“Dr. Gillian! Dr. Gillian!” Maverick yelled as he crashed through the hospital.

  “Maverick, what are you doing?” Dr. Gillian briskly walked down the hall.

  “It’s Mary! She’s in a bad way.”

  Dr. Gillian took one look at her and turned away. “Get her to a bed.” He ordered

  Mary was admitted, and Dr. Gillian examined her. Maverick waited in the hallway. He leaned on the wall and tapped his foot incessantly, then two familiar faces walked up to him.

  “Mr. Collins, do you remember us? I’m Inspector Clawford, and this is Officer Fairen. We have come to ask some follow-up questions regarding the incident and about your sister’s illness.” Clawford explained.

  “What do you know of my sister’s illness?” Maverick scowled

  Without Maverick’s control, the tendrils on his back stirred in response to his anger and suspicion. Mark flinched and subtly moved his hand to his side before Clawford stopped him with a raised hand.

  “Don’t get us wrong, we will help with your situation, but there are some rather baffling matters that need to be addressed beforehand. Some things others might find rather esoteric in nature,” Clawford explained.

  ‘I knew it, they know something about the strangeness of this world,’ Maverick thought.

  “Let’s go somewhere more private so we can discuss things without worry.”

  “Lead the way, Inspector,” Maverick said

  The three went down the hall and entered an empty room. The only thing furnishing the room was a table along with two chairs. In the center of the table was a pendulum made completely of metal. Maverick inspected and found that the shiny silver metal coated every part of the object from base to string. It was a rather weird item for the technology of this world. ‘How can they make metal wire that fine?’ Maverick thought. Clawford sat at the other end of the table and tapped on the ball on the end of the string. The string that seemed to be stiff then became fluid as the ball swung from end to end without slowing.

  “What is that?” Maverick asked, confused and intrigued

  “We call this the interrogator's pendulum. If anyone tells a lie in its vicinity after activation, well. They’ll regret that decision.” Mark chuckled behind Maverick while leaning on the door.

  “Then who are you people really? How can you help my sister, and what is it you’re after?” Maverick boldly asked.

  Clawford frowned and settled into his seat. “We are the Elmyr secret police assigned to protect the town of Bridgepoor. We handle the supernatural and destroy all who would harm the citizenry. Tell me, are you a demon? Should I be concerned about what harm you could bring?” Clawford narrowed his eyes.

  “Why would you think that? I am not a demon, and I have no reason to harm anyone!” Maverick responded, almost offended.

  The pair stared down the pendulum, but it did not react to Maverick’s words.

  “I suppose he’s telling the truth,” Clawford said, relaxing into his chair a little.

  “How can he have so much demonic energy and not be a demon?” Mark blurted out.

  “What are you talking about?” Maverick asked.

  Clawford thought for a moment. “Two things can happen when a spirit tries to possess someone unwilling. Either the person’s spirituality is consumed by the spirit, and they die, or vice versa. It is my conjecture that a demon tried to possess you and ended up losing to your spirituality. Their demonic energy became yours to wield. So I’d like to make you an offer.”

  “Sir, are you sure?” Mark asked, clearly perturbed.

  Before Clawford could respond, Maverick interjected. “As long as my sister becomes healthy and I’m able to keep living with her, I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  “Officer Fairen, please take the lupus vile and tend to Miss Collins.” Clawford pulled a small glass bottle out of his trench coat and placed it on the table. In the bottle was a thick red liquid indistinguishable from blood, kept sealed by a cork. Mark beguilingly took the bottle and left the room.

  “I can’t imagine how much spirituality you have since you were able to survive a possession attempt from a demon. Thus, you will become one of my officers. You will start as an assistant clerk and take classes in the interim till you are fit to become a member of the secret police.” Clawford stood and put the pendulum in his pocket. “Your sister should be awake after an hour or two. Tomorrow, come to the station, it’s at the end of Backer’s street. When you walk in, ask for a soul’s feast. We will formally hire you then.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Maverick left the room in haste for the sick room. Mark was on his way out as Maverick was going in. Mark tisked as he left. Maverick paid it no mind and pulled a stool to the side of Mary’s bed. He sat there staring out the window across from his for a while. ‘Why am I so concerned about her? Are the dead Maverick’s memories affecting me somehow?’ Maverick let out a long sigh. ‘This life isn’t mine. Mary is not my sister. I should be focusing on a way back to Earth. So I can live my life as Eric Furguson.’ Maverick paused for a while, the thought bringing up a question he hadn’t thought to ask. ‘Do I want to go back? It’s not like anyone is waiting for me to come home.’ Mary stirred and opened her eyes.

  “Hello, sleepy, you gave us a fright.” Maverick greeted

  “Maverick?” Mary smiled. She reached her hand up and brushed Maverick’s bangs out of the way of his face. “You need a haircut.”

  Maverick was taken aback before chuckling. ‘Your love might not be for me, but I will accept it in his stead. I’m not sure if I want to go back to Earth. I’m not even sure I can go back. But in the meantime, I’ll enjoy my time with my sister.’

  —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Forests of Valrren deep into the night

  Jackson stumbled through the thicket as hounds barked in the background. The barks encouraging the boy to run faster. But then he stumbled and fell into a natural casum concealed by thick nature, carpeting the ground of the forest floor. As Jackson calmed himself, he gripped his side, and a sharp pain made itself known. He lifted his hand and found it covered in blood. Jackson’s breath became sharper as he steeled himself. He bit on his ornate tunic's sleeve and plunged his hand into his wound. His green eyes contracted, and a squelching sound reverberated off the casum wall as his hand fished around his insides. Moments later, he pulled out a broken-off arrowhead. Jackson heaved out a sigh of relief and leaned against the casum wall.

  Jackson grimaced and brushed his brown hair out of the way of his eyes, “I’m running out of options. They will find me eventually.”

  Jackson used his blood to draw a circle on the jagged stone wall. In the center of that circle, he tried to draw a triquerta, but he passed out halfway through, making a mistake in his glyph. Instead, what ended up on the wall was a closed eye with lines jutting out from it. The glyph of blood glowed slightly purple, and the shadows swallowed up Jackson.

  —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Glise, Capital of Novara, in the midst of moonlight

  “Are we ready?” a robed man asked

  “Yes, prepare the sacrifice. Zallen and the Primordial one shall grace these lands once again.” Responded a rather old man. His wrinkles hung off his face as he looked down and grinned at a young woman.

  She couldn’t have been older than 20. She was dressed in ragged clothes and bore bruises on her neck and wrists from the ‘hospitality’ of the cultists around her. The two men brought the girl to the top of a tower. The room had 5 other cultists in similar dress to the other 2. There was also a tall window covering a majority of one of the walls. When Ebalin took out, she saw the stars sparkle as if trying to reassure her. The only illumination was the candles that shone on the ground. On the ground was a magic circle drawn with blood. In the center of the circle was drawn a closed eye with multiple raving tendrils surrounding it.

  Ebalin was placed in the center, atop the closed eye. The others stood on the edge of the circle at equal distances from each other. They started chanting in a language Ebalin did not recognize. Once they stopped, the circle glowed a faint purple color, and the shadows in the room came to life and swallowed up Ebalin. Then the shadows dissipated, and nothing was left behind.

  The girl and the boy then woke up in a room made of darkness. It could be discerned they were in the hall of some manor or other place equally decadent by the type of decor lining the walls. There ware small table with vases, ornate frames with no pictures, and a long carpet stretching from one end to the other. But everything here was colored in a dark hue. Like a god spilled ink on this part of the world and just had to make do.

  “Who are you? Where are we?” Ebalin asked Jackson in an accusatory tone.

  “What makes you think I know?” Jackson quipped back. He then realized he wasn’t in pain anymore. He patted his sides and couldn’t find the wound. ‘What the hell is going on?’ he thought.

  Ebalin took a minute to examine Jackson. ‘He’s human and seems worse for wear, but those clothes clearly belong to some noble house; it's not the style of Elmyr. Could he be from Valrren or Novara?’

  Ebalin examined the hall in an effort to find an exit. Her gaze was drawn to the left, and she saw a humanoid figure shambling its way to them. The figure was hunched and exomorphic. But its arms were too long for its body, and they ended with hands that sported long, sharp claws. Without hesitation, Ebalin started to run in the opposite direction. Jackson glanced at the beast and then ran alongside her. The beast gave chase. When they got to the end of the hall, there was a pair of large iron doors coated in shadow like the rest of this strange place. Except the door exuded a cool, comforting feeling. Ebalin started banging on the door, and Jackson put his fists up in preparation to fight the fiend. Ebalin saw this and scoffed before returning to her banging. But the creature never caught up to them. Jackson scanned the way they came but could find no traces. He turned back and noticed the state the girl was in.

  ‘She is in nothing but rags. Who is this woman? She doesn’t appear injured, but I’m sure she had scrapes and scratches coming into this weird place. She is likely a vagrant, and her accent is more Elmyrian than anything. He thought

  Suddenly, the door slowly started to creak open. Jackson and Ebalin were surprised. Jackson walked in without much hesitation. Ebalin hesitated, then followed suit. Once they walked through, they found themselves in a grand throne room. The one sitting on the throne was a humanoid that appeared to be made of darkness itself. Their eyes glowed white, and once the 2 were noticed by the entity, it showed a wide, creepy smile made of the same light as its eyes. Once Ebalin and Jackson saw that smile, they dropped to their knees in fear and reverence; one thought resounded in their minds. ‘You are going to die, bow, appease, you are going to die.’ It was like they stared death directly in the face. Like a mouse seeing the claw right before its pick up by the owl. The overwhelmingly intimidating aura they felt from the entity made them certain their death would come now. Till something even more nerve-wracking happened, the entity calmly chuckled and spoke.

  “Rise.”

  —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Please like and comment. I would greatly appreciate it. I post a new part every week on Sunday at 12 P.M.