With Xanadu's fortune telling parlor damaged, it wasn't the safe place it once was. Oh, Xanadu was doing her damnedest to restore her wards to magically protect the place, and a little magic went into restoring the front of the building, but it was clear the malevolent hag didn't care who stood in her way. She was going to get what she wanted, no matter where it was hiding.
So a new place was needed, if only temporarily. That turned out to be Detective Chimp's place, even if the chimp himself wasn't too happy about it. He wasn't one to turn down a guest like Xanadu though, so here they all were.
They was becoming a very big word, by the way.
Zatanna lounged on a couch, June sitting next to her. The museum worker had drawn her legs up, her arms wrapped around them to keep them pressed into her. Between her and her legs was the Sworn Book of Honorius, the only person silently given the task of keeping it safe. Considering there were so many magic users here, it seemed off, but then it probably spoke volumes that none of them were considered appropriate to keep it safe.
On another couch was Madame Xanadu, sitting primly, her back ramrod straight. Secretly, Zatanna suspected it had a lot more to do with the man sitting next to her than her proper upbringing. Jason Blood shared the same couch with her, though he appeared much more laid back than the fortune teller. Heh, goes to show that, no matter the age, there was someone that could get a girl to look her best, even under less than desirable circumstances.
John Constantine was standing, his back pressed up against a wall. He had a toothpick in his mouth, the piece of wood bobbing up and down between his lips. Smoking wasn't allowed in here per the owner, so he was settling for this.
Which left the last of their burgeoning group. Detective Chimp had settled into a comfy chair, holding up a pipe that he was currently lighting up. Oh, did Zatanna mention there wasn't smoking allowed in this sitting room? Pardon her, she meant Constantine wasn't allowed to smoke. The chimp detective had no problem lighting up himself.
Alice and Fred were entering and exiting room, trying to be good hosts as they brought in little finger foods and drinks. The food was going untouched for the most part, the same with the drinks. Constantine had no problem indulging in Detective Chimp's liquor cabinet if the glass in his hand was any indication. That was his second, which he was sipping at the moment, removing the toothpick from his mouth whenever he imbibed.
"I suppose we must start somewhere," Detective Chimp began, interrupting the silence they had all fallen under. "It would seem this hag is quite devious, if not brazen."
"Reckless and foolish, I would say," Xanadu murmured.
"For good reason," Jason Blood added. "I have been undergoing my own investigation into her and I believe I have a name."
The room's collective attention turned to the redhead, which was all the prompting he needed. "I have come across the name Enchantress. Further research indicates she is of the Nightshade Realm."
"Bloody hell," Constantine muttered as he raised his glass. He removed his toothpick so that he could take a rather hefty drink, finishing off the glass in a single gulp.
"Nightshade Realm?" Zatanna questioned. It clearly meant something to these people, though she was on the outside looking in—again. She was getting tired of always being the one on the outside looking in.
It was June, who surprisingly told her what it was. "A nightmarish hellscape full of demons."
"You know about this?" she nearly demanded.
"Mr. Blood and Madame Xanadu told me about it."
Oh, sure, they told June, their frightened museum researcher, what this alleged Nightshade Realm was, but they couldn't tell her, the Mistress of Magic? What a load of bull this was.
"She's quite old, perhaps even older than Madame Xanadu and myself," Jason continued, either not hearing the two women's aside, or he was ignoring them. "That speaks to quite ancient magicks."
"Just how old are you two?" Alice asked as she set down another serving tray. Perhaps serving tray was stretching it as it was one of those veggie platters one could buy at the grocery store. It was still in the divided plastic container.
"Careful, love," Constantine warned her. "It's not polite to ask a lady her age."
"That's only for men," the young woman retorted. "And do I look like I care if it's polite or not?"
"Your funeral, I suppose."
"In the interest of clearing the air, since we need to develop trust in one another if we are to defeat the Enchantress," Jason interjected, "I will answer this question. The two of us are over a millennia old, dating back to the time of famed Camelot."
Zatanna straightened up in her seat. She had known Xanadu was old, but seriously? Seriously?! A thousand years old and Xanadu looked as if she might be in her thirties? What kind of magic was she freaking using?!
"Camelot?" June perked up. "As in King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?"
Jason nodded. "The very same. In fact, I was one of those knights."
"Which explains your wide streak of nobility," Constantine added.
"Arthur was real? All of those stories are real?" June pressed.
"Many of them, yes. Of course, there are misinterpretations and exaggerations over the course of time," Jason answered her. "And some are just fabrications thought up by bored minstrels who wanted to take some artistic liberties with some of the mundane trials."
"Where is Camelot? Is it still around? How well did you know Arthur? Do you have any keepsakes from that time?" June rattled off, her legs no longer curled up in front of her and now hung off the seat of the couch. She was leaning forward, causing the grimoire to sit on her lap. Jason pointedly looked away from her.
"Those are questions for another time," Xanadu interjected, the figurative bucket of cold water for June's sudden enthusiasm. "We have a much more serious matter to speak of."
"True," Detective Chimp agreed. "Though I too would like to hear more of your respective times in Camelot. Is there anything else you can tell us about this Enchantress?"
"Not much, I'm afraid," Jason admitted. "I was unable to glean much else."
"Did you find out why she would want this book?" June questioned, her hands gripping onto the sides of the grimoire.
"I did not, not that we need to delve far," the redhead responded. "Any demons or malevolent spirits would desire that book. The knowledge contained within it is priceless to them."
There was a moment of silence. "Sorry to keep sidetracking things," the research apologized, "but did you know the people that wrote this book? I'm just curious."
While Xanadu stared with disapproval, Jason looked bemused by the question. "Actually, I did. They were rather stuffy old men—knowledgeable, but dull. They were entirely convinced the world needed to know everything they did, and thus wrote that book, against my objections. Anything that details demon summoning can only invite those with less than noble intentions."
"People like this Enchantress," Constantine interjected. "If this hag is indeed from the Nightshade Realm, no doubt this grimoire would be the key to draw more of those beings here."
"Do you think that's why she's after it?" June asked.
"That's what all of them are after," the blond man shrugged. "Despite their unusual appearances, they all have a tendency to have the same boring goal."
"That may very well be what she's after," Detective Chimp agreed. "While Alice and I were investigating the scene of the late-Eric Gordon's death, we discovered a portal near the Palace of Fine Arts, one that led right to the area where he was killed."
Jason narrowed his eyes. "It would seem Mr. Gordon's death wasn't the result of him being specifically targeted so much as a matter of convenience. He presented the best opportunity for the Enchantress to enter the museum."
"Poor Eric," June murmured softly. Her eyes were sparkling, the result of tears gathering around her eyes.
"Then it would behoove us to move that book," Detective Chimp surmised. "My little hovel is not equipped nor prepared to hold off a demon, and I would rather not have it ruined like Madame Xanadu's. I only just put down the deposit for it."
Well, that was certainly one way to kick someone out of your home, Zatanna mused.
"I would not recommend my own home as well," Jason added. "It contains many artifacts the Enchantress would like to possess as well. Each would be just as disastrous as if she got her hands on the grimoire."
"Ditto," Constantine chimed in, clearly meaning his own house was off limits.
Well, that was just great. No one wanted to take in this book. June seemed to shrink in on herself with each pre-emptive refusal; Zatanna could see that with just a glance. Well, if these big, bad magic users were going to play this game, then she was going to end it.
"What about Shadowcrest?" she suggested. "I wouldn't have a problem taking it there."
Jason immediately shook his head. "I would have to reject that as well. Your father was as much of a collector as I am. While I have no doubt he took all of the necessary precautions, Shadowcrest would be just as much of a prize for Enchantress. With the grimoire, she could potentially use it to take over Shadowcrest, bolstering her powers beyond our comprehension."
Zatanna stared at the man. Well, she hadn't known about that part. Hearing it, that sounded like a really bad idea too. Damn, and here she thought she was being brave.
It also showed just how little she knew of her father's house. Damn it, she really needed to look into it and everything her old man had ever done. Learning about his exploits from other people was getting old and she was tired of feeling like she was in the dark about…well, everything at this point.
"Which leaves us with our same quandary," Detective Chimp surmised before taking a puff of his pipe.
There had to be a solution to this. Glancing from each person in the room to the other, it seemed to Zatanna that they were missing someone. In the next moment, she realized who it was. "Maybe Anita Soulfeeda might know of a place we could take it?" she suggested.
"Soulfeeda?" June parroted. "Is that—"
"Yep, just like the name suggests," Zatanna confirmed for her.
"But…wouldn't that be, like, the perfect name for our hag? Soulfeeda? Because she feeds on souls?"
Zatanna held a hand out to June, giving the rest of the room a knowing look. "See? It's not just me that made that connection."
June's eyes widened, realizing she had just stepped into something. "Am I wrong?"
"According to all of these magic people, it's an old name a group of ghost hunters used to infiltrate some evil spirits, or something like that. They just kept the name afterward. Everyone here has apparently met her before."
"Oh. I see."
"Perhaps you should go to her," Detective Chimp agreed, cutting off the aside. "Anita may have found something on her end as well that may help us."
"We can stay here and protect the book until you get back," Jason added. "As long as that's acceptable to you, Mr. Chimp."
"I suppose it will have to be. We haven't plotted our next move yet and it would be a mistake to act rashly at this moment. Still, I will empress upon everyone that I want the book out at the first chance."
Alright, so they had the rough beginnings of a plan. It seemed everything hinged on Zatanna speaking with Anita and figuring out what that next move would be.
And if the monkey was any indication, the preference would be to figure that out as soon as possible.
For a gal that didn't know what the internet was—and how that was possible was perhaps the biggest mystery ever—Anita Soulfeeda knew how to answer a phone. To be exact it was a magic phone. To be even more exact it was just magic.
Hmmm, that lack of internet knowledge was making a little more sense now.
Holding the card she had been given on their first meeting, Zatanna stared at it for several seconds, waiting to see if concentration was the key to using it. Short answer: no, it wasn't. Yeah, Anita had said to use a communication spell, but Zatanna wasn't certain how to go about doing that. Thus the concentration, which wasn't working. Was there a specific spell, or did this card take all versions? She didn't want to go ask Xanadu because her loving teacher would probably lecture her on not knowing something so basic. She didn't need that negativity in her life. So she began to feed her magic into it and that gave her the results she wanted.
The symbol of that combined star and diamond began to glow the moment she did that. The lines lit up with a green light, one that grew brighter with each passing second. Soon, the light spilled out from the lines, filling in the symbol entirely.
That was when fire leapt out of the card, forming a large oval outlined in the flames. Zatanna instinctively flinched back from the fire, fully reminded of that inferno she had experienced only an hour or two prior. There were certainly differences between the flames to be certain, like these flowed upward, licking at the sky before they burnt out, only to be replaced by the next flame that crawled its way along the oval's borders.
Within the oval, there was a scene that definitely didn't match with where Zatanna currently was. That place was Detective Chimp's backyard, which was rather small. Maybe it was big for San Francisco, she didn't know, but compared to the Manor…
Nope, not thinking about that. This little backyard was nice, quaint even. The grass was clearly cared for, vibrant green and recently cut. There was a little jungle gym too, and she couldn't help but picture Detective Chimp swinging around the bars for daily exercise.
That was the scene Zatanna found herself in. Looking through the oval of fire, it was clear she was staring into a portal as the scene she saw through it didn't match at all. For one, she saw some sort of room in the background, a rather homely one, carefully furnished. The main subject though, was Anita herself.
"Zatanna," the older woman greeted her. "Why have you hailed me?"
"Just checking in," the dark-haired woman assured her. "I wanted to see how your own investigation is going, compare notes, and all of that."
Anita didn't look all that enthused. "I am quite indisposed at the moment. I was in the middle of scrying for our hag."
Scrying? But just about all of them had done that, at least the ones that were really, really good at it. "What happened to that other avenue you wanted to try out?" she couldn't help but question.
"It did not end in the way that I had hoped," Anita admitted. "I am no closer to divining the identity of this hag than when we last spoke."
Now that was disappointing. After everything she had heard about this woman and her family, she figured there would have been some special magicks she could invoke. Clearly, they weren't up to snuff. "Well, perhaps I can fill you in as we've had a major development on our end."
"Is that so? Tell me."
"Ever heard of someone called the Enchantress?"
Anita jolted backwards, indicating she was sitting on something. It was hard to tell what kind of chair it was since she was blocking the back of it with her body. "Enchantress?" she repeated. "Are you certain?"
"That's the name we managed to get. Know of her?"
"Unfortunately. There is a forbidden swamp in Bulgaria where a malevolent spirit known as the Enchantress dwells. None who ventured into this swamp ever returned alive."
Well, it seemed Anita did have some info, she just needed to be pointed in the right direction was all. "Any idea on how she came to live there? All I've heard is that she's very old and comes from some place called the Nightshade Realm."
"Nightshade? Then it is worse than I had feared."
Okay, Zatanna really needed to know what this Nightshade Realm was. Just about anyone that knew of it had instantly dreaded it. She was surprised she hadn't seen anyone start making the cross sign yet. "Tell me what you can," she pressed. "Everything you know about this swamp hag and her connection to the Nightshade Realm."
Anita stared at her for a moment before sighing. "According to the legend that surrounds the swamp, the Enchantress had taken it over for her own devices. What those were, I do not know. It is said that local magicians went to drive her out, only to fail. Five had entered the swamp, but only one returned, raving like a madman. All anyone was able to get out of him was that they had fought the hag and confined her to the swamp. He died shortly after this revelation. Ever since, a number of adventures had gone in to finish the hag off, only to never return.
"And now that you have discovered this connection to the Nightshade Realm, it now makes sense to me. We are dealing not with a hag, but a demon in human form. The centuries that have passed since its imprisonment have only made it stronger, and somehow it has either broken the enchantment that kept it at bay, or it somehow bypassed it. Those are the only options as to how it is now here in San Francisco."
Well, now that was certainly informative. "Unfortunately, I have more bad news," the magician said then. "This Enchantress attacked Madame Xanadu's not too long ago. We were able to drive her off, but not without Xanadu's place taking on some damage. We're in the process of trying to find a safe place for Honorius' sworn book, but we're coming up empty right now."
"I find this very distressing." Anita's face frowned. "Where are you currently?"
"I better not say," Zatanna rebuffed her. "For all we know, this Enchantress is listening in with her magic. I rather not risk another confrontation until we're ready."
"Very wise of you." There was a moment of silence. "May I ask what places you have considered?"
"Aside from Xanadu wanting to kick us out? We can't go to Jason Blood's or even my father's house. We're kinda desperate at the moment."
"Because of the magical artifacts contained in these places?"
"Yep, you got it in one go."
The older woman slowly nodded as she considered this. "I may know of a place we can go. As far as I know, it does not contain any artifacts that could be used by the Enchantress should she attack once more. In fact, I believe the house may even assist us."
Well now, this was certainly expected. "What place is this?" Zatanna asked.
"All in good time. Tell your allies to prepare themselves. I will go see to the arrangements immediately. Contact me in two hours' time; that should be enough."
"You got it. Be careful, Anita."
"If it is one thing that I am, dear child, it is careful."
Two hours passed relatively quickly. Detective Chimp had been quite happy when Zatanna had informed them that Anita was preparing a safehouse for them, even willing to let them all stay at his place until the two hours passed. That had been very gracious of him.
Once the two hours had passed, Zatanna had pulled out Anita's card again, only this time inside of Detective Chimp's house with the others around her. Well, minus Xanadu anyways. She was adamant about returning to her fortune telling parlor to further repair it. Secretly, Zatanna felt the older woman was washing her hands of the whole matter, but she really couldn't fault her wanting to check on her home. There were some crazy magicks that resided there, and those certainly couldn't be exposed to just anyone. Even worse, the Enchantress could have been rummaging around while they were not there.
So that left the rest of them, including Detective Chimp and both of his assistants. He had simply insisted on joining them when Zatanna felt he too would have ended his involvement. While she couldn't see how he would be of any use in a fight—because that was how all of these things ended after all—his detective skills would be handy. She couldn't say the same about Alice and Fred though.
As the orange fire leapt from the card, Zatanna saw Anita in a new location. There was a blue sky and not much else. "Are you ready?" the white-haired woman asked pleasantly.
"We are," Zatanna replied. "Where are we going?"
"Through the portal, of course. Set my card on the floor and allow the others to pass before yourself. We are the links until it closes."
Okay, she wasn't certain what that meant, but she did as she was told, setting the card down on the floor. Incredibly, the portal opened wider and higher, becoming the size of a tall man. "Anita says we're to step through," she told the others.
"We heard her," Alice grunted at her. "Ya don't need to repeat her."
Well, excuuuse her. Zatanna did her best to ignore the goth girl, but she was really beginning to sour on her. Taking the lead, Jason Blood was the first to enter the portal, passing right through it. Constantine followed behind him with his hands shoved into his pockets. June was right behind him, followed by Detective Chimp and his assistants. Finally, Zatanna took her turn.
Stepping through the oval of fire, she found herself stepping onto grass, the sound of each green blade crunching beneath her footstep. She couldn't help but find herself looking around too.
That was when the portal behind her suddenly closed itself. It was fast and sudden, causing her to spin around. No longer did she see the portal, but the card that had been used to open it fluttering down through the air towards the ground.
"Now this is totally goth," she heard Alice say with appreciation.
Spinning back around, Zatanna soon saw what the girl meant. She saw an iron rod fence that seemed to outline a cemetery. The gravestones were the big giveaway there. Yet, that only seemed to take up one corner of this place. She and her group of…uhh…could she call them friends? Yeah, probably not. Her group, for lack of a better description, stood in front of an open gate, one with a pathway that led up to this crumbling mansion. It seemed to have one too many windows, each one dirty and/or cracked. The brickwork was also grimy, some of which were chipped from age. The lawn that wasn't covered by the building or graves was overgrown, the landscaper clearly not keeping up with his duties.
"You have to be kidding me," she heard Constantine swear.
"Welcome all," Anita announced. "Allow me to introduce you to the House of Mystery."
"Totally goth," Alice repeated herself again, very appreciative.
Well, Zatanna refused to just stand at the back of their little group, so she walked around them so that she could meet with Anita. The older woman was dressed in that same dress style as when they had first met, though this one was of a rich brown color.
"Why did you bring us here, Anita?" Jason questioned, having positioned himself at the front of the group.
"You were in need of a place to protect the Sworn Book of Honorius, were you not?" the white-haired woman replied. "That is what Zatanna indicated."
"We were, but I highly doubt it will be safer here."
"Is there anything wrong?" Zatanna asked as she closed in on them.
"What isn't wrong?" Constantine retorted. "We're about to take the granddaddy of all grimoires into one of the most magically-possessed houses in the world."
Okay, how did this guy know about this? How had she not heard of this? Zatanna was really getting annoyed with how she seemed to be out of the loop on all of this magic stuff. She could forgive herself for the Oblivion Bar, but not knowing about hags and the Nightshade Realm and magically-possessed houses was a step too far.
"Do you have any other options?" Anita pointed out. "I can guarantee that there won't be artifacts here that can be used against us."
"It isn't the artifacts so much as it's the house itself," Constantine responded. "This house has quite the reputation and that isn't necessarily a good one."
A knowing smile appeared on Anita's face. "I promise you that I will keep the house at bay. Does that satisfy your concerns?"
"Hardly. Places like this tend to have a mind of their own."
It was at that moment June saddled up next to Zatanna. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" she whispered to the dark-haired woman.
"No clue whatsoever," she replied back. "I guess we're about to find out."
Jason cleared his throat then, drawing attention to himself. "I too harbor some misgivings about this place, but I also do not see that we have many options left. Are you certain you can keep the house under control?"
"If there is anyone that can, it is certainly I," Anita proclaimed confidently. She then held a hand out to the house, a small smile on her face as she began taking steps towards it, never fully turning around as she guided the group through the open gate.
Glancing around, Zatanna couldn't help but stare at the cemetery off to her right. Absently, she counted the number of tombstones, losing count somewhere above twenty. Faintly, she wondered if those were the graves of people that died here—oh great, she wished she hadn't had that thought. Now she wasn't just walking up to some mansion with a bad reputation; oh no, she was walking up to a haunted house with a body count. It was a stupid horror movie trope and apparently it was one for good reason.
By the time they reached the steps to the house, Anita was fully turned away, facing the house as she climbed the steps up to the porch. The sound of footsteps clamoring up the wooden planks filled the air, only stopping when they reached the porch.
There was a set of wooden doors greeting them now. Greeting turned out to be a very on-the-nose word as they began to creak open. Anita hadn't even grabbed a doorknob, the doors seemingly doing it by themselves inward.
Constantine raised an eyebrow. "This is keeping it under control?"
That same small smile was still on Anita's face. "Even I have to let the house have its moments. You can certainly allow that moment of politeness."
"Maybe it was just the doorman opening it for us?" June suggested. All eyes turned onto her, and the girl seemed to shrink in on herself from the attention. "Right?"
"We're the only ones here," Constantine grunted. "Ain't that right, Anita?"
"That is correct," the white-haired woman affirmed.
"Oh," June responded weakly.
They passed through the open doors and entered a foray. Floorboards were partially covered by a large rug at its center. The rug looked as if it had seen better days perhaps a century ago. It had frayed edges and small holes throughout its purple pattern. Moth-eaten did a pretty good job describing its look.
Further into the room and off to the right back corner was a set of stairs, which led up to a second level. Walls made the room appear square, only interrupted by a doorway to the left and right, and one at the back wall next to the staircase.
There was a creaking sound and Zatanna found herself turning her head. The doors were closing behind them, and yep, there wasn't a single person around that was physically closing them. June shrank in on herself more at the sight of it, the poor girl.
"Follow me," Anita announced as she headed for the staircase, climbing up the creaky, wooden steps. "I will show you to your rooms."
As the group began to follow her, Zatanna couldn't help but look around. For whatever reason, she felt as if she were being watched. It was a feeling that started the moment she had passed through the doorway, and it was a feeling she did not care for. It was creepy.
The moment she set her foot on the bottom step of the stairs, the magician felt herself become lightheaded. Her vision seemed to fade and she could have sworn she saw a dark alleyway in front of her, one full of shadows that—
"That's enough!" Anita's voice rang out sharply. The sight retreated from before Zatanna's eyes, the sensation of being startled filling her head. The weird part, it wasn't her that felt startled, even if she was. It felt like the feeling was coming from somewhere else. The visual of the dark alleyway faded away, the sight of the stairs returning. Alarmingly, she was actually four or five steps up it, which she didn't remember climbing at all.
"Bloody hell," Constantine swore. "That was so damn subtle."
"Yes, it was," Detective Chimp agreed. "I didn't even realize what it was doing until you interrupted it."
"This may have been a poorer choice than we had anticipated," Jason murmured. "I am confident I can ward off this house's magick, but it is incredibly insidious."
"It would seem so, yes," Anita reluctantly agreed. "But this is our choice and we must live with those consequences." She squared her shoulders then. "Obey me, House!" her voice thundered. "Cease your childishness this instant!"
That feeling of being watched seemed to recede. Zatanna couldn't help but feel as if there was a sensation of reprimand. It was like the house was shrinking in on itself, much like June had done the last few minutes. That was…weird, to say the least.
"Now then," Anita said pleasantly, "I shall show you to your rooms…without interruption," she added an instant later. Her eyes rolled up towards the ceiling, giving it a stern look. "Now then, follow me."
