My Babylon: Book Three: Risen

By James L. Wilber

My Story

An obsessed magician will do anything it takes to satisfy his perverse needs.

My Myth

He turns to forbidden arts to manifest his will.

My Revelation

In doing so, he will bring about the end of everything.

My Babylon

A serial novel about the paranormal and dark desires. The story of a cursed young man who has an intimate view of the Apocalypse. My Babylon weaves elements of urban fantasy, erotic horror, and real-world occult practices, to form a unique personal tale that thrills, terrifies, and even enlightens.

In Book Three: Risen, the magus gains the object of his desire. Her presence not only changes him and his life forever, but sets in motion events that go beyond his comprehension.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James L. Wilber
• Release date: Aug 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301545506

James L. Wilber

James L. Wilber describes himself as Anne Rice and Chuck Palahniuk’s bastard love child. He’s a pretentious prick who claims to pen, “literary genre fiction.” Which means he writes smarmy shit about wizards and vampires doing a poor job at hiding his symbolism and metaphor. He’s turned to self-publishing on the correct assumption his stories are just too fucking weird for mass consumption.He has contributed to numerous books for roleplaying games from companies such as: Wizards of the Coast, Paizo Publishing, White Wolf Studios, Bastion Press, and Atlas Games. He was also a writer on the Origins Award nominated, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game by Eden Studios.Mr. Wilber also assumes the roles of husband, ceremonial magician, podcast host, and owner of a 100-lb Alaskan Malamute.He lives in Indianapolis, a dreary place built by masons obsessed with circles.Along with Stephan Loy and Dick Thomas, James is a member of Mid-World Arts, a collective of indie writers dedicated to helping each other produce quality works. Find out more at midworldarts.com.You can read his thoughts on politics, culture, and what he calls pagan chaos magick at scrollofthoth.com.He only uses social media that he enjoys, which means tumblr. Get to know him at scrollofthoth.tumblr.com, jameslwilber.tumblr.com, and geeksoutafterdark.tumblr.com.You can hear him on the podcasts Scroll of Thoth, and Geeks Out After Dark.Get more of his writing at jameslwilber.com.

Book preview

MY BABYLON

A NOVEL IN FIVE PARTS

BOOK THREE: RISEN

BY JAMES L. WILBER

Copyright © 2013 by James L. Wilber. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Mid-World Arts

James L. Wilber is a part of the Mid-World Arts Studio, a group of independent artists helping to promote each other in order to challenge traditional media. If you liked this story, please visit Mid-World Arts to find other quality publications.

The author greatly appreciates you taking the time to read this work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought this book and telling others about it.

Published by James L. Wilber at Smashwords

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my muse, Astra. You have my permission to summon her yourself.

We create no myths.

There will be no new holy books written. There will be no new great revelations.

We only have stories.

We are jaded by excess. The great sea of information, capable of connecting us all, only serves to divide us by faith, culture, counterculture, and ideology. It makes us incapable of seeing the great works around us. At least for now.

I have done my best to be honest. To reveal these events as they happened, to put myself in the same mind as when they occurred.

I am the magus Ego Sum Legio. This is:

My story,

My myth,

My revelation,

Liber 589 – The Book of Eschaton

My Babylon

...Where this babe wants to take her gear off and get down, but oh no, she don't, 'cause it's a PG-13 movie.

- Jay, Dogma

Chapter 1

What are you?

The creature, the girl, the thing that had once been a dead body, lifted onto her hands and knees inside the magick circle where I had summoned her.

I am what you made, she said.

I have never pursued women based on their looks, yet I could not help but marvel in her countenance. Her magnificent breasts hung towards the floor, she stretched out, showing her amazing curves, lifting her ass into the air. She had red hair, long and curly, and olive skin which made the hair seem slightly unnatural, green eyes with flecks of gold. The perfect example of the feminine. Exactly what I desired. Because I made her that way.

I sat on the floor outside the circle. When I had regained consciousness, she was already awake, staring at me.

Where do you come from? I asked.

I am the product of your will, she said, a slight purr in her voice, as she came towards me on all fours.

I scooted back. Lesson for all you uninitiated, circles don't bind demons, triangles do. Are you from The Pit?

She kept coming. What pit?

If you had asked me ten hours ago, I would have told you this was exactly what I wanted. I wasn't so sure anymore. The one in which Lucifer resides.

She stopped, tilted her head to one side and thought about it for a moment, I've never been there.

A yes would have made things easier. At least I would know where to begin. What is your name?

She sat up on her haunches and considered that even longer. Then a smile played across her lips.

Aiden.

I nearly blacked out again. To pass the time leading up to the ritual, I would think of names to call my creation. The list contained dozens of monikers with occult significance. For amusement, I added the name of my favorite porn star. She could read my mind.

The next question tested the theory, What do you want?

She shifted back down, resting her chin on the ground and looking up at me, eyes wide. More.

That clinched it. During our games, that was the answer Rose was required to use whenever I asked that question. The creature was too dangerous. It would consume me, destroy me from the inside out. I only went through with the ritual to protect others. I did not intend to benefit from it.

I climbed to my feet and looked down at her, I release you.

She sat up in surprise, losing the vamp routine.

What?

I release you. You are not bound to serve me. You may go as you please. I knew this could be my undoing. She could turn on me. She could run amok. But what else could I do? I trusted myself less than I trusted her. The damage I could cause to my psyche and those around me weighed heavier than the risks of letting her go.

Are you sure?

No. Everything about her was sweet and sensual. Multiple voices in my head screamed, just once. For a third time, I release you.

The look on her face, as if she were about to cry, broke my heart. She faded before my eyes, leaving behind only her intoxicating scent of sandalwood, musk, dragon's blood, and roses.

For a time, I sat on the hard wooden floor and thought about all that could have been. I don't know why I cried or why I felt as if I had just lost something rare and precious. It's not like I had gotten to know her. The sound of Ezra waking behind me broke me out of it.

He stumbled over to me, running fingers through his long hair and brushing off his clothes. Where's the body?

It worked.

He cast eyes about the room. Did you bury it under the floor? You know that's the first place they'll look.

It worked. The body was consumed in the ritual. Just like Stoyan had described.

Fuck you. Where's the servitor?

I let her go.

He opened his mouth a few times before settling on what to say. You let it go? What do you mean? It's out running errands?

No. I released it from my service and it went away.

Fuck Michel, stop joking. Where's the body?

I got up and our eyes met. That shut him up for a few seconds.

He turned and stumbled towards the stairs. "I gotta get out of here. It's