The Books of Magic #5 NM The Hidden School Vol.2 DC 1994
The Books of Magic #5 NM The Hidden School Vol.2 DC 1994
"Sir" Timothy Hunter--Tim as an adult, in the year 2012--walks through his house, looking at all the alternate versions of Molly he has made, in an attempt to recreate his lost love with her. They are taught by Vuall. However, unlike the real Molly, these Mollies all have their will sucked out. Sir Timothy treats them all very badly. Sir Timothy considers the state of affairs, in which he is one of the leaders of Earth, having used his magic to treat with demons. However, he has a sudden dizziness, and seems to switch from his mansion to a shack. He thinks the demon Barbatos can help him.
Araquel, a fallen angel, is chained above the pit of hell. His ex-wife Khara and his daughter, Nikki, visit him. Khara tells him he should free himself to be with them, but he thinks he can't. She tells him she's going to London to stop someone (Tim) from making a mistake and ruining the world.
Young Tim, returned to London from Death and Faerie, runs into Molly outside. (This is her first appearance in real time.) They're friends, and Molly clearly likes Time, who's oblivious. She asks him about California, where everyone thought he went when he was in Faerie. Tim suddenly realizes that today is the anniversary of his mother's death. His dad usually drinks himself into a stupor on this day. He wonders if he really cares any more, now that he knows that Bill isn't his real dad, and his dead mom, Mary, wasn't his real mom, but then he goes and visits her grave anyway.
Sir Timothy goes to find Barbatos, to ask why the world seems to be changing around him. He thinks Barbatos is his slave demon, but really he's under Barbatos's control. Barbatos says that their continuity is in danger because there are less of the young Tims who are likely to turn into the current Sir Timothy--in fact, there is only one Tim left who might turn into Sir Timothy. If Sir Timothy wants to keep his own timeline stable, he'll have to travel back into the past with Barbatos to fix it.
Tim opens the envelope he got from Death, which is full of seeds. He pours them on his mother's grave.
Sir Timothy, now in 1994, watches young Tim leave the cemetery. He remembers how he slowly lost his memories of his life, trading them to demons for power and money. He begins to wonder if it was all worth it.
Khara and Nikki take a portrait of Mary from Bill while he sits in the car she died in. They ambush Sir Timothy and throw him the portrait, which is so karmically heavy that it pins him to the ground. Khara warns Sir Timothy to say away from young Tim.
Sir Timothy manages to get away, and returns to his own time, looking for his current Molly, only to see that his mansion is again a shack.
Creators:
John Ney Rieber - Writer
Charles Vess - Cover
Peter Snejbjerg - Inker