The Forgotten Bar was much livelier at night than during the day. The dim candlelight flickered, illuminating the copper mugs held by the magicians with a bright gloss. Magicians dressed in robes of various colors sat in groups, whispering to one another. Meanwhile, many half-demons with horns on their heads and elves hailing from Maya gathered together, hollering their laughter and clinking their drink mugs.
The proprietor of the Forgotten Bar, Jim, the Master of the Dark Night, sat behind the counter polishing glasses. A female half-demon, her head crowned with horns and a goat-like hoof, approached the bar and took a seat. She flicked her long, whip-like tail and rapped on the countertop before asking in a silky voice,
"Master of the Dark Night, any fresh news of late? As you know, the demon general I serve has recently been overthrown by his son. I need some entertainment to distract the freshly appointed greenhorn."
Jim, engrossed by the pristine glass in his hand, responded to the half-demon woman without lifting his gaze, "I didn't expect that you'd really encourage that young general, naive as a quail, to revolt against his father. Shahlia, do you genuinely believe he can control the entire Shadow Scorpion Legion?"
"He's much stronger than his father," retorted Shahlia, resting her chin in her hand. "Hell's era has changed. That old scorpion only knew how to throw punches, not as smart as his son. I just want to follow a wise leader."
"There's indeed some fresh news, but you can't expect freebies here."
"Oh? Related to what?"
Watching Jim's indifferent expression, Shahlia managed a smile and pleaded, "Pour me a Soul Brew, and add a bit more sinner's blood. I'll pay top price."
Finally satisfied, Jim gave a nod and turned around to fetch the ingredients from a cabinet behind him. As he started mixing the cocktail, he relayed, "A while ago, Dr. Shiller's apprentice summoned Beelzebub. But recently, Beelzebub's powers haven't responded to anyone's summons, perhaps they've signed an exclusive agency contract."
"That's hardly news." Shahlia flicked her tail in annoyance, "That happened over a fortnight ago."
"Right. How about the event at the London Cemetery of All Souls, have you heard about that?"
"What's happened at All Souls Cemetery?" Shahlia leaned forward, looking curious. Her vertical red pupils locked onto the face of the Night Master.
"Numerous graves within the cemetery have been dug up. Cemetery keeper, Master Kaz, hasn't found the perpetrator yet. In a few days, a bounty might be posted here."
Shahlia arched an eyebrow, uttering disdainfully, "It is probably those necromancers and their bone tampering deeds again. There's nothing strange about it. Just check the black market if necrotic material prices have dropped or not."
But, the Dark Night Master shook his head, "The strange thing is, the grave-robber dug up each grave, but didn't take any bodies."
Shahlia's brows furrowed in thought, she then mused, "Could it be that the people buried in the Cemetery of All Souls offended him? But aren't most of the people buried there ordinary? If a magician wanted revenge, they wouldn't need to dig up the graves of ordinary people."
"Who knows?" Jim passed the finished cocktail to Shahlia, adding, "We are more inclined to think that the culprit wanted to mess with the cemetery keeper, Kaz. This quirky necromancer has occupied the Cemetery of All Souls for so long, people are bound to harbor resentment against him."
Shahlia took a casual sip of her drink, sighing gently, "I don't think it's that simple. If he truly wanted to mess with Kaz, he should have taken the bodies to deprive Kaz of his spell casting materials. Digging open the graves one by one, aside from angering Kaz, is of not much use."
Just as she was speaking, the door to the Forgotten Bar swung open with a bang. A gust of cold wind swept in, causing the patrons near the door to swear, "Who's the rude bastard?... Cemetery keeper Kaz? How did you manage to leave the Cemetery of All Souls?"
"Because some damned asshole had the audacity to cause trouble there. I'm here to post a bounty!"
The necromancer known as Kaz was a skinny, elderly man. Dressed in a tattered black cloak, his waist was adorned with a set of keys and a grimy, ragged cloth bag carrying conspicuous human bones clung to his side.
"Long time no see, Master Kaz. We haven't seen each other since you became a grand mage, right?" Jim greeted him amicably.
"Cut the crap, Jim! Don't think I've forgotten you taking Bopon's side! Just give me the bounty form. As soon as I catch that damned rascal, I've got something special in store for him!"
Kaz, visibly agitated, slammed his hand on the countertop. Jim, unperturbed by his rude demeanor, went to fetch the bounty forms from the cabinet, explaining as he worked, "I merely wanted to prevent two grand mages from fighting in my bar. It would reduce this place to rubble."
"That coward, Bopon, would never dare confront me. Everybody knows that he's in debt to Magma Lord and now doesn't even dare to leave the Mage Tower. I've said it before, he won't have a good end!"
Kaz scoffed but didn't continue his tirade. He picked up a pen to fill out the bounty form. At that moment, Shahlia, who had been sitting on the other side of the bar, quietly moved to Kaz's side and said, "Master Kaz, it's an honor to meet you. I've heard that some scoundrel has been excavating the Cemetery of All Souls, angering you. Maybe I can be of some help."
Kaz looked up, his cold gaze scanned Shahlia from head to toe, causing her hairs to stand on end. After a moment, he finally spoke, "A succubus descendant? Buzz off, I don't have time for your seductive games."
Shahlia's face froze but she persisted, "If you're posting a public bounty, I might take the task. Tell us more about what's happening, so everyone has a better understanding."
Kaz hesitated for a moment, tugging at his beard before speaking up, "There's not much to say. Some bastard I can't catch keeps rummaging through my gravesite each night. Not only does he dig up the graves, but he also removes the bodies from the coffins and leaves them on the ground, forcing me to clean up after him each day."
"Just a few nights ago, he dug up practically every corpse in the Cemetery of Ten-Thousand Spirits, didn't take any of them, pure madness!"
After a while, the reward notice from Kaz was ready. Jim nailed it on the bulletin board. Just a glance was enough to turn everyone off.
Kaz was always tight-fisted, giving poor rewards for the risk of dealing with a grave-robber who could deceive a Grand Mage. No one wanted this thankless task, hence it became the casual chat and chuckle among the tavern patrons.
By around three in the morning, most of the customers had left, leaving a few drunks handled off to the corner of the bar by the waitstaff. The last server completed their duties and the Master of the Dark Night leaned tiredly on the bar counter, waiting for dawn.
At that moment, there was a knock on the back door of the tavern. Startled, Jim turned on the desk lamp and then lit a lantern from under the counter. With a lantern in one hand and the other on the hilt of his sword, he headed for the door.
The door creaked open, the lantern light illuminating a bearded face and a cold draught blowing in. Jim's surprised voice echoed at the entrance, "John Constantine?"
"It's me." Constantine appeared tired, his voice still hoarse. One hand on the doorpost and the other dragging in a glossy black object. Jim's heart shudder and he stepped back, frowning, "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Were you chased by a demon again?"
Constantine sighed, shook his head and said, "Haven't I told you? I've hung up my boots, there is no more magician Constantine, just an ordinary man."
"Ordinary people don't knock on my door in the middle of the night, come in." Jim moved aside, illuminating the room with his lantern, watching as Constantine dragged in a mysterious, dark object with some difficulty.
The box appeared under the light, making Jim gasp. It was a coffin, dirty, as if it had just been dug up.
Constantine knelt on the ground, catching his breath on the coffin lid before standing and complaining, "Although magic isn't my solution to everything, it sure is inconvenient without it. Got a tool box? I need to pry this open."
Jim's eyes widened in the dim room while looking at Constantine, "Could you be the grave-robber Kaz is looking for?"
"Grave-robber? The Cemetery of Ten-Thousand Spirits is my territory. The 'Dead Man' left me in charge, Kaz just took over and thinks he owns the place."
Constantine sneered, though Jim still puzzled, "Even so, you didn't need to go digging graves, did you? Chasing Kaz away would have done it."
"That's none of his business," Constantine shook his head, starting to search for a tool to prise open the coffin. After a while, he found a crowbar and waved Jim over, "Come here, you help with the lighting, I'll open it."
Jim stood before the coffin and watched Constantine fit the crowbar into the crevices of the coffin and asked tensely, "Who's in there?"
"Andrew Bennett."
Jim gasped yet again, a glimmer of reminiscence flashing on his face. He asked, "The vampire from the sixteenth century?"
With a nod from Constantine and a firm hold on the crowbar, the vampire's resting place opened with an immensely grating sound.
"Why did you dig him up?"
"I need him for something," Constantine replied seriously. "Perhaps I should say it wasn't entirely my initiative... Never mind, I'll wake him up first."
With a bang, Constantine finally forced the coffin open. Inside lay a man with raven black hair, a wispy strand of white hair veiling his forehead. He was extremely handsome, with classic melancholic features, and an ashen complexion lacking any color of blood, revealing fangs between his lips.
"Help me with the awakening spell," Constantine turned and said to Jim, "I have quit using magic for now, and if we use noise to awaken him, your bar might not be able to do business tomorrow."
With a sigh, Jim complied. Evidently, he had a longstanding friendship with Constantine and could not refuse. He drew his Night blade and whispered the incantation under his breath.
A beam of light struck the man's forehead within the coffin and spread throughout his body, casting a lustrous white glow over his entire body.
The man fluttered his eyelids and slowly opened his eyes, Constantine looking at him with worry, bending over.
The moment the vampire Bennett saw Constantine's face, he flusteredly shut the coffin lid again, with a bang.
Jim abruptly swung his head around to glare at Constantine. Constantine puffed out his cheeks, squeezing out a strange noise, one hand jammed in his pocket, the other pinching his fingers, and said.
"Remember way back when we were both investigating some heresy and there was a bit of... mishap?"