As we descended into the dark cave, I was thankful for whatever power that was allowing me to feel those around me. The only light was from Constantine’s constantly puffed on cigarette and a few candles mounted on the walls of the tunnel. The cave mouth had opened up to become wider but we quickly descended deeper inside. 

A large wall in front of us. It was carved out of the same stone of the walls. There was a wide and tall door at the center of the wall. As the butler approached, the doors were flung open to reveal a city. 

“Woah,” I mumbled as we were beckoned through the door. On a high rise there were stairs carved in stone that led to a literal town under the Earth. The town itself was made out of the same cold stone of the cave floor. Dim candles and lights were mounted in windows and I could feel hundreds of beings inside. 

I noticed more than a few of them were naked like the vampire escort around us. “Welcome to the Necropolis,” the butler said, waving his arms in front of him like this was a grand hall. His words did not echo in the cave, the walls too far away, they didn’t reflect the sound, his words simply died in the air.

“Are there a lot of these?” I asked. 

“A few,” Constantine said as he lit a new cigarette with the butt of one he was done with. As he drew in a tar filled breath he began to cough. His body racked with deep gulps of air as he tried to fight the cough. He covered his mouth and turned away. It took some time but when he did finish coughing there was obvious blood in his hand. 

The only reason I knew was I felt the energy of the naked vampires focus in on him. Constantine wiped his hand on his leg, ignoring the stares from the undead around them. “This is probably the oldest Necropolis.” 

I frowned, having heard him cough a few times during the drive. This was the worst yet. A part of me wondered if he really did have cancer. Which begged to question, why was he helping me?

“Yes, of course,” the butler said. He waved at the naked vampires who hissed, their eyes struggling to pull from Constantine, then without a word they headed down the stone steps beside us. “Come, my master is waiting for you.” The butler began to walk down the steps. Constantine followed and I took up the rear. 

“How much danger are we in?” I mumbled. 

“More than a little, less than a lot,” he said. I could feel he was in pain somehow, and could almost feel the desperation coming off of him. Already in the city of the dead, I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t pushed for more answers earlier. Probably because I kept awakening new memories, and my mind could only take so much. Either way I wanted some now. 

“What is this Court of Vampires?”

“Exactly as it sounds. The bloodsuckers tried to carve a piece of the world back in the day, but they were hunted and ostracized. Eventually the King found his way here. You see them?” John nodded at the naked vampires down below. “The vampires are all about status and position, strength of your blood. Those with strong constitutions tend to be more like our dear guide.” He discretely pointed at the butler. 

“Clothed?” I asked. 

“Actually, yes. The more clothes, the more civilized and strong they are. The naked ones are a notch above animals. They feed on rats and mice, the butler, probably larger animals.”

“And those in the court?” 

“I think you know that answer,” John said without sarcasm in his voice. 

“And you’re fine with them feeding on people?” I asked.

 
“Most of the time, yes. They’ve learned from their mistakes. Now they focus on those that society won’t miss. Criminals and the like.” 

“Great, they have a Dexter complex now, moral vamps?” I asked. Memories of the show Dexter played through my mind. I rolled my eyes, annoyed that I could say something without knowing what it meant. 

“Some, maybe. But these are soulless uncaring beasts. They have no memories of what life was like before they turned into the bloodsuckers. Humanity is hardly made aware of their existence,” he admitted. 

“And you think they can help me get my memories back?” I asked. 

“What? No,” he said, stopping.

“What? Then why are we here?” I asked, confused. 

“For me,” he said, annoyance clear in his voice. “I told you, I can’t break your curse. Help me handle my own issues, and then I can devote my time to yours.” 

“Fuck,” I said, annoyed that I had missed that. I seemed to remember him saying he had his own problems. For some reason I had thought this was for me, but I had been stuck in my own issues. “Fine, I help you, you help me. Equivalent exchange.” Fullmetal Alchemist played through my mind. “Fucking memories.” After a moment my mind settled. Looking around, the vampires were focused on us. “So these guys have something you need?” 

“They should,” John admitted. 

“And you can trust them?” He frowned. “We should be able to get out of here alive?”

“I’m…hopeful,” he offered as he turned to walk again. 

“Ugh, and we aren’t going to have to watch them feed, right?” I could feel…something around me. Dread perhaps, I didn’t like it. 

“If we get lucky. What is your problem? I feel you aren’t immune to being around death.”

“I have no memories of anyone dying,” I said. “I’d prefer to keep it that way.”

“Just think of it as them taking out the trash.”

I couldn’t help but be disgusted by his own energy. I could feel that the man didn’t much care for other humans. He could sense my own feelings though and turned to eye me. “You don’t judge a janitor for ignoring the puke on the floor when its out of the way and no one is actively stepping on it.”

“That was…a terrible analogy,” I said. 

“And yet, it gets the point across,” John said. Stopping on the wide stairs he turned, looking down at the mass of people below. Most were going about their day, many of them naked, but not near as many as I had thought before. Some wore normal everyday clothes, as if they were out to market.

“The Necropoli are a necessary evil. Trust me, there is a lot that goes bump in the night. Most here are vampires, there are a few werewolves, hell even a few demons that escaped hell. All aren’t actively causing me or the general population harm. Just trying to live their lives. There is balance in the dark underworld of this dimension right now, and I’m not about to tip the scales in any direction.”

He began walking back after the butler as our conversation died down. I felt I had stuff to mull over, but was busy with thoughts of movies like Underworld and Van Helsing. So many memories of werewolves and demons playing through my mind it was a wonder I once stored all this information in my mind. 

“What about you, what are we after that helps you?” I asked as we came to the bottom of the stairs. There was a black carriage waiting for us with a black winged horse at the lead. Constantine ignored my question as he got into the carriage. I followed him and the butler joined us. 

“Who is your companion?” The butler asked. He was sitting across from us, eyeing me up and down. His dark eyes like pitch black pools, the only light inside the carriage leaking in from the small windows. 

“Weston,” I said for John. I could tell the chain smoker was distracted as his chest tightened and he struggled not to cough again. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Weston. I must say, it is rare to find someone of your strength in those of the human variety.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked, trying to take it like a compliment. “How’s that?”

“It’s your blood, you see,” he said, sniffing the air. “I can tell it is quite…strong.” I could almost feel the bloodlust coming off of the butler. 

“Thanks,” I said, struggling not to want to run. “How many fangs would it take for me to make a vampire tooth necklace?” I asked John. I wasn’t sure where my comment came from, but it felt right. 

“I don’t know,” John said with a smile, brought out from his own dark thoughts. “Some vampires have two, some have four, and some…have nothing but fangs for teeth.”

“Should we find out?” The butler asked, his face twisted in a grin. But I could feel he was not as confident as he was a moment ago. He took another quick sniff and leaned back, deciding I was not worth testing. 

Still unsure of my origins, I thanked whatever blood I had. Though I wasn’t sure how strong I actually was, at least it was keeping the vampires away. But I would need to test and see if that was enough. For all I knew it could make the mindless ones want me that much more. I could already feel many monsters in the path we were taking, more than a few were focused on our carriage as it rode past. 

The Necropolis far bigger than I expected. It was a good 15 minute ride to the Court. We were let out of the carriage to find a Roman inspired structure. Thick pillars running from the cave floor to the roof like they were holding up the entire thing, we walked right inside in a maze of other pillars.

Armored guards were lined up in a path away from us. The vampire warriors sporting bones, teeth, and any number of trophies from kills. They each held onto a halberd, like a spear with a axe-head at the tip. Their armor was a black steel, and their faces were covered by black metal helmets molded in the shape of skulls. I thought the helmets looked familiar, like someone I knew. Some woman that wore a skull mask maybe, but I couldn’t place it. 

We walked between the guards, the pillars becoming less sparse until we were in a large expanse of a room. The room itself looked like the kind of place the Senate in Rome was conducted. In front of us were stairs carved into the black stone. Around the perimeter of the room were stairs and flattop benches that were curved to conform to the room. At the center was a flat area where twelve chairs were seated. The dozen chairs faced toward John and I. 

“Who approaches the Court at the hour of the dawn?” A faceless voice asked from one of the chairs. I didn’t think we were close to dawn. Had we lost time? It didn’t matter, I focused ahead. There were a dozen men and women seated in the thrones, all wearing black robes. No faces could be seen, but I could feel their power. Furnaces much like John’s energy, they were all strong and ready to kill at a moment’s notice. 

“Two humans, master,” the butler said. “They have beseech-”

“Oh cut the shit,” John said, stepping forward as he descended the steps quickly. Unwilling to stand near the guards alone, I followed. “I’m so sick of the pomp and circumstance. King Vicarius, I have a request. I understand it is close to daytime. I apologize for the lack of diplomacy, but I am on a short schedule.” 

There was a long drawn out silence that followed. Some of those at the center of the room were angry. Others bored, others were thinking of blood or ripping something apart. I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I focused on one person, the strongest of them. He was at the center. His hand withdrew from the robe revealing long finger nails. 

The hand moved up to the hood and pulled it back, revealing a black man. He had a shaved head and looked rather…normal. For kings or elders of vampires they usually had gray skin and pointy ears, this man was almost an everyday person. He had a wide grin on his face revealing two rows of razor sharp fangs, but other than that he appeared like… I tried to think of someone. The name Terry Crews popped up, but I couldn’t remember who it was.  

“The mighty Constantine himself has graced us with his presence,” the man said. His eyes moved to me, sniffing deeply and he let out a long sigh as if savoring the smell of a meal come to him rather than him going to it. I shivered, not liking the feel of this place or people at all. 

“Yeah, yeah,” John said, lighting another cigarette. “You lot are a bunch of theatrical bitches still. Now, quit with the games, and let's start the negotiation.” 

“Negotiation for what?” The king asked. He got up from his chair, approaching Constantine. Where before I thought he was normal, now I could see he was at least seven feet tall. Towering over both of us I struggled not to want to piss myself as he took a few steps before us. The other eleven vampires seated looked angrily at us and to the king. I could tell none of them liked one another, but there was a hierarchy they were unwilling to fight at the moment. 

“I need the Holy Grail,” John said.

The room quieted once more. All eyes focused on the chain smoker. Then a great booming laugh escaped the king as he focused on the shorter man. “The Grail? I haven’t heard tales of that for a long time.”

“Yes, which is why I’m coming to the closest and oldest fucker I could think of,” John said.

The King ignored the curse and continued to chuckle as he moved back to his chair. “What would you need the grail for, anyway?”

“My business is my own,” John said, clearly angry to have to talk to these people. 

“I think not,” the king said, taking his seat once more. “I wish to know why the man that has killed devils and angels alike needs one of the most sought after relics of this realm.” There was a long drawn out silence that followed. 

Rather than answer, John withdrew a small box from his trench coat. The box was weathered and had seen plenty of activity. Throwing it, the king caught the small box without a care in the world as the guards closest to us firmed the grip on their halberds. Opening the box, whatever the vampire king found was a little sobering. All I saw was the glint of some gold. 

“Is this what I think it is?” The king asked. 

“It is,” John said. “All yours for the answer.”

“Unfortunately, I have no idea where the grail is,” the king said. Closing the small box he threw it back to John. “And this is the Holy Grail.” His voice echoed in the chamber as he announced the title of the relic as if the words held power. “Any information on it is worth a kingdom, not a trinket.”

John let out a long drawn out sigh. He mumbled tiredly, “Why can it never be simple?” He eyed the king and the others seated in front of us. “What do you want?”

“Nothing too big, just…your friend here,” the king said, eyeing me. I couldn’t help but take a fighting stance. As I did, guards moved closer to us, leveling their halberds at me. 

“That’s not the deal,” John said.

“Which is why this is a negotiation,” the king said. I ignored him though, praying for some kind of weapon. For some reason I felt like a sword would appear in my hands if I wished hard enough, but none did. Without a weapon all I had was my fists. Unsure how strong I actually was, I regretted not trying to test it before. On the ship, then on the run, and now this, there really was no time to try to practice. 

Whatever my life was like before, I doubted so much happened to me all at once, that was for sure. Either way, I could feel the Court members and the guards get more on edge. John and the king were busy staring one another down, and I was having a rather hard time deciding what to do. 

Suddenly I heard a voice in my mind. No one I recognized, but it was that of a woman. 

“Only those that strike first, live to tell the tale,” she said. I focused on the words and slowly a memory bloomed in my mind. I was on the ground, writhing, my hands holding onto my dick. Pain moving through me like never before. 

The girl speaking was tall with long black hair. She wore a black kimono and had a smile on her lips. A man with a shaved head stood close by. “Little Wessy,” she said with a laugh. “You must learn to strike first. If they weren’t expecting it, that simple attack would make them hesitate. Allowing you to run to tell the tale. If you strike first and your strength is comparable, maybe that strike puts the ball back in your court.” She laughed and stood kicking me in the side. “Strike first, and strike often.”

Then I knew who she was. My sister, or one of them. A face and woman I hadn’t thought of for a long time. She taught me how to be a ninja. To kill, and strike. Memories long left dormant played through my mind, and before I knew it I was closing the gap with the closest guard. 

Muscles bulging I yelled and punched the guard in the face. His helmet was actually a stone-like material rather than steel and shattered with the blow. The guard was thrown back, and I was already attacking the next. 

I felt someone move for me and time seemed to slow for them somehow. One of the twelve was attacking me and moving at a slow pace as they flew through the air toward me. Rather than worry I reacted. My foot connecting with their face. They lost fangs and were flung away. Time sped up to normal speed again and I dealt with another three guards before a booming voice sounded in the room. 

“STOP!” The king yelled. Everyone in the room stopped. The guards that had been running for me with halberds in the air, dropped to the ground and a great oppressive weight filled the room. It threatened to make me fall to my knees as well, but I had felt worse. I didn’t know when, but I knew I had faced stronger people before. 

The king eyed me as Constantine and I stared him down. The brown trench coat wearing psychic retreating behind me.

Long moments passed and the king barked a laugh. His fang filled mouth showed bright in the dim light as he stared at me. “I should have known, blood breeds strength,” he said, shaking his. “Hellblazer,” he said, eyeing Constantine. “Give me the necklace.” John hesitated but threw the box back to him. 

The king made the box disappear in his robe. “An idea has come to me,” he said. “Along with this trinket, you shall do me a favor.”

“I am not much for non-specific favors anymore,” John said as he moved to be in front of me now. Guards helped those fallen at my feet up and others ran to the Court member I had attacked. 

“Then I shall provide specifics. I wish for you to watch my…ward,” the king said. “She has been quite the handful as of late. And I feel you two could handle her… let’s call them tantrums.”

John let out a long sigh. “Sounds like a headache. Depends on the information you provide, I suppose.”

“You agree?” The King asked. John nodded slowly but hesitantly. “Good, the one that would know where the grail is, is Myrddin.”

“Oh fuck,” John said. 

“You know him?” The King asked. 

“I know of him,” John said. “I wish I didn’t though.” He whispered.