The Sultans

Prologue

It was a cold and windy night. The wind howled against the brick wall of the city's police station making loud whooshing sounds as it did. Officer Warren had just ended his long, grueling shift at the police station that day. It was  his last day before retirement and he couldn't wait to get home. It had been a long week for him. He had to make an an appearance in court a few days ago for multiple homicides with no known motives that had taken place in the span of a few days by the same man. Unfortunately, the man had somehow managed to evade arrest and although there had been multiple witnesses at the crime scene. Nobody knew his exact identity although police officials  had multiple suspects which were being interrogated.

One of the victims who had been shot was pronounced dead before reaching the hospital. According to some rumors at the station, he had grabbed onto the shirt of a EMT with shaking hands and moved his lips trying to tell him something which sounded very much like, "water" before lifting his index finger slightly, and mumbling something before he finally succumbed to his wounds. There had been more to the story of course, but Officer Warren had not bothered to listen to the gossip that circulated around the station.

He had already had his fair share of dealing with criminals, and he wouldn't have to bother with them now that he was finally retiring after many years of service. Of course he felt bad for the victims, especially after hearing that the last words of the man had been water. 

Just thinking about water made him thirsty. It had definitely been a long day, what would he give to go home and drink a nice, hot cup of tea. He wondered what his wife had made for  dinner. He had caught a glimpse of the preparations she had made for his retirement party. It was supposed to be a surprise so he didn't tell her of course. His excitement to see his family grew and his slow shuffle turned into a more rapid one as he made his way out the door of the police station. As he neared the exit, he noticed that there were small white pellets falling from the sky. He had totally forgotten about the predicted hailstorm. 

He pushed the door open only to be pushed back by the huge gust of frigid air that circulated around him. It was dark out, and he could see the tiny pellets of ice glistening in a nearby streetlight. He watched mesmerized as they fell from the sky, like tiny pearly beads scattering about. They were very small in size, so he figured he could make his way home before the weather worsened.  Tink!  A tiny pellet had hit his watch and fell onto the ground right next to a large blanketed bundle.

"Holy smokes!" He exclaimed. Wondering if it was what he thought it was.

The streetlamps flickered eerily as he made his was closer to investigate. His jaw dropped as he bent down to look at it.  Near the door of the station, at the foot of the stairs was an infant's car seat with a large, thick blanket draped over it. He lifted the blanket carefully and his eyes widened at what he saw. 

 Inside was a small, premature looking infant peering up at him with the most beautiful brown eyes he had seen. She was cooing softly to herself as she struggled to move her tiny fist. He noticed a sliver of silver glistening from underneath her blanketed feet and he tugged at it gently revealing a small, silver, chain with a tiny pendant. He adjusted his glasses and looked at it closely. On it, in neatly scrawled cursive was the name, NYLA.