44 Preparation for a Ritual

On Sunday morning, Graham woke up late, at twenty past ten. The previous night he, or rather, Valentine and the others had successfully escaped from the public cemetery unscathed. However, when the three of them returned to the sewer, the wraiths had been able to shriek again so Valentine had had to place another restriction for them to pass safely through those ghastly things.

Graham got up from the bed to wash his face. His stubble had almost grown into a full beard, so he had to trim it short. He didn't like having a full beard. His amber hair had also grown a bit too long and wavy for his liking, but he didn't know how to cut his own hair, so he let it be for the time being.

He looked at himself in the clear mirror; his light green eyes that were not covered by the brown contact lenses made his gaze look very sharp, like looking at shattered glass. He then concentrated and his eyes turned red, which didn't look natural at all, but it made him seem to emit an aura of intimidation. He decided not to wear the contact lenses today since he could make his eyes stay green even while using his power.

Graham left his bathroom and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took a look at his freezer. There, two whole mouths were lying around in the freezing temperature, safe from rot for the time being. He left them there, and would only take them out later when he was ready for the ritual. For now, he needed to buy more ingredients.

Since he had to be at his best both physical and mental states to undergo the ritual, he decided to stop by Don's Pancake House to have breakfast first. He put on a t-shirt and a warm sweater over it, wore a pair of striped pants. But before he went out, he took out his lighter and lit it. He stared at the flame intently.

'Is it safe to do divination where there are people watching?'

An image bit by bit formed in the flame. There was a man observing a bonfire closely, and Graham, who was looking from another person's view, could see a blurry image inside the bonfire, but he couldn't make out what it was. Then he moved back several steps and the blurry image disappeared, leaving only a normal bonfire and a man observing it. After that, his own divination image slowly vanished.

He let go of the trigger mechanism and the flame went out. He thought about what he had just seen and muttered, "It was divination within divination. I wonder if I can recreate that..."

Graham put the lighter back inside his pocket and left the house. He didn't leave the building right away, but went to his neighbor's door and rang the bell.

Ding... dong...

The sound of the bell resounding inside the room could be faintly heard from outside. There was no answer.

Ding... dong...

He rang the bell for the second time, and after a while, there was the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Luuk opened the door still in his pajamas, with his signature dark circles around his eyes. His hair was messy. He seemed to have just woken up.

"Yes?" he said sleepily and then yawned.

"I'm going to Don's to get breakfast. Do you want to come?" asked Graham in a casual manner.

Luuk seemed to be thinking, and shortly after he spoke, "Give me a minute. I need to get changed."

He went back into his apartment and Graham waited patiently with his back against the wall. He looked at his apartment building corridor and thought that it really needed a renovation.

After waiting for some time, Luuk came out. He was wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of denim pants. His brown hair had been neatly combed to the back.

Graham and Luuk left immediately and headed to Don's Pancake House, which was not far away from their apartment. It took them only four minutes of walking to reach the small but homey diner.

The diner that morning was not as busy as usual. They entered it and were greeted by Mirjam's friendly smile as usual. Luuk followed Graham who was heading to his favorite spot at the corner of the diner near to the exit. From there, through the glass wall, he could see the outside easily.

"Hey, Graham! Hey, Luuk!" she said cheerfully as she was approaching the spot where the two customers were sitting, "It's unusual to see you two come together."

"Yeah. It won't hurt to socialize normally from time to time," said Graham meaningfully. Most of the time when he was with Luuk was during missions.

"But it's disappointing to see you bring a guy instead of a girl," said Mirjam jokingly.

"We're not like that!" said Luuk flustered.

"Relax. She's joking," Graham said to him, and then turned to her, "Stop teasing me, will you? I'll bring the most beautiful girl one day and you'll be speechless,"

"I'll wait for the day," she smiled, "But if you can't find any, there are customers who have been asking about 'the handsome man sitting in the corner'. Maybe I can be the middlewoman,"

Graham's curiosity was piqued, but knowing Mirjam, it can't be anything good. He then asked inquisitively, "How old are those 'customers' you're talking about?"

"Fifty or sixty, probably eighty, who knows?" she said while sticking her tongue out.

Luuk was only watching from the side as usual. He wasn't really good at group conversations. He was not that close with the waiter either. Most of the time when he ate there, he sat in silence without being bothered by anyone.

"Anyway, we're ready to order. Give me my usual," said Graham, changing the topic.

"Okay. What about you, Luuk?" asked Mirjam while writing on her note. She scribbled very fast, showing her long experience.

"Bacon pancakes and cappuccino, please," he said politely.

"Alright. Please wait patiently for your orders," said Mirjam professionally and left their table.

After Mirjam left, Graham asked Luuk quietly, avoiding being heard by anyone although there were not a lot of people there, "If you pay for my meal, I'll divine the location of your needed scroll for you."

When he heard that, without thinking twice, Luuk said, "Okay."

He had wanted to get his hands on the new scroll since he felt that his Deity was just a little further away from being pleased. However, Graham and Jacco were the only two Contractbounds he knew personally, so he could only rely on either one of them. And it just so happened that Graham could do divination, so Luuk could consider himself lucky.

Graham looked around to make sure that no one was watching their table or listening in to their conversation. Everybody in the diner was busy chatting with their own companions, and no one was looking suspicious, so it was relatively safe. Moreover, there was no one at the tables around them. However, Graham didn't start divining right away; he waited until Mirjam came to bring their orders and left to prevent her from accidentally seeing his divination.

She came not long after with a tray full of food.

"Your orders. Bacon pancakes with bananas and peanut butter toppings and a cup of hot chocolate with mint. And for Luuk, bacon pancakes and a cappuccino. Enjoy!" she said with a warm smile, and then left their table. She had to serve another customer who called for her.

Their food looked very good, and they were salivating. Graham only took a sip of his hot chocolate but didn't eat his food right away. He needed to do divination while no one was bothering them.

Once the coast is clear, Graham took out his lighter and lit it. He looked at the flames intently, while Luuk sat closer to him so their backs would cover the view of anyone watching.

'Where is the location of the scroll for the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones?'

The flame burned brighter and the surrounding area turned dimmer. Other than him, only Luuk seemed to notice this as the other few people in the diner kept on doing what they were doing. Little by little, and image appeared and it showed a young woman who was taking care of plants. Since his power got upgraded, the image shown was no longer very blurry, so Graham could see the woman's face. She looked to be in her early twenties with a soft feature and blue eyes. Graham didn't recognize her, however.

Shortly after that, the image shifted to that of a slender man prowling in a back street while looking around suspiciously. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood covering his head. The man kept both his hands inside his pockets and his steps were light. Although he could see the suspicious man's face, Graham didn't recognize him either.

The image then shifted again to a boy who looked to be in his late teenage years. He was carrying thick books and there was a bag on his back. He seemed to be a university student. Graham still didn't know who any of those people were. After that, the flame consumed the image.

Luuk, who saw the three people, asked Graham questioningly, "What does it mean? Do I have to kill either of them to get the scroll?"

Graham solemnly answered, "Yes. That's the harsh truth of being a Contractbound. We hunt each other just to get stronger."

He had never personally killed a human being in his life, and although he was there when Marieke died, it was Valentine who killed her. Even with just that, he still got nightmares about the incident, although he kept telling himself that she had lost her sanity and they were only defending themselves.

"Is there no other way?" asked Luuk wistfully.

"I don't think so," said Graham shortly. If there was another way, his divination would have shown him so.

Luuk didn't say anything else after that. Since Graham had done what he needed to do, he started eating his pancakes and he devoured them ravenously. The pancakes were gone in an instant, and now he sipped his hot chocolate peacefully.

Luuk ate his food at a normal speed, but he seemed to be in deep thought. He was weighing his options, and if he, in the end, decided to go through with the assassination, which of the three people would he choose?

"If you want to commission me to help you get the scroll, you can tell me," said Graham after he finished his meal.

Luuk only nodded and didn't say anything.

"Well, then. I need to be somewhere else. Please kindly pay for my meal," he said while smiling nonchalantly.

Luuk sat there while finishing his meal. He didn't really mind being left alone since they were both adults and had their own business to take care of. With him being alone there, he could also think more clearly about his next course of action.

Graham got up and after telling Mirjam that Luuk was going to pay, he left the diner. He felt happier after getting a free breakfast meal, so he walked with leisurely towards his next destination. He needed to buy the correct colored candles and essential oil for the ritual.

He walked towards Grotemarktstraat. His destination was the hardware store called Oscar, where he had bought the previous ritual materials. For the Deity of the Tongue, he needed four Violet candles and jasmine essential oil. It took him long to reach the street because he was not as fast as Valentine.

It was almost midday when he arrived at Grotemarktstraat. The street was very busy with people because it was Sunday. They were visiting the numerous commercial facilities there, like restaurants and clothes stores. Graham ignored all the other places and went straight to Oscar.

He entered the big hardware store that was unsurprisingly packed with many people. Since he had been there for the same business, he could easily find what he was looking for. He bought the candles and the oil that he needed. He was actually thinking of buying other colored candles and oils that were available there, for future ritual purposes, but since they were expensive, he only bought what he needed. In the future, he could just come back here and bought more.

Graham went to the cashier and paid forty stuivers for all his items, which was two stuivers more expensive than last time. He was still baffled by how expensive essential oils were. He still had some Frankincense oil leftover from Valentine's ritual and he had no idea what to do with it.

After paying and saying thank you to the cashier, he walked home. He needed to get ready for his second ritual.