Returning home, James parked up next to his apartment and looked at the front steps. A dirty man with an overgrown, unkempt beard lay in a tattered blue sleeping bag, snooring loudly, unbothered by the bombardment of rain he was facing. James shook his head and walked past. It wasn't strange to see the homeless perched up in front of apartment blocks.
In the city, other than the scammers who targeted tourists, James felt they were the biggest threat to a person's wallet. Using any means to get even a penny from someone. James recognised what the man was doing. He would stay firmly in that spot until given enough money to move. Calling the police would also be a pointless endeavour. With enough issues as is, they didn't have time to deal with every complaint about someone sleeping outside.
James had already chosen to ignore it and hoped someone else in his building would fall for the trick. Making his way into his room, he sat before the wall and took out a cigarette, staring at it. 'They are after me now.' James didn't doubt Xavier's ability, even if he had his own agenda. He wanted him alive and around for some reason, whether it was as a weapon he could mobilise without getting his hands dirty, or for some other reason.
It didn't matter at the end of the day; he knew that he was a target. Grabbing his phone, James scrolled through his contacts and hovered over Rose's name, hesitant to call her. Taking a deep breath, he finally worked up the courage and called.
The phone rang endlessly in the silence, and when he thought she would answer, his annoyed voice came from the other side, "What?" Her usual playfulness was gone.
"Rose, I know you don't want to hear from me, but I need to warn you. They're moving against me. I'm not asking for help, God knows I don't deserve to ask. But I need to warn you. Cain saw you, and I can't be sure he won't target you as well." James heard her grind her teeth.
"Are you serious? What have you pulled me into, James?" She paused and scoffed, "How do you know?" James looked down and sighed.
"Xavier warned me." There was silence again, followed by a laugh full of disbelief.
"Oh, your dear old friend." Her tone was venomous, "Thank you for the warning, but I'll be fine. I can hold my own, James." She hung up without a goodbye. James slowly brought his phone down and took a smoke of his cigarette, clicking his tongue. Slowly, it felt like he was losing everything around him. He was at fault; that much was obvious, but it didn't make things easier.
Thinking of Peter, he wanted to call him to invite him out to drink, to let himself decompress, but he chose against it. With Cain moving, he couldn't risk exposing him to danger. 'Only until this is over.' It was all he could tell himself.
Looking back at the wall, he stared, trying to piece together everything he knew, staring at the large question mark in the middle. 'Maybe it's not a person but the Door to Heaven itself. Everyone is moving to get access to it. If that's the case, then maybe they're not necessarily moving under coordinated leadership, but with shared interests.' James thought and shook his head, 'No. Any threat to their existence being made public is being dealt with; someone is coordinating this, but who?'
The more he tried to think about it, the more lost he felt. When he thought he was getting close to uncovering something, a new thing would pop up. It was to the point that he was getting a headache. It wasn't just a criminal organisation he was chasing, but people actively chasing Godhood. Had it just been the former, it would be fine, but now he was running down a dark tunnel, unsure of where the end was.
'Xavier wants the same.' That was the final point that had him on edge. Their partnership hadn't started because he wanted it, but over time, he found himself leaning on him. It was the only way he was getting awsners, but he didn't know if he wanted Xavier to win.
'What even is a God?'
He had to ask himself. Xavier had near omnicients yet didn't claim the title for himself. Then there was the world itself. If it were alive, could it be called a God? There was the final name. 'Zoktis.' The one thing people were chasing. James rubbed his temples and sighed.
'I need to look into the occult.' It was the only thing he could do going forward. Putting his cigarette into the ashtray, he walked to bed and was ready to get to sleep, but stopped. Going to his uniform, he grabbed his gun and placed it on the nightstand by his side. Next, he went to the door, put a chair in front of it, and closed the peephole. Finally, turning on the light in his office to make it seem like he was awake, he felt safe enough to sleep.
------------------------
Leaving his apartment, James walked past the homeless man who called out for some change. Ignoring him, he got into his car and sped to the Newport Grand Archive, the largest library in the city. The radio started to play.
"The voting is now open, Kate, and I must ask if you have already placed yours." The man asked the woman, making her delightful chuckle.
"Of course, why do you think I have such deep bags in my eyes. Now I think it is obvious who I have placed mine for, but I wonder, Ted, did you do the same?"
"Of course I did. With how much we have endorsed Hopkins, I think it would be strange if I didn't." James turned the radio off and focused on the road. Until the voting was over, he couldn't care less, already making a plan in his mind to be at the Mayoral building when the votes were counted.
'If Alannah is really tied to him, she must be there.' Part of it was the reason to go, the other part a chance to see if Hopkins had an ability. After thirty minutes, he arrived outside the Grand Archive and made his wya to the occult section. Scanning through the books, many were on the history of the occult, witchcraft and abilities.
Not finding what he needed, he approached a librarian at her desk and smiled, "Excuse me." The woman looked up and indicated with her eyes to get on with it. "Can you search if you have any books with the name Zoktis in the title?"
The librarian quickly searched and frowned. Looking up to James ,she shook her head. James groaned but smiled and asked another question. "Then what about Door to Heaven?" She moved again and finally nodded.
"Section 12c, shelf three." James smiled and walked off. Arriving at it, although it was a section for mythology, he didn't care and searched. Finding the book, he quickly pulled it out and flipped through, carefully reading everything. It was a short book, but James felt it wasn't wasted. Closing it up and looking at his watch, he noticed he had spent an hour and a half reading.
Taking a seat nearby, he replayed what he read in his mind. 'The omniscient and omnipotent created two worlds, the physical and heavenly realm. Fearing the physical world couldn't coexist with the heavenly realm, he sealed it away.'
That was the main takeaway of the story, with many stories thrown in to fill the pages. James didn't care for the rest at the moment and narrowed his eyes, thinking of the name that popped up once in the story. 'Zoktis.' The all-mighty who created the world. What could have been brushed off as a fairytale previously now struck him.
Walking out, he stopped before the librarian. "Excuse me. Do you know any occult shops nearby?" The librarian rolled her eyes and, without looking up, replied.
"Halsey Street." Thanking her, James got into his car and did the minute drive, looking out at the street. Seeing a store called Magician Den, he knew he had found the place and parked up before it.
Pushing the door open, the bell rang as a few animatronics started to move. From the back room, he heard a small crash followed by quick steps. "Welcome." A childlike voice called out with delight. Seeing a large witch's hat peek around the corner, James' pupils dilated. The soft face and sparkling eyes of a young boy looked directly at him. "What can I do for you?"
The face overlapped with the picture on the wall of a young magician smiling. Blinking, he activated his eyes and saw the yellow aura he recognised on the dead man in the apartment.