Chapter 102

Chapter 102
A/N: Merry Christmas!!!
Noah
“Noah are you still asleep! We’re going to be late!” Yelled Jerold.
“Damn!” I yelled rubbing my eyes, and when my feet hit the cold floor, I was awake.
I looked briefly at the window, sitting up straight on the mattress. It was snow outside, a stark contrast to how warm and pleasant Greece was. Oh well… I got out of bed about as fast as a snail, showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth while Jerold was already up it seemed….
Damn I didn’t want to go back home… but we did. We’d been home for two days, and all the stuff I kept as souvenirs was downstairs! On the mainland, Jerold may or may not have let me get something from damn near every shop we came across… 
And I got to sail the seas like a pirate! With the magic they use, we were there in hours, spent two days there, and sailed back. And now I missed that place! I missed that island as much as I missed that vacation already.
“Hey Noah, want some toast with your bacon and eggs?” He asked.
“Sure!” I yelled back. I was upstairs getting my uniform on, while I could smell the bacon and eggs from up here.
It was pan fried, and it made me hungry. The smell of fresh coffee did too.
And sure enough, downstairs he was already dressed, with a large cut of man’s meat on the table for himself. I could tell he’d rushed to try and eat it before I came down too. The look of a full mouth, guilt, and the comically large bite was hard to deny…. That was a full-sized man’s thigh with the bone in, yet some of that bone was missing from his chomp. There was a stamp on it that I couldn’t fully make out on it too, but it was ‘certified legally sourced’.
“Sorry!” he gulped. “Your plate’s over there.” He pointed. I could see the gloves on the top of the trash too. He takes cross contamination seriously. Honestly, I was greatful for that too.
I’m sure the thought of sitting next to this enormous man eater eating men would freak out anyone else, but I knew that he wasn’t hunting people, nor was he hurting anyone if he could help it. I saw the packaging too. It was also in the trash, but clearly stamped from the Meat Market.
“When are we going to check on Twarznai?” I asked.
He turned his head to eat his breakfast. I could still hear the crunch while I cut into my eggs. It doesn’t bother me, but I still think it’s nice that he tries to be polite about it.
“We could this Saturday? Maybe see if he’s even still around?” he asked out loud. “We could start looking around at both the human and supernatural local orphanages too.”
“Solsticemas is coming up.” I said as he nodded. “I want our future son or daughter to wake up that week and find out they’re adopted. I want to share some of this wealth with another soul who needs it.”
We were on the same page on that. 
… I can’t save the whole world… I can’t raise every orphan, but I figure we could start with one or two.
“Over time, our outreach will make an impact.” Said Jerold. “It will change their lives so they can go out and change more for the better.”
We both enjoyed our meals and his diet doesn’t bother me because I know this isn’t out of enjoyment. 
He’s not killing people for the hell of it, nor did he actually kill anybody.
I’m sure he does like the flavor too, but he at least tries to hide it. He gave gentle hums and I did too. I appreciated that I wasn’t the one who cooked anything, and that work will likely start with a new assignment. All I did was get ready for work, and my husband did everything.
Mrs. Dudly hadn’t come in yet, so we washed our dishes before Jerold got a different looking set of keys off the wall.
What did he order while we were away?
When I went outside, there was another car…. A 1959 station wagon. It was solid black with black leather.
….
When did THAT get in the driveway?! Or the keys?! How were they on the wall?!
“When did you get this?!” I yelled.
“I traded in that ’38.” He beamed. “It was a classic  and in perfect condition yes, but I want room for the calves and our stuff if we have to go somewhere. Plus it was only 2 grand.” 
“That’s fair.” I mumbled.
It still boggles my mind that we had that kind of money to just whip out… but I was glad he’d done it. We did need the extra bag space.
“I like it. All we need now is to convert a room or two into a proper child’s room.” I beamed.
“I like that!” he smiled, opening the car door for me.
The drive through town to work was nice, but I knew since we were coming back, there would be some kind of bullshit or another.
The snow made my mate drive slowly, but we got there in no time at all. There were even new recruits in the conference room, being briefed.
“Hey look who’s back!” Yelled Officer Bobby. “I heard you two left for a second honeymoon already!”
We all laughed.
“I got to meet his mom.” I pointed a thumb at my now sheepish husband, who turned red.
“Wow! I thought she was human?!” Yelled Officer Cody, another fellow human.
“She is.” Said Jerold with a light smile. “She’s blessed by Humblon to be forever 40.”
“She looks a baby unicorn.” I said and they more or less nodded.
“That’s immortality for you.” Said the Chief. “I mean look at me; I’m in my thousands.”
And he looked no older than 21.
“True.” Said Jerold. “Hey what did we miss?”
“Come into my office.” the Chief motioned us to come in, and we sat down as soon as he did.
“Any more Old One activity?” Asked Jerold.
“No, but someone’s making these.” The Chief reached into his desk, and pulled out a rock….
It looked like a normal, gray rock with a few black speckles, with I think pyrite, or fool’s gold imbedded in it too. It was about as big as a paperweight, but otherwise I couldn’t tell if there was anything in particular about it.
“Damn really?” Growled Jerold.
“These are imitation magic batteries.” Explained the Chief. “These are usually rare since they have to be mined in places where the In-between and the mortal world meet. Even then, you’d be lucky to find something half this size.”
“And someone is making counterfeits that likely blow up.” I added.
“Damn… You’re of course, 100% right officer.” Nodded Equestos impressed with my guess. “Normally, you’d use this kind of thing to amplify spells. A simple fireball can become a meteor with a real one this big. In the old days, magic stones would be chopped into chips and put in rings or broaches. They can even be recharged with your own magic. I actually have a real one in my dresser.”
Equestos pulled out a very nice gold ring with a blue lapis-looking stone inside. There were gold flecks of real gold, and the small red ones were cleanish rubies.
“Why don’t you wear it?” I asked.
“I don’t want to use it. Wearing it will automatically tap into its reserve… and that’s the issue. The moment someone uses this fake, the first time it’ll work so the seller can get it off their hands and a crazy price… But each use runs the risk of it exploding. This one blew the hand off an industrious elf. This thing would be blue with gold nuggets and transparent ruby gem flecks imbedded in it. And Lord Er’Genvell’s son reported that that’s what it initially looked like.”
“Was it his half human son, or one of his full-blooded ones?” asked Jerold.
“The lord’s youngest full blooded.” Said Equestos. “Paewillian Er’Genvell has since been put in an office position within their glade, but you already know. If there’s one of these things out there, someone is mass producing a hundred more.”
He snorted like an angry horse, and put the rock back in his desk.
“You’re doing right keeping it in your anti-magic drawer.” Said Jerold. “Any leads?”
“Believe it or not, the goblins are working with us, since there’s no profit in killing or maiming your customers. They say they have a rogue named Stinky Binky Bo.”
I resisted the urge to laugh at such an awful street name… but this is serious. We can’t have him on the streets selling magic items that detonate when used.