The Black Tattoo Read Online Free Page A

Scourge."
    At that, Jack gave up looking around and stared openly at Nick instead.
    "I'm sorry," said Charlie, "but I don't think I heard you right.   Did you just say 'demon'?"
    "That's right," said Nick.   "A demon.   A being of pure liquid darkness, bent on a path of destruction."
    Jack raised his eyebrows.
    "Many thousands of years ago," said Nick, "the Scourge was defeated by a powerful curse.   The curse kept the demon imprisoned where it could do no harm, and the Brotherhood's task was to make sure that it stayed that way.   However, as the centuries passed, our order became complacent:   our numbers thinned, and those who remained grew... weak.   One day, over a decade ago now, one of our members betrayed us."
    Nick walked slowly around the table until he stood at the far end, resting his black-gloved hands on the chair at its head.
    "Hungry for power, the man — Felix, his name was — allowed the Scourge to possess him.   The demon took him over and became very strong:   we only just managed to recapture it.   In the battle another member of our group — Esme's mother, Belinda — was killed."
    Jack looked at Esme, but she showed no reaction.   Her strange amber eyes were bright as she concentrated on what was being said.   (She was, Jack decided, really very pretty indeed, actually.)
    "In the years since that night, I've traveled the world," said Nick, "searching for new recruits to bring the Brotherhood back up to strength — without success," he added, with a wan smile at Charlie, "until today.   But now, with the Brotherhood still in tatters, I find we have been betrayed again."
    He sighed (a bit dramatically, Jack thought).
    "The Scourge has been unleashed once more," said Nick.   "For thousands of years it has been biding its time, waiting for the moment to come when it can put its terrible plans into action.   Now, I fear, it will succeed.   Unless we have your help."
    Nick paused.
    "I need the three of you," he said, looking at Esme, then Jack, then back at Charlie again, "to take a small test.   This test will decide which of you is going to become the Brotherhood's next leader."
    "But Nick!" Raymond spluttered.   "You didn't mention this was about who's going to be leader!"
    "Frankly, Raymond," said Nick, "I'd've thought it was obvious.   You and I no longer have the strength to do what must be done:   it is time to pass the burden to the next generation.   The one who performs best in the test will take on as much of my own power as I am able to give, becoming the new leader of the group."
    "But... that should be Esme, shouldn't it?" Raymond asked.   "She's been training all her life."
    "So you keep telling me," said Nick.   Then, seeing Raymond's and Esme's shocked expressions, he sighed.
    "Look," he told them, "I know this might seem strange to you.   But the Brotherhood needs reinforcements and time is short.   You've always trusted me before, Raymond:   trust me now, Trust me ," Nick repeated.   "That's all I ask."
    Raymond and Esme looked at each other but said nothing:   already, Nick had gone back to concentrating on Charlie.
    "Now, what you're being offered here," he went on, staring at Charlie intently, "is something in the way of a proper adventure.   A chance to battle an ancient evil and — quite possibly — save the world.   And all I need from you, at this stage, is a simple yes or no.   So... what's your answer?"
    There was a pause.
    Jack had loved fantasy, science fiction, and horror all his life — the films, the games, and the books.   He'd heard worse stories, and frankly, he'd heard better ones, but no one had ever expected him to believe one was actually true before.   He was so nonplussed, he wasn't sure how to react, so he turned and looked at Charlie.
    To his amazement, Charlie wasn't even smiling:   he was looking at Nick with fixed attention — giving every appearance of having listened seriously to every word Nick had said.   Jack waited