Early morning jogging helped Adi clear his head. A few days had passed since his wendigo adventure, but it wasn’t quite the adventure he had hoped it would be. He was half eaten by a jiangshi, was unconscious for most of the night, and was part of a prayer circle. Since then, the vampire had moved into his office. He kept to himself and would shoo Adi away claiming that he was busy looking for more possible cases whenever Adi went to check on him.

Today was the first day Adi could move around without the odd dizzy spell, so he decided to continue dedicating himself to his training. The path he took included a half mile run through a wooded section of town. Free running helped build up his agility and was a stress release from living as the emergency food source for a zombie/vampire hybrid. Autumn frost lead to the occasional slip, however, he loved the sensation of cold air in his lungs.

Adi broke out into a full sprint, doing the occasional side jump off a tree in order to quickly change directions. If he had a misstep, he would stumble out of it and somersault into a standing position. The phone strapped to his arm vibrated, and he fumbled with his headset in order to answer the incoming call.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Apologies for the intrusion, but I have been asked to look into a few endeavors that you might be interested in. When will you be returning?” Duke had made Adi buy him a phone so they could keep in contact whenever Adi left the house. Luckily he had a cheap option for a family plan, so Adi didn’t mind too much.

Adi rolled his eyes, “I’ll be back in twenty. And I’ll need a sho-” His foot gave way and he skidded several feet forward. The rotten leaves had combined with the overnight chill to create a slick and frozen path that ended with him vaulting over a fallen tree.

“I assume that was the sound of you falling on your ass? You should avoid running when talking to people. It’s a horrid distraction.”

Adi ran a hand down the wet side of his pants. “Just an ice patch. I’ll call if I’m going to end up late.”

“Good. We will talk more at that time.” He hung up on Adi.

Adi looked down his hand, as the liquid he slipped in felt warm. It was coated with a red sort of ichor. The backside of his pants was also covered in the stuff. “The fuck..?” Whatever it was, it had melted away the snow and steam was trailing along the ground.

Part of Adi told him to run away as fast as he could, but the other part wanted to know what was happening.

There was a frozen bowl of water nearby, but the source of the ichor appeared to be a neck stump that was buried in the ground. Blood was oozing out of it in a steady stream. Panic was quickly setting in as he realized he didn’t have any sort of weapon. Despite the blood being warm, it did seem frozen enough that it couldn’t dig itself out. He would have to come back with Duke, a shovel, and a shotgun.

Just as he was debating what else to bring, the neck stump began to wiggle back and forth. Adi stumbled back and slipped in the blood again. As the ground around the stump bulged, a body began to work its way out. It was much like watching a butterfly struggle free from a chrysalis, except absolutely horrifying

What crawled out was a black dog, still minus the head. It shook the dirt from its fur, splattering blood everywhere in the process. Then it started to look around, almost as though it were sniffing for something.

Adi crabbed walked back as far as he could as it finally broke free, skittering in mud and blood as he did soo. The dog hunched low and then arched back, howling at the morning sky. Ice bristled out from its spine, slowly forming into bones. Then came flesh and flecks of fur, with crystal eyes bobbling about as they struggled to become set within their eye sockets.

The howl faded, and then it set its stare upon Adi. Its head tilted back and forth as it jogged up for a closer inspection. Whatever its head was made of, it was beginning to look more normal, with the exception of its gemstone eyes.

Adi could only think of one appropriate response to this situation, and that was to scream in a high pitched tone while clawing at the tree behind him. Eventually, he was able to get his footing and stood up, and the ghost dog whatever monster began to bounce back and forth. He turned tail and ran, with the specter following closely on his heels.

***

Duke was simply minding his own business on the couch when Adi nearly collapsed through the front door. He stood there, gasping and in terror as words failed to form in his mouth. His body suddenly lurched forward and crumpled up on the floor like a broken doll as exhaustion overtook him.

A large dog slowly stepped in and walked on top of Adi’s back before licking at his ear. Duke’s first instinct was to slowly lift up his phone and take a picture of the pair. He then sighed with disappointment as the dog failed to show up in the image.

“I will have to double check to be certain, but this might be some form of a black dog?” He walked up and ruffled the dog’s head. “A rather odd coloration, actually. Not exactly as black as I expected one to be.”

Adi held up an arm, his hand clasping and unclasping as he pleaded with the vampire. “Help…” Duke grasped Adi’s hand in an effort to help him up, but he abruptly dropped it and took a step back. “Dammit, no seriously. I can’t get up...”

He looked up and noticed that Duke was staring at his own hand. The skin of it had blistered and pulled back as though it had been deep fried. Adi realized that his hand and most of his clothes were covered in blood. He briefly debated bottling the stuff but was more concerned with getting this animal off of him.

“I will go put on some gloves. You will need to wash yourself off and mop up the entrance.” The vampire sulked off in the direction of the office.

“It followed me from a nearby grove.” The dog began to sniff about the room, and Adi rolled onto his back so he could shut the front door with a nudge of his foot. “He was buried up to his neck with his head missing.”

Duke took wary steps away from the dog as they went to sniff him. “Odd. Was there a source of water nearby?”

Adi struggled to sit up. “No streams were in that area.” The dog let out a grunt by exhaling loudly out of their nose. “Ah, yeah, there was a bowl of water nearby. It was frozen, if that matters at all.”

“Not at all, however, I do know what this is.” He pointed accusingly at the beast. “That is a black dog.” The corner of his lip sneered at the implication.

“Yeah, Sensei Sherlock, I got that much. You said so yourself earlier.” Adi rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. “If there was anything useful you’d like to add to that?” He managed to stand up on his own, and the dog began to follow him towards the kitchen.

Duke walked through the living room and opened the front door, he then plucked the house keys from where Adi had left them in the lock. “Not all creatures from fantasy and lore were named by the most imaginative of minds.” Shaking the keys at Adi, he continued. “A black dog is a physical manifestation of a ghost. Some stories have them as protectors of graves, others have them as omens of coming death. One theory states that they cling to the mortal coil in order to find vengeance of their deaths.”

“So, avenge the thing and it’ll be on its way?” He grabbed a dishcloth and started to wipe off his hair. “Alright, Fido, tell me what’s wrong so we can fix this.” The dog tilted its head to the side. “... This damn dog can’t even talk.”

Duke fiddled with his phone for a moment before putting it in his pocket. “Now now, I do know of a way to figure this out.”

Adi took a step back and formed a cross with his fingers. “Is this going to be like your last plan where I ended up nearly dead in a demon lady’s car?”

“Lend an ear, will you?” He knelt down by the dog and scratched it behind the ear. “I am reminded of a demon from Japanese lore, the inugami. A loyal dog is buried up to its neck with food and water just out of reach. The owner will come by daily to tell the dog that it is a good boy and applaud its love. Right before the animal dies of starvation, the head is cut off.

They then take the head and bury it underneath a busy street, and it becomes a powerful component in a ritual that resolves grudges. A nearby street has finished its construction a few days ago, and our little barghest must be in want of its missing head. You can start by taking the pup to that area and seeing where she leads you from there.”

Adi dug around the fridge and pulled out a bottle of juice. “Who would cast that here? And what is it? Black dog, barghest, inugummy? You’re the research one. Maybe you should be the one to drag it around everywhere?”

“No. I will be borrowing your car.” Adi yelped as Duke abruptly appeared behind him and pulled off his earpiece. “I am borrowing this.” He inspected it for blood before furiously wiping it down with a paper towel.

“What?” He motioned at the dog with his cranberry juice. “Isn’t this more important? I honestly believe having a dead dog in my living room is more important, What do you expect me to do?!”

Duke twirled the keys in his hand. “You could start out by giving it a name, perhaps? Having a dead dog is no different than having a dead man. You will manage.” He headed to the door while chuckling to himself.

Adi scoffed loudly as Duke left. “Let’s get something straight.” He pointed at the dog, who immediately sat down and paid attention. “If you are going to be here, you are going to have to be a better partner than he is. Is that understood.” The dog huffed again through her nose, which “Good. Yeah, good. That’s… Great.”

***

The phone in the cup holder began to buzz. Duke fidgeted with Adi’s headset in an attempt to answer the call. “Agent Pastor, about Adi-”

“Duck-young, don’t you dare hang up on me ag-” Duke immediately hung up. Verlsa was mad about something that he couldn’t be bothered to figure out at the moment. He quickly dialed Windi in order to keep the line busy.

A masculine voice answered the call. “Did Atticus agree to take on the role as bait?”

“Slight interruption. I believe a barghest has taken an interest in him. It would be wise to allow him to handle that affair first.”

There was a pause followed by some background murmuring. He could hear a woman laughing in the background. “Alright,” Pastor confirmed. “If that is what he must deal with, that is his priority.”

"I will be arriving at the location soon. What should I do without the bait?"

"I still need you to be our inside man." Pastor replied. "You hunt down our suspect while we work on getting evidence. The situation is touchy. We need a mithryn they won't recognize as one of our own to enter the fight club. Don't cause any trouble, don't get into any of the fights, and keep your eyes out for our suspect."

Duke pulled up next to a farmhouse and found parking behind of it. "Fighting is no concern of mine. My body is in no condition to become a contender. Perhaps there is other intel or advice you can impart before I attempt to enter?"

“Look for the regulars. Our target is more than likely clinging to demon among them. Any member of an entourage is suspect. Get a list of names and breeds if you can, and we will take care of the rest." He hung up before Duke could respond.

"Yes. I will absolutely get on that."

He pulled out an old hat that he had found in Adi’s garage and put it over his head. As he got out of the car, he produced an umbrella to further protect him from the sun. It didn’t take long to get his bearings. The land here had a pumpkin farm on it once, but it had fallen into disarray after October ended, a house that also seemed abandoned, and the farm had more cars parked within it.

Duke chose the house and went up so he could knock on the door. A small hatch on the upper half opened to reveal the face of a woman. She stared at him for a moment before speaking. "May I help you?"

"Simply here to enjoy the fights." He smiled as sweetly as he could, tipping his hat as he did so. "Would you mind letting me in, Milady?”

“We require identification or the approval of a member before allowing new individuals to enter.”

He kept on smiling. "Duke." There wasn’t a need to make anything up.

The woman stared at him before speaking again. “A name isn’t identification, nor is ‘Duke’ the name of a member here.”

"Do you desire classification? Mithryn, subspecies vampire. Does that put a big enough feather in your bonnet for you, my dear?" He maintained a cheerful tone while speaking.

She wasn’t amused. "We already have enough smartasses, but just go ahead and show me your fangs so I can let you in.” Duke opened his mouth. “Those certainly are some teeth. Some nice, flat, regular looking teeth. Doesn’t help that the sun is literally outside right now. Better luck next time.” She shut the hatch.

Duke knocked again and raised his voice. “You, madam, are certainly showing a great bigotry at this moment! Not all vampires have fangs. Some have excellent personalities!” Silence was the only response he received. He tapped the door a little harder with his foot. “I insist that I am telling you the truth!”

The door opened, and out squeezed the hulking frame of a minotaur. There was a minigun in his hand, and he was pointing it directly at Duke. Though it looked quite small when he held it, Duke was certain that the bullets would feel quite large once they had pierced him.

“We don’t allow humans here.”

"Funny you should mention that.” Duke took a backward large step and held up a finger. “Because I specifically stated that I was not human to your comrade there just a moment ago." Duke took another careful step back. "I would insist that I fit all of the qualifications to enter. Would you kindly step aside?” The minotaur took a step closer. “And I would insist you stop with the menacing act. It’s quite inhospitable.”

"I would insist that you leave." The minotaur took another step forward. "Before I need to take measures. And I dislike having to take measures."

"How unfortunate that leaving is simply not an option for me, my friend."

Duke stepped inward, taking care to stand too close for the minotaur to use the gun effectively. His hand grasped the minotaur’s throat, and the monster’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he slumped forward. The vampire was forced to sidestep in order to avoid being squashed.

“I will tear you limb from limb,” growled out the minotaur weakly.

“Wait.” A woman stepped out next. She was a dark-skinned creature whose bright eyes flared in Duke’s direction. “Go inside, hopper. But try feeding here, and you’ll be a deader man.”

"I find that term to be a bit racist." Duke nudged the minotaur with his foot, which made him gurgle and groan. “Please get him some medical attention. He is rather large, but I took quite a bit from him.” She nodded and stepped aside. “Then I will see you again on my way out.”