Thief: X

by E. I. Jennings,

  “Are you hungry girl?” I had a meow in response and then a hiss as she caught sight of Cerberus. I was expecting a fight but after Smidge got over herself she rubbed up against Cerberus, who began wagging her tail. If I didn’t know better I’d say they knew each other.

  I walked away because they could be sniffing each other all day and I really needed some sleep,

  “Where do you want us?” I rolled my eyes at Wolfie,

  “There’s the attic or the basement. Stay together or not, at this point in my life I don’t care.” I walked past them and Marshall, straight for the fridge. I grabbed the vodka bottle and pounded up the stairs. I was going to drink heavily and then sleep.

  The second I drifted off I wished I hadn’t bothered,

  “So, I’ve been quiet have I?” I was sat with Cain on the edge of a cliff, our legs dangling over like their wasn’t a chasm below us,

  “Can’t a girl get a break even in her sleep?” I sighed,

  “Now where’s the fun in that?” He chuckled. Cain was the perpetual pain in my arse but with his long red locks blowing in the wind and his billowing shirt he looked like a god. I suppose in a way he was and he’d been in my life longer than Adram. All be it in a weird and twisted way. Maybe I had Stockholm syndrome?

  “What do you want?”

  “Lots and lots of questions between us today. I don’t like your cowboy.”

  “And there we go, straight to the point. One, he’s not my cowboy. Two, he’s married and three, it’s none of your bloody business!”

  “Ah but you are my business.”

  “This is getting old Cain. I’m really not in the mood for it today.”

  “I saw and you’re so much better than that. I have to admit I’m a little disappointed. You have no clue about the whereabouts of those pretty girls or the reason why. Even though the answers keep staring you in the face! So, so disappointed.” Cain shook his head,

  “You know, don’t you?”

  “And we’re back to the questions again. This is something you have to figure out yourself and if you don’t do it soon you’ll lose everything. Just saying.”

  “You’re just saying? Since when do you care?”

  “My god, stop it with the questions! I knew I should have put that Y chromosome in your mix up. I wouldn’t have to cope with your lady issues.”

  “They’re not lady issues! You drive me crazy, seriously crazy.”

  “I’m not responsible for your crazy. I’m afraid that’s all you.”

  “Every day I’m in fear you’ll just turn up to take me away and now I have all this Clockwork shit…”

  “Oooooo don’t forget the cowboy while you’re having your little mini breakdown.”

  “He’s not my cowboy!” I yelled and all he did was laugh,

  “I’ll be getting out soon, so I suppose I should feel a little generous. I’ll give you a little clue; your cowboy is the key. In that respect your thinking, unbelievably, is on the right track. I know, I know, I’m surprised as well that you’ve got that far.”

  “You’re a sexist pig!”

  “That I am, now get to work before I have to disown you as my progeny.” I was about to go crazy on his arse to remind he that I didn’t want to be his progeny when he pushed me off the cliff.

  I woke up spread eagled on the floor. I hated Cain. I looked at my bedside clock and it flashed 6 p.m. I’d been asleep for a solid ten hours and thanks to Cain I felt like I’d just fallen off a cliff. I heard screaming from the kitchen and sighed. Oh how I wanted my house to myself again. I needed to think. Cain had been unusually generous with his so called clue. All I had to do now was figure out what the hell he was talking about. There was no chance I was going to be able to think with all the commotion downstairs, so I put my running gear on, put my phone in my arm band, stuffed my earphones in my ears and jumped out the window. The things I did to avoid people.

  It was a wonderful summers evening and I decided to take a tour around the village. It was hard to believe that the humans in the village had no idea what was right in front of their eyes. All they had to do was actually look and they would see the things I could. Fairies danced in and out of flowers, leaving a shimmer of fairy dust in their wake. They were beautiful this time of year as the sun shone through their pearlescent wings. Even the trolls were out rolling in the mud on the river bank. Not everything supernatural was bad, and not all humans were good. Maybe I was something in the middle? I didn’t exactly feel evil, but I didn’t feel good either.

  Running helped me think, although most of the time I wallowed in self-pity and it was my own anger at myself that pushed me to run faster. I thought back to all the girls that had gone missing and were now a file on my table. If I wasn’t so shit scared to go back into my little Hell space, I’d be scanning through them again but I had chills at the thought of going anywhere near anything Hellish. The fact they all looked similar may have been me clutching at straws but I couldn’t help think that it was important. The American girls had all been grabbed at their proms. An easy enough thing to do as they were away from their homes and no one probably noticed until they didn’t return home. Madam Cassandra’s girl was the exception. The proms were used as a means to an end, an opportunity to kidnap without making a commotion and that was all. So the prom definitely wasn’t the motive and that led me right back to the girls. The odds of the girls in the files being the only ones were slim. Most sickos built up to their finale and the police missed things all the time. Clockwork was one sick and deluded clown, but why didn’t he stay in the States?

  I was asking more questions than I was finding answers and it was frustrating. Maybe I should just let Cain be disappointed in me? It wasn’t like I actually wanted his approval for anything but I couldn’t help think I was being stupid. Why couldn’t I work this out? I was frustrating myself, when I suddenly stopped dead. Crap on a cracker!

  “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” I yelled. I grabbed my phone out of the wrist band and dialled,

  “What do you want? It better be news on my missing girl.” I rolled my eyes. Everyone wanted a piece of me over this,

  “Well hello to you too Madam Cassandra…”

  “Do you have news?”

  “Not exactly. You have a file on all your girls, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do! I look after them as if they were my own.” Yeah like you’d really pimp your own daughters out, I thought. But then again you never knew what a vampire was capable of,

  “Does that include family history?”

  “You know full well that I do my research. I always give them the option to go home if they want to, and in order to do that I need to know their family history.” She sighed, being her impatient self as always,

  “Even their family tree?”

  “Maybe…”

  “I need that information for your girl that went missing. I also need that information for the others.”

  “I know up to grandparents but that’s it and how the hell am I going to get it for the others?”

  “I’ve seen your client list. There’s plenty of people to blackmail into getting the information for you.”

  “How dare you think I’d use my clients in such an unscrupulous way!” By the way she hissed I knew her fangs were out,

  “I’m running out of time Madam Cassandra, and if you want to see your girl alive again you’ll do it.” For a second I thought she’d hung up and then I heard her sigh,

  “Ok. I’ll get the information by midnight.” And then she really did hang up. I had no idea how she was going to get the information to me but you don’t really argue with a vampire who you’ve just woken up before sunset.

  Now all I had to do was tell Marshall he was a changeling. Cain was right, the answer had been staring me in the face. Oh the joys of my life.

  I’d just turned the corner and was nearly home when I heard grumbling. Mrs Dalgoon had been a part of Havensbrook for as long as I could remember and yet again kids were giving h
er hassle. What was it with teenagers lately? Mrs Dalgoon was a force to be reckoned with in her mobility scooter. I had no idea how old she was but she always wore a dirty old woollen coat and a beanie hat with a bobble on top. If you could count her wrinkles like the rings of a tree she’d be extremely old. She didn’t care whose feet she ran over, but she didn’t really like confrontation. Usually I’d just walk past and let her deal with it but apparently in the last week I’d grew a conscience and didn’t that need a whole load of weed killer dumped on it before I got too soft for my own good.

  “Why don’t you all leave Mrs Dalgoon alone and go play with something? Aren’t teenagers supposed to hate the outdoors now, what with your Xboxes and stuff?” They looked me up and down and sniggered. I wouldn’t have minded but I knew each of them and they knew I could be somewhat prone to hitting people,

  “She’s a freak! Look at her.” That was Tommy. A pig nosed little creep whose dad owned the reclamation yard just out of town. He was sixteen and a little shit,

  “Yeah man, why does she even bother leaving her house?” Now that was Lewis. His dad was friends with mine and just so happened to be a big shot lawyer. Prfft like I cared,

  “Freaks shouldn’t be allowed out. We all know things are different in Havensbrook, but she’s just weird. All she ever does is run you over and grunt.”

  “And I thought you’d know better than to call someone a freak Jason, what with your affliction.” His affliction being that he was a wolf shifter, with a dad who worked with the Forest Commission and part of the local wolf council. He wouldn’t exactly be very proud of his son at this second,

  “I…er…I…I just think she should be nicer to people.” Jason stuttered for his friends to look puzzled at him,

  “Oh you mean like you’re being to Mrs Dalgoon?” There was that damned sarcasm again. At the mention of her name Mrs Dalgoon spun around in her scooter and headed towards me. If I rolled my eyes once more I was sure an eye would pop out,

  “Look, see what I mean?” Lewis was pointing, which really wasn’t helping.

  “Gruff, stupid sgrrrrr kids, grrruffff.” Now Mrs Dalgoon was pointing and shaking her finger,

  “I suggest you three go home…”

  “Yeah, cause what you gonna do about it Xan!” See what I mean? Tommy was a little shit! I raised my eyebrow at him and added a visit to his dad on my ‘things to do if I don’t die in the next forty eight hours’ list,

  “How about I sneak up on you when you’re all alone one night. Before you even take your next breath you’ll be tied up…”

  “Sounds good to me, aye lads?” He laughed. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him closer to my face,

  “I’ll leave you to fester for a couple of days in the old Havensbrook caves. If I’m feeling in a good mood I might give you a bucket, if not, well, pee’s a hard stain to get out. Then, once you’re cold, hungry and almost given up I’ll come back with a pair of pliers. First I’ll relieve you of your fingernails. One by one I’ll pull them off until your fingers are a bloody mess, then I’ll start on your teeth. I’ve always wanted to be a dentist but I was told I don’t have the patience. I like to yank them out rather than try and save them. If you scream too much I might even have to take your tongue. You see these straps I wear around my wrists?” Tommy moved his eyes to look as I had a tight hold on his neck and nodded, “Tongue. That’s what they’re made from. I could make a new set with yours.”

  “Xan are you ok?” Damn Marshall. I was just getting into the swing of things when he had to turn up. I couldn’t even have a little fun anymore. I let Tommy go, who slumped to the ground and then scrambled to his feet,

  “Yeah, these lads were just leaving and Mrs Dalgoon was on her way home.” The teenager looked at me and I stepped towards them. In a flash they were half way across the field and Mrs Dalgoon was muttering to herself under the sound of her scooter humming.

  “Don’t you think you were a little hard on those kids?” Marshall Walker the perpetual pain in my arse,

  “Nope,”

  “You threatened to torture that pig nosed one?”

  “Yep I did and...?”

  “Would you have actually done it?”

  “No.” Yes, and I’d have probably enjoyed it too, the little snot deserved it.

  “What the hell’s wrong with you? They’re only kids.” Marshall looked disgusted, “I’m sure Mrs Dalgoon can look after herself and doesn’t need protecting.”

  “You’re an idiot!” I pushed past him and began marching to my front door. He caught hold of my arm and spun me around to face him,

  “You don’t have to fight every battle…”

  “I wasn’t protecting Mrs Dalgoon, I was protecting those stupid brats. Sometimes the most innocent looking things are the deadliest…” Marshall gave me his dumb look, “…Mrs Dalgoon is a Ghoul!” I screamed in his face,

  “What?”

  “Exactly, you don’t know and shouldn’t judge!”

  “You mean like a zombie?”

  “Zombies are mindless dead bodies, usually risen by a necromancer or someone strong enough. No one knows why Ghouls rise. They just scramble out their graves one day and look for fresh meat. The more they eat the more they remember. Mrs Dalgoon has lived in this village for a very long time and remembers enough not to attack people. The butcher supplies her with enough fresh meat to sate her but she’s in that stupid scooter because her leg dropped off a year ago. She grunts and mumbles because she has no teeth. Those kids are lucky. They rattled her enough for her to turn around…”

  “How could she even bite them with no teeth?”

  “I have no idea and usually I don’t care. Maybe she’d just try and suck them to death. I don’t have to worry about how she gets her noms but push her far enough and she could rip you to pieces. Ghouls have a low tolerance to ignorance and most choose to stay as brainless freaks because they can’t cope with remembering.”

  “You’re not joking are you?” Marshall let me go and I sighed,

  “Things aren’t that simple when you start to see the world how it really is.”

  “I’m starting to understand that.”

  I pushed open my gate,

  “Why’s my door open? I have no idea why I spend so much money on spells to keep things out when everyone leaves my front bloody door open!” I was shouting now. Wolfie and Sister Succubus looked up from behind the fridge door,

  “Did you know you don’t have any food?” My eye twitched,

  “Well it’s not like I expected more company was I? Let’s just go to the pub.” A smile came over Wolfie’s face and I dragged Marshall back towards the stairs,

  “We really need to talk. I think I’ve figured out why your daughter was targeted. I’m not sure what Clockwork is planning and Madam Cassandra is finding me the information I need to confirm my suspicions. If I’m right it’s gonna change your life, both of your lives.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I’d had a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. I stuffed my Glock in its ankle holster and headed for the door. Before I had time to open it, my mom barged through with my brother,

  “I’ve left your father for good this time!” Twice in one week. Wasn’t I lucky? “Don’t worry, I have a Women’s Institute meeting and your brother won’t be a problem.” He smiled and waved at me, heading towards his room while he continued to text. My mom looked at me and then Marshall, “Maybe I might get grandchildren before I’m too old to enjoy them.” She whispered in my ear. If she wasn’t my mom, I would have punched her for the comment but life wasn’t fair sometimes.

  “Was that your mom?” Sister Succubus said walking out from the living room,

  “Unfortunately.” I sighed. I really needed a drink.

  As we walked into the Wheel Inn, Kibble gave me a nod and I knew he wanted me to do something,

  “Grab a table guys and order. I’ll be at the bar if anyone needs me.”

  Kibble
placed a lime twist in front of me and smiled,

  “On the house.” I raised my eyebrow,

  “What do you want?” I swirled the liquid in the glass and looked up at him,

  “Can’t I give my favourite person in the whole, wide world a drink on the house?”

  “You’re a troll Kibble, and one of the greediest ones I’ve ever known.” He smiled and I felt a waft of sin wash over me as pride filled him at the mention of how greedy he was,

  “You look awful, I thought you might need a drink.”

  “Really? I don’t think so. Fess up before I have to make you uglier.”

  “You wouldn’t...ok you would.” I just sat and stared until I saw him give in, “Father Thomas has a zombie issue in his cemetery.”

  “And?” I took a very large swig because Father Thomas had a history,

  “Fifty grand if you go sort it out.” Kibble rubbed his hands together,

  “Nope.”

  “Come on Xan, it’ll take you half hour if that and we’ll have fifty grand for the trouble of it.”

  “Nope.”

  “Come onnnnnnnn!” Now he was winning,

  “Me and the Church don’t mix. They don’t like the fact I can take away sin without repenting and then there’s the whole half demon thing. It’s not a good idea Kibble.” I sighed into my drink. There was more to it than that, but Kibble didn’t need to know.

  “Fifty grand Xan and it looks like you need to let off some steam. You can take my spare shotgun to make it even easier.”

  “Do I want to know where your other shotgun is?”

  “I did those modifications to your booth that you wanted.” I was about to ask if he’d done it exactly how I’d asked when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  I was so twitchy from the last twenty four hours I didn’t even pause when I swung around, grabbed whoever it was by the throat and slammed them on the bar,

  “Feeling twitchy Xan?” It was Adram. Of course it had to be Adram,

  “What the hell are you wearing?” He didn’t question why I’d just body slammed him into the bar, not that it would’ve hurt him anyway. Instead he did a little twirl that made the silver sequins sparkle in the light,