Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON ONE (Completed!)

Part 5.11

The consultation room is unusually cold. Maya's eyes stand out in the dim light, bright pink and twinkling. "I'm hiring you two," she says.

Uh...I guess she can do that? I've never had anyone hire Witch Doctors for a case they didn't have a personal connection to, but there's no rule against it as far as I know.

"I don't know if the Zilitron Guard will let us take samples from the bodies," Addy tells her, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "It's still their investigation, after all."

"Yet they've made little progress." Maya regards us steadily. "There are no injuries on the bodies, and medical tests can't find a cause of death. It won't be long for the case to fall into the lap of Witch Doctors Inc."

"We're talking possible murder," I say. "They'll get senior Witch Doctors to handle it. Newbies like us won't get to go near it."

Maya smiles. "Exactly. That's why I've taken the liberty of hiring you myself, before the Mirror Guard hands over the investigation. You're the ones who will solve this case." She fixes her gaze on me, and I feel this weird burning, like she knows my secret. The secret.

"We'll do what we can to help," I respond, avoiding her gaze. "I expect resistance from the Guard though, so be prepared for that."

"I'm prepared for anything," Maya replies, and I can see in the hard set of her pink eyes that she truly is.

I'm not sure me and Addy can solve two murders, even with Maya' fancy toys on our side. Maya, on the other hand, doesn't relish the idea of finding a body every time she takes someone on a flying cart tour.

"His name was Mark," Addy says, laying a photo on the table between us. A smiling man in his thirties, with square glasses over a smattering of freckles, stares back. "He was on his way to a business meeting last night, but never showed. Another colleague spotted him in the office that same afternoon."

"So it happened last night," I mutter.

There was definitely something unnatural about the deaths, but I couldn't say so with Maya in the room. I don't need samples to tell that there wasn't a curse or hex on the first body. If there was no physical cause either, then his life energy had just left him.

The expression frozen on his face still disturbs me. He was terrified when he died. Something did this to him. Something Zilitron has never encountered before.

For some reason, Rikamu's face wanders into my memory. Those red eyes, small and anguished. Her twig-like fingers rise in a warning.

When the moon blossoms...

*

Maya's given us unlimited access to her flying carts. Having an aerial view of the city at night is going to be a real advantage. Whatever's stalking the streets can be tracked so much more efficiently from above.

Onyx isn't happy about this new turn of events. You must master your teleportation, he complains. You do not have time for a big case like this.

"I can do both," I insist. "I'm not a complete idiot."

Onyx's tail thumps gently on the bedsheets. I could accompany Adamantine in the flying cart tonight. You could use the time to practise teleportation instead.

"No cats allowed, remember?"

I am not an ordinary cat, Onyx replies.

"You look like a cat, you sound like a cat, and you smell like a cat." I wrinkle my nose. "It's time for your bath, by the way."

Onyx freezes. Bath?

"Yes, Onyx. Bath. You really smell a thousand years old."

You could use your witch magic to cleanse my fur. There is no need for me to get in the tub.

A slow grin spreads across my face. "Oh no, my friend. You are taking a bath. Soap, water and all."

Onyx gives me an annoyed meow and hops off my bed.

Guess he won't be bothering me again tonight.

*

Me, Maya and Addy huddle into one cart this time. Addy can barely contain her glee, despite the circumstances. She just can't get enough of these accursed things.

We make rounds of the city, making sure to hover a bit over the Zilitron Bank towers, where we found the first body. We spend time down the street too, by Crystal Corp, where the second body was found. Both locations are in close proximity to the Zilitron General Hospital, so we pop in to see Ruby a couple of times too.

"I just can't sleep tonight," she tells us. "I'm feeling fine, but I'm so bored. The nurses think I'm going to escape, haha. That's why they've got the guard outside my door."

She looks healthy, and they've taken the tubes out of her arm. They still don't understand what happened to her though, so they're making her stay put awhile.

"The guard was a good idea," Maya says, as we climb back into the cart. "I could tell that she'd rather be up here with us, working the case with you two."

She's right, probably. Nothing can stop Ruby when she's determined.

We roam the skyscrapers for a good few hours, but there's no sign of our creature of the night. When our eyes grow weary, we decide to head back down.

A pedestrian nearly collides with our cart.

"Oh, are you alright?" Addy calls.

The middle-aged man brushes dust off his pants. "I'm fine," he says, breathless. "Which way to the hospital? It's urgent."

"We'll take you there," Maya offers. "Emergency room, right?"

The man shakes his head. "No, no. My wife's in one of the wards. I'm taking her out of there tonight, after what's happened."

"What happened?" I demand.

He looks at me, surprised. "You haven't heard? There's been an attack at the hospital. It's all over the news. Everyone's panicking, trying to get their relatives out. They found a guy outside one of the bathrooms. He'd been whacked with a metal bar. He's dead."