23

It was the only way.

Mada had spoken to Constantine in his mind moments before she had immobilised him. You and I share a special bond, dark creature.

And what exactly is that special bond ? he’d thought in reply as he’d knocked the teeth off a nearby witch.

You know…

He had attempted to suppress her, but it had been so easy for her to barge into his head and plant thoughts.

You still haven’t figured it out, have you? I cast a spell on you, dark creature. No, not the paralysing magic you will very soon feel. Nothing personal, truly. But there are things you must not see. When all is done, I may bring back your powers. If you survive, of course. I’m sure by now you know your spiritual powers are bound. Soon, you will start losing your physical strength as well, and you will fade away completely.

Her ugly laughter had accompanied him until the end.

Until Viktor had transformed and had gone on a killing spree. The witch had been petrified because her magic hadn’t affected the wolf.

Constantine had heard her shouts, her pleading to stop the wolf. He had felt his powers returning, and so instead, he had focused on his secondary form. The witch might have stripped him of his ability to roam the Higher Levels, but here, on Earth, he was still in full control.

His flesh disintegrated, revealing the skeleton – nothing more, nothing less.

In those last seconds, before he pounced on the witch, the hollow eye sockets of his skeleton locked onto the terror in Diana’s eyes. Maybe Mada had been right, after all. The witch and he did share a special bond. They were both sickening to the eye, though he masked it behind a pretty face. Had the witch once been beautiful too? Good, even, before something ugly had corrupted her? Was the same going to happen to him?

Who was he kidding? It had already happened. Ugly, desecrating things had been crossing his path for years, yet he still interacted with them. Gladly.

It was only a matter of time before he lost his shiny exterior.

Constantine scanned the room. Mada’s soul rose above her corpse, a ghostly, scarred entity rushing upward toward its redemption in the Beyond.

Not today.

The skeleton’s jaws opened wide and swallowed it.

Memories swarmed him and, wasting no time, he started digging through them.

A young man was asking Mada to open a portal to the Hospital. Diana’s brother, Luka. The witch was more than ready to comply. She knew what it would cost him, although he didn’t understand. She would feed off his pain and nightmares. In exchange for the portal, Mada would take a part of him, plus a little something extra. No, not the soul – that, she left for the Higher Powers. Once they struck an agreement, their energies would intertwine forever. Only one of them could take advantage of that bond, and she would never hesitate to do it. Their connection was like a noose around the vampire’s neck. The witch had access to his mind, his soul, and everything that was his. Constantine saw him again and this time, he was a pale, desperate face with an empty stare – an embodiment of misery.

Constantine was now part of that devilish bond, along with the hundreds more that Mada had made with her clients. Hundreds of creatures she’d had in the palm of her hand. Engulfing her soul was like an explosion of memories, minds, and thoughts that threatened to tear him to pieces if he lingered much longer. But he needed to, or else how else would they find a lead to follow?

He dug deeper into the witch’s memories of the vampire, tracking his current location.

There.

He needed to get out. Mada’s consciousness and soul were too powerful to handle; her essence raged against him, rebelling against his hold. But… Just a little more. If he could dive a little deeper, he could access more of the vampire’s memories, and who knew what a treasure trove they could prove to be?

Another image materialised before him. The vampire again, talking to someone.

“Consider it done,” he promised.

Who was he talking to?

Constantine took the risk. He sank to the bottom, deep into the memories, until he saw someone – a man with dark sunglasses, black hair and a grey suit. But even as he took in these details, a powerful spiritual strike sent him flying back to his body.

It shouldn’t have been possible, yet, it was Mada again, blocking him. Probably some post-mortem magic?

Mikhail was kneeling next to him. “What happened, brother?”

Nearby, the wolf – Viktor – sat, observing.

“We must go. Now!” Constantine sprang to his feet, returning to human form in a few seconds just as the ground beneath him trembled.

Diana pointed up. “The lights are no longer moving.”

The thousands of hovering candles had frozen in place. That was not what worried Constantine, however. He glanced around.

“There are no shadows,” Mikhail beat him to voicing the realisation.

Diana moved her gaze between Constantine, Mikhail, and the wolf. “What does that mean?”

The wolf whimpered as the lights flickered from the cave’s powerful vibrations. Massive boulders broke loose from the ceiling and crashed to the ground.

“The shadows are fleeing because the entire room is about to collapse!” Constantine yelled over the thunderous sounds, barely escaping the stone mass that fell inches away from him.

They rushed to the exit. Diana darted through the tunnel first, followed by Constantine, Mikhail and Viktor, still in his secondary form. The stairs shook beneath their feet while the roaring intensified.

Running up the stairs, they went through the door to the bar and found everything just as they had left it.

Diana headed to the closest window. “It’s dark outside!”

“Good, less chances of running into humans. Let’s go!” Mikhail urged.

“What if someone does see us? Or rather, when someone sees us?” She lowered her gaze to her blood-stained hands. Her hair, face and clothes were a mess. “We’re covered in blood! And he’s a wolf! Why isn’t he turning back, for crying out loud!?”

“He probably can’t,” Mikhail replied. He, too, barely looked like himself with all the blood smeared across his body.

The ground underneath them cracked open. It was enough to spur Constantine into action, and he slammed his body against the locked door, breaking it. “Time to go!”

The four of them escaped just as The Witch building collapsed into ruins.

And then there was chaos.