章 86: Spy
Luke, while reading the memories of the faceless man named Deacon, discovered several things. First, besides the faceless one and Amaranth, three more people had come on the mission to assassinate him.
One of them, as he thought, was Sabrina Spellman (the faceless one doesn't know her real name either, unfortunately). Another was Sabrina's older brother; his name is Sebastian (maybe he is also fake; Luke doesn't know). Lastly, a tall man named Atlas. Deacon has no idea of this outcast's relationship to Sabrina and her older brother, but he is the one who leads. So, he must be an elder in the Spellman family.
Luke learns that Deacon, Amaranth, and Sid (the werewolf he killed on Raven Island) were servants of Sabrina.
Rather, servants of the Spellmans. It's not uncommon for other types of outcasts to be loyal followers of psychics. After all, psychics are in the minority in the outcast society and the strongest. It is rare to see one psychic under the orders of another. That's what Edgar told him.
Principal Larissa, when she first met Luke and learned he was an orphaned psychic, knew something was wrong. They could be halfbreeds of normies and psychics, although cases are sporadic.
Atlas, Sabrina, and the other three meet with Marilyn in the cave where she hides Tyler. They gave her a liquid that Atlas claimed would enhance Hyde's strength. In exchange for that enhancer, Marilyn was to take it upon herself to assassinate Luke.
If Marilyn doesn't assassinate Luke and decides to revive Crackstone by going for the safer ritual, Crackstone will be sure to assassinate him, or that was Atlas' plan. This way, the Spellmans would have no connection to Luke's murder.
The problem was not the murder itself. The problem involved Nevermore and hundreds of students in their grudge. Since they didn't want to wait until Luke finished Nevermore, they were looking for less conventional ways. He also didn't know the reason why they tried to assassinate him so badly when his father was left alone during the days he lived at Nevermore.
As for how the Spellmans knew about the prophecy of Crackstone's return, it was not far-fetched for them to know. They are an old and powerful family of psychics. Their family members must work in the demon extermination department, having information on demonic cases like Crackstone's.
"Interesting. Atlas is still alive. Well, no wonder he's still alive," Edgar said with a hand on his chin. Luke was telling him all the information he collected from the faceless man's head.
"Do you know him? Is he a psychic?" asked Luke. He must have known the power of this outcast, as he seemed to be the leader and the strongest of the five. Luke had already defeated Sabrina, and Amaranth and Deacon were not worried about their strength.
"He's not a psychic. He's a gorgon. He followed Sabrina's father from his youth. Many times, he stood up to your father. He's a loyal follower of the Spellmans," Edgar replied.
"A gorgon... Is he strong?" asked Luke.
"A little weaker than Crackstone. His advantage is his age. He's a hundred years old, maybe a little older. So he has a lot of experience," Edgar replied, doing a mental count.
"A hundred years? That old? Why would he follow Sabrina's father? Sabrina's father should have been a teenager when he met him. Besides, that they were still two different species of outcasts," Luke said with confusion.
"Sabrina's father is a descendant of Edward and is the same age as your father, maybe a few years older. Atlas is very old but decides to follow him only because he belongs to the Spellman family. The gorgons live five hundred years or so. Their population is much larger than that of psychics. So there are gorgon deserters and outcasts from their own families. The psychic families are in the minority, but each one concentrates far greater power and wealth than the other outcast families. That is the reason why many outcasts, such as gorgons, werewolves, etc., decide to become minions of the more powerful psychic families," Edgar explained patiently.
"That's it? All for power and wealth? Well, it makes sense," Luke said.
"Another reason may be that the more radical psychics created books on witchcraft. The advantage of witchcraft is that it doesn't discriminate between outcasts. You can be a werewolf and learn or use the necessary rituals to strengthen yourself. This is what many seek by joining psychic families," Edgar said disapprovingly.
'Now I remember Goody Addams had the book of shadows,' Luke thought.
"Do we have that?" asked Luke. The Poe's were an old family and were wealthy at one time. Although they weren't radical, they might have had the occasional book of witchcraft. It would be curious to study dark magic and witchcraft. He had no idea what powers he might gain.
"We had the odd book, but because of the war against the Spellmans, they were lost. We didn't use them anyway. Only extremist outcasts will make practical use of such books. Dark rituals are dangerous. That's why the hag exists. One wrong step, and you will be insane for the rest of your life. It's still a much lower level than dealing with demons, though," Edgar replied.
"Mm, I understand," Luke said with a thoughtful look. According to Morticia, Goody Addams went too far in her quest for revenge, which meant she couldn't save herself. Maybe she went too far with the rituals and dark magic.
"What will you do? If the Spellmans think Crackstone can be revived, it must be true. They have more information since they have people on the council. If he is revived, Nevermore will be in danger," Edgar asked. He was fond of Nevermore, he didn't want him to be destroyed.
"I'll let them revive him," Luke replied. He already had a plan in mind with all the information he got.
"Oh, why?" asked Edgar, curious.
"I'll get proof that they helped Marilyn in reviving Crackstone. If one of the deadliest enemies of the outcasts revives and scourges Nevermore, it will be big news. What if it came out that the Spellmans helped bring Crackstone back to life? All to kill me and fulfill their old grudge," Luke said with a faint smile.
"That's a good idea, but you're playing with fire. For that plan, you need Crackstone to be revived. Once you have the evidence, you must survive Crackstone, and if you defeat him, Atlas will most likely try to assassinate you," Edgar said in a serious tone.
If Luke wants to rat out the Spellmans, it would be best if Crackstone is revived and causes chaos. It wouldn't be the same if they tried, but in the end, nothing happened. If Luke succeeds in ratting them out, it will put them in a very difficult situation depending on the damage Crackstone causes in Nevermore and to the children of many outcast families.
"I know. No risk, no gain," Luke said. From one of the drawers of his bedside table, he pulled out a card given to him by a member of the fringe police when he questioned him about the Raven Island attack.
The outcast cop had told him he would call if he needed help or had proof of the story he told him about the real culprits in the Raven Island attack.
'That will be in the end though,' Luke thought. If he contacted him as of now, the outcast cop would try to stop the ritual to revive Crackstone, and if that happens, he won't get the big guilt effect he wants to give the Spellmans for reviving a normie and deadly enemy of the outcasts.
'How do I start collecting evidence? I can start with Deacon,' Luke thought.
He could think of bugging Deacon to record what he talks about with Atlas and the others. Then he would retrieve them. For this, he would use his mind control. This way, Deacon won't think it's strange to have a microphone. He'll think he's always had it there, and it's nothing to worry about.
'I could also get close to his lair and take pictures, but I have to get close, and my stealth is no good,' Luke thought.
Reading Deacon's memories to him, he discovered that the lair they were using was The Original Pilgrims Meeting House, built in 1625.
A house used by Crackstone and other normies to chain and burn outcasts. It was currently in extreme disrepair and was located on the outskirts of Jericho. A more secluded area over 20 kilometers away.
If he wanted to take pictures of the place, he needed to approach at a distance not as safe as his domain. He does not specialize in stealth, so he could be discovered and his enemies would realize that he knows about them. This will be a big disadvantage and put them on alert.
'I know! I can use Wednesday. I mean, ask her for help. We're researching Crackstone it would make sense to tell her about visiting that place,' Luke thought. All he needed to do was to buy an expensive, high-quality camera so that the photos would be as clear as possible.
Without wasting any more time, he opened his MacBook, went to Amazon, and bought several things that would be useful to collect clues. A 5,000 USD professional camera.
He bought a pen that had a built-in voice recorder. He didn't know such a useful item existed. He could give it to Deacon and have him record all conversations when he meets with his colleagues. He bought some extras in case he needed more.
He also buys a miniature camera to place in strategic places to record undetected.
'I feel like quite the spy,' Luke thought. This purchase would be expensive for a normal person, but he is a millionaire. He had to wait a day for the stuff to arrive. Nevermore allowed students to buy things. There was a post office at the school like the Dairy Store in Harry Potter but without so much bird shit and none of the magic.
What he needed to do now was talk to Wednesday so she could help him spy on Atlas and the others without being seen.
Luke didn't think he would ultimately help revive Crackstone. Rather, he would not intervene and let things happen as they should. At first, he had planned to murder Hyde and Marilyn so that Crackstone would not come back to life and end the prophecy once and for all.
However, now he changed his mind. He could use Crackstone's return to his advantage since his mortal enemies were backing him, and the outcast society would not like it at all if a family of important psychics helped revive an insane normie who hates outcasts and made deals with demons.
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