Adi was staring up at the ceiling. There was a wave of apathy that had washed over his body. He had told it was the influence of the inugami, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was a chance to save it. Isn’t that why he was doing this? Or why Sable had come to him in the first place? She wanted him to help him.

Duke walked into the break room and nodded at Adi, who was taking up the entirety of the couch. He sat down in a nearby chair and began to twirl his thumbs. “How are you feeling?”

“Eh.”

“Verlsa is still in stable condition. They believe that she will be fine once she has enough energy to begin healing herself.”

“... That’s good,” muttered Adi.

Duke stared down at this own hands as he spoke. “DH is working with SIA to see if they can find any leads in your case. Your uncle had several partners. Individuals who excelled at making people disappear without raising any alarms. Once they established a pattern for how it was being done, they were able to come up with several suspects.”

As he said up, Adi put a hand to the side of his head. His brain felt like it was throbbing. “Anyone I know?”

“The SIA believes that our harmonizer is from the Seo family. They submitted records that they were moving out of state, but never appeared in their new destination. Several factors seemed odd, as they had electronically submitted any forms or letters, and refuse to take calls. It is believed that they were murdered, and your uncle’s associates handled the cleanup from there.”

Adi was still having trouble believing that either Wenzel or Lars could be involved in this. “I haven’t heard of them.” He shook his head. “What do we do from here?”

“You do nothing,” replied Duke firmly. “Now that they have a better understanding of the situation, DH will no doubt partner with SIA to finish this. You are merely a victim in all of this. The only role you have is to recover.”

“But you’re still working on this.”

Duke frowned. Adi frowned. Duke then let out a sigh. “I will be doing some work with-”

“I am your sword, and you are my shield.” Adi stood up. “That is what you told me. That was our deal. We work together as partners.”

Duke scoffed at Adi’s seriousness. “That was merely a dramatic way of saying that we have a symbiotic relationship. I have since found ways to feed that do not rely on putting you in danger.”

“And you know how DH is going to handle this. They’re going to find that guy and Windi is going to eat him.” Adi’s hand tightened up into a fist. “This guy is acting out like this because he didn’t know how about DH or SIA or any of that. It’s not like he knew he could call them to act like the cops.”

“Then what is it that you plan to do?”

“I want to find the guy, and I want to save him. I don’t know how we’re going to do that, but we’re going to save both him and Sable.” Adi debated if he should say anything else. “And that’s final.”

Duke stood up and folded his arms. He stared down at Adi with a cold expression. “That’s final?”

“Yes, it is.”

“That is a rather childish view of the situation,” he replied.

“I don’t care if it is. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Waving a hand about the air, Duke turned away and began to head to the door. “The two of us are merely a vampire and a human. Both DH and the SIA have resources that we cannot hope to match, and they have had more time to react.”

Adi took a step forward. “Then we’ll just have to work that much harder to close the gap.”

“Precisely.” Duke gestured to the door. “Come, Atticus, come! The game is afoot!” He frowned as Adi stared at him with the harshest of expressions. “What?”

“We’re not… You’re not Sherlock. We’re not doing Sherlock.” Adi stuffed his hands in his pockets and locked away. It was embarrassing just standing near Duke at the moment.

“After everything that you have witnessed or experienced, this is where you draw the line?” Duke frowned all the harder as Adi nodded. “Come along regardless of your complaints, or I will carry on without you.”

“Yeah, whatever, Benedict Vampiresnatch,” said Adi as he walked ahead of Duke and opened the door for him. “Let’s just go already.”

Something about this venture spoke to Adi on a primal level. Maybe it was his hunter blood talking. The two of them had gone rogue and were rising up against an unjust system in order to do what was right. Matters had become bitterly serious, and he was ready to face the challenges ahead.

What he wasn’t expecting was to drive Duke to some abandoned looking farm. “Is this really the right place?”

Duke was in the back seat, doing one last check on their gear. They had stopped by the house and gotten a few items. “Perhaps. I do not know for certain if the mage will return to this place. My theory was that he was using Kenelm to get access to the den, and then he was able to locate the demon who had been working with your uncle.”

“And what if he is in there?” Adi looked at Duke through his rearview mirror. Duke appeared relaxed, but that was his normal state. He didn’t like to show emotion much due to the fact that he didn’t like the creases it left in his skin.

“Peachwood swords have been used as tools for Taoist exorcisms in the past. Carrying one with you may be enough to keep the inugami at bay. If not, I doubt it will try to abduct you again, since its last attempt failed so miserably.” He tossed one of Adi’s hoodies into the front seat. “Take off your sweater and put this on.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“I can fit it over my sweater.”

“That won’t do at all. It will make more sense once we are inside,” said Duke as he stepped out of the car. “Hurry it up then come along, Atticus.”

Adi changed and they walked over to the farmhouse, and Duke performed an elaborate coded knock upon the door. He glanced over at Adi with a smug look on his face. A small panel opened, only big enough to show off a pair of eyes, and a sniffing noise could be heard.

“Madra, my love.” Duke stretched his hands out in a welcoming manner. “Must we do this every time I appear? I am Duke. The jiangshi. Surely, you must remember me.”

“Quit trying to make up a secret knock,” she replied in a harsh tone.

Duke put a hand to his chest, clearly offended by her request. “But it is the number one proven method of security. One that has been proven by thousands of years of use.”

“No. It’s not.” Madra sniffled the air again. “Humans stay outside.”

“He is not some mere pet to be chained up and left outdoors while his master deals with his affairs.” Duke gestured to Adi. “This is my dinner.”

Adi took a sidestep away from Duke. “What?”

“And I will not let my meal left out here, where it will no doubt spoil,” continued Duke. “Be a dear and open the door now.” Madra closed the panel, but the door remained closed. “Madra! You are making me look bad in front of my food!”

The panel opened again. “There has never been a time where you have looked good.”

Duke scoffed. “If you truly must know, this is hardly a human at all. He was recently turned, and Kenelm has asked for an introduction. You know how these matters are, Madra. The newborns take some time before they lose their human scent.” Madra said nothing. She merely stared. Duke folded his arms and stared in return. The panel closed, and the door was open. “Thank you, Madra.”

“Yeah, thanks,” muttered Adi as he followed Duke inside. “Holy shit!” He immediately flung himself against the side of the wall when he saw Jones waiting for them on the other side.

“Quit embarrassing me, Atticus,” muttered Duke as he walked past. He offered the minotaur a nod before grabbing Adi by the elbow and dragging him along.

“You could have warned...” Adi found himself at a loss for words as they descended down the ramp.

He was glancing over at a screen that displayed a werepanther combating some man who was so muscular that steroids took him in order to get buff. People were shaking wads of cash and shouting bets in one area, while others were clustered around either the bar or private areas. It was like some generic location in a movie where all the villains hung out.

“Uh… Okay,” whispered Adi as he looked around. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

“Unzip your hoodie,” ordered Duke. Adi looked up at him with a bewildered look. “You will need to show off your chest.”

“I am not a piece of meat for you to bargain off,” said Adi as he covered his chest.

“You will need to make a good impression if we are to get anywhere in this investigation,” replied Duke.

Adi frowned but did what he was told. “Who are we meeting?”

“One of the creatures responsible for ruining my life,” muttered Duke and he gestured to one of the private tables. “And that would be him.”

Kenelm was still in a bad mood. He preferred pretty things. Watching these two meatheads in the ring did nothing to amuse him. “More.” He held out his glass for Janice to fill. She was the one who had encouraged him to take a chance at being outside of his room for a time, but he was not enjoying it.

When she failed to pour him a drink, he cleared his throat loudly and wiggled his glass back and forth. He looked over to her with a scolding frown. Janice’s face has gone pale, and her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head. His gaze followed hers, and a grin appeared on his face as he saw Duke approach with Adi lingering behind him. Every detail of Adi was absorbed, and he found it to be much more satisfying than the wine Janice had to offer.

“And what have you brought me today?” Kenelm set down his glass and eased his chin into the palm of his hand.

“Apologies for the late report, but I did not wish to pass on news that would result in a futile search.” Duke gestured to Adi. “This is the sole surviving member of our earlier experiment. He was one of the first to awaken and had left the cemetery to feed before the SIA appeared. He wisely chose to go into hiding after they attacked, but it took several days for me to locate him as a result.”

Kenelm clasped his hands together. “What a wonderful surprise this has been, Duke!” He stood up and began to study Adi from every angle. This made Adi quite uncomfortable. “What a lovely offering this is! We must test his abilities immediately.”

“He is weary, and such fruit should be cherished slowly. Do you not agree?” Duke said with a purr.

Kenelm circled around to Duke, gently putting a hand on the vampire’s upper arm before rubbing at it slowly. “He is a most sensual sort of fruit, but he is set to spoil soon, is he not?”

Adi looked over to Janice and mouthed, “What the fuck?” at her. She was still too stunned to say anything.

“He is far too spoiled,” replied Duke. “Newborns are as fragile as their namesake would claim.”

The look of disappointment on Kenelm’s face was immense. “No show, no further investment, no future buyers.” He waved off Adi. “Janice, take this to our room. I need to have a few moments to speak with Duke about practical business.”

“I’m not going to go anywhere while you two are talking about making a profit off of me,” argued Adi.

“Aww, that’s cute.” Kenelm nodded several times. “He’s quite adorable.” He waved a hand at Janice. “Get him out of here.”

Adi went to protest some more, but Janice was already easing him away. She took him to the backroom where Kenelm’s entourage were playing Carcassonne while the fights were playing out on the flatscreen. At the sight of the newcomer, Tinnlie was quickly overcome with joy.

She stood up and started to rub her hands over Adi’s chest. “Oh, well… Is this a new one? Kenny has the best taste!” Tinnlie lifted up her hands as a sharp hiss passed through Janice’s teeth. “I was only looking!”

Adi grinned, not minding if the fairy wanted to look some more. “It’s not a problem, but I’m not here for long.”

“Goody!” She grasped one of his hands with both of hers. “Come play with us! We just started a new round.” Adi looked over at the game. He was concerned if it was something normal or some horrid magic game meant to steal their souls. “It’s fine! It’s easy, and I’ll teach you how to play!”

“Uh… Kay.”

Adi took a moment to look around the luxurious room. So this is where Duke was hiding. Surrounded by beautiful women and whatever the hell that boggart was. Sitting around and doing nothing while Adi was being accosted by willful women, a ghost dog, oh, and by being shot in the chest. He was definitely shot in the chest at one point while Duke was playing around here.

Duke was an ass.

Adi’s mood didn’t improve by the time Duke appeared. He was handled a stack of pamphlets. “What’s with these?” Looking them over, he noticed that each had information about a fighter.

“You will no doubt be fighting one of these individuals within the pit.” Duke ignored Adi’s shocked expression. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Kenelm knows where to get what you’ve been asking for. He is willing to give the information if you participate in a round.”

Adi became fixated on the pamphlet with a chimera on it. “I am going to die,” he hissed out between his teeth.

“You’ll do fine,” said Tinnlie cheerfully. “Kenny has always had a good eye for strong people.” Adi shook his head back and forth. He had very little faith in Kenelm’s abilities, especially since Duke had blatantly lied to him about Adi being a jiangshi. “You’ll do great! I know it!”

Duke nodded in agreement. “I am willing to help you study, but we must be quick about it. We may not have much time to prepare.”