Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque
facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of
dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark
Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online
role-playing game by James Crowther.
Reporter Cassandra True; with the help of Strephon,
the semi-mortal half-fae, his disreputable cousin Devon, and the
Jamaican wise woman Mrs. Simms, has managed to free her roommate,
Cecilie, from the thrall of Cecilie’s vampire boyfriend, Philippe.
Returning to her apartment, Cassandra finds Philippe outside waiting
for her. Unexpected help arrives in the form of Saul, a co-worker of
Cassandra’s.
Philippe curled his lip, exposing the full length of his
fangs. “This is no business of yours,” he hissed.
Saul seemed unperturbed by Philippe’s display. “I’m
making it my business,” he said coolly. “The lady wishes to be
left alone. I think you ought to leave.:”
Cassandra’s heart thudded. What did Saul think he was
doing? She slipped her keychain back into her purse – she didn’t
think that jabbing Philippe with her housekey would faze the vampire
much, and she didn’t really want to get within grappling distance
of him – and felt for her can of pepper spray.
The two men locked gazes, it seemed like forever.
Cassandra expected Philippe to lunge, but instead he was the first to
back down. He gave a feral hiss and dashed away to the nearest patch
of shadow. Cassandra watched him, and did not untense until he was
completely out of sight.
“Saul, what did you think you were doing?”
He gave a bemused smile. “I happened to be in the
neighborhood and noticed you seemed to be having problems.”
“Thank you, but that was extremely dangerous.”
“It seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do. I guess
your friend, Strephon, is rubbing off on me.”
“Don’t joke about it.” Cassandra wrinkled her
nose. “You just ‘happened’ to be in the neighborhood?”
“Well…” Saul admitted, “I actually did want to
talk to you about something. Could we go inside?”
Cassandra felt her heart sank. She’d had so many
intense talks these last few days, she wasn’t sure she could take
another. Granted, she had initiated some of them herself, but still…
“Please don’t tell me you love me. The last guy who told me that
was that vampire.”
“What?” Saul gave a short, surprised laugh. “That’s
not what I was going to say.”
A rather peculiar non-denial, Cassandra thought. But she
told him to come with her and she let him into the apartment
building.
They did not go up to her flat. “It’s a mess,”
she explained. “Things have been crazy these past few days and I
haven’t had time to do much cleaning.” The building had a lobby
area just inside the entrance, which seemed like a good place to
talk: semi-private, but not too intimate.
“That really was dangerous, what you just did,”
Cassandra said, settling down into one of the lobby's uncomfortable
vinyl chairs. “He really is a vampire.”
“I know.”
“You know? I thought you didn't believe in spooky
stuff.”
“I never said I didn't believe in it; I said that it
was a bad idea to write about it. Billy doesn't like it. Nor, I
suspect, does the Celestial Mister Knox.”
“Why not? If there really are vampires and ghosts and
werewolves running around in this city, don't people have a right to
know about it?”
Saul leaned back and sighed. He seemed to be choosing
his words carefully. “You know, don't you, that Aoi Kurayami takes
out a quarter-page ad every issue for Club Cyba-Netsu and a half-page
for our weekend edition.”
Cassandra didn't; but she immediately caught his point.
“The first rule of journalism,” she groaned. “Never piss off
the advertisers.”
“Precisely. And Kurayami's not the only one. Lukas
Bianca is a werewolf and runs one of the biggest wolf packs in the
city.”
“Head of the Redemption Decency League? That Lukas
Bianca?”
“One and the same. And the CEO of the city's biggest
public relations firms leads one of the other wolf packs. And the
senior partner in one of our oldest legal firms is a werewolf too.
And then there's your friend, Strephon...”
Cassandra blushed. “I know about Strephon.”
“Did he tell you, I wonder? Or did you have to work
it out on your own?”
The conversation was beginning to take an uncomfortable
turn. “You seem to know a lot about it,” Cassandra said.
“Ah. And there we get to what I wanted to talk
about.” Saul glanced around him. The lobby was empty. He raised
his hand with a sharp motion and seemed to mutter something under his
breath. Suddenly, a folded copy of the Morning Star rose into the
air and darted into his hand.
“You're... a wizard?”
“The traditional term is 'warlock', but 'wizard' is more popular these days. Thank you J.K. Rowling.” He folded the newspaper and set it on the coffee table.
“And you didn't tell me.”
“Well, I barely knew you at first. And we like to
keep these things to ourselves. Witch-burnings may seem like ancient
history to you and me, but there are some in our community who can
remember them happening and know it could happen again.”
Cassandra bit her lip. What he said made sense. “Then
why are you telling me now?”
“Because you've entered the Hidden World already.
You've encountered creatures of magic on your own; and your
experiences have put you in danger. “ Saul gave a self-deprecating
smile. “I hope you don't think me too stalkerish if I tell you
I've been trying to keep an eye on you..”
“No, no...” Cassandra said vaguely but with little
conviction.
“I really have been worried about you, Cassandra.
You're dealing with beings of great power. I don't think you fully
ken what you've gotten into.”
“Good grief, am I the only normal person around here?
It seems like everybody around me is a fairy or a vampire or a
werewolf or a warlock or something. Where do you all come from? Or
has Redemption always been like this?”
“The Hidden World has always been around, but most
people are unaware it exists; or at best, only vaguely aware. But
this city has perhaps more of it than others. You know something of
the history of Redemption?”
“It was built on the site of an old shrine, wasn't it?
The Shrine of the Holy Redemption.”
“The shrine was built on an old pagan site; a lot of
old churches were; partially to exorcise the old magic and partially
to appropriate it. And the pagan shrine was chosen because it was a
magical nexus; a place where the line of magical force intersect and
converge. These intersections are natural sources of magical power,
and so creatures of magic will naturally gravitate towards them.
Back in the really old times, the Faerie Court used to start its Wild
Hunts from the spot where today they sell tourists 'Redemption
Castle' paperweights.”
That was something else she'd have to ask Strephon
about. “What do you think I should do?” Cassandra said quietly.
“I want to give you this.” Saul reached into his
pocket and fished out a round, smooth object, something like a
billiard ball, made of a translucent, purplish stone. It had a
peculiar symbol Cassandra did not recognize carved into it. He
placed the stone in her hands. “It's a talisman. It will guard
you against baleful magics.”
She looked at the stone, and then to him. “You're
kidding, right?”
“I am not kidding. This is serious, Cassandra. I
mean it. You're dealing with vampires; you're dealing with ghosts
and sorceries. You need to be safe.”
A week ago, Cassandra wouldn't have believed it. Even
today, after all she'd seen, the thought of Saul being a sorcerer
seemed ludicrous. And yet...
She closed the purple stone in her hand. “Thank you,”
she said.
“And listen. If you ever need any help, whatsoever,
you know how to get in touch with me.” He squeezed her hand and
gave her a reassuring smile.
A week ago that squeeze and that smile would have made
Cassandra melt inside. But too much had happened in the past few
days; too much and too fast. She needed time to sort things out.
She returned his smile with a nod and a week smile of her own; then
retreated to the elevator.
