The Licensed Mage

Dive into a world full of magic and modernization. Follow our Mage Detective Claire Dunsworth and her rugged partner Detective Raven Black.

₁CLAIRE^Z

“Hey Joe!”

Claire’s fingers played with the items in her pockets as nerves tried to take her over. This was the first job she would have after getting her license and she was understandably nervous. She’s worked before, it was how she was able to pay her way through Training, but that was always at her own pace with no one looking over her shoulder at how well her control was. She watched as the foreman raised a finger indicating a minute as he finished talking to a worker.

“He’ll be with you in a minute, just wait here.”

Claire nods and says her thanks as the fellow worker went back to work. She was unsure of where to go once she got to the site but everyone she asked for help was so nice and gladly pointed her towards the foreman. She was at a remote field where the local construction company was expanding their Wind Farm. She was nervous at what the job called for; their crane was out of order and needed a mage to quickly help finish the construction. No construction job is ever on schedule, but that’s how you know it’s going good. She studies the pieces of the tall windmill laying before her, amazed at the sheer size of them as the foreman comes up to her.

“So you’re the mage huh?”

She turned and smiled as she shook his hand in greeting, “Yes sir I am!”

He studies her up and down, “You don’t look like no Mage.”

Most people depict mages as seniors and wrinkling old people with crocked noses and boils. Claire was only in her early twenties with sandy blonde hair to her waist and brown eyes with gold flecks that sparkled with her moods. She stood eye to eye with the foreman at her 5’10” height with a slim frame to match. Her face was average, she was no beauty by any means, but she could hold her own in a room full of women.

She smiled some more as she’s used to the stereotypes of her people, “Yes well, some of us are born with magic from the start.”

A shout is heard distracting Joe from his comment as he turns to bark some orders. Turning back to Claire he raises an eyebrow, “You got a license though right?”

In the early 5^th century the masses came to accept magic and the mages that came with it as a part of life. They were classified as a different class of species from Humans and were named Mages. As paperwork and laws became regulation, Mages were required to go through training and schooling to learn how to use their magic properly and to ensure the safety of the humans. They had to apply for a license to legally use their magic outside of their homes and schools and the reason the stereotype of Mages being old people was due to the fact that many couldn’t afford the Training until their later years. It was only until the 18^th century that Training became affordable to all Mages, but even then very few went due to there being little work. Even with all the worlds’ protocols and laws, humans were still uneasy with magic. They just didn’t understand.

Claire smiles as she pulls her sleeves past her left wrist against the biting cold to reveal the tattooed marks of her Free-Pass license, “Yes sir I am.”

He whistles as he studies the tattoos, “I’ve never seen a Free-Pass mark before. That’s pretty impressive for a young woman like you.”

That’s because I enrolled when I was 3, “Yes sir thank you.”

“What’s your name?” he asked as he straightens.

“Claire sir, Claire Dunsworth.”

“I’m Joe Matchet, just call me Joe. Dunsworth huh? Never heard of them before.”

Many Mages were from a family line and their names were synonymous with magic and Mage. Claire was only an orphan and was given the name but made it her own, determined to prove that you don’t have to be a Merlin, or Mave to be a Mage.

She covers her “FP” tattoo on her wrist as she keeps the smile plastered on her face, “Yes sir, I’m just starting sir.”

“I see,” he seemed skeptical at first, “Let’s see what you can do.” He turns and walks towards the base piece of the windmill, lying on its side waiting to be hoisted. “Can you lift this up?,” he gestures to the giant metal cylinder behind him as she hears snickers around her.

Even today, there were still some who did not believe. She only raised her hand and it glowed purple as the same purple light surrounds the cylinder. Using her glowing hand to control it, she raises it up and sets it straight on the concrete foundation and used her other hand which also glowed purple to mount the piece to the concrete slab.

With it secure she turns to the foreman, placing her hands on her hips, “Is that it? I can do the rest too if you want.”

This was also why there was so little work for Mages. It was extremely expensive for companies to hire them and they could easily replace the entire workforce of the planet with only a few handfuls of Mages. The Humans thought of this when writing up the Magic Laws and stated that a Mage must have a Work-Pass or higher in order to have a paying job as a Mage. Even without a license Mages could find work, posing as a normal Human doing menial tasks and such. But it’s so stifling when you can’t do magic every now and then. For Mages it’s like being a cow, if the cows aren’t milked everyday it becomes painful for them. Same concept for Mages, if they can’t exercise their magic it becomes painful and worse, they risk a blowback and could cause damage to themselves and others.

Claire felt the heated stares of the workers around her. She knew she would gain their resentment but to feel it was another thing entirely. She tried to keep their looks from hurting her but some did find their way into her heart cutting her. She dared not move nor indicate that they were affecting her as she waited for Joe’s response.

He merely shrugs his shoulders, “Sure. We’re behind schedule enough as it is. If you can get 50 mills up today we’ll be on schedule. Finish them and you can go home.”

The protest of the workers roared up as he turned to lead them to another site to start another foundation. He yelled at them that they brought this upon themselves and told them to get back to work and leave Claire to her own. As the crowd thins Claire turns to study the remaining pieces of the mill. She sighed at the enormity of the task ahead of her, doing 50 will be no problem for her, but it will be tasking. Magic drains the Mage of their stamina and strength and if they’re not careful they could literally work themselves to death. That’s why many Mages are considered weak compared to Humans. But some like Claire set out to fight against that by training their bodies as well as their minds and magic. Not every Mage shares this idea, many say they should only worry about training their magic, but Claire knows what it’s like to be hopeless and refuses to experience that again.

For the rest of the day mills could be seen rising from the horizon, shrouded in purple light as they reach for the sky. Claire worked nonstop, not even for lunch did she quit. The men thought she was rubbing it into their faces but as they came back from lunch walking by her, they all noticed the sweat pouring from her face. She had taken her coats off during lunch and sweat was puddling onto her tank top as her knees wobbled. She pants as she rises the last piece of the mill with the men watching her. With it in place and secured, she lets her arms fall and stands there with steam coming off her body heat and her breath fogging in the cold.

One of the men broke from the crowd and handed her a bottled water, “Here. Mage or not, even you need water.”

She takes the bottle and he walks away before she could say thanks as the crowd goes back to work. She smiled as she twists the top and drains the bottle in two gulps. Only 15 more to go. She takes a moment to sit and gain her breath back as she finds another bottle and savors the water this time. With the second bottle drained she gets back to work and finishes the last mill as the men were cleaning up to go. When she took her coat off she sent it back home and now she brought it back as she pulls it on, not wanting the catch a cold once her sweat cools. Laughter is heard as the men crowd around the work trucks that’ll take them back home. They’re surrounded by those bright field lights as they put tools away and close boxes with materials. They shut off machines and cut the engines of the giant workers. Claire smiles and walks to them, wanting to offer help to clean up knowing they’ll say no. As she walks closer a gale picks up, stealing papers and anything light enough to carry.

A creak and moan is heard and she looks up to see a rusty old mill that is meant to be replaced. They had turned the turbine off so the wings were fixed in place and the blowing gale pulled at them, straining the old metal. Claire watched in slow motion as the metal finally gave and cracked in half. Feeling like time was sluggish and pulling at her; she starts running to the men as the falling wings aim straight for them. She tries to scream at them but time was too thick, she couldn’t even hear her own voice. I’m not gonna make it. With her eyes ablazed, her determination sprints into her feet forcing them to move faster. As she enters the center of the now cowering men she stands directly below the falling wreckage and throws her hands up. She quickly puts up a shield of light as the metal thuds. She strains at the weight crushing down on her arms feeling her shoulders pop and elbows buckle. With a scream, she digs deep and pushes at the wings with all her might sending it into the air. Before it could begin its fall again she throws up a bolt of energy, causing it to explode. The men look up from covering their heads and see Claire fall to her knees as golden light rain down from the explosion.

She didn’t have the strength left to say anything; she could only smile at everyone in turn. Surprisingly, the men rushed to her, asking if she’s alright, if she needed anything, if she was hurt. The genuine concern of everyone overwhelmed her, warming her tired muscles.

With a feeble smile playing her lips she says in a shaky voice, “Actually, I think my shoulders popped out of their sockets. Could you guys put them back?”

Joe, who was the first to rush to her aid looks at her in concern, “Are you sure? Don’t you need a M-Doc?”

Claire shook her head, “No its fine. Not that major, just pop it back in. Please?”

The men slowly agree and a group braces her as another grabs her left arm. They pop it back in and a scream erupts from her mouth as tears wash down her face. Before they could ask if she’s ok she tells them to do the second one quick. Again they brace her as her right arm is popped back. Another scream is heard through her clenched teeth as she tries to hold it in. As she cradles her arms to her chest she asks for some more water. She drains three bottles as the pain subsides and feels more like herself. She stands on shaky legs but quickly gains her ground as she takes deep breaths.

She turns to Joe, holding out her hand, “Thanks for the job sir. I had fun.”

Both Joe and the men stare at her. But before she could question it they crush her in a throng of bear hugs and cheers and pats on the backs. She laughs at the warm feeling building up again in her heart and Joe makes his way to her, taking her hand into his as he slowly shakes them.

“Thank you for saving me and my men. Now we can go home to our wives and children and tell them about our day.”

A bright smile lights up Claire’s face as her other hand covers his, “Awesome.”

₂DETECTIVE^Z

Claire sighed as her hair floats around her, shrouding her in gold. No matter how many times I see it, I’ll never get used to it. She leans back relaxing as she stares at the Penguin Nebula. It was the most beautiful sight she’s ever seen and was her most favorite spot. Whenever she had a run to do in space she always made sure to stop and take in the view, mainly the Nebula. Claire lost herself as she stared into the star nursery when her wrist began to beep. The silence shattered, Claire glared at her beckoning “FP” tattoo and jerked her hand open, answering the call.

“Where the hell are you?”

It was Abby, her Handler, “You know where I am.”

Claire stared as the mini hologram version of Abby within the palm of her hand crosses her arms in irritation, “I mean why haven’t you come back yet? Did you get the supplies?”

Being a Handler was hard work, or so they say. Many Handlers were Humans or Mages with little to no magic. They worked for the Guild and gave their assigned Mages their work assignments but also monitored their magic. If a Mage was using magic in the wrong way, for the wrong reasons, it’s up to the Handler to let the higher ups know so appropriate action could be taken. In Claire’s opinion Handlers are nothing more than people spying on them, watching their every move, nick picking everything they do and nagging them about every job to be done. But Claire is lucky, she’ll admit that. She and Abby became fast friends and have a strong friendship. Abby’s Human but she’s never judged Claire and even stood by her side when Claire was put on trial for the “unlawful use of magic” at that construction site five years ago. Abby felt responsible for she accepted the assignment and gave it to Claire and no matter what Claire said, it wasn’t her fault.

Claire’s job this time was to collect precious metal supplies from asteroids in space, and she does tend to lag behind heading home. “Yes I’ve got them. Can’t I enjoy the view? It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Claire gestured to the Nebula behind holo Abby but she barely moved, “Hurry up. Boss wants to see you.”

Claire raised her eyebrow, perplexed, “Really? Why?”

“I don’t know!” Abby was clearly irate today, “He just said to get you in his office ASAP.”

Abby began to mutter about the piles of paperwork forever on her desk as the holo flicked off. Claire began to wonder what this could be about as she took one last look at the Nebula and headed home. Quick as a flash she flew through space at warp drive and was in Earth’s solar system within minutes. In another blink she was flaming through the atmosphere and made her way to the processing plant. Once there the workers directed her to the unloading area and she opened a hole into her special dimension and dumped all the supplies she collected. All the workers came out to see the show and were soon clapping and cheering at all the new stocks. This was one of the few perks of Mage work. There are times where, you do do good.

Some John Hancock's later and Claire steps out into the parking lot holding out her left wrist. She jerks open her hand again much like before and a holo Fairy appears smiling a pleasant secretary smile, “Destination please.”

“Master Melvin’s office.”

“Code?”

“07032812.”

“Code accepted. Please wait as the port is opened.”

The holo flicked off and Claire stood there patiently as magic began to hum around her. Before she could start tapping her foot the portal opened above her head and sucked her in much like a vacuum and blinked out with a flash of light. Claire held her breathe as her body was stretch and bent, going all kinds of twists and turns until finally her feet met solid ground. She found herself in Melvin’s lobby with his secretary, Doris, clacking away at the keys.

Never looking up Doris gestures absently over her shoulder, “He’s expecting you, go in.”

“If he’s expecting me why didn’t he let the portal go into his office?”

Claire was asking this as she walked to the door and got her answer when she walked in. Three faces turned to see her and she could tell something big was happening. Melvin was sitting behind his desk, his massive frame blocking much of the light from the window behind him. When Claire first came into this office at 5 years of age, he reminded her of Santa, but a very cut, very fit Santa. He never had hair that she could remember and kept his workout routine so his muscles never lacked. He had a round head with round everything, ears, eyes, nose, mouth. He had a white beard that was never longer than ¼ inch and would scratch it when deep in thought. His massive frame came from his Giant blood, though diluted through the generations. No one knew just how long he’s been the Guild Boss or what magic he was capable of but he was definitely the type of man you would want on your side. The two other men sitting before the desk however, intrigued Claire.

They were clearly human and wore work suits, much like lawyers and paper-pushers, and that was her answer. They’ve probably never seen a Mage before let alone magic, so Melvin made her exit the portal in his lobby rather than right in front of the men, startling them. All three of them stood as Claire shut the door behind her and walked to the center of the room.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes Claire please have a sit. Oh uh, this is Mr. Malcome and Mr. Gerowe.”

He pointed to each man in turn and Claire shook their out stretched hands and sat. There was an awkward silence as the two suits were clearly unsure of what to do next and Melvin looking just as uncertain.

No longer being able to stand the silence Claire cleared her throat, “What is it sir?”

Melvin scratched his beard looking as if he wanted to be anywhere else, “There’s been an order from the Joint Unit.”

Claire blinked in shocked; there’s never been an order from the Joint Unit before. Back in 1892, approximately 100 years after the Guild was formed, the young American government issued a warning to the Guild. Work with us, or against us. Rogue Mages were on the raise and crime and violence were climbing. Everyone was being murdered, humans and Mages. The government called to the Guild for help and they never out rightly refused, but help was never given either. So when they gave the warning, the Guild Head at that time worked with them to create the Joint Unit.

They were in task of handling communications between the government and the Guild and to help keep the relationships between humans and Mages a peaceful one. It was the Joint Unit that first came up with the license idea and all the laws and protocols with it and it was them that created projects and jobs to help build the bridges between Mages and humans. The only items to pass through the Unit were items that were voted on equally from both sides, made up of both humans and Mages. Like anything when you put a group of two people in a room there will be fights and debates but miracles do happen when something is agreed on by all sides. That’s why it’s so rare to receive an order from the Unit. They hardly agree on anything even in the 23^rd century.

“What was it?”

Claire looked around at all three faces as no one answered and felt her anger rising. She knew nothing good could come of it so she did her best as she waited for someone to say something. She didn’t have to wait long when Mr. Malcome answered, or was it Mr. Gerowe?

“They want us to build a Joint Task Force.”

“But we already have one. Them.”

“No, no. A police Task Force.”

The other suit answered that one which confused Claire even more, “But why, it’s redundant. The Guild already has the Mage Knight Patrol and they don’t bother any local PD.”

“They was us to create a new unit, a new department comprising of both Humans and Mages.”

Melvin was the one to say that as Claire stared at him, “But I don’t understand. Why now? Why together? We already have police for ourselves as do the humans. Why do we need to create a whole new thing?”

“Because the Knights only handles extreme cases with very dangerous Mages, too dangerous for humans to handle. That leaves petty Mages with petty crimes who can still do major harm, loose out there up against the humans. This new department will handle everyday crimes and mysteries that regular police can’t handle.”

As Claire thought it over, the more it made sense. There were all kinds of warlocks and witches out there that do more harm than good and the MKP does do a good job of finding them and stripping them of their powers. But for little things like messing with the weather of a small town or using magic wrongly against a human, the Knights tend to overlook them thinking the local PDs can handle them when in truth more lives are hurt or even lost when humans try to corner a petty Mage. So it’s understandable why this new unit is being made but the timing just seems wrong to her.

“Well ok, yeah I get that, but what does this have to do with me?”

Throats were cleared on either side of her and she looked at each in turn, turning back to Melvin, “You’re the first Mage transferring over.”

₃FAILURE^Z

The door crashes open as Claire stomps into the room. She flops onto the couch of Abby’s office and moans as she muffles her screams of frustration. Abby, unmoved by the theatrics, gets up and closes the door, plopping herself back into her chair all the while reading the sheets in her hands. Abby’s quite used to Claire storming into her office to rant or vent but this time seems to be serious. Finally Claire falls silent and Abby takes this chance to cross some “t’s” and dot some “i’s”. Claire says nothing as Abby straightens up her desk and with all the papers put away Abby swirls in her chair to face Claire.

“So…?”

Claire turns her head, poking her eye out to see Abby patiently waiting. Abby was a beautiful woman, with midnight black hair forever in a bun on top of her head but when she lets it down, it’s nothing but silk curls to her shoulders. She wears thick librarian glasses attached to a chain around her neck and wears simple gray and black suits. Suits weren’t required for Handlers or any other Guild workers, but Abby likes order. As Claire was looking Abby over she begun to tap her finger on the desk and raised her eyebrow as her patient grew thin.

“Well…?”

Claire sighs as she shifts into a more comfortable position lying on the couch, “Do you know anything about this new Task Force they’re putting together?”

Abby blinks in surprise as she taps her fingernail on her teeth, a tell of hers, “Yeah I’ve heard rumors. Are they putting you on it?”

“Yes!”

There was a moment of silence as Abby glanced Claire over, “Then I weep for the world.”

She twirls to her desk, shuffling more papers as Claire moans, sitting up, “Abby! You knew about this?”

From Abby’s back Claire hears, “No not really. I just knew the idea was going around and if it was true you would make a good guinea pig.”

“Exactly!” Claire springs up and walks around Abby’s desk facing her, “They want me to be a guinea pig! A guinea pig! How could they do that?!”

“I’m sure they explained it to you.”

“Well yeah,” Claire plops down on a chair against the wall, “I’m one of the few mages with the Free-Pass license and Melvin believes in me, but I know nothing of police work. How can I be of any help if I can’t solve a case?”

“See your already talking like a badge.” Abby looks up and smiles as Claire gives her a glare. Laughing Abby gives Claire her full attention as she tries to sooth her friend, “Claire, your perfect for the job. You really are. Not only are you one of the most powerful mage of your time but you observe everything and watch everything. It still amazes me how much you know and how you can glean things you shouldn’t know. I don’t know what you’re so worried about. This has to do with something else other than the job doesn’t it?”

Claire slowly looks down at her hands as she admits her fears, “I’m insecure Abby. I know you never did but there are humans out there that judge mages like me at first glance. I’m worried…scared that they’ll judge me so much…that we can’t get anything done. I have a real chance to save lives and make a difference here. Can you image how this’ll help our worlds to understand each other? I just…can feel that weight and frankly it scares the hell out of me.”

Abby sighed as she saw her friend start to crumble in her chair. She got up and went to Claire, embracing her in a big hug as comforting as she could get. Soon enough both women were laughing as Claire brushed away small tears. Abby sat in the chair next to her and grabbed her hands, “Don’t worry so much. That’s not the Claire I know. Besides, if they can see you like I can, they’ll love you!”

They laugh some more and as the sound of more piles of paper materializing on Abby’s desk cracks through the small office they talk of getting together after Claire’s first day. They hug once more as they stand and say their goodbyes as Abby goes back to her paperwork and Claire heads out the office. Outside the quiet of the office is shattered by the ringing of the magic help hotline and complaints and questions from everyone. Claire makes her way through, taking her time walking to the port station on the other side of the building. As she walks her conversation with Melvin plays through her head.

“Me?! Are you kidding?! You want me to be a guinea pig or something?!”

“Well essentially yes. Claire look, you’re the only one who’s capable of handling this task. You have a touch of multiple different talents that will help in your investigations. You also have the Free-Pass which gives you the longest full-range use of your magic.”

“Technically, no.”

“Mmm…Claire. You’re the only one I would trust with this. Will you do this?”

Claire sighed as she leaned back into the chair, “Yes.”

“Destination please.”

Claire snapped out of her remembrance as the small holo fairy spoke again, “Oh sorry. Home please.”

The little holo nods as she smiles at Claire, “Please step into the platform and keep your hands and feet inside at all times.”

With a whoosh and flick of a wrist Claire’s back home at her loft. She sighs again as she feels the weariness of the day crashing down on her. A clink is heard and she looks around her sunny loft to find the noise. Her loft was at the very top of the building and with permission from the landlord she transformed the north facing wall into a glass wall to flood the space with light. In and around the wall she made several small greenhouses and grew numerous different types of herbs and flowers and vegetables from all walks of life. To her far left against the west wall was her craft area where she created potions and lotions from orders and her bedroom to the right. To her right was a bright sunny kitchen but the center of the room commanded the most attention. There she had a massive oak round table with all types of books and scrolls scattered about encircled by a large circular couch. It was her study area where she continued to study and research her magic and it was there that she found the source of the noise.

“Crystal, what are you doing?”

Amongst the piles of paper a clear glass head of a small dragon popped up and smirked as the sunlight glinted in her glass eyes, “There’s a critter amust.”

“So don’t kill it, you can’t even eat food like that to begin with. Why are you hunting the poor thing?”

Claire made her way into the kitchen to pour herself something to drink as Crystal pulled the rest of her body out from under the piles of paper. Despite her name, Crystal was a living dragon model made of glass. Claire was experimenting with her magic back when she was a child and well, let’s just say the experiment went a little haywire and a living breathing glass dragon was the result. Since then she demanded to be called Crystal and Claire’s first friend came about. Crystal pulled her glass wings up and flew to Claire’s shoulder landing without a noise as Claire pulled some lemonade out of the fridge.

“I’m not hunting him nor was I going to eat him. He’s a messenger and was lost.”

“A messenger? From who?” Claire stared at Crystal’s glass beaded eyes as she poured herself a glass of the bright yellow lemonade.

“I do not know. That is why I’m searching for him.”

Poor thing, no wonder he’s so scared. “Fine.” Claire takes a swig of the cool lemonade and sets the glass down. She walks out of the kitchen and walks up to the oak table. She holds out her hand palm up over the table and says a quiet chant. Soon enough glowing fingers of purple light emit from her palm and snake their way down her hand, to the table and begin to search for the mysterious messenger. He was quickly found and a squeaking mouse floated its way to Claire’s hand. She gently cups the shaking animal, soothing it with her words as she takes the rolled up message from the mouse’s back. There was only one person she knew who communicated with her by mouse. Old lady Midge. Sure enough Claire unrolled the small scrap of paper and Midge’s chicken scratch handwriting asked Claire to visit at her convenience.

She let the mouse go and watched it as it bounded its way out the window, running home. Claire straightens up a small bit before she starts heading out the door and quickly makes her way two stories down to Midge’s loft. Just as she’s about to knock the door creaks open and the room filled with incense spills into the hallway around her. Crystal growls and buries her head into Claire’s shirt above her chest as she walks into the room. Claire holds her breathe as she stumbles through the darken room tripping over knick knacks and the like as she follows the glowing orbs to the center of the loft. Reaching the orb she plops into the offered chair and waits for Midge to show. She didn’t have to wait long as the light turns on, blinding Claire at the sudden change. Midge laughs as she hobbles her way over to the table, clacking as she walks.

Midge always reminded Claire of those hippies she heard about. Her hair was long and old with wisps of gray and some other dull color mixed in. But no one knew just how long her hair was for it was always braided with beads of every size, color, and shape braided in. It was those beads that gave Midge her clack as she walked with her cane at her side. She always wore free flowing clothes, neither dresses or robes. There were sandals on her feet and a handkerchief tied on her head, but it was probably the eyes that scared people the most. Midge was a clairvoyant, meaning she could see visions of the future, but as a price for sight of the future, she was born blind. Her eyes were nothing more but milk whites that always seem to stare at you and she forever smelled of hemp even though she never smokes the herb. She says the smell alone is enough for her. Claire tries not to cough at the overwhelming smells as Crystal digs deeper into her shirt. Midge walks over with her always present smile and sits at the opposite side of the table.

Midge starts laughing at Claire as she looks her over, “Oh my dear child what are you doing here? You’re already late!”

₄TO START^Z

Claire blinked as she looked puzzled at Midge, “Late for what?”

Midge suddenly started laughing as she clutched her side, “Oh dear I’m so sorry! That’s not till later.”

“So I’m going to be late for something later?” Claire raised an eyebrow as her skepticism grew, her lips twitching into a grin.

Midge only fumbled with her items on the table, shuffling things around as she mumbled to herself, “Yes yes well, that’s not till later like I said. But it’s something to happen as it should. Now what did I bring you here for?”

Claire laughed as she watched Midge, Crystal shuffling around tighter to her chest, “I have no idea Midge. You called me, only you know.”

Midge paused as her fingers touched the glowing orb before her. A crystal ball, yes it was. As cliché as it may be, it was still the most valuable tool for a clairvoyant. Her eyes begin to shine as the orb commanded her full attention, “Ah yes. Now I remember.”

Claire waited with apprehension as Midge closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, “Yes, yes. That’s it yes.”

Claire leaned over the table as the tension builds. Her fingers scraped against the table as she leans closer to the orb. Midge’s breathing becomes ragged as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Finally with one major gasps of air Midge says, “You may wanna brush up on your fire spells tomorrow.”

Claire blinked as she threw her hand up puzzlement, “Are you joking?”

Whenever Midge calls for her, it’s usually about something dire, something important but this is the first time Midge called her for something so…minuscule, “Why no. That’s later.”

Midge broke out in laughter as she cracked over her own joke. Claire chuckled as she puzzled over what Midge said, tapping her finger against her chin, “Are you sure? For what purpose?”

Midge only smiled. Blinking with a blank stare as Claire smiled back. Getting up from the table she draped a blanket around her shoulders, and fixed a sandwich for her before going out the door. In the hallway Claire crossed her arms as she continued to puzzle over what Midge said. As she headed up the stairs her shirt starts to wiggle and Crystal popped her head out of the collar.

“Well that was a waste of time.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not? She never told us anything useful.”

“Exactly. Usually Midge is full of information. She can answer any questions I had. But this time she couldn’t answer one. What do you think that could mean?”

Crystal puzzled over what Claire said and snapped her head around as they reached their door, “Whatever she’s seeing, it’s too much to divulge or something, right?”

Claire nodded her head as she locked the door behind her, “Right. That’s what I’m thinking.”

Claire made her way to the kitchen as Crystal flew to her perch on top of the pillar in the center of the loft. Claire grabbed some chips and munched on them as she made her way to the table with all manner of scrolls and books stacked everywhere. Chomping down on the chips Claire settled on a pillow and began grabbing one book after another flipping through the pages.

Crystal looked over, down from her perch as she heard Claire flipping through pages, “What are you doing?”

“Brushing up on my fire spells, just like she said.”

“You’re really gonna listen to what she said?”

Claire looked up from her books, “Wouldn’t you?”

Crystal was silent for a moment than shrugged her shoulders, “I guess. No skin off my nose.”

“Actually yes it is, I could use your help with something.”

Crystal was curling back up on her perch as Claire said that and looked back with a look on her face, “With what?”

Claire leaned on the table with her chin in her hand, “I need you to go by Benny’s.”

“What?! No!” Crystal clawed her perch and spread her wings in a stance of defiance. She flew down from her perch and landed on a stack of books in Claire’s face, hissing, “Why do I have to go to that nerd?! He tries to dissect me every time!”

Claire laughs as she goes back to her reading, “You’ll be fine. You gave him a pretty tough lesson last time.”

“Yeah that was last time.”

Claire looked up to see Crystal hugging her head low as she drew her tail around herself. Claire sighed and started petting Crystal with her hand, “You’ll be fine. I promise, ok?”

Crystal looked up and sighed as she caved in, “Fine. What do you want?”

“That’s my girl.” Claire gives Crystal a quick peck on the cheek and goes back to shuffling through her books, “I need his copy of Dragon’s Inferno.”

“So, not only do you want me to go to the creepy mad scientist but you also want me to get one of the books about my people?”

Claire looked up and perched her lips, “Pretty much yeah.”

Crystal laughs as Claire looks back down, “Fine. I’m going.”

Claire yelled out a thanks as Crystal flew to the glass wall and made her way through the doggy door. The glint of Crystal’s body flickers in the fading sunlight as dusk approaches. Pretty soon the sparkling lights of her wings disappear as she goes into the horizon, leaving Claire with her books at her table. The light fades and twilight sprinkles into life as the night approaches. Sometime before midnight Crystal comes back with the book and a seething anger to match. Claire stayed up till the wee hours of the morning, going through book after book after book. She went over every fire spell, chant, curse, hex, and incantation she could think of. Nothing jumped out as a potential danger for the next day but Claire was diligent. When sleep finally took its stake in her, with her eyes tired and bruised from hours of reading scribble and fading writing, Claire stumbled into her bedroom and fell onto the bed with Crystal at her side. All through the night she tossed and turned as visions and dreams melded and welded into one. Images flooded her mind as she fell into a deep sleep and in the morning she would remember none of it. Perhaps that was for the best.

₅NEW DAWN, NEW DAY^Z

Claire’s alarm clock projecting from the holo disk on her nightstand began to blare alive in the early morning. Under the sheets a hiding and sleepy Claire groaned and moaned as a fumbling hand reached out for the clock. Not reaching it, she turned over pocking her head out of the sheet and slammed a hand on the disk, stopping the berating sound. Claire’s sleepy and groggy eyes tried to focus as she studied the time.

“Oh shhhhheets!”

Claire hissed as she threw the covers and stumbled out of bed. She ran from the room, fumbling with her clothes as she tried to find clean ones. Back on her bed, a lump underneath the covers stirred and a yawning Crystal emerged from the covers. Crystal tripped over her feet as her mind tried to wake and she took flight with the sounds of Claire running about in the living area.

“I’m late! I’m late! God I can’t believe I’m gonna be late!”

Crystal made it to her perch and yawned some more as she curled into a comfortable position, going back to sleep, “Whatda mean ‘gonna’?”

Without missing a beat Claire moaned a “Shut up,” and ran out the door. She ran down the stairs and saw a miracle as she came upon Midge’s door. Midge was standing there, holding out a brown paper bag that smelled like heaven.

Claire couldn’t help but smile as she skidded to a stop, “Is that what I think it is?”

With a laugh Midge watched as Claire snapped the bag open and took a big whiff, “Two Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins and one Moco Chocolate Cream Center Doughnut, on the house.”

Claire already stuffed one muffin in her mouth and finished swallowing the whole thing down as she reached the stairs, “Thanks Midge! I owe ya one!”

“I told you, you would be late!” Midge laughed some more as she saw Claire disappear down the stairs. The old lady could only shake her head at the young mage, amazed at what she can accomplish.

Outside, on the streets, Claire ran as she stuffed more of her breakfast in her mouth, making her way to the public trans-port at the corner. She bobbed and weaved around the pedestrians and just as she took the last bite of her doughnut she made it to the port, thankfully unoccupied. Claire gasped for air as she entered the glass tube bending on her knees. The familiar holo fairy appeared ready to help her customer when they weren’t there. Puzzled the fairy looked down at the gasping Claire and smiled, lowering herself down to eye level.

“Hello, and welcome to the New York Public Trans-Portal. How may I be of service today?”

With her breath finally caught Claire stood up straight with the fairy following her eye level, “Hi yes. I’m Claire Dunsworth and I have a port reservation.”

The holo fairy flickered as the mainframe ran the name, “Claire Dunsworth, Mage. Mage identification please.”

“Claire Dunsworth. Mage Class: Triple ‘S’-D. Licensed Code: FP. Status: Granted.”

Holo fairy flickered one more time, “Identity correct. Please wait one more minute as the portal is open. Please keep hands and feet inside at all times.”

Claire tapped her foot as she glanced at the glowing numbers on her wrist checking the time. She suddenly remembered the note that Melvin gave her with the address and a name. Just as the portal opened and zapped her to her destination she fumbled through her pockets hoping she remembered it. As her feet touched solid ground she finally found the crumbled note and unrolled it as she stepped onto the sidewalk.

She mumbled under her breath as she stepped out into the glowing sunlight, “Go out of the old precinct, take a left, than a right…cross a couple of streets…What?! Where’s the address? MELVIN!”

Claire looked up intending to curse at the skies so Melvin could hear her but stopped as she got a look at the building in front of her. It was rundown and clearly in desperate need of some TLC. The upper floors had cracked windows, crumbling concrete and obviously leaky roofs. But on the lower floors, someone obviously cleaned it up with new paint and new windows. Claire walked up to the steps and stopped as she spotted a cardboard sign pinned to the building.

“Future Sight Of The Joint Task Force Of The Mage Guild For International Magic And The New York City Police Department”

Damn, long name.

In the windows Claire saw shadows move and flicker. She did her best to see past the morning reflection but saw nothing and made her way to the front double doors. The inside better resembled the original state of the building as Claire looked around. She entered into a wide open space where flimsy looking desks were set up with hand-me-down projection computers. It was eerily silent as Claire walked inside, looking around wondering where everyone was. There were only two doors, one at the back corner, seeming to be an office and another to her left. A quick glance inside showed her it was a break room/canteen area. Her eye caught something moving and she crept her way inside, keeping with the eerie feeling of the building as she moved inside.

Claire stood stunned as she stared at the couch with her hand on the door handle. Sleeping there on the couch was a man but not just any man. He was the most beautiful, handsome man Claire has ever seen. His feet hanged over the edge of the couch, a testimony of his height, his face and nose was chiseled to a sharp point but not overly so. Claire moved closer as she studied his face. He had a start of a beard growing, darkening his already dark face. His hair was jet black, almost as black as the black holes she’s seen in space. Her eyes shifted down and through the open collar of his shirt she saw the same black hair curling through. His arms were crossed across his chest and also covered in the same black hair giving him the look of a bear almost. Claire softly chuckled to herself, careful not to wake the sleeping man as an image of a giant black bear sleeping on the couch formed in her mind. For reasons unknown she reached out and touched a finger to his arm. His eyes sprung open just as her finger touched his arm hair and she lost her breath. Like everything else about him his eyes were black but they were stunningly beautiful as so. They reminded her of sparkling black onyxes and they even glinted and sparkled like the said gem.

Claire leaned closer, so transfixed over his eyes that she failed to notice the tall tell look of sleep in them. Before she could say anything a hand appeared behind her and she squealed as she was dragged onto the couch. Claire struggled, pulled out of her trance as a crushing weight of a full grown male climbs on top of her. She tries to scream but is startled silent as the man snuggles her neck. Feeling his hot breathe on the sensitive skin of her neck brought rushing blood to her face. She was stunned stiff at the sensation and was at a lost at what to do. Her mind was scrambling as she looked for some way out when the door banged open. Claire’s eyes rushed to the door to see another tall blonde haired man walk in wearing a white muscle shirt and jeans, chewing on a piece of wheat straw.

“Ah, I see ya’ve met Black.”

The man didn’t even bat an eye at seeing Claire being trapped under a sleeping Black. Before she could say anything the blonde haired man walks over and whacks Black on the head with the newspaper he was holding.

“Wake up Black! Yar smotherin’ ‘er!”

The head against her neck moves as he mumbles, rubbing his head. The must have been a signal for Claire snapped out of her stiffness and kneed the man off her. He crashes to the ground and groans as he rolls over onto his stomach, clutching it. Claire sat up staring down at the groaning man and looked up when she heard laughter. The blonde man who rescued her was leaning against the counter holding his own stomach as he laughed so hard he got a stitch in his side. Amazingly he was able to keep that wheat straw in his mouth as he laughed and even after when he turned to Claire wiping at his eyes.

“Lordy girl I ain’t never seen nobody push at ‘im like dat!”

He goes into another fit of laughter as the man named Black sits up and glares at Claire sitting on his spot. She shrugs her shoulders as black glaring eyes sheer into hers, “What? You’re the one who was smothering me!”

Claire glared back at Black and the only sound that was heard was the blonde man trying to control his laughing. The noise must have been loud for a hefty man with thinning hair soon blocked the doorway, taking in the scenery. The man barely passes a look at Claire and fixes his gaze at Black sitting before her.

“Black! Where were you?! You missed the meeting!”

Black only scratched his head as he got up and pulled out a cigarette, striking a match. Claire raised an eyebrow as she watched him light the cigarette and a plume of smoke filled the air around him. He leaned against the wall as he took another drag of the cigarette, crossing his arm as he gestured with his smoking hand at Claire on the couch.

“I was sleeping.” His voice was still rough with the weight of sleep. Claire was ashamed at how the rugged sound of his voice tingled her nerves. “What could have been so important at that meeting anyways? It’s nothing but the same drill every time.”

The hefty man huffed into the room and poked a sausage finger at Black’s chest, “You know that’s not true! Today I was announcing about the new mage coming!” He turns to the blonde man sipping a mug with a pained look on his face, “Where is the new mage anyways?”

The blonde man pointed to Claire just as she stood and cleared her throat, “Hello. I’m the new mage in question, sir. My name’s Claire Dunsworth. It’s nice to meet you Mr…?”

“Cogswell my dear, Captain David Cogswell.” The newly named Captain Cogswell gives her a beaming smile as he shook her hand, registering her for the first time, “This gentleman over there is our resident cowboy Detective Henry Tanks.” Henry walked over and offered his hand and Claire shook it with a thanks as Captain Cogswell introduced the last man standing, “And this infuriating man is Detective Raven Black.” Raven and Claire merely shared a glance at each other as Cogswell props his hands on his hips with a smug look on his face as he finishes talking, “You’re new partner Ms. Dunsworth.”

Claire stood stunned as Raven snaps his gaze at Cogswell, biting his cigarette, “What are you talking about? I don’t take partners.”

“Black!” Cogswell turned and pointed his sausage finger back at Black, “You have refused every partner that I and Tim have given you. It’s time you have a partner! You need a partner! And what better partner for an insufferable man like you than a mage?”

There was silence as Claire glanced from Cogswell to Black and back, wondering what to say as her jaw worked up and down. Black glanced at her and scoffed. Claire felt her anger raise as Black walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

She crossed her arms as Cogswell went after him and turned to Henry, “Where is he going?”

“Black?” Henry raised an eyebrow in question as he goes to take another sip of the mug but before it could touch his lips he screws his face up and throws the mug on the counter, “Probably went in search of another cup of coffee. Whoever made this isn’t even glorified mud.”

₆MELTDOWN^Z

“Coffee, tall, black.”

Raven yanked his wallet out as he stepped up to the barista. He slapped some bills on the counter as hot steam filled the air behind the worker and handed him his coffee. He grabs the cup as his order is rung up and goes to take a sip when someone brushes up beside him.

“Everything is black to you isn’t it?”

Raven panics as he tries to keep his cup from spilling. His coffee safe, he turns and glares at Claire at his shoulder, doing her best to look innocent with a pleasant smile. Her smile brightens as she continues undeterred.

“Your hair is black, your eyes are black, your coffee’s black and even your name’s Black. What is it with you and black?”

Raven pinched his eyebrows together as he mumbled into his cup taking a sip, “Family tradition, or something like that.”

He walked out of the coffee shop and headed down the street back to the building, pointingly ignoring Claire following close behind. She easily kept up with his pace as she trailed at his side.

She walked by his arm as she continued talking to him, “What family tradition?”

Raven barely glanced her way as he drained more of his coffee, “You never heard of the Black family?”

“I have,” Raven glanced in time to see Claire with a sobering look on her face, “I just never thought I’d meet one here. So you are a part of that family?”

He said nothing as they bounded up the steps and creaked the door open saying a barely audible, “Yes.”

Before they could walk inside though Henry met them out the door, pulling on a shirt as he strapped his badge and gun on, “C’mon, we got a case.”

Claire followed quietly behind as Raven snapped around and followed Henry to the back of the building. They came upon a small parking lot whose care also matched the rundown building. Claire raised an eyebrow as they walked up to a car.

“We’re taking a car?”

Henry only glanced her way, shoving the straw back into his mouth as Raven stopped and stared hard at her, “Yes. Is that too old-fashioned for the high and mighty mage?” He took a minute to blink and crossed his arms, “And what makes you think you’re coming with us?”

Claire blinked, clearly confused, “Well I’m your partner, remember? And this is a joint assignment too, remember?”

“Doesn’t mean we need a mage’s help.”

Raven walked away before Claire could comment and was startled when Raven got behind the wheel and peeled off. Claire stood there with her hands on her hips huffing at the disappearing car. Inside the vehicle Henry cautiously glanced at an irritated Raven and smiled to himself. It’s not every day he sees Raven so on edge.

They zipped through traffic with the sirens blaring going at high speeds. Henry kept a firm hold on the ‘oh-s**t’ bar as the scenery blurred by. They finally came upon their crime scene at an old warehouse by the docks. Raven led the way as they got out and walked towards the crowds of people behind the area being sectioned off by electronic caution tape. Raven and Henry flashed their badges at the beam of tape. It beeped as it scanned their badges allowing them passage.

Raven stood there studying the victim’s body as Henry went off to talk to the sergeants in charge. He walked over to the body and crouched down, taking in the pungent crisp scent of burned flesh. The body was burnt to charcoal, barely recognizable. Raven tried to get closer, studying the face.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

He nearly jumped as Claire suddenly appeared by his side. She was crouched as well with her chin popped in her hands, studying the corpse. Raven leaned back, placing his arms on his thighs, pinning her with a look.

“Why not?”

She glanced at him with a strange look in her eyes and went back to studying the body, “He’s cursed. His body was burnt with a spell, some sort of hex I guess.”

“You can tell if he was male or female?”

Claire laughed as she stood, “Heck no. My eyes aren’t that good.”

Raven stood next to her and watched as she studied the victim some more, “How’d you find us?”

Claire walked around the body, careful not to touch it as she continued to study it, “I just asked the fairy to find the crime scene. What you thought I was tracking you or something?”

Raven couldn’t comment as a coroner came up to the scene about to start his work. Claire stopped him before he could come in contact with the body, “I wouldn’t do that. He’s covered in magic and I don’t want it to transfer to you. Do you have a Mage on contract?”

The coroner clearly backed away as he wrung his hands, “Are you sure? We didn’t get the call that this was a magic case.”

Claire nodded her head as he ran off to his van to make the call. She stood there perplexing over the body and even Raven could hear the gears and cogs rolling. Henry walked over before Raven could question what she was thinking and was quickly flipping through his little notebook.

“Call came in around 30 minutes ago. Anonymous tip, no ID. Caller said and I quote, ‘big ol’ piece of burnt log someone left in the middle of nowhere.’ Dispatch GPS’d the location and sent a unit to check it out. They’re the ones who called in the body.” Henry looked up to see two pair of eyes staring down at the victim. He wondered what Claire’s opinion would be and took a plunge, “So Claire, whatda think?”

Claire glanced up, rubbing the back of her neck as she thought, “No ID, no bracelet and plenty of magic. This stuff is nasty. Whoever used this was contaminated too.” With that she whipped out her hand and snapped her fingers in front of her eyes. From her fingers small glints of sparkling lights can be seen as they cover her eyes, “Ah there! Right there is where the caster stood.”

She led them to a spot roughly 3 feet from the foot of the body. Raven followed close behind as Henry glanced back at the body.

“You can see magic?”

Claire looked at Raven and smiled, “Not all the time. That would be a headache, believe me. This simple spell allows you to see for a short period of time. Wanna try it?”

Raven was hesitant but consented, wanting to see what she saw. Quick as a flash Claire reached over and snapped her fingers in his face. He blinked as sparkles blinded his vision, taking him aback. His vision cleared and he was stunned at the sight he saw. There at the ground Claire pointed to was covered in silver light. His eyes followed the silver trail from the spot to the body and saw the body covered in silver, almost glowing.

“This is what you saw?”

Claire came up beside him and shook her head, “No. Like I said, I can’t see magic 24/7 but his body was so covered in it I could sense it. I’m not sure but it looks like hex magic from an artifact. Whoever the caster was didn’t know what they were doing or they could have avoided the flashback.”

“Flashback? You mean something like a backlash?”

Claire nodded, “Something like that.” She walked over to Henry who was chatting up the Mage corner, “A hex was involve so take special precautions. Also see if you can identify the magic signature.” The mage nodded absently and her eyes widen as she saw Claire walk away. Claire came up to Raven, “You ready to go on a walk? That spell may not last very long for you but we can follow the trail to the perpetrator.”

Raven raised his eyebrow as he followed the silvering trail, “You really think he’ll stick around?”

“No, but it can lead us to where he went and we can go from there.”

₇THE CHASE^Z

They followed the trail through and around the neighboring building. The spell on Raven’s eyes soon faded out but Claire’s was still going strong. Raven followed behind her, quietly observing her as she followed the trail only she could see.

“Go ahead.”

Raven looked up as she continued following the trail as she spoke. He caught up behind her asking, “Go ahead what?”

“Go ahead and ask. I know you wanna ask me something.”

Raven raised an eyebrow as the smell of salt water burned their noses, “Why’d you show up?”

Claire whipped her head around, “To work?”

He shook his head and jerked a thumb back to the crime scene, “At the crime scene, after I blew you off at the station.”

She turned back to the trail and shrugged her shoulders, “Not sure myself. After you peeled off I thought about chasing after you or blowing off some steam or even just leaving, to hell with this new force thing, but then I realized something.” Stopping at the edge of the lot she turned with a road behind her and the waters to her side and faced Raven with her hands on her hips, “If something’s gonna change, I have to change with it. Even if it means putting up with someone like you as a partner.”

Raven chuckled as Claire flashed him a grin. He studies her as she looks around. Walking up to her, he turns to look back at the buildings they just came from, “What do you see now?”

She sighed, “Nothing. Trail ends here, runs cold. Whatever magic that was on our perp has dissipated and runs out here, but why here? There’s nothing around here.”

Claire and Raven circle around and study their surroundings as they look down the road. Finally Raven pointed down the road, “There’s a public port 2 blocks down and around the corner. There’s also a public bus stop just down the street from that so he could have gone in either one of those.”

“Then let’s go find out.”

She sprints down the road with Raven catching up. They finally round the corner and Claire quickly makes her way to the port. She steps up to the glass tube and spreads her fingers on the glass. A keypad shows up and she quickly punches in a passcode, pulling up a log of recent transports.

Raven steps up behind her, “What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for…whoever used the port…that had traces of foreign magic on them.”

Raven leans in over her shoulder for a closer look, “These things do that?”

Claire felt her ears burn and momentarily forgot what she was doing. She felt his hot breath breathing down her shoulder but quickly regained her composure. Raven glanced at her noticing the slight pause in her hand. He didn’t comment, thinking nothing of it as Claire answered his question, “Yeah, um, these things scan whoever steps into the port. Mostly for safety reasons but if the scans pick up anything suspicious they keep a record of the person and destination.”

Claire quickly found the log she was looking for but found nothing. They also checked the bus records at the bus stop. They also scan whoever steps onto the bus for safety protocols to make sure no harmful magic is carried aboard but those records too were clean. With the dead end Claire continued to study the surroundings looking for some clue as Raven made a call. He told Henry to bring the car around and Claire thought of offering to take him in the port with her but thought better of it. Before long Henry pulled up, grinning from ear to ear as Raven and Claire got into the car.

“What are you smirking about?”

Claire climbed into the back seat as Raven took the passenger seat, pointing Henry with a stare as he whipped out a slip of paper, “I got ‘er number.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, “So?”

“So man didja see that coroner? I’ve neva dat’d a mage befor’. It’ll be fun. I don’t think sh’s eva dat’d a cowboy befor’ ‘ither.”

Henry laughed as he pulled away from the curve and started driving their way back to the station. They continued talking as they drove through traffic. Claire was shocked and surprised. Apparently they had forgotten about her being in the car. Henry kept going on about how fun it will be to date a cute mage and Raven kept telling him it was a bad idea. Claire was about to speak up and ask how it was bad but then realized what family Raven comes from and understood where he was coming from.

They pulled up to the lot and the men got out, not even giving Claire a glance as they walked to the building. Claire quietly got out and followed behind them smiling, wondering how long she could keep this up. The guys threw theories off of each other as they walk into the building. They went to their desks and followed the evidence. There was still no ID and the coroner’s report hasn’t come back yet. Raven tried to find out what artifact was used by searching through the Magic Artifact Database but came up with nothing. He spent hours on the computer trying to find some trail or hint for the case but couldn’t find anything.

The light outside soon faded away and Henry, having finished with reports for previous cases, finally called it a night and headed home. Raven stopped and rubbed his eyes as the computer projection burned his eyes. He reached for his coffee and found it long gone and headed for another cup in the break room. He stopped at the door and saw Claire sitting on the couch with case folders all around her.

“What are you doing here?”

Claire looked up from her reading and silently gestured to the files around her, “Reading. You guys were so busy and I figured I couldn’t be much help unless I learned some detective skills right? So I pulled up some old case files and starting reading through them.”

Raven rubbed his eyes some more, “No, no, no. What are you still doing here?”

Claire blinked as she stared, “Working. We’re to work together, remember?”

Before Raven could retort a whiff of the scent in the air made its way to his nose. He breathed deep as he caught the scent, “What is that?”

“Oh, uh I threw out that horrible pot and made a fresh pot of coffee. Please have some.”

Raven ran for the pot before Claire could finish and took another whiff of the coffee. He poured a cup and took a sip like it was nectar from the gods. As the coffee warmed his throat and lungs, he breathed a sigh of relief at the wonderful taste of it.

“What did you put in this?”

“Oh this and that, eye of newt, dragonstring, toad’s throats. You know same old, same old.”

Claire smiled as Raven took her seriously and could only laugh as he continued to stare at her, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I just used some fresh coffee beans from my garden and grinded them in the sunlight. Many people don’t believe it but it’s the sunlight that makes the difference.”

Claire went back to her reading as Raven took another sip, “I believe it.” He kept sipping his coffee as he walked over and looked over all the files she was reading, “You’ve been here all day?”

Claire glanced up, “Yes. Oh! I almost forgot. The ME’s report finally came in.”

She reached over to the pile of files on the coffee table and was searching for the right one as papers began to spill from her lap. She said a quiet curse as she yanks a file from the pile and hands it to Raven, bending over to pick up the fallen papers.

Raven pulls open the file and begins to read the report, “James Shelton Bron. African-American, 35 years of age. Average health, height 5’11”, 220lbs. ETD is 7:39 am. COD is…unknown?”

“Yeah I think the artifact has something to do with that.”

“I already looked through MAD, there was nothing there.”

Claire set the papers on the table as she smiled up at Raven, “Then we’ll just go to a specialist.”

Raven sat in one of the chairs, sipping his coffee, “An artifact specialist? Where are we ever going to find one of those.”

He flipped through the ME’s report as he drank more of his coffee and finally noticed Claire staring at him, “What?”

Claire scrunched up her face as she laughed, “You forget who you have for a partner? I’m a mage remember.”

Raven stopped and threw the report on the table, “You know an artifact specialist?”

“Yes I do. In fact if we leave now we can get there before she starts going into her feeding frenzy.”

Claire quickly jumped up and was heading out the door as Raven followed after her, “‘Feeding frenzy’? What are you talking about?”

Claire turned and was about to answer as she thought better of it, “You’ll just find out.”

She was making her way to the port when Raven grabbed her arm, “Oh hell no. I’m not getting into one of those things.”

“But it’s the fastest way.”

“For you. For us it’s nothing more than an unpleasant roller coaster ride that goes at warp speed.”

“Actually no, I’ve driven at warp speed, it’s much faster.” Claire smiled and tried to laugh as Raven only stared at her. Finally she sighed, “Fine. Let’s go.”

₈FIND OUT^Z

Claire grabbed onto the dashboard and held her breath as Raven peeled out of the parking lot. She nearly screamed as they raced down the street, braking at the light.

“So where are we going?”

“I thought we were going to hell.”

He grumbled as he glanced at Claire and saw her frighten look, “What are you so scared of? You’ve got magic remember?”

She whipped her head at him, “That don’t mean nothing at break neck speeds!”

The light changed and the car sped off before Claire could say any more. Lights blurred and people became nothing but smudges outside the windows.

“Do you even know where the hell you’re going?!”

Raven barely glanced her way, “No but I figured we’ll get there when we get there.”

Claire graveled, “You’re such a moron.”

He turned to look at Claire, “What?”

She waved her hand, “Oh nothing, nothing. Just go to the Research Institute building off 49^th.”

Raven was unsure they would find any specialist, let alone an artifact one there at this time of night but he listened and soon enough he pulled up into the parking garage of the Research Institute. It’s a private building where magic research is conducted and visitation is encouraged, during proper hours. Claire opened the car door and nearly crawled out of the car. Raven walked around and stopped when he saw the mage hovering over her knees trying to catch her breath.

“Oh come on now, that’s just over exaggerating.”

Claire held up a finger as she breathes deep. Raven crossed his arms in irritation as the show continued. Finally she stood up straight and looked him in the eye.

“Who in the hell gave you your license?!”

He shrugged his shoulders as he started walking towards the exit, “Don’t like it, walk.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Claire ran up to him and blocked his way with a finger in his face, “What is up with your driving? You trying to get yourself killed?”

There was a moment of silence as Raven looked her up and down then smiled, “Well in that case I don’t need to worry anymore.” Claire tilted her head, clearly not getting it, “If I do, at least you’re there to help.”

Claire stood there stunned as he walked around her and out the doors. He smiled to himself as the gravel crunched beneath his feet, making his way to the front entrance of the building.

“You mean you accept me as your partner now?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin as Claire appeared beside him, “Will you stop doing that?! This isn’t Batman.”

She tilted her head yet again, “Who’s Batman?”

Raven’s hand paused halfway to his mouth about to light a cigarette as he stared at Claire, “You can’t be serious. Batman?” She only stared at him, still confused. He sighed in exasperation, “Tall, wears a cape, gravel voice, hero of the dark…daddy issues. You know the classics, Batman.” Claire only shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. He pinned her with a look as he lit his cigarette, “Didn’t you’re parents or grandparents tell you stories about watching Batman growing up?”

“No.”

That simple and blunt no brought Raven to a stop as the smoke filled the air, “Why not?”

Claire shrugged her shoulders again as she looked off into the distance, “I didn’t have any. I grew up in an orphanage.”

Raven stared at her, unsure of what to say. Finally he simply put a hand on her shoulder as he walked ahead saying a simple, “I’m sorry.”

She blinked as she felt warmth spread through her from where he touched her shoulder. She smiled as that feeling warmed her heart and sprinted to catch up with him, “Thanks.” They walked in quiet peace as they reached the doors and Claire finally remembered something as they walked in, “You never answered my question.”

“What question?” Raven pulled the door open and stepped aside as Claire went in.

“Do you accept me as your partner now?”

Raven looked up at Claire’s bright smile as he closed the door behind him, putting the cigarette out as he threw it away and grinned to himself, “No.”

He walked around her before she could retort and made his way to the front desk. The bored security guard was asleep, nearly falling off his chair. Raven walked up to the desk meaning to wake the man but Claire stopped him before he could.

“This way bonehead.”

She huffed off to the right towards the elevators as Raven glared at her back, “What’s with the bonehead?”

The elevator beeped as Claire pushed the button and waited for it to open. She crossed her arms, shrugging her shoulders as Raven stepped up behind her, “You’re being a bonehead so you’re a bonehead. You know, ‘if it walks like a rabbit, eats like a rabbit, talks like a rabbit, it’s a rabbit’?”

She smiled at Raven’s glare. She nearly laughed to herself as the doors opened and she stepped in. She keyed her passcode on the keypad as he stepped in behind her, about to give her a ‘what to’ but when she was finished typing the elevator soon glowed and shot up like a rocket. Raven grabbed onto the wall rails as they raced to the top 86^th floor at break neck speeds.

“Does this thing have to go so fast?!”

Claire smiled her sweetest, most innocent smile she could muster, “No, not really, but don’t worry. You have me here should something go wrong, remember?”

She smiled sweetly as Raven’s eyes turned murderous. She only laughed as they reached their floor and the ride stopped. The glowing elevator stopped and the doors opened. Claire simply stepped out but poor Raven stumbled out, bending over his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

“Now who’s over exaggerating?”

Raven flashed her the finger as she smirked and waited for him to find his feet again. He finally stood up and pinned her with a look and a finger. He tried to say something, to find something to say but for the life of him he couldn’t think of a single thing to tell her. Oh plenty was going through his mind but none made it to his mouth. Finally he gave up and reached for his pack.

“Fine. Where to now?”

She snatched the cigarette from his fingers before he could bring it to his lips, “First, this is a non-smoking facility. Second, there’s only one door.”

Raven nearly reached for his lost cigarette but finally took notice of his surroundings. It was like they walked right into the lab of a mad scientist. Dr. Frankenstein is what ran through his mind. The first thing that registered were all the immense numbers of Tulsa coils. Some were ancient copper beast, others were fantastic amazing designs that Raven couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around. Books lined the walls from floor to ceilings with even more flying about with wings. More books and papers piled every available counter space crowding around jars and flasks of bubbling curious liquids. Unknowingly Raven reached out a hand to one vial that carried a simmering gold liquid that looked solid like metal at the same time.

Claire snatched his hand back, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. In fact, just don’t touch anything.”

His gaze was still transfixed by the liquid but as he blinked his eyes cleared, “What is that?”

“Um…” Claire screwed up her face as she tried to think of how much to say, “Let’s just say…it’s not something you want. C’mon.”

She led him through the maze of books and chemistry lab experiments. They walked past the book and Tulsa coil section and came upon a cleared area with scrolls piled on tables and alchemist circles drawn on every available surface.

“What is this?”

Claire glanced his way and chuckled at the look in his eyes, “Well this is her ‘old age’ section as she calls it. That before was her ‘new age’ section, but she’s usually in her ‘me’ section.”

“Wait, ‘her’?”

“Yeah,” Claire stepped over a circle and gestured for Raven to do the same, “She’s an old friend of mine and very smart too.”

Claire laughed a little as they walked into a back corner of the lab. The area looked like nothing more than a small kitchen and living room area. There was a couch with its back to them and the TV blaring, its light blocking out their view of the person on the couch. There was some anime show on the TV and the woman on the couch was whopping and hollering at the TV. Claire stepped up behind the couch and raised her voice to be heard.

“Elizabeth!”

A pumping fist in the air stopped and the woman scrambled to find the remote. With the remote found, the show was paused. Raven watched as the overhead light flicked on and showed him the woman who was now leaning over the side of the couch. The woman wore glasses with the frames barely seeable. Her red hair was in a bun but has lost much of its hair as it flowed around her face. That combined with her green eyes and freckled face were clear signs of her Irish heritage. Raven couldn’t see clearly but she was obviously wearing ‘stay-at-home’ clothes with a ragged tank top and panties. The woman named Elizabeth blinked as her eyes tried to focus on Claire.

“Oh hi.”

She turned back to the TV, blantingly ignoring Claire and Raven as the show resumed. Claire turned to Raven smiling, laughing at her friend Elizabeth.

“Raven, may I introduce, Dr. Elizabeth Wattson, PhD in Magic Artifacts, Magical Studies, Artifact Engineering, and Alchemist Philosophies.”

₉TEAMWORK^Z

Raven did a double take between Claire and Elizabeth, “She has a PhD in all that?”

“And many others but they’re the ones she’s currently using. I’ve always just called her a magician researcher and artifact engineer.”

Claire turned around and walked off towards the fridge as Raven continued to stare at her, “Why does she have a PhD in all that?”

She shrugged her shoulders as she yanked open the fridge, “She’s smart, she likes to learn new things, and she gets bored easily. Soda?”

She holds out a can and Raven shakes his head as he tries taking Elizabeth in. She walks back up beside him silently laughing at his bewildered look as she pops the can open, “This is what I meant by her ‘feeding frenzy’ too.”

Smiling into her soda Raven turned to stare at her. She chuckled as she explained, “When she works, she gets into the zone. You know, like tunnel vision? She’ll work for 24 hours straight with no food or water or contact from anyone. So, in order to ‘recharge’ and let off steam she’ll watch TV for hours on end, also tunnel vision.”

He pawed at his pocket intending to grab a cigarette but instead crossed his arms as he remembered the non-smoking rule, “Then what hope do we have of getting anything out of her?”

Claire opened her mouth to answer but before she could the TV flicked off and the woman in question stood and walked towards a closet in the wall, “You have every hope, just as soon as I’m done.”

She threw the doors opened and went through the hanging clothes as she pulled on some slacks and a clean top. She threw her dirty tank into the hamper inside the closet and shut the doors, grabbing her lab coat hanging on a nearby peg. She buttoned it closed and went to the mirror above the kitchen sink, adjusting her hair back into a tight bun. She didn’t acknowledge Claire and Raven standing there until after she set her frozen pizza onto the counter and flicked her hand over it causing it to glow and cook as she finally turned to them.

Raven had a glimpsed of the genius mad scientist she was when she first turned to them but as she focused on Claire her face quickly turned into a smile as she ran to hug her friend. The two of them were quickly laughing and squealing as they hugged. Raven rolled his eyes at the noise.

Elizabeth held Claire’s hands as she studied her friend, “Where have you been? It’s been too long. How are things? You never contact me anymore. What are you doing here?”

Before Claire could answer Elizabeth turned and her eyes fell on Raven. She gave a quiet whistle as she studied the brooding man beside Claire, “Who is this?”

Claire hurried with the introduction before Elizabeth jumped to conclusions, “Liz, this is my new partner Detective Raven Black. From the new Joint Task Force they’re creating?”

“Oh,” the ding behind her indicated that her pizza was done and Liz quickly went and tore herself a piece, “I heard they were doing that. I also heard they were sending one of us over to get the ball rolling but I had no idea it was you. Pizza?”

She held up a slice and offered it to the two of them but Claire quickly declined. Raven was about to but his growling stomach told him otherwise and he quickly grabbed two slices. Both he and Liz chowed down the slices before it could grow cold. Liz offered him another slice as she saw him eyeing the rest of the pizza and gave the rest to him as she turned to Claire.

“So what can I do for the new partners of the Joint Task Force?”

Raven shoved pizza in his mouth, preventing himself from making a retort at the partner comment as Claire explained, “We’re here on a case. Our victim was burnt to a crisp and there’s evidence indicating it was an artifact.”

Liz’s eyes lit up at the mention of the artifact, “Oh really? Was there any residue?”

Raven stepped aside and continued to wolf down the pizza as the two mages conversed, “Yes. It left behind a visible silver trail.”

“Silver?” Liz held her chin as her mind raced. She muttered to herself as she began to lead them back to her ‘new age’ section. She began picking one book up after another, grabbing some from the air in mid-flight skimming through them all, “You said he was burned right? Were his bones intact? What was the magic signature?”

They had absently left the ME’s report behind and Raven was about to say so but Claire simply flicked her wrist and the very same report materialized in her hand, “Let’s see…yes his bones were intact…there was no smoke in his lungs so he was dead before he was burned…and the magic signature was…crystals?”

Liz appeared behind Claire reading over her shoulder, “Crystals? Are you sure?”

“That’s what is says but that doesn’t make any sense. What crystal causes fire?”

Suddenly they both snapped their fingers as they turned to each other in excitement, both speaking at the same time, “Ice crystals!”

Raven silently watched as Claire’s excitement lit up her face with Liz’s matching hers. He was pretty sure that this would get them a lead and they could quickly end this case but after a moment the excitement wore off and Claire’s face fell.

“But what artifact causes such extreme freezing that it burns?”

Liz blinked as she realized this. Her eyes furrowed as she tapped her chin with her knuckle, “I’m not sure. It’s buried in one of these books. I know I’ve seen it somewhere.”

“Well,” Claire covered her mouth as she stifled a yawn, “keep looking for it, ‘k? It’s pretty late and we should probably go. Call me when you find out, ok Liz? Thanks.”

Liz only walked off as she began to mutter to herself once more. Claire turned to Raven and mentioned with her head that they should leave. They got into the elevator and Raven grabbed onto the wall rail, expecting it to plummet down but Claire only smiled as they slowly descended. They quietly made their way out of the building and into the night air. In the city that never sleeps there is a special hour that’s right in the middle of being up late and getting up early where the city is as quiet as it’ll ever be. It was this very hour when they were walking to the parking garage and Claire just stopped and turned her head up  to the night sky above. Raven took a few more steps but stopped and turned back to look at Claire.

“What is it?”

A sad smile touches her lips as she continued to study the stars, “It’s just sad.”

Raven pulled out a cigarette and lit it, breathing deep as he jammed his hands into his coat pocket, “What is?”

Claire was silent for a minute but finally brought her eyes down to look at Raven. Raven was slightly taken aback as he saw unshed tears in her eyes, “Magic’s supposed to be peaceful. It’s supposed to bring and protect life. Not take it away.”

He saw that she was more shaken by this case than she had let on. He raked his hand through his hair, trying to find the words to say. Finally he shrugged his shoulders as he took his cigarette out and flicked the ashes off, “Nothing you can do about it. It’s not magic itself that’s the problem. It’s the people who wield it.”

Claire studied him as she tried to believe his words. She knew what he was saying, and yet he’ll never understand. Yes there are terrible witches and wizards because of the choices they made. But there were cases where good people, good witches and wizards were turned because of the power they held, because of the magic they had. People argue that that would only happen if the people were ‘evil’ to begin with but Claire wasn’t so sure.

She stood there brooding over this as Raven smoked some more of this cigarette. Finally he had enough and flicked the butt away, “Look there’s nothing you can do about it, but you can handle this in one of two ways.” Claire looked up as he got her full attention, “You either stand there feeling sorry about yourself brooding over this s**t, or…you catch the b*****d who did this and make sure they can never do it again.”

There was a moment of silence as Claire stared stunned at him but she finally smiled, “You’re right. Thanks.”

She ran up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Before he could react she stepped back and smiled at him, flicking her hand open, opening the port to go home, “See you in the morning.”

Quick as a flash she was gone. Raven stood there feeling like an idiot as he touched his cheek where she kissed him. He blood boiled as he touched the lipstick she left on his cheek but he quickly scowled himself, saying it was anger nothing else. He stomped his way back to his car and raced home to his apartment to catch a few hours of sleep before he heads back to the office.

Crystal was snoring on her little perch when light flashed, startling her awake as Claire ported back into her loft. Crystal yawned as she turned her head and saw a panting Claire slowly fall down to her knees. Alarmed, Crystal flies down and lands on her lap.

“Claire?! What is it? What’s wrong?”

Her chest continued to heave as Claire stared straight ahead, not hearing Crystal calling her name. Finally she blinked and looked down at a frantic Crystal in her lap, “W-What?”

“What’s the matter with you?!”

Claire blinked some more as she laid a hand over her racing heart, “I have no idea.”

₁₀HARMONY^Z

Raven yawned as he juggled his coffee and folders in one hand and grabbed his keys out to unlock the back door to the office. The door creaked and moan on its hinges and he made a mental note to fix it as he shuffled inside. He stifled another yawn as he flicked lights on, making his way to his desk. Booting his computer up, he crossed his feet on the desk waiting for it to start up, pulling open today’s newspaper. He flipped through the pages as his computer warmed up and finish his coffee. As he got to the sports section his coffee was gone and he got up to make his way to the break room, intending to make a pot.

With his hand on the handle he stopped as he heard a noise. Wondering what it was he leaned his ear against the door and heard something that sounded like a lumber mill. Curious, he opened the door and could only stare at the spectacle before him. Lying on his couch, surrounded and buried in papers and files, was a sleeping, snoring Claire. Raven could only stare as her back heaved when another shattering snore yanked open her mouth, causing her to droll on the arm she used as a pillow. Raven wanted to yell and wake her for using his couch but he soon caught the whiff of the sweet nectar of the coffee gods.

Keeping an eye on the sleeping mage and for some reason being careful not to wake her up, he quickly poured himself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee. Leaning against the counter, he turned to watch her as he sipped the coffee and wondered at what to do. Finally having enough of her infernal snoring, he walked over and shook her shoulder as he tried to wake her.

“Hey. Hey get up.”

Claire gasped as she shot up nearly knocking his coffee from his hands. She yawned into her hand and ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to clear her sleep covered eyes. Finally she began to focus on Raven who was guarding his coffee like it was gold.

“Ra-Raven?” She yawned again as she tried to focus some more, “What are you doing here?”

Raven raised an eyebrow as he took another sip, “I work here, remember?”

“What?”

Claire looked around and noticed she was in the break room. She moaned as she placed her face in her hands, horrified that Raven saw her in such a state.

“How long have you been here?”

“Huh?” She turned her hand and watched Raven as he bent down and started picking up papers. Claire quickly tried to straighten up the papers she was sitting on as she tried to think, “Uh, I don’t know. What time is it?”

“7 am.”

Raven watched as the time registered with Claire and she finally woke up, “Oh. Well in that case only a couple of hours.”

She quickly got up and started putting files away in stacks as Raven sat on the now empty couch, “What are you doing here anyways?”

“Oh, well,” with the last of the papers put away Claire stood with her hand in her hair as she thought, “I couldn’t sleep last night so I figured I’d come here to study or something.”

Raven raised an eyebrow as he sipped his coffee, “Study?”

“Well yeah,” Claire began to ring her hands together, wanting to run home for a quick shower, “I was trying to see if there were similar cases in the past. Maybe they could help shed some light or something.”

He looked down at the coffee table and saw old case files spread out. Some had notes attached and Raven was surprised to see that many of the notes provided the final clue needed to solve the case.

“You did this?”

She came around and looked down at the notes he pointed at and sat as she nodded her head, “Yeah I was reading them and noticed that I could help. I don’t know if it’s major help but every detail counts right?”

In one particular case a mom and pop store was robbed a few months ago. The culprit stole small items but there was no forensic evidence and the surveillance footage showed no one but the stolen goods disappearing out of thin air. Claire’s note suggested using specific programs that registers and finds magic signatures in films that even Raven hasn’t heard about. He knew that with this new info they’ll be able to pull not only a face but a usable body from the footage now. Raven looked up into Claire’s smiling eyes and bed head hair.

“Yeah, every detail.”

She smiled some more and said she was going to run home for a shower and change of clothes. She asked Raven if he could help get her notes to the detectives that needed them and he said he’ll take care of it. She left with a smile as he grabbed the files and headed back to him computer. The Captain and Henry came in 30 minutes later to find Raven clacking away at his computer. It was nothing they haven’t seen before and the Captain quickly made his way to his office where his phone was ringing, but as Henry walked by Raven’s desk he noticed the notes written in very feminine handwriting.

“What’s this?”

He picked a file up and read the note saying the witness was lying when they testified that they saw the magic attack for their eyes are unable to see magic. He read on as the note explained how to test the witnesses’ eyes as Raven snatched the file from his hands.

“Claire’s notes. I’m writing the investigating detectives the new info.”

“You?” Henry stared at Raven in astonishment. He leaned on the desk to look at the computer projection to verify, “You’re writing reports? Fer someone else?”

Raven pushed Henry out the way in annoyance as he resumed typing, “Yes. Now go away, let me finish.”

Henry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The great Detective Raven Black was writing reports! For someone else! In all his years of knowing him, Henry has never heard of Raven doing such a thing for anyone. As Henry stood back and puzzled over this development an idea hit his head.

He smiled as he plucked his straw from his shirt pocket and said with a smug look on his face, “It’s fer ‘er, ain’t it.”

The look Raven gave him was murderous but Henry only slapped his knee and laughed, “Oh Lordy, t’is is ‘ust too gud!”

Raven growled at him to shut up which caused Henry to laugh even harder. The Captain stuck his head out his office door yelling at Henry to get back to work. Henry wiped the tears from his eyes as he patted his friend’s shoulder.

“Yer got it bad.”

Raven refused to comment.

₁₁SEMBLENCE^Z

The morning seemed to drag on, feeling as if hours had passed. When in reality only 40 minutes went by. Raven had finished updating various reports and Henry spent the morning working on his own reports with occasional glances and smirks Raven’s way. Shortly afterwards the Captain came out of his office with some news and called a meeting, and to make sure Raven attended this one the man kept him chained to his desk and held the meeting there.

“Just got a call from the mayor. He’s assigning some new recruits to our division. They should be here within the week.”

“Recruits?” Raven propped his feet on his desk as he sipped from his 3^rd cup of coffee for the day, “What use are they going to be?”

“C’mon Black. You remember being a newbie.”

Henry smirked around his straw as he leaned on his desk. Raven looked around to give him a glare.

“That was a long time ago.”

“Shut it the both of you.” The Captain pinned them both with a glare and continued with his news, feeling as if a teacher with a couple of rowdy kids, “They’ll be sending 3 detectives from homicide and a new desk clerk. Detectives Andrew Rodrequiz, Anthony Conwell and Lucy DuBall and a Malvina Mave.”

“Mave? They’re sending us another mage?”

The Captain huffed as he stuffed his papers under his arm pointing a finger at Raven, “Yes. Ms. Dunsworth is still your partner. Ms. Mave will be coming in to handle paperwork and minuscule items. You will be treating them both with respect.” Raven mumbled a ‘yeah yeah’ as he took another sip of his drink and the Captain turned to Henry, “Keep an eye on this idiot. Make sure he treats his co-workers with respect.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

Raven shot Henry another glare as he mockingly saluted the Captain. Captain shook his head as he walked back to his office but stopped remembering one last thing, “Oh, Tanks!”

“What?” Henry swiveled around in his chair as he played with the straw, rolling it between his fingers.

“DuBall is your new partner.”

With that the Captain opened his office door to another shrilling phone, muttering as he went in. Henry could only stare as the door closed and turned around in his seat.

“You hear dat! I’m gettin’ a new partn’r!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I wond’r if sh’ll be predy?”

“Oh I’m sure she’ll be ‘purdy’.”

Raven bit his tongue to keep from laughing as a paper ball bounced off his head, “Mock me all you want. I’m gettin’ lucky.”

Raven strained to keep from rolling his eyes as Henry bounded up and went to get himself a snack from the break room. As the room falls quiet, or what passes as quiet in the morning rush of New York, Raven pulled out a pack and quickly lit a cigarette as he pulled a file into his lap.

“You know those things are bad for you. Why do you smoke anyways?”

Coffee spilled on his shirt as he jumped in his chair. He cursed under his breath as he pushed the file out of harm’s way and grabbed some paper napkins from his desk, dabbing at the stain. His eyes found Claire standing with her hands behind her as she tried not to laugh. He hated to admit it but she did look better than before.

“You know, for a detective, you’re pretty jumpy.”

Getting as much as the coffee out of his shirt as he possibly could he leaned back in his chair glaring up at Claire, “For a mage you’re pretty crude.”

“Crude? How am I crude?”

Claire crossed her arms as she leaned against his desk. Raven pointedly ignored her as he brought up James Bron’s file on the computer projection.

“You purposely pop up out of nowhere when no one around here’s even used to that sort of thing.”

She raised an eyebrow as she continued to watch him, “Well, how can people get used to me popping up like that if I never do it?”

“Then don’t do it.”

Raven turned from his computer to glare at Claire and she met his with one of her own. Before she could say a retort though his computer pinged indicating a video call. He turned his full attention to the computer meaning to answer the call when he noticed that Claire has not moved. He pointedly stared at her trying to get her to move but she barely budged. She only stared at him with an innocent smile. Raven gave up and answered the call. The coroner from the county office appeared as she shuffled papers on her desk. She looked frantic as she tried to sort all the papers while she waited for the call to be answered. Raven cleared his throat causing the young coroner to jump.

“Oh h-hi. Are you Detective Black, working on James Bron’s case?”

“Yes I am.”

“He has a partner!”

Raven sent a murderous look at Claire as she shouted off-screen. The little coroner straightens her glasses as she tried to find the source of the shout. Raven turned the projection panel slightly away from Claire as he commanded the coroner’s attention.

“Who are you?”

“O-Oh yes,” the young girl cleared her throat as her nerves got to her, “My name’s Tessa, Tessa Mills. I’m the medical examiner who took over Bron’s case. I’m calling because I found some new evidence not previously discovered.”

He sat up straight as excitement hummed his blood, “What evidence?”

Tessa opened a file and read her findings as Claire listened in, “I reexamined the body and found a small puncture at the back of the skull. Forensic analysis hasn’t come back yet but I was able to detect small traces of a magic signature.”

“Magic?”

Claire leaned over, pushing Raven out of the way as she came in full view of the computer. Tessa immediately knew who Claire was and became stunned as she looked upon the mage.

“What was the signature?”

Tessa’s jaw worked as she tried to speak and finally shook herself out of it, “I’m not sure. The signature was minuet. The readings couldn’t give me much, but it did confirm it was of the Wave Energy family.”

“Wave Energy?”

Claire sat back as her mind rolled. Raven watched as he saw her mind race and waved a hand to get her attention.

“What’s ‘Wave Energy’?”

She blinked as she turned to Raven, “It’s a form of magic. All magic is broken into categories and families based on the elements and what elements the magic uses. That’s why knowing the magic signature is so important because from that we can find out what type of magic and even what spell was used, like a fingerprint. Wave Energy consists of the form of magic dealing with waves, radio waves, microwaves, things of that nature.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Tessa beamed at Claire as she tapped her chin thinking. She turned back to the computer questioning Tessa, “You said it was found at a puncture wound at the back of the skull right? Is there any way to tell if the brain was intact before the body was burned?”

Tessa tilted her head as the idea formed, “Yes but, it will take a while to run the necessary tests.”

“Let us know, thanks.”

Tessa nodded as she blinked off. Claire continued to sit on Raven’s desk corner as she thought. Raven waited as she gathered her thoughts together expecting her to share her ideas. When his patience ran thin he again waved his hand in her face to get her attention.

“Wanna share?”

Claire smirked as she shared her thoughts, “The burning was a cover up. Whatever was used that created the wound at the back of the head is what killed him and the burning was to hide that evidence.”

“But why burn? Why use ice to burn the body?”

Claire thought as her eyes searched the room, finally shrugging her shoulders, “I have no idea.”

“Ok,” Raven sat up in his chair, crossing his arms on the desk, “How’d the Wave Energy thing kill him?”

She pulled her leg up as she got comfortable on his desk, “Well just about anything wave like can fry the brain, but if we can find out what specific wave was used, it could bring us closer to the killer.”

Raven waved a hand at the projection, “Tessa just said the samples were minuet. Can we hope of getting such detailed analysis from such a small sample?”

“No I guess not,” still holding her ankle, her other hand rubbed the back of her head, not surprisingly the same place where the puncture wound was found on James Bron. Suddenly she snapped her fingers as she got an idea, “Maybe we can go through the artifact. If we find out what specific artifact was used, we can find the wielder who may or may not be the killer right?”

Raven leaned back against his chair nodding his head, impressed, “But we don’t know what artifact was used yet. Have you heard back from your doctor friend yet?”

“No, not yet.”

Henry stepped through the door, munching on some chocolate chip cookies when he stopped at the scene before him. There was Claire and Raven, conversing like real partners, and from the sounds of things, they had made some headway. Henry bit his cheek to keep from smiling as he walked up to the two.

“Hey Claire! Didn’t h’er ya come in.”

Claire turned a bright smile to Henry like he was an old friend, “Hey Henry. I just dropped in.”

“Yeah literally,” Raven mumbled as a pit in his gut burned. He blamed it on too much coffee.

Henry stopped before the two and offered a cookie which only Claire took, “How’s da case goin’?”

Raven caught him up as he reached for his coffee, “Turns out the burning was to cover up the evidence of the real murder. Tessa, the ME, is running some more tests to find out.”

“Hmph, sounds heavy.”

Crumbs showered down his shirt as he munched on another cookie. He absently brushed it off as Claire stifled a laugh. Suddenly Raven’s computer pinged again indicating another video call. Claire and Henry leaned over eager to eavesdrop as Raven answered.

Tessa appeared once more looking slightly breathless this time, “Detective Black! I’m glad I caught you.”

“What is it?”

“The results just came back. There were traces of a material at the puncture wound. It was Zinc. And the tests show that the brain was indeed intact at the time of the burning.”

Raven was glad for more good news but raised an eyebrow when he saw Claire’s eyes light up.

“I know what it is.”

₁₂LEGWORK^Z

Henry stood there frozen as he stared at the projection. His mouth hung open with a cookie on his lips. He didn’t even hear what anyone was saying. All he could feel was the gut punch in his stomach. There on the projection was the cutest little angel he has ever seen. As she relayed the news to Raven and Claire she reached for her glasses, straightening them on her nose. Henry could barely breathe as he fell under her spell. Claire bumped him, bringing him out of his trance as she stood up.

“I know what it is.”

Claire repeated what she said as she bounded up and down on her feet. Henry slowly shrank back out of sight as Claire grabbed onto Raven’s shoulders in her excitement.

“I know what it is!”

“Well what is it?”

Claire held out a finger as she started to speak but stopped. She snapped her jaws shut and ran to the break room. Raven chased after her to see her fumbling about, looking for something. Finally she squealed as she held up a newspaper clipping from the bottom of the stack on top of the file cabinets.

“Here it is. I knew I read it somewhere.”

She pushed the clip in Raven’s hands. He stared down at an old picture of a group of scientist. There were five of them, all male and wearing lab coats. Three of them stood at the back towering over the shorter two in the front. The foot notes named them as doctors in the field of magical research.

“What is this?”

Claire pointed to the article next to the picture, “It’s an article talking about this Brain Wave project. They were using Brain Wave magic, like mind reading and such, and trying to find cures for mental illnesses.”

Raven scanned the article as Claire talked some more, “They were saying that they could cure paranoia and schizophrenia. At least that was the hope.”

He finished reading and looked up as Claire crossed her arms, “What’d you mean?”

She rubbed her neck as she sighed, “The project was shut down. There was paranoia that the same research could be used to control someone’s mind.”

“Isn’t there already mind control magic?”

“Well yes, but,” Claire sighed again as she tried to explain, “that’s a little different. Mind control magic has a limit. There’s only so much you can do controlling someone and only for so long. No matter how strong the mage, the magic will eventually wear out. But the fear was that, with this research, in the wrong hands someone can figure out how to permanently control someone’s mind without any limits, without any magic. They could be able to control anyone, anywhere in the world. The mastermind doesn’t even have to be a mage, they could be human, and that’s why it was shut down.”

“Ok,” Raven turned the clip over in his hands and set it aside crossing his arms, “How does that relate to our case?”

“The Zinc!” Claire clasped her hands together in excitement waiting for Raven to join in but when he only stared she explained further, “During the project they were having difficulties projecting a solid controlled signal to the subjects so one of the scientists created a special Brain Wave gun. It’s like a stun gun for the brain. It shots a metal zinc needle projectile to the back of the head.”

“And from that the shooter’s able to control that person’s mind.”

“Without the limits that regular mind control magic would have.”

“Then what was Bron’s case? You said the project was shut down. What happened to the scientists on that project?”

Claire’s enthusiasm dropped as she hasn’t thought of that, “I assume they’re all dead. The project was well over 50 years ago.”

“Then someone related to that project killed Bron or knows who did. We have to find everyone who was involved in that project.”

“I’ll ask Abby to look it up. She can find data on anyone.”

“Who’s Abby?”

Raven watched as Claire flicked her left hand open and her wrist began glowing, “My Handler.”

He didn’t question anymore as a mini holo version flickered in Claire’s hand, “Abby, you busy?”

“Continuously. What’d you need?”

Abby set the file she was filling out aside as she concentrated on Claire, “Think you could help us out? There’s evidence suggesting that our culprit is related to that Brain Wave project 50 years ago. We need a list of everyone who was involved.”

“Oh is that all?” Abby crossed her arms as she thought of all the extra paperwork she’ll have to do.

“Actually you know what,” Claire tapped her chin as she thought, “Find out which scientist created the Brain Wave gun. That was used on our victim so only those close to that scientist would know how to create it.”

“That narrows it down. Alright, I’ll let you know.”

Abby cut the call as Claire turned to Raven proud of her achievement. Raven didn’t want to but he cut her excitement short.

“We still don’t know how Bron ties in with all this.”

“Oh you’re right.” Claire’s face fell as her wrist beeped. Flicking her hand open she answered the call, “Hello?”

It was Elizabeth, “Claire, I think I found it.”

“You found the artifact?”

“Not quiet. I’ve narrowed it down and I need you to come down to see if you can recognize the magic.”

“Ok got it. I’ll be there soon.”

She turned to Raven as she hung up the call, “Go. I’ll see what else I can dig up on Bron.”

She flashed him a smile and twirled her hand. Quick as a flash she was gone. Raven stood there staring at the spot she previously stood. He felt a torrent of sorts twisting within him, but he refuses to dwell on it. He stomped out of the room and back to his desk where he plopped in his chair, sighing into his hands as he leaned on the desk. Psyching himself up he turned to his computer to search for the daily activities of James Bron. Wheels squeaked as Henry rolled up beside him.

“Who is she?”

Not moving his eyes from the computer, “Who is who?”

“That girl. The one that was on the computer.”

His fingers froze as he turned to look at Henry raising an eyebrow, “You serious?”

Henry waved his hand, “Yeah.”

Raven propped his elbow on the desk, “What about that other coroner? The one whose number you got before.”

Henry shrugged his shoulders, “This one’s cuter.”

Raven lightly tapped his finger to his chin as he studied Henry up and down. He tried not to show it but Henry was nervous.

“Fine. Her name’s Tessa Mills. Guessing she’s our new ME.”

Henry whispered the name over and over as he rolled back to his desk, probably to look her up. Raven chuckled as he turned back to his case. He pulled up file after file but James Bron lived nothing but an ordinary life. No rap sheet, no juvie. Salesperson working his way through business college. Even his credit score was perfect and not a penny in debt. Raven was shuffling around his online profile when he came across something interesting.

“I’ve got it!”

This time Raven gave himself some credit as he only slightly jumped as Claire slammed a book on his desk. She was leaning over it smiling at him as he looked up. She flashed her teeth in a grin as she opened the book flipping through the pages.

“It took a little longer than usual but we finally found it.”

“The artifact? You actually found it?”

Raven leaned over the book as Claire stopped at a page pointing to the illustration, “Tears of Ice is what it’s called. It’s an artifact that concentrates the crystallization of ice into a single point. Liz didn’t think of it at first because the artifact went out of commission some 50 years ago.”

“50 years huh? Seems to be a reoccurring theme in this case. So we’re definitely looking for someone related to that Brain Wave project. Is there any way to find out who the owner of the artifact was?”

“There is but there’s no guarantee that that will be our killer. We have two very different forms of magic used. They’ll lead us to two different wielders.”

“But they can still lead us to our suspects.”

“Yeah. I contacted Tessa while I was over at Liz’s. She’s gonna concentrate on the Wave Energy magic and run some test to find the wielder. Liz is going to keep looking for the owner of the artifact.”

“Great. You’ve got time then.”

Raven got up and walked out of the building with Claire hot at his heels, “Time for what?”

“Lunch. I’m starved.”

He made his way to his car, Claire stopping him in his tracks, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, we’re going my way this time.”

She begun to drag him back around the building towards the public port as Raven dug in his heel, “Hell no. No way I’m getting into one of those glorified death traps.”

He yanked his hand out of her grip. Claire sighed in exasperation as she placed her hands on her hips. She blew a strand of hair out of her face as she glared at Raven, “Raven, you have to trust me. We can’t be partners if you can’t trust me.”

Raven pointed a finger in her face, “I don’t need a partner.”

Claire crossed her arms, “Why not? Is it because I’m a mage?”

Her accusing eyes cut into Raven’s gut, “No.”

“Then why do you refuse to trust in me? In magic?”

“Because no good has ever come of magic!”

Claire felt her eyes widen as she saw the anger in his, “Is that you speaking, or your family?”

Raven glared as violence surged in his blood. He turned away from her and snatched out a cigarette, quickly lighting it and smoking it down. Finally with his blood under control he turns back to her.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Claire saw the tortured look on his face and couldn’t say if he was having issues because of his family or not. Deciding to believe in the best in him instead of his name, Claire gently held his hand as she led him to the port.

“It’s ok. I’ll be with you the entire ride.”

Raven clenched his jaw shut as the port opened and they stepped inside. The holo fairy appeared and Claire suggested her favorite Chinese place. Raven said nothing and Claire gave the destination to the fairy. He clenched her hand hard as the magic began to hum. He saw her smile as she brought their conjoined hands forward and patted his hand reassuringly. Raven forced his concentration on her smile and forgot everything else.

₁₃TRUST^Z

“Mmm. Mmm. This is good. This is really good. You want some?”

Raven shook his head as Claire held up a fork of her Musho Pork. He quietly ate his Chow Mein as he watched Claire wolfing down her plate. For some reason he couldn’t help but stare in amazement at her and he felt a nagging question at the back of his throat. Finally he realized what he wanted to ask and just came out with it as their plates were cleared away.

“Why do you trust me?”

Claire paused as she brought her drink to her lips. She looked at Raven as she took a quick sip and set the glass down with a clank.

“Well you’re my partner.”

“Oh bullshit. How can you trust me?”

She watched as Raven leaned back in his chair, pinning her with a look. She understood what he meant and crossed her arms on the table leaning against them.

“It’s simple. I’ve decided to trust you. You, Raven. Not your name but you.”

She waited as her words hit home. The only reaction she got out of Raven was a raised eyebrow. She sighed slightly as she pressed on.

“So…can’t you trust me and not my name?”

A small smile played on her lips as Raven spoke, “Your name’s not even a mage name.”

Her smile brightens as she sat up, “Exactly!”

At that Raven did chuckle as he leaned back on the table ordering coffee. Claire kept her smile wide as that gave her encouragement. Coffee was brought and she ordered tea for herself as Raven took a sip.

“I found something on Bron’s online profile.”

Claire’s eyebrows shot up as her hot tea was brought and she poured herself a cup, “Well don’t hog it all to yourself. What was it?”

“He was seeing a shrink.”

“A psychiatrist? He was seeing a psychiatrist? How do you know that?”

“His profile mentioned going to another appointment. I did some digging and turns out he was meeting a Dr. Crawford. Figured we’ll stop by on the way back to the office.”

Claire flashed a grin, “We?”

Raven sipped from his coffee and glared at her from over the rim, “You’re able to detect magic right? Then you should be able to tell if the doc is our culprit or not.”

“Hmm.” Claire shrugged her shoulders as she stirred her tea, “What was he seeing the doc for, do you know?”

“That’s what we’re gonna find out.”

They quickly paid the bill and made their way outside. Raven gave Claire the address and they made their way to the public port. Claire kept an eye on him and silently offered her hand. Raven gave half a thought of taking it but berated himself instead. He walked in the port side by side with Claire. She quickly gave the destination to the fairy and off they went. They came upon a skyscraper of the New York skyline. Claire tilted her head back to look at the tower of windows tickling the sky. Her lips twitched as she thought of the first time she looked down on New York and here she was looking up. Raven called to her from the front door and she sprinted to catch up.

“How can I help you?”

The young secretary at the desk looked Raven and Claire up and down. All walks of life walk into this office to talk to the doctor so she has developed a way to tell who’s who. Talk, dark, handsome and screaming of wild nail-biting sex was obviously a cop. But the ditzy looking blonde with him looked anything but. The secretary simply pegged her as someone wanting to make an appointment and kept her eyes on the candy before her.

“We’re here to see Dr. Crawford.”

Raven watched as the genuine smile on the girl’s face dropped 10 degrees, “Do you have an appointment?”

“No but I’ve got a free pass.”

Raven pulled out his badge and flashed it to the young girl. She looked it over and figured it was real and pointed her head to Claire, “And her?”

“My associate.”

“Partner.”

Raven turned his head to glare at Claire and she did her best ‘what’ impression. He turned back to the secretary and saw her switching her eyes between the two. She did her ‘whatever’ eye roll and pressed the intercom.

“Dr. Crawford.”

“What is it Paula?”

“Police’s here to see you.”

“Police?” There was a pause as Paula waiting for her reply, “Send them in.”

Paula waved her hand to the door beside her and they quickly went in. Dr. Crawford stood from behind her desk, straightening her suit as she went to shake Raven’s hand.

“Hello. I’m Dr. Melissa Crawford.”

“Nice to meet you Doctor. I’m Detective Raven Black and this is my associate Claire Dunsworth.”

Hands were shook and pleasantries were given as everyone shuffled to the chairs. Raven sat in the chair in front of the desk as Claire stood silent studying the room. Dr. Crawford went behind her desk and folded her hands on top. From the corner of her eye Claire studied the doctor up and down. She surely wasn’t what she had expected from a psychiatrist. She had glasses hanging from a chain around her neck but didn’t seem to need them. She wore no make-up and her dull colored hair was in a simple bun. She looked if anything like a normal plain doctor.

“So, what can I do for one of New York’s finest?”

Raven pulled out a notepad and flipped to a clean page, “We’re here investigating the murder of one of your patients. James Bron?”

“James?” Dr. Crawford blinked as her hand reached for her throat, “James is dead?”

“Yes ma’am, I’m sorry.”

“H-He was a good patient.”

Dr. Crawford reached for a tissue forever in reach within her office and silently blew her nose as her tears welled up.

“Were you close to the victim Doctor?”

She looked up as Raven asked her, “Um please call me Melissa and no I wasn’t it’s just…he was making such progress. A few more sessions and he wouldn’t have to see me again.”

“What was he here to see you about?”

“Detective, although my patient might be dead I still have to honor our doctor patient confidentiality.”

Raven snapped his notepad shut, “We could come back with a warrant Doctor.”

“Detective there’s no need for that. I assure you my sessions with my patient will give you no insight on his murder.”

Raven moved to stand, “We’ll be back with a warrant.”

Melissa held up a hand to stop him, “Detective-“

“Did you know this is sage?”

Raven and Melissa stood and turned to Claire who was pointing at an oil painting of a plant hanging on the wall over the couch.

Melissa let her hand fall as she walked towards Claire, “Yes it is a very nice painting of sage and very expensive, please don’t touch.”

Claire ignored her as she grabbed the plant and actually pulled out a stem of sage from the painting, “It’s not a painting doc, it’s real sage. You hung this here so the smell would overwhelm your patients, causing them to spill their guts and secrets as they became hypnotized.”

Raven grinned as Melissa tried to think of something to say, “Now you’ll tell my partner everything he needs to know or I’ll report your use of a magical artifact without a proper permit to the Guild.”

Melissa went ridged as she became trapped. Finally she sighed and collapsed behind her desk.

“James came to me a few months ago with nightmares. He couldn’t sleep and had begun sleepwalking when he decided to seek my help.”

Raven opened his notepad and quickly took notes, “What were the nightmares about?”

“Brain control. He had different dreams but one reoccurring one was of him being control through his mind to jump from a cliff.”

“A cliff?”

Claire came up beside Raven crossing her arms. Melissa looked up, “Yes. He never dreamt of his death but of being commanded to jump to his death and being helpless to disobey.”

Raven nodded his head as he continued to make notes, “We’ll need a copy of his file.”

Melissa opened her mouth to refuse but saw Claire hold up the piece of sage still in her hand. She finally relented and went to her file cabinet. She pulled out the file and slapped it on her desk, “Here. Take it and leave.”

Raven picked up the file and slipped his notepad back into his pocket, “Thank you for your time.”

They walked to the door and Claire stopped pointing to the painting, “That really is a nice painting.”

Melissa said nothing as Claire smiled at her. They quickly left the building and Claire grabbed the file from Raven as they walked to the port. Raven said nothing but was curious about something.

“How did you know about the painting?”

They stepped in the port and Claire quickly gave the fairy their address, “I could smell it.”

Back in front of their building Raven furrowed his eyebrows, “I didn’t smell anything.”

Claire chuckled as they walked up the steps, “No, I meant I smelt the magic coming off the painting. It was faint but still there.”

Raven nodded his head as they walked in, “What’d you do to the painting?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

Raven grabbed her elbow as they reached his desk, “You said patients were spilling their guts because of the painting, not her. Wouldn’t you destroy it?”

Claire gently placed the file on Raven’s desk as she turned to him, “Why? Because she was using magic to help her patients? Regardless of how she does it, she really is helping these people. Who am I to take that away from them?”

₁₄FINISHING^Z

Abby pushed her glasses further up the ridge of her nose as she waited for the port to open. She straighten her back as she pulled on the straps of her purse. She finally gathered all the papers Claire asked for and instead of simply sending it to her she figured she’ll give it to her herself. A little fresh air never hurt anyone. Her office can survive a few moments without her. Plus, more than anything she wanted to see Claire at her new job. The port hummed as she walked in and punched the appropriate codes into the panel. Before she could blink she was transported from the work floor of the Guild to the sidewalks of New York City.

Abby looked at the building before her up and down. She flipped out a small notebook from her purse and made notes to discuss with the Boss about doing some maintenance on the building. Still scribbling she walked up the steps and stopped as she noticed the cardboard sign nailed to the wall. Reading the long name, she made a quick scribble about petitioning a motion to create a new name. Snapping her notebook close she stepped inside. Within the doors she wasn’t sure what she had expected but the place was certainly underwhelming.

“Do you have to sit there?!”

Claire sat on Raven’s desk with Dr. Crawford’s file opened in her lap not paying a lick of attention to Raven growling at her, “I don’t have a desk.”

Raven graveled as he gestured his hand to the desk beside his, “There’s one right there.”

Claire looked up, “But it’s taken.”

“No it’s not!” Raven threw his hands back in frustration.

“It will be.” Calmly Claire went back to her file but caught a glimpse of Abby from the corner of her eye, “Abby! When did you get here?”

Claire got up and threw the file onto the neighboring desk, running towards Abby hugging her as they laughed, “I just walked in. Who’s your friend?”

“Associate.”

“Partner!” Claire placed her hands on her hips as she turned to glare at Raven who was reclaiming the space on his desk Claire gave up. Claire rolled her eyes and turned back to Abby gesturing an absent hand to Raven, “Detective Raven Black. Our Captain is David Cogswell and we have another detective but he just stepped out.”

Abby walked up to Raven’s desk holding out her hand, “Nice to meet you Detective Black. I’m Abigail Schnauzer, Claire’s Handler.”

Raven looked up and swallowed the retort in his throat as he shook Abby’s hand, “Nice to meet you too. What’s a Handler?”

“Glorified peeping Tom’s.” Abby smiled at Claire’s remark knowing she didn’t mean her. She turned to Claire as they laughed at their inside joke, “What are you doing here anyways?”

 “Well I wanted to see you in your new element. Plus I also have the information you wanted.”

“Oh good!” Claire took Abby’s hand and led her into the break room sitting her on the couch, “You want some tea? I brought fresh leaves from my garden.”

Abby’s smile brightened. Claire always made the best tea from her garden, “Yes, please.”

Claire quickly went about finding a kettle and cups as she grinded her tea leaves. While she was doing that Abby looked around and studied the room. Claire may have claimed her partner’s desk as part hers but she surely has made the couch her spot judging from the amount of papers stashed everywhere. Abby’s mouth began to water as the smell of fresh brewed tea filled the room. Claire sat down next to her, handing her her cup of tea as they sipped.

“So…”

“So what?”

Abby hid her smile behind her cup, “So what’s up with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome?”

Claire shrugged her shoulders but Abby could tell the forced nature of that casual move, “He’s my partner but stubborn, refuses to acknowledge it. Nothin’ but a bonehead.”

Abby had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing and sipped her tea. Claire turned to her closing the subject, “What did you find?”

“Hmm.” Abby set her tea down and rummaged through her purse. Finally she pulled out a small thin piece of cardstock and handed it to Claire.

Claire took the piece and held it between her hands. With her hands glowing she pulled them apart extending her fingers as the piece expanded into a giant thick file folder stuffed with papers, “Wow Abby. Did you find enough?”

Abby merely ‘Hmph’ as she went back to her tea as Claire flipped through the pages, “Dr. Crawford was the one who created the Brain Wave gun. His file is first and all those who had contact with him are next.”

“Crawford?”

Claire seemed surprise and Abby consented, “Yes. Dr. Henry Crawford, PhD in Brain Wave Anatomy and Magical Engineering.”

Claire’s mouth hung open as she grabbed Abby’s arm, “Claire?”

She ran out the room before Abby could say anymore and Abby followed her to the door. Claire slammed her hands on Raven’s desk causing him to raise his eyebrows, “It’s her! Dr. Crawford! She’s the one who created the Brain Wave gun that killed Bron!”

Raven faced her as he gave her his full attention, “What makes you say that?”

Claire slapped the papers in front of him, “Her father was the one who created the gun in the first place. She’s the only one close enough to him to know how it works.”

Raven picked up the paper and scanned it, “First off, you don’t even know if they’re really father/daughter.”

“Yes they are. I recognized her through the picture in that clipping. They share similar features and Brain Wave magic is closely related to psychiatry.”

Raven threw the sheet back on his desk, “We can get D.N.A. testing done to prove it but it’s still circumstantial and we have no way of tying her to Bron.”

“If it helps there was a Dr. Bron connected to the project as well.”

Both Claire and Raven turn to Abby standing in the doorway, “He was the creator of the project and also the one who shut it down. He’s in the file.”

Abby pointed to the thick file still in Claire’s hand and she quickly flipped through it till she came upon his page. Dr. Shelton James Bron was indeed founder and creator of the Brain Wave project and was also the one to pull the plug when the public reaction became too negative. Claire showed the paper to Raven who quickly pulled up Bron’s file to find a relation. Turns out that Dr. Bron was James Bron’s grandfather. Raven was impressed.

“It still doesn’t explain why she killed him and we need to place the gun in her hands.”

Claire’s eyes brightened, “Exactly! Normally magic like that won't leave a physical reaction but because the gun can concentrate it in order to control it, there’s a possibility that it left a mark on her hands.”

Raven leaned back in his chair as he thought it over, “But we saw her earlier. Her hands were fine.”

Claire stood as she crossed her arms deep in thought. Eventually she snapped her fingers as she tried to think of something, “What was that plant? The one by the window behind her desk.”

Raven raked his fingers through his hair as he remembered, “Looked like a desert plant. Aloe or something.”

“That’s it. Aloe can be used in a simple potion to heal the skin.”

“Ok.” Raven got up as he straighten his desk, “We still don’t have motive.”

“What are you dragging your feet for?! C’mon let’s go get this lady!”

Claire came around the desk and almost tugged at his arm. Raven quickly moved out the way and pointed a finger at her face, “Stop. Calm down. This is our first case and we need to get this right.”

Claire stepped back as she understood what he meant. Finally she sighed and crossed her arms, “Alright. Fine. What do you suppose we do next?”

“We talk to the Captain. We tell him what we found and get a warrant.”

“Fine.” Claire nodded her head as Raven led the way to the Captain’s office.

“I should be going too.”

Claire looked up at Abby and smiled, “No please you can stay.”

“No no,” Abby shook her head holding up her hands, “You’re busy and I can just hear the papers piling up on my desk.”

“Oh well, want me to send you off?”

Abby shook her head and they hugged their goodbyes. Claire walked her to the door and turned back to follow Raven into the office. She crossed her arms as she walked past his desk and stopped. She froze as her head slowly turned to look at Dr. Crawford’s file on James Bron once again. She slowly picked it up as the dots began to connect in her head. She gasped as she figured out the motive and ran to the office with the file in hand.

“I’ve figured it out!”

Both Raven and the Captain turned to stare at her as she stood at the doorway, “Figured what out?”

The Captain coughed as Claire stepped up to his desk waving the file, “She was experimenting on him. James said he was having nightmares of jumping off a cliff. She was testing the limit barriers of Brain Wave magic!”

They both blinked and simultaneously said, “What?”

Claire mentioned to Raven as she explained, “I said before that Brain Wave energy has a limit to how much control is given right? James was dreaming about pushing that limit by jumping off a cliff.”

The Captain cleared his throat as he grabbed an anti-acid from his drawer, “What’s a cliff got to do with all this?”

“Brain Wave energy gives the wielder control of a person’s brain but there’s a limit to how much control. No matter how much they may command it Brain Wave magic will not allow a person to kill themselves while under control. They can’t order someone to kill themselves and James was dreaming of jumping off a cliff, not actually dying from the jump but of obeying the command to jump.”

“Ok, ok,” the Captain gulped down some water as he swallowed the chalky pills, “but I thought the guy was burned.”

“That was the experiment.” Claire leaned on his desk as she tried to explain, “James was under Dr. Crawford’s control for months. She was fine tuning the Brain Wave signature until he would obey the order of killing himself. In order to see the results for herself she probably took him to the warehouse and gave him the artifact ordering him to use it on himself and she got caught in the backlash of the artifact.”

The Captain stared Claire up and down as Raven stood behind her impressed that she solved the case, “Very well. Black, bring in Crawford. Claire find a doctor to run the necessary test to find that magic mark you were telling Black about on Crawford’s hands.” The Captain stood and beamed at them both, “Good job you two. You just solved your first case.”

Later that evening Claire laughed as her friends gave her a toast, “To Claire! For solving her first case!”

Dr. Crawford was booked and in jail. When Raven went to pick her up she broke down and confessed, hysterical that her father was haunting her dreams ashamed of her actions. Claire contacted Tessa to come in and run the test and they all came back positive, hammering the final nail in Crawford’s coffin. Now Claire was in a renky dink pub, surrounded by her friends Abby and Liz, celebrating her first case. All three women laughed as they cheered and swapped stories. Suddenly the cheering stopped as Abby and Liz looked up behind Claire’s back. Claire twisted in her seat to find Raven standing behind her.

“What are you doing here?” Claire’s eyes screwed up, “How’d you find me anyways?”

Raven flashed a deadly grin, “Detective, remember?”

Claire was giddy from the drinks and chuckled into her glass, “Oh yeah. What you want?”

“To give you this.”

Raven flashed out a gold badge and photo licensed. Claire’s eyes widen as she read the license, “Claire Dunsworth, Mage Detective of the MPF.”

Claire gasped and her friends sent out a hoot as she grabbed the badge in Raven’s hands. He smiled and nodded his head, “Welcome to the Magic Police Force…partner.”

₁₅DISCOVERY^Z

“C’mon Mack. We can’t help you unless you help us.”

Claire leaned on the glass counter sprouting all kinds of shrunken heads and dried herbs. Raven stood off to the side smoking his cigarette as he tapped his foot in frustration. They were in the dried herbs shop called “Herbs & Exotic” responding to a robbery. The owner was actually an acquaintance of Claire’s who bought some of her herbs and potions to sell in the shop. The owner, Mack, wanted the ‘hoodlums’ caught but would not divulge the exact contents of what was taken. As Claire tried to talk Mack into giving them the surveillance footage Raven looked around the room studying the walls. All manners of animal parts, horns, and feet…even some genitals covered the walls. Raven could only wonder why anyone would want to steal from a shop like this.

“Mack, c’mon! What’re you hiding anyways?”

“Hiding?! I’m not hiding nothin’!”

Mack stood crouched behind the counter as his one good eye rolled around, looking everywhere but Claire. He had matted white hair and limped on his stump leg. He had a shady past dealing with the black market. Claire never got the full picture but she understood he had a few run ins with some poachers at one point in time. He was a changed man now though and did everything by the book. But for some reason he seemed to change his mind about reporting the crime when he saw Claire walk in with her badge around her neck.

“Mack…” Claire reached for his hand and grabbed it before he could pull away using a gentle voice, “What’s going on? What happened?”

Mack raked his good hand through his hair as Claire held onto his mangled one and sighed, “After I called it in I…I told my family what happened. I was furious and was swearing to bring justice to the culprit. Then my son…my son…”

Mack started crying as he brought his hand to his face. Claire walked around behind the counter and brought her arm around his shoulders understanding what happened, “John did it, didn’t he?”

“Please don’t arrest him!” Mack grabbed Claire’s shirt as he became hysterical. Raven stepped forward to help his partner when Mack turned to him clasping his hands together begging Raven, “Please, please I beg of you, don’t arrest him! I beg of you!”

Claire tried to sooth the old man as Raven sighed, “Where is he?” Mack whimpered as Raven explained, “He still broke the law. I’m not arresting him but I have to give him a warning.”

Mack somberly nodded his head as he went up the stairs to his live-in apartment above. Claire turned to Raven from behind the counter, “I can’t believe you’re gonna scare that poor little kid like that.”

Raven shrugged his shoulders, “He’s gotta learn. It’ll be a good lesson.”

He winked at Claire as she understood what he meant. They heard Mack coming back down and turned to see the whole family as mother and father led a scared shitless teenager down the stairs. The kid had clearly been crying but stood with his back straight before Raven and Claire had to give the kid credit as he didn’t even shake as Raven gave him a big pissed off officer act. When Raven explained he’ll only give him a warning the kid nearly feel to his knees with relief and the mother ran to Raven, kissing him on the cheek as she thanked him over and over.

The lesson taught, Claire and Raven walked outside to the sweltering heat of summer in New York. Ten seconds outside and already they were sweating bullets. It’s been a month since they started working together and as they exited the port in front of their building Claire looked it up and down surprised even today by the changes. The entire building had gotten a makeover, thanks to Abby, and there was even an entire gym set up on the third floor. Heads turned as Claire and Raven walked in arguing.

“I can’t believe you’re so against this!”

Raven stepped behind his desk pinning Claire with a glare, “I can’t believe you had the gull to ask the Captain behind my back!”

“It was in your best interest!” Claire swung her hands forward as her anger raised and Raven sat down, “I thought you would be impressed.”

“It’s f****n’ stupid! I don’t even know why you wanna learn!”

“In case something should happen! It’s called looking out for my partner dumbass!” Claire slammed her hands on his desk leaning forward.

Raven pointed a finger to her face, “No. And that’s final.”

“Ugggggh!!” Claire screamed in frustration as she stomped to the break room. She paced the room as her frustration grew. Muttering under her breath she ported herself to the gym on the third floor and made her way to the hanging sand bag. She waved a hand and changed her summer clothes to her work out outfit and painted an image of Raven on the bag. She took a stance before the bag and meditated her breathing as she poured her anger into her fist. Suddenly she let her fist fly and pummeled the bag with a flurry of punches and kicks distorting the picture with every hit.

“Nice painting. The details add a nice touch to it.”

Claire panted as she accepted the water bottle handed to her. Malvina was daughter to Melvin, a mage with a Worker pass but had more magic than she let on. She transferred to the office 3 weeks ago to handle paperwork and phone calls. She was also a dear friend of Claire’s and now a welcome co-worker for Claire. Claire drained the bottle as she felt the sweet hum of her muscles, drained from the workout and of her emotions. She stood there panting studying the roughed up image of Raven on the sandbag as Malvina came up next to her.

“He still refuses to teach you doesn’t he.”

“Yeah…” pant, pant, “the b*****d.” Claire swung around and threw a high kick to Raven’s head and felt her anger completely drain as the bag squeaked on its chain.

“I still don’t understand why you want him to teach you to shoot a gun.”

Claire turned to Malvina about to retort when she held up a hand, “I get why you wanna learn but I don’t understand why it has to be him. Why not ask Henry or one of the twins…or even Lucy.”

Malvina was talking about the new detectives that transferred in at the same time as she did. Claire drained another bottle as she tried to slow her speeding heart before she explained. As she cooled down she studied her friend over. Malvina was tall, almost as tall as Claire if not more. She had auburn colored hair with more red than brown and kept it down in waves. Her face was full of soft lines and curves along with the rest of her body. She emitted a delicate feminine aura but took after her father’s fiery side when the situation called for it.

“Because…what if something happens. We’re not the only ones with anti-magic guns anymore. More and more realist are gathering greater fire power and are now even carrying anti-magic guns in their arsenal. Hell, since I’ve started working here I’ve counted 3 separate cases where the person was carrying anti-magic guns. I can’t protect Raven from those, my magic disintegrates the moment it touches them. I need to learn how to use a gun to protect him and I need him to teach me so he can trust in my skills.”

Claire walked over to the bench press and sat down, drying herself with a towel. Malvina sighed as she walked over and stood before her friend, “Well, I guess you’ve got your work cut out for ya.”

Claire gave a weak laugh, “Thanks for the support.”

“Hey,” Malvina held up a hand, “you have my full support and I give it freely. I’m just saying your partner’s more stubborn than Dad.”

Claire rolled her eyes as she smiled, “Don’t I know it.”

They shared a laugh as Claire got up. She went into the showers as Malvina headed back down. She came back into the office just in time to hear Henry giving the same talk to Raven.

“Why are you so against this? Shouldn’t you want a partner who can get your back?”

He was sitting on the desk behind Raven’s munching on some nuts as Raven tried his best to ignore him, “She has magic. Why would she need a gun?”

“We’re the MPF. As people start to learn our name, more and more of our culprits will start to carry anti-magic guns. Seems to me it’ll be a good precaution.”

“A good precaution?” Raven swiveled around in his chair to stare at Henry, “How would that be a good precaution? It’ll be nothing but a burden for her.”

“A burden? Whatda mean by that?”

Henry crunched another nut as Raven leaned back against his desk, sighing. He pinched his nose as a headache was beginning to form, “She has magic. Magic…she doesn’t kill with magic, but if she learns how to shoot a gun she’ll be trained to kill.”

There was a silence as his words hit home.

“You don’t have to carry that burden for her. She wants you to train her so you can trust her with this.”

“I already trust her.” Raven gestured with his hand, waving it as he turned back to Henry, “I trust her with her magic. She doesn’t need a gun.”

Henry stood as he headed back to his desk, “One day she will.”

Raven watched as Henry went back to his desk and turned back around to stare at his computer projection. He sighed into his hands as he head felt split in two. Claire was quiet as she stepped up behind him. She could see the tension in his shoulders and wondered what got him all stressed out. She smiled as she got an idea and rubbed her hands together. Without making him jump she placed her hands on his shoulders and gently started rubbing them.

“What are you doing?”

Claire smiled, “You didn’t jump this time, very good.”

“I asked you what are you doing.”

“Giving you a message, can’t you tell?”

“My shoulders aren’t the ones that’s stressed.”

Claire leaned over to his side to look into his eyes, holding her hands still, “Then what is?”

Raven gave a small grin, “My head.”

Claire chuckled as she stood back up. She rubbed her hands together as they begun to glow. Raven gave a slight jump as Claire put her hands on his head.

“What the hell are you doing now?”

“Shh.” Claire smiled as she rubbed his head. She tried not to think how soft his hair felt or how good it felt between her fingers. Raven closed his eyes as Claire’s magic begun to ease the tension in his head. He also tried to solely concentrate on relaxing and relieving this stress rather than how good her fingers felt or how they made his scalp tingle.

The sound of a throat being cleared loudly sprung Claire and Raven apart. The twins Anthony Conwell and Andrew Rodrequiz stood smirking at them. They had their hands behind their back wearing identical suits and black ties. They looked more like FBI agents than MPF detectives but they had a working base knowledge of magic and the magic laws and ironically enough, they are twins. They were separated at birth and found each other while attending the Police Academy. They were of average height and had the same haircut. They may have grown up apart but still lived the same lives. They even married the same type of bookish woman. Since they transferred in they’ve cleaned up the office and helped the Captain run a tight ship, so to speak.

“Messages may be fun ‘n games Black…” Anthony said

“But please keep any frolicking to a minimum,” finished Andrew.

“Black! Dunsworth!”

All four of them turned to see the Captain standing in the doorway of his office with the phone still in his hand, “Get goin’. You’ve got a case. And Claire…” He waited until she gave him her attention, “they’ve got an emergency for you.”

“What emergency?”

“Dark magic.”

₁₆NECROMANCY^Z

Claire stared at the young girl floating before her. They were in the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district. There was a perimeter of 5 feet taped off around the girl where no one dared step too close. The girl was a teenager, perhaps no more than 15 with dark brown hair, a pretty face wearing no makeup, jeans and long sleeve shirt. Her hair was matted with dirt and her clothing was torn. She was floating 3 feet off the ground with her head tilted as if she was hung, but the worst part was the magic coating her.

She was shrouded in thick black magic which held her suspended and prevented anyone from getting near. The girl slowly turns in a circle and as her face came face to face with Claire she saw a look of pure horror frozen on the young child’s face. Claire felt her fingers tighten into fists as her anger and vile rose in her throat. Someone used Necromancy, the magic of the dead, on this girl and terrified her to death. Claire didn’t know what pissed her off more, the fact that Necromancy was used or that it was preventing even her from releasing the girl from its hold.

Smoke burned Raven’s nose as he inhaled the smoke rising from his cigarette. He watched Claire closely as she stared at the victim. He saw her hands curl into fists and could feel her rage from behind her. He sighed as he threw out the butt and knew he couldn’t say anything to help her. He felt someone come up beside him and saw their new ME Tessa with her hand on her throat.

“It’s horrible.”

Raven pulled out another cigarette and lit it as he jammed his hands into his pocket hoarsely saying, “Yeah.”

They watched Claire sigh as she threw out her hand. She said something to the holo fairy and turned to them when it flickered off. She stopped in front of Raven and held out her hand, “Give me one.”

Raven raised an eyebrow not moving, “You want to smoke?”

Claire sighed again, “No. But I have to do something.”

Raven still didn’t move and Claire let her hand fall. She stared at the ground for a bit then crossed her arms as she looked back to the young girl. Tessa stepped forward and put her small hand on Claire’s arm.

“Who did you contact?”

Not taking her eyes off the girl Claire answered, “Dillon. We grew up together in the orphanage and he’s the only Necromancer I know. He’ll be able to get that stuff off her so we can get her down.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Claire turned to stare at Raven, “If he’s a Necromancer than he’s a suspect.”

Raven felt Claire’s eyes burn into his as she stared at him silently before she spoke, “The Guild has strict rules concerning Necromancers. They are monitored at all times and their magic is restricted. Whoever did this is not from the Guild.”

Little Tessa squeaked, “So it’s a rouge mage?”

Claire turned her eyes to Tessa’s, “Yes.”

Just then a black cloud formed behind Claire and all the officers there jumped, pulling out their guns. Claire ordered them to stand down saying it’s not a threat as Dillon walked through the cloud. He stood eye to eye with Raven sporting the same jet black hair but it was even more prominent on him in contrast to his pale skin. His arms and legs were extremely long giving him the impression of being slinky and thinned frame but upon closer inspection muscles can be seen under his thick black shirt. Like Claire, Dillon shared the believe of training the body as well as the magic and they were occasional sparring partners.

Dillon stepped onto solid ground and the cloud behind him dissipated as he looked around and locked eyes with Claire. Raven was taken aback at seeing his golden eyes and realizing that they were shinning, “Claire,” his voice cracked as if he doesn’t speak enough, “why am I here?”

“Dillon I’m sorry. I know you’re busy but we need your help.”

Before he could ask what for she gestured behind him and he turned to see the teenaged girl shrouded in black magic. He sighed as he stepped to her muttering under his breathe, “You poor girl, you must be in pain. Calm down, I’ll set you free.”

When he came within 3 feet of the girl black whips formed from the magic and slashed at him. Dillon didn’t even flinch as his arms and neck were cut open and bleeding. He stepped before the girl and reached up a hand to her eyes. As his fingers moved closer the black whips slashed more franticly at him, cutting his legs and back. He paid no attention as he reached up and closed the girl’s eyes. Suddenly the whips stopped then crumbled as the black magic surrounding the girl sunk back into her body. Dillon held out his arms and gently caught the girl as she fell, laying her on the ground with incredible care. With her finally resting Dillon laid a hand on her forehead and said a few words in prayer in the Necromancy language. Finally he got up and walked back towards Claire, leaving red footprints behind him.

“It is done. She is at rest.”

“Can you tell what spell was used on her?”

There was silence as he thought and Claire begun to heal his wounds as he did, “It will be sometime before I can speak to her…but I will find out.”

With his healing done Claire sighed and flashed her first smile since they arrived, “Thanks D.”

She gathered him close and hugged him tight as he numbly nodded. Without a word the black cloud appeared behind him and when Claire stepped back he silently walked through the cloud. Everyone was silent as the cloud disappeared, astonished at what they just witnessed. Even Tessa and Raven found it incredible what they just saw. Claire broke the spell by walking towards the girl and Tessa and Raven quickly caught up. Claire and Raven stood over the girl, studying her as Tessa kneeled down and begun her work.

“No ID, no license, so she’s not a mage.”

“She could have been. Her parents probably just couldn’t afford to send her to Training.”

“Right.” Tessa nodded her head as she looked the girl over some more and Raven pulled out a thick clear plastic card from his pocket. He knelt down by the other side of the girl and grabbed her hand, placing her thumb on the card. The card scanned her thumb and pulled a fingerprint. Raven stood as he ran the print through the National database and Claire bent her knees to get a better look at the girl.

“Got a hit. Emily Brown. 16. No record of any kind. She’s the only daughter of Bryan and Samantha Brown. They live in Northfork.”

“We should tell them.”

Raven looked down at Claire as she continued to stare at the girl’s face, “You sure you want to come? They will be angry when we tell them how she died and they could take that anger out on you.”

“So be it.” Claire stood as she crossed her arms facing Raven, “We need to tell them. I need to be there. To comfort or a punching bag either one.”

“Guys,” They both looked down at Tessa who was holding a scanner over Emily’s body, “She’s been dead for 2 weeks.”

Claire felt the blood drain from her face as she dreaded what that could mean, “Please tell me there’s a missing person report on her.”

Raven glanced at her, wondering why she seemed so shaken as he checked, “No, there’s not.”

Claire felt tears stinging her eyes as she pinched her nose, feeling her own headache coming on. Before she could start crying she clamped her jaw shut and sucked her tears dry. Her eyes were red but under control when she turned to Raven, “Let’s go.”

He silently looked at her as she stared back and finally consented, “Tess, let us know when you find anything.”

Tessa agreed as they walked away, heading towards Raven’s car. Ever since that first week working together they made a deal to use the trans-port for one week then Raven’s car for the next week, switching back and forth. This week was Raven’s car and Claire has gotten so used to his driving that she was actually able to relax as they raced their way to the Brown’s.

“You don’t have to say anything. You can let me do all the talking.”

Claire didn’t look as she talked, “Thanks, but right now I’m just hoping that they’re there to even talk to.”

Raven didn’t comment, knowing he’ll find out what she meant later as they pulled up to the address. The home was a picture of the American Dream with the white picket fence and green yard. It was a single story ranch home with an detached garage housing a family station wagon. There was a working vegetable garden and the roof was covered in solar panels showing that the family is financially sufficient. Claire got out of the car and studied the home as Raven walked around. He led her through the fence gate and she made her way up the steps and knocked on the door. She crossed her fingers and prayed that someone would be home.

The door pulled open, “Yes? Can I help you?”

Claire sighed with relief as the middle aged woman pulled the door open wider, “Hello. My name is Claire Dunsworth and this is my partner Raven Black. Are you Mrs. Brown?”

The woman blinked, “Yes. Did you say partner? Are you the cops?”

“Yes ma’am we’re with the MPF. May we come in?”

Claire and Raven flashed their badges and Mrs. Brown stepped aside, “Yes, please.”

They stood in the foyer as she shut the door and turned to them, “What is this about?”

Claire twisted her hands as she thought of what to say when Raven spoke over her shoulder, “Is your husband home, ma’am?”

“Bryan? Yes he’s out back. I’ll go get him.”

She walked off and her footsteps receded as Claire studied the room. It was a typical family room with pictures celebrating their pride and joy, Emily. Claire’s heart broke as she thought of the news they were about to be given. Hurried footsteps sounded the hallway as a balding man at the same height as his wife stepped into the foyer.

“Who are you? What’s this about?”

“Mr. Brown,” Claire licked her lips as she tried to calm her nerves, “I’m Mage Detective Claire Dunsworth and this is my partner Detective Raven Black. We’re from the MPF.”

“MPF?” Mr. Brown crossed his arms as he stared at them up and down, “Never heard of them.”

“We’re a fairly new department Mr. Brown, dealing with crimes of magical consent or contact,” Raven pulled out his badge once more and handed it to Mr. Brown, “You can see for yourself we’re legitimate.”

He studied the badge up and down and slowly gave it back, “Fine I believe you, but what is this about?”

Raven gestured to the chairs in the neighboring living room, “Please, let’s have a seat.”

The Browns were reluctant at first but finally consented as everyone sat. Claire remained at a loss for words as Raven took the stead, “Mr. and Mrs. Brown, we’re here about your daughter-“

“Emily?!” Mrs. Brown grabbed her husband hands as she begun to shake, “You’ve found Emily?!”

Raven pulled out his notepad, “Has she been missing?”

“Y-Yes,” Mr. Brown’s voice shook as he spoke while his wife grabbed a tissue and dabbed her eyes, “She’s been missing for 3 weeks.”

“And you didn’t file a missing persons report?”

“No,” Mrs. Brown sniffed as Mr. Brown tightened his grab on her hand, “She’s run away before but she always came back. Please…did you find her?”

Raven was quiet as he spoke, “Yes ma’am we did.”

“And?” Tears begun to run down Mrs. Brown’s face as she waited his answer. Mr. Brown begun to shake as Raven didn’t immediately answer.

“I’m afraid ma’am…she’s dead. I’m so sorry for your lost.”

His words of apology were drowned out at the screams of a mother crying for her child. Claire forced herself to watch as mother and father collapsed into each other’s arms, their cries cutting into her heart. Claire felt her own tear sliding down her cheek as her hands curled into fists on top of her knees, vowing to bring the killer to justice.

₁₇IMPORTANCE^Z

Claire stood in Emily’s bedroom getting a sense of the teenager she was. There was an old fashioned laptop on her desk and textbooks lined the shelf above. Her walls were covered with posters of boy teen idols and her music consisted of only songs from the soft rock band “Unicorn’s Way”. Her clothes were neatly put away in drawers and sorted by color and season in her closet yet her bed was unmade. Claire walked around the room looking at various things, stopping in front of her dresser and picked up a photo with neon letters in the frame spelling “Best Friends Forever!”.

“That was her 14^th birthday.”

Claire spun around to see Mrs. Brown standing in the doorway. She held wads of tissues in her hands and sniffled occasionally, “She wanted a party and we gave her one. All her friends showed up but only Ashley, the one in the picture, stayed till the end.”

Claire smiled softly, “She’s a good friend.”

Mrs. Brown nodded as she walked into the room and took the picture from Claire. She sat on the bed as she dabbed her nose, “She was.”

Claire was silent as Mrs. Brown studied the picture, tracing a finger along her daughter’s face. Claire softly rubbed her hands together as she gingerly sat down beside her. She was unsure of what to do but she gently placed a hand over Mrs. Brown’s.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m so sorry for the loss of your daughter.”

Her hand shook under Claire’s as she tried to swallow her tears, “I know it’s not you. Detective Black told us she was found with some kind of black magic.”

“Yes ma’am she was.”

Eyes filled with pain pinned Claire still, “Do you know what it was?”

Claire took a deep breath as she tried to think of how much to say and decided honesty was the only way, “It’s something called Necromancy. Magic of the dead.”

Mrs. Brown shook even more and Claire brought an arm around her shoulders, “Is that what killed her?”

Claire slowly shook her head, “We don’t know ma’am. All we know is that magic was present with your daughter. We won't know the full story until further investigation.”

She let out a shaky breath as she turned back to her daughter’s picture, “She was such a good girl. She did her homework on time and got good grades.” She let out a dry chuckle, “She always loved magic. She was fascinated by it. You know she wanted to go to college and get a degree in magical studies.”

They shared a smile, “I imagine she would have been quite the thinker.”

“Yes she would have,” another shaky breath escaped her lips, “She always loved puzzles.”

They shared a quiet moment as Mrs. Brown gathered herself. Being careful where she tread Claire started asking some questions, “Mrs. Brown…you and your husband said Emily ran away from home before. She seems like such a nice girl, why did she run away?”

Mrs. Brown was silent as she sighed then heaved her shoulders as she explained, “She was having these nightmares, dreams. They terrified her to no end. She never told us everything but they were always dark and bloody. We’ve tried to take her to a doctor but after a while they stopped, we forgot about them.” She dabbed her nose again as she sniffled, “Then…about 6 months ago she started acting strange. She became depressed and reclusive. We’ve tried talking to her but she refused to. Eventually she started running away. At first it was only a couple of hours. The last time she was gone for a whole week.” More sniffles and new tissues, “She always came back.”

She broke down into sobs as Claire tried to console her. They spent what felt like hours on Emily’s bed as sounds of tears filled the house. In the living Mr. Brown was giving his statement to Raven when the sound of his wife crying came to the room. He started breaking down himself and Raven offered to fix him a drink which he declined. As the house quieted down the statements were given and Claire and Raven were making their way out the door.

“Detective Dunsworth,” Claire turned from the front door to see Mrs. Brown holding out a blue floral covered journal to her with her husband standing behind her, “please take this. I could never bring myself to read it and now I know I never will. Perhaps something inside will help with your investigation.”

Claire gingerly took the book in her hands and smiled at her, “Thank you. I’ll take good care of it, I promise.”

They were silent as they walked back to the car, racing off towards the office. Claire sat comfortably in the passenger seat as she flipped through the pages of the diary, Raven glancing her way as the pages turned.

“What were you so worried about earlier?”

Claire stopped at one page written in hurried ink and tear stained paper, “What earlier?”

“When we were making our way over there.”

“Oh that,” Claire sat back and closed the book holding her finger in place, “there are rare cases where…kids, especially teenagers, suddenly come into their magic. Sometimes it’s slow enough where the Guild can detect them and get them help in time, but there are times where it’s just…an explosion. Their magic runs wild and generally the ones near them at the time are hurt or worse during the action.”

“So you were thinking worse case scenario, the girl’s magic ran wild and her parents were killed in the crossfire.”

“Yeah, something like that.” A heavy silence grew as Claire went back to the journal and Raven made his way down the road towards their building.

Raven was the first to break the silence as they walked up the steps, “Her parents said she’s been missing for 3 weeks but she’s only been dead for 2. We need to find out where she was that first week.”

“I agree.” Claire made a fast stop as they walked past the break room and she got a whiff of the food inside, “What is that?”

“We ordered pizza-“

“-hope you like anchovies.”

Raven pointed a glare at the twins sitting at their desks, eating pizza, “Why’d you order anchovies? No one likes them.”

“We do.” They said with one voice. Raven could only shake his head as he went to his desk.

Claire came back out of the room with a plate in each hand and the diary under her arm. She went over to Raven’s desk and sat down, handing him a plate, “Here. I pulled all the fish off.”

Raven looked up from his computer, “Thanks, and do you have to sit there? There’s some empty desks on the top floor, just go grab one.”

Claire brought her legs up and sat Indian style on his desk as she ate, setting the book on her lap, “But I don’t need one.”

Raven quickly ate his slice and balled up the paper napkin throwing it in the recycling can, “Then why do you have to sit on my desk? Just grab a chair.”

Her shoulders shrugged as she took another bite mumbling around her food, “This is more comfortable.”

“For you.”

Claire ignored him as he went back to his computer and she pulled the book open. She had finished her slice and was half way through Emily’s entry of her first day in school when her wrist begun to beep. She answered it quickly, holding her hand to her ear. She spoke to the phone and quickly hung up, turning to Raven, “That was Tess. She’s got something.”

They got into the car racing towards the ME’s office, trying to beat the rush hour traffic heading home. The floors squeaked as they walked into the welcome A/C air of the ME office building. With a few hints from the receptionist they were able to find the morgue and saw Tessa standing in her lab coat, scribbling on a clipboard as she adjusted her glasses. She heard them walking in and looked up and smiled as Claire and Raven walked over.

“That was fast.” Claire only smiled as Raven pulled out a cigarette, “Uh this is a smoking free building. Sorry Raven.”

Claire looked back at Raven as he grumbled and stuffed it back in the pack, “Oh don’t apologize to him. He shouldn’t be smoking in the first place.”

He only growled at her as Tessa made a small noise clearing her throat, “Yes, well…they brought some stuff over that belongs to the victim. I thought you would want to know.”

“The victim’s?” Claire walked over to the bag Tessa indicated with Raven close behind, “How’d they know it’s hers?”

“Oh, uh, her student ID is inside. I haven’t had a chance to go through it yet but you’re welcome to take a look.”

Claire reached to open the bag and Raven stopped her. He pointed to the box of gloves on the counter and she grumbled herself as she went to pull some on. She turns back to see Raven already pulling stuff out of the small duffle bag with gloved hands. There were various candy wrappers and chip bags. Some old notebooks and a music player, some spare clothes. Claire thought it strange that there was no electronic device to be had and suggested to Raven that perhaps the killer kept or pawned any items. He agreed and suggested they talk to the parents again to see if they could tell them what Emily would have taken with her, to learn if anything was stolen.

For some reason Claire felt drawn to the bottom of the bag and scraped her fingers to find nothing. She turned the bag upside down as Raven flipped through the notebooks and only dirt twinkled out. She knew there was something, something Emily wanted her to see, but there was nothing in the bag and no pocket at the bottom. Still, Claire felt her fingers drawn to the bottom scrapping it again and again, but before Raven could question her she felt her nails catch on something through the gloves. The bag had a false bottom, possibly for valuables, and Claire was finally able to work her fingers around the edge and pried it up.

She pulled the bottom out and held the bag open as both she and Raven pried inside. There was a single composition notebook, neatly lying in the center of the bag. It was dog eared and clearly torn and well used, but for some reason Claire felt a dark energy emitting from the book. She stopped Raven from reaching in and he stopped the retort on his tongue when he saw the dreaded look in her eyes. She slowly reached down and gingerly pulled the book out. She breathed heavily as she reached a hand to the cover and slowly opened it up. The book creaked like squeaky hinges as she pulled the cover back. Claire was so fixated on the book that she didn’t hear Tessa whimpering in the room. Raven heard and looked over to see the ME cowering in the corner, holding her clipboard up as if to protect her. She was muttering under her breath and Raven had to strain his ears to understand she was begging for mercy. From what, he couldn’t tell.

The first page was white, untouched but Claire felt a pit in her stomach as she knew, whatever this was she was feeling, was coming from the next page. Her fingers slightly shook as she reached for the page and nearly whimpered herself when her fingers grabbed the paper. She pulled the paper back and heard a shrilling scream fill her ears. The soundtrack of a bloody murder played over and over in her head in an endless loop. She felt blood pour from her scalp and cried tears of black blood. She was falling, falling in this endless abyss of darkness and pain.

“Claire…,” She blinked her eyes as she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back from the vision. Her head felt sluggish as she turned to see Dillon holding her shoulder with his other hand on top of the composition notebook, closing it, “…this is not meant for the eyes of the living.”

Claire panted as he took the book from her and she felt weak, wobbling to her side. Raven caught her and held her up as he vented his anger on Dillon, “What the hell is that?!”

“Raven stop, stop,” Claire felt her voice crack as her energy returned, “It’s not his fault, it’s mine. I should have called him the moment I saw it.”

Dillon was silent as the book dissipated in his hand and he walked over to Tessa who had collapse. He places a hand on her and pulled her out of the illusion, much as he did Claire. Raven was still visibly angry as he turned to Claire, leaning against him, “What the hell is it?”

“It’s hers…it’s Emily’s…it’s her Book of the Dead.”

₁₈CONNECTIONS^Z

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

The guys had carried the girls outside to a bench for some fresh air in the courtyard. It was more like Dillon carried Tessa and Raven held Claire’s arm across his shoulders, helping her walk. Both women were awake and breathing more easily now as the fresh air filled their lungs and the sun warmed their backs.

“Yes Raven for the third time, I’m perfectly alright.” Claire looked up to Dillon standing beside her, “I’m so sorry to worry you D.”

From his kneeled position Raven looked Dillon up and down, seeing no emotion moving across his face. The man said barely a word and constantly looked as if he was in pain. Raven was worried about him carrying Tessa but he appeared as if a father carrying a sleeping child when they walked down the hall and even set her down on the bench with care. He had made sure Tessa was alright before coming to Claire’s side.

Claire reached up to squeeze Dillon’s hand, “I’m fine, I promise.”

Dillon held her stare for a moment. His head gave a slight nod to her as he turned to Tessa and also gave her a slight nod. Without another word he turned and walked through the same black cloud that had appeared behind him. The cloud slowly dissipated into mist as he disappeared. Raven turned back to both women and studied them up and down.

“I swear to god if you ask me if I’m ok one more time I’m gonna knock you out.”

Tessa made a squeak as she chuckled at Claire’s statement and Raven figured they were alright, “Fine. Now that you’re both ok, you mind telling me what the hell happened in there?!”

“Fine.” Claire breathed a sigh as Tessa stood.

“I should go back inside.”

Claire grabbed her hand, “You sure? I’m sure you won’t get in any trouble if you stayed out some more.”

Tessa shook her head causing her loose hair to fling around, “No. I need to get back inside. Plus, I can’t get over this if I stay hiding out here.”

Claire smiled at her bravery and told her to call if she needed help or found anything. Tessa promised to keep in touch as she walked to the door. Raven got up and Claire asked him to buy her a pretzel from the corner before she explained. He was about to refused but that one slice of pizza before was not enough for his hunger and he was still visibly angry about before. He figured walking it off could help cool him down and agreed to buy some. He purchased two giant soft pretzels and some soda from the food cart, walking his way back across the courtyard. He looked up as he saw the bench come into view and saw Claire bending over with her head in her hands. She made no noise but her shoulders were visibly shaking.

Raven quietly walked up to her casting her in the shadow, “Hey.”

Her shaking stopped but she didn’t look up. Raven didn’t say a word as he sat down beside her, handing her her food and drink, “Eat.”

She didn’t move at first but quietly took the food from him, careful not to show her face. Raven stared straight ahead as her soda hissed open and they began to eat. He gave her a chance to collect herself and a moment of privacy as they downed the drink and the pretzels disappeared. Raven waded up the wrapper and held a hand out for Claire’s. She silently gave it to him holding onto her can as he stood and threw the trash away. He came back and lit a cigarette, sitting down again so she won't have to face him. He gave her all the time she needed to talk.

“I’m sorry.”

“You could’ve told me you were shaken up about that.”

Claire shook her head as she turned to him, “I’m not shooken up about what happened. I’m shooken up about what it meant.”

Raven raised an eyebrow as he watched her, blowing out smoke, “What did it mean?”

Claire sighed as she leaned back against the bench touching her shoulder with his, “There’s something you gotta understand about Necromancers. Necromancy is not a magic you learn or train for. It’s one of the highest forms of magic there is and it comes with a price. Necromancies are born, they form family lines and bloodlines. They are taught before they can even speak and walk how to control their magic.”

“So this is someone who beat the system?”

Again Claire shook her head. She tried to gather her thoughts as she tried to explain what Dillon had told her years ago, “Necromancy comes at a price. Necromancers are torn between both worlds, ours and the World of the Dead. They have a foot in both doors and are constantly being pulled into both worlds. It’s like being asleep and being awake at the same time, their minds are constantly doing two things at once.”

Raven smoked his cigarette out and grabbed another as he thought over her words, “What does that have to do with what happened in there?”

Claire stared at her hands as she spoke, “Every Necromancer has a Book of the Dead. It’s something like a journal to them but so much more. One of the duties of a Necromancer is to listen to the ghost of this world so their voices can be heard and they can move on. The ghosts tell them stories, stories of their murders or the murders they committed. They tell of their families and what happened to them. It’s like a radio constantly playing at full volume in their ears. In order to keep sane they put all the emotions of those stories in their Books. They put pieces of their souls in them. Every Book of the Dead is personal to the Necromancer it belongs to.”

“So we can find out the Necromancer who killed Emily through the book.”

Once more Claire shook her head, “I felt it Raven. It’s forbidden for anyone other than a Necromancer to read a Book of the Dead because people get sucked in and trapped in the world of the Necromancer’s mind. I should have known it was a Book when I saw it but Emily wanted me to read it. It’s Emily’s book Raven. I felt her screams within that Book. Emily’s the Necromancer.”

“But you just said Necromancers are born into the family. Her parents aren’t Necromancers.”

Claire threw up her hands, “I don’t know. Things happen. It could be that she’s adopted and her Necromancy mother gave her up.”

Raven looked at Claire from the corner of his eye, “The Guild let that happen?”

Claire shrugged her shoulder, rubbing against his, “Like I said things happened. Usually in such cases the Guild keeps a file on the baby so they can keep track and come to the child’s aid when their magic matures.”

Raven blew a cloud of smoke into the setting sun as he threw the butt into the ash can, “So the paperwork got lost and this was just puberty gone wrong.”

He stood and Claire stood with him following him to his car, “No. Something’s not right. From what her mother told me and from what she wrote in her diary this has been going on for months. Necromancers are incredibly connected and they would have felt it when another Necromancer came into their powers. After that first nightmare they would have started looking for her. No one did.”

Doors where slammed as they climbed into the car and Raven peeled off, “What are you suggesting? Someone screwed this girl to make sure her magic runs wild, killing herself in the end?”

“It’s possible.” Claire turned to Raven, “Raven, there are mundanes who oppose mages, they’ve even done some extreme cases of killing mages. It’s not too farfetched to say that some kid in her school bullied her to this point.”

“You’re not seriously suggesting that a teenager killed this girl?”

“No I just…there’s something going on here. Someone deliberately pushed this girl into a corner.”

Raven glanced over at her and saw the seriousness in her eyes. He sighed as they pulled into the parking lot, “Fine, I believe you. But we’ve gotta find proof and fast. Once the Captain gets word of what we found he’ll want us to write it off as an accident.”

They were through the back door when Raven realized something, “Wait a second, what was it you called them back there?”

Claire turned around surprised, “Mundanes?”

Raven pointed a finger, “Yeah that. What is that?”

“Oh,” Claire turned back around and picked up Emily’s journal, “it’s kinda our word for humans.”

Raven stepped up to her, “Isn’t that racist?”

“Not really,” Claire looked up as she smiled sweetly, “Everyone’s human but not everyone’s a mage. Mundanes’ just what we call those who aren’t mages.”

Raven crossed his arms, “Why mundanes?”

Claire chuckled as she started reading the journal, “Because they live mundane lives.”

₁₉DREAMS^Z

Claire curled up into her chair with Emily’s diary propped on her knees as she sipped champagne back in her loft. She and Raven spent hours at the office tracking Emily’s last moment on Earth during her first week missing. They were able to get in contact with her school friends and her BFF Ashley Campell. They all said the same thing, Emily was a good girl, more mature than her peers but not snobbish about it. She did her work quietly and helped her classmates with tutoring. It was only in the last couple of months she seemed to have changed. She kept her grades up but she continued to be more and more reclusive.

Raven had gone home to dinner, giving Claire a chance to head home herself. She brought Emily’s journal with her in hopes of finding some clue in it. They both figured someone had to get close to Emily, close enough to understand and know what she was going through. To know her daily routines and habits but everyone they talked to said she hasn’t hung out with anyone lately, not even Ashley and there was no boyfriend or girlfriend to speak of. Claire was hoping to find some clue of a secret boyfriend or something within the diary. She fell asleep with the book hanging from her hand and her glass empty.

She was cold. So cold. Her arms shivered as she cradled herself. Her breath clouded her vision as it fogged the air. Her bare feet stung as she walked on the frozen ground. She was in a frozen barren wasteland, wearing nothing but a thin button down long sleeve shirt. The wind howled as it cut her legs making her cower. Her freezing hair sliced her cheeks as the wind whipped it across her face. She looked left and right, seeing nothing for miles but pitch black overhead and frozen black below. Her feet caused tiny micro fractures in the ice and her eyes followed the cracks to a hole in the ice. She blew cold breath onto her fingers trying to warm them and felt her lips crack open. Cradling herself tighter she slowly crept her way towards the hole, careful not to step on any already made cracks. The only sound she heard was the cracking of the ice. The wind made no noise as it whipped her hair away from her face and even her breathing was silent. She slowly crept her toes to the edge of the hole feeling the icy air cut into her lungs as she breaths hard. Down into the hole it was nothing but black liquid. Her nose twitched as she sniffed at the air above the hole. Her gasp was soundless as her shaking frostbitten hand went to her mouth. It was blood. The black liquid that was as still as glass inside the hole was blood. Tears froze in her eyes as the wind continued to howl soundlessly. Suddenly the world became still. The wind stopped, her hair felt weightless and even the air all around her stood still. Her eyes widen as fingers begun to emerge from the pool of black blood. A solid black hand came out of the hole, slick with blood. It made no sound as the hand silently plopped on the ice. It pushed itself down, pulling its arms out. Her scream was silent as she backed away, trying to run. Her feet slipped and she fell. The noise of the ice cracking was earth shattering as she landed on the ice. She was dazed as her eyes spun. Her whole body shook from the cold as she tried to prop herself up. She turned her head and tried to scream again as she saw a shoulder and head attached to the arm, puling itself out of the pool of blood. Blood curdling horror filled her veins as the blood soaked being pulled a torso out of the pool. She tried to crawl away but her skin had frozen to the ice, trapping her in place. Her eyes were covered in a thin layer of ice as they widen, seeing the being pull another arm out of the hole. Her jaws were frozen open in a permanent silent scream as the arm reached over for her ankle. The black blood dripped from its fingers above her ankle burning her skin with ice.

Claire gasped as she shot up straight in the chair, “What the hell was that?”

Crystal was sleeping on the bed when she heard Claire waking up. She flew into the room and landed on Claire’s lap, “What’s the matter with you?”

Claire panted as she closed her eyes placing her hand on her face, “I have no idea.”

“What happened?”

Before Claire could answer there was a knock at her door. Crystal flew to her shoulder and curled her tail around Claire’s neck as Claire answered the door, “Here. The old lady downstairs said to give this to you.”

A paper bag was shoved into Claire’s arms and her nose was filled with the scent of freshly baked donuts and muffins, “Oh thank god.”

Claire quickly stuffed her face with muffins as Raven came inside, concern on his face, “Are you ok?”

Claire stuffed the muffin down her throat and sat at her kitchen table before she answered, “I think so, yeah.”

“You got any coffee in this joint?”

Claire waved a hand and coffee beans floated their way into the coffee maker, quickly brewing a pot. Raven searched the cabinets and pulled out two mugs; pouring a cup for Claire and a cup for himself.

“Drink.” He ordered as he set the cup in front of her, sipping his own as he sat, “You look white as ghost. What happened?”

Claire held the cup to her lips as she drank, warming her cold fingers. She sighed as she felt the hot drink warm her chest, “A dream. Vision maybe? I’m not sure.”

 Raven quietly sipped his cup as he watched her up and down, “They always that bad?”

“No.”

Crystal crawled around her neck cuddling close against her. Claire absently reached up and rubbed her neck, “What the hell is that thing?”

Crystal whipped her head around to hiss at Raven, showcasing her razor sharp glass teeth as Claire held her still, “She’s my friend, Crystal. You’ll do well not to insult her. Her temper’s terrible.”

“Crystal huh?” Raven sipped his coffee as Crystal continued to glare at him, “She certainly reminds you of crystals doesn’t she.”

“And what’s that suppose to mean?”

Raven didn’t even blink as Crystal directed the question at him, “You’re as beautiful as a gem, hot stuff.”

Claire bit her cheek as Crystal begun to purr in her chest. She stepped off Claire’s neck and walked across the table to Raven, rubbing against his chest. He seemed reluctant at first but had finally started petting her as her purring became chimes.

“So you can be smooth.”

His lips twitched as he tried to bit back a smile, “When the time calls for it.”

Claire raised an eyebrow, “And it never called for it when you met me?”

Raven wisely decided not to say anything else as Claire realized something now that the sugar from the muffin hummed in her veins, “What are you doing here?”

“We’re going over to the Brown’s for some more questions.”

“No, no. Here here. How’d you find where I live?”

“Again, detective.”

Claire rolled her eyes, “Don’t remind me.”

“Are you su-“

“I swear to god I will hit you.”

Raven chuckled at the finger Claire pointed at his face, “Fine. Wanna tell me what happened? Does it relate to the case?”

Claire sighed as she pulled out a chocolate covered donut and leaned back in the chair, “I don’t know yet. It could.”

They sipped their coffees in comfortable silence when Claire glanced at the clock. It read 7:36 a.m., I slept through the night?

“You ready to get going?”

“Mmm,” Claire drained the rest of her coffee as she stood, “go ahead, have another cup. Need a shower.”

She walked off and closed the bedroom door. Before long Raven began to hear the water running and walked around the loft studying her home. He took his cup with him and Crystal flew to his shoulder. He first took a look at her greenhouse garden along the north wall. He was impressed with the immense amount of plants growing within the cloudy glass. He sipped his coffee as the sun glinted through the wet windows. He walked over to the center table and idly flipped through the stack of books when he heard the water shutting off.

He raised his voice to be heard through the closed door, “So…you and Dillon are pretty close huh?”

Claire got dressed as she answered, “Yeah. He and I grew up at the orphanage together. He was there before me and kinda took me under his wing when I came. He’s been a brother to me ever since.”

“So you two have a pretty close relationship.” He picked up a slim book and flipped it over in his hands.

Claire was drying her hair with her towel, “Yeah, we’re pretty close.”

Raven paused as he asked his next question, “Romantically close?”

Claire paused with the towel in her hands as she turned to stare at the door, “What?!”

He turned as the door pulled open and she poked her head out, fully dressed with damp hair, “It’s a legitimate question.”

She slowly waved her hand pointing a finger at him as she held the towel, “It’s more of a question whether or not it’s your business.”

Raven walked to the kitchen and rinsed out his mug, “I’m your partner. It’s my business to know about my partner.”

Claire stepped into the kitchen doorway with the same look still on her face, “No, no. It’s your business to know about me, not about my personal matters.”

“What’s it matter, just answer the question.”

Claire stared at him unbelieving as she tried to sort her thoughts, “What the hell brought this on?”

Raven crossed his arms and leaned against the counter as Crystal stared between the two of them, “Just…it seems you two are pretty close and it got me wondering.”

Claire held out her hands, “Wondering what?”

Raven raked his fingers through his hair as his frustration began to build, “Just…how close are you?”

Claire propped her hands on her hips, “We’re siblings. We watch out for each other and are there for each other.”

Raven waved his hand, “Is that how he knew you were in trouble yesterday?”

Claire crossed her arms pointing a finger at him, “Is that what this’s about? You’re jealous that he helped me out?”

“God no. I just don’t understand how he knew you were in trouble. One minute he wasn’t there and the next he was.”

Claire put a hand to her mouth to hide her smile, “D’s always kept an eye on me, we keep in touch. He knows we’re dealing with a Necromancer and how dangerous it can be so he kept an extra close eye on me. He felt I was in trouble and came, that’s all.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “That’s it?”

Claire chuckled as she went back to finish drying her hair, “Yes numnuts.”

Raven sighed as he scratched his scalp. Crystal watched Claire leave then turned to Raven as she shut the door, “You’re an idiot.”

“Shut up.”

₂₀CATCHERS^Z

“Mr. and Mrs. Brown, is there anything more you can tell us about your daughter running away? Do you have any idea of where she may go? If she would contact any of her friends?”

They were finally able to make it at the Brown’s and were all sitting in their living room. Mrs. Brown had brought out hot tea for everyone and Claire was the only one to take a cup but has yet to sip it. The dream she had kept playing in her head, something nagging at her about it. She tried her best to follow the conversation but only retained every other word.

The couple looked at each other then turned to Raven with their red eyes Mr. Brown speaking, “No. She never told us anything about where she had gone or if she stayed with anyone.”

“She never mentioned anything?” Raven was quickly scribbling away in his notepad as Mrs. Brown turned to him.

“No, a few times she would return covered in dirt but whenever I asked her about it she would shut me out.”

“Covered in dirt how?”

Mrs. Brown whipped at her eyes, “Like she’s been sleeping in it.”

Raven made another note as he asked more questions, “Did you ever contact any of her friends when she ran away?”

Mr. Brown squeezed his wife’s hand as he answered, “The first time she had missed school. The school called us and we tried calling her but she never picked up. We even went to the school and met some of her friends. No one saw her or heard from her. We searched at all her favorite places and never found her till we came home that night. She was on the front porch waiting for us.”

Mrs. Brown bowed her head as she whispered, “She looked so terrible.”

Claire turned her head, attentive for the first time in the conversation, “Terrible? What do you mean?”

Mrs. Brown suppressed a hiccup as she spoke, “She was so pale, like she hadn’t eaten all day or never seen the sun. She was practically white. We tried to get her to eat dinner but she refused to answer any of our questions and went to bed. She slept all night and into the next day. She slept for 24 hours almost.”

“Hmm.” Claire held her chin with her finger as she thought. Raven made a mental note to ask her thoughts as he went back to his questions.

“After that the durations of her disappearances would become longer, is that right?” They both nodded their heads, “Did she always leave quietly?”

Mrs. Brown answered, “Yes, we would wake up in the mornings to find her gone.”

“Do you know when she would disappear?” She shook her head, “Ok. Would she take anything with her as the hours turned into days?”

She nodded her head, “Yes, she started taking her duffle bag. Her favorite blue one.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “One with a false bottom?”

They both visibly stiffen as Mr. Brown spoke, “Yes. She loved that one. She would hide her favorite souvenirs in it when we go on trips. Did you find it?”

Raven slowly nodded his head as tears begun to shine in their eyes once more. Mrs. Brown voice slightly shook as she spoke, “May we have it? Please?”

Raven heaved a heavy sigh, “I’m afraid it’s evidence right now, but I promise as soon as the case is over you will get it back.” They weren’t pleased with that answer but consented for now, “Do you think you could list some of the items she would take? Something you noticed that would always disappear when she did?”

Mrs. Brown waved her hand, “Just some clothes and her toothbrush. I could always tell how long she would be gone by counting how many spare clothes she took.”

Mrs. Brown began to quietly sob as Mr. Brown comforted his wife, “She would also take her dream catcher with her. She never slept without it.”

“A dream catcher? Can you describe it?”

He slowly nodded his head as his wife’s shoulders shook, “We gave it to her when she started having nightmares as a child. We bought it from that Indian trinket shop down off of 44^th. She never had another nightmare until recently, she loved that thing. It’s small with 4 eagle feathers and 3 wind chime bars. Please, are we finished? My wife and I…”

Raven quickly stood, snapping Claire to attention, “Yes we are finished. I thank you for your time. We’ll see ourselves out.”

Claire set the tea cup on the coffee table as she stood, “Thank you for the tea, it was lovely.”

They didn’t hear her as they began to sob together. Claire and Raven quietly made their way to the door and let themselves out. Claire was quiet and brooding as they went to the car and Raven yanked the door open. They peeled out and raced on the open streets just as lunch hour began. Stuck in traffic Raven glanced at Claire to see her sitting quietly with her arms crossed, thinking.

“What are you thinking? I can hear the gears turning from here.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.” Before Claire could say some more her wrist began to beep. She answered the call absently and gave it her attention when Tessa spoke. Hanging up she turned to Raven, “That was Tess. She says the autopsy is done.”

“Can’t she just send us the file?”

Claire shook her head, “She said there’s something she wants us to see.”

Raven heaved a sigh as he fought the traffic, sluggishly making his way to the ME’s building. They stepped from the car into the muggy air and quickly made their way up the steps. They found their way to Tessa’s office quickly and found her much as they did yesterday.

“I’m glad to see you were able to clean the place up,” Claire said as she looked around seeing no residue left of yesterday.

Tessa looked up and smiled as she adjusted her glasses, “Yes, Dillon was nice enough to clean it up while we were still outside.”

Claire smiled, “Yep, he’s nice that way.”

Raven felt a twist in his gut clenching his jaw, he wanted a smoke, “You said you wanted to show us something about Emily’s autopsy?”

“Yes, this way,” Tessa turned and showed them to the wall where the bodies laid. Back when the concept of morgues were first created they were always limited to how many bodies they could hold due to limited space. Now, thanks to the power of technology and the combination of magic instead of a limited amount of drawers they now have walls with built in inter-dimensional slots, creating more space. She pulled a slot out extending it to its full length then grabbed the handle on top and pulled up creating a silver box the size of a coffin from the flat slot. She twisted the handle and the lid clicked as it unlocked and she pulled back, the lid folding in on itself as it revealed Emily’s covered body.

Tessa stood next to the body as she revealed her findings, “Time of death was approximately 2 weeks ago around midnight. COD is asphyxiation.”

Claire raised an eyebrow, “Someone strangled her?”

Tessa shook her head, “She strangled herself.”

Raven gestured a hand to the body, “How is that possible? You can't just strangle yourself.”

“Take a look,” Tessa pulled back the sheet covering Emily to her chest revealing her head and shoulders.

Claire walked up beside the body looking closely at her neck as Raven looked behind her, “What is that?”

Around Emily’s neck was a solid black mark approximately 1” wide. It looked as if a chocker necklace but the bruising on the edges indicated it was physically squeezing her neck.

“That’s her magic.”

Claire turned her head looking at Tessa, “She used her own magic to strangle herself?”

Tessa slowly nodded her head as Raven spoke behind them, “Then this isn’t murder, it’s suicide.”

“No, no! This is murder.” Claire spun to look at Raven as she pointed a finger behind her to Emily’s body, “This girl did not commit suicide. Someone murdered her.”

Tessa quietly spoke, “I’m sorry Claire. The evidence says she committed suicide.”

Claire looked back and forth between them as she pleaded with Raven, “Raven please you have to believe me. This is murder! Something’s just not right in order for this to be suicide.”

Raven raised a hand, “Claire look I believe you, but we have to find the evidence. Otherwise we’ll be forced to close this as suicide.”

“Then let’s go find it.”

Claire quickly made her way out the doors leaving Raven behind. He sighed as he turned to Tessa, “Think you can hold off turning in that report?”

Tessa was quiet as she covered the young girl back up and put the lid back on. She turned the handle again, locking it in place and pushed down as the box became a slot once more. She was pushing the slot back into the wall when she answered, “I can hold it off as long as I can, but I can’t promise very long.”

“That’s enough.”

They said goodbye as Raven went out the door looking for his partner. He found her leaning against the wall of the stone steps of the building waiting for him.

“Someone did this to her. Someone tortured her, made her suffer.”

Raven pulled out a cigarette and lit it, filling the air with smoke, “And again, I believe you. We’ll find the evidence.” He waited a few minutes smoking his cigarette, “What’re you so attached to this case for?”

Claire sighed as she slowly shook her head, “The look on her face. The look of pure…horror.”

“Claire, every victim has that look. You can’t let it get to you.”

“It’s not just that Raven,” she turned to him and he saw the pain in her eyes, “I’ve seen that look before. It’s not just fear it’s…overwhelming fear.”

“Fear of what?”

Claire bit her lip as she turned back to the street. He waited as she whispered, “Fear of yourself. Fear…that you’re going crazy.”

“You think that’s what she was? She thought she was going crazy?”

“She thought she was.”

He took one last smoke then flicked the butt into the ash can, “What do you think?”

Claire was silent as she thought finally saying, “I think someone made her afraid.”

₂₁INTO THE DARKNESS^Z

She could hear the wind howling as she stood there shivering. Again she found herself lost in that frozen wasteland. She cried out for help but only heard her own voice echoing back. She looked around confused. There are no walls for the sound to bounce off from. Sheer panic gripped at her throat as she walked around, her bare feet becoming frost bitten from the frozen ground, unheeding of the ice silently cracking beneath her. She screamed and screamed until her voice was raw and her throat was frozen. Her saliva froze to her tongue preventing her from swallowing. She looked around in dismay as nothing but black stretched before her. The wind tore at her shirt, her only source of pitiful warmth and she clenched her arms together tight, trying to keep warm. For hours she wandered aimlessly screaming when she could, fighting the wind. Her nails dug into her arms as she fought to keep from shivering, the cold air crystalizing her blood from the wounds. The wind was galed at her back digging icicles into her skin when suddenly it stopped. Her tears froze in the corners of her eyes as she cried in this small relief when she stopped. Her feet, now raw and caked in frozen blood fused with the ground, trapping her in place. She didn’t feel anyone behind her, she didn’t hear anything behind her, yet she found herself unable to keep from turning around and looking over her shoulder. There was a blur of black on black but it disappeared before she could see what it was. Shaken, mortally petrified now her wide eyes scanned the black horizon behind her as the air began to freeze a thin layer of ice over them. Seeing nothing but still unsure she slowly turned forward and saw a black hole at her feet. A frozen memory of horror pushed forward in her brain as she stared at the hole, a scream frozen in her throat. The sound of her own breathing filled her ears as a head begun to emerge from the pool of black blood. Her jaw threw open as she screamed in horror, yanking at her feet, ripping her skin to free herself. She fell on her a*s as a torso and arms emerged pulling at her ankles, desperate to get free. She didn’t feel the pain of her frozen skin ripping from her feet as the being covered in slick black blood now stood on feet in the center of the pool. She screamed so desperately the ice crack around her as she clawed at the ground. Without a sound the being was in her face, staring at her with hollow blood filled eye sockets. She was beyond screaming as she realized she could hear the air rushing in and out of her lungs but the being before her did not stir the air at all. Somehow that made it all the worse as she felt dread fill inside her. She felt ice forming a thin layer over her skin as a slick black blood covered hand went over her mouth.

Claire jerked awake and immediately felt a crick in her neck. She moaned as she sat up straight in the chair, rubbing her neck as she looked around. She was in the office sitting in the chair in front of Malvina’s desk. She had slept while in the chair, resting her head on Malvina’s desk.

“Claire are you alright?”

She turned her head and jerked as she turned too quick pulling at the crick. She rubbed it furiously as she asked Malvina, “How long have I been asleep?”

“10 minutes, and you drooled up a storm on my desk. I hope you’re cleaning that.”

Claire looked down and saw she was right. She waved a hand and the drool was gone, the desk clean as new, “Where’s Raven?” She didn’t see him anywhere.

“He pulled the short straw and got opted to get lunch. You sure you’re ok?”

Claire leaned back in the chair trying to work the crick out, “I think so.”

“That was some nightmare you were having, that or some hot dream. You were moaning like crazy.”

“I was?”

Malvina nodded her head as she went back to her paperwork. Claire tried rolling her neck but that seemed to only make the crick worse.

“Oh honey here, let me help you with that.”

Cool hands touched Claire’s neck and began to message it. Claire smiled as she felt immediate relief and leaned back to enjoy the free message closing her eyes, “Thanks Lucy.”

Claire felt her lean over and opened her eyes to see Lucy, Henry’s new partner, looking down at her, “Anything for you sugar.”

She winked as Claire laughed, remembering when she first came here about a month ago. Lucy was tall, almost as tall as Henry if only to his ear. She had an exotic look with slick straight black hair and a permanent olive tanned skin. Her face was round smooth lines and she had the perfect curves to go with it. Lucy was quick witted and matched Henry’s laid back demeanor perfectly. She has experience with undercover work and using that, has been helping Henry close cases left and right. She never worked with magic before and was excited to join this new department. When she and Claire were first introduced she jumped at Claire, firing questions left and right and they became fast friends. She wore slacks and dark colored blouses with her gun and badge on her hips and her hair pulled back but she loved to relax and have fun at bars and clubs. She was a unique detective with her looks and a unique partner for Henry for an entirely different manner.

Lucy leaned close and made sure her breath tickled Claire’s ear, “Now honey when are you gonna let me get to work on the rest of those stiff muscles of yours?”

Claire laughed as she turned to Lucy, loving the game, “Now honey you know I’m a very expensive date.”

Lucy snuck her arms around Claire’s neck, holding her, “Oh baby I’ll pay any price for a night with you.”

“DuBall get your hands off my partner! And stop trying to turn her!”

Claire slapped her knee as she laughed so hard her side hurt. Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Raven as he struggled with the door while juggling paper brown bags of Chinese takeout, “Well if you want her for yourself you better do something about it quick before I do turn her!”

“Shut up you minx and help with this food.”

Lucy flashed a wink and a smile at Claire then went to help Raven with the food. Heads turned as the smell of Chinese filled the room and the twins were the first to grab their orders. The Captain came to get his and quickly went back into his office when the phone rang again but Claire saw him smile and knew it was his family calling. Claire and Malvina got up to get their own as Lucy went upstairs to the gym to get Henry. Claire went to grab drinks from the machine as Raven brought over both his and her order. Drinks in hand Claire went back to Raven’s desk and gave him his drink and plopped herself on top of his desk as she began to eat.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Claire chuckled as Raven swore under his breath. Pretty soon the room fell silent, even the phones stopped ringing as everyone ate. Claire ate with gusto in the beginning but slowed half way through as memories of the dream came forward. She sat there holding her chop sticks in her mouth brooding over it when Raven looked up.

He used his chop sticks to gather the last of his Chow Mein together, “What’s up?”

Claire blinked as she looked down at him, “Huh? What?”

He ate the last of his food and threw the box in the recycle, “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh huh, I had another dream.”

Raven brought his eyebrows together as he looked at her with concern, “Another one? Like the one this morning?” Claire silently nodded her head, “What was it about?”

She was silent as she brought her thoughts together, “I don’t know. I’m not sure yet.”

Raven tilted his head to one side as he looked her over, “Wanna talk to me about it?”

“Hmm, maybe later, but thanks.” She smiled at him and he figured she’s ok.

“Excuse me…”

Claire and Raven turned to see Ashley Campell standing by the front doors clenching her shoulder strap till her knuckles were white. Claire quickly set her food aside and went to the young girl’s aid, “Yes? How can I help you?”

Ashley looked at Claire’s badge hanging around her neck and looked back up into her eyes, “Are you the detective working on Emily’s murder?”

“Yes I am. I’m Claire Dunsworth. This is my partner Raven Black. Please have a seat.”

Claire led the frighten young child to a chair in front of Raven’s desk. She pulled up another beside her and kept a soothing hand on her shaking shoulders as Raven leaned forward on his elbows, “Is there something you want from us?”

“Ac-Actually I thought I should come here to tell you something.”

Claire rubbed the girl’s back as she was so frighten, “Tell us what dear?”

Ashley looked at Claire wetting her lips then back at Raven, “You won't think I’m crazy right?”

Raven spoke in his most soothing voice, like a father to a daughter, “Of course not. What is it?”

She licked her lips again as she grabbed Claire’s hand, squeezing it, “It’s Emily. She’s been coming to me in my dreams.”

Claire blinked, “Your dreams?”

Ashley nodded as tears begin to swell in her eyes, “Yes. She’s been telling me she’s dead. I didn’t want to believe her so I ignored her.”

She broke into sobs and Claire wrapped her arms around her soothing the poor child. She pleaded with Raven with her eyes but he already understood and left to give them space. Claire waved a hand and called up a box of tissues, handing them to the girl. The girl only sat and cried, blowing her nose occasionally as she got the hiccups. Once she calmed down and the tears stopped Claire spoke softly to her.

“Now tell me what’s going on. You said Emily’s been telling you she’s dead.” Ashley nodded her head through the tears, “How long have you been having these dreams?”

She hiccupped as she answered, “Almost 3 weeks now.”

Fits the time frame, “Did she tell you anything else?” Ashley fervently shook her head, “Ok, did you see anything else in these dreams?”

Ashley was quiet as she remembered, “It was dark, like nighttime dark. There was always dirt around her and what looked like abandoned buildings.”

“Ok, ok, that’s good Ashley that helps. Now what about Emily herself. Was she wearing anything unusual? Was there anything out of place about her appearance?”

Ashley was about to shake her head no when she stopped and looked at Claire, “There was one thing. She was always clenching her dream catcher in her hand.”

“Dream catcher?”

“Yes,” Ashley whipped at the tears, “She always had one above her bed. Does this help?”

Claire gave her a bright smile, “Yes dear it helps. It helps a lot, I promise.” Ashley gave her a weak smile as Claire thought of another question, “Ashley I know we’ve asked this before but can you think of anyone Emily was close to these last few months. A new friend or secret boyfriend?”

Ashley shook her head, “She always hung out in her room. She was never on the computer anymore and she always had the door locked when I could come over.”

“Ok sweetheart, you’ve been a big help. Is there anything else you can think of?”

She was about to say no when she remembered something, “Well I don’t know if it’ll help or not but we still had one class together and she sat in front of me to the left. Sometimes I would notice her twitching lightly.”

Claire furrowed her eyebrows together, “Twitching? What do you mean?”

“Like when you hear a sudden noise. She’ll turn her head and act like she’s putting her hair behind her ear when she would cover her ear like there’s a really loud noise or something.”

Ashley couldn’t think of anything else to add so Claire sent her on her way but not without her contact information in case she wanted to speak to Claire again. Claire was thinking hard as she went into the break room to find Raven sitting on the couch reading the paper and sipping his coffee.

“Well anything useful?”

“We have to find that dream catcher.”

“Dream catcher? The one her parents talked about?”

Claire mentioned a thumb to the door, “Ashley just mentioned seeing Emily holding it in her dreams. It could mean something.”

“Alright,” Raven threw the paper on the table as he stood walking towards her, “how do you expect to find it?”

Claire smiled and for some reason Raven got a foreboding feeling, “I’ve got an idea.”

₂₂ADVICE^Z

Lucy heard Henry punching as she bounded up the stairs. She found him at the sand bag wearing boxing straps on his hands going at it. She leaned back against the corner of the doorway and waited for him to notice her. Finally he stopped and walked to the stool with his towel and a bottle water waiting, panting as he dried himself.

“Still haven’t talked to her huh?”

Henry paused as he brought the water to his lips and glanced Lucy’s way. He didn’t say anything as he drained the bottle and walked past her to the showers.

She followed him into the room, “Come on Tanks talk to me.”

Henry pulled his shirt off and paused at undoing his pants staring at her, “This is de men’s room.”

Lucy complied and turned her back to him as she bit her cheek. When they became partners she made it clear that she was a lesbian to get it out in the open and Henry didn’t even bat an eye. Although there were times where he had to remind himself and tried to keep a semblance of a gentleman’s relationship with her, such as now. Knowing she wasn’t going to leave he quickly undressed and stepped in the shower as she talked.

“I told you what to do. Just pick up the phone and call her.”

“Yer don’t ‘hink ‘ve tried dat!”

Lucy bit back a laugh, “And what happened?”

Henry sighed, “I go blank. E’ry time I ‘ear ‘er voice.”

They were of course talking of Tessa. Ever since Henry got hit with a freight train when he saw her he’s been head over heels madly in love with her. The first night Lucy and him were partners they went to a bar to talk and get to know each other. That’s when Lucy told him her secret and he spilled his guts about being in love. Lucy then made a promise to him to help him get the girl and she’s tried to get them together. Henry wants to do this the old-fashioned way of courting her, but the poor guy gets so nervous around her he could barely speak. It’s been over 3 weeks now and he’s barely said a word to her. Lucy’s running out of options.

She sighed into her hand, “Man look, I’ve told you, let me help!”

The water turned off as Henry grabbed a towel, “I can’t Luce.” He ran his fingers through his wet hair, “I have to rely on myself.”

He got his pants on just in time for Lucy to spin around, “But you can’t even talk to the girl. Let me take her out, a girl’s night out. I’ll even invite Claire and Malvina.”

Henry shook his head, “You’ll just try setting us up.”

“No, I promise I won't. We’ll just girl talk, that’s all.”

He pulled his shirt and shoes on as he slammed the locker shut, “Girl talk? About what?”

Lucy smiled a secret smile, “Just girl talk. Boys wouldn’t understand.”

Henry chuckled, “Fine. No harm in that I guess.”

“Exactly, no harm done.” Lucy smiled as her phone card rung. She pulled out the thick plastic card and held it to her ear as she answered. She spoke into the phone and quickly hung up, “That was Tess. Says she’s got something for us.”

Henry furrowed his eyebrows in question, “We don’t have a case with her.”

Lucy shrugged her shoulders, “All the more reason we should go and check it out.”

Tessa rung her hands together as she stared at the phone. She can’t believe it! She called him over! Well she called his partner Lucy and they’re both coming over together but she still did it! Tessa nearly squealed and jumped around as she became so excited but her joy was cut short as she realized she told a lie that she had something for them. She quickly scrambled her brain to think of what to give them and couldn’t think of anything. She ran out of time as she heard them walking towards her office. The doors flew open and they both walked in.

Tessa remembers when she first met Henry after he and Lucy partnered up. They were working a robbery gone bad and Tessa could only stare as she saw the tall cowboy walk in. Her eyes felt like they kept climbing up and up as she stared into his almond eyes. His golden hair looked as if it was shining like fields of wheat and his broad shoulders gave off the aura of a protector. Tess could feel her jaw hanging open as she stared at the cowboy, wondering what it would like to bury herself in those arms. The only thought her mind was capable of making was wondering if his hair would be as warm as the sun if she touched it.

Tessa quickly shook herself out of her remembrance as Henry and Lucy walked in, “Oh good. You guys came quick. P-Please Detective Tanks, take a seat while I speak to Detective DuBall for a moment outside.”

Henry was silent as always as he sat in her desk chair and she practically dragged Lucy outside the office. She pulled her down the hallway, away from earshot as Lucy tried to protest, “I need your help.”

Lucy fell silent as she became intrigued, “Continue.”

Tessa rung her hands together, this time in nervousness, “I…I don’t have anything for you.”

“You don’t? Then why’d you call us down here?” Tessa’s jaw worked up and down as she tried to speak. Lucy smiled as understanding dawned upon her, “Ah, I see.”

Tessa grabbed her arm, “Please you can’t say anything.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow, “But then why’d you call us? Didn’t you want to speak to him?”

“I don’t know,” she rung her hands faster and faster, “I wasn’t thinking when I picked up the phone.”

Lucy smiled a knowing smile, “Oh yes you were. You were thinking something, what was it?”

Tessa bowed her head, still ringing her hands together as she whispered, “I wanted to see him.”

“And see him you shall,” Lucy smiled as she grabbed Tessa’s hand and led her back to her office, “C’mon.”

Tessa’s eyes grew wide as she tried to dig in her heels, “Wait, what are you doing?!”

Lucy looked over her shoulder with a smile, “Helping a friend.”

She let go of her hand just as they came to the office door swinging it open, turning to Tessa as she walked in, “Thanks Tess. I’m glad she was able to get a hold of you.”

Lucy held the door open and smiled, encouraging Tessa to follow along. She smiled tentively as she stepped in, “N-No problem.”

They walked in and Henry looked up as Lucy turned to him, “Turns out my old case handler had some information for me and asked Tessa to pass it on.” Henry was about to question it when Lucy put a hand to her stomach faking a groan, “Oo, Chinese on the run is not good.” She turned to Tessa, “Do you mind if I use your restroom? We kinda ate our dinner on the way here and I haven’t had a chance to go yet.”

Lucy winked at Tessa, spreading a smile on her own face, “Ye-Yes. It’s right down the hall on the left.”

“Thanks.”

Lucy walked to the door and mouthed ‘have fun’ to Tessa as she walked out. Henry watched in horror as Lucy walked away and felt his phone card vibrate. He answered it and saw he had a text from Lucy. ‘TALK!,’ was all it said. Henry glared at the phone.

“Pr-Problem?”

He looked up to see Tessa looking at him with concern. He shot out of the chair and it clattered behind him, rolling on its wheels. He swallowed hard at the frog in his throat, “No.”

“Oh. Good.”

They stood there awkwardly as they tried to think of what to say. Tessa rung her hands together as Henry ran his fingers through his hair. Tessa looked up and thought how nice it would be to run her fingers through his hair and Henry watched her hands wondering just how soft would they feel. They caught each other staring at each other and quickly looked away. The sound of Henry clearing his throat was the only sound heard until his phone card buzzed again. His fingers fumbled as he pulled it out and saw another text from Lucy, ‘ARE YOU TALKING YET?’. Henry graveled at the phone.

“How long have you been a detective?”

Henry looked up and Tessa spoke so softly he didn’t understand her, “W-What?”

She squeaked as she cleared her tiny throat, “H-How long have you been a detective?”

“Oh,” Henry yet again ran his fingers through his hair, “ten-ten years.”

Tessa rolled on the balls of her feet as she waved her hands open, “That-that’s a pretty long time.”

“Yes.”

The awkward silence stretched again as they both rolled on the balls of their feet. Henry jammed his hands into his pockets, staring at his feet as Tessa kept ringing her hands, looking at anywhere but him.

Finally he pulled a hand out and scratched at his ear as he forced his voice to work, “H-How long have ya been a ME?”

She laced her fingers together and held them in front of her as she answered, “About 3 years.”

“Oh,” silence stretched again then he cleared his throat, “Have you always wanted to be a ME?”

He berated himself for asking such berate questions as she answered, “Yes…I’ve always been fascinated by science. My family was against it but it’s what I wanted.”

That was the most she’s ever said to him and she nearly jumped with joy, “Why was your family against it?”

“They wanted me to follow their footsteps.”

“With what?”

Tessa’s smiled faltered as she rung her hands together again, “They wanted me…they’re mages, they wanted me to follow in…to get a Potion license so I could uphold the family business.”

Henry’s eyes grew in surprise, “You’re a mage?” Tessa nodded her head sadly as she waited for the rejection, “That’s amazing.”

She looked up in surprise, “You’re-You’re not offended? A-Afraid?”

Henry took a step to her, “Why would I be afraid? Why would I be offended? You’re amazing!”

Tessa smiled as she looked up into the giant’s eyes, “You think so?”

“I know so! What magic can you do?”

She held a hand to her mouth as she giggled, “That’s an extremely personal thing to ask a mage, Detective Tanks.”

“Oh,” he laughed at himself as he raked his fingers through his hair, this time in excitement, “sorry. I don’t hang out with Claire all that much and she’s the only mage I’ve met so far. B-Besides you that is.” They shared a laugh as their nerves slowly melted away, “And please, you can call me Henry.”

Henry swore her bright smile was brighter than the very sun itself, “I’d like that. You can call me Tess.”

Tessa felt a small warmth in her heart when he smiled down at her, “I’d like that too.”

They shared another laugh as easy conversation begun. Lucy stood outside the doors, grinning from ear to ear. She felt much like a match maker winning the war and wondered if this is what fate felt like when soul mates found each other. She knew reality and knew that some relationships just weren’t meant to be but she had a good feeling about these two. She heard laughter coming through the crack in the door and turned to see Tessa laughing at something Henry had said. The smooth cowboy was back and his accent was going on big, meaning he was relaxed. Lucy smiled as she saw their bond grow and stepped away to give them privacy and a little more time together.

She stopped by the window and propped herself on the sill, looking out into the afternoon sun. She watched the leaves play in the wind from the tree outside and saw two birds flying circles around each other. They landed on a branch and looked as if they were talking about building a home there and building a nest. Lucy chuckled at herself feeling foolish. Yes she knew reality, she knew that some relationships just weren’t meant to be. She knew that simply because she loves women, her search for her soul mate will be that much harder and she wasn’t sure if she was up for the task.

₂₃HURT^Z

Claire and Raven made their way to the crime scene where Emily was found. Claire went and stood at the spot Emily was found and brought out her diary.

“What’s that for?”

Her fingers began to glow as she wrote glowing purple symbols on the book, “Both the dream catcher and this diary is closely connected to Emily so they should be connected to each other.”

Smoke hung over Raven’s head as he dragged on one, “And you’re hoping to use that to…?”

She turned the book over in her hands and drew more symbols on the back, “To find the connection, like a hook on a fishing line.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Raven fell silent as he continued smoking, watching Claire draw a glowing purple circle on the ground. She laid the book in the center and waved her hands over the book, chanting a few words. Finally she stepped back and stood next to Raven.

“What are you doing now?”

Claire crossed her arms as she watched the diary closely, “Now we wait. It has to pick up the signal it wants. It’s searching for it now and it may be awhile.”

“Hmm,” Raven dragged one last puff of his cigarette and threw it out wishing he brought his coffee.

His nose twitched as the smell of coffee filled the air and he turned his head to see Claire sipping from a thermos holding one to him, “Here. Figured you’ll want one.”

“Thanks.” He took the cup and sipped the drink, tasting it. As always her coffee tasted like heaven and again he wondered just what it was that set hers apart, “How long do we have to wait?”

Claire shrugged her shoulder as she sat in the chair she made. She gestured for Raven to do the same as she made one for him, “Don’t know. Could be a few minutes, could be hours. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Raven sat with a grunt, “Fun.”

They sat in comfortable silence as they drained their cups, Claire refilling them when need be. Roughly two hours passed when finally, Claire broke the silence, “Why won’t you teach me to shoot a gun?”

Raven bit back the anger in the back of his throat, “Claire we’ve been through this- “

“No we haven’t. You just out right refused and gave me no reason.”

He threw a hand to her, “You’ve got your magic there’s no reason for you to learn.”

“That’s not a reason why you won't teach me.”

He turned to her angry, “Why do you even want me to teach you? If you’re so set on learning why don’t you just find someone else?”

She glared at him as her own anger raised, “I want you to know my skills, so you can trust in them.”

“I trust in your magic!”

She threw her own hand, “But what if we run against rune bullets, anti-magic bullets?! My magic can’t even touch them!”

“That’s what I’m there for! I’m there to protect you from those.”

“Then let me protect you! Let me learn how to shoot so I can protect you in those cases.”

“You don’t need to, I’m your partner!”

“And I’m yours!”

They stopped as they realized they were yelling at each other. They sat back in their chairs trying to calm down.

Claire held a hand to the bridge of her nose as she whispered, “Is it because you’re a Black and I’m a mage? Is that why you refuse?”

Raven heard the pain in her voice and scolded himself. He turned to tell her that wasn’t the case when the book began to pulse golden light. Claire shot up not looking at him as she tried to sooth her bleeding heart. She held a hand over the book, spreading her fingers. Raven watched amazed as a small thread of golden light snaked its way up to Claire’s hand. She gripped the thread tight and held it till her knuckles where white.

“That’s strange.”

Raven was unsure of how to approach her so he opts to stay in the chair, “What is it?”

“It’s really weak,” she turned so Raven could see her face and he saw she was calm with her emotions under control.

He sighed as he got up and stood next to her, “Will it still work?”

“I don’t know. It may not lead us all the way, but it could give use the general area. It’s just weird that it’s so weak.”

He shrugged his shoulders not bothering to pretend to know how magic works, “Could be a reason behind it.”

“It could.”

Claire was silent as she grabbed the thread with her other hand and Raven saw the gold light extend, leading the way only a few inches from her hands. She kept moving her hands up, like she was pulling at a rope and followed the thread as it lit her way, inch by inch inside the building. Raven followed behind her silent, his hand at the ready by his gun as they went up the stairs and into the warehouse. It was like any typical abandoned warehouse in New York City with graffiti littered walls and scattered beer bottles and trash.

There were puddles of stank water as the rain drilled holes in the leaky roof. The thread led them up the stairs to the second floor where they found some sad looking offices. Judging by the smell Raven figured some were designated drug rooms and sex rooms for teens. He began to wonder if this was where Emily was staying during her disappearances when Claire led him to the metal staircase along the outside wall of the building.

“Where are you going?”

Claire shrugged her shoulder and she threw back at him, “Where it leads me.”

They went down the steps back onto the ground and started walking to a broken-down shed. Raven calls it a shed, but it was roughly the size of an average building and as they walked inside the smell of grain filled his nose.

“Smells like a grain room of sorts.”

Claire made no comment as they walked to the center of the building then she stopped. Raven nearly ran into her as he was looking around when she held up the gold thread to her face. He watched in fascination as the thread slowly turned into mist and dissipated into the air.

“What does that mean?”

Claire sighed as she placed her hands on her hips, “It means that the dream catcher is somewhere in here, but it couldn’t find it inside here.”

Raven crossed his arms as he looked around, “So it’s in the building at least.”

She nodded her head, “Yeah. Guess we’ll just have to find it ourselves.”

Raven scratched his head and opened his mouth about to apologize for earlier when Claire walked off and started searching. Raven sighed and went to the other side of the building to search for it himself. He pushed piles of trash around with his foot looking in all the dark corners and crevices.

Claire had her index finger and thumb in a circle holding it up to her eye as she scanned the room. She slowly looked up and down the wall using the thin lenses she made between her fingers to look underneath all the trash to find the dream catcher. She took her time turning in a circle as she scanned the whole building and stopped when she caught Raven in between her fingers.

She sighed and used her hand to rub her neck, dispersing the lenses as she wondered how things became awkward between them again. She berated herself, admitting that it wasn’t him but her that was making things awkward. Why did she have to have Raven teach her? Why couldn’t she just ask someone else? She knew why. She wanted his trust. Not just as a mage or a detective or even as Claire, but his trust as his partner. He may have accepted her as a partner after their first assignment but there were times she felt he didn’t trust her with everything. Maybe it was just her.

“Hey!”

Claire looked up surprised and saw Raven waving at her from across the building. She sprinted her way to him and skidded to a stop, “What?”

“I found this.”

He held up a raggedy torn up sky blue hoodie. Claire shrugged her shoulders, not getting it, “So?”

“Wasn’t Emily wearing one in one of her pictures?”

Claire blinked as she remembered the family picture at the beach hanging on the Brown’s wall, “Oh yeah. There was one. Do you really think it was hers?”

He shrugged his shoulder as he set it back on the ground, “Won’t know till we send it in for testing.”

Claire nodded her head and waved her hand, bringing out an evidence bag and placed the hoodie inside. She scribbled the information on the label and quickly sent it to the lab.

Placing her hands on her hips she turned back to look at the building, “Well, we didn’t find the dream catcher, but we may have found where Emily stayed.”

They looked around them studying the surroundings as Claire walked into the fading sunlight filtering through the rotting ceiling, “Why would she stay here?”

Raven walked up beside her pulling out a smoke, “I don’t know. The other building looks like a kid’s hang out but here? Doesn’t seem to be.”

“Hmm,” Claire crossed her arms as she closed her eyes and leaned back her head. The crick in her neck from before was starting to act up and she opened her eyes as she reached up with her hand to rub it. She froze with her hand half way up to her neck and felt her blood run cold.

Raven saw her tense up and turned to see pure dread on her face. He placed a hand on her shoulder and felt ice cold on her skin, “Claire? What’s wrong?”

Her eyes were glued to the ceiling unblinking and Raven looked up to see what she saw. Though the ceiling was rotting and patched with holes it was still whole enough for them to seeing the giant symbol burned into it. The symbol took up the entire space of the ceiling and was a solid black crescent moon with a black star within the circle of the moon. The whole thing was encircled with a thick black line running across much like a ‘no-smoking’ symbol.

Raven felt anger build in his blood as he realized what the symbol meant and what it would mean to Claire. The Crescent Moon and Star symbol is the symbol of the Guild and the symbol of all Mages. To them it was the very symbol of magic itself. Like any source of power there will always be a group of people who oppose this power and the Guild and mages were no different. A group of people have been on the rise as the frontier runner for ‘anti-magic’ realists and the ‘no-magic’ symbol is their trademark. The symbol was found whenever a disaster happened, and a mage was among the list of casualties.

Claire felt Raven’s fingers dig into her shoulder as anger poured off him. She swallowed hard at the rock in throat and held a hand to her neck as her blood felt like ice. Growing up all mages hear children stories about behaving and not abusing their magic, but the real horror story were the very people who drew that symbol. Claire grew up knowing their name and even today it still could run her blood cold. She nervously licked her lips as she could barely whisper.

“The Puritans.”

₂₄WILKS^Z

“I heard you two had a run in with the Puritans. You ok?”

Claire and Raven made it back to the office after dark. Raven called in the sighting to the FBI and CIA while Claire called it in to the Guild and MKP. It seemed like they spent hours answering questions while suits rolled up when it was only one hour. Raven was glued to his computer filling out the report, trying to forget the anger he felt as Claire had collapsed in the chair before his desk, shaken. Claire looked up from holding her head while propped on his desk as Malvina came up and asked about her.

“Yeah I’m fine just…shaken.”

Malvina sat in the neighboring chair and laid a hand on Claire’s arm, “You sure?”

Claire silently nodded her head. Malvina gave her a comforting squeeze then went back to her desk. Claire felt a whoosh and looked behind her to see Dillon kneeling eye level to her.

“Are you alright?”

She gave a weak laugh, “I’m fine D.”

His eyes grew serious, “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“They? Who-,” Claire exasperated into her hand, “Abby. I’m gonna kill her.” She sat up and put a hand on Dillon’s shoulder, “I am fine D. It was just a mark, they weren’t there.”

Dillon kept his eye on her, looking her over and finally nodded his head. Raven watched as Claire patted Dillon’s shoulder and gave him a smile, feeling a pit in his stomach. He cleared his throat drawing their attention and pointed Dillon with a question.

“Have you found anything yet concerning Emily?”

Dillon was quiet as he stood and nodded his head, “Yes. She says ‘wilks’.”

“’Wilks’?” Both Raven and Claire turned to each other in question.

Claire turned back to Dillon, “What’s ‘wilks’?”

Dillon looks down at her, “That’s all his name she remembers.”

“Name?” Claire turned to Raven, “It’s a name! There is a guy.”

Raven nodded as he turned back to Dillon, “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

Dillon paused, and Claire sensed he was troubled by what he was going to say. She placed her hand in his and gave him a squeeze. He squeezed back as he answered, “The magic was not of her consent.”

He quickly left, saying he had business and Claire promised to call him later. She and Raven were brooding over what that could mean as Malvina came up to them again, leaning on his desk.

“Who was that?”

Claire answered absently, “My foster brother, Dillon.”

“Mmm.”

Before Malvina could ask anymore the doors flew open and Lucy ran inside, Henry close behind her, “Claire! Sweetheart are you alright?!”

She ran to Claire and threw her arms around her, “I heard what happened. They didn’t touch you, did they? Are you hurt?”

Claire was laughing, touched by Lucy’s genuine concern when Raven scolded behind her, “DuBall! How many times do I have to tell you to get your hands off my partner?!”

Lucy got up and sat on the arm rest with her arm around Claire’s shoulder, “Oh shut up. You’re just jealous.” She turned to Claire effectively ignoring Raven as Henry chuckled behind him, “You sure you’re alright?”

Claire looked up with a smile, “Yes I’m fine.”

Lucy wasn’t convinced as she felt slight tremors in her shoulders and came up with an idea, “I know. Why don’t we do a girl’s night? Let’s go out and have a drink.”

“A girl’s night?”

“Yeah!” Lucy stood pulling Claire out of the chair, “You, me and Malvina. Let’s invite Tessa too!”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I just wanna spend a quiet night at home.”

Lucy caught Malvina with her eye and begged her to help. She caught on what Lucy was trying to do and came up to Claire’s other side, holding onto her arm, “Sounds like fun. Let’s all go drinking and forget the night.”

Claire tried to protest but lost the fight as they dragged her out of the station. Lucy and Malvina called back as they were leaving, telling the boys to behave and don’t forget to clean up. Raven stared at the door stunned as his partner disappeared. Henry chuckled behind him, patting his shoulder.

Raven turned in his chair looking up at the man, “Can’t you control your partner better than that?!”

Henry laughed, “You wanna control ‘er? Be my guest.”

The girls found themselves drinking in the “Gold Cauldron” pub. They ordered beer as they waited for Tessa to show. She was inclined to deny the invitation but found herself walking inside the pub. She scanned the overcrowded room and quickly saw her new friends waving from the center of the room. She squeezed her way through the crowd and finally sat down.

“This place is amazing. Do they always let so many in here?”

The three women laughed as they poured Tessa a drink from the beer pitcher. Lucy pushed the mug to her and encouraged her to have a drink.

“Let’s toast!” They all held up their mugs as Lucy began the toast, “Here’s to new friendships and teamwork. To saving lives and finding the bad guys. To love!”

“To love!”

They all laughed and giggled as they drank the night away. Claire, Malvina and Tessa told stories about growing up as mages. Learning their first spells, the first time their potions exploded, the first time they accidently turned a bully into a frog, Malvina ‘accidently’ doing it more than once. Lucy was fascinated by their stories and always asked for more.

“So, you two knew each other before this?” Lucy pointed to Malvina and Claire as she took a sip from her mug.

They both looked at each other and giggled as Claire answered, “Yeah she’s the daughter of our Guild Boss Melvin. When I first got my license, she was the one who gave me a tour of our office.”

Tessa’s eyes became huge, “You’re Boss Melvin’s daughter?!”

Malvina rolled her eyes bringing her mug to her lips, “Don’t remind me. He wants me to follow in his footsteps and become the next Boss but that’s just too stifling for me.”

Lucy held up her hands, confused, “Ok wait. Mundane here remember? I thought the boss was voted on.”

Malvina shrugged her shoulders, “In a sense. Every nation gets to choose their Guild Boss by votes but of those voted for, only the Head can say who becomes Boss.”

“So, what’s the Head then?”

“He’s like our president.” Lucy turned to Claire as she answered, “Every nation has a Boss for their Guild Headquarters, right? Then above them is the Guild Head who is the final decider for everything in the Guild, including who becomes the next Boss.”

“And he lives on that Mage Island, right?”

All three mages laughed as Claire continued to answer, “Well it’s called an island but it’s more of a continent. It’s roughly the size of Australia.”

“Damn,” Lucy whistled as she drained the last of her beer, refilling her mug, “and where is this thing exactly? I know it’s in the Pacific Ocean.”

Malvina pointed her finger to the ceiling, “It’s more like above the ocean. It’s in the center of the Pacific so the magic of training mages can’t affect other people and it’s high above the waves in the sky so wayward ships can’t crash into it.”

“Oh, but planes can?”

Tessa giggled as the beer made her relax, “There’s a protection shield around the Island. It automatically turns planes around them, so they won't crash.”

“Ah,” Lucy nodded her head thinking she understood, “Now on to more serious stuff.” She turned to Tessa with a smile on her face, “So, how’d it go?”

Tessa paused then blinked as she blushed into her mug, “H-How what go?”

“What’s this?” Malvina asked with a glee in her eye.

“What what?” Claire couldn’t help but smile as she recognized that blush.

Lucy smiled more, “Tess here, had a little mini date with Henry today.”

Gasps were heard as everyone became excited. Tessa blushed even more, “It-It wasn’t a date.”

Lucy mumbled, “It practically was with the way you two were.” Both Malvina and Claire turned to Lucy to get the full story. Lucy smiled as she told them what happened, “Brave little Tess here called Henry and I over, saying she had information for us.”

“Lucy!” Tessa tried to stop her as she became embarrassed.

“We get there, and she pulls me outside the room saying she lied!” Malvina and Claire gasped, “She said she didn’t have anything but just wanted to see Henry.” They both ‘oooo’-ed as Lucy continued, Tessa’s face bright red by now, “She wanted my help but I’m sure not in the way I gave it to her. We went back in and I told a cover of how the information was for me and faked having to go to the bathroom, leaving them alone.”

They all smiled at Tessa waiting for her to tell them what happened next. She rung her hands together as she tried to hide behind her empty mug, “We-We just talked.”

“And?” they all asked.

A playful smile played on her lips as she looked up, “I think he likes me.”

They all cheered, shouting with joy into the room as they ordered another round. Tessa was overwhelmed by congratulations and good lucks as her friends showered her with love. She felt herself smiling again and was again enjoying the night. Another pitcher was brought over and they quiet down as they drank.

Malvina glanced at Claire and decided to take a plunge, “Is Dillon single?”

Lucy and Tessa were stun and sat quiet as Claire stared at her, “What? You can’t be serious.”

A smile played on her lips, “He’s cute. I’ve got a thing for guys with the bad boy look.”

Claire leaned on the table, “Mal, he’s not a bad boy, he’s a Necromancer.”

“Really?” her eyes glowed with excitement, “That’s hot.”

Claire sputtered as she tried to think. She’s always wanted Dillon to be happy and always believed there would be someone out there for him. Perhaps this was it. Claire smiled as she propped her chin in her hand, “No, he’s single.”

“Great!” Malvina laughed as she threw back the rest of her beer, “What kind of name is Dillon anyways?”

Claire giggled, “It’s not his real name. He came to the orphanage as a baby and they only found the initial ‘D’ on him. The aunts wanted to give him a proper name, so they drew a lot and he was named Dillon.”

They all laughed and giggled some more as the beer began to take its toll. Finally, curiosity got the better of Lucy as she turned to Claire.

“So, speaking of guys…have you and Raven done it yet?”

Beer was sputtered as everyone spit. Claire coughed and choked on her gulp as Tessa pounded her back, “D-Do what?”

“C’mon girl, even I can tell he’s one fine man. The room practically burns when you two get together.”

Claire coughed some more as she became sober, “Even if that’s the case…it couldn’t work out.”

Lucy looked up seeing serious looks on all three mages, “Why not?”

Malvina answered, “Because he’s a Black.”

Lucy threw her hands up, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Blacks,” Claire held her mug as she stared at the foam inside, “have a long history with mages. After they first came out people began to fear that mages were getting too powerful, so a special family was born. The Blacks.” Claire looked up and stared Lucy in the eye, “They’re a mage assassin family. They’re the family who developed the anti-magic runes. Throughout history they’ve been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of mages, even whipping out entire families. They have anti-magic properties in their blood.”

Lucy was taken aback as the night took a dark turn, “But that was in the old days, before the Magic Laws. They’re out of business, right?”

Malvina shrugged her shoulder, “So to speak. There are some who gave up the family traditions as the times changed but even so, there are some who still uphold the family honor.”

“But Raven’s not one of them. He’s partners with Claire.”

Claire looked back up, “Yeah but...doesn’t mean his family agrees with him.”

₂₅SIGHT^Z

Frozen tears lined her face as she sobbed. She saw nothing but darkness as she looked around. She doesn’t know how long it was before she realized that her vision never changed when she closes her eyes. It was then she realized, she’s blind. She collapsed to her knees ignoring the sting of the ice as she sobbed into her hands. The wind dug nails into her back as it howled but she felt nothing as desolation and defeat filled her. She sniffed as her nose picked up a strange sent and felt her fingers were sticky. She slowly sat back on her hunches, the ice around her limbs cracking as she moved. She touched a frozen finger to her face and felt it come back sticky like before and held her finger to her nose. She screamed in horror as more tears froze on her face as she realized it was blood coming from her eyes. Somehow, she could tell without looking that it was the black blood she’s come to dread. Her fingers scratched her face as she clawed at the blood, trying to get it off screaming. She screamed for years, for centuries, for millennias. Exhausted, the life drained from her, she collapsed her to side. Slowly she felt herself freezing to the ground, becoming as frozen as it. Suddenly she felt the being before her. She felt no presence, heard no breathing and couldn’t see but she knew he was there, looking down at her. She wanted to scream but found even her lungs drained of air. She knew this was it, this was the end. She opened her eyes to unchanging darkness and felt drops of blood fall from her nose as she cried. She waited for the end but the being simply stared at her, unmoving, unchanging. She gave up as she heard the ice harden around her, freezing her into the ground. The wind shifted, blowing the smell of its black blood into her face. She wanted to cringe, to scream and yell but only cried more. She has given up, what use was it to fight any more. The smell became stronger as the being bent towards her…

“Claire get up!”

Claire moaned as she held her head together, feeling like it’s splitting apart. She buried herself deeper under her covers mumbling, “Shut up, go away.”

The sheets were pulled away, uncovering her as she tried to make herself into a ball and disappear. She moaned and groaned in pain as the sunlight poured in.

“Get up Claire. We’re gonna be late.”

Trying to keep her ears from ringing she poked an eye open and to her surprise saw Raven standing by her bed holding her sheets. She found herself uncaring that he was seeing her in her nightwear but managed to mumble, “How the hell did you get in here?”

“Your door was unlocked. Now hurry up and get changed. We gotta get to Emily’s school.”

Claire tried to hold her stomach in place as she rolled over to her clock and moaned louder, “It’s barely 7 o’clock, go away.”

Raven stood next to the bed and yelled, “GET UP!”

Claire screamed and fell off. She curled up and moaned, yelling against her better judgment, “WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!”

She swore her ears were bleeding as Raven walked around to where she laid on the floor, “You wanna find Emily’s killer don’t you? Then get up! We gotta get going.”

“Fine, fine, damn. Make yourself useful and make some coffee.” Raven stood there with his arms crossed waiting for Claire to get up. Claire sat up and saw him standing there waiting, “Well get the hell out. I ain’t changing in front of you!”

Raven chuckled as he walked out the room, “You’re a cranky one when you wake up Dunsworth.”

Claire flicked a finger and threw her pillow at the door closing behind him. She sat there for a minute trying to stop the nail digging into her head when she heard a twinkling sound. She turned and looked over the edge of the bed to see Crystal sitting there laughing at her.

Claire glared, “What the hell is your problem?”

Crystal shrugged her glimmering shoulder, “Nothing. Just enjoying the theatrics.”

Claire grumbled as she threw her arms on the bed, leaning against it, “Why the hell didn’t you stop him?”

Crystal gave her a look, “He just barged in. What was I supposed to do, melt him?”

“Would’ve been a nice change of pace,” she mumbled into the covers.

Crystal laughed again, “For you maybe. Go get a shower, you’ll feel better.”

Claire grumbled and moaned as she dragged herself up limping her way into the shower. Raven waited outside the door till he heard the shower running then went to make the coffee. He was in the kitchen looking through all the cabinets when Crystal found him.

“She keeps the coffee beans in the greenhouse. The grinder’s right next to it.”

Raven looked up to see Crystal perched on top of the cabinet looking down at him. He followed what she said and quickly found the coffee beans toasting in the sunlight of the dry portion of the greenhouse. There was an old-fashioned coffee grinder with a giant wheel and he quickly had a fresh batch of ground coffee beans ready to go. He turned the coffee maker on and soon the smell of fresh coffee filled the loft. He poured himself a cup and went to her bedroom door. Hearing her mumbling and complaining as she moved around he was satisfied that she was getting ready and went to sit on the round couch surrounding the giant oak table.

With nothing else to do but wait, he absently flipped through some pages of an open spell book. Crystal swooped down to the table landing in front of him, “Why does she keep all these books? She’s researching something?”

Crystal looked from the book to him, “No.”

He sipped his cup and waved a hand at the stack of books, “Then why does she have all this?”

Crystal tilted her head smirking, “She hasn’t told you yet has she?”

Raven turned to her, intrigued, “Told me what?”

“Something personal.”

They both looked up to see an irate Claire with her hands on her hips glaring at them. She stomped over to the table and grabbed Raven’s unfinished cup. Ignoring his protests, she drained the hot fresh coffee in one gulp. She slammed the cup down and walked to the door turning to him.

“Waitin’ on you now!”

Raven looked at her in surprise, he’s never seen her so irritated. He leaned over and whispered to Crystal, “Wanna come with us?”

Crystal laughed at him, “Oh no. You stroked this fire, now deal with it.”

She flew to her perch in the center of the room, effectively dismissing him. He had no choice and sighed as he got up, grabbing his cup, “Let’s take one for the road.”

Claire said nothing and continued to glare at him as he went to the kitchen and poured two cups in travel mugs. He went to the door and handed one to her as a peace offering with a rare smile on his face. She didn’t want to admit it but seeing his smile melted her fatigued away and took the cup to prevent herself from saying anything embarrassing. They walked down the stairs in silence and stopped when Claire spotted Midge standing outside her door with the famous brown paper bag in her hands.

She laughed as she handed the bag to Claire, “Here, child. You could use this.”

Claire sighed as she smelled the bag, swearing it’s what heaven smells like, “Thanks Midge.”

Midge winked, “I sprinkled some bergout root on them, to help with your headache.”

Claire smiled brighter as she hugged the old woman, “You’re a life saver Midge.”

They shared a laugh and Claire and Raven were soon outside the building heading to his car. As they walked Claire gulped down her sugar high breakfast as Raven watched in fascination. She even tried to share a chocolate sprinkled donut, but he politely declined. She shrugged and said more for herself as they got in the car and peeled away.

“Now why do we have to go to Emily’s school so early?”

“They’re doing a memorial assembly about Emily and I asked the principal if we could go and introduce ourselves and ask if anyone has any information to step forward.”

Claire drained the rest of her coffee wishing she had some ice tea to wash it down, “Do you really think someone would? These are teenagers. They barely tell anyone anything, especially adults, let alone adults with badges.”

Raven glanced at her as he moved around a slow-moving van, “You rather not do this?”

“No, no, it’s still a good idea, but a long shot I think.”

Raven shrugged, “And here I thought all mages always believed in miracles.”

Claire pointed a finger at him as he smirked, “That’s racist. And what’s with you today? You’re unusually…expressive.”

Raven glared at her, “I’m always expressive.”

“No, you’re always a dickhead. What’s up?”

Raven turned to her, about to give her a retort but decided against it, “While you were out partying last night I was actually working- “

“-you slept on the couch, again didn’t you?”

He turned to see her smirking at him, “How’d you know?”

She chuckled, “You just told me.” He graveled at her as she waved her hand, “Go on.”

He huffed as he continued, “I did some fishing and turns out there’s a Sam Wilkson at her school.”

Claire sat up, “Seriously?! Did they know each other?”

“They had three classes together so it’s a safe bet, yeah. That’s the hidden purpose of going today. Find the kid and find out if he’s the one Emily meant and what he knows.”

Claire waved her hands, “What are you gonna do, call the kid out while at the podium?”

Raven glared at her, “This is not my first time looking for a teenager as a suspect.”

She pointed a finger at him, “But it is a first time looking for a teenager who may have a connection with magic.”

He hated to admit it, but she was right, “Anyways, no. Once the assembly’s over I’ll ask the principal if we could walk around and talk to kids at random. We’ll ask around till we find him.”

Claire sighed as she sat back in her seat, “Guess there’s no quiet way of doing it.”

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride. With the morning traffic it was taking even longer to reach their destination. Something was bugging Raven and he finally asked Claire.

“What are those books for?”

Claire stared straight ahead, “I told you, something personal.”

He raised an eyebrow at her cold tone, “C’mon Claire, we’re partners.”

“And I told you before. You can know about me, not my personal stuff.”

“If you don’t tell me, I’m just gonna find out myself. Detective, remember?”

Claire turned to give him a look, “You would seriously do that even if it meant breaking my trust in you?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t help it Claire. If it’s something I gotta know, I gotta know.”

“What makes you think it’s something you gotta know?”

He was silent as he thought. He realized he just wanted to know simply because he wanted to know but couldn’t let her know that, “Call it a hunch.”

She sighed and turned back to the windshield as she thought. Finally, she said, “Fine, let’s make a deal. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Raven turned to her as that made no sense when Claire explained, “I wanna know about you. I know your name, but I don’t know you and how you stand with your family. When you trust me enough to share that, I’ll share with you or vies versa. Deal?”

Raven was silent again as he thought, pulling into the school lot. He parked, and they got out. Before Claire could ask again he walked over and held out his hand, “Deal.”

₂₆SAM WILKSON^Z

“Sam? He’s over there.”

Claire and Raven looked up to the young boy the bookish girl they were asking pointed to. They thanked the young girl and quickly made their way to the slinky looking young man with stooped shoulders and bowed head. The morning assembly went off without a hitch and the entire student body was paying as much attention as teenagers could afford to give to anything else outside their lives. When Ashley Campell took the stand and gave a eulogy in memory of Emily Brown every head was turned and gave her their undivided attention. There was not a single dry eye in the gym.

The school was state-of-the-art despite being a New York City public school. Claire was impressed when they walked in and continued to stay impressed as they walked around after the assembly, asking around until they found Sam Wilkson at his locker. The hallway was crowded and noisy as kids tried to open their lockers, grab their books, put books back, talk with friends, and text all before the late bell rung for their next class. Claire looked Sam up and down as they came closer and noticed the dark shadows under his eyes and the apparent tiredness of the young boy. She elbowed Raven behind her, mentioning her head to the boy and after a moment of looking Sam up and down he caught on to her meaning.

Raven stepped up to him, “Sam Wilkson?”

A head of badly needing a comb brown hair shot up. Pale fingers slightly shook as he adjusted his glass looking Raven up and down wearily, “Yes?”

Hiding his badge from the hallway crowd Raven flashed it to Sam, “I’m Detective Black. This is my partner Detective Dunsworth. Can we have a minute?”

Sam’s hand shook even more as he looked back and forth between Raven and Claire. He nervously licked his lips as he slammed his locker shut, “I-I’m sorry. I can’t be late.”

He turned and started walking off. The crowd thinned as the late bell was about to ring and Claire put her hand on Raven’s arm, stopping him from pursuing the boy as she stopped him with her words.

“They’re horrible aren’t they? The dreams.”

Sam stopped, his shoulders hunched as he brought his backpack strap up closer, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s the blood, isn’t it? The smell. It stays with you, even when you’re awake.”

Raven stared at Claire questioning as Sam slowly turned around with horror and unshed tears in his eyes. Claire ran to him as the late bell rung and threw her arms around his shoulders. She was shocked to feel his bones poking through his cold skin and rubbed her hands up and down trying to warm him up. She and Raven quietly lead him to an empty class room and luckily it was a science lab and Claire was able to quickly brew some soothing tea in a beaker as the boy sobbed.

The boy calmed down as Claire brought the steaming tea to him, “Here, drink this. It’ll help calm you down and give you some energy.”

His fingers shook as he took the beaker and looked up at Claire, “You’re a witch, aren’t you?”

A playful smile twitched her lips as she pointed a finger, “We like to be called mages.”

He made a poor attempt at a smile that only came off as crocked as he sipped the tea. They waited till he finished when Claire asked the first question, “When did you first have the dream?”

Sam swallowed hard at the rock in his throat, “About a year ago. They weren’t bad at first but lately…lately they just became so horrible I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“So you stopped sleeping?”

He slowly nodded his head, “I’d stay up playing game and drinking my dad’s coffee.” He breathed hard as he turned to Claire, “Is Emily…did Emily have the same dreams?”

Claire glanced at Raven before answering, “It’s possible, yes.”

“Did you know Emily personally Sam?”

He looked at Raven as his eyes became sad, “Yes. We were…we were kinda going out.”

“What do you mean kinda?”

Sam looked down at his hands, running the cold beaker between them, “We went on two dates last year. It was fun and we had a great time but…then she started pulling away from me. Making excuses and just straight up standing me up. Just when I thought about breaking things off with her she’ll come back and say she loves me. It would go back and forth like that.”

Claire looked at Raven and turned back to Sam, “Were you having the dreams at the same time?”

His head slowly nods then he looks up, “Wait…does this mean she was dreaming at the same time as me?” Claire nodded her head and Sam erupted into another sobbing fit, “Oh god! I thought she was just playing me. She wasn’t!”

Claire did her best to sooth Sam and motioned with her head to Raven for them to talk in private. They made sure Sam was clam then went outside the classroom door.

“We gotta get him help.”

“Is he a Necromancer?”

Claire sighed as she crossed her arms and stared at Sam through the glass panel, “No, not yet. He’s coming into his power but he’s fighting it, bad. If he doesn’t get help soon he’ll explode and he could end up like Emily.”

Raven watched Sam as he ran his fingers through his brown hair, “You better call your friend Dillon.”

Claire nodded her head as they went back inside. They told Sam they wished to talk to his parents and asked if they could be reached at home. Same told them his mother passed away shortly after he was born and his father works from home. He quickly told them his address and they offered to give him a ride home. Sam wanted to refuse but Raven explained they would have some follow up questions for him when they were done with his father. He reluctantly agreed and they soon found themselves pulling into the driveway of Sam’s two story home in an up-scale neighborhood. They went up to the front door and Raven rang the bell.

A short, slightly overweight balding man answered the door in sweats. He was alarmed to see Sam home so early and panicked when he saw Claire and Raven standing behind him, “What is this? What’s going on?”

“Mr. Wilkson? I’m Detective Black and this is my partner Detective Dunsworth.” They flashed their badges for him to see, “We’re with the MPF. We have a few questions to ask you.”

Mr. Wilkson adjusted his glasses as he studied the badges, “MPF? The new division the city created? What are you doing here? What do you want with my son?”

Claire tried her most soothing voice, “May we come in Mr. Wilkson? I’m sure you don’t want your neighbors to gossip too much about you.”

He blinked as he looked at Claire, “Yes, yes, I suppose you’re right.”

He stepped aside, pulling the door open and let them in. Sam quickly excused himself and ran up the stairs to his room, claiming homework. Mr. Wilkson didn’t even blink as he led the detectives to the massive high ceiling living room and offered refreshments. They simply asked for water and studied the room as he walked off. Claire thought it odd when she noticed a major lack of family pictures. Mr. Wilkson came back with bottle water, dripping with melted ice and handed them both to Raven. Raven passed one to Claire and they took a sip to be polite as Mr. Wilkson sat in the plush recliner across from them.

“Now what is this about?”

Claire was silent as she continued to study the room letting Raven take the lead, “Do you know an Emily Brown, Mr. Wilkson?”

His faced screwed up as he thought, waving a hand, “No I don’t. Might be someone Sam knows.”

“We’re investigating her murder sir. Sam’s name came up and we’re just being thorough.”

He shrugged his shoulder as he nodded absently, “If there’s any connection it’s simply school life. I’m afraid Sam has no friends to speak of.”

Claire felt her anger build at the apparent disinterest from the father as she turned to him, “Where’s the boy’s mother?”

His eyes shrunk as he glared at her, “She’s dead. Died shortly after Sam was born.”

Claire waved an angry hand to the room, “Where’s her picture? If she’s dead wouldn’t you want her memory to be alive? Wouldn’t you want Sam to know who his mother was?”

“Claire…” Raven whispered to her in warning.

A door slammed and a shout was yelled before Claire could say anymore, “Dad?! I’m home! They didn’t have any Lite so I got the regular, we’ll just have to work off the extra calories I guess.”

A can hissed open as someone walked through the kitchen and stopped when they saw the party in the living room. Claire looked the young man up and down, noticing the resemblance between him and Sam and deduced he was an older brother. He had the same brown hair but wore no glasses and his muscles filled out his frame much better than his brother. Claire assumed the brothers got their looks from their mother.

The young man looked around and slowly came up to his father’s side, “Dad? What’s going on?”

Mr. Wilkson waved an absent hand, “There’s some murder at Sam’s school. These people are investigating it. Get me a beer.”

The room was silent as he slowly nodded his head and quickly came back with a fresh can of beer. He handed it to his father who drained it in two gulps but the young man came prepared as he pulled out another can, handing it to his father. He stood across the coffee table and held out a hand to Raven.

“I’m John Wilkson, Sam’s older brother.”

Raven stood and shook his hand, “Detective Black.”

Claire stood and did the same, “Detective Dunsworth.”

Claire felt the tip of her fingers tingle as she shook hands with John but the feeling passed as they sat, quickly forgetting about it.

John sat with his fingertips tapping each other, “What can I help you with Detectives?”

“We’re investigating Emily Brown’s murder. Does that name ring a bell?”

John nodded his head, “Yes. Sam would sometimes bring her over. She seemed like a sweet girl. Is she really dead?”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “Sam didn’t mention it?”

A sad look crossed John’s eyes, “Sam doesn’t mention much these days.”

Claire felt something was off and decided to ask her own questions, “What do you do John?”

He shrugged a shoulder, “Odd jobs, temp stuff. Sort of a jack of all trades.”

“Do you remember your mother John?”

A sad smile played on his lips, “Yes I was 8 when she passed. She always had a bright smile, that’s what I remember most.”

“Do you have dreams John?”

A slight twitch went through John’s face so fast it was nearly unnoticeable but Raven and Claire caught it. He tried to chuckle, “What kind of question is that?”

Claire waved a hand, “Just making conversation. Do you have any interest John?”

John licked his lips, smiling, “I’ve always been interested in writing. I’ve always considered the written language one of man’s greatest magic.”

Claire shared a laugh with him, “Yes that’s true isn’t it? Do you mind if I check on your brother?”

John seemed slightly taken aback and glanced at his father, seeing he’ll be of no help, “Ye-Yeah sure. Uh, first door on the left.”

Claire said her thanks and gave Raven a look as she turned, telling him to stall as long as possible. Raven got the message and went about asking John and a slightly drunk Mr. Wilkson mundane questions as Claire went up the stairs. She had no idea what she was onto but she knew it would be the answer to this case and that feeling grew more and more as she went up the stairs and stopped before Sam’s door.

₂₇ACCEPTANCE^Z

Claire knocked on the door as she creaked it open, “Sam? May I come in?”

There was silence and Claire poked her head inside, seeing Sam with his head in his hands sitting on the bed. She tipped toed inside and place a hand on his shoulder.

“Sam? You ok?”

His shoulders slumped even more as he sighed. He spoke so softly Claire had to lean in closer to hear him, “What’s wrong with me?”

Claire got on her knees before him, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

He kept his face hidden as he mutters, “Something’s wrong. First I killed my mother, now I killed Emily.”

“Sam? Sam what are you talking about? You didn’t kill anyone.”

He looked up and Claire almost shrieked at the dead hollow eyes staring into hers, “I killed them. I killed them all.”

She felt his magic trying to run wild as it took control of the weak boy. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them tight, being firm as she spoke to him, “Sam, Sam listen to me. Listen to me. Sam, can you hear me?” Slowly his eyes focused on Claire’s, “You are not a killer. There is nothing wrong with you. You’re a Necromancer, a mage who lives with the dead. Do you understand?” Some light started to slowly come back into his eyes as he numbly nodded, “Good. Sam, I have a friend. He can help you with the dreams. Remember? The dreams of the black blood.” His eyes became frantic but Claire held him in place as he nodded, “My friend can help you ok? He can help with dreams and with your magic. I promise.”

The boy she knew as Sam slowly came back into his eyes, “Can he really help me?”

She smiled as she nodded, “Yes Sam he can. Would you like to meet him? Right now?”

He looked unsure but finally nodded his head. Claire sent a silent message to Dillon and within seconds there was a quiet knock at the door. Claire smiled reassuringly at the boy as she went to answer it. Dillon walked in and both Necromancers, both old and new, stared at each other as they took each other in. Claire silently tip toed around Dillon, bringing him closer before Sam.

Choosing her words carefully she gave introductions, “Sam, this is my friend Dillon. Dillon, this is my new friend Sam.”

The silence grew heavy as Sam stood and stared at the adult Necromancer before him. He looked so defeated as his shoulders stooped and his eyes glistened with tears, “Does it ever stop?”

Dillon did not need an explanation; he already knew what the boy was talking about. He somberly shook his head, “No.”

Silent tears trailed down Sam’s face, “Did I really kill them?”

Dillon thought as he chose his words carefully, “You did not.”

Sam’s eyes widen as his soul was crushed. Before he could ask any more Claire ran to his side and grabbed his hand, “But, let’s leave the questions until tomorrow.” She turned to Dillon, “I think it’s best if you and Sam be on your way.”

Sam shook under Claire’s hold, “I have to leave?”

Claire turned back to him and did her best to cheer him up with a smile, “To meet other Necromancers like you and Dillon. You’ll be with others who share the same dream.”

“What will that do?”

Claire was at a lost as to what to say when Dillon spoke quietly behind her, “It will lessen the pain. We all share the burden once together.”

Sam was quiet as he thought it over. Claire could feel the heavy air as he squeezed her hand. Finally as the minutes stretched he silently nodded his head, “I’ll go.”

Without a word Dillon called up the black cloud and set one foot inside. He turned around and looked at Sam, holding out a hand. Sam slightly hesitated but with a firm nod stepped forward and took Dillon’s hand. Suddenly the door slammed opened and John ran into the room.

“Stop! Where are you taking my brother?!”

Sam quickly stepped through the cloud and dissipated as John ran to it. He quickly waved his hands around trying to grab his brother but it was too late. John turned to Claire and grabbed her arms shaking her.

“Where did you take him?! Where is he?!”

Claire tried to speak but he was shaking her too hard. Raven came crashing through the room and grabbed John, “Get off Wilkson! Leave her alone!”

Raven was able to pull John off Claire and held him back as she yelled over him, “He’s fine! He’s safe!”

“Safe?! SAFE?! YOU CALL BEING WITH THOSE MURDERS SAFE?!”

John struggled from Raven’s hold, crashing around in Sam’s room, breaking everything in their path. Claire screamed at him to stop and listen to her but he was too frantic, neither of them could hear her. Finally having enough she stomped her foot.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

She threw her hands up and grabbed each man, engulfed in purple light. She pulled her hands apart, effectively pulling the men apart and let go of Raven. She ran to Raven’s side and made sure he was alright as she held John aside, screaming.

“Are you ok?”

Raven panted, leaning on his elbow as he whipped at the blood coming from his mouth, “Fine. Damn b*****d cocked me with his elbow.”

“Here.”

Keeping her other hand holding John up she placed her free hand on Raven’s face. She muttered a silent chant and Raven was surprised to feel an energy rush going through him and felt his mouth stop bleeding.

He looked at Claire in wonder as he sat up, “I thought magic didn’t work on Blacks.”

Claire shook her shoulder, “All magic works you just need enough of it.” Raven gave a “huh” as they stood. She pointed her head to John, “What happened to him?”

Raven shook his head, “No idea. We were talking fine then all of a sudden he ran off up the stairs all frantic ‘bout 5 minutes ago.”

Claire turned to study John as he was calming down. She slowly placed him on his feet and he collapsed to his knees sobbing, “That’s about when Dillon came.” They stood there studying John as he sobbed while Claire crossed her arms, “What about the Dad?”

“Out drunk in the chair. What should we do with him?”

Claire looked up at him, “Why should we do anything? He’s just worried about his brother.”

Raven gave her a glare, “Claire he assaulted you.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “And you think that’s the first time that’s happened to me? The man’s just frantic for his brother, no harm done.”

Raven was taken aback by her comment and went to say more but she walked off. He felt his anger rise even more as he saw the bleeding welts on her arms. Claire knelt before John, laying a hand on his knee.

“John?” She spoke softly as he looked up, “You’re brother is fine. He’s with other Necromancers who will teach him how to control his magic.”

John ardently shook his head, “No. He’s with nothing but murderers. They’ll teach him to murder again!”

Claire felt her eyebrow furrow as she tried to control her anger, “John what are you talking about? No one is a murderer.”

“Yes he is!” John grabbed her already sore arms and she clenched her jaw to the pain. Raven took a step forward but she held him back with her hand as John spoke, “He killed before and he did it again! He’ll do it more if I don’t stop him!”

“Who John? Who killed?”

“Sam!” He sobbed as his fingers tighten on her arm, “He killed our mother and now that poor girl! I’ve got to stop him!”

He went into another screaming frenzy and Claire was forced to hold him down with her magic again. She knew the Guild higher-ups will want a word with her for using all this magic but this was more important. She tried her best to calm John down but he remained frantic.

“Claire,” Raven placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, “this has got to stop. Let’s take him in for assault and give him time to calm down in a holding cell. We can question him in the morning.”

Claire tried to protest but upon looking at John she knew he was right. She sighed as her magic dissipated and Raven stepped forward, slapping cuffs on the hysterical young man. Raven led him down the stairs as he screamed about murderers. As they walked past the living room the shouting shook the father awake. He groggily looked around and saw his oldest son being escorted out of the house in cuffs. He merely grumbled and stumbled into the kitchen to get another beer.

Claire watched amazed at the front door as the father walked off ignoring his screaming son. She pulled a paper out of the air and slapped it on the door. It was a note explaining about his two sons but Claire doubted if he’ll ever read it. John continued to scream as they got in the car and Claire put up a wall between the front and back seats and sighed as the silence rung in her ears. Raven calmly pulled out of the driveway and they headed back to the office.

John finally shut up as they pulled into the lot behind the building. Raven pulled him out and escorted him through the back door and into the holding cells in the basement. Claire sighed as she stopped by Malvina’s desk to fill out the paper work.

“My god! What happened to you?”

Malvina was staring at the welts on Claire’s arm. She shook her head, “It’s a long story.”

“Dunsworth!”

She looked up from the clipboard she was holding as Malvina turned in her chair. They watched as the Captain came up to her. He was about to speak when he saw the welts on Claire’s arms.

He pointed to them, “What happened there?”

Claire was about to blow it off when Raven came up behind him, “She was assaulted by someone we were questioning. He’s down in the holding cell now.”

She glared at him, making it sound worse than it was as the Captain nodded, “Fine.” He turned to stare both of them in the eye, crossing his fat arms, “You two need to wrap this case up.”

Claire waved a hand, “We are, sir. We’re getting close to the killer.”

“Killer?! This is a suicide mage.”

Claire stared at him, “But sir-“

He pointed a finger at her, “Suicide Dunsworth. I’ve read the report from the ME. This case is closed. Wrap it up, now. And get that looked at.”

He pointed to her arms as he walked off. Claire stood stuttering at him as he walked off. She turned to Raven, “He can’t do that! This is murder!”

Raven placed a hand on her shoulder, “Claire I get it, I understand. I believe it’s murder too but we have to follow the evidence.”

“But the evidence is lying!”

“Claire,” Raven grabbed her shoulders turning her to him, “It’s been a long day. Go home, get some rest. We’ll hold off the report and see what we can’t dig out of John tomorrow.”

Claire was reluctant but slowly nodded her head. She quickly filled out the paper work and went home. Raven sighed as he went to his desk, feeling like it’s gonna be a long night.

“You sure like her don’t you?”

He looked up from his hands to see Malvina staring at him. He shrugged his shoulders, “She’s my partner.”

“Uh-huh,” Malvina looked him up and down, “well partner, you just take care of that girl.”

She went back to her work and Raven slightly shook his head. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair as he turned to his computer, quickly pulling up everything he could on the Wilkson’s.

₂₈TURBELANCE^Z

Raven rubbed his eyes as the computer burned them. It was past midnight and the twins just came in to start their graveyard shift. They pushed for him to go home but he refused, not until he found something on the Wilkson’s. He discovered that the mother, Melinda Wilkson, did indeed die when her son John was 8 and Sam only a few days old. The incident report was spotchy at best but something the kid John gave in his testimony nagged at him.

“…It was like she was choking. She kept screaming at Sam to let her go…”

Raven knew that tied in to how Emily died but how it was connected nearly 16 years apart beside Sam was proving elusive. He was getting nothing from that angle so he got the idea to work the Mr. Bud Wilkson angle. His has a dirt bag record which made him wonder how he ended up in such a nice place and dug deeper. Grew up in NYC, middle income home. Developed a gambling and drug addiction before high school.

He came across a report where Bud Wilkson was listed as a witness. Apparently he straightened his act in college and even got engaged to an Allison McLain. On April 25^th, 2194, three years before he married his deceased wife Melinda, Bud and Allison were mugged while walking through the park at 3:38 am. There was an altercation where Bud fought off their attacker but not before he killed Allison. She died in Bud’s arms and he later found out the mugger was a mage. He was never arrested. Bud Wilkson stayed in the cops’ radar as he became associated with protest involving the Puritans.

His involvement with the Puritans became more and more until he was suspected of being one of the leaders for the NY district. Raven was shocked to find out he married his wife within this time and turns out Melinda was suspected of being a Puritan herself. Raven shifted through more articles on the projection and pinched his nose as he eyes burned.

“Go home Black-“

“-we’ll close up shop.”

Raven looked up to see the twins yawning over their coffees staring at him. He sighed as he shut his computer off, “Yeah, thanks guys.”

He quickly left before he could get sucked into his work, knowing if he did he’ll never leave. Then what good would he be to Claire? He bit back a yawn as he walked to his car and quickly sped down the road towards home. He parked in the parking basement of his apartment building and quickly went up the elevator to the 4^th floor. His keys jiggled as he tried unlocking the door but the door was stuck and he had to slam his shoulder into the door to get it open. His down stairs neighbor started banging on his floor as his door slammed opened, yelling to keep quiet.

Raven mumbled curses at the shrewd old man living downstairs and stumbled his way into his apartment. The floors creaked, the windows were cracked and the wallpaper was peeling. He slammed the door shut with his foot fumbling on the wall for the light switch. He switched it on but the light bulb flickered off. Raven shuffled over and twisted the bulb and cried out as the light blinded his eyes. He mumbled some more as he made his way into the too small kitchen and was careful not to yank the door off his fridge as he opened it. Pulling out a bottle of beer he slammed the door shut and plopped himself onto his couch before his TV.

He flipped through channels as he sipped his cold beer. Drifting away from the program his eyes shifted around his home, comparing it to the splendor of Claire’s loft. He growled at himself as he shut the TV off and drained his beer. He felt angry with himself as he walked into his bedroom and stripped. Throwing his clothes into the corner he pulled the covers and plopped himself into his bed. He threw his arm over his eyes as he listened to his A/C whirring, turning his hot apartment into a cool oasis.

How could he even compare his place to Claire’s? She’s a mage so of course she has money right? He’s no delusionist, not all mages have it made but they do do very well for themselves. And from what he’s seen of Claire so far she’s more than capable of earning her success. So why should she settle for someone like him, a Black? Raven’s eyes threw open as he sat up, Where the f**k did that come from?! He threw his head into his hands as he yelled at himself, feeling foolish. He didn’t want Claire that way, did he?

He was shaken out of his thoughts as his phone card shrilled somewhere in his pants buried in the pile. Raven sighed in frustration as he threw off the covers and dug out his phone, answering the call with irritation in his voice, “What?!”

Anthony paused as he heard Raven’s frustration, “Good morning to you too.”

Raven sat on his bed running his fingers through his hair, “It’s f****n’ 3 in the mornin’, no way it’s good. What is it?”

Anthony opted to hurry with the call so Raven can catch his sleep, “I’m just calling to check up on that suspect you brought in. When did you release him? It was never filled out.”

He scratched his scalp as he thought, “Suspect? What suspect? I never brought in a suspect.”

“Uh,” Raven heard Anthony flipping through papers, “yeah. A John Wilkson. Brought in this afternoon.”

“Wilkson? He wasn’t a suspect, he assaulted Claire. We brought him in on those charges.”

Anthony looked the sheet up and down, “No I got him listed here as a suspect. Look just tell me when he was released and I’ll let you go.”

Raven stood as he felt dread in his veins, “Released? He was never released.”

“We just checked on him Black; he’s not in his cell.”

Raven barely had time to yank his pants back on as he raced out the door, “Find him. Find John Wilkson now! He’s a deranged civilian with a possible connection to our murder victim. He may be fixated on Claire. I want him found now!”

He barked orders as he raced down the stairs barefoot, no time to wait for the elevator. He jumped into his car throwing his phone into his pocket as he stepped on the gas. Sirens blaring, he raced and waved around the late night traffic speeding to the office. Tires squealed as Raven spun into their parking lot. The smoke of burning rubber was still heavy in the air as Raven ran into the building.

“Where is he?!”

Anthony and Andrew turned from their computers to see Raven panting at the door way, shirtless and shoeless with his pants undone. He walked up to their desk waiting for an answer.

“We haven’t found him yet-“

“Why the hell not?! This man is dangerous!”

Anthony glared at him as he yelled as his twin, “We know this Black but we don’t know how long this man has been missing!”

Raven turned burning eyes to him, “How the hell did he escape?”

They had no idea and Raven ordered Anthony to dig into John’s life as Andrew kept looking for him. Raven ran down the stairs to the basement skidding to a stop in front of John’s cell. He studied the cell and found so signs of foul play. He ripped out his phone and dialed a number.

It rang for what seemed like hours until finally a groggy voice heavy with sleep answered, “H-Hello?”

“Tess!” Raven barked into the phones causing poor Tessa to jump in her bed, “I need you to come to the office now! John Wilkson’s escaped and I need you to find out how.”

Tessa sat up in bed as she ran a hand through her bed hair, “Wh-What? Now?”

“Tessa this man could be after Claire!”

At that Tessa snapped out of bed. She didn’t even bother hanging up the phone as she threw on some clothes and ported to Raven. He didn’t even blink as light flashed behind him and he turned to see Tessa shivering in the early morning air looking like a mess.

Raven stepped aside and waved to the cell, “Here, this is where he was. How did he escape?”

Tessa stepped forward and placed a chilled hand on the cold bars, “My magic doesn’t really work that way but I can run some tests.”

“Just do what you can and find me something.”

She barely paid attention she raised her arms, her hands glowing white. Raven bounded up the stairs leaving her to her work as he came up to the twins, “What did we find?”

“Not only are these guys married to the Puritans but they’re an experiment.”

Raven grabbed the file Anthony handed him, “What do you mean?”

“We found a birth certificate for Sam Wilkson filled out by the mother, but get this, he has a different father.”

Raven shrugged his shoulders, “So she had an affair. What does this have to do with now?”

Anthony pointed to the file, “The father listed is a registered Necromancer. My guy inside the Guild says that the father was known to have worked with the Puritans.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “A Necromancer was working with the Puritans?”

“Yeah, turns out the Puritans would do something like sleeper agents. They would hire mages under their control to impregnate unsuspecting woman. They would leave the woman before the kid is born and let time run its course. Letting the kid mage grow up in a mundane world until their magic explodes, giving the Puritans the excuse they need saying magic is more harmful than good.”

Raven read the file up and down, “And the Wilkson’s were a part of this sleeper thing but Sam’s magic turned out to be too great. His magic ran haywire and accidently killed his mother. How does John play in this? Have we found him yet?”

Andrew hung up the phone and turned to Raven, “Just got a tip. Someone matching John’s description was spotted in downtown off 34^th.”

Raven’s blood ran cold, “That’s near Claire’s place. Keep digging!”

He ran out the door barking orders as he raced to his car. He heard the sounds of the early morning traffic and knew he’ll never get there in time. He quickly spun on his heels and ran towards the port instead. The glass tube hummed as he stepped in and the holo fairy gasped as she saw the nearly naked man inside her port.

“Ca-Can I help you?”

Raven quickly gave Claire’s address and was ported before he could breathe. He ran out the port and up the stairs, through the building, racing up the stairs to Claire’s loft. He was breathless by the time he reached Claire’s door and banged on it, nearly knocking it down.

“Claire?! Claire can you hear me?! Wake up and open the door!”

He banged for five more minutes and was nearly breaking down the door when it opened. He ran inside with his gun drawn, spinning around scanning the room. There was no one, not even Claire as he turned to the door and saw Crystal on the door knob with a frantic look in her eyes.

“Where is she? Where’s Claire?”

Crystal shook her head, “I don’t know. She was gone when you woke me.”

“Could she have left without waking you? Do you know where she is?”

Crystal shook her head, gleaming in the shinning moonlight through the glass wall, “No, never. She always tells me when she’s leaving.”

“Can you find out where she is?!” Crystal shook a sad head and Raven yelled in frustration. He felt his phone buzzing and yanked it out, “What?!”

Anthony was somber as he spoke, “John’s a Rune Specialist Black. He knows all the anti-magic spells.”

Raven felt the blood drain from his face as the room spun. Anthony was nothing but a squeaking mouse as his ears began to ring. Then what the hell happened with Claire?

₂₉SACRIFICE^Z

There was silence. The world around her was dead and still as the ice climbed up her feet. She bent her head forward and watched as her feet was buried under ice, licking its way up her legs. She stared at it queryingly as she realized, she didn’t feel a thing. She no longer felt the bite of the ice as it dug into her skin. She held her hand up and watched as the wind pulled at the hairs on her hand and no longer felt the knives of the wind slicing her skin. She looked up into the vast horizon of nothing but bleak black. Her eyes sluggishly blinked against the cold but she never even felt that. She turned her head to her right and saw the glowing figure of Claire, staring at her in amazement. Her eyes did not register the light coming from Claire for she did not see it. Claire was shocked and nearly cried as she stared at such a tattered version of Emily, freezing before her eyes. She tried to speak and call out Emily’s name but no sound was made. Emily stared at her unblinking as she studied Claire.

Are you the one?

Emily’s voice echoed and reverberated through Claire’s mind as she spoke. She threw up her hands to her ears as she cringed at the overwhelming noise. As silence fell Claire looked up and tried to answer but her voice was still gone, instead she nodded her head. She expect Emily to speak again but instead she blinked and looked down at her hand. Claire watched as she held up her right hand and saw she clenched something so tightly her knuckles were white and her palms were bleeding. Emily held out her hand to Claire and she knew she meant for her to take it. Claire reached up and saw that her hands were transparent and was worried that whatever Emily was handing her would simply fall onto the frozen ground. She held her hands together under Emily’s clenched hand and watched as Emily let go. Into her hands dropped Emily’s dream catcher, tattered, torn and bloody but whole. Claire looked up into Emily’s brown eyes watching her, trying to ask what this meant. Her voice went silently into the wind as Emily turned from her. She tried to grab her shoulder and pull her back but she suddenly stopped. Standing before Emily she now faced a being covered in black blood. Claire held a hand to her mouth feeling vile creeping up her throat as Emily turned once more to her. She expected to see horror and terror in the girl’s face but instead saw calm acceptance, even a small excitement. Emily’s lips twitched into a weak smile before she turned back to the being. Claire could only watch helpless as the being raised a hand and placed it on Emily’s forehead. Emily’s lips moved as she spoke and closed her eyes.

Claire gasped as she woke. She held a hand to her head feeling it ring like a bell, What was she saying? She ran her other hand to her neck, rubbing at the kink when she felt a blast of cold air.

“Crystal how many times do I have to tell you to shu-“

Claire snapped her jaw shut as she opened her eyes and realized, she’s not in her bedroom any more, or even her loft. She looked around, unsure of where she was as she was surrounded in darkness. Finally the clouds moved and enough moonlight filtered through the roof for her to recognized she was in the building the gold thread had led her and Raven two days ago. She looked around and noticed she was alone and looked down to see her nightwear covered in dirt.

She looked around wondering what the hell she was doing there when she noticed the ground before her. She had obviously been digging and she felt compelled to finish the dig. Her fingers scrapped the dirt away as she dug the hole deeper and finally felt her nails brush against something. Using her hand she brushed the dirt off and was shocked to find Emily’s dream catcher, tattered, torn and covered in blood, much like her dream but still whole and real. She went to pick the dream catcher up out of the hole when she heard a gun hammer click.

“Don’t move.” Claire slowly put her hands up and turned her head, “Damnit I said don’t move!”

She turned and looked down the barrel of an anti-magic gun. She felt her blood freeze as she looked up into the crazed eyes of John. She licked her lips as her mind raced and she spoke softly, “Hey J-“

“SHUT UP!”

“Ok, ok.”

Claire turned her eyes down and held her hands up, trying to look as compliant as she could. She felt the barrel of the gun poke her head and felt the effects of the runes on the gun as it irritated her scalp, “Get up. I SAID GET UP!”

She slowly got to her feet trying to show she meant no harm as she obeyed. It was then she realized the tingle she felt from shaking his hand earlier was also from the effects of runes on his hands. She silently scolded herself for not realizing it before as John forced her to turn his way.

“What are you doing here?! How’d you get here?!”

Claire glanced her eyes at him as she tried to speak softly, “I-I don’t know. I just woke up.”

“SHUT UP! YOU’RE LYING!”

The gun burned her forehead as he pressed it into her scalp, holding her neck. She tried to keep her breathing calm as his thumb cut off her windpipe, “I’m not…lying. I was…sleepwalking.”

“SHUT UP! Where’s Sam? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH SAM?!”

“WILKSON!”

John went frantic as he yanked Claire in front of him, using her as a shield. She nearly wept as she saw Raven step into the moonlight, aiming a gun at John. She quietly chuckled, “What are you doing here naked?”

“SHUT UP!”

John screamed into her ear and buried the gun deeper into her skin. Raven heard it sizzling and felt his anger boil as his fingers itched to squeeze the trigger. He couldn’t risk hitting Claire, not without a clear shot and even if that wasn’t the case Raven’s gun was also an anti-magic gun so Claire wouldn’t even be able to shield herself from any stray bullets.

Raven held up a hand trying to keep the crazed man’s attention, “John, John calm down. Calm down.” Claire whimpered as John dug the gun deeper into her skull, watching Raven through her hair, cowering behind her, “C’mon John let’s, let’s talk, ok? Just you and me, let’s talk.”

John’s breathing became ragged as madness shone in his eyes, “Where’s Sam? I NEED SAM!”

“Sam’s,” Raven inched his way closer, keeping John’s attention on his hands, “Sam’s fine. He’s with a friend.”

“HE’S WITH THOSE MURDERERS! THEY MURDERED MY MOTHER!”

“No, no John, no one murdered your mother.”

“I WAS THERE! SHE WAS BEING CHOKED BY A GHOST! THEY ORDERED THE GHOST TO DO IT!”

Claire closed her eyes as she felt tears run down her face, crying for the young boy John was and how he saw everything wrong. Raven risked another step closer, “No, no John. They can’t do that.”

John’s breathing hastened as he tightened his grip on Claire, “How-How do you know that?”

Raven’s eyes searched Claire’s as he thought, “Well…I don’t know personally but Claire…Claire here can tell you a lot better than me.”

Claire licked her lips as she tried to speak around John’s hold on her neck, “It’s true John…they can’t…they can’t give orders like that.”

“SHUT UP!”

Raven took a lung at them but John was took quick and whipped his gun at Raven. Claire screamed and grabbed John’s arm, pulling the gun down, feeling it burn where it made contact. They struggled for the gun as Raven yelled for her to let go but John was able to get the upper hand and get free of Claire’s hold. He opened fired on Claire and Raven returned fire as she tried to protect her head. John backed away as Raven fired at him, bullets grazing his face as he ran away.

Raven collapsed to Claire’s side, “Are you alright?! Are you hurt?!”

Before she could answer more shots were fired and Raven grabbed Claire’s arm as they ran from the building, seeking shelter in the warehouse. Raven fired back behind him as they skidded through a doorway and took shelter behind a pillar.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Raven turned to Claire as she spoke in a hushed tone. He glared at her as he spoke in a hush in return, “I’m shooting back, whatda think?!”

“You can’t shot at a mundane with rune bullets!”

The pillar crumbled above their heads as it was rattled with bullets. They calmly made their way to another pillar and sat behind it as Raven continued their conversation, “I’m a little pressed for time to change them!”

Claire poked a finger at his shoulder, “This is exactly why I wanted a gun!”

They were bombarded with bullets once again and took shelter behind another pillar, “Will you just shut up?! Let me handle this.”

Raven stood as Claire crossed her arms and mumbled, “Oh sure, let the man handle this.”

Raven peeked around the pillar, looking for the gunman, “John?! I know you’re out there! Listen! I just want to talk, ok?!”

Claire looked up at him with a look of disgust as she whispered, “My god do you seriously think that’s gonna work?”

Raven shushed her as he waited a reply. He caught movement in the upstairs offices and pinned that as John’s location. He slowly rasied his hands as he spoke, “Ok?! We’re just gonna talk, you and me!”

Claire looked at him like he’s stupid as he started walking around the pillar. From the corner of her eye she saw movement outside the warehouse doors and saw John standing across the building to Raven’s right, pointing a gun at him. The gunshot rang through the hollow building as he fired at an unsuspecting Raven.

“RAVEN!”

Claire screamed and threw herself in front of him. She threw up her hands and knew it was futile but created a shield. The bullet shattered her shield like glass and Raven watched in horrifying slow motion as the bullet edged closer and closer to Claire, penetrating her chest. Her body slammed into his, throwing him back and he felt her jerk as the bullet found her heart. She collapsed lifelessly into his arms as they fell to the ground.

Raven looked down at the face of his down partner, “Claire? CLAIRE?!”

A footstep crunched the ground and Raven threw up his gun at the sound, squeezing the trigger. John fell to his knees just as sirens were beginning to sound in the back ground. He was dead before the cars starting filling the lot. As officers swarmed the warehouse Raven screamed at them to get an M-Doc fast. He held onto to Claire, applying pressure to her bullet wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

She’s bleeding too fast. She may not make it.

Raven refused to believe that as he screamed at Claire to stay with him. He felt hands pulling at him as Tessa came into view. She gave him no attention as she attended Claire. She saw the wound in her friend’s chest and knew it was bad. She began to bark orders as her hands covered the hole in her chest, using her magic to keep her heart pumping. She knew with that bullet in there her heart will stop any minute unless they get it out.

Raven fought the hands that pulled at him, his eyes unfocused as Henry and Lucy held him back. They were yelling at him to let the medics do their jobs but he heard none of it. His eyes were focused on Claire, his ears hearing only her heart. He counted the beats he heard as they slowly began to fall. Tessa screamed for help as Raven felt his legs give. Thunder rolled as he fell to his knees, watching in horror as they pulled her away.

He felt a coldness touch his neck and turned his head, barely focusing on Crystal landing on his shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his neck and he saw tears in her eyes, amazed that glass could even cry. She rubbed her head against his and he absently placed his hand over her body as he turned back to see them put Claire in the back of an ambulance. Even from there he could hear Tessa screaming, barking orders as the sound of Claire’s heartbeats grew silent.

₃₀CONFESSION^Z

It’s been 12 hours. Twelve long hours since they’ve brought Claire in. Raven sat with his hands clasped together leaning his forehead against them, listening to the soundtrack of a hospital waiting room. The occasional sniffle and stifled cough. The absent flipping of a magazine with the muted TV. But it was the sound of Abby sobbing for Claire that continued to ring through his mind, hours after she stopped. Nearly all of Claire’s friends surrounded him in the room, those he knew and others he hasn’t met. They left him alone but he could feel their cold stares.

He had followed the ambulance as it left the lot with Crystal sticking with him. He ran in the hospital after the team as they wheeled Claire inside, Tessa sitting on the gurney with her hands over Claire’s bleeding heart. Noise and sounds were muted as he listened to Tess shout and bark orders. Two orderlies held him back as they wheeled her in the operating room but he tried to fight his way in. Finally Henry stepped over and pulled him aside and sat him in the waiting room. Then her friends started trickling in with Abby and Elizabeth coming to him for questions. He could still remember the accusing looks on their faces as he told them what happened. Abby broke down sobbing as Elizabeth held her.

Elizabeth brought her to the chair and sat her down whispering to her, “Don’t cry Abs. Both my husband and Tess are in there right now with Claire. She’s in good hands. She’ll get through this.”

After that more friends came filing in for another 3 hours, asking, sobbing, throwing him cold stares. At one point Dillon came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Neither of them said a word but enough was said as Dillon squeezed his shoulder, trying to reassure him. He then walked off to leave Raven alone with Crystal perched on his leg with her neck curved around his elbow and her tail wrapped around his leg in a pitiful attempt to hug him. After some time someone draped a blanket over his bare shoulders and it was then he realized he was still only in his pants but he didn’t care. He didn’t even care who gave him the blanket or knew who it was.

As the hours stretched and no word came from the operating room the small gathering of mages quieted down. When they reached their 9^th hour there someone suggested a praying service for Claire and soon every mage in the waiting room formed a giant circle and mumbled as once voice, praying for their friend and loved one. Abby stepped up to Raven and offered her hand to join in the circle but he barely moved. The only thing running through his mind was the horrid memory of Claire being shot. He could still feel her body jerking against his as she slammed against him and he knew he would forever remember that feeling.

How could he have become so dependent on her? He’s barely known her for a month and yet here he was, feeling as if his own life was in the balance. He knew so little about her and yet he couldn’t remember what his life was like before she came kicking in. He could still remember when he first saw her, sitting on his couch in the break room, looking at him terrified. He could still feel her kneeing his stomach as she pushed him off of her. Rubbing his stomach he looked up to yell at whoever kneed him and could only see golden hair highlighted by the sunlight behind her with a luscious mouth begging to be kissed and a slightly shrewd look in her eyes. He didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to see it but he’s be infatuated by her ever since. She’s been a world wind in his life, throwing his simple life upside down and he loved every minute. Did he love her?

“Dunsworth, Claire?”

Heads shot up as a doctor covered in bloody scrubs walked into the room. Everyone stood and made their way to him but Raven beat them all, running before the doctor.

“I’m her partner. Where is she?”

The dark haired doctor looked him up and down, raising his eyebrow at the near nakedness of the man. He merely shrugged his shoulder and cleared his throat, “She’s alive.” Everyone breathed a collected sigh of relief at his words, “But she’s weak. The bullet lodged itself into her heart and it’s only thanks to Dr. Mills’s quick aid that her heart survived. She’s resting and will be for a while.”

Raven felt a boulder roll off his shoulders as he heard the doctor’s words. He raked his hand through his hair, “Where is she?”

The doctor gave him the room number and the entire party raced their way through the halls to her room. Raven was the first to reach the door but his feet stopped, preventing him from going in. He stepped aside and let the others go in first and collapsed on a bench by the door. Crystal swooped into the room to get a look at Claire and was relieved to see her resting peacefully. She looked around and didn’t see Raven. She flew back out the door and found him sitting on the bench with his head in his hands. She landed on his shoulders and tried to speak to him but he didn’t move. She sighed as she was at a lost as to what to do so she simply curled her tail around his neck and cuddled against him, trying to comfort him.

“Here,” Raven looked up to see Lucy holding a gift shop bag at him, “We can’t have her going into a heart attack after seeing you naked like that.”

She expected a grin or even a weak smile but he just numbly took the bag and whispered a thanks. She sighed and sat next to him as he looked in the bag. There was a thin shirt and hoodie, even pants with some socks and shoes. Raven looked at his own pants and saw them covered in dirt and realized Claire’s blood had dried on his pocket.

He scratched his scalp as Crystal walked over to Lucy’s lap as she petted her, “You didn’t have to buy all this.”

“Oh I didn’t, Henry did. Said he knew your size.”

She smiled down at Crystal, fascinated by the chime like purred she gave when she scratched under her long neck, “Where is Henry?”

Lucy glanced at him and whispered, “With Tess. She’s pretty shaken up.”

They were silent as murmurs were heard in the room, the mages taking turns walking in and out until a nurse finally shooed them all away, saying Claire needed silence. Lucy watched Raven as the crowd thinned, everyone knowing Claire’s alright, “Why won’t you go in?”

He didn’t say anything for a long time as the hallway became deserted, “I couldn’t protect her. I have no right to go in there.”

Lucy ‘tched’, “Bullshit. You’re her partner; shouldn’t you be in there with your partner? Don’t you think she’ll want to see you?”

Raven turned to her and she saw emotion in him for the first time in hours, “What the hell do you want me to say? I was a f****n’ idiot who got my partner shot. It’s because of me she’s in there and was fighting for her life not even an hour ago.”

Lucy sat back against the wall, “From what I understand, if you hadn’t shown up, she would have been in a lot worse luck.” Lucy waited as he thought about her words, “Get in there Black. Or are you too chicken to face her?”

She gave Crystal one last scratch then got up and went into the room herself. She stepped up to Claire’s bed and felt appalled at all the tubes and beeping machines around her. Holding Crystal to her chest she reached down and grabbed Claire’s hand. She felt Claire slightly squeezing her hand and smiled. She leaned down and whispered something in Claire’s ear, Crystal crawling to lay beside Claire as she did so. Lucy stood up and turned to leave to see Raven standing in the doorway, fully clothed in his new clothes.

She went up and placed a hand on his shoulder as she passed, “She’s awake.”

The door clicked behind her as she left, leaving them alone in privacy. Raven could only stand there watching the machines beep around her. He felt horrible at seeing so many tubes and IV’s coming from her pale body. He walked up beside her and slowly reached a hand to hers. He stopped inches from her hand as he saw the stark contrast between his healthy skin to her pale skin.

A voice croaked, “What are you so afraid of?”

Raven looked up and saw Claire staring at him, smiling. He felt shaky as he grabbed her hand and leaned forward, “Hey…how’re you feeling?”

She gave a weak chuckle, “Like I’ve been shot.” She tried to make light of the situation but saw how hurt he was. She squeezed his hand, “Raven stop, I don’t blame you.”

“I can blame myself.”

He watched as the Claire he knew flashed in her eyes, “Well stop or I’ll be forced to knock some sense into you.”

He gave a weary smile as he pulled up a chair, keeping her hand in his, “Do that and I’ll have to arrest you for assaulting an officer.”

They shared a laugh and Claire winched as it pulled at her bandages. She waved a hand when Raven tried to call for a nurse and asked for some water. He quickly poured a glass and sat as she drank.

Feeling like he’ll never get another chance he whispered, “I’m so sorry Claire. Because of me you got shot.”

“Yep that’s true,” he was shocked to hear her say that and saw her smirk at him, “C’mon Raven this isn’t you. Yes, I was shot. Yes, it could have been different.” Her eyes sobered as she locked eyes with him, “It could of been you. I would much rather I be the one who’s shot because…I don’t think I can be held accountable for my actions if you were shot.”

She was able to get a weak smile out of him from that, “Yeah well…it’s still my fault.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “What can you do? It’s in the past Raven and I’m not one to hold grudges and stuff.”

Raven sighed as he rubbed at his temple. The silence stretched as Claire tried to think of what to say when he spoke softly, “This is why I didn’t want you to learn to shot.”

She stared at him perplexed, “Why? Cause I’ll get shot? Raven that’ll happen regardless.”

He waved a hand, “No not that.” He paused as he collected his thoughts, “I didn’t want you to learn to shot because…because when you use your magic your protecting and saving lives but when you use guns you’re…you’re shooting to kill Claire. I didn’t want you to carry that burden.”

Claire stared at him as his words hit home. She smiled and reached for his hand. He didn’t want to at first but she persisted and finally clasped his hand in hers, “Raven…that’s the sweetest, most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard. I knew what carrying a gun would mean and I knew the burden I would have to one day carry. But I need to protect my partner…no matter the cost.”

Raven stared at her and finally chuckled, “You’re a rare partner Dunsworth.”

“Uh, it’s ‘a rare woman’ numnuts.”

They laughed again when a knock came at the door. Claire leaned back against the bed exhausted and wanting to sleep but was pretty sure she knew who was behind the door.

“Come in!”

Dillon opened the door and stepped aside as Sam came in behind him. Dillon quietly went up to the other side of her bed and grabbed her hand, “Are you alright?”

Claire smiled and squeezed his hand, “I’m alright D.”

She held up a hand and beckoned him down and gave him a hug. She smiled as he gave her a small squeeze and stepped aside to let Sam up next. The poor kid looked like he was about to cry when Claire held out her hand and smiled at him. He quietly grasped it and wept silent tears as he apologized for his brother’s actions. Claire pulled him in a hug despite the pain and told him it’s never his fault. After a minute Sam pulled back and gave Claire a weak smile. She asked how he was doing since going with Dillon and already she could tell he was doing much better.

They were about to leave when she stopped them, “Wait, Sam I have something for you.” She waved her hand and Emily’s diary appeared in her hand. She handed it to Sam, “When I saw Emily last time she whispered something. She told me ‘thank you’ and asked that I deliver her letter to you. Here.”

She gave the diary to Sam and mentioned for him to turn to the last page. There in Emily’s writing was a letter written to Sam and he felt tears form in his eyes as he read it:

Dear Sam,

First off, don’t blame yourself ok? I saw some of John’s memories while he was ‘teaching’ me about my magic and turns out he really was being trained by the Puritans. They wanted him to be a solider or something but he really loved you! He was trying to figure out a way to seal your magic so you could live a normal life you know. When he first met me he knew I was the same as you and asked me to help him figure out a way to help you and well, now I know something’s gone terribly wrong. I really hope you won't blame yourself for whatever may happen to me because I know it’s my own fault ok? And don’t blame your brother either ok? He really does love you and only wanted you to become normal…I feel like this will be the last thing I’ll ever write so I just wanted to say this. I really love you Sam. I’ve had a crush on you since we met in middle school (lol). And the few times we did go on dates was perfect. I felt like I was on cloud 9 (lol)! I know you’re probably scared and blaming yourself but don’t worry, I’m actually happy now. Turns out that once you talk to them, they’re not half bad. The ghost that is. I know this may be the end for me but it won't for you ok? I mean, you’re so smart and hot you’ll be able to make it! And don’t worry, I’ll watch over you ok?! I love you Sam!

With Love-
Emily

Claire watched as Sam slowly smiled. He closed the book and held it tight as he thanked her. They were walking to the door when Dillon asked Raven to take Sam to the canteen. Raven looked from him to Claire and said yes as he walked Sam out the door. Dillon came up to Claire again and she watched as she wondered what he wanted.

“You’ve had the dreams, haven’t you?”

She felt her jaw clench, “What dreams?”

“Claire…”

She sighed and looked away from him, “It doesn’t mean anything.”

He grabbed her hand and brought her eyes back to him, “Claire, you’ve had the Necromancy dreams. Emily gave some of her magic to you when you touched her Book.”

She leaned forward hissing, “The dreams mean nothing. D they can’t know of this. They’re weary of me enough as it is, if they learn I can use Necromancy now they’ll strip me of my magic!”

His eyes glared at her, “Claire this is serious. Other Necromancers have started to ask questions. I know how serious this is for you and how this could ruin everything but you have to do something.”

“Do what? What can I do D? I can’t go to them, they’ll kill me! I can’t just lock this up, we’ve already seen what that could do. What can I do D? There’s nothing I can do.”

₃₁LEGISLATION^Z

“C’mon he’s your husband! Can’t you get him to listen to you?”

It has been two days since Claire’s surgery and her wound has quickly healed but the doctor has ordered her to stay for another two days, and she was getting rather tired of being bed ridden for nothing.

“Sorry Claire, orders are orders.”

Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed and waved her hand. She and Abby came to visit and check up on Claire. They found her stewing in bed, wanting to run away.

Abby could only laugh at the theatrics sitting by the window as she turned to Claire, “Where’s Tess and Malvina?”

Claire shrugged her shoulder, “They came by before you guys. Tess still felt responsible no matter how many times I tried to thank her for saving my life.”

Elizabeth leaned on her arm on the bed, “She just feels she should have done more despite the fact that if she wasn’t there you wouldn’t have made it.”

Abby grabbed Claire’s hand, “Don’t ever scare us like that either.”

Claire laughed, “I won’t I promise.”

They shared light conversation when Raven walked in, looking at each of them, “What’s going on here?”

The women giggled as Claire saw the take out in his hand. She drooled as she reached up and grabbed the bag from him and brought it to her, “You’re a godsend Raven.”

He laughed as he sat by her bed, watching the women huddle over the bag, “If I had known there was gonna be a party I would of bought more.”

“You’re not eating?” Claire asked as she pulled out the Chinese.

Raven sat back as the women passed out the food, sharing among them, “No, the twins ordered some at the office and I ate there as I finished the report for our case.”

Claire raised her eyebrows, “Oh so you were able to solve it?”

“More or less, but we solved it. John was trying to find some way to seal Sam’s magic and when he met Emily he used her as a genie pig but something went wrong. Their father, Bud Wilkson, was taking money from the Puritans as payment for raising Sam and hiding him from the Guild’s eyes.”

The four of them chatted some more as the women ate. Done with her food, Elizabeth went out in search of her husband for some quality time. Abby, Claire and Raven were chatting when there was a knock at the door and two suits walked in without waiting for an answer.

The male partner flashed his IA badge as he partner studied everyone, “Detectives Claire Dunsworth and Raven Black?”

Claire and Raven glanced at each other as he stood, “Yes. Can we help you?”

The man stuffed his badge back into his coat, “I’m IA Detective Mike Matherson. This is my partner IA Detective Susan Pots. May we have a word with you?”

Claire looked at them both as Raven slowly shook their hands, “What’s this about? Why is the IA questioning us?”

The detectives glanced at Abby and Detective Pots cleared her throat, “Perhaps we can speak in private with you two?”

Abby stood as she spoke to them, “I’m Abigail Schnauzer. Claire’s Handler and lawyer. Whatever you have to say to my client you can say in front of me.”

They glanced at each other then cleared their throats. Detective Matherson pulled out his notepad and flipped through the pages, “Mrs. Dunsworth, can your account for your actions regarding John Wilkson?”

Raven crossed his arms as Claire became perplex, “Its Detective Dunsworth and what is this have to do with Wilkson? The man tried to murder her.”

Detective Pots turned to Raven, “Perhaps you will like to step outside Detective Black?”

Raven glared at her, “No. I will stay with my partner. What is this about?”

“You think I’ve done something to him, don’t you?”

The detectives looked down at Claire, “Yes.”

Raven glared at Detective Matherson, “What the hell could she have done?”

He flipped through his notepad, “We received a report that magic was detected in John Wilkson’s holding cell. And according to your report Detective Black, while questioning Wilkson he appeared civil. It was only when Detective Dunsworth was using magic that he became erratic.”

Raven felt his anger rise and nearly told the man off when Claire placed a hand on his arm, “Detectives, I would appreciate it if you did not antagonize my partner nor accuse me of such heinous accusations. If you wish to know of my actions, all you must do is ask my Handler Abby for a log report of my actions since meeting Sam and John Wilkson.”

They turned to look at Abby. She crossed her arms in defiance but relented. She pulled her purse up on the bed and rummaged through it till she found her phone card. It beeped on as the holo fairy came into life.

“Abigail Schnauzer, Work Handler for one Claire Dunsworth. Requesting full log report upon contacting one Sam Wilkson and one John Wilkson.”

The fairy flickered and beeped, “Requested granted. Please stand by as the paperwork is sent over.”

Abby held her phone card flat in her hand and waited as it began to glow. The light became brighter and brighter and just before it became too bright it went out. On top of her phone card laid a stack of papers within a thick file folder. She grabbed the papers and handed them to the woman.

“Here. Is that all you require of my client?”

Detective Pots grabbed the file and flipped through some pages. She looked up and nodded to her partner. He snapped his notepad closed and threw a pleasant smile on his face as he turned to everyone, “Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”

They quickly left and no one was sad to see them go. Abby huffed and grabbed her purse, “I’ve had enough of these people. I’m going to find out who sent them.”

She waved goodbye to Claire and Raven, shutting the door behind her. Raven turned to Claire pointing at the door, “What’s that all about?”

Claire waved her hand, “Oh they’re just being paranoid.”

He shook his head as he sat, “No, Abby. What’s her problem?”

“Oh uh,” Claire rolled her eyes and rubbed her neck as she tried to think of what to say, “she just uh, hates people that judge me too much that’s all.”

Raven raised his eyebrow, “Too much? There’s a right amount of judgment?”

Claire chuckled, “No I guess not. She just doesn’t like people who accuse me of abusing my magic that’s all.”

He knew there was more to it but decided to let it go, “So when do you escape from here?”

“Ugh! Not soon enough! Doc’s want me to stay for another two days to run test. Precaution stuff, I don’t know.”

Raven smiled, “Well then maybe this will cheer you up.”

“What?” Claire leaned forward intrigued.

Raven sighed and smiled some more, “Soon as doc says you’re ready, I’ll train you to shot a gun.”

Claire smiled bright as excitement took over, “Seriously?! You will?!”

He nodded his head and she squealed. She threw her arms open and grabbed him into a hug before he could refuse. As she pulled away she gave him a peck on his check, “What made you change your mind?”

Raven tried to hear her over the roaring in his ears, “I figured you’re right. It was stupid of me to try to take the burden on for you and with what happened recently…well it just showed me that you have a point. Perhaps you do need a gun.”

Claire laughed, “Well, you finally see my side of things. When do we start?”

Raven didn’t want to push her until she had fully recovered. Two more days in the hospital and she was released to freedom. Claire wanted to learn immediately but Raven told her to be patient. Finally after almost a week from being released Raven took her to a gun range to give her her first lesson. He was amazed at how fast she learned and how well she was doing. Within two weeks she had the skills of a sharp shooter. Another two weeks and she passed her tests for a gun license. She didn’t carry her gun with her but left it in her home and merely materialized it in her hands when it was needed. For the next month she and Raven were handed small time cases dealing with simple crimes. It would be a full two months after her release until they would get their next big case.

₃₂SHIYA^Z

It was a peaceful pleasant day in the office. It was turning into late summer and cooling just enough for everyone to be comfortable. The office was quiet but for the sounds of tapping on their keyboards as everyone focused on their computers, whether typing up reports or researching a case. The only one missing from the office was Claire but she was currently making a surprise in the break room for everyone. Yes the sun was gently filtering through the windows, one was open and a small breeze slowly climbed through the room. It was a nice, peaceful, relaxing day.

Suddenly a window shattered. A ball of glittering gold light came bounding into the room, bouncing off desks and walls and the ceiling, scattering papers and chaos everywhere it went. Everyone ducked under their desks at the sound and pulled out their guns, hollering and screaming asking what the intruder was. The ball disappeared in a corner and heads slowly peeked out from under their desks as it quieted down.

Claire came running out of the room, “What?! What?! What is it?! What’s wrong?!”

Raven stood as everyone started cleaning up the mess and turned to Claire. He stopped as he saw her outfit and sputtered a laugh, “What the hell are you wearing?”

“What?” She looked down at her pink floral and lacy apron, “I was making cookies. What happened out here?”

Glass crunched as Henry walked to the broken window, “Som’ bug’er broke ‘ur windo’.”

“Uh, Claire? Can you come here a sec?”

Claire looks over at the corner to see Lucy looking behind the file cabinet, pulling it from the wall. She walks over to her and tries to look over her shoulder, “What? What is it? You’d find something?”

“I think something for you.”

Before she could ask what Lucy moved aside to let light in behind the cabinet. There in the back corner cowering, trying to make herself even smaller than she already is, was a glittering gold fairy. She had light gold hair and wore a band of small flowers around her head. Her green leaf dress with a mini skirt matched the green of her eyes, dominating her face. She wore bracelets of vines around her ankles and wrist and was holding her right shoulder like she was in pain. Her  transparent glittering silver wings fluttered nervously as Claire looked down at her as she became terrified.

Claire smiled and slowly held out a hand, keeping it a comfortable distance from the terrified fairy, “It’s alright. It’s ok. You can come out.”

“What do you have there Dunsworth?”

One of the twins came up behind Lucy and Claire, she was unsure which one as Lucy whipped around and shushed the man. Lucy waved her hands, mentioning everyone to move back and be quiet as Claire tried to coax the shy fairy out from behind the cabinet. The fairy nervously looked at Claire’s hand but her eyes showed her that Claire was indeed a mage. Looking up, keeping an eye on Claire’s face she took a tentative step to her hand and slowly crawled her way into Claire’s palm. Claire kept her voice calm and soothing as she brought the fairy out from her hiding place.

Everyone tried to peek around shoulders to get a glance at whatever Claire was bringing out but she kept her hand cupped around the fairy so as the keep her from being startled. She motioned her head for Malvina and Lucy to follow her and quickly hid inside the break room. Lucy closed the door behind Malvina and all three women huddled around the coffee table. Claire mouthed to them to keep their voices low and calm then slowly opened her hands.

Lucy gasped as she got a better look at the simmering ball she found earlier. She has never seen a real fairy before and no textbook picture has ever done them justice. The little fairy looked around at the three faces watching her in wonder. She smiled tentively as she crawled out of Claire’s hand onto the table.

Claire leaned her chin on the table, getting eye to eye with the fairy, “Are you alright?” The little fairy smiled and nodded her head, the sound of twinkling bells filling the air around her. Claire pointed a finger to her shoulder, “Are you sure? You look like you’re hurt.”

The fairy smiled, “Yes I’m alright, but please I must find the mage Claire Dunsworth. Please, do you know where I can find her?”

Malvina chuckled, “Well girly you’re talking to her right there.”

The fairy looked back and forth then gaped at Claire, “Are you truly Claire Dunsworth?” Claire smiled and nodded her head, “Oh please Sorceress Dunsworth, you must help the girls.”

“Girls? What girls?”

The fairy stood then stumbled but was able to catch herself before they could offer help. She pointed to the direction she just came from, “I was flying through the city, to the park when I heard a voice. It was a Slyvanian voice asking for help. I followed the voice to a building that was broken. Inside was dark but the voice lead me to a room. I could not get in but through the slot the voice told me they were 6 Slyvanian girls, trapped and kidnapped. Please you must help them!”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Claire sat up, holding up her hands as she tried to absorb what the fairy was saying. She looked around the table and saw Lucy already pulling out her notepad to take notes. Claire looked back down at the fairy, “Slow down. Go back to the beginning.”

The guys had finally gotten the room back in order when the girls huffed out. Lucy and Claire made their way to their partners while she still held the fairy in her hands. Malvina made her way to the Captain’s office and began to brief him on the case they just landed. Claire walked up to Raven, pulling him out the door saying she’ll explain along the way as Lucy goes to the center of the room and address the rest of the men.

She puts her hands on her hips as she calls their attention, “Alright fellas listen up! We just received some information about a possible Slyvanian trafficking ring. Guys,” she pointed to the twins as they snapped to attention, “dig up any and all your contacts. I don’t care how dusty they are, shake them till you get something. See what you can find about any possible movement from known Slyvanian sellers. Henry, you and I are going to search through all Slyvanian missing person reports. Those with a possible connection to the city, no matter how small, have first priority. Got it? Let’s get to it fellas!”

Claire kept her hand cupped around the fairy as she and Raven went to his car. As they slide inside and shut the doors Raven turned to her, “Where are we going?”

“The housing district, to the edge of the city. We’re looking for an abandoned hospital or warehouse.” Claire looked down at the fairy as Raven spun out the lot, “What’s your name?”

The little fairy looked all around her as the car raced through traffic. She’s never been inside a moving car before. She was slightly afraid but as she looked up into Claire’s face she felt calm and smiled as she answered, “Shiya, m’lady.”

Claire smiled, “Shiya, what a beautiful name. Please, you can just call me Claire and this is my partner, Raven.”

Raven glanced at the sparkling fairy in Claire’s hand, hiding his surprise at seeing a real fairy up close. Shiya peeked at Raven between Claire’s fingers and felt shy staring at the human. She’s been around humans before but always stayed with females. This is her first time seeing a male so up close. Shiya rubbed her shoulder at the pain as she took in the dark aura of the man who was partnered with Lady Claire. Her shoulder felt tingling and she looked up startled as Claire was using her magic to ease her pain.

Claire gave her a weak smile, “I’m not very proficient with fairy healing but I can ease the pain till we get you to a doctor.”

Shiya smiled her thanks as Raven glanced at Claire, “You know a fairy doctor too?”

“I know many people.” Claire looked up and smiled her sweetest smile, “It’s amazing who you meet when you go out.”

Raven turned to her, “Is that a jab at me? You saying I’m antisocial?”

She shrugged her shoulders being careful not to disturb Shiya, “I don’t know. Are you?”

He pointed a finger at her reaching their destination, “I’ll have you know, I know plenty of people.”

They got out of the car, being careful to stay hidden on the off chance the criminals were still inside. They quietly crept up the stairs, Raven leading the way. Claire whispered as they entered the building, “Really? Could of fooled me. How come you never talk about any of them?”

She led Raven down the hallway, remembering Shiya’s account of following the voice. They stopped at a corner, Raven peeking around the doorway, “You really wanna have a conversation about my social life now?”

They went through the door, heading for the stairs to the basement as they kept to the shadows, “Well I just worry if you’re lonely, that’s all.”

They found the door and Raven slowly opened it, checking for guns as he ‘tched’ at Claire, “To throw your words back at you, you can know me but not about me.”

Claire glared at him as he went into the stairway, about to give him a retort when she realized he made a point, “Touché, but we’re not done talking about this either.”

They ended the conversation as they came closer to the door Shiya said the voice came from. At the foot of the stairs it opened into the basement of the facility. It was a wide open space with multiple doors along the walls. The setting reminded Claire of a mental institute and seeing some old gurneys in one room confirmed it. Down towards the end of the room was the door they wanted but it was opened. They knew they were too late as they stopped in front of the door looking in, seeing piles of cots and blankets, trash from food and torn clothing. The girls defiantly were here and obviously stayed for a while but they were gone now.

Little Shiya sobbed as she saw the empty room, feeling she failed. Claire held her close to her heart, trying to sooth the tiny fairy as Raven called in the location. The forensic team quickly came and they led them down to the room, asking for a full sweep of the place. Claire was surprised to see Tessa leading the team. She explained that once she heard from Henry about the new case, she had to give hands on help. Claire thanked her for her help and they left the team to do their jobs. There was nothing more she or Raven could do.

They sat in the car watching the throngs of people going in and out of the building. Shiya continued to sob in Claire’s hand and she tried her best to comfort the fairy, “Shiya it’s ok, it’s alright. We’ll find them. We won't stop until those girls are safe and back home.”

Shiya looked up, tears glittering down her face, “But I failed m’lady. I failed her, the Slyvanian who asked my help.”

Claire smiled, “No you didn’t, you did get help. You brought us here and we’re just that much closer to finding them. I promise.” Shiya wasn’t convinced and wiped at her tears, “Now no more crying. Let’s get you to a doc and get that shoulder treated, ok?”

She weakly nodded her head and Claire quickly told Raven where to go. Shiya was exhausted and was soon asleep, curling up in the palm of Claire’s hand. She was silently watching the fairy as Raven became curious about something.

“The Slyvanian girl gave her an order right?”

Claire looked up, “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

Raven glanced at her, “I thought fairy didn’t listen to anyone, let alone obey orders. They’re free-spirited right?”

Claire leaned back against the chair, feeling exhausted herself, “Yeah they are that’s for sure. But yeah they don’t usually listen to orders or anything but she’s honor bound to listen to any Slyvanian who gives her an order, especially if it comes from a child Slyvanian.”

“She’s honor bound? From what?”

She waved her free hand, “From that Fairy Preservation Act they wrote.”

“Claire that was over a thousand years ago. You expect me to believe that little fairy is over a thousand years old?”

Claire chuckled, “No, although it’s safe to say she’s a couple decades. No all fairies are honor bound. I mean out of all the Elves only the Slyvanians stepped forward to save them from extinction from hunters and poachers.”

Raven mumbled, “Yeah I remember my history. So who’s this doctor we’re meeting.”

Claire smiled, “He’s actually Elizabeth’s younger brother. We all met while in Training and he became a veterinarian specializing in magical and mythical creatures.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “So he’s gonna be crazy like Elizabeth?”

Claire playfully smacked his shoulder, “No, although his twin sister could fit that bill. No as long as we’re not animals of any kind he’ll pretty much leave us alone. It’s only when he’s around a new creature he becomes crazed.”

“Like a mad doc?”

Claire thought for a moment, “Yeah I guess.”

“So he is like Elizabeth.”

Claire smacked his shoulder again as he hid his smirk. Shiya had awaken to hear their conversation and wondered at who this man was to make Lady Claire so relaxed. She peeked her eye open and watched the tall man behind the wheel as he drove. She saw nothing remarkable about him and yet she knew what is was about him that made Lady Claire relax so but could not put her finger on it. She decided she would have to keep a close eye on him.

₃₃SLYVAN^Z

Raven looked around the waiting room at all the exotic pets. There was a woman who held a lion cub in her lap but the cub’s fur was bright silver and even clinked as she rubbed his fur. There was another woman flipping through a magazine as her song bird hummed and chimed on the bird stand beside her. Across the room, a guy was watching a game on his phone card as a phoenix looked over his shoulder. Raven shook his head at all the wonder around him. It made him feel claustrophobic.

Claire was at the front desk talking to the receptionist, “The doctor will be right with you, hun. Have a seat.”

She walked over and took the seat next to Raven. She told him it’ll be a few minutes before they could get back there. He sighed and pulled out his phone card, digging up what he could about any known Slyvan trade rings. Claire looked over next to her and saw a young woman holding out her hand much like she was. She looked down at the woman’s hand and saw a little fairy.

She smiled as she leaned over, “Who’s that?”

The woman looked up and smiled, “Tyliha. She’s here for her 6 month checkup.”

Claire looked at the woman in surprise, “She’s pregnant?!”

Little Shiya wanted a closer look and tugged at Claire’s fingers. She brought her hand over to the woman’s and Shiya quickly bounded her way over to the pregnant fairy. They smiled and embraced as best as they could. A glowing Tyliha smiled at Shiya as she rubbed her swollen belly. They spoke in their fairy language, the air sounding like a musical lyric around them. Shiya must have asked to feel her stomach for Tyliha joyfully nodded her head and Shiya leaned down and pressed her ear to the unborn babe. Claire smiled down at the fairies and shared a pleasant conversation with the woman.

“Shiya?”

Claire and Raven looked up to see the nurse at the door holding their file. Claire turned to the woman and congratulated both her and little Tyliha as Shiya said her goodbyes and climbed back into Claire’s hand. They followed the nurse into a room and she instructed Shiya to climb onto the table so she may look her over. Raven sat in the chair in the corner as Claire walked over to the table and gently placed Shiya on the table. The nurse asked the little fairy questions as she took notes about her weight, height, and magical signature. The nurse smiled and closed the folder, putting it in the door slot as she walked out, saying the doctor will be right with you.

Raven looked around at the wall posters as Claire tried to sooth a nervous Shiya. One poster by the door showed the anatomy of a Pegasus and another on the other side showed a picture of a dragon breathing fire titled 10 Things To Know About Your Dragon. The door opened and in walked the doctor. Raven looked him over as he flipped through the file. He couldn’t decide if he was tall or short, perhaps average height. His hair was brown but had the Irish freckles across his face. When he pushed his glass further up his nose it only brought more attention to the dark specks splashed across his face. He was slim frame and from his rough hands Raven could tell he worked hard.

He held out a hand as he walked up to Claire, “Claire! So nice to see you again!”

They shook hands and hugged. Claire sniffed her nose as they pulled back, “Do I smell sulfur?”

He jerked a hand behind him, “Pet red dragon, room 6. Bad case of a cold.” They shared a laugh then turned to Raven and again held out his hand, “Hello. I’m Dr. Benjamin O’Malley. Claire’s never brought a boyfriend before.”

Raven sputtered as he laughed, “No, no. I’m just her partner, Detective Raven Black. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your older sister before, Elizabeth.”

Benjamin slowly shook Raven’s hand, “A Black huh?” He looked Raven up and down as he stood unfazed by the doctor’s gaze. Benjamin turned to Claire jerking a thumb at Raven, “You sure about this?” Claire smiled and chuckled as she nodded. He turned back to Raven and huffed, “You can call me Benny. Any friend of Claire’s is a friend of our family.”

He flashed him a smile and went back to the table, looking down at Shiya. He gave her his most reassuring smile, knowing how skittish fairies can be around men, “Hello my dear. My name’s Benjamin O’Malley, but you can just call me Benny. What’s your name?”

Shiya tried to curl up into a ball, hiding behind Claire’s arm, “Sh-Shiya.”

Ben smiled and held out his hand flat, keeping a comfortable distance from the nervous fairy, “Nice to meet you Shiya. Please, may I look at your shoulder? It must hurt a storm.”

Shiya poked her head out, blinking, “Are you sure?”

Ben nodded, “Absolutely. I would love to help your shoulder from hurting.”

“O-Ok.” Shiya slowly walked around Claire’s arm as she smiled down at the fairy. She slowly crept to Ben’s outstretched hand and took a tentative step on his hand. She climbed onto his palm and fell to her knees as he brought her up to his face. He smiled at her as he looked her over, gently fingering the tips of her wings. She fluttered them nervously as she felt his energy heat his palm. Pretty soon the warmth she felt traveled up her legs into her shoulder, relaxing the muscles to sweet relief. Shiya smiled and looked down at her shoulder as she moved it, testing it. Ben brought a finger to her shoulder and muttered some words.

“There, good as new.”

Shiya laughed as she rolled her shoulder. She fluttered her wings and took flight, flying around and around the people in the room until she finally landed on Claire’s shoulder, looking at Ben, “Thank you Dr. Benny.”

He crossed his arms and chuckled, “You’re welcome Shiya.”

He led them out the room while scribbling in the file. Claire walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, “Thanks for seeing us on such short notice.”

He handed the file to the nurse at the counter, giving her some instruction as he turned to Claire, “No problem. Are you gonna stop by Jenny’s?”

Raven watched as Claire blinked, “Uh, no ‘fraid not. We’ve got a hot case. In fact we need to get going, let’s go Raven.”

Raven scratched his chin as he became intrigued by Claire’s reaction. He looked over to see Ben grinning at Claire. He pointed a finger to Claire’s departing back, “I take it ‘Jenny’s’ your sister?”

Ben softly laughed as he turned to Raven, “Yeah, she’s uh, a bit eccentric”

Ben went to say more but Claire called for Raven through the door. He chuckled and told Raven he had to get back to his patients and said their goodbyes. Claire and Raven got in the car, driving their way back to the office. He tried to pry more information from Claire with Shiya looking at her from her shoulder but Claire wouldn’t say anything more. They reached the office and went inside to see the gang had pulled up a billboard with papers and notes already tacked to it.

Claire went to study the board as Raven walked up to Henry, “What’d we’ve got?”

Henry shuffled through the papers in his hands as he spoke around the straw in his mouth, “Luc’ ‘n I dug ‘round, found ten Slyv’n missin’ persins. Mal’s talkin’ wit’ their Slyv’n liaison, see if th’y got ‘nything.”

Andrew hung up the phone and walked over to Henry and Raven, “Just got off the phone with my guy in Interpol. There’s not a lot known about Slyvan trade groups in the Northeast but he said they have suspicions about the Taliban.”

Raven rasied his eyebrow, “The Taliban? That’s bad news.”

Claire spoke to them while still looking at the board, “Compared to the Puritans last time the Taliban ought to be a walk in the park, right?”

Raven chuckled as Malvina hung up her phone and walked over, yanking 8 missing persons’ reports from the board then turning to the group, “Just got off with our Slyvan liaison. He says these two are the only ones who went missing when coming into the States.”

She pointed to the two reports left on the board. Claire studied the faces of the young girls, feeling sick to her stomach thinking what they must be feeling. The younger girl was called Nony, only 6 years old with her bright silver hair braided down her back, reaching her knees. In the picture she was smiling and pointing to the Statue of Liberty as she and her family came into America. Claire felt her heart twist as she looked into the bright hope shinning in the girl’s green eyes. She’s been missing for 5 weeks.

The other girl was older, 11 years old and was called Sli. She too had the iconic Slyvan silver hair, also braided down her back to her knees, but her green eyes had small gold flecks in them. She was sitting in what appeared to be a park in the picture with an expressionless look on her face. She’s been missing for 2 weeks. Claire placed her hand over her heart as she looked at the girl, feeling sad for her. Suddenly Shiya took off from Claire’s shoulder and studied the picture of Sli closer.

She turned to Claire pointing at the picture, “She’s it. The one who called me.”

Malvina studied the picture, turning to Shiya, “Are you sure?”

Little Shiya nodded her head and Malvina looked displeased. Claire turned to her, “What’s wrong? We’ve identified the girls.”

Malvina glanced at Claire then leaned over whispering to her, “Sli’s the granddaughter of their current Chief. The liaison told me they’re pissed. This could escalate Claire.”

Claire studied Malvina as she spoke, “Then we’ll just find her and bring her home before that. All of them.” Malvina smiled at her as she went to the phone to speak with the liaison once more. Claire turned to the others, “We still got 4 more girls to identify. I guess by now it’s safe to say the rest of the girls aren’t in our system, so spread your search to other countries. Raven can you come with me?”

She walked out the door and pulled Raven close, whispering to him, “I think we should go to Midge.”

Raven glanced at her as he crossed his arms, “Claire we can’t. That won't hold out in court.”

“Screw court. These are little girls’ life’s we’re talking about. Besides, would they really complain if we seriously bring down this trade ring?”

 He pulled out a smoke and dragged on it as he thought finally saying, “Fine. Let’s go.”

They walked to the car and Shiya flew to Claire leaving a glittering gold trail behind her in the air, “Where are we going m’lady?”

The car sped out of the lot as Claire answered, “To see my friend Midge. She’s a clairvoyant, she can help.”

Shiya ruffled her wings, “Clairvoyant? But m’lady-“

“It’ll be fine Shiya, I promise. She’s very good at Seeing. She can See much better than anyone else I know.”

Shiya slowly nodded her head as she settled back on her hunches, “As you say so, m’lady.”

They drove in silence for a moment until Raven asked Claire a question, “Why does she call you ‘m’lady’?”

Shiya poked her head out from behind Claire’s hair, “For she is Lady Dunsworth.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “So you have a title?”

Claire chuckled, “Oh god no, no. I’m just…well-“

Shiya interrupted her, “Do not be modest m’lady.” She flew to the gear shift and sat on top as she spoke to Raven, “Lady Dunsworth is known throughout the magical world. She is someone we all look up to. From child mages to us fairies to the elves. She is famous.”

Raven did a double take as he saw Claire blushing. She scooped up Shiya to prevent her from saying more as she tried to down play what she said, “It’s nothing really, it’s just…it’s a story for another time.”

She smiled at Raven trying to close the subject. He remained skeptic but remembered their deal and decided now’s not the time, “Alright, but don’t think you’re off the hook just yet.”

₃₄THE GIRLS^Z

The room was quiet as it’s always been. Nony coughed as she huddled closer to Sli. It was cold in the dark, damp room. They had barely enough blankets to keep warm and the only source of light was a crack in the wooden wall but the light was gone now as the sun disappeared. The light hanging from the ceiling was broken and swayed constantly. Sli brought Nony closer and rubbed her shoulders as they started to shake with sobs.

Sli leaned over to whisper in Nony’s ear speaking in their Slyvan language, “Shh, it’s ok, it’s alright. We’ll get out of here soon.”

The girl called Cat came over and offered the last of her meal to Nony. The little girl looked up into Cat’s cat like eyes and smiled, “I can’t, it’s yours.”

“She wants you to have it so take it already.”

“Nalia there’s no reason to talk to Nony like that,” Sli pointed a look at the young 7 year old as she appeared by Cat’s side. Cat has never spoken a word so Nalia took it upon herself to become Cat’s voice for her.

Nalia blinked at Sli, “It wasn’t me. Cat said it.”

Cat herself ignored the other girls and offered her meager mush food to Nony. The little girl finally nodded and slowly ate.

The room became quiet again as the four girls huddled together, waiting for their fate to change. Suddenly light flooded the room as a door was slammed opened. The girls were blinded as some thugs threw a limp body into the room. They threw out moldy bread and bottled water as the girls clamored over the unconscious girl. The sound of the door slamming shut was lost as the girls cried for their friend to wake up. Finally, as their eyes readjusted to the darkness, the girl’s eyes fluttered.

Sli gave Nony to Cat as she backed the others up, “Back up, she needs air. Baylie, Baylie can you hear me?”

Baylie moaned as she turned over. Everyone gasped as they saw the shiner on her eye. She slowly sat up, Sli helping her as she tried to look at her eye in the darkness, “What happened?”

Baylie looked at her then glanced at the others. Getting the message Sli sent a look to Cat who then nodded and led the children away. Sli picked up some bread, ripping the mold off and handed it to Baylie as she grabbed a water.

“What happened Baylie?”

Baylie slowly chewed the bread, working around her sore jaw as she whispered, “They wanted Nony. Those…b******s wanted to trade me for Nony. I couldn’t let them Sli, I just couldn’t.”

Sli saw tears shinning in Baylie’s one good eye and hugged the girl. Being the oldest at 12 Baylie has always looked out for the others, especially for Nony and Nalia. Sli felt tears burning her eyes as she felt powerless to take Baylie’s place. Not only was she the oldest but she was also half-human. Her build was bigger and stronger than any of the other Slyvanian girls so she always took it upon herself to keep everyone safe.

Sli sat back on her hunches as she and Baylie ate what little bread they could find, “Did you hear anything?”

She glanced at the door and leaned over to whisper close in Sli’s ear. Their kidnappers spoke only English and Sli was the only one who knew the language well enough to understand what was being said. Baylie refused to let Sli go out when they demanded a girl and would go in their place, memorizing every strange word, sound and syllable that was being said around her. Since they knew the girls only spoke Slyvanian they felt it safe to say anything around them. Baylie sat back and drank some water as Sli thought over the words Baylie had whispered, trying to piece them together into words.

“The caller…broke deal…demands more. What could that mean?”

Baylie could only shake her head when they suddenly heard Nony screaming. Both she and Sli looked over to see Nony and Nalia fighting, poor Cat trying to pry them apart. The older girls ran over to the young ones, trying to pull the kicking and screaming kids apart.

“Shut up! Do you want them to come in here?!”

The scream was heard from the dark corner, away from the group. It was enough for Nony and Nalia to freeze and stop the fight. Nony sniffled, trying to bite back tears but finally sobbed and collapsed against Sli’s chest.

Nalia panted as Baylie held her arms, “What did you do?”

Nalia blew a strand of hair from her face, “I didn’t do anything! It was all her fault!”

Suddenly Cat appeared in Nalia’s face. She appeared to be communicating to Nalia through her eyes while Nalia’s own became to fill with tears, “But-But she started it…”

Nalia broke from Baylie’s hold. She ran into the far corner and sobbed. Cat glanced a look at Baylie then went to Nalia’s side. Sli rubbed Nony’s back, trying to calm the sobbing child enough to understand what happened.

Sli pulled Nony away to look in her teary face, “Nony, what happened?”

The little elven girl sniffled as she got the hiccups, “She-she said we-we were gonna die. She said that’s why-why they moved us into this room. We’re not gonna die are we Sli?”

Sli held the girl close, “No, no we’re not. I promise.”

“We’re only in here ‘cause of you.”

Sli looked up at the girl from the dark corner, “Quiet.”

She pointed a finger at her and stomped her foot, “It’s your fault! If you haven’t called for that damn fairy they would have left us alone!”

Baylie held Nony as Sli stood eye to eye with the girl, “Shut up! I was trying to get us out of here!”

“You’re gonna get us killed! Just because you’re the granddaughter of some stupid Chief you think you can do whatever you want.”

She spat at Sli’s feet. Sli glared and screamed as her anger and frustration boiled over. She lunged at the girl, toppling to the ground as they fought. Nony yelled at Sli to stop as Baylie held her back. Suddenly the door slammed open and two burley thugs stormed in, ripping the girls apart. They yelled at them in English to shut up as they started dragging the girls out the door. Baylie yelled as she threw herself at the men, kicking and scratching at them, yelling to let them go. One man lifted his gun and butted Baylie in the head, yanking the screaming Sli out the room.

The other girl became compliant as the men dragged them down a hall. Sli tried to kick and scratch the man to let her go but a kick to her gut quieted her. The hallway was blinding with the bright lights spilling the hallway. The men stopped at the end of the hallway and knocked on the door. The door cracked and a face poked out. He looked at the men then down at the girls.

Sli acted like she couldn’t understand their words as they spoke in English, “What is this? Boss didn’t ask for more.”

The thug holding Sli shrugged his shoulder, “They were bitchin’ so we brought ‘em. Boss said if they ever caused problems to bring ‘em in.”

The door slammed and the sounds of chains and locks rattled the air. The man yanked the door open and mentioned the thugs inside. They walked inside a dark parlor looking room and threw the girls on the floor. The doorman walked to a closed door and asked to come in. He walked in and disappeared as the door shut behind him.

Sli sat up on her knees and whispered to the girl beside her, “Just do as they say and remember everything. We need to learn as much as we can to get out.”

“Shut up,” one thug butted the back of Sli’s head with his gun.

The other girl sat stone silent as Sli moaned. Suddenly the door opened and the doorman from before came out. He grabbed the girls by their hairs and only yanked harder when they squealed in pain. He pulled the girls to the door and the thugs followed.

The man stopped and turned to them, “Wait here. Boss just wants them.”

He steps through the door and threw the girls inside. The door slammed shut behind them and they were lost in a room of darkness again. Sli wanted to hold onto the other girl’s hand but knew she would be rejected so she tried to act brave and sat on her hunches. They stayed quiet, not daring to move. Sli’s ears twitched as she heard something. She concentrated on the noise and realized someone was speaking. It was a language she’s never heard before but she tried to memorizes the sounds and the words, repeating them over and over in her head. The squeak of a chair swiveling sounded in the room as the man hung up the phone. The dim light coming from a small window on the wall shone on the desk, illuminating the man as he leaned on the desk with his hands hiding his face from the girl’s view.

“So…” Sli was shocked to hear him speak in their Slyvanian language, “…I’ve been told you two have not been playing nice.”

Neither girl moved or made a noise. The man leaned back in his chair sighing, “Come now, we’re practically family. Tell old uncle what’s going on.”

Sli was afraid the other girl may spill about the fairy but they both remained stony and silent. The man was silent as he waited for an answer.

“Very well.”

The chair creaked as he got up and walked around the desk, keeping to the shadows. The girls glued their eyes to the floor as a pair of shoes stepped into their views, “Now…which one of you squeals the most?” He took a moment to look at both of them, “Perhaps this one.”

Sli felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck as she was sure he raised a hand over her bowed head. Suddenly she was screaming in pain, her limbs thrashing everywhere as her nerves lit on fire. The other girl turned her head away, trying to ignore the screams of pain next to her.

The man stopped, Sli panting as the pain went away, “Well…?”

Again they refused to say anything. Sli felt her back arch as she felt daggers digging into her spine. She screamed as the pain became too great. Her body was thrashing as foam began to form in her mouth and her eyes rolled to whites.

“Alright!”

The man stopped as he leaned down to the girl, ignoring the panting Sli, “Well…?”

She braved a glance at his face but he was still shrouded in darkness, “The b***h stole my bread. She already had more than me and I demanded it back.”

She panted as the man tapped his chin, “You expect me to believe this?”

She blew out of her nose, “I don’t expect anything of you.”

“Hmph, commendable.” He stood and walked back behind his desk, his chair squeaking as he sat, “Fine. The rations will increase, in exchange for silence and obedience. Understood?”

He waited until she nodded, sneaking a glance at the unconscious Sli. The man called for the doorman. The door quickly opened and he gave the doorman orders in the weird language from before. The doorman nodded and grabbed the girl by her hair and Sli by her hand, dragging them out of the room.

The door slammed shut as she yelled up at him, “You’re gonna brake her arm!”

He threw the girl and Sli at the thugs, speaking to them in English. She had no idea what they were saying but soon they were being led back down the hallway, back into the room with the other girls. The thugs threw them inside and everyone cried as they came to Sli’s side. The girl quietly broke away from the group and went back to her corner. Baylie tried to keep the others away saying Sli needed air when she heard her murmuring something. She leaned closer and put her ear to Sli’s mouth, trying to understand what she was saying. Sli was repeating a strange word over and over again. It was in a strange language that Baylie has never heard before.

“…подключение … подключение … подключение … подключение …”

₃₅ ^{подключение Z}

“…подключение …”

Claire blinked as Midge finally spoke. They’ve been in Midge’s apartment for nearly 20 minutes, waiting for her to speak as the crystal ball held her gaze. Claire had propped her chin in her hand as she sat at Midge’s table while Raven grew impatient and went to smoke by the door. Little Shiya hide behind Claire’s hair, hiding herself from Midge’s view, as fruitless as that may be.

“Do what?”

Midge looked up with a smile holding the ball within the circle of her hands, “’подключение’. That is the word they are telling me.”

“’подключение’? What is that?”

“It’s Russian,” Claire looked at Raven as he searched the word on his phone card, “means ‘connection’.”

Claire raised her eyebrows, “’Connection’? Connect to what?”

She turned back to look at Midge who only stared at the crystal ball, “I’m afraid that’s all. There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

Claire sat back as she sighed crossing her arms, “Well great. Where does that get us?”

Raven walked over, putting his cigarette out in the ash tray, “It tells us that this is not the Taliban. This is some Russian ring.”

She looked up at him, “Yeah that’s true, but there’s not a whole lot known about any Russian rings.”

Raven looked at his watch, “It’s late enough as it is. We’ll dig up more in the morning.”

They thanked Midge and walked out the door. Raven turned to go down the stairs waving goodbye to Claire when she stopped him with a hand on his arm, “Why don’t you come up to my place? I’ll cook us some dinner and we can discuss the case some more.”

He knew he should politely decline but thinking about the cold leftovers in his fridge made him think differently, “Alright.”

They walked up the stairs, reaching her door and walked inside. Crystal perked up when the door opened and flew off her perch to greet Claire but stopped when she saw the glittering ball on Claire’s shoulder.

“What is that?”

Claire pointed a finger at Crystal, “Play nice. This is Shiya. She’s a new friend and she’s working a case with us.”

Crystal plopped herself on Raven’s shoulder and he raised his eyebrow as she did so, “You’re getting help from that glittering ball of sparkles?”

Shiya flew out and got into Crystal’s face, putting her hands on her hips in a huff, “Quiet you scalely lizard. At least I don’t have bad breath.”

Crystal growled, showing her fangs as hot vapors emitted from her mouth. Raven glanced at Claire nervously, “You gonna do something about this?”

Claire waved her hand and walked to the kitchen, “They’ll get over it.”

He looked at Crystal as he felt her claws sharpen, “Yeah with me in the middle.”

Claire went about fixing a meal, ignoring the commotion outside the room as she made her favorite southern meal; friend chicken. Shiya quickly set off towards Claire and Crystal yelled at her, giving chase. Raven gave a quiet sigh of relief and sat down on the couch, clearing a section on the oak table pulling out his phone card. He unfolded the card twice and it expanded into a mini travel laptop which he tried to look up any and all information on any known Russian Slyvan traffic rings. No matter how much he dug or what angle he tried, nothing gave, nothing made sense. Raven sighed as he rubbed his face.

“Here, eat.”

He looked up from his hands to see Claire handing him a plate piled high with hot steamy food, smelling like heaven. It was then he finally realized his stomach was growling like crazy and thanked Claire as he took the plate. She handed him silverware and a napkin and sat with her own plate in hand. They began to eat in silence as Crystal glared down from her perch at Shiya who was sitting back on Claire’s shoulder, sticking her tongue out at the glass dragon.

Claire gestured to the laptop with her fork, “You find anything on that thing?”

“Nothing useful.”

His food gone, he set the plate on the table and sat back against the couch. Claire watched him sigh and saw the anger and frustration he tried to contain inside. She silently took the plates and cleaned up the kitchen, wondering how she could help him. Suddenly her wrist started beeping and she answered the call, hearing Tessa telling her they got some results back from the room they combed through earlier today. Claire’s eyes went wide as she heard the news, knowing the girls will be found. She ran out of the kitchen and flopped on the couch getting face to face with Raven in her excitement.

“She’s a Trow! There’s a Trow elf traveling with the Slyvans!”

Raven held up his hand, pushing Claire back to a more comfortable distance, “Whoa, wait, what?”

Claire sat on her hunches her hands patting her thighs as she told Raven about her call just now, “That was Tessa, just now. The results revealed that there was a Trow elf along with 5 other Slyvan elves, one was even half-human.”

Raven sat up straight, “A Trow? I thought they stayed in their tribes, away from the big cities.”

She waved her hand, “Yeah they’re something like the Amish, but this helps us. It helps us a lot!”

He held out his hand, “Ok but how?”

She grabbed his arm and squeezed, unable to contain her excitement, “We can track her! Trow’s throw off a very distinct magic signal and we can trace that!”

Little Shiya floated in front of Claire’s face, “Do you say true? Can we really find them?”

Claire turned to her, her eyes shining, “Yes we can! Tessa’s already getting a lock on the signal, tracing it. She said we could find them within the day.”

Both she and Shiya squealed as they felt their excitement explode. Claire held onto Shiya's little hands as she stood and jumped on the couch, laughing as they felt they were bringing the girls home.

Raven couldn’t help but chuckle, but knew he had to say something, “Claire we still need to find the people responsible. We don’t even know if this is an organization or just some hoodlums.”

She dropped to her knees smiling in Raven’s face, “Even so, we’ve got ‘em.”

He chuckled as he lit a cigarette, “Alright, I’ll give you that.”

Claire squealed, “I’ve gotta help.”

She bounded off the couch and cleared a spot on the floor by the table. She drew a giant circle and scribbled some symbols then grabbed a mini globe from the table and set it in the center of the circle. She placed her hands on the circle and chanted some words as it began to glow. Shiya sat on the edge of the table, watching in wonder at the power and control Claire displayed.

Finally done chanting she sighed and sat back on her feet, “There. It’s done.”

Raven took a drag on his cigarette as he leaned over, looking over the edge of the table at the circle Claire created, “Is that like the spell you used on Emily’s diary?”

Claire looked back at him and smiled, “Yes. You’ve been learning.”

He chuckled again, crushing his butt out, “It’s not hard when you pay attention.”

She smiled and chuckled back, “Coffee?”

He said yes and she quickly got up to brew a fresh batch. She soon brought out two steaming mugs and gestured with her head, “Let’s drink outside. It’s actually a nice night out.”

She leads him out to her glass wall, opening a door and walking out onto the veranda. She twirls her wrist and plops the ashtray from the oak table, setting it on the patio table for Raven setting his mug beside it. They sit and quietly sipped their coffees as they watch the moon and city lights. Crystal came out and landed on Claire’s shoulder, curling her tail around her neck, ignoring the fairy snuggling against Claire in her lap. Both creatures quickly fall asleep as the city slowly drones on.

“You seem incredibly calm about this case.”

Claire glanced at Raven and smiled into her mug, “Well, Emily’s case taught me you can’t get too close.”

Silence settled once again as they watched the light when Raven whispered, “I’ve never thanked you for saving my life.”

Claire looked at him in surprise, “Rav you don’t have to-“

“No Claire I do. If you weren’t there…if you didn’t do what you’ve done, I wouldn’t be here and I… I can’t thank you enough for that.”

She was silent as she watched him study his mug. Then their eyes met and she saw such raw emotions raging in his she felt her heart melt. She smiled gently and reached for his hand, gently squeezing it, “You don’t have to say anything. I-,” she cleared her throat, “you’re my partner and not only that you’re also my friend. I’d gladly give my life for you.”

He looked down at their conjoined hands and squeezed hers tight, “Don’t treat your life so cheap. You’re important to a lot of people Claire. You’re important to me.”

He looked up, trapped in her eyes as they locked together. She felt her breath quicken and grow hot as her hand burned. He felt as if he was drowning and couldn’t bother to fight it. They leaned forward and stopped bare inches from each other. Crystal and Shiya woke up, disturbed by Claire’s movement and grew silent as they saw the heated moment developing between the two. Claire looked down at Raven’s lips and licked her own. Raven felt a punch in his gut as he watched her tongue wet her lips, shining in the sparkling moon light.

She breathed hard, her breath heating his lips, “We shouldn’t-“

“Shut up.”

He grabs her hair and crushes his lips to hers. His head felt on fire as his teeth grazed her soft lips, bruising them. She felt her breathing stop as her lungs filled with his sent, feeling as if she was falling from the sky not caring. She was suddenly running her fingers through his hair as she’s always dreamed of. She nearly sighed as the silky touch, knowing it was better than she could have ever imagine as the kiss stole the last of her thoughts. His hands crushed her against him as they stood. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and marveled at the texture of it as he felt as if he was running a marathon.

All too soon Claire felt cold. Raven threw her from his hold and stood there panting, staring at her. Her hands felt charred and filled with rocks, her skin feeling the cold air against the sheen of sweat. He could only stare at her, at the dazed, wondered look in her eyes as he felt the rushing blood ease from his brain. He screwed up. He never should have kissed her.

“I’ve gotta go.”

His voice felt like rocks in his throat as it cracked. He tried walking around her, careful not to touch her for he knew if he did, he wouldn’t let go this time. She felt like a wrecking ball just bowled through her. She couldn’t move and only numbly nodded her head as Raven walked around her. Without another word he left her home, leaving her on the veranda, feeling as broken and as brittle as ice in spring. She collapsed in her chair, holding her face in one hand as she panted, trying to slow her racing heart.

“Claire? Are you ok?”

“Lady Claire?”

She numbly looked up to see Crystal and Shiya looking at her from the table. Without knowing why tears started to build in her eyes. She collapses against the table, folding her arms around her as she sobbed. Crystal and Shiya could only look at each other, at a lost as to what to do. Shiya walked up and patted Claire’s head as Crystal curled her neck around Claire, giving her as best as a hug as she could.

Outside her door Raven stood stunned, unable to hear Claire’s sobs. Would he have gone back in if he heard? Could he? He braced himself against the door, pissed at himself. He wanted to punch and beat himself up, feeling so angry at himself. Finally getting himself under control he walked down the stairs and saw Midge standing outside her door.

“You could go back up there.”

He walked by her without acknowledging her, “I can’t.”

₃₆TROW^Z

The girls huddled closer together as the air became still and cold in their small dark room. Their rations have certainly increased and they were enjoying what seems like a bountiful meal in days. Nony had fallen asleep after eating and was resting her head on Sli’s lap. Sli gently stroke the girl’s hair as she looked up into the dark corner.

“Trowlie, won't you join us? There’s still plenty more.”

‘Trowlie’ as they called her, was the Trow elf amongst them. She refused to divulge her name or cooperate so they had simply begun to call her Trowlie.

The young Trow girl huddled her small blanket closer to herself, “I’m fine. Just leave me alone you Slyv.”

Sli sighed and gently moved Nony from her lap, careful not to wake the young girl. She picked up some food and brought it over to Trowlie’s corner, setting them beside her as she sat with her back to Trowlie’s. She stayed quiet as she waited for Trowlie to eat and slowly relax when she heard her breaking the bread.

“I never thanked you for helping me. Thank you.”

Trowlie was silent as she chewed the stale bread, “I wasn’t helping you I was helping myself. Wanted more food, that’s all.”

Sli turned to look at the girl, “Why do you hate me so? We’ve never met before.”

Trowlie looked up and stared at Sli’s green eyes with her own copper brown ones, “You are the granddaughter of a Slyvanian Chief. The Slyvanian Chief banished my people from the forest, simply because we were different.”

It was true, what Trowlie said but it was nearly 5,000 years ago when this happened. The Trow’s and Slyvan’s were once sister clans and grew and worked together, but the ancient Slyvan’s grew fearful of the Trow’s magic, so much different than theirs. Elves are not as powerful as most people believe but each tribe does have a specific trait they are known for. The Slyvan’s, known as the noblest of the Elves, is able to live in harmony with nature and to command the plants as they wish, to grow an oasis within the harsh desert.

While the Trow’s magic is more connected to the earth and the dark side at that. Trow’s use their Earth magic to destroy, to create cracks and fissures within the ground as oppose to close gaps and holes. The Slyvan who lives with nature were fearful of the Trow’s who fought with nature so the Chief at the time, banished the Trow’s to live in the sparse landscape, far from the lush forest. It was said that after they were banish was when the Trow’s started to grow their distinct look of dirt brown skin with hair mixed with the colors of dirt brown and red clay.

Sli sighed as she leaned on her hand, “But that was ancient history. Can’t we put that aside and rewrite history?”

Trowlie turned back from her, “No.”

Sli felt defeated and dejected as she slowly got up and went back to the others. Nony was still asleep and now Nalia was sleeping soundly next to her. Cat and Baylie were watching and waiting for Sli as she sat and placed a hand on Nony’s shoulder. She was shocked at how boney she was already starting to feel.

“Why can’t she help us? With her magic we could easily break out of here.”

They spoke quietly as Sli continued to watch Nony sleep, “We’ve already tried to use our own magic Baylie. We’re still too young to grow into it and the same can be said for her. Besides we don’t even know if we’re still on the ground much less near plants. We can only continue to pray for help.”

Baylie’s fist tighten on her knees as she looked up at Trowlie’s back, throwing daggers with her eyes, “She could still help us. She refuses to even try.”

“You don’t know that.”

Baylie knew Sli was right but it still did not help. She felt her anger raise and Cat placed a hand on her shoulder. Baylie turned to look at her friend and knew she was right, anger would not help her now. She took several deep breathes and calmed herself down. Trowlie heard them talking about her and felt the daggers being thrown at her back. She knew they were right, that she should try to help them, yet at the same time she couldn’t.

She drew her knees up and held them close, biting back her tears. She’s been trying for days to reach for the earth, her constant friend and companion. She’s always felt that connection, has known it since before she was born. This was the first time she has gone without that connection and she has never felt so alone. The others simply could not understand what it was like. To have this connection that was so a part of you as breathing suddenly disappear. More than anything Trowlie wished to go “home”, to feel the touch of the earth once more, before she forgets the feeling.

Her shoulders shook as someone draped a second blanket over her. She looked up startled to see the one they referred to as Cat smiling at her. Ashamed at the tears in her eyes Trowlie quickly looked away and hid her face. Cat’s smile faulted and she kneeled next to the girl, wrapping her arms around her thin shoulders. Trowlie knew she was shaking, knew she should stop, to push the Slyvanian girl away from her but she couldn’t move. She made no sound as Cat sat there holding her, giving her the comfort she needed. The shaking was all Trowlie could afford to show about her loneliness.

Baylie had fallen asleep leaning against the wall while Sli silently watched Cat and Trowlie from across the room. Though the room was dark she could see enough to see Cat embracing Trowlie as the little elf shook. Sli wished to go over and to offer her own comfort and friendship but knew she would be rejected. Nony turned over in her sleep next to Sli, pulling her out of her thoughts as she looked down at the young Slyvanian girl. She pushed a strand of silver hair back behind Nony’s ear and made a mental note to rebraid the girl’s hair once she woke.

Sli felt her own tears begin to build, feeling hopeless to save these girls. She grabbed Nony’s hand and squeezed it as she repeated her vow to bring all the girls home. Her ears twitch as she heard a noise on the other side of the door. Looking around she saw everyone asleep and quietly tipped toed her way to the door, pressing her ear to it. She heard what she thought were the thugs talking, they sounded incredibly drunk their words slurring, making it hard to understand what they were saying.

“S**t man, ‘f I’ve known ‘d be,” the man belched loudly, “freakin sittin’baby, ‘d staied the ‘corp.”

The second man laughed and sounded as if he slapped his buddy on the shoulder, “Yar man! You aint neva let they near a gun! How’d shoot you?!”

The first man seemed to push his buddy, “Sh’t up! F**k I’m tired of dis s**t! Who that boss thank he is?!”

The second man shh-ed his friend, “Shush man, I heard real he’s. He’s da head.”

“The head of what?”

There was silence then shuffling noise, as if the second man came closer and whispered, “Da head of ‘em…ya know…da Pur’tans.”

Sli blinked as she heard the name. The actual head of the Puritans?! Here?! Now?! How? No one has ever found the head no less knows who he is. Rumor is the head has remained the same since the Puritan’s founding but that was hundreds of years ago. And now supposedly the head is here involved with their kidnapping? Sli looked back and studied each of the girls sleeping as soundly as they could in this stress filled world.

Suddenly the door slammed against her, pushing her to the ground as the thugs stomped in, “You b***h! You’ve been listenin’ to us!”

The tall thug sat on Sli’s stomach and placed his hands around her neck. Sli gasped for breath as she clawed at his hands, kicking her legs. The fat thug who always lewd at her grabbed her ankles in one hand and pushed his other between her legs. Tears slid down Sli’s face as she fought the black spots in her vision, wondering if the feel of their hands would follow her into the afterlife.

Footsteps ran across the room then stopped as the person jumped. Sli watched in slow motion as Trowlie came into her blurred view, kneeing the thug choking her in the jaw, breaking it. Without missing a beat Trowlie twirled in the air and swung her foot in an arch towards the fat thug’s face, smacking him square in the face, breaking his nose. Sli gasped as precious air filled her lungs and coughed as she sat up, looking up at Trowlie towering over her. Both thugs were knocked out cold and Trowlie gave them one last swift kick in the head to be sure then crunched in front of Sli holding a finger to her lips.

“Help Cat wake the others, quietly. We’re making a break for it.”

Sli felt time stop as she looked at Trowlie. She felt like crying, knowing she just saved her life and womanhood. She felt overjoyed that Trowlie was helping them and that they may even escaped because of her quick thinking. Sli felt slightly hysterical as she smiled and met up with Cat, waking the others. Trowlie dragged the thugs’ inside the room and quickly looked up and down the hallway, making sure no one was coming or heard anything.

She looked back to see everyone finally stirring and doing their best to be silent. She quietly wondered at herself and what she was doing when she felt an arm grab her neck. Trowlie let out a squeak and the others looked up to see the doorman holding Trowlie off the ground with his arm under her chin, strangling her. Sli and Baylie yelled to let her go as they ran to her aid when the man held up a gun to them.

“Move, and I’ll shoot the ones behind you.”

Sli heard Nony give a tiny whimper as her nails dug into her palms, “Let. Her. Go.”

The man scoffed at her, “You’re in no place to give me orders silver. Wake the idiots.”

“They tried to rape me!”

The gun cocked as the man pointed it to Sli’s skull, “Do I look like I give a f**k? Now do it.”

Sli breath hard as her anger boiled. Baylie placed a hand on her shoulder and while keeping her eyes on the man holding Trowlie she walked over to the K.O.’ed thugs and kicked their stomachs, waking them. They sputtered awake, disoriented and dazed as they looked around the room.

“Where’s that b***h?!” the fat one said.

The tall one sat as he rubbed his jaw, “I think she broke my jaw!”

The man holding Trowlie didn’t even glance at them, “If she did, you wouldn’t be speaking. Now get up!”

They stumbled to their feet and as they focused on Trowlie struggling from the man’s grasp the fat one ran up and grabbed her arm, yanking her from the man’s hold, “This is the b***h who done it!”

Trowlie coughed as she rubbed her neck. Sli stepped forward but the man swung the gun behind her, aiming at Nony forcing her to stop, “Let her go!”

The fat man whipped the drool from his chin as he sneered at her, “No. The b***h needs to be taught a lesson.”

The tall thug also sneered as he caught his friend’s meaning and they started walking out the room, pulling a struggling Trowlie with them when the gunman stopped them, “Where do you think you’re going?”

The tall thug was the one to answer, “She knocked us out! Boss said they could stay as long as they behave. She broke the rule!”

“Then you take her to the Boss. He’ll punish her then you two idiots can do as you want with her.”

The thugs were silent as they thought this over then they suddenly started laughing. Baylie and Sli screamed and ran to them, reaching their hands out to Trowlie. The thugs laughed as Trowlie reached her hand through the open door, her fingers grazing Sli’s just as the door shut. Sli continued to scream as she pounded the door, demanding her back. Nony and Nalia cried behind her as Cat comforted them as best as possible. Baylie tried to pry Sli from the door but she refused to budge, pounding at the wood door until her hands bled, screaming until her voice was raw.

₃₇TALKING IT OUT^Z

“Listen up! We’ve got some new information.”

Everyone was in the office for the new day, busying away at their computers and phone calls digging up everything they could. The chatter grew silent as Lucy stood with files in her hand, tapping the board behind her, calling everyone’s attention.

“DNA has confirmed Sli and Nony being present at the location the fairy Shiya led us to. We also have identified two more girls with their DNA for conformation. Meet Baylie, a 12 year old Slyvan/Human girl. She has the Slyvanian silver hair and pointed ears, along with blue eyes and a darker tone compared to the other Slyvanians. Nalia has also been identified, 7 years old, silver hair, green eyes. Both girls have been missing for roughly 2 months already. DNA has also identified two more girls; one is a Slyvanian girl we have yet to find in our databases and the other is a Trow girl. She’s expected to be of brown skin and hair, she’s also not in any of our databases. Malvina is working with their liaisons to find their names and ID’s. Tessa and Claire are working to track the Trow’s magic signature to lead us to the girls. Any questions?”

Lucy slapped the files in her hands as she looked around the room. Everyone was writing down the new information and studying the pictures of the two new girls. When no one asked anything or added anything new Lucy dismissed them all and everyone went back to work. The soundtrack of a working office was soon in full mode as phones rang, papers shuffled and people chatted. Claire was talking with Malvina, discussing what was said from the liaison when she turned to walked to the break room.

She jerked to a stop as Raven stood in front of her, an awkward moment passing between them. They sputtered and bumped into each other as they tried to walk around. Finally Claire ported herself into the break room, leaving Raven blinking looking around for her. Malvina raised an eyebrow as she saw the whole thing and leaned over to see Claire through the break room door, sighing and placing her face in her hand as she leaned against the wall.

“Now that, was weird.”

Malvina nodded as Lucy leaned closer over her shoulder, “Doesn’t take a detective to realize something happened between those two.”

Lucy propped her elbow on Malvina’s desk, “The question is, how do we get her to talk?”

Malvina turned to look at Lucy, “I think the real question is, how do we help her?”

She waved a hand, “We help her by her talking, that’s how.”

Malvina chuckled as Lucy pulled her out of the chair. Being careful no one else noticed they went into the break room and locked the door. They found Claire sitting on the couch with her head in her hands and Shiya trying to cheer her up. Shiya looked around as Lucy and Malvina walked in and silently asked with her eyes for help. Lucy smiled and elbowed Malvina as she went to brew some tea for Claire. Malvina sat down next to Claire and placed an arm around her shoulders.

“Claire, what’s wrong sweetheart?”

Claire shook her head as she folded her arms, “I don’t wanna talk about it Malvina, thanks.”

A mug clanked on the table as Lucy placed it in front of Claire. Claire looked up as Lucy stood with her arms crossed, pointing a finger at her, “Speak.”

Claire gave a weary chuckled then sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She picked up the mug and warmed her hands with the fresh tea, staring into the liquid as she spoke, “Raven was over at my house yesterday, having dinner, discussing the case. Afterwards we drank coffee on my veranda, watching the city lights. We started talking and one thing led to another and…we kissed.”

Lucy fell to the table as she smiled, “No way!”

Malvina held a hand to her mouth, “Oh my god, Claire! That’s awesome!”

Claire shook her head, her friend becoming quiet as she whispered, “He rejected me.”

They looked at each other then Malvina squeezed Claire’s shoulder as Lucy grabbed her hand, “What do you mean sweetie?”

Claire threw up her hand as she placed the cup, untouched, next to Lucy, “He pushed me away. We were kissing, getting hot and heavy when all of a sudden he pushed me away. He ran out the door like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

Malvina rubbed Claire’s shoulders as she soothed her friend while Lucy stood up, pacing the room, “That b*****d. I atta rip his head off.”

“Lucy don’t it’s ok.”

Lucy turned to Claire, “How could you say it’s ok?! That man practically ran all over your heart!”

Claire looked up, showing Lucy her tear filled eyes, “I’m a mage Lucy. It wouldn’t have worked anyways and even if that wasn’t the case we’re partners. We can't have a relationship outside of work, it just wouldn’t work.”

Lucy was steamed and tried to say more but a look from Malvina closed her mouth. Malvina turned back to Claire, “Claire, are you sure? It may be something else you haven’t thought of.”

Claire sighed as she turned to Malvina, “It’s what I have to think. I don’t think I could take it if he really does reject me so, this is what I’m telling myself. Please…?”

Malvina shook her head as she hugged her friend reassuringly. They looked to Lucy who stood with her arms crossed, craving blood. Finally Lucy agreed and they spent the next half-hour doing their best to cheer Claire up. Raven watched the door, wondering what was going inside. He didn’t have to wonder to far, he knew it was a ball-bashing girl fest going on in there, especially after the way he acted last night. Raven sighed loudly as he propped his elbows on his desk and placed his head in his hands.

His desk scrapped as Henry leaned against it, “What ya do now?”

“Shut the hell up.”

The sound of ‘tsk tsk’ was heard behind him, “Black you shouldn’t bury your emotions-“

“-let it out in one big burst!”

“Shut the hell up!”

Henry shooed the twins away with his hand. They shrugged their shoulders and went back to work. Henry looked down at his friend, tearing himself apart, “Well…?”

Raven spoke so quietly Henry had to lean closer to hear him, “I kissed her.”

Henry sat back up straight and rubbed his chin, knowing this was what was tormenting his friend yet did not understand why, “Congratulations?”

“No I…,” he got out of the chair and lightly kicked his desk as he paced, “I…I took advantage of her Tanks! I took advantage.”

Henry looked at him confused, “How exactly did you take advantage of her?”

“She made me a nice meal. We ate dinner together and we were talking about the case. I was trying to tell her how thankful I was for saving my life and she…she just brushed it off, like it was nothing! Like it happens all the time!”

Henry waved his arm, “Doesn’t always?”

“Yes but not with me and her! We’ve just started this mess!”

“Ah,” Henry snapped his fingers, “that’s your problem isn’t it? You’ve just met this girl and already you’re dreaming hot ‘n heavy about her. Am I right?”

Raven stopped and sputtered as he tried to deny it, “No…I…just…s**t, you’re right.”

Henry laughed as he slapped his knee and went up to pat his friend on the shoulder, “Sorry man, yo’ve got it bad.”

“Shut up.”

“You know you’re gonna have to tell her.”

Raven sighed, “I know.”

The sound of glass tapping glass rang through the room, causing all the guys to look around for the source. Raven found Crystal on the window sill, tapping the window to come in. He went to the window and let the glass dragon inside. The others who’ve never seen her before stared in astonishment as the glittering dragon flew through the room, making her way to Raven’s desk. He walked up to her and was taken aback at her bigger size. She was roughly the size of an average dog now whereas before she was small enough to comfortably ride someone’s shoulders.

Raven looked her up and down and noticed the same mini globe from Claire’s loft, glowing within her barrel chest. He pointed to it, “Is that the globe from Claire’s spell last night?”

Crystal looked up at him and hissed, spewing hot air in his face, “That’s for making her cry you jerk. Where is she?”

He whipped his face and pointed to the door behind her, “In there. Wait, she cried last night?”

Before she could answer the door opened and Claire came out, not seeing Raven as her eyes focused on Crystal, “Crystal, what are you doing here?”

Claire laid her hand on Crystal’s back, placing it over the globe inside her, “Your little globe started to ping. I figured you could use it.”

It was true. The globe was giving off a slight ping like a sonar as a purple ring of light rippled from a point marked on the globe. Claire looked closer and the mark was indeed within New York but the globe was too small to tell where within New York.

Claire looked up at everyone in the room, “We’ve got ‘em. We’ve got a lock on the girls. I’ll fly with Crystal to pinpoint the location. Everyone be on standby when I call in the location.”

Everyone ran to prepare, grabbing their guns and vests as Claire made way to the back door, Crystal flying beside her. She made it out the door, Crystal flying ahead waiting for her, when someone grabbed her elbow. She looked back, meaning to tell them to let her go when she stared back into Raven’s black eyes. Time stood still as they stared at each other, their hearts pounding in their ears.

His voice cracked as he spoke, “Wait. Wait for me to arrive. Just, be careful ok. Don’t do anything stupid.””

Claire opened and closed her mouth, licking her lips as her head spun, “Ok. I’ll wait for you.”

She broke out of his hold before more could be said. She jumped and took to the air, flying higher and higher with Crystal by her side. Raven stood there, amazed at the flying woman taking his breath away.

Claire let the wind blow her eyes dry, “You’re not gonna cry again are you?”

She gave a weary chuckle as she looked at Crystal, “No, I’m not.”

Crystal flew a little closer, “You sure? I can hurry back and melt his face.”

Claire laughed louder, “No Crys, it’s fine. I promise.”

They flew in silence, the globe pinging faster and faster as they came closer to their mark. They finally landed at the lake in Central park. Claire looked around confused as she saw no building yet the pinging of the globe was telling them they were there. Claire looked around some more and stepped to the water, placing her hand in the water. Suddenly she felt a rush of magic as she got an imagine of a building buried deep underwater in the center of the lake. Claire gasped and pulled her hand out of the water, crouching on the her feet as she flicked her hand out.

She placed a call to the office, Malvina answering the phone, “I’ve got it. Central Park. They used some sort of magic to hide the building in the lake.”

“Got it. We’re on our way.”

₃₈RESCUE^Z

The sun was directly overhead, beating down on everyone as they gathered behind a boulder near the lake on the off chance they had look outs. Other officers sectioned off the park from pedestrians, giving the detectives the space they needed. Everyone was strapping on their protective gear, Claire and Malvina giving each an extra layer of magic protection, just in case. Malvina would stay behind on lookout for anyone who may escape. Claire would lead the way in with Crystal by her side. Raven, Lucy and Henry would follow behind her in that order. Claire quickly strapped on her vest and waved her hand, pulling her gun from the safe back in her loft. Clicks were heard as everyone readied their guns, turning the safeties off.

Claire turned to group, gathering them in a circle and placed her hand in the center, projecting an image of the building she saw, “This is the building submerged in the water. It’s roughly 3 stories with concrete walls and windows only on the south facing wall. They’re using either Space or Dimensional magic to fold the building within the water, much like Atlantis. I’ll head in first, opening the door and leave it open for others to follow. Malvina, hopefully if there’s a lot of people they’ll see an easy opening and race for it, that’s where you come in.”

Malvina nodded her head, her magic at the ready when Henry asked a question, “Won’t they notice us when we break in?”

Claire waved her hand, dispersing the image, “Way ahead of you. Malvina and I weaved a stealth shield in everyone’s gear. We can’t know for sure what type of surveillance they’re using, so the shield hides you from every eye for a certain amount of time. Once that time runs out though it’s only a matter of time before they find you. So it’s in and out, we split up once we get inside. Raven and I will get the girls, Henry, you and Lucy find the culprits and cuff them. Got it? Comms in.”

Everyone put a small ear piece inside their ears Claire calling, “Comm check.” Everyone radioed in, loud and clear, “Alright. Twins, you in place?”

The twins were hiding in the crowd around the sectioned off park, looking for anyone suspicious.

“We’re here Claire-“

“-loud and clear.”

“Alright, keep a sharp eye out, we’re going in. Let’s go.”

Everyone nodded somberly as Claire led them out around the boulder, guns at ready. Malvina climbed on top, casting an invisibility bubble around her, keeping an alert eye on the surface of the lake. Crystal kept close to Claire as they walked to the shore, Claire stopping when they reached it and raised her hand above the water. The water silently bubbled as the surface pulled back, revealing dry steps going down into darkness. Claire motioned her hand to follow and went down the steps, feeling the cold in the air and the immense weight of the water above her head despite the fact that everything within this area was dry as a bone.

“We’re in.”

They carefully treaded their way around some rubble, crouching behind the remnants of a stone wall. Four pairs of eyes looked over the edge towards the building, looking for any signs of like. One of the windows on the third floor was boarded up completely. Claire tapped Raven’s shoulder and pointed to the window. Raven nodded his head and motioned to Lucy and Henry to the second floor where a light was on. Everyone nodded when they knew where to go and as quiet as the night the air portrayed around them they stepped towards the building on opposite ends.

Gravel scrapped on concrete as Claire skidded to a stop, molding herself to the wall behind her as she peeked around the corner. With the coast clear she waved her hand motioning to Raven behind her. Holding her gun down they walked towards the door down the wall, Claire testing the doorknob. It opened with ease and Claire pulled it open, being careful not to squeak the hinges. The door opened and softly clink against the wall, Claire motioning her head to Crystal to lead the way. Crystal lead them up the stairs, all was quiet, everything going well. Suddenly when Claire and Raven reached the landing of the second floor, gunshots were heard within the hallway.

“This is Lucy. I need back up. Henry’s been shot, I repeat Henry’s been shot.”

Claire looked back at Raven and saw the blood drain from his face, “Go. I’ll handle it from here.”

His fingers tighten on his rifle as he hesitated but as more gunshots rang in the hallway he courtly nodded his head, “Be safe.”

Claire flashed a grin, “I’m always safe.”

Raven stopped as he reached the door. Claire saw him shake his head and mumble under his breath as he went to aid their friends. She felt a tug on her shirt and saw Shiya pulling at her sleeve.

“Shiya?! What are you doing here? It’s too dangerous, go back.”

Shiya ignored her as she looked at Claire, nearly frantic, “She’s there, up there! We need to go, now!”

Claire nodded, waving at Crystal, porting the globe back at her loft so she can go back to her normal size, “Stick close to me, both of you. Lead the way Shiya.”

Crystal wrapped herself around Claire’s neck, keeping an eye on her back as she followed Shiya up to the last floor. The hallway was a blur as Claire did her best to keep up with the fairy while keeping an eye out of any shooters. Shiya stopped at one door, banging on it with her little fingers.

“My Lady?! My Lady are you in there?!”

Claire stepped up to the door rattling the handle, “Hello? Is anyone in there?”

There wasn’t any answer. Claire pushed her ear to the door, listening closely. Faintly she heard murmuring, a quiet sob. Claire stepped back and kicked the door open. Shrieks were heard as the lighted hallway spilled into the dark, dank room. Claire stepped inside to a group of 5 girls, huddled together against the back wall.

She put her gun in behind her inside her belt as she stepped to the frighten girls, “Sh, sh. It’s ok. My name’s Claire. I’m here to take you home.”

Shiya flew past Claire, landing on the shoulder of one of the bigger girls, “My Lady?! It is I, the one who answered your call of help.”

Sli slowly looked up, blinking in the blinding light, “You? Is it really you?” Little Shiya nodded her head as tears sprinkled down her tiny face. Sli looked over to Claire, raising her hand to shield her eyes, “Are you here to save us?”

Claire smiled, “Yes. Yes I am. I’m here to save all of you. C’mon, let’s go home.”

Everyone slowly looked at Claire, breaking into shy smiles as they cried. Claire did her best to hurry them out the door when the one with Shiya on her shoulder stopped her, “Wait! You have to save our friend! She’s hurt, they took her away.”

Claire kneeled before her, “Ok, ok, calm down. What’s your name?”

“Sli.”

“Sli, do you know where they took your friend?” She shook her head and everyone else behind her did the same. Claire smiled, “It’s ok, don’t worry. I’ll stay and look for your friend. See my friend here, Crystal? She’ll get you all out of here. Crystal?”

Crystal nodded her head and flew from Claire’s shoulder, landing on the ground by the door. She grew in size, so big she nearly cracked the ceiling and floor. The little ones stared amazed as the glass dragon grew big enough for everyone to ride her comfortably.

Claire turned back to the group, “Crystal will get you all out of here safely. Climb up ok?”

She helped the children on Crystal’s back, the one with cat like eyes first, then the youngest and the one Claire recognized as Baylie last, protecting the younger ones between the two of them. Claire went to help Sli on but Sli shook her head.

“I’m coming with you.”

Claire was about to argue but something in the girl’s eyes made her stop, she knew it would be useless. Finally she nodded and turned to Crystal and the girls. She muttered under her breath, casting the same stealth shield around Crystal and girls as she did for everyone else. With that done she then turned to the back wall and rasied her hand. With a bang the wall crumbled, opening a hole big enough for Crystal to fly through.

“Go now!”

The others started to protest as Crystal took off, flying into the air, invisible to everyone as she flew the girls to safety. Claire turned to Sli and grabbed her hand, “Stay close, do not let go.”

Sli nodded her head as Claire pulled out her gun, keeping to the walls as she walked down the hall, wondering how they were going to find the Trow girl.

“Lady Claire, down here.”

Shiya floated in front of Claire, pointing to the left corridor, “You can find her?”

“Yes, I learned her scent from within the room. It leads down this way.”

“Great, follow it.”

Shiya led them down the hall, going left and right in a maze of corners and turns, blurring wooden doors into one as they begun to lose track. Finally Shiya stopped at one door slightly ajar. Claire felt her heart tighten as she begun to have a bad feeling and turned to Sli.

“Stay here you hear me. Do not let go of this wall.”

Sli wanted to protest but something told her to listen and silently nodded her head. Claire slowly crept to the door, glancing inside before she opened the door. She walked inside and saw a young girl chained to the wall. She felt her jaw tighten as she saw dried blood on the girl’s arms and legs, covered in cuts. Claire fell to her knees before the girl, checking her pulse. It was there, weak but there. Claire quickly went to work healing the girl, closing her wounds and replenishing her blood as best as she could.

“Don’t move.”

Claire stilled as she heard a man’s voice behind her. She heard Sli trying to struggle and turned to see the man holding Sli by her hair, dragging her behind him, “I said don’t move. Get up.”

“But you said don’t move.”

He let a bullet lose above Claire’s head, debris sprinkling her head, “Next one will be your head. Get up.”

She slowly raised her hands and stood. “Good. Now kick your gun to me.”

She let her gun drop and did as he told. The man pushed the gun across the room with his foot as he stepped closer, “And don’t even think of using your magic. These are rune bullets, they’ll stop you quick.”

Her mind raced as she tried to think of what to do. Suddenly she caught a movement out the corner of her eye. She bit her cheek to keep from grinning, slowly moving her feet back as she backed away. They man gave no thoughts as he stepped closer, unknowing to what she was doing. Claire stopped when he was standing in front of the Trow girl. Her fingers twitched as she gave a signal.

Suddenly she yelled, “Now!”

Trowlie kicked her legs, throwing the man on the ground. Sli screamed as he let go, turning and elbowed him with all her might in the stomach. Claire jumped on him before he could recover, calling her gun to her hand and pointed it to his face.

“Now you’re my b***h, b***h.”

Claire quickly cuffed him. Sli cried as she undid Trowlie’s cuffs, “Trowlie! Trowlie are you ok?! Trowlie answer me!” Trowlie muttered under her breath. Sli leaned closer, “What?”

“Shut up you stupid Slyv, my head is killing me. And my name’s not Trowlie, it’s Cagla.”

Sli sat back, staring at her friend as Cagla rubbed her wrist. Suddenly they smiled, laughing they hugged and embraced each other as they cried. Claire couldn’t help but smile as she watched the two girls.

₃₉THE PURITAN HEAD^Z

Sirens ringing filled the park as the calamity calmed down. Claire slammed the ambulance door, signaling it to leave. She sighed, crossing her arms with a smile on her lips. Turns out all the guns in the building had rune bullets and the extra protection spell she and Malvina gave everyone were useless, but Henry was only shot in the arm and with Tessa by his side he’ll be just fine, he’ll even have a war wound to show off at the end of this.

“You did good Claire.”

She turned to see Raven, already smoking as he watched the thugs being round up, “Thanks. You too.”

He scoffed, “You did good to keep out of trouble.”

She thought about telling him about the thug holding the gun at her but decided against it. They talked some more when she excused herself to go check on the girls. They were being looked over by paramedics, asking about their parents with Crystal and Shiya by their sides. Claire looked over each of them, introducing herself to Nony, Nalia, Cat and Baylie as they hugged her. She promised each of them to personally get them home as soon as they were done here. Claire felt her sleeve being pulled and looked down to see Sli trying to pull her aside.

Claire sat her down on the bench as she sat with her, handing her a bottle water, “What’s up?”

Sli was silent as she ran the bottle between her hands, “What’s gonna happen to us?”

Claire pulled a strand of Sli’s hair back, “What’d you mean?”

Sli looked up into Claire’s eyes, “What’s gonna happen now?”

Claire smiled, “Well, I’m sure we’ll bore you with a bunch of questions but before that we’ll get you to your parents first.”

“What about Cat?”

“Does she not have parents?”

Sli bowed her head, “I don’t know. She never talked but I get the feeling she’s all alone.”

Claire looked up and saw Nalia talking Cat’s ear off. She smiled as she pointed it out to Sli, “Doesn’t look like she’s lonely now. As the one who looked out for their daughter I have no doubt Nalia’s parents will help Cat out in any way they can.”

Sli watched them for a moment then nodded her head. She scooted closer to Claire and whispered, “I need to tell you something.”

“What?”

She looked back and forth as if she was revealing a big secret, “Last night, I think it was last night, I heard them talking…those two.”

She pointed to a tall and fat thug Raven was currently struggling to get in the patrol car. The thugs refused to cooperate and were kicking and screaming as much as they could finally causing Raven to subdue them.

Claire watched them close, “Ok, what about them?”

Sli turned back to her speaking carefully, “They said the man, the man Cagla and I saw was the Head, the Head of the Puritans.”

Claire felt ice cold water wash over her. The sunlight dimmed from her eyes as if a dark cloud blocked it out. She felt vile and dread crawl up her throat, threatening to choke her. She did her best to clear her throat as she carefully placed her hand on Sli’s shoulder.

“What are you talking about?”

Sli licked her lips, knowing how serious this was, “Cagla and I were taken to this room, like a fancy parlor and there was a man they called Boss. Last night when they were talking one of them said the Boss was the Head of the Puritans.”

Claire had to control her anger to prevent her hand from tightening on Sli’s shoulder as she spoke, “Did this man speak?” Sli nodded her head, “What language did he speak in?”

“He spoke in our language…but there was one other language. He was talking on the phone when we were brought in. It sounded very…weird. I’ve never heard it before.”

“Can you remember a word or phrase he used in this other language?”

Sli nodded, “Yes, ‘подключение’.”

Claire felt her world stop as she heard the word. She slowly became aware of someone standing next to her and she turned to see one of the attending paramedics.

“Are you the detective in charge?”

Claire tried to clear her throat as she blinked, “Uh, I guess so. What’s the problem?”

“Can I speak to you in private?”

Claire nodded and turned to Sli, saying she’ll be right back as she followed the paramedic to a quiet clearing to the side, “What’s going on?”

The female paramedic sighed, as if she was dreading the news she had to say, “I just finished looking over the girls. Luckily I know some of the Slyv language and was able to communicate with them. The Trow girl said something that troubles me so I drew some of their blood and ran a quick test.”

“What did the girl say?”

The paramedic looked around then sighed again, “She said she still couldn’t feel the earth, the connection she’s always had with the earth. I ran the test and it turns out-“

“Their magic was sealed.”

She blinked, “Yes that’s right. How’d you know that?”

Claire looked away as she seethed, “Their f****n’ specialty.”

She excused herself from the paramedic then walked further into the park, away from everyone and called Abby.

Abby flickered in her hand, “Hey! I heard it was a success. You found the girls, congrats! ...Claire? What’s wrong?”

Abby saw the dark look in Claire’s eyes and knew something happened, “Abby, I need you to turn off the observer. Just for a few minutes.”

“What?!” Abby looked at Claire stunned, “Claire you can’t be serious!”

“Abby…”

“No! That’s too dangerous! You’re on a thin enough leash as it is and you want me to pull this stunt?!”

“Abby their magic was sealed.”

Abby was stunned, “Who’s?”

“The girl’s. All 6 of them. I can undo it.”

“Claire,” Abby whispered as she leaned closer, “you realize what will happen if they get light of this?”

“I don’t care. I know what it’s like being sealed. I can undo it, whether you turn off the observer or not.”

Abby held her hand up, “Fine, fine, calm down. I know what this means to you, alright? I’ll do it. Get ready.”

Abby flickered off and Claire went in search of the girls. She found them together, waiting on a bench for something to bring them home. She went up to them and asked Sli to translate for her as she kneeled before them.

“What I’m about to tell you, will be something very scary but I don’t want any of you to be afraid because I will fix it, ok?” She waited as Sli told the others what she said. They all looked nervous at first but with a reassuring smile from Sli they all nodded their heads and turned their attention to Claire, “Your magic…the Puritans sealed it. You can no longer use it as long as that seal is in effect.” Sli sputtered as she translated for the others and more tears followed, “Don’t cry. Like I said I can fix it. I can undo the seal but, it has to be a secret ok? You can’t tell anyone I did this, ok?”

They all looked at each other. The little one, Nony, asked a question and Sli quickly translated, “Why?”

Claire paused as she tried to think of what to say when she smiled, “Because everyone would be jealous.”

Her smile faulted as she knew she was lying but the truth was not something these girls had to know. They all nodded and asked what they needed to do. Claire simply told them to get in a circle with the younger ones sitting on the bench and Sli and Cagla standing while Claire stayed kneeled on the ground. She instructed them to hold hands and close their eyes, concentrating on their magic, where it comes from within them. Claire waited for that tall tale click inside her head that told her Abby turned the observer off. When she finally felt that click she quickly dived her magic into each girl, following their linked hands. She found the seals locked deep inside their souls. Before she ran out of time she grabbed the seals and pulled at each of the with all her might until they all shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Each girl gasped as they felt their magic rushing in their veins again. Cagla felt tears run down her face as she felt her connection with the earth reestablished, feeling like a long lost friend warming her soul. They all laughed and hugged Claire, toppling her to the ground as their joy overwhelmed them. Suddenly they heard shouting and they all looked up to see their parents running to them, calling their names. They all squealed and cried as they ran to their mothers and fathers, Nalia dragging Cat to hers. A teary reunion was made as families were reunited. Mother’s showered their daughters with tears and kisses while Father’s bruised them in bear hugs. Nalia’s parents were happy to welcome Cat into their home and would even adopt her in due time.

Claire smiled as she got up and sat down on the bench, “Well, isn’t that a happy ending.”

She looked up to see Raven, holding out a can of soda to her. She smiled as she grabbed the can, “They’re the best, aren’t they?”

Raven smiled and chuckled as he sat next to her. They shared a quiet moment as they watched families become whole again, “I’m glad you didn’t get shot this time.”

Claire laughed, “You make it sound like it happens all the time.”

He gave a weak grin then grew serious, “Claire, about last night-“

“Don’t.” Claire held up her hand, stopping him, “Let’s just, start over.”

Raven didn’t want that, he wanted to move forward but knew he lost any chance of that, “Fine.”

They shared in quiet content when Cagla broke from her parents and ran to Claire hugging her tight, “Thank you.”

Claire smiled as she patted the girl’s back. Cagla smiled at her and ran back to her parents when Raven turned to her, “What was that about?”

Claire smirked and held a finger to her lips, “Girl talk, you wouldn’t understand.”

₄₀EMERGENCY^Z

Everyone shouted as they toasted with their cans. They finally were able to make their way back to the office to celebrate their first op ending successfully. Word from the hospital is Henry is fine with a through and through and is expected to be released any minute now. The twins orders pizza’s for everyone and the room was soon filled with the smell of melted cheese and the chatter of friendship.

“So have you talked to Raven yet?”

Claire was sitting on Raven’s desk eating her slice as Lucy spun in his chair. Claire looked up at Malvina standing next to the desk, cheese falling from her lips, “Um, sort of.”

Lucy stopped spinning, biting a peperoni in two, “What’s sort of mean?”

Claire shrugged her shoulder, “He wanted to talk about it but I kinda brushed it off.”

Malvina huffed and placed a hand on her hip, “What’s wrong with you?”

Lucy pointed a finger at her, “That’s my line.”

Claire smiled, “Look guys, it’s just awkward if we try talking about it so I’m just gonna be a coward.”

Lucy mumbled around her bite, “That’s for sure.”

They shared in a laugh as they got back in party mode. As the noise quieted down Claire’s and Malvina’s wrist began to beep red as an alarm was sounded. Claire and Malvina looked at each other as everyone in the room turned to see. They flicked out their hands and the holo fairy appeared, her voice ringing across the globe as one voice.

“ATTENTION: ALL MAGES MUST REPORT TO THE GUILD HALL. I REPEAT, ALL MAGES MUST REPORT TO THE GUILD HALL.”

Claire rubbed her wrist when the fairy flickered off. She stood, looking at Malvina as they knew something was wrong. Raven stepped forward and grabbed Claire’s arm, “What’s going on?”

Claire turned to him, “I don’t know.”

Before more could be said she pulled from his hold and she and Malvina quickly ported to Mage Island, leaving their friends behind. They exited the port in the Guild Hall, the central ballroom of the Guild building in the center of the Island. The room was crowded as mages of every corner of the globe filled the room. The chatter was loud as everyone tried to find out what was happening but no one knew the answer.

“Claire! Malvina!”

They turned to see Tessa running to them through the crowd, “What’s going on?”

Claire shook her head, “I don’t know, but it’s not good.”

“It never is when they call us like this.”

They turned to see Elizabeth standing behind Claire with her arms crossed, “Liz! Where’s your husband?”

Liz pointed her chin down the room, “Talking to his friends, seeing what he can dig up.”

Suddenly the room fell quiet as the Bosses filed onto the balcony. Claire watched as each Boss from every nation filled the balcony seeing her own Boss Melvin standing among them. Claire grabbed Malvina’s hand and felt another on her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Dillon looking at her with sober eyes. She reached up and squeezed his hand as the Guild Head appeared on the podium sticking out from the balcony, overlooking everyone in the room below him.

The current Head was someone that was hard to understand. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, boasting one of the most powerful of magic’s, Angelic magic. He has ruled the Guild for nearly 150 years, some saying he did a fair job, but in Claire’s opinion he was paranoid of anyone who threatens his position.

He raised his hands, silencing the room, “My children, I thank you for coming on such short notice. I’m afraid I have grave news. Our friends at GSA has spotted an asteroid heading straight for Earth, our friends in the Space department has confirmed their findings. I have been told it is roughly the size of Australia and made of 95% Iron. I’m afraid that our Global Defense Net in orbit will not be enough to stop this asteroid.”

Panic swept across the room, “Please, please, calm down. I have been in conference with the Bosses and we have devised a plan to stop this disaster from happening.” He flashed his hand and a 3-D diagram of a pillar of shields formed above everyone, “We will create this pillar of shields to stop the asteroid. Mages of the lower class with remain within Earth’s atmosphere and the higher class mages will be outside of Earth’s orbit behind the Net. ‘S’ class and above will be with the Bosses and I beyond the Net acting as the first wave of shields against the asteroid. Now-“

“It won't work!”

Everyone gasped as Claire stepped forward, glaring at the Head. He set his hand down, the diagram dissipating as he glared down at Claire, “Excuse me?”

She pointed up at him, “You said this thing is 95% iron. Iron shatters under extreme force and the force of something that big hitting our shields will shatter that thing in millions of pieces! Instead of trying to stop one giant object, you’ve created millions of bullets aiming straight for us!”

He slowly clasped his hands in front of him, speaking as if he’s talking to a slow child, “Mage Dunsworth, I understand if you may not understand how this may work but I assure you it will.”

Claire flew up, floating in his face as commotion around her grew, “No it won't! That thing will shatter!”

His eyes grew icy, “Fine what do you suggest?”

“Make a black hole to swallow the thing.” The room did one collective gasp as Claire turned to face everyone, “Get all the Space, Celestial and Stellar mages to go out there and head this thing off with a black hole.”

“And how do you suggest we control this black hole? It is one of the most dangerous spells created.”

Claire turned to him, her hands turning to fist, “Just cause you can’t control it doesn’t mean it’s uncontrollable. I can control it.”

His eyes grew dark as he pointed a finger at her, “I will not have a ditch talking to me in such way. We will use the pillar, that’s final.”

“But-“

“Enough!”

He slammed his hand down, throwing Claire back down to the ground. She landed with a crack as she was forced to protect herself, knowing if she didn’t her back would be broken. She sat up coughing as her friends ran to her aid, everyone else keeping a wide berth from her.

“Anyone else? No? Good. You will have one hour before we must prepare. Dismissed.”

He vanished in a flash of golden light, leaving everyone snickering at Claire. Dillon silently helped her up as Tessa came to her aid, “That jerk! I can’t believe he had the nerve to call you a ditch!”

They tried to comfort Claire but she just held up her hands, “I’m sorry guys, I just wanna be alone.”

She ported to her loft, leaving her friends behind. She sat on her bed holding Crystal as she tried to hold back her tears.

There was a silent knock on her door frame, “Hey.”

She looked up to see Raven leaning against her doorway, “What’d you want?”

He walked over and sat next to her, “Malvina called, told me what happened, the asteroid, your outburst, being pushed away.”

“Great. So what?”

“Just comin’ to make sure you’re ok Claire.”

He got up to leave. Claire sighed, “Raven wait, I’m sorry.”

He sat back down, “Wanna tell me about it?”

She held Crystal tighter, “No but you deserve to know.” He waited as Claire tried to find the words, “You know how I’m an orphan right?” He nodded his head, “There’s more to it than that. You see I…I was kidnapped as a baby. The Puritans killed my parents and took me away. They held me for 3 years. In those 3 years they did…experiments on me. They were testing out their seals, sealing a mage’s magic. They sealed mine Raven.”

Raven stared at her, “But I don’t understand. You were able to get a license. I’ve seen you do magic.”

Claire nodded her head, “I could break them Raven. I could break these seals no matter how powerful even without any training. I was a newborn baby and yet I had enough magic to break any seal they put on me.”

He blinked, “Claire that’s amazing.”

She shook her head, “No, it’s not. I may have this…amazing magic but I can’t control all of it. I’m constantly learning to control my magic. That’s what all those books on my table are for, that’s why I’m labeled a D. Mages are given their class label than another label to show their control, ‘G’ for good, ‘E’ for enough and ‘D’ for dangerous. They consider me dangerous, that’s why they’re so suspicious of me, that’s why they have me on such a short leash, that’s why those IA guys looked into me before. Everyone’s essentially afraid of me.”

They sat there in silence as Raven thought over her words. Silently he reached over and grabbed her hand, “I’m not.”

Claire gave a weary chuckle as she whipped at her eyes, “You can’t be serious.”

Raven brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles, “I am.”

Her breath quickened as he drew closer and closer to her, “Raven-“

“Shut up.”

He crushed his lips to hers, licking her tongue as he brought her crushing against him. She grabbed his shirt in her fist as her skin felt on fire, filling her lungs with his scent. He ran his fingers through her hair as he laid her back, pressing his body to hers. She nearly cried at the sweet weight of feeling him on top of her, raising her hips to his. Their hands reach everywhere, touching everything they could, branding their skin of each other as they tussled with the sheets.

Crystal silently slipped away, smiling as she close the door, giving them privacy. Claire fumbled with his pants, never getting them off fast enough. Clothing was ripped as they went into a frenzy, never getting enough of each other. The sun filtered through the window, bathing their skin in its warm glow as they made love. Claire felt herself raising higher and higher, knowing this was the most ancient, most powerful of magic. Raven couldn’t get enough as he buried himself in her, filling his mouth with her taste, filling his lungs with her scent, filling his mind with her. They collapsed and panted, spent when they were finished.

Claire laid there with a smile as her fingers lightly played with his. He rolled to his side; she wanted to stop him but was unsure what this was. She turned to stare at him and lost herself in his deep dark eyes.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Claire smiled brightly at him, “You’re not too shabby yourself.” She laughed as he playfully shoved at her, her smile fading slightly as she grew serious, “What are we doing Raven?”

He smiled as he kissed her fingers, “We’re following our hearts Dunsworth. Isn’t that the motto of mages?”

She laughed, “Not quite…so this is what you want?”

He paused as he looked at her, leaning over, kissing her lips, leaving her breathless, “Always.”

She smiled, feeling her heart nearly bursting, “As do I.”

They laid there in comfort, Claire knowing her hour was nearly up, “So what are you gonna do?”

She blinked, “About what?”

“About the asteroid. The Claire I know wouldn’t hesitate.”

She smiled, giving him a kiss square in the mouth, “True, then I should get going. I need to get there before the Head if I’m gonna make a black hole.”

Raven smiled as she got out of bed, dressing, grabbing her arm, “Be careful Claire.”

She smiled, leaning over to give him another kiss, “Always. You stay here. We’re gonna pick this right back up when I get back.”

₄₁SPACE^Z

Claire stared out into the stars as she floated with the other ‘S’ class mages outside of the Earth.

“Hey Dunsworth!”

Claire turned to see Patricia, an ‘S’ class mage from Spain coming to her, “Patricia, how are you?”

Patricia kept her long brown hair braided but sported a Goth look with black pants and tops, sporting black eye liner on her face. She crossed her arms as she came up next to Claire, “Word is Head David gave you a hard time.”

“You listen to gossip now?”

Patricia smirked as she chewed her gum, smacking it, “So…you gonna do it?”

Claire tried to act innocent, “Do what?”

Patricia waved a finger in Claire’s face, “Don’t try to act innocent with me, I know you. You’re the only one I know who could control that black hole magic. You’re gonna go out and do it anyways aren’t you?”

Claire laughed, “Yeah.”

Patricia came up closer, “Then what are you waiting for? Go for it. I’ll cover you.”

Claire smiled, “Thanks Pat. I was waiting for you to help.”

Claire chuckled as she zoomed past Patricia, hiding from the other mages as she snuck by them. She flew further and further, coming closer to the asteroid belt as she stopped. She scanned the space around her until she spotted the asteroid in question. It defiantly looked bigger than the Head described and was certainly moving fast. Claire positioned herself in its path and begun to gather her magic as she started the black hole spell.

“Stop!”

She shrieked as a gold chain wrapped itself around her, pinning her arms to her side as it sealed her magic. She turned to see the Head and Melvin coming towards her.

“Mage Dunsworth you have disobeyed my orders!”

Claire clenched her fist as her anger raised, “You’re stupid plan will kill innocents! This will stop it for good!”

He yanked on the chain, pulling Claire to his face, “And just where do you plan to put the asteroid?”

She struggled against the chains, “Into a nearby dwarf star you idiot, it’ll burn it up completely.”

His eyes turned icy as he glared at her, “You have no such control! It has been proven!”

“No it hasn’t! I can do this! Melvin! Melvin tell him! Tell him I can do this!”

Melvin stood to the side, silently watching, “Head, perhaps-“

“No! I will not have a ditch take such risk!”

“I’m not a ditch!”

Claire screamed as her anger exploded. She let out a scream as her magic ran wild, breaking the chains and throwing the Head and Melvin away from her. She crouched into a ball, holding her arms as she panted, screaming to gain control. As her magic calmed down her heart beat slowed. She looked up to see the Head looking down at her.

“See what I mean Mage Dunsworth. You do not have control of yourself.”

Claire panted some more, hissing through her teeth, “I don’t need control to do what’s right.”

She flashed up her hand and froze the Head where he floated. She turned to Melvin and gave him a weak smile as she flew off further away. With only miles between her and the asteroid she quickly clasped her hands together, drawing on the space magic within her, calling forth a black hole. She felt her hands and arms being sucked in and fought against it, spreading her hands apart to show a mini black hole the size of a golf ball. She looked up at the coming asteroid and knew it was too small; it had to roughly be the size of a basketball in order to completely swallow the asteroid.

She strained her arms, feeling her joints pop and scream as she pulled the black hole bigger. Every cell in her body felt the pull of the unimaginable gravity coming from the mini black hole but she stood firm, keeping it stable until it did the job. Finally the asteroid came close enough for it to feel the pull of the black hole. It pulled it closer and closer until finally the entire asteroid was swallowed hole, compressed into the size of a dinner plate. Claire slapped her hands together, closing the hole as she panted, exhausted. The last of her energy spent her eyes closed as she floated in space.

Suddenly arms held her in place as they carried her princess style. The Head looked down at her in wonder though he would never admit it. No matter how much he tried she would always fight and push the envelope of her limits. He feared for the day when those limits fought back. Suddenly he looked towards the direction of Earth, feeling eyes on them. Back on the planet a pair of eyes stared into the crystal ball. The greasily snake like mouth smiled as he looked at Claire, formulating his plans for her. Inside the ball the Head waved a hand and the ball cracked in half, falling onto the table. The man merely laughed, already knowing his next move.

Back in space Claire opened her eyes to see herself staring into the Head’s eyes. She screamed as she jumped out of his hold, running her hands over herself.

“Do not fret; I’ve done nothing to you.”

Claire glanced at him, “So you say. What happened?”

He crossed his arms, “Do you not recall Dunsworth? You’ve save the planet. You’ve successfully control the black hole and swallowed the asteroid whole.”

“Oh,” Claire smiled at him, “see, told you it was possible.”

“Hmm. Claire,” he came up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, “do not test your limits too far.”

And with that he vanished. Claire blinked at the space he was before when her wrist beeped. She flicked it opened and the holo fairy appeared.

“ATTENTION ALL MAGES: THE CRISIS HAS BEEN DIVERTED. I REPEAT, THE CRISIS HAS BEEN DIVERTED. THANK YOU.”

Claire smiled and was about to head home when her wrist beeped again. This time it was a call from Abby, “Hey Abby, I’m-“

“Claire!”

Abby sobbed into the phone and Claire felt the blood drain from her body, “What happened?”

Abby sobbed as she cried, “It’s Raven, he, he, oh god Claire you better come now.”

Claire ported to Abby’s location before she could finish talking. The first thing that hit Claire was the smell of disinfected. She looked over and saw Abby sobbing in a chair in the hospital waiting room. Claire felt her feet fall out of underneath her as she realized where she was and what it meant. Abby looked up and saw her, running to her and she sobbed into Claire’s arms.

“Oh Claire, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. They’ve done everything they could. There’s nothing more they can do.”

Claire felt numb as she looked over and saw some nurses in a room. She gently pushed Abby off her, feeling her feet dragging as she walked to the room. The nurses exited the room, leaving the door open. Claire stepped to the door and felt her knees give. She grabbed the door frame as she fell to the floor, screaming and wailing. There lying in bed, hooked up to every hospital bedside machine and shrouded in life support spells was Raven. Claire felt orderlies grabbing her arms, trying to pick her up but she threw them off, screaming as she walked into the room.

Her hand was shaky as she reach for Raven’s, feeling his cold skin. She sobbed as she collapsed against the bed, sobbing into his hand. She cried for hours, sobbing as Raven’s hand stayed cold. As her tears dried she stood by the bed, silently watching him, never letting go of his hand. Someone brought in a chair and she pulled up beside the bed, sitting down, still not letting go of him. She heard Abby talking with Elizabeth behind her.

“She’s-She’s been here since I’ve called. I couldn’t think of anything else.”

“Sh, shh, it’s ok Abs. Tell me what happened, what happened to him?”

Abby sniffed as she dapped at her nose, “There was sniper. They shot him in her loft. It was a hex/curse bullet. The spells are written into every inch of his cells. The doctors say it’ll take forever to work a spell to defuse them all and even then there’s no guarantee he’ll survive.”

“It was meant for me.”

They turned to Claire, Abby rushing to her side, “No, no! Claire you don’t know that-“

“He was shot in my home. I told him to stay there. It was meant for me. It’s my fault.”

Abby tried to say some words when Elizabeth came up beside Claire, slapping her. Abby gasped as Elizabeth glared at Claire, “Shut up. The Claire I know would never say that. She would find the b******s who did this and kill them, not herself.”

Claire stayed unmoving from Elizabeth’s slap, not looking at them. Elizabeth huffed, “Fine, you wanna be that way? So be it. Come on Abs.”

Elizabeth led Abby outside the room, Abby nervously running her hands together, “Are you sure that was ok? I mean what if it backfires or something?”

Elizabeth crossed her arms as she leaned against the glass wall, “Claire’s not that weak, she was just in shock that’s all.”

Tessa and the others soon came, hearing about what happened. Abby caught them up as Malvina and Elizabeth talked when suddenly Malvina looked up at the room, “What is she doing?”

Elizabeth looked and saw the room completely covered in black. She ran to the door but the black space kept her out, refusing to budge, “Goddam that b***h! She moved the room to another space!”

Tessa and Malvina went to her side, “But why?”

Elizabeth shook her head, at a lost when Dillon spoke behind them, “She’s going to use Necromancy to bring Raven back.”

Elizabeth looked back at Dillon, “Necromancy? Claire doesn’t know Necromancy.”

Dillon somberly nodded his head, “Yes she does. She will save Raven with that.”

Abby walked up to Dillon grabbing his arm, “But, she’s not registered for Necromancy. If she does this, she’s breaking the law.”

Again he nodded his head, “And the penalty being stripped of your magic.”

They all stopped as his words hit home. Elizabeth banged on the black door with more vigor, “Claire you idiot! Stop! There has to be another way! Stop!”

₄₂MKP^Z

Claire floated in the black space around her. She slowly flew forward, looking everywhere for Raven’s soul as small tears escaped her eyes. She was in purgatory, the land between the living and the dead. It was here that those who hung in the balance find themselves. Claire hoped to find Raven’s soul before he decided to let go of his life. She searched for hours, what seemed like years until finally she came upon a glowing orb of soft white light.

She quickly went to the orb and gently cupped it in her hands. She smiled when she felt its warmth, remembering the same warmth from hours before when she and Raven laid in her bed together. She cried as she held the orb close to her chest, hugging it tight. She could feel Raven inside the orb confused, not knowing what was happening.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you home, I promise,” she whispered to him.

She started to turn back the way she came, heading home when black chains wrapped around Raven’s soul. She felt his cry of pain as the chains pulled at him, pulling him to the Land of the Dead. It was the hexes and curses from the bullet, killing him. She grabbed a chain, pulling at it till her hands bled.

“I will not let you have him!”

She cupped his soul protectively to her chest as she strained at the chain, pulling it till her hand was soaked in blood, pulling her shoulder out of its socket yet still she pulled. Finally the chain shattered, breaking under her strain. She panted as she felt the other chains weaken their hold on him, pulling at each until they all shattered, freeing his soul from their hold. Claire smiled and held Raven’s soul closer, hugging him with both arms.

She looked down and gave him a small kiss, “Let’s go home.”

She flew as fast as she could, whizzing past unchanging black as she brought his soul to the Land of the Living. A light appeared, warming her skin as she felt the call of the living. She burst through the door, filling her lungs with fresh air as her arms let go of Raven’s soul so he may find his body.

Claire breathes deep, filling her starving lungs with air as she opened her eyes. She was back in the hospital room, now shrouded in black as she took the room into another dimension. She looked down at the bed, waiting. Slowly Raven’s color came back and the heart monitor began to steadily beep once more. Claire felt relief wash over her as the life support spells dissipated, their jobs done. Raven is alive. Claire smiled as she waved her hand, bringing the room back into the hospital.

The door slammed open as Elizabeth ran in. The others followed and stopped as they saw Raven in bed, looking more alive than before.

“Claire what did you do?”

Claire turned to Elizabeth and smiled at her and the others, “I saved him.”

Elizabeth reached up a hand, meaning to go to Claire’s side when a mini sonic boom exploded in the room, throwing Elizabeth back with the rush of the air. Dillon caught her before she fell, everyone coughing as they looked up to see Claire chained. They all gasped as they saw two knights kneeling on either side of Claire, pulling at the chains that pinned her arms down. The chains were rune chains and irritated Claire’s skin but she made no move as a third knight wearing a captain’s badge appeared before her.

He held a scroll in one hand and tapped it against the other as he pointed Claire with a glare, “Claire Dunsworth, mage class triple ‘S’-D, you have been found guilty in breaking the law of using unregistered magic. You are hereby sentenced to be stripped of your magic and one hundred years within the Guild Prison. You are to come with us at once.”

Elizabeth stomped towards the captain, “You can't be serious!”

The air whooshed again as the two knights took Claire away. Elizabeth shielded her eyes and glared at the captain, grabbing his armor, “You can’t do this!”

The knight hit her across the face, throwing her across the room. This time her husband caught her, glaring up at the knight with his gray eyes. The captain took in his silver hair and ashen skin, recognizing the man but didn’t blink an eye. He disappeared without another word, porting to where the knights took Claire.

Claire felt the wind play with her hair. She slowly blinked as she strained against her restraints. The chains burned and chaffed her skin everywhere they made contact. She slowly looked up and felt the blood drain from her face. She was at Stonehenge, the sealing grounds of the Guild. It was something like the gallows for mages as many mages were unable to bare living after their magic was sealed. Claire pulled at her restrains again but to no avail.

She was chained at the center of Stonehenge within the magic circle etched into the soil. Anti-maigc chains chained her to the ground, pulling her arms tight behind her, forcing her to sit with her back straight. Her legs were also bound to the ground with leather straps around her calves. She looked up and saw the same captain knight from before standing outside the circle, facing her. He was reading out from the scroll from earlier, reading out her rights as a mage and the crimes they accused her of.

The air rushed past her as light flashed. She turned to see her friends, Elizabeth, Abby and Dillon coming to her aid. Elizabeth was arguing with the captain, trying to stop him when Melvin appeared with Malvina at his side. The wind was too strong for Claire to hear what was being said but she could tell Elizabeth fighting with Melvin, trying to get him to stop this but Claire knew it was useless. These knights were the Mage Knight Patrol, no one can change their orders but the Head himself and she knew he would never do that. He was probably relishing in this opportunity to get rid of her once and for all.

Claire sighed and bowed her head, watching the grass blow in the wind as she accepted her fate. She could never go back. Tears fell from her eyes as she thought of Crystal, wondering if anyone would take her in. She cried as she thought of the MPF and all the new friends and teammates she made, the difference she could have made. But it was when she thought of Raven that her heart wrenched. She sobbed as she thought of the future they could have had, the adventures that were to be made, the fights to be had. Suddenly the circle began to glow, starting the spell to seal her magic. Surprisingly she was dried eyed as she watched the light from the circle play off the grass, knowing that there was nothing to be done.

“You can’t do this! This is bullshit!”

Elizabeth pushed at Melvin reaching for the captain as she screamed at him, “Mage Wattson, I suggest you stand down or else I will be forced to take drastic measures.”

“Measures my a*s! Let her go!”

“Elizabeth stop. You can’t help her.”

Melvin set her back on her feet as she panted, hearing Abby crying behind her as Malvina tried to comfort her, “This is wrong. This is wrong and you know it!”

Elizabeth watched as Melvin looked at her with sad eyes, shinning with tears of their own, “There’s nothing we can do.”

They stopped when the circle began to glow, the knights positioned around the circle slowly chanting. Elizabeth screamed and ran for Claire, sobbing for her when Melvin held her back. They all watched in horror as the spell began, the rune symbols from the chains crawling their way onto Claire’s arms, branding her skin. She clamped her mouth shut against the pain, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of hearing her cry in pain.

Suddenly a figure walked past the captain, walking towards the circle, “Wait, stop! That’s an order!”

The captain reached out an arm of air to pull the man back but the air merely dissipated as it touched the man, “You don’t order me.”

The captain stood back stunned as the man walked closer to the circle, “Wait! Those runes will harm anyone who walks in!”

He stopped at the edge of the circle and glanced back at the captain. The captain was taken aback by the stark blackness of the man’s eyes, “The runes came from my family, created by our blood. They will not harm me.”

Raven turned back to Claire, ignoring the sputtering captain behind him as he waved his hand, spreading his blood across the circle. The knights looked around in surprise as their spell was forced to a stop, watching the man with the bleeding hand walk towards the chained Claire. Raven stood over her, seeing her pant against the pain and quickly unchained her. He gently gathered her in his arms and carried her out of the circle. Her eyes slowly blinked against the cloudy sky as she focused on his face.

She gave a weak smile as she laid a weak hand over his heart, “What are you doing here? You’re suppose to be in the hospital.”

“I was, but then I heard you did something stupid again so I had to come and save your butt.”

She gave a weak chuckle as she cuddled closer in his arms, “Who told you such a thing?”

Raven smiled as he gently kissed her forehead, feeling her falling asleep, “Your brother, Dillon. He’s not such a bad guy I guess.”

She fell asleep smiling as she grabbed onto his shirt, not letting go, even after Dillon took them back to her home and Raven laid her on the bed. She held onto him tight, pulling him down with her in her sleep as they cuddled on the bed, sleeping in each other’s arms. The captain had tried to stop Raven from leaving, trying to take Claire back from him but Elizabeth and Malvina prevented him from going near them. An emergency message from the Head prevented an all-out battle as the Head gave orders to pardon Claire for any and all crimes committed. The captain quickly read the new orders and courtly told his soldiers to disperse; leaving an elated Elizabeth, Abby and Malvina celebrated their friend’s release.

The Head leaned back in his chair behind his desk at the Guild HQ. He watched everything happening from when Claire sent the hospital room into another dimension, watching her every move carefully. He was surprised to see her actually save the Black and even more surprised when the Black came and saved her. He propped his elbow on his desk as he looked out the window wondering what more surprises were in store.

“I hope not too many. I do wish to live long enough to see her walk down the aisle.”

 

THE END

 

Author's Note

This was self edited so please be gentle when correcting (lol). Feel free to comment or ask questions! Desperate for feedback.