Thoukydides Kostas
Edited by Adem Ozkum

Nicodemus stared down at the mob approaching their house, simple people with pitch forks, picks and stones. They looked angry.

"Grandmother." He turned and looked at the old woman behind him. She was calmly sitting in her favorite chair, eyes closed, silent breaths, almost sleeping.

"Yes my love?" She said in a silent voice.

"What shall we do with these pathetic fools? They are starting to become annoying."

"My dear child, you know how it is, we’re always having problem like these and we always will, but for now the people of this town are yet of use to us. Scare them a little with some cantrips and they will scatter like mice."

"Yes grandmother," Nicodemus said with an unhappy voice.

"My boy, don’t be sad, you’ll have your fun later. Now go."

Nicodemus turned and went to the balcony of the mansion. "Ah, the restless youth," Wilhelmina thought as he was walking away, and then she went back to her trance-mind state.

"How may I help you?" Nicodemus called out to the people below.

A man stepped out, obviously the leader of this mob. "We do not need, nor want your kind in our town, sorcerer," he said in a loud voice.

Nicodemus kept shuffling the deck he was holding as he always did. He drew a card and looked at it for a few seconds and then he put it back in.

"But it isn’t your town mister... Samuel is it? Yes I believe so. As I was saying...."

"See? He is using witchcraft to read our minds and learn our fears, we must destroy them now before they can cause more harm," the leader of the group boomed.

"And what gives you the right to control the fate of these people Mr. Samuel, after all you’re not a saint yourself either. As I recall you are wanted in two states for murder."

The people turned and looked at Samuel, obviously shocked

"Ah I see you haven’t told them everything," Nicodemus said when he saw the reaction of the people. "You see my fellow citizens, Mr. Samuel here has killed two innocent gamblers that he thought were warlocks, and obviously he keeps making the same mistakes. Do you want to take the fall with him?"

Some people at the back of the group dropped their rocks and started leaving.

"Listen to me," the man yelled. "This was a long time ago, when I was full of anger, now I truly know who are the true sorcerers."

"It takes one to know one!" Nicodemus said from above, obviously enjoying this.

"Don’t try to trick us Demon-Consorter!" He lifted a lit torch and started to throw it. Nicodemus with a quick move drew 5 cards from his deck and held them in front of him. The torch hit the cards, bounced and felt back.

"You see? He truly is a warlock. Kill him!" Samuel roused the crowd which started to move angrily forward with their simple weapons lifted.

"Stand back unless you want your souls stolen," Nicodemus shouted. He lifted his hand and suddenly 5 sparkling cards appeared in it. The next second a ghostly figures appeared from each card and started flying around the crowd, screaming and wailing. The people got together at the middle of the mob, terrorized. Samuel then drew his cross, closed his eyes and started reciting a prayer, silently at first but shouting as he was reaching its finale. Then a white stream left his cross, filing the surrounding air with light. When the beam hit the ghosts and they immediately vanished. When they were all gone Samuel turned at Nicodemus.

"Your evil sorceries cannot harm the messengers of God."

"When I’m through with you, your God will not recognize you," Nicodemus said under his breath. He threw down his deck lifted his hand and another five cards appeared in it. He looked at them briefly and smiled as he saw that they where forming a straight flush. He then threw his hand forward and an almost invisible beam streaked ahead towards Samuel. Samuel lifted his cross, said a few short prayers, and a white barrier formed around him, but it wasn’t enough, the soul blast struck the protection shield and shattered it, then it hit the chest of the man who was flung a few meters backwards and stayed there.

"Do you still want to invoke my wrath?" Nicodemus shouted at the crowd. The people stepped back, threw down their weapons and then started running.

"Like mice!" Nicodemus said, laughing.

"Wake up." A distant voice was heard inside Samuel’s head. "Wake up," the voice sounded closer. He slowly opened his eyes.

"He’s awake." Samuel felt a hand grabbing him by the hair and lifting his head. "Well well, Mr. Samuel Rassel, it seems that your plans where thwarted, now tell me who sent you? Are there others of your kind coming? TALK!!" Wilhelmina shouted.

"I’d rather be skinned than help you just one bit, you witch!"

"That can be arranged," she said and clapped her hands.

Several hours passed but Samuel didn’t say a word during the whole time, although Ezekiel did his best to make him feel...talkative

"I’m afraid my child that he’s too stubborn," said Wilhelmina. She turned to the man who was standing by the wall, shuffling his deck. "Nicodemus my boy, take care of him," she said as she left the chamber with Ezekiel.

"Well Mr Samuel, it seems that I can finally make up a promise I gave to myself, wanna hear what it was?"

"Drop dead," Samuel said with an exhausted voice.

"Oh well, your loss. Listen, I will leave these five cards here in front of you. You may browse them at your leisure, goodbye for now, or should I say...forever?"

Nicodemus left the chamber laughing and locked the door behind him. Samuel turned over one card...Ace of Spades.

A second card...Eight of spades.

A third card....Eight of Clubs.

Fourth...Ace of Clubs.

He went to turn over the last card but his hand was trembling, he was too scared.

"Oh God Help me." He turned it slowly over...A Jack, a red Jack. Seconds later the floor started shaking.