gun from the ground. But Medusa lady's hair sliced through it and nearly got her too. Ming had gone out the door, firing a beam of ice at Andariel. The demoness hissed before rushing after her. The boat shook as they both started fighting, holes appearing everywhere.

"Forget her." Medusa shouted. "Our goal is the Shroud."

"You dare command me, mortal?" Andariel shouted back in rage. "That loathsome relic is your goal. Ours is the destruction of these Nephalem." Medusa screeched in anger, before being attacked by Francisca. She must've reloaded while we were talking, because she unloaded another full clip. The Denarian yelled in pain as the bullets smashed against her, before letting loose with a wave of hair. The skewered Francisca, thundering against the bulkhead before the far wall exploded with fire. I could hear Andariel scream in pain above us.

Normally, I'd be getting out of the burning boat with my prize, and let Ming just set the whole thing ablaze. But seeing a woman get hurt riles up my inner Neanderthal. It didn't care that she was a criminal and was willing to kill my partner. She was dead, and that monster did it.

"Forzare." I shouted, blasting Medusa with a wave of force. She slammed into the bathroom, cracking the wash basin under the force. But she was up and about, forcing me to create a shield to survive. It didn't last long though. The force behind her was incredible. She slammed me against the wall –one of the few parts of it not burning away – and shattered the shield with her magic. She nearly got me if it wasn't for a stray magic orb crashing against her. Everything in the room flew about for a moment.

This was crazy. We had to get out of here. But as long as the Denarian was here, we couldn't move. I was suddenly struck by inspiration. "Get it out of the fridge!" I shouted at Anna, who was curled up next to Francisca in a daze. "She can't be allowed to get it."

It worked. Medusa started cackling as her hair tore apart the fridges. Once she found the safe, she ripped it free and smashed through the floor of the boat. Great. Not only were we on fire, and frozen, and with large hissing things above, but now we were sinking. The next time a Nephalem started fighting, I was getting back on solid ground. I heard another splash as something else – most likely Andariel – ran for it too.

"Dresden!" Ming shouted down at me. "We must get going. This vessel is sinking!" Anna Valmont forced her way past, but Ming was more worried about me. I quickly had a look around where I last saw the Shroud, but it was gone.

Then I remembered something. Anna was right next to this spot.

"Dammit." I grunted. "She ran off with it." I tried to lift Francisca out, but the boat was sinking too quickly. Unless I got out of there, I would be joining her. Still, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Before I left, I grabbed a memo pad from the bench and the cell phone. Then I hauled myself out of there, and we jumped off the sinking wreckage. Outside, it was chaos. Plenty of stuff was burning, and people were screaming in panic. I nearly stumbled over cracks in the ground, as if something had burst out of there. A few other boats had sunk nearby, and there were a few more cracked areas. Ming and I ran, and tried to think inconspicuous thoughts.

So much for that plan.

"All in all that could've gone a lot worse." Ming said as Dresden sat next to her on the 'bus'. Poor thing took death worse than she did. But then, in Sanctuary you heard of many that died from attacks of some kind. You get used to it very quickly. Last she heard her home village had been attacked by demons many years ago. "I mean, alright we didn't recover the Shroud. And that thief ran off with it. But we could've died from Andariel or the Fallen Angel. The fact we chased them off is pretty good."

"Didn't you say you killed your version of Satan?" Dresden asked sullenly. "How come you couldn't kill that demoness anyway?"

"When I killed Diablo, I was working with my fellow Nephalem at the time. Even I would balk at the idea of fighting him alone. While I am powerful, the Lords of Hell got where they were by being the strongest beings in Hell. I find that I managed to scare her away to be pretty good. It shows she will be wary of me."

"Great. Now she'll plan so that you never know she's coming until it's too late." Ming sighed. Why did he have to be so negative? They got away with their lives. Against a Great Evil, that's considered a victory. "Still, maybe Valmont will finally get out of this business now that she knows monsters are after her.

"Doubt it. Lyndon would go into demon-infested caves if the payoff was good enough."

Dresden slapped the seat in front of them as he stood up. "Well then it looks like I'm going to have to look for her again. And with Fallen Angels and Demons hunting me too."

"Welcome to my world."

Yeah. Not much to say about this chapter. I wanted to fit in a sequence to raise the stakes, but I decided to save that for another chapter. The idea that Ming was fighting Andariel alone was pretty fun, as well as showing signs of her spells' aftereffects.

For those of you wondering, I sort of imagine that in the setting, fighting the demons is a bit like being on Torment difficulty. That's why you won't see a Nephalem kill a Great Evil alone. They're just too strong.