Murder in the Woods

By Katrina Trujillo

In the Federation of Democracy, unsettling events are unfolding. A dedicated special unit is tasked with unravelling the mystery, but they’re quickly ensnared in a web of murder, espionage, and dark cult secrets. What initially seemed like a straightforward mission becomes a perilous journey.

With the aid of the police and by delving into the worlds that surround them, they uncover an even more ominous threat on the horizon. Now, unity is their only weapon. They must band together, not just to solve the mystery, but to survive the looming darkness. Dive into a tale of intrigue, danger, and the unyielding spirit of those sworn to protect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781035815319

Katrina Trujillo

I am a twenty-five-year-old writer and illustrator. I really have a passion for writing and illustrating my own characters. I see the stories not as words written on a page but as a movie playing inside my head, and being able to see an illustration of a character brings the movie to life, in a manner of speaking. I graduated with a bachelor’s in English and a minor in art.

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About the Author

She’s creative using ideas that come to her to create a world of fantasy that captures the attention of others and draws them into the world. Establishes strong characters that develop as the story goes. She is active in the ways of family and friends, loves to include them in her creative ideas and feverous joy of life.

Dedication

Dedicated to my friends who never stop believing in me and

encourage me to continue on with my dreams.

My aunt Rose who helped me pay for the publication for this book.

Copyright Information ©

Katrina Trujillo 2023

The right of Katrina Trujillo to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781035815302 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781035815319 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Restless

Softly whisper in my ear,

The words that I yearn to hear.

Do not forsake my dying wish

In order to live life in bliss.

Whisper into my mind and dreams

My dark fantasies and whimsical things

Let fairies fly and goblins sing

Until the sun has tossed her beams

Please, place a flower upon my grave

and wish for us a better day

Let it not be said I was so fey

That I went early to my grave

Commend my strengths of ease in illness

When the pain increases my blindness,

The courage I had to continue forward

Even in my turmoil of a soundless cord

Upon my soul, the sound of silence

Which echoes in the cavernous womb

That is called a body

Woe unto me the heartless corpse of my forgotten youth

Let crimson stains fall upon thy breast

Like a wind beast upon the domestic chicken

And let my shadow seek thy revenge

Upon the beating heart that flutters no more

Then after all is said and done

Whisper my name amongst the reeds

So, the wind may scream it out to the world

And I shall be no more, but an echo in the stillness of the night

An echo that lays buried beneath the soil

Where my heart shall nevermore beat beneath the floor.

Prologue

The coin flipped heads over tails as it soared through the air and landed with a splash, deep into the water of the glass bottomed fountain. Koi fish swam over to investigate but quickly lost interest in the round metal object, since it wasn’t food. Two of the local strays were seen lazing around the fountain, one paw sticking into the water in a half-made attempt to catch one of the swimming fishes within. With fingers still raised from the light toss of the coin was a man standing of about average height with short cropped blonde hair. He stood with a heavy coat on to combat the cold chill that was in the air. The man wore a thick sweater under the coat and dress pants. He didn’t have any shoes on, but instead had metal feet like appendages that made up the missing limbs. His eyes were unique and usually were the second thing to be noticed after his feet; his left eye was blue, and his right eye was green. After another heartbeat passed, the man lowered his hand and stuffed it into the pocket of his long winter coat. He never wore hats even on the coldest of days, some of his underlings assumed it was because he no longer felt the cold, but in reality, he had always been like that.

He had come here to contemplate a job offer that he had been given recently-one that could very well change his life, but it could also ruin his chance at continuing his military career. The man lifted his gaze as another male came to stand next to him. The man was one of those who had offered the job to him; he was still confused as to why they would ask him to do such a thing. He turned to face the other, Sir, with all due respect—

Son, every time someone says such a thing, they don’t really mean it, the man answered, turning his grey eyes to look into the other man’s mismatched eyes. What is it you want to ask me?

Why choose me for a job, you know my background and preferences?

Colonel Sephtis Baldan, it was because of your background that I chose you. I needed someone that has a mistrust of the paranormal in order to get the job done. People with such skills are needed; yes, I won’t deny that, but we can do with a little less trust on them. You won’t be relying on them to save the day all the time, and you will think before allowing them to take actions. That is why I chose you. The man answered, shifting his gaze back to the cats and pond. Baldan nodded his head; he had taken a parade rest when the other had been speaking, something subconsciously done. It was a show of his strictness of by-the-book attitude that he followed the rules and made sure all his I’s were dotted and his T’s crossed, before he took action.

Sir, Baldan stated, I am willing to accept the position in the programme. He stated, pulling the file up on his phone. He stared down at the orders on the device.

Colonel Sephtis Baldan, you are hereby ordained as the lead officer in the Supernatural Investigation Unit that has been established in the government’s base. You will have full power to choose your crewmembers from the assortment of applications that will be given to you via your acceptance of the job. This unit will be run in league with the other departments and units that have been established, and you will have full reign over certain areas and continents of earth.

The file continued on with more drabbles, but Baldan was one who didn’t sugar-coat things as often as the government did. He turned to look at the other man who was nodding his acceptance of the agreement.

Tomorrow, come in early. We will have the documents that you need to sign, then afterwards, you can begin to make your crew. The two men shook hands before the older of the two turned on his heels and started off. Baldan stayed behind for another hour, watching as people went along on their business, unworried and carefree of the dangers that dwelt in their lives.

He thought about how this taskforce came into being, the history behind human civilisation. Looking up, he watched as a spaceship came in to dock just above the atmosphere of the planet that is known as earth. It was surprising that about two hundred years ago that the human race struggled to get out into space, but now it was not only accomplished. They had been able to find planets that contained life on it, and not just small little molecules but beings that were just as advanced as or even more so than the human race. However, the upside of finding such life force was also the encounter of the evil that inhabited all of the life forces of the universe-the races of planets that were peaceful versus the races of planets that were the opposite of that. He gazed down at the metal feet like prosthetics that were now his lower legs. He had been in close contact with one such race and didn’t want others to suffer for the anger of such beings.

He turned to leave to head back to his apartment that he shared with his mother. The older woman feared her only son being by himself, so had left the nursing home he had asked her to go into and now resided with him. A spark of light flickered off a small black cat that had been sitting patiently in the dark shadows of the buildings, but now it started a slow prance towards the fishing pond. He turned to watch the feline move in and out of the small crowd, being mindful not to step on anyone or bump into anyone. The man followed the cat to the pond. Something about the cat had caught his attention, from the way it moved and the way it watched its surroundings, the feline was more than it seemed to be. However, when he came to the pond, the cat was gone. Scratching his head, he turned and left the same way he came; he didn’t have time to waste following a black cat anyway.

The black cat watched as the human left the area; she cocked her head slightly as she contemplated what to do now that she was there. Something had dragged her here after a fight with another dark fey. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She was snarling her red horns glowing in the darkness as her massive paws crushed the dark foliage of the forest by which she was surrounded. The other fey was letting off its own warnings, wings spread wide and vibrant rays of gold and orange flashed in neon colours and shapes along its body and into its spread wings. She had spread her own wings, arching them into a more threatening pose with her venomous quills pushing through the veins of the dragonfly wings ready to launch at her opponent. Her snarl turned into a vibrating roar. Then she charged. Her own bioluminescent colours of blues and greens showed how dangerous she was as she slammed into the dark fey in mid-flight. Both crashed into the ground, her jaws closed over one of his wings and one of his arms. He cried out in pain, his blade piercing into her black furred shoulder. It was a miss to one of her three hearts as his aim was to push her away from him and not to kill. Not yet at least.

The planet of Blaecleah was amassed in danger. Plants, animals, even the natives of the planet were all dangerous killing machines. Their twin planet, Ciana was made of similar dangers, but the natives and animals were less likely to harm another soul unless provoked or defending against danger. Blaecleah natives were more the type to kill first and ask questions later. They were ruthless and misleading to all who travelled to the planet. When Terrans first arrived on the planets, they were thunderstruck and afraid of the fey races. As the fey were stronger, faster, heavier, and built for battle and destruction, they wiped out the first settlers that tried to colonise the planet, Blaecleah. Now, the Unseelie race was held in check by their twin race the Seelie. While both courts of monarchs ruled their own planets, they sent ambassadors to speak and represent their races to the other races in the combined Democracy that was created by the Terrans and the more peaceful other races. Misae Signy was one of the few that were of the court that worked beneath the Crowned Prince Madoch Black or Lord Black as the Terrans called him. He was a cruel man in many eyes as he allowed his underlings to destroy all life that they touched. He was better known as the Fey of Death as he dealt in the shadows and pulled his puppet’s strings from a distance. Misae as a Cait Sith was by far one of the deadlier and more misleading of Lord Black’s court. Misae was a little of everything when it came to Lord Black’s requests.

Misae pivoted on one paw turning to face off once more with her assailant. Blood vibrant blue and glowing flowed from the wound that had been afflicted on both of them. The male fey was far more wounded. His wings on his left side had been crushed and bitten through by the venomous Cait Sith; the venom was already slowing him down as he tried to stay upright when he turned. His blade fell limply from his hand as the venom attacked his nervous system. He staggered a little bit towards her, his hands held in front of him and eyes glazing over in pre-death blindness. He fell a foot from Misae and twitched a few times in the throes of the poison. Foam spilled from his mouth as the toxins ate away the lining of his lungs, the third set of lungs opening up along his throat as gills to release more foam. After a few minutes, he fell still, and cooled as his temperature dropped in death. Misae snorted, pawed at the floor, and stepped closer, ready to tear into her enemy for her meal. That was when the portal opened up and started to pull her in. She scrambled to fight against it, wings spread out and shooting quills into the portal ahead of her. A flash of light: black, white, and grey blurred into one as she was pulled through and landed on her side in the middle of a court of some sort. The humans paused in what they had been doing and stared in shock at the sight of the massive dark fey. Misae roared and attacked; her eyes unseen of what she was killing. All that she knew was that someone had dragged her to the Terran’s home world Terra, as some would call earth, and that she was enraged by the act.

She pulled herself out of the memory and leaped onto the outer rocks that made up the pond. The people were starting to thin out in numbers, and she was waiting for it to darken enough for her to shift. She was going to go take the money from the pond, she was hungry and chasing rats and other vermin all day was not her cup of tea. She knew that in a few days’ time, she was going to be ported to another village and placed once more into a blind rage. Cait Siths did not like to be transported anywhere by magic. It left a menacing itch in their own magic and made them very hostile. It was why mages and other summonses didn’t bother trying to summon any type of Siths to begin with. Only Lord Black had been able to control the Fey Siths; no other race or fey tried to because Siths were unpredictable factors in any form.

Misae waited for another hour for the crowd to thin even more before she shifted. If her pointed ears didn’t give her away as a fey, then her curling red horns would. She slipped her feet into the water and waded to the centre, pausing every now and again to pick up the quarters and other change that had been dropped into the pond. She paid no mind to the fish, except to catch one and throw it at a hungry stray that had come snooping by. The orange tabby was more than happy to eat the flopping meal that had been handed to him, and Misae went back to her task. It didn’t take long before Misae had a bag full of quarters. She slipped back out of the pond and started towards the one place she knew that would allow her to get a meal without asking any questions.

Baldan stepped into the brightly lit corridors of the government building that would be the new headquarters for the Supernatural Investigation Unit or otherwise called the SIU. He was in uniform as he had not asked about how he should be dressed for the job. He paused to look at each of the plaques that were hanging on the walls leading down the hallway he was heading down. He knew some of the names that had been listed in some of the plaques, but some others were foreign to him. He finally came to the doorway that was labelled with the letters SIU Office. He turned the knob on the door with his left hand, the hand that had the chip implant that would allow access to all government property. The kicker of the chips was that they not only allowed access, but the chip redesigned itself to match only that person’s DNA strands and the person had to be alive when trying to gain access to buildings. The chips had been designed after multiple armed attacks where the suspects gained entry by either stealing the chip and implanting it into them or chopping off the hand that the chip was planted in. It was an easier way to avoid having suspects entering in. Granted it didn’t really work if the suspect took one of the employees as a hostage and used them to gain entrance only to kill them later on.

Sephtis was more interested in the files that were supposed to be waiting for him inside. He stepped into the room and a young blonde in her mid-twenties lifted her head up to look at him from her position behind a desk. Colonel Baldan, I am Sophia Delta. I will be your new secretary, the woman, Ms Delta stated, holding a hand-out to shake with Sephtis’. Sephtis reached out and grasped her hand, giving it a firm shake before releasing it. He wasn’t really interested in blondes, but he did notice the woman’s beauty. He would have to be blind not too, but all the same he wasn’t interested. He had very little concepts of dating or even desiring to go on one. His main focus was his career and following orders. He nodded to show that he understood but headed past her as soon as she allowed movement to do so. Sophia sighed and went back to her desk. She had been told that her new boss was going to take some getting used too, she had thought they had been joking when they said he could be very blunt or uncaring of certain things that were not protocol or orders. Sophia started typing up a few reports that had already come in from the higher ups. It would appear that this unit was desperately needed to help combat the supernatural that had been going on around here since the fey were discovered.

Sephtis Baldan sat down at his desk, the files sat in plain unmarked folders upon his desk in a neat pile. Just the way he liked things to be. He pulled the first file to him and opened it up. It showed a young teen of about fifteen in the photo, claimed the teen was capable of telepathic connections but Sephtis threw it off to the side with barely more than a glance after reading the first incident report on the teen. He pulled the second one open and stared at the features of a young man who was waiting in holding cells for hacking into the database and trying to order materials for a summoning potion. His papers stated that the young man was in holding, sitting in a cell to cool down. There was a code for him to type into his computer to view in on the young man. He swivelled his chair around and typed in the code, 7A63S. The computer screen darkened a little before it brightened up on the dull wet grey cement cell that housed a young man of average height of six-foot one inch tall with sandy brown hair and what appeared to be dark eye colouring. Sephtis wasn’t sure about the eye colouring and checked back with the files to make sure about it. Deep brown, it looked correct. The man was wearing a baggy dark purple hoodie that had questionable stains on it and baggy cargo pants. Looking back at the file, he noticed that his shoes and shoulder bag had been confiscated but the tie in his hoodie had already been missing. The name in bold stood out for Sephtis, Freyr Nikephoros.

Freyr sat back against the corner of the dull room. The two goons had tossed him in here after he had been frisked. He was bored and it was the reason he had been caught in the first place; boredom was his enemy. He sat pulling out what remained in his pockets, a piece of lint that hand not been pulled out with his other knick-knacks that he kept stuffed in his pockets, bits of chalk that stained his fingers red. He used the stains to smear across the grey walls creating ruins that seemed to glow a darker red than the chalk had been. A voice on the intercom gurgled out a command for him to stop; Freyr started smearing the chalk faster trying to get all the symbols he needed fast enough to summon that for which he was aiming. A spark of water from the sprinkler system splattered onto his face and Freyr cursed as he bit his thumb to bring forth his blood to try to bond the ruins into the wall once bonded; they couldn’t be washed away until he was done with them. The ruins exploded outwards sending him sailing backwards into the opposite wall and sitting where he had been standing was a small dog-like creature from one of the fairy worlds. Freyr groaned as he allowed his head to thump backwards onto the wall and stared up at the sprinklers and water spitting out of them, washing away the ruins and blood that had brought the winged dog here. He had messed up once more. The dog-like creature came over and looked down at him, head cocked in a funny way and large eyes watching him. Freyr snorted at the dog that snorted right back at him and turned away to get out of the water.

The door opened a few minutes later, Freyr lifted his head and looked at who had entered into the cell. The man who entered was tall and sported a bald head, Freyr snorted at the concept of who this man was. Freyr Nikephoros? The man asked, his two different coloured eyes staring down at where Freyr sat still recovering from his blast of misfired summoning magic.

Only if you are asking to set me free, Freyr responded. If you are here to press charges, then I am not that guy. The man arched a fine eyebrow and separated his two metal prosthetic feet as he crouched down to grab the summoner by his shirt front.

You listen to me, kid, and you listen very carefully. I am not here to play games with you. You have a lot of charges going up against you at the moment, many of them having to deal with your goof-off of spell casting, Mr Baldy snarled. Freyr looked around the destroyed cell.

If you haven’t noticed, Mr Clean, I am not the most reliable summoner in the box. Maybe, you should be picking on someone who can actually take you on, Freyr answered back, his hands having crept up to clutch at the fist buried in his shirt front. The man released him and Freyr stumbled back away from him.

You’re right, I guess the government can charge you with life imprisonment and treason after all. My mistake, Baldy calmly pulled his uniform back down with a sharp tugging motion and turned to leave. Freyr stopped for a few moments contemplating what had just been told to him.

Wait, treason? How can they say treason? Freyr cried out scrambling after the man. Baldy turned around and looked at him.

Illegal summoning of fae creatures is a form of treason Mr Nikephoros. Freyr grimaced and looked down.

What do you want me to be doing anyways? He responded as he thought of all the things that could be demanded of him.

Simple, I want your powers and use for my team, Freyr looked up at him.

Why?

Because I think it would be very beneficial to me and my group to have use of you.

Okay, you have it. Just don’t put me in for treason, Freyr finally stated after several minutes of silence between them. The man smiled and turned to face him fully.

Welcome to the team, Mr Nikephoros. My name is Colonel Sephtis Baldan; I will be in charge of you for the rest of your life, Sephtis stated, reaching out to shake hands with Freyr.

Joy, can’t wait for the devil to take away my soul, was the dry response in turn of the introduction? Baldan led Fryer out of the cell and to a room that had been made up in accordance with the new recruits. Freyr as a prisoner would not have free rein to go in and out of the building unless it was for assignments. Instead, he would be confined to the building and floors with his clearance in order to keep an eye on him and make sure that he caused no more mischief. The dog-like creature followed behind them, sniffing at different points as Baldan told Freyr what will be happening during his time here.

Sephtis escorted the young man to his room and then returned to his own office. He knew that not all of the new recruits will be as easy to get on board the project as Nikephoros had been. He had a few more files to go through before he would be stopping for the day.

Misae eased her way out into the streets of the compound that housed a heavy magical signature. Her fur was standing on end from the magic that was crackling and sparking in the air like the way the air grows heavy before a lightning strike. Her eyes flashed in the darkness as a car drove by, headlights reflecting off of her eyes and casting light into the gloom. She could see that people were moving from one building to another, some were carrying items and others were carrying nothing, but the scent of magic still clung like a days old sock scent in the air.

Misae eased her way along the borders of the buildings staying close to the shadows as she moved, her paws not making a sound as she seamlessly glided across the tarmac. From one shadow to the next, Misae’s form quickly grew from the size of a medium dog to the height of a large horse. Her paws were larger than a dinner plate, the fur making them even larger in appearance. The pupils of her eyes became slitted as she lowered her belly and chest to the ground, ears back and tail swishing back and forth in a rhythmic motion preparing to attack. An alarm started blaring loudly and Misae charged, letting out a roar. She slammed into the first soldier, tearing into him with horns and claws. Blood sprayed as one horn sliced an artery.

She then leaped over a barrier that was supposed to stop cars from driving all the way through and ran for the compound’s door. The man guarding the door started shooting at her; she dodged to the left and came up fast. Catching him in the face