Duke tucked his scarf into the collar of his brand new suit jacket. He stood tall next to Kenelm as the fairy sat in the VIP area. It turned out that Kenelm was a fairy. A rather large and wingless one, but Duke didn’t feel like questioning it. Most of the demons he had run into were oddly human looking, and he assumed it was all part of a disguise so they could more easily blend into society.

The two of them were watching a pair of mithryn battle each other in the pit. A naga was bleeding heavily from her snake half, which was wrapped tightly around a werewolf’s neck. He was clawing at her scales in an attempt to get her off of him.

Kenelm leaned forward with a wide grin. “Wonderful, isn’t it? It gives me a taste of the old days when this was welcome and open entertainment!” The werewolf below collapsed in the naga’s grasp, and his features slowly warped into an unconscious man. “As long as humanity isn’t willing to accept your kind, we must offer other means of survival.”

Duke adjusted his glasses. The sight of what appeared to be a polar bear with branches growing out of its head had given him pause. It appeared to be the pit keeper, as it often showed up between rounds in order to drag away the loser.

“Humanity will always view violence as a solution as long as they allow their fears to control them,” he muttered.

“Exactly!” Kenelm smacked Duke on the back. “You should do your job and see where the little lady has gone off to. She still owes us our drinks.”

Duke stood up from his seat. “Of course, sir.” Being dressed in red, it didn’t take long for Duke to find her. Kenelm could’ve done it himself if he had just bothered to turn his head. She was sitting at the edge of the bar, slowly nursing a martini.

She glanced at him as he took a seat next to her. “Never imagined I’d be doing this sort of work again. Normally men are bending backwards to bring me a drink, not the other way around.” A faint laugh escaped her lips, but it was obviously a fake one.

“He simply doesn’t understand how a goddess should be treated,” said Duke as he glanced over at the fight listings for the day. “Would you be joining us again soon? There’s supposedly a manticore showing up today.”

She pouted. “I’m actually not a fan of violence unless it’s in the bedroom,” she said as she leaned towards him. “Kenelm and I are simply parasites using each other. He wants some fun, I want a free trip to Europe. We’re both getting what we want.”

“Parasite is such a strong word. You are a flower and he is the dirt below you,” he whispered back. “I apologize for not introducing myself to you properly earlier. As you may already be aware, I am the vampire known as Duke.”

“Janice, but that’s a temporary name.” Her red lips spread wide into a smile that revealed a row of perfect white teeth. “Succubuses have to have several names hidden away in their pockets, but I’m stuck with that one until I can get a new look.”

That would explain the flawless nature of her feminine form. “Unfortunately I am still new to the world of supernatural. Is that a form of mithryn or are you-”

“Yes,” she interrupted him. “I am a demon. Don’t worry, I’m not the type to make a huge fuss about not being called a firstborn or some other fancy title like some other demons.” Janice angled her head towards Kenelm. “Honestly, we’re all a little tainted. Why not claim to be what we really are?” The bartender finally appeared with a bottle of wine and two glasses, which she set in front of Duke.

“Thank you, Matilda,” he said as he stared at the setup. “Though I do not remember ordering this.”

“It’s for me and Kenelm. He tends to order the bottles from special storage, and it can take to get past the magic locks,” Janice stated. “He’s still in denial that this is basically a dive bar, and he can’t expect everything to show up in an instant.” She picked up the bottle but paused as she thought to herself. “How about we talk some more later? When I get bored of the fighting again, okay?”

Duke purred out a reply. “Who am I to deny perfection?” His smile faded as he watched her walking away. He then pulled out his phone, sending a simple message Windi’s way.

“Found it.”

***

Adi awoke to the sensation of Sable licking his face. It smelled like stale french fries and he pondered if ghost dogs had clean tongues, unlike the living ones who spent a lot of time cleaning their genitals. He sat up with a start, then looked behind him to make sure that he wasn’t a ghost sitting up from his own body. There wasn’t his own body behind him, but there was a lot of blood, and for some reason, he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Versla walked through the open entrance with a box in her arms. She stepped over the body of the dead detective, placed the box on top of the kitchen counter, and walked out the door again. There wasn’t any indication that she had noticed him moving about, which lead him to worry that maybe he was a ghost and his body was someplace else.

He pushed Sable off of his lap so he could investigate the detective. Coyle’s neck was shredded, but the blood that was around him was minimal. The body was riddled with bite marks. Sable had certainly done a number on him. Verlsa came back in carrying a stack of smaller boxes and put them next to the other box on the counter. It was around that time that Adi realized that his front door had been knocked down completely.

Standing up and stumbling to the door frame, Adi could see that Verlsa had been fetching the boxes out of a van. All of them had been meticulously labeled. The garage door had also been opened, and more of Verlsa’s belongings had been crammed in there.

“Morning,” muttered Verlsa, even though it was obviously approaching evening. She gestured to the stack of boxes with her thumb. “I’ve got what I needed for the house. Help me load up the rest of this in the garage?”

Adi debated his options. Either do what she says or draw the attention of the neighbors by starting an argument. Neighbors who would call the cops, and cops who would be very interested in knowing why there was a dead detective in his living room. He shrugged and picked up a stack of boxes.

“What happened to my front door?” Adi pointed at it with his foot. Currently, it was propped up against the side of the house.

“Your dog knocked it on top of me when I rang your doorbell. I did what I could and went to the hardware store afterward.” Verlsa picked up a toolbox from the passenger side seat. “I’m used to doing housework like this. Let me handle it while you put everything else away.” She began to look through a shopping bag for the replacement door hinges.

Adi finished up while Verlsa handled it. He had questions. Lots of questions. Lately, he had only been getting more questions whenever he asked for answers and didn’t want to bother at this point. He took a seat next to Sable, who was holding a screwdriver in their mouth while Verlsa was making sure the door wouldn’t squeak.

“She has a weird coloration. Do you know what breed mix she is? I can see German Shepherd, but I’m stumped after that.” Verlsa closed the door and was satisfied with the results. She took the screwdriver from Sable and patted her behind the ears while telling her that she was a good girl.

“That’s a long story,” he said as Verlsa opened the door again and walked into the house.

Adi puffed out his cheeks as he looked at the mess before him. His blood covered the chair and coated the floor, mixing with the soda that he had dropped when he was shot. Verlsa must have saved him again. He slumped over to the kitchen counter and began to bonk his forehead on it. Cleaning up this mess, dead detective included? It would be better to have left him dying on the floor.

Verlsa pulled a beer out from the fridge along with a slice of leftover pizza. These were placed in front of Adi as though they were a great offering. “You need to talk?”

Adi stared at her with a set of puppy dog eyes. She was so much nicer than his other home intruders. He resigned into telling her everything that had happened since that morning. About finding a headless dog in the woods, the detective who tried to murder him, and about how Duke was a giant jerk for making him deal with this all by himself in the first place. Not to mention stealing his car.

“At least that explains why that shit isn’t around.” She fetched herself a beer and popped it open. “Should I tell you about my week?” Adi felt like this was a trap but he gestured for her to continue anyway.

“It all starts out with these two idiots who cost me a lot of money. Because, you know, it was so much more important that I had to save lives instead of making my important phone calls. I tried to explain how I had a friend who was in a life and death situation, but they don’t have time to pity me. Now I’m out of a job. And since I was consultation, I can’t get unemployment.

Not to mention that DH knows about me now. You’ve met DH, but did you know that stands for demon hunters? The last thing I need is a group of demon hunters knowing about me, a demon with mystical healing powers, so I have to figure out a way out of the state. With no job, I’ve had to hand over my house to a realtor so they could rent it out, and now I have to hide where I hope is the last place DH will look for me until I get enough money to flee.

But where could I go? Gee, Duck-young sure is being a major inconvenience by not answering any of my calls or texts. Doesn’t matter to him if I’m in trouble. Not like I dropped everything to save his friend’s life, or how I found him a place to stay after he showed up on my doorstep after I was told he was dead. I’m sure he doesn’t owe me at all, but I’m certain he wouldn’t mind him crashing with him until all of that is settled.”

“But this is my house,” muttered Adi bluntly in between bites of pizza.

“Good point. I’ll just leave you here to deal with all of this yourself, but first I’ll replace the bullet holes in your chest.” She stared at him with a flat expression, unblinking, eyes not wavering as she took a long sip of beer.

Adi gulped. “My home is certainly your home for as long as you like.”

Verlsa nodded in appreciation. “And that’s exactly what I thought you’d say. I’m thankful that you and I have this,” she waved her hand between the two of them, “natural understanding. So look, I am so unbelievably fucking tired right now, so I’m going to pass out in your bed. Only for tonight though, because I’m getting my bed delivered from storage tomorrow. Meanwhile, you smell like shit. Go take a shower, and we’ll deal with this mess after I’ve had a nap.”

She downed the rest of her beer before tossing away the can. Adi stood there dumbfounded as she walked away. He took another slice of pizza from the box and chewed on it slowly. It was cold. A feeling of deja vu came across his mind, as though women were always leaving him in a state of confusion, and would have nothing but stale food to keep him company. Now would be a good time for him to find new people in his life. Ones who didn’t trample all over him at every given opportunity.

Adi frowned at the detective, who was still very lying dead upon his floor. He dug around in the garage until he found a tarp, and wrapped the corpse in that. Leaving him like this left Adi feeling nauseous, but Verlsa didn’t seem to be worried. There must have been some plan for figuring it out. Whatever it was, he’d deal with it later.

He set up a sleeping bag on the floor of his office. It was cold. Adi felt groggy and weak, much like he had when Verlsa had healed him last time. Sable was following him every step of the way and laid down next to him in order to keep him warm. Maybe he’ll close his eyes for a bit. Versla was probably only napping until the middle of the night came. That seemed like the best time to dispose of a dead body.

It was the smell of bacon that woke him up. There was a plate of bacon and potato hash sitting on the floor next to a glass of orange juice. Sable was drooling at it, though she was keeping her distance. The door was open, and Verlsa had guests over. Adi didn’t bother to care. He sat up and began to shovel food in his mouth.

He could make out the sound of two women talking in the living room. Adi concentrated on eating, least having to deal with yet another stale meal later. Once satisfied, he peeked around the corner and saw Verlsa, Windi, and a man he didn’t recognize talking over the detective’s body. The whites of Windi’s eyes were a bright red as she scanned the room.

“The barghest is the only spirit here, sir.” Windi knelt down and tilted the detective’s head back and forth. “He passed several days ago. I don’t see any signs of the blight that was controlling him.”

“Shame. Call the home office and tell them we have a positive ID. We’ll get the crew to set it up as a gang altercation.” He turned to Adi and waved a gloved hand. “Mister Wulfert. Good catch on locating that wendigo. I am Agent Phillip Pastor.”

Adi stepped out from the room and offered a weak wave. He then glared over at Verlsa. Oh sure, she had to flee the state because of DH, so she moved in with him because it was the last place they’d look. Whatever. That didn’t seem to stop her from eagerly inviting them over when the first dead body showed up.

She shrugged. “Not like he was going to dispose of himself.” It was a sensible response but Adi didn’t like it.

“Is there some sort of god I can pray to in order to make all of this go away? I’d like to wake up in the real world now.” Adi scratched his lower thigh, which was exposed since he was only wearing a set of boxer shorts.

Pastor didn’t seem to mind Adi’s lack of modesty. “We’ll be on our way as soon as you answer our questions.” The cat-man Adi had seen in the forest walked in with a box of cleaning supplies. He was wearing a baggy hat and a jumpsuit hid his animalistic features. Agent Pastor motioned for him to start cleaning while he spoke with Adi. “Could you go over what you and Detective Coyle were talking about before the incident?”

Adi didn’t want to think about it. “He started to ask me some questions about my ex-girlfriend and the guy she left me for. Uh, Janice Perlin and Desmond White. They both went missing and he acted like I was a suspect. He shot me after he said something about witness cleanup.” He watched as the body was loaded up in a cardboard box. There was a moving van outside, and it looked like they were going to load him up in there.

Windi had been taking notes on her phone. She glanced over to Pastor, and only spoke once he gave her a nod. “Detective Coyle was reported missing by his wife three days ago. He was one of the detectives researching the disappearance of Mister White. We became involved once it became evident that Mister White had a supernatural connection.”

Pastor continued from there. “We believe that our main suspect is hiding out at a local demon den, which is a lead that Mister Kwak is looking into. Mister Wulfert, I suggest that you avoid other humans for the time being. Do not trust anyone who may probe you for information about this case. You know nothing, and it is best that it stays that way.” He gestured for his team to move out.

The cat-man, Vila, if Adi remembered right, lagged behind the rest. “Ah, don’t mind me. Almost done.” He sprayed down the blood splatter, which evaporated up into a dust that he swept up with a handheld vacuum. All of his work was done in a matter of seconds. “Alright, see you around, maybe.” He bowed and dashed out the door, closing it behind him.

Verlsa sat down on the arm of the couch. “You’re actually lucky. They think that guy was a corpse that was being possessed by another spirit, and my powers protected you long enough to prevent from being possessed as well.”

“Why do you guys always assume that I understand enough about everything to actually understand anything any of you are saying? At any given moment, I have no idea what is happening!” Adi shook his hands in a choking motion to show off his frustration.

Verlsa leaned off to one side, flopping onto the couch in the process. “Sorry. I keep forgetting you’re still an itty bitty whiny baby when it comes to playing around in our world.” She turned on the TV and flipped through a couple of channels while she spoke. “Your murderer has been dead since he disappeared, and has only been walking around and talking due to being possessed by something.”

“Possessed? Yes, possessed! That is actually something I understand!” He darted to his room and came back out with a book. Adi also did his best to ignore the fact that Verlsa had unpacked her belongings in his room, and it didn’t look like she was planning on moving out anytime soon.

“I mentioned possession mere seconds before you threw a hissy fit,” Verlsa muttered. She settled on having a show about home renovations play in the background. “Duck-young was right about you never paying attention.”

Adi held up the book triumphantly. It was a dictionary of mystic creatures. “No, really! I know this! Because of Japanese people!” He flipped through the pages. “Duke explained it before he left. Sable doesn’t have a real head because it was used in some sort of ritual. Inugummy or something, right?” Sable barked once from her spot next to the front door. “I was going to double check this after I got back from shopping, but was shot before I could. Here it is! Inugami!”

He passed the book over to Verlsa, who read through it out loud. “Inugami are summoned in a complex ritual in which a... Okay, that’s gross.” She scanned the page some more. “Ah, I see what you’re saying here. If the summoner’s resolve and skill are strong enough, he can command an Inugami to possess a human body and force it to commit vile acts.”

“Exactly! All we have to do is stop the summoner. Duke will be the only dead guy around who might try to kill me, and I won’t have to deal with ghost dog!” He raised his hands in triumph. “It’s that easy!”

Verlsa’s face went blank as she stared at him. “Inugami possess humans. You’re human. Try putting those pieces together. As a mortal, you’re also weak and frail. My powers won’t protect you forever, and I’m going to stop healing you if you can’t remember how fragile you are.”

Adi proudly puffed out his chest. “Not a problem. We’ll find some sort of anti-possession charm and everything will work out fine!”

“Sure,” she nodded. “Because those absolutely fucking exist. Totally. Everything always works out fine because you’ve already used your impressive logic skills to figure it all out on your own.” Verlsa nodded again in a slow manner like she was dealing with a crazy person. “I’m going to try to contact Duck-young using your phone and see if he actually picks up this time.”

“Don’t worry, Sable.” Adi knelt down by the dog and gently pulled at the fur of her cheeks. “We’re going to catch the bad people and fix everything.” He threw his arms around the dog and held her close. “And then I’ll figure out a way to kick all of these people out of my house!” Sable let out a whine at first before shaking her head. She gave Adi a lick on the cheek. This sure was a strange human she had found.