Blood and Spells

#Human World#

#Present Day#

#10:55 pm#

On this cold chilly night, the natural black hugs the stars as a mother does to her newborn. This might seem like a metaphor but under the dark and quiet sky of Los Angeles, a beautiful mansion stood out from the familiar architectural design of the Obama's estate. A modern house that served as shelter to a single mother and her ten-year-old daughter.

"Mom!" Hailey nuzzled closer to her mother as she tried to absorb her warmth.

"Yes baby," the mother sat upright on her daughter's bed and stroke the kid's hair.

"Tell me a story, I find it difficult to sleep." She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hmm!" The mother tapped her chin repeatedly and her brow furrowed in thought. "What story do you want to hear Lee? It is past your bedtime."

"Story about the mystery of Los Angeles."

The moonlight brought a comforting beauty as it served as the softest of flashlights illuminating the room while the bed lamp dulled in comparison.

"Once upon a time, thousands of years ago before the creation of men, mythological creatures roamed the surface of the Earth but their major place of abode was the city of Angels, Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, they owned, governed, and controlled the city."

"Now this is some creepy and unique story, not the same old dog and elephant story." Lee rolled her eyes and her mother chuckled.

"Los Angeles was divided into four quarter where the vampires, witches, werewolves, and sirens all occupied. The vampires were known to be the bonafide leader as they did rule the entire Quarter."

A harsh wind blew and tore the curtain from its initial position. As the mother ventured deeper, Lee's heart hammered fast with her pulses racing. The story wasn't only different from her usual bedtime stories, it was deliciously unique and terrifying.

"As the creatures thrived on, War began to set in between the creatures because they all wanted to take part with leadership. The vampires were biased and they banned the witches from using dark magic, limiting their practices to little or no magic. Any witch caught practising magic was fed on as a means of execution by the vampires and that didn't sit well with the witches."

"The wolves were neither treated fairly either as they forced them to evacuate the quarter and occupy the bayou when a wolf killed a vampire. Things weren't great with them all. The older vampires called a meeting between the North and the south vampires to amend things. But the ruthless ruler refused to yield to the council's advice." The mother raised her brows and hands for dramatic effect.

"And what happened?" Beads of sweat assembled on Lee's forehead and a fat one tickled her nape.

The mother's baritone went lower and she muttered with eyes wide. "And one day, a prophecy of doom was declared and they were all eventually wiped out." She snapped her fingers in Lee's face and the kid snickered.

"God was disappointed with the creatures so he decided to rebuild the world. It took him seven days to complete the project and on the sixth day, he created animals and humans. He gave us a developed and more advanced brain and made us dominate the earth. We became the next creature to wander around the perimeter of Earth. The end." The mother stood up from Lee's bed and tried to tuck her in properly.

"But what if some of them went into hiding and they were not fully wiped out mom?" Lee's head jerked up-- waiting, anticipating, and nervous as hell.

The mother folded her arm to her chest and stared at the terrified kid. "This story is just a rumour that has been in circulation for years. Those creatures don't exist in reality. They are simply myths. Cooked up fantasy." She smiled brightly and kissed Lee's freckled covered cheeks.

"But what if one of them escapes from hell and comes after me?"

For a brief second, silence hung in the air and passed on with the cold wind that blew past.

The mother scoffed at her highly inquisitive but naive daughter.

"What is my name, Lee?"

"Elizabeth Smith."

"I'm one of the best homicide detectives and the best cop that LA can boast of. Do you think I will let any harm come your way love?" She squeezed Lee's palms, forcing her to see the reassurance and sincerity in her eyes.

"No mom." Lee shook her head and tucked some shoulder-length auburn hair behind her ears.

"Good!" Lizzy clapped with enthusiasm, kissed Lee's forehead and ruffled her hair.

Lee chuckled louder and muttered. "Stop mom, I'm not a kid."

"Oh please, you will always be my little kid. So, chop-chop! Time to sleep, Lee."

"Goodnight mom." Lee shivered as the weather disintegrated even lower in degree Celcius.

"Good night baby."

Lizzy walked towards the kid's window and stared at the dark cold street. Everywhere was silent in a creepy way. Lizzy couldn't tell if she was hallucinating but she could swear she saw shadows roaming around in swift paces and even her body could testify through the goosebumps that decorated her skin and the hair on her arms and legs that stood at attention.

It had been a long day at work. Solving murder cases, performing data research, gathering information on suspects, and actively interrogating mentally deranged people who felt eliminating a person for the slightest reason was the best solution to their fears or insecurity was practically what her job entailed.

Having worked as a cop for three years and eventually became a homicide detective has its perks and made her realize that not every human you see on the street is psychologically stable. You might just be surprised at the kind of various people housed in the city with multiple murder cases popping up the raider on a daily basis.

Elizabeth believed in collecting proof and evidence. Although her job makes her create theories but there must be a good motive and a concrete validation be it through forensic reports or physical evidences. She doesn't believe anything supernatural truly exists. It is just the weather and cold messing with her mind and brain. Or like her daughter truly questioned, do mythological creatures truly exist?

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