Slinking through the door to the back while casting his stealth spell, Malachi hurried to evidence. Slipping unnoticed past the clerk, he hurried to the processing table, suspecting it hadn’t all been catalogued yet. Inhaling deeply, he tried to center in on the smell of Chuck’s blood or grace, maybe brimstone, but he found nothing. Closing his eyes, he concentrated his senses on anything supernatural, looking for the slightest flicker of darkness—any sign of Chuck’s would-be assassin.
Frowning, a low growl formed in his throat when he realized not only was the blade missing, but the rest of Chuck’s father’s case files were gone as well. There was no hint of either of the Charles cases in this room. His stomach filled with dread as his heart began a rapid tattoo. Someone was covering up what happened. Trotting closer to the shelf where her dad's case file should be, Malachi found an empty box and the residual dark haze that surrounded the Bennetts.
Closing his eyes once more, he cast his senses even wider, searching for the darkness that surrounded the men who carried it. Finally, he detected a large concentration of it nearby in what he suspected were the holding cells. Scurrying silently from the evidence room, Malachi perked his ears towards the commotion unfolding in the lobby. Glenda was still carrying on and making her scene, so he sent her thoughts of gratitude before hurrying towards the lock-up.
Quietly slipping past the guards, Malachi pressed his nose to the lock, sending a small surge of power pulsing through until it clicked, and the gate swung slightly open. Slithering into the narrow gap, he nudged it nearly closed again before trotting down the hall. The dark haze grew stronger and heavier until it was almost an electric buzz beneath his fur. It rippled over his body as if it were trying to burrow inside of him.
Coming to a halt near a central cell, Malachi shivered as he witnessed Nathan Bennett leaning against the unforgiving cold metal bars, pleading with his son.
“Please, Blake, tell me why?” Nathan begged, his voice thready and weak. “Why did you do this? Our part was done. There was no need for this!” He shook his head and moaned, clutching a hand over his chest. The man was so deep in his despair that he was struggling to even take a breath.
In a flat, emotionless tone, Blake responded, “I had no choice, Father. I had to finish what you started.” His eyes were far away, devoid of awareness of his surroundings. He seemed detached, robotic. Completely disassociated from the real world.
“What I…” Nathan reeled back, eyes wide in shock. “I didn’t start this! I tried to stop it!”
Nodding solemnly, Blake continued, “Yes, and the abomination still lives. You stopped the will of the Great One. You didn’t complete your duty. Now the failures of the father are visited on the son.” He swayed slightly, his hands limp at his sides in a dull, lifeless state. “The sins of the father… the sins of the father…” he chanted under his breath.
“No!” Nathan screamed, pounding his fists on the bars.
Chuck, holding cells. Get your ass down here now, we’ve got a problem. HURRY!Malachi watched with growing concern as Nathan slid to his knees, forehead on the metal barrier, bawling, babbling, and begging for his son’s life.
A quiet clang announced Chuck’s arrival. Malachi dropped his cloak and appeared in the hallway so she could see him. Which also meant Nathan could now see him.
“Malachi?” he blurted in surprise as he hurriedly wiped his tears. “Are you lost, boy? What are you doing?”
“Demon!” Blake hissed, pointing a shaking finger down the hall. “That’sherdemon, the one who stopped me! Another abomination!” he wailed, his cries growing louder with each word as he gripped the bars tightly.
Whipping his eyes from his son to Malachi, Nathan’s expression grew even more troubled. “Blake, that’s a dog. Chuck’s dog, yes, but he’s just a dog.” He tried to soothe his son, but Blake grew more agitated and started chanting again about the sins of the father.
Chuck’s fingers tangled in the fur behind Malachi’s ears as she arrived and faced Nathan. “Bennett,” she called softly. “What’s going on? You know what happened, don’t you? You know about me, about my father. What we are. Did you kill him? Did you murder my father?” Her voice remained low and calm, but Malachi could feel her hand trembling on his head as Nathan stared at her with sorrow in his gaze.
Lifting his snout, he tucked his nose into her hand to reassure her.I’ve got you. He won’t hurt you. Tell him the truth about me. In fact, take off your jacket.
Without breaking eye contact, Chuck peeled off her jacket and held it loose at her side. “Nathan, there’s something you need to know about Malachi.”
Malachi shifted to his human form then, snatching the jacket from Chuck’s hand and wrapping it around his waist. “Hey, Nathan,” he called casually.
“E-Evan?” Nate stuttered, leaping to his feet and stumbling backwards, trying to distance himself from what he was seeing. “Y-you… you’re the dog?”
“Malachi. My name is Malachi. Chuck just gave me that other awful name because she didn’t think people would accept the coincidence that she was dating a guy who had the same name as her dog,” he explained. “And actually… I’m not really a dog; I can just turn into one. Blake is right about one thing. I am a demon.” He turned to Chuck and took her hand in his, kissing the back of her knuckles. “I’m her demon, and Chuck is my reason for being here. I’m her guardian. So last night, when Blake attacked my girl, I subdued him. I’m afraid he did bring out the beast in me; I went full demon mode.” He shrugged as Chuck watched in silence.
“So right now, it stands like this. I don’t think Nathan killed your dad, but he knows something about it. Also, the evidence from last night is missing, and now the other case files are gone as well. I’m pretty sure Nathan had something to do with it; I could see the dark smear on the shelf where the box had been. And his scent is all over the counter. I think we need to talk with him, but not here.” He turned back to the wide-eyed man whose eyes were fluttering rapidly as if he didn’t believe what was in front of him. “So the question, Bennett, is, are you coming with us quietly? Willingly? Or do I need to go full Hellfire and fury? Maybe break a hole in the wall, take you forcibly. Because I’m going to make something extra super fucking clear right now.” He stepped closer until he was nose to nose with the veteran officer. Growling, he dropped the matter-of-fact tone, adopting a quieter, more lethal voice as he explained, “Kelly is my life, and I will protect her with every cell in my being. The way I see it, you not giving me the information we need to stop the attacks on her life will be treated as a high-level threat. And threats to her make me a little… unhinged.”
Malachi grinned, twitching his shoulders, baring his fangs, and flashing Hellfire through his eyes. Waggling his eyebrows, he crooned now in a sing-song tone, “What’s it going to be, Bennett? Are you gonna play nice with the good boy puppy? Or does he need to go rabid to protect his partner?” He tapped his talons rhythmically on the buckle of the collar still fastened around his throat. The sharp metallic pings made Blake twitch with each sound, shoulders jerking in time.
Bennett swallowed hard, trembling in his sneakers. He glanced at Chuck and nodded slowly. “I’ll come with you, but I want you to know, Chuck.” He sighed. “Kelly. I didn’t kill your father.”
Blake began to laugh, a feral choked sound that shivered across their skin like a physical thing crawling over them with creepy hairy legs. Chuck rubbed her hands over her arms as if she could brush them away, and Nathan shuddered. Malachi turned to Blake and growled, snapping his teeth in the man’s face. The laugh cut off as suddenly as it started, and Blake stared at the demon before him with pure terror written over his features. A slight whimper came from his throat.
“Dad?” Blake’s voice trembled. “What’s going on?” He glanced around him sharply, taking in his surroundings before gripping the bars in his fists. “Why am I here? Who is he? Who is she?” He pointed a shaking finger at Chuck and Malachi.
Stepping back, Malachi studied the seemingly terrified young man with a suspicious gaze before he barked a short laugh. “Oh, come off it. We aren’t falling for that shit!” He shook his head. “Oldest trick in the book.” He held his fingers up and made sarcastic air quotes. “I didn’t know I was possessed,” he said, his tone mocking. He chuckled. “You want to be possessed for real? I can make some calls.”
Blake’s terrified expression relaxed. “It was worth a try.” He shook his head in distaste. “Abominations, both of you.”
“Blake!” Nathan snapped. “Not another word.” He turned to the others. “Let’s go. Coffee shop on the corner, you know the one?”
Chuck agreed, her mouth still hanging open slightly. She glanced over as Malachi handed her the jacket a second before he shifted back to dog form. “Cameras,” she mumbled, jerking her chin towards the devices mounted to the ceiling.
