The street light bored an elliptical cone of illumination through the thick darkness. In that circle of light gathered a number of human shadows. From their long hair, white beards and strange overgrown fingernails, and clothing covered with curious designs and pentagrams—their background was obvious.
Witches and warlocks.
The doll girl said, “According to the Convention of Sorcery, you are forbidden from coming here. Please leave.”
“Fine,” said one white-bearded old man with a nod. “Hand over those inside and we will depart straightaway. Bring them out.”
“I cannot,” the doll girl said flatly.
Jeering laughter arose among the strange gang. One stepped forward. He was wrapped in what looked like military body armor. “You are refusing us? The stars tell us that two days ago, a large orb fell from the western sky. Namely, Galeen Nuvenberg is no more. And a new star from the Czech skies does not shine down on your house this night.”
“Not to mention that tonight is Magic Town’s Sabbath. No one may leave their houses.”
“That has nothing to do with us,” the old man continued. “We are heretics, whom not even magic condones. Be nice and hand them over, else not even the daughter of Nuvenberg will be spared.”
“Dare to mention that name and you should also know the words Grandmother left to us: Whether treading the path of good or evil, all of those on that path who come here seeking salvation shall find it and not be cast out.”
A buzz again rippled through the crowd, this time swaying them noticeably.
“The man who can smelt pure gold inside his body surely suffers. So does the woman whose internal organs transform into tools of assassination. The boy altered to show him futures he does not want to see, he wishes to return home. You have taken away many others and subjected them to atrocious modifications. Shall I return them to your custody? No. In the name of Galeen Nuvenberg, never.”
The murderous rage flowing from the ten of them to the one of her stained even the darkness. These were those lured away by the sweetest potions—by the promise of sex and riches—in their pursuit of the dark arts. Turned once in that direction, they faced banishment from the discipline of magic. Discipline was hardly necessary in the pursuit of worldly desires.
And so they fled Magic Town and settled in places unknown, where they pursued the creation of various banned and forbidden objects. In order to do so, they repeatedly kidnapped and murdered and practiced human vivisection, making themselves into the worst criminal gang the Shinjuku police had to deal with. So the cops finally urged the manmade mutants to escape.
Making the attempt on an almost daily basis, they were drawn by their better instincts to the home of Galeen Nuvenberg.
Fearing the power of the Czech Republic’s greatest witch, the villains had done nothing until now. Now these sullied sorcerers bared their teeth at her front door.
“Whether individually or united as one, we possess powers that will not allow any objections. Does the girl made by Galeen Nuvenberg dare to stand against us?”
“If that is your wish.”
They advanced forward, as a single military unit, having no need to wait for somebody else to make the first move. They appeared to grow as a single mass, impossible to mistake for any group of normal people, pressing against the darkness with each step. In another second, their giant feet would swallow up the young girl standing there before them.
The enormous shadow and the single slight one were about to merge. The giant faltered. The murderous vibe lost its intensity and had already begun to dissipate.
“Who are you?” demanded the old man, his white beard wavering.
The doll girl felt a presence standing behind her. “You!”
“Who the hell’s that?” asked the guy in the body armor.
“I am a resident of this house.” His gaze pinned the ten giants like daggers.
The doll girl’s voice froze the winter night. “He is General Ryuuki, and in his lifetime he has commanded thousands upon thousands of soldiers and sorcerers.”