-*-*-*-*-*-*-40'sDetectiveNoir-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Chapter 5:
More Than Meets The Eye
{*~********~*~********~*} *-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-* {*~********~*~********~*}"Umm…Magnus, are you sure this is the right place? We're way into the industrial district- it's nothing but warehouses and storage facilities out here. I don't see anything that could even kind of be a club."
Magnus chuckled, rolling his eyes at Alec's faint confusion, sending a playful smirk his way.
"Yes dear I am certain. I've been coming here for well over a decade, I could find it blindfolded. I know it doesn't look like you'd find a club out here- that's kind of the point. Kinda hard to have a secret club if it's easy to identify- oh! Turn here, there's a loading dock on the other side of that warehouse.
Raph actually bought out all thirteen of the warehouses here- though only as a silent partner/ hands off financial backer kind of thing. Ten have functioning, quite lucrative now legitimate businesses. Most were struggling when he first came here. He made deals with them- providing extra funding and such in return for keeping up appearances around here so nothing seems amiss. The large warehouse on the left, four buildings down is the actual club."
Alec blinked, quirking his eyebrow, chancing a glance over at Magnus,
"The one with the 'Caution: extremely high voltage' sign?"
Magnus grinned, nodding.
"Yup, that's the one…pretty ingenious, yes? This warehouse and one three down on the opposite side are parking structures for the club. The parking's actually underground. This one essentially just looks like a dingy open floor but if you go over to the far left side there's a duplicate wall that unless you're actively looking for it just appears to be the back of the warehouse, there's just enough space between it and the actual wall for a car to get in.
There's a tunnel that goes for about a hundred feet then you turn and end up in the actual parking structure. The other one's pretty close to the same thing, though that warehouse was a bottling plant and some of the equipment is still there, most of which perfectly hides the entrance to the parking structure below. Both have one entrance, two exits and three passageways directly into Chaos. Apparently during prohibition there were a couple of speakeasies here- Raph just added a few little twists and repurposed them for his club.
It's really quite useful, the parking structures are pretty extensive, the exits let out at four different locations along the waterfront, places it's quite easy to just slip unnoticed into traffic and be on your way.
It is exceptionally well thought out."
Alec blinked, shaking his head slightly disbelievingly.
"Geez, no wonder I've never even heard rumors of the place."
Magnus chuckled, nodding, directing Alec through the warehouse to the entrance to the parking structure. Simon swallowed nervously, fidgeting in the back seat, attempting to keep his breathing under control, trying to keep from panicking or just saying to hell with it, throwing the door open and running for it.
It was far easier said than done.
He didn't need Magnus to tell him where it was, all he had to do is listen to every innate instinct he had telling him to get the hell out of there. He could feel the demonic power the moment they turned onto the access road on the waterfront. This area was definitely demon territory, and it was unquestionably protected.
Yeah the whole cloak and dagger, speakeasy thing seemed like a really good cover- probably fooled the humans well enough- but Simon knew there was no way in hell (Ha…even when he's panicking and scared out of his mind he's making bad puns) anyone was finding this place the demon did not actually want finding it. It was heavily shielded; Simon felt it the moment they passed through the barrier.
He wondered what it felt like to humans. Did they get the chill down their spine, the foreboding alarm practically screaming in their heads?
How could they not?
Even if they're totally oblivious to Magic they have to feel something from this. It's just too much. Far more power than he's ever felt concentrated in one place. It stood to reason. Raphael was largely thought to be the most powerful demon in existence, his influence and strength reaching near mythic levels, and it was no wonder why.
Magnus was right about one thing- Raphael Santiago was a hell of a lot more than a colorful reputation. All demons have a base level of power but it can be augmented, strengthened by taking on minions. Minions are humans who have sworn an allegiance to the demon, willingly binding themselves to the demon for all of eternity.
These poor unfortunate people are preyed on by the demon, duped into service. The scariest thing is most genuinely think they want to serve the demon. The demon offers them something, usually a deal or powers or the like. In return for their ill-gotten gains the human is bound to the demon, the binds are permanent for as long as the demon is alive.
It's a vicious scheme to be sure…one that's near always permanent. While there are a few spells to break the bond they're all very complicated and extremely easy to botch. In most cases the death of a demon also equals the death of their minions, though most warlocks see this as a kind of mercy, releasing them from their debt, allowing them the peace and freedom they were tricked out of in life.
What the human gets in return for their loyalty varies person to person, but it all comes with strings, side effects. All minions are in essence immortal, their lifelines tied to that of the demon. While some minions remain otherwise human just with immortality and maybe a bit of an augmented trait here or there others are completely changed, the demon transforming them into some form of magic, making them far more useful.
Some get magic abilities kind of like a witch- a few even seem frighteningly close to warlock abilities- even said to be capable of using actual warlock spells and incantations. Others become a kind of shifter, able to take on a new animalistic form. These minions are extremely powerful and quite fearsome in a fight. A very rare select few- the strongest, most skilled, most willful, most powerful are actually transformed into a kind of demon themselves, a Diavolulnou. Very little is known of this type of minion but it's thought given enough time they could even take on minions of their own, beginning the cycle all over again.
It's utterly terrifying to think of an innocent, if perhaps misguided, person being lead so astray; manipulated, cursed, turned into little more than playthings and weapons for a vicious demon to do with what it wishes. It's sad how easily a demon can find a humans weakness, prey on it, use it to their advantage, warp the poor human into truly thinking they're better off as a helpless, mindless puppet for the demon rather than as a free person under their own control.
The idea of someone willingly giving up their lives in service of a demon always seems so particularly cruel, he can't imagine living a life like that, as little more than a prop for some terrifying, evil monster.
It's a fate worse than death.
The idea that even one person would willingly do that is utterly bewildering to warlock society. How a demon could trick even one person into this is a mystery, yet near every demon ends up with at least a handful of minions. The usual amount is between five to twenty…
Raphael's number is unknown but it's thought to be pushing dangerously close to triple digits.
….
…
..
.
And this is the demon he is going to meet…
IN his freaking lair…
His lair that is unimaginably protected, hidden from all but the humans who the demon for whatever reason wants to know about it in a freaking underground speakeasy with multiple hidden exits and entrances, shielded by terrifyingly powerful demonic magic.
A hidden, protected oasis for those marginalized. Those isolated, shunned, and already largely dehumanized by society as a whole…even by their own families. Seen as little more than a blight on society, a mistake, something to be hidden away and forgotten, or even flat out eradicated altogether.
Oooh crap…
Think he just realized why a demon would be running a gay club.
It'd be genius if it wasn't so abhorrent. This 'Chaos' is a perfect hunting ground- a freaking buffet of vulnerable, destabilized, malleable innocents. It's like a spider web or a honey trap, luring unsuspecting victims in.
This guy gives them a safe place, a place they feel they belong, that they are okay, that they can just be themselves. He gives them security, support and hope. Something all of them want, all of them so very desperately need. Something this stupid, ignorant, backwards society tells them they will never, ever have- that they don't deserve, not so long as they remain how they are.
God…
No wonder the bastard has managed to get so many minions. The poor helpless trusting souls. All they want is a bit of compassion, a bit of acceptance, something that should be a given, but because of this stupid, backwards, bigoted society they're setting ducks for the demon- painfully easy prey. They probably don't even realize the danger until it's far too late.
As if these poor people didn't have enough crap to deal with already. People hated them, feared them, were repulsed and even at times downright violent towards them. They were maligned, ostracized by everyone, even at times their own family. Made to feel like they were freaks; wrong, horrible and shameful, just because of one stupid, insignificant little difference.
They faced SO much…
And now they have a freaking demon preying on them too? Using the cruelty, stupidity and apathy of this society to trick them into signing over their lives? Just so he can get a little bit more power, a bit more influence?
No.
No…that cannot keep happening.
It has to stop.
He sits up a bit straighter, looking out the window at the parking area, clutching the handle of the door, no longer in fear rather in anger. Simon took a deep breath, trying to fight off the wave of righteous fury that seemed to overtake his fear.
Okay, he's young, inexperienced; he doesn't really know where to begin with this but there's no two ways about it; this has to stop. He can't just sit back and allow a demon to prey on innocent people. Especially innocent people who are already so very victimized by their own society.
He doesn't know how but he has to find a way to stop this, to stop him. He's a warlock- it's his job to protect humans from the demonic threat… And no doubt about it, Raphael Santiago is the single greatest demonic threat there is.
It's insane and crazy and probably bordering on delusional. He knows that's what his coven would think- his parents and Dax would probably near die laughing at the ridiculousness of him being stupid enough to try to go up against THE Raphael Santiago. He can't imagine what Blake would say if she knew.
But it doesn't matter, none of that does.
Raphael is preying on poor, already victimized innocents pushed to the breaking point by their own backwards, bigoted society.
That needs to stop…
He's young and inexperienced but hell, maybe he can use that. No way is a twenty five year old warlock, totally on his own over two thousand miles away from his coven ever gonna register as any kind of a threat to what is likely the most powerful demon in existence. That could work in his favor.
It's about the only advantage he has, so he'll take it.
That's about all he can do.
Through a mind numbingly stupid twist of fate he has a chance to get close to the single most dangerous demonic threat to the human race and to warlock kind. He can get close, find a weakness, an in, a way to stop him. To bring him down.
It has to be done.
And he's the only one with even half a chance.
So he will.
He doesn't know how but he will.
{*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*} {*~********~*~********~*} *-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-* {*~********~*~********~*}"This is so weird…" Alec gave a slightly disbelieving huff of a laugh, shaking his head, looking around at the odd brick walls of the winding tunnel like entrance into Chaos.
They were a rich, deep red, lit by small gas lights that flickered and flashed like flames and where spaced out just enough to where you'd have small areas completely engulfed in inky blackness. Their footsteps echoed on the cobblestone flooring and you could hear the faint whispering echoes of sound from both the parking area and the club itself. He could only imagine what it sounded like when the club was hopping; the sounds of music, laughter, and chattering filling the air…
It would be haunting, otherworldly, near disorienting, surrounded by unseen voices in the flickering flames and inky darkness…
It was like wandering into hell. A quirky little thing in his head wondered if that was intentional, if it was some odd demon 'in' joke.
If he wasn't bouncing erratically between terrified and totally furious he's probably find it kinda amusing.
"Understatement of the century…" Simon muttered, so quietly the others may not have even heard him…he didn't really care if they did or not.
He had a few other things on his mind.
Within minutes he's gonna actually be in the freaking lair of what is largely thought to be the most powerful demon in existence. A vicious, evil being who is using the backwards, hateful prejudices of the day to his advantage, using the promise of a safe space, of acceptance and compassion to lure poor innocent already victimized souls into signing away their lives.
He's gonna be facing this monster…and the monster's gonna know exactly what he is the second he walks through the door. Hell, maybe even before that. Demon senses are very well tuned to Magic. He may not register super high on the Magic threat scale- especially to someone like Raphael Santiago-but regardless of his actual abilities he was still a Warlock. That's a red flag to most Demons regardless.
And if the Magic didn't get his attention it's just as likely the emotions he's putting off would…not that there's a hell of a lot Simon can do about that. You cannot hide emotions from Demons. You just can't. They sense them, it's said they can even actually see them, like a type of aura. It's how they so easily find their prey. Their senses are supposed to be specifically tuned to the darkest, most negative emotions; pain, fear, hate, anger, desperation and hopelessness. These are what they use to gain power… what they practically feed on.
And right now Simon knows he's ricocheting through the entire gamut of negative emotions.
He can't hide it, there's just no way. His only hope is to go just with it and hope he can spin it enough to work for him. It will kinda help having two humans along, he's reasonably sure the demon won't actively attack him while they're there…
At least he really hopes he won't.
Well…too late for second thoughts now.
They take one last turn coming upon a large, intricately designed black door. It's odd and ominous looking. There's intricate carvings adorning it and a striking window inset in the top half. It reminds Simon of a window for a castle, kinda narrow, going up into a curved arched point. It's layered over with highly detailed iron work that swirls and weaves together looking almost like vines, just giving the barest glimpses in while allowing the sound and ruckus from inside to drift out.
The design surrounding the window catches Simon's eye, giving him pause. What to most humans would appear to be simply a nice border design is in actuality demonic script. Around the top part of the window it reads 'In All Chaos There Is A Cosmos, In All Disorder A Secret Order.'
'The Path To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions'' is along the bottom of the window in the same swirling demonic script.
Huh...gotta admit not really expecting that...
He blinks, in spite of everything, trying to bite off a slight, surprised chuckle.
Okay so the demon actually DID have a sense of humor. That's definitely unexpected.
Didn't change anything…
Might be something he could work with though.
Alec blinks, glancing over at him nervously, seemingly having a moment of doubt.
"Uhh…Magnus?"
Magnus chuckled, flashing a bright smile.
"I know, the darling can be rather dramatic at times, but it's all in good fun. I promise you'll adore this place, both of you." He finished glancing over at Simon, flashing a reassuring smile, turning, pushing the door open, beginning in, Alec falling in by his side.
Simon takes one more deep breath to try to steady his nerves.
Kay…here goes nothing.
He moves along behind the other two, eyes flickering over the place taking in the surroundings. Huh…doesn't look quite as imposing as he'd thought (Or as the freaking 'tunnel to hell' entrance would suggest for that matter).
It actually just looks like a nice, comfortable place. There's a large cherry wood bar polished to a gleaming shine taking up the left hand wall. In front of it were several rather cushy looking black leather barstools. Behind the bar the entire wall is stacked near to the ceiling with shelves upon shelves showcasing a wide assortment of bottles- pretty much every type of liquor you could think of…hell some Simon had never even heard of (though that may not be saying much…he really wasn't much of a drinker).
The rest of the place seemed pretty inviting as well. There was a decent sized dance floor in the center circled with various tables. Moving away from the dance floor along the walls there were several comfy looking booths and long lounge like areas to sit and chat. In the far corner he noticed a rather intricate wrought iron spiral staircase leading to the top floor, which had an opening in the center directly above the dance floor allowing the people upstairs a nice view of the festivities down below. It was protected by a four foot wrought iron safety rail that echoed the vine like pattern on the door and the staircase…
Apparently there was a theme here.
There seemed to be a buzz of excitement in the air- he didn't really know if it was the club type atmosphere or some kind of odd demon induced 'thing' but it really was quite inviting. He could quite easily see how people could get sucked into it. He can't imagine the place hopping with people, music and laughter…
Tunnel to hell entrance or not it'd seem like paradise to so many.
It was a perfect trap.
Simon felt the anger slipping back, he tried to bite it down…the demon would be able to sense it. Trying to distract himself he looked again at the surroundings, the place was all but deserted right now. Stood to reason after all it was just barely two in the afternoon…not really peak club time. Even so there were a couple patrons, Magnus said the place never closed, people were always welcome. Simon'd had to bite back a scoff at that-
Of course they were, can't miss an opportunity for another victim after all.
He shook his head, trying to refocus and cool the anger yet again. There were a couple patrons milling about, Simon glanced over them curiously trying to distract himself from the anger..
A kind of tired looking guy with light brown hair and dark brown eyes was setting kinda slumped at a table, nursing a beer. He didn't look especially depressed, more tired. He's dressed in jeans and a somewhat dingy looking work shirt, clearly some kind of laborer, probably just got off work, wanting a quick drink before heading home. A cute blonde's at the bar, smiling and laughing flirtatiously, leaning close to a dark haired woman with dusky green eyes. A couple of guys cuddled up in one of the booths towards the back of the room talking quietly, holding hands, idly playing with each other's fingers.
There's a strikingly pretty red-headed woman setting at one of the tables, idly tapping a pen to her lip, looking over a scattering of what looked like sheet music, making little notes and corrections, clearly lost in her own little world.
Huh…not the overly worn clientele Simon would have thought for this hour….but that was kinda the point of this place, wasn't it?
Give them a place they fit, where they feel they are safe, where they belong, they'll never want to leave. He shook his head, fighting off an aggravated huff,
This really just turned his stomach, the idea o-
"Mags?"
Simon startles at the voice from above, head whipping up, catching sight of the speaker…
He freezes…
Oh…wow.
O-Oookay…uh…so…h-he's heard a lot about Raphael. He was the most powerful demon known to exist; he was terrifyingly strong and unbelievably skilled. He was the biggest demonic threat in existence…
T-they apparently left out a few key details.
Wow…
The man standing at the railing was without a doubt the single most beautiful person Simon has ever seen. He's Latino, with deep brown, flawlessly styled hair and worryingly gorgeous features. He's wearing perfectly tailored black suit pants and a deep, rich, blood red shirt with the sleeves rolled up beneath a slim fitting black waistcoat/vest kinda thing complete with matching pocket square.
There was no mistaking who it was…even from a floor down you could literally FEEL the power radiating from the man. He feels powerful but at the same time there's a near overwhelming pull, a draw that catches Simon totally by surprise. Everything about him looks perfectly put together, everything's enticing, oddly disarming.
But what catches Simon's attention above all else is his eyes. They're a deep, impossibly deep, dark brown and seem sharp, intelligent and calculating. There's SO much hiding behind those impossibly dark eyes. Simon feels a bit of a prickle looking into them, a little lightheaded and breathless.
Oooh…crap…
He SO did not see that coming.
Geez…
No wonder the guy got so many minions…who wouldn't be willing to sign their life away to THAT?
The guy looks like a freaking fantasy come true.
A charming smile and a few soft, flirty little whispers and they're gone…
They never stood a chance.
Then everything just seems to stop…
Those impossibly deep, bewitching eyes fall on Simon, meeting his gaze. Raphael freezes, eyes flashing black, glimmering crimson. He tilts his head, it's odd, not quite human, near predatory. Simon feels his heart rate pick up a few tics…but it's not from fear…
Oh Crap…
Raphael blinks in surprise, a flicker of a smirk dancing across his annoyingly gorgeous features, eyes lighting with humor and maybe a bit of mischief. He chuckled, relaxing, running his hands along the guardrail, squeezing, leaning a little against the railing, the move causes his arms to flex a bit, really emphasizing his arms…and shoulders.
Simon gulps, blinking rapidly. Raphael chuckles again, sharp gaze flicking from Simon to Magnus, flashing a friendly smile.
"Hey Mags…I see you've brought some friends." He paused, eyes flickering back to Simon, shifting again to black.
"I would very much like to meet them…Why don't you guys come on up?"
Simon gulped again…
Oooh crap…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* *-*-*End Of Chapter Notes*-*-* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Oh my god I LOVE this verse SO much!
These guys are gonna be SO fun to play with!
What do you think so far?
-*-*-*-*-*-*-40'sDetectiveNoir-*-*-*-*-*-*-
* 11 *