There was something homely about the room. There was a made bed, a wardrobe, a dresser, even a couple of sitting chairs. It honestly looked like any other bedroom you'd find anywhere in the world.
Zatanna dropped her duffle bag onto one of the chairs. The habit to start unpacking and shoving things into drawers almost made her start doing that, but she stamped that out real quick. The feeling that she was being watched was back and she had no interest in making herself feel at home in such a place.
Anita had shown her to this room, essentially dumping her here while she took the others further down the hall. Thankfully, it seemed everyone's room was in this hallway. Admittingly, Anita would skip a few doors before opening the door to one and gesturing for one of them to take it. She seemingly said a name at random, which was all the urging that was needed for that person to accept.
Her blue eyes kept looking around the room, expecting something to jump out at her. Halting her eyes on the wardrobe, she hesitantly took a step towards it, grabbing onto the handle, and opening it. She was thankful to see it was completely empty, save for some dust floating about. Apparently, it needed to be cleaned out and hadn't been in awhile.
"Zee, you're getting paranoid," she muttered as she shut the wardrobe closed. She then looked over to the bed. Faintly, she wondered how many people had slept in it and when the last time was. Hopefully, there weren't any dried bodily fluids left in the sheets. That would be so ewww.
It was in that moment she felt her vision begin to blur. It felt familiar too, especially since she had just felt that sensation earlier.
"I'm so excited about this, John," a brown-haired woman giggled.
"I would certainly hope so," John replied, a grin on his rather handsome face. He plopped himself down on the bed, bouncing on it as he made himself at home. The woman immediately cuddled up next to him, laying her head on his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his closest one. "We're finally here, on vacation."
"Took you long enough," she teased as the two leaned backwards as one, laying down on the bed. "You're just so stingy."
"Responsible," John corrected her. "Responsible is the word you're looking for, Suzy."
"That's just another way to say you're cheap."
"But it sounds so much better, doesn't it?"
"Well, if you want to do better things, you have to shell out more." Suzy gave him an expecting look. "I'm feeling tired from the car drive, which we could have avoided if you had just bought us plane tickets."
"And if you wanted to fly on a plane, you could have bought them too," the man pointed out. "Besides, the drive wasn't that bad. We made good time. Plus, all the wildflowers were in bloom. That was pretty, wasn't it?"
"I guess." Suzy seemed to be put out now, her eyes glancing up to the ceiling. "I'm just so tired though. I just don't want to get out of this bed."
"We could always…you know…" John suggested.
"Headache, John," Suzy said quickly.
A disappointed look appeared on John's face, but he didn't press it, instead looking up at the ceiling. "This bed feels pretty soft, doesn't it?" he said after a few moments.
"Yeah, it does," Suzy agreed. A quick glance showed they seemed to have sunk into the mattress. There was a noticeable dip where they laid. "I'm not sure if we're gonna be able to sleep on this."
"Just because you like to sleep on a rock doesn't mean the rest of us do," John pointed out.
"A firm mattress offers better back support, something you should know about," she shot back.
A few more seconds passed. "Does…does it feel like…we're sinking?" John asked uncertainly.
Even as he asked the question, the mattress had dipped further inward, the two of them filling in the hole it had made. In fact, the rest of the room seemed to be rising up around them.
Suzy tried to push herself up, which only caused John to sink further down into the bed. "I think we got a bad mattress," she complained. "It's literally deflating."
A frown appeared on John's face. "Mattress don't deflate…"
Suddenly, the comforter moved. It pulled itself out from the foot of the bed, where it was normally tucked in. It flung itself up over the two, causing Suzy to cry out in surprise. John immediately began to shove himself upwards, a hand grabbing onto the rising edge of the bed. Despite this, they kept sinking down and down and down until they were looking up towards the edge of the mattress. Meanwhile, the comforter was crawling over them, this time each side was trying to fold over on top of them.
Suzy screamed; John yelled—
The door swung open. "Zatanna," Jason Blood called out.
The dark-haired woman jolted where she stood. Before her eyes, her room returned to her sights. What the hell had she just watched? Was that even the right word? She could still feel the fear that was gripping the couple as the bed seemed to be trying to eat them.
Her eyes glanced towards her own bed. The comforter had a different design than the one that the couple had been laying on. She eyed it warily all the same.
"Is something wrong?" Jason asked her with concern.
"No, I don't think so." Zatanna shook her head. That's when she spotted a clock on the wall. Somehow she had missed it when she had entered the room. She couldn't help but frown as she noticed the time seemed off. "Is it really that late?" she asked.
Jason glanced towards the clock. "Indeed," he confirmed. "We are all gathering in the sitting room for further discussion of our problem. It would be best if I showed you where that is, unless you need a few moments."
"No, no, I'm ready." Zatanna walked over to redhead. "Lead the way."
Jason nodded as he removed himself from the doorway. Zatanna followed him, only pausing to look back into her room. She could still feel that sensation of being watched, but there was something else mixed with it. There seemed to be this feeling of…joy? Happiness? That was the best way she could describe it.
All it did was make her feel more ill at ease. Closing the door, she then quickly followed after Jason. No need to get herself lost in this weird place.
A fire crackled in the fireplace. It gave off a nice warmth that filled the room. A couple of couches were facing one another, one a faded green color, the other a faded blue. In a corner of the room was a liquor cabinet, a number of glass decanters sitting on it with several unused glasses and a round container full of ice.
Zatanna had plopped herself in the middle of the blue couch, June on her left, Jason to her right. On the green couch was Alice, Detective Chimp, and Fred, in that order.
One guess as to where Constantine was.
There was a little coffee table in-between the couches. It was bare of anything save for a few unused coasters. One end of it was pointed to the fireplace. The other faced a rather large, black leather chair, one that didn't fit in with the decor of the room. Someone had clearly ignored the concept of fung shway—you don't mix modern style with old timey stuff. Even Zatanna knew that and she grew up in hotel rooms. Anita was sitting in this chair, holding up a saucer in one hand, the other bringing a small cup of steaming tea to her lips.
It was clear that she was responsible for the chair's presence and she cared little for matching styles.
No one was talking, which was a bummer. Zatanna had been told this was supposed to be a meeting, and no one was taking the initiative. While she would have loved to get the ball rolling, she wasn't certain as to how. What did one do, regurgitate everything that happened and then ask the group what they were supposed to do now?
That sounded like lazy writing, if you asked her.
There was a clearing of a threat, and all eyes focused on Detective Chimp. "I suppose I will get this started," he said. While he had one hand as a fist, which he held in front of his mouth as he coughed into it, the other held a small glass filled with liquor, a couple of ice cubes in it. "In light of this hag, this Enchantress, stalking us, I feel that it is best that we get to know each other and our capabilities. That way we would be better able to respond to its next attack, which it will most assuredly do."
"A reasonable request," Anita murmured around her tea cup in agreement. And damn, she had clearly gone overboard with the perfume again. Zatanna could smell it all the way where she sat! "Though I believe that will be a short sharing. We have a number of people that perform magic."
"A show of hands?" Zatanna suggested as she raised a hand. Jason, Alice, and Anita did the same, Constantine bringing up the rear as he had his back to them, preparing his second drink at the liquor cabinet. He raised his hand up like it was an afterthought and he was being bothered to do so.
Now, the magician wasn't surprised that June didn't raise her hand, but she was when Fred hadn't either. While she knew why June was here, it made her wonder why Fred was too.
As the hands began to fall, Anita then added, "We also have a collection of knowledge of the occult and other various magicks. Another show of hands?"
Again, hands were raised, again with Jason, Alice, and Anita. Constantine also raised a hand, absently again. He was really focused on getting his drink right, which considering it was straight, that shouldn't have been an issue. However, June replaced Zatanna as she held up her own hand, along with Detective Chimp. This left the dark-haired woman in the company of Fred.
A few eyes began glancing to the man, who didn't seem the least bit perturbed by this. However, as if sensing the unasked question, he shrugged, "Hey, I just carry the monkey's bags. That's all I'm here for."
"Then you should have remained at your own lodging," Anita pointed out. "This is not a place for visitors."
"Where Detective Chimp goes, I go," he firmly replied.
"What's done is done," Jason interjected then. "Our primary objective, as it were, is to defeat the Enchantress. She has shown herself to be quite competent with her own magicks, so this is a foe we cannot face unprepared."
"So what, you want to set up a Scooby Doo trap?" Constantine responded, having finally turned around to face the group. He was holding up his drink, one that was nearly filled to the brim, close to his mouth. "I ain't about that dumb fantasy, mate."
"She doesn't know to look for us here, does she?" June asked nervously.
"No, she does not," Anita assured her. "And even if she did, the House of Mystery would not allow her entry. It does not allow what it does not allow."
"Umm, you're gonna have to explain that one."
"Perhaps the easiest explanation is that the house is full of enchantments," Detective Chimp supplied, pausing only to take a sip of his drink. "You've been exposed to such spells since you arrived. If I recall my lore correctly, the House of Mystery only appears to those it wishes to appear before."
"You make it sound like it's alive or something."
"In a manner, it is," Jason said. "There is usually a caretaker that cares for this place; Cain, I believe his name is. His brother is the caretaker for the House of Secrets."
"Let me guess, his name was Abel," June tried to joke.
"Actually, it is."
There was silence. "Whoa, you telling me Cain and Abel, like the biblical guys, lived in these houses?" Alice questioned in disbelief.
"The very same. At one time, both houses were next to each other and Cain would often amuse himself by killing Abel over and over. That and allow their respective houses to tell its stories."
"Mankind's first murderer," June murmured. "This house definitely suits him."
"Totally," Alice agreed.
"So where is Cain?" Zatanna asked as she made a show of looking around. "Shouldn't he be here?"
Anita set her teacup on its saucer. "I'm afraid he has passed, recently in fact. I had him buried in the cemetery."
"How did that happen?" Zatanna couldn't help but ask.
"Heart attack, ironically enough. Shortly before all of this nastiness began, I had come to visit and found him lying on the floor, gripping at his chest. There was no telling how long he had laid there when I arrived."
"Now that is a question," Constantine suddenly interjected. "How is it you have come to own the House of Mystery?"
Anita shifted herself in her seat, looking more prim and proper. "The House has been owned by my family for generations. I believe Cain wagered it in a card game to some long-forgotten relative of mine, and obviously lost it. Cain was kept on to continue his role up until his untimely demise."
"Hmmm," the blond man hummed. "Any way we could wager this house in a game?"
"With a notorious card cheat like you? Not ever."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't hurt to ask."
"What about the grimoire?" June then brought up. "Can this house keep it safe here?"
"For a time," Anita said. "Unfortunately, even the House may come to desire it, such is the curse that is on that tome. We will want to find better accommodations for it before too long."
"But I thought everyone said this would be the best place for it."
"No place is safe for that book," Constantine said bluntly. By now his glass was half-full, which made Zatanna wonder just how fast he was drinking it. "The safest place was where it was placed and forgotten about. That place is gone since one of those museum guys found it. If anything, we'd be better off digging a hole in the middle of the woods and burying it, and then hope no one finds it again."
"So what, everything bad and evil is going to be hunting me down forever?" the researcher demanded.
"'Fraid so."
"But I didn't ask for this!"
"Many who see such trying times feel that way," Anita said to reassure her. "What's done is done, I'm afraid. All we can do is act accordingly to keep it safe."
There was a moment of silence. "You took that from Lord of the Rings, didn't you," Alice said accusatorily.
"I own first editions of those books, yes," Anita replied before taking a dainty sip of her drink. "What of it?"
Well, that certainly explained that. Still, it was hardly comforting, especially if you saw the miserable look on June's face. Based off of what was said here, it seemed the Sworn Book of Honorius was cursed, drawing in those sensitive to magic, making them desire it. No way would it be safe with someone that could use magic as they would be tempted to use it for horrific means. It didn't matter if they had good intentions, it would only lead them on a way to Hell.
That just left non-magic users in this house, which was in short supply.
"For now, we have the tome in as safe of a place as we can find," Jason eventually said, returning the conversation back to its original topic. "We can decide our next move once we have dealt with the Enchantress."
"And how do you intend on dealing with the Enchantress?" Anita asked pleasantly.
"Chances are, we'll get into a good ol' fashioned magical slobber-knocker," Constantine supplied, tossing back the rest of his drink shortly after. Zatanna faintly wished she had a watch cause he must have downed that entire glass inside of a few minutes. His poor liver.
"I'd rather we skip that unpleasantness if we could," Detective Chimp said. "The amount of magical power that can be summoned here could level the entire area. That would include the people contained within."
"Where would that power come from?" Alice asked pointedly. "The drunk?" At this, she held a hand out to Constantine, who had turned around again to make another drink for himself. "The knowledgeable British guy?" Here, she gestured to Jason Blood. "The magician with sex appeal?"
One guess as to who the goth check gestured to.
Before she could point Anita out, Detective Chimp interjected, "And we have you and your unique powers."
"What powers would that be?" Zatanna asked pointedly, an eyebrow raised as she leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alica shot back irritatingly.
"I believe we all would," Anita replied kindly. "After all, we need to know what all of us can do. It will help defeat the hag much easier."
Alice glanced to the older woman. "If you must know, I can copy the powers of any magic user."
Anita actually blinked her eyes owlishly. "That is quite a claim if true."
"It's true, lady."
"How about a demonstration?" Zatanna suggested, uncrossing her legs so that she could stand up. "Try and copy my powers."
"That isn't necessary—" Jason tried to say.
Only to be interrupted by Alice. "Bring it on, magician."
Zatanna called upon her powers, feeling them swirling within her. The ends of her long hair began to float over her shoulders. "Og ot—" she began.
That's when Alice's eyes turned black. Her irises stayed the same, but the whites of her eyes went solid black. It was a strange sight to behold. However, it stopped Zatanna in her tracks as she felt her magical energies literally freeze. Not as in frozen in ice, just stopped in their manipulation. Her power tingled at her fingertips, just waiting to be unleashed. The words to her spell were caught in her throat, however, and she was unable to utter them.
And then her magick was gone. It just vanished. However, Alice wasn't sitting anymore. She was standing just like Zatanna was, the ends of her shorter hair floating into the air. Strangely enough, her clothes were changing. From the boots she wore, fishnet stockings emerged, covering her legs until they vanished beneath her skirt. She was even wearing a top hat, where she had gotten that was anyone's guess. She then held a gloved hand out and uttered, "Tis kcab nwod."
Promptly, the dark-haired woman sat down on the couch. Blinking her eyes, Zatanna tried to stand back up, only to find she couldn't move. Oh, she shifted back and forth, but she literally could not remove her butt from the couch.
"Cute," she grumbled as she glared at Alice. "Dnats pu," she intoned.
Nothing happened.
She didn't even feel her magick flow through her and release, you know, the typical way her power worked. Hell, she couldn't even feel her power. What the actual hell?
"And that's the price of my power," Alice gloated as she lowered her hand down, a smirk on her face. "From the people I copy, I completely stop their use of magic. I never get tired of seeing the dumb look on people's faces when they realize they can't use their power."
"Remarkable," Jason murmured as he leaned forward in his seat. "That is quite the ability you have."
"Tell me something I already don't know."
"You can stop the demonstration, ya know," Zatanna muttered. She really wasn't liking this.
Thankfully, Detective Chimp noticed her discomfort. "You can release Zatara's power now, if you would."
Alice glanced to the chimp before rolling her eyes. She didn't say anything, only sat back down on the couch she had previously been on, crossing one leg over the other. Yet, Zatanna immediately felt her power welling up within her, flooding her with a crap ton of power. She stiffened as she tried to temper it back down, trying to restrain it.
"So now we know what both I and the backwards-talking magician can do," Alice lazily said, still wearing that mismatch of style between her own and Zatanna's magician costume, "what about the rest of you? How about you, Mr. English Man?"
"You talkin' to me?" Constantine piped up, having turned back around to face the group, two-thirds of his glass full.
"No, the other one, but if you want to go first, by all means."
"Well, if you must know, I operate on gambler's luck," Constantine shrugged.
"What does that mean, gambler's luck?" June questioned.
"It means he makes things up as he goes and has an extraordinary amount of luck pulling it off," Detective Chimp supplied before finishing off his own drink. "He takes incredible risks and more often than not reaps big rewards."
"That's not a power," Alice pointed out.
"Tell that to all of the people he's cheated over the years."
"Whatever," the goth girl rolled her eyes. "How about you, Handsome?" she then said to Jason.
Constantine snorted. "You must be new; otherwise, you wouldn't ask about him."
That caused an annoyed look to appear on Alice's face. "So what if I am? What can he do? I showed everyone my power, so it's his turn."
"Oh, missy, that's the last thing you want to see. It would be the end of us all if he used magic."
"That's enough, Constantine," Jason said warningly. "I believe it would be in the interest of everyone if we adjourned for the evening. When morning arrives, we will seek out the Enchantress. Until then, I suggest keeping your interest in other's magicks to yourselves."
Well, that sounded like an end to the meeting. Certain to murmur a counterspell against the one Alice had put on her, Zatanna was rather glad she could stand again. Even as she felt relief though, she couldn't help but notice June quickly heading off, keeping her head down.
What was that all about?
Zatanna liked to think she was a good person. Emphatic was the word she was looking for here. So after noticing June hurry out of the sitting room, she had followed behind her.
And went smack dab into another scene right out of a slasher movie.
Breathing was quick and sharp. It went over and over, a building of tension and anticipation. There were young people, dressed skimpily in bikinis and swimming trucks. Their laughter and screams filled the air.
He was on the move, using the undergrowth to his advantage. Trees and bushes hid him as he changed his position. He could practically taste their blood squirting out the moment he drove his knife into their soft flesh.
There were two of them, a boy and girl. They were sneaking away from their group, who was splashing around in the water of the lake. He drew further into the brush. He knew these woods like the back of his hand; he knew where they were going.
Their voices, soft at first, grew louder the further they drew away from the lake. The girl was being coy, asking where they were going, but knowing exactly what they were up to. The boy just kept telling her to be patient as he led her by the hand.
Eventually, they reached a spot that was out of sight from their friends, far enough that whatever sounds they made wouldn't be heard. The boy spun the girl around before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his body. The girl giggled and did as she was urged, her own arms wrapping around his neck. Their face drew close and they were kissing.
Their eyes were closed—perfect. He had his knife ready, he just need to get in closer—
Zatanna shook her head. Seriously, what the hell? First, she had seen a bed eat people, now she was watching some killer stalk two innocent, horny kids. Where were these visions coming from?
As if in answer, she could feel a presence tugging at her consciousness. It was…playful, if she had to name it. In fact, it seemed quite eager to continue telling her a story…
He was closer now. He could practically hear the sound of lips smacking against each other. The teens' bodies were pressing against each other, grinding against each other. He was one step, two steps closer, holding up his knife—
"Not now," Zatanna snapped and the scene vanished away from her. Well…that was one way to stop that. There was a sense of disappointment now, petulant even.
"Hey, I'm a little busy, and I need to do something, alright?" The dark-haired woman had no idea why she said that out loud. She wasn't even talking to anyone. So why was she acting like she was?
"Look, I'll watch the rest of your slasher story later. I seriously need to go do something," she pressed. Yeah, she wasn't crazy…she thought. Maybe she needed to get evaluated.
Oddly enough, the presence she felt warily responded. It was like it was asking if she was being serious. "Yeah, seriously, I'll see it when I'm done."
That seemed to do the job as the presence faded away, seemingly satisfied. Okay, she wasn't certain what that was all about, but at least she could focus on the matter at hand. She paused then.
What was she doing again?
Oh, right, she was checking on June. In fact, she was standing outside of the woman's room. Funny, she didn't remember arriving here…
Whatever, raising a hand up, she rapped her knuckles on the old wooden door. There wasn't an immediate response, but eventually, the door did crack open, revealing June peering through the small gap. "Zatanna?" she questioned.
"Hey, I just wanted to check on you," she greeted as warmly as she could. "Mind if I come in?"
"Uhh, sure?" June opened the door more and the magician slipped in. The bedroom looked exactly like hers, right down to the same furniture, though they were positioned differently. It looked like a mirror image of her own room. Warily, she eyed the bed. Did this one eat people too?
…yeah, she wasn't going to tempt fate.
June didn't seem the least bit perturbed as she closed the door before taking a seat on the edge of the bed mattress. "What did you want to talk about?" the researcher asked tiredly. That wasn't too surprising consider all of the shocks to her system she had received. She had been plunged into the deep end and the hits just kept on coming.
Yeah, those were two different metaphors meshed into one. No, she didn't care if they didn't make sense together. If there was a law against it, no one had told her about it.
"I notice you were looking a bit glum," Zatanna responded, opting to sit in a chair. She kept eyeing the bed suspiciously. Faintly, she wondered if the chair would eat people too.
The presence reappeared in her head, wanting to—
Not now! she internally reprimanded.
"Well, I guess I am," June acknowledged, pulling the dark-haired woman back to the present. "I mean, I'm about to start a life of running for my life because of my work."
"You know, you don't have to," she pointed out.
"I'm the one with the grimoire, and you heard everyone. They don't trust anyone else to hide it or keep it safe. That means it has to stay on the move. I'm the one carrying it, so that means it's going to stay with me. I'm going to have every evil demon and creature after me until one finally gets me!"
Well, that was certainly one way of looking at it; a rather negative one, but there was a logic to it. "I know it looks kinda bleak right now, but I'm certain we can come up with some appropriate hiding place for it. It was hidden for centuries at one point; who's to say that can't happen again?" the dark-haired woman pointed out.
"I guess," June dubiously responded. She sighed then. "Is it always like this? With the magic stuff?"
"It's certainly not rainbows and butterflies," the magician acknowledged.
"I was afraid you'd say that."
Okay, so the comforting thing wasn't working. What to do next? Zatanna had to think about that. What would she want to hear if she were in June's shoes? Obviously that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn't promise that. She had experienced so much since she learned how to use magic to say that.
Yet, she had seen some miraculous things because of it, resurrection being right at the top of the list. "Look, I can't tell you everything will ever be alright, but you're in good company with people that want the same thing," she began. "We all want to stop this hag. We do that, and we can hide that book in a place no one will ever think to look. It looks bad now because that hag is pretty strong, but chances are her presence is doing us a favor right now."
The brunette raised an eyebrow. "A favor? How?"
"Because of how strong and demonic her power is, she's keeping the weaker spirits away. No way do they want to get caught in her crossfire. You think the Enchantress will let some other being take possession of the book? Hell no, she wants it and if she can't have it, no one else will! She'll kill the other evil monsters just so they won't get it instead of her. So when we beat her, that will give the other spirits and monsters pause as to whether they should rush in to take possession of the book."
"That sounds good and all," June admitted, "but how much is that actually real and not wishful thinking?"
Okay, this cheering up business was being made difficult when the person you were trying to cheer up kept coming up with problems, and rational ones too. Zatanna had been hoping she could turn a frown upside down in record time, but that didn't look like that was going to happen.
It seemed she was going to have to dig in for the long haul.
With a soft click, the door closed and Zatanna found herself leaning against the door. An exhausted sigh left her lips as she stared down at her feet.
She felt tired. Not physically, but emotionally. June had finally calmed down and was trying to sleep. The magician had taken that moment to leave the room, but she couldn't say she felt all that good about it. Who wanted to hear they were stuck with a book that drew evil monsters towards it? It didn't help that the people best suited to hiding it were basically refusing the responsibility, her included. She was the new kid on the block as she saw it, and if someone like Jason Blood was refusing, then it was probably a good idea she refused to.
That was hardly comforting for June.
"Had a long talk, did'ja?"
The dark-haired woman slowly turned her head to one side, finding John Constantine standing a short distance away. He was leaning against the wall, not looking at her as if it were the cool thing to do. A small part of her did have to admit it did look cool, but right now it was mostly just annoying. He wasn't the one that had to calm down an anxiety-ridden woman for the past…however long it was.
"Well, none of you more experienced mages were trying to comfort the poor girl," Zatanna replied, not hiding the annoyance she felt. "And June needed someone to talk to, so she got me."
"I ain't raggin' ya, if that's what you're implicatin'." Constantine turned to face her, his hands buried in his coat pockets. The dark-haired woman couldn't help but notice the blond guy liked to keep his hands there. Was it for a reason, or did he just put them there for the sake of having them there? These were the important questions, everyone. "It's important we see to each other's well-bein' and all."
"But not important enough for you to do it personally," she replied archly.
"Do I look like someone you'd want to confess your darkest secrets to?" Constantine retorted.
Well, when it was put that way…no. "Well, we need to come up with a better plan than letting June lug that book around until she dies—young or old is debatable right now."
"If she didn't want to be involved, she never should have picked up that book," Constantine replied lazily.
"How was she supposed to know all of this was going to happen?" Zatanna demanded.
"It's a book with an ancient history with old spells and incantations. People have died over this book. Even you Yanks have an entire Hollywood genre that details how bad that is. Evil Dead is more of a documentary than it is a flight of fancy."
The dark-haired woman raised an eyebrow. "What, you saying something like that has happened?"
"It's happening now. One thing to know about this sordid business we're in is that there's always some demonic monster trying to gain access to this world, or some supernatural entity seeking out power. And there's plenty of people that ignore the clearly written warning signs to not go further and what do they do? They go further, play with forces they have no understanding of, and then get possessed as their souls are eaten from the inside out. Just ask Blood how often that has happened in the last ten years."
Something about that irritated Zatanna. They were not in some horror movie. They had a supernatural hag that was trying to get her hands a book of spells that an unwitting researcher had uncovered and…oh, well, that sounded exactly like a horror movie. Damn.
Not that she was going to admit that to this jerk, though. It was the principle of the matter.
"Now, I highly suggest you go ta bed," Constantine advised. "You're gonna need your strength."
"Thanks, Dad," Zatanna replied sarcastically. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Well, if you have other plans, why not let me tag along? I've got worse ways of pissin' off time than being around a gorgeous girl."
Well, that was nice of him to say. The delivery and word choice left something to be desired, but beggars couldn't be choosers. "You sure you want to hang out with me? I might just want to do some girly things," she said coyly.
The blond man shrugged his shoulders. "Girly like what?"
Hmm, it was odd she couldn't think of one at the moment. You know, one of those things that guys seemed to lose immediate interest in. Perhaps she just needed to go with boring and see what he did. "Well, I still have to unpack, and if I'm going to be getting ready for bed, I need to wash off, dry my hair, brush my teeth; you know, all the things that go into keeping me beautiful."
She could see Constantine losing interest. Well, she certainly found what she had been aiming for. "Sounds tedious. I'm certain there are other things you could find more interestin' than that."
"And what things would those be?"
"Ever heard of tantric magick?"
Zatanna blinked her eyes. "I…can't say that I have."
"You should give it a try; I highly recommend it."
"Mind telling me what that is exactly?"
The blond man pursed his lips, but Zatanna got the feeling that was out of habit. It was the same look he made when he was blowing cigarette smoke out of his mouth. "How to describe it," he pondered out loud. "Well, it's a bit crude, but I'm a crude kind of guy. Imagine your best orgasm and multiply it by ten."
Okay, she hadn't been expecting that. And now, she felt this conversation was quite over, no matter how intriguing that sounded. "Well, I'm certain you're pretty familiar with that. If I ever feel like learning more, I know where to find you."
Again, he shrugged his shoulders. "If that's what you want. Night, love."
And with that, he turned and left, walking down the corridor, no doubt heading for his room. Zatanna watched him for a moment before she felt another presence, one she was becoming well too familiar with. Oh great, it wanted to continue with its story. Yeah, perfect, just what she wanted to see. Seeing as she had made a promise, and she didn't have anything more important going on, she felt she couldn't delay it any longer than she had.
"Alright, if you want to finish your story, have at it," she sighed out loud with resignation.
The presence couldn't have been any happier as it plunged her back into the murder of two horny teens and the knife-wielding psycho stalking them.
A couple notes: the sitting room where our heroes meet is the same one the Justice League camps out in in Trinity Salvation. Felt it was fitting to reuse it for this story.
As for Alice, she's known as Black Alice and she's quite a formidable magic user. I just haven't been able to use the Black Alice moniker in the story yet, and felt it was something to point out to everyone. Her special ability is right out of the comics, and she can copy multiple mages at the same time while rendering their powers inert. That's a pretty handy power to have, no?
