Lowe and Gray: The Atavistic Box

Chapter Four - The Secret City and The Secret War

"WHO'S MALIGNANT?" AURORA asked. It was approaching sunrise and neither Jensen nor Aurora had slept.

"He's a sorcerer," Jensen responded simply. "He was one of the bad guys, although now Diable is dead I suppose he's the bad guy."

"But what's so bad about him?"

"Well, you know Adrian collected artefacts and Zarina collects secrets. Malignant collected magic. He tortured, maimed and murdered people in order to learn their secrets and discover obscure rituals our ancestors used to follow. He was the right-hand man of a sorcerer called Diable. Diable started a war, the worst war in sorcerer history, four hundred years ago. He was one of the bad guys, him and a few others who are either dead or currently locked up in the Haven dungeons."

"How old are you?" Aurora asked after a moment.

Jensen considered the question. "I suppose I have the appearance of someone in their mid-twenties."

Aurora smiled impatiently. "No, but how old are you?"

"I have been around for over six hundred years-"

"You look about twenty-two," Aurora burst out.

Jensen pulled a face. "Thank you."

"What's the worst thing Malignant can do?"

"He's always been full of surprises. But there is one of his tricks that has no defense - to put it simply it's agonising death."

"From what?"

"Him. It's magic - not sorcery."

Aurora frowned, "Oh. So what's the Atavistic Box got to do with that?"

"Absolutely nothing. The Atavistic Box is a story our Elders told us. Basically, it's a Box that wields extraordinary power created by the first sorcerers."

"But why would Malignant think it's real?"

"Well it was created to banish the Egregious - a race of insane Gods that used to rule the Earth. But Malignant, like Diable worshipped the Egregious. Perhaps he thinks the Atavistic Box can call them back."

"Do you believe in any of that?"

Jensen shrugged. "I grew up with those stories. But I find it's all highly unlikely. These stories change with each telling."

"Hm. Tell me about that war. The sorcerer war, and how did you become a detective? How did you meet my brother?" Aurora asked.

"Well Diable had himself an army, and those of us who refused to fall in behind him found ourselves standing up against him, and thus started war. Eventually, after years of fighting this little war of ours, we were winning. And Diable was staring defeat in the face. In the end, we won, and Diable was killed. So, with Diable and Malignant defeated, I struck out on my own for the first time in a hundred years."

"A hundred?" Aurora asked, shocked.

"It was a long war."

"Then what?"

"I started working for the English Haven. The Haven is an organisation with elected leaders, two Upper Mages and an Esteemed Mage. The Haven serves as a place of sanctuary and knowledge for any sorcerer who requires it. There are thousands of agents working there. We won the war and that was when Zarina turned over to our side, just before the end."

"Zarina?" Aurora asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I told you not to trust her, remember? Zarina came from an ancient family called the Ravenmarks. There are several ancient families, they call them the Sacred Twenty. All have fought valiantly with honour, and each have their own manor house, family crest and symbol. The Ravenmarks were a family of honour, but also a family of greed. They were all so devoted to dark sorcery, worshipping the Egregious. We were all surprised when she turned but didn't question it. There's always a chance she could turn back, that she pretended she turned to escape prison. Zarina was never a good guy."