Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"Shadow exists within the flame."

"Flame burns beneath the shadow."

Evenson stopped just inside the entrance to the newly renamed Legacy of the Void Bar.

A pair of enormous neon signs dominated the room, one glowing blue, the other crimson. Their light pulsed across the dance floor, endlessly alternating between the two familiar phrases.

He couldn’t help smiling.

"I definitely found the right place."

Those lines were burned into his memory.

For weeks, he’d heard them every six minutes without fail.

Every.

Single.

Night.

The memory alone was enough to make him instinctively tense.

Then another thought occurred to him.

Really?

If you’re naming the place "Legacy of the Void," why not use "For Aiur!" or "Glory to the Firstborn?" Those would at least fit the theme.

Instead...

They’d gone with quotes from the Eredar Twins.

Some things would never make sense.

"I hate this music."

Evenson forced his way through a sea of dancers thrashing beneath deafening heavy metal.

It was his least favorite genre.

The pounding rhythm felt less like music and more like a sustained magical attack against his patience.

By the time he finally reached the bar, he collapsed onto a stool with obvious relief.

"That was an ordeal."

He rubbed his temples.

His original plan had been simple.

Ask the bartender where the twins were.

The sisters had once boasted that their ability to hide rivaled that of a Dreadlord.

Judging by the fact that he could sense they were somewhere inside the building without pinpointing them, they hadn’t been exaggerating.

What really impressed him, though, was something else.

Leaving a motel because they were bored?

Reasonable.

Going clubbing?

Also reasonable.

Taking over the club before the night was over?

That was... ambitious.

At least the patrons looked normal.

Mostly.

A few were acting strangely, but that was almost certainly because of the drugs rather than demonic mind control.

Apparently the twins had exercised admirable restraint.

"Hey, bartender..."

Before he could finish, a massive hand covered in oversized rings landed heavily on his shoulder.

"You looking for something, buddy?"

Evenson turned.

The owner of the hand was an enormous bald Black man whose appearance screamed gang enforcer.

Pierced ears.

Pierced lip.

Heavy chains.

Tattoos that probably meant something to someone.

Dark sunglasses...

...indoors.

The man had been watching Evenson ever since he’d entered.

His clothes were too tidy.

He wasn’t drinking.

He clearly disliked the atmosphere.

And he’d spent the last several minutes scanning every corner of the room.

In the bouncer’s experience, people who behaved like that usually fell into one of two categories.

Cops.

Or rival gang scouts.

Either way, they became his problem.

Especially now.

His new bosses were...

Demanding.

Very demanding.

Failure wasn’t healthy.

"I came to..."

Evenson paused.

"...Hold on."

"You look familiar."

The sunglasses hid most of the man’s face, but something about him triggered a memory.

"...Luther?"

The giant frowned.

"Yeah, that’s my name."

"But don’t think knowing it gets you special treatment."

Then he took a closer look at Evenson.

His eyes widened.

"...You."

Almost instantly, he removed his hand from Evenson’s shoulder and took an involuntary step backward.

"You remember me."

Evenson smiled.

"Why wouldn’t I?"

They had met before.

After Evenson’s spectacularly ill-advised joyride had ended with an arrest, he’d spent a night in a holding cell.

Luther had occupied the same cell.

Back then, Luther had confidently decided the skinny white guy would make an easy target.

That confidence had lasted less than a minute.

People often underestimated warlocks.

They saw spellcasters and assumed frailty.

They forgot that fel magic had a habit of producing terrifying physiques.

Evenson’s magic wasn’t the only dangerous thing about him.

Luther had learned that lesson the painful way.

"So..." Evenson said casually.

"I’d like to speak with your bosses."

"The new ones."

Luther immediately grew cautious.

"My bosses don’t meet strangers."

He still remembered what happened after their arrest.

Evenson had been released almost immediately.

The paperwork had moved so quickly it looked like someone had simply rubber-stamped the process.

The well-dressed government-looking official who’d collected him hadn’t helped.

Luther had long since concluded that Evenson worked for some federal agency.

An informant.

Maybe something worse.

That was exactly why he hadn’t called over the other bouncers the moment he recognized him.

Inviting someone like that to meet his bosses...

That sounded like an excellent way to become unemployed.

Or dead.

"I’m not a stranger."

"I’m their friend."

Luther hesitated.

Friend.

Their.

Not his.

He knew his new bosses were women.

Two of them.

"You really know them?"

"I brought those twin sisters to this city myself."

Technically...

That was entirely true.

"And unless they’ve changed their names, they’re called Alythess and Sacrolash."

Luther’s expression changed immediately.

"I’ll... go ask."

Several minutes later, Luther returned.

His entire attitude had transformed.

"Sir."

"This way, please."

He was suddenly very grateful that, the last time they’d met, he had been the one getting beaten up.

The moment Evenson stepped into the private suite—

He staggered backward coughing.

The room was filled with smoke so thick it looked almost solid.

"Good grief..."

For one horrifying second he wondered if someone inside had decided to cultivate immortality through secondhand smoke.

Without hesitation, he cast Unending Breath on himself.

Fresh air filled his lungs.

Much better.

He stepped inside again.

The private lounge couldn’t have been more different from the chaos outside.

The lighting remained subdued, but the deafening metal had been replaced with soft, elegant music.

Purple velvet.

Silk curtains.

Luxurious furnishings.

It radiated indulgence.

Very Eredar.

At the center of the room sat a circular bed draped in sheer fabric.

The Eredar Twins lounged against plush cushions in human form.

They looked...

Oddly limp.

Almost boneless.

For a brief moment Evenson wondered what had happened.

Then he noticed the silver trays held by the attendants.

A hookah.

Several bags of white powder.

Clear crystalline narcotics.

...

He suddenly understood.

You two adapted to Earth disturbingly fast.

He’d always known demons embraced decadence.

But this was impressive even by demonic standards.

He silently made himself a promise.

Never touch drugs.

If substances capable of reducing demon lords to that state existed...

He wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

"You finally came."

The sisters lazily lifted themselves against the headboard.

"What do you need?"

"What do I need?"

Evenson dropped into a nearby sofa without ceremony.

Then his eyes swept toward the attendants.

The twins understood immediately.

"You may leave."

"No one enters unless we call."

The attendants quietly placed the trays beside the bed before withdrawing one after another.

The door closed.

The instant it did...

The sisters’ languid expressions vanished.

Their eyes became sharp.

Alert.

Not the slightest trace of intoxication remained.

Apparently narcotics only affected them if they chose to be affected.

"So," the twins said together.

"What is it, Warlock?"

"Oh, plenty."

Evenson gestured around the room.

"Let’s start with... all of this."

The twins exchanged amused smiles.

"We are noble Eredar."

"You didn’t seriously think we’d spend our time in that miserable motel room?"

"We noticed your financial situation."

"So we decided to improve our living conditions ourselves."

"We discovered this delightful establishment."

"Sin."

"Madness."

"Indulgence."

"The perfect environment."

"So naturally..."

"...it became ours."

Evenson’s eyes drifted toward an ornate candlestick resting on a nearby table.

Its base was fashioned from an unmistakably human skull.

A very fresh one.

"I’m guessing..."

"...that used to be the previous owner."

"Correct," Alythess replied without hesitation.

"We offered him an honor."

"He could have surrendered this place to us."

"We even intended to keep him as a servant."

Sacrolash smiled coldly.

"He declined."

"So I took his head instead."

Evenson pinched the bridge of his nose.

Interdimensional conquerors really do share the same worldview.

"Give me your property."

"You should be grateful."

"If you refuse, your death is entirely your own fault."

It was remarkably consistent.

"I’m less concerned about him," Evenson said.

"I’m more concerned about the consequences."

"We considered that."

Alythess sounded almost offended.

"We aren’t mindless fel beasts."

"We’ve conquered enough worlds to recognize how organizations like this function."

"They exist on the edge of civilization."

"They have their own rules."

"They don’t run to the authorities."

"The authorities rarely interfere."

"Their relationship with local government usually begins and ends with bribery."

"So killing one gang leader..."

"...doesn’t attract attention."

"Because nobody reports it," Sacrolash finished.

"And your S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"As long as we avoid using obvious supernatural abilities..."

"...why would they care about one criminal disappearing?"

Evenson couldn’t argue.

They weren’t wrong.

Gang wars.

Internal executions.

Disappearances.

Police rarely received reports because criminals didn’t trust police.

And if officers were already on someone’s payroll...

They had even less incentive to investigate.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D.?

The organization had far bigger problems than a dead biker gang leader.

Unless someone started throwing fireballs in Times Square, they wouldn’t waste resources on ordinary organized crime.

"Fine."

Evenson sighed.

"We’ll let this one go."

"But don’t expand."

The sisters exchanged a glance.

"Why not?"

"We estimate we could absorb at least three organizations of this size before attracting serious attention."

So...

They’d already planned expansion.

Of course they had.

"Because of appearances."

Evenson’s answer made them pause.

"You understand social standing."

"As Eredar nobility, you know how much origins matter."

Both sisters nodded.

Of course they understood.

The standards differed between worlds.

The principle did not.

A criminal background made future ambitions unnecessarily difficult.

They studied him.

"You have something in mind."

"Say it."

"But remember..."

"We are not your servants."

"We’ll decide whether we’re interested."

Evenson smiled confidently.

"I’m not worried."

"You’ll love this proposal."

...

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