📎A/N. Hello my lovelies! And you truly are.. I woke up this morning and noticed a bunch of messages on my phone from my Twitter and Wattpad apps.  A little confused, I had my morning coffee before finding my glasses and sitting down at my computer.

To both my shock and amazement it turns out that the Wattys have been announced. I am so very thrilled to know many of the 2016 winners -  krazydiamond | jessesprague | jennimrose | adam_and_jane | merrywombat | mikaelabender | elatimer | FallonDeMornay - If you haven't checked out their wonderful stories, make sure you do. Not only are they very talented writers.. they are amazing people and I am blessed to have bumped into them along the way.

What is still a little surreal is that Masked is also a Watty's winner... and in the category of Voracious reads!  This was only possible because of the wonderful support that many of you have provided... not only on Masked, but also all the other stories in the series as well as my other work. I am so very grateful for each and every one of you and will be sending out virtual hugs to you throughout the day... so if you get a warm fuzzy feeling over the next few hours... that'll be me ❤

Now back to our regular program.... I hope you enjoy the chapter... if you do, don't forget to vote :)

Take care and hugs and kisses to you all!

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Keira was so angry she was ready to breathe fire. The two-faced pond scum of a deputy had looked her in the eye and expressed his sorrow for her loss; and he had the audacity to do this less than half an hour after he'd taken Marcus's life. She wanted her piece of flesh just as much as Ryker did. Before Keira had cleared the doorway, he burst out from the small hallway that led to the changing rooms. His expression perfectly matched hers as he scanned the main area of the station everyone referred to as the bullpen.

"Where the hell is Trudeau?"

The venom that laced his booming voice stopped the entire station in its tracks. All eyes whipped to face the enraged vampire. Even from the opposite side of the building, she could see the rage warring as flashes of red bled into the blue of his irises. If she was closer, she was sure she'd hear his teeth grind against each other; his jaw was so rigid Keira was surprised he could move it at all.

"He was in the changing room I swear," said Mitos. For once, he refrained from any derogatory remarks.

Keira couldn't believe her ears. They've lost Marcus's killer and our only lead to the Order? He was just here!

Ryker breathed in deep, and a hiss could be heard as he let it out between his clamped teeth. The station, including the members of the public at the front counter, were polarized at the Sherriff who barely kept himself together. A far cry from the laid back and congenial man they were used to.

"Jessie Pearl, get him on the horn and tell him I want him back here now."

The heavily pregnant station's dispatcher nodded as she swung her chair back to her desk. "Unit 32, what is your 10:20? Over."

A few confused looks passed between the officers, but no one was game enough to speak. Apart from the static noise from the two-way radio, nothing could be heard. "I repeat. Unit 32 what is your 10:20?"

After still no answer, Jessie Pearl slowly turned back to Ryker. Her hands—in the limited lap she had left—were clenched together so tightly that her knuckles were white. She visibly gulped and said, "He's not answering."

Keira only hoped that in her frightened state, Jessie Pearl's waters didn't burst. The same expression was repeated on the majority of the staff. They were confused at Ryker's mood. From the little she had gleaned in the time she'd been there, Ryker had the community's and his officer's backs, and they knew it. They saw him as a fair and just Sherriff. Not one of them questioned his mysterious background, or the fact that he never appeared to age. Since he had taken on the badge, crime was at an all-time low. They felt safe. Windows and doors were rarely locked.

For him to be so public with his anger, and to almost lose control of the thin veneer that separated the beast from the civilized man could only mean Trudeau had done something they needed to be concerned about. The three members of the public that were waiting to be spoken to edged their way out of the door of the station.

Ryker scanned the room again. "Where's Binks?"

Heads swiveled in all directions.

"He's not on patrol, he was here about ten minutes ago," said Jessie Pearl, her voice came out in a tiny squeak.

A low growl escaped the back of Ryker's throat. "Mitos."

"Yes, boss?"

"I want a roll call now. If I don't have a list of names of those not here or answering their hails within five minutes on my desk, you will be taking missing person reports for the rest of your life. Am I understood?"

"Yes, boss."

Ryker cast his narrowed gaze across the room and stared each of his staff down. "Trudeau is to be considered dangerous and part of the group behind the killings."

A dull buzz sprang up at Ryker's words.

"And unless the rest of you are statues, I suggest you get back to work." Ryker stormed back down the hallway and disappeared from sight.

The officers and staff snapped out of their stupor, and the station resumed its hive of activity. Everyone went back to what they had been doing before Ryker's outburst.

"You heard the Sherriff you fucktards," Mitos called across the crowded room. "Sworns to the briefing room. Jessie Pearl will account for the rest of you."

How did we not see what he was up to?

The more Keira thought about Alan, the more her blood boiled. He was a murderer who had played them all. Fury rose from the depth of her soul, and she had a sudden desire to break something—anything.

A gentle touch on her arm brought her mind back to the present. She turned so see Ananya making strange faces as her eyes flickered downwards. Deacon's secretary was trying to tell her something; but what?

She turned back to notice her sister's eyes were like saucers; a hand covered her mouth.

"For heaven's sake girl," Ananya said in a voice low enough that the others wouldn't overhear. "Look down at your hands."

Keira glanced down to where she was instructed. Her heart stopped mid-beat at what she saw. Floating, as if it were natural and normal to be there, were two glowing orbs that resembled small balls of fire. Each one cupped in the palm of her hands.

What the?

Up until that moment, she'd thought she was clenching her fists, not clenching two mini suns. Stunned, she glanced up to Dayna as if seeking some sort of explanation. When she looked down again, the orbs were gone. Mindful she was in a public place, Keira checked to see if anyone else in the station had noticed the apparition. Satisfied that they were too busy, she threw a grateful look in Ananya's direction and raced back into Ryker's office.

"I suppose that's not supposed to happen," said Ananya as she closed the door behind her a few moments later. Not waiting for an answer, she made her way to Ryker's desk and rustled through his drawers. "I'm sure he's got some of those drugs to calm your nerves, you know the stuff... the one he has to keep confiscating from teenagers, 'Pan' I think it is."

Dayna's hand fell away from her mouth; her face had lost all color. "Pot," she said, "It's called 'Pot'. If you find some, I think we all might need a toke."

Keira, still too stunned to speak shook her head not sure which way was up.

Wide-eyed, Dayna stared at Keira's hands. "It shouldn't be possible."

Not only was it impossible, but it was also outside the laws of nature. An earth witch could not call on the elements of another. She held her hands in front of her face and inspected them. There was nothing to indicate that two fiery balls had manifested itself only moments before. "I don't know how that happened."

"What were you thinking at the time?" Dayna asked.

"I was too angry to think."

Dayna gulped. "What would have happened if you'd used them?"

People would have been hurt.

There was no doubt in her mind that the two fireballs were weapons. She'd somehow manifested an element from thin air. It was one thing to light a candle with her mind. With that she used earth elements to set the wick alight, the flame was the result, not the source.

She looked back down at her hands again and shook her head. "I don't want to think about it."

Dayna moved over to the filing cabinet and began to rifle through them with a sense of urgency. "He must have it stashed somewhere."

"I'm fine, it's not like I'm angry now and balls of fire are going suddenly to fly around the building like comets."

"It's not for you," her sister mumbled as she checked Ryker's jacket. "Shit just got serious."

Ryker stormed into his office cutting off all conversation. "Trudeau and who knows how many others are missing. He's also helped himself to extra weapons and ammo from the armory."

"They have armed the Order?" A sharp pain manifested itself behind Keira's eyes. This was getting worse by the moment.

Before she had a chance to take a breath, there was a brief knock on the door and Mitos walked in. "Jessie Pearl has accounted for all the off duties. It's only Trudeau, Binks and Worthington that's unaccounted for."

He turned to go then as if thinking better of it, turned back. "Do you really think he killed Doctor Wynter's colleague and all the others? Maybe he's just stepped out for donuts?"

Ryker tossed a deputy shield and name tag on the desk. "I found this in the locker room."

"That's just fucked up on so many levels." Mitos scratched his head. "I guess I won't be going to Bingo tonight."

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention. Jessie Pearl peered around the doorway. The wrinkled forehead and questioning eyes, an indicator she was still a little wary of approaching Ryker. "Sherriff, the phones won't stop, and there's a line of people at the counter."

"What's happened?"

Mitos huffed. "It'll be those skitzo tourists wanting to report a missing person. Just tell them to get a grip, their friend will turn up before the end of the day."

Jessie Pearl shook her head. "No, Brad just called in a 10:54."

Ryker rubbed his forehead. "That's all I need."

"What's a 10:54?" Dayna asked.

Keira frowned and looked towards her sister. "Dead body."

***

Deputy Brad Simons looked relieved the moment Ryker walked into the Stop 'n Bite Diner. He quickly made his way towards them. "Don't mind telling ya'll this one takes the cake; ain't seen nutin like it before."

Ryker glanced around the eatery. "Where's the DB?"

The deputy indicated over his shoulder. "Far side of the counter. I called in the 10:54 the second I realized there weren't no breathing."

Sure enough, when they got closer, a man's body lay crumpled on the ground. Apart from an ashen color, there didn't look to be a hair out of place."

Ryker squatted and took a closer look. "So what happened?"

Brad pushed the lip of his Stetson upwards with the finger of one hand while tucking his thumb into his belt buckle with the other. "It's the darndest thing. According to Mary-Anne, the owner of this here establishment, the other customer never laid a finger on him. They were arguing one minute, then the customer who started the disagreement gave our Vic here the evil eye and he dropped dead."

"Where's the other customer now?"

The deputy shrugged. "No one knows. Everyone gave him a wide berth when he left. Ain't no one want to mess with something that like that."

"Witnesses?"

"Take your pick," the deputy said pointing towards a small group cowering together in the far corner of the diner.

"And no one was hurt?"

"Uh-huh."

Ryker's brows knitted together and he glanced towards the way they had come. "So what's with the paramedics?"

"Oh that, that's on account of Louise, one of the waitresses, having herself a little episode. Louise done gone and got herself all worked up. They were called in to give her one of those injections to settle her nervous disposition.

Ryker stood and studied the small group of customers that had witnessed the bizarre incident. "Have you taken their statements yet?"

"No, I was holding off till the cavalry arrived."

Ryker nodded towards huddled group. "You get started there, and Doc Wynter and I will see what we can get out of Louise." With that, he strode towards the door.

"What do you make of it?" Ryker asked as she caught up with him.

"Something's not right. There's not a mark on him."

He opened the door just as his phone rang. "Kincaid," he barked into his phone as he held it open for her.

She stopped short when a curt, "When?" came out a loud enough for the rubber-neckers behind the police cordon tape to look over in curiosity. When Ryker swore under his breath and thrust his phone into his pocket, Keira figured something was up.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"There's been two more reported incidents similar to this one. Both times someone has literally dropped dead. The skirmishes which escalated have now stopped."

Keira could understand that the deaths were a concern. However it was night time, and from her recent experience, there was at least a half dozen bar fights an evening Ryker's team needed to break up.

"The problem with that," said Ryker once she voiced her concern. "These altercations are in shops, food joints and on the street. There's no alcohol involved. They also stopped around the same time, since then nothing."

"What about the missing people?"

"If anything, that's on the rise."

Keira chewed on her nail of her thumb as she absorbed the information. Something was wrong. Very wrong. What did the Order gain from this level of destruction? Surely it wasn't to keep them from looking for Alan and give him time to get away? Was it?

She only hoped that Dayna's insistence on remaining at the station to scry for him worked. They had his badge to help them in their quest to tap into their magic and narrow down his location. If anyone could do it, it was her sister. Keira had never mastered that particular piece of magic. Dayna, however, was exceptional in that department. You never wanted to piss off a witch who could find you no matter how far you ran.

"Do you think the Order is behind this?" she asked, referring to their dead Diner customer.

He looked at the slender woman sitting on the curb. "I suspect Louise will be able to shed some light on the situation."

The waitress who had witnessed whatever had happened, had her arms wrapped around her knees and rocked back and forth in a manic motion. Whatever had occurred had shocked her into a mild hysteria.

Ryker moved around in front of the visibly distraught woman. "Louise, I realize you've had a bit of a shock this evening, but I was wondering if you're up to answering a few questions?"

Louise stopped moving and looked up at him. Dark splotches where mascara had smudged made her look like a forlorn baby panda. She bit the bottom of her lip and said, "I'll try."

"Can you tell us what happened?"

Louise's eyes darted around the immediate area, her expression became uncertain. As if knowing what the issue was, Ryker beckoned Keira to move closer, and he sat down beside the young waitress. Keira took Ryker's lead and sat to her left.

"You're gifted aren't you?" he asked in a low voice so that no one could overhear.

Louise nodded.

"What's your gift?" Keira asked.

Louise rested her chin on her knees and pulled the arms around her legs tighter. "I see aura's...I know people's souls." She blinked and turned towards Ryker. "I know what you are Sherriff." She then swung her head to Kiera. "And you as well."

Keira wondered at Louise's choice in places to live. Of all the talents a gifted person could have, this one was the more common. It was both a gift and a curse. Many successful diplomats over the centuries had been aura reading gifted. It also had the opposite effect, many shied away from large populations, unable to cope with knowing a person before meeting them.

Louise sighed and dropped her head back down to balance on her kneecaps. "You know, you can tell a lot by people's auras."

"And what did you see in the Diner?" Ryker prompted.

"I've never seen anything like it before, it was as if it were being sucked right out of him."

"What was?"

Louise shivered and expelled her breath in a whoosh. "His life force. The real freaky thing was—the man who did it, didn't have one. Every living thing has one. Why couldn't I see his? He just ate that poor man's soul it like it was a freshly baked peach pie."

How was that possible?

Keira had never heard of that sort of ability. It wasn't possible to take a life that way. Or at least, until now, it hadn't been.

"What do you think?" Ryker asked once they were finished with their questions. Louise had been too distraught to continue, and they were reluctant to push her over the edge.

"I don't know what to think, none of what she said makes sense. No one, and I mean no one can just rip a person's essence from them like that."

"Could it be a rogue witch doing some sort of mumbo jumbo spell?"

She considered the question for all of two seconds. "No. We can't tap into that sort of power. If we want to kill someone, it will be a potion or poison. Alternately, we use the same methods of everyone else."

He grinned. "At least it's not a vampire. Whichever way we take a person out, you can bet your last dollar there will be blood involved."

They were interrupted from any further conversation when the county coroner's van pulled up.

A wiry middle-aged man jumped out of the vehicle before it had come to a complete stop and rushed towards Ryker. "What do you have for me?" He turned back towards the younger man who had been driving and yelled out, "A little faster would be nice. We don't have all day."

His assistant closed the door of the van and raced towards the back. The coroner turned back to Ryker and adjusted his glasses.

"We're still trying to piece it together, but it looks like our Vic got into an argument then dropped dead. My guess is he had a heart attack or stroke. Remember that Atherton case a few years back? This one feels the same," said Ryker as he pointed towards the diner.

The coroner cocked his head. "Two in one day? What the hell is going on Sherriff?"

"Full moon tomorrow night," said Ryker, "maybe that's affected them."

The coroner rose an eyebrow. "You and me both know Ryker, the crazies don't need a full moon."

Keira's stomach tightened. This couldn't be a coincidence. She had to agree with the coroner's sentiment...What the hell was going on?

As soon as the coroner and his assistant disappeared inside Ryker reached for his two-way radio and scanned through the channels.

In the short time they had been on site, the body count had risen. There were now five fatalities. Each one the same. From the location of the victims, it was clear that they were not dealing with the same killer. There was no way two deaths in Ryker's jurisdiction in Essex County, one in Salem and two in Laurence all resulted from the same person.

The uneasy feeling had turned into bricks that sat at the bottom of her stomach. It wouldn't budge or let up.

"We are going to have a major disaster on our hands if we don't contain this," Ryker muttered as he again reached for his phone. "It's becoming too widespread for people not to notice."

"Who are you phoning?"

"The old man, he's bound to be getting pressure from the Governor; that weasel Sherriff in Laurence County married the Governor's sister. He's in his ear every chance he gets."

While Ryker was deep in conversation with Deacon, Keira wandered back towards the Diner. The unfortunate man who had his aura literally ripped from him was now placed into a black body bag. Officers outside were keeping any spectators well away from the scene. For all intents and purposes, it looked like any police crime scene you'd find anywhere in the country. The only problem was, it wasn't a typical crime scene, and the murderer wasn't a typical killer.

Without warning, a hand clenched around her upper arm and pulled her away from the window. "We've got to get back to the Station."

Trying to keep up with his fast pace and tight grip on her arm she fought to make him slow down. His grim expression had just added another brick to the pile already at the bottom of her stomach. "What about the other crime scene? Don't we need to get to that?"

"I do train my officers to do their job without me having to hold their hands every time. We need to get back now."

"Why?" she asked as they reached the car.

"Because there's only a skeleton staff on duty at the moment."

"And?"

Ryker opened the door and halted a moment before he got in. "Deacon will meet us there."

Mother Earth, why is he not making sense?

Keira opened the door and bent down to look inside the car. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I told Deacon about what our Aura reader said." Ryker started the engine. "We need to get back to the station, and he'll meet us there."

When she didn't move, he flashed an angry glare at her and growled. "Doc, get in the goddam car now!"

Not wanting a repeat performance of his outburst from earlier, she threw herself in the car. "Fine, but you still haven't said why the urgency."

"Legions. Deacon said the only things that can suck out a person's soul like that is Legions. Dayna is on her own with a short secretary who's seen better days, a pregnant woman- who I am sure is having quadruplets, and a desk Sargent who walks with a limp."

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📎A/N.... Well it looks like Amos and General Zahir are getting those Legions through... and from the missing persons reports... a lot of them.

Did you know they could kill you just by looking at you?? No, neither did I! :-( 

I'm a bit worried that Alan has taken off with extra ammo and weapons.. this can't be good. Surely the Legions wouldn't attack the Sheriffs department?? If they do, I only hope that Dayna can hold off the hoards until Ryker and Keira get there!

hmmmm.... and I wonder if Ananya and Dayna found what they were looking for?? ;-)

... and more importantly... what did you think of Kiera's new trick?  Fireballs!! How did it suddenly manifest itself and why? So many questions and so little time..

Till next time, take care. 

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