The next afternoon Bo, Lauren, Kenzi, Dyson, Erik, Tamsin, Julia, and Reed all convened at the Compound inside the main conference room to discuss what happened with Engelram, and the results of the investigation from the Forensics team.

"Beverly informed me that Trick left this morning to meet with The Morrigan, and I gather he is still with her, otherwise he would be here chairing this meeting instead of me." Dyson opened.

"How did your meetings go last night?" Bo asked.

"Trick and I met with Vex late last night, and then The Morrigan called and said she wanted to meet privately with Trick this morning, presumably about your upcoming trip to the Presidium." Dyson replied. Bo nodded.

"So let's get started." Dyson said and turned to Erik, Lauren, Julia and Reed.

Erik passed out copies of the police report, and then Reed followed with copies of his Intelligence report.

"Erik, why don't you go first." Dyson said.

"Thank you, Regent Thornwood. If you open up the report to the summary and photos as you can see that is not much to tell beyond discovering Engelram dying on the floor. We scouted the area to see if the perpetrator was still on the premises, but only came upon a couple really large burnt spots. That is what we have so far." Erik reported.

"Dr. Lewis, Forensics report?" Dyson asked.

"Forensics collected samples from the area in which Engelram's body was snatched." Dr. Lewis reported.

"We saw a white, foamy substance coming out of his chest. Was there any evidence of that?" Dyson asked.

"Yes. Forensics brought the sample back to the labs and it tested positive as the residue of Basilisk venom."

"Basilisk? Like the one we found at Baron Chemical?" Bo asked.

"The very same except the venom reveals ancient or Antediluvian DNA elements."

"Antediluvian?"

"Antediluvian DNA is DNA that has been preserved from biological or other prefossilized specimens."

"Like Jurassic Park?" Julia asked.

"Exactly. Except in this case, the specimen is alive and whose genetics has been largely un-influenced. Like a proto-Basilisk to give it a nickname." Dr. Lewis replied.

"Un-influenced?" Tamsin asked.

"Over time, our DNA is influenced as we move from generation to generation. As more generations of the original pattern are made they move further and further away from the original." Lauren explained.

"The Basilisk we encountered in the lab was a small one, and certainly not capable of attack on Engelram." Bo said

"How small was the Basilisk you encountered?" Erik asked.

"About six feet, no wider than say, a Python." Dr. Lewis replied.

"Yeah, not even close to the thing that could have caused the damage we saw with Engelram." Erik said.

"Just from this sample alone, and reading your reports I hypothesize this Basilisk may be larger than Engelram. I looked up the Basilesk's history. During their formative stages they could be as long as 100-feet long and 25 feet in width in size. The sample from the foamy substance reveals is this Basilisk is extremely old. It follows that it could be as large if not larger than Engelram was. Genetic markers do not lie. Whatever Engelram grappled with was big." Lauren replied. This made everyone sit up.

"A snake taken out by a bigger snake." Kenzi commented.

"About sums it up." Lauren said.

"Thank God that thing wasn't there when you guys were there." Bo said. Everyone nodded their heads.

Dyson turned to Reed. "Your report?"

"Thank you, Regent Thornwood. My part was to look at the burn spots on a hunch the Regent had they may be teleportation residue, and he is correct. It is a crude device, but it was clearly a burn mark made by one." Reed reported.

"First, a teleportation device is used to steal this mysterious relic, one that causes people to experience Vertigo, and then other leaves a huge burn mark to attack Engelram and then steal his body." Julia said.

"Disposing of the contact." Kenzi chimed in.

"What?" Bo asked.

"Not entirely sure now if Engelram's story holds up that this ancient relic was stolen from him. I think he made a deal for it, and the deal went sour, or he had no idea what he had, found out its value after he made a deal for it, and hired Julia to retrieve it or a combination therin." Kenzi said.

"He seemed genuinely panicked that the relic escaped his control, and was packing to leave town." Julia said.

"More like skip town." Kenzi replied. "Why would someone kill their source after receiving a product, fair and square, especially if Engelram was a willing dealer unless they didn't want to pay for it, it was found to be more valuable than what was it, and/or clean up loose ends. In this case, I submit to you it is all of the above."

"Assuming the Under Fae Julia chased inside the tunnels and whomever or whatever Engelram was dealing with are the same parties?" Erik asked.

"Plus, these teleportation escapes speak to access to resources, equipment, and information. That indicates some type of organized effort." Reed added.

"Does anyone know who Kamu is?" Julia asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"That was the other thing Engelram said. Something about Kamu, and then added 'They are coming' right before he said to find this relic." Julia said.

"Well, we can't just drop this case, and life goes on. We need to find this relic. It's leaving dead bodies." Kenzi replied.

"Well, Engelram's dying words were to find this relic." Julia said.

"I agree with Kenzi. We need to keep up the pursuit." Bo joined then turned to Dyson "Has Trick read all of these reports?"

"Yes, and his reckoning is the same as Tamsin's when he saw the photos of the relic. He too, thought he recognized the pattern but needed The Morrigan's help to confirm."

"The Morrigan?" Bo asked.

"Yep." Dyson replied.

"Would this be Dark Fae related? I mean, if it involves the Morrigan." Julia asked Tamsin.

"It could very well be. Like I said, I have only seen that pattern once during the Great Fae War, but during the Great Fae War there were no divisions of Light and Dark. Those divisions were forged from the peace. And while the Morrigan say she's 30, her Fae age is far older than a lot of us may realize. Older than Dyson for sure, and he's…"

"29" Dyson quipped. Everyone chuckled.

The doors opened and Trick walked in, and everyone was about to stand up when he halted everyone with his hand.

"Hello everyone! How did the meeting go?" Trick asked.

"Bottom line, we will continue to look for this ancient relic but will need to tap into some resources because it may involve some plane-hopping." Dyson reported.

"I may be able to help you tap into a few choice ones in the next couple of days." Trick said.

"How did your meeting with The Morrigan go this morning?" Dyson asked.

"It was extremely beneficial." Trick went and sat in an empty chair between Reed and Julia. "I just came from her offices as we had to hastily convene both the Light and Dark Fae Elders within the County."

"Over Engelram?" Julia asked.

"In part. Engelram was an esteemed member of Fae community, so they needed to be informed, but that was not the entire agenda."

"What was the rest of it?" Tamsin asked.

"My intended visit to the Presidium." Trick replied.

"Oh?" Lauren chimed in.

"I received word after Dyson, Julia, Reed, and Vex had all left last night that the Presidium has accepted my request for an audience with The Regnant, and will be sending a representative to escort us." Trick replied.

"When will that be?" Bo asked. Trick looked at Bo then Lauren then back at Bo.

"We leave tomorrow morning."