War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Ch. 12

Gwyneira determined, “It’s a door.”

“But…!” Noah peered around the tree and looked utterly bewildered. “There’s nothing there! There aren’t any walls, so where could this door possibly lead to?”

“Let’s go find out!” Gwyneira recommended.

The two of them slowly crept up to the door. Noah’s heart beat rapidly- he had no clue what may have been lying in wait for them behind this entryway, but whatever it was didn’t give him an optimistic inclination! Gwyneira grasped the wooden knob, and Noah held his gun up ready to fire at any entity that came out. She swiftly opened it up, and Noah’s adrenaline was high enough to mentally prepare himself to discharge his weapon right then and there! To their astonishment, they saw absolutely nothing but lumber! Quite confused, they ran up to the doorway to verify their assessment was correct. Once they checked out the inside, they felt a slight draft coming from below them. When they glanced down, they discovered a lengthy tunnel!

Gwyneira apprised Noah, “You’re gonna have to hold onto me!”

“Are you claustrophobic?” Noah queried.

“It’s the destructive cycle,” Gwyneira spelled out. “Earth absorbs water, so we don’t do well in tunnels! Certain rocks vibe with water, but soil drains our energy.”

Noah seemed disturbed by this concept. He was full of reluctance at the idea of allowing her to continue, but he also knew that she wouldn’t turn back with her mother’s life at risk, so he advised her, “If this gets to be too much, don’t hesitate to leave! Don’t put yourself in too much jeopardy!” Gwyneira nodded in agreement, and then he grabbed her waist as they moved forward.

Both of them stayed on high alert as they traveled through the long corridor. Noah didn’t envision any possible avenue for a person to emerge from the side and the ceiling, but he paid close attention to everything just in case. They traveled for a lengthy duration without incident, but Noah noticed Gwyneira relying on him as a crutch more pronouncedly the further they went. Noah wondered if this trek would ever when, all of a sudden, his pistol got tied into a knot! “I think we found the right place!” Noah announced.

Two people dressed in gray carried large spears over to meet them, and a third emerged from an unseen portal above them! The short man before them ordered, “Follow us! Cooperate, and no one gets hurt!” Gwyneira and Noah complied, and the three guards led them away.

“Woah!” Noah exclaimed when they finally reached the conclusion of the passageway. Layers and layers of an entire underground city stood in front of them! The center was open for pedestrian usage, and all kinds of necessities appeared to be offered from the gravelly walls! Noah recalled locating Dawson in the dark basement of that movie theatre, so he honestly didn’t expect much from his tribe. It sort of irked him that these beautiful quarters belonged to such villainous occupants! The guards were obviously glad that he got impressed by their society, but they still bore extremely distrustful visages due to their presence, so they said nothing as they went on.

“Chief!” the short man called out to a guy with long, dark hair and beady, blue eyes sitting on a stone throne. “We have intruders!”

The chief gazed at Noah and Gwyneira scrutinizingly, and he responded to the short man, “Yes, I can see that! Bring them forward!” The guard behind them pushed them toward the chief, and the chief catechized them, “Why have you trespassed on our land?”

Noah very politely addressed him, “Forgive us, Chief of the Earth Mystics! We mean you no harm! We need your help, and we’re simply seeking some information. May we continue?”

“You may,” the chief consented. “Ash, bring them some chairs.”

“Yes, Chief!” the short man swiftly obliged.

As Noah sat down on the oaken seat below the chief’s throne, he observed that the guards stationed themselves at the only way in and out of the room. There was no exit, and their armament got disabled, so he could only hope they could charm the chief enough to spare their lives!

Prior to Noah airing his opening question, the chief stated, “I’ve been expecting you for a while now, Detective Raymond!”

“You have?” Noah blinked in surprise. His tone was so neutral that it was difficult to ascertain whether or not this boded well for him.

“I would’ve expected you to have sought us out sooner!” the chief asserted. He saw Gwyneira’s stance grow limper, so he commanded, “Bring her some water.”

Ash briefly vacated the vicinity, and when he returned, he had a timbered cup filled with water. She clasped it the best she could, and she consumed it as fast as possible. When she drank all she could, she gratefully regarded him, “Thank you, Kerkunn.” She paused, and then she rather gingerly asked him, “Do you have my mother here?”

Kerkunn answered, “Megala is missing?”

“That’s why we wanted to speak to you,” Noah informed him. “The Chieftess of the Water Mystics vanished, and a governmental figure from El Poder was killed. We have reason to believe an Earth Mystic was responsible for both of these crimes.”

“You’re referring to that Sapien who got murdered not far from our doorstep?” Kerkunn wondered.

Noah quizzed him, “What do you know about that incident?”

Kerkunn notified him, “We only know what has been reported in your newspapers. When my tribe learned of this, it haunted them!”

“It did?” Gwyneira reacted in startlement. “I thought you entered into the destructive cycle to do exactly that!”

“No!” Kerkunn disagreed with her premise. “You have severely misinterpreted the intentions of the destructive cycle! For a number of years, we’ve aimed to fight the Animal Tribe due to their lackadaisical attitude towards Sapiens, who are actively destroying the planet. Perhaps it’s unintentional, but no human can survive without the environment! However, we never meant to combat this issue with violence! At least, I certainly never condoned it!”

Noah surmised, “Dawson went too far, didn’t he?”

Kerkunn verified this, “He did indeed! He and several other members of this tribe felt that our measures weren’t strict enough against the Sapiens. They feared that we did not have a substantial enough plan to prevent the Sapiens’ annihilation of the natural world, and when I refused to adhere to his extreme doctrine, he and a few dozen of his brethren deviated from our terrain and our ways.”

“If Dawson aspired to wage war with the Animal Tribe, then why is he targeting the Water Mystics?” Noah probed.

“Dawson isn’t targeting the Water Mystics,” Kerkunn corrected him. “He is warring with the Sapiens, which is something no tribe has ever done! It isn’t fair to attack those who cannot match our abilities!”

Gwyneira added to that, “We jumped in to save the Sapiens, and Dawson went against us because we’re impeding his efforts. However, we were under the impression that he represented all of you in this matter…”

Kerkunn refuted that notion, “We do not! He certainly made it seem like that though!”

“Then why haven’t you publicly condemned his actions?” Noah challenged him. “Your silence implies consent, you know!”

“We do not consent!” Kerkunn argued. “But we cannot outwardly admonish his misdeeds. Most of his followers are still somewhere in the region…”

Noah strove not to risk losing their hospitality by further offending him while making his observation, “You.. You’re afraid of his capabilities?”

Kerkunn differed, “Only a fool would not fear what they’re capable of! Although, that is not our main drive in avoiding conflict within our own ranks! The Water Tribe of Brackish Hollow has declared themselves in the destructive cycle to oppose our objectives, and if they succeed in their ambitions, we will lose our homes. The other Earth Mystics in the San Francisco area are in the constructive cycle, so they refuse to give us aid. If the Water Mystics succeed, Los Angeles will lose Earth Mystic representation! We cannot risk our resources for battling them by battling some of our own!”

“Why not have that tribe go after Dawson’s group?” Noah inquired. “It seems like it’d solve both problems!”

“How?” Kerkunn replied. “Dawson’s followers are everywhere! I could give you their names, but I doubt anyone but Dawson is still going by what I knew them as! When your team arrested some of them in January, none of the names listed in the article were ones that I recognized! I’m especially concerned about Demek. He was Dawson’s second in command, and, in a manner of speaking, he’s more dangerous than his superior! Dawson at least had the sense to operate in the shadows, but Demek advocated for open warfare! With Dawson imprisoned, it’s frightening to imagine what he may have planned for your kind!”

Noah canvassed him, “What does he look like?”

Kerkunn described, “Small stature, blonde hair, blue eyes… He has a tattoo of a spear on his chest, but I’m certain he’ll keep that hidden!”

“Probably,” Noah acknowledged. He frowned, and then he commented, “We don’t have anyone like that on our suspect list, unless he disguised himself…”

“I would request my guards to patrol the streets, but they’ve made it impossible to do that,” Kerkunn articulated. “With this hatred against Mystics brewing, we could hardly walk around freely! He undoubtedly broadcasted an exception for the Earth Tribe, but if we do any sort of contrary behavior, we’ll get considered an enemy too. No Mystic in this town is safe to defy him!”

Noah posed to Kerkunn, “So, what’s the solution?”

Kerkunn dismally shook his head. “If I had any inkling of this, I would have done it already! Uncover his lieutenant, that would be a start! I would also advise you to shore up your numbers. Dawson will definitely grow his, and you cannot permit him to gain victory by sheer volume!”

“How can we do that though?” Gwyneira pondered. “The closest Water Tribe is Brackish Hollow, and to gain their allegiance would mean entering into the destructive cycle! I couldn’t do that! The next closest would be Lake Mead, but they may move due to the drought! Oh! I wish my mother was here! She would figure out what to do!”

“I hope you bring her home soon,” Kerkunn sympathized. “She and I may have had our differences, but I respected her.”

Noah remarked, “Now, there’s a lost art! Respecting various viewpoints- it’d be nice if more people would do that!”

Kerkunn gave him a faint smile, and then he closed out the conversation, “I’ll contact you if I come across anything that may be useful, but please, do not tell anyone I gave you any aid! I must lay low until his movement is thwarted!”

“That’s fine. We can do that,” Noah acquiesced.

“And do me one more favor,” Kerkunn beseeched him. “Do not succumb to defeat! Please, rescue humanity from disaster!”

Noah felt somewhat shocked that Kerkunn had bestowed this to him! Kerkunn had both sovereign and supernatural power, and yet he pleaded with him to achieve this vital feat! It was humbling to have such an omnipotent being appoint him with this goal! He almost wanted to discourse on why he viewed him as worthy of this enormous honor, but he didn’t want to question his judgment and cause him to reconsider his prestigious appointment. Alternatively, he graciously conveyed to him, “I will! Thank you for your time, Chief Kerkunn!” Kerkunn curtly nodded, and the guards escorted them throughout their departure.

Once they were outside and well beyond anyone else’s earshot, Gwyneira breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes! I can feel my stamina returning! I can hardly comprehend what occurred in there! Did we do well? Did you get what you needed?”

Noah shrugged as he checked on his firearm, which was thankfully restored. “Sometimes you don’t truly understand how useful the information you’ve gathered is until you’re further along in your investigation. I don’t know where this path will end, but at least we have somewhere to begin! Tomorrow, I’ll-.” Noah peeked at his watch, and he gasped, “Oh, shoot! We’d better return to the station before my birthday is over!” He and Gwyneira rushed to his vehicle.

In an unlit living room, a telephone rang. Kalanie called out, “Hold on! Hold on!” She picked up the receiver, and she greeted the individual on the other line, “Hello?” Preceding their answer, Kalanie got sharply hit on the back of her skull and fell to the ground…

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War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 11

It took Noah a minute for him to comprehend what she said to him. He heard her perfectly, but so much occurred that afternoon that it was hard for his brain to register this development. “You… You found something?” Noah puzzled.

“At Tempest Shore,” Gwyneira verified this fact. “Detective Sidero didn’t think much of it, but personally, I view it as proof of foul play.” Gwyneira withdrew her hands from behind her back, and Noah was surprised to see an orchid plant! “It was in this rock formation that no one could see inside unless they were right next to it. Most orchids are intolerant of salt water, so i can’t imagine anyone would purposely try to grow those there under normal circumstances.”

“Hmm…” Noah examined the flower. “It seems pretty healthy, so it couldn’t have been there for long… Can Earth Mystics produce vegetation too?”

Gwyneira illuminated him, “Plants, rocks, metal… They’re all comprised of the same chemicals, really.”

Noah briefly contemplated the matter, and then he stated, “Your mother’s kidnapper was lying in wait! They must’ve known she was there, and they waited ‘til the coast was clear to capture her!” He took another peek at the bloom, and his eyes went wide with realization. “I’ve seen these before! There was a whole bunch of them! I wonder if the Earth Mystics’ tribal headquarters is near there!”

Prior to Gwyneira getting the chance to enquire about this location, Noah’s radio broadcasted Chief Argus’s voice, “Noah, are you finished at Tesca yet?”

“Yes, Chief,” Noah verbalized. “I was just about to report my findings.” Noah cringed- he still hadn’t gotten used to lying to his boss, but he certainly couldn’t reveal that he was working on Sidero’s case! He disliked disobeying Chief Argus’s order about staying out of specific investigations, but Sidero was heading down the wrong path, which would allow a sadistic murderer to take over society! He was doing the right thing, and he needed to remind himself of this in order to continue this pursuit!

“What did you learn?” Chief Argus pressed him. “Was Maurice’s case connected to yours after all?”

Noah was relieved he could at least speak truthfully at this juncture. “Maybe. The protestors who attempted to kill Nova all repeat language used by one of my suspects. I’m gonna interrogate him again, but first…” He searched the skies as though the universe would deliver a plausible explanation from there, and when no one came to him, he uttered the only reasonable rationale that he dreamt up, “…I’m gonna revisit the crime scene in Brennan Umbra’s homicide. You know, retrace his footsteps…”

Chief Argus paused, and Noah’s pulse quickened. He worried that he figured out that he had been deceptive, and he dreaded the consequences of that! If Chief Argus took him off all his cases, he would lament not solving a few mysteries, but really, he didn’t see how he could save humanity without the resources behind his badge! To his relief, Chief Argus didn’t sound mad when he responded, “Okay, but hurry back to the station as soon as you can! I’m not supposed to say anything, but there may be a birthday surprise waiting for you here…”

“Oh gosh, that’s right! I’ve entered into my fourth decade now!” Noah was so preoccupied with all he had to do that day that it totally slipped from his radar! He was never big on celebrating the occasion, but he usually humored his coworkers with this indulgence. Today, however, wasn’t at all good to do anything festive! He recognized that he could scour those grounds tomorrow, but he didn’t want to wait until Tuesday or even the end of the evening to pursue this lead! Time was of the essence, and if he could garner any clues to Megala’s disappearance and the dangerous mastermind responsible for that and more, he wanted to garner it immediately! Chief Argus putting a deadline on him really complicated everything…

“Alright! See you soon!” Chief Argus chirped.

Noah strove to echo his sentiments, “He he, yeah! Copy that!” When he turned off his microphone, he furrowed his brows. “This only gives us a couple of hours! We better get moving!”

Gwyneira catechized, “Are you sure you want to do this on your birthday?”

After cracking a smile, Noah assured her, “I spent my morning talking to hate-filled radicals and getting threatened by Dawson in a prison, so a walk in the woods with the woman I love will be a treat!” Gwyneira grinned, took his arm, and strolled to Noah’s car with him.

On the corner of Cypress and Division, scores of pedestrians headed to various shops and restaurants around this intersection. A man with a red hoodie that covered his face observed his surroundings. It seemed fairly middle-class; perhaps on the lower end of the spectrum, but they looked comfortable. The occupants of this neighborhood varied in age, and that was perfect for him! He wanted to reach out to as many citizens as possible, and their variety held the ideal conditions for that! He stood up on his seat, gleaned over the lush hedges, and magicked a nearby grocery cart to him. Already, he had grasped their attention! He predicted that this would turn out great for him!

From on top of his newly acquired trolley, the hooded man addressed the crowd with his deep, husky tone, “People, don’t believe the rumors about Mystics! We’re not all evil! Some of us want to help the planet!” He aimed his palms at some potholes in the road, and they instantly became repaired! Next, he targeted the newspaper stands beside him, and in a flash, their dents and nicks got removed! Finally, he created some blossoms in the leafy tree above him, and when he commanded the blossoms down, he got some children to laugh in delight. “See? We’re not the problem!”

“So, what makes you so different from the rest?” a fellow asked him.

“Glad you brought that up!” the hooded man merrily answered him. “The Earth Mystics were designed to have a positive impact on the world, and the other Mystics are trying to destroy it!”

A woman standing close to a lady with a green hood challenged the hooded man, “What proof do you have of that?”

The hooded man didn’t get deterred by her tough question. “The sea water is getting warmer! Years from now, you’ll start seeing hurricanes form in the Pacific Ocean! Floods, tsunamis, bacteria in our drinking water- does that sound like the Water Mystics are benefitting anyone? How about the pollution in our sky? Los Angeles used to have a beautiful horizon! You can thank the Air Mystics for all the filthy smog! And then there’s the Animal Mystic tribe! You realize that humans count as animals? And yet, they allow disease to spread rampantly! They also don’t even make an attempt to stop Sapiens from destroying the environment! All three are damaging the terrain beyond repair! We need to put a halt to their wicked plans!”

As the congregation cheered at that premise, the lady in the green hood grimaced. She was stunned that she appeared to be the only one displaying objections to this perilous idealogy! A teenage boy exclaimed, “Let’s go get them!”

Most of the masses agreed with that concept, but the hooded man opposed it, “No, no! That’ll never work! They could wipe a bunch of us out all at once pretty effortlessly! If you wanna get rid of an entire group, the key is not through weaponry but by cutting off their essential resources! They’re thriving based off of Sapiens, so if we can get rid of Sapiens, they’ll have no motivation to carry out their misdeeds! Snuff out the Sapiens! What good have they done for anyone anyway? Snuff out the Sapiens! Snuff out the Sapiens!”

“Snuff out the Sapiens! Snuff out the Sapiens!” the throng chanted in unison.

“Hold on!” the green hooded lady vociferated. She tipped over the buggy beside her, and after climbing on top of it, she removed her hood and revealed herself as Michelle! Michelle hollered, “Do you realize what just occurred? He convinced you all to endorse your own demise!”

Many visages soured at this pronouncement, but somebody bellowed, “Well, maybe we deserve it!”

Michelle argued, “No, you don’t! You deserve a chance at life! Humanity may have its flaws, but that doesn’t mean anyone deserves to suffer a horrendous fate! We can improve our homes with kindness and-!”

“Don’t listen to her!” the hooded man ordered. “She’s striving to obliterate your species!”

“That’s what you’re doing!” Michelle retorted. “You came up with the phrase ‘Snuff out the Sapiens,’ and you dare to accuse me of extinctive ambitions!”

He espied the population’s support for him waning, so the hooded man held a claw up and projected a spell with rocks to Michelle! Michelle’s reflexes were fast though, and she very easily manifested a protective force field. She didn’t let it go, and the hooded man knew it would prove to be a futile effort to hurl any more attacks. Instead, he decided to go for a different tactic. “I’ve heard about you! When your friends were under siege, all you and your Animal Tribe brethren did was heal the wounded. The fate of your friends and your precious Sapiens were on the line, and you didn’t care enough to deliver a blow! I’ll never quit my mission to eradicate these vermin, but I’ll give you a chance to save them! You get a free shot! I’m not gonna fight back ‘cause I’m not concerned about you actually doing it! You’ll coward out of it, like always! So, go on! Kill me to save the others!”

Michelle eyed him as though she was endeavoring to read his thoughts. She didn’t detect any deception, so she easily could have called his bluff and finished him off! She didn’t want to though- as loathsome as this individual was, she couldn’t harm him. He held ignorant, hateful views, but society would have gotten further enhanced by him getting educated on his erroneous thinking. As vile as he had become, even he deserved to live. She couldn’t hurt him, but she couldn’t permit him to believe he had won this fight. She needed to teach him a lesson, but she wasn’t certain how until he sneered victoriously at her. At least, that was what she assumed he was doing based on the manner in which he cocked his head. She couldn’t sincerely see his face, and from that, inspiration struck her!

She could tell he got alarmed when she sent a trajectory in his direction, and when her jinx nearly knocked his covering off, he cried out, “What are you doing?”

“If I’m going to engage in combat, I deserve to learn who my opponent is” she articulated with a smirk.

“No!” he wailed. Michelle delivered another hex to him, and he held on to his concealment as though his vitality depended on it. She persisted, and it grew more and more difficult for him to maintain his grip. A bus pulled up, and he swiftly jumped off of his platform and entered into the coach! Michelle gazed out this aggravating defeat, but she inwardly vowed to find him again and ensure that he couldn’t spread his poisonous words anymore!

Noah led Gwyneira up to the swampy lake, and as they stood by the yellow police tape, Noah announced, “This is it.”

Gwyneira scoped out the vicinity, and she forlornly concluded, “My mother isn’t here! I realize that it was unlikely since your team combed the area pretty thoroughly, but, I don’t know, I suppose I was hoping that arriving at the final resting place of the guilty party’s other victim would reveal her whereabouts somehow!”

“Don’t lose all your hope!” Noah advised her. He indicated to the orchids around the pond, and he remarked, “Your mother’s kidnapper has been here!”

“Yes, they have!” Gwyneira stooped down and verified this. She visually followed their formation, and she observed, “They left a trail!”

Noah glanced into the thicket, and he contemplatively expressed, “These breadcrumbs were either left for him or her to make their way back to where they came from, or they were designed to lead us to a trap. Tracing their origin could be dangerous…”

Gwyneira boldly asserted, “You’re not going to talk me out of this! Not when my mother’s survival is at stake!”

“I wasn’t going to. I simply wanted to recommend hyper-vigilance. We gotta pay attention to every movement and every sound! Who knows what might be lurking in the shadows!”

“Got it!” Gwyneira held her arms up in a stance that symbolized her readiness to deploy an encantation at any moment. He pulled out his pistol, and they set out into the woods.

They trekked through the forest for a lengthy stretch, or at least it felt long in this state of watchfulness! They each directed their weapons at the bushes and treetops, and the slightest noise caused them to leap in fright. Noah wished that whatever this villain had plotted for them would emerge and get their assault over with. Suddenly, Noah beheld something in the distance, and initially, he rejected the notion that it may be significant since it seemed too great to be true, but the more he looked, the more positive he felt about it. To ensure the accuracy of his assessment, he queried Gwyneira, “What’s that?”

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 10

Megala weakly called out, “Help! Help!” No one responded, so she banged on her wooden enclosure as hard as she could. It was so confined that she could hardly move her arms, so she let out a frustrated cry and then yelled out again, “Help!”

She heard footsteps above her, and for a moment, she thought someone had come to her aid. Her hopes got dashed thought when a muffled but deep male’s voice leered, “You’re wasting your time! Nobody can hear you out here!” Megal had never felt so disheartened and so helpless, and she couldn’t prevent herself from screaming out her emotions! This made the man on the surface snicker, but all she could do about that was beseech the universe to rescue her!

Gwyneira winced as she sat on the rocky shore. She got the sensation that, wherever her mother was getting kept, she had to endure some intense mental anguish! A tear threatened to roll down her cheek, but she strove to calm her anxious brain down and concentrate on channeling her mother’s movements from this area. It seemed like a long shot, but the usual paths weren’t working, so she felt she needed to try! An improbable route was still better than none!

“Are you psychic?” Sidero queried.

“I’m sorry?” Gwyneira opened her eyes and espied the detective looming over her in a haughty fashion.

Sidero elaborated, “You appear too tense to be meditating, so I kinda figured you were attempting to use psychic powers to solve your mom’s disappearance. So, are you psychic?”

Gwyneira coolly retorted, “Did you visit me to learn about clairvoyance, or did you have something more substantial to discuss?”

“Sorry! Just trying to break the ice!” Sidero articulated in a manner that suggested he didn’t feel any remorse. “I went to your home in the Badlands, and they told me you went here.”

“Did you find something?” Gwyneira asked with hope sparkling in her eyes.

Sidero answered, “No. I actually was coming to see if you heard from her.”

Gwyneira puzzled, “If I heard from her, don’t you think I would’ve said something to you?”

“Not necessarily,” Sidero asserted. “For instance, if you two were collaborating on a scheme…”

“How dare you!” Gwyneira roared as she bolted up. “My mother isn’t a criminal, and neither am I! After all we’ve done for the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles, how could you think that?”

Sidero glanced at beachgoers whose attention got swayed to him. The picnicking couple, the metal-detecting fellow, and the teen girl jamming to the music in her portable CD player all stared at him, and he sheepishly regarded Gwyneira, “I didn’t say you did anything! It was merely an example of a reason you might conceal information. We gotta check, you know?”

Gwyneira folded her arms in disbelief. “Do you?”

“Well, yeah! Especially after this!” He furnished a newspaper article that described strange circumstances around Brennan Umbra’s murder. “There are rumors going around that no one could fully determine his cause of death, so The Mink Observer speculated that a Mystic could be involved…”

“So, you’re accusing my mother of murder based on a rumor?” Gwyneira riposted.

Sidero assured her, “No, no! It seems a bit odd that she vanished around when a Mystic may have killed someone though! But, it’s probably just a coincidence! I’m sure!” He gazed at her snidely, but before she could react, a large wave brushed by and knocked him down! The watchers laughed, and Sidero got up looking both soaked and very upset. “Listen! I know this isn’t much, but it’s all I’ve got! If you can get some evidence for her case, you tell me!” He stomped off.

The bystanders returned to their previous activities, but Gwyneira was too incensed to concentrate. She observed the individuals in her surroundings, and while their behavior wasn’t especially noteworthy, it helped her to contemplate them and not that awful interaction. After a minute or so, the teen girl gasped, “Ah! My batteries died!” She opened the back of her device, but the objects rolled out into a tall rock formation. She chased after them, but once she retrieved them, her brows furrowed. “Huh? What’s this doing here?”

Gwyneira instinctively ran over to examine what the teen girl found. When she beheld it, her visage brightened with comprehension, and she shouted, “Detective! Detective, come back!”

A prison guard led Noah to a heavy, gray door in the middle of an empty and scarcely decorated hallway with white, spackled walls and security cameras placed strategically throughout the vicinity. “Here you are, Detective Raymond,” she notified him.

Noah cordially regarded her, “Thank you!” He peered into the narrow window on the entryway, and he predicted he would see a group of feisty youths, but instead, he saw five adults who looked his age and older! If Noah hadn’t known they were in Tesca and only saw their irate profiles, he would have guessed they were attending a contentious PTA meeting! “These are the radicals? Are you certain?” The prison guard shrugged, which made him frown. He had no choice but to go in and verify this for himself, so he steeled himself up for an unusual transaction and entered the room.

Three suited people, two men and a woman, stood up and extended their hands to him. The tall male introduced them, “Detective Raymond! I’m Aaron Ackerson, and these are my associates- Brynn Hailey and Pierce Omala. Our clients are eager to speak to you!”

“We are?” a gruff, red-haired male questioned him.

“You are if you’d like to avoid attempted murder charges!” Aaron verbalized.

The plump woman with stringy, brown hair wondered, “You mean, if we cooperate with him, we don’t have to serve time?”

Noah sat down and explained, “Maybe. I’m not a lawyer, and I can’t guarantee anything, but if the facts you present turn out to be useful, I’ll relay this to the judge, and that could potentially reduce your sentence. This means it’s in your best interest to be as forthcoming as possible.” The five looked to their lawyers, and all three nodded. Noah took out his ledger, and he petitioned them, “Whose idea was it to gather at Arnav Theatre?”

“The GLADA chatroom,” the bespectacled, blonde lady stated.

“GLADA?” Noah curiously expressed as he jotted this down. 

The blonde lady sneered, “GLADA- Get Los Angeles Decent Again! Obviously, you’re a non-believer if you don’t know that! You’re supporting those sick sons of-!”

Brynn interjected, “His beliefs don’t matter! Just tell him what you know so we can work on a plea deal!”

“So, GLADA… Is this some sort of Anti-Mystic organization?” Noah conveyed that as neutrally as possible. Inwardly, he was roiling at the concept, but, in order to get valuable tips from this lot, he didn’t dare air his issues with their ignorant ideals.

“Yeah,” the red-haired man confirmed. “Loads of us aren’t happy with Mayor Richardson’s pro-witch agenda, so we gather there to find ways to fight back.”

Noah inferred, “GLADA directed you to go to the venue where Nova was set to perform and strive to silence her permanently?”

The brunette guy who greatly resembled a farmer elucidated, “The moderator sent out a bulletin telling us to be there ‘cause it’ll be wild. We kinda read between the lines.”

“Does this moderator encourage you to act violently?” Noah posed.

“He can’t say it explicitly, but we understand it when he speaks in code,” the nearly bald dude with an immense double chin put in. “He doesn’t discourage us when we talk about using force on the witches, so…”

Noah almost pointed out that Nova didn’t have any powers, but he refrained and alternatively opted to canvass them, “Who’s the moderator?” All five indicated their lack of knowledge on that premise, and this bewildered Noah. “You don’t know? You all simply took the word of some anonymous person encouraging you to commit crimes?” 

Pierce piped up, “Our clients didn’t participate in this to get badgered!”

“Sorry!” Noah apologized. He composed himself, and then he quizzed them, “Alright, basically, you all tried to asphyxiate Nova in the name of GLADA?” They all nodded, and Noah scribbled this on his paper with raised eyebrows. “Interesting! I’ll investigate this chatroom, and if your testimony is corroborated, I’ll present this evidence to the judge to lessen your imprisonment.”

“There’s one more client who’d like to meet with you,” Aaron reported prior to Noah’s departure. Noah nearly exited these chambers, but this news caused him to freeze in his tracks. He couldn’t pinpoint the culprit with a hundred percent certainty, but he had a hunch on their identity, so he listened to Aaron with intrigue. “He doesn’t have any direct evidence for you, but he says he has something that could really benefit you. Are you interested?” Noah hesitated; if they were who he thought they were, he needed some time to brace himself for this conversation.

Noah brushed by a row of visitors chatting with various inmates, and he found it peculiar that they discoursed on such ordinary subjects as kids and bills when he was most likely set to discuss the future of humanity. He couldn’t discern whether or not his imagination ran wild at this juncture or not, but he swore he felt that same prickly energy he experienced at the El Poder City Hall! This reaction only heightened as he got closer and closer to that empty chair. His pulse quickened more and more as he inched further and further from his place of refuge in this joint. He arrived and collected himself- there was no going back now!

Dawson bore a mischievous grin upon gaining eye contact with Noah. Noah was kind of hoping he would have gotten proved wrong on his theory, but since he was correct, he took his seat with tenacity. He refused to show him any fear as he picked up the receiver, and he roughly greeted him, “What do you want?”

“Wow! You’re so angry!” Dawson mentioned. “I don’t even get a hello?”

“Hello, asshole!” Noah barked. “Forgive me for the anger! I usually hold a grudge against the jerks who try to assassinate me!”

Dawson didn’t seem deterred by his vitriol whatsoever. “Fair enough. However, you should know that I’m a changed man! Seriously! Why else would I share my lawyers with those poor souls who couldn’t afford a decent defense?”

Noah retaliated, “Uh, ‘cause they’re your henchmen!”

“How could I have henchmen when I’m locked away all alone out here?” Dawson feigned innocence.

“You have your methods, I’m positive of it! But, I assume it’d be a futile task to try and coax that out of you!” Noah gazed at Dawson for verification, but Dawson remained poker-faced. Noah peeked at the guard behind him since it appeared significant to him that Dawson didn’t deny that accusation, but he didn’t react, so Noah deployed a different tactic, “Alright, so you provided some legal services to a financially-strapped bunch… Totally out of the goodness of your heart, huh?”

Dawson certified this, “Of course! I can sympathize with their plight!”

Noah scornfully commented, “Naturally! You’re all accused murderers!”

“Sacrifices must get made in war!” Dawson ardently expressed. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s also an unavoidable pitfall on the road to a better existence.”

“So, Nova was a necessary sacrifice needed in order to complete your depraved vision of the future?” Noah catechized. “And the treasurer of El Poder?”

Dawson played dumb at that mention, “I have no clue who either of them are! I was merely relating my previous mindset with that of the protestors!”

Noah very clearly didn’t buy his claim, “Uh huh! I forgot, you’re totally reformed! You have no interest in eradicating Sapiens anymore, right?”

He could glean that he had struck a nerve with Dawson based off of his pronounced grimace. This impression got reinforced as Dawson ranted, “Sapiens! They don’t deserve to inherit the earth! They’re spreading trash, releasing chemicals, and overharvesting resources in every corner of the planet! Their pollution is destroying the land, and I could’ve saved it!”

“Hence why you put together that gang of homegrown terrorists,” Noah deduced. “They’re there to do your dirty work without your fingerprints on anything!”

“Hey! I didn’t bring you here to get blamed for random bullshit!” Dawson snapped.

Noah challenged him, “Why did you drag me down here?”

Dawson leaned in closer and acquainted him, “I felt it was my moral duty to warn you that I’ve heard dangerous rumors about the future of this region. Peril will soon plague this terrain, and if you keep sticking your big nose in plans that are none of your business, you’ll seal yourself into a horrendous fate! Be smart and remain protected by distancing far from this!”

“Ah! You wanna convince me to back out of my investigations again! Nice try!” Noah spat.

“You’re a fool!” Dawson seethed. “You-!” Noah hung up and marched out prior to him completing his sentence. Noah was glad to separate from that creep, but he could hear him cackle until left that space though!

Noah trudged out of the prison, and while he was glad to have finished that stint, he could hardly relax. He was too infuriated to even process this debacle, but preceding him even making an attempt to do that, Gwyneira approached him and relayed, “I found something you should know about!”

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 9

“Five, six, seven, eight!” A choreographer clapped a beat as Nova danced to it. She felt she was nailing it, but the choreographer suddenly yelled, “Stop, stop!”

“Seriously?” Nova exasperatedly reacted.

Shouting from outside the venue caused the choreographer to raise his volume significantly as he spoke to Nova, “I said make your movements tight, not move stage right! The camera is gonna zoom in at this point, and-.”

Nova cupped one of her ears and responded, “What?”

The director walked from the sound booth into the theatre and asked the pair, “What’s the problem?”

“Oh, please! I think you know what the problem is!” The choreographer gestured to the cacophony with a newly lit cigarette in his hand.

“You can’t smoke that in here!” the director reminded him.

The choreographer objected, “Well, it’s not like I can go out there thanks to Miss Kumbaya over here!”

Nova took exception to that slight, “Hey! I did the right thing! What was I supposed to do? Let them all kill each other?”

“Well, your pretty words didn’t improve this dilemma, did it?” the choreographer spat as a couple of protestors kicked the doors.

“These issues take time to resolve!” Nova argued.

After taking a drag,  the choreographer shot back, “Great! Meanwhile, we can’t get shit done ‘cause you couldn’t stay out of their business!”

Nova exclaimed, “Peace isn’t just a marketing ploy for me! I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to smooth everything out! Besides, I didn’t know that talking about a concept as simple as tolerance would result in so much hostility! Next address I make, I’ll-!”

“Next address? How about you keep your mouth shut so you don’t get us all killed?” the choreographer barked.

“Hey, come on! Don’t do this!” the director jumped in prior to their altercation going any further. “None of us wanted this to happen, and since it did, we’ll just have to find a way to cope with it!” The commotion’s intensity heightened, so the director concluded, “Alright, this is obviously going beyond free speech, so I’m calling the cops! Why don’t you two relax ‘til they sort this out?” The choreographer stormed off, and Nova sighed before heading off stage.

Nova paced around her green room. She had no idea how she was going to relax when so much drama was unfolding around her, but she didn’t see anything else she could do at this juncture. She despised all of the acrimony transpiring throughout this town, but she didn’t view any manner in which she could plead for pacification without endangering herself or her staff. She put her palms up to her face in frustration, and she noticed how sweaty they were. She thought a shower could cleanse her body and her mind, so she marched into her bathroom.

As the water caressed her body, Nova started to feel her tension melt away! It seemed almost poetic that she could discover such tranquility in the midst of this mayhem, and she began to muse about writing a song based on this experience. A loud crash blared out in the distance, and it startled her for a second, but she let it go under the assumption it had something to do with the police clearing away the radicals and ignored it. She returned to her blissful bathing… until…

She heard chatter get closer and closer to her, and she recognized that some agitators had entered into her quarters! She turned off the water-flow, grabbed a towel to cover herself up, and mentally prepared herself to endure this confrontation. She could only hope that it didn’t turn physical since she was outnumbered. The space grew eerily quiet, and she grew quite confused as to what was going on. After standing there for a lengthy stretch, she wasn’t certain if they were still there, so she called out, “Hello?”

The door cracked open, and she held her fists up ready to defend herself the she could. It shocked her when someone threw a small object in and slammed the door! She grew perplexed by this until the object emitted a billowy fume! She felt her throat close up and her chest grow tighter, so she dashed for the door and accepted she would have to contend with a hostile crowd. The entryway wouldn’t budge! Her breath became shorter, but she refused to believe she was trapped! She surveyed the room, and she saw a small window by the shower. She punched it, and it did nothing but make her knuckles bleed. She did it a few more times, and mercifully, the glass broke! As she gasped for air, she wondered what she was supposed to do now.

Noah peeked out from behind a concrete pillar of a packed but empty parking garage, and he groaned when he espied a gaggle of reporters in front of the back entrance to City Hall. He had hoped that arriving early would prevent this encounter! Right as he pondered if there was another route to his destination, Maurice approached him with two jumpsuits and directed him, “Put this on. They’ll ignore you if they don’t realize you’re in law enforcement!”

“That’s brilliant!” Noah complimented Maurice.

“It was! I wish I could take credit for it!” Maurice relayed to Noah as he put the uniform on over his slacks and dress shirt. “Nova’s tour director instructed me to do it ‘cause the protestors outside Arnav Theatre were very anti-authority. Evidently, some of the officers responding to their demonstration got attacked!”

Noah shook his head in disappointment. “I don’t get it! Those particular officers were there to maintain the peace- isn’t that what they want? Why would they claim they wanna stop the bloodshed of one group and then shed the blood of another?”

Maurice conversed, “That’s what Nova was saying, and they tried to murder her! Luckily, the assailants were apprehended immediately, so I closed the case pretty fast!”

“I wonder how The Mink Observer will spin this story!” Noah muttered. He started walking toward City Hall, and he asked Maurice, “You’re tagging along, huh? Did you catch a bug mingling with celebrities?” 

“Yeah, right!” Maurice answered with a grin. “Although, my daughter will be stoked I got to meet Nova! Actually, I wanted to brief you on that investigation ‘cause I think it’s related to yours.”

Noah halted his footsteps and inquired, “How’s that?”

Maurice glanced around, and when he discerned that the coast was clear, he quietly filled him in, “In the report, I said that they got in through an unlocked door, and while that’s true, security swore they secured the entire premises prior to the breakin! It reminded me of Link Kaisho’s homicide. Isn’t that how Dawson got into Gwyneira’s cousin’s apartment?”

“That’s right!” A lump rose in Noah’s throat. His instincts prompted him to lay blame on Dawson for the crimes committed in regards to Brennan Umbra’s death, but he and Gwyneira established that it was unlikely to be him due to his desire to curry favor with the prison staff. To have a colleague jump to a similar conclusion all but confirmed his theory for him!

“Well, I heard the chief saying there was some strange stuff occurring with your case, and this one was a bit strange too, so they appear to be connected,” Maurice hypothsized.

Noah concurred, “They probably are. My victim had a picture of Nova in his office. All of this seems to be centered around a prejudice disguised as politics, and as this hate spreads, more of our cases are gonna get connected! Somebody sparked this flame, and until we track down this mastermind, more people are gonna…” He paused upon having a realization, and then he petitioned Maurice, “They arrested all the suspects in your case? You’re sure?”

Maurice verified his statement, “Definitely! LAPD cornered them in her dressing room, we corroborated it with security footage from the hallway.”

Noah furrowed his brows. Surely, if Dawson had been among the murderous throng, Maurice would have told him, but based on his account, he didn’t comprehend how anyone else but him could have led that attack! He couldn’t make it make sense, so he decreed, “I need to interview these folks!”

Laverna and her peers circled around the doorway to City Hall with eyes like hawks scoping out their prey. Noah and Maurice tiptoed behind their congregation, and they kept their necks craned low with the aspiration of avoiding eye contact and getting themselves identified. A couple of media members gazed in their direction, but no one paid them any care. They nearly made it to the door when Laverna did a double take to them. “That’s not what the janitors here wear!” she declared. The mass bolted toward them, but thankfully, Noah and Maurice got inside preceding their interaction.

Mayor Richardson was in the midst of writing something on his desk when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in!” he beckoned his guests. He appeared delighted to see Noah, but he frowned upon viewing the garments he and his coworker were donning. “What’s with the costumes?”

“Oh! I forgot we had these on!” As Noah and Maurice shed their outer layer, Noah let Mayor Richardson know, “This is Detective Sicknick. He’ll be sitting in with us this afternoon.”

“We used these to avoid the reporters,” Maurice apprised him.

Mayor Richardson chuckled, “That’s understandable! Personally, I ignore them unless I wanna appeal to the public for something.”

Noah and Maurice took a seat in front of his desk, and Noah affirmed, “I’ll keep that in mind!”

“You’re taking notes?” Mayor Richardson puzzled as Maurice and Noah pulled out their ledgers. “I thought you wanted to brief me on safety measures or something, but this is more official business!”

“Listen, there’s no easy way to ask this, so I’m just gonna blurt it out… Did you send Mystic assassins to El Poder?” Noah probed.

Mayor Richardson laughed heartily at the premise of his enquiry, but when he perceived their sober visages, he ceased his mirth and became overtly confused. “Wow! You’re serious?”

Noah dismally nodded. “That accusation has been floated, and given the volatility of our current political climate, we have to follow up on every lead.”

“This is absurd!” Mayor Richardson remarked. “I’m used to getting accused of all sorts of garbage, but that one is new! Assassins? For real?”

“Did you though?” Maurice pressed him.

Mayor Richardson emphatically denied that concept, “No! Of course not! Why would I do that?”

Noah conveyed to him, “Apparently, a few individuals believe you have a plot to allow the Mystics to take over society, and the government of El Poder is an obstacle to that.”

“There are so many things wrong with that, I can’t fathom where to begin!” Mayor Richardson rubbed his temples in aggravation. “Okay, first of all, I have no intention of allowing anyone to take over anything! I merely want everybody to get along! Is that so controversial?”

“I guess so!” Noah rather bitterly commented. “The fact that you’re striving to bring all your citizens together means you’re scheming to tear them all apart!”

Mayor Richardson opined, “This is preposterous! I’m used to quarreling with the opposition party, but this is taking opposition to a whole other level! Disagreeing with an opinion shouldn’t mark someone as an enemy of the state! Plus, if this ridiculous argument had any merit, what would it matter? The Mystics aren’t a violent bunch! Well, except for certain residents in Tesca…”

Maurice gingerly brought up, “Speaking of the devils, we were interested in interrogating their tribal leaders about a couple of items. Would you be willing to share their contact information with us?”

“Aren’t Dawson and his cronies their leaders?” Mayor Richardson queried. While he spoke, Noah caught sight of something shiny in the window behind Mayor Richardson. It only stayed for a flash, but Noah kept his focus there. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he felt that it may wind up as more than a random oddity. “I contacted their team of lawyers assuming they represented the entire Earth, Wood, and Fire tribes!” Noah sensed that same heavy electricity he felt near Brennan Umbra’s chambers, and he instantly recognized that an incident was pending. “I could give you their-.”

“Duck!” Noah dove and tackled Mayor Richardson to the floor. He fretted for a second that he had made an egregious error, but then a series of rocks catapulted into the room! They covered their skulls with their limbs, which resulted in several painful welts! They endured this agony for a significant duration, and it alleviated them when the barrage ended! Noah bolted to the window, and he beheld that same disguised man from the riot! “Get him!” Noah commanded. A nearby officer complied, but Noah felt that the culprit was far too ahead to get captured!

War of the Mystics: Still Waters

“Hello?” Noah picked up a telephone on an end table next to his tan, velour sofa. 

Chief Argus’s voice bellowed, “WHAT DID YOU TELL THOSE REPORTERS?”

Noah assured him, “Nothing! I wouldn’t give out details on an active investigation! It would only hurt my case! Why? What happened?”

“I got an advanced copy of tomorrow’s paper, and it says you ‘didn’t deny the involvement of Mystics in Brennan Umbra’s murder!’”

“Was that The Mink Observer?” Noah inquired.

Chief Argus irately replied, “Yes! Why? What did you tell them?”

Noah affirmed, “Nothing! I said ‘No comment!’ to them just like I did everyone else! But this particular publication has a bias against the Mystics. Ever since the new owner took over, they’ve been posting a ton of slander against them! They’ll take every opportunity they can to make the constructive cycle tribes look bad!”

“So, where did they get this rumor about Mystic involvement?” Chief Argus pressed him.

“Their imagination!” Noah absentmindedly petted his cat as he conversed with Chief Argus. “Brennan Umbra’s death has everyone’s attention, so they’re trying to get readers with it. They don’t care about the truth anymore- at this point, they’re simply trying to create the most sensationalism about a hot topic. They’re more concerned with sales than proper journalism!”

Chief Argus probed, “Alright, so you don’t think they picked up on the strange circumstances around this homicide?”

Noah staunchly maintained, “How could they? Only a few of us actually know about that!”

“Is there any validity behind their gossip?” Chief Argus catechized.

“What…?” Noah almost took a sip of water, but upon hearing that question, he nervously set his glass down. “What do you mean?”

Chief Argus elaborated, “Did you find any evidence of magic?”

Noah anxiously twitched enough that Felix got uncomfortable and left his lap. Truthfully, he wasn’t certain about what he saw, but he couldn’t tell Chief Argus that! He also couldn’t risk leaving this mystery in someone else’s hands, so he took a giant gulp of air in and then articulated, “The only unusual thing about this case is how unusual everyone thinks it is!”

“Really?” Chief Argus reacted skeptically. “No otherworldly stuff whatsoever?”

“You sound like Mayor Froth!” Noah shot back hoping to deflect his focus away from the previous topic. “He spent half our interview acting like a frightened child! He’s gotten a ton of letters from his constituents claiming there are all these monsters waiting to ambush him around every corner! It was ridiculous!”

Chief Argus asked him, “So, you didn’t get any useful information out of him?”

Noah reported, “He called for a special election so soon after Brennan Umbra died ‘cause he finds the empty office creepy. He’s very paranoid! I gave him that mental health pamphlet you gave us.”

“Why is he so worked up about the Mystics attacking him?” Chief Argus puzzled.

“People have convinced him that his rivalry with Mayor Richardson has created some powerful enemies against him,” Noah explained. “They say that he’s standing in the way of Mayor Richardson’s Mystic agenda, and he’ll supposedly send assassins after him to get him to comply!”

Noah could practically hear Chief Argus roll his eyes. “Oh, brother! There isn’t a shred of proof of that!”

Relieved that Chief Argus’s ire seemed to be abating, Noah concurred, “None at all! But that’s the power of belief I guess! I set up an interview with Mayor Richardson tomorrow to eliminate him as a suspect… if you wanna go so far as to call him that!”

“Sounds good! However, do me a favor… If you see any more members of the media, say nothing to them!” Chief Argus requested.

“No problem!” Noah acquiesced.

Chief Argus concluded their dialogue, “Great! See you at the station tomorrow!”

Noah echoed his sentiments, “See ya tomorrow!” He hung up, and then he craned his neck up despairingly. “Ugh! I’m glad that’s over! I hate being dishonest!”

“But you use deceit for all the right reasons! It’s for his own good!” Gwyneira reached across the couch and patted his hand comfortingly.

“That’s true! If Dawson succeeds, he wouldn’t spare him or anyone else in our unit!” Noah seemed buoyed up for a moment, but then he obtained a thought that caused him to immediately frown. “But I don’t have any proof that he’s involved with any of this! I’m not even sure if anything mystical occurred!”

Gwyneira queried, “What did you see?”

Noah recalled, “It wasn’t what I saw, it’s what I felt! The air was staticky, and my energy kinda drained out. Something about Brennan’s office seemed so foreboding! Oh, and I spotted one thing- a smudge of dirt on a newspaper article about Nova.”

“A smudge of dirt?” Gwyneira repeated his phrasing.

“I know it doesn’t sound like much, but that guy’s office was spotless otherwise!” Noah defended his statement.

Gwyneira relayed to him, “You know what another word for dirt is, right? Earth!”

Noah’s face paled upon that revelation. “An Earth Mystic!” Noah shifted his position to view Gwyneira more clearly, and he petitioned her, “Is it possible for Dawson to teleport himself in and out of prison without Sapiens knowing it?”

“Possible? Yes. Likely? Not really,” Gwyneira sagely responded. “Dawson is more likely to exhibit model behavior to lull the guards into a false sense of his morality. If anything, he’s secretly sending orders to his followers who are still on the outside.”

“We arrested over a dozen followers that day, but I suppose that couldn’t have been the whole Earth Tribe! He probably has scores of other Mystics on his side!” Noah commented.

Gwyneira kindly disagreed, “Dawson doesn’t represent the majority of his tribe. There’s a reason no one is publicly coming to his defense! They may have adapted the destructive cycle, but that doesn’t always involve an apocalyptic plot! They may want to take a certain group down, but not permanently so in most scenarios. Dawson’s viewpoints went too far, so they separated themselves from him.”

Noah canvassed her, “If they outnumber him, then why don’t they speak up against his movement?”

“I’m not certain. I imagine it’s pure cowardice though,” Gwyneira theorized.

“Hmm… But at least one Earth Mystic is involved with this scheme, so wouldn’t they have some idea who hey might be?” Noah pondered.

Gwyneira hesitantly nodded. “They would have a list of missing members, so if you met with them, you could get a few leads…”

Noah surmised, “You don’t think they’d actually help me, huh?”

“They could probably get coerced, but the trouble is their location is unknown,” Gwyneira filled him in. “I can’t fathom how you would find them at all!”

“They can’t be totally hidden!” Noah objected. “Mayor Richardson said during his speech he reached out to them to participate in his integration program, so somebody from that tribe has to have some sort of line of communication with him!” Gwyneira shrugged, so Noah decided, “I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow. Ugh, but when I figure it out, I’ll have to come up with an excuse for interrogating them without making it appear like mystics are involved or the chief will take me off the case! I can’t let anyone else work it! Not now! Since magic is a key element in this investigation, most detectives will miss the most crucial element of it! Despite all the proof we’ve seen, some individuals still doubt the existence of the Mystics’ abilities! I mean, look how they’re handling your mother’s disappearance!”

Noah cringed from that slip-up. He admonished his recklessness for not acting with more discretion, but fortunately, Gwyneira didn’t seem surprised by this tidbit. She morosely expressed, “They’re not really searching for her, are they?”

He took a deep breath, and then he confessed, “Sidero is, but only ‘cause he’s positive she’s up to something devious.” Her visage soured, so Noah scooted closer to her and held her tightly. “Don’t worry! I’ll search for her! No, really! I’ve already got one Mystic to search for, so I may as… Oh!”

“What?” Gwyneira peered at him brimming with an intense curiosity.

“One Mystic goes missing, and the other commits a murder,” Noah spelled out. “Didn’t you say there’s no such thing as a coincidence?”

Gwyneira acknowledged that, “True! But… why would they do that? I’m grateful they kept my mother alive, however, it seems fairly inconsistent to murder a random Sapien and kidnap the chieftess of the Water Mystics!”

Noah quizzed her, “Does your mother have any connection to El Poder?”

“None whatsoever,” Gwneira attested.

“Hmm…” Noah contemplated this matter for a minute. “She was last seen in Tempest Shore, so he would’ve had to have brought her there. But, why?” He gave the subject a bit more consideration, and then he esteemed, “Well, motive is often the final evidence found! Heck, sometimes we never figure it out! The important thing is an Earth Mystic is involved with the case, and that Mystic most likely kidnapped your mother, so when I discover their identity, I’ll discover where your mother is getting held! I promise!”

Gwyneira noted, “You sound so sure of this!”

Noah asserted, “I am! This criminal may have powers that I could never attain, but they’re not perfect! They’ve underestimated me, and their ego will be their downfall! They’ll make a mistake, and as soon as they do, I’ll get them! Mystics may have evolved, but the behavior of a murderer never does! Someday soon, I’ll make them pay for the atrocities they set loose on society!”

“I hope so!” Gwyneira fretfully remarked. “Not having my mother around is difficult, but caring for her duties to our tribe is even more so! My chest gets tight, and my head absorbs so much pressure! I can’t handle the stress of this dilemma for much longer!”

“Yeah, it’s been hard for us all! Now, I can see what everyone was saying about the whole ‘burning yourself out’ gimmick!” Noah stroked her hair, and he comfortingly suggested, “How about you and I forget about our troubles for the night and spend the evening relaxing while we have the chance for some leisurely hours?”

Gwyneira appreciatively grinned at him, and then she verbalized, “Let me get the wine!” She pointed her fingers and palms towards the kitchen, and a bottle of merlot floated in on a small wave of water. She deployed a similar method for the glasses, and she even used this enchantment to remove the cork!

As she poured the drink, Noah complimented her, “You never cease to impress me!”

“Cheers to you!” Gwyneira held her cup up to him. “A relentless defender of humanity! Regardless of what occurs, I’ll always be here for you and do all I can to repay you for your service to Sapiens and Mystics alike!”

“And cheers to you as well!” Noah held his glass up to her. “Your kindness and courage has extended far beyond your tribe! If you hadn’t given me a chance, I couldn’t have achieved any of this! All of this is possible thanks to you! Our circumstances haven’t always been easy, but it’s always been worth it! Regardless of what occurs, I’ll always be here for you too!”

They clinked their stemware, and after taking some vigorous sips, Noah’s jangled nerves softened a little. He was touched by her sweet words, so he gave her a kiss. Their smooching made his muscles harden again, but not for the same reasons as before! They set their beverages down, and after Noah rolled on top of her, he blissfully forgot about everything else!

A piece of parchment manifested in the darkness, and Dawson seized it. He swiftly read it, and then he burst into a cackle! “You fools! You’re walking right into my trap! But don’t take my word for it- you’ll see for yourself tomorrow!” He emanated a maniacal laugh into the shadows of his cell…

Noah and Gwyneira woke with a start! Noah protectively held onto Gwyneira as he surveyed the scenery in his bedroom. When he didn’t unearth anything suspicious, he beseeched Gwyneira, “That was just a dream, wasn’t it?”

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 7

“I’ve been expecting you!” Jareth articulated to Noah as he lit up a cigarette while leaning on the side of the stage.

“You have?” Noah abruptly halted in his tracks. He didn’t know how that would have been possible unless he had had some culpability in Brennan’s murder, and he wasn’t certain if he should pull out his handcuffs or his weapon. He monitored his behavior very closely to determine whether or not Jareth intended to surrender or fight.

Jareth chuckled, “Of course! You’re an undercover cop, aren’t you? No offense, but you really gotta work on your acting skills! Your hardened eyes are a dead giveaway! But thanks for keeping me safe! After poor Brennan got killed, I’m glad you’re out here keeping the rest of us protected from that creep!”

His words made sense to Noah, but his cavalier attitude about the whole affair seemed odd. He claimed to feel afraid of the person who took Brennan’s life, but as he began taking drags off of his smoke, he displayed no hint of fear. On the contrary, he appeared very tickled pink at this juncture! Noah could tell he was too smart to give out information too easily, so he was going to have toact more tactfully to achieve anything with him. He flashed his badge, and then he gruffly introduced himself, Detective Noah Raymond, LAPD. I’m investigating your previous treasurer’s homicide.”

“It’s a real shame what happened to him!” Jareth casually remarked. “He was a good guy!”

“You two must’ve worked together since you’re a clerk at City Hall,” Noah asserted.

Jareth frowned slightly at the mention of his current title, and Noah could discern that it bothered him to not have a more elevated status. “I would see him in the halls occasionally, but we didn’t really interact much. But, the few times I did chat with him, he was real nice.”

Noah inquired, “Did you notice any strange behavior coming from him recently?”

“Not really,” Jareth replied. “He was usually just in his office working away all day. I don’t remember even seeing him come to the breakroom, like, ever! I can’t say I blame him though! If I were him, I wouldn’t mingle with the peasants either!”

“Mingle with the peasants,” Noah repeated his phrasing as he jotted some notes in his ledger. “Is that how you view regular employees of the government?”

Jareth laughed, “Of course not! But I never wanted to stay a clerk permanently. I always intended to work my way up the ladder, and when I read about the special election, I thought it was my chance to get my dream job!”

Noah observed, “How convenient for you that Mister Umbra’s homicide paved a path for you to achieve your coveted career goals!”

“Hey! Ya can’t knock me for having ambition!” Jareth shot back. “I’m not the one who decided to hold a vote to replace him so soon after he died!”

“Do you have any clue why Mayor Froth sped the process up?” Noah probed.

Jareth shrugged. “He’s probably desperate if he needs another person in there so fast!”

Noah queried, “Why were you using such inflammatory language in your speech?”

“They’re popular buzzwords,” Jareth verbalized as he exhaled a whiff of tobacco. “I needed an edge over the competition, so my publicist advised me to go with that angle.”

“And who’s your competition?” Noah asked him.

Jareth answered, “I dunno! As far as I know, I’m the first to enter. Why is that important though? What does that have to do with Brennan?”

Noah speculated, “Maybe Mister Umbra had a Pro-Mystic agenda, and you swooped in prior to him enacting it.”

“Nah!” Jareth waved that notion off. “I don’t recall even hearing about Mystics having a presence in El Poder, so it’s not even a true issue for us!”

“And yet you’re making it the center of your campaign!” Noah pointed out.

Jareth argued, “My campaign isn’t solely focused on that issue! I’m simply using it as a strategy to gain popularity and leave my competitors with a significant disadvantage!”

Noah pressed him, “So, you’re campaigning on fear?”

“I’m not the first politician to do it, and I won’t be the last!” Jareth put out his cigarette, and as he walked away, he told Noah, “If you need anything else, feel free to contact my committee’s HQ!” Noah’s visage contorted into vexation as he watched Jareth exit the scene. At a minimum, he was instilling a dangerous amount of apprehension into the region, and at worst, he assassinated an innocent person to get a chance to spread panic throughout the public! He didn’t pinpoint anything that warranted an arrest, and it irked him that he couldn’t do anything to punish that slimeball for his underhanded scheme!

“Did you get anything worthwhile there?” Robin pondered as she rejoined Noah’s proximity.

Noah grumbled, ‘He’s definitely hiding something!”

Robin kidded, “Aren’t they all?” Noah still seemed steamed up, so she brought out a sticky note encased in a plastic bag and reported, “I found out why your victim went out to that swamp!”

“Meeting in the forest, six a.m.,” Noah read out loud.

“It matches Brennan’s handwriting,” Robin informed him.

Noah documented this, but his soured mood hadn’t abated. “Obviously, he planned a rendezvous with someone he knew, so this narrows down our suspect list a little bit. We’ll have to interview all of his friends, family, and coworkers though!”

Robin filled him in, “I can tell you where to start: we found that in Mayor Froth’s shredder!”

“Hmm… Jareth did say the mayor was desperate for a new treasurer… But, if Mayor Froth wanted Brennan gone, couldn’t he have done it through the legal route?” Noah glanced at Robin, who gestured in a manner that indicated her lack of foresight on the subject. “Well, I’ll have to ask him that during our interview!”

“Gwyneira!” Beck approached her as she wistfully stared at a pond surrounded by vermillion stalagmites and stalactites.

As she continued to watch the water, Gwyneira remarked, “Isn’t it beautiful? No wind and no creatures can reach it, so it’s always calm! It’s so humbling to picture our ancestors sitting by Lake Marical getting tranquility from the solitude it offers, and even during our most hectic times, it has forever offered this comfort! It’s amazing!”

Beck gazed at it momentarily, but he clearly did not share her viewpoint about this locale. “It’s lovely, but…”

“My father refused to visit it,” Gwyneira swiftly steered the conversation away from whatever Beck wanted to discuss. “He never felt worthy, but Noah did! He even drank from it! Why do you think that might be?”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea. However, Chieftess…” Beck made another bid to win her attention.

Gwyneira sternly reminded him, “Haven’t I already requested you not to call me that? My mother is the chieftess, I’m merely doing what must get done in her absence!”

Beck countered her, “Yes, but in the spirit of that, we have an urgent matter to go over…”

“Uh-huh. Beck, have you caught on that I’ve purposely been avoiding this?” Gwyneira petitioned him. “I’m aware that you have some bad news for me, and I don’t want to hear it! Before my mother disappeared, I swore to her that the Mystic Integration Center was the correct course to take. Now, she’s gone, and the MIC is in total disarray! You don’t have to give me details! I have already figured that many of the participants are getting harassed enough to return to their tribes, and those who stayed cannot complete their outreach work due to a lack of cooperation from the Sapien world. Please, spare me the specifics of this nightmare!”

“Admittedly, life at the MIC comes with difficulties, but that’s not why I’m here.” Beck furnished a piece of parchment, and he relayed to Gwyneira, “We have another message from Brackish Hollow! Here!”

Gwyneira briefly peeked at the letter, but she pretty quickly handed it back to Beck. “Tell them our position is firm, and the answer is, and shall never cease being, no!” Beck opened his mouth to object, so she insisted, “That’s an order!” Beck didn’t seem pleased to do so, but he complied. Gwyneira resumed her reflection at the water’s edge, and she let out an exasperated exhale.

Noah didn’t typically enter into a secondary crime scene with a lot of people there, and if some spectators did show up, they were usually very curious and polite. What he never anticipated was a gaggle of avid reporters desperately seeking information from him As he exited his vehicle, he had a dozen microphones within inches of his body, but he could hardly see them because of all the cameras flashing above him. One inquisitor canvassed him, “Sir, what can you tell us about Brennan Umbra’s murder?”

“This is still an ongoing investigation, and I can’t release any details yet,” Noah responded to them as he slowly trekked forward toward El Poder’s City Hall.

“Do you have any suspects yet?” one journalist catechized.

Noah affirmed, “No comment!”

Another media member grilled him, “How was the victim killed?”

“No comment,” Noah echoed.

“Detective Raymond, can you confirm that-?” Kalanie attempted to quiz him.

A statuesque, platinum-blonde woman with beady, cerulean eyes, high-end designer clothing, and makeup that failed to hide that she was older than fifty pushed her out of the queue and barked, “Keep your filthy paws out of this!”

This hostile interaction incensed Noah, and he bellowed, “If I catch you doing that again, I won’t hesitate to arrest you for assault!”

“I’m sorry, detective,” the woman apologized through gritted teeth. “But she’s a Mystic, and her kind doesn’t deserve to-.”

“She has just as much of a right to be here as you!” Noah scolded her. “You’re no more important than she is! Who do you think you are?”

The woman proudly introduced herself, “Laverna Maximon, the new owner of The Mink Observer!” 

Noah rolled his eyes. “Oh, that figures! Miss Wilcolia, go ahead and ask your question!”

“No, no! Let her go!” Kalanie said with a wink as she held her tape recorder close to Laverna.

“Alright… Detective, is it true that you’re covering up the Mystic involvement in this case?” Laverna needled him.

Noah leaned in and plainly expressed, “No comment! I hope all that was worth it for this!” He snickered slightly at her unamused grimace and then entered into the building.

The clerks hardly craned their necks up upon his arrival. They carried on with their work as though he wasn’t there, and Noah was fine with that. After that combative enquiry session, he was in no mood to provide anyone else with any answers! He saw a vacant window, and he presumed that it belonged to Jareth. Noah vaguely wondered what he was up to, but he didn’t want to give it too much consideration since he still felt riled up from the drama that occurred moments ago. He didn’t want to go into his meeting with Mayor Froth with a foul disposition, so he took a deep breath and began traveling through the hall of offices.

As Noah got closer to the end, he picked up on the air around him’s abnormal feel. He got the sensation of active electricity in the atmosphere, and his movements grew heavier and heavier. Finally, he had to pause, and after a few seconds, he distinguished that his chosen site of stillness had been in front of a door lined with police tape. He realized that it must have been Brennan’s chambers, and aside from the fact that he knew it belonged to someone who was no longer living, something seemed totally off about these quarters. His intrigue wouldn’t have permitted him to pass by without checking it out, so he crept up to the space to scope it out…

Other than the darkness within its walls, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. His solid, oaken desk seemed very organized, and the shelves were arranged quite nicely. The plush chairs were neatly placed, and his curtains remained tightly shut. Noah was stumped as to why he was drawn to this area until he locked in on an article about Nova. He didn’t estimate that this personality type had an interest in an artsy pop singer, but what was more, it was the only possession in this realm that wasn’t completely clean- it had a brown smudge mark on it! He couldn’t understand why that was… unless…

“Detective? Are you ready to speak to me?” Mayor Froth popped his torso out of the door across from him and ogled Noah pryingly. 

War of the Mystics: Still Waters- Chapter 6

Noah’s footsteps echoed on the sidewalk. At first, he thought he would have an advantage walking down a nearly empty street since he could easily spot a potential adversary, but he began to wish that more individuals would frequent this area at sunrise! Aside from the fact he didn’t have any witnesses around for a potential incident, the vacant roads made every noise scary enough to make him jump! Behind every car and around every corner, he felt sure that Dawson would emerge and ambush him! He didn’t have any proof that he possessed the ability to teleport out of his prison, but someone sabotaged their guns at that event yesterday! They previously arrested his cronies, and it didn’t seem like any of his fellow Earth Mystics wanted any association with him, so if Dawson didn’t break out of Tesca, he didn’t imagine that anyone else would have the motivation to do that atrocity. He knew sooner or later he would have to confront Dawson, and he hoped it was sooner rather than later- he wanted to get it over with!

All of a sudden, something large jumped out of an alleyway and into the front of Noah’s path! Noah involuntarily yelped, and a young man apologized, “Sorry, dude!” After emerging from his instinctive cover, Noah realized it was merely a bicyclist! He felt foolish for reacting so vehemently to something so innocuous, but thankfully, the young man didn’t ask any questions and peddled off without Noah having to account for his behavior! Noah shook his shudders off and entered into a coffeehouse.

“Welcome to Trouble’s Brewing!” a barista merrily greeted him.

“Uh… hi!” Noah visited this shop fairly regularly, and yet he had somehow forgotten that they receive their customers in that fashion! The small number of patrons there ogled him peculiarly, and Noah sheepishly made his way to the queue.

He grabbed a newspaper as he waited. It wasn’t The Mink Observer, but he was still curious about what they had to say. He needed something to do to keep his mind off of his anxious thoughts, and the music playing on the radio wasn’t really his style. He briefly scanned over the headline, which centered around that ceremony that turned into a riot, but because it didn’t use inflammatory language, he skipped past it. He didn’t want to relive that horrendous day! Before he could immerse himself in the next article, the deejay’s voice abruptly aired. It startled Noah enough to drop the publication, but as he collected the pieces, he heard how calm his timbre sounded and upbraided himself for getting so worked up. “Hey! Good morning, Los Angeles! You’re listening to KEZY, easy-listening music from the seventies, eighties, and today! We’ve got a treat for all you morning birds- pop sensation Nova!”

Nova genially stated, “Hi there! Happy to be here!”

“So, what brought you here at the crack of dawn?” the deejay asked. “Promoting your concert, I assume?”

“No! That gig’s already sold out!” Nova answered him. Noah could hear the deejay’s drawl suggesting that this caught him off guard, but that didn’t appear to deter Nova. She profoundly professed, “Twice. Twice violence has erupted in LA this week! Over what? A threat that didn’t actually exist? People, we cannot react so out of proportion over rumors! It is reckless to get into a frenzy over beliefs rather than facts! Even if the gossip was true, responding to bloodshed with bloodshed is madness! It doesn’t solve anything- it simply makes your city unsafe for everyone! So, please, leave the Mystics alone! When we all get along, everybody wins! Thank you for your time!”

She wasn’t a singer who interested Noah much previously, but that message of peace made him a fan now! It gratified him enormously to hear someone with so much influence convey that concept, and he hoped that her superstar status would get the general population to cease this campaign of hatred! It would certainly make it easier to solve his cases if he didn’t have to worry about battling against such fierce agitation, and it gave him optimism for the safety of Gwyneira and the rest of his girlfriend’s tribe! The Water Mystics and their allies deserved the right to exist and live life how they wanted to!

The cashier gently snapped his fingers as close he could get to Noah’s face. “Sir? Are you alright?”

Noah renewed his attention to the task at hand, and it startled him to recognize that he was next! He could sense the folks in line behind him getting impatient, so he quickly spouted out his order, “A medium dark roast with an extra shot of espresso, please!” He pulled out his wallet, and it slipped out of his fingers and onto the floor. He retrieved and sighed, “Better make that two shots.”

As his drink was getting prepared, Noah perused his paper. He skipped over the sports pages, and in the government section, a title caught his attention: “Special Election to be Held for El Poder Treasurer Position.” It flabbergasted him to see this occurring a couple of days after their previous one’s death, and it struck him as extremely noteworthy to see this transpire. It seemed crazy to consider, but Noah wondered if politics actually led to murder!

He hardly glanced at the server who handed him his beverage because he got too engrossed by that concept. Politicians may have harbored some hate for each other career-wise, but most of them put all of that aside and joyfully broke bread together after work. He didn’t comprehend why that would have so drastically changed like that until he tripped slightly over a crack in the sidewalk. He scoped out the perimeter to verify whether or not Dawson’s disguise had a presence there, and even though he didn’t see anything or anyone that resembled that image, it still gave him the idea- Dawson was sowing seeds of discord in order to create as much mayhem in the Sapien world as possible!

“Good morning, Margaret!” Noah relayed to Margaret as he entered the bullpen.

“Aah!” Margaret dropped a stack of documents that was in her arms. “Oh, Noah! Hi! Sorry! I guess I’m a little on edge today!”

While Noah assisted her in picking up the items, he glanced around the space. Maurice was inspecting every nook and cranny around him, and Lynn swiftly darted from the breakroom to her cubicle. He asserted to Margaret, “It looks like we all are!”

Margaret astoundedly expressed, “Even you?”

“I know it’s not logical,” Noah responded. “But… I…”

“But you’re human” Margaret smiled supportively at him as they finished collecting the sheets. “I know we kinda have to turn our emotions off to do our job, but we do have to let ourselves feel sometimes! But, I suppose we’ll have to save it for lunchtime or else we won’t get through our investigations! It was easy to turn my nerves off after the first riot ‘cause I told myself that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. After the second one, I dunno!”

Noah watched her dash to her desk, and although he was going through nearly the same sentiment, he felt sorry for her and all of his other colleagues too. He used this sympathy to fuel him, and he marched over to his computer with a renewed determination! The faster he could put Dawson’s malevolent influence to bed, the faster their lives could return to normal!

As Noah combed through the internet, Chief Argus came in and announced, “Don’t allow me to interrupt your shift! Personnel wanted me to hand you this pamphlet of resources if anyone is still struggling from yesterday.” Noah hurried to get off of the Tesca Prison’s webpage prior to Chief Argus seeing it- it was as though he was doing anything wrong, he just didn’t want to have to draw up a plausible excuse for it! Chief Argus needed to continue believing that he was keeping his focus on this assignment, so he pretended to have been scouring through his email all along. Chief Argus seemed to have caught a drift of this deception though since he inquired, “How’s the Umbra case going, Noah?”

“Fine! I’m waiting on CSI’s findings at the moment,” Noah replied as nonchalantly as he could.

“Good! I’m curious to learn their results too! Particularly on the weapon used. The coroner found the cause of death rather odd…” Chief Argus articulated with obvious aspersions to magic being involved.

Noah was at a loss on how to react to that until he caught sight of a coworker using a slingshot to dispose of his garbage in a closeby bin. “What about a catapult?”

Chief Argus’s brows furrowed. “A catapult? Where would anyone in this modern age get one of those?”

“But it’s a possible explanation for Mister Umbra’s death, is it not?” Noah challenged him.

“I… Alright, yeah. I’ll give you that,” Chief Argus begrudgingly agreed. “But if you ever get proof of Mystic involvement, you better pull yourself out of this case! I assigned it to you ‘cause they requested the best detective for this matter, don’t make me regret my decision!”

Noah didn’t want to commit to a promise he knew he couldn’t keep, so instead of swearing he would comply with that order, he avowed, “You can count on me to always do the right thing!”

Chief Argus eyeballed him with a slight distrust, but for whatever reason, he chose not to press him any further and renewed passing out his mental health materials. Noah breathed a sigh of relief, and when Chief Argus reached a safe distance from him, he returned to the Tesca website. Before the page could load, his phone rang. “Hello?” He paused, and then he questioned the caller, “Are you sure?” He listened to their rationale, and then he concluded, “Alright, I’ll be right there!” He deleted his browser history, and then he swiftly grabbed his jacket and left.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming!” A guy with perfectly-parted, brunette hair, thin-framed glasses, and a shot stature stood upon a narrow, wooden stage in front of a forest full of swampy trees and yellow-green grass. He enthusiastically spoke to a crowd that Noah wouldn’t have described as very large but probably proportionally significant for that small town. Noah felt rather awkward wearing a t-shirt with an American flag, khaki pants, and a baseball cap since he rarely dressed so casually, but he didn’t want to stand out by wearing a professional outfit to an occasion like this! As the guy on stage talked, he observed the spectators. So far, everyone seemed pleasantly polite, and he hoped it stayed that way! “My name is Jareth Thurio, and a few of you may recognize me as a clerk from the El Poder City Hall, but I’m probably a stranger to most of you!”

“A handsome stranger!” an elderly lady shouted to him. The congregation tittered, and while Jareth belted out an innocent grin, Noah couldn’t help but think that his amused expression had been very forced.

Jareth went on, “Anyways, as soon as I learned that a treasury position became vacant, I knew I wanted to throw my hat into the ring! Why? Because El Poder needs an honest politician in such an important post!” Noah inwardly scoffed at that notion, and it was surprising to him that no one else seemed put off by that remark. “If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you’ll know that crime is on the rise. It’s not gonna get better either if we keep electing the same corrupt leaders either! Many are trying to empower dangerous hooligans who are wreaking havoc in the region, and we need to stop them before they get far enough to do any permanent damage to us!”

Noah anticipated some pushback against a wild assertion like that, and it alarmed him to see that the majority of the citizens who gathered there cheered for that claptrap! A scant amount of them remained fairly neutral, but it disturbed him that nobody was objecting to that rhetoric. It was incensing that Jareth was so clearly defaming the Mystics, but he strove to appear supportive in order to keep his cover.

“I’ll make sure that no plan that would harm our society like that will ever get funding!” Jareth exclaimed. The throng hollered quite avidly at this, and Noah couldn’t resist gritting his teeth at such a brazen display of prejudice. “Vote for me, and I’ll keep El Poder running great! I’m Jareth Thurio, and I’m officially announcing my candidacy for treasurer!”

“Here, here!” a couple of men buoyantly bellowed as the attendees applauded this move.

Robin approached Noah and notified him, “I’ve got something for you.”

Noah gruffly commented, “Not yet. I need to have a conversation with a new person of interest!”