Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice!

Chapter 56

-Josh- 

I heard a loud sound as something large smashed into the wall. I ran around the corner into the room without thinking. 

"I know, Becky; I said we must stay out here. But the situation's change, the mayor may be endangered." 

When we entered the room, a giant bull demon was before our eyes, and the mayor was on the ground. The bull's large horns had pierced his stomach. 

When the strange, transformed man saw us, then the bull demon looked at the mayor and smashed his horns through the outer wall.

"Becky, quickly call the others," I said, throwing her the Soursense. While you wait, put pressure on his stomach. If you can, try to heal him?"

- Looking at his injuries, I was unsure if he would heal. They seemed fatal and rather large. -

"I'll do my best, but you be careful too," Becky said unassuringly. 

The look on her face made me believe she felt the same way I did about the Mayor's chances of survival.

Damn it, the bull demon charged straight into the settlement. If I consider what I heard adequately, you must have the same skills as me because he was human like me but could transform into a demon. If he gets it all the way into the village, a crowd cuts me off. I will not be able to recognize him because we did not get a good look at his face before he transformed. 

This guy knows his surroundings better than I do, as well. When the mayor was talking, it sounded like the mystery man was a construction worker and a local in the area. 

He was making dramatic turns and running at full speed on all fours. I went into Phoenix form to accelerate my speed, trying to keep up with him; he was relatively fast. 

"I got it!" I will fly into the air and look down from the sky at him with a hawk' s-eye view. This will give me more visual access to locate and keep an eye on him. 

As I swore into the sky, I could see he was heading for the rotunda. Was he trying to find a place to hide? I dove in, opening my talons so I could grab hold of him and maybe enter him. I am rendering him unable to move until I can figure out what to do next. 

As I descended, I embedded my claws into his posterior muscle to the loins. He bucked violently, propelling me backward onto the ground. Once I hit the ground, he threw up a cloud of dust and struck me on the side of the head with his hoove.

"Kid, I suggest you stop meddling in business that doesn't concern you. Stay out of my way." 

I stood up and ran after his shadow. I shouted at the man. "Do you work for my father?" So far, most of the people who had been turned into demons had some form of affiliation with my father. 

So there was nothing but silence, and his shadow slowly dissipated into the Dust. As the dust settled, I could no longer pursue him; the trail went cold. 

I decided to head back to check on the Mayor; hopefully, the rest of the group has had a chance to get to her. 

I returned to the Mayor's house feeling a little uneasy and dizzy from the kick to the Head. 

Becky came running over to me. "Are you okay?" she said as she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and proceeded to death the blood off my head. 

Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy. Why are you not healing the Mayor? I asked her. 

After seeing everybody here, I hoped they had just taken over the job for her. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. 

Duke and Cailian proceeded to tell me about the previous events. 

Once they had gotten there, Mayor Ray passed away only a few short minutes after telling them the full story of what happened. 

The mayor told us about how he had been trying to grow the city. He was trying to break away from some traditions and create more modernization for his people. When he ran out of money to do so, he started trading his people for work under the assumption that no harm would come from them. 

Duke said. "He discovered that his people were being enslaved and mistreated. Instead of what he assumed would be a straightforward recruitment process, thinking they were hired as workers. His morals began to deteriorate, yet he continued to tolerate harassment of his people. He attempted to keep things quiet, but as more individuals disappeared, word spread. And this bull demon fella responded when he eventually tried to fight back, not wanting to lose his any more money and mayor rights and authority."

Cailian added. "According to our information, the individual was one of the villagers recruited by the bandits' construction enterprise. At first, they attempted to frighten us away from our village and houses in order to push up property values and ownership in the region." If they could scare us out, they would get the land.

"We struggled over land for many years until my grandmother established an agreement among the villages, so they had to remove her since she wasn't cooperating. They pursued her repeatedly until they learned to combine demons, causing this turmoil." 

We have to gather the rest of the villagers, start asking questions, tell them what happened to their Mor, and then figure out who the culprit was. 

The Waymakers knocked on every door and held a packed city council meeting with all the villagers. 

Cailian stood at the front of the council chamber and spoke to the villagers. 

"Thank you for all of your help with this investigation. Unfortunately, I have some rather distressing news that I must tell you: your beloved Mayor Ray passed away today after an attack from the Red Bull demon."

"We have reason to believe that he was one of the construction workers who had been building their homes. And with the given knowledge, he is also the cause of some of your missing villagers." 

"Also, I must tell you all that he works for the bandits but also almost destroys our village. "

Sister Villager #1 female) "Are you saying that they're the ones behind the demons that are taking over our homes as well?" 

"From the information that I have gathered, yes. Both the construction workers and the bandits are the same. And for a short amount of time, your mayor was working with them, hoping to improve the lives of his community." Cailian answered.

Sister Villager #2 Male) "That's a load of crap. All he ever wanted out of us was new ways to make more money, and that's why everything that was gained in this village somehow went back to helping him out and further fattening his pockets." 

Ray's daughter) "Excuse me, my father did what was best for you ungrateful people." 

Sister Villager #2 Male) "Ha, you're right! We didn't have half as many problems until your father came along. What reminds me of who will be taking over as the new Mayor? Would it be our vice mayor, Columbus?"

"That's it!" I remembered something that happened earlier. The construction worker said something about him being the village's Vice Mayor. 

I leaned over and whispered into Cailian's ear the information that I remembered about the conversation earlier with the murderer. 

"Does anybody know where Columbus is right now," Cailian asks, trying the villagers not to alarm anybody.