Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It has no intentions of resembling any real persons dead or alive. This is entirely from my imagination, with a little help from already established sources. This story is based loosely on the comic book character "The Punisher" from Marvel Comics. Other characters may appear from Marvel comics as well as DC Comics.
Punisher and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Blade and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel copyright Joss Whedon, United Paramount Network and Warner Bros. Respectively.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
I have written another story on nifty entitled "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". It is in the Celebrity/Boy Bands section. Batman may appear in this story once or twice, as the Punisher may appear in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". Any comments may be sent to authorjames2002@yahoo.com
Thank you and enjoy.
Chapter 4 Recuperation
Blade, Dagger, Punisher and Ghost Rider returned to the mansion and climbed out or off their vehicles. After showering, they came out and Tandy approached Harris.
"How goes the research?" she asked.
"It's going slowly," Harris replied. "There are so many websites that have bits and pieces of the same information. I have to check out each one in order to see if they have anything new or conflicting."
"Good luck with it," Tandy replied. "I'm glad you are helping us."
"Thanks," Harris said giving her a smile.
Tandy headed upstairs to the library where she found Johnny, Davey and Ty reading books. Whistler was going through the shelves.
"Grab a book, Tandy," Davey said.
The Slayer walked over and grabbed a book. Sitting down on the couch next to Davey, she started looking as well.
"Wait a minute," Ty said looking up from his book.
"What?" Whistler replied.
"I think I have a few books that might come in handy. I have a small collection of my own, you know."
"Good idea," Whistler said. "Go get them."
Ty stood and ran to his car. He headed back to their abandoned apartment building. Weatherby's Suburban was already parked out front and he and Blade were loading it up with their things. Whistler had suggested they all move into the mansion where they could all be assembled in case of emergency. The only exceptions to this were Harris and Davey, who both had their own families living in the area.
"Did you come to help?" Weatherby asked
"I thought Whistler had you doing research," Blade added.
"He is. I have some books that might help with the subject."
Ty ran past the two men and up the stairs to his room. He found his collection of books and grabbed the box.
In no time Ty was back with his book collection and he went through them on the table. Whistler whistled at the collection Ty had.
"Where did you get these?" the Watcher asked.
"I found them at different places, antique stores and flea markets."
"Some of these are very, very old. I would assume they are close to 10th or 9th centuries."
Whistler picked one book up at random and began a search for Lanithro demons. He walked away and sat in a chair fascinated by the book he had available. Davey looked from Whistler to Ty and smiled and winked at him. Ty smiled back with a proud grin and went to work in one of the books in the box.
Hours later, Blade and Weatherby returned with the Suburban full of their belongings. The researchers in the library were nowhere near the information they sought than when they first started. Suddenly, Harris burst into the room.
"I think I found something!" he exclaimed.
Whistler stood from his chair. "Keep looking, everyone." And the Watcher followed Harris down to the underground lair.
Harris sat down at the computer and showed Whistler the website.
"Spells for Controlling Lanithro," Whistler read. "Who in their right mind would post this on the Internet?"
"You would not believe all the stuff you can find on the Web. The have a website for egg salad."
Whistler looked at Harris and raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Crazy, ignorant bastards," he muttered. "Show me how to use this thing."
Harris stood up and Whistler took his spot. The young boy showed Whistler how to follow links to different spells that affect the Lanithro demons.
"I'll be damned," he muttered. "This spell here looks like the one that could make the Lanithro do what they did last night. That means someone has access to this website and is using it for their own means."
"Most usually do, Whistler."
Whistler threw him a dirty look. "Is there any way of determining who last accessed the site?"
"We could check the 'guestbook' to see if anyone signed it."
Harris went out to the bathroom while Whistler checked the guestbook. The last entry read:
Thanks for the site. It will come in handy. - - Ryfin
Whistler sat back and then went back to the main page. There were links to magic shops all over the country where the ingredients to the spells could be purchased. He stood and went up to the library.
"Harris found the website," Whistler replied. "A site that has lots of spells on controlling Lanithro demons. The last person who signed the guestbook was someone by the name of Ryfin. It's possible this person isn't the same person, but Ryfin had the only indication of needing to do the spell."
"Could this Ryfin be a powerful wizard?" Tandy asked.
"Last guy we dealt with turned the Axis into an invitation buffet for vampires," Ty added.
"I don't know," Whistler said. "The site made it easy for anyone to do the spells. They gave lists for all ingredients needed for the spells as well as locations for the cheapest prices. All you had to do was click on your state and city and find magic shops in your area."
"Did you find out what magic shops sold the stuff?"
"No. I will have Harris print out a list and we will begin searching."
Harris came into the room. "Did the site help?" he asked.
"Yes. I need you to print out a list of stores in the area the website posts as having the necessary supplies for the spells. Also, look for a complete history of downtown.
Harris nodded and headed back downstairs.
"Ty, you and I will go through the history. Maybe we can determine what is down there. Johnny, I would like for you to come with us. If there is something supernatural down there, the spirit that makes you Ghost Rider may have knowledge about it."
"Hopefully we will find this Ryfin quickly," Blade replied.
A short while later, Whistler, Ty, and Johnny arrived at the building where the Lanithro was digging. Whistler opened the archive and found the address in the listing of buildings. Next to it was a section number where the history of the building could be found.
"Hmm," he muttered as he read the page.
"Hmm, what?" Ty asked. After a moment, Ty asked again. "What is it?"
"Oh, it seems this building was used as a post office back when the city was first founded. During that time, there were mysterious shit happening and the townspeople believed it to be the work of magicians and sorcerers. They conducted a raid on houses and burned this building down."
"So what is here could be something that came in the mail that someone ordered?"
"Or was being sent out," Whistler added. "In either case, the citizens thought it would be destroyed by fire."
"Do you know what 'it' is?"
"Some sort of amulet or talisman, I believe. Since it is a mystical object, we can refine the extraction spell and pull it out."
Ty nodded and the three prepared to perform the magic spell.
Blade and Davey showed up at the Fly-by-Night magic shop and entered. Blade could sense the supernaturalism of the store and all the items within. Being part vampire made him extra sensitive to any supernatural force, whether it was good or evil. Davey looked at the knickknacks on the shelves and thought some of them were weird.
"People actually use this stuff for spells?" Davey asked. "It's hard to believe these little, simple objects have supernatural power in them."
"They do," Blade replied.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" the shopkeeper asked.
"Yes. Have you recently sold any of these items to anyone?"
Blade handed the shopkeeper a list of ingredients used in the spell they believed controlled the Lanithro demons. The shopkeeper read down the ingredients.
"I do remember selling this stuff. Is there a specific reason you want to know?"
"The fact we were attacked by several Lanithro demons the other night," Davey said. "Does that help?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes," Blade answered. "And we believe someone was controlling them to do his or her bidding."
"Do you know who you sold this stuff to?" Davey asked.
"I don't remember off hand. Let me go through the receipts and see if I can find a name or address or something."
The shopkeeper disappeared behind a door and the two Marvel Knights waited around. The shopkeeper came out moments later.
"I don't have any records that would be of help to you. I'm sorry. If the person comes in and I recognize him or her, I'll be sure to get their information."
"Thanks," Blade replied and he and Davey left.
"That was a bust," Davey said as they walked over to the motorcycle.
"Not really. It is still possible that Ryfin is the one who came to this store. We can keep an eye on it."
Davey nodded in agreement.
Weatherby and Tandy pulled up at the Salem West magic shop and entered. The shopkeeper approached them with a smile on his face.
"Blessed be," he greeted. "Can I help you with something?"
"We need to know if these supplies have been purchased here in the last few weeks."
Weatherby handed the list to the shopkeeper. He looked the list up and down.
"I have sold this stuff."
"All to one person?" Tandy added.
"Hmm, I can't think off hand. Let me check the records."
The shopkeeper went into the back.
"This place gives me the creeps," Tandy replied. "Can't you just feel the eeriness in here?"
"Not really," Weatherby replied. "They are just manmade objects. Why should I fear what man can make with his own hands? If a man made it, it can be broken."
The shopkeeper came back in.
"I'm sorry. These supplies were not purchased here in a bundle. What were these used for?"
"Trouble," Tandy answered. "lots and lots of trouble. Thanks."
The shopkeeper nodded and the two demon hunters headed out.
"Maybe Blade and Davey had better luck."
"Maybe," Weatherby replied. "Let's check up on Whistler's progress."
The two climbed into the Suburban and drove down the road toward the building the Lanithro was encountered. They pulled up and got out. Ty stood with his arms out to his side. His eyes looked pale, nearly white. Orange beams of light flowed from the cement to his arms. A black spot in the pavement opened and an amulet floated out. Whistler reached up and took it. Ty muttered a few words and the hole closed up. He dropped his eyes and nearly collapsed. Tandy went to grab him but missed and he fell to the ground.
"Oops," she replied. "Sorry."
The Slayer kneeled down to check him. Weatherby walked up to Johnny.
"How goes everything?"
"Excellent," Whistler replied. "We've got the amulet. Now we can research it and find out what it is used for."
Weatherby nodded and they headed back to their vehicles. Johnny helped carry Ty to the car and he climbed behind the wheel to drive Ty and Whistler back to the house. The vehicles started up and, in a short time, arrived at the mansion.
Whistler took the medallion up to the library in haste to check his books. Johnny and Weatherby lifted Ty out of the Suburban.
"What happened?" Harris asked.
"The spell he did," Johnny answered. "It was a powerful spell."
They carried him up to Ty's room and laid him in the bed. As Harris passed the library, Whistler called him in.
"Get the digital camera and take a picture of this," the Watcher asked. "Then run a search on the Net and see if you can figure out what the fuck it is."
Harris nodded and headed down to the secret lair.
Blade and Davey entered the front door and headed to the library.
"Any luck?" Whistler asked.
"No. But I think it might be the store. They didn't have a record of names but they did have a receipt for the supplies. We are one step closer to finding Ryfin." Blade stepped closer. "What's this?"
"It's the amulet the Lanithro demon was digging for. I'm trying to determine what exactly it is and what exactly it does."
"Need help with research?"
"Yep," Whistler replied. "Pick up a book. Where's Davey?"
"He probably headed downstairs to see his boyfriend."
Whistler went back to his research. Weatherby, Johnny and Tandy came downstairs and assisted with the research.
After Harris got the picture of the amulet, he went back to the computers downstairs and began his search on the Internet. Davey sat with him and helped look on the Internet.
"You really can't do much down here," Harris said. "Now it is just a matter of waiting for the search program to find any reference to the amulet."
"I know," Davey answered. "But I want to spend time with you. Is that such a bad thing?"
"Never," Harris replied with a smile.
The computer beeped and an image of the amulet came up on the screen next to the photo Harris took.
"Yes," Harris replied. "We found something."
Davey began reading the referenced site, "'The amulet of Ashtoroth. It is said to have the power to create fire out of the air. Used in spells of judgment and vengeance.' This should be right up Ghost Rider and Punisher's alley."
"There is a list of rituals the amulet is used in. I'm going to print them out."
"Each spell has a degree of witch by it. What's that for?"
"For the level of witch the person performing the spell needs to be to perform the spell. This spell here," Harris replied pointing to a spell, "requires a high level of power."
"So this one here doesn't need a high level to perform."
"That's right."
"If we knew the level of power Ryfin is, we could figure out which spell he or she was going to do."
"Excuse me? Who did you say?"
"Ryfin."
Harris's eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" Davey asked.
"I know who that is. Ryan Finster. He was someone I knew in elementary school. He was my best friend."
To Be Continued...
And interesting turn of events. Harris knows who Ryfin is, his best friend.
This series will only go ten chapters and will then crossover into "Real Dark Knight" for a huge storyline that will encompass all the stories involved in the universe "Marvel Knights" is set.