Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 14)

Ch.50 Harbor warning

After calling for backup upon finding the body, Terrence stood back along with Natalie as they watched as the police crew investigated the crime scene.

"So what happened here?" Skyler asked Terrence.

"Miss Parker here told me that Ed had sent her a text earlier saying that he needed to chat with her about Linda Samson" he explained, "Apparently, he knew something about Miss Samson that we didn't know of."

"He told me that she shouldn't be found" Natalie put in "He didn't explain why though."

"That's odd," Skyler remarked when she turned to Aidan "Looks like our theory was right about him being linked with Miss Samson."

"And I'm pretty sure whoever killed him knew it too" Aidan replied just as the door opened as Detective Kayla stepped in.

"What do we have here?" she asked.

"The guy we interviewed yesterday-" Aidan explained, "Found dead by my brother and Miss Parker just now."

"May I ask why they were here?"

"I'll show you," Natalie responded as she showed the detective the text message she got from Ed.

"Looks like Ed here knew about our missing lady" Terrence reported, "He wanted to meet up with Miss Parker and talk about it when we came upon his body."

"It says here that Miss Samson shouldn't be found" she read over the text "Well, this just got interesting."

"Looks like we were right about him being linked with the case" Skyler stated, "Too bad he's dead now, I sure would've loved to have interviewed him some more."

"What's the cause of death?"

"We're saying poison," Aidan noted while pointed to the spilled cup next to the body "Though it's kinda hard to tell at the moment if this really was a murder or a suicide."

"I can't argue with that," she agreed with a sigh, "Even I'm bust just by looking at this."

"Natalie," Terrence spoke, "Do you know anyone who may have wanted to hurt Ed? Perhaps someone with the same tattoo as yours?"

"Well um-" she bit her lip, "I'm afraid that once I grew out of my witch phase, I lost touch with all of my old 'friends'. Although, I could name a few who I remember who could have possibly done this."

"Very well-" Kayla handed her a small notepad and a pen "Give me a list of those you remember, and if you still have any forms of their contact, please put it down as well."

She nodded as she began to make the list.

"So, what now?" Skyler asked the detective "You think it's time to call in that Private Investigator?"

Kayla let out a small sigh, "I guess so. We need all the help we can get."

(Flashback) That night, after coming back from the castle, Danny took a seat in front of the fire as he told everyone what had happened.

"I can't believe this," he grunted, "How could I let someone with so much pain go anywhere near magic? How can I be so stupid?"

"You were just trying to see the good in someone," Ashlynn told him gently "That's not stupid."

"She's right," Hunter nodded, "You were just trying to help Shawn go down the right path."

"Which I clearly failed," he muttered.

"Um, just to be clear-" Daring spoke, "Are you sure he meant it when he said that he was going to cast the Dark Curse?"

"It's Shawn, he never kids."

"Oh no," Daring's eyes widen, "That's not good."

"We can't let him do that," Darling declared "We've already dealt with the Dark Curse before, we are not doing it again."

"So what do we do?" Brooke questioned, "How do we stop him?"

Everyone tried to think of something, but after a moment, Faybelle's face suddenly lit up with a thought.

"Wait a minute," she announced, "In order for the Dark Curse to be cast, the person casting the curse has to be a full-on wizard or sorcerer. Shawn is still new to his magic, so he can't cast the curse on his own. If he's going to cast the curse, then he needs help from a very powerful magic user with dark magic. And if I can recall, I don't think there are any dark magic users alive right now who are willing to do that."

"Oh my God, she's right" Brooke gasped.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we should stop worrying" Danny put in, "We don't know when Shawn is going to cast the curse, or if he ever will, which I'm pretty sure he will."

"How long does it take for someone to learn magic?" Darling asked.

"A long time, depending on how much practice they get. I first learned magic when I was around 9 years old, and I didn't become a full-on wizard until like a couple of years ago. It can take some time, but since Shawn is desperate to cast this curse, we better be prepared no matter what."

"And how do we do that?" Brooke asked.

"I have no idea. But I will think of something."

"So uh, is everyone sure that there's no magic user with dark magic who can help Shawn cast the curse?" Daring asked nervously.

"I'm sure of it, Daring" Danny promised, "Every magic user that we know who has done dark magic is over it now. And everyone else who did dark magic is long gone now."

________

Not knowing and caring what time it was, Shawn made his way to the harbors later that night where he came upon a rowboat that was tied to the dock. With no one around, he was about to climb down into the boat when he heard a voice behind him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he turned around to see the young psychic girl known as Ava.

"Um, do I know you?" he questioned annoyed.

"I must warn you, Shawn. What you're about to do will not make you any happier, instead, it'll just make you more unhappy."

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"You may be able to cast your curse," she continued to speak, ignoring his comments "But believe me when I say this, you won't get what you want."

He was about to speak when she cut him off.

"Good luck trying to find your way to Avalon," she smirked, "Because from what I know, the island hasn't been the same since King Arthur's death. Those who go to the island are never heard from again. If you do manage to come back, congrats. But if not, don't say I didn't warn you."