Once we were outside of Iscariot's building I noticed that the place we were in was the same as the place I had passed through on my way to the Church. Although it was now midday, the streets had a similar air to them as before. There were just more people going around town and buying things and fewer people begging and whoring. 

“Where are we?” I asked as I had yet to learn the full geography of London.

“Farringdon, just outside of Whitechapel, my flat is only a short walk from here.” He said walking east I think, I’m bad with cardinal directions especially since I had a very vague sense of where we were. Nonetheless, I followed him. 

The building he led me to, was a two-story brick building that looked like a crack den. It looked as if it were to fall apart from the deteriorating brick walls to the cracked windows. Not to mention the horrible design choice of having a partial balcony on the second floor. The front door of the building was an old and decrepit wood that creaked and moaned every time the wind would ever pick up. With every new surface, I was finding something about this place that I was fearful of. How was this up to code in any way? It could have just been some simple weather damage that hadn’t been taken care of so I didn’t complain. He was letting me stay here so I think I’ll be fine.

Following Scott the rest of the way in, he led me up the creaky and partially broken stairway to a door that he unlocked to reveal his apartment. It was small with two rooms and a living area that was also the kitchen. Each room held a bed with no sheets, only blankets, and a single pillow. The walls were gray and barren. On top of that, the wallpaper was peeling badly in some places. In the living area were a couch, wood stove, and a table. The wood stove also acted like an oven and stove as far as I could tell but had seen little use. In the center of the room, the couch sat with several holes in it, and oh my God there is a dead rat being eaten by a living rat underneath it. To add to the mess, the room was littered with rum bottles, empty and full. Scott lived here and didn’t even seem to care, he just walked into the room on the far left of the apartment and shut the door. 

“This place is a mess.” I yelled to his room.

“Then clean it up.” I heard him say back although muffled through the door.

Grabbing the broom covered in dust by the table out of spite I began sweeping, starting with the rats. I swatted the live one away and swept up the dead one. Damn, there was a lot of dust in here! Because of the dust, I was kicking up with the broom I decided to open the windows and allow some breathing room before I continued sweeping. After a good hour of cleaning, I decided to lay on the couch and mess with my new knife. The knife itself didn’t seem very special, although it wouldn’t be legal in London during the time I was there.

Due to the magic formula, I could make the knife move anywhere I wanted with my mind.  Kind of like another appendage that was attached to my body with a magic string. I could make it spin like a saw blade just as I made the chess piece do and even make it fly around the room at high speeds as if I was a planet with a knife-shaped satellite. Eventually, I stopped because I accidentally launched it into the wall a few too many times. Eventually, I got bored of knife practice so I decided to take a nap on the couch. A few hours later I was awoken by the sound of Scott telling me to get up. 

“No, fuck you, let me sleep.” I replied groggily.

“What was that? I said get up!” he yelled as he kicked the couch from behind making me fall to the floor with the couch on top of me. Damn this couch is heavy… How in the hell did he even kick it over? 

“It’s time for your training.” he said as I slowly climbed out from under the couch. He then walked out the door without me only to open it after a few seconds to tell me to get my ass moving. I complied with a tied roll of my eyes and followed after him.

“So, where are we going and what kind of training are we doing?” I asked.

“You ask too many questions. We have to keep a lookout for the changeling that attacked you and we need to check out a rumor that a succubus has been attacking people who refuse to help them with their work.” Scott explained as if I should have already known this.

“Succubus, as in a demon prostitute? One is attacking people who won’t sleep with them?” I said with an unconvinced tone as I followed along.

“They aren’t demons, they are a subclass of the Amazons. Immortal creatures, so long as they feed off the life force of people. Usually they are peaceful but when they are desperate they will likely attack people.” Scott corrected.

“And if we find this Succubus we have to kill it?” I wondered out loud.

“Not really. Although they will attack people when desperate, they will not kill people. Thus we don’t need to kill it, just detain it and hand it over to Mama Louise.” Scott said with an almost reluctant tone.

“Who is Mama Louise? Another member of the Table?” I asked curiously. It kind of sounded like the name of a mafia head.

“No. she runs all of the Succubus brothels in Whitechapel and several all over London. She can get the Succubus stabilized or kill it, it’s up to her.” Scott explained. So she was kind of like a mafia head.

“Umm, okay then. Now you said before that you watch over all of London. If you're going to be in Whitechapel for a while then who is watching the rest of London?” I asked with a worried expression.

“Good question. I asked the head Consul of the Table if they could send someone to watch over it for me. Whether they did or not, I have no idea.” Scott said. I was starting to think that this Table is very poorly managed.

“You're really just going to leave it at that?” I asked due to my shock in learning that anything could happen in the rest of London and we would be none the wiser.

“There’s not really much else I can do. Although the Table is spread all over the world that doesn’t mean we have infinite resources and people. We are spread thin as it is and we are trained with that in mind, so we make allies with the supernatural any chance we can get. That way they can deal with a lot of their problems without us but when something goes rogue or when there’s a conflict that needs a third party we are always called upon.” Scott explained.

“Okay then, if that’s how it is,” I said. We continued on silently the rest of the way.

* * *

We were currently at Mama Louise’s. A high-end brothel at the edge of Whitechapel. Lining its walls were regal lamps and fine purple and red colours. Each room that we passed by was fitted with a hot bath, bed, and various amenities. Though where we were currently was the private lounge. It featured a fully stocked bar, several couches, and a sinister but noble Villian aesthetic. Mama Louise herself was an older-looking woman whose body was quite robust. She wore a purple gown and was smoking a long thin pipe as we sat in her lounge. Not to mention her hair was long white and badly put up. Even if I was into older women she wouldn’t have appealed to me. I had thought that Succubi could seduce anyone? Guess not.

“State your business, Scott. You and I both know you don’t have all day.” Mama Louise finally said to break the silence.

“Mama Louise, we would like to ask you about the rumors of a Succubus that has been attacking people lately. Are they true and if so where can we find this Succubus?” Scott asked with more respect than I’ve ever seen him show to anyone till now. It almost seemed like he was afraid.

“Is that what I was woken up for? You Table people are incredibly rude; and yes, I know who you are referring to.” Mama Louise asked with an obviously annoyed tone.

“That is great, then if we could know who it is and where to possibly find her, we could detain and return her-” Scott said before Mamam Louise raised her hand as if to tell him to shut his mouth.

“I want you to kill her.” Mama Louise stated without a hint of mercy on her tongue.

“May I ask why? I thought the Succubi protect their own?” Scott asked with a confused look.

“We do protect our own but she is a traitor. She has killed one of my clients and that is considered punishable by death among us Succubi. It has worked out perfectly that you would arrive before I could kill her myself.” Mama Louise replied with a possibly threatening gleam in her eye.

“Mama Louise, we are here to stop her from attacking humans but we cannot allow ourselves to be caught up in the affairs of the Succubi. She will be captured and brought to you so that you may deal with her. Only if she attacks us will we kill her.” Scott stated slowly as he seemed to be trying to not say anything incorrectly.

“That is understandable, considering the pact we Succubi made with the Table. So be it, she was last seen hiding with the Clergy here in Whitechapel. I will await your return with her dead or alive.” she said waving us off with faint annoyance. I could only watch, I knew nothing of what was going on. That woman knew this and acted like she didn’t even notice me. To match Scott also ignored me and spoke to her like he was at a peace meeting that could go sour at any moment. From the way she acted, it felt like I was definitely sitting in front of a mafia boss who wasn’t pleased with our visit. I was right to assume. Once we were outside Mama Louise’s Scott released a heavy sigh before reaching into his coat pocket, grabbing his flask, and chugging half of the contents.

“Ugh, I was too sober for that. I swear she was staring daggers into me the whole time. Glad I talked to her when she was in relatively good spirits.” He said with a deep gasp after taking that all in.

“Is she that scary? She just seemed annoyed that we were bothering her.” I asked as she just seemed to be playing with him.

“Kid, if you ever get on that woman’s nerves, there is no place on earth that she couldn’t find you; and once she finds you, you will be tortured and killed.” He said with the straightest of faces. I was now terrified and could see why he acted the way he did in there.