If You Gaze Long Into An Abyss

“Ok, but all I’m saying is that if you had been a bit nicer to him, maybe he wouldn’t have  collapsed the tower around us.”

The Necromancer rolled his eyes and continued his nonchalant walking. Most people would assume he was insane, talking to the air around him, were it not for the “Bluetooth” device he wore in his ear. Having a ghost as a companion was not always the easiest of tasks, though Lucius considered them far more interesting than the living.

“Maybe, but it is far from my fault that that blasted fool had anger issues. Besides, now it’ll take him a few weeks to dig his way out, and by then he will have lost our scent. If we hadn’t left when we did, he would have tried to  kill us, or enslave us for eternity,”.

“No, he would have killed you. Some of us have the pleasure of already being dead.”

The two continued to halfheartedly bicker as they strode out from the bathroom in a bookstore, one which they had not entered through the door. After a brief squabble with a Japanese Oni, the creature brought the building they were in down, nearly entrapping or slaying Lucius.  Fortunately, like always Lucius was wearing his affectionately dubbed Cloak of Shadows, and as such teleported to a random ley line on Earth; this one being near the Willis Tower.

A shrill siren shrieked as a police squad car raced past Lucius, quickly followed by a half dozen others in hot pursuit. In the distance one could also hear EMS and firetrucks, presumably headed to the same destination.  This was not overly concerning, as humans experienced “emergencies” on a daily basis. However, most emergencies would not disturb the dead in an area; they were popping up everywhere, and appeared to be severely agitated.

Lucius stopped one of them, and inquired of it, “What is the cause for this?”.

The spirit, not with words, but in images, told Lucius; he saw in his mind a large reptilian beast, it’s scales the color of the sky as day finally gives its last breath and turns to night. The Necromancer grinned; this was not a common happening, especially not in such a heavily populated area. He turned left at the end of the sidewalk, and followed the emergency vehicles.

“You know, most people tend to avoid fire breathing lizards,” Maximilian said, floating along.

“At what time did I become like most people?”.

Lucius walked for a little beyond a minute farther before finding himself at a large house, which was in the process of being destroyed. The culprit was a gargantuan reptile, that seemed as if it would have been more at home in prehistoric waters than at this, well, home, in Chicago. A woman stood amidst the ruins of the previously handsome house, and appeared to be attempting to stave off the overgrown lizard. The creature was a beautiful dark blue, and looked to be around fourteen yards long. Not very large as far as dragons go, but still far larger than any mundane animal, at least those on land.

“I think we’re a little late to the party,” Maximilian stated.

Lucius retorted “Ah, but is it ever truly a party without me?”.

The ghost merely rolled his eyes and stared at the blue dragon. Lucius was also looking at the beast, as was everyone in the area, emergency responders included. They seemed to not grasp that it was their job to contain the situation, apparent because they were staring agape at the scene before them. Lucius was the only calm person here, including the woman near the house, as she seemed very indignant, and the ghost, as just because one is dead does not mean they are immune to fear. Lucius never quite understood that part, though he supposed it was a phantom emotion, one left over from the mortal experience. Then again, without chemicals in the brain wouldn’t all the dead’s emotions simply be leftover by memory? These thoughts started a path that worked its way through his brain for a few moments before he stopped it, but not before making a note to continue that internal discussion later.

The Necromancer twirled the ring on his finger, and it became a sword of medium length and a somewhat peculiar looking set of metal armor. There was a strange quality about them; even though they were both metal, the sun did not shine off of them, at all. It was as if they were comprised of the world’s dullest piece of wood, and the light bouncing on them was barely existent. Stranger still, once they were formed, the air began to take on a citrus-like aroma.

Lucius looked at the dragon and woman. “Alright you two, which one of you started this?”.

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