Aleris

*Events in "Seven" take place five days before "Changes"*

I love people. I always see things in the "Cup half full" perspective, and can't help the smile that always seems to be on my face. I have complete and total faith in the human race, and I know that when the going gets tough, all one needs do is have faith that people will do the right thing.

That being said, I'm a horrible liar. There are many things I believe in and "faith in the human race" is not one of those things. Another thing I don't believe in are premonitions that are all doom and gloom. For example going to a median and them telling you that you're going to die. Of course you're going to die, everyone dies. That's nothing. It's like taking a look at someone and saying, "You've lost a loved one haven't you?" then believing that you're physic. Or telling someone that they're going to die in seven days.

I'd been working a case trying to find a man's lost...surprise, wife. She'd last been spotted going down an alley. I asked the three people who claimed to have seen her. According to the first, a short, round, balding man, she'd been wearing a green top, with dark brown pants and...maybe shoes. She did apparently have the best ass he'd seen in a while. The second witness said that she'd had on a green and blue dress that held onto her curves down to her thighs. Again he couldn't tell me if she'd been wearing shoes or not, but she "had a great rack". The joys of youth.

Finally, the third person to have seen the missing wife, said that she was sporting all black. Her top was sleeveless, and her pants long, covering her legs. She also had on tall boots that disappeared under her pant's legs. I was leaning towards the testimony of the third witness. I mean, why would an eight year old lie? Not to mention she was the only one who could tell me whether or not my missing person had on footwear.

The only thing that all three of them agreed on was that she walked with her head tilted to one side as if listening to some voice that only she could her. Occasionally she'd nod and smile as if hearing a funny joke, or being told to go a certain direction. This wasn't something that pleased me. Someone hearing voices was never a good sign. Either she was insane and would extremely hard for me to convince to come back with me. Or she actually was hearing someone or something speaking to her.

That opened the door for several things. It could have been a demon talking to her, telling her to go into the alley so that it could do whatever it wanted to with her. It could also have been a spirit, a ghost. This didn't end much better then the demon line of thought. Spirits usually weren't interested in just sitting and having tea with someone, talking about "the old times". Especially when the person disappears afterward. It would appear that this lady had gotten herself into some major trouble.

I decided that the best course of action would be to return to her home and find something that could make a connection with her. Something that had been part of her, that would allow me to reach out and feel where she was. At this point I was beginning to feel that it was pointless looking for a living person any more. If she'd been talking to a demon or ghost, then it was a good chance that she was dead already. Knocking on the door to her home, I waited for her husband to open it. Nothing.

That was great. He'd taken the time off to make sure that he'd be accessible to me and now...nothing. That of course was just my luck. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed me, and once I was satisfied that they hadn't I made my way around the back of the small house. I'd visited here once before and made sure that I noted exactly where everything was. This door led into the kitchen and beyond that was the living room and stairs. It wasn't a huge building, but it was cozy enough for two people.

Looking back and forth to the neighbors' houses, I made sure there wasn't anyone looking out their windows at me. I broke the window beside the door with my staff. The sound was loud, but I was hoping no one would hear. See, it's not just a representation of my penis, it also functions as a burglary tool as well. And mine is still bigger then yours. I climbed in and dusted the broken glass off my overcoat. I went upstairs and strait to the water closet. That's were the brush would be kept and where I would be able to find stray hair from my missing wife.

The hairs I found were blond and brown. I racked my brain trying to remember which one was the husband's color. He was blond. Yeah. I think. I know what you're thinking "Oh what a great detective. He can't even remember the color of the husband's hair". Well in all fairness, I wasn't looking for the husband, I was looking for his wife. Yes, he was the blond. I took several of the brown hairs and made my way back down to the broken window.

As I started to lean out I heard something behind me, in the darkened house. It was subtle at first. Nothing loud or overly obvious. But then I heard it again. I stopped moving, closed my eyes, and Listened. It was a talent that I wasn't sure was magic as much as it was just knowing your body's abilities and how to use them. It was definitely the sound of something coming up the stairs from the basement. The steps weren't soft, but if I'd had to guess I'd say it was either a child or small woman.

I pulled my leg back into the kitchen and looked for a place to hide. The only place that I could see I would stand a chance of hiding in was the cabinets below the sink. It was fun getting myself into that small space, but no one would be looking for me there. I just hoped that they didn't find me by mistake. I left the door open a bit so that I could look out. It didn't do me any good to be in here and not be able to see anything.

The door to the cellar opened and out stepped a tall, leggy woman with a great rack, and wearing all black. She paused seeing the broken window and I swear she sniffed the air. I held my breath and tried to remember the last time I'd taken a bath. Apparently it wasn't too long ago or her smell was worse then she thought cause she started walking again, into the living room. So, the wife was still here, she was just hiding from her husband. What she was hiding I didn't know. But that wasn't what I was being paid to find out. She came back into the kitchen and I got a good look at her once again. I couldn't help but notice that she did have a very nice ass. What? I was given a lead and any detective worth his salt would have followed it.

"Wizard," the woman started, "I know you're here. I don't know where, but I've seen that you're here. That you're the one who finds me. I'm giving you a chance. If you walk away, tell my husband that you couldn't find me, you might live. Otherwise you will die."

I've been threatened by things far bigger and more powerful then this woman with the nice ass in front of me. I've gone head to head with Gods, demons, spirits, and madmen. And none of them freaked me out as much as she had. What she'd said hadn't scared me as much as the way she said it. It wasn't really a threat, but a fact. She knew it with all that she had. If I ratted her out to her husband I was dead. I pushed my hand up against the counter top I was hiding under and muttered, "Impulso." The counter exploded away from me.

The woman shrieked and covered her face. I don't care how badly she'd scared me just now, I felt bad for having done that to her. However, I wasn't about to be caught with my pants down, looking like a fool.

"Lady, I've been paid quite nicely by your husband to find you, and a weak threat like that isn't about to make me turn tail and hide."

She recovered fairly quickly, and shook her head, "No Detective, it's not a threat. I've seen it. The only way for you to survive is to turn away now. Leave town and don't come back for at least a month, possibly two." Her head sagged a bit as if all that talking had taken a lot out of her. "I've seen you die. I can see the future. I know I'll die soon. I didn't want my husband to be the one to find me. That's why I hid." shaking her head harder this time she walked up to me and grabbed my coat. "LEAVE! NOW! Before You Die And Take All Those You Care About With You!"

I gently removed her hands, which proved harder then I thought it would be. She had a death grip on my shoulders that wouldn't be let go of. "I just told you that I can't do that. I'm paid to do a job, and I'll finish it."

"Then you will die. You will die protecting the ones you love. Things are about to get very hectic for you Victor. In seven days you will die."

Great, just what I needed. A death curse laying over my head. Just as I was about to come up with a witty reply, the woman's eyes rolled up into the back of her head, blood started pouring out of them, and foam erupted from her mouth. She fell to the ground, and when I went to check her pulse, a wave of black magic washed over me and pushed against me. It didn't want me touching her. Which of course meant I wanted to do it even more so now. As I fought against the will of the black magic, I poured my will into every thought and movement I could. Then I reached out to touch the body, and something hit me.

I was thrown all the way through the kitchen, into the living room and out the front window. On the other side of the window the wife's corpse stood up, turned to look at me and said, "Heed Thy Warning Wizard. Twill Be The Last Thou Gets."

Oh great, not only was I now "cursed" but I was being threatened...again.

Could my day get any worse?