Uther's truck, and that term is used loosely when
referring to his contraption of a vehicle, was an old
faded blue Ford.  The roof of the cab had been
soldered away so it was a convertible of sorts
exposing him to the elements, but accommodating his
great height.  The bench had been moved back and
welded almost a third of the way into the truck bed
and the pedals had been gerry-rigged to accommodate
his large feet.  Don't ask for seat belts, there
weren't any.  

Merry took a seat next to Uther on the bench and the
two ravens leaned up against the bench from the truck
bed in the rear.  Uther wrapped an arm around Merry to
protect her from the wind as much as possible while
they drove along in silence.  The church he drove them
too was in a run down section of Los Angeles where not
too many people walked after dark if they were smart. 
The only thing keeping Merry from being overly anxious
was the red and blue lights that strobed relentlessly
into the early morning light.  Still, there was a
menacing presence that crawled along Merry's skin and
made her shiver. Something was definitely not right,
but she couldn't put her finger on it.  She flared out
her magic a few blocks to see if she could detect any
unnatural anomalies, but could sense nothing other
than some sort of magical field that emanated from a
garden courtyard on the side of the aged catholic
cathedral.  

Jeremy, Detective Tate, and her Partner, Detective
Wilkes met them as they got out of the truck.  "Merry,
I'm glad you could make it," Lucy began.  Merry
studied the other woman's appearance and found that
the normal twinkle of mischief that usually adorned
Lucy's gaze was absent.  In its place was a note of
anxiety and confusion mixed with obvious relief at
Merry's presence. Jeremy stood by her side decked out
in a grey Armani that shimmered as it caught the early
rays of sunlight.  His expression was somber. "Tell me
what we've got, Jeremy. Did you test the wards?" Merry
asked as he eyed her boss. His eyebrow raised and she
was instantly sorry she'd asked as if Jeremy was a
novice.     

"It's elemental magic," he answered solemnly. "It's
something a Fey would use, but not anything I could
penetrate. It seems to be set to react to
someone/something in particular." Merry's eyebrows
knit together as Rhys and Galen took up flanking
positions at either side of her and they walked
together towards the side of the church building.
"What would make you say that?" Rhys questioned,
becoming a part of the conversation and thus inserting
himself as part of the team. Merry would have smiled
at that, if she hadn't been so distracted. Detective
Wilkes opened his mouth to answer, but Lucy put her
hand to his chest quieting him. "I want you to see for
yourself.  See if you get the same impression we did."
she replied.  

The group turned the corner and Merry's nostrils were
immediately assaulted with the stench.  Burnt flesh.
Acrid and nauseating like something that reached down
your throat and purposefully held onto your vocal
cords in an effort to gag you repeatedly.  There were
dozens of officers, paramedics, media, and church
officials standing around what seemed to be an
invisible line that no one dared to cross about eight
feet from what she could only suppose was the victim. 
The crowd blocked her view of the scene itself. In
unison the entire assembly turned to look at her with
differing expressions of excitement, expectation, and
skepticism.  As the reporters and their camera men
moved assault her, Rhys, Galen, Uther, Detectives Tate
and Wilkes, as well as Jeremy all formed a circle
around Merry to protect her from the throng.  

Merry was almost oblivious as she caught a distinct
sound above the din. It was a soft tinkling, like tiny
bells, clear and sweet. It's magical melody beckoned
her forward towards the crime scene. A compulsion
spell. Did the others hear it too? Is that why they
were all almost plastered to the perimeter of the
field? She leaned into Rhys and put her mouth to his
ear so she could be heard. "Do you hear that?" she
questioned? "Hear what?" he replied blinking at a
rather insistent camera that flashed rudely in his
face. "Do you hear the bells?" Merry tried again. Rhys
concentrated a moment, listening.  Then he shook his
head, "No, I don't hear anything except all these
people." Merry could tell he was agitated. They should
NEVER have brought the princess into this. It would be
difficult to protect her.  Why hadn't Uther warned
them before?

It was then the remaining crowd parted giving Merry
her first glimpse of what lay before her and it caused
her breath to catch in her throat.  The body was about
eight feet away from where she stood.  It was
completely charred beyond recognition, kneeling beside
a stone bench as if in prayer. Bit of blackened flesh
and clothing clung to the small frame. It had been a
woman by the shape and size of it. She wasn't sure how
she knew that, but she was about convinced she was
right.  She put her hand up to test the barrier of
magic before her. As she ran her hand along the
outside of it, huge chunks of ice felt hard and fast
within the field pummeling the remains of the victim
viciously. Quickly she snatched her hand back and the
hail stopped. 

In the corner of her right eye, she noticed a couple
of the church's priests standing at the side watching
the scene with horror and crossing themselves. She
looked back at the corpse and noted that it too had
one hand to its forehead as though it would cross
itself. "You're right Jeremy," Merry spoke up loud and
strong, with an air of authority that implied she knew
what she was talking about.  "This field was set to
attract the attention of someone in particular. And
whoever set it has a very sick sense of humor." Her
nose wrinkled in disgust with a hint of anger. "Who is
it for?" Jeremy asked, his eyes scrutinizingly shrewd
as he glared at Merry. She snorted in response, "Don't
you see it? It's a hail Mary."  When the men and Lucy
didn't respond, she continued. "It was set for me." 

As the last word died on her lips, Merry felt
something begin to drain her swiftly and without
mercy, pulling at everything magical that existed in
her personal aura, stripping her of her glamour.  Her
hands tingled painfully as her powers of flesh and
blood activated and then began to drain like being
sucked through a straw.  She felt her knees give out
from under her and the last thing her conscious
registered was Galen screaming her name as he caught
her lifeless body before it hit the ground. Then
darkness enveloped her and everything went black.