by S. C. Stokes
"I think I can answer that," Vida said. The head medical examiner was still trembling from the fight with the Shinigami. He was leaning on the upturned examination table for support.
Both Kasey and Bishop turned on Vida. "How?"
"Well, I can't be sure," Vida said with a shrug, "but I was doing research while you were upstairs with Bishop. The World of Magic may be a secret, but the Shinigami are not. There are hundreds of websites devoted to them. They are one of the most well-known branches of Japanese lore and mythology. There are stories, comics, anime, and even a movie devoted to them.
“Normal people may not know the truth of these Shinigami, but one thing is consistent. That is the number. In Japanese, the word shi has two meanings. First it means death, as we are aware, but secondly it also means the number four. As a result, the number four is considered to be an unlucky or a bad omen. Many apartment buildings do not label the fourth floor, but they simply skip it and number the floors one, two, three, five and so on. If there was going to be a number significant to the Shinigami, surely it would be the number four."
"I think you're onto something. In my vision, I heard four voices. We know that the one known as Skyler to us, or Mina to them, is dead. Hideyo and Eriko are too. We just saw to that. That makes three." Kasey nodded as she raised three fingers.
"Leaving us with one," Bishop stated.
"Indeed," Kasey answered as she looked at Bishop, "the one they know as Master. He is behind it all. If we can stop him, we will stop the attack. Everything depends on it."
"You didn't happen to get a look of him in your vision?" Bishop shook her head as she spoke. "I hear myself saying the words, but it still sounds weird. Visions, magic, it's a lot to swallow.
“Unfortunately not. Skyler was bowing, and she never looked up from the ground. It wouldn't have helped us, anyway," Kasey replied
"Why not? Bishop answered.
"The Shinigami are adept at using their magic to disguise their identity. It is the reason we've had so much trouble closing this case. The man I thought was the waiter at the gala, the man that shot Cyrus, he was really a Shinigami who was imitating Ben's face with magic. The man that we thought was Stevens in the warehouse, another Shinigami.
“When we were chasing Skyler, she even briefly stole your appearance, Bishop. That was why I froze in the hallway of her building. I was looking at her but all I could see was you pointing a gun at me. It's a good thing you showed up when you did."
Bishop resumed pacing. "So, this master could be anyone?"
"Yes," Kasey answered. "We're going to have to tread carefully. He could be anyone and he's plotting to blow up our city."
"Can't you go to this Arcane Council?" Bishop suggested.
"Not yet. I don't know who we can trust. We must keep this between us until we know more, and remember, you can't tell a soul about me. Not my visions or my magic. The Council will stop at nothing to protect our secret and I don't want anything to happen to either of you."
"So where do we start?" Bishop asked.
"We need to clear out the station, make sure none of their acolytes are still roaming around upstairs,” Kasey said pointing to the floors above.
“Definitely. We'll also need to get medical attention for any of our officers who survived the attack. Most importantly, we need to scour this morgue of any trace of the Shinigami. As their magic fades, their appearance changes. We saw it with Skyler's body, that's why we had to destroy it. We can’t have anyone else learning what they truly are. Can you imagine the panic that would cause?"
"Yeah. The city would go into a panic. Knowing that somewhere out there, a wizard is planning to destroy the city. I get your point, let’s do it. Reinforcements are gonna be here any moment. How do you plan to clean this up?" Bishop asked.
Kasey put an arm around both Bishop and Vida and steered them to the door.
"The same way I cleaned the scene at my apartment," Kasey replied
"Wait…" Vida began, "didn't your apartment burn down?"
"Yep, but that might have been less accidental than I initially lead on."
"My morgue!" Vida exclaimed as he tried to dig in his heels.
Kasey and Bishop shoved him through the door.
Bishop turned to Kasey. "What, exactly, were you trying to hide at your apartment? Collins was a killer but we all knew that, so why burn the place down?"
"I didn't want anyone looking too closely at the body."
Bishop raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"
"Because…" Kasey paused, unsure just how much she should reveal. Tired of the lies, she took a deep breath and said, "He was a werewolf."
"A Werewolf!" Vida shouted.
"Now you're just messing with me," Bishop replied.
"I wish I was," Kasey replied. "Collins was a Werewolf and I killed him with a magic spear. I figured that would be pretty hard to explain away,”
Bishop and Vida exchanged a disbelieving glance as they started down the hall.
“Gee, this truth thing is pretty liberating!” Kasey exclaimed. “I feel like a giant load has been lifted from my shoulders."
Bishop shook her head.
"Just give me a moment to take care of this," Kasey said, stopping in the hallway and turning back to face the morgue. She raised her hands, channeling her power. "Pel Tan!"
Flames leapt from her outstretched palms and poured through the doorway into the morgue. Determined to erase every sign of the Shinigami, she gave it everything she had.
The blaze grew into a swirling inferno.
Soon the morgue was consumed by the blaze, along with everything in it. Satisfied that the fire would do its job, Kasey ceased her channeling.
Turning from the blaze, she put her arms around Vida and Bishop and directed them toward the stairs.
Stepping over the body of one of the acolytes, Kasey let out a sigh of relief. "What a day."
"Do you have any idea how much paperwork you just caused us, Kasey? We're going to need a new morgue," Vida stammered.
Kasey nodded. "Ah, but think of all the other paperwork I just saved us, Vida. Now those guys won't be needing an autopsy."
"You're crazy!" Vida replied.
Kasey smiled. "Perhaps. Good thing we're on the same side. That last Shinigami is in for a world of hurt."
"Hopefully he is as arrogant as that lot. If he is, he'll never see it coming," Bishop replied.
"Perhaps not,” Kasey said, “but I will."
The End
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Book 3, When Death Knocks launches 25th July 2018, you can find it here.
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About the Author
I hope you enjoyed Life is for the Living. My new series Conjuring a Coroner is well underway. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am enjoying writing it. The next book in the series will be When Death Knocks, and you better believe it is as action packed and full of twists as the rest of the series.
A little introduction about me. I am a writer based in Brisbane, Australia. As a child I grew up reading from many amazing authors like Tolkien, Feist, Clancy, Matthew Reilly and others. Each of them spun tales that filled me with wonder and awe as I imagined the world they vividly crafted with each carefully selected word. They are incredible masterpieces that have thrilled readers for decades. My hope is that I can add something that will entertain and delight readers for years to come.
I expect that my writing (like everything in life) will continue to improve with each novel. I hope you enjoyed this latest installment.
Until next time!
Samuel C. Stokes
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Also by S.C. Stokes
A Kingdom Divided
A Coronation of Kings
When the Gods War
A Kingdom in Chaos
Conjuring a Coroner
Dying to Meet You
Life is for the Living
When Death Knocks