The Books of Magic #6 NM Instruments Vol.2 DC 1994

Beautiful NM Copy!

In Part 1 of the 3-part 'Sacrifices,' Tim Hunter becomes so enchanted with his neighbor Leah that he fails to realize that she hails from much farther away than California. Nor does the boy mage see that his neighbor, Martyn, has sinister plans for Tim...and for all those closest to him.

A prologue shows a scene referred to in original limited series, where the "Trenchcoat Brigade" defeated the members of the Cold Flame in Calcutta that wanted to kill Tim.

Tim wakes up from a nightmare, only to face the horrid state his father has achieved as a drunk, despondent over his late wife. New neighbors are moving in next door, and Molly suddenly needs to vie for Tim's attention with the new (and extremely attractive) girl, Leah.

Meanwhile Bill Hunter meets her apparent father, Martyn. He gets Bill to cry while talking about his wife and then sops up his tears with a handkerchief. When Martyn goes inside, we see that he is an evil magician, with a golem helper. He stores Bill's tears away. Martyn's ex-wife, a member of the Cold Flame who was at the attack in the prologue, appears to him in a mirror to warn him of toying with Tim. However, he pins her hands to the glass and tortures her.

On the way home from school, Tim and Molly run into Leah. Molly doesn't like her, but when Leah stoops to pet a cat, it really doesn't like her.

When she gets home, we learn that Martyn is forcing Leah, a succubus, to try to seduce Tim, as she has had to do to others before.

Martyn uses Bill's tears to magically catch him on fire, and he burns in his chair in front of the TV.

Creators:

John Ney Rieber - Writer

Charles Vess - Cover

Peter Gross - Inker