Walking outside the building I took a look at the moon in the sky. There were no stars due to the city lights and the only blinking in the sky was either due to radio towers or airplanes. Besides the street lights it was the only source of light in the sky. It might be cold for other people but thanks to my coat I never felt it.
The coat was layered with enchantments. From simple ones that either kept me warm or cold depending on the weather to complex ones like my pockets which connected to my workshop and protection against theft.
I gave a yawn. I had been in that building way too long and I still had yet to go back and get my car.
“So what are you going to do now?” Marcus asked as he stood on the sidewalk’s edge and walked on top of it trying to keep perfect balance.
“I’ll need to restart this entire investigation.” I told him and planned to do just that after I got something to eat and took a nap. There were pieces missing from my puzzle box and I disliked that.
Ethan Parker looked to be a completely average kid. Went to school, hung out with friends I’m assuming and was murdered. These were all the facts that I know but the method is what is bothering me the most.
The fact of the matter is Ethan was killed by an object that was full of dark magic. That type of magic only comes from a person who was intending to kill or injure someone.
All magic can be used to kill. Basically magic is a supernatural force that can alter the fabric of reality at fundamental levels. Magic like the universe was and is relatively neutral. It had it’s good parts and it’s bad part. Magic could be used to help or to hurt depending on the person using it and their desires.
The thing that killed Ethan was an item cursed with dark magic. It was powered by death and its aim was to grow stronger and hurt others. It was the opposite of enchanting which filled an item with light and or neutral magic. If death was what powered the object than it was likely not going to be content with just Ethan.
There were either more dead bodies not found or it was just beginning its murder spree. I assume from the wound that the weapon is a blade type. Either from a knife or a dagger.
So I had to stop the person using the cursed blade from killing any more people. I just had to figure out the method he was using to kill and the reasoning behind it and that wasn’t such an easy thing.
Dark magic originated from dark feeling like anger, hatred, envy and all the other emotions people feel when they have the intent and desire to kill a person and doing so only makes it stronger and easier to do it again. It was drawn from darkness to spread darkness.
Light magic was what was created and gathered by all the positive emotions created by living beings in all the worlds in creation and while it was still possible to kill and maim with it if you so desired but that wasn’t it original purpose. It was also a lot more complicated to do so and required such effort and creativity that it was easier just using dark magic.
Neutral magic was magic which could kill if so desired but was not born from light or dark emotions. All you needed was the intent and desire to use it. There were many sub categories that descended from these three main branches and many styles that were developed from them.
My personal and prefered style was neutral natural magic. It was the practice of using only the magic you were born with to create spells and potions. Each time you cast a spell you were using your own energy to cause something to happen. I preferred this method as it meant I depended on myself and my natural talents and abilities. I disliked drawing power from others.
The magic that was used to kill Ethan looked to be more of a sacrificial type. The symbols on his arms and forehead could mean that it was part of a ritual and that meant the killer had to spend time with his victims in a place that he or she felt was safe and could be sure that no one would find him.
There was only one way to find out however and that was to go to the one person that I hoped had the answers that I was looking for and could make this mystery simple. Unfortunately for me he didn’t and I had to work from scratch which led to my current problem in the alley.
I had to ask Ethan himself.
“Hello are you listening?” Marcus asked bring me out of a daze and I stopped right before I walked into his outstretched fist.
“What’s the big idea?” I asked him.
“You were in your own world I wondered if you would notice it but you didn’t so I had to warn you.” Marcus said and I glared at him which he just laughed at. There were times I really found him annoying but I figured if you have a friend that is an immortal that means you always have a friend you can use as a meat shield.
“So what is your plan?” he asked.
“Simple I am going to summon a spirit.” I told him I would have to get my car back first but after that it was pretty simple summoning ghost and I was used to the spell.
“Do you need help with anything?” he asked and I shook my head. My version was a simple enough spell and I didn’t doubt my ability so there was no point for him to show up.
“I might need you to check up on someone.” I told him and gave him the aunt’s address it would be good for someone to check up on her and I was way too busy to do it myself.
I watched him walk off the street sidewalk a care. A car was driving up and it stopped just before it hit what they must have assumed was a crazy person standing in the street.
“Move out of the way!” the driver shouted honking his horn three times his face was tense and he looked like he was wanting to run Marcus over. He probably should have because when Marcus walked up to him there was a grin on his face.
I couldn’t hear what was being said but I knew what was happening. Marcus didn’t like driving if he didn’t have to. He preferred forcing someone to do the driving for him so that way he didn’t have to pay more than the barest amount of attention possible. Being a vampire was something that Marcus loved. He didn’t have to work and he was immortal if there wasn’t the fact that I might lose my magic I would like to be a vampire.
I called him not soon after I summoned Ethan. If I was fighting someone that was doing sacrificial magic I was going to need backup that was stronger and faster than me to help. Him being immortal probably would not hurt. It turns out I shouldn’t have asked because he wasn’t much help and we hadn’t even get to the dark wizard yet.
There was too much distance between here and Northwood Park to simply walk just for my car and I was not in the mood to see if I was going to be robbed by walking alone at night. I was tired and hungry and still had work to do so I used magic. Teleportation was another magical ability like astral projecting that I was taught that I was truly fond of.
As a kid I didn’t like walking long distances and as an adult I still don’t so when I learned that teleportation was an actual possibility from then on I put a lot of effort into figuring out how to do it.
Using magic to move from one place to another was simple. All you had to do was think of your destination take a deep calming breath and flood your body with mana and there you appeared in the blink of an eye. All you felt was yourself disappearing from one place and reappearing in another. When I last timed myself it only took about three seconds to do the entire process. First though I had to get some food to eat. It had been a long day and it was still not over.Well apparently I was out long enough for them to have found out about Ethan I really hoped they hadn’t talked to the aunt yet or I wouldn’t get paid the rest of my money. I gave variable rates depending on who was hiring me and the job but I still wanted to be paid.
“That my metal detector needs to be repaired.” I said. I really couldn’t help that one. I had kept silent for most of the day and it figuratively hurt to keep quiet when I was set up with great lines like that.
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He didn’t like that answer at all and he slammed his hands on the table shouting “Do you think this is a joke?” I was torn between continuing and trying to act solemn over what happened.
The fact that a kid was dead was sad sure but I didn’t like dwelling on emotions like that so I buried them deep down and tried to ignore them whenever they showed up until they were gone.
“No I do not think it’s a joke.” I told them. I would have made a no game no life joke but I don’t think he would have gotten the reference and first one aside I thought it might have been too soon to be making jokes out of Ethan’s untimely demise.
“If I was making a joke I would have asked you if your family was still fighting mummies or stealing diamonds with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.” After my mouth closed I realized what I said. People have often told me I don’t know when to stop talking apparently they were right.
His eyes began to narrow and I could tell he knew what I referencing and while that usually made me happy this was not such an occasion. Langdon interfered before he was able to say anything.
“It doesn’t look good for you; you have got to admit that you standing over the corpse makes you look guilty.” Detective Langdon said calmly. I wondered if I was in the good cop/bad cop routine now and on the side of the suspect. It may have been their true personalities but you could never be sure.
“It might look that way but there is a perfectly rational explanation that will prove my innocence” was my response and it with that it was time to begin my first part of the plan. All that was left to see was if they would play along or if I would have to direct the conversation.
“Oh really I would love to hear it. What possible explanation could you possibly give?” O’Connell asked in clearly in doubt of me.
“I am going to reach in my pocket for my business card” I said making sure they had no reason to think I would pull a weapon out on them. There was time for seriousness and time for drama and it would do me no good if I did either too early or too late.
The card was placed on the table. It was purple, on the back was a picture of an open eye in black ink with my number on it. On the other side was my business information. I already knew what it said so I gave it to them to look over.
Alex Blackwell – Psychic Detective
Investigations, Charms, Séances, Item recovery, Exorcisms, Fortune telling, Telepathy, Aura Reading, Bounty Hunter.
Consulting, Reasonable rates
There were tons of these back in my office enchanted to turn up when people needed help. I enchanted the cards to give people with problems the impulse to call me. I had to stay in business and I wanted to help people so using magic on the cards made sense at the time. This way was easier than putting flyers around town and ads on the internet. They still haven’t let me down.
Enchanting was my specialty. It was the skill that I was the best at. Infusing magic into items and giving them each different effects. My coat was an example of this and so was the pens that I carried around with me constantly.
“Psychic, is that the answer you’re going with?” O’Connell scoffed at my card and while on the outside I was calm on the inside I was grinning he had taken the bait.
“Yes, it is true after all.” modern science couldn’t prove me wrong as far as I knew. The fact of the matter was the only reason psychics were doubted was because people were more cynical as they grew older and lost all sense of wonder and mystery. I think it was the fact that their reality crushed their sense of wonder was the reason.
“Unless you are pleading an insanity defense, I don’t think anybody will buy that.” he said and had turned my card over.
“What like that show Psych?” Langdon said somewhere between mockery and concern and I froze and turned towards her.
“I get asked that question so many times. No I am a real psychic detective” I sighed and tried to sound really insulted and depressed but on the inside I one day hoped to be able to be as convincing as him when convincing people that I was psychic. His acting skills were far beyond mine. I still was barely able to fake emotions I actually felt.
“So Alex you think you are psychic?” she said and I could tell she was trying to humor me and see how crazy I must be in her opinion. I wondered how use to this style they were. Langdon was the kind cop, the one who made you think she was understanding you while O’Connell was there to be the rough and angry detective who looked like he would love nothing more than to beat the answers out of you.
“Come on Langdon he’s clearly a few colors short of a crayon box.” he said talking like I wasn’t here. If he was to be compared with the police academy characters he would be lieutenant Harris.
“Hey be nice. Words hurt, don’t you policemen have to do sensitivity training or something?” I had no clue but when life gives you openings to insult someone I don’t take them for granted.
“I’ll prove it.” I said and got relaxed in the metal chair in the room. I wasn’t sure if anybody else was watching us since the window I was facing was only one way. It allowed others to see me but not the reverse.
“How’s that?” he questioned me.
“I will tell you your future.” That brought a raised eyebrow. I didn’t actually have the ability to do it and I was glad. Being able to see the future meant that life had no surprises anymore and while the being able to see the bad surprises would be a good thing but it would also mean you ruin the good surprises and make life boring. That didn’t stop me from making something up. Especially if I knew that it would be coming true soon enough.
“Oh yeah? Well go on and tell me.” He said in response. We were ignoring Langdon presence at the moment. For me it was because I had already had O’Connell taking the bait and for him it was because he was hoping to get me to focus on him and make mistakes they could take advantage of.
He only got half of his wish but it wasn’t the part that he wished for though. I was trained to run circles around people like him and I will admit at the time a part of me enjoyed it. It wasn’t because he was a cop or because I didn’t like him the reason I was doing it was simple it seemed like fun at the time.
“I see you full of anger and at the sight of me getting out of here completely innocent.” I told him I wished that I had some tarot cards just to make it more mysterious but the only reason they let me keep my coat was they believed nothing was in it and if I started pulling stuff out I would be searched more thoroughly.
“Really now because what I see for you is life in prison with no chance for parole involved in it.” He interrupted me his expression at the time was a deep scowl that just seemed like it’s purpose was to radiate anger and fear and cause me to become scared. It didn’t seem to work on me however and seeing my face seem not scared by him only seemed to make O’Connell even madder. My earlier assumption proving truer as time went by and we continued talking.
It was like he was a black hole trying to suck all the joy out of me and leave me a shattered husk full of angst and regret. This was a result of working in their world. The world the mortals lived in was a world of greys that just had lighter and darker shades. I on the other hand worked in a world of color. There were reds, blues, greens, yellows, and more. It was like a Crayola box. There were so many colors that shaded my world that they were completely blind to.
“This is ridiculous.” he said in response to my actions.
“What do you want to know then?” I asked curious if we could move past this and continue on with my interrogation. I wondered how far we could get before Marcus got here.
“What I would like to be told is why this kid had to die!” O’Connell shouted at me his face red and a vein bulging on his forehead. I always wondered how people did that and how it felt like.
“I don’t know that when I find the killer I will ask him for you” I told him point blank. I expected answers sooner than that but I couldn’t explain my methods to them.
“I’m looking right at him.” he said with full confidence.
“Really because I don’t see a guy here besides you and me in here and I know I didn’t do it.” I stated. O’Connell was about to say something else but there was a knock at the door that interrupted him.
We all turned and in walked two people and the sight of them put a smile on my face. One was a person I had never seen before and the other was the reason I was smiling the person that I had been waiting for had finally arrived. Marcus was here.
He was taller than me standing at a good six foot three with short dark hair and brown eyes, He looked to be twenty-five, He had a dark suit on with a silver watch on his wrist and had a brown briefcase when he walked in. his black shoes were shiny yet barely made a sound when he walked. On his right hand he was wearing his ring on his middle finger. It was silver on the outside and on the inside was a red gem.
It was one of my better enchantments in my opinion. It was in the top hundred in my opinion.
I will admit when I told him to look like a lawyer when he picked me up I did not expect that he would actually go this far. Knowing that he did not own suits I wondered where he got it from and what happened to its original owner.
The other man that came in was a guy that looked to be in charge. He had a fat face with black hair and hazel eyes. He had mutton chops stretched past his ears and reached to the middle of his face, his mustache stretched from his nose and covered his top lip but was parted down the middle like a greater or less than sign but going down.
“Captain what is going on?” Langdon asked. I wanted to ask about cop hierarchies since I was never studied that but figured the time wasn’t right. I would have to look it up on Wikipedia when I got home.
“This is his Lawyer Marcus Johnson we are letting him go.” The Chief said and I nodded getting up out of the chair.
“All right if you are his lawyer how did you even know that he was here?” O’Connell asked Marcus still being suspicious as possible. I assume he was thinking that we were accomplices for the murder after all how could he have known I was arrested if I hadn’t made a phone call here even after they read me my rights.
The only way this was possible was if he was at the crime scene and saw me be arrested. I however had planned for this event when I told him to come.
“I called him while I was in the police car. The arresting officer was so busy calling in for backup that he stopped paying attention to me.” I told them. None of that was true at all but they didn’t need to know that.
I pulled out my cell phone that was in my pocket. They had searched me when I was in the precinct but unless you had magic you wouldn’t find any objects in my pockets. It was a safety precaution I made for events just like this.