Returning to the real world should have eased Xander's nerves, but his heart still kept racing inside his chest. As he tried to stand back up, he felt a sharp pain in his right leg.
On lifting his jeans he noticed that his ankle had been badly scarred. It was the same place where the Dread Lord's chain whip had latched onto his leg.
"How is this possible?" he gasped in shock.
Once a Dreamwalker returned to the real world, all his wounds healed automatically. This was the first time his injuries had carried over from the Nightscape.
"What's wrong?" Detective Locksley asked. But before he could take a look at Xander's leg, he quickly lowered his jeans.
"I was right. She has been murdered," Xander said, looking at the detective.
"Did you find out who did it?"
Though Esther's Last Memory hadn't been able to reveal the mystery behind her murder, Xander knew he couldn't tell the truth, or he risked losing his payment. Instead of lying outright, he tried to twist his words.
"It wasn't anyone close to her. I believe this might be linked to one of her possessions. Once I search her bedroom, I might be able to—"
"There's no need for that. You've already outstayed your welcome, Dreamwalker," a scornful female voice interrupted him.
Xander and Detective Locksley turned around together, and their eyes fell on an ivory-skinned lady with short white hair. She was dressed in a perfectly fitted red blazer and a pair of sleek black trousers. Standing beside her were her two junior officers wearing red leather jackets and carrying crossbows on their backs.
Eileen walked up to Xander and raised her eyebrow condescendingly. "Your kind are truly pathetic. You just can't stop poking your noise in other people's business, can you?"
Detective Locksley was quick to come to Xander's aid. "This is my case, Ms. Ei—"
"It doesn't matter. I am here now, and since you involved a Dreamwalker in this mess, it falls under my jurisdiction." The woman flashed a shiny silver badge shaped like the crescent moon, and introduced herself, "I am Eileen Williams, Chief Investigator at the Department of Mystical Affairs. Please state what business brings you to this crime scene."
The Department of Mystical Affairs was a special enforcement wing whose only job was to investigate matters involving Mystics. They were notorious for their ruthlessness and every single Mystic in Somnium knew these agents were prejudiced against all Talent-wielders.
When this special department was created, the government's main goal was to ensure the safety of the Ordinaires—the ordinary people who weren't gifted with Talents.
However, over the course of time, the DMA started becoming more prejudiced, and by now it was clear that they enjoyed persecuting Mystics even if they were completely innocent.
Up until this very day, Xander had avoided crossing paths with the DMA agents, but now it seemed fate itself had ordained this encounter. At least Xander could still consider himself to be lucky since the cops were on his side. Things would have ended a lot differently if the Red Jackets had caught him all alone.
"I asked him to—"
"I don't think I asked you anything." Detective Locksley tried to come to Xander's aid, but Eileen was having none of it. "Now, please cooperate with me, Dreamwalker," she added with a note of condescension in her voice.
Xander kept his calm and replied, "I was helping the Detective solve this case."
"Ohh, were you?" Eileen sneered. "I didn't know you were a member of the Faros Police Department. My apologies, officer."
"I'm not with the FPD. I was just—"
"You were just trying to mislead a bunch of incompetent cops with your elaborately crafted lies. I know who you are. You're a God damn Dreamwalker. A good-for-nothing Mystic who makes a living by cheating the superstitious."
"Watch your tongue!" Xander finally snapped. "I'm not a fraud. I can talk to their Last Memories."
"I've heard that nonsense before." Eileen stared him down. "Why don't you prove your worth? Tell me how she died."
"Her name is Esther Rayne. She didn't commit suicide. This was a murder," Xander said without a second thought.
Eileen folded her arms one on top of the other and sniped, "So, you must have a name. Tell me, who killed her?"
Detective Locksley looked at the Dreamwalker with complete confidence, but Xander realized he was about to let him down. Instead of replying to Eileen's question, he chose to remain silent.
"What's wrong, Dreamwalker? A ghost got your tongue?" Eileen sneered. "Tell me anything; just anything related to the case that these officers don't know already."
Xander balled his fist and grumbled, "She was probably killed by a cult."
"A cult?" Eileen scoffed. "And this cult's got a name?"
"It's a cult that worships Shamura," Xander replied.
"Shamura? That make-believe Goddess that you Dreamwalkers talk about to scare the non-Mystics?"
"Shamura isn't fake. She is as real as the deities we worship in our world. And someone is trying to free her from her prison."
"You really are a fascinating storyteller. But I'm not a fool like these gullible officers. You'll have to do better than that." Eileen raised her left eyebrow and turned away from Xander with a look of revulsion on her face. She looked at the agent standing outside the door and instructed, "James, please escort the Dreamwalker out of the crime scene and take him into custody. He has a lot to answer for."
As the young officer moved in to arrest the Dreamwalker, Detective Locksley stepped in. "He is here on my request. I will not let you take him into custody. If you want to remove him from the premises, you'll need a warrant."
"You're stepping on my toes, Detective. And I don't like when people do that," Eileen responded, checking her sharp tongue at the last moment.
"I think you're the one crossing the line here," Detective Locksley replied promptly.
Things were starting to heat up when a sleek black sedan with chrome gray wheels pulled up outside the apartment. A tall, elderly man in a striped blue suit, wearing gold-rimmed spectacles stepped out of the vehicle, along with a young police officer in uniform.
Detective Locksley and the other officers of the FPD immediately stiffened up and saluted the man who had stepped out of the car.
"I'm sorry for the mess. We weren't expecting you so early, Chief," Detective Locksley spoke with the utmost respect.
The Chief of Police, however, didn't seem too pleased. Without even bothering to reply to the detective, he turned to Eileen with a displeased look on his face.
"I don't remember asking for your assistance. This doesn't concern you," he spoke curtly.
Eileen was a feisty woman, one who wasn't accustomed to being pushed over, but even she knew her limitations. Getting on Chief Volgin's bad side was the last thing she needed.
"I understand that this case is beyond my jurisdiction, but your officer just invited a Dreamwalker to help him out. And that's the reason I had to get involved, Chief," Eileen replied in a subdued tone, careful not to step out of line.
The Chief of Police slowly turned away from her and fixed his piercing gaze on the Detective. "What do you have to say about that accusation?"
"It's true. I called the Dreamwalker to help us out. But I assure you, I haven't been neglecting my duties. I just wanted to be sure," the Detective replied, lowering his gaze.
Unlike Eileen, Chief Volgin had nothing against the Mystics. Whenever he could, he chose to ignore them. And the Dreamwalkers were no exception to this rule. However, he wasn't too comfortable having an outsider raise questions about his department.
Instead of reprimanding Detective Locksley in front of the outsiders, Chief Volgin requested Eileen and her agents to leave.
Though Eileen wanted to catch Xander with his pants down, she knew it was unwise to step on Chief Volgin's toes. "I will keep an eye on you, Dreamwalker. Until we meet again," she said as she begrudgingly left the apartment.
"Now, tell me what this is all about," the Chief said, turning to the Detective again.
"Well, this guy over here is a Dreamwalker. His name is Xander Nyxon. He was helping me solve the murder."
The Chief was shocked to hear those words. "Murder? What do you mean by that?" He glanced at his niece's body again and asked, "What makes you think she was murdered?"
Detective Locksley turned to the Dreamwalker in response.
Xander adjusted his locks and zipped his jacket before addressing the Chief of Police. "Your niece was murdered. I found her Last Memory trapped inside a Death Nightmare."
"A Death...Nightmare?" the Chief asked cluelessly.
"When a person dies of natural causes or commits suicide, a fragment of their soul is trapped inside a Dream. That's what we call a Death Dream. However, when someone is murdered or has an accidental death, their Last Memory gets trapped inside a nightmare. We Dreamwalkers refer to that as a Death Nightmare," Xander explained to the best of his abilities.
The Chief had heard plenty of tales about Dreamwalkers, some of which were too far-fetched to be believable, but he had also encountered several people who swore the Dreamwalkers never lied.
Reserving his final judgment, Chief Volgin uttered a feeble, 'Continue.'
"I spoke to Esther's Last Memory inside the Nightscape. Her nightmare wasn't normal. There were Ethereals who didn't belong there," Xander went on. "I think she was offered as a sacrifice by a cult."
The old Chief furrowed his brow and frowned at Xander. "You better know where you're going with this one. She was like a daughter to me," his voice cracked as he continued.
"I'm not lying."
"Why would a cult want to sacrifice her?"
"To appease Shamura," Xander replied, looking straight at the Chief.
Chief Volgin didn't like his niece's name being dragged through the dirt. He would have been perfectly satisfied knowing it was a suicide, but the Dreamwalker's accusation was starting to make things very complicated.
Over his long career spanning thirty years, he had dealt with quite a few cases involving cults, most of whose details he'd forgotten, but the name Shamura rang an unpleasant bell.
"It's the Goddess of Nightmares that you're talking about. I've heard about her," the Chief replied. "What would a cult worshipping Shamura want with my niece? Why was she targeted when there are plenty of more vulnerable people in Faros?"
"I don't know that...yet," Xander replied. "But I'll try my best to find out."
"Do you know who murdered her? The weapon used for the crime? Anything more substantial?" The Chief's gaze was fixed on the Dreamwalker, and it made him extremely uncomfortable.
"She couldn't answer my questions," Xander uttered a feeble reply. Lying to Detective Locksley was a piece of cake, but he realized Chief Volgin was a lot more perceptive and didn't dare to try his tricks with him.
Turning to look at his niece's lifeless body, the Chief of Police spoke in a heavy voice. "I'll give you an hour to conduct your investigations. If you don't manage to find any concrete evidence to prove that she was murdered, I'll throw you in jail myself."
"You need to trust me. We don't lie about—"
"I've heard a lot about you Dreamwalkers. But I only trust evidence." Chief Volgin looked at his watch and repeated his ultimatum. "You have one hour, Xander Nyxon. Get to it."