Fuck, this is going to be complicated.
We took Scarlet to my place, which was the closest to the school and our office.
Michael, Cece and I went to my place while the others reluctantly made their way to the office to review and continue with the case. With the new evidence Scar found and her detailed sketches, we had a major advantage towards catching Xerxes red-handed.
Michael held the door to my master bedroom. I walked straight to my black and white king-sized bed, laying Scar gently on the black sheets, making sure her head was aligned properly on the pillow. I didn't know how bad the bruising was and wanted to prevent any increase in pressure to the bruised area on her right side.
Michael was already next to me, getting to work; his eyes emitted a gold light once more.
I stepped back to give him some space; Cece walked to my side as we watched him work.
"How did you know where we were?" I questioned, giving her a side glance before my eyes returned to watch Michael.
"I have my ways. You'll find Scarlet usually gets herself into sticky situations without even trying. Always gotta keep an eye on her." Cece admitted, crossing her arms.
After five minutes, Michael was finished. He rose to his feet, moving out of the way to show us his handy work.
Scarlet looked peaceful as her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. The large bruise on the right side of her temple had now gone; the wound and blood no longer there.
Her skin looked vibrant with color and her calm, sleeping demeanor was enough to regulate my heart back to its regular speed. Thank the gods.
"She just needs some sleep. I used a bit of magic on her, so she'll probably sleep throughout the afternoon or even till tomorrow morning. She's human so I can't estimate the after effects of my magic on her." Michael explained, wiping the sweat off his face.
"You okay?" I questioned.
Michael's gift to heal was a blessing but the downside was it took a great toll on his body. He already looked pale, and his breathing was faster than usual.
"I'm fine, just a little tired." He admitted. I frowned before taking a step forward to press my hand on his shoulder.
"Go take a power nap. The others can deal with narrowing down the findings and fill you in later. I'll wake you up if anything comes up."
He glanced at Scarlet for a moment before returning my gaze, nodding.
"Okay. But if anything happens with Scarlet wake me up immediately." He urged.
"Yup, I will." I reassured him.
He nodded to me and Cece, before leaving the room.
"He's gonna be knocked out for seven hours." Cece commented.
"How do...should I even ask?" I questioned.
I knew when Michael napped it meant six hours or more. Actual sleeping would probably be a full day, if it wasn't for our crazy work schedule. Michael just loved to sleep.
She smirked before her eyes went back to Scarlet; her concern for her best friend evident.
"How did you know Scarlet was in trouble?" I questioned.
I'd known Cece long enough to realize, she would only answer questions she wanted to answer. If she did answer, it was usually short and vague. Would this be one of them?
"I just know." She replied, shrugging.
"Cece. Does she know what you are?" I turned to face her, crossing my arms as I gave her a stern look.
"She doesn't know...but something is going on with Scar." She whispered, staring at Scarlet before she returned her attention to me, frowning. I raised my eyebrow.
"What do you mean something’s going on? I thought Kendrick said her visions are normal."
"They are normal for her, but the whole psychic family mojo-jojo is a lie. Scarlet isn't a part of a family full of psychics. It's just her." She revealed.
"What? Does she..." I began but trailed off as Cece shook her head.
"Her auntie, or should I say, her mom’s best friend, didn't have the heart to tell her. Scarlet got her powers a few months before her Mother's murder. She was already dealing with so much. Not to mention she had a vision...she saw her mother’s dead body in the snow." Cece explained, sadness reflected in her blue-green eyes.
"How old was she?" I couldn't even imagine how that would feel like.
When you looked at Scarlet, all you saw was a girl full of life. You'd never expected her to have a tragic past. But who was I to assume? No one would guess how dark my past was from one simple glance, either.
"Five. She pretended that she was fine...but behind closed doors, it broke her. She still has a box filled with stuff from her mom in her vanity. The nightmares have stopped, thankfully." Cece explained.
"What about her dad?" I asked. “She must have had a father.”
I noticed her eyes darken as she frowned; anger blossomed in the lines of her face.
"That piece of cheating shit was nothing but a burden to Scarlet – an alcoholic. I don’t know the details of what he’d done to Marilyn, but Scarlet did mention he used to beat her Mom. He’d only hit Scarlet once. That’s the same day her Auntie walked in on it all after Scar commented on the beatings. She hadn't believed her, so she came home early one night to check. What a surprise that was to walk into. After he was caught red-handed, he disappeared. We found out later he was living with his mistress. As for her auntie, she stayed for a couple of months…but eventually, she left too, leaving Scarlet alone.”
I opened my mouth to say something – anything, but I couldn't. I already could feel the anger boiling within my blood.
I looked at Scarlet who rolled over, mumbling something and falling back to sleep. The simple thought of her being abandoned at such an age, angered me. I could only imagine what a lonely childhood she must have experienced.
"So...did Scarlet's mom know why Scarlet began having visions?" I questioned.
"Yes..." Cece replied. I gave her a look.
"Then?" I questioned, wanting to know.
"I'm working on it. Her mother never told anyone, including her own mother, Scar’s paternal grandmother. Her auntie knows about our existence. It was already confirmed that Scarlet is not a shifter. She's never heard voices in her head or anything. She's not like us. But..." Cece explained before stopping.
"But?" I pressed. I needed all the information I could obtain from Cece, now that she was talking, especially if it involved Scarlet. I don't know when I got so attached to her, but I wanted to protect her in any way I could. That required information.
"She saw my other form."
"How? Did you shift?" My eyes wide with confusion. No one could see our form without us shifting. No human, anyways.
"Nope. It was when she returned from your play date. She said her eyes were bothering her, and apparently, she saw my red horns. She almost fainted, and I told her she must have been tired and needed sleep. She tried to bring it up, but I brushed it off. She didn’t question me after that." Cece walked to the black chair in the corner of my room, sitting down.
She crossed her legs before resting her elbows on her knees, as she went deep into thought – her head rested in her hands as she stared aimlessly.
"Anything else?" I questioned.
"Scarlet...bad things happen when Scarlet gets angry."
"Bad things like she breaks a glass or whips wind at people?" I questioned. It was common for shifters to accidentally use their gifts when in a rage or imbalance of emotions, but then again, Scarlet was human.
"No. Bad things as in the weather can be sunny one moment and a F3 tornado can appear out of fucking nowhere the next, bad. Scarlet's emotions affect the weather or elements. She hasn't gotten that mad since she was seven and that was strong enough to destroy their old house and everything within five blocks. Thankfully, no one was hurt but it was really bad. That's when Scarlet's paternal grandma came over to be with her for a bit and told her not to get angry or people can get hurt." I frowned at her explanation.
"How can anyone expect a child not to act out? Did it work?" I could only imagine a little
girl with beautiful eyes and bright orange hair discovering she can only be happy, even if she's sad or in pain. She can never be anything but happy or bad things will happen. It sounded unrealistic for a child or even teenager to follow.
"No, she couldn’t help it. With the bullying, the loneliness, the yearly reminder of her mother’s murder. There was no way she could possibly close off her emotions. There were a few more incidents in her childhood and early teens, but Scar eventually realized her emotions could potentially hurt people. Once she understood that, there were no more incidents. She still thinks it's her fault that her mother was murdered. Even at this age she still blames herself for the tragedy." Cece admitted, sighing.
We remained silent for a moment as I gathered the information in my head. I really want to know more about her, but I think I should ask her myself.
"So, Scarlet gets visions and her emotions can activate elements to do her bidding, yet she's human, and she's not a witch?" I proposed. We didn't have many witches in the shifter or paranormal community anymore. We only knew one and she traveled a lot, so much that it was difficult to get her to stay in one place for long.
"Nope. No witch magic in her blood." Cece replied. I raised my eyebrow at her.
"Cece. How long have you known Scarlet for?"
"As in how long have I known her personally? Five years, fourteen days, seven hours, six minutes and seven seconds." She replied. I blinked.
"You've known her before that?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no. No one but Scarlet will ever know." She sang as she rose to her feet; her usual happy mood returned. I groaned.
"You’re seriously full of secrets." I mumbled.
"I'm full of secrets because it keeps everyone I love safe, Jaxson. Scarlet doesn't deserve to get caught up in my problems." Cece walked to the door.
"Where are you –" I began as I watched her open the door.
"Meow."
What the...
"Whose cat is that?" I watched the blue-eyed cat blink up at me before running to the bed, jumping onto the sheets and walking onto Scarlet. She rolled over, mumbling something before relaxing. The cat snuggled itself next to her face before relaxing; its tail waved back and forth. I noticed a soft smile form on Scarlet’s lips as she slept.
"That is Moonlight, Scar's cat. She sleeps better when he's around." Cece explained.
"How did he...why do I even ask?" I huffed as Cece giggled.
"I don't know why you ask either, haha. Now, let's go." I gave her a confused look.
"Go where? And we can't leave Scarlet." I didn't like the idea of leaving her alone. Even if my house was safe with extra security measures put in place, I didn't want to take my eyes off her unless I knew she was okay.
"She'll be fine. Moonlight's there and she won't wake up for another five hours. I'll be back before then. Now start moving before Kendrick gets mad." She urged, walking out the door.
"We're leaving a cat to protect Scarlet and what does Kendrick have to do with anything? He hasn't called us."
"Moonlight is no ordinary cat." She winked as she walked into the living room. I looked back at the cat who opened his eyes to stare at me. I'm leaving her with a cat...gods help me.
I closed the door, pressed the lock code, and made sure the door was locked. I had an app on my phone that would notify me if anyone entered from the outside. I walked into my massive living room, noticing Michael who sat on the couch, passed out.
Cece placed one of my blankets, which I had no idea how she knew where it was, on Michael before turning to face me.
"Kendrick’s going to call you in two minutes. I suggest we go outside, unless you want to bring Michael along." She whispered.
I took a glance at Michael who looked peaceful sleeping on my black sofa. I sighed.
"Let him sleep. He's tired." I walked to the door; Cece's heels clicked lightly on the black hardwood. By the time we reached the first floor my phone began to vibrate; the melody roared to life.
“Hello.” I answered.
“Agent Jaxson. It’s Kendrick. Just curious as to how Scarlet's exam went.” I stayed quiet for a moment, not being used to Kendrick's professional tone.
“Um...good afternoon, Sir. Scarlet did well.” I replied, not knowing how to inform him about what happened.
“Is she there?" He questioned.
“No."
"Where is she, Jaxson?” He questioned; his voice low and stern.
I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to get away with lying.
“She's asleep.”
“Asleep?”
“She removed her gloves because there was dust all over them, and it was causing her to sneeze. Ethan tripped, yet again, crashing into Scarlet who bumped into a piece of furniture that had vital evidence. Scarlet caught it, and they both crashed to the ground, and she hit her head hard. She saved the evidence but went straight into vision mode and drew everything on multiple sheets of paper before passing out. Michael healed her and now they're both KO'd at my place. Oh, and her cat's here." I explained, making sure he knew the fur-ball was at my place.
Didn't know what difference it would make, but couldn't leave any information out when it came to Kendrick. There was a moment of silence before he sighed.
"Sir. Before you say anything, Scarlet didn't do anything wrong. In fact, she may have found key evidence for the case. I just don't want you to get upset with her or put her exam in jeopardy." I defended.
"I know Jaxson. How about you gather your team and meet me at my office at headquarters. Let Michael sleep, as long as Moonlight's there, him and Scar should be fine." He replied.
"Why are you guys so confident over a cat?" I questioned. He laughed.
"I'm gonna assume Cece's with you. Tell her to come along. " He continued.
"Uh, sure." I replied, glancing at Cece who was staring at the glass windows. She looked deep in thought, her expressions alternating from time to time.
"Alright. See you soon." He ended the call. I stared at my phone before looking up at Cece who stared at me
"Ready to go? I already texted the boys. They'll be there."
"When did...never mind. Let's go." I replied, shaking my head as I passed by her, pulling my keys out. I could already see the smug smile on her face from the corner of my eye.
Demons...
The silence in the stuffy room began to get on my nerves; my index finger anxiously tapped my bicep as I relaxed in my seat with my arms crossed.
“Any questions?” Kendrick proposed, leaning against his desk as he looked around the room.
We were now in his office at PINC Headquarters. I looked around the room. I sat right in the middle, Ethan and Junho on my left while Christian and Cece were on my right as we faced Kendrick Hartwell, the boss of our team at PINC. Everyone in the agency knew his professor job was merely an alibi to be closer to the headquarters and easier to blend in. I just didn't know how close he was to Scarlet until now.
"Wait a minute. So, let me just sum this up. Scarlet is an Ace at Mc. Ryerson who has the gift of sight but is a fucking human? Not to mention that small, minor detail, her gift is so strong she's worn gloves to prevent her from getting visions her entire attendance at school and was assigned to us for her final exam. So, that’s why after saving the crystal ball she went into vision mode and went all zombie on us before passing out after drawing fifty pages of the most detailed artistry I've seen, since Kai Akiyama's work, in less than ten minutes." Ethan said in a matter of one minute. Kendrick opened his mouth to answer till he raised his hand up to continue.
"Not finished. So, Michael's at Jaxson’s place with Scarlet and they're both asleep, meaning no one is watching them, but a CAT! Like a C.A.T? Isn't that giving anyone other than myself warning signs?" Ethan asked.
"Well, he's a pretty good cat." Cece pointed out.
"Could scratch the living daylights out of someone." Christian commented.
"Cats are very protective when they want to be." Junho noted.
"Moonlight won't let anyone hurt Scarlet." Kendrick pointed out.
"The door is locked, and Michael can defend himself. My condo’s safe enough." I reminded.
“So, everyone, but myself, is fine with a CAT protecting not one, but TWO unconscious people,” Ethan confirmed.
“Yeah.” We all nodded in agreement. Ethan groaned.
“I think we're gonna have to tell them everything from the beginning. Plus, we need a backup plan just in case Scarlet wakes up and we need to explain. I don't think we can keep the whole paranormal thing a secret much longer." Cece admitted. We all frowned.
Kendrick nodded, walking around his desk before sitting down.
"Why don't we start from the beginning?"
Chapter Nine
AGENT CECE ROSE:
"Before we get into storytelling, I need to know what Scarlet drew." Kendrick began.
I leaned against the wall, having risen from my seated position – my OCD kicked in. Kendrick sat at his desk on my right while the guys sat in the black, plastic chairs on the left. I knew this was going to be another information overload session, but with a career like an investigator, information was your friend, not your enemy. One word could change everything. Therefore, one couldn't zone out without putting the case in jeopardy.
Junho stood up, walking to the back of the room to retrieve a suitcase from the back counter. A high pitch beep echoed across the room before a click sounded – the suitcase unlocked. Junho retrieved a folder, walked back and presented it to Kendrick.
He nodded his thanks before placing it on his desk. Junho took his seat as we gave Kendrick a few minutes to review the images. It didn't take him long; as if he'd done this before. When he reached the final page, he frowned.
"So, Xerxes is behind another murder and yet again, we have no evidence?" He questioned, raising his head to face us. Christian rose to attention.
"We do. Scarlet took photos of a garbage bin and shattered glass that had blood on it. We retrieved a sample and Michael had it analyzed. It matched to someone on our hit list. She also said there was glass with blood on it. We were able to get a few specks of it but it's not enough blood for us to narrow it down. It's definitely a shifter, but now that we’ve seen the drawings from Scarlet, we know it's Xerxes' blood. It may not be enough to prove it, but we know he's our guy for now. We first need to find his lackey responsible for the Adelia’s death. However, we haven’t been able to locate Saikikku. She’s known to travel a lot, specifically to Japan. She most likely has no idea her apprentice is dead." Christian explained. Kendrick nodded. Christian, sat back down.
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