Borderline Chapter 3. 'Jasmine says "hello".' Raine lifed her head from the city map and looked at Daniel across the office. 'I nearly forgot that.' Daniel looked puzzled, which was not that uncommon. His red hair was sticking out in all directions, a very fashionable 'out-of-bed' look, but in his case it was not deliberate. 'Now, it's like what... tenth time you're telling me this? Jasmine... Isn't she our coroner?' 'Bingo, Ohio boy.' Raine smiled, which lighted up her face. Daniel pondered for a while on the fact that she scarcely ever smiled... And she should do it more often, as then she looked... Beautiful. As simple as that. It was the morning after the dinner with Raine's mother; after long night talks about unimportant things that seemed important to Giacinta Lasair. Raine was still dreadfully tired but the howering wrath of chief Falan kept her going. She was marking on the map the spots where previous murders were commited. 'Practically the outskirts.' She sighted, not touching upon the Jasmine subject anymore. 'In all three cases. Bad neighbourhoods, high crime rate... Mostly because of the dwarves gangs' territory wars.' 'Achall was killed by a dwarf?' Oh, it was wrong. Daniel got personal, calling the victim by name. Raine sighted again. 'No, the magic used was neither human nor dwarvian. Azure, colour of Elven magic... I'll have the aura graph on my desk soon. I hope...' 'An elf killing one of their kind?...' There was pure disbelief in Daniel's voice. It seemed that he didn't put the words 'elf' and 'cruelty' together. Well, wrong again. Those bastards were as much talented in dealing pain as humans. When someone lives that long it's no wonder. * * * Jasmine delivered the graph personally. She gave Daniel a long look from beneath lush lashes. Tiny, greish figure, overwhelmed by the size of file cabinet to her right. Raine felt strange seing that scene. Her friend was obviously attracted... To a man triple her size. 'Hello.' Jasmine smiled. She has even used a deep purple lipstic. 'Now I can say it myslef.' It was then that Daniel finally realised. He was a very slow thinker at times. 'Oh. Erm, hello. Erm, I can see you've brought us the graph.' 'No, actually I've brought the graph for Raine. You're just a bonus.' 'What? Excuse me, Madam, but I don't quite underst...' 'Oh, cut the crap, already!' Raine stood up. 'I have no time for the sweet talk.' She pointed at Jasmine 'You, back to the bodies.' She turned to Daniel 'You, back to work.' Jasmine gave her the grave look. An ordinary grave look is scary enough, but the one used by a coroner can make you wish you were in somebody else's shoes. Raine ignored it completly. 'Oh, fine. I can see you're jealous like hell.' Jasmine turned to Raine full front. 'Before you'll kick me out, I'll tell you what I've found, OK? Not in your interest. In the dead girl's.' 'Go on.' Raine felt sorry. For a little while. 'It was not a pure Elven magic either. A mixture of some sorts. Human traces are visible in the low positions of the graph. A faint amount, but present.' 'You're saying... A half-breed killed her?' 'I'm saying it's a mixture. You're the detective.' Raine looked briefly at the graph and gasped. 'You've noted down' she touched Jasmine's shoulder, pointing to her the sheet of paper, 'that it's a dark branch of magic.' 'Yes.' The short coroner shrugged her tiny shoulders. 'I don't know what kind of mixture it was, but one of it's ingredients was a dark elf.' * * * Siobhan of the High House Daigh was already late. She hated the city with all her heart, hated her father who made her live in it, hated her mother who made her study at a regular university. She was Elven aristocracy of pure breed. Her purple eyes and silky, pinkish hair were the evidence of the blood of House Daigh. She shouldn't be treated like a regular common elf! But she was. Her father made it clear that he doesn't want a posh, self-centered daughter. She was to mix with common people, with all races, to become wiser... Wiser, huh? She became discusted, distasted. And she became soaked in that smell... The smell of the streets. She knew for certain that she would move out from Borderline the day she graduates, that she will come to live in her homeland, in the world of grace and art. But first, she had to graduate. That would be really hard with all that absencies due to being late. She run out of her apartment, situated in one of the most luxurious parts of Borderline. At least that was showing her true status. Unfortunatelly, her father did not allow her for a carriage, car, or any other kind of personal transport. She was to use the public ways. She hated that as well. Indulged in all her angry thoughts, she took no notice of a dark figure that stepped out of a boutique's door and followed her, not very close, till the very gates of her university. to be continued... _____________________________ Thank You for reading, see You next chapter (hopefully!)