This story contains elements of witchcraft and supernatural instances. The story also uses some historical fiction and views parts of Christian religion as both fact and fiction. This story also contains elements of a sexual nature between people of the same sex. If you are offended by any of these situations do not read this story.
Book Three: Chancellors
Tablet One: Shores of Netherland, 1815
"Field Marshal Wellington." The tent flap opened as the voice spoke his name.
Wellington who had been looking at a map of troop movements looked up to see the slim frame of another man. The rain splashed on the ground and lighting streaked across the sky spreading a dark shadow of the man across the room.
"Enter." Wellington waved him into the tent. The man stepped into the large command tends and took of his hood and cloak. He had long gray hair that went halfway down his back. He was slender and showed signs of his age. His face was wrinkled but his eyes still showed the power he held on the inside. He held a cane in one hand that he used to support himself. He walked forward to take a seat on the opposite side of the table Wellington sat at.
"Agents have brought word to me how Napoleon was able to gain his forces so quickly." The man stated as he closed his eyes.
"Underworld inhabitants?" Wellington leaned back and crossed his arms looking at the old man across from him.
The old man nodded his head. "Ancient creatures that neither I, nor any Shadow Priests since records have been kept. How he was able to find them is beyond me."
"The mines on Elba?"
"Possible." The old man coughed a little. "I had to do some deep research. Even had to go to Rome and Alexandria, which was not easy to do. There was a reference to them in some ancient texts in the Catholic library in Rome, but nothing to go on." He opened his eyes and looked at Wellington with sad eyes. "The problem is I am too old, and will not last a month. There is not another Shadow Priest in the area that can deal with these creatures. Napoleon might very well win again, and he will not make the same mistakes twice."
"What are they?" Wellington looked at his map. According to most of the scouts Napoleon's forces were heading to an area of the Netherlands called Waterloo. The British and Prussians were arming for battle near that city. "We plan to head him off in a few months. If he has assistance then the battle will be lost."
"According to the texts they are called Chancellors of the One." The old man stood up and walked to the tent door and drew the flap back so he could look at the rain. "According to the text they serve the one called The Master."
"The Master?" Wellington thought for a bit. "You mean the one that is responsible for the Black Death? The Crusades? The Inquisition? Everything that has happened with `un-godly' speed?"
The old man chuckled. "You pay too much attention to my ramblings Arthur. `Un-godly' speed? Is that how I described those events?"
"Clearly."
"Well yes. These Chancellors are able to read a person's mind, and make their worst nightmares come true." Lightning streaked across the sky once again. "Only a Shadow Priest is immune to them. Well Shadow Priest and a Cleric."
"You mean a Catholic Priest?" Wellington almost fell over in his chair. Unintentionally, most of the time the Catholics were responsible in history for welcoming the Underworld into the world of man and causing some of history's most deadly and violent situations.
"No. No." The old man turned around. "A Shadow Cleric. Similar to a Shadow Priest, but not born with powers. In dire situations a Shadow Priest can pass his power on to a person that can do the job." He let the flap fall and he waved his hands over the ties to seal it shut.
Wellington swallowed hard. "What does that mean?"
The old man walked to him and looked dead into Wellington's eyes. "You must take my place and you must deal with these Chancellors. They will not stop at Napoleons whims. He is currently their meal ticket to power, but when they have grown strong enough they will not need him."
Wellington looked down at the map and then at his hands. They were trembling as he thought about the prospect. "What happens to you?"
"I will die." The old man said it as if it was an everyday thing and he laughed as he saw the look cross Wellingtons face. "Oh I am old my friend, too old. I should have died several centuries ago, but for the grace of God, and a little magic, I am still alive. But I am too old for battle, too old to have the energy to be a `defender of the realm' such as you. You are young and able to handle it. When you die the powers I have given you will disappear, and no one will know the difference."
Wellington sighed as he thought of the implications. "Very well. If it will stop Napoleon, and more importantly these Chancellors."
"Sacrifices we all must make for the greater good for society work." The old man took his hands and placed them on the head of Wellington and started the chant.
Tablet Two: Modern Day (John Carr's Home)
John Carr, Victor Marquez, and Sam White sat on John's third floor balcony that over looked the city. The position of the house on the edge of the Sandia Mountains gave a breath taking view of the entire city. The lights lit up the landscape across the Rio Grande River into the Rio Rancho community that sat adjacent to Albuquerque.
"So you're a descendent of Lord Wellington?" John looked at Sam with some skepticism but it did make sense after the events with the Reaper.
"Yes." Sam breathed in hard. He never talked about the history his grandmother told him. "When I was a little child I was able to do things that seemed to come straight out of the Harry Potter books." He laughed at the thought. "When I was little I could do things with my mind. If I wanted a candy bar all I had to do was think about it and it would appear before me. If I wanted to go to a friend's house I could blink and find myself there. My grandmother finally sat me down to explain what was going on and taught me how to control my powers. By the time I was a teenager, I had totally forgot my powers as I viewed it the only way to avoid looking... diffrent."
Victor looked at John with a questioning look. "But if Lord Wellington assumed the powers of a Shadow Cleric, and they were supposed to disappear when he died, how did it pass along the lines of the family?"
John shook his head. "No idea. I suppose he had children after the Battle of Waterloo. Every generation would have diluted the power to a degree, but I suppose it is possible."
Sam looked at Victor and knew the question that was going through his mind.
"While my grandmother knew the history of my family and how the powers started, she did not know how the powers were passed, and she did not know who the old man was." Sam looked at John. "Do you know who the old man was?"
John smiled for a second and then started to laugh. "Odd you should say Harry Potter. The old man's name was Nicolas Flamel, a Shadow Priest from about the 1400s to his final death in 1815 in France. He left France after 1418, his supposed year of death. He found a way to live for a very long time but never went by the name of Nicolas again. Most people that knew him as a Shadow Priest referred to him simply as the `Old Man'."
Victor snorted louder than he anticipated. "Are you serious?!"
"Yes." John smiled. "Most of the characters that are talked about but never seen in Harry Potter are real people from history. People of the time period thought them to be witches and wizards because they knew science. Think about it: If you could make smoke appear by mixing two chemicals, and no one else could, is that not magic? In this case of Nicolas it just so happens to be true."
"So Lord Wellington kills the Chancellors?" Victor asked to keep the story moving.
"Well no." Sam continued. "My grandmother told me that during the Battle of Waterloo, things went horribly wrong for Napoleon. Apparently the Chancellors were not interested in helping Napoleon, but used him as a opportunity to escape and flee to Russia. They were never found."
"And from there history continues." John smiles and stands up and stretches. "Well I think that it is time to..." before he could finish Sam's cell phone started to ring.
"White." Sam stated as he pushed the answer button on his phone "Yes. Yes. Okay, I will be there in twenty."
"Problems?" John asked, knowing the answer before it began.
"There has been a death at Coronado. Man was stabbed in the back an hour ago, tons of witness saw him fall to the floor, but no one saw him get stabbed."
Tablet Three: Coronado Mall 10:00 PM
The three arrived at the mall together. The mall sat in Uptown Albuquerque and was one of two malls in the city. They made their way to the entrance that sat behind the Barnes and Noble store. Police tape was sat up to keep people from entering the door, but the police officer standing guard pulled the tape up to allow them to pass.
Inside they found the victim lying on the floor with a knife in his back. John walked around the body and looked at the floor for signs of anything that might give a clue to his attacker.
"Nothing on the cameras." Sam walked up after talking to an officer getting a report. "Since this is a mystery in the strangest sense that is why I was called in."
Victor walked over to John and looked at the body. "From the reports I have seen people said he was walking towards the exit over there," he pointed to the door they came in, "but fell with a knife in his back. He was alone, and the closest person was several feet away. Security camera confirms the stories." He pointed to the camera several feet away.
"Odd don't you think." John looked at the camera. "It was as if whatever did this wanted to show use he or she did this." He started to walk away from the scene. "Get a copy of the recording and bring it back to the house for analysis. There is nothing we can do here."
Tablet Four: Eight Years Ago
John slipped out from under the covers and looked at Victor, who was sleeping peaceful. He walked out of the room and made his way to the kitchen. How do I tell him? How do I tell him that this cannot last? He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water and sat down at the table. It is not fair that he has to suffer for what I am going to become. He swallowed some of the water and lowered his head.
"You okay?" Victor came walking into the room naked. John sucked in a deep breath as he watched him. He never felt this way before about anyone. It was as if he was sent into a frenzy of feeling. He was semi hard as he walked over and walked to the back of John and hugged him. His arms had muscle on them and he loved the smell he gave off. This was enough to send him into a sexual frenzy and caused his own dick to harden instantly.
"I needed some water is all." John forced a smile and then reached around to bring Victor to position in front of him. "I love you walking around naked." He reached up and started to rub the now hard dick in front of him. Victor moaned hard. John looked up and smiled as he saw the pleasure he was giving Victor. He moved in slowly and kissed the head as pre-cum started to leak out.
Victor shivered as pleasure ran up his spin. He leaned against the table and let John continue his work. John placed Victor in his mouth and slowly started to move his head up and down. Victor gasped in ecstasy at the sensation. John kept this up for several minutes as he enjoyed the taste of the pre-cum leaking from Victor's head.
John unable to contain himself stopped sucking, to a gasp of desperation from Victor. John stood up and pushed Victor onto the table. He pulled Victor's legs up and spread them apart. He spit in his hand and wiped it into the hole that was now visible. It was still loose from the last fucking he gave and could see cum ooze out of the hole. He quickly grabbed his own dick and placed it at the entrance. Victor braced as John shoved his dick in and he slowly pushed his 7 inches in.
Victor gasped at the feeling but wrapped his legs around John's waste and pulled him deep in. After a few moments he relaxed at the feeling and let John move in an out as he fucked him. He started off slow, but soon he gained momentum. John had cum only a few moments before but he could tell he was swelling for another shot. He speed up and grabbed Victor's dick and started to rub it up and down. Victor groaned in ecstasy and arched his back as he squirted cum all over John's chest. His hold clamped down on John's dick and cause John to burst quickly.
John groaned hard and collapsed on Victor's chest allowing Victor's cum to act like a glue to hold them together. Glue that he wished was permanent. He planted a hard kiss on Victor and placed his head on his shoulder.
"I hope this table can hold us both." Victor laughed.
"I hope so too." John smiled and stood up to not chance it anymore. "Come on lets go lay back down again."
Victor stood up but did not move. He grabbed the chair that John was sitting and sat down. "Tell me first what is on your mind."
John sighed hard and looked at him. "I love you is all. I have feelings for you like I have never had before. But it cannot last."
Victor shot him a quick glance. "Why?"
"Come with me and I will show you." John motioned for him to follow him to his bedroom.
Victor followed and found his heart was not as it had been. He felt joy when he looked at John but now he was not sure why John had just done this to him.
John walked to his closet and opened the door. He turned to look at Victor and smiled. "Sit on the bed please." He turned and walked into the closet. Victor watched the closet door for a moment and then looked at the window. Why me? Why now?
John emerged with an object wrapped in a black cloth. John sat down next to Victor and could feel the heat emanating from his body. The heat could keep him warm for a lifetime he thought to himself.
"I come from a family that has had a `curse' of sort passed on to the male members of the family." John looked at the bundle he had carried in. "We met just as I was about to take the ceremony to become the next person."
Victor was dumb struck. At first he thought John was joking, then he realized he was being serious about it.
"A curse?" Victor almost laughed the word out. "Are you serious?"
"Very." He opened up the cloth and held a book in his hands. The book looked to be old and had some weird drawings on the front cover. "This book is used by the person that has become very close to the `cursed' individual." He handed the book to Victor. "I know we have only known each other for a short time, but I think you are the one that will take the role."
Victor took the book and looked at the cover again. He flipped the book open and looked at a view of the pages, which were in English.
"You won't have to make up your mind for another 48 hours," John sighed. "At that time I need to know."
Victor looked at the book again and the single thought ran through his mind: This man is crazy.
Tablet Five: The Film
John watched the film for a second time, this time in slow motion. The first time had revealed what the police found: nothing.
"Got an ID on the body." Victor walked in just as the guy was starting to fall to the ground. "Joshua White."
"Interesting." John hit the pause button just before the victim hit the floor. "Ironic is it not that the victim has the same last name as our good friend the detective?"
"More interesting I would think that now we learn of his past, which he choose NOT to tell us about?" Victor sat down in the chair next to John's. "Interesting that he knew the history of your family, knew that you were a Shadow Priest, and did not share the information?"
"I think you're looking into things that are not necessarily there." John pressed the play button, "But then again, you have a point. He did keep information that may have been useful." The body hit the floor and five people rushed to the body. "Look at this guy here." He pointed to the man that was the closest. "Odd that he would be standing so close, but react so... calm."
"I would say so." Victor watched the man stand still and watch the scene. "Looks like he is smiling a bit too much."
"I think we have our assailant."
Victor thought for a moment. "But how?"
John smiled as he watched the screen. "He is a Chancellor."
Tablet Six: Downtown Police Department
"Are you sure?" Sam talked into the phone to John. "What is the situation to deal with this? I see. Let me know what turns up." He hung up the phone.
He pulled up the file for the case. Joshua Smith, age 43, from New Jersey visiting family. What a way to go, Sam thought to himself. John had made a comment about the last name being too much of a coincidence to be a random act.
He clicked out the statues screen. Typically detectives would enter a status such as closed, open, or unsolved, but John had a different list of selections he used. To the public the case would remain unsolved', or irresolvable due to inability to obtain suspect'. In house it would show up as a classification that only he could give.
All of the cases so far that he was brought into would receive the classification of Special Circumstances One, or SC1. This label was given to crimes that John had solved and the suspect has been killed. However he also had the option of Special Circumstances Two, or SC2. These were situations where most likely nothing could be done by members of the department and that for the safety of all members to stay away from the suspect. Other detectives and officers would see this as a `irresolvable case'. He saved the screen, closed it and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey White!" Donald Hays walked up to his desk. "Interesting case with the man at the mall."
"Yea," Sam nodded, "just another case for me though."
"You done?" Donald walked over to the desk and stood close to Sam. Sam could smell Donald's cologne: Lucky You.
"Yes." Lucky You indeed Sam thought to himself. Donald was a man in his late 30s but had an athletic build. At 5'9'' he had run almost every marathon in Albuquerque, and participated in an Iron Man Competition. He had short dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His chin was pronounced and he had all the attributes that many women would find charming. Sam found him just as charming. "Just had to label the case, and I am out."
"I always wonder what your section does over here." He leaned against the desk and looked at Sam with a grin. "Always having those interesting cases that no one is ever able to help you on. Running around with the mysterious John Carr."
"Mysterious John Carr?" Sam laughed a bit. He had hear many people call him many things, but mysterious was not one of them. "He is...different?"
Donald stood up and pulled down his shirt that had bunched up from his sitting down. He grinned again and started to walk away, but turned around as if caught in a second thought.
"Curious." He walked back again. "Would you be interested in going to get a late night bite? There is a small all night café around the corner that I frequent. Being on the night shift I get experience on the good places at night."
"I would love too." Sam smiled and thought he was not the lucky one. "I will meet you out front. I need to submit this work. Only take a moment."
Donald nodded and turned to walk out the door. He had a very large smile on his face.
Tablet Seven: Victors Room
Victor lay in his bedroom, the lights off and the light from outside slide across the room, cutting it in half. Victor had focused on a single spot on the top of the ceiling and contemplated what he had learned today.
The most important thing he had learned was the concept that if a Shadow Priest needed to he could pass his powers onto a mortal human. This would in turn kill the Shadow Priest. His largest question was how could the Shadow Cleric pass his powers on to his decedents? John had no idea on this subject, or if he did he was not willing to share it with anyone else.
The most important question he had was the fact that Wellington had children after the battle of Waterloo. According to everything he had been told and read, the Shadow Cleric could not have sexual relationships, as the same powers that would obliterate the lover of a Shadow Priest were now in the hands of the Shadow Cleric. He even knew Sam was having the same questions.
The other situation that kept passing in Victor's head was the time he faced the Reaper in his dream. The voice he had heard. He had assumed it was John communicating with him, but it was not. John had no idea who it would have been. In fact he had seemed surprised that anyone could have communicated in the dream world but a Reaper.
The point he kept coming too was that as soon as he started to question the ability for a Shadow Priest to have sexual relations, was when the funny things started to happen. First the Djinn, and then the Reaper, the Chancellors, and now this idea that Sam was a `semi'-Shadow Cleric. His world had been turned upside down eight years ago, and now that he was getting used to it, was once again turning upside down. He had to find answers, but he would wait till the morning. He had to know if these were random acts, or if some greater hand was pushing the world to make him discover some lost truth, or some dark secret.