Rafael was angry. Angry at the priest who had murdered his uncle, angry at Leonard for not having been able to defend himself, but most of all angry at himself. He had been naive. He had wanted to believe that the priest had gone far away, and that the police would take care of him. Alek had warned him that this was an illusion, that he should have taken precautions against the priest's return, but that didn't stop him from taking his desires for realities. He was too weak mentally.

His parents and Tiffany had been devastated by the news. The women had burst into tears, and Alfred had retreated to his workshop alone. He had made an infernal racket there, as if he had set out to destroy all the furniture with a sledgehammer. Meanwhile, Rafael had gone out for a run, hoping that it would calm him down a little. It was in vain, nothing seemed to be able to reduce his rage. All he wanted was to find Leonard's killer and put him out of action. This would be his redemption.

Rafael and his father were supposed to meet Inspector Martinez at the police station later this morning. To be kept informed of the progress of the investigation, and to bring their testimony. A waste of time in Rafael's opinion. He had to plan his attack strategy, go back to Alek so that he could teach him this rune of dispersion, and find a way to locate the priest. All this before getting targeted himself!

His father wouldn't understand if he said he didn't want to go with him though, and the police would probably see it as suspicious behavior. So Rafael decided to go through with the procedure. As soon as he returned from his run, he prepared for the interview. But his mind was elsewhere, all caught up in his plans for revenge.

Alfred offered to drive him to the police station, but Rafael wanted to go directly to the nursing home after the interview, so he took his motorcycle. They met in front of the entrance. The building was an inelegant block of concrete with barred windows. If it hadn't been for the word "police" written across the pediment, he would have thought he was in front of a prison. He supposed it could helped to impress the suspects... but it must not have been pleasant to work there to say the least.

Rafael and his father entered the police station and went to the counter. The officer on duty led them directly to the inspector's office. Diego Martinez was filling out paperwork, but he immediately stopped to greet them.

"Gentlemen, please take your seats."

Rafael was a little stressed. He had never been reassured in the presence of law enforcement in the past, and now that he actually had something to hide it was even worse. Fortunately, the inspector seemed much more affable than the day before, he shouldn't suspect him anymore. At least, Rafael hoped so.

"I want to start by saying that I'm sorry for your loss. I know how hard it should be, and I wanted to assure you that we are doing everything we can to solve this case as soon as possible. To do that, I need to ask you a few questions."

Oh no, is it going to happen again? And in front of my father this time...

"To your knowledge, what was the relationship between Mr. Leonard Duprat and Mrs. Paulina Stone?"

What? What is he talking about?

"I don't understand," Rafael said. "What does she have to do with the murder?"

Inspector Martinez stared at him for a long time. His piercing gaze seemed to see right through him, as if to warn him that he would discover all his secrets, sooner or later.

Alfred intervened, "Paulina is a colleague of Leonard's, as well as a friend of the family. Why do you ask?"

The inspector sighed, then explained himself, "Leonard was killed with a knife. Three blows to the throat. When the nurses arrived, Paulina Stone was alone in the room, covered in blood. Everything points to her."

"That's impossible," cried Alfred. "There must be a mistake."

A mistake indeed, Rafael guessed what must have happened. The priest must have made himself invisible to infiltrate the hospital and murder his uncle. Poor Paulina had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It must have been a shock to her. Rafael couldn't let an innocent woman take the blame, he had to do something.

"Did you find the murder weapon?" asked Rafael.

The detective curled his lips. "That's the thing. There was nothing in the room that could have caused that kind of injury, and Paulina swears there was someone else, even if no one saw anything."

This meant that they had no evidence against the priest. He had expected this, the police couldn't do anything because they didn't have the necessary skills, nor the administrative boxes for shamanic magic. It would be too good if a specialized team suddenly appeared to solve the case. Sadly, Rafael could only rely on himself. He had to do something so that no one else would get hurt, or wrongly accused by the police.

Alfred looked at Rafael and whispered, "Do you think that Paulina—"

"No," Rafael asserted, "I'm sure it's just a coincidence, she would never do that."

Alfred nodded thoughtfully.

Inspector Martinez spoke again, "In any case, she is our only suspect. There is no trace of the priest Gregory Cordier at the hospital, in fact nobody has seen him for two days. I fear that the magistrate will judge Mrs. Paulina Stone guilty to make an example. A murder in a hospital is not a small matter. The media will get hold of the case and it will quickly become political."

"But she's innocent!" cried Rafael.

"I can't do anything," said the inspector, "even if I found the priest Cordier I couldn't do better than to charge him with kidnapping, and without Leonard's testimony there might not even be a prosecution... In any case, we have no evidence to suggest that he committed this murder."

Rafael gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. Paulina was going to jail, and there was nothing he could do, the priest had escaped again. If only he knew where that lunatic was hiding! The police could raid the place, find the murder weapon, or other evidence...

Alfred intervened: "And where is the body?"

"It's at the forensic institute for the autopsy. You will be able to retrieve it for the funeral, but the personal effects of the deceased must remain be sealed until the investigation is complete. Sorry."

"I understand," Alfred said in a dejected voice.

The inspector continued, "Is there anything else you can tell me, anything that might help us in our investigation?"

Diego Martinez had his eyes on Rafael. It was obvious that the inspector knew he was hiding something, that this case was more complex than it looked, and that Rafael could have shed light on some of the darker areas. He was giving him an opening, but, despite his desire, Rafael did not take it. As the inspector had said, the case was about to become political. Telling him about shamanism would only make things worse, and he had promised his late uncle that he would do everything to make the integration of magic into society as smooth as possible.

As the silence dragged on, Detective Martinez finally said, "Well, feel free to contact me if anything comes up." Then he gave them his card.

Immediately, Alfred stood up and assured him, "We will." Then he left the room without delay. Rafael's father didn't seem comfortable with the police either.

Rafael was about to follow him when the inspector added: "I'm sorry, we both got off on the wrong foot, but I can't do my job unless you tell me what you know. Don't let the real culprit run free."

Rafael sneered inwardly. I wouldn't let him get away, that's for sure!

But he kept that thought to himself, and after a nod to the inspector, he joined his father outside. Alfred was smoking, which he only did when he was extremely stressed. The last time Rafael had seen him do this was five years earlier, at Grandpa Louis' funeral.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Are you okay, Dad?" asked Rafael.

Alfred took a long puff before answering. "I don't understand what happened, that's so frustrating. What in the world was Leonard involved in?"

"I don't understand it either," said Rafael, "We just have to trust the police, that's their job to resolve this."

He felt a little guilty for lying to his father's face. He hadn't done it in years, it was over candy last time, but it was better than putting him in danger by telling the truth. He couldn't bear to have a second death on his conscience.

There is only one person who can help me: Alek Dimavski.

After saying goodbye to his father, Rafael took his motorcycle to the nursing home. On the way, he replayed the conversation with the inspector in his head. Poor Paulina, as unbearable as she was, she didn't deserve this. It could have been him in that hospital room instead, or someone from his family! He wished he could have found a way to help her, without getting locked up in an asylum or a military laboratory.

Still lost in his thoughts, he parked in front of the nursing home. His only chance to avenge his uncle was to serve as bait to lure the priest. For him, Rafael was the devil's spawn, like Leonard, so there was no doubt that he would try to attack him soon. That's when Rafael would ambush him.

He entered the nursing home and checked in with the receptionist. Sarah wasn't there today, probably on leave for the new year, but he was on file now so it wasn't a problem.

"The residents are finishing their meal in the main room, do you need someone to come with you?" the receptionist asked.

"No thanks," Rafael replied, "I know where it is."

He walked down the hallway with the force of habit and entered the room. There were old people everywhere, some half asleep, some eating so slowly it was depressing to look at them, most were watching the TV hanging at one end of the room, even if there was no sound. Alek was one of the most active, he was in big conversation with a woman who looked quite good for her age. She had curly gray hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and was barely wrinkled, compared to Alek anyway.

"Hi Alek," Rafael said as he walked up to them. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Alek replied when he saw his serious look. He turned to the woman and said, "Sorry honey, duty calls. The kid would be lost without my advices."

The woman giggled like a teenager and furtively caressed Alek's hand before leaving.

"What a great day," Alek exclaimed as Rafael took a seat across from him. "Yesterday's party was great, and the food are much better than usual. By the way, did you bring me some treats?"

"Leonard was murdered," Rafael dropped coldly.

"Ah, I figured as much," Alek said, shaking his head. "That's a pity, I suppose you want my help to get revenge?"

Rafael nodded vigorously. "I need something to be able to spot the priest when he's invisible, and I'd also like to learn the disruption rune you talked about."

"You shouldn't be doing this alone," Alek remarked. "You're not a trained fighter. Do you have any friends who could help you?"

"No," Rafael refused, "I don't want to put them in danger."

Alek watched him for a moment in silence, before finally shrugging. "If you're determined... it's not my place to stop you. Just try not to get yourself killed stupidly."

"That's not my intention," Rafael assured, "So, can you help me?"

"Come to my room, it will be quieter."

Rafael nodded and they both headed for the stairs. Alek was walking very slowly, but he was no longer using his medical walker. Was it because his condition was improving? That was likely if his New Year's Eve had been as good as he claimed...

Suddenly, Rafael perceived a grim pulse in the air, which made him felt violently nauseous. He circulated his spiritual energy by reflex, and noticed with his inner vision that there were some dark spots in the usually light green fluid. Something wasn't right. He turned to Alek and asked:

"What just happened?"

"You felt that? Not bad kid, you definitely have some potential. The resident in room 53 just passed away, it fed my death spirit."

"It fed him?" repeated Rafael disgusted.

"Oh yes!" exclaimed Alek. "And with each meal I get stronger."

"Really? You're not doing anything to uh, encourage things I hope?"

"Naaah, there's no need," laughed Alek. "They're dropping like flies around here. In a few months I'll be as strong as when I was seventy!"

"Um, okay," Rafael said, still feeling sick. Alek's eccentricities didn't really matter. The shaman had agreed to help him get rid of the priest right away, Rafael wasn't going to bother him about his spirit's meals. After all, it's not like it could photosynthesize.

They entered the room and settled in. Alek didn't speak right away, he seemed to take his time to think about the situation. Rafael waited patiently until he was ready. Finally, the old shaman said:

"The most important thing is the location of the confrontation. Ideally, it should take place near the anchor point of your plant spirit, or in a similar place. Your powers would be at their maximum.

Rafael then realized why the priest had been so powerful at the church. That's where he had bound his spirit of light, there were candles everywhere, stained glass windows, and even spotlights... In another place, he wouldn't be so scary. And if Rafael could lure him into the park, he would have the advantage!

Yeah, easier said than done.

"I'll think about that," Rafael nodded.

"Besides, it should solve one of your problems," Alek continued. "The senses of the surrounding plants will allow you to spot the priest even if he makes himself invisible. If you were more advanced in meditation, you could have just done it with your spiritual awareness, but you don't really have time to learn how to do that."

I bet Alek wouldn't have been surprised. I'll have to get more serious about meditation when this case is over.

"You could also use your mirror pendant," Alek added. "It reflects the spiritual energy of humans as well as spirits, but it's not ideal, its field of vision is too narrow. Only use it as a last resort."

"Understood."

"About the runes," Alek continued. "I can teach you the ones you need: disruption runes against light magic, and enhancement runes to increase your own powers. The only problem is that you can't do the gestures in the heat of the moment, your spiritual awareness is too low for that. You need some support."

"What kind of support?" asked Rafael.

"You should make yourself a strengthening amulet for your plant spirit's powers, and a disruption stick to counter the priest's light spirit."

"Magical items," Rafael understood, "Can't you make them? The priest could come after me at any time."

"That's not possible," the shaman refused. "You have to carve those runes yourself so you can use them fluidly. If I do it for you, you'll have a harder time getting your spiritual energy to flow properly inside, and your enemy may come after you during that delay."

"When do we start?" asked Rafael. His eyes burned with impatience, the anger had not diminished during the day, and he did not want to wait any longer before implementing his revenge plan.

"First, we need some carving tools, wood chisels. Surely you can find a set in the stores you have around here? I hear they have everything. I'm not sure about the quality, but it should do the trick. Have you ever used any?"

"Uh, no," Rafael replied disconcerted.

Alek snorted contemptuously. "You'll have to learn! In my tribe, it's basic knowledge that all children must know. Paper is worthless for shamanic magic."

"Okay, I'll go buy some chisels first thing in the morning. I guess I need to get some wood too?"

A big smile appeared on Alek's face, and he leaned forward, his eyes shining.

"No, don't buy wood. You'll do much better, you'll grow it!"