One of my most trusted mentors once gave me this piece of advice: never work with kids or animals. He was so adamant about this that I made it a point to never get involved with cases involving mortal children. As to the animals, sentient Creatures are so rare, I didn't think that would be a difficult ban to maintain. Well, as my life so often goes awry, I should have known better than to count on smooth sailing. There was, as you probably guessed, one time that I had no choice in the matter and was stuck working with both. Now don't get me wrong. I love children, and I love animals. It's just that I don't like them around where I am. In pictures, they are very precious. In person, not so much so.
Well, it so happens that, once upon a time, I was visiting my dear friend Wilhelm Grimm at Kassel. Being the chief librarian there, he had written to inform me that he had found a copy of The Codex of Solomon, one of the most infamous books of black sorcery ever written, and wanted me to take it away from the library for safe keeping. He knew, as did I, that any mortal trespassing within the pages of the book would be transfigured into something frightful and evil.
Between the time his letter found me and the time it took for me to ride to Kassel in my private coach, 3 weeks passed before I was to be found knocking on the door to Wilhelm's residence as the moon was rising that cool autumn night. As soon as he opened the door, I knew he was going to deliver some sort of bad news, since he was looking very grim, if you'll pardon the pun. Ushering me inside, Wilhelm informed me that The Codex had been stolen from the safe in the Kassel library, so he no longer had it in his possession. Even worse, he feared the book had been taken by a certain Mrs. Annabeth Gower, an old widow who the town suspected of being a witch. Should she read through The Codex of Solomon, she would surely gain enough knowledge and power to become more than a simple hedge witch and be twisted to the book's evil purpose to boot. I knew I could not allow the evil of the Codex to be loosed upon the world.
I informed Wilhelm of my decision to track down both the book and Mrs. Gower first thing in morning, and asked him if I might lodge with him during my stay in Kassel. Being a dear and very close friend, Wilhelm readily agreed. That night, since it was rather cool, Wilhelm invited me to share his bed for warmth. I certainly wasn't going to say no to such a tempting invitation. Wilhelm was, in case I have not yet said, extremely handsome. In fact, the last time he had visited me at Castle Mandragora, I told him that he was my sleeping beauty, to which he laughed and said that sounded like the title to a children's tale. I can tell you, though, that what transpired next was not appropriate for children, though there was a bit of tail involved, if you know what I mean. We must have fallen asleep still in each other's embrace because I found myself still grasping his beanstalk when I awoke in the middle of the night.
Come morning, no pun intended, I set out to the library with Wilhelm to examine the safe for any clues that might have been left behind by the individual with stole the book. Before we had even made it halfway to our destination, however, we were accosted by a most disagreeable little girl and her hulking monster of a pet. The child was dressed in a tattered looking greyish dress that had clearly seen better days, her shoulders and head covered in a red hooded cape. Her eyes looked rather wild and, with the axe she was carrying, looked more than a little crazed. Her pet looked even worse. It was a Wolf and stood on its hind legs, towering over us all, its fur matted and smelly, its eyes bright with a cunning intelligence.
When Wilhelm and I tried to walk around the pair, the Wolf growled menacingly and stretched out its arm to block my way. Frowning at the beast's insolence and ignoring Wilhelm's gasp of surprise, I raised my walking stick in preparation of burning the foul creature to ash when the girl spoke.
"I am assuming you to be Dr Mandragora, sir," she said in a rather familiar tone. "The townspeople all said Herr Grimm would call you in to help, since you two are such close friends."
Choosing to ignore her cheeky remark, I introduced myself to her and explained what task was currently occupying my time. When I confirmed that I was going to track down both the book and Mrs. Gower, the girl, whose name was Redaleine, or Red for short, informed me that she would be tagging along with me, since Mrs. Gower was her grandmother. Furthermore, she informed me, she knew that she would be able to talk her grandmother into returning the book quietly with no possibility of anyone being harmed. She just didn't know the location of her grandmother's summer cottage and needed help finding her. I found this to be rather convenient and very suspicious. When I asked her why she was willing to help me, she simply said that she owed her grandmother and this would help to relieve that debt. I wasn't completely satisfied with her answer, but saw no reason to not trust the girl and let her come along.
Using my skills in the magical arts, I tracked the book across several miles of twisted and dark forest, the Wolf and Red following along behind. We eventually came to a cottage tucked away between tall pine trees, its door and windows shuttered up tight. Quietly walking up to the place and checking for magical signatures, I was hoping we had found the right place. As luck would have it, there was the distinct presence of Magick in the home of a strength that I knew could only come from an artifact of extreme power.
Beckoning the others closer, I said, "We must be cautious now. The book is definitely inside."
At that pronouncement, the wild-eyed Red shrieked like a crazed person. "I knew it!" she screamed, lifting her face to the sun and laughing maniacally. "The old woman thought she could keep me from the book, but its power will still be mine! Wolf, kill them both."
At those words, the Wolf turned on my dear Wilhelm and slashed its claws across his chest, blood spurting from the wounds like a fountain. Wilhelm staggered backwards and fell, his hand scrabbling in his coat pocket for something. The Wolf turned to me and growled, "One pretty boy down, one to go."
Behind me, I could hear Red hacking at the thick wooden door with her axe and yelling, "Come out, old woman, and give me what is mine! You won't escape from me again!"
It was very clear to me that I had made a terrible mistake. The Widow Gower had not stolen the book of sorcery to use its magic for herself. She had stolen it to keep its power out of the hands of her crazed granddaughter and to keep her town safe. And now, thanks to me, I had led the fiend right to the book. I knew I had seconds to act before the Wolf attacked me and before Red broke through the door and seized the Codex.
Just as I raised my hand to destroy the Wolf, the creature sprang at me, claws extended, his eyes boring into my own. A bolt of razor sharp ice exploded from my outstretched hand, grazing the Wolf's left side, knocking it off balance enough so that it merely crashed into me without striking out with its claws. I saw the creature jump up in a flash, its jaws opened wide to rip my throat out. I was a bit stunned from the fall and didn't have enough time to compose a spell to defend myself. I thought my life was over. But before the monster could strike, I heard three shots ring out loudly in the forest and saw the Wolf stiffen in surprise. As it toppled over dead, I saw my dear Wilhelm up on one knee, the pistol he had been carrying in his coat pocket still smoking in his right hand, his left clutching his chest. Dear old Wilhelm!
Standing up as fast as I could, I saw Red's axe finally rip through the door, the girl then running inside the small home, her cloak billowing out behind her. Grasping my walking stick in my left hand, I ran after her, hoping to keep her from opening the Codex. The evil locked within its pages needed only a small opening to escape.
As I rounded a corner, I saw the evil child throw her axe towards an elderly old woman who was crouched in a corner, the Codex clutched in front of her. With a sickening sound, the heavy weapon struck her in the chest. Falling in slow motion, the old woman dropped the Codex, its covers falling open as a painful dark light exploded out of its pages. Red laughed in triumph and walked over to where the book lay open on the floor. Bending over, she reached for the book, a wicked grin on her face.
I only had seconds to act, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I raised my hand towards the girl and fired another bolt of ice. When the sharp ice slammed into Red's back, it also pushed her forward. With a terrible screech, the bleeding form of Red and her riding hood fell towards the book and was sucked into the stream of dark light. As her screams faded to nothing, I walked over and closed the covers of The Codex of Solomon.
I got Wilhelm and the book back to town in short order. Deciding to say nothing of what transpired to the towns people, I stayed for several more days to nurse Wilhelm back to full health. After all, he did save my life and was my closest friend. During our conversations, he mentioned that he was considering writing down an account of our adventure with Red and the Wolf. I told him he could do whatever he wanted but didn't think anyone would read it.
Excerpt from The Memoirs of Dr Mandragora: From the Maudlin to the Macabre
