"It's nice to see you again, Agent Sinclair."

It took everything in me to not start fan-girling when my eyes landed upon the tall, amethyst eyed driver...I mean, the private investigator who stood before me – Christian Ross.

"Likewise. It's nice to know what your other job is." I struggled to keep a straight face; his radiant, silk smile made another appearance. Fuck, this is going to be hard if he keeps smiling like that.

"Is this the fierce, sexy female you were talking about with bright orange hair and voice that could make any male beg?"

Myself, Christian and Jaxson all turned to the kitchen; a male appeared at the doorway with a smug smile on his face.

His smoky ash blue hair went from a light blue to a dark blue – the ombre effect complimented his stunning green eyes. These men and their contacts.

He was six-four, and as his elbows relaxed against the frame of the door. The sleeves of the black t-shirt he wore stretched across his large biceps; both of those sculpted muscles were wrapped in Celtic tattoos. He had a trimmed waist and wore black pants and shoes. His oval sculpted face matched his small stubble beard as he looked at the other two agents before those eyes landed on me.

His words registered in my head; my face went completely red as I blinked. I slowly turned to look up at Christian whose shoulders shook as he tried to hold back the laughter rumbling in his throat.

Jaxson sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"You know what? Fuck this professional shit. I can't stand it. First off, she's shadowing me today so keep your petty hands off her, especially you Christian. Her ass is mine. Second, can we leave the descriptive commentary of Scar's sexy voice till after we're done here, and third, Scarlet, this is Ethan Roseblade.”

I looked from Jaxson to Ethan as he gave me a dramatic bow.

"Ethan Roseblade at your service. Who would have thought we'd get a hot chick like yourself on our team? Can we keep her?" He inquired; my cheeks continued to flush. He sure has character and is not afraid to say what he's thinking.

Jaxson rolled his eyes.

"Yup, I suddenly changed my mind. You and Christian will go to the second spot. Junho will come with Michael and me." He commented.

"Oh C'mon. That's not fair. I don't want to go with Christian. I'll die before we get there with the way he drives." Ethan complained; his Australian accent leaked off the second sentence emphasizing on the words ‘I’ll die.’ I had to admit, his accent was hot. Or maybe Australian accents, in general.

"Christian’s driving is amazing. Why would you die?" I questioned before raising my head to the three pairs of eyes. Aww shit. Not my place?

Christian slipped a hand around my waist.

"See? Scarlet likes my driving." He emphasized my name, as a nice cologne scent hit my nostrils. He smells delicious.

"Uh oh. Jaxson’s giving you the look of death, mate." Ethan’s Australian accent quivered as he turned around to go back into the kitchen. I glanced back to Jaxson who had a fierce expression on his face as he frowned at Christian.

"Don't worry. She's all yours, for now." He teased. Jaxson sighed; his eyes landed on the arm around my waist. Christian laughed before his hand slipped from my waist.

"Alright, why don’t we get back to work?" Jaxson prompted; his words reminded me of the garbage bin I’d taken pictures of. OH.

"Have you guys been around the area yet?" I brought my serious tone back as I looked between the two of them. Ethan walked back into the room with a camera around his neck.

"We got here about two hours ago. We haven't done a thorough check of the area yet. The police team just finished their investigation, and we're going to go through what they had discovered and gathered up."

"Which is nothing but garbage." An unfamiliar voice announced.

All four of us turned our heads towards the stairs. Well, shit.

My eyes took their time looking over the six-seven tall male. He had a medium build, wearing a black dress shirt with gold buttons and Armani pants – the brand logo designed on the front pockets which were enough to tell me it was limited edition. He wore brown Timberlands, and his Rolex watch peaked out from his long sleeve. I didn't know if his accent was Korean or Russian with the way it altered in five words.

This guy could be a model for Vogue rather than a private investigator.

"Scarlet, this is Junho Suk. He's also apart of our team assigned to this case.”

He walked down the remaining stairs before approaching us; his eyes took one good look at me before turning to Christian.

"Is this the hot, orange haired babe, you were –"

"Alright, back to the case." Jaxson ordered

I giggled; all four of them turned to face me. I put my hands up, laughing.

"Sorry, I can't help it. You guys are hilarious and very opposite of one another." I continued giggling.

"We're not that different." Junho noted.

"We’re totally different, mate.” Ethan argued.

"We get a new recruit with a hot body and fine ass, and you guys get distracted."

All five of us turned to see an ash blonde male walked into the house down the hall, closing the door behind him as he knelt down to switch shoes – his current white shoes were changed to black converses.

He rose back to his full six-foot-six inch height as he strolled down the narrow, creaky hall.

His ash blonde hair went past his shoulders and could have easily been tied into a ponytail with some hair still dangling. His face was unmatched by any…the strong jaw line was the foundation in which his classical features lay. Soft lines and highlights accented his cheeks and eyes. He was classical in many ways, like those angels that had been painted on the ceiling of that church. He wore a similar black-on-black outfit like most of the others, but the most striking characteristic was his bright, gold eyes.

"How can all of you have amazing colored eyes? Do you guys wear contacts just to change your look?" I questioned as I glanced around them.

"Contacts? They're our natur–" Ethan began till Jaxson cleared his throat.

"It's a secret." He winked at me as I frowned, narrowing my eyes.

"Uh-oh. That's the look every woman gives when you begin avoiding conversations with her. It's like declaring war as they secretly vow to discover all your dark secrets in three days flat." Junho announced.

"Of course, you'd know that." Christian commented.

"Hey, Playboy. I think you've seen enough of that look, you could probably write a book. No, a SERIES." Ethan commented.

"Not my fault. The women just throw themselves at me. I simply dodge and turn them down. Scarlet’s one of the first to not throw herself at me.” He proposed, staring down at me as he crossed his arms, tapping his finger on his lips in wonder. I licked my lips. I'd love to be his finger right now.

“Maybe you finally wore out that ‘charm’ of yours,” Ethan noted.

“Finally.” Junho emphasized.

"Anyways, I'm Michael Moore. A pleasure to meet you." He stood next to Jaxson as they all turned to face me.

"Jaxson, Michael, Junho, Ethan and Mr. Gre- I mean Christian." I pointed at each of them as I quickly corrected myself. Christian gave me another wink while the others shook their heads; smiles plastered across their lips.

"Let's get serious. We don't have time. Scarlet, why did you ask if we’d been around the area?" Jaxson’s stern voice returned as his smile faded into a blank expression.

"12:55 PM just on the corner of ESSENCE St and Maple…Uh, do I have to get all technical?” I questioned, frowning.

The others snickered, and Jaxson sighed before a smile formed on his lips.

“Just do you, Scarlet.” He encouraged.

I smiled back, continuing. “I was jogging up the hill cause my ass was running late, and I noticed there’s a blood smear on the side of the green garbage bin. The ones located on the corner of ESSENCE St and Maple. It looks pretty fresh, but with the heat, it’s probably going to dry soon. I took some pictures before hustling over here, and I noticed glass shards that appear to have blood stains on them, too. I’ve done some research on the area and it states garbage duty is today. So…uh, maybe we should check it out?”

*Silence*

"Junho, Christian, outside now. Investigate the entire street and make sure you make a detailed review. I don't want a fucking hair missed. Ethan, look at all the video camera footage from the time of the reported disturbance to when we arrived, if Scar says the blood looks fresh means the culprit was hiding in the home until the cops left and could have been able to escape during the gap between their departure and our arrival. Michael, review the police reports for anything that looks suspicious in terms of objects or documents out of place. Make sure you review the picture catalog as well. Once you're done and the others can potentially get a sample from the garbage bin and the shards, run an analysis on the blood and see if it matches the victim and if anyone else shows up in the database." Jaxson ordered.

They all nodded before scattering like birds on a mission for food. It was just me and Jaxson standing in the middle of the living room. I blinked out of my transfixed daze before frowning.

“Did that help?” I questioned.

"Scarlet, you just picked up on something the police and their investigators hadn't caught after raiding this place from top to bottom, or so they claimed. With what you just provided, we might have a face of the primary suspect in the homicide of Adelia Nokolah. She's a psychic who worked as an apprentice under Saikikku, the infamous psychic that everyone is buzzing about." He praised.

"Wait, so what are we going to do? Wait for them?" I questioned, thinking about the murder victim and trying to determine why she was murdered instead of the – Saikikku Madore. I guess a psychic could gain a lot of enemies depending on who they dealt with. Doesn’t explain why her apprentice was killed though…

"Nope. We're going search this place from top to bottom. Anything discovered that you may think is suspicious we’ll analyze for any clues or fingerprints.”

"Okay. Let's get digging."

"Achoo." I sneezed, shaking my head as I pulled back from the dust coming off the crystal ball I carried.

"Bless you, Scar," Jaxson walked into the living room, where the table of suspicious items was set up, ranked from least suspicious to red flashing alarm lights – the crystal ball I carried apparently fit that category.

I’d already reviewed the files and photographs of the victim, Adelia. The only image we had on hand of her alive was of her standing right next to this crystal ball; her wide smile and brown eyes displayed how happy she was to be an apprentice at this place. It was completely different from the image of her lifeless body.

I set the heavy, clouded, purple, crystal ball on the edge of a shelf before sneezing again.

"You'd think this psychic would dust off her belongings more often. This thing looks like it hasn't been used in months." I mumbled before sneezing again.

"Allergic?" Michael questioned as he looked up from the stack of photos on his lap as he sat in the plastic wrapped corner chair.

"No. I just have – achoo. A sensitive nose." I finished.

"Your gloves have dust on them that's why." Christian pointed out as he walked past me, looking at criminal profiles; each file had a picture of a potential suspect.

"Oh." I looked down to my second pair of gloves – the pink pair covered in dust. No wonder. My goodness, there's enough dust I can create a dusty bunny family.

Normally, as investigators, we would have to wear the standard blue or clear gloves, especially when dealing with evidence, but Jaxson had pulled me off to the side, giving me permission to keep my gloves on. It made my heart melt for the fact he showed concern and remembered about my gift. I sat the ball down on the corner of the table and pulled them off, shaking them repeatedly in hopes the thick pile of dust would fall to the floor.

Ethan began to come down the stairs.

"Ethan stay up there till Scarlet gets that crystal ball to the desk." Junho called out; his figure leaned against the kitchen door frame as he inspected an object with a magnifying glass.

"What? Why?" He questioned, stopping three steps from where I was positioned.

"Because you're clumsy as fuck and you'll probably trip, crash right into Scar and that crystal ball will go bye-bye. Remember last time?" Junho continued, taking a quick glance to raise his eyebrow at the blue haired male who frowned.

"That wasn't my fault. Who puts a fucking string in the middle of the road? There are no strings here."

"You mean the caution tape used to prevent you from damaging evidence? Especially in a sterile area?" I questioned.

"Yup, that bright, yellow tape. But our clumsy investigator didn't listen, tripped and ruined all the evidence in three seconds. That’s a new record actually." Michael explained, placing the stack of photos on the desk as he held five of them.

"I guess it wasn't as bad as the time he fell from the top of the stairs, crashed into a suspect’s mistress, knocked her out cold and damaged evidence in six seconds flat." Christian reminded.

"I'm surprised she didn't sue." Jaxson commented as he came from the entrance hallway.

“You know, you guys are all assholes. Fuck all of you. Except for you, Scar." He glared at the others before smiling at me. I giggled.

"Well, give me a second, I need to put my gloves back." I announced, placing the old pair down and pulling out the other pair.

A phone began to ring – Poker Face by Lady Gaga blasted loudly from the kitchen.

"SHIT! That better not be my assistant manager, or I'm so fucking screwed." Ethan swore, rushing down the remaining stairs.

"Etha–" Junho began but it was too late. His leg tripped as he hit the step, bumping into my shoulder which knocked into the table.

"SHIT!" A number of voices called out as the crystal-rolled forward. Aw fuck!

I quickly rotated my body; everything slowed as I felt my eyes begin to sting – my body slowly fell towards the floor. I reached out; my hands caught the heavy crystal as I lifted it up – face planting to the floor. Fuck, thank god, I took my glasses off earlier...

I heard another crash next to me before multiple steps and curses followed.

"Fuck, Scar!"

It was taking all my arm strength to keep the crystal ball upright as my consciousness began to spin even with my eyes shut.

"Take. Crystal. Now." I mumbled into the floor as my arms shook, struggling to keep the weight from dropping. I felt relief as it was lifted out of my hands, but the same moment the wavering sensation hit me.

I gritted my teeth as I struggled to sit up on my knees; something warm fell down my face.

"Shit, Scar's bleeding. Michael!" I heard Jaxson call out. I opened my eyes ready to announce I was okay, but the room began to shift.

The guys who surrounded me with worried expressions blurred; the house morphed – the room grew dark as smoke drifted past me. The strong odor of incense breached my nose as I looked around my surroundings.

The previously chaotic room was clean and organized. The kitchen table that was once filled with Ethan's laptop and other electronic devices had a flower placemat and empty glass of what I presumed has been water. I glanced to the open living room, and my eyes returned to the vintage chair Michael had been sitting on – the pink and gold designed fabric covered in plastic wrap was hard to see in the darkened room.

A crash echoed against the walls, causing me to flinch as my eyes returned to the center of the room – a gigantic man descended down the stairs, coming into view.

He was massive – his toned, built body and overly sized biceps contributing to his bulky appearance. He looked furious as he gritted his teeth and paced the living room in front of me; his red eyes glanced up as an elderly woman entered, followed by a younger woman – the same one whose remains had been discovered this morning.

She was beautiful and young. The file stated she was twenty-five, but she looked no older than nineteen. Adelia had straight black hair; her bangs covered her forehead. Her brown eyes blinked as she trembled in place; her fear apparent.

I glanced back to Saikikku Madore, who stood there with a calm expression. Her grey hair was tied up with a red ribbon – the same ribbon matched the red of the long, kimono outfit she wore. She looked to be of Asian descent. For her old age, she had few wrinkles; her pale skin appeared healthy. She was barely five-feet tall, as she stood there with her hands in the long-sleeved pockets.

I watched the large man pace around before punching a nearby vase – the clear hourglass shaped decoration shattered upon impact. The broken pieces scattered on the floor, Adelia shrieked before rushing to get a broom in the corner of the room. Saikikku however, stood in place; her eyes lowered to the shattered glass, but her expression remained relaxed. The shattered glass...was his blood?

I focused on analyzing his appearance – my eyes concentrated on remembering every detail possible. He had a rough appearance; his hair was black with red highlights pointed all over the place. He looked about six-nine, the surplus amount of muscle and overall bulkiness of his structure reminded me of the Hulk from the superhero movie. I noticed a snake's head peeking out from his short sleeve t-shirt; his dark red pants had a similar design. His dark red, blood-like eyes were the most dominant feature – glowing dimly like he was the devil himself. "DO ANOTHER READING." He demanded, pointing his bleeding hand at Saikikku.

"I will not." She replied

"Your reading is wrong!" He retorted.

"The gods don't lie. You won't be able to stop the Elemental from awakening. You can search far and wide for the stone of awakening, but it will be pointless. Only the Elemental can unlock its power, and once the seals are shattered, there will be nothing you can do about it."

"I'll find that fucking stone and destroy it."

"It cannot be destroyed. Not until it's fulfilled its purpose, Xerxes. The future can always be re-written, but what's approaching us all is far more dangerous than your little fear over a mage. That stone is her birthright and you know it." She snarled; her eyes narrowed. It was the first time I saw her expression change.

"You are lucky to be well known Saikikku, or I'd have the pleasure of ridding you of your existence." She laughed; her cackle held power, while she looked back at him; her eyes wide enough to see the violet color in them.

"Xerxes, you know I still have all nine lives. Please, be my guest and be the first to try to rid me of my existence from this world. Hah, you sound like your pride-filled brother." She huffed.

"My brother has his own little kingdom to rule. It's about time I claimed mine. If you think I'm going to believe your heroic prophecy of witches, samurais, shifters and now this Elemental getting in my way, you can shove your fortune telling up your ass cause its bullshit. I will get what I want, Saikikku."

"The stars have spoken. It's up to you to choose to accept it or not. But I'll say it one last time. The Elemental WILL awaken, and you are merely one of the multiple sinners who are in desperate need of redemption. Dark times are approaching, and you, Xerxes, are nothing but a chess piece in this brewing war."

"SCAR!"

I blinked; the vision faded within seconds as five pairs of eyes greeted me; Jaxson's face only a few inches away from mine. He let go of my shoulders before shuffling back to the row of men; their worried expressions and eyes made me even more confused. Their eyes are like the fucking rainbow...book. Need book.

I glanced around the room that was fuzzy and uneven; my eyes landed on the table filled with evidence, a pile of blank paper stacked at the edge.

"Scarlet?" Jaxson called out; his voice softer, filled with concern.

"Maybe we should take her to the emergency room?" Ethan proposed.

"Did you forget what I can do? And she's in a dazed state. Like some type of trance?" Michael announced.

"Is this what Kendrick was worried about?" Christian asked.

"Yes. It's her gift.” Jaxson replied.

"What is she staring at?" Michael questioned.

"Christian, grab those sheets of paper and pen. Be quick." Jaxson ordered.

I tilted my head, unable to understand what was going on – the image of Xerxes and Saikikku still fresh in my mind. What do they mean an Elemental will awaken? What's that? What darkness? Dark times. Blood. Fear. Anger.

My thoughts were jumbling together; my fingers ached to draw out the scene before they faded away.

Christian was back, kneeling to present a stack of paper and a pen. I blinked at the objects before I unconsciously grabbed them; my hand sketched out scene after scene before I realized.

It was like drawing a comic book – picture after picture, scene after scene, making the images as realistic and detailed as my sore hand could create.

My eyes darted from side to side as I got the images down. Flick – next – flick – next.

It didn't matter where the sheets went, as long as the memories remained inked to the thin white paper.

Before long, only the last scene remained; my hand now begged for relief while I struggled to get the images down; Saikikku’s final warning that dark times are coming.

"Dark times are approaching, and you, Xerxes, are nothing but a chess piece in this brewing war." I whispered as my hand came to a stop; the pen finished the last scene of where Xerxes, Saikikku and an alive Adelia stood.

I was hit with a wave of exhaustion as the room began to blur; my eyes became too heavy for me to keep open. My body leaned over to the side, losing all strength. Four words lingered in my mind; the remaining visions blurred to nothing as my conscious plunged into darkness.

Dark times are coming...