Enigma Glitch

Chapter 26: False Hero III

"Hear me out," Murphy said. "Druids are wizards of the forest who bond with nature spirits and wildlife in order to perform wondrous magic. They can shapeshift into animals and sometimes merge with plants. And what more proof do you need than someone who can perform magic at the cost of a sprouted tree, the very spark of life itself."

"If that man I darted was so in touch with nature, why did he poison the seedling?" Victoria furrowed her brow and leered at her partner.

"The chemical might be part of the ritual, such as how some shamans ingest hallucinogens or even toxic substances to step sideways into other realms." Murphy cupped the tree in both hands and gazed down at it. "Or this could be the side effect of its sacrifice of being used as a spell component."

"You truly believe that?" Victoria cocked her eyebrows.

"All the proof is right in front of us." Murphy nodded.

"You're a truly bizarre man," Emma said.

"Okay reserve deputies, meet me at the Harbor Street Garage," Cooper ordered. "We've gotten our directions from above to head to Prunedale to see what we can find."

"Can I drive this time?" Murphy grinned at Victoria.

"You drive the speed limit." Victoria walked past her partner with a confident tilt of her chin. "I will get us there before he even thinks about pulling that beacon out of his neck."

"Victoria drives, always," Cooper said. "But how about this deal, if it's a druid or shaman, you get to cook dinner for all of us."

"No fair, I'm not out there with you!" Emma huffed in protest.

"Hardly a prize," Murphy said. "But deal. You're going to love the new mushrooms I just picked up from my produce vendor. They have a magical kick to your taste buds."

"I hate fungus," Victoria said. "But there is no risk of eating your pizza. Logic and facts will prevail, as always."

"We're all getting to meet a druid, and I'm making an extra mushroom pizza in your honor." Murphy scooted to catch up to Victoria's hastened walk.

The two reserve agents made their way out of the alleyway and faced a four-story parking garage two blocks down from their location.

"The pizza thing just might become a reality," Emma said. "And I love the flavor of mushrooms. Especially with peppers."

"I hate spicy food, too." Victoria hastened her walk down the sidewalk.

"Then I'm definitely adding ghost peppers." Murphy rubbed his hands together and grinned as he kept up with his partner.

"Back to the case, the druid angle might have some substance to it." Emma's voice was accompanied by frantic keyboard clicks. "I'm looking up the most up-to-date survey footage of the area, and have a look at this."

A series of monochrome photos scrolled by in the team's eyepieces. A run-down farm with a large barn, scattered small sheds, and a two-story house sat in a three-acre clearing along with a trailer park beside a dense, pine and oak forest. Between the farm and the two dozen trailers was former crop turned into grassy field, but within that area was a series of seven animal-like symbols made of charred logs and bones. Rocky cairns marked the edges of dozens of small stone rings with the ground trampled to bare dirt around them. The trailers all featured smeared handprints of a dark material in the shape of animals, fires, and skulls.

"A dark druid," Murphy said. "That's dark magic."

"No, that is a group of people who lost their minds and all need to be locked up for a long time," Victoria said.

"Whatever it is, I don't like the look of it." Cooper appeared at a corner ahead of the group. He waited for the two to catch up to him before he continued his discussion in person. "I'm asking the Lion for clearance to use lethal force."

"We've got someone tapping into our signals," Emma said. "Looks like someone from Homeland Defense. The name is locked out but they're using a field agent password. Could there be some truth to this being a real collection of wizards and witches in the woods?"

"That would be a coven, not a collection" Murphy said as the trio reached the parking garage.

"It simply means someone is checking on us." Cooper waved at Murphy and Victoria's eyepiece cameras. "We've earned some notoriety after our train gig."

"The oak just vanished." Murphy held out his hand. A charred mouse skull rested in his palm. "I was holding the sapling. There was a tickle in my hand, and then this."

"I replayed the footage from Cooper's camera," Emma said. "This is what he caught."

A color photo of Victoria and Murphy walking through a parking garage popped into view for everyone. Murphy's hand was clutched around what looked like a small plant. The next frame played to reveal a pinpoint of white light inside Murphy's hand. The next frame had a small flare, as if a bright flashlight were in his hand. The final frame was back to a closed hand with no leaves sticking out.

"Still don't believe it's a druid?" Murphy rotated the skull in his fingers.

"Let's go find out." Cooper clicked the door control to unlock a nearby black sedan and handed Victoria the key ring.