[Eben Rook]

New journal. It always feels weird starting something new, especially journals. I've got my collected thoughts spread between pages of old books. On top of that, I'm moving. Not permanently, but I don't know how long the stay will be in London. I meet with a realtor there on Wednesday. Hopefully he/she will have something I can just move into.

X Phone taken care of
X Bank notified
X Utilities put on hold
X Change of address form for international postage
X Plane Tickets
X Hotel for two nights

I can't think of anything else that I need to prepare. I'll have my duffel with my gear and my laptop case. I'll be going by plane, so I'll need to make sure things are packed securely and the proper spells are on the bags the way they should be. Honestly, I need to stop being a little bitch about this. Moira fled back to her den in England. I'll flush her out and then I'll be done with it. But London, though...what if my pops is there? Should I track him down? Does he even know about me? What if he doesn't?

[Eben Rook]

Trees are much larger than you think. I couldn’t shake that thought this morning when I was running. London has so many trees. According to Wikipedia, London has the same population as NYC but it’s something like 150 square miles bigger.

Older, too. The buildings on the older neighborhoods are practically held together with just moss and spite. These Brits are so closed off and, well, not cold, but stony. I know they say we New Yorkers are hard, but at least we have emotions, damn...

[Eben Rook]

I know it’s a different country, and I know it’s a different city, but it’s easy to fall into the same routine. The run, then shower, then sleep, then wake up for dinner and then the hunt. Routine isn’t bad, but I worry about complacency.

Nightclubs seem to be the best place so far. There are several regulars I think I’ve targeted as supernatural at the very least. Mages, werewolves, or vampires...it doesn’t matter. A lead is a lead. I know I could just go straight to magical London and Diagon, see if their ministry would give assistance, but...nah.

SAM doesn’t need permission or permits to do its hunting. I’m not on a contract, so the legitimacy of this isn’t on par with past jobs. Maybe they’d be willing to work with me, but I’d rather ask forgiveness than permission.

All work and no play makes Benny a dull boy, so I need to make some friends, too. That and this is supposedly the home country, right? Ma and dad both from here, I might as well get some ties and make some memories.

[Eben Rook]

Stupid song stuck in my head...Brandy didnt help at all with her calling and bringing it up. I don’t even like LMFAO that much, but damn do they do catchy songs. Brandy hasn’t been that hard in getting a song stuck in my head since G6 and that’s when she was pandering for me to get her one. As if. I’m well off, but who the hell needs private transport like that? I sure as hell don’t.

She brought up an issue with T-slam. That boy’s getting too big for Harlem. I bet it won’t be long before MACUSA puts out a warrant for his staking. Thing of it is, it won’t even be for breaking a law; it’ll just be that he’s gotten too much of a power base and they want that coven closed down. We’ve got good relations with him and his crew, so maybe I’ll not take that contract.

Then again, a target the size of T-slam would be a hefty price and if someone’s going to ghost that gangster, it may as well be us. What would Saul do?

Shit, he went in and negotiated with the Master of Harlem like it was a business deal when Parker’s name came up on the kill sheet. Then again, Parker was killing people when he fed. He was breaking MACUSA laws as well as coven rules, so that was an easy sell. Still, being the only white guys in a coven-gang-army of vampires wasn’t comfortable, and I’m sure those bastards could smell our anxiety.

Maybe I would take the contract, especially since Terrance refused to help find Saul’s killer. I should have left for England sooner instead of letting it be a vampire issue. He didn’t want it handled...why would he? His biggest opponent into spreading to the Lower East Side was just murdered. He benefitted. Hell, I almost wonder if he gave Moira the idea to do it. Fucker. It would be like that Harlem hood leech to do something like that...

But it would start a war, and we couldn’t win that. We’d need the packs in on our side and Mike said the Bronx packs are scared of T-Slam’s reach. Scared. What scares a werewolf? Seriously. Hell if I know.

Best thing would be for a coup. Dodger would be a good leader for the crew. He respects MACUSA and he’s not ambitious like T-Slam. Treats the girls better, too. Maybe I’ll start spinning him a dream of how much better things would be without the old school...but Dodger’s not ambitious. He’s a good, loyal soldier...

Well, maybe it’s time to make some things and some people disappear and undermine the coven’s leadership...it’s what a magician does best, after all.

[Eben Rook]

It is late June and the temperature is barely in the seventies. What the hell? My neighbor even had the gall to bitch about it being hot. Be thankful it’s not a hundred degrees and eighty percent humid, Tom, because that was New York last summer.

And the clouds. It’s always cloudy, but it doesn’t deliver with the rain. I’m probably going to regret complaining about that in a few months when it won’t stop raining. That may make my hunting harder if a vampire can make it when it’s cloudy.

Note to self: was Meyers right that clouded days can keep a vampire from burning?

I should see if Qasim would be willing to ship me some more potions. I still don’t feel like I have enough and I don’t trust the potioneers here. I don’t even want to think about trying to do it myself...this apartment can’t handle my potential blunders.

It’s too nice of a place to really stand much magic. The sleek, modern look isn’t normally my style, but Wendy was right when she asked me to take a chance and look at it. I wish the kitchen was a bit bigger, but the views can’t be beat.

I have my safety spells in place. I can’t help but be paranoid here. The community is running on high tension. Even through the ‘stiff upper lip’ façade, I can see it. This town’s a powder keg. When the spark happens, things will get really interesting, real quick. I could stand to make a profit, or get caught in the explosion. Either way, I need to play this safe and smart. Maybe I’ll ask Qasim to send some of the work books for the more robust security spells, too. Can’t be too safe.

[Eben Rook]

I took a walk last night to try and get familiar with the area. This city is old, rambling, and confusing. The streets tangle up with each other more like Boston than Manhattan. Why didn’t Robert Moses come over here and fix this, too? Bastard.

I could comb this city for years and years and never find her. What if I don’t? What if I have to go back home, time wasted, beaten? It’s not implausible. I mean, I’m not without resources and ways of finding the bitch, but I could fail Saul.

But what if I do find her, and she’s not alone? I could have a real bad fight in my hands...I could die. Or worse. Ugh. If I were turned, or enthralled....I don’t even want to think about it. Maybe I should tell Vance to keep a stake ready in case the worst happens. But then I’d have to admit that I came out here hunting alone. And the lecture that’ll follow about the big no-no, and breaking it, and what would Saul say...

He’d say it’s a man’s job and a man should do what he’s gotta do. He’d understand. This is a personal score, not a job. This is a rite of passage for avenging my father friend.

Just don’t lose your head or humanity doing it, Rook.

[Eben Rook]

Sweeney. Freaking. Todd.

What more can I really say? I went and saw it last night and it was as much a stunner (maybe more) as it was in ‘05 when Saul and I went to the Broadway production.

The cast was spot on with the music, delivered their lines with the right play and gravitas...ugh. It was really art. True and good.

I’m still humming ‘Johanna’ this morning. She was a cutie, for sure. Her face was a bit round for me, but there was a sweetness to it as well. Maybe it’s just the innocence of the role coming through, but the whole show was fantastic.

I’m glad I went to the theater last night. It was a bit of a walk, but nothing terrible. The walk home in the dark was a bit more of an ear perker, given my prey. Stopped off at the Buddha Bar near here. Not a bad atmosphere, but nothing that screamed ‘vampire hunting ground!’ either. I wasn’t out to hunt, anyway, so I’m not too torn up over it.

I liked tonight. It was good to just explore, get to know the city, relax, enjoy myself. I’m not going to get too wound up over this hunt and start obsessing. I know Brandy’s concerned about that, and I can’t blame her. Saul deserves better and he deserved someone coming after Moira sooner. It’s easy to see why someone could get all wound up, but that’s a sure fire way to go cray-cray and I’m not doing that.

If anything, I needed this vacation. Some me time away from the day to day SAM stuff, explore a city instead of ghost in and out, try and belong...it’s refreshing.

I think I’ll make a habit of exploring more. Should also figure in the magical side as well, and not just the muggle stuff. Time to get that passport stamped, then, and see what the wizarding side is up to. Maybe they’re not as tightly wound as the no-maj’s are.

Yeah, right.

[Eben Rook]

(Content warning: graphic description of a burned body)



That smell...

I hate that smell. Charred hair. There’s something about it that makes me think of Haiti...the rituals there and their fire magic, maybe? They believe that hair and nails from a person holds a link to their soul.

Fire...purifies.

Hopefully, whoever that girl was before she died was set free from the curse she was under. Necromagic is the worst kind of Dark spell.

Still, her screams...and the smell. I’m not gonna say it was an easy death, but I’ve killed before and in worse ways. She was an infestation. A parasite. Whatever was human died long ago.

Next time, I’ll burn them after they’re dead. That’ll cut down the screaming and make clean up not as big of a hassle. Maybe not burn them. Vampire bodies don’t have the same fat to muscle ratio, but bone burns slow, and it burns hot. It’s not efficient. Never mind the eyes boiling and all the other nasty shit that happens to a body as it cooks.

Oh God I did that.

Cooked her. Immolated and roasted. What the fuck, Rook? Not a simple killing spell and vanish the body? Not a torture curse and a decapitation? That wasn’t even playing with her or torturing for information...that was just torture porn. Glad to know that I’m not a sadist, because as much as I CAN rationalize it, it was fucked up.

So yeah fire purifies. But it also leaves a big, nasty, ugly, question raising mess. Like what the fuck I was thinking. Obviously, I’m not as emotionally detached as I thought I’m gonna have to be more careful and not get so wrapped up like that. Fuck.