“Are these truly your findings? Squire Lillie please pay attention, you can keep an eye on that man after this meeting.” The Queen commanded.

  Only a few minutes prior had the Squire sent up her report on the events occurring within the town of Mawe. Unlike their last interaction the Queen hadn’t paid her the respect of knocking at the door. A single blow had blown the reinforced steel door off its hinges. Now she stood unhappily staring at the bent misshapen figure of Lillie.

  “Ma’am, in his untethered state I do not recommend my pulling back. I would need to wait until he sleeps. Permission to continue observation duties?” Lille asked.

  The Queen of swords smacked her blue lips. If she had the approval she would have moved to take out the damned Paladin Wood herself. Running a hand through her hair she smiled gently. Terrifying the squire.

  “You have my approval. Now can you confirm that the Grandmaster Fortuna is located in that small town?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Here is an image of her current form along with a matching spiritual trace.”

  She surveyed the screen. The readings were all clearly matching on the screen. Inspecting the appearance of the Grandmaster the queen could fill a chill run down her spine. Why there and why him? He should have been eliminated but it seemed this time Squire Lillie truly had been naughty.

  “We will approve of his request. Since the Enforcer failed Paladin Wood must not have lost his touch. The Enforcer shall assist in the decommission of the Grandmaster’s pupils. Their force won’t be enough so deploy any available low grade groups to make up the numbers. At the end of the week an elite unit will be arriving to clean up the Grandmaster.” The Queen ordered.

  “Yes ma’am, I shall relay your orders immediately."

  Lillie’s long limbs creeped up from the underside of the desks. Tens of spidery fingers clicking away. Locating the nearest low rankers and sending out muster orders. Another set acquisitioning supplies to be moved to the base in Mawe.

  The Queen stopped on her way out lingering in the door frame. Tossing her head back she looked at the twisted body that did as she commanded. Not an ounce of pity could be found within her, only mockery. Once she cleaned up Wood, next would be this little Squire.

  “Remeber you are not off the hook. I am only postponing your reprimand.”

  ***

  Nate and Wayne took off around midday. Their sights were clearly set. What the teacher had obtained from the Sheriff had let the pieces lock together. All it took was light torture and the investigative abilities of the officers. Specifically of their newest contact. Officer Wanda, who had taken the interim seat as sheriff, had agreed to assist with their efforts. Having been released from the control of magic she was amenable to helping Wayne.

  Officer Wanda would have ended up involved even without Waye’s request for help. Her summoning of an outside police commissioner hadn’t been without reason. Not only due to the events that lead to Sheriff Arnold controlling them but her prior investigations. The Cheshire Cat Murders and the other related cases that had been found.

  The detectives in the office had as of two years ago not been assigned the case. Sheriff Arnold had as of yet been on the take but that hadn’t changed much. He was a competent leader but the original murders had all been ruled natural causes. It was only Wanda who had suspected something was wrong.

  Her files even had Nate’s father, Blain Cotten, listed within. Early on in the deaths she’d approached the Sheriff but he dismissed it as a string of old people dying. It didn’t help that besides their age it didn’t include any cross over in motive. Another year passed with her still working the case in off hours.

  Nate hadn’t remembered but she had visited him once while his mother was alive. Being stone walled by Arnold with the position of commissioner coming up she made a play. She was young and still considered inexperienced, with that in mind she had called on an old family friend to assist. It was the perfect storm for Zeus to offer his hand in assistance.

  Amongst her accumulated documents she had a file on the properties that Jeb had acquired. Other then a few select properties each had been where a suspected death related to Cheshire had occurred. The murder cases only became open after too much outcry from the locals over the odd links in markings at the homes.

  Documents in hand Nate had quickly found a highlighted section. Since she had all of Jeb’s recent purchases they could narrow everything down. Each of the death homes were bought at auction for low prices. Often the older people living there had little to no families within the area. However the smoking gun laid obvious to those in the know.

  A list of homes which Nate was all too familiar with which had been sold to Jeb by proxy. These buildings were sold via a variety of real estate agencies to obscure the name of the owner. She had already prepared the seller's name. It was almost comical when she had told them the name. Mr.Thunder.

  Nate guessed that these locations and in fact the reason he had set out with Jeb were all a suggestion from Zeus. The miserly man had attempted to under-cut his business partner. At the same time it appeared that Zeus was double dipping in payment while foisting the repair costs onto Jeb.

  He sold the building to Jeb, then unknowingly Jeb would have Zeus “clear” the buildings of spirits. Once they were renovated he would sell the buildings, likely giving a majority cut to Zeus. It would have worked out well for Zeus if not for Jeb’s greed.

  Mr.Thunder’s homes didn’t only number the total on the list. Five homes were present on Jeb’s list. Nate suspected that the other five that were discovered in Jeb’s recent ownership meant he had planned to extend their contract. A bitter taste entered his mouth when thinking of the man.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  He had died saving his brother and the two Baker cousins. He wasn't a bad man. Just flawed. Nate knew he wouldn’t get to speak with him again. Regret might have flooded his mind but he pushed the feeling away. They couldn’t become distracted with what was to come.

  Once Nate marked the buildings on a map Wayne was able to identify a magic circle immediately. What it’s true shape might be, they wouldn’t be able to say. The records of ownership went back more than five years prior and it was likely more homes had been prepared. Still they knew he was attempting to empower the Hecatoncheires.

  They were sure his plan was to use the hundred armed giants to kill off the Grandmaster. Foiling his plan was in their best interest until they could locate him. Since he was willing to sell off the homes before the plan was finalized they suspected he wouldn’t be residing in any of them. Even if he was, it was all the better for them.

  Finding him within the home would be a single call to the Grandmaster for her to crush him. He had been acting like a squirming snake before their clash, evading them through roundabout methods. Which is why they hadn’t been able to leave in the morning.

  Just after Nate had placed Mandy’s idea for self-sacrifice on the back burner he’d headed to meet with Wayne. It was not in his cards to go un-accosted. A bulbous headed cat had traipsed its way onto the steps leading down from the roof. It stood in his way unblinkingly.

  The cat was still burnt and singed in places but had recovered. Licking one paw it had waited as Mandy passed it on her way down. Nate had told her to go ahead and waited on the little thing. His companion hadn’t even noticed the cat. If she had it would have been showered with scritches. Mandy liked cats enough that she had been taking care of the strays around the Flick-N-Go.

  “So Human, what did my lord tell you?” The cat stopped its cleaning.

  A talking cat hadn’t been on Nate’s bingo card but he should have added it. Gods, ghosts, and monsters. Among them, a talking slightly large cat was more reasonable. He had nearly forgotten his meeting with the land god. Too much had happened in those brief moments before their defeat.

  “So you are the messenger that I am to bring the message.”

  The words felt odd in Nate’s mouth. Some kind of pulse from the earth rose up into his body. It was not quite at its full strength but he could still fill it growing in rhythm. The cat looked at him in surprise before speaking.

  “Yes, I am the Messenger. It seems he intends to use you to fulfill his promises.” The cat said.

  “If you're talking about the message then yes. He did ask me to give you one. Any other promise doesn’t concern me.” Nate retorted.

  “I thought that dryad was contracted to you. Is it not?”

  “You don’t mean?”

  The dryad appeared from green brown motes of light. She was in a low to the ground stance ready to pounce upon the cat. The thorns poking from her back vibrated low and aggressively. Nate had a suspicion he knew how this all related.

  “Is this cat, the one who told you the god’s message?” Nate queried.

  “I am no cat, I am the great and prestigious Caitsith. You should respect me.” The cat demanded.

  The burst of outrage about being called a cat lacked any real influence with its diminutive size and lack of scariness. Even the Dryad chuckled slightly, ridicule playing at her angry face. Which only served to outrage the caitsith even more.

  “Why did you let my people die?” It was the Dryad’s turn to be outraged.

  Nate had been informed via Lupita of some minor details in regards to the Dryad’s case. Each detail seemed to make him think that what Wayne told him about the Grandmasters Fate studies weren’t false. Shortly after the burning of the Dryad’s home she’d been sold off. Francis had told him that his travels had only within the last few weeks led him back to the city. His globe trotting adventures would have taken her far away yet the rubber band of time had brought her back.

  “Of course he didn’t protect you, he doesn’t care about us. Any of us. Look at the valley, what has become of the fae here? Our numbers fall off, replaced by mere spirits. Even you dryads have been rendered into spirits. I have survived a long time without him. Now I do what I want, when I want.” The Cat snarled his back furling up.

  “Then why haven’t you left?” Nate asked.

  The cat fell silent, its ears laying flat against its head. The large eyes grew in size as tears bordered at the corners. It took to standing on its hind legs. As it made the move its body ever so subtly shifted. It was now bipedal and scratched dejectedly at its chest. From out of thin air it brought out a cape that it clipped on around its neck.

  “It was my fault. All of this has been my fault. Nya.” The cat began to sob.

  “Allison was captured because of me. And the spell I didn’t see it. You have to believe me. If the doctor couldn’t see it in his own realm, how was I supposed to do the same?” The Caitsith continued.

  “What spell? The magic bomb was bad but that didn’t have anything to do with you.” Nate said.

  “You're wrong, you saw me that night. When someone dies I lead the soul astray. In doing so I gain a part of its power. That family warded me away and you found me.” The Caitsith croaked.

  “The Spell, Cat I won’t ask a second time. I’ll let her have you.” Nate said.

  The dryad was eager to tear into the small animal. It was only under Nate’s watchful eye that she did not leap into action. If she angered him and he commanded her not to, it would ruin her chances at getting revenge. Pursuing the cat anyway would cause a massive penalty and breach of contract.

  “That thing he set it up. Each soul I led away allowed that hand to come down. It was using my connection to take their lives and to then scrape away at the god of the land. I’m the one who killed all those people.”

  Caitsith broke into a fit of crying sobs. Nate looked on with as much pity as he could muster, it was being overshadowed by his anger. This meant that the small thing had played a quasi-active role in his fathers death. A vein poked out on his forehead. Karah appeared at Nate’s side grabbing ahold of his arm. She was finding his emotions were running more wild since his use and practice of the corruption power.

  “This is just a bit of pay back. I deliver this message to you, Caitsith, messenger of the local god.” Nate started.

  “No, don’t do this. I can’t be made to act once more.” The Caitsith shrieked.

  “You shall bring back your gods' domain, or be rendered low.”

  As Nate spoke the words power flooded from the earth beneath his feet and blasted out along with his words. The energy nearly toppled the Dryad making her wrap the stairs in her roots. The Caitsith meanwhile was cast off its feet and hit a landing. There it was made to prostrate before the power of its god.

  Feeling the energy that lay within the land gods power Nate could sense an odd tingling in his left arm that spread throughout his body. He could feel that his promise with the god had been completed. Something latched onto him from the very ground he tread. At any moment he knew he could call upon the god's blessing.

  “What have you done to me?” The Caitsith moaned.

  “I have given you your purpose back.”