New York I Love You, But You're Creeping Me Out - Case Files

[Hannah]

The book, what did you do with it?

Hannah

[Gotham Witch]

I still have it. It's in my 'to burn' pile.

I found the storage park next to the Queensburo Bridge subway station in LIC, mostly consisting of storage space about the size of a couple closets. A key card left behind by my would-be wizard matched a full sized rental large enough to park a car in. Why did he need so much space? Only one way to find out.

Swiping the card and lifting the door up, I was greeted by the smell of rancid meat. Taking a moment to recover, I shined my flashlight around to see a largely dismembered corpse laying on a folding table, ribs bent and splintered as something had literally ripped his chest agape. The whole scene looked disturbingly fresh - the puddle of blood beneath the table was still largely wet, there were comparatively few flies, and the torn muscle and bone was only showing rudimentary decay.

To make it all worse, I recognized the face - it was an arcanist that used to hang out at a coffee shop in the East Village.

There was a lingering whiff of magic in the air as I examined the site. Some smeared blood on the ground suggested the body had been dragged away from what had been a bloody circle, one that had been smeared and stepped on after use. I had a feeling that the body had been moved since the man was killed, but I needed to be sure.

Reaching in my bag, I pulled out a small piece of white parchment paper, inscribed with bits of Chinese script in a blue ink. Taking my lighter, I lit the corner of the paper and let it burn on the ground before taking a step back, letting the magic prepare the 'scene'.

Slowly, the ghostly outlines came into view as events began to replay themselves. One, the now deceased man on the table, was laying there in what was a circle. He had been stripped down to his boxers and was gagged, bound, and certainly struggling against his bonds.

Above him, I could see the kid I was looking for. There was something disturbing about him - his body language, the look in his eye, the way he waved the ornamental dagger around in his hand as he chanted in some language I didn't understand.

In the background, I could see the vague outline of something the man had seen before his demise but could not identify. It was a large but most blob-like silhouette standing near the corner, likely obscured to the man by the darkness of the room.

Without warning, he drove the dagger into the chest of the man, ending him almost instantly. That confirmed what I didn't want to know - that my missing person was a murderer. It didn't explain what he was doing, however. Even with experience in the arcane arts, it's difficult to gauge a ritual without a bit more to go off of - there are a fair number of things where something awful like human sacrifice might come into play. In the end, it's just a means to an end, not always an end that is well defined.

That wasn't where it all ended, however. As I continued to watch for several seconds, the chest cavity split itself open in a grisly display, the body twitching almost as if something were trying to drive itself into the still warm cadaver. Disturbingly, it likely meant the man was still alive - or at least, not allowed to die. More disturbingly, what-was my acquaintance slowly sat up, his eyes a wispy pitch black.

I glanced over towards the table. The body was missing. Spinning about, I gagged as cold, slimy hands grabbed me around the neck with a vice-like grip; the corpse was not only animated, black eyes leaking oily black mist as it stared at me, but it was trying to strangle the life out of me.

Isn't it great when the answers you want might very well kill you?

[Hannah]

Considering what happened to me, perhaps Austin and you should do a little study of it first.

I'll then happily bring some matches.

Hannah

PS: Not to distract from your story of course. Your calligraphy collection came in handy yet again I see.

[Ron Caliburn]

Next time put something on the body that will make a noise if it moves. Don't forget to take it with you later to avoid evidence.

[Gotham Witch]

In hindsight, I really should have done that. I suppose I did not expect a corpse - even an animated one - to be either sneaky or quite that fast.

Thankfully, things trying to strangle me aren't exactly a new situation. Grabbing hold of its hands as he tried to lift me up, I managed to land a solid kick two legged kick to the chest. The blow didn't even budge it, but it did cause it to lose his grip, and allow me to cast a spell as I toppled backwards, a semi-invisible wall of force just barely stopping ot from making another attempt.

I fished into my pocket as I watched the animated corpse kick and punch at the magical shield with unusual speed, a spiderweb of cracks already forming. Though it certainly looked like a zombie, there was something inhuman bound in that flesh and bone so I had to time this right.


"No escape." The corpse whispered in a sinister whisper, striking the shield once again as the magical energies began to splinter and fail. It seemed to have a good idea how long that shield was going to hold up, and didn't expect me to be able to do much before he murdered me.

"I suppose not." I said simply, flicking a white hankerchief from my pocket in its general direction.

Almost instantly, a burst of captured sunlight escaped the folds of the hankerchief, the zombie's flesh smouldering as it was illuminated. Hissing, the thing reeled back, its arm beginning to burn as it attempted to shield its already burnt face.

"Do you expect that to stop me, worm?"" It hissed loudly, peering at me as the light from the hankerchief subsided.

"Not exactly." I said cheekily. Before it could respond, there was the loud report of a gunshot as the things skull exploded sideways, blood and other things dripping from the cracked remnants of my shield. Shadowy essence evaporated from where the rest of its head had been as the body staggered, attempting another swing before a follow up shot shredded its knee, the corpse toppling to the ground.

"Why do you cut these things so close?"Jinx chastised me as she stepped in, carbine still trained on the struggling cadaver.

"Won't happen again." I assured her as I dropped the shield, extending my arms in front of me and murmuring. A gout of flame washed over the corpse, black wisps quickly escaping the corpse as it flailed briefly. As we watched, the corpse went up in flames quicker than tinder, and within seconds all that remained was a body shaped outline of grey ash.

"What was that thing?" Jinx asked as she peered around, clearly sensing around before pointing at something that I couldn't see. Making a gesture and chanting the right words to remedy that situation, I saw the mostly invisible outline of some sort of angelic being, its form largely jet black.

As I watched, the being was in the midst of snapping several magical chains tethering it to what was left of the corpse. Freeing itself, the would-be angel peered at us briefly before simply flying through the ceiling and away from us.

"Peculiar." I remember muttering.

Sensing about to make sure we were in fact alone this time, we began to take a better look around.

[Gotham Witch]

The hedge-wizard turned apparent murderer had left a book or two in the warehouse. One of the books was, similar to the ones I found i his apartment, enchanted to follow a compulsion. The one I could actually read, however, was rather enlightening - a book of summoning circles, ones which were at first glance disturbingly accurate.

He had attached a bunch of sticky notes in the section about summoning 'fallen angels'. However, the 'angels' in question - sometimes called the Necrophim - don't take solid form in this reality.

I glanced back at the corpse, at this point largely disintegrating into dark ash as the afternoon sun shined into the storage unit. Something tells me my would-be wizard found a way around this. That, of course, was a disturbing prospect in and of itself, as binding a powerful being to a corpse was quite difficult. There was just no way that he could have been doing this without some cheating or help.

Heading back to my adobe for a bit, I drafted in a bit of help and took the time to decrypt the compulsion literature. I had seen things of a similar vein before when helping FriarJohn in Maryland. They tend to be confusing, rambling things that draw you in, enchanting you even as you obsessively continue flipping pages struggling to understand what has to be some dark secret of the universe, some hidden gem that will make it all worth it.

Readers, should one of you run into a similar book that you haven't checked for weird auras, put it down right away.

Managing to glimpse small portions of the writings (it takes reading a fair number of successive pages before the magic becomes an issue), the readings seemed largely apocalyptic to me, with some raving madman trying to 'prevent' (or perhaps cause) the end times in his fight against 'false gods'. All in all, it'd have been really humorous it not taken a gruesome turn.

The binding ritual shed more light on what he had been doing. Binding spirits to corpses is not exactly a new art, but doing so to dark angels is another matter entirely. Some deranged necromancer had at one point figured out that older corpses paradoxically worked better for this - why, I'm not sure. It's likely that the arcanist we found in the warehouse may have been a 'test run' of sorts.

I had just finished up when I got a call from someone who ran a bookstore along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Apparently our 'friend' had attempted to bewitch his cashier, before simply resorting to stealing the book he had wanted and ran out. He had been last seen running into the nearest train station and boarding the Woodlawn Bound 4 train. Likely, he was headed to Woodlawn Cemetery.

The book he had stolen? It was a survey on places of power in New York written by a hobbyist in the 1930s. I didn't need it to know why he was going there however; Woodlawn has always had problems with restless dead due to its proximity near one of those very places of power. He was smart enough - or the one pulling his strings was, anyway - to know he could get both magic and very old bodies in the same place.

Rather quickly, Jinx and I went to go catch him before he caused any more harm.

[Gotham Witch]

Happy Thanksgiving all. I'm long overdue on describing this conclusion

It was nearly 10 PM when we got to Woodlawn cemetery. The gates were by this point closed for the night, and the caretakers likely wouldn't believe our excuse that we needed to stop a would-be necromancer. But as it turns out, getting over a steel fence is rather easy for a sorceress and spy.

We brought a couple associates with us for this. Both of which have extensive military training as well as skill in hunting the supernatural. Both of them were also armed to the teeth - high caliber rifles, night vision gear, the works. After dealing with that preview in the storage closet, I felt it better to be safe.

We also brought a dog, Sassy. It was one of our acquaintances idea's, and though I was a bit skeptical, I figured it couldn't hurt. Besides, she was adorable.

We were about to sneak into the park over a fence before some terrified screams could be heard near one of the gates, followed by heavy footfalls. We quickly made our way over, showing up just in time as someone was ripping a door off of its hinges at the visitor center, eyes glowing red in the dark. The clothing on the figure was archaic - 1800s perhaps- and heavily deteriorated. A sign we were on the right track.

Quickly, one of our associates lined up his rifle, and in one shot blew the assailant's torso into a fine shadowy haze. The body disintegrated into ash before it even hit the ground, the door clattering with a thud against the pavement.

Quickly, the security guard came out, peering down at the door. Not having time for a lengthy explanation or a run-in with authorities, I drew his attention before muttering a spell, quickly putting the man into a peaceful slumber. We hauled him inside and put the door mostly back where it belonged before entering the cemetery.

The book we had found listed a place of power deep in Woodlawn cemetery, centered around several mausoleums. Playing it safe, I laid down several veils of magic, rendering the four of us invisible to the naked eye. It wasn't guaranteed to keep us undetected, but it was better than falling into a trap by storming in gung-ho.

The tingle of magic in the air was impossible for me to ignore, and only got stronger the further into the park we went. To me that meant we were on the right track, but it also made it difficult for me to sense any actual working of magic from the background of the ley lines. Fortunately that turned out to not be a problem - as we approached a three way intersection near the center of the park, there was light emanating from one of the 19th century mausoleums.

Our two associates took up firing positions nearby as Jinx and I crept close, weapons ready. I was really not up for shooting the kid - or anyone, really - but there was a legitimate threat and we needed to act before anyone else got hurt.

Besides, an automatic combat shotgun is surprising comfort when stumbling around among headstones.

We managed to get within 15ft of the mausoleum before Sassy began to growl, facing to our left. Jinx turned just as she was violently flung past me to the ground, the shadowy outline of one of the angel-bound corpses atop her. Quickly I fired, taking its head right off and knocking it off balance. Jinx managed to kick the flailing corpse to the ground before I put another blast right through its chest, the thing rapidly disintegrating into shadows.

Regrettably but necessary, those in the mausoleum were tipped off to us. One member of our overwatch was ready as two of the necrophim leaped out of the open door of the masoleum, a placed high caliber rifle bullet blowing its head right off. Our other cover however was apparently occupied as a fiery explosion struck a tree near her position, sending her diving for cover as she watched for some unseen attacker.

The other body-bound necrophim attempted to leap at Jinx and I, only to find itself frozen in mid air three feet from my outstretched hand. Places where ley lines cross are thankfully not only useful for ritual, but more mundane acts such as telekinesis. In a similar display of ley line fueled spectacle, Jinx quickly snapped her fingers, the corpse engulfed in flames before rapidly disintegrating into ash and fleeing shadows.

We rushed the door to the mausoleum as we heard explosions and gunfire behind us, our overwatch clearly engaged. As we got near, we could hear chanting followed by the sound of marble scraping marble. Jinx covering me, I slipped inside, shotgun ready.

Inside, one of the sarcophagus lids had been pushed open, a freshly possessed noble woman sitting up with red glowing eyes sitting up, barely any flesh remaining on her bones. In the corner, the hedge wizard stood between a pair of lit candelabra, a large onyx pendant sitting around his neck. He stood inside a circle of what appeared to be blood, inscribed with writing in a language I couldn't decipher with a look of madness on his face.

The fact he only had a few bound-corpses about was a good sign - we had interrupted whatever he had been doing. That said, we were in his way and he was going to try and take us out as quickly as possible

Spotting us, he gestured towards us just as I attempted to reason with him. A brief but heavy gust of howling wind sent us sprawling against the wall of the mausoleum with a thud, guns scattered out of reach. Recovering first, Jinx drew her Glock and fired at the mage's center of mass, only for all three bullets to deflect off of an invisible force inches before impact.

Grabbing his amulet, he ordered the freshly risen corpse to try and kill us.

I attempted a follow up of my own, but the necrophim-bound zombie, now out of its resting place, leaped at me with a heavy swing of its withered arm. It narrowly missed crushing my skull in as I tumbled to the side, cracking the bronze door of the mausoleum that I had just been standing in front of. Quickly I tossed myself over and behind a sarcophagus just as the mage fired a swirling ray of black energy, scorching the walls and narrowly missing Jinx, who continued firing 10mm Auto rounds at the cackling little troll of a wizard, whose shield continued protecting him.

The situation at that point was rather tight. The hedge wizard was operating with far more power than I thought someone of his experience could muster, our backup was occupied by something outside, and we still had a fallen angel bound to a corpse wishing to beat me to death with my dismembered arms. It appeared that the amulet on the mage's neck was key, but Jinx and I couldn't get anywhere close.

Sassy, however, had no such problems. Having crept behind some of the sarcophagi, the mage was caught off guard as she leaped up, snagging the amulet and tearing the twine right off of his neck. Almost instantly, the possessed corpse attempting to smash my brains in stopped mid swing, glaring and hissing back at the now panicking mage who continued to bark orders to no avail.

Sassy came up to me with the amulet just as the corpse lunged at the screaming mage, cutting him off as she hoisted him up effortlessly by his neck. Taking it, I watched as the candles around him snuffed themselves out.

Several shadowy silhouettes appeared not seconds later, tattered wings and chains obscuring the panicking mage in a veil of darkness.

Scrambling for my flashlight, I illuminated the corner, sidearm ready. Only the corpse remained, standing there and looking at me expectantly with glowing eyes. Of the other necrophim or the mage there was no sign - and to be truthful, I probably did not want to know where the necrophim took him.

Glancing down at the amulet, I experimentally gave it the order to leave the corpse and go away. Instantly, inky vapors fled from the eyes, ears, and mouth of the deceased before it simply collapsed to the ground in a heap. I distinctly remember hearing a whispered 'Thank you' as the swirling wisps vanished into the shadows.

Thanks from a fallen angel. Creepy.

Back outside, Our backup were struggling with their assailant, who was proving elusive as he hid among the treetops out of their reach, lashing out at them with magic and attacks from the shadows. Spotting us, the thing - almost gargoyle or demon looking - hissed before attempting to fly away. One of our people leveled his .50 Beowulf rifle at it, clipping it right in the wing as it hit the ground on the far side of the sticks. Upon further investigation, we aren't sure if it fled or disincorporated. For the moment, however, it didn't matter.

Analysis of the onyx suggests that while it could control and bind necrophim - a terrifying prospect in and of itself - it did not offer its wearer any further abilities. Likely, something (his accomplice perhaps?) had given the hedge wizard powers beyond his skill. What that might be, we don't know yet. While we determined what his accomplice was (a being some refer to as a devil ghost), we don't know what if anything his aim was, or if he was alone in helping create this chaos.

This all leads back to my talk about apprentices. I sometimes still wonder if, had the boy had more guidance, if he would have turned out the way he did. Could I have helped him develop away from temptations that drove him to murder?

On the other hand, perhaps with more of a grasp of magic at his belt, he may have caused more carnage than he did. His personal notes from his more lucid times suggest a somewhat entitled attitude, and that magic might serve as a way to some success in his life - goals that can often turn tragic with arcane meddling.

Regardless, we destroyed the amulet and secured notes on recreating it. As unnerving as it was to have the apparent gratitude of the dark angels, it was better than a bunch of beings enslaved in corpses running amok.

It goes without saying Sassy got a bag of treats from me after her heroics.

[Daichan]

When you going to tell the audience what they really want to hear? That you went to town on some supernatural monster using nothing but a sword and some cool moves taught to you by the most awesome martial arts instructor ever?

[Gotham Witch]

Going off to another realm hasn't made you any weirder, Daichan.