Whoo here's the next chapter. I wanted to let everyone know that I am doing some serious research when making these chapters. I am researching the meanings behind names and I'm also reasearching the mythology of England, Scottland, Japan, and China so that when I mention certain things I know what I am talking about. I hope you enjoy!


Naru's POV


"Huh?" Madoka huffed out in response to Mai's proclamation.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if the man was a former unicorn shifter. All my mind could focus on was what Orion had said about Mai having a soulmate already. That cut more deeply than anything I've been through lately. It seemed that the universe was against me, I'd been close to telling Mai that I was wrong and that she meant a lot to me, but with this new revelation I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell her. I refuse to be the second option besides if she were ever to find her soulmate again I didn't want her to be forced to give me up for him or for her to not be with him to be with me.

"What do you mean huh?" Mai asked.

"How would you know that he was Tate?" Madoka asked.

Mai smiled and replied with, "A feeling, the glitter kind of gives it away."

That comment made me smile, but then it vanished when I thought about what we were going to be doing next. Gene seemed to be deep in thought as he sat next Lin staring out the window.

"Noll, we never did get the chance to go over the case with the others before they had to leave."

I glanced at my father before scowling at the folder on the coffee table. I knew that I would definitely be able to tell them about it tomorrow, but I wanted their input on it today.

"No, we didn't. There is always tomorrow. Our client doesn't need our decision until next week, I just wanted their opinion on the case."

Mai seemed to hesitate before speaking. "What is the case about? If you'd like I could give my opinion from a demon hunter's perspective."

I sighed contemplating the wisdom of telling her. With everything that had happened Mai would have enough to deal with without adding this to it. Looking towards Gene had finished thinking and was looking at me shaking his head no.

Noll, I don't think it would be wise to tell Mai about the case. She has enough stuff to deal with. She doesn't need this added on top of things.

I know. I wasn't planning on saying anything. I'm just figuring out how to tell her that we don't need her help.

You being abrupt hasn't stopped you from being blunt before. Besides shouldn't you allow me the decision of if it's too much for me to handle?

Both Gene and I jumped in surprise at hearing Mai's voice in our heads. We both were staring at her. Gene's mouth was open in shock and I know my face showed surprise based on Lin's lifted eyebrow. Mai on the other hand looked irritated.

"How long have you been able to do that?" Gene asked gaining questioning looks from mother, father, Madoka, and Lin.

Mai gave a smirk and said, "I just figured it out. I could hear the two of you talking and wondered if I could speak to the two of you with mind. It worked and before you ask no I have not been able to do so before today. I wonder if vision had anything to do with unlocking this ability."

This should shock me, but with it being Mai I wasn't. Anything involving her was never normal. Seeing the stubborn look on her face I knew that we wouldn't be leaving until she was told what the case was about.

"The case is not far from here, it's located in Nerima. The owner of the house has been hearing odd noises, things have gone missing or have been moved, and people are being shoved down stairs when no one is there."

Mai narrowed her eyes at me as if she knows that I'm with holding information from her. "What aren't you saying about the case? This doesn't seem like something you'd take."

Gene coughed, Madoka had a smirk on her face and Lin had a small smile on his face while he typed away on his laptop. I had to remember to ask him how he could bring out his laptop without me noticing.

I gave another sigh before speaking. "The owner sent me some pictures of words etched on the attic's wall."

I picked up the folder that had the case's information in it and pulled out the pictures. Looking for the better ones I handed them over once I found them. She looked at them and started frowning. She sifted through them before returning to the first one. Handing the rest back to me she studied the picture some more. Looking through the other pictures I saw that she had kept the one that had the odd writing.

"Chan eil na daoine a tha gaol leinn a 'falbh, Bidh iad a 'coiseachd ri taobh a h-uile latha, Gun fhios, gun fhios, ach daonnan faisg, Fàilte gu leòr, fhathast air a chall agus air a bhith glè thoilichte. Chan fhaigh an Coidse Bàs thu thu."

I looked up in shock along with everyone else. Lin even stopped typing on his laptop. Mai was frowning at the picture before she looked at the rest of us smiling sheepishly.

"Hehe, sorry the words on the wall are Gaelic. My father err the man who was a part of the beginning of my life was from Scotland and we lived there because that is were the demon hunters' society headquarters is located. I can speak the language fluently," she said still smiling sheepishly.

"What does it mean?" Lin asked fingers poised to continue typing.

"Whoever wrote this wasn't very fluent as the translation is:

'The loved ones are not going away,

They walk alongside every day,

Of course, unknown, but always near,

Welcome enough, still lost and been very happy.

The Death Coach will not get you.' It is a rough translation," she said still staring at the picture.

"Do you have any idea what it means?" father asked.

Mai looked hesitant to answer. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I think I know what they meant to say. When I was growing up I had a pet black dog and when he died my father said we should respect his life by reading a poem. The poem was:

'Those we love don't go away,

They walk beside us every day,

Unseen, unheard, but always near,

Still loved, still missed and very dear.'

"I'm wondering if they meant this when they were trying to write in Gaelic. What worries me is the mention of the Death Coach."

I know I'd heard of the Death Coach from somewhere before, but I couldn't place where. Lin seemed to frown at the mention of the Death Coach and the black dog. I didn't know why he would frown at the mention of a black dog, but if he deemed it important it probably was.

"What is important about the Death Coach?" mother asked.

Mai paused once more before speaking. "The Death Coach is better known as the Coiste Bodhar. The Coiste Bodhar is the driver of the dead, it is drawn by four to six headless horse and driven by the Dullahan. It is often summoned by the scream of a Banshee and cannot return from where it was summoned without at least one soul. Once the soul is on the Coiste Bodhar it cannot escape the final destination."

"Final destination?" Madoka asked.

"I assume it means the afterlife," Mai said fiddling with the end of her tank top. "Lin is something wrong? You look not upset, but not puzzled either, maybe something in between."

"You mention that when you were young that you had a pet black dog. What kind of breed was it?" Lin asked inspecting Mai as if trying to detect a certain reaction.

Mai blushed before whispering, "Mauthe Doog."

Lin's eye widened considerably which was astonishing as I'd never seen him show so much attention. Whatever this Mauthe Doog is must be important for him to react as such.

"You had a black dog! As in one of the legendary ghost dogs," Lin stated slapping his hands down on the coffee table as he half rose to his feet.

Mai sat straighter in her seat as her eye became defensive. "Yes, I had a black dog. My father said it was the runt of the litter as it wasn't as big as it should have been. Legend says that they are supposed to be as big as a calf and shaggy, but he was shorter by several inches and was a short hair instead of shaggy. Like any myth/legend the creature can take on any appearance they want."

"I hate to ask, but what is the black dog?" Madoka asked.

Everyone in the room looked to her confused stare. Mai looked at as if she was nuts for asking, not that I blame her. Madoka has lived in England long enough to know what the black dog is, but then again it wasn't a true ghost that we had to deal with.

"Madoka, the black dog is a ghost of sorts. Legend has it that the black dog is a spectral creature that indicates great change and/or death. It is rare that one wants to be helpful, so most people are wary of the dog and rightly so. It is debated whether or not the dog is a ghost or demon," I said looking over my notes on the case. "Mai, you mentioned something about a Death Coach?"

"The Death Coach better known as the Coiste Bodhar in Scotland and Ireland. It is said that on foggy nights, in the event of a death, or in an upcoming death that a black coach drawn by four headless horses. The coach is sent from the land of the dead to pick up the soul of the person who will be dying or has died and cannot return back to the land of the dead without at least one soul. The coach is driven by the Dullahan which is the headless horseman. He is the only known male banshee."

Through her entire conversation Mai didn't blink or hesitate with what she said. By Lin's and Madoka's expression Mai knew quite a lot about the subject. I didn't know anything about this subject and it wasn't something I was interested in.

"You sure know a lot about this," Gene said eyeing Mai as if he was trying to decide whether or not he should be awed by her knowledge or fearful.

"Well I would hope so after meeting the damn banshee," she said grumbling as she looked out the window behind Lin.

I blinked at that.


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