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Noxumbra Files

Case 3: Hydromancer

Part 2

By XP Author

He really had lost track of time. The day had circled back around to morning again, the sun starting to peak through the tall buildings of the city, casting long shadows all around. Thankfully, the air was not particularly chilly, but also not so hot that the elevator ride up the apartment complex was not as sweltering as it likely would be in the middle of summer. The elevator made a loud ding as it reached the 5th floor, the doors opening.

"There you are." He looked to see Ginny leaning against the wall beside the elevator doors, her arms crossed in annoyance. "Took your sweet time getting here."

"Hello to you, too, Genevieve."

She scowled at him, her tone very annoyed. "You don't get to call me that, Victor."

He chuckled as he walked out of the elevator. "Fair enough. Anyway, it's a big city. It's not like I can run across the rooftops or fling myself through windows like some rodents." He caught the smirk she gave. "Besides, it's not like our vic's going anywhere." He motioned for her to lead, following her down the hallway. "We got a name yet?"

She nodded. "Yup. One Tabitha 'Tammy' Sheraski. Mouse. 29 years old. Cause of death: being 'sploded from the inside out." She opened the door to apartment 505. "Right in here." The moment he stepped inside, the humidity struck him, as did the pain. He winced with a grunt, a sharp pain lancing through his mind. He stumbled a step forward, leaning against the wall. His head felt like it was suddenly full to bursting, a throbbing pain that would not fade. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore the pain.

He flinched when a hand touched his back. "Whoa there, tall boy. You okay? You don't look so well..."

Tag nodded. "Yeah... I'll be fine." He grunted, shaking his head and pushing the pain away as much as he could. "It's like the last place, only... more. Maybe because it's fresher. Or the lack of sleep. Either way, it's definitely the same killer." He took several deep breaths, though the smell of blood and offal filling the air made them less than refreshing. "Let's go."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Alright, if you're sure you're up for this." She did not bother to hide her concern this time. She had never seen him take a mental hit like that, even when he was training his ability. She led him down the hall to the bedroom, keeping her hand on his back as he seemed unsteady on his feet the whole way. The scene that met them was about the same as the last one. Laying on the bed was what was left of the mouse. She lay naked, though not much of her was left, as her entire front was violently ripped open, most of her blood and organs painting the room.

Tag sighed, shaking his head. "Why is it always the cute girls that are victims of these sorts of things?"

"Speaking from experience, it's because serial killers don't usually target people they don't find attractive. Cute girls tend to be on more people's attractive lists." She shrugged. "Or cute boys. Just cute in general, I guess." He gave her a look. "What?"

"Speaking from experience?"

She shrugged again, completely ignoring the question. "So, should I start looking for pools of water again?"

Tag sighed. "I dunno. Maybe." He stepped into the room, his head throbbing all the more. He gingerly reached out towards the woman's leg. "Let's see if I even get anyth-" The moment he touched the mouse's blood-soaked fur, he let out a scream of pain, clutching at his head.

Ginny darted forward to catch him as he doubled over. "Tag!?" He groaned and whined, clearly in agony. She felt his whole body trembling from whatever was happening. "Hey! Shit." She wrapped her arms around him, hefting him over her shoulder and dragging him out of the room. His trembling grew worse, to the point she thought he might be having some kind of seizure. This was the worst she had ever seen him react to a vision. Noting that the problems started the moment he walked into the apartment, she carted him out into the hall.

Slamming the door shut, she laid him down on the floor. His spasming stopped after a minute. So did his breathing. "Fuck..." She put her hand on his chest, trying to remember the whole chest compression thing. Or was it the mouth-blowing thing? She didn't really have a breath to give, but her lungs functioned... kind of. Would that work for him? "Fuck fuck fuck..."

All of a sudden, his eyes snapped open as he drew a deep gasp of air. She flinched back as he sat bolt upright, falling back in surprise. "Fuck! Jeeze, man! You'd give me a heart attack if the thing still beat!" She noticed his eyes looked a little glazed as he sat there panting. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, though pulled it back as he flinched at her touch. "You okay?"

He looked at her with panic, though the recognition came as he returned to himself. "Yeah..." He put a hand to his head. "Yeah, sorry... that was... ow." He started to rub his temple, hoping it might do something to stop the throbbing in his skull.

Ginny moved to crouch beside him, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder again. This time, he didn't flinch away. "Take a minute." Once more, she did not bother hiding her concern. "Was it at least worth it? Did you see anything new?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Our vic? She had magic. So much of her blood in the moisture was causing the headache."

The rat blinked. "Wait... what!?" She looked at the doorway. "Mage killing a mage? Why didn't she fight back?"

Tag shifted himself to lean his back against the wall. "Mph... she didn't know it." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "She accidentally froze a pond when she was a small child, nearly trapping her sister under the ice. It terrified her, so she closed herself off to it without realizing. Ended up convincing herself the whole thing was a bad dream or something, I guess."

She looked back at him. "You got all that from the vision?"

He chuckled, though it sounded a little weak and pained. "Got a lot more. She recently got her bachelor of arts in graphic design, just lost her job working for an advertising company due to layoffs, and was a bit of a heavy drinker. She liked her tequila."

Ginny just stared at him. He got the woman's whole life story in only a few minutes. She knew about it, but actually seeing it like this put everything in a new light for her. It was no wonder he ended up having so many headaches. "So you know all about the dead girl. But what about our killer? Did you get anything?"

Once more, he chuckled, sounding a little stronger this time. "Yup. Saw the whole thing. From the pickup line at the bar, the night of wild passion, and eventually the whole process of her exploding. Killer's name is Cara Rayl."

She grinned wide. "Well damn, big ears! That's gotta be worth it, eh?" He nodded. "Alright. I'll call it into HQ and see if they can dig up where this Cara character is."

"No need." He fished for something in his pocket, pulling out a small notebook. Flipping it open to the last page he scribbled on, he held it out. "She was on my shortlist. Complete with home address."

Ginny stared at the list of names. "Wha- You were already looking into her!? Why the hell didn't you tell us!?"

"Because you called me before I could, insisting I drop what I was doing and come here." He glanced at her once more. "Insulting my business partner in the process."

The rat blinked. "Ah... ha, yeah... sorry about that." She cleared her throat. "Tell your friend I'm sorry about that. I've just been cooped up the whole time you were doing your investigator thing. They still don't let me get out much..." She waved her hand, returning to the subject of the killer. "Anyway. I'll call in with that address and we'll send a team to go get her! You... should probably head home and get some sleep. You looked pretty out of it before you got here. Let's just say that whole episode in there didn't do you any favors."

He chuckled. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. I feel like I just ran a marathon with an elephant as a backpack." He grunted as he started to stand up, only for a hand to be stuck out in front of him. He smiled and took it gratefully, letting her help him to his feet once more. "Thanks."

As he made his way slowly to the elevator, she called out. "Hey, big ears!" He turned to look over his shoulder. "Good job today." She gave him a big smile and a thumbs up. He nodded, returning the smile and heading out as she started to call HQ about what they found. He was just happy this whole thing would be over soon.

* * *

Sleep came easy. He was practically already asleep by the time he made it to his bed. He barely had the energy to strip himself down to his underwear before collapsing onto the bed, not even bothering with any kind of pajamas. Wouldn't be the first time Christa had found him like that. He knew he had dreams, and strange ones at that. Most of them involved the visions he had. Recently, a lot of them included pieces of the people he had seen the life story of, but through a strange lens that only made sense in the logic-free realm of dreams. Things like being his mother, except she was a bird that flew underwater, or as the mouse victim but as a living golem of ice. Ginny was there, too, as was Millie. Or Ginny was Millie, and they enjoyed their time together sipping coffee while sitting on clouds over the moon while she held him.

Unfortunately, sleep did not last forever, and he was eventually dragged back into the waking world. He felt a lot better, though his head still had a slight ache to it. He groaned as he wanted to deny waking back up. Something was telling him he had to. As his consciousness slowly came back, he got the nagging sense that he was not alone. Christa must have come in at some point. He lived out of his office. Or more, he made his office out of his home, his room tucked away on the other side of the kitchen. As he opened his eyes, he noted it was still dark. He must have slept all the way to night.

"You talk in your sleep." His eyes snapped open as he heard the voice, suddenly very awake. He sat up and looked around. Eventually, he saw the figure sitting on the end of his bed, though only barely, her black fur blending into the darkness.

"Ginny?" He was suddenly very aware he was in nothing but his underwear. "What are you doing in my room?"

When she turned to look, he caught the red of her eyes, almost iridescent like a cat's. Or a demon's. "We went to the house of our killer, but... there's been a... development."

He groaned, swinging his legs off of the bed and moving over to his closet for some clothes. "What kind of development?" He noted she was watching him as he got dressed.

The rat hesitated. "She's dead."

He pulled out a fresh pair of pants and started to slide them on. "Judging by your tone, I'm guessing she wasn't killed resisting arrest, was she?"

Ginny chuckled. "No, that would have been satisfying." She sighed. "No, she was killed like the other girls. Exploded from the inside."

He stopped, one arm in the sleeve of a shirt. "Wait... Are you telling me there might be more than one killer doing this out there?" He finished getting the shirt on, buttoning it up as he thought aloud. "Neither of the visions indicated there was a second person. She seemed to be acting very much alone in that second one. Did she do it to herself in a... fetish suicide?" That seemed far-fetched, but considering the things he had seen in the last few months...

"No clue." She motioned to him. "That's why I'm here. To get you to... see if you can't see something." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I know the last one was pretty rough on you. We wouldn't ask if we had any other leads." She stood up, pacing slowly around the room. "We even looked into those other names on your list. Couldn't find any of them, unfortunately. There's some teams still out looking now, but it's a blind search. If we could give them somewhere to look..."

He nodded, adjusting the collar of his shirt to make sure it was straight. "Yeah... I get it. It's fine." He ran a hand through his hair. "I hadn't slept in a day the last time, so it shouldn't be quite as bad this time."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's why I let you sleep for the last..." She looked at her phone. "...fourteen hours."

Tag sighed heavily. "Ugh. Think there's time to grab a coffee before we go over there?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah. Your panda sec-" She caught herself. "...partner... left you a note in the kitchen. Said she filled the coffee maker, you just had to start it. Which I did about ten minutes ago, so it should be done by now. It also said there's a ham and cheese sandwich in the fridge."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "That woman is too good for me."

The rat nodded again, looking away a little. "Yeah. She seems really nice... Please tell her I'm sorry for upsetting her earlier."

He finished looping his belt into his pants and hooking it closed. "I'll have to introduce you two. Then you can tell her yourself." He pat the rat's shoulder. "Alright, let me get some food and caffeine in me, and then we can see if we can't figure out what's going on with our killed killer."

* * *

The first thing Tag noticed was the LACK of humidity in the place. It was a welcome change, especially since stepping inside didn't immediately give him a splitting headache. Something Ginny noticed. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah... something's different about this one. I don't think a hydromancer did it. The air's not... wet." He shrugged. "Let's see the body then." Ginny led him into the bedroom. The scene was just what he was expecting... with one notable exception. While the woman was naked, her front burst open like all the rest, her hands and wrists were bound to the bed by thick cords. "Well, I guess that rules out that she did it to herself. Not that I had much stock in that theory." He gingerly poked at one of the cords, but got nothing from it. "These are pretty hefty things... killer must have been pretty strong to wrap them around like this."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah. One of the teams think they found where they're from. They're heavy-duty cords used to hold down electrical poles. There's a pole in a nearby construction area that's missing the wires, so they're pretty sure these came from there."

"Huh. That might help narrow down some things." He looked at the body next, taking a deep breath. Once again, the smells in the air made it anything but helpful. "Okay. Here goes." He felt a hand on his back, ready to catch him if he fell again. He smiled, and reached out to touch the vixen's leg. The moment he did, the vision struck him hard. He managed not to cry out this time. As with so many before, the woman's life flashed in his mind. He let it flow forward, catching snippets of moments. A child that loved to swim. Her family at the beach. Huge waves crashing all around her, giving her a thrill as she rode them. She learned she could call the waves to her, making them bigger, and more dangerous. Her parents worried, but she was fine.

She was in high school. Bullied for being different. She didn't know why. She did know why. They didn't like lesbians. Pushing her down, calling her names, writing on her locker, keying her car. She got revenge. Gym class, they had to swim. She made the water grab one, pull her under. Flailing, struggling, unable to surface. The coach jumped in. Too late. She made the water fill her lungs. Drowned. Dead. She fingered herself to it thinking of that moment. Cumming harder than ever. She needed to do it more. She did do it more. The beach. She made a stranger drown, watched the goat struggle under the water until she stopped.

College. Her girlfriend, the mule Queenie. So cute. Good kisser... on both lips. She revealed her magic. Queenie freaked out. Screaming. Silence her. Water into her mouth. Drowning her. More water. The belly started to swell. The mule was struggling, eyes rolling back, her belly so big. It was the hottest thing she ever saw. More water! It was too much. The belly exploded. Blood everywhere, guts spraying out, intestines splashing onto her. She came so hard she nearly passed out. It was the best. Dumped the body in the river and wrote a fake suicide note. Dropped out pretending from grief.

Another girl. A llama. The long neck was fun to force the water down. Another girl, a possum. She liked these smaller girls. They were easy to explode. Others, she stopped hiding bodies. No one would find out it was her. They could not prove magic! She learned to make the water evaporate, too. The raccoon. An easy target. She was stupid. Rich girl living off of her parents' money. Promise of a night of lust. She screamed until she begged, then gurgled. Then exploded. She burst so nice. Then the mouse. Drunk. Another easy target. The water got cold, harder to control, so she forced so much more. It was a fun struggle, like the girl had magic, too! She won, the mouse popping as she screamed her orgasm.

Another mouse, this one coming to her. Sweet thing, older than the last. Her name was Rachel. Very sweet lips. She would play with this one. She took her home. Everything went wrong. She laid down to tease, but wires were around her hands and feet. The mouse had magic!? "You killed my sister, you bitch!" The mouse's sister!? Everything felt wrong. Breathing was hard. She tried to beg, but the air went the wrong way. She was suffocating. No, worse. Air pumped into her body, forced in the way she forced water! No! She couldn't!

She looked down, her belly bulging out. She was just like all the girls she killed! It hurt! It hurt so bad! Everything inside was being crushed by air! Her mind was pain, her body was pressure. She wanted to scream, but her lungs were already broken, squashed flat, blood in her mouth! Not like this! She couldn't go like this! Then she felt it. The end. A small tear at her abdomen ripped wide instantly, up to her neck, down to her crotch. Everything inside exploded outwards at once. She stared at the ceiling, covered in her blood, her guts dripping down onto her. Darkness claimed her. It then claimed him.

He fell back as the vision ended, gasping for air. He clutched at his chest, the feeling of his lungs being crushed lingering for a moment. "Easy there, big guy." He felt the hands on his back, holding him upright. "Catch your breath." He blinked several times as his vision returned. He was still in the bedroom. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Ginny there, holding him up. "You good?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." He glanced down at the woman. "This was definitely our killer. I saw all of the different victims. Saw her death, too." He frowned a little. "Can't say I'm sorry about it, though... she was addicted to killing. Knew it was wrong, but didn't care. She sought out the most vulnerable she could, seduced them, then killed them in such a horrible way. The way they felt every moment of their body ripping open..." He shuddered.

Ginny nodded slowly. "Yeah, feeling yourself dying slowly is no fun."

"Speaking from experience?" She nodded again. "You'll have to tell me about that one day."

"Maybe." She looked up at him. "Anyway, you got a look at our killer's killer?"

Tag nodded. "Better than that. I got a name. And a reason. Rachel Sheraski."

She blinked. "Wait... Sheraski? Wasn't that..."

"Yup. The mouse from yesterday. It was her older sister." He looked back down at the body. "Seems Rachel can control... air? Some kind of magic, at least. Forced it into Cara until she burst, getting revenge for her sister."

Ginny scratched her head a little. "Well, can't say I blame her, but how did she know that this fox was the killer?"

He shrugged. "No clue. We'll have to ask her about it." He ran a hand over his head again, flicking one of his long ears back over his shoulder. "I'll head back to the office and see if I can find out where to find Ms. Sheraski."

"That won't be necessary." Both rodents spun around as the woman spoke from the doorway. Tag's eyes went wide as she recognized her instantly. The same woman from the vision he just had.

"Rachel?" Ginny gasped, instantly in front of him, hands out aggressively to protect him if she needed.

The grey-furred mouse held up her hand. "I'm not here to fight." She then held both hands out. "I'm here to turn myself in." The two stared at her for a long moment before Ginny got the idea to pull out a pair of cuffs.

* * *

Tag sat across from the mouse. The room was empty, save for a metal table bolted to the floor, and a pair of chairs. Rachel sat facing him, dressed in a bright yellow prison jumpsuit. Her hands were cuffed to the center of the table. Behind him was a one-way window, and behind that he knew a few people were watching. He had convinced his mother to let him do the interrogation, as he had more insight into everything than anyone else, thanks to his vision. Thankfully, he had some experience with questioning people from his days as a cop.

He took a breath before starting. "Alright. Let's get the official stuff out of the way. Please state your name."

"Rachel Sheraski. Mouse. Age 35. I am guilty of killing Cara Rayl using aeromantic-focused telekinesis magic. Revenge for her killing my sister, Tabitha Sheraski." She spoke almost mechanically, as if she recited all of this.

He cleared his throat. "Well. That's very to the point." She nodded. "Why did you turn yourself in?"

She tilted her head, giving him a look that shouted 'why are you asking me such a stupid question?' She answered anyway. "Because I committed murder."

He chuckled. "Fair enough. I won't ask why. You already said so, and, being honest, I can empathize." He leaned forward. "So instead, tell me how you knew that Ms. Rayl was your sister's killer."

Rachel's expression didn't change... much. He caught the hardening at her eyes, though. "I saw her."

When she didn't say more, he motioned in her direction. "Can you elaborate a little more, please?"

She sighed. "I went to visit my sister a few days ago. She called me the day before. Sounded... drunk. Again. She's been in a bad place ever since she lost her job. When I got there, I saw the fox, Cara, leaving the apartment in a real hurry, but with a really big smile. I knew my sister was gay, so I figured it was just some one-night stand. When I went inside, I saw what..." her voice caught in her throat. "...what was left... of Tammy."

"You didn't try to clean anything up?"

She shook her head. "No. I knew Nox would come."

He squinted. "You knew we would come? How?" He didn't bother asking how she knew they even existed. He assumed most in the magical side of the world were at least somewhat aware of the magic cops.

"Because I called it in." She didn't wait for him to ask to elaborate. "I gave an anonymous tip."

He nodded slowly. "Okay. But why didn't you tell us about Cara then? We could have arrested her, and you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

She clenched her jaw, but managed to keep her calm. "Because I had to make sure she got what she deserved! I didn't want her just rotting in a cell! She had to die for what she did!" She took a breath, and let it out slowly. "I couldn't stand the thought that she would live while my sister was dead."

"So instead, you killed her yourself, knowing that you'll end up in a cell instead?"

She nodded. "I wanted revenge. I got it. That's all there is to it." She glanced at the window, as if she could see the people behind it. "Are we done? I've confessed. You can do whatever you want with me. Throw me in a cell or kill me, I don't care. I won't struggle or fight it."

He was about to speak when he heard a tapping on the glass. "I guess you're about to find out." He stood up and walked to the door. He heard the loud clack as the bolt was opened for him, the door swinging open a moment later. It closed almost the moment he was through, the bolt clacking locked once more. He looked at his mother, who had been watching the whole process. "So. What's the plan?"

The older jerboa shook her head. "I don't know. She doesn't seem remorseful about it."

He looked back at the woman through the glass. "I dunno. She knows what she did was wrong, and fully admits that. I can't blame her for not feeling remorse for killing the fox, but I think the fact that she took a life at all is weighing on her."

Beatrice glanced to the side at him. "How so?"

He nodded at the window. "Look at her. She's putting on a strong, almost robotic act, but she's barely holding it together. Put her in a box with no windows, I guarantee she'll break down into tears within minutes." He sighed. "In the course of the last three days, she lost her sister, her freedom, and in her own mind, her soul. You heard how willing she was for you to execute her? Was that ever brought up?" His mother shook her head. "Didn't think so. But she thinks she deserves it."

She sighed. "So, what's your idea? We can't just let her go. Even if it was justified, murder is still murder."

He shrugged. "Hire her."

She spun to look straight at him. "You can't be serious!"

"Why not? You've got people in this organization that have murdered before." He pointed to his temple. "I've seen the past of a bunch of them, remember. She's not a killer by nature, but she's clearly a powerful mage. She might be able to teach some new tricks, or even be a useful field agent." He held his hand up before she could argue. "Once she's proven herself."

Beatrice scowled, but she couldn't deny he had a point. After a long moment, she sighed heavily. "Fine. If she's even willing."

He smiled. "Well. Let's go ask her." He moved to the door before she could say anything. He heard another sigh as she followed him into the room.

Rachel looked at the two, as stone-faced as ever. Though Tag could see a hint of worry behind her green eyes. "So. What's my fate to be?"

Tag leaned forward. "That depends." He smirked. "How would you like to work for Noxumbra?"

* * *