A dangerous sorcerer named Felix Faust has come to Sunnydale, intent on raising an ancient demon to subjugate all of humankind. To succeed, he must perform a powerful curse to displace his enemies, transporting them from one time and place and exch...
"There's a new curio shop in Surrey," Ethan announced to the group, who were spread lazily across the sofa and floor of Philip's flat. "Place called Wickham's. Supposed to have all sorts of authentic items, not found in the usual places."
"Yeah? Like what?" Philip challenged, not looking up.
His surly mood did nothing to dampen Ethan's enthusiasm. "Like, the sort of things we've been looking for. Actual runes, spellbooks, healing potions ... and instructions for calling up some powerful supernatural beings, the likes of which no one round here's ever seen. We collect some of these items and we'll start making serious coin."
Lying on one corner of the couch, his leg fully extended across it, Randall smiled and swiped a mess of his long hair aside. "I'm game," he said happily, scratching at his beard.
"Surrey?" Rupert asked, cocking his head as he sat on the floor, his back to the wall, a cigarette hanging from his fingers. "That's a good jaunt from here. I doubt your car would make it out of town."
"So we borrow a better one," Thomas said with a casual shrug, taking a drag on his own cigarette.
"Borrow it?" Rupert asked.
"Yeah. Until the coppers come looking for it," Thomas said. "Then we leave it someplace. Borrow another one if we have to."
Diedre grinned at Rupert, amused. "What's the matter, Ripper, you never boosted a car before?"
"Sure," Rupert lied. "But you all can show me what you've got."
Philip scoffed. "I'll teach you. It's easy. Once you practice a couple times, it's like riding a bicycle."
"Yeah, all right," Rupert agreed.
"So it's settled," Ethan said, spreading his hands, as Liza stood to curl into one of his arms. "Let's go."
The "borrowed" sedan provided a smoother ride than any they had ever enjoyed. Rupert made a note to practice Philip's motorcar boosting technique until he got it down to a science.
Wickham's curio shop felt more like an overstuffed study, owned by one of Rupert's old Oxford professors. Books lined one wall, with various small stacks of other dusty tomes spread throughout the cluttered room. Rare artifacts and strange totems filled nearly every space. Diedre fingered several hanging strings of dream catchers, fascinated, while Randall thumbed through pages of spellbooks, Thomas sniffed various pots with odd smelling mixtures, and Philip examined different weapons and statues of ancient deities.
One unusual item caught Ethan's attention immediately. It was a packet that contained nothing more than a slip of paper with an ink drawing and some instructions within. "Look at this, love," he said to Liza, loud enough for the approaching shop owner to hear. "They sell bits of paper."
As Liza chuckled and clutched Ethan's arm tighter, the shop owner stepped up to him with a sardonic smile. The man seemed older than any professor Rupert had ever seen.
"That's hardly paper, lad," the old man said, his voice as rickety as his hunched body. "I'm Mister Wickham, the owner. And that's an Etruscan symbol, to be tattooed on a willing initiate. It is the Mark of Eyghon."
"Mark of Eyghon," Ethan repeated dryly, sharing a mocking smile with Liza. "And what does that mean to me?"
"Eyghon is a powerful demon," Mister Wickham said. "He possesses the dead or the sleeping. Giving the host body great power to commune with him and work his will."
"Ooh," Liza cooed, marveling at the little packet. "That sounds trippy, Ethan."
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