August 15, 2004 –02:30
"Well, Blue Thunder, I am glad I came to meet with you here. I will be more than happy to take down Critilla Manana. I helped the Portuguese agents build up her case when she was suspected of decimating and cursing a few clans of elves and enslaving human males to do her bidding. I'm sure someone tipped her off the day we would have taken her down."
"Honestly, there probably was someone who tipped her off," said Coralis as she finished the elixir.
"How interesting, you and I are 10th and 11th on the global list of most wanted witches and she's 12th."
"Yeah, well, it happens. I will call my mate and Sebastian before I get started on the antidote. When we take down the witches, I will take pictures of their heads off their shoulders and of their burned bodies, as evidence for the person who tipped me off. I already took pictures of the hex body at the morgue."
"While you make your calls, I'm going to fly to the nearest elemental hub to get some drinks, I think there is a pixie area nearby. Want something?"
"Yes, same as whatever you're getting," said Coralis as she pressed to call Frank and sat on the bed.
"Luv!" said Frank when he answered at the first ringtone. "For once, Sebastian called me earlier asking if I had heard from you, instead of me calling him. Is everything okay? Are you dealing with demon-summoning witches?"
"I was with unknowing humans earlier, so my hologram was on silent mode for an hour or so. I didn't check it yet. Everything is okay, yes. Alejandro called me while I was on my way and he met me here, so you and Sebastian will be happy to hear I am not working this case alone. No demon involved, but it looks like the witch ranked 12th is."
"The witch ranked 12th, that's Critilla Manana, right?"
"Yeah. She goes by a different name here. I can't blame her for it, as I'm doing the same damn thing to protect my ass. He called me for something else and met me here to talk but then, he found out I was after the witch he was investigating when the war started, before she fled to Brazil. Needless to say, he's staying for different reasons."
"I'm glad to hear you aren't out there alone. Do you trust him?"
"I don't know him that well, but I think I trust him. He started 25th, just ahead of Andrew, and he's now right behind me. I don't know yet what happened at the EBEE in Spain, he came here to talk about it, but I think that like Andrew and I, he got betrayed."
"Can't argue with your reasoning. At this point, it seems that those who don't move drastically in ranking are those we should be worried about."
"It looks that way. Some of those on the death list, I only know by name. From what I heard, yes, they're dangerous, but I don't think they would be a threat against humans. I don't know."
"If we talk dangerous, so are you, luv, and we both know you wouldn't turn against us, humans."
"Right, except I'm only 24. I'm a toddler compared to them. I can only hope they wouldn't turn because if I were to face them, I'd be outmatched by far."
Coralis grabbed her hologram after ending her call with Frank to update Sebastian. He didn't answer, so she left a recorded message. Alejandro returned while she was busy making the antidote.
The room she rented had two beds, but neither slept. They had a few drinks and talked until the sun came up. They ruffled the sheets to make it look like they slept in them so it wouldn't raise suspicions.
Early in the morning, while on their way to the town water access, they met with a few more residents. Coralis took pictures of how the water looked before they reversed the plague. The water had a greenish hue, not a natural green. She wrote down a diluted version of the formula of the antidote she made and put it in the envelope she had prepared for her evidence. Her contact knew what she was, but she didn't know who else would look at the evidence.
Coralis and Alejandro met with the doctor at the townhall and they gave him a shoebox full of pre-fill syringes, a bag of empty ones and an insulated bottle containing the antidote.
"You'll have enough to heal all your infected residents and some more. At most, you'll need more syringes," said Coralis.
"And I just need to inject it in the neck, right?" said the doctor.
"Yes. The mayor has my phone number. If you need more, let me know."
The doctor left with what Coralis gave him and the elementals left for the coven's cabin.
"If they only knew the infamous Blue Thunder is the one saving their asses," said Alejandro, chuckling.
"Remember the plan?" said Coralis, before they stepped into the forest.
"Yes," said Alejandro, grabbing the disposable camera she handed him.
Coralis wanted to be out of there and on her way home as soon as possible. She heard enough from the town folks and Alejandro. She knew with whom she was dealing with. She wanted that witch dead before she knew she was coming.
They approached the coven's cabin and without stopping, they dissolved the wards and entered the cabin. The coven leader and members were still asleep. Coralis and Alejandro weren't quiet. The coven woke up confused, and before they could process what was happening, Coralis had their leader's hair in her right hand and her blade went through her neck.
She knew she couldn't leave anyone alive. Naria killed a human male in town over petty jealousy. Their leader, even if it was to protect her coven, was willing to sacrifice an entire town, that was also protecting their own. To Coralis, she was willing to abuse the power at her disposal for her benefit, regardless of the cost of innocent lives. She didn't bother questioning if the three other members should be spared. In her experience, they shouldn't. Left alive, they'd go after her for revenge. She beheaded everyone. She beheaded everyone.
Alejandro took pictures while Coralis searched the log cabin for documents and anything proving what they were up to. She didn't regret killing them before they could say anything because, to her, anything coming out of their mouths would be lies or twisted truths.
As she searched the coven's cabin, she realized that if she ever had to disappear to build herself a new life, she'd had to burn every single thing belonging to the past. Some coven members couldn't let go of the past, so Coralis and Alejandro easily tied their leader to Critilla Manana and added more items as evidence.
An hour later, they burned the cabin and took off to go home. She stopped in Venezuela to mail the evidence to her contact. After letting Frank know she was heading home, she called Sebastian. He was home, but about to leave for training at the CMMA headquarters.
"Can you safely talk?" said Coralis.
"Yes. I'm still home, and so is Stephanie. No one else besides us."
"As it turned out, we were wrong last month. Whoever was after me and Alejandro, was probably higher in pay grade than we thought."
"Really? What did you find out?"
"Early summer, Alejandro started getting involved with the Shadow Elementals. They formed in Morocco shortly after the witch hunt started and they aim to take down the cells that are a threat to humans but aren't targeted or talked about. The night we confronted my pursuers, after our flyball finals, their headquarters got raided and Alejandro was seen fleeing."
"Oooh, it's definitively deeper than we thought, then."
"Yeah. The Shadow Elementals relocated to India and Alejandro wants me to join them."