General Population (3 page)

"How long ago was this?

"Last night, sir. Most likely after midnight when the master rises."

"He likes to read in the dark?" Maddix jibed.

"The Statsnys see much better in the dark. Or are you not familiar with their unique set of skills?"

"Just checking." Maddix felt a little embarrassed exposing his lack of experience and did his best to just shrug it off.

But Stillwel had a point. Everything about the situation was not in line with vampire lore. There were only a few ways to kill a vampire—stake in the heart or decapitation the most common—and none of that happened here. Just being bitten or scratched by a werewolf wasn't a known way for a vampire to go down, especially when it didn't break the skin. Maddix wasn't even sure if vampires could bleed anyway.

Blood?

"Do you have a pin?" said Maddix.

"A pin, sir?"

"Anything sharp will do?"

Stilwell pointed to one of the fancy dressers in the room. Hanging on the wall above it was a felt covered display with two decorative daggers crossing blades.

"Are those real?" said Maddix.

"I assure you they are, sir. Master Statsny does not keep decorations."

Maddix relented and removed one of the daggers from the board. A closer look revealed that it was indeed sharp and deadly.
 

Holding his finger out, Maddix made a small slice with the dagger. He winced slightly at the razor-sharp cut. The blood trickled out of the wound quickly and several drops landed on the lips of the motionless vampire.

"Sir! I must object!" shouted Stillwel, grabbing Maddix's arm.

Maddix pushed off his hand and watched the body for movement. The drops of blood slid from his lips and down his cheek, with some seeping into his mouth. There was no reaction, not even a twitch. He was convinced now—Havel Statsny had to be dead.

Something flashed in the sunlight; it seemed to be coming from the sleeve of the body. Maddix grabbed his arm for a closer look. Stillwel was not comfortable with the manhandling of his master and let it be known through sighs and coughs. Ignoring him, Maddix found a large insect wing caught in the cuff of Havel's shirt. He removed the wing from the cuff and respectfully placed Havel's arm back to its original resting place. This seemed to please Stillwel, who ceased with the passive aggressive objections.

"Can you show me the garden, please?" he asked, and handed the dagger to Stillwel.

"Of course, sir. It's this way."

The pair continued downstairs and through some hallways toward the kitchen. The kitchen was immaculately clean save for a strong odor coming from a pantry area. Maddix stopped to look at the slightly opened door.

"What the hell is in there?" Maddix demanded.

"Nothing you would be interested in, sir. If we could press on—"

"Open it, please." Maddix took a step back.
 

"If you insist, sir.

Something inside the pantry smelled dead and Maddix wasn't sure how he knew that. Sometimes the brain would recall a feeling or sensation from the past but never actual images or memories. This wasn't the first time a recollection of this sort happened to him. There were quite a few times, and never a single reason why. Maddix was resigned to the fact that he must have been some kind of detective or a private investigator in the real world. At least that's what he hoped for.

Stillwel opened up the door and both the smell and the imagery were enough to make Maddix choke back some bile. There were a dozen hooks hanging from the ceiling. Each one hung the corpse of a slaughtered cow, deer, or something else that could no longer be identified. There were bite marks all over the carcasses and entrails spilling out from the open wounds.

"Holy shit!" Maddix covered his face.

"I did warn you, sir," said Stillwel as he closed up the pantry.
 

"What was all that?"

"To satisfy the Statsnys specific dietary requirements. Live cattle and game are provided by some of the werewolf clans in exchange for other services."

"Such as?" Maddix was curious.

"The Statsnys are masons by trade. They built most of the structures in the land. Their superior strength makes it quite easy for them."

"I see," said Maddix. "Quite the business they have."

"Indeed, sir. Through that door, you will find the garden."

The garden was an ostentatious array of hedges grown to act as decoration and privacy walls. The center was home to a simple yet elegant shimmering pool with an assortment of chairs surrounding it. One chair was knocked over on its side with a large leather-bound book lying open. Maddix could tell by the disturbed soil that there was indeed a struggle between two individuals of approximate strength. The real question was who would try to take on a vampire in hand-to-hand combat? There were not many creatures in Malevolent possessing the level of strength to survive such a fight. Werewolves, or perhaps even the amphibious lake monsters would have the strength but not the intelligence to win.

Maddix did a quick once-over of the scene, muttering to himself that it would have been better if they had not moved the body. Despite his best fantasies, he wasn't a real detective in any case and it probably wouldn't have made any difference. He wasn't even sure what it was he was trying to find.

Relying on the best of his abilities, Maddix noted a single trail leading into the hedges where a large hole was ripped inward. Maddix stuck his head through the opening, revealing a steep landscape with the forest behind it. There was clawed up sections of dirt leading all the way up to the edge. Whoever attacked Statsny climbed the steep hill on all fours just to get to him. Everyone knew who lived in that forest and no one ever went into it.

"Not so sure I want to find out who did this."
 

"Pardon, sir?"
 

"This opening is the only way into this garden except for the front door?

"Yes."

Not only was the attacker strong, but also he must have been insane. Walking corpses populated the forest, and they were the most recent additions to Malevolent. Being imprisoned with the rest of the population made them harmless. Maddix and Tara were magically protected from harm and the constables wore protective scarabs. That left the local inhabitants, none of which the walking dead considered tasty. So with no living flesh to consume, all the zombies lost their drive to hunt. Occasionally a few would try to move on a werewolf but that never ended well for the zombie. To keep the prison smelling as clean as possible, all the zombies were corralled into the only area where they would not stink up the town—the forest. Now they all stood motionless and decomposing without any sense of purpose like a wax museum of walking horror.

Maddix snapped out of his trance and got back to the business of catching a killer. There wasn't much else to go on as far as he could see. There was no such thing as forensics or DNA testing in the realm; not that any of that would be much help. You only had your wits and knowledge to work with.

As he walked away from the hedges, the sun reflected off something shining on the ground. When he got closer, he could tell it was another wing, identical in both shape and size of the first. Close by was the book that Statsny was reading at the time of the attack. The spine of the book was slightly smashed in and there was what appeared to be dirt and mud on the corner, but smelled as bad as the pantry in the house. Looking at the title he could tell it was written in a language that he did not understand. Maddix picked up the wing and the book, thinking that there might be something he was missing.
Ephrain might be able to figure out what these wings are,
he thought.

"You mind if I take the book with me? I would like to inspect it back at my office. Look for clues."

"If it will help, sir. Of course."

"I don't know if it will," Maddix took a deep breath, and tried his best to sound professional. "My best theory right now is that somehow, a zombie or werewolf came in from the forest and into the garden. The bites and scratches don't seem to be from a wolf though. That's why I want to look at this dirt caked on the book closer."

Stillwel scoffed at the notion. "A zombie? Why would one of them have any desire to attack the master? They only pursue
living
flesh if I am correct in assuming."

"That's the part I am trying to figure out still. Something is missing, but I think I have learned everything I can here."

"Indeed, sir.”
 

"Please inform Ms. Statsny that I will get in touch with her when I know more. I can find my own way out, thank you."

To say that Maddix was relieved to be walking back to town after being in the central hub of vampire elite was an understatement. It made him wonder why someone would volunteer for this position and insert his or her selves in such a dangerous place. Maddix didn't even know for sure that he
did
volunteer for the job. As far as his brain allowed him to remember, this was his only life.
 

There weren't too many people that Maddix trusted in Malevolent; they were all monsters and killers after all. But over the few years he'd known him Ephrain Ketter had managed to grow on him. He was an apothecary in the real world, delving into dark chemistry and the deadliest of poisons. He had experimented on himself so much that his blood had become toxic, and no manner of creature or beast dared to feast on him for fear that his tainted blood would eat through their flesh.

It was unfortunate for all of humanity that Ephrain chose a dark path to use his knowledge. Someone else with the talent for manipulating chemistry they way Ephrain did could have done so much good for the world. As is the way of things in history however, most of the gifted ones are evil.

It wasn't known how old or how long Ephrain had been a prisoner in Malevolent, but over the years he had learned to turn his talents toward something slightly useful in the realm. He built himself a little niche in town and gave himself the title of town pharmacist, but in reality he was a snake oil salesman of sorts. Unlike most sellers of phony remedies and potions, Ephrain's stuff worked. If you wanted a facial crème that removed wrinkles and blemishes, then Ephrain Ketter was the man to see. Maddix wasn't brave enough to try anything that he had to offer, however. He may have trusted the man to a point, but he wasn't naïve either.

There was a tiny bell hanging above the door to the shop to alert Ephrain to the prospect of potential customers. Always keeping busy, Ephrain sat behind his counter grinding up some gray powder with his mortar and pestle. The older man looked up from his work and met Maddix, who was stepping through the door and giving him a rousing wave.

"Well, I'll be a viper's venom. Look who is it that came to visit me for a change."

"Hello, Ephrain," Maddix greeted his friend. "How's business? Getting the bills paid?"

"Smart ass. Things are decent. Little quiet these days, but then again, it's always quiet around here. If it weren't for the occasional bottle of cologne the constables always buy, I'd have any customers barely."

"Cologne?" Maddix raised an eyebrow. "Why do the constables need a cologne?"

"It's for that lovely girl you got working with ya'! There is a little something extra in the cologne. Helps to attract the ladies, you know?" Ephrain winked. "And since she is the only lady that's available …"

Maddix shook his head. "Well, I think Ms. Cherane might protest a little."

"Of course she would. That stuff only works on the … how you say it? The less smart variety of woman." Ephrain laughed.

"You're too much sometimes."
 

"It's what I do. Now then, don't you go tellin' me that you are just here to socialize and talk love potions."

"Unfortunately no." Maddix reached into his pocket and laid the two wings out on the counter. "I was hoping you could do a little science research for me."

Ephrain pulled his tiny spectacles out and glanced at the wings carefully. The wrinkles in his face scrunched up, as he looked them over from different angles. What was left of his graying hair swooped over his eyes a couple times. He made a couple hums to himself before glancing back at Maddix. "They're bug wings."

"Yes, I know. I need to know what kind they are. Thought you might have some knowledge."

"Well, I am not an entomologist but I might have a couple books I can browse through. Used to use a lot of bugs for things. I remember one time this man paid me to make his wife disappear. So I concocted this nasty stuff using the acids from fly bile and—"

"I don't need to know this!" Maddix waved his hands, trying to block out the image from his head.
 

It was an all too common occurrence for Ephrain to take a stroll down memory lane and start talking about some of his lesser moments in life. The school of children he poisoned, the governor he dissolved with acid, or the many times he killed wealthy men's spouses for profit. Maddix would constantly have to cut the man off or listen to the most gruesome stories. There was no doubt that Ephrain was an evil man in the real world and too dangerous to execute. He belonged in Malevolent for sure.

"Sorry, I'm sometimes get carried—"
 

The sounds of gunfire and men yelling cut Ephrain off.
 

"What the hell was that?" Maddix exclaimed as he ran outside to find out.

By the time Maddix and Ephrain bolted out of the shop, there was already a small mob of spectators. Maddix fought his way through the crowd to find out the cause of the excitement. He was surprised to find three constables locked in a struggle with a zombie. A pistol lay on the ground, obviously knocked out of the hand of one of the constables.
 

The zombie snapped and hissed at its opponents. Each of its arms was being restrained by a constable with a third constable wrapping his arms around its neck, trying to pull it to the ground. His holster was empty, and Maddix assumed he had been the one to fire the initial shots they had heard from inside.

"Get your gun out!" the first one kept shouting, holding his arms tight.