"Master Kaz, long time no see."
A somewhat muted, but pleasing female voice echoed throughout the cabin. Kaz squinted his eyes, his old face furrowed with wrinkles, he slowly uttered her name, "Blood Queen Mary, what brings you here?"
"I'm not here for you." The woman known as Blood Queen Mary wore a close-fitting long silk gown adorned with dark patterns of the deepest rose red. Her red eyes subtly glowed in the dim room.
"Andrew Bennett, my ex-husband, now a traitor to the Blood Clan. I heard he rests in the Cemetery of Ten-Thousand Spirits, yet I can't sense his presence. Where have you hidden him?"
"I have heard nothing of Bennett." Kaz took a cautious step backward, "Mary, are you aiming to break the pact between the Blood Clan and the magicians?"
"The Demon Sect never agreed to such pact." Mary arched an eyebrow, "Tell me where he is, and I'll spare your life."
Kaz's face hardened. He gripped the dissection knife in his hand as the power of the Skull King lent strength to his aging fingers.
"Ever since I advanced to Grand Mage, no one has ever dared to be so disrespectful to me. You blood-sucking parasites, get off my property!"
Accompanied by his deep roar, countless ghostly wails echoed around him. Corpses and bones on the dissection table flung into the air, assembled into a flesh puppet. The puppet raised its colossal fist and swung at Mary.
Mary took to the air nonchalantly as a swarm of bats, landing on the beam roof. Her cold voice drifted down from above.
"Kaz, I advise you not to misjudge the situation. The Demon Sect has gained a formidable power beyond your imagination. We purge the traitors in accordance with the prophecy of our progenitor. If you interfere, you will pay a hundredfold for it."
"Arrogant woman, let's see if you can handle my pet first."
The puppet extended its arms to grasp the airborne Mary, but at that moment, several other members of the Blood Clan burst in. Mary ordered them sharply, "Seize Kaz! You may feast on a Grand Mage's blood!"
Bright red light began to glow in the vampires' eyes. An unfamiliar yet immensely powerful energy radiated from them,
Almost instantaneously, blood-curdling roars overpowered the wailing of the ghosts. The puppet made of flesh and bone was torn to shreds in a single encounter.
Blood Queen Mary descended slowly. The shadow cast by her spread bat wings enveloped the entire room, extinguishing the light from the fireplace.
A cry of horror from Kaz echoed in response.
With a swish, blood tainted with the power of the undead streaked across the window, leaving a bloody red trace that gradually turned to murky black.
Red Robin turned his gaze back from the window. As he did, the eyes of the others in the room met his. Clearing his throat, Red Robin began to speak,
"Kaz summoned a huge monster, presumably made out of pieces of corpses and skeletons. But later, several intruders also turned into monsters. They ripped Kaz's summoned creature to pieces."
"The leading woman drew her claws across Kaz's cheek, splashing his blood upon the window. In an instant, Kaz lost all his strength. He was defeated without resistance and taken away."
Constantine didn't ask Red Robin how he knew all these details. He merely stared at the fireplace flames, speaking in a rather low tone, "No, Blood Queen Mary doesn't possess such power. She couldn't have defeated a Grand Mage in such a short span of time."
Bennett, standing by the door, shrugged, "But I'm sure it's her. I could smell her blood."
"And what about those who came in afterwards?" Red Robin asked, looking at Bennett, "Are they vampires too? Do you know them?"
"Is it really that important?"
"Absolutely. If I'm not mistaken, they entered in human form but quickly transformed into beasts thrice their size. If that's a special ability of your Blood Clan, then forget I mentioned it."
"Certainly not." Bennett affirmed, "Only werewolves have the capability to transform into monsters. Although Vampires can transform into bats, it's not an offensive technique, and it certainly doesn't leave traces of monster footprints."
"If the lady you've had previous encounter with lacks such potent power, then the issue must lie with her subordinates."
"The Blood Moon has long lost its influence." Constantine frowned, "Then it must be the Demon Sect of the Blood Clan."
Just then, the shattered pieces of the puppet on the floor began to reassemble under the influence of sullied, dark green energy. Jim, the Master of the Dark Night, unsheathed his Night Blade cautiously, keeping a close eye on the phantom puppet that suddenly appeared.
"I am the Undead Monarch of the Decayed Valley, Constantine, I've lost contact with my proxy. Where is he?"
Constantine spotted a green phantom attached to the flesh puppet. Ghost fire flickered rhythmically in the puppet's eye sockets. The face of the Skeleton King faintly visible.
Blood Queen Mary took him."
"Find him then, Constantine, you owe me that."
"I owe no one." Constantine said coldly, "I'm sorry about your daughter, but I'm not going to work for any devils again."
"My power and Kaz's have been severed, but his soul cannot be taken away by anything else. Find him, and I will pay you."
Constantine sighed and turned to Jim, "I'm afraid we have to agree. If Kaz dies at Mary's hands, the magical realm and the Blood Clan will go to war again."
Jim's hand gripping the Night Blade tightened, and he said to the Skull King, "We'll do it. We don't want your reward, but after this, you have to take Kaz's soul away because he sold his apprentice, Bianca—an innocent young man's soul to the devil."
"As you wish."
When the Skull King's power faded, the puppets scattered again, and Constantine picked up the lantern on the table again, saying, "If the devil contracted with Kaz couldn't find his location, there might be just one person who could sense his power."
"You mean the 'Dead Man'?" Jim blurted out the title.
Constantine nodded, "Boston should now be dwelling in the valley on the east side of Greenwich. We have to find him and then use his sensitivity to the Power of Death to locate Kaz."
Bennett and Jim both nodded. As they were about to turn and leave, Constantine looked at Red Robin, "You have to come with us, because you're the best detective I can find."
Before Red Robin could speak, Constantine interrupted him, "The martial arts you learned from Batman are of no use in the magical realm. Based on my extensive experience, what we'll have to deal with next might even be completely untouchable. Against them, you don't even have the basic ability to protect yourself."
Red Robin, a little resentful, wanted to retort, but Constantine walked over to him and said, "Although I can't use magic right now, I can help you choose a perfect contract and fulfill it based on my experience. You'll make a good mage."
Red Robin's mouth opened wide, he instinctively said, "But Batman won't let us..."
Constantine interrupted him again, provocatively, "Batman, Batman, Batman, have you not weaned yet?"
But Red Robin did not rise to the bait. He snorted and said, "I'm not Red Hood. That stunt doesn't work on me. Batman has his reasons for not letting us dabble in magic, not to mention that every mage I've seen is in a bad condition."
"Whether or not to attempt to gain a power is up to you." Constantine picked up the lantern and walked toward the door, looking back at Tim and saying, "You're not a cursed one like me, with no other choice. Once you step into this river, some become boats going with the flow, some become stones sinking to the bottom. What you become is for you to decide."
He lowered his head and walked out of Kaz's gravedigger's hut with the lantern. Red Robin clenched his fists but then relaxed his grip. He picked up the cloak and walked out the door, seeing Constantine standing by the windowsill pouring oil into the lantern.
"Do you think you are a boat or a stone?" Red Robin asked.
"Most mages are sunken boats. They were unimpeded when they were young, but one day, they went under. Before I was utterly destroyed by the current, someone fished me out."
Constantine paused, holding onto the lantern's handle, then continued, "Even if the boat is repaired to look brand new, it can't make it to shore. It can only sail like this till one day it's caught in a storm again, and once again destroyed."
"And you still want me to learn magic?"
"As I said, it's your decision. Nobody can force you to sign a contract, not even the devil." Constantine sighed, walked up to Red Robin with the lantern and said, "You're different from the other two boys. You're unique because while everyone else wants to be Batman's lamb, you want to be his savior."
"That's because I am most like him." Red Robin stepped down two steps, his boots stepping on the moist soil. He looked into Constantine's eyes and said, "I hope that if one day Batman sinks in the storm, I will have the power to pull him up, just like your friend did for you."
"When I said I would teach you magic, I could see the excitement in your eyes, you couldn't hide it. You're much more ambitious than your companions regarding power." Constantine pointed out very sharply, "Even more ambitious than Batman."
"Because I want to save him, not just assist him, but save him thoroughly."
"Then magic will be a path for you." Constantine turned to look at the muddy path in the Cemetery of Ten-Thousand Spirits and the gray skyline where dark clouds gathered, saying, "Magic may be dangerous, but it is controllable. That's why I would invite you to learn it, your wisdom will allow you to utilize this power almost flawlessly through learning."
"And other things..." Constantine dropped his eyes and continued, "If you maintain this ambition and greed for power, sooner or later, they will find you like hyenas going after the scent of blood. By then, they will deceive you, use you, until you completely lose your mind."
"So what kind of magic are you going to teach me?"
"Do you know what the essence of magic is?"
"...Debt?"
"You're half right. The essence of magic is debt left unpaid."
As their figures disappeared into the forest at the end of the path in the Cemetery of Ten-Thousand Spirits, in the shadowed corner of the gravedigger's hut, a low growl of anger and unwillingness came from an inconspicuous box.
Lightning streaked across the horizon, illuminating the dimly lit room for a moment. In the crack of the box, the obscure reflection of the Black Diamond flickered briefly.