Abrams has a glowing book chained to his wrist, and half the heroes in Deadlock want it. Here is how he ended up with it.

The detective

Abrams has spent years working the investigating scene in New York, taking any case that comes across his desk. In a city where magic went public fifty years ago, that means some very strange cases. His agency is Abrams Investigations, and its slogan is "we specialize in the unknowable and unthinkable."

He is Ixian, likes whiskey, and is a regular at Jezebel's, the bar Infernus tends. He plays in Wraith's weekly poker game. He once worked a case alongside Venator at a brownstone, though the details have never been made clear. He has also been investigating the Paradox Organization, and they have noticed.

The Tome

A book called the Tome was left in his possession. It is handcuffed to his left hand, glows blue, and can steal life.

Since then his home and office have been broken into several times and his car was firebombed. He takes the bus now. He tried researching the Tome at Little Alexandria, a rare bookstore in SoHo that belongs to Paige's parents, and found nothing. For all his strength he has very little control over it. It isn't his power; it's a passenger.

Why he's in the ritual

His goal is to find a way to destroy the Tome safely before it, or whoever keeps breaking into his apartment, gets him first. Both patrons are happy to promise him exactly that.

Everyone else has an opinion about the book:

  • Paradox wants it for her collection.
  • Venator thinks it's evil.
  • Warden thinks it has to be destroyed.
  • Graves wants it, because her mentor does.

Friends and debts

  • Infernus is one of his closest friends. They're both Ixian, though unlike Infernus, Abrams doesn't control fire. He calls him Fern and knows his past.
  • Mo & Krill: he owes them fifty dollars from a card game.
  • Wraith calls him Abe and treats him like a customer.
  • Silver is an old friend, though he thinks she's bad news.
  • Celeste and her sideshow family count him as one of the few outsiders who know what she really is.
  • Apollo, a fellow Ixian, calls him brother. Abrams knows Apollo and his father by reputation, and judging by what he says in a fight, he isn't a fan.

The short version

A bus pass, a bar tab, a cursed book, and a list of people who want it that keeps getting longer. He has no idea how to use it, no idea who left it with him, and no plan except to keep it out of the wrong hands until the ritual is over.