Chapter 6
Dexter
I was driving around the outskirts of the city that was about an hour away from Paradise Falls, hunting down the faint tinge of evil on the air. After kissing Toby, my hellhound had been itchy as hell. It had been hard to walk away from him, but as much as I’d wanted to take him up against his kitchen island, I wanted more from him.
I’d had sex with humans before, but Toby was special. I had the urge to woo him.
I chuckled to myself thinking about what Jude would say if I asked about giving a human the corpses of his enemies as a courting gift. Not that Toby had any enemies; he was all sweetness and light, his soul shining brightly, not a speck of rot on it.
I hadn’t even really meant to kiss him, but I’d smelled his arousal, and I hadn’t been able to help myself. He was so tempting.
I tried to clear my thoughts of Toby to focus on the hunt. I was in a very wealthy suburb outside the city, where the mansions had a lot of property and were gated, but electronics wouldn’t stop me. I could feel the pull of a rotten soul, and I followed it until I reached one particularly large property. It was covered in a miasma of evil, and I knew there was at least one hellbound mortal inside.
I noted cameras as I drove by, so I didn’t stop. My features would never appear clearly on camera, but my car would, so I parked about a mile away, grabbed my working bag, and walked the rest of the way back to the mansion. As I got closer, I could smell the rot and decay of the human soul getting stronger, a symptom of a soul too far gone for redemption in this lifetime.
I contemplated bringing the human back home to take my time with them, but it was only afternoon, and the possibility of people being about made that more difficult. It was probably best to dispose of them here. I had some tools with me, and I’d be able to have at least a few hours of fun.
I scaled the wall, avoiding the cameras easily. Once inside the property, I sensed the dogs. They were approaching quickly, but at least they were silent so far. What an added bonus. I loved dogs.
They ran up growling, probably ready to start barking an alert, but the moment they saw me, they fell to their stomachs and started whining.
“Oh, what cute boys you are!” I murmured, crouching down and motioning them forward. “Are you good boys? I bet you are!” I said as they belly crawled toward me, tails wagging at my voice.
They were large German shepherds, and they were obviously well trained. I had no doubt that they would find a home after their owner was disposed of. Guard dogs like these went for a small fortune.
“You didn’t know you were protecting an evil human, did you? You’re just doing your job, aren’t you?” I murmured as I scratched them both. One rolled over for me to pet his belly, so I gave him a nice rub.
Eventually I stood up. “Alright boys, I have work to do. Where’s your owner?”
They stood as well, obviously realizing playtime was over, and trotted along beside me, tails wagging and tongues lolling. I patted them occasionally as I walked, but I knew I’d have to make sure to leave them outside. Dogs who licked up blood at crime scenes didn’t tend to get adopted. Humans were weird about things like that. I gave a mental shrug as the dogs led me around a beautiful built-in pool to a patio and sliding glass doors.
I smiled as I saw the electronic keypad on the outside of the door. It was obviously hooked to the house alarm system as well, which made things even easier. I placed my hand on it, allowing some flame to wind its way down through the wires. The dogs whined a bit at the surge of hellhound power, but I just made a reassuring sound and they hushed right up. What good boys.
I wondered idly if Toby liked dogs. I bet he did. He totally seemed like a dog person. I could just imagine him curled up on his sofa with a dog next to him while he wrote. Although Toby was a bit absent minded, and I wasn’t sure he’d remember to feed them. Of course, if Toby lived with me, I’d make sure the dogs were fed and exercised. Although maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself with that thought.
With a blink the light on the keypad went out, and I listened for a moment to see if a phone rang. I’d used enough flame to disable the device but not fully put it offline, because these companies had fail safes built in for losing contact completely.
Modern day technologies had made things more difficult, but we had all practiced disabling alarm systems at Wilder’s compound. They hadn’t been so advanced that many years ago, but it was enough of a start for us all to figure it out. It was amazing what hellhound fire could accomplish. There was no doubt it was a bit miraculous, and we made the most of it.
There was still a regular lock, but that was easy enough to burn through, and I slid open the glass door noiselessly. The dogs whined a bit when I put my hand up for them to stay, but they obeyed, and I shut the door behind me. I was in an opulent bar room that was obviously meant to be used with the pool and the outdoor area. Thankfully, it was empty.
It was mid afternoon, but I only sensed three souls in the house. One was my rotten hell-bound mortal, and then there was a soul that was… slightly rancid. It wasn’t enough to justify my presence, but if that mortal continued down their current path, there was a good chance they’d get a visit from a hellhound.
The last soul was… I sniffed the air, letting my hellhound out. Underneath the rot and decay, there was a fresh smell, like an ocean breeze, only there was a faintly acrid scent to it. A true innocent, then, but there was an underlying sense of fear or worry. Hells, I hoped it wasn’t a little kid.
I let out a growl at the very thought, and I must have been heard, because a feminine voice called out, “Marcus, did you let the dogs in the house?”
Whoever Marcus was, he must not have heard, and I could hear the female walking this way. She was the slightly rancid soul. I moved over and out of sight, leaving my bag on the ground next to me—there was no need to have her screaming when she saw me. I would deal with her before I had my fun with this Marcus.
“Marcus?” she asked, stepping into the room, and I came out behind her and put my hand over her mouth.
“Scream and I’ll snap your neck,” I growled as she began to struggle.
She stilled at that, and I heard muffled talking against my hand. I let it loosen slightly but kept it in position.
“I don’t know anything,” she whispered. “Please, just let me go.”
Ah, the smell of deceit. I turned her around and pinned her against the wall. I knew my eyes were glowing, my face beginning to change shape. It would be enough to make me unrecognizable. Fire burst up on my back, and I let it slowly engulf my shirt.
“You know enough. Your soul reeks of decay,” I snarled.
“What…” she whispered, eyes wide.
“Lucky for you, I’m not here for you. Not yet. Keep on this path, though, and one of my kind will come for you next. Do you understand?” I bit out.
Her eyes remained wide and glassy, and I could feel her quivering in my hands. I gave her a shake, asking again, “Do you understand?”
“Yes! Yes, I understand,” she whimpered.
“I’m going to let you go now, and you’re going to get in your car and drive as far away as you can, or else I’m going to find you. You won’t like what happens if I find you,” I growled.
“Yes, ok. I’ll go. Please, just let me go,” she pleaded.
I sighed, then I did just that. She backed out of the room, her eyes on me, and I walked over to pick up my bag. By the time I did that, she had turned around and was running. I followed behind her, because it wouldn’t do to have her warn Marcus, but she ran through a front hall, grabbing keys off a table and rushing out the front door. I could see through the entryway as she climbed into the tiny sports car in the wide, circular driveway and squealed off into the afternoon.
I had read enough off of her soul to know that she wouldn’t be going to the cops. She and her husband were up to their eyeballs in illegal activities, and she was also cheating on him. My guess was that she would run to her lover for back-up. Maybe she’d even be glad that Marcus was dead.
I didn’t have much hope for her fixing her ways, but that was up to her. Perhaps I’d leave her a nice blood bath to come home to. Maybe that would drive the message home, although I hated to leave the body behind. It always caused such issues. Still, if I went the bloody route, I could let Toby know which cuts were most likely to spray versus drip…
But I was getting sidetracked.
I let my hellhound form go so that I looked like a normal human again. A shirtless human, but oh well. Marcus would have other things to worry about aside from my lack of a shirt.
I followed the smell of rot to a set of stairs. Luckily, the innocent soul smelled like it was in the opposite direction. I stalked upstairs and down a hallway, passing by bedrooms until I found a closed door. I tried the handle, but it was locked. It was easy enough to burn the lock away and gently ease the door open.
Marcus was sitting in a plush office chair with headphones on and nothing else. He was stroking himself and watching something on his screen. Without even touching him, I could see some of the heinous acts he’d committed to have such a blackened soul. Looks like I’d be burning his computer and all his files when I was done with him—Marcus liked to make raunchy videos with unwilling participants. I’d have to see if Liam could hack into his accounts and delete anything this guy had in the storm or the fog or whatever the fuck people called internet storage. Technology was obviously not my thing, but Liam was pretty good with it.
I took in the room. The office was a good size, not too big. I figured I’d be able to test out the blood splatter idea quite well in here. I’m sure Toby would like to know if his idea would work out for his book.
With a grin, I let my bag of tools drop loudly enough for Marcus to startle and look over.
Time to have some fun.
I let my flame burn the blood off my bare skin and let it lightly lick over the surfaces in the office, removing any traces I might have left in the room. I’d already fried the computer and anything else electronic, and I’d sent a text to Liam with the guy’s passwords and stuff, which he’d been all too willing to tell me once we’d been underway.
I contemplated the corpse in front of me. What a disappointment.
I’d never thought too much about it, but the problem with blood spray was that you were usually hitting an artery, and the human was likely to bleed out much more quickly. To really get maximum blood everywhere, you’d have to hit a lot of arteries at once, which was really not very satisfying. Death would be very fast with that much speedy blood loss. Cuts that bled out more slowly just didn’t splatter, though, although they did form satisfying puddles.
Well, they would on a bare floor, anyway. Marcus’s office was unfortunately carpeted, so it ended up as a saturated, bloody carpet. Still, there had been enough blood for some to pool on the carpet.
I’d have to make sure Toby hadn’t set his scene in a carpeted room. Shag carpet especially would probably soak up quite a bit of blood.
I looked out the window. Dusk had fallen outside, and I supposed I needed to decide whether I was going to dispose of Marcus or not. As satisfying as it would be to leave Marcus for the woman to find, the innocent human might just as easily find the body. Plus, then there would be police and questions and all that stuff, and I hated wasting all those human resources on a crime they would never solve.
Missing persons were always easier than murder scenes.
A house fire would nicely take care of his body and the bloody remains, and I kind of didn’t want the wife to have the house—she didn’t deserve it. But that meant I would need to deal with the innocent human.
I’d kept tabs on the person, and despite Marcus getting quite vocal at the end there, the human had not moved from their location in the house. I sighed. I supposed I would have to retrieve them. It would have been easier if they’d just run off like the wife had.
l didn’t think it was a child. The woman and Marcus had given no indication of corrupting children in their darkened souls, and I hadn’t sensed any offspring. Although really, if it was a teenager, I could see those two not feeling very parental. Marcus and the woman were both monsters.
I left my pants on—not too much blood splatter on them, and the blood that was on them blended in because they were black. My skin was clean, and I grabbed my to-go bag and followed the scent to the mortal.
I took the staircase downstairs and ended up at a door on the main floor. After burning through the lock, I found a set of steps leading down another level. I followed those down into a wine cellar. I almost stopped and grabbed a few bottles—I knew Toby liked wine—but I was starting to get a sense of urgency about the innocent mortal.
I didn’t think living in a wine cellar was normal human behavior.
I wound my way through the wine racks and found myself at another door hidden at the back of the cellar. It was also locked, and it occurred to me for the first time that the lock to come downstairs had been on the outside of the door, not the inside.
Whoever was down here was being held captive.
I burned through the lock and slowly opened the door. I didn’t see anyone at first, then a form came charging out at me, all scratching nails and yelling and flailing limbs.
“Shit!” I cried out, grabbing ahold of the arms that were currently trying to pummel me and scrape my skin off.
“Let me go you fucking asshole!” a man’s voice cried out, and his legs continued to kick at me as he struggled.
I was trying not to hurt him, but he was a wiggly fucker. I spied a bed at the other end of the small room, and I gently threw him onto it, putting my hand up and growling, “Stay!” as soon as he landed. My cuts and scrapes were already healing, and I let a little glow into my eyes to give my words some weight. I did not want to have to subdue the human.
“What the fuck are you?” he hissed. He looked ready to launch himself at me again, despite asking what I was, not who I was.
“Just… Stay still for a minute and let me think,” I murmured. Fuck. A human captive. This complicated things.
“Probably can’t burn the house down now…” I mumbled to myself, sighing. “Liam is gonna be so annoyed if he has to deal with a human investigation again.”
“Burn the fucking place to the ground,” the man spat. “Just let me go.”
I looked at him, raising my eyebrows. He was a petite and wiry little thing, but I could tell he had reached maturity, although he was probably only in his early twenties. Surely he had family and friends who were looking for him. “Don’t you want the police involved? Won’t your family wonder where you’ve been?” I asked.
He leaned back against the wall, folding his arms across his chest defensively. He was skinny, but he looked in good health otherwise, and I wondered how long he’d been held here— I didn’t think it was terribly long. He was frightened, but he certainly wasn’t broken. I felt a sense of satisfaction that I might have stopped whatever Marcus had planned for this human. I knew Marcus had done some terrible things to others, but perhaps this one was relatively unscathed.
Aside from the kidnapping and being held in a cellar, of course. That sort of thing was probably a bit traumatic.
“Just let me go,” he said again, a frown marring his face.
“Well, that would definitely make things easier,” I mused. Still, I didn’t think humans found other humans being held captive and just let them go. If he ran straight to the police and described me… Well, that would be an annoyance.
I had no desire to leave Paradise Falls. Toby lived there.
“Where will you go?” I asked.
He stared at me mulishly.
“Do you have family or anyone looking for you?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah, yup, tons of people looking for me,” he lied.
I tilted my head. “You aren’t very good at lying.”
“You aren’t very good at pretending to be a normal human,” he scowled.
I smiled. “I like you. You’re feisty.”
He rolled his eyes up, muttering, “Great, the weird guy with glowing eyes who wants to burn the house down likes me. Isn’t it my lucky day.”
“Oh, I don’t like you like that,” I answered. “I mean, I’m sure you’re cute and all, but I’m actually interested in someone else.” I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea, after all.
He looked at me incredulously. “Are you for real?” he asked.
“If you’d like to think of me as a hallucination, this might be easier,” I pondered. Then I discarded the thought. “Nope. Can’t chance it,” I sighed. “Well, you’ll just have to come with me.”
He stared at me, mouth slightly open. I picked up my bag and made an after-you gesture to him.
“You’re totally going to kill me. Shoot me in the back of the head or something, right? Is this some kind of mob thing?” the man said, but he was getting off the bed anyway.
I frowned at him. “I would never use a gun,” I answered. “What’s the fun in that? Plus, I would never kill someone from behind. Humans ought to know when they’re going to die. And anyway, you aren’t like Marcus. I’m not going to kill you.”
“Damn straight I’m not like that fucking asshole,” the man muttered, and he walked out ahead of me.
“Don’t run. I’m faster than you,” I muttered. I didn’t want to chase him down. That would be annoying. “Plus I’ll find you wherever you go,” I added.
“You are super fucking creepy, dude,” he muttered, but he kept winding his way through the cellar.
When we reached the stairs and climbed up, I took a moment to let my flame loose in the wine cellar. I should probably go upstairs and burn the body, but I’d already burned all traces I might’ve left behind, so even if the fire was put out, it wasn’t like any clues would lead to me. Plus, with all that alcohol, the house would go up pretty quickly.
By the time we reached the bar room, the fire was already raging. The man turned around, mumbling, “What the fuck?”
“Fire,” I answered. “Follow me,” I added, walking out the sliding doors. The dogs greeted me, wagging their tails. Ah, I’d forgotten about them too.
I sighed. So many complications. This was what came from not planning things out. I really knew better. But that kiss with Toby had just completely frazzled my brains.
“Alright everyone, come on. You’ll all fit in the car, and I know someone who owes me a favor. He’ll know what to do with you. Hopefully,” I mused.
The man gave me another incredulous look, but he and the dogs both followed me off the property. We found a small gate to exit the grounds, which I burned the lock off of, and off we went into the night. The house was a blazing inferno by the time we were walking down the street, and I heard sirens in the distance as I ushered the crew into my car.
The coffee shop owner owed me a favor after I helped him with the whole demon thing. Surely taking in a stray human and two dogs would be acceptable payment. This guy wasn’t the first stray I’d rehomed, and I usually found a good soul to take care of them. I knew the coffee shop owner fit the bill there.
I decided not to call ahead, and we made the hour drive back to Paradise Falls in silence. The man pretended to fall asleep, and he might have even dozed off at one point. Both dogs were happily curled up on the back seat.
By the time we made it to the coffee shop, it looked like it was just after closing, but luckily I could see the owner inside along with his angel.
“We’re here,” I told everyone, climbing out and opening the car doors for the human and the dogs before walking up to the shop. I rapped against the door as the man and the dogs trailed behind me.
The coffee shop owner came over and opened the door.
“Oracle,” I said, realizing I wasn’t really sure of his name. If he’d told me, I’d forgotten. Come to think of it, I hadn’t gotten the captive man’s name either. Oops. That was probably something normal humans did.
“Hellhound,” the coffee shop owner replied.
“I found this human locked in a basement, and the dogs no longer have an owner, so I thought maybe you’d like them,” I said.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” the coffee shop owner replied, looking at me, then the man, and then the dogs. He was speechless after that, and I didn’t think it was the good sort of speechless.
Well, this wasn’t going quite as well as I’d hoped. I waved the man and the dogs into the shop, and the owner let us through, still looking dumbfounded. He did close and lock the door behind us though.
“Alright. Tell me everything,” the coffee shop owner said.
Humans—they always wanted explanations and shit. I sighed. At this rate I’d never get back to the house to see what Toby was up to.