The Ninth Star

Summary: An evil enigmatic being known as The Ninth Star was once in a group known as the Nefarious Nine, all of whom were destroyed. The sole survivor of the attack, The Ninth Star takes up residence in a new host, and has now been tracked down to Valestrai, where there are nine powerful magic wielders under investigation. Sofia and company are called in to help question the suspects, but nothing could have prepared them for the outcome when the mystery begins to unravel. *Takes place two years after The Tainted Ten*

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. The following characters belong to me: Jastin Butterford, Muscles, Malango the Magnanimous (mentioned), Corban, Charlie, Serena, Angel, Shikoba, Alo, the Ninth Star (and other Stars), and several others not mentioned in the other lists. MarionetteJ2X owns Nana, Tanya, and Terra. Mr. Shortman92 owns Christopher Crowley and Amaya. NerdsinaTree owns Captain Nereus. Royal Detective owns Gabriel Sebastian. Allyrwhitney owns Feya. Jettmanas owns Davidius. Creepy-Pasta owns Neoma. Pinkscarlet08 owns Amerie. Theblackraven2.0 owns Malcom "Mac" Woodruff. Also, the "Nefarious Nine" title belongs to NerdsinaTree, as the title was originally supposed to be used in "The Tainted Ten" until we added a tenth character.


Chapter 11: Malcolm


Malcolm Woodruff was 44 years old, 6'4" (making him one of the taller suspects), and was tan with short black hair, black eyes, and a stubbly beard on his sun-kissed face. Unlike many others, he had a rather muscular and husky build, which was perhaps due to his occupation.

His style was mostly scruffy and ragged in nature, with a dirty light-colored undershirt beneath a pair of overalls with tight suspenders, farmer's hat and boots, and an old brown vest over the entire ensemble.

"I already heard the gist of this situation, so let me save you some time," he told them, a bit of a heavy accent inflating his clearly agitated tone. However, he was almost monotone, but certainly serious in nature. "I don't like to waste time on small talk. I'm Malcolm Woodruff, though everyone I know calls me Mac. It was also my pa's name. I live in a rural area near Zumaria, and I work on a cauliflower farm."

The others simply sat and listened without attempting to communicate with the obviously pessimistic and straightforward man. A few took notes, but nothing much could be derived simply from his name and living area.

"My pa passed me the farm when I was twelve, after he caught a bad sickness that left him bed-ridden for days. When he died, I got everything. My ma died givin' birth to me, and I ain't got no siblings, so I've been workin' that farm my whole life, and all on my own."

"Sorry to hear that," Sofia interjected, even though the room was a bit tense with Mac's nature. She smiled softly at the man, who narrowed his eyes toward her before nodding once—perhaps in acknowledgement or appreciation. She wasn't sure.

"Anyway, about a year after my pa passed, I was lookin' at this pocket watch he'd given to me. It wasn't particularly special or anything… Just an old watch his pa had given him. But somethin' weird started happenin' after I turned thirteen. Whenever I just looked at that watch, I could predict stuff that would happen… Like I could tell when a tornado was comin', or if we were due for a drought. Stuff like that."

"That's useful on a farm," Orion pointed out.

"Exactly. So I used that 'ability' or whatever you wanna call it to figure out how things might work out for my farm. I could even make predictions without the watch, though I kinda prefer to use it anyway. It's the only way I can truly use these weird powers I apparently have." Shrugging, he fanned himself with his hat, sighing. "Must've come from my ma's side. Pa always said she was a little on the wild side. They met in a witches' gatherin' not far outside of Zumaria, and…" He cleared his throat, looking away. "There are ladies present, so I won't go into the sordid details of their flounderin' escapades."

"We appreciate that," Shikoba responded without any hesitancy or bat of an eye. "Anything else you would like to add, Mac?"

"My cauliflower farm's tankin', as it is. Folks say it's haunted, and they'll hardly visit, leavin' me barely turnin' any profits. Only the darin' and stupid ones come to get my cauliflower. Others visit ol' Tom Higgins down the road a piece. He ain't got no powers or 'ghosts' around his farm… Lucky ba—"

"Beg your pardon, sir," Greylock interrupted, grinning sheepishly. "Is cauliflower really that lucrative of a business to begin with?"

"It is in my parts, mister. I know you fancy magic men have a high-falutin' way of livin' in your castles, palaces, or whatever, but we workin' men have to do what we can. Magic or not, I'm just a normal man with one goal: survival."

Cedric shrugged. "Can't fault you for that."

Orion stood, beckoning Mac to follow him. He conducted the usual magic test without much conversation, nodding in satisfaction upon the completion of the test. "Thank you for your time, Mac. You're free to leave, and if you would, please send in Gabriel next."

"I reckon I can do that," Mac told him, putting his hat back on. "Thanks for not takin' up too much of my time. Though I really don't care to rejoin the chatty group in the other room either. Hopefully this'll be done soon, so I can get back home." He left without another word.

"I thought I heard someone say he's the least talkative of the group," Vega laughed. "He sure did a lot of talking."

"Maybe it was so we didn't talk much," Sofia giggled. "Anything on him, Orion?"

"I didn't sense much with him. But we'll know before long."

Another man entered next, shutting the door and leaning against it, sighing.

"Are you all right?" Shikoba asked in mild curiosity, her brown eyes meeting a pair of icy blue orbs.

Greylock gasped, standing up momentarily, his hands on the table. "I know you… Gabriel Sebastian?" Even though he'd admitted to knowing the young man earlier, actually seeing him for the first time in years still took him aback.

The other man's mouth dropped. "Greylock?"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Gabriel