Fortune Telling Monkeys & A Saxophone Player

Time to hunt

Layla strapped the leather holster around her leg. It was a hunting knife. Old school and sharp. It was the knife she'd use when she had to say good bye to one of her animals. Dusk whispered along the horizon. The goats and horses were tucked in with hay, they had fresh water and clean stalls. Layla looked at the barn door and took a deep breath. As an animal mage she actively sought and desired to keep her animals healthy and happy. 

"Goodnight everyone, wish me luck. We need this payday." She walked through the breeze way where she kept all of the food and extra supplies and entered her tiny home. She didn't need much. Just a warm place to sleep and eat. It was enough for her. She looked out the window at the teaching center. Everything was locked as it should be. There was no delaying what she was about to do. 

She sat down on the floor and finished the circle. It was a small circle designed to amplify her magic. The jolt to her senses made her grit her teeth. She chanted

"Ut dormio, sic vagor. Erranti locum meum invenio.

Venio quo debeo et quod inveniendum invenio."

The flow of magic caressed Layla and she felt the pull. Her consciousness landed on a crow and then she was seeing the world from lower on the ground. She felt the collar around her neck, the vest on her body. There, this was where she wanted to be. She shook her body once and felt as her nails clicked on the polished floor. She tilted her head and looked at all of the well dressed people. It seemed to be an an upscale restaurant. A pale hand reached down and offered Layla a small treat.

Layla ate the treat and sat as was expected. Anna Bellevue was the handler. On the other side of the large dining area was a woman dressed in a silver sequined dress. Her long hair was swept to the side in a half braid, the golden hair had silver streaked through it. As Layla looked through the dog's eyes it seemed as if the woman glittered in the soft light. She felt her stomach flop as she looked to the left of the woman who must be Helen. Helen held a long golden leash. At the end of the leash was a two foot tall monkey. At least Layla thought it was supposed to be a monkey. It grinned too much and had large pointed ears. Its tail wrapped around it like a snake. Layla felt the growl as the dog noticed the strange creature.

"Shhh, Shotzi. You've seen the monkey before. Stay." Anna whispered to the dog. Layla felt the dog shift its seat as Helen and the monkey walked along the raised Dais. Layla had to get closer, she needed to see if the monkey was really a monkey or if it was in fact an Imp. If it was an Imp then D.A. Mavis was going to have a whole other problem to deal with. 

Layla felt her perspective shift and she was taller than most of the people in the room. A saxophone was in her hands and Layla stopped herself from taking control of the person's body. It was against the rules of her order. She could observe the goings on but the take control of another human would be a felony and she would forfeit any money made on this job; if the D.A. wanted to punish her further then it was within her jurisdiction to do so.  Layla shifted her focus and looked at the monkey. With human eyes the monkey looked like a normal spider monkey, larger than one should be but it seemed normal.

Several things happened at once. The monkey turned and looked at the human Layla watched from. The monkey winked and Layla noticed the blue tint to its fur. The lights went out in the restaurant. Someone screamed. The magic snapped and Layla was shoved back to her body. 

Layla coughed and and blinked. She was in her circle but the runes were gone as though someone wiped them away. Layla grabbed for her knife and sighed in relief as it was still in its holster. The magic drained from her body and she shivered. The air in her small house was cold. 

A faint sulfur smell clung to Layla's clothes. Something wasn't right, her magic was passive. The monkey shouldn't have known she was watching through the saxophone player's eyes. That monkey wasn't from the world of faeries, maybe that is where the smugglers found him but the monkey wasn't a monkey. Layla pulled one of her books about magical creatures and filled to the index.  There the entry read "blueish fur and a serpent tail- see page 324"

Layla flipped to the middle of the book and looked at the entry. She let out a breath and grit her teeth. This was not good.  She pulled out her phone and sent a message to the D.A. 

"We have a nightmare Imp in play." The message sent and within ten seconds Layla's phone was ringing.

"Good evening D.A. Mavis."

"Good Evening Layla, what do you mean we have a nightmare Imp in play, how is the possible? Are you sure that is what you saw. Hold on, I'm getting another call. It's Warden Hollis, I need to call you back." The line clicked and Layla looked at the ceiling. There was no way Warden Hollis calling D.A. Mavis was a coincidence. She stood up and waved her hand. The rest of the circle was wiped from the floor and she turned to the kitchenette. Tonight she would have to develop a new plan. Layla pressed the button and the hologram screen turned on. The local news station appeared and the 3D figures were live reporting.

"Just in, local influencer restaurant owned by Helen Grezen is under lock down. This is a developing story. No one is allowed in or out of the restaurant. Ms. Grezen recently made headlines by stating that her success is due to the advice given to her by a fortune telling monkey." The anchor rolled his eye as he mentioned the monkey. He was younger with a flashing white smile and piercing blue eyes. He wore a navy blue suit and he leaned back in his chair. Layla would say the move was lupine, however werewolves were just a myth, at least they were in this world.

"Do you think Helen believes that or do you think it is a marketing ploy to pull in more followers. She's lost a lot of followers due to her very public feud with pop star darling, Elisa Yawa, over the supposed snub when Elisa decided to frequent a different restaurant when she was in Garden City." The female anchor looked at her desk and then back up at the prompter. Her green eyes were glassy and her dyed black pixie hair cut framed the sharp features of her face. The woman seemed like a harpy to Layla. 

Layla blinked twice and the news anchors looked as they always did, happy and interested in the story. Layla pulled out a notebook and jotted down their names-

James Mattis- werewolf?

Lily Drake- harpy or maybe dragon?

Layla wrote: this isn't good. Based off on the notes regarding the pact, magic wasn't supposed to flow in the Mundane world. Tonight, three things happened that signals that magic is about to flood the world. If that is the case then what will the humans do? How will they handle it when the find out the truth?

Layla's phone rang again and she picked up. D.A. Mavis said "No time for pleasantries, you need to come into the office. We need to discuss what happened. Helen Grezen is dead, the monkey is missing and what you saw needs to be recorded."

"Understood, I will be there in fifteen minutes."