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Macen Gregora's mansion: Grandia Estates.

Tellen City (Parallel Equivalent to Las Vegas)

Chapter One: Two Scavengers

With fear and pain, Macen Gregora shot up from his nightmare, unable to determine what was real and what wasn't. He couldn't shake the horrors he witnessed; the pain was too strong to be "Just a dream". Perhaps it was an old foe fucking with him. Perhaps something even worse.

The coyote's breath grew labored and heavy, followed by violent coughing as he stood to rush to the sink. His blood felt as if molten lead had replaced it, his muscles cramped, and his brain pounded at every noise. Macen's mind ran at lightning speeds to try and figure out what was going on. He had so much to search through; biological, paranormal or something unknown? What ever it was, It had been going on for months.

Reaching the sink he instantly let the water flow, continuing to cough. He stopped for a split second to analyze the new taste forming in his mouth. The watered down iron was all to familiar, but not coming from his teeth or gums. He could feel it with every cough, the formation of new blotches on his tongue, spitting the red liquid out in between every exertion.

As quickly as it came, the pain and coughing left. Macen let his body collapse into the sink. Pinning his ears back, he let the water flow over the fur on his head. He tried his best to calm his breath. It only took a few minutes for his body to return to normal, but he continued to clear our his throat from the blood.

Luckily, the rooms in the house were relatively sound proof. Macen was worried about waking Seth and Cindy up, the two tigers he rescued off the street. The last thing he needed was to worry them, they were like his family.

The coyote looked into the mirror, his pointy ears flicked back and forth. He let his ears drop back down as he looked into his own goldish brown eyes, searching for an answer. Hoping that pain would never return, but the reality of the cause, was disturbing. The night terrors, the pain and blood, it was all connected to something every Occultist thought was a myth.

"No, no no no, I cant jump to such a grim conclusion," he told himself, "I need to talk to Orpheus....." Orpheus; named after the Greek god of strings, was an old friend of Macen's, a hedgehog who loved computer tech. He also did research for Macen when he needed it. Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst was all Macen could do.

Feeling his hunger set in, trying to forget what had happened just a few minutes ago, he went to the kitchen and made himself a few sandwiches. To top off the healthy whole wheat turkey and cheddar combo, he grabbed a bottle of his finest tequila. "Fuck it" he thought. It wasn't a case of alcoholism, he just liked tequila.

After Macen finished he started walking to is back porch. Instantly feeling two more people in the kitchen as he got to the french doors leading to his destination.

"You know drinking in the morning is a sign of an alcoholic" The male tiger voiced with a smirk. That was Seth, the orange and black one.

Cindy, the red and black tiger, came up behind Macen. Giving him a surprise hug she almost made him stumble.

"WhoaJesus!" Macen yelped as he caught himself. "Hehe, goof! You almost made me drop my breakfast."

"Not much of a breakfast." Cindy replied, smiling up at the coyot'. She let go of him and continued her point; "You have this huge mansion, servants at your call, all the money anyone will ever need AND access to the best restaurants in the town at a moments notice."

"So.......?"

Seth stepped in."Why the hell are you having a turkey and tequila cold cut combo at six in the morning?"

Macen turned around and looked at both of them, pondering if he could tell them about his experience this morning, the same as the last few mornings. He finally decided to keep them out of it for now.

"What a guy can't have a shitty breakfast just because? It's damn good you should try it." Knowing nether drink to often, and as to be expected they both shook their head.

Not wanting to change the mood, Seth reported his daily information. First and foremost, Macen was their boss. "We got a report from Obsidian Resources. Cici was captured last night, they think it was Kyle." he told Macen.

Kyle was a coyote, as well. Furthermore, he was Macen's older brother. He become greedy, evil and corrupt five years ago. After a long investigation, Macen's team tracked Kyle to Northern Canada where he was working on different genetic and psychic research. Forcing people to become something they weren't. Macen's team was able to ghost in, knock out the labs and destroy the compound. Unfortunately, both Seth and Cindy's parents were caught in one of the first explosions.

"If this is true.....Macen we..."

"Relax Seth," Cindy interrupted, "if it IS Kyle then we'll handle it."

Macen signaled to the two to walk outside with him. Setting his meal down he told them some news Orpheus uncovered two nights before. He could sense Seth's anger. Seth nor Cindy blamed Macen for what happened. But their hatred for Kyle had grown considerably. He took his time finishing the sandwiches before continuing the conversation.

"Orph found some funding that got traced back to Kyle Tuesday. Both of us were confused about his name popping up. We aren't sure, but it looks like he has been dumping a lot of money into a new lab. You know we have to handle this ourselves. I'll understand if you two don't want to be apart of this..."

"I'm fine." Cindy said with a soft smile on her face. "We need to put Kyle down for good." Looking back at Seth slightly she became concerned, and he could tell.

"I'll be okay. I wont let my feelings get in the way to stop this prick." Nodding in reply.

Macen put his paw over his face and coughed. He didn't know if it was from the events earlier or something else, so he took a swig of his tequila, just to clear his throat. The yote' liked the burn and the some what sweetness of this particular brand. He set down the bottle and spoke directly to Seth.

"The boss's secretary called me about this yesterday. Seth, we want you to go back to the old lab. We need you to see if the system's artificial intelligence still works. We also have access codes, so no trouble from Apollo there(the A.I.). If you can't handle it, I can get Max..."

"NO!" Seth interrupted. "I can handle this." He shot up from his seat and walked to Cindy, giving her a drawn out hug. "I'll get packed up and say good bye before you leave." He said, heading inside to gather his things shortly after.

"Cin, we have a special assignment for you." Macen continued. "I need you to accompany me to a case, business as usual. Investigating a murder connected to some cult. The case is in Alura(Kingmon)."

"Whats so special about what we normally do?" She questioned.

"You're taking the lead on this. Half way through I'll be called out on another assignment. Obviously I can't be in two places, so you will lead the team. You okay with that?"

Cindy kept quiet but nodded with certainty. It was intriguing for Macen to ask this, he always liked to be in charge of the task force. He said it made him feel happy and alive knowing his team trusted him to do what it was they did. Aside from that, he was more experienced in such matters of the rules that bound this world.

He walked up to Cindy and placed his hand on her shoulder. Seeing her glance over Seth, who was in the living room just in their field of view.

"He'll be fine, and so will you. Go pack for about a week. We need to be leaving to meet the team in forty."

"Okay." She said with a smile. She got up and did as was asked of her. Leaving Macen to do his thing, what ever the hell that was. She rummaged through her room when she got to it. Scattered with sketching books, pencils, note pads, inking pens and everything else an artist could need. She pact the usual clothes and assorted toiletries, but she always brought one item that was unique to her. She wrapped the charm necklace around her neck, the once Macen gave to her and Seth when they first met. It was the symbol of his clan. The coyote told them both they would always be apart of his family. She brought it no every op because it made her feel protected. Like Macen was always looking out for her.

Cindy finished packing on the brink of the dead line. She padded into the hall of the upstairs guest rooms, where she could hear the coyote calling to her.

"Hey.....hey..........hey.......HEY! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!"

"What cracka!" She jokingly replied as she got to the top of the stairs. Macen looked at his wrist watch and put his paws on his hips.

"Well its about time! Haha" He didn't genuinely care, he just liked to joke with everyone like that. Rushing up to help her with her stuff, he noticed the charm on her arm. "You still wear that thing?"

"only on missions."

"Why?"

"Because you gave it to us." With out them noticing Seth ninja'd in behind Cindy.

"Yeah it makes us feel like you watching us ALL the time!" He said sarcastically, trying to make fun of her. "It's like we can never get away from BIG BROTHER." Flicking his tail and leaning on Cindy now.

"You're getting to good at that. Those Ninjutsu classes are paying off eh?" Continuing to the outside. He stopped before remembering Cici was the one teaching him. "We'll find her, and you'll be back to training in no time, bro." Hefting the red tigress's bags into the S.U.V. that was parked almost to the door.

Seth helped them pack before leaving himself. Macen had to bring a lot of equipment. Always one to prepare for the worst, he never could make up his mind what NOT to bring. As Seth tossed in the last item: a rifle bag, he said his good byes and gave Cindy a hug, Macen a hand shake.

"See you in a few days bro." He told Macen. "Keep me posted on Cici."

Seth walked back to the garage and saw Kayko; a dingo who worked for Macen standing there waiting for him.

Kayko smirked and said cheerfully, "What is it today hun? The Mercedes, BMW or even the Rouch taday?"

Seth shook his head and whipped out his own set of keys. He loved that Macen let him drive any of the cars, but he preferred his own. An Audi A6, what more was there to say?

"Na I have a long drive ahead of me Kay, I'll just take my own wheals." Jumping into the car, Kayko handed him a sealed note.

"From the boss way up. Be careful, hun."

Seth nodded and smiled at the dingo. Not wanting to delay the long trip any further, he said his good byes to Kayko and drove off into the day.

....................

Meanwhile.....

Munich, Germany

On the other side of the world, somewhere in the back allies of a German city; a tall canine ran for his life from a monster. A Shepard native to this place, his side was bleeding from being split open from the monsters claws. He winced and clutched his wound, bumping into a dumpster he didn't see. As he fell he shouted in German his angst and horror or the situation.

"Nein nein, ich weiß nicht!" He screamed as a the dark figure got closer. The Shepard turned around, having fallen on his face. He could see the shape of two wings as the spread apart from the body. The German Shepard knew it was no use, he was to badly hurt to fight back or run.

Was this, thing, after his boss? Or, perhaps his business partners? It didn't matter, the black figure got closer and garbed the canine by his tattered shit, lifting him a full three feet off the ground. He could see the shape of a beak, feathers even. The canine realized what this thing was; it had to be from a Raven Clan.

"Your name, it's Claus, right?" the raven spoke. Even before Claus had been attacked this raven spoke few words. He asked about some girl and then nearly gutted Claus open.

"Ich erklärte Ihnen! Ich verstehe nicht. " Claus kept replying in German, hoping the raven would give up and leave. Instead, Claus found himself thrown against a neighboring wall with a force so strong it cracked four of his ribs.

As he caught his breath, the raven stepped up again to him and knelt.

"Tell me about Cici."

"I, I told you! I don't know!" Claus responded with tears forming. He could barely breathe let alone talk. Still, his mind scattered for this, Cici. The German ploy was going to get him killed, fuck that. He finally remembered Kyle, the boss, talking about some slut hamster. He had taken her to be "transformed," what ever the fuck that was.

"He.. *cough* her, this Cici, is she a hamster?" He replied with a thick accent.

"Maybe, you're running out of time." The raven said as he stretched his wings more, squawking. He also flicks his talon edged hands, perhaps to threaten the German.

"Yes yes, Please don't kill me!" Flinching, "....I herd my commandant; Herr Gregora, talking with some of my men. He told them, "Go to Tellen City in the Mid West Americas, takes this Cici and bring her to Commander Artimus in the Source (Sierra Nevada) Mountains."

The dark bird stood up and nodded.

"Please, this is all I know! Do not kill me!" Claus pleaded, his ears pinned back all the way. His heart was racing, he knew what he would get into, doing business with a mad canine like Kyle...but this? This monster scared the shit out of him. He was bleeding badly, externally and maybe even internally. He didn't what to die in such a place. Perhaps in a blaze of glory in a gun fight, but not scared like a bitch in a back alley.

The raven got right up to Clauses muzzle. He sniffed, twitched and picked at his feathers before speaking.

"You have served your purpose well." Grabbing at Clauses throat before he could yelp. He lifted the dog into the air once more, this time cutting off his air. Doing this with his left hand, he reached for a sword hanging from his hip him with the right. Electricity began to spark through Claus's head. Little shocks making him convulse.

"B....bitta." was all he could get out, but it fell on def ears. The raven hefted the sword to Claus's chest, electricity began sparking from this object, as well.

"I am Austad the dark, remember my name in HAL!" The raven screamed. He forced the sword into Claus's chest, feeling that familiar "pop" of the sternum as the steel went on its way to the heart. Austad's body lite up with blue markings through out. Runes of the old Norse ways, cracks in his skin underneath the feathers. It was only a matter of seconds before the combination of the failed heart and the increasing jolts through is brain led to death.

He let Clauses body down slowly, gently. He had respect for a worrier like this dog. Not enough to let him live, however. Austad placed the body down flat in the middle of the ally, placing two pure gold coins over Claus's now closed eyes. Tradition Austad still carried out. Clause was lucky, Austad didn't have much tolerance for men like him. But the German Shepard wasn't always like that.

Austad knelt to get leverage. Suddenly, he was in the air flying above the city. No one heard Austad's little run in. That's the way it would stay. Get in, do the work and get out. The fact that Austad had cast a ward to keep the both of them in a parallel dimension was smart too. Macen's company certainly HAD come in handy. The new tech and magic and the raven's disposal was wondrous.

He flew for a few minutes south, changing his mind quickly. Feeling the presence of pure evil, pure hate, it had to be Kyle. Surprisingly, he was still in the city.

Austad stopped in mid air. Tucking his wings in he fell into a steep dive, straight to the ground. There was a guard, an extraordinarily unlucky guard in Austad's vision. He was patrolling on top of the tavern where Kyle was, no doubt he was gloating that he had escaped five years back. The guard was still off from Austad's view in the sky, but he could see him.

Sticking out his right hand he made sure his talons where facing the soon to be, deadman. Closer and closer Austad came to the canine . Five seconds before impact he could see the canine was an Otter. The thick tail and small round ears gave it away.

In the moments just after impact, Austad's claws duck deep into the otter's Skull, turning the brain almost instantly into liquid from the force. It didn't matter, though, his entire body was destined for the pub under the both of them. The force was so immense it drove both Austad and the otter through three floors, and finally into the taverns wood flooring.

"BOOM!" And the otter hit under Austad's hand.

The room that was filled with music and laughter now fell silent. After ten seconds of confusion, dust and organic matter cleared, the bartender spoke up.

"Was das Bumsen?!"

Austad looked up after the dust was gone. A clear picture of his carnage under his talons. Smiling, he looked at Kyle, who was sitting in a booth not to far to his left.

"Miss me?" Austad said as he chuckled. He took another glance around the room. Most of the patrons were Kyle's slaves, whom had already taken up arms. Shaking the bits of the otter's brain and fur off of his hand, Austad stood up fully; completely relaxed and level headed and ready for the second dead canine to try to attack.

"Fucking Austad! I surely thought by now you would be dead" Kyle growled. "You're like a gods damn virus."

By now, Austad was surrounded. He stood with the face he almost always had on; very serious and collected. Withdrawing his sword in the light, you could see the runes "Dead Thunder" running down both sides of the blade. He kept the weapon at his side, however.

"Kyle Thatius Gregora..." throwing on a smile, "Didn't we spank you like a cheep whore a few years back?" Putting his hand to his beak, "That's right! You took it in the ass like a gay pirate!"

Austad's cocky attitude and jokes always bothered Kyle. His arrogance was well earned, though. Kyle knew he was goading him to make the first move, to make THAT mistake, as he has before. Back when Macen's team destroyed the research compound, Austad and Kyle squared off. Barely escaping from the talons of the raven, Kyle managed to throw up a flash bang he had hidden away. Austad was really good at what he did, but just like anyone else he could be caught of guard.

"Oh, hell no you fucking rat with wings!" Kyle shouted out, almost flipping his chair as he stood, "Five years, these scars on my side and a few million in cloning my organs have made me smarter and wiser." His hand rose, snapping his tan fingers. "This time my men will handle you."

Austad readyed his sword, hearing a few of them gloat about having rifles, and him only Dead thunder. He Folded his wings over his body he prepared for the fight. His plan had already been secured, there for, the battle was won before it began. The idiots made a circle around him, such a foolish mistake.

The first round hit Austad's right wing, but did not impact as it should have. They all paused, confused for a second then continued to fire. As they unloaded the first volley, all that could be seen were black feathers. They surrounded Austad's body and protected him. Then, the gun fire stopped. The raven just looked up and smiled.

"Come on!" He started and continued after their reload. The lights in the tavern went out, and in a flash of lightning, the bird was gone. Behind a male further behind the main group he appeared, Dead Thunder through the Wolf's chest. managing to look over just in time to see the circle annihilate one another, another flash hit; now behind a second canine with the deadly talons, slashing the back of his neck open. "Dead Thunder!" He screeched as the lights returned, the blade pointing a third victims throat.

"Kyle?!" he screamed in remembrance. "Where'd ya go buddy?" Obviously, kyle was nowhere to be seen. Making an easy get away through the chaos of his fallen tools.

There were two soldiers left; from the looks, a squirrel and a cow. Austad shook his head, kicking himself in the ass for getting distracted. He would let these two live, the fear in their eyes made the raven happy.

"Leave." He said calmly, shooting an evil glare at the two, and so, they did as they were told.

When the group left the tavern Austad walked up to the bar tender. No civilians were hurt, and he took pride in that. It was an oath for the men of this world with such powers and caliber. No innocents are to be harmed if you have the power to stop it, period. He slapped a pocket book full of a few hounded thousand Dosum notes (Universal currency) and walked away.

"Sorry for the trouble, that should take care of the damages, ....and the bodies," he said smirking.

.....................

En route to Op.

Macen's S.U.V.

Looking over at Macen, Cindy could feel something was off. His energy was wrong, misshapen. His aura was pulsing with many different colors. She knew he like to hid physical pain, but something this obvious in the spiritual domain was hard to hid.

"One hour!" Macen complained, answering his ringing phone. "It's only been one hour sense we left, what exploded or got hacked?"

From the other side came a loud screech, making Macen drop the phone and swerve the vehicle.

Cindy, seeing what had happened, grabbed the wheel to prevent and accident. Cussing as she did so.

"Fucker! Gods damn it Austad!" Macen barked at the laughing voice over the speaker. The coyot' gained control and re-adjusted himself to his original position. For a few seconds, they all chuckled at the incident.

"What's up birdy?" Macen asked, switching to the car speaker now.

"New development, Just saw your brother.....in Germany. He wasn't happy to see his men torn apart, He-he."

"How'd they get...oh!" Cindy responded. She understood Austad's methods. He liked to use his abilities to their fullest; something him and Macen had in common. The difference, however, was that Macen preferred to use tools and weapons against those who hurt others, and use his powers to heal. Austad liked to use his claws and body to subdue his prey.

"So he IS alive, what else do you have for us?" Cindy asked, leaning her chair back and closing her eyes.

"You remember the canine I was trailing? Well, he remembered Kyle talking about Cici. You know she is missing?"

"We do," Macen confirmed, "Seth's sources at Obsidian told him last night. He reported it to me this morning...." Macen put his paw over his muzzle, chocking and coughing slightly. He tapped Cindy to get her attention.

"Hold on Austad, I *cough* need let Cindy take over driving *hack*."

Macen did as he said after hearing Austad's approval. He continued to wheeze and cough a while longer.

Cindy and Macen switched places as he said. As they took off again on the lonely highway, Macen could feel both of them staring. It wasn't normal for him to be sick, so this peaked both of their interests.

"I'm fine keep going you two!" Macen demanded. He leaned the chair back and listened.

The truth was, Macen's symptoms had gotten worse. He couldn't use his energy for anything. His lungs constantly burnt now, not as intense as this morning, but it was there. The coyote also developed a migraine that would not go away.

"Fucker! Don't die on us, or we'll kick your coyote ass." Austad said jokingly. Cindy looked over, smiled then stuck her tongue out.

"We don't know where she is..." Macen mentioned. His mind flicking to an image of Cici.

"Oh, right! Claus.....he told me where. She is in the Source mountains. I've already called a team to be dispatched but, it will take them time to mount up. They also need time to plan their entry into the compound...."

Cindy's ears perked up. The silence that fell over the three was well deserved. They all knew what Kyle was capable of in a remarkably short time. By the time hostage rescue would get there, she could already be dead for a few hours. There was a lot of planning to put into such an operation. If she was still alive when they got there, Kyle's men could just as well kill any and all prisoners they had out of spite.

"I'm to far away, or I'd be there right now. It takes time to fly that distance, you know?"

"Do your best my brother. If anyone can bring her back safely, it's you." Macen contributed. "We'req almost to Alura. Keep me updated Austad."

"Will do, Austad out." He replied and hung up.

"Twenty minutes and we'll be there. Get some rest puppy." Cindy told Macen.

He chuckled because he knew in a car twenty minutes seemed like twenty seconds. Still, He let his eyes close, and his thoughts wonder. Thinking of all the happy times let him drift off quickly. His pain, for a little while, was retreating.

..............

Cult related Crime Scene

Alura, Somate (Kingmon, Arizona)

It had been an hour since they had arrived on scene. Cindy looked back at the S.U.V. She had left Macen the way he was, knowing he wasn't feeling good. If it were true, he would need all the rest he could get for his assignment he would be tasked with later in the day.

"Miss Ainsworth!" A canine shouted from the distance. The margay cay was standing in the doorway of a house. It was bordered with yellow caution tape; obviously the crime scene. The cat, who could now clearly be identified as Detective James Soula, stumbled past the tape clumsily and up to Cindy.

"Miss Ainsworth it's a pleasure meeting you once again." His attention shot to Macen's vehicle. "Where's Macen? Is he okay? No....he has to be fine I would have heard something about it. So, where is he?" James questioned frantically.

"Damn boy, calm down." Cindy retorted. "He's been sick, so I'm taking lead on the investigation and letting him rest."

"Sick? Guy's never sick. Shit, what if he was poisoned!"

Cindy, rather agitated at the male's hyper tenancies, shot back at him. "Yeah, sick! The poor guy can't always be on top of his game, gods."

Through small talk, the two of them unpacked most of the equipment necessary for Cindy to investigate. Not much was needed at first for the people in Macen's group. Most of the objects and item's were of a "Just in case" matter.

Even though Cindy closed the back door to the vehicle, Macen laid there, undisturbed. Every once in a while, he would twitch and turn, but other than that he would lay peacefully still.

Cindy turned to James. "Okay so give me the break down." She asked as they both walked to the house.

The spotted cat flicked his tail happily as he followed Cindy.He had a thing for her, but she had turned him down over and over again. He didn't start explaining anything until they both reached the door.

"We have five vics', no suspects." They both stepped into the living room, where two bodies lay covered. "All the vics' had holes in their head approximately three inches in diameter...."

Crouching over the closest body to her, she put her paw up to James, signaling him to hush. He did so, leaving her room to clear her mind. Cindy had a satchel on her side. She took out it a sketch pad and a mechanical pencil and began to draw. Through her thoughts flowed pictures of the scene. Such traumatic events left behind residual energies. Cindy had the ability to take those energies and form them into pictures in her minds eye. Lastly, with her ability to draw,she could clearly depict what had happened.

"Amazing, I forgot how wonderful you were..."

"Shhhh!" Cindy once again interrupted James. It was only a few minutes after she had started that her skilled fingers finished the first scene. She set her pencil down, looking at James with a smirk.

"Sorry, just can't have distractions." Cindy stood up and put her paw on James's shoulder.

With a short wince, she gripped his shoulder tight. Feeling short of breath, a pain in her head shot through her.

Break down:

This world has multiple levels of psychic ability. With such a wide range, there are only three tiers of power levels. The original set is classified as; low, mid and high power levels. Sub levels have popped up because of the ever evolving number of powers. Cindy's powers were as described, but as they evolve, their powers multiply or merge with a close relationships (friend, lover, family member) powers. In Cindy's case, Macen and Seth.

Cindy could feel the lost souls pain, everything they felt when they died, she felt now. Her tail puffed up, buns on her fur and skin formed. She collapsed into James's arms, holding her tears back.

James, cussing at the situation, yelled at the top of his lungs. "I need a medic in her NOW!"

Seconds after, the whole house, was alive with the repeated sounds of "Medic!"

Through the chaos, Macen stepped into the doorway. The medics rushed in to help Cindy, but he stepped in and pushed them aside. She was on the ground, slightly thrashing on the floor. James was next to her trying to keep her body stationary, but Macen swatted him aside as well.

"Who the-....oh it's you. What's wrong with her?" James questioned.

Macen did not answer, he simply knelt down and ran his finger down her forehead, stopping half way down her muzzle. Cindy's back arched as her eyes opened wide. Gasping, her tail and hair all stood on end.

Macen spoke in a soft whisper. "Release her from the grips of a power she doesn't know," pausing, he took his finger off of her muzzle. "Give me your hate, your pain and your fear."

As Macen came to an upright stance, Cindy fell limp. Instantly, James rushed to her side. She was alright, but the head medic checked her any how.

After her "check up," She stood with Macen, handing him her sketch before she fell victim to Her's and Macen's shared power. James attempted to comfort her, but she shrugged him off.

"I'm sorry Macen...I should have woken you up..."

Macen smiled at the tigress's words. He kissed her lightly on the head and turned back to the sketch. On it was a dark figure, a wolf form. In such a short time, Cindy was able to sketch out quite a bit of detail. The canine was reminiscent of one of Kyles men. His name: Artimus. The canine that Kyle had ordered Cici to be turned in too.

"You're fine, you need to learn some time, right?" Macen turned to the margay cat. "Get everyone out of the house James. Then come back in yourself. Tell some one to show my team the way in when they arrive."

James nodded and did as he was asked. The cat did not have any powers, he was base line "normal". However, Macen's company required all field agents to have a local LEO with them. Only, so any claims could be backed by an authority figure.

Each team in the company had specialists from a huge variety of powers. Shape shifters, psychic sketch artists, mediums, rune workers and even tarot readers were welcome as operators. They also had many personal with military and spec ops backgrounds, for missions like the one Kyle was involved in.

"What do you need me to do Mace?" Cindy asked. She had her arms close to her chest, waiting for an answer. She was concerned for Macen, his abnormal behavior was starting to get, little by little, worse. She expected him to tell her to leave the room.

"Stay here, I need you, just in case anything goes wrong." He answered. Macen's head was spinning. His symptoms were growing worse by the hour now. Before he could notice, Cindy handed him a tissue out of her bag. He had been bleeding from his nose, but wasn't sure how long.

Macen grasped it and put it to his muzzle. Whipping off the blood, he continued as if nothing happened, but Cindy wasn't fooled. Still, she let it go for now.

Macen sat down, cross legged in the middle of the floor. He let his mind free, no thoughts except one. He searched for a spirit, any spirit in the house. All victims were likely to linger in the house, seeing how their deaths were so gruesome and traumatic. It only took a few seconds to "lock on" to one of them.

The house around him turned to ash. The walls and wooden frame crumbled as Macen stood. It was not hell, nor was it paradise. The he was now standing in a kind of purgatory. The house no longer existed, all around him were clouds off in the distance, with a light red and gold coloring, swirling at a slow pace.

He could see the victims. There were two standing next to him; the two that had been killed in the living room. They looked at him with blank stares, cold and emotionless. Macen had been through this before. It was simply to gather information, he could not interact physically with them, however.

With him was a female and a male. One was a gray cat, the male, and the female was red fox. At the same time, they both turned to him and spoke.

"The hate, the people, the red and black wolf."

"Who is the red wolf?" He asked, sitting down for his lack of strength.

Again, together; "It was the canine whom is close to you Macen, the gods are not pleased."

Seconds later all five victims surrounded Macen in a circle. The skies turned from calm and comforting, to chaotic and blood red.

"Why, what have I done?" He asked. "What have I done that the gods are not pleased in?"

As the atmosphere grew colder Macen's chest began to burn. His eyes, blood shot and irritated, began to blur. The pain was more intense than ever before, bringing the coyot' to his knees, gasping for air.

"In this fight, you will die!" The victims said, their voices enraged. "Your family, you are all traders to us, you are no exception."

"I am not my family...." Macen said as he winced in pain. "Their will has not poisoned me....."

"We beg to differ. Look how it has taken you down in only a few days. In time, you're families sins will be atoned for. With your death, Macen, your punishment is complete."

"I'M NOT THEM!" Macen screamed, pleading afterwords; "Please, just let me help them!.... Just let me live my life."

On his hands and knees now, Macen felt the grip of unconsciousness intrude into his mind. The figures surrounding him faded away. Speaking one last phrase to him.

"Get your affairs in order, you will not last long."