by D. J. Dalton
Tramping through the debris, being careful to avoid any area marked for evidence, Briggs approached the officer.
“Officer Jordon,” Briggs said. He noticed the fox shifter’s drawn face and the dark circles rimming his eyes. Briggs had been pushing his squad hard. But he knew it wasn’t only the long hours that wore on them. The attacks were pinpointed at shifters, some well-known citizens of the community. This took a heavy emotional toll. “What’s the update? Do we have any witnesses?”
“No witnesses, sir. Same MO, quick attack, substantial property destruction, and…” He paused, nodding his head toward a white tent leaning precariously to the right at the back of the property.
Briggs clenched his jaw. He knew what horrors he faced inside that tent. While clapping his hand on Officer Jordon’s shoulder he said, “You lead the investigation out here.”
“Yes, sir.” The officer’s body relaxed. “Thank you.”
With a heavy sigh, Briggs forced his feet to carry him to the tent. When he pushed the tent flap aside, his heart sank. Two bodies lay on the far side of the tent. A medical examiner knelt on the ground, gathering evidence.
“This was vicious.” Tabitha’s raspy voice sounded both harsh and exhausted.
Tabitha, a bear shifter, led the warrior pack, who were the organized army of the magical races. They had worked on every Dark Guild case with Briggs. Her team contacted the shifters and fey that lived in the Magic Underground. Did they know of any recent issues with sorcerers that may have started this crime spree? Have they heard anything that could give them a clue to who these arcanum were or where they could be found? So far, she hadn’t come with any significant leads.
It frustrated Briggs when shifters and fey felt forced to withdraw from the world and live a life of seclusion in the underground. But given the current state of open discrimination and antagonism humans had toward the magical races, he respected their choices. He hoped one day things would change.
“Are they the Hadley’s?” Briggs asked. His eyes remained on the two bodies.
“We won’t know until we run a DNA test.”
That meant their bodies were too mutilated to visually identify.
“Did you know them?”
“Yeah, nice folks.” Briggs scrubbed his hand over his mouth, then looked over at Tabitha. The sides of her head were shaved close while her blonde crown hair, which was normally tucked into a tight bun, fell loosely over one shoulder. A tank top showed off her muscular arms. She must have been off duty when she got the dispatch call.
“What about the boys?” asked Briggs.
She pulled out a notebook and pen. Her shoulders sagged and her voice saddened.
“No sign of children. Do you know their names?”
“Johnny is eight and Peter is twelve.” Briggs clenched his fists as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’ll put out an APB.”
Tabitha sighed. “Right, I’ll check the underground.” She put her hand on Briggs’ arm. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He nodded. “Thank you. Are you taking care of the arrangements with their family?”
“Yes. Faraday should be here anytime.”
“Let me know about the service. I’d like to attend.”
“Of course.”
“Can you meet me in my office first thing tomorrow?” There had to be something they were overlooking. His head throbbed as his mind went over the memorized cases.
“I’ll be there, first thing.” She patted his back. “Now, go home and get some rest.”
After stepping out of the tent, Briggs saw Faraday striding toward him. The wolf shifter carried his wiry frame with confidence. In his brief career with the warriors, he had received a commendation award and two promotions. He ranked just below Tabitha. Two more wolf shifters followed behind.
Faraday stopped in front of Briggs, motioning for the other two to go into the tent. It was rare a wolf shifter was tall enough to meet Briggs eye-to-eye.
“Another tragedy.” The scar running down the right side of Faraday’s face looked gray in the artificial lighting. “Are we any closer to finding the sorcerers who are killing our kind?” His lip curled in a snarl.
“We’re working on it.” Briggs met his sharp, icy eyes. Faraday always seemed on the brink of losing control. “Keep your eyes and ears open for a couple of kids. Tabitha has the details.”
Faraday nodded as his nostril flared. Then he moved around Briggs to enter the tent.
While walking past Officer Jordon, Briggs raised a hand. “I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.”
Officer Jordon looked up from his work long enough to give Briggs a return gesture.
“Yes, sir. Have a good night.”
Briggs avoided the reporters on the way back to his Land Rover. As he unlocked the car, another dispatch call came over the line. His stomach dropped. Two calls in one night. He answered the call.
“Captain Wilson.”
The dispatcher confirmed another magic attack report. When they told him the address, a chill ran down his spine.
“Repeat the address.” His heart raced.
After the dispatcher repeated the information, his mouth went dry. He tore the Land Rover door open, started the car, and slammed on the gas before the door was closed. Smoke came from his tires as he raced out of the parking lot.
Chapter Three
Keren
When Keren opened the door, a nutty, rich smell poured from the Kitty Café. Customers chatted and laughed, enjoying their precious brews. Some had pastries, handmade by the owner’s wife, sitting on china plates. No plastic or paper here, only the best for the customers.
She spotted Ordell, focused on his laptop, sitting at his usual high-top table tucked in the back corner. The owner installed a higher footrest on the stool so his feet would reach. Jet black hair fell over one eye while his horse's ears relaxed toward the sides. Even though he was just a sophomore at UCF, he made the Dean’s List every semester. He won last year’s Knight Hacks Hackathon and planned to run a workshop during this year’s event.
Keren made her way over to him. “Hey, Ordell. How’s it going?”
He looked up. His warm smile reached all the way to his emerald-green eyes. “Hey, Keren.” He turned his laptop so she could see the screen. “Wanna see something exciting?”
She leaned closer. “Sure. What am I looking at?”
“This is the website I created for Magical Race Equality.”
Keren knew this was a passion project Ordell and Nadria started two years ago. Since then, the organization had grown into a respectable non-profit, bringing awareness of unequal treatment to those of a magical race.
“I created a web page for the demonstration.” He clicked a link. “The page connects all the volunteers to a master database to be more efficient with campaigning. I also wrote a process allowing the volunteers to select an option on their profile that sends a Facebook friend request to people they recruited.”
A pie chart showed on the screen.
“We reached over fifty percent more people during this campaign than the last one. Look how the chart is interactive.” When clicked, the pie pieces moved and showed detail behind the statistics.
She nudged him. “Careful, your geek is showing.”
“Come on, the volunteers loved it.” He nudged her back. “They had name cards and pamphlets with QR codes. People used their phones to get on the mailing list or sign up as a volunteer right there on the spot.”
“Nice, you’ve done a great job.”
“Wait, there’s something I want to get your opinion on.” He turned the laptop back toward himself and tapped a few keys.
“Volunteers found most humans they talked to knew very little about the magical races. Or they had misinformation. So, I’m working on a page to summarize it for them.”
“OK, what do you have?”
“For shifters, I list the three types and their elemental power. Bears are earth magic, wolves are fire magic, and
foxes are water magic.”
“Are you going into details on any of the spells they can do?”
“No, every shifter is different depending on the strength of their magic.”
“That makes sense. What else have you got?”
“Even though shifter should be enough to figure this out, I do mention they can change into their animal forms. Should I take that out?”
Keren shook her head. “No, it’s a fact about the race. I don’t see why you shouldn’t keep it.”
“OK. That’s what I thought, too. But I wanted another opinion.” He nodded in agreement.
“Shouldn’t there be an air elemental race?”
Ordell looked up with a scowl on his face. “Didn’t you pay attention in history class? The dragons were air elementals, but they were killed off in the Dragon Wars.”
Keren hung her head. “Sorry. History was never my best subject.”
Ordell turned back to his screen. “Anyway, for fae, I listed the fairies. They can cast protection and location spells, set wards, imbue artifacts with power, and create potions.”
“Do fairies create the artifacts?”
“No. See, that’s another misconception. The elves, another fae race, disappeared after the Dragon Wars. They had the power to create artifacts capable of holding fairy magic. But they couldn’t imbue the artifact with magic themselves.”
“Are there many artifacts?”
“No one knows how many are left. According to history, they were split among the fairies once the elves disappeared. Should I add elves to the page?”
She frowned. “It might help explain artifacts. But if elves disappeared, I don’t think you need to add them. Although the artifact information is interesting.”
“OK, I’ll leave them off for now. If questions come up about artifacts, I can add the elves later.” He typed for a few moments before continuing, “Then, of course, there’s pucas.” His ears pricked forward. “We don’t have magic, but we can change into other animal forms. That’s confusing for most people. They tend to group us with shifters.”
“That’s understandable. Did you list the animals you can change into?”
“I did. First is the horse.”
Keren poked his side. “That’s your favorite, isn’t it?” She remembered him cheating during a race and changing into his horse form. The sleek ebony body and flowing midnight-black mane were an impressive sight.
“It is.” Ordell’s face blushed. “The other animals are mouse, rabbit, raven, dog, and cat.”
“You’ve mentioned there were more.” Keren smiled at him. “Spill.”
Ordell shifted in his seat, his face full-on red. “No, those are the main ones.” He quickly changed the subject. “And I have a section on sorcerers.”
Keren’s smile faded. Stories related to the Dark Guild’s arcanum attacking shifters filled the news. According to the inquisitors, one or more of the arcanum had to be a sorcerer. She wondered if mentioning them on the website was a good idea.
“What do you say about them?”
“Just they’re humans with magic. And they need to use their hands to cast spells. That’s all I really know.”
“That’s enough.” Not including the sorcerers might be seen as a slant toward them. It seemed safer to include them. She pushed the dark thoughts of arcanum out of her mind.
“It’s very impressive.” She ruffled Ordell’s hair. “Hey, I’m working in the cattery tonight. Will the cat-form you come over and help me figure out the cats’ personalities? I’d like to get the award for most forever-home placements this month. Being part-time makes it tough.”
“Isn’t that cheating? I mean, shouldn’t you get to know the cats on your own?”
“I want to make a good impression.” She put her palms together, touching her fingertips to her chin. “Please. It’s how I’ll get to full-time.”
With a sigh, Ordell shook his head. “Sure, give me a few minutes.”
She clapped her hands. “Thanks, see you later.”
After weaving her way through the crowd, she slipped behind the front counter.
“Oh, good, you’re here.” Nadria’s snow-white hair was pulled back into a neat bun. Her warm skin tone seemed to shimmer with her movement. Intense pale blue eyes pulled up at the outer edges. She filled the expresso machine and squirted syrup into a large cup. “It’s crazy busy tonight.” She handed the drink over to a barista to finish and turned to Keren.
Nadria had received the best qualities from her fairy mother and fox shifter father. Unfortunately, mix-raced children faced discrimination from both humans and magical races. Her painful experiences were what drove Nadria’s enthusiasm to bring awareness to the public and end intolerant, biased views.
“I see that. Thanks for getting me the extra hours.” Keren pulled the tea container from her backpack. “I know you’re busy, but can you squeeze in a cup of tea for me?”
“Everything alright?” Nadria’s eyes scanned her from head to toe.
“Nothing a cup of tea won’t fix.” Wanting to change the subject, Keren pointed to a pin on Nadria’s shirt. “So, how did the demonstration go?”
Her face lit up. “Fantastic. We handed out fliers on magical racial equality to hundreds of people.”
She took a latte from the barista and waved her hand over the cup. Tiny dots of light danced on her forearm as a perfect picture of a cat formed in the foam. Nadria enjoyed adding her special touch to orders. The customer laughed when the foam cat meowed.
“I met this interesting group of fairies. They specialize in Herbology and invited me to join their group.” She took another order from the cashier and started up the expresso machine. “Did you know in ancient Greece they rubbed mint on tables to welcome visitors? Weird, huh? I can’t wait for the next meeting. You should come, too.”
Before Keren could answer, Nadria frowned. Her forearms sparkled. “Are you going to pay for that?” She turned her head.
Keren turned in the same direction, seeing a middle school boy standing at the counter. His palm lay flat on the countertop. He pulled and tugged, but his hand refused to move. He clutched a bag of almonds in his other hand.
“What did you do to me?” His face reddened. “Let me go.” He pulled harder, but his hand didn’t budge.
Nadria put her hands on her hips. “Pay for those almonds or put them back.”
The boy scowled, tossing the almonds back in the display. “There, now let me go.”
The sparkle left her forearms. The boy tumbled back, landing square on his rear. He sprung up, bolting out of the café.
Keren remembered herself at that age during her rocky middle school years. How Mom survived it, she would never know. She refused to wear anything but jeans and T-shirts labeled with heavy metal band names. Not too much different from today, just without the heavy metal bands.
Her spree of stealing candy bars from the corner gas station ended when Mom found her stash under the bed. For a week, between school letting out and dinner, Keren swept the gas station’s floor and cleaned the bathrooms.
“Does that happen often?”
“More than you’d think. But my sticky fingers spell reduces the losses.”
“Sticky fingers. That’s new, isn’t it?” Keren straightened the almond display.
Nadria started making hot chocolate. “It is. Everyone has at least a bit of sweat on their palms. I use that for the spell.” She gave the hot chocolate to a customer. “Anyway, what do you think about the Herbology?”
“Sounds fun, let me know when you’re going, and I’ll tag along.” Keren put on an apron and pinned on her nametag.
“I will.” She nodded toward the cattery. “You better hurry. I asked John to fill in until you got here.”
Keren rolled her eyes, and they both laughed. “Is that guy ever in a good mood?”
Chapter Four
Quinlin
Quinlin drummed his fingers on the desk while watching his drone circle over the cit
y. The Eye of Discovery, which he had strapped to the bottom of the drone, emitted a pale blue light. Although that proved it had detected his father’s Book of Shadows, it couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.
He had repeatedly flown over this fifty square miles of Orlando. What kept the artifact from exposing the book baffled him. He knew leaving this flight radius caused the Eye to turn black. So that meant the book resided somewhere in this area.
In Father’s foresight and wisdom, he requested a fairy empower the Eye of Discovery with magic to emit a deep green color when homed in on his Book of Shadows. The fairy also imbued the book with protection spells, preventing its destruction. Father knew the great value of his book and expected, one day, someone might try to steal or destroy it.
“Any progress?” asked Dan.
When he turned, Quinlin saw Dan relaxing on the office’s supple leather sofa, a magazine balanced across his leg.
“No.” Quinlin balled his hand into a fist, letting his fingernails bite into his palm. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Dan shot up from his seat, the magazine falling to the floor. “Right. Yes, Mr. Turner.” He raised his eyebrows, forcing acne scars to collide on his forehead wrinkles. “I should see to securing the two young shifters from the last job.” He remained frozen in place.
“Well, Mr. Mann, are you going or not?” Quinlin believed Dan was a lazy good-for-nothing. But his spell casting strength impelled Quinlin, against his better judgment, to allow his recruitment into the Dark Guild. In order to keep close tabs on him, he had appointed him as his lieutenant.
Without another word, Dan bolted from the room.
While pushing away from the desk, Quinlin let out a long exhale. Something hid the book from the Eye. For a moment, he thought of resorting to a house-to-house search. But that approach might make the book thief run, leaving him back at square one. No, he had to wait it out. The thief would eventually make a mistake.
He stood, stretching out stiff muscles. After four hours of sitting, he deserved a break. The camera on the drone would trigger an audible alert should the Eye’s color change, so he put the drone on autopilot, then walked to the window. Palm fronds swayed in the breeze, beseeching him to come out and enjoy the beautiful evening. If he fell prey to this lie, the oppressive heat would snare him, suffocating him with sticky, humid air. He brushed at the lapel of his Givenchy suit, opting to remain indoors.