Day In Court

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

Something was very wrong. As his team studied the case file, Eric knew this was not an ordinary crime. The crime scene photos alone told him that much.

"It seems ritualistic in nature," Cal said. "Perhaps cult members did this?"

"It's unlikely," Eric replied. "I've seen what sort of messes they leave behind. This feels... Different."

"It was warlocks," Ella said with certainty.

"Did you see something, Ella?" Liam Zachary asked. The young detective often put his trust in the members of Lighthouse to investigate crimes that were clearly of a supernatural nature. He knew about their individual gifts and was well aware of the fact that Ella was an incredibly powerful Seer. Other than Ella, Liam was the strongest Seer in Manhattan, a fact that made him especially good at detective work.

"I only caught a flash... Their ritual left behind something distinctly warlock."

"So, not only are there rogue warlocks in town, but now they're murdering random people? Great," Jeremy said.

"There was nothing random about this," Liam said. "Rituals are usually very particular as far as their requirements. This man must have fit their needs. The question is, what were those needs?"

"Power. That's all most warlocks are about, right?" Zoey asked.

"Why don't you tell us, Zoey?" Ella asked. "You seem to be getting very cozy with one." She smirked at her.

"Zanna's a warlock by blood, but she's not evil and I don't think she cares much about gaining more power," Zoey replied. "You can't help who your parents are, Ella."

"I'm not judging," Ella clarified. "I saw this coming ages ago, long before you joined Lighthouse. It's destined. So, by all means, enjoy this path."

"Wait, do you mean Zanna Blackrain?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, we just started dating," Zoey replied. "Do you know her?"

"She's my neighbor. She's not really a talker, but she'll occasionally nod at me when I greet her in the hallway."

"She's pretty great. Maybe I can get her to speak to you one day," Zoey said with a laugh.

"That would be nice. We've lived next-door to each other for a couple of years now. Still, she just glares at most people, so the nod is a step up, right?"

Eric watched Heather as she looked over the files. Her mind was visibly racing as usual. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as her forehead tensed in concentration.

"Mierda..." She mumbled. Eric knew enough colorful words in Spanish to recognize the word that meant shit. That wasn't a good sign. He waited patiently for Heather to elaborate.

"I've seen this before," she finally said.

"You have? Where?" Jessie asked in surprise.

"Upstate, when I was running through the woods several years ago. It was only my third full moon after getting infected... A group of warlocks held a sacrifice that ended just like this did. They summoned a great evil... A demon that was more like a deity. It was enslaved into their service. I wanted to help the people they sent him after, but it was like trying to stop a flood once a dam burst... There was nothing I could do except watch in horror as he slaughtered them." She shook her head.

"It wasn't your fault, Heather," Ella said soothingly. "You were newly infected. You didn't have full control yet."

"Who did they summon?" Liam asked.