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"War for the Books of Magic, Part 2: Revelations": In Slaughter Swamp, John Constantine and Black Orchid have been attacked by Black Boris of the Fire Trolls, while seeking the Books of Magic. Black Orchid uses her hith

Quote1 I betrayed you?! Don't pretend that this is really what this is all about, Nick. You never loved me! This is about the Books of Magic and you know it. It was always about the books. They possessed you... ate away at whatever soul you once had! You should have stayed in Hell where you belong! Quote2
Zatanna

Justice League Dark #13 is an issue of the series Justice League Dark (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 2012. It was published on October 24, 2012.

Synopsis for "War for the Books of Magic, Part 2: Revelations"

In Slaughter Swamp, John Constantine and Black Orchid have been attacked by Black Boris of the Fire Trolls, while seeking the Books of Magic. Black Orchid uses her hitherto unknown ability to control plant-life to trap Boris long enough for John to grab an item he stole from the Black Room: a fairy prison. With it, he traps Boris in a magical cage. John deduces that the Books are obviously not in Slaughter Swamp, which means that Zatanna and Deadman have likely walked into a similar trap. Ignoring, for the moment, Black Orchid's apparent connections to both The Red and The Green, John leads the way back into the House of Mystery to catch up to their companions.

Zatanna and Deadman are, in fact, under attack by Blackbriar Thorn. Annoyed, Deadman decides to enter the wizard's body, and put an end to his dark spells. Using his acrobatic skills to navigate the man's twisted mind, Deadman eventually finds Blackbriar Thorn inside the construct he created, and puts a stop to his attacks on Zatanna. With the trouble ended, they turn, and are surprised to see a giant mansion before them. However, this is not the House of Mystery - it is its sister-house, the House of Secrets. Its inhabitant is none other than Nick Necro, Zatanna's ex-boyfriend, and one of the world's most powerful mages.

Meanwhile, in London, Madame Xanadu resigns herself to the fact that Tim Hunter can be of no help to her. However, a sudden explosion of evil magic from within Tim's house sends her running back inside. Tim is under attack by Felix Faust. Fortunately, she is able to wrench the boy away from him, but they have to abandon Tim's father there.

Nick claims that he has returned to get revenge on Zatanna and John for having betrayed him, but Zatanna responds that he was only ever really in love with the idea of getting the Books of Magic - not her. That is what drove her to John. Gleefully, Nick takes pleasure in demonstrating his superior power over Deadman and Zatanna, having learned even more powerful magic in Hell.

When John and Black Orchid arrive, they are surprised to learn the identity of their enemy. However, John's surprise soon turns to disgust as he points out that with the map to the Books in hand, there would be no need to attack he and Zatanna - which means he's still hung up on the fact that a pretty girl broke his heart. Angrily, Nick relentlessly attacks John, to the point that Zatanna cries out that she will give herself up to Nick, if he spares the others. John pleads with her to stop, but she leans over him, kisses him, and whispers that he needs to stay alive to stop Nick from getting the Books of Magic.

Soon after Nick and Zatanna have escaped in the House of Secrets, John and the others give chase in the House of Mystery, sending Gargoyles to attack, and slow their quarry down. Unfortunately, Doctor Mist's magic comes back in retaliation, and the House of Mystery crashes in the desert.

Appearing in "War for the Books of Magic, Part 2: Revelations"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • "The Books of Magic" (Mentioned only)
  • Eight-Dimensional Map (Mentioned only)
  • Fairy Prison (First appearance)
  • Silk Cut

Concepts:

Notes



See Also


Links and References

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