War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 5

“You were a fool to go against me!” a pair of gray eyes spoke in a pitch-black space. His deep, nasally voice elaborated, “This was not your war to fight! You could have remained in your blissful, little bubble none-the-wiser, but your dumbass just had to get involved, so you brought this on yourself!” The eyes gazed at him scrupulously, and then they noted, “Hmm… You’re afraid! You should be! My confinements won’t stop me! I have power on the outside, and before you know it, I’ll be in charge! After that happens, you and all the other filthy Sapiens will cease to exist! As you witness this destruction, I want you to remember one thing- you could’ve gone the easy route, but you opted for this grim ending! Have fun!” The eyes moved into the light, which revealed a man with spikey, black hair, sandy skin, and a cocky leer like that of a corrupt king who was watching an enemy’s execution. He cackled in a fashion that echoed into the shadows…

“You son of a-!” Noah hollered as he bolted up in his bed. He saw a Halloween-looking cat by his feet, and he apologized, “Felix! I’m so sorry! I thought you were Dawson” Felix calmed down and approached Noah’s side. As Noah gently stroked his pet, he soaked in his surroundings. His nearly blank walls were unmoved, a framed copy of one of his mother’s poems hung perfectly, and a small vessel of water that moved like a lava lamp rested nicely on top of his dresser. Noah confirmed to himself, “Yeah, we’re definitely safe! That was only a dream!” As Noah lay down, he noticed a small twig was rhythmically hitting his window from the howling wind. The branch sort of resembled a finger pointing at him, so he flipped to face the opposite wall. He strove to return to a slumber, but he found it difficult to trust that he could fall asleep without viewing the image of his sinister adversary.

Mayor Richardson went up to Noah and queried, “Is all this really necessary?”

Noah glanced around at the dozens of police officers in riot gear that surrounded the gathered crowd. Noah and his fellow detectives did not sport any protective wear as they guarded Gwyneira and her fellow Mystics, but they appeared very sharp and serious as they surveyed the assembly. Noah imagined that Mayor Richardson wasn’t thrilled with having such intimidating figures at what was supposed to be a pleasant occasion, but he would need to accept these circumstances- they couldn’t permit him to carry on like everything was normal during these extraordinary times! “I wish it weren’t, but it is!”

“Oh, okay!” Mayor Richardson bit his lip. He watched reporters stationing themselves behind the added security, and he sighed while going back to his podium on a stone landing that became a makeshift stage. Noah pitied Mayor Richardson’s situation, and it made him sad that things were so precarious. He wished that he could have had the ceremony that his righteous cause deserved!

“Noah!” A woman with red hair, freckles, and sparkling, hazel eyes emerged from a tribe of other people in all turquoise garb. Noah gave her his utmost attention since he assumed she would only come up to him minutes before the event was set to start if it was urgent. She pulled an apple out of her pocket, and she sagely stated, “You haven’t been eating. Please, nourish yourself!”

It stunned him that she sought him for that reason, and it sort of shocked him that she knew that without asking! He graciously regarded her, “Thanks, Michelle! The Animal Mystics are too kind!” They both heard a person in the audience scoff at that concept, but Michelle peered at them with sympathy rather than scorn. She rejoined her tribe, and Noah truly admired her resilience.

He spotted Kalanie with the other members of the media, but after she gave directions to her crew, she took off her blazer and accompanied her peers in tan and khaki garments. It threw Noah off to see her in this- he had only ever seen her in the capacity of her job, so to witness her in non-professional clothing was surprising! She caught on to his focus and gave him a modest wave. He mimicked her gesture, and he espied a tall man in the throng ogling at him in total disapproval. He disliked that so many of the present harbored this hate, but he wasn’t about to let it daunt him. He grabbed Gwyneira’s hand and kissed it. “Good luck!” he bade her.

“Thanks!” She smiled sweetly at him prior to shifting over to her tribe. That same man clearly loathed this transaction, and Noah felt some satisfaction in his defiance.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome!” Mayor Richardson addressed the attendees. Everyone fell silent and turned their awareness to him, and although many of the spectators stared at him with utter distrust, Noah was glad to see most of them showed far more support. “As most of you know, a group that calls themselves the Mystics assisted the LAPD in apprehending a dangerous criminal recently using very special skills. Some say that they can do magic, but others insist that their abilities stem from-.”

A person in the congregation finished his sentence, “Pure evil!”

Mayor Richardson talked over the pockets of snickering and denouncements of that malice, “…from weapons so advanced that we can’t begin to comprehend it! Either way, these individuals are truly remarkable!”

“You mean truly wicked’ another heckler piped up. Noah couldn’ believe the brazeness of those jerks! He didn’t understand why it suddenly became socially acceptable to act with such disrespect!

“Will you shut up?” an onlooker barked at the rude person. At last, someone stood up to these clowns, thought Noah.

Mayor Richardson tried to continue, “Their kindness and service deserve recognition as-!”

Another miscreant yelled out, “Felons? Please tell me this is a prison specifically designed for these weirdos!”

“They’re not gonna get locked up! They’re heroes!” an altruistic soul pushed back against that unfair portraiture.

“Those scoundrels are liars! They have the wool pulled over your eyes!” the miscreant spat.

Mayor Richardson attempted to persist with his speech, “In the city of Los Angeles and the state of California, we strive for better inclusion and equal representation of everyone…”

A caitiff spitefully shouted, “Equal representation- yeah, right! You left out a few tribes!”

“The Earth, Fire, and Wood tribes were invited, but they chose not to attend since they refused to denounce the misdeeds of the convicted murderer from one of the Earth Mystics,” Mayor Richardson reasonably explained.

“He’s innocent!” a disdainful denizen claimed. “He was trying to protect us from the savages who are actively planning to take over the region!”

Mayor Richardson’s brows furrowed at that wild assertion. “Where did you get that drivel? A tabloid?”

The disdainful denizen gruffly reacted, “It was an opinion piece in the Mink Observer, and it said you wouldn’t let them print it anywhere else!”

“Well, yeah! That’s misinformation!” Mayor Richardson substantiated that.

“Aha! He admits! Governmental censorship!” another rude rapscallion bellowed.

Sectors of this array started pushing and shoving one another, and Officer Letes held a can of pepper spray in the air. “Quiet! If you keep acting like disobedient hoodlums, we’ll treat you like some!”

The disorderly gaggle begrudgingly ceased their rough-housing and stood in unwilling compliance. Mayor Richardson’s visage expressed disturbance at this outburst, but because their cacophony had quelled, he resumed his oration, “In accordance with our goal of unifying our citizens, I hereby declare that the Mystic Integration Center is now…” Boos and hisses sporadically erupted, but he ignored them and concluded his declamation, “…open!”

A staffer handed Mayor Richardson a pair of ceremonial scissors, and most of the mass heartily clapped for this development, but the few who objected to this movement roared out in fury. Mayor Richardson trekked toward the red ribbon that adorned the front entrance, and the rabble-rousers became more and more virulent. As Mayor Richardson cut the tape, a number of agitators broke through the police barricade! Prior to them having the opportunity to get close to the dais, Michelle and her tribe held their palms up, which created a barrier that the radicals couldn’t penetrate The Mystics were protected, but the detectives couldn’t leave…

The revolters couldn’t strike their intended targets, so they attacked the officers around them! Law enforcement was outnumbered at certain sites, and Noah’s blood boiled to behold such an atrocity. “Lower the force field!” he commanded the Animal Mystics. Michelle gazed at him with trepidation, but Noah insisted, “We can’t have them out there suffering alone!” Michelle overtly displayed her discomfort with that notion, but she acquiesced to his request. As soon as it was lifted, several malcontents rushed forward. Noah and his associates raised their guns, and…

“What the-?” Noah gawked at his weapon in disbelief- it had gotten tied into a knot! He whipped his head around to scope out the perimeter, an Earth Mystic was out there somewhere!

“Watch out!” Kalanie cried out. The Air Mystics formed a claw out of their fingers, and a wave of gusts encircled the melee! Its voracity made it impossible for the participants of the violence to carry on with their work, but Noah and the other detectives were able to yank the offenders away from their victims and cuff them! While the commotion was over, a cloud of animosity still hovered over the expanse. Mayor Richardson seemed relieved at this closure, but he still bore a grimace that it occurred at all. Noah could hardly blame him! It haunted them all!

Noah loaded his captive into a van, and then Lynn ran up to him frantically. “Noah! Look at my pistol!”

After briefly examining her twisted pieces of metal, Noah conveyed to her, “Yeah. Mine did that too. The last time that happened, I was in pursuit of…” Before he could finish that statement, Noah spotted a male in the distance with a green fedora and sunglasses that covered much of his noggin. He didn’t have the foggiest idea on how it was possible, but he strongly suspected that Dawson obtained the capability to manifest there! Bridling with adrenaline, Noah stomped toward him…

“Hey! Noh What are you doing?” Chief Argus inquired.

“I was just gonna…” Noah peeked back at the incognito male, but he no longer appeared to be in the vicinity. Noah inwardly cursed his luck for not reaching him preceding his departure, but he regained his composure when he replied to Chief Argus, “Nothing, sir!”

Chief Argus didn’t buy that, but with all he needed to do, he couldn’t delve into it. “Alright… Well, get to the station! We’re having an emergency meeting!”

Noah nodded in understanding of his directive. As he trudged over to his vehicle, he heard Dawson’s maniacal laughter! He swiveled around, and he locked eyes with Gwyneira, who had an equally alarmed expression. He wondered if she heard Dawson’s mirth too or if she was merely reading his mind. Regardless of the scenario, he couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of this enigma! 

“I’m still in shock! How did something designed to promote peace transform into such chaos?” Margaret pondered as she leaned on her cubicle walls morosely. Maurice, Lynn, and Noah echoed her sentiments.

“Thank goodness! You guys are all alright!” Robin entered the bullpen and gave them hugs.

Noah remarked, “Yeah! A few officers got minor wounds, but we were spared from much worse injuries! Thank goodness we have Mystics on our side!”

Maurice brought up, “But, we obviously have Mystics who aren’t! We’re only sticking around here to get issued new guns! I’m dying to go hug my wife and kids!” He paused, and then he whispered to Noah, “Sidero has Megala’s case.”

Without hesitation, Noah made a beeline in that direction. He rounded a corner and jaunted down a row of cubicles adorned with missing persons flyers. He found a colleague about his age washing blood off of his acorn skin, and after his hickory eyes darted upwards, a smile emerged from his stubbly beard. “I can’t tell you anything I’ve learned about Ms. Kaisho.”

“Why did…? What makes you think…? I mean, I…” Noah struggled to pinpoint an adequate excuse for his visit at this juncture.

“It’s okay!” Sidero chuckled. “I’d do the same if I were in your shoes! I can’t reveal anything though… unless…”

Noah’s eyebrows raised from intrigue. It astonished him that he would be so willing to divulge critical information, and he was more than willing to adhere to his proposition if it meant helping Gwyneira get her mom back. “Unless…?”

Sidero asserted, “Unless you collect evidence that my unaccounted-for individual turns into a suspect in your El Poder murder!”

“Huh? Why would you even say that?” Noah puzzled.

“No reason!” Sidero shrugged. “It just seems strange that she disappeared right before a D.B. appeared.”

Noah snapped, “That’s a coincidence!”

Sidero affirmed, “I hope so!”

This propelled Noah to abruptly leave his quarters. He emitted an exasperated exhale as he realized he would now have to locate three people: the killer from his investigation, Dawson or his ally in disguise, and Megala prior to that skunk tied either of those two to her!

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 4

“Sorry for the delay!” Chief Argus apologized as Noah and Gwyneira took a seat in an office with glass walls, black bookshelves stuffed with hardbound titles, and a couple of filing cabinets that were overly stuffed with papers. Chief Argus sat at a cherrywood desk with a gold plaque that read: Chief Gregory I. Argus, and he moved his mouse so that his waterfall screensaver disappeared. Chief Argus frowned at something he read, and then he grumbled, “The damage report can wait. The mob didn’t do a whole lot!”

Noah grinned at Gwyneira and then appreciatively articulated, “Thank goodness for that sudden rainstorm!” Gwyneira smiled at his gesture, but she swiftly shifted into a grimace as her insides lurched.

Chief Argus echoed Noah’s sentiment, “Indeed!” He espied Gwyneira’s despondent disposition, so he sobered up. He cleared his throat, and then he readied his hands to do some typing. “So, when did you last see your mom?” he asked her.

“Yesterday afternoon,” Gwyneira answered him. “She said she was going out to clear her head, and then she never came back. Oh, I knew it was a mistake to let her go out there alone! With everything going on, I should’ve insisted that someone go with her!”

“What do you mean by ‘everything going on?’ What was happening?” Chief Argus queried.

Gwyneira shrugged. “I don’t know exactly what, but something massive is brewing! That riot earlier was no coincidence- tension has been mounting for a while, and today’s chaos was only the beginning! And I knew this, yet I still allowed her to travel by herself! If only I had heeded the warnings from the universe! My mother wouldn’t have gone missing if I did was right!”

Noah squeezed her palm and staunchly reassured her, “Hey, don’t do that to yourself! You did what you thought was best at the time, and that’s all any of us can require from a person! You could not have foreseen that this criminal would take action when he or she did, this is not your fault! You love your family, and you’d never willingly permit them to fall into the clutches of an evildoer! Besides, she wasn’t solo during the entire duration. Chief, I think I was the last one to see her before she disappeared.”

“You were?” Chief gazed at him in surprise.

“I took my break at Tempest Shore since it was near my previous crime scene, and Megala turned up there. It was a coincidence!”

Gwyneira differed, “There’s no such thing as coincidence! You were meant to run into her!”

Chief Argus questioned Noah, “Did you get the sense that she was in any kind of trouble?”

“No!” Noah recollected. “She seemed really sad though. She was pining for her estranged husband who’s stationed close to that beach.”

“I don’t have any way to phrase this delicately, so I’m just gonna say it… Was your mother suicidal?” Chief Argus probed.

Gwyneira emphatically denied that concept, “Never! My mother dearly missed my father, but she had too much to live for after they separated! She would never willingly leave her tribe like that!”

Chief Argus pressed her, “Did she have any enemies?” Both Gwyneira and Noah ogled him incredulously, and he instantly saw the flaw in his enquiry. “Oh, right! I mean aside from Dawson Kolbyr.”

“His followers who want revenge,” Noah affirmed.

“Were they threatening either of you?” Chief inquired.

Noah replied, “Not yet. But Chief, the unrest from today is evidence that their plot is growing!”

Chief Argus quizzed him, “Do you have proof of this?” Noah craned his neck low, and Chief Argus inferred the response from this. “We’ll keep an eye out for possible allies that weren’t arrested with him in January, but other than that, I can’t do much with that info. We cleared out that movie theatre basement he was hiding out in, and while we aren’t aware of where the other members of the Earth Mystic tribe are located, we haven’t seen anything to imply that they have a close association with him. I can’t consider any of them a suspect until you catch wind of anything that implicates their direct involvement! And don’t you go looking for it either- you’re a witness in this case! Besides, you can’t work any investigations pertaining to the Mystics since you have a conflict of interest! I don’t wanna hear about any participation from you in this instance, got it?”

“Got it!” Noah conveyed to him truthfully. He still intended to assist with this matter, but he would make sure that Chief Argus didn’t hear about it!

“We had a high-priority case come in this morning.” Chief Argus handed him a manila folder, and then he briefed him, “El Poder is requesting our assistance with a prominent figure, so I need your utmost focus. If I get any hint that you’re getting distracted, I’ll bust you down to petty crimes in a heartbeat! Are we clear?”

Noah avowed, “You can count on me, sir!”

Chief Argus gave him a half-smile- he appeared to appreciate his promise, but he displayed a bit of a doubtful demeanor too. He pledged to Gwyneira, “I’ll assign a detective to your mother’s case shortly.”

Gwyneira nodded in comprehension, and she exited the room with Noah. As they went into the bullpen, they saw Lynn, Maurice, and Margaret gathered around Noah’s cubicle. Noah gathered the necessary supplies required for his investigation, and Margaret canvassed them, “Is everything alright?”

“My mother is missing,” Gwyneira revealed.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Lynn sympathized.

Maurice consoled her, “Don’t worry, we’ll find her! Our guys are the best!” He glanced at Noah’s file, and he remarked, “The chief is letting you handle this?”

Noah responded, “No, I’ve got a homicide in El Poder.”

“El Poder? Wow! Our neighbors to the north never want our help!” Margaret reacted in surprise.

“For a minute there, I thought you two were teaming up again!” Lynn commented. Everyone echoed that thought.

Noah apprised them, “Not today. I’m not to interfere, and I’ll reserve all my concentration for El Poder.” He lowered his voice, and then he beseeched the others, “Let me know who gets assigned to Megala’s disappearance, ‘kay?”

Maurice whispered, “You got it, dude!” After covertly giving them all a thumbs up, Noah escorted Gwyneira out.

Gwyneira and Noah passed by repair people who were already mending the damage from the uprising that occurred earlier, and when they were well out of earshot of anyone who might eavesdrop, Gwyneira morosely expressed, “Well, I guess I’ll have to appoint someone to watch over Mayor Richmond’s integration project since I’m in charge of the entire tribe now!”

“Only temporarily! We’ll locate your mom soon!” Noah reassured her.

“How soon is soon though?” Gwyneira challenged him.

Noah gently shot back, “Sooner than you’re imagining!” He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him. “And I swear, once this is done and our lives become less hectic, we’ll enjoy each other’s company more! Robin said you and I should take a trip together!”

He hadn’t planned on uttering that last sentence, and he suddenly got nervous. He recognized that he had inadvertently propositioned that their relationship go to the next level, and this seemed like a less-than-ideal moment for that! He was quite certain that she would say it was far too early for that, and his pulse quickened at the notion of his slipup causing a strain with her, but to his astonishment, she pleasantly opined, “I’ve always wanted to go to Maui! I heard the water there is beautiful!”

Noah’s heart raced at her acquiescence. It felt like an enormous step, but it was a journey that excited him. He lovingly regarded her, “Hawaii sounds amazing!” They beamed at each other, and then Noah verbalized, “Stay safe!”

Gwyneira mimicked his entreaty, “Stay safe!” They kissed each other, and then they went their separate ways.

In a woodsy area full of white cedar trees, Noah read through his documents. His brows furrowed slightly, but he dismissed that daunting idea and exited his vehicle. Through a small thicket, he spotted a couple of deputies behind yellow police tape. They appeared pretty agitated, and considering the subject involved, he didn’t view that as too abnormal. When they beheld him, Noah flashed his badge at them. “Detective Noah Raymond, LAPD.”

“It’s about time you got here!” one of the officers huffed as he gave Noah access to the area. 

“Pardon my tardiness! We had protestors go wild at our station.” Noah felt rather put off by his hostile attitude. He knew that this small town preferred to handle matters on their own, but he didn’t expect to receive such resentment when he came there to lend a hand. He inwardly sighed and prayed that this mystery would get solved as fast as his most recent work!

The officer grumped, “Well, our community is gonna start rioting too when they learn about this! Brennan was as decent as they come!”

They arrived at a small marsh where a chestnut-skinned woman with a navy jacket and her braids in a bun examined the body of a middle-aged man with ivory skin and short, strawberry hair. An older fellow with silver hair, round glasses, and an ecru suit surveyed the scenery, and Noah didn’t need to ask what he did for a living- he was the most stereotypical politician he had ever seen! He seemed relieved to see Noah, and he heartily greeted him, “Thank the heavens you’re here, Detective Raymond!”

“Happy to be of service!” Noah chimed as he shook the fellow’s hand.

“Mayor Chesis Froth. And this is… was… my treasurer.” Mayor Froth sadly gestured to the man in the marsh.

Noah recited from memory, “Brennan Umbra, age forty-eight, found face down in the swamp. No witnesses. And… something was unusual about the D.B….?” 

The woman by Brennan snapped, “Unusual is an understatement! Look at this!” She turned Brennan over and displayed his back, which had a pretty deep indentation on it. “Our D.B. clearly got impacted by a large object at a fast speed, but how can anyone throw anything that big with that much force? And where is it?”

“Obviously, it’s the result of Mystic mischief!” the officer who escorted Noah there spat.

“Hey! Hey! We don’t wanna make allegations that we can’t prove!” Mayor Froth cautioned him.

The officer ranted, “There’s not a chance a normal human did this! I’m no fool- I’ve read all about these sickos! They lurk in the shadows, and if anyone crosses their path, they off ‘em! They’re becoming less secretive though ‘cause they’re aiming to take over society! Poor Brennan probably attempted to prevent their sinister plans from unfolding!”

Noah interjected, “Did Brennan ever receive any threats?” He could tell that this officer disliked getting cut off, but Noah didn’t feel the smallest iota of guilt for it! He couldn’t stand listening to that drivel for another second, it was completely false! He despised the manner in which Gwneira and her brethren were getting characterized, but moreover, he didn’t want to inspire anyone to harbor any motive to suspect the Mystics! He didn’t understand why, but he had a hunch that this was a case he wanted to stay on!

Mayor Froth indicated his lack of knowledge on that topic. “No more than what’s typical for people in our occupation! Brennan didn’t ruffle any feathers, he even did a lot of charity gigs! I can’t picture anyone that’d wanna hurt him!”

“I can!” the officer mumbled.

“What was he doing out here?” Noah catechized prior to that officer going on another anti-mystic spiel.

Mayor Froth shook his head in obliviousness. “No clue! He didn’t show up to his post today, but he seems to be dressed for it.”

Noah noted this observation in his ledger. “He certainly wasn’t out for a hike or any leisure activity! Either someone forced him to travel to this site or he made an arrangement to meet someone here. I’ll have CSI comb through his chambers and his home to check if he left any records of a rendez-vous in the bog. Can you think of anything else I should be aware of in regard to this incident?” Mayor Froth gestured in a fashion that suggested a no. The same officer opened his mouth as though he were about to spew another inane theory, so Noah hastily addressed Mayor Froth, “If you remember anything, give me a call.”

After handing him his business card, Noah marched back to his car. He emitted an exasperated exhale as he gloomily predicted Gwyneira’s tribe unfairly catching blame for this horrendous act, but he was positive he could tie this to Dawson Kolbyr somehow.

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 3

“Why did I get this thing?” Lynn gazed at a small, egg-shaped device and frowned. “Oh, I remember- I thought a cute, little animal companion would cheer me up as I dealt with such grim cases, but I did not know the things died! I didn’t have time to feed it today ‘cause I was interrogating a witness! So, it’s like, great! This is all I needed today!” She slammed the gadget on the table and pushed it away from her in a pouting frustration.

“My daughter had one of those,” Robin conversed. “One of her teachers took it away, and I refuse to buy her another one even though they’re super cheap now!”

Noah sat at a neighboring table with a steaming cup of coffee and a newspaper, and he put in, “Look at the plus side- now you won’t have any distractions from your investigations!”

Lynn objected to his attempt at solace, “But I want a distraction! Constantly thinking about tragedies is depressing!”

“Don’t think about the tragic beginning- think about how wonderful the ending will be when you finally solve your mystery and bring a criminal to justice!” Noah advised her as he opened up his periodical.

“Careful, Noah! You’re gonna burn yourself out again!” Robin cautioned him.

Noah differed, “If I don’t comb through the news, I’ll get paranoid that I’ve missed something important. Then, how am I supposed to relax?”

Maurice walked in and opined, “If you don’t take your mind off of work every now and then, you’ll start seeing cases everywhere! Give your brain a break and focus on something else for a while! Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah! She’s in there!” Noah held up the front page where a picture of Gwyneira and an older man with white hair, mocha eyes, and a broad, toothy grin plastered the sheet. “Mayor Roald Richmond to Enact Bold Integration Plan!” Noah recited the headline to them.

“Tell her we said congratulations!” Robin requested. The others concurred with that sentiment.

Lynn brought up, “Speaking of bold, my ex called me last night and invited me to dinner like everything was normal!”

Maurice responded, “Please say that you didn’t go!”

“Of course not!” Lynn assured him. “I don’t know how often I’ve told him to leave me alone, but he keeps trying!”

“My husband was kinda like that,” Robin reminisced. “I wasn’t that into him, but he kept asking and asking! I finally said yes just to have it go badly and shut him up, and, well, my idea backfired! But this is different! He didn’t betray me like-.”

Noah stared at the print with wide eyes and exclaimed, “This is terrible!”

Maurice inquired, “What happened?”

“The entire column slams the mayor’s plan!” Noah filled them in. “They’re saying that he’s associating with radicals that wanna take over the city, and they claim this move will make L.A. a cesspool of crime!”

“What? How can they make such wild allegations?” Lynn peered over his shoulder, and she noted, “They’re basing this off of awful rumors and accounts from people who aren’t credible! Why would they do that?”

Maurice handed him another press and relayed to him, “Here! Check The Times. Maybe they’re more neutral than the Mink Observer.”

Noah glanced at the other newspaper, and he commentated, “This one’s alright, but what’s going on with The Mink Observer? They never used to interject opinion with fact!”

“Don’t read them anymore,” Robin recommended.

“I have to now!” Noah firmly stated. “Something dangerous is going on here!”

Lynn scoffed at that, “Dangerous? They’ve gone downhill, but how is sloppy journalism dangerous?”

Noah expounded, “They may lose some readers, but they won’t lose everybody! A lot of individuals trust them, and they’ll believe these lies! They’re gonna create a wave of fear, and you know what occurs when fear gets heightened like that!”

Maurice questioned him, “Fear against what?”

“They Mystics!” Noah asserted. “They’re spreading rumors about them to get their audience afraid of them! That tactic will work too! In January, I couldn’t get a single one of you to help me with Link Kaisho’s murder ‘cause none of you believed that you’d be safe around them! Now The Mink Observer is amplifying this messaging so that it spreads through the whole region! They want a huge chunk of the population scared of the Mystics so they lose the public support they gained after they helped us defeat Dawson Kolbyr! That’s it! He’s gotta be behind this! He’s getting his revenge and clearing a path for his eventual takeover!”

“Hold on! Dawson is a Mystic too! Why would he wanna sabotage his own reputation?” Robin quarreled.

Noah educated them, “He’s not gonna tarnish them all, just the ones in the constructive cycle. The constructive cycle is helpful- earth begets wood, wood creates air, air generates water, water nourishes animals, animals start fires, and fires create earth. That’s why the Water Mystic Tribe has allied with the Air and the Animal Tribes. Dawson’s followers have adopted the destructive cycle- water extinguishes fire, fire destroys wood, wood is weaponized against animals, animals pollute the air, air erodes the earth, and earth absorbs water. Dawson is a destructive Earth Mystic, so he teamed up with the Fire and Wood Tribes to go after the Water Mystics and their allies. The Earth Tribe of L.A. believes they’re superior beings, and they want to eradicate Sapiens from society! The constructive tribes want to save us, so Dawson will do what he can to obliterate their credibility!”

Maurice pointed out, “Dawson’s securely confined in Tesca- his cell was specifically made of plastic to prevent him from manipulating the metal bars, and his communication is closely monitored. If he was trying to pull something like that off, they would’ve caught on and put a stop to it!”

“Dawson may have gotten imprisoned, but his influence didn’t! His devotees are still out there, and they’ll do anything to get him into power!” Noah remarked.

“Why would they go to such great lengths to aid someone who isn’t gonna get released ‘til after the new millennium?” Lynn probed.

Noah spelled out, “He’s convinced a multitude to worship him! You’ve seen it in cults- they still worship their almighty leader even after they get convicted of a heinous crime!”

Lynn disputed that, “There hasn’t been any word on the street mentioning him or plots to empower him. I don’t think Dawson has that much influence!”

“You underestimate him!” Noah stubbornly maintained his premise.

“And you need to relax!” Maurice snatched the periodical from him. “See? This perpetual work mode has gotten you overly suspicious! Dawson was a powerful threat, but we got him! End of story!”

Noah grabbed his reading material once more and insisted, “Some stories have surprise sequels!” Noah resumed his study of this publication, and the others peered at each other with doubtful expressions. Noah didn’t take his eyes off of his selection, but he was still able to accurately characterize their reactions, “You can doubt me all you want, but something tremendous is gonna happen soon- I can guarantee it!”

His colleagues seemed poised to debate that ominous prediction, but then Margaret burst into the room with a harried visage. “You guys have to watch this!”

With their intrigue piqued, everyone turned their attention to the fuzzy, old Zenith set. A crowd of angry protestors had surrounded a police station, and an anchor announced, “… in response to that. We now go live to Kalanie Wilcolla, who’s on the scene.”

A woman with bronze skin, almond eyes, and thick, onyx hair stood behind the throng and filled her viewers in, “Thanks, Anil! A growing movement against police brutality has caused tempers to flare, and this group has encircled a station in the Alvarita neighborhood to demonstrate their thirst for reform and justice.” The masses increased in numbers quite significantly as she spoke. “Many are saying that officers target citizens who commit a low to no offense while more perilous perpetrators roam the city Scot-free…”

Lynn, Maurice, and Robin all turned to Noah incredulously as though he foresaw this incident, and Noah shook his head and muttered, “It’s not something I wanted to be right about!”

“We expect these demonstrations to spread across-!” Kalanie didn’t get to finish her sentence due to a malcontent hitting her on the back of her skull! Noah bristled and instantly shot up to examine the screen more closely for hints on her wellbeing, but the feed got interrupted by the camera plummeting to the floor! Noah detested seeing one of his friends hurt, and he was about to pick up his radio to check on her when…

“That sounded close by!” Margaret assessed after a thunderous boom echoed outside their walls. All five of them peeked out the window to ascertain the damage, and it shocked them to behold a parade of infuriated marchers passing their purview! No one needed to wait for a call to assist- they all sprang into action!

Revolters sped up to them as soon as they entered the scene, so they drew out their guns. Maurice articulated into his microphone, “Dispatch, we have five weapons drawn.”

A woman in the horde brazenly hollered, “Police brutality!”

Their firearms prevented them from getting attacked, but the rioters turned their focus to the station behind them. They hurled rocks and even bricks at the building, and Lynn desperately shouted, “Don’t!”

Nobody entertained her plea as they continued to ransack the area. A couple of offenders made a bid to climb through the broken glass, but they were met by Chief Argus’s pepper spray! Officer Letes and Officer Jones cuffed the maced culprits, and a bystander cried out, “They injure them and then arrest them for it? This is precisely why we need reform!”

“I agree! I agree we need reform!” Noah addressed the gaggle. It stunned them to hear that, and since he captured their interest, Noah spoke out, “I don’t like it when my peers use unnecessary violence! It’s their job to keep the citizens they serve safe, and when they use their badge to hurt instead of help, it’s disgraceful! And it makes things difficult for people like me who just wanna do good for the community! We need change, but this isn’t the way! This isn’t the way to create a lasting impact! Two wrongs don’t make a right!”

“Don’t preach about morality to us!” the bystander snapped. “You’re striving to have Los Angeles get taken over by evil!”

Noah refuted that, “No! We’re peacekeepers- we want harmony for the town, the entire town!”

The bystander concluded, “Aha! He admits it- he wants them to take over everything!”

“No! Oh, I wish you could understand that your very real concerns are getting exploited for a false narrative!” Noah exclaimed.

“Come on, guys! They can’t take us all at once!” the bystander invited those around him to charge. Noah grimaced as he cocked his hammer- he didn’t want to wound anyone, but they were leaving him with no other option! He nearly pulled the trigger when…

An abrupt downpour cascaded onto the assemblage, and the street soon became empty as the gatherers sought shelter. The law enforcement who responded to this incident remained rooted to the spot in case any stragglers weren’t deterred, but it seemed as though the participants had all disbursed! “That was lucky!” Robin commented.

Noah noticed that they didn’t get a drop of water on them, so he disagreed with her, “That wasn’t luck!”

After glancing around a bit, Noah spotted Gwyneira and a group of Water Mystics all aiming their palms at the sky! Noah’s heart beat joyfully in admiration of his girlfriend’s foresight; he never knew how she always correctly determined when he needed her, but he was grateful that he had someone this insightful in his life. When they rested their limbs and the rain ceased, Noah ran up to her gleefully. “Gwyneira! You’re amazing! I can’t tell you how-!”

“Noah!” Gwyneira embraced him with a pained face and eyes glistening with worry. “It’s my mother! She’s missing!”

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 2

As she thrust a seashell lamp into a box, Gwneira adamantly argued, “Everything’s going to be fine, Mother!” She allowed her long, raven-like hair to fall onto her face so that her golden-brown eyes could only gaze forward- there was a reason she wanted her mom to see her half-pony falling between thick curves and nothing else! She did not want her to catch sight of her pearl-like skin’s clammy texture or the tear stains on her black dress. It wasn’t as though she didn’t have cause to worry, she merely didn’t want to add that to all of her other misgivings!

A man with matching garb walked into the cavernous archway and made a bid for Megala’s attention, “Chieftess!”

“Not now, Beck!” Megala firmly but gently dismissed him. After he left, Megala circled around this younger version of herself and peered past her attempts at concealment. “Everything is going to be fine… Do you really believe that?”

“I have to!” Gwyneira affirmed. “This move would benefit our tribe for a lengthy stretch, so I must believe in its success!”

Megala countered, “Don’t you think we’ve tried this before? What makes you imagine that this time is different?”

Gwyneira retorted, “This time is different! The public saw what our true nature is in January, and their opinion of us is much more favorable! There is no cause for fear here!”

“But you are fearful!” Megala pointed out.

“Feeling scared isn’t an excuse to stop!” Gwyneira abandoned all pretense and faced her mom. She had enough apprehension over the mayor’s plan, and it angered her that she did nothing to mitigate that! “Why can’t you act more supportively? Why must you make this process harder?”

Megala shot back, “It’s my job to act in a manner that is best for my people, not to tell them what they want to hear! You may have the best of intentions, but if you don’t behave with prudence, I have a duty to intervene!”

Gwyneira demanded, “Then give me a valid argument for not moving forward! I can’t quit because our emotions compelled us to relent to our anxiety!”

“My dear Gwyneira, haven’t I stressed to you the importance of listening to your intuition? Nerves are one thing, but if your inner guidance is certain that an action will lead to danger, you must adhere to its wisdom!” Megala strongly advised her.

“And what? Stay in hiding?” Gwyneira challenged her. “How much benefit have we gained from staying in our protective shield? If we only remain in the same spot, we’ll never go anywhere! We have to take a chance in order to get ahead! Our happiness is worth the risk!”

Megala disputed, “How could you call it a risk when the peril is guaranteed?”

Gwyneira lost her patience and shouted, “Well, pardon me for my willingness to sacrifice what’s convenient for me in order to improve the lives of everyone in our society and theirs!” 

“Don’t talk to me about sacrifice!” Megala got within inches of Gwyneira and scolded her. “Don’t forget all I’ve had to give up for the interest of our citizens!”

“That was an option you chose! Allow me the same courtesy!” Gwyneira insisted.

Megala had enough steam to continue this spat, but it registered to her that her daughter’s contention was valid, so she released her feelings with a voluminous sigh and exited the room. She observed the stories of chambers that mirrored Gwyneira’s. Some contained nothing more than blue like the night sky, but many contained crates and individuals packing. Down the rocky staircases stood a vast public space bristling with families carrying out belongings, and Megala found moisture starting to form in her eyes. Gwyneira joined her side, and Megala ruefully stated, “It would be nice to have the funds to fix the fountain again!”

Gwyneira put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, and she consoled her, “It’s only temporary!”

“Hmpf! That’s what he said!” Megala huffed.

“Listen, it may not be an easy journey, but I’ll do whatever it takes to see it through to the end!” Gwyneira assured her.

Megala pressed her, “But how soon will the end come?” Gwyneira couldn’t reply, and Megala didn’t anticipate a definitive response, but the fact that she couldn’t promise that the finish would not arrive very soon spooked Megala. She closed her lids, and when she reopened them, she concluded, “I need to ruminate on this!” As she descended the steps, Megala decreed, “While I’m gone, Gwyneira rules in my stead!”

Gwyneria watched Megala go through the foyer to where the nearly hidden doorway to their kingdom rested. She disliked the concept of her mother traveling outside of the Los Angeles Badlands alone! Yes, the scenery beyond the olive-drab Verner Hills and the cracked, barren land beside them weren’t the most alluring sites in the country, but Gwyneira had always found the landscape sufficient for pensiveness. The sand glistened when the sunlight hit it just right, and their ability to control water generated some tranquil oases in the area, but it wasn’t enough for Megala. It seemed so reckless to stray too far from their territory without the security of witnesses around! Admittedly, she voyaged to the city in many instances for the purpose of visiting Noah or other non-magical folks that she assisted, but she didn’t stay solo for an enormous duration! Her mother constantly put herself in a precarious situation, but it would have been difficult to convince her not to gamble with her wellbeing when she had a mission that may have put her in jeopardy too! Gwyneira emitted an exasperated exhale, and then she returned to filling her boxes.

Noah stared out at the ocean with a visage full of unease. He frequented this rocky beach fairly often, but today, it did not provide the usual comfort for him. The crashing waves and the low calls of seagulls were soothing, but none of the typical ambiance was there at the present- nothing had motion! He didn’t know why he viewed that as disturbing until…

“You see it too, huh?” Megala queried.

“I don’t understand why creeps me out so much!” Noah articulated.

Megala sagely spoke, “Water is the most still right before a huge storm. The animals flee, and the currents gear up for something much larger. In the near future, these quarters will become too treacherous to linger around.”

Noah concurred, “Yeah. Something big is en route here, that’s evident!”

“All of the Mystics sense it. I can’t comprehend why, instead of seeking shelter, everyone is running into the upheaval,” Megala expressed with dejected bitterness.

“Is that why you joined me?” Noah petitioned her. “You’re aiming to discourage me from proceeding?”

Megala revealed, “Actually, I didn’t realize you would be here. I suppose this coast holds a special significance in your heart as well…”

Noah filled her in, “My parents brought me here as a kid. It was never as crowded as Santa Monica or Malibu, and it was an inexpensive outing, so we went here a lot. After they passed, I would still make a trip to Tempest Shore whenever things got too chaotic. It reminds me of a more wholesome period, and it motivates me to take action to restore that sort of peacefulness in my life.”

“Their spirits must communicate with you at this locale,” Megala vocalized. “They provide you with the guidance and solace necessary in your hour of need.”

“I never really considered that!” Noah once ruled his being entirely by logic, but learning of the presence of souls with supernatural abilities truly opened up his perspective! He would have dismissed that notion previously, but he quit denying what could or could not exist anymore- anything was possible! It warmed his soul to picture his family among him, but he did not dwell on that picture for a great span. He turned to Megala, and he gingerly broached, “Did you… Is there a loss you… Are you…?”

Megala divulged, “This is as close as I can get to my husband.”

Noah empathetically regarded her, “I’m sorry! When did he pass?”

“Lennon may be gone, but he is hardly dead,” Megala illuminated him. “I married Admiral Gallager when all was serene in the Mystical world. A few years ago, a disruption to the natural order of things occurred, and it became very clear that he was no longer safe in our midst. He assured me that he felt willing to sacrifice himself if necessary, but I caught wind of plots by Mystics in the destructive cycle that targeted the Navy! I couldn’t permit him to endanger a branch of the military, so I decreed that he must stay away until it’s all over. It crushed me to do so, but it was necessary to uphold the fabric of society! He understood, and he reassured me that it would only be a temporary measure, but the president recently deferred his retirement! So, sometimes I come to Tempest Shores and imagine that he’s on his ship gazing back at me. It’s a small sense of ease when chaos ensues!”

“You know, he was right- this won’t last forever! You’ll get to reunite with him soon ‘cause we’re gonna put a stop to Dawson’s schemes!” Noah mulled that over for a moment, and then he adjusted his stance, “I mean, it’s not like we have any proof that he’s scheming anything while he serves his sentence in Tesca, but…”

Megala chimed in, “No, I agree with you. Dawson would not give up simply due to imprisonment! His hold reaches farther than we’re aware of, and so a brutal front is definitely in the works! His clutches on this region will persist, and he will claim more victims in the not-so-distant future!”

Noah probed, “Are you trying to tell me not to get involved again? You foresee him plotting against the police force?”

“It’s too late for that,” Megala told him. “He and his followers are in your system, and even if your colleagues don’t recognize their potency, they’re duty-bound to interfere with their activities. Regardless of your participation in our tribe, Dawson has you in his crossfire since your efforts got him locked up. You and your brethren are inevitably going to suffer at his hands! Furthermore, if you had any desire to run from this menace, Gwyneira could not bear to part from you. Like it or not, you’re in too deep to escape from our conflict!”

“I do like it!” Noah affirmed. Megala glanced at him peculiarly, so he clarified, “I don’t mean the conflict aspect of it! I enjoy belonging in your world! I lost a lot of my relatives early on, and it’s been nice having your company and your kindness!”

Megala appeared rather surprised to hear this. “You’re a rare Sapien! You remind me of Lennon! Both of your hearts are so accepting and sweet. I only hope your love doesn’t get you into too much trouble!”

Noah remarked, “In all ideality, that would be the outcome!”

“Detective Raymond, what’s your location?” a dispatch operator paged him on his radio.

“This is Detective Raymond. I’m just finishing up my break. In a few minutes, I’m gonna interview a potential witness in the Del Muerte investigation.” He turned off the microphone and aired a lamentable groan. “I gotta go arrest this prick! Probably! Innocent until proven guilty, but he’s already been caught on tape…”

Megala encouragingly commented, “What you do matters! Don’t allow our strife to cloud your passion!”

Noah grinned at her- he knew she was correct, and it astounded him that she could gain so much insight about him without him having to give her any context! “Thanks!” he appreciatively conveyed to her. She gave him a curt nod, and then she shifted her focus back to the briny expanse.

After climbing a small slope to a parking lot, Noah peeked back at Megala. She longingly peered at the sea, and it struck him to behold her normally stoic demeanor display such hurt! He pitied her tragic plight, and he inwardly avowed to bring this disarray to a close for her sake! He didn’t relish dealing with his ordinary routine, but he recalled why he started in this business in the first place. So many deserving people were aching for justice, and it was up to him to deliver that to them! He pumped himself up for what lay ahead, but a part of him felt guilty for immersing in these incidents. He couldn’t fully ascertain why, but as he drove off, he suspected it had everything to do with getting distracted from Dawson’s dark purposes.

War of the Mystics: Still Waters, Chapter 1

Noah sighed. It had stopped raining, but he didn’t look forward to getting out of the car. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but this sensation had become more and more familiar to him. He loved his job, but lately, he hadn’t enjoyed his work. He continued reading the case file in the event that a passing colleague spotted him, but truthfully, he had already memorized the details. The call came in on October 10th, 1998 at 8:08 p.m., and a man was found motionless in the pool of his apartment complex. No witnesses. He didn’t need to keep reading that, but he wanted time to get his passion for solving crimes back!

He couldn’t muster any more spirit for this investigation, so he reluctantly got up anyway. He took a quick glance in his sun-visor mirror, and it alarmed him to see that his usually beige skin seemed paler than normal! His light-blue eyes were filled with red lines, and his blonde hair wasn’t very well combed. He tried to smooth his mane out with his hands, but his normally neat trim was still disheveled. Even though it wasn’t cold, he buttoned up his khaki raincoat and inwardly prayed that his observant coworkers wouldn’t catch on to his dour mood.

Officer Niles Jones was putting up crime scene tape when Noah walked up to the area. He gave Noah a curt nod as he passed him, and Noah was grateful he got distracted enough to not catch on to his glum disposition. His footsteps echoed in the hallway, and he felt it was strange how quiet the territory remained. Typically, when a murder occurred in a densely populated place, the entire perimeter would buzz from a morose curiosity. It daunted him slightly, but he couldn’t exactly decipher why that spooked him. He shrugged it off and crossed his fingers that the others would be as preoccupied as Officer Jones.

Right before the pool gate, Officer Corwin Letes was talking to a rather distressed young man in a tank top and board shorts. Officer Letes glimpsed at Noah somewhat suspiciously, and Noah cringed. He truly didn’t want to account for his behavior because he couldn’t even explain it to himself! Thankfully, Officer Letes chose to overlook it and instead introduced the man to him, “Detective Noah Raymond, this is Billy Neidhard. He’s the victim’s roommate.”

“Do you know anything about what happened?” Noah inquired.

“No!” Billy replied. “I was playing video games, and I didn’t hear a thing! Brodny went to take out the trash, and he never returned!”

Noah jotted this down in a notebook he stored in his pocket, and then he asked Billy, “Can you recall anyone who may have been angry at or held a grudge against Brodny?”

Billy contemplated the matter for a moment, and then he concluded, “No! I mean, our upstairs neighbor complained about the music, but I can’t see Old Lady Riveria drowning him like that!”

He peeked at the pool where Noah could see the straight ponytail of CSI Cineous examining the ledge of the water that Brodny floated face first in. Brodny’s long, straw-like strands spread out like he was surrounded by a halo of light, and Noah couldn’t blame Billy for not being able to make eye contact with his friend in this condition! He decided Brodny could probably give him more information than his roommate and headed over to the murder site.

“What have you got so far, Cineous?” Noah queried.

“Robin,” she simply stated.

Noah quizzically responded, “It was a robbery? But it looks like his wallet is still in his pocket!”

She corrected him, “My name is Robin! We’ve worked together for five years- why do you still call me by my last name?” 

Noah’s face went blank, and he verbalized, “I don’t know!”

“Are you feeling okay?” Robin questioned Noah.

“I’m fine!” Noah lied. He grimaced- he had been dreading justifying his actions all evening! He hoped he could distract her by changing the subject, “Well, I’m doing better than this poor guy! What have you got so far?”

Robin reported, “Footprints indicate that there was a struggle.”

Noah stooped to peer at the corpse, and he commented, “Dude fought for his life, and no one heard any noise? These walls must be pretty soundproof!”

“Maybe. Or maybe loud arguments aren’t so abnormal here,” Robin conversed. She paused, and then she pressed Noah, “So, everything’s alright at home?”

“Everything’s fine!” Noah claimed. Robin raised her eyebrows at him, so he had no choice but to try and make sense of these nonsensical feelings. “It’s just… I dunno! Lately, it’s been like… doing cases like this seems so… unimportant! Not that it’s trivial, but I keep getting this notion that there’s something more vital I should be doing!”

Noah expected Robin to cast judgment on what he shared since it didn’t convey any rationalism to him, but on the contrary- she gazed at him sympathetically! “You’re burnt out. When was the last time you took a vacation?”

Noah mulled it over a bit, and then he recalled, “I took a few days off to help my cousin move into a new house in Sacramento. I didn’t really want to, but she was a single mom getting out of an abusive relationship- I couldn’t let her go back to her ex! This was in ‘92.”

“You haven’t taken any days off in six years? No wonder you’re burnt out! Perhaps you and Gwyneira should take a trip together,” she suggested with a wink.

“She has a huge project with Mayor Richmond coming up, but after that… perhaps!” Noah found himself blushing furiously. It wasn’t any secret that he was deeply enamored by this woman, but it wasn’t something he was used to discussing! Aside from being shy about his love life, he had to keep some details about his girlfriend secret… In order to avoid details he didn’t want to divulge, Noah switched topics, “What does it say on Brodny’s necklace?”

As she wrote down her findings on a ledger, Robin shrugged. “I dunno. I was waiting for the coroner to arrive to get specifics about the D.B.”

Noah affirmed, “It could give us a clue. I’m gonna take a peek.” He pulled out his pen again, and he reached out towards the jewelry…

Suddenly, an arm clasped onto Noah’s wrist and dragged him into the pool! Noah instinctively held his breath, and when he craned his neck up, he saw that Brodny was forcing him to stay submerged! Noah raised his arms up to between Brodny’s, and he pushed his limbs aside. Brodny had to relinquish his grip, and Noah swam back to the surface. Officer Jones and Officer Letes had their guns drawn, Billy stood behind them white as a ghost, and Robin had her radio ready to page dispatch about this occurrence. Brodny bobbed up, and Noah prepared himself to fight back if necessary. For the victim’s sake, he prayed that no further action needed to be taken by him or any of his associates! Fortunately, Brodny stared at him in perplexion, and then he uttered, “You’re not Billy!”

“Why would you imagine it was me?” Billy probed with his eyes as round as dinner plates.

“You tried to kill me, you son of a bitch!” Brodny spat.

Bill refuted that allegation, “I did not! Don’t listen to him- he’s delusional from grief!”

Noah challenged Billy, “Oh, really? So, if we went into your apartment, we wouldn’t find any wet clothes?”

For a second, it appeared as though Billy intended to deny that, but when he realized he couldn’t, his visage convulsed into sheer rage. “You slept with my fiancé, you bastard!”

Billy attempted to dive in and combat with Brodny, but Officer Jones seized his elbow. Officer Letes cuffed Billy, and Robin spoke into her radio, “This is CSI Cineous. We need rescue at the Silver Mountain complex.”

Brodny gawked at Noah in confusion, and Noah empathized with him, “Listen, I’ve been to the brink of death and back too. You’ll be alright.” He gave him a supportive smile, but Brodny was too busy processing what occurred to reciprocate. Noah used the closest ladder to him to exit the basin, and during his departure from that watery entrapment, he wondered how truthful he had been. Sure, he had survived, but ever since he prevailed, he kept seeking the emotions that made him believe he had sincerely won!

The next day, Noah entered into the bullpen not expecting the rows of cubicles to bear any other appearance besides its regular ice cube tray-like organization, but everything had gotten decorated for a party! Just as he pondered what was going on, his fellow detectives popped out of hiding and yelled, “Surprise!”

“Uh, thanks! But my birthday isn’t for another week!” Noah didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but he got befuddled as to why they were celebrating the occasion so soon.

“What did you do a week before your twenty-first birthday?” a lady who greatly resembled a school librarian with her graying-blonde bun tied in a bun, prim and proper garments, and bright jewelry eyed him as if he should have known this already.

Noah’s brows furrowed. “A week before my… Why would you ask about…? Oh! I got hired onto the force!”

A young woman with tawny skin, dark brown curls, and a very slender frame bade Noah, “Happy twentieth!’ She blew a festive horn to commemorate this milestone.

“Has it really been twenty years already?” Noah speculated incredulously.

“Twenty years and twenty-thousand cases closed!” A man with a wavy salt-and-pepper ‘do, an olive-toned complexion, and a thick mustache plopped a conical hat on him.

Noah immediately removed the headgear, but he grinned as he reacted to him, “You’re exaggerating, Maurice!”

A fellow with russet wrinkles, a slight pot belly, and a balding crown piped in, “He’s not off by as much as you’d think! Countless criminals have been taken off the streets of Los Angeles due to your tireless effort, so, on behalf of the justice system and the community you’ve enriched, we thank you!”

“Aw, Chief! I appreciate it!” Noah’s cheeks reddened. He wasn’t used to getting this much attention, and he didn’t quite know how to conduct himself! The accolades flattered him, but he didn’t feel totally deserving. Oh sure, he had done a lot over the course of his career, but it didn’t feel like enough. His duty to the city wasn’t completed, not while a specific danger still loomed over them…

“Say, Maurice! Didn’t you tell us you saw cake in the breakroom?” the young woman nudged the man with the thick mustache.

Maurice jokingly regarded her, “Oh, no! Lynn, just ‘cause you skipped breakfast doesn’t mean you’re gonna get me blamed for spoiling Magaret’s secret present!”
The lady with the bun rolled her eyes at them. “You both spoiled it!”

As his workplace buddies jovially argued over the issue, Noah followed them with heavy footsteps. The gesture was nice, but he disliked the delay to his duties. He assumed that another mundane investigation waited for him at his desk, but he wanted to get it over with in order to move on to bigger stuff…

Noah sat at one of the many round tables in a small, square room. His peers gathered around the plastic furniture to eat dessert and pleasantly gab, and Noah wished they would start to dissipate. They became so loud that he couldn’t even hear the fuzzy Zenith television in the corner! He munched on his slice and strove to concentrate on the article in front of him, but he couldn’t do more than pore over the headline! It wasn’t even material that interested him much, some malarkey about a pop singer named Nova holding a concert in the region, but he liked to scan over everything in the newspaper- he never knew when he might stumble across something relevant! He would’ve preferred to have read it and eliminated it from his consideration, but he begrudgingly accepted that he would have to table this notion until later.

“It’s been twenty years- you can take a few minutes off to relax, you know!” Maurice recommended. 

“I will! But not ‘til I find it!’ Noah asserted.

Lynn quizzed him, “Find what?”

Noah articulated, “I dunno! Something that satisfies my gut’s insistence that something momentous is on the horizon…” Noah hadn’t meant to say that, but all of a sudden, his new state of mind seemed sensible. These small cases felt far less vital than something larger looming in the distance…

“Nothing is on the horizon!” Margaret differed. “Well, nothing outside of the usual shenanigans going on in L.A. anyways!”

“You can’t swear by that!” Noah countered. “Did you all forget what went on in January?”

Lynn opined, “Yeah, that was huge! But it’s over now! We got the guy behind it all!”

Noah bickered, “We got him, but can we keep him?”

“Oh, come on! He may have his supporters, but that doesn’t signify any potential peril!” Maurice shot back.

“You’re wrong!” Noah insisted. This truth proceeded to burn within him, and it made his illogical ideas seem so logical! This was more than a mere hunch- this was a problem that had begun to grow! He couldn’t prove it, but he knew it was accurate! “None of us is safe as long as Dawson Kolbyr has a presence here!”

War of the Mystics: Frozen

You may not see me post any new chapters for a while because I’m developing a new novel! It’s a sequel to the story below, so if you’d like to get some background on my next project, its prequel is available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle! Enjoy!

An ordinary investigation turns into an extraordinary quest! Noah gets summoned to a double homicide, which isn’t unusual for this detective, but what IS unusual is that his suspect has plans to destroy all of humanity! And the villain’s plot for power comes with supernatural powers too! Can Noah solve this murder & save the world? Read War of the Mystics: Frozen to find out!

Link to purchase

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 41

“I…” That one letter was all I could get out. I never would’ve pictured running into him again, and I definitely didn’t ever picture him doing this! Rhythmically swaying his body to a Jay-Z song about pimps was… Damon! Seeing our nemesis during our visit to Hell was daunting, but viewing him dancing so provocatively was just disturbing! We all knew one of us would have to break the ice, but we were all too stunned to utter a word!

Damon, apparently, wasn’t aware of our presence because I highly doubted he would put on a show for us like that! He would’ve definitely made eye contact and made some sort of melodramatic threat, and he definitely would not have joyfully remarked, “He’s the best rapper! I can’t wait to meet him in the afterlife!”

Ginger indignantly scoffed at that notion, “Jay-Z is not gonna end up down here!”

The song had ended as she spoke, and unfortunately, Damon heard her comment! He swiftly spun to her direction, and his eyes went wide when he beheld us. “You!” he gasped.

“Hey, dude! I’ll be in the shower,” Blaise briefed him as he trudged into the apartment. 

“What are you doing here?” Damon seethed while glowering at us.

Blaise repeated, “Taking a shower!”

Damon barked, “I’ll deal with you later!” He paused and then added, “Don’t touch the furniture!”

“You two are roommates?” Phoebe queried.

“Roommates? He’s my servant!” Damon shot Blaise a dirty look through the closed door of the bathroom.

Aleck opined, “I can see that! Working for you would be a fitting punishment for the eternally damned!”

Damon glared at him, but prior to him shooting anything back, Ellie probed, “Is this what you do when you’re not terrorizing the kids of Terra Belle?”

“Psh! I’m a very busy demon! I have a lot of responsibilities! I was about to check on you six, and… How could you turn off a musical genius like him?” Damon gestured toward his stereo.

“Very easily!’ Fletcher responded to him. “I yell at whoever touched my radio and I turn that crap off!”

Damon folded his arms in offense, and he irately asked us, “Is there some reason you invaded my property? Or did you barge in simply to insult me?”

I answered him, “Why would we come here for that? We could’ve done that on Earth! We came to talk to whoever’s in charge of Blaise to ensure that he doesn’t cause any more trouble in our town, but I guess you’re not really gonna grant any requests that’d help us, huh?”

“Of course not!” Damon acknowledged. “You may have spoiled my conduit plan, but I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeves!”

“I’m sure you do!” I didn’t inwardly deny that he would concoct some other outrageous scheme to wreak havoc in our region, but I conveyed my tone in a manner that sounded questionable of his abilities to prevent him from gaining too much confidence on that premise. His scowl became more pronounced, and it suddenly occurred to me that he may have been gearing up for a fight! I had no interest in battling it out with him- yes,, I would have loved to have permanently thwarted his efforts to inflict chaos on our city, but I had no clue how to destroy a demon! I witnessed some of his kind’s demise previously, but that was in Babelsama’s fiery lair! I didn’t discern any fashion to off him in our current location, so I esteemed that the most optimal course for us to take was to retreat and deal with his depravity when it surfaced later. “Well, obviously, you’re very busy, so we’ll get out of your hair.”

Damon huffed, “Good! Leave! I don’t wanna deal with you on top of whatever substance is on Blaise’s clothes! I’ve got enough unpleasantness to contend with, thank you very much!”

Ginger wondered, “You do his laundry?”

Damon snapped, “No! He does my laundry! Duh- I’ve gotta get the key to the Netherworld portal!” I must’ve made a knowing face at that reference because Damon now ogled me with great interest. “You’ve got it, don’t you?”

“No…” I lied. I cringed due to the fact that I most likely didn’t make that convincing enough.

“You’re gonna give it to me,” Damon demanded as he advanced toward me.

I backed away and feigned ignorance on the subject, “Give you what? I don’t have anything…”

Aleck groaned, “Ugh! We should’ve helped Kaaron with that crow and handed Blaise off to him!”

Damon lunged at me, and I evaded his attack. He tailed me around the table containing his boombox in the center of his living room, and it sort of reminded me of the chase scenes I used to watch in classic cartoons! Eventually, I paged the others, “Feel free to assist any time!”

Phoebe stuck her leg out, and Damon tripped over it! He toppled to the ground, but this didn’t leave us at much of an advantage since he was blocking our only exit. Ginger and Fletcher made a bid to tackle him, but due to Phoebe’s proximity to him, Damon unexpectedly lifted her leg, which caused her to tumble backward! Her skull hit a strange statue of a rap artist, and for a second, my heart froze! I wouldn’t have been able to handle it if I lost her like this, and I had no inkling how I would have explained it to her relatives! I dove to her side and inquired, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she replied, which filled me with enormous gratitude. She espied my sigh of relief, and she verbalized, “Now you know how I felt when you fell off that stage!” Her eyes sparkled, and she exclaimed, “My memory! It came back!”

“Too bad you won’t get to use it!” Damon snarled and leapt toward us. Ellie and Aleck caught him, and then Fletcher as well as Ginger grabbed his ankles. “Unhand me!” Damon commanded them.

Fletcher requested me, “Hurry and get out of here! My back’s already aching!”

Damon screeched, “I need backup!”

“I can’t leave you guys here!’ I grew horrified at the concept. If I fled the area, then surely Damon’s fury at his loss would have doomed my closest friends! They were my second family, and there was no circumstance that I would let them succumb to a terrible fate like that!

“I’m a’comin’, I’m a’comin’!” Blaise came out holding a towel around his waist. When he glimpsed at the situation at hand, he assured Damon, “I got you!” He lifted his arms to unlatch Ellie’s grip, and his towel dropped to the floor.

Everyone reacted in aghast, and Damon roared, “Cover yourself up! And go call reinforcements!”

Ginger advised me, “Get out of here, Connor! You don’t have a minute to waste!”

“I can’t leave you!” I vehemently objected.

“You have to! Otherwise, they’re gonna use the key to hurt our students!” Aleck argued.

I still hesitated, so Ellie affirmed, “We’ll be fine! Unless Blaise gets naked again…”

Phoebe squeezed my palm, and she sided with them, “We’ve gotta go, babe! There’s no other method to save our kids!” 

My spirits were heavy, but I recognized the truth behind their position. I wanted to say goodbye, but my jaws remained clenched from the sheer weight of it all. I merely nodded in agreement, and we turned to dash from these quarters. We didn’t get far though- a dozen demons were in the doorway! 

Phoebe strove to restore my optimism, “When I said there’s no other method, I was obviously kidding! We’ll find something to fix this!”

The demons encircled us, and one of them leered, “What have we got here?”

“Nothing! You can all go home!” I articulated without any real hope of it having a beneficial effect on us.

“They have my belongings! Search every inch of them! Even the underwear!” Damon ordered. His colleagues gazed at him peculiarly, so he elucidated, “He put it in his briefs before!”

As they inched forward, I proclaimed, “If you wanna get it, you’ll have to dig a little deeper than my undies!” I opened my mouth as wide as I could, and I swallowed the spoon!

A demon leered, “Did you really think that would stop us?”

“Oh, right! I got physically threatened the last time I did this!” I recalled. They stepped toward me, and I would’ve guessed I’d have been terrified at that juncture, but instead, I found myself pouting, “Oh, this is stupid! You’re all gonna murder me so Damon can destroy a town that hurt his feelings a hundred years ago!”

“That’s not true!” Damon denied my allegation. The other demons turned to gawk at him peculiarly, and Damon confessed, “Alright, it is true! But, wouldn’t you get crushed if you went missing and not only did no one search for you, they celebrated your disappearance?”

His colleagues considered this notion, and somebody concluded, “I suppose it makes sense why you’d choose to unleash mayhem in that region!”

Ginger disagreed, “No, it doesn’t! Why does he specifically target the school we work at?”

They all turned to Damon for a justification, and Damon refused to divulge that tidbit, “I’m not telling you that! Why should I? Commence with the disemboweling!”

“What did you say?” a woman with an angelic voice cried out in disbelief. The other demons scattered, and their vanishment revealed six softly glowing individuals sternly staring at Damon. The woman at the head of the pack tapped her fingers impatiently.

“Vanina, you don’t understand! We were having a party! Disemboweling is a new type of dance!” Damon nervously chuckled and peered at Vanina to see if she was buying that.

She didn’t. Vanina decreed, “I’m hereby stripping you of your demonnship and sentencing you to hard labor!”

Damon wailed, “Noooo! The worst punishment of all!”

“I dunno! That Blaise fella mentioned getting thrown into fire!” Fletcher countered.

“You can start by returning Hades’ pets to him!” Vanina gestured in a manner that suggested he should travel to the tunnel immediately.

Kaaron popped in and expressed, “Here’s a headstart, my man!” He handed Damon the crow, which now had its beak wrapped shut. Vanina furiously focused on him, and Kaaron instantly slinked out. Damon uncomfortably held the bird, and he sadly stomped away.

We got a hearty laugh out of watching some well-deserved karma get bestowed on him, but we sobered up when Vanina shifted her attention to us in case she disapproved. She seemed exasperated by the whole debacle, but she didn’t appear to harbor any anger against our group as she kindly regarded us, “I’m so sorry for this!”

“It’s okay!” Aleck mulled that over and then changed his tune, “Well, no, it isn’t! But what are you gonna do?”

“I appreciate your services today, but with all due respect, please don’t come back- teachers go through enough hell!” Vanina gave us a warm smile.

Ellie appealed to her, “Can you direct us to another way out of here? We don’t wanna interfere with Damon’s monster wrangling!”

Vanina obliged, “Certainly! But they’re not really monsters! Bastet is a pussycat!”

Blaise, who was thankfully fully clothed, chimed in, “That’s what I said!” Vanina peered at him curiously, and he scuffled off preceding her being able to interrogate him.

Vanina aimed her hands at the center of the room, and a cloudy staircase manifested before us. Prior to anyone ascending it, I bade Vanina, “See you around!” It registered to me how that came off, so I supplemented it with, “Not too soon though! I mean, it’s not as though we dislike seeing you, but it sort of implied we would die soon! Oh, but when we do die, I hope we do see you…”

“Quit talking, babe! Let’s go!” Phoebe recommended. We all waved goodbye to Vanina and her crew, and we scaled the stairs.

“You’re still alive?” Blaise belted out when we entered into his chambers. He rapidly followed that with, “Not that I was expecting you not to be alive…” He denoted our dubious visages, and he spat, “Oh, go home! I hope I never have to tangle with you all again!”

I commentated, “You know, for once, I can concur with you!” He wasn’t quite certain how to reply to that, so we left it there.

Lilith hollered, “I don’t care what that Rowan guy told you- Connor is definitely not here!”

“I’d like to pretend I’m not!” I asserted. 

“Oh, jeez!” Lilith clutched her chest from startlement. “Why the f are you in my house?”

I cheekily stated, “It’s not really much of a house anymore!”

She glanced at the damage, and she corrected herself, “Fine! Why the f are you in my shambles?”

“We were exploring Hell!” That was the truth, but I broadcasted it like a bit of comedy.

“Ha, ha! Very funny!” Lilith sardonically reacted. “You know what, I have my own issues, so I don’t wanna hear about it! Just tell me one thing- did you happen to see any documents saying that I own the New York mansion and not my late husband’s snotty, thirty-year-old great-grandchild?” I shook my head, so she scathingly shouted, “Ugh! You are useless! Get out!”

As Lilith resumed scouring the ruins of her old abode, we gladly excused ourselves from this property. Outside of the building, we were surprised to see that the person Lilith had bickered with was Mara! Aleck got starstruck straightaway. “Dude! It’s Mara Kinkplease! She’s here! She’s here!”

Fletcher yanked his elbow from Aleck’s grasp. “Good for her!”

“What are you doing here?” Phoebe probed.

“My movie wrapped up, so I’m heading out of Terra Belle,” Mara explained. “I’ve enjoyed seeing you two, and I’ll miss you!”

Mara tried to give him a hug, and I indicated my refusal to want her embrace. She attempted to bestow an embrace on Phoebe, but Phoebe warned her, “Don’t let me put my arms around your neck after you hit on my fiancé!”

After blushing a little, Mara sheepishly relayed, “Ah, yes! No goodbye hugs then!”

“I’ll hug you!” Aleck jolted toward her.

“No, you won’t!” Ellie clutched him by his shirt to prevent that move from transpiring. 

Mara waved to us. “Well, adios!”

She walked to her car, and Ginger observed, “Gosh, it’s late! I better go check on my partner! Talk to you all tomorrow! Good luck with the poop spoon!”

“Thank you!” I considered our entire evening, and I appreciatively addressed them all, “Seriously! Thanks for everything!”

I wrapped my arms around them, and even though we would frequently be in each other’s company in the future, the idea that we almost lost each other made this occasion special, and I obtained an even deeper affection for these folks! I was lucky to have them in my life!

Lilith hollered, “Get off my lawn!” 

We speedily disbursed. As Phoebe and I entered into our yard, Jett zipped from the grass as the gutter collapsed! I didn’t sweat it- things could have been so much worse!

At lunchtime, I raced to the teachers’ lounge. I knew I couldn’t freely discuss last night with the other five, but I didn’t want to miss any iota introduced in our discourse! I was almost there when my path got abruptly blocked by Peter! I basically had to skid to avoid crashing into him! “Why?” I bemoaned to him.

“Sorry, Mister Fenmore! The priest at my church said he met you, but you’re never there on Sabbath! I was just curious- what were you doing together?” Peter pondered.

“Uh…” Clearly, I wasn’t going to reveal that he performed an exorcism on campus, which would disclose just how close to danger he became, but I couldn’t fathom what to disclose about our encounter. “… We played a game of poker!”

I frowned at my response since a priest wouldn’t gamble, but Peter accepted my rationale anyhow, “Awesome!”

Evidently, I satisfied his intrigue since he jogged over to his buddies. I was prepared to go have my meal, but then Ismeray and Corvina approached me. “You should totally join the Scholastic Magical Understanding Team!” Ismeray invited Covina.

“I’m not joining SMUT!” Corvina declined.

“SMUT? Wow, I’m really bad with names!” Ismeray left in disappointment.

I petitioned Covina, “Can I help you with something?” I prayed the answer was no.

Corvina reported, “You need to give Roxy a dress code violation! Her outfit is blinding me!”

She pointed to the other side of the quad, and I beheld Roxy wearing a frock comprised entirely of mirrors! I speculated when got that since she wasn’t donning that in first period! She yelled to me, “Now, Damon can easily communicate here!”

I wasn’t going to tell her that Damon had a new assignment and probably couldn’t correspond like that anymore, so I gave her a thumbs up while whispering to Corvina, “You should bring this up to Principal Palillo!” 

Finally, I made it to the teachers’ lounge! I didn’t have time to cook my food though! Fortunately, I didn’t have to! Phoebe notified me, “I heated up your TV dinner!”

“You’re the best!” I gave her an appreciative kiss.

“That’s it!” Martha unexpectedly slammed her bowl of soup onto the table. Everyone gazed at her in alarm, but she paid them no mind as she ranted, “I miss getting romanced! If my husband isn’t gonna give it to me, I’m gonna get my lover back!”

I gingerly informed her, “Your ex-lover is dead!”

Martha avowed, “That doesn’t matter! I’ll bring him back somehow!”

The six of us in the Demon League grimaced. Damon may have been out of our temporarily, but as long as his spirit existed, he would always become a supernatural nuisance in our lives!