Cindy was led out of the police precinct and out toward the front door. Before she was taken out of her cell, the two large men placed the magical ropes around her. It was dim inside the interior of the police station and Cindy had to squint as she exited the building.

In front of her captors she saw a group of people all looking dazed and confused like Rochelle. She stared at them.

The bald man turned to her and said, "Move it!"

They pushed her toward a squat building which was partly intact. The front of the structure was open for her to see inside. They mounted the steps into a hallway clear of debris and fallen furniture. People shuffled up and down the stairs, looking like zombies.

Then she sensed them. They were saying in her mind. "Obey. You’re safe here."

Cindy started up the steps behind the two large men and the people crowding the stairs moved away from them. She felt lulled by the voices of the Council but she felt something else. It was the necklace she wore. The stone burnt her skin and when she held it in her hand the voices in her head ceased speaking.

They walked to the second floor where she saw more people milling around the hallways and corridors. The people all turned to her and stared. The necklace she wore was hidden underneath her shirt, but she felt the people could see it on her. The heat of the stone was almost unbearable but she didn’t want to alert her captors or the people surrounding her. The two large men stopped at an open doorway down the left hallway. Light spilled from inside, sunlight glittering off the two large windows inside the cavernous room.

Cindy couldn’t see their faces at first because they were sitting in several chairs with their backs facing the large windows. She only saw their silhouettes. She noticed the four people were not shaped like people, but something bigger.

The voice speaking to her had a guttural sound. "You are the Alpha wizard. You must have the stone. I feel it."

She said, "Who are you?"

"We are the new world order."

Nobody said anything and Cindy thought they wanted her to feel amazed. Inside her mind, she heard the voices talking to her.

"You will submit to us. We are the new world order. You will obey us."

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She looked at him and the others and said, "No."

He moved so fast that he blurred when he attacked her. Cindy held up her arms in a warding gesture. The ropes around her broke in a snap. The attacker hit an invisible barrier before he could touch her. All she saw was a large furred body and sharp teeth. It was some type of canine. She moved back a step.

The creature sat back in his chair again.

He said, "You are powerful like the Master told us. You will give me the stone."

"No," she said again, but with more conviction in her voice. She smelt a musty scent like wet dog fur and wrinkled her nose.

"So be it. We have your friend in our jail cell and if you don't give us the stone she will suffer the same fate as her mother."

A creature appeared before her. It was not one of the Council. Several other creatures came from behind the first. It was the large insects that chased her and her companions in Central Park.

"Also," the man said, "I will let these insects devour all the people who still survived the quake."

She fingered the smooth stone. It was cool to touch and didn't burn her skin like it had a few minutes ago. She also heard something, a sweet song that sounded familiar to her. She couldn't place it.

"Give me the stone."

"If I give you the stone, will you let these people and my friend go?"

The man considered this and the five other Council members started to chatter amongst each other.

"No, we think not. This is not a democracy. You have to comply or we will kill one person each minute until you give us the stone."

The man-beast nodded and a man came forward, holding hands with a small child. Her eyes darted around to the Council and then at Cindy.

"What?" she said. The small girl was coming out of a trance.

The man-beast said, "Hello, Charlotte, do you know why you are here?"

"We are protected by you."

"Yes," the man-beast said. "Do you see this lady next to you?"

Charlotte nodded her head. "She is beautiful."

"Ask her?"

The child turned to her and cocked her head to the side as if listening to somebody.

"They want you to give the stone to them. You understand. The Council is here to protect us from the creatures."

The bald, thick man who brought her there took out a long dagger. It glittered in the sunlight pouring inside the room. He handed her the weapon.

Charlotte took the dagger into her small hands. She looked into Cindy's eyes. "Give them the stone."

Charlotte pointed the sharp point of the dagger toward her stomach. Cindy knew what the Council was doing and that it was her choice to let this sweet little girl to kill herself or not.

"Stop!" Cindy said. "I will give you the necklace."

She unclasped the back of the necklace and pulled the stone with it. She palmed the charm and gave it to the bald thick man. Charlotte instantly dropped the dagger and stared at it as if it was a snake.

The little girl's eyes glazed over and she looked straight ahead. She was back in a trance.

"Good! You shall be our guests until our Masters tells us what to do with you. Take her back to her cell."

Cindy sighed in relief and followed the guards out.