Chapter 12. 6 or a mistake?

(From James' point of view, the moment when Samuel approached him.)

I was distracted from my thoughts about Riley, the man standing next to me. There was some mystery in his character, but it was unclear what it was at the moment.

"James, can I talk to you for a minute?" Samuel said.

"Yes, I'll be right there, Riley. Don't go anywhere," I said, approaching Samuel.

"Perhaps we've stumbled upon a lead," Samuel said.

"I talked to them, they left Michael alone after the ritual. But now they're trying to find out who told Michael about the ritual that he conducted and died from. They have one lead, they believe a man passed it on, and if you don't count Steve, that makes six people," he said.

"So it seems we should talk to all the men in the club. Thanks to Riley, I've learned about many of them, and I think I can find a way to connect with them," I told him.

"I'll try to get more out of them and then also try to talk to other groups," said Samuel.

After Samuel left, I spoke with Riley again. "Riley, have there been any new rituals in the club lately that not everyone might know about?" I asked him.

"Rituals... hmmm... new rituals... As far as I know, no. Maybe Alex knows something, after all, it's his club," Riley replied.

"Then I'll have to go to Alex for advice," I said to him.

"No problem, I'm always here," he said with a smile.

I quickly scanned the room and saw Alex. Without hesitation, I headed towards him. Meanwhile, Alex was reading a book and talking to his children. "Good evening, Alex," I greeted him.

Alex, who was reading the book, paused and looked at me. "Hello, um... I believe your name is James," he said.

"You guessed it," I said to him with a laugh.

"No guessing, I just remembered. Your appearance is somewhat more ordinary than your friend Samuel's. I recognized him immediately," he said.

"Perhaps that's true. I wanted to ask you if you have found any new rituals in the club. I just found out that someone has found one, but I don't know who it is yet," I said to him.

"A new ritual?! If I found one, I would definitely tell you. My task is to lead you all on the path of studying esotericism and occult practices. That is my greatest mission in the mundane world," he said poetically.

"Then, may I ask if there is anyone else here who is knowledgeable about this, besides you of course?" I asked.

"There is, but I doubt he knows more than me. It's Joe, the guy over there," Alex said, pointing his finger at Joe, whom Riley had told me about.

"Got it, thanks. I won't keep you from your book," I said.

"Don't hesitate to ask me, for I'm not just sitting here for no reason," he said.

Apparently, the head of the club is obsessed with occultism, which cannot be said of the members of this club. I walked towards the group headed by Joe, hoping that he would give me more information, otherwise we will lose the only lead we found here.

I approached Joe, a tall guy with bright-colored eyes, dressed in dark-colored jeans and a matching sweater that revealed a light-colored shirt underneath.

"Excuse me, may I join your conversation?" I asked.

"Huh?" Joe made a sound as the man and two girls looked at me.

"Hello, my name is James. I'm new here and I would like to introduce myself to you," I said amiably.

"Oh, hello!" The first to respond was a girl named Lena, if I'm not mistaken.

"My name is Elena."

"Hello, my name is Anna," said the teacher.

"Hello, my name is Joe," the guy finally greeted me.

"Hello," said a skinny man, who I think was called Michael.

"It's good that there are more people in our club, it's more fun that way," said Lena.

"May I ask you all a question? I overheard someone talking about a new ritual that supposedly grants protection and the opportunity to make a wish. Have you heard of such a thing?" I asked them.

"Hahaha. A ritual that grants wishes?" Joe laughed.

"If there was such a ritual, it would surely involve a sacrifice, possibly using a large animal or a person. If such a thing existed, it certainly wouldn't be in this club," he said.

"But aren't there rituals that use chicken blood?" said Lena.

"There are, but they are for protection, amulets, cleansing, possibly even for curses, contracts, or as an offering to gods or spirits. But not for granting wishes, as the consequences would be significant," he said haughtily. "What do you think?" I asked, looking at Michael.

"I don't deal with rituals at all, only amulets, that's why I come here. Dealing with blood is dangerous, especially for that purpose. It's possible that no one here knows about such rituals, except for Alex. But considering that you came here from him, he may not know or may not want to talk about it. Although this is an occult club, we do not approve of black magic or blood magic. Here, we share knowledge about it and try to better understand our world," said Michael.

"I understand, thank you for sharing. I was curious because I had heard about it, but since no one seems to know, it was probably just a rumor," I said.

"No problem, if you have any questions about occultism, feel free to ask, after all, that's why you joined here," said Joe.

I looked at them once again and then tactfully moved towards the elderly couple, who were already joined by Riley.

"Hello, my name is James. I would like to introduce myself to you," I said.

"Hello, James. My name is Emily, and my husband's name is Edward," she said, pointing to her husband.

"Pleased to meet you," I said to them.

"Nice to meet you too," her husband said, extending his hand.

I shook his hand and then decided to ask a question.

"Do you happen to know about any ritual or ceremony that can grant a wish upon completion?" I asked them.

"A ritual that grants a wish? If we knew, we definitely wouldn't be standing here, we'd be lying on some island sipping cocktails. We can't even fly because of our health. Until we bring it back in order, we have to settle for this club," said Emily.

"I see, I just thought that people gather here for something like that. To find answers or solutions to all their problems or desires," I said.

"Unfortunately, all we have are conversations about it, but that's better than nothing," she said.

At this moment, Riley was silent, although I was initially interested in his opinion on the new ritual. I thought he would say something on this topic, but apparently, I was wrong. I left them and went to the last group, namely the children of the club's leader.

"Hello, I am James, the new member of this club," I said, extending my hand to the guy.

"Hello, I'm Jackson, and this is my sister Molly," he said, shaking my hand.

"Hello," Molly said.

"I would like to ask if you know any rituals for wish fulfillment?" I asked them.

"It's better to ask our father about that. We only sell occult accessories to people who still practice it. If you want to learn more about these attributes, we can tell you. We spend all day with them and sometimes even skip classes. " he said.

"From what I heard from Riley, you guys are still studying," I said.

"We don't even know anymore. We go to college sporadically, skipping days in between," Molly said.

"I see. Is your mother okay with that?" I asked.

"She left a long time ago, but things aren't any better with her. She now lives on a farm, and we don't want to become farmers. Besides, it's too far from the city, and we won't even be able to travel there for our studies," Jackson said.

"Well, I'll try to talk to your father. Maybe I can persuade him to let you attend classes," I said.

"I doubt that you'll be able to. Even the teachers couldn't reach him, which is why they allowed us to attend classes this way," Jackson said.

"Well, I'll still try," I said and walked towards Alex, who was sitting a few meters away from us.