Chapter Text
1789
Dream of the Endless stepped out of the tavern with Hob Gadling behind him. They had just left Lady Johanna Constantine behind in her nightmares while her smugglers were unconscious on the floor beside her. They'd made it to the door and were about to step out into the stinking streets of London when it abruptly opened.
The Endless and the immortal were now blocked from leaving the tavern by a being, who for all intents and purposes, appeared human. Their chestnut hair was pulled back into a short, messy braid with a few strands hanging over their dark eyes. A long overcoat hung down and brushed the ground, covering their mud-stained shoes and pants. As said before, they appeared human.
But Morpheus knew better. While Hob was blind to it, the King of Dreams could see the air shimmer around the being's back and the way their shadow fell across the floor.
His gaze rose to the other being's eyes as they asked,
"Am I wrong in assuming Lady Johanna Constantine is inside? Endless?" He tilted his head as Hob glanced between the two of them, wondering if he should step in again,
"How do you know who I am?" The being jerked their head back toward a black-and-white raven that was sitting near the street,
"One of you always has a raven," They said, "And she's no ordinary raven, Endless. A blind man could see that,"
Morpheus stared at the being before asking, "What business do you have with Lady Constantine?" The being smirked before shouldering past the two in front of them,
"Business that does not concern an Endless,"
Dream and Hob watched them walk around the corner to where the Lady would still be whispering to her demons as the immortal asked,
"Friend of yours?" Morpheus said nothing in response to the question and just stepped out into the street and began to walk away as Hob called after him, "Until next time, then?"
Normally, Morpheus would take his leave back to The Dreaming once he was done visiting Hob Gadling. But he waited around the corner as Jessamy watched the front of the tavern. The two waited until the doors opened and the men Johanna Constantine employed stumbled out, followed about fifteen minutes later the Lady stepped out with the being following behind her. They stopped outside her coach and spoke briefly before the Lady stepped inside while ignoring the hand offered to her.
The being watched her drive away before looking toward Jessamy who was still sitting in the place she'd been observing from. They gave the rave a smile and headed to where she was sitting,
"Still here then? Why?" Morpheus brought himself forward to stand just behind the being,
"It is not every day a resident from the Silver City is seen walking amongst the humans," The angel turned to face him, the shadows of their wings flaring out behind them,
"And it is not every day an Endless has drinks in a tavern,"
"Why are you here?" The angel sighed,
"As I said before, it is no business of an Endless, but I have a feeling if I don't tell you, you'll make it your business," The angel sat down on the stone barrier beside Jessamy and looked up at Morpheus, "I'm hunting. A demon escaped hell, a trusted servant of Azazel and I'm tracking it. The Constantine family has proven useful in the past, and while none of them should be trusted, they do know what they're doing," Morpheus said nothing and the angel stood back up, "And if that is all, I do have places to be, Endless. I'm sure you do as well," They started to walk away, but they looked back over their shoulder to say,
"I do look like your friend though, Endless. She's very nice,"
Morpheus waited until they disappeared with the sound of their wings spreading against the air before he looked down at Jessamy and pulled out his sand,
"Come, Jessamy," He said, "It's time to return to The Dreaming,"
1889
Morpheus ignored Hob Gadling as he shouted after him and continued down his path in the rain, determined to get as far away from the tavern as possible.
Once he was far enough away, Dream pulled out his pouch and reached out to Jessamy-
"Is today a nightmare kind of day then?" He paused and looked up.
The angel he'd met a century ago was reclining on the awning above him with Jessamy sitting on their shoulder.
Not much about their appearance had changed over the past century. They were still wearing a dark overcoat and had dirty boots. Their eyes were still a glimmering, unlit sky while their hair short hair was being plastered against their narrow face by the rain,
"What?"
"I was asking if it was a bad day, Endless," They said as Jessamy hopped from their shoulder to glide down to the street beside him, "Seeing as you ran from your friend-" "He is not my friend!" The angel raised their hands before following Jessamy to the ground,
"Apologies, Endless. Didn't mean to pry or cross a boundary," They said as the sound of their wings being folded against their back filled the air, "I just thought-" "You thought wrong,"
His voice had deepened into a low rumble that echoed deep in his chest and reverberated against the walls around them as thunder shot through the sky,
"And again, I apologize," The angel said while stepping back and away from the Endless being in front of them, "But, I actually have something I need to do. So, if you do not mind, I'm going to take my leave," They tilted their head and began walking the way Dream had come from.
Morpheus watched the angel leave as Jessamy walked in front of him and tilted her head,
"What?" His friend looked between him and where the angel disappeared with an almost expectant look, but the Endless sighed, "Their business has nothing to do with us, Jessamy. Come," He pulled out his sand, "It's time for us to return,"
1916
"Corinthian," The rogue nightmare looked up from the human he was killing and faced The King of Dreams as Jessamy landed on the rooftop above him, "My creations stay in The Dreaming. They do not walk amongst the living killing mortals for pleasure,"
"But, isn't this why you created me?" The Nightmare asked, "Why should we confine ourselves to their sleeping minds? While here in The Waking World, we're unstoppable! There is nothing that can prevent us from taking whoever and what we want!"
Dream's haunting voice filled the alleyway as the shadows grew longer, "There is, though,"
The knife in Corinthian's hand dissolved into sand as the Endless being held out his glowing ruby,
"My lord, please!" The Nightmare fell to his knees as he felt himself being pulled apart, atom by atom as the ruby's color glowed brighter. But then, it stopped.
Sand whirled violently around the Endless, burning him as it pulled him back. He tried to fight the force tugging at him, but his attempts were futile in the end. Morpheus disappeared as Jessamy flew toward him and the two fell through time and space, hurtling toward a voice that grew louder and louder,
"Here in the darkness,"
"I give you a coin made from stone,"
"Here in the darkness,"
"I give you a knife from under the hills,"
"Here in the darkness,"
"I give you the blood from out of my veins,"
"Here in the darkness,"
"I give you a song I stole from the dirt,"
"Here in the darkness,"
"And I give you a feather, pulled from an angel's wing for you to lift up into the heavens," The bloodstained feather floated from Roderick Burgess' hand and landed delicately on the stone floor where not a second later, it rose back into the air and began to warp into an undiscernible shape that pulsed with power.
As the winds in the chamber blew out all of the candles, Roderick Burgess lifted his hands and continued,
"I summon you with poison! I summon you with pain! I open the way, I open the gates! I summon you in the names of the old lords: Namtar, Allatu, Morax, Maborym calls you! Horvendile calls you! We summon you together! COME!"
Morpheus hit the ground painfully, unable to move due to the circle binding him into small confinement. The summoning had drained him of his power and energy, so he would only lift a finger when his sand and ruby were taken from him. Then, his cloak was forcefully pulled off and he heard Jessamy creating a commotion as she attacked the person who'd brought him there before being forced out of the chamber,
"Move!" A harsh voice snapped before his helm was pulled from his head, "We'll let our guest recover before telling him our demands. Guards, watch him,"
Morpheus was left along now with two other mortals standing at the far wall. He was weak and powerless, trapped by a spell an amateur that had caused damage to both The Dreaming and The Waking World.
Though unbeknownst to the Endless, he was not the only being locked in the chambers the Magus had built under his house. For just down the hall was a weakened angel whose wings had been forced out with hooks digging into the skin, bloodying the pristine feathers and forcing the appendages to spread at an uncomfortable angle, forcing the being to be crouched on their hands and knees.
But they'd slowly been gathering strength, over the past six years of their captivity. Gathering what little power they could, and had slowly begun to chip away at the sigils that were keeping them confined. And they would've succeeded in their escape, probably would've damaged the binding circle on their way out as well, if it hadn't been for The Corinthian.
The Nightmare had finished telling the Magus what he should do about keeping Dream of the Endless captive and was about to leave when the angel managed to fully erase one of the sigils on the walls around it. That small burst of power was enough to alert the Nightmare that something else was there,
"What else do you have downstairs, Magus?"
Roderick Burgess studied the mystery man in front of him and said, "I don't see how that is any business of yours-" "It's going to be soon. If you don't fix whatever seal it's just broken!"
"He's already broken the binding circle?" The nightmare shook his head with a harsh sigh,
"Not the Endless! The other being you have in your basement!" He hissed, "It's not an Endless! And it sure as hell isn't Dream. It's breaking out!"
The Magus led his guest down into the cellars and walked toward the one furthest from the door. He motioned for Sykes to unlock it and his second-in-command procured a large, worn key from his pocket and slid it into the lock. The Corinthian stepped in with a low whistle when he saw the state of the angel before him,
"Now, what you have here, Magus is a Cherubim. Now," He held up a hand to stop any interruption, "Don't be fooled by the name. A Cherubim is nothing like those, children, that are painted in churches. These beings are holy warriors of the Silver City," The Corinthian stepped back, taking in the chains, hooks, and sigils on the walls before stopping in front of a burned symbol on the bricks,
"Yep. That'll be the one you'll need to replace," Roderick stepped into the room and saw what he was pointing at and asked,
"How do I fix it? Keep this, Cherubim, from getting out?" The Corinthian shrugged,
"My knowledge of these beings begins and ends with what I've already told you. But something else I can tell you is that if they get out, with how much power that gets released with each destroyed sigil, once they get to the last one, there is a very high chance that it will destroy Dream's cage too," He said, "So I suggest you do what you have to in order to keep them caged. Both of them caged,"
The Nightmare then made his way back upstairs and out to the waiting car with the Magus on his heels,
"Why are you helping me? What is he to you?" The Corinthian turned to face him,
"Let's just say, he made me who I am today. And if he were to get out, he'd take it all away. And with the angel," The Nightmare sucked in a breath, "Despite the whole, 'holy warrior' moniker, a few of them can turn vengeful. And since it knows I was there-" "It would kill you? If it were to get out?"
"Right after it ripped you and your entire order apart," Corinthian paused as the Magus thought everything he'd been told, "We're being observed,"
"What? By who? No one's here," In response to the Magus, Corinthian picked up a stone and chucked it toward the trees, causing a raven to dart out from the leaves and into the sky,
"Well, you'll have to deal with that one. Her name is Jessamy. And she belongs to him," The Nightmare made his way back to the car as Roderick Burgess called out,
"Will I see you again?"
"You should hope not," As he watched his mysterious helper disappear, Roderick turned back to his mansion and called for Sykes,
"Gather the order and get the grimoire. We have work to do,"