[Sarah]

The warm colors of sun-fall filtered through the tall stained glass windows and mottled the dark hardwood floors with the colors of the rainbow. Shelves lined the wall from floor to ceiling. While most of the shelves were crammed with books some shelves had antiques hidden behind a secure glass door. A sleek metal desk sat at the back of the room, its back facing the windows. There were a few neatly stacked papers, a thin, top of the line laptop, and an unmarked, unopened manila envelope. Slowly the wooden door creaked open and a woman was standing in the doorway. She was holding a multitude of books and she strode into the office ready to get to work.

“What is this?” Lila asked as she grabbed the envelope. It was rare for something to just appear in her office. Typically the guards took any messages, but today something had fooled them. “I’ll have to talk with them later,” she mumbled to herself. In the meantime though she figured she might as well see what all the mystery was about. The envelope looked new and the seal hadn’t been broken it was thick but not lumpy. Carefully she cut off the seal, if there was a trap it wouldn't catch her off guard, no trap greeted her. Instead she found a stack of papers; some were old but most of them were new. She flicked through them only caring enough to read the titles. The top was a letter addressed to her, the rest were a mix of police reports and news clippings centered on strange deaths.

[Sarah]

“Odd isn't it?” a man’s voice asked.

Lila whipped around as she called to her fire magic. She stopped mid chant before straightening up. A large demon hound stood in her doorway, its red eyes held amusement, but its large intimidating body spoke impatience. “Sorry Roxis,” Lila gasped running over to him. He was tall enough that she didn’t have to bend down to hug him, but she did have to watch out for his sparse fur. It could easily pierce through her skin and grew as sharp and narrow was a needle. “It has been a long time, what have you been doing?” She scolded teasingly.

[Sarah]

“I come to your call,” He replied bowing his head slightly. He was her familiar; a spirit summoned to aid and protect witches or warlocks for all their lives. Roxis was a demon hound famed for his loyalty and protective abilities. He was almost as tall as a horse and very muscular, his paws were large and his claws were even larger, his skin was a dark grey-blue and his fur was black, he had long sharp teeth and canines that peeked out from under his lips; however, to un-magical beings he appeared as a light colored German Shepherd dog. “But if you must know,” he said after a long silence. “I’ve been raising a litter for a new batch of graduated warlocks,” he admitted at last. He hated that Lila was always interested in his life outside her control.

[Sarah]

“Aww!” Lila squealed, delighted at the thought of puppies.

“Anyways, why did this envelope slip past your defenses, and how?” Roxis asked pulling away from the girl.

“I do not know,” she said thinking for a moment. “The defenses do not have any anomalies magical or otherwise. No loops of blackouts either.” She looked over the logs and became more puzzled. Her guards could contact her and send her reports via a brainwave link and right now they were enraged at the realization that something had gotten through. Imperfections weren’t tolerated but the mystery of the envelope was more important to her now than punishments.

[Sarah]

“Read the letter at least,” Roxis growled covering the distance between the door and her desk in a flash.

“Alright, alright calm down,” Lila sighed and followed him to the desk. She grabbed the letter and was horrified for a moment. The letter looked like it had been written in blood.

“Dearest Lila,” she began to read the letter aloud. “We regret to inform you that your knowledge and abilities are needed to solve a possible supernatural case. You see, I am the deputy of the small town, and as the documents of this envelope explain the severity of our situation, I have few other options but to plead for help. Our town is small and quiet and everyone knows each other. My team and I have been working day and night trying to find the culprit. At first we had thought it was just a rabid animal attack but as more bodies began to appear the more we began to wonder if a person or persons might be responsible. I have instructed my most trusted officer to send this only if I die. I know the monster is out there, hunting me, hating me for trying to get close. You are our last hope, please, find this killer. This slaughter must end before it can’t be contained within the city.” Lila finished feeling out of breath. This was definitely the oddest way someone had asked her to take a job, without the police reports of news clippings she would think it was some elaborate prank.

[Sarah]

“I’ll make the travel arrangements.” Roxis bowed and left the room, he could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t about to pass up this offer. He just hoped that she would allow him to join her instead of her summoning some random demon.

It hadn’t been long before Lila was packed and ready to leave. The town was a long way away so for the most part she got to fly, but she had decided to drive into the town. There was no need to draw attention to herself. Currently her plan was to disguise herself as a traveler that was taking a small break in a small town. It had worked before and from what she read on the police reports the townsfolk didn’t take kindly to interrogation. Her mind raced at the possibilities, not only of her information gathering tactics, but at the different monsters this killer could be.

[Sarah]

The town wasn’t anything to write home about. It was small and rather run down. Old barely kept houses lined many of the streets with only the main road holding any shops, none of which were chain stores. There wasn’t even a fast food restaurant. Most of the buildings were made of rough wood and showed no signs of life. Though the buildings looked in poor repair, the landscaping was actually kind of nice to look at. Green grass and a few small flowerbeds lined the recently set pavement. Lila knew many homes that had a rundown exterior but held an updated core and she wondered if it was the same here. The town was secluded enough that if it didn't have a carpenter on hand one would have to come in from a larger city that was miles away.

[Sarah]

“It looks as if this town has died,” Roxis said his eyes scanning the town much more thoroughly. “There isn't a single person out and about but the sun shines beautifully and the temperature isn't too hot.” He was itching to get out and actually roam the inner workings of the town instead of staring out a tinted window.

“Should there be an inn around here?” Lila asked turning the car around when she reached the edge of town. They had gone back and forth at least three times already and each time they looked they couldn't find the road to turn down.

[Sarah]

“It is odd, but it doesn’t matter.” Roxis said they had brought sleeping supplies in case they didn't have any other place to stay. It would be uncomfortable but if everything went according to plan they wouldn't be staying for long. With no people around they might spend longer in the town but people couldn't hole themselves up forever. “Do you think they’re hiding from the monster or us?” Roxis asked, since they had gotten to the town he had assumed the eerie quiet was just a part of having multiple murders happen in such a short time.

“I do not know. I have not spent more than an hour in the town and of that I have not even gotten out of the car.” Lila said, annoyed that their instructions had been false. She didn't even know what place would be safe enough for them to park. “I would like to think that they are hiding from a monster but historically mass murders have not been enough to make a town screech to a halt.” Lila had decided to park in a church parking lot, she wasn’t particularly religious but it was the biggest parking lot in town and she figured no one would chase off a nice church going woman.

[Sarah]

“Really?” Roxis asked dryly. Of all places only Lila would think that parking in front of a church would be the safest route. Lila herself didn’t look like a god fearing woman, her long purple-black hair and dark style of clothing worked against that thought. Lila shot him a glare but didn’t try to defend herself. Instead she hopped out of the car and went to help him out. The door opened smoothly and Lila was fitting a soft blue scarf around his neck. It was an ethereal ribbon that bent and thickened to the will of its owner. An artifact that would come in handy should they need protection.

[Sarah]

“We will not need to talk to anyone for a while. The police did most of our job for us. We just need to snoop around the killing area and try to get some background on the people who live here.” Lila said as she secured the car. For a moment she smirked at Roxis, he had to change his form into that of a normal, if light colored, German shepherd. He was adorable and he looked completely unintimidating with a baby blue scarf around his neck. She of course knew how dangerous he really was but she couldn't help indulging the thought that maybe one of her pets was normal.

[Sarah]

“We have work to do. Now is not the time to make fun of this tiny appearance.” Roxis growled to her before trotting ahead.

“Whoa, hey! Slow down,” Lila exclaimed straining against the taught leash. Roxis might have looked smaller but he was still stronger than her.

“You’re the one who insisted that I wear this binding device, you can deal with some pulling.” Roxis called back giving her a toothy grin. Lila couldn’t help but laugh as she caught up to him.

[Sarah]

“It is the law, there is nothing that I can do about it.” Lila insisted following Roxis to the first murder scene. A young woman had died in a gruesome way and it was the only death that was separated from the rest. It had happened a few months before the daily slaughter began. It seemed to her like the monster was testing its strength, its control. Now only a man lived in the house, apparently he had been the woman’s fiancé and he had become a broken husk of a man after her death.

The rouse stank of death, even from the curb. Lila was surprised it was even standing and wondered how it had gotten so run down over the months. The picture she held in her hand was of a quaint white house but the sight before her would have her wondering if they had taken the photo off of the internet. Even the lawn was brown and sickly, the grass had almost vanished leaving only hard dry dirt. Lila knocked on the door politely but it fell from its hinges as if she had slammed it with a hammer.

[Sarah]

“Over the stench of death I cannot smell any living creature. We should proceed with caution.” Roxis warned and took the lead. Lila only nodded and focused on not breathing through her nose. The inside of the house looked even more corrupted than the outside. The floors drooped and were covered in a layer of slime. The walls were crumbling and exposed the wiring and pipes hidden within. The door led directly into a living room, and Lila imagined what it might look like without the rot. There was a nice rock lined fireplace in the middle of the far wall and the furniture was centered on it, at least what was left of the furniture. There was a couch that had been reduced to a shell and springs, the shattered remains of a glass table, and a lamp that was split vertically down the middle. Roxis stalked forward and towards the next room. To the right was a hallway with a few doors but the end opened up to what looked like a kitchen. In similar fashion to the rest of the house the table was broken and the cupboards hung from the wall or lied on the floor. The rooms were no different, an office with books that had been reduced to dust, and a master bedroom that looked like a tornado had been shoved into it.

[Sarah]

“Empty,” Lila sighed sounding disappointed. Though she didn’t expect to find the man in a house that was in such poor condition it would have been nice for things to go easily.

“We’ll find him, and at least we know his name now.” Roxis said flipping over a picture of a child and what appeared to be the boy’s grandfather. “Ziel and Grandpa Ander,” Roxis read “To bad it isn't a picture of him as an adult, but we do have the police description of him.” They both knew he would be the most important person to question. His house was the first to have a death and it was probable that he was at the center of the killings because of it. Summoned monsters always had a test kill and they did it with no input from their masters. Even the most powerful summoner had no control over a new summon until it had tasted blood.