Alice ran through a mental checklist, the same check she made before walking into any unknown situation. “Hold on Old Man. Gotta listen to some demons.” With sleep coming so hard at One Eyes she had forced herself over the last day to tune out her demonsense so that she would be able to sleep in its absence. However if there was ever a time when she needed the ability to sense demonic forces it was now. Closing her eyes and letting her mind open to the world around her she felt the all too familiar noise return. What began as the regular white noise of minor imps skirting around the edges of reality soon gave way to a more distinct sound in her mind. “Alice, what’s the matter?” Jonah asked, bringing her out of her head. Alice blinked rapidly as she returned to the world around her. “There’s something in there. It’s different than anything I’ve felt before.” She said while trying to collect her thoughts. Jonah’s scowl deepened as he thought it over. “This place deals in magical artifacts, it might just be that. Might also be that the proprietor himself is some kind of demon you haven’t seen yet.” Alice shook her head “I don’t know…” Jonah placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. “Look kiddo, whatever is in there, we can handle it. If we stay on our guard and keep our wits about us we’ll be fine. Now I’m asking you again, are you ready?” Alice squared her shoulders and pushed the demonsense to the back of her mind again. Placing a hand on her tool pouch and looking Jonah in the eye she nodded.
Raising a gloved hand Jonah pounded on the heavy door listening to it reverberate through the building. A long moment passed in silence before Jonah went to knock a second time only to have the door open as he raised his hand. The room inside was too dark to make out who had opened the door, though someone was moving inside. A sudden flare of light illuminated a dark figure as a match was struck and went to a candle. The candlelight moved nearer the door and a slender woman’s hand pulled the door open further. “Come inside please” implored a soft voice. As the candle moved around the room the woman paused to light others bringing a soft yellow glow to the room. Finally resting the candle on the counter the woman stood revealed in the light. She was an exceptionally pretty woman with smooth caramel colored skin and long smooth hair that hung past her waist. She was dressed entirely in silks that were all different shades of red, each darker than the last. Even her lips, which were curled into a faint smile were stained a deep crimson. “Is there something I can help you with?” The woman asked, addressing the pair. “You could tell us where the proprietor is,” replied Jonah “somehow I don’t think you’re Ming.” The woman only smiled again and continued “I’m afraid that Sir Ming is indisposed currently, though I was left to mind the shop. Is there anything you or your curious friend are interested in?” Jonah cast a glance at Alice who was wandering the room looking everywhere, Alice however, was too distracted to notice.
Alice’s demonsense had grown louder in her mind as she looked around the room trying to determine where it was coming from. Whispered voices echoed through her head without ever passing her ears. Half heard slurs and mumbled threats were joined by high pitched screams of rage that seemed to come from far off yet were heard as though from inches away, though none of it was loud enough to be understood. Alice tried to push the sense from her mind when she couldn’t pinpoint the source and found to her surprise that the sense pushed back, growing louder and more insistent. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to her senses long enough that she managed to see a rare look of concern on Jonah’s face. “Something’s wrong!” She managed to choke out before the assault began again. The voice was now a raw bloody scream, incoherently raging at the world and heard through the padded walls of an asylum cell. The screaming hated everyone and everything and only oblivion would slake its thirst. Alice didn’t feel her legs give out beneath her or hear Jonah call out to her as he caught her mid fall. She simply clutched at her head and screamed with the voice as it fought its way into her mind.
Jonah spun on the woman drawing his revolver and pointing it at her head in one smooth motion. A flash of intuition hit him and he tried his luck. “Let her go Renee!” The woman only smiled again “It is not my doing, though I’d suggest you point that elsewhere little man. If I die there’s no one who can call off the Bone Man”. Snapping her fingers a curtain in the back of the room shifted to the side and the temperature dropped drastically. Alice’s screaming stopped as she collapsed to the floor staring into nothingness, Jonah ran to her side trying to revive her but keeping his eyes glued on the inky blackness behind the curtain. Frozen breath hung in the air as the Bone Man shuffled into the room. It had the rough appearance of a tall, featureless, naked human. It was so emaciated that it looked to be little more than leather-like pale skin stretched over a skeleton. It’s skin was oily and splotchy in some places, dry and cracked in others. Its face, if you could call it that, had no nose, eyes, mouth or hair, though it was obviously staring straight at Alice and Jonah. The Bone Man took another step into the room and it seemed as though every joint in its body was creaking and popping at once. Its skin glided over the skeleton beneath creating a ripple that suggested that the skin wasn’t attached, just something that it wore. Renee slipped behind it placing a delicate caramel hand on a greasy pale shoulder. “Take them” She commanded it before she slipped into the blackness behind the curtain.
Alice screamed again as the Bone Man resumed his march towards them. Jonah drew his revolver again and opened fire tearing massive holes in the chest, neck and head of the creature, but it still stood. The hold it had on Alice however had broken and she regained her senses enough to see the creature for the first time. The Bone Man simply stared at them with half its face missing and reached into the hole in its chest. Never breaking its stare at them they heard a snap as it broke a rib free and held the piece of bone before it on an open palm. Alice watched in horror as the piece of bone splintered and transformed into some form of insect. The insect didn’t live long however as Jonah’s next shot obliterated the Bone Man’s hand and the insect with it. “Get Back!” He yelled at Alice as he stood and flipped a release on a small device attached to his wrist. Alice’s eyes widened and she covered herself with her cloak as the device spewed a sulfurous powder into the air in the direction of the Bone Man. With a snap of his fingers Jonah caught the piece of flint embedded in the finger of his glove against the steel plate in the heel of his hand sending sparks into the air and igniting the powder. The fireball expanded outward engulfing the Bone Man for an instant and leaving several nearby shelves burning. A wave of hot noxious fumes from the burning powder washed over Alice, but she was safe from the fire beneath her flameproof cloak. Jonah had almost managed to get his own cloak up in time but lost an eyebrow. The fire had managed to catch on the thick black substance that the Bone Man used for blood though it still attempted to reach for them with its remaining hand as it smoldered and collapsed into a heap. The danger wasn’t over however as dozens of the bone insects scrambled from the burning heap and the reeking stench of the burning blood filled the room. Alice and Jonah found each other through the smoke and ran for the door throwing it open and letting the cold night air rush in crashing against the wall of hot smoke. They leapt into the alleyway slamming the door closed behind them.
Hacking and coughing Jonah set about sealing the door with a magical ward while Alice propped herself up against the wall of the alley. Breathing the cold air in deeply and feeling the last of the noxious fumes get forcefully ejected from her lungs Alice collected her thoughts and searched out with her mind. The Bone Man was gone, but there was something else, something close by. Catching his breath Jonah sat down next to Alice “You alright kiddo?” Finding her voice and forcing it past the raw pain of her throat she managed a weak “Yes, but there’s someone over there” pointing down the alley to a body lying covered in a thin rug. Jonah got back to his feet and helped Alice to hers. Alice drew her own revolver and with weapons drawn and readied they approached the body. With Alice keeping a steady aim on the body Jonah reached cautiously for the rug to and pulled it away. Somehow neither of them seemed too surprised to find “Nathaniel” beneath the rug, it was exactly the sort of coincidence that happened too often in their line of work. “Well things just got more complicated” sighed Jonah. Alice shook her head “He’s not dead. I sensed his mind and corpses don’t have minds.” Jonah checked his pulse and found it faint, but undeniably there. Nathaniel lay on the ground, eyes open but without seeing anything. He appeared the same way Alice had only moments earlier when she was under the influence of the Bone Man, but it was destroyed now. “…the insect!” They yelled in unison. Jonah shot a glance at her “Get ready to help him out, or knock him out, whichever’s easiest. I have a feeling once that thing is out of him there’s going to be screaming and I’d prefer not to draw any more attention.” Alice nodded and knelt next to the prone man as Jonah cracked his knuckles.
Many years before all of this Jonah would tell Alice about his time training with the Buddhist Chi Masters of the East. It was a bedtime story to her to hear about the strange powers they were capable of and of their ability to heal any wound by the use of pressure points. It had become more than a bedtime story when he had used those same powers to set her broken leg after a run in with a bog imp. It was still one of countless talents that Jonah had yet to teach her simply because there hadn’t been time. There never seemed to be enough time. She watched carefully and tried to reach out with her mind to feel the way Jonah was focusing the energy in his hands. Jonah took a sharp breath and struck Nathaniel in the chest with his fingertips several times in lightning speed and precision. His body began to convulse violently and Alice clamped down on him to keep him on the ground as Jonah took the other side. Finally one of the spindly bone insects crawled from his mouth as Nathaniel went limp again. Before the wretched thing could scurry off Jonah snatched it up and trapped it in a small glass vial that he kept in one of his pockets. Nathaniel awoke with a start and sat up. “What in the? Oh hell, it’s you two” he said recognizing them finally. This comment earned him a sharp slap to the head from Alice “Don’t give us crap. We just saved your life.” She scolded and gestured to the vial. Jonah slipped the vial in a pocket and cast a knowing glare at Nathaniel “You’re in the wrong part of town kid. I think you need some protection to make sure you get home safely.” Nathaniel scoffed “No thanks old man,” and got unsteadily to his feet but tried to hang on to his indignation even after nearly tripping over himself, “my life is in danger enough whenever you two are around. I’ll manage.” Alice met his gaze and stared him down. “I insist.” Nathaniel looked at Alice and mumbled something resembling a concession while casting worried glances at Jonah. Jonah pulled Alice aside quickly “He doesn’t look like he’ll talk to me, are you going to be ok on your own?” Alice puffed herself up and nodded giving what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Good girl. See if you can figure out why he was there and how to keep him out of the way. I’m heading back to One Eye’s to see what I can find out about this.” He said while patting his pocket with the vial. Jonah, Alice and Nathaniel exited the alley a moment later onto a street that was still packed and went their separate ways, each on their guard for their own reasons, and for reasons that would become good ones all too shortly.
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