CHAPTER 4 | an unexpected arrival

📎A/N. Happy Memorial Weekend to all of my American readers!

We last left Keira and Ryker at Mystery Hill, where Keira explained to Ryker why she thought the coven was being targeted.

Don't forget to vote if you enjoy the chapter :)

Take care,

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Ryker stood rooted to the spot and stared at her. Keira couldn't tell from his expression, what thoughts were running through his head. He was immobile, his face looked as if it were etched in stone. In the dim light, the only thing she could ascertain was that his intense blue eyes were fixed on her.

With each second that passed, the silence became thick and uncomfortable.

A thought suddenly struck her and she tensed. Keira had assumed that the possible return was something he would fear.

Oh, mother earth, how could I have been so wrong to trust an acolyte?

Keira glanced towards the Keepers Chamber. She would be safe if she could make it into its protection. How am I going to make it there before he cuts off my path?

"If you didn't want to tell me, you could have just said so instead of blaming it on a fairy tale," Ryker said as he snatched the box and headed down the path. His stiff gait as he passed by her indicated just how angry he was.

Keira's mouth dropped at his scathing tone. What the?

She raced to catch up with him. "I was telling you the truth."

Ryker halted so fast she almost didn't stop in time. In an instant, he had spun to face her, and she flinched as he towered over her as it eyes flashed ominously at her. "Look, these were good people. I want to find who did this so their families can have some closure. I don't need some delusional witch doctor putting the blame on a fictional bogeyman. People did this, whether it was Supernatural, Gifted or Natural. It was a person, not some mythical creature."

"I'm not saying a person didn't do this," she argued as she waved her hand in the direction they had come. "I'm just saying that the people behind this are trying to—"

Ryker cut her off before she could finish. "If you even try and float your nutbar ideas to the families, I'll run you out of town so fast your broom won't be able to catch up with you. You were asked here to help us find who did this, not scare people into thinking that myths are behind this."

Keira was confused. How did he not know about his origins?

Deacon knew the purpose of the Crossroads and its coven, so therefore, the knowledge of why it existed was a foregone conclusion. How was it that someone he considered his son wouldn't also be in possession of the same information?

Over the years, Keira had met numerous vampires and demons. While it wasn't unusual for younger vampires to be oblivious to the tumultuous past that spawned them into existence, she had been confident that someone with Ryker's responsibility would be more educated on the subject.

She was about to plead her case when Ryker's phone pierced the night air. He threw an irritated glare at her as he answered. "Ryker."

Keira breathed out a sigh of relief when he turned his head away. She was sure she was on the brink of faltering under the weight of his unwavering stare. Her mind was still in turmoil at his accusation. It didn't sit well that he was dismissing her as a nutcase.

"When?" Ryker demanded.

Keira's head snapped around. From the tortured way in which the word was ripped from his throat, whatever he had just been told was not good.

"Where?" he asked in a clipped tone and glanced at Keira. A moment later he nodded and said, "On my way. Make sure you keep the area cordoned off and let the Medical Examiner know he needs to get there ASAP."

Ryker barked out more orders and began to head towards the exit before he hung up.

"What's happened?" Keira asked, running to keep up with his brisk pace.

"We've got another body."

"Is it..." she trailed off not able to put a voice to the question that burned in her throat.

"Afraid so."

It was what he didn't say that spoke volumes. A sour taste erupted in her mouth as she struggled to keep up with him along the darkened path. Unlike the drive to Mystery Hill, the distance to Haverhill was at breakneck speed with full lights and sirens. Keira held on to the seat the entire way, unused to weaving in and out of traffic at top speed as if they were on an Olympic downhill slalom.

She was so focused on trying to keep her last meal in her stomach and not plastered all over the inside of the windscreen that she failed to notice where they were until they had finally come to an abrupt halt.

"I don't want you upsetting anyone; you hear?" Ryker said as he reached for the door. "These people are scared enough without having someone come in and stir up a hornet's nest with fantasy."

Keira bit her tongue. She was sorely tempted to let him know just how real the danger was. However, she knew he wouldn't let her anywhere near the scene if she did; and she really didn't have any options; she had to do something whether they knew they needed her help or not.

"Fine," she said in a huff as she too exited the car.

"Why is it when a woman says that word, they never mean it?" Ryker muttered to himself as he headed up the small embankment the boarded the road side.

Keira looked up the small hill that was hidden by a cluster of trees. Around her, traffic had been diverted to a single lane as yellow tape cordoned off the area. From the lights from the passing traffic, she realised that small river ran alongside the road. As she hiked up a gravel driveway, she stopped at a small sign that proudly boasted the Haverhill Historic Society. There was something familiar about the slope of the land and the proximity to the river. Not able to put her finger on it, she ignored the uneasy feeling and raced to catch up to the sheriff. By the time she did, he was already speaking to two uniformed officers.

The moment she stepped up to them the conversation halted, and the deputies cast curious glances at her. At first, she thought Ryker intended to ignore her when he fired questions at the men.  However, once they had finished briefing him, he cleared his throat and nodded in her direction.

"Dr. Wynter is the expert that the mayor called in to help us," Ryker finally said, explaining her presence. "She helped track down that Crucifix Killer in Nevada last year."

The taller of the two officers stepped forward and tipped his hat, "Deputy Alan Trudeau at your service. Pleased to meet you, ma'am. We appreciate the help."

A snort from the older and stouter deputy caught her attention. He looked as though he'd just swallowed a whole lemon.

"You have to ignore my partner, ma'am," Alan explained, "he tends to be suspicious of all strangers."

"That's because you can always guarantee they bring trouble with them," the older man said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Deputy Mitos is an Essex native," explained Ryker, "and his default position is to blame the tourists; despite the fact that the money they bring in pays his wages."

Mitos scowled. "That doesn't mean they aren't guilty. You mark my words, it'll be some goddam tourist, high on some goddam designer drug who's gotten themselves caught up in all this paranormal shit. Too many horror movies; Facebook and the other crap their shit for brains minds are brainwashed with."

Ryker rubbed his forehead. It was clear he'd had this conversation with his deputy on numerous occasions. "And you are probably right," he said. "But we can't lock up every single tourist just on your say so."

"Hrumpf. Can't see why not."

Alan chuckled. "I know you did things a little differently back in the day old man. But now, we need probable cause and what else... oh yeah... something we like to call evidence."

"Can we please focus on the scene," snapped Ryker. He turned to the younger deputy and said, "I want that Medical Examiner here now. There's a crowd building up over there, and we need to get the body out of here before anyone recognises who it is."

Alan nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "On it boss."

Ryker then turned to Deputy Mitos. "Wilber I need you to move the crowd back more, they are a little too close. Take a couple of others with you and move the line back about thirty feet."

Without waiting for an answer Ryker turned and headed towards the smaller cordoned off area near the clump of trees. He halted and turned back to Keira, "You coming?"

Not needing to be told twice, she snapped into action and caught up with him. As they passed through the gates and the darkened clump of trees became more visible, Keira's pace slowed. "I thought you said we were in Haverhill," she said.

"We are."

"But I recognise this tree, and it's located in Pentucket."

"That's right, Pentucket was renamed to Haverhill sometime in the 1800's."

Keira brought her hand up to cover her mouth. She had hoped that this new death wasn't going to echo the ones she had just witnessed.

"Doc you have to stop doing that, I don't know if you're about to throw up, or if you've just seen a ghost."

She gulped and let her hand fall. "Your right on both accounts."

They walked around the giant oak and Keira, unable to look down stared ahead as Ryker dismissed the officer who had been guarding the body. The moon shone through the canopy allowing a small amount of light into the wooded area. While lights had been set up a short distance away, they had yet to be turned on.

Ryker crouched down and inspected the body. "Shit, you better take a look at this Doc."

Keira, unable to put off the inevitable, made her way the short distance and peered through the dark. She could make out a body on the ground but not much more.  "Unlike you, I do need some light."

Ryker glanced up, and his initial confusion gave way to discomfort. "Sorry," he said as he got up and made his way over to one of the large halogen lamps.

The sudden brightness that bathed the area had Keira blinking rapidly to adjust her eyesight. When she looked back down again, she could see what Ryker had been referring to. Apart from the location, the bodies had been laid out in the same manner with blood drained and a mark of the serpent carved into her forehead.

Keira looked at Ryker, who had returned to his previous position beside the body. "Do you know her?" she asked

He nodded. "Not as well as some of the others, but I've seen her around town. Rose has - had a small farm outside of Danvers; it's been in her family all the way back to the time it was called Salem Village."

"And she is definitely part of the Crossroads Coven?"

Ryker let out a loud exhale and nodded. "Whoever is doing this is not going to stop until they've all gone."

Keira studied the body, making sure not to disturb anything. A mark on the inside of the woman's arm caught her attention, and she twisted it around to get a better view. It looked as though an image had been hastily drawn on the inside of her arm.

"That looks like a chain," Ryker said as he peered closer to the badly drawn symbol.

Keira traced the light ink with the tip of her finger. Things had just gone from bad to worse if that was at all possible. "It is. She was sending us a message."

Ryker's forehead crinkled. "Message? What message?"

"Notice these broken links?" she said, pointing to the middle of the chain. "It means the chain is broken, and we have a traitor."

"Someone in the coven?"

"No. At least I hope not. If it were, it would have been something representing family. I think Rose here is telling us she knew her killer."

Keira pinched the bridge of her nose to ward off a headache that threatened. "We need to protect the rest of them before it's too late."

"I've already got men giving them 24/7 protection."

"So how did this happen?" she asked.

"That's a good question, and one I will be getting to the bottom of."

Keira opened her mouth to speak and thought better of it.

"Out with it," Ryker said, clearly seeing the internal debate warring within her.

"What about the ones you don't know about?" she asked quietly. "Who's protecting them?"

Ryker shot up into a standing position. "What the hell do you mean; the ones I don't know about?"

"Every Crossroads Coven has at least three more members whose identity is kept under wraps."

Ryker groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Shit! You witches will be the death of me. Why are there so many secrets with you?"

"Because we got sick of everyone trying to kill us," she pointed out with a hint of bitterness that crept into her voice. "And that includes vampires."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't do your share of hunting us down?" An uneasy silence descended on them as they stared each other down. Ryker sighed and held up his hands in surrender. "Look, there's no point in opening up old wounds. It's in the past, and that's where it should stay."

Keira had to agree with him. No one was blameless in what had occurred in the past.

A flashing light from somewhere in the distance caught their attention, and Ryker's phone beeped to indicate a message had arrived. "The ME's finally arrived," he said after pocketing his phone. "Is there anything else you need here before I let him and the crime scene team in?"

Keira took one last glance at the site and shook her head. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. Even with her powers she knew she wouldn't find anything. The forensics team were just wasting their time. However, she couldn't come out and say this openly.

It didn't take long for the ME to take charge of the body and authorise Rose's removal for autopsy. Once this was done the small contingent of crime scene investigators moved in, and Ryker handed the scene into their care.

While Ryker checked in with his team, Keira stood and studied the flurry of activity around the immediate area. A small contingent of locals were doing their best to work out what had happened underneath the iconic landmark. She had to admit, whoever did this had done their homework. As far as history had reported, the Worshipping Oak had been a place for the early Puritans within the area to have their weekly services. What hadn't been as common knowledge, was that the tree also served as an altar for ritual sacrifices and that the large boulder which rested within its roots was one that had originally been moved from Mystery Hill.

As much as she wanted to run from the impending disaster, she knew she couldn't. Her curse only reinforced the reason she needed to stay and put a stop to whoever was doing this. Keira closed her eyes and hoped that if she failed, Dayna would find a way to defeat the horrors that were waiting to come through.

"I'm finished here. How about I get you back to your hotel."

"When are you going to speak to what remains of the coven?" Keira asked as they made their way back down the small gravel road.

"In the morning, once the body has been officially identified, and the next of kin have been notified."

Keira remained silent; not sure whether she was still welcomed within his investigation. She needed to convince him to let her stay. The question was; how was she going to argue her case?

They had left Mystery Hill and were on their way towards Salem when Ryker finally spoke. "So, are they like you? The Crossroads witches and warlocks. Apart from the spells they cast that prevent us from compelling them, we don't really know what else they can do."

Keira let out a nervous laugh. "No. My magic, while tied to the earth, is different to theirs. I don't tend to advertise the extent of what I can do. Believe it or not, you're one of the few people who's seen any of my spells in action."

"I hope this doesn't mean that you are planning on killing me now?"

While she could hear the humour in his voice, there was an edge to it that didn't sound as confident.

She pretended to think about it. "Jury's still out on that one."

Ryker flashed her a mischievous grin. "That's good, cause jury's just love me." He then turned serious. "I meant what I said before. We've all come here to start fresh and live our lives in peace. I took an oath to protect these people, and I take my job seriously; There is no way I will stand by and have someone come in and waltz around spouting fables as the explanation behind all of this."

"I'm only after the truth as well," Keira replied, careful with the words she chose to use.

While her magic didn't extend to mind reading or knowing who was inherently good or bad, she knew he was honest with her. He cared about what happened to those under his charge, and that included the Naturals as well as Supernaturals. Perhaps that was why she allowed him to witness what she was capable of. Right now she didn't have time to dwell on why she trusted him. She needed to work out how she was going to convince him to let her remain on the case.

"I think the witches would be more inclined to talk to one of their own kind," Ryker said as he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel.

"I'd have to agree."

He let out a small growl from the back of his throat. "Look Doc, you clearly have the inside knowledge on what's going on here, and I could use your help; but I also think I'd be better off putting you back on the next flight to LA."

Keira held her breath, waiting for him to finish.

"If I let you stay; I need you to promise you'll keep your hocus pocus ideas to yourself." He glanced across at her. "Do we have a deal?"

She exhaled with relief and held out her hand. "Deal. I won't mention my theory to anyone unless you agree I can."

"That's not exactly what I said, but it'll do."

"Where have you been?" Marcus demanded as he jerked the door open. "I've been trying to get hold of you for hours."

"You knew I was at the scene, why didn't you phone me?"

"I did, about a billion times,"

Keira reached into her tote and pulled out her phone which had been put on silent. "Your exaggerating, it was only twenty-two," she said as she glanced at her phone. Frowning at the other number listed as a missed call she ignored it to deal with later and focused on her teaching assistant. "So what's the problem and why are you loitering on the pavement in your pyjamas instead of in your room asleep."

Marcus crossed his arms across his chest and scowled. "I would be if I hadn't been evicted from my room."

"What do you mean evicted," Ryker said coming around from the driver's side. "Those rooms are permanently reserved for Deacon. The hotel wouldn't dare throw you out, especially at night looking like that."

"They didn't," Marcus said through gritted teeth. "And because they are booked up, there is no other room I can have."

Keira held up her hand. "Wait," she demanded. "You're making no sense at all. Who's taken over your room?"

"Someone with a truckload of luggage claiming to be your sister."

Keira's head dropped into her palms, and she groaned. "Mother earth... how the hell can you do this to me?"

She froze when she heard her name being called from somewhere down the street. Keira, Marcus, and Ryker swivelled in time to see Dayna sauntering up the street, clearly having come from a nightclub. Her impossibly long legs accentuated by the stilettoes and a short skirt that looked as if it were painted on.

"That's her," Marcus said pointing at her sister. "She's the reason I'm homeless."

"That's your sister?" Ryker asked as they watched her approach.

She nodded.

He glanced at her in disbelief. "Your sister by blood. As in, same parents?"

Keira nodded again.

"And you're sure about that?"

Keira rolled her eyes. She was used to the effect her sister had on men. While the years had changed, the opposite sex hadn't. Even Marcus, who had been put out with Dayna's bigger than life demands, wasn't unaffected, and she was sure she detected a blush beneath his dark skin.

Dayna flew straight at Keira and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Keira honey, where have you been?" She pulled away and held Keira out at arm's length as she inspected her. "It's been so long, I missed you."

"We only just spoke the other day," Keira said.

"I know, but as soon as I heard where you were going, I knew I couldn't let you come here on your own."

Keira's eyes darted around. They were in a very public place, and Dayna wasn't known for her ability to be subtle. There were quite a few passer-by's who could hear their conversation. Before her sister could say anything that could be taken the wrong way she cut her off. "Dayna, I believe you've already met my colleague Marcus."

Dayna smiled in recognition. "Yes, he was the darling man who let me have his room."

"I didn't 'let' you have anything," Marcus grumbled.

"And this is Sheriff Kincaid," Keira said.

Dayna smiled widened if possible, and she held out her hand as she gave him a once over. "If you're the law around here, how does one go about getting arrested, because I'm sure I can be all kinds of naughty."

Keira groaned. "Dayna!"

Her sister raised an eyebrow and without taking her eyes or hand off Ryker said, "What? Just laying my cards on the table."

"Well, you can just put it back in the pack. We have work to do," Keira said, trying to keep her temper in check.

Dayna grinned and put an arm around Keira. "Oh honey, you still haven't learnt the art of multi-tasking have you?"

Ryker let out a chuckle. "Are you sure you are both related?"

Keira narrowed her eyes at him. Why do people ask that question? While Dayna was taller and had died her hair blond, hiding the flaming red hair that they had both inherited from their mother, they had the same bone structure and eyes. How could people not see the resemblance?

"Look I'm tired. How about we do this in the morning?" Keira said, trying to take charge of the situation. "Dayna, let Marcus have his room back, you can bunk in with me."

It was clear Dayna was ready to argue the point. Before she could, Ryker interrupted. "Doc, I'll sort out something for Marcus. I suspect that you two haven't shared a room for quite some time, and I'm not sure the city could handle it if you did."

"I knew I liked you," Dayna said immediately agreeing with his suggestion.

"Are you sure you'll be able to find him something?" Keira asked glancing towards Ryker. She wasn't prepared to meet his intense blue gaze which was fixed on her. He cocked his head and winked, "I'm the sheriff around here remember?"

An hour later, despite her exhausted state Keira was finding it difficult to sleep. While she was grateful to see her sister again after all these years, she was terrified at the same time. She would have to give Dayna the details of the deaths. The problem was Dayna, like her, would know what was going on and why. Unlike her, Dayna's resolution to everything was anything but subtle and quiet. She needed to put a muzzle on her sister. Otherwise, Ryker would send them both packing.

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📎A/N... Another dead body and one less Crossroads witch... this time we have a clue... but what does it mean?

Ryker doesn't seem to believe Keira's warnings... who's right and who's wrong... we'll just need to wait and see. Keira and her sister are like chalk and cheese... should be interesting to see what happens next.

And while Ryker may come across as a bit of a player, I suspect he takes his job very seriously... what do you think?

Don't forget to vote it you liked the chapter! Next chapter will be out late Sunday evening (PST)

Till then, take care.

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