Daniel chose to get out and walk down the last few streets to his apartment building. The walk was helping him think, and he’d decided to take Caspian and go somewhere else until he could teleport them away. It was just too risky to keep using his apartment and to stay in the city. When those cops decided to pay him another visit, Daniel intended to be far away.
As Daniel turned a corner, he saw that a small crowd had formed near the road. A couple of police cars were there, along with several uniformed officers interviewing bystanders. He slowed his pace to get a better look at the scene. Behind the officers was a red car that had smashed into a blue one, but there was no sign that anyone had been injured or killed. It just looked like negligence or maybe drunk driving.
Nothing to do with me. I guess after so many run-ins with the police, I’ve started to just assume that they’re there for me.
Daniel moved on. He had to decide what to do next. Other than warning Burrows, he saw no reason to stay on Earth right now. Those other cops had nothing on him and as long as he stayed away, eventually even they would have to lose interest. So he planned to just chill for a couple of days to let his ability recharge and then he’d take Caspian back with him. Adam would have to be left behind, but Daniel would leave him some money to give him time to look for a job. Daniel could then spend his time between Alarstardes and the Hollow Shores for a few months until those cops gave up.
As he reached his apartment door, he felt good about seeing the warning signs, finally taking some initiative and getting the hell out before trouble comes for him. All that was left to do was pack some bags and tell Caspian that they were taking a trip. He walked through the door, ready to explain it as good news, when he stopped.
The apartment was not as he’d left it.
Daniel raised his fists and readied himself to summon the gauntlet as he moved further inside. The silence was the first indication that something was wrong. Even with a language barrier, he couldn’t imagine Adam or Caspian remaining quiet for long. Some redecorating had also occurred since this morning. A couple of chairs had been knocked over and several picture frames were smashed with glass fragments left on the floor. Thankfully, there was no sign of blood, which only confused Daniel further.
At first, he thought that the guys at the bank were a distraction to get to the apartment, but that didn’t track. Caspian would either go peacefully or they’d be dead and the destruction would be greater. His second idea was that the pair had gotten into a disagreement that had turned into a fight, with Caspian holding back. Daniel could picture him using a little essence to throw Adam aside and knock a few things over in the process. The only problem was that it didn’t explain why they’d then left together and why Adam hadn’t called him. Daniel tried his number. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer.
None of this makes any sense.
He paced around the apartment, desperately hoping to find some clue that he might have missed. Caspian loose on earth with essence could be a disaster. That phrase set off a lightbulb moment for him.
What other disasters have I seen recently?
On a hunch, Daniel went back outside to the scene of the car crash and asked one of the nearby bystanders what had happened.
A man said, “There was some kind of commotion. Some guy was in the street and he caused a crash. The police happened to be nearby and stopped to talk, but they couldn’t understand what he was saying. They thought he might have been on drugs. One of them tried to arrest him and got cut with a knife while the other officer cuffed him and took him away.”
How on earth did they arrest Caspian? It didn’t entirely make sense, but he’d have to save his questions for later. He thanked the man and tried calling Adam again and then Detective Burrows. Both calls went straight to voicemail. Daniel decided to leave a message for Burrows, anyway.
“It’s me. I’m heading to the police station right now. Call me as soon as you get this message,” said Daniel.
I gotta get to Caspian before he decides to take matters into his own hands.
Daniel called for a car and went to the police station. He brought Melos out on the drive and filled him in. Daniel had hoped for sympathy, but would have settled for neutral acquiescence. Instead, the demon laughed.
“What did you think would happen when you brought Caspian here? And leaving him with Adam, of all people?” Melos asked, still chuckling.
Daniel shook his head. He wasn’t taking responsibility for this one. Adam and Caspian were adults that had been warned. Both of them just impulsively did whatever they wanted, with no concern for the consequences. Now Daniel was forced to come in and try to clean up the mess.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
They arrived at the police station and went to the front desk. There was a uniformed officer there sat next to a computer. Daniel asked them if Adam was here. He was told to have a seat and wait a moment. It didn’t feel right, but it wasn’t like he had a lot of other options. He half expected Tom and his cronies to enter at any minute to arrest him.
Instead, it was the Chief Constable that came out to get him. A man close to retirement who wore a mustache that would have looked dated twenty years ago. The man was so stoic that Daniel couldn’t get a read on him, though he guessed that there was an undercurrent of anger that was being suppressed.
“Follow me,” the Chief said.
Daniel did, and again was surprised that rather than being taken to an interrogation room, he was led into the man’s office. Once the door was closed, he sat down and looked up at Daniel with tired eyes and said, “why don’t you explain what happened?”
Daniel shrugged. “I would if I could. I heard that a friend of mine was involved with the police a couple of hours ago. He’s not answering his phone and so I came here looking for answers.”
The Chief’s eyebrows rose. “And you weren’t involved?”
“I was at the bank. There’s security camera footage to confirm it, but I think I also ran into some of your men there. A guy named Tom was running some kind of investigation. I didn’t get a last name, but I think you know who I mean.”
The Chief pursed his lips and raised one hand up. Suddenly, the door opened and three officers entered, looking stern.
“What is this?” Daniel asked, feeling his anger rising.
“I’m arresting you on the suspicion of murder,” the Chief began. He rattled off more talking points about rights and such, but Daniel had stopped listening. They had no evidence. This must be another intimidation tactic. Perhaps the Chief had felt threatened when Daniel had dropped the line about his men. A secret task force on such a high-profile case investigating the other official investigators might have rattled him. But this escalation would have consequences.
Daniel chose to accept the arrest calmly. He could plan his escape either through legal or magical means once they’d put him in a cell.
The three officers didn’t handcuff him, but one man walked in front and two stayed close behind to ensure he wouldn’t get away as he was escorted to the jail cell. Luckily, his cell was empty, but judging by how crowded the other cells were, he didn’t think it would stay that way for long.
Once inside, Daniel sat on the edge of the stone bench and quietly asked Melos to search the station for any sign of Adam.
“What about the tether limit?” Melos asked.
That was the problem with their connection. Melos could only go so far from Daniel before feeling intense pain and a desire to go back. Daniel whispered under his breath to try anyway. The demon nodded and ghosted through the nearest wall. The current tether range was around thirty feet, but Daniel wondered if there was a way to improve that. He activated Aura Sight and kept a close watch on the thin blue line that connected the two of them. After a while, he saw the tether begin to shake and strain. Daniel used a little essence and watched as it stabilized. I can increase Melos’s range with essence, he realized.
Daniel didn’t worry about the essence loss. If he tried to use it to break out of jail, then a lot of people would end up dead in the ensuing fight. No, he would exhaust any mundane means of getting out of here before teleporting as a last resort. Daniel fed essence into the tether a couple more times before the demon returned.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” asked Melos.
“Just tell me.”
“There was no sign of Caspian or Detective Burrows. I did find Adam, though.”
“Is he in another cell?”
“No, he was sitting in a break room drinking coffee and eating something from the vending machine. A couple of cops were there casually chatting to him before they let him go.”
That worried him. Adam knew a lot of compromising things, and he wasn’t exactly the smartest guy around.
“So that’s it? Adam just left?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t think he knew you were here, and it didn’t seem like he said anything about you. The cops just asked him about his job and personal life.”
Daniel cursed. “Did he at least ask about Caspian?”
Melos nodded. “He asked about his friend, and the cops said that he would be receiving help. Whatever that means.”
Talking about Caspian getting help? Was that some sort of code? Tom and the others had talked about taking me for a chat in a quiet place. Had that happened to him?
Daniel clenched his fists as he pictured Caspian being tortured by those people. He started to rethink his plans about how he was going to bust out of here when Detective Burrows showed up.
“Where the hell have you been?” Daniel asked, furious at yet another person who wouldn’t answer their phone.
“Keep your voice down!” Burrows hissed. “All the conversations here are recorded. Now, with that being said, I’d advise you to calm down as well. Officially, you’ve been charged with the city park murder that happened last week, where around midnight some guy got his head bashed in with a rock. The DNA at the scene doesn’t match yours, but the Chief Constable has requested new tests to confirm it. They’ll hold you here for a few days and then drop the charges.”
“A few days?!”
The Detective sighed. “It’s not my case, so I don’t have any jurisdiction, which is probably why they picked it.”
“Have you spoken to Adam about what had happened?”
Burrows shook his head. “Not yet. That’s my next stop and after that, I’ll try to see if I can talk to his associate.”
“His associate?”
“The one who attacked a cop and was arrested spouting gibberish. They’ve taken him to St Mary’s psychiatric hospital.”
Daniel’s blood went cold. “How bad is it there?”
“Well, while I wouldn’t want to go there for a vacation, in my experience, the hospital staff follow regulations. If he behaves, then he won’t have any problems.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
Burrows shrugged. “He’ll get forcibly injected with a sedative or anti-psychotics and be held in isolation. Anyway, stay calm and don’t do anything rash. I’ll have you out in a couple of days,” he assured Daniel before leaving.
Daniel supposed he should feel grateful that Burrows was willing to voice his support for him while on tape, but all he could think about was Caspian suffering and that it was all his fault.