Ordo Ab Chao
Chapter III
3:00PM
Downtown Los Angeles, California
"Bad dream? Well what did she see? Me dying? That's very cryptic don't ya think? No, no I am taking this seriously. Did you hear what I told you? The magic out here is all messed up. Somebody's tampering with it and weakening the barriers between realms. Angels and demons are coming through and it's only a matter of time before an all-out war breaks loose." Constantine looked around at the people of Southern California as they walked around him. So carefree, so absent minded, so lost. "Believe me mate, these blokes aren't ready for what will happen if I don't stop this."
"If things are that bad then you'll need our help, John." Chas told him.
"Yeah. You may be right about that. Why don't you both take the first flight out and we'll see ya then, yeah?" Constantine could feel the fluctuations of magic happening all around him as he hung up the phone. He was sitting on a bench looking like your average citizen except that he was wearing a trench coat in the California sun. He was anything but average.
Across the street was the building that the demon had led him to. It hadn't taken much work for Constantine to find it as the magical energies surrounding the place could be felt for miles. He simply followed the trail and it led him right to it. Dozens of people had walked in and out over the past hours he'd been sitting there. 'Poor sods have no idea what's drawing them there.' He thought to himself. He could see that every person that entered was attuned to magic in some way or another but had no idea. They were led inside and drained of everything then sent away. He knew this because everyone that left no longer gave off a magical energy. Not only that but they looked physically drained and older but would never know why. They'd blame it on some sort of depression or the usual dark cloud business but Constantine and people like him knew the truth.
Constantine wondered if this was the only place where something like this was going on but that was a foolish thought. With the way things were working now he knew there had to be dozens of spots all over where demons and creatures were stealing souls and magic while they could. Hell ran on souls and the demon with the most to sell had the most power. It was sort of like the drug trade of our world in that it followed simple supply and demand rules. Everyone in hell wanted souls for various reasons and thus created demand. It was only natural that someone stepped up to fill that demand thus creating supply.
The problem was that all those souls had to come from somewhere right? And where exactly do you think they came from? Humans of course. Humans foolish enough to dabble in things they don't fully understand or make deals with beings they can't possibly comprehend in exchange for fleeting access to the greater pleasures magic and the supernatural can provide.
"Poor bleeding sods." Constantine said, smoking lightly on his cigarette and continued to watch the traffic flow in and out of the building. He didn't want to be caught unawares like with the Parish brothers and lose more innocent lives.
There were protection spells in place around the otherworldly brothel but nothing to powerful that he couldn't muscle his way through to get the job done. Problem was that this place seemed to be open 24 hours a day so he wouldn't be able to wait until it was closed to try and minimize possible causalities while he cleared the place out. The succubus surely would use the human souls as leverage against him if it came down to it but he didn't suspect it would. While he sat there formulating his plan of attack the cough returned and this time he noticed more blood.
"This ain't good..." he wiped his hand clean with a cloth he kept in his trench coat. The blood made him think of, Zed's latest vision. He wasn't an expert on dreams, visions or analyzing them but it seemed pretty straight forward that it was about his death. Could it have something to do with this cough? One could never be sure.
Perhaps the cough was karma for some of the souls he'd lost over the years of fighting evil. Lord knows he deserved it. It seemed to Constantine that all of his victories came with a loss one way or another and that fact made him often question if his wins were truly wins. Even those rare victories where there was no discernible loss on his part he wondered about. But that was because of the people, human beings and all that. So mindless, so ignorant. Were they worth saving? The question troubled him again and again yet he kept putting himself at risk for them. Why?
Because he loved it.
Downtown Los Angeles was a hive of magical energies twisted together in a knot of beauty to anyone versed in the occult. Few places had a draw like this in the States. New York and Chicago were two others and Constantine had been to both places. Downtown was no different really. The shadows still held dangers that could swallow a man whole or send him falling into the clutches of a demonic slaver. The rank smell of piss, shit and homelessness coupled with the heavy perfumes and colognes of the wealthy blended together in a throat-gagging mess that assaulted the nostrils.
….and he loved it.
Never in any other part of this county had Constantine seen the gap between wealth and poverty more apparent than here. There were tents and homeless all along the streets begging, doing drugs and living in makeshift hovels to beat the weather of the day. The poor slept any and everywhere here; sometimes one had to step right over them to continue walking the sidewalk or wake them up because they had passed out in-between your car as it was parked. Drug addicts fought each other over prime panhandling locations and the petty coins tossed at them by the wealthy that walked by them.
As the poor languished the wealthy continued to build as if they weren't there directly in front of them. Buildings stretched to the sky as far as the eye could see with their glass windows reflecting sunlight that no longer reached the ground below because of so many skyscrapers. Five star restaurants and overly high priced coffee shops lined the streets along with supermarkets that sold food the poor had no access to. Construction crews worked around the clock in an effort to gentrify this area even further than it already was. Instead of doing something about the poor like perhaps building something for them instead of another massive skyscraper, the rich just build on top of them or pushed them out. Whatever worked best for the current situation.
And yet, he loved it.
Constantine swallowed the bile that rose up as the realization settled down on him. It was the truth. But it wasn't that he loved the conditions or that treatment but the magical pull he felt in a place like this. So many people gathered together in one tight location. Their hopes, dreams, fantasies…everything blending together in a delicious magical soufflé that could make even the most steadfast magician drool with hunger. It was no wonder the succubus has chosen this as a location for their business.
The hours trickled away without him really noticing. He sat, smoked and watched for hours finally coming to the conclusion that there would never be a good time and so he put out his latest cancer stick and then walked towards the entryway. Constantine knew that to a succubus his magical signature would look like a buffet table and he would receive extra attention compared to the others. He flipped up his coat collar and summoned every bit of charm he had.
The building looked normal enough to the naked eye. Red brick and stone, fashioned after an older time in American construction. It was very well kept and purposely designed to give the look of days long past. The doorway was two massive wooden doors inlaid with what looked like gold but Constantine could see it was used to trap the magical energy inside once it was in the building. He had pondered how the contained such massive amounts of magic and now he knew.
The two women at the doorway were dressed as greeters and smiled broadly. They were beautiful to look at with almond eyes, supple bodies and smiles that flashed brilliant white teeth. One was blonde and the other brunette. But this was just a sham as Constantine could see their true forms beneath the magical visage.
He walked up the stairs with confidence oozing off him like the magic that had just snatched the succubi's attention. Both of them immediately stopped greeting and stared at him with lustful, hungry eyes.
"Welcome sir," said the brunette while lacing her arm in his so she could try to syphon some of his energy with a brief moment of contact. She would be quite disappointed to learn that Constantine was immune to everything going on in this brothel. His protection spells and barriers were not so easily defeated.
"Yes," added the blonde. "Welcome." She too laced her arm in his and the three started to walk towards the doors with all the men behind looking rather upset.
Before they could touch the doors they swung open and out stepped a magnificent older woman. Her hair was jet black and fell down to her shoulders in a river of ivory splendor. Bright and seductive eyes matched the hair and lipstick while her skin was perfectly tanned and tight. She was like a fine aged wine and Constantine found himself drawn to her even though he knew what she was. The woman eyed him in a way that would make a normal man squirm and simply waved off the two greeters who pouted as they walked away.
"My name is, Madam Susana. Welcome to High Spirits." Her smile was warm as the summer sun on the face of an Alaskan family and Constantine took her hand without thinking.
'How ironic is it that this place is called High Spirits?' Constantine thought as he let Susana lead him. 'Or that this is Susana the Succubus.' He smiled at his own jest.
"I have never seen you here before, sir." Susana led him deeper into the brothel.
The interior of the building was of matching design as the outside. The colors and structure called to older times just as the outside work had done and Constantine found himself relaxing. It was heavily crowded with other succubi all over draining every man that was inside of the building. They were all in the halls, he could hear pleasured screams from closed doorways they passed and even saw a few couples shagging right out in public sight.
"Some place you've got here." Constantine said as he took in the sight of two succubi with dildos that were spit-roasting a man in a room with an open door.
Constantine raised his eyebrows and Susana noticed, "Here men are free of judgement and the eyes of those that would use this sensitive information against them. Here one can be truly free to explore the limits of pleasure and pain in whatever way they want."
Constantine said nothing as the hallway continued on for what seemed an unrealistic distance. It had to be magic that was allowing the inside of the building to be much larger than the outside should allow. At the end of the hallway was a door way that had two more succubi standing in front of it.
"They will see you prepared for me." Susana's voice was a seductive whisper that held hints of great power underneath it. It sent fire through Constantine's body. A spell, most likely.
"Sure love. Whatever you say." He let himself be led inside the room.
It was massive, containing the biggest bed he had ever seen along with at least two love seats and numerous implements of sexual deviation. It made him smile to think about how much fun someone could have in this room. Almost a shame he was here to shut the place down instead of have an orgy or two with the local talent.
Speaking of the talent he turned his attention from the room to the fetching young women that were currently giggling and stripping him down. 'Women? Wait. Not women. These are succubi!' Powerful magic was indeed at work. He mumbled a secondary spell to strengthen his defenses. Couldn't have himself succumbing to the lust these creatures inspired in men and women alike.
"Take your clothes off…"
"Lie with us…"
"Yes…lie with us…"
The women tugged at him and moaned as if he was already entering them and he allowed himself to be stripped down to his underwear then pushed into the bed. They both began to kiss and pull at him like desperate drug users and he was surprisingly familiar with this sort of thing.
"So you ladies are a bit different, yeah?"
They continued to moan and kiss seemingly ignoring him.
"I'm not actually here for any of this fun loves."
His trench coat was somehow gone and his shirt was unbuttoned in several places.
"You lot work quickly…" he mumbled to himself and felt his eyes slowly closing as a warm feeling began to seep into every part of his body. He could feel this exhilarating feeling flowing into his very bones and it began to cause him to relax and the outside world became less and less until there was nothing but swirling energies, two succubi and a moaning John Constantine.
Something inside his head clicked.
He snapped back to reality.
"Enough of that now! Get off me!" it took all his strength and resolve to push the demonic creatures off him before they could actually do any damage to his magical energies. He swallowed a bit and wiped his forehead feeling the huge beads of sweat in his palm. 'Damn them they almost got me.' Lucky for him he had put up that secondary defense in precaution. Without it they would surely have drained him dry.
The two creatures recoiled with loud hisses. Their eyes began to transform until they were catlike in appearance. They brandished their newly clawed hands and their fangs dripped saliva.
"Not sure if you lot are mad I didn't shag ya' or because you can't get a taste of me magic." Constantine stood up, looking rather disheveled, and grinned. "Either way it's back to the pits for ya' both, yea?"
The succubi leapt at him as one at the mention of being sent back to hell. "Good. It's always a bit more fun when they fight back." The succubi didn't make it three steps before Constantine finished his incantation and banished them both in a puff of sulfuric smelling smoke.
Outside in the hallway a man was standing with another of the succubi and both heard the dying screams come from inside the room behind them. They looked at the door with slight fear and then it flew open and out stepped, John Constantine fully dressed with a lit cigarette in his mouth.
"What have you done human…?" the man standing next to her collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"Started cleaning out the filth." Constantine replied simply before unleashing a banishment spell. Now he could hear the cries from all the succubus in the brothel as they realized what was going on. Someone was here and was killing them. Constantine inhaled the cancerous smoke from his cigarette and grinned. "Let's show 'em what they're really dealing with." He held up his hand and waved it around in a series of elaborate motions while mumbling words of esoteric power. There was an invisible shimmering that began to flow from him and expanded until it went through the entire building.
As it passed the magic that made the succubi look like they were human faded away and now everyone could see the creatures that were standing near them. The succubi were humanoid in appearance where it mattered to most men; face, breasts and private parts, but with the magic veil lifted their horns began to grow from their heads. Many of the succubi had tails and a few sprouted wings from their backs. All of their legs began to morph until their legs and feet were covered in hair and looked similar to the hooved feet of fawns or goats.
All around him the men began to break free of the mystical bonds that held them sway and were screaming and running at the top of their lungs. Exactly what he wanted to happen. If they attacked at once Constantine could be overwhelmed but with people panicking all around him and general confusion everywhere he would be able to move through and banish as many as possible before they realized who exactly was doing what.
And that's what he did.
Constantine moved through the halls like a mystic executioner blasting succubi back to hell with efficiency, skill and much, much enjoyment. He had just turned another one of the creatures into a smoking pile of sulfuric cinders when the wall beside him burst outward and a succubus came flying out at him. Constantine was tackled to the right and tumbled from the upper floor he was on, both of them smashed through a table and hit the floor below them hard.
"Bloody hell…" He managed to roll over onto his shoulder and tried to regain his composure. "...damn thing shouldn't have been able to do that..." He had magic's in place that should have protected him from physical attack by lower level demonic entities. The imbalance in magic was definitely affecting these creatures' power levels. He could feel ache in his body but ignored it as he saw the succubus standing over him.
"…your suffering will be legendary…" the angry creature said. "You will know tortures unheard of in all of human history…I will keep you alive and use you to feed whenever my hunger needs sating….feeding off your magical life energies until I have grown fat and powerful-
The succubus exploded in a puff of screams, flame and smoke. "You talk too much, love. If you're going to kill someone just do it." Constantine stood up and looked around for his cigarette but saw it was crushed and broken so he reached for another one and lit it. "Well, back to work. Damned things am not gonna banish themselves."
Constantine walked through the hallways sending every succubus he could find back to where they came from. He checked every room, closet and every inch of the building he could to make sure he got them all. He wouldn't give them a chance to rebuild and reclaim this area at least so he ignored how weary he felt and how difficult he got with every step he took. He kept on blasting away at the creatures, unleashing magic on them and making sure they were sent back in the most painful way possible.
He had met with a few more of the succubus who were powerful as the one that had tossed him from the second floor. The first and thrown him around quite a bit before he was able to concentrate and get off a proper banishment. The second and third had been easier but he had still been flung through several other expensive looking furniture items before getting rid of them. Now he stood with his chest heaving up and down in the middle of the hall feeling more exhausted then he had in years.
His cigarette was held limp in his hand and he leaned back on the wall beside him as a fit of coughing tore through his body. He fell to his knee and attempted to regain his senses as everything began to become disoriented from the painful coughing fit. 'Get it together Johnny boy. Still one more left.'
Through blurred vision he thought he noticed an approaching figure and recognized it as the succubus leader, Susana. He couldn't make out features but the magical signature was definitely the one he'd seen earlier and he could smell the intoxicating perfume as she drew closer to him.
"You've been a busy man, Mr. Constantine." Her voice was still seductive and low but behind it was an echo of evil power that sent a chill down his spine every time he heard it. Constantine recognized this as an attempt to overpower him similar to what he used on people when he was out in public and wanted to do what wasn't allowed. He was well protected against such and ignored it as if it were nothing.
"Yeah well…" Constantine managed to stand up. "…Nanny always said, ain't no rest for the wicked."
Susana scoffed, "A truer statement has yet to be spoke by mortal lips." She walked closer to him and he could feel her probing his defenses for a weakness. Although he was tired, Constantine was still well protected from magical attacks by all but the most powerful of foes.
"You won't find a way in, Susie." He informed her. "I can feel you trying. You think I'd have come here…you think I'd have done all this without being protected?"
Susana eyed him hungrily, "Why did you come here, petty magician?"
Sparking another cigarette Constantine replied, "Information."
"You needn't have killed my sisters for such."
"I think I did actually. You and your sisters are operating this brothel without permission or anything. You're tearing their connection to the magic of this city and killing people. You had to know someone would come for you eventually, yeah?"
Susana moved with elegance and grace, almost seeming to float rather then walk when she moved across the floor. Try as he might, Constantine couldn't fully resist the alluring perfume coupled with her seductive nature and mysterious attitude. She seemed to notice his looks and unleashed another waved of the magic that succubus used to attract weak minded men.
"I suspected one day someone might." Susana admitted in her echo voice. "But with the imbalance of power the way it is I doubted a threat such as you would emerge."
"A threat I am indeed to those that deserve it."
Susana cocked her head as if listening and then realized what Constantine was hinting at, "What would you have of me in exchange for my freedom?"
"Now we're getting somewhere." Constantine smiled. "Information. Who, what, when, where and how. All of it. Fill in the blanks."
Now Susana began to float towards him. Her hips seemed exaggerated and her breasts looked as though they were growing before his eyes. "The veil between worlds is being weakened by foolish mortals playing with that which they do not understand. Magic works in cycles. Imagine a big circle. We take from that circle every time we cast a spell or anything. That which we use is replaced by an unseen force so that the circle can continue. Somewhere there is a disturbance. A…." the creature that was named Susanna seemed to think for a moment. "Vortex of sorts that is collecting the replacement magic and using it for its own ends. Without the replacement magic my kind and those from above are able to cross over more freely."
"Yeah, and you're able to conjure more powers and all that." Constantine interrupted her. "I didn't come here for a bloody geometry lesson on things I already know. Give me what I need or I'll be sending you back with gasoline knickers on."
Susana eyed him dangerously, "A friend of yours is in town. Perhaps he could be of more service to you then me."
"A friend?"
"Yes. One they call, Papa…"
Realization dawned on Constantine and his eyes widened for a moment. Papa Midnite? Here in Los Angeles? But what in the hell would he be doing here? Constantine would hardly call Papa Midnite a friend but if he was here it was definitely not a good sign. Papa Midnite ran New York City and rarely, if ever, left it. For him to be here meant things were going much worse than he originally thought. This was good Intel and he would have to act on it as soon as possible.
"Thanks for that love." He told Susana and mentally prepared himself to banish her.
"You needn't banish me, Constantine." She floated close to him again but now the disguise was melting away and her true form was beginning to show itself. All the clothing melted away and she stood before him in her full nude glory. She had larger horns then the other succubus he had seen today and her legs were less fawn-like but she still had wings across her back and the appearance of something otherworldly. "I can be of service to you in more ways than information…never in all my years have I met one such as you…so powerful…so mysterious…"
Now Constantine could feel the heat warming his body again as she attempted to seduce him. "None of that love…" he managed to mumble.
"You are well protected. You needn't worry about me stealing anything from you for I cannot." Now she was directly in front of him, her bare breasts nearly brushing against his chest. His eyes locked with her catlike eyes and they stared at each other deeply.
"Then what are you doing this for?"
"Pleasure…"
The word pleasure was the nail in the coffin. How she said it, how it felt when the word flowed through him. Constantine closed his eyes, thought 'I've done worse. Fuck it.' and when he opened them he pressed his lips against Susana's and lost himself in the lust and ecstasy. He could always banish her once they were done.
Midnight
Downtown Los Angeles, California
Life was too hard for him.
Everything was too complicated.
He had loved her! Why would she do this to him? He had given her everything, dedicated his entire life to making sure she was happy and taken care of. Making sure she would never want for anything in this world. Yet that wasn't enough.
She had watched him build up everything only to take it all away in the end with one swing of her sword. She was a heartless monster and he knew it. Had always known it. But she was beautiful and he had loved her despite her obvious flaws.
They had all told him who and what she was. His mother, his father, sister and even his brother. They had told him and he had ignored them.
"She isn't like that!" he had argued at first.
"I can change her!" the argument had eventually become.
"I…I don't know what to do…" was where it ended up.
Seven years of his life down the drain and gone. Seven years of hard work, dedication, loyalty and persistence only to have it all tossed aside like nothing for a younger and more successful man. How cruel could fate be? Was this a sick joke that God was playing on him? What kind of maniacal god would do such a thing to one of his supposed precious creations? Did he take pleasure in watching those he ruled over suffer and toil through endless agony and torture?
He had been such a loner before he met her. Never going out much and not having many friends. It was a gift from above that he had been invited out that night and ended up meeting her. It had been another gift that she had actually spoken to him and showed interest. He had spent that night in a blissful daydream not imagined in his wildest fantasies.
And even then, part of him knew that it would never end well.
Now here he was nearly a decade later with nothing to show for all his hard work and suffering.
Why?
That was the burning question that kept him awake on nights like this. That was the burning question that drove him to the rooftop of his loft every night to stare up at the sky and the lights of Downtown in search for answers and possibly peace.
Why?
But his question was never answered. It had been nearly a year now and he still felt the pain as if the wound was freshly inflicted every night. He couldn't escape it. Couldn't forget it. Couldn't erase it. There was nothing that he could do but hold his pillow close and cry himself to sleep every night.
"There will never be peace…"
The man nearly jumped from his own skin as he turned around to see who had spoken to him. He knew he was alone. He had made sure he'd locked the door to the roof behind him whenever he came up here because he didn't want to be disturbed. What he saw taught him fear unlike anything he had ever felt before.
It was a ghost.
He could see make out distinguishing features of the figure but it was pale and see through like one would imagine a ghost to be.
"W-wh-what the hell…?"
"There will never be peace…" the ghost repeated again and then it floated into the man without warning. The man shook violently for several moments then stopped and stood up perfectly straight. His eyes were glazed over and milky white. He turned on his heels and walked directly towards the edge of the rooftop.
"There will never be peace…"
He walked off the edge and fell to his death several hundred feet below. As he fell, a dozen other figures could be seen in the night sky tumbling towards the earth.
None of them let out so much as a single scream.