Red and Cyan - graphic novel - book two

Book Two

BY

JONATHAN

COWEN

{

w w w. J O N C O W E N . c o . u k w w w. V I L D . c o . u k

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The story so far: Caius the angel, and Cyan the demon, have been trapped in a tower in the dreams of London since the dawn of time. One day they make a wager: If Cyan can deliver someone new to the tower, Caius would let her go. If she couldn’t, Cyan would forfeit her life, freeing Caius from his ‘duty’.

Now, a ghost named Alice agrees to help Cyan. She will deliver an enchanted message, in exchange for the chance to speak with her dying brother. But, the enchanted message takes over Alice’s mind and chooses the kindest person she knows as Cyan’s replacement.

On her way to deliver the message Alice falls out with The North Wind. He takes an extreme dislike to her, and him and his family attack Alice…

RED & CYAN ©2013 Jonathan Cowen. All rights reserved. The events, characters and institutions presented in this book are fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the author, except in the case of short excerpts as part of a review.

Digital printing November 2013.

B o o k Tw o

BY JONATHAN COWEN

I twirled tattered and torn in their tumult.

The winds, perhaps, thought me an easy target.

But, their final strike never hit.

My bag burst in black flame, again,

shielding me from the blast.

The North wind roared at this strange outrage,

and formed itself into the shape of a giant raven,

which grabbed me in its smoky claws.

and the shadow churned and spun

Now, that is what I call a bird.

Agreed. Get under it and fly, or we are all done for!

The swallows flew like darts into the raven’s shadow,

and the winds spiralled faster,

trying to trap us.

But, the raven cut a path through the streams quite undeterred, leaving an inky black trail behind it.

This is all becoming quite tiresome.

The winds,

now quite pathetic,

did not pursue the raven, maybe out of fear, or maybe out of embarrassment?

One could not rightly say which.

Instead they scattered to their four points in silence.

But, as the old saying goes: We jumped out of the frying pan, and into‌ ...a large mass of ghosts.

The dead had been waiting.

These spirits were clearly disturbed: I sought to interfere, but had been powerless to help.

Misery was upon us, while watching.

Raven, do you hear our pain?

Will you not spare a few kind words?

However, the raven did not stop to listen or answer them.

The raven is ignoring us.

You can hear!

You can hear!

Listen to us, bird!

The spirits became quite angry they were being ignored.

Stab out its eyes!

Rip out its feathers!

The devil flies amongst us.

It has come for us all!

That ghost is in its claws.

Kill the bird! It is a monster.

Just as their anger reached fever pitch the clouds intervened, they formed thick and white around all the phantoms. ....mmmhggg.....

....ttrrfffdd.... ...arrfgmmp... ....mmbnmdmm....

Did the clouds transport the ghosts away, or merely trap them so they all became one?

Again, I could not say.

But the clouds and the mob faded, and the sky became hushed and clear.

The clouds had protected us, they had kept their promise.

We descended to the streets below.

The great bird landed in a disused plot of land,

and changed back into the shadow of Cyan.

I was now quite ragged,

and the swallows hopped around me, most concerned.

The shadow looked at the swallows as if noticing them for the first time, her red eyes flaring.

Will she be all right?

Cyan replied, her voice crackling and distorting more than ever.

I got to her in time.

Let her sleep and she will mend...

The sun will rise soon.

Tomorrow night she will be fine and ready to travel north... Fly with her, help her deliver my message.

Look here lady. We are on way to Egypt… We don’t have time…

The magic she carries is limited.

I do not think I can save Alice again.

Not without compromising my plan.

...spluttered another swallow, only going silent when her red gaze dropped on him.

Help her complete this task.

I will make it worth your while.

What would you offer us?

I offer whatever a swallow desires most.

Caius, high in the tower, was not blind to these events. Unlike Cyan his powers were not diminished.

Over the centuries past—and there had been countless—Cyan had been his prisoner, friend, lover, and his enemy.

The ‘little church on a hill’, is it?

Their relationship was stretched beyond mere captive and captor, and now there was a chance; a slim chance; they would be separated.

That thought was a double edged sword indeed, and Caius had heard enough to be worried.

...said Caius out loud, to no one but himself, a habit he had grown very comfortable with.

I do not deny my heart desires fresh company. This all sounded so agreeable, until I realised…

I would never see Cyan again.

This thought, if I am honest, does not appeal at all.

And if Cyan won?

The wager has to be honoured, but if I won, I’m sure I would not let Cyan die. My compassion would be too great; I would show forgiveness, like a true Angel...

Well, I’m not sure she would do the same for me. She would leave, and I would be left to eternity, heartbroken.

How could I have been so foolish to make this bet?

Caius hung his head low, unable to face the night.

Poor wretched, Caius, wipe those tears away.

Who’s there?

The voice, slick and slippery, said...

Have you completely forgotten me?

Show yourself!

Out of the shadows,

...into a snowwhite man wearing a red mask.

Caius knew who this was;

as if the shadows were a veil to be pulled aside,

stepped a burning creature with hooves and horns like a bull.

this was Red from the underworld.

The creature shapeshifted...

Impulsively Caius drew his sword, which burst into golden flame.

Behold Eldsv책da, a sword from Eden.

Cower in its light, demon.

The man shielded his eyes feigning hurt...

EldsvĂĽda can not be endured by the damned...

...or so it is said.

This somewhat bewildered Caius:

in the air with his sword, and stood ready to fight.

Gathering himself, Caius carved a crisp figure eight

This can’t be.

So, you know what I am.

Good, this is a start.

Speak quickly, Red. You have but a few seconds to speak.

Caius, have you forgotten your employer?

Liar!

screamed Caius, as his eyes flashed with rage.

But, before Eldsv책da could strike,

...his blow was deflected by an invisible force.

Eldsv책da flew from his hands and stuck fast in the floor of the tower balcony, still aflame.

We must talk, before the sun rises.

Chapter two: The taste of memory I was in my bed, under warm blankets, drawing a picture of home.

I could hear the faint sound of my mother walking up the stairs to wake me.

The sound grew louder, and louder, until my heavy bedroom door creaked open.

Then the swish of curtains being drawn; I didn’t turn to look, my picture wasn’t finished.

“Alice,” said my mother. “Alice, it’s time to get up.”

Just a few more minutes, Mum, I haven’t finished my drawing yet.

“Your drawing, my darling, is only your wish to go home, and it’s a drawing you can’t finish lying down,” said my mother sounding urgent.

“Get up, you must speak to your brother, before it’s too late…”

...with a start I was awake. The sun was low, a whole day had nearly passed, and I was being watched by three strange birds.

Look my friends. Alice awakes.

Enough, we have given our word.

I looked up at the three birds and listened to them bicker.

My body had returned to normal and the only wound left by the winds was a bad memory.

At last! We should be flying down the great Nile by now‌ Instead we sit here.

I remembered tumbling through the air, out of control, with them.

Excuse me, have we met before? Who are you?

Indeed we have, Alice.

Up there, amongst the clouds. I am Edward Hallon, the third.

What type of bird are you?

We are swallows.

Aren’t you rather large to be swallows?

You ruined my holiday...

Jack Socker, how do you do?

Lucy Apfel, at your service.

We are here to help you deliver your message. Cyan sends her regards, she was the one to save us.

Not for our kind of swallow.

I guess I have never met your kind before.

Anyway, I neither ask nor desire your help. Cyan’s message will be delivered, and you can go on your merry way.

Go on, be off with you!

Hey, Alice, watch it with the ghost hands.

I acknowledge your kindness, and I thank you. But, I know where I’m going and I will get there faster on my own. Goodbye, Lucy, Jack, and Edward.

Clearly, you have not met us before. When it comes to promises, we swallows keep them.

I then left without another word, and I didn’t look back.

I flew fast; faster than I had ever flown, weaving between roof tops and trees.

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches, street, tower, and steeple passed by in the wink of an eye.

I was flying like I had never done before, charging along through the air like a spectral train.

Alice, any chance we can slow down a little?

Stop following me!

We told Cyan we would help you.

Why do you want to help me?

You don’t know me, and I don’t trust you.

She’s got a point.

Quiet, Jack...

Lucy, can you see what I’m seeing?

I think so... What the hell is it?

Drifting through the sky was a large tree, and it was heading towards us.

The trees roots were long and its branches were thick and twisted.

A wooden house was nestled in the fork of the tree, and smoke blew from it’s chimney.

Have you ever seen the like?

I have. That’s a witch’s tree, that is.

We should avoid being seen. Alice, what do you think?

I changed direction without answering, flying away from the tree.

The swallows chased after me, their chatter now silent.

We skimmed low over the barbed roof of a dark tangled wood called Lowgate.

In the waking world it is called Highgate Wood, but this wasn’t the waking world.

Looking back I could see the witch’s tree following us.

Luck is not on our side tonight. Into the trees, we’ll try and hide.

We dived into the thorny canopy. Being an apparition I passed through the branches with ease, but the swallows had to be more swift and agile. They twisted and turned flying through the dense brushwood, all the time keeping a watchful eye on me.

The trees of Lowgate wrapped their branches together tight, trying to bar the way, but the swallows still navigated a route through; they were skilful creatures indeed, when it came to flying.

Soon enough the branches cleared and we emerged in a small clearing.

In the clearing there was a circle of large rocks covered in moss.

I hid behind a particularly large rock and the swallows landed by my side.

Can’t ghosts turn invisible, or something?

To people, real people, we are‌ most of the time.

Quiet, can you hear something? A low rumble...

Yes, I hear it.

When the last of the broken brushwood had settled, the witch’s tree stood planted next to us.

Looking up I couldn’t see the witch, but I could hear her.

The rumble quickly became louder, and before we could move, down came the witch’s tree. It landed with an almighty boom; the ground shook with the impact; shattered branches poured down like rain.

Alice, where are you?

Fly up here, I have something to say.

To Be Continued…

A

Afterword A

F

T

E

R

W

O

R

D

Well, I really wanted to hit the 11th November deadline:

I’ve been working nights and scanning work at breakfast! The gap between issues had

working

been too long, so I set the deadline and worked hard. I think I’m happy with book two, but there could always be improvements, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I’m

interested to hear what you think of the art and story, send me feedback via Facebook ( Facebook.com/redandcyan ) and Twitter ( @joncowen ).

nights

I won’t pretend that I know exactly what I’m doing with Red & Cyan. Even after I hexpressed my love for oil paints in book one, my style is changing all the time. I’m using acrylic paint now to speed my work up (acrylic dries amazingly fast), and I’m even back in ink for some scenes in book two. This comic book is a learning curve for me,

and

and I hope by the end of the story I will have defined some sort of style for myself.

I’m looking forward to starting book three, but as this is not my day job, expect a similar gap between issues. This is my passion, so I’m going to finish the story, you can count

scanning

on that. You’ll just have to be a bit patient during the journey.

Comic books you should check out are Scott Snyder’s The Wake, any 2000AD (a British classic that just keeps getting better), and Carbon Grey on Image comics.

work

Ok, see you in a few months, and thanks again for the support.

Chat soon,

at breakfast!

Jon Twitter: @joncowen

Soundtrack to Red & Cyan: House of Black Lanterns Many thanks to Dylan Richards aka House of Black Lanterns for lending his music to the Red & Cyan Youtube trailer.

Dylan’s sound is dark atmospheric house, which I feel is heavily influenced by science fiction cinema. When I heard the track Worthless I thought it would be perfect for how Caius was feeling in book two, and fortunately Dylan let me use the track.

You should also check out his dub step work under the name King Cannibal, you won’t be disappointed. houseofblacklanterns.tumblr.com

Book Three

BY JONATHAN COWEN C O M I N G

S O O N

j o n c o w e n . c o . u k f a c e b o o k . c o m / r e d a n d c y a n