"Don't you think handcuffing me a bit extreme?" I asked August who blockaded the door, leading from the interrogation room housing my grand self.

"Sorry, Lanna. Boss's rule. Those cuffs were designed with Supernaturals in mind," August explained.

I giggled, but refrained from explaining the barbaric and ineffective nature of such devices. Who divulged all their secrets? "A tad much for little ol' me." I turned back to my palms, staring at the flaking skin. Sitting in a cell all-night would kill my skin care routine. The things I do to prove my innocence, how sad I've become.

"It's because it is you, we need to be careful." August clasped his hands and fidgeted with his posture. He stopped the act as if caught and smiled, but his normal demeanor paled in comparison to this sloppy reaction.

"August, are you scared?"

He flinched and his eyes grew wide, but he recovered. So fast, almost like Supernatural regeneration. "You know that isn't true, Lanna. I'm sure they just miss examined the scene. You wouldn't kill all those people, right?"

"Honey, you know I'd love to sooth all your fears and aches, but evidence is evidence."

"But why?" His stature leaned forward, no longer erratic and awkward.

"Did you ever hear about my family history? It speaks for itself. I'm a Thanatos, we're literally mad."

August went silent, his gaze enraptured by the dividing glass hiding me from prying eyes. My words smothered the air, squeezing my heart to smithereens. Yes, that stupid Necromancer was correct. Not only was I mad, I'm a Thanatos. A member to one of the ruling families within the Nightmare Council. We were the ugly stepchild: liked by none and the perfect target for salacious gossip. Yet, the fools lacked the ability for confrontation. They knew our skills, and that's all that mattered.

Now, August knew a Thanatos. Could this situation get anymore dismal? I fought fate to avoid being involved and compared with my stupid mother. Yet, here I sat, trounced and awaiting burial. Man, if pride was my downfall, I should have abandoned the dumb personality trait eons ago.

Still, I had a slim chance of unearthing success. I needed to gain their trust one last time. Stupid, considering what transpired between August and myself. But a woman's got to lay her shame bare.

A bargaining chip. Yes, I needed to solve Erwin's mystery for release.

Erwin sought to retain his control. The why was settled, but the how remained vague. Souls—the material prerequisite for a device to provide him control. However, a big but, souls caused a crap ton of problems. The most obvious: murder. And let's add that using a godly material never provided the ultimate spell, a lesson learned decades ago.

So, what did souls provide? I bit my fingernail, chewing on them to help facilitate my memory. If Erwin contained the attributes of time and darkness. Creating a curse to hold souls would be possible.

Ah, my mind raced like prancing unicorns in figure eights. I dropped my head onto the cold metal table. What l was I missing?

Backtrack Lanna, you got this girl. Perhaps, I needed to look at other key points. What about the energy signatures? How did the energy required for the summonings look like a piece of modern art? I doubt Erwin gathered a multitude of Necromancers to enact his plan. Please, he ditched me within minutes. Perhaps, Erwin captured the raw energies like what the Master hinted towards.

Okay, check. One lock became undone, but how many more awaited to reveal the truth?

The next question: did Chaka complete the spell like I thought alongside a blood contract, or did he curse her?

She had signs of magic fatigue and memory loss. I mean the child like grandma acted as if she was the perpetrator. Wait, no, it's a commonality that ancient Witches were arrogant pricks. My mistake could just be her active personality working. Dammit, what the hell was I missing?

The door holding me hostage reared open with two black vested Wizards entering my self-proclaimed home. They both took the opposite chairs. Trevor followed them inside, leaning against the stone walls next to August. His gaze laid on mine, lacking any grudge or anger. What did he know? Wait, did he know my predicament stemmed from his white knight persona?

I giggled at the potential of Trevor being in my debt. Oh, imagine all the wonders and tortures I could inflict on him?

"Do you find this funny?" the seated man on the left sneered. His slicked back brown hair incomparable to Trevor's style. Yet, the man had a pair of deep red eyes, a smidgen of Demon peered out.

I covered my mouth, minimizing the continuous streams of laughter. What a stick in the mud. I'd be him if I wasn't beautiful, what a scary state.

Dropping my hand away, I smiled. "Of course not. So tell me, what are my charges?"

The man glared. "You're looking at seven hundred and fifty years, Witch. You'll be confined with magic restraints for the rest of your life."

I whistled at his grand execution. "My, that's quite amazing. I've outdone myself this time. How about we make an exchange?"

The right man slammed the table with glove covered fists. His bald head shined beneath the fluorescent lights. "Do you think you have a right to barter? Not only were there women amongst the dead, but children. What the hell kind of monster are you?"

"If I told you, I wasn't responsible, would you believe me?" My gaze flickered to Trevor, and I watched for a reaction.

"Not a chance. Your energy was all over the scene. You'd have to be a fool to believe otherwise. Not to mention the basement of the Lard's cathedral has been abandoned and impenetrable for years. The perfect place for a crime of that magnitude," the half Demon Wizard explained. "Just what you'd expect from a Thanatos."

"Using my family history to justify my involvement is a pathetic excuse for an investigator. Why don't you ask about my motive?" I retorted, extending my claws to pierce this prick's throat.

"That's not required. The mayor needs the criminal behind bars. Even if you had a flimsy reason, evidence points to you. Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life, Witch." With his last damning words, both men rose from their chairs and exited the room.

Still, my attention was enamored by Trevor and he stared at me in silence. I glanced away, hiding my hands beneath the table, clenching them into fists. Stupid Wizards, they always acted all self-important. They made me look the fool.

"Why did you do it?" Trevor asked, interrupting my thoughts.

Finally! A man that asked the right questions. "Why don't you come over here and listen to my story."

He snorted, but followed my lead with August joining him.

"As you can imagine, my involvement with Erwin has thrown me down a dreary thorn ridden path. To think a man such as himself would be capable of such mutiny to a gorgeous lady such as myself."

"Lanna, stop the act. We know Erwin is a Lernaean. That Demon from the Orchard said the Lernaeans were involved in this plot. He said they had some kind of device to capture souls. Is this related to the spell you completed? Did you kill all those people to capture their souls?"

"Woah there cowboy, not all at once." I scratched my head, the metal handcuffs gouging my head. "In a roundabout way, let's say Erwin caught a hold of my weakness. Being unable to resist him, I completed the curse he constructed. He plans to use those souls to create another spell, one to solidify his control over Supernaturals. Those Necromancers with supposed brain damage were apart of the plan alongside the summonings," I explained.

"And?"

Crap, I was digging myself into a grave. I didn't have all the answers yet, this conversation was a long shot in confirming my innocence. "Prototypes," the word flew from my mouth and I sat in awe. Could it be that easy? "Chaka had an ugly bracelet sealing her energy. When we met her, I couldn't confirm the true mechanism behind it because I would have lost the ability to sense her lies. That's Erwin's device. The bracelet is stopping her from using magic, it's a curse in disguise. Every time she tries to use magic to thwart the curse, it backfires. Damn, the energy has to be funneled another route..."

"Erwin is storing the energy. He used his collection for the summonings," Trevor added, finding my train of thought.

"Yes, that's it. That's how he plans to control the masses. Any Supernatural trying to resist the changes modernization of magic brings will be required to wear an ugly, stifling, device. It seems a side effect is memory loss, probably due to using souls."

"It looks like he used the summonings to capture souls. There was a rise in reports of kidnappings after the summonings started. Citizens blamed the zombies, so they never reported them until it was too late," Trevor continued. "But he still needs to institute his changes. Is he planning to fight against the elders?"

"That's likely. Most elders of the families belonging to the Nightmare Council hate the Lernaeans. Their manipulation has been known for years, but they couldn't be avoided since they provided a buffer from prosecution. They loved Normals too much for the rest of us to stomach."

"How does he plan to make it happen? Even with the case of summonings, Normals aren't so easily swayed into discriminating against Supernaturals. What will he do to strengthen his cause?" Trevor asked.

I shook my head at his question. "I don't know. But whatever he does, he's amassed enough souls and energy to create something I've never seen or heard about before."