The Coven Reborn
Copyright© 2026 by Phillip Marks
Chapter 10: Searching
Supernatural Sex Story: Chapter 10: Searching - The Coven of the Moonlit Grove recruits a new member and faces a new supernatural threat as it enters a new era.
Caution: This Supernatural Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Fa/Fa Consensual Fiction Magic
A warm springtime sun was high in the sky over Albany as I parked the GT Premium Super Snake Mustang near the Hilton Garden Inn at the center of the city. I smiled as I locked the car after grabbing my materials from the passenger seat. The red car was glittering in the sun. I hadn’t been able to drive the vehicle for a long winter. The trip from Nebelgutt had been easy, and frankly, fun.
I walked up to the front desk, wearing a leather jacket and jeans, and smiled at the pretty desk attendant. “Can I help you sir,” she asked.
“Yes. I’m Michael Renard. I’m here to see Donny Ruthman. He should be waiting for me someplace.”
“Oh yes, we had one of our small conference rooms reserved for your meeting. The conference rooms are just to the left there. You can go straight, take another left, and Room 202 will be on your right. He should be waiting for you sir.”
“Thank you,” I replied. I followed the woman’s directions. Business meetings had never been something I enjoyed, as proven by the time Rayven and I had spent in Philadelphia, but here, I was in control for once.
I had spoken to Mr. Ruthman a few days ago. He seemed to be a likable man and was obviously passionate about helping the homeless. I was looking forward to meeting him.
Donny rose as I entered the conference room. He was a bit older than I was and was wearing khakis and a simple golf shirt. An array of papers and a laptop were on the table in front of him.
“Mr. Renard?” he said, offering his hand.
“Yes. You must be Mr. Ruthman. It’s nice to put a face with the voice. It’s Michael by the way,” I said. We shook hands.
“Great,” he replied. “You can call me Donny as well.”
I sat down. “Okay,” I said. “I’ve gone through your plan and, like Mr. Reynolds had advised me, it is very complete. Tell me a bit more about homelessness in Albany. To be honest I don’t think it’s something many people associate with the city.”
“Correct Michael,” began Donny. “Homelessness remains a persistent problem in the area, despite a statewide decline, lead by New York City.”
I nodded. “And New York City is a lot different than the state of New York.”
“Absolutely,” said Donny. “The most recent data that I have shows that there were 927 homeless individuals in he area. There are shelters already like the Capital City Rescue Mission, but the trend in the capital area counties has been upward recently due to increasing housing instability. I think this area needs additional service.”
“From what I read in your plan I would tend to agree. I also like the fact that you have already laid the groundwork for partnerships with other agencies like the Street Psychiatry Pilot.”
“I feel inter-agency cooperation is vital,” continued Donny. “The problem of homelessness is almost always accompanied by the issues of addiction and mental health. Overall our society needs to to a better job in addressing these things. We are asking law enforcement to use men with guns to deal with issues that should be handled by psychologists and substance abuse counselors. I’m not criticizing the police at all, they don’t have the right training. It doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”
I smiled and nodded in agreement. I liked this man. He was obviously passionate about this cause and could see the big picture while operating on the front line, letting neither viewpoint cloud his judgment. I considered this ability to be a leadership quality.
“So, Donny,” I said. “I’ve been through the documentation you’ve provided and I’m only seeing one missing piece.”
He smiled broadly and looked down a bit, nodding in agreement.
“A facility; you need a physical place,” I continued.
“Yeah,” Donny answered. “That’s one of the big reasons I want to secure this grant. No realtor will move forward with me until I can show a bank balance. I have secured an agreement for financing with a bank that has a local branch and I have a couple places in mind for the facility.”
I shuffled through the papers of his plan quickly. A thought recurred in my head, one that I had first entertained months ago: controlling the world starts with controlling your little piece of it. Influence was the key, like tendrils spreading outward. That is how I had to think about things now.
So, Donny, I would like you to add an addendum to your plane before we move forward,” I said.
“Okay,” he replied, a bit dubious.
“Do the same plan but run it without the mortgage feature. I would like to see the straight up numbers on that. Once you complete it send me a copy and loop in Mr. Reynolds. I’ll see what I can make happen for you okay?”
His eyes went wide. “Yeah ... sure Michael, I can do that,” he stammered happily. He was aware of the door I had just cracked open for him.
“Great,” I said. I quickly collected my things and rose. “It was really nice talking to you Donny,” I said, offering my hand once again.
“Yeah,” Donny replied, shaking my hand. “It was, it was. I’ll get that info to you right away!”
I left a very happy and excited community activist in my wake as I left the hotel. As I walked to the car under the warm sun I thought about the plan my coven-mates and I had for our organization. Rayven, Ella Rose, and Anna would be headed to Europe in a bit, Delia was proving to be a nice addition to the Coven, the illusion protecting Nebelgutt was still up for now but construction would be happening. Things were going according to the plan so far.
I also thought about the Cabal for a moment. They were a strange group. Nominally they were allies of ours yet we had heard nothing from them except for my odd visit with Callista last year and a polite ‘thank you’ regarding NYC. Did they secretly control the world? Had they existed for untold centuries? Were they as powerful as they claimed? As for right now, I thought, none of these questions mattered.
A short time later in a police precinct building in Manhattan the footage of body cams and dashcams was being reviewed by a group of professionals. “Okay, right ... there. Freeze it!” said visiting Detective Justin Duke. “That’s our girl.”
Doctor Jacob Yarland was well behind the detectives at the controls of the large video display. Shelia Foster was next to him. There were some other officers and officials watching as well, including Captain David Morrisone, who would be advising the higher ups downtown later today.
The image they were watching froze on the blurry figure clinging to the metal framework of a fire escape. “She caught a bullet, right there,” commented Detective Cindy Carballo. She was sitting next to Duke. The pair had been working together temporarily for the last few days.
“It had to be a .38,” said Justin Duke. “A .45 or a 9mm would have knocked her down.”
Carballo nodded in agreement.
“We recovered every round that was expended on the scene,” said Jacob Yarland. “Except for a single .38 and a .45.”
“My guess is that the .45 round is buried in that brick wall behind her,” commented Justin Duke.
“And the .38 is stuck in her side,” added Carballo, completing the other detective’s thought.
“We’ve been monitoring the local emergency rooms – no unknown gunshot injuries have been reported – well, none related to this,” commented another officer.
“The good news is that this footage has given one of the NYPD’s sketch artists the opportunity to create a composite. It’s been distributed already,” said Shelia Foster.
Captain Morrisone nodded grimly. “Well, canine officer Cody died at the veterinarians yesterday. The patrol officer will recover. I don’t understand some of this footage; how could our suspect just yank a taser out of her leg? She killed a canine with one kick. The speed and jumping ... it’s inhuman.”
“She was probably jacked up on meth sir,” commented Carballo. “I’ve seen it before. The human body can do some strange things when drugs are involved.”
“I agree with Detective Carballo,” said Justin Duke. “I’ve seen the same thing on the street. As far as the canine encounter goes we really don’t have good footage of that.”
“What else do you have Jacob?” asked the captain.
“Unfortunately, heavy rain degraded the crime scene very quickly. The only other information I have is the original anomalous bloodwork and the info from the murder scene.”
“That’s not good enough Doctor,” said the captain sharply. “The press has gotten a hold of this now. They have been asking things like ‘what does the word baffled mean’. That’s not a good look for the force.”
“I understand sir,” said Yarland. “This case is our top priority now.”
“This is turning into a PR nightmare,” observed the captain quietly. “Detective Duke, Technician Foster, you both worked on the John Doe Killer case in Albany. What insights do you have?”
Shelia and Justin glanced at each other. Shelia began: “There are a lot of possibilities here Captain. The only real option we have is to push forward and simply deal with the bizarre aspects of this case as they occur. That is what we had to do in the John Doe Killer case. The delay we’re experiencing here is due to the size of the area involved. The good news is that we have more resources.”
“So your advice is to stay the course?” asked the captain.
“Absolutely,” said Shelia. “We can’t let ourselves get distracted by the strangeness of the case.”
“I agree with Shelia,” began Justin. “We have to investigate and then analyze the evidence. The other things involved: the press, the unbelievable stuff we see, the weirdness on the street, all these things are background noise. We had to deal with the same things in Albany.”
Detective Carballo spoke up: “Let us do our jobs sir,” she commented. “Detective Duke and I will be hitting the area tonight and tomorrow. We’ll shake this suspect out.”
“Alright,” said the captain. “I’ll get you the time you need. I need you all to keep me in the loop on all aspects of this case. Doctor Yarland, this footage doesn’t leave your office, or this room. Am I clear?”
“Very clear sir,” said Jacob.
“Let’s get it done people.”
The meeting broke up a short time later.
Several hours later Carballo and Duke slowly cruised the streets of upper Manhattan. It was cool and clear. The rain of the last few days had moved off. Carballo was driving. In the few days he had worked with her Justin Duke had come to appreciate his temporary partner. She knew the streets of Manhattan like the back of her hand and was a die-hard professional.