Fan Fiction ❯ Netherland ❯ Beasts, vampires and ballerinas. ( Chapter 2 )

Netherland Chapter Two.

 

Beasts, vampires and ballerina's.

 

Fletch was back in my office a couple hours later. He sat on the opposite side of my desk, watching as I petted one of the crows which sat on my knee. He glared for a moment, then continued with his de-briefing.

 

“So far there have been three attacks.” He said as he dropped the files upon my desk. I opened one of them, the same scenes greeted me, only the rooms were different. Blood splattered and dripped from every surface imaginable, more satanic crosses were drawn across the walls and dolls hung from the ceilings. With each file I opened I found similar pictures and decided not to invest too much into studying them more thoroughly. I wasn't one to have a weak stomach, there were many things you could see in the space of a few hundred years to make you immune to such things. At one point I had been marginally involved in the Ripper case of 1818, though I left that after seeing the second victim, there was only so much a woman of that time could handle. Now however, with television and videogames—there were few who couldn't handle violence.

 

“Funny thing is,” Fletch continued. “Other than the murders and the scenes, there isn't anything else linking the massacres, they're all in different parts of town, we've had no reports of any outside of Los Angeles and the victims differ in races.”

“Explain.” I said, raising a brow as I scratched the neck of the crow. Fletch glared again, then continued.

 

“The first killing was an African-American family. The second was a couple of Vampires and the third was a Caucasian girl.”

”Vampires?” I said as I set my gaze with Fetch's, he cast me a look as if to tell me to figure it out for myself. I smirked slightly and continued. “That doesn't make any sense, what about all the blood?” It was a well known fact that Vampires didn't bleed. Personally, I considered vampires to be the dead in denial, those with a curse much similar to mine. They were drained of their blood as mortals and then fed the crimson of their maker, after that—they walked the earth doing as they pleased. Their powers were vast, much like my own. Though most vampires were much more lustful, I was considerably demure, during the day anyway. They leeched the life from mortals and lived in the darkness, however, one look at the sun and they were as good as ash. A new day—the end of an eternal night. That was what killed them, not the sunlight, not the UV rays, it was the realization that their life was long gone and they were simply wandering in purgatory.

 

Fletch made a grunting noise and turned his eyes to the vampire file, I flicked it open and scanned the contents briskly.

 

“Goats blood.” I said after reading the report.

 

“No shit.” He replied gruffly.

 

“There's an ulterior motive here, there's no direction for these killings, who in their right mind would supply blood for vampire killings.” I mused softly, my fingers still working around the crows neck. I squawked softly and nibbled at my fingertips lovingly. I cast a slight smile and traced the backs of my fingers down its back soothingly. Fletch began to make puking noises. How immature. “You wouldn't understand.” I said slowly, looking down at the crow.

 

“I understand that they have a law in this world against bestiality.” He said with a cruel grin. It was now I looked towards him, my face and gaze normal.

 

“They have a law against animal abuse also.” I said, holding his stare.

 

“Practice!” he corrected me, then winked and moved from his chair and out of the door. I sighed and watched him leave, he pulled the door closed but it didn't quite shut. I sat still in my seat, staring at it for a moment. Then I simply waved my hand towards the door, there was a gentle breeze and it closed shut. I smirked—rare. A much more secretive power of my own, everyone knew I was light, graceful and seductive. Few knew of my power to cause slight manipulations in the air. It was nothing powerful, slight and small, at best I could probably fling a person backwards a meter or so, but it was more of a stumble. I sighed, Lady Crow. A crow in human form. That was all I was, of course there were benefits to this form. But what was wrong with being human?

 

The rest of my day was filled with tiresome calls and runs around the office, though when I say runs, of course I mean stroll. A lady didn't run—too often. I gathered reports from the on-scene officers, preferring to watch a human under my gaze as they retold their story. I had developed very sensitive instincts and I often grew a twisting in my gut when a person lied to my face. There were no lies, but I had to be sure, you can't watch the face of words while you're reading them, instincts don't work that way. By five I was ready to pack up and go home. I slid away my notebook and locked my drawer and stood, gathering my parasol just as my door opened swiftly and Fletch burst in. He waved a piece of paper around wildly, hollering loudly. “There's been another one!”

Brilliant.

 

Fletch drove us both to the house, this time it was a family of five anthros. Humanoid creatures, they possessed animal features such as ears and tails along with a few of their characteristics, such as heightened senses. These particular anthros were of the feline variety, tiger to be exact. I doubt they went down easily.

 

The same scene greeted me, swirling lights from police cars, reporters bordering the `no crossing line' with cameras flashing wildly. Humans were so predictable. We passed the boundary without argument and walked straight into the house, by now the sun had set and my parasol rested gently in my hand. I had little fears of pruning under moonlight. The place was a mess, my suspicions had been correct, there was definitely more of a fight here than there had been in the previous cases. Blood was still dripping from the walls and the stench of something rotting swelled my nostrils, I would have puked then but I turned my nose away instead and waved my hand across my face. Why did the dead have to smell so bad?

 

Fletch was off like a kid in a candy store, chatting away with the normal police and aiding in the gathering of samples and evidence. I sighed and looked around for a moment then noticed a beckoning wave from the corner of the living room and headed in that direction. I recognized her instantly from the distinguishable scent of cigar smoke which hung from her clothing. The woman was tall and slender, her skin was lightly tanned though not profusely, her hair was a cropped short blonde and her eyes were a startling green. She grinned a perfect white smile and pushed off the wall she formerly lounged against to meet me by the fireplace.

 

“Miss Crow, nice to see you finally got your ass here. Fletch get pulled over for running through red lights again?” Rochelle asked with that same smirk. I smiled at her slightly and took in her appearance, after working with her for nearly a year, I was used to it. She dressed in an Armani suit which draped perfectly from her underdeveloped shape. At first appearance, most believed her to be a man; she certainly came off that way. Cocky grin, cigar always clamped between her teeth and a sleazy attitude to match it all. Not so, she went under the nickname of Rio and anyone who presumed her to be male was none the wiser until pointed out by an outsider. It was her way to simply let people believe what they wanted, even if they were wrong.

 

“How long have you been here?” I asked smoothly as I passed her and headed towards one of the blood covered walls.

 

“I'd say about ten minutes, press got here fucking quickly.” She sighed, “You never got this kind of crap for cheesy shit like this in Netherworld.” She groaned and took a puff on her slim cigar. I nodded simply, though it was understandable, in Netherworld the laws were much different. Though I had been born of earth, once I transgressed, I lived in Netherworld, almost as long as I can remember, it takes a great deal of concentration for me to hold onto what memories I have of being human.

 

“—remember the Malfroy case?” Rio interjected my thoughts loudly, “Over here, can you imagine the field day the press would have? Twenty murdered Fae all at once, hardly recognizable, even after they collected the pieces together. But over there, everyone was too busy with the Vampire massacre of 1213 AL.”

 

I nodded again, though I was listening to her, half my mind was focused on the blood in front of me. I touched it gently with my fingertip and smeared it around.

 

“You actually remember those dates?” I finally said, turning to face her. She shrugged at me and flashed that same toothy grin from before. “Maybe history would be more suited to you rather than detective work, Michaels.” I said, calling her by her last name.

 

“You gotta hold onto something from the old days. After Life, that was my era, none of this AD shit.” She waved her hand into the air in gesture before settling down again.

 

“Is there actually anything for us to do here?” I said, staring at the blood on my fingers darkly.

 

“We, cookie, are the fine tooth comb. If you find a nit, gimme a holler!” Rio slapped my shoulder and grinned as she realized how tense it was. We both knew why, that damn pet name she'd given me. She winked at me, then strutted off towards some of the younger male officers. It looked like she wouldn't be in the office till late tomorrow morning.

 

I turned back to the wall, expelling Rio from my mind for now. I knew too well of her exploits, far too many times had I spent with her over coffee and other substances as she yammered on with stories that always started with `this one night.' I shook my head, smirking slightly as I slid my hand up and pulled the pins from my hair. It fell around my shoulders, I ran my fingers though it to smooth it down till it sat gently around my face.

 

Once I had finished, I tilted my head to the side and looked towards the door. I smiled and watched as a man moved into the room. He was lean though slightly more built than Fletch, carrying more muscle on him. He wore black slacks with a black shirt, the top three buttons left open. He looked around the room with a sweep of short black locks before he spied me and stalked over.

 

“You're right on time, Julius.” I said as he reached my side. He cast a charming smile my way, a genuine one and bowed his head slightly.

 

“I do try my best Juniper.” He spoke clearly with a voice to match his smile, speaking my true name. A shudder ran through me, I tried not to think of it, yet he was one of my reminders. “You're looking beautiful tonight.” He said, admiring my hair for a moment before he reached out and clasped a lock between his fingers and toyed with it. I smiled at him, it was his way. A romanticist, Victorian Goths rarely changed their ways. “Is Fletcher here?” he asked, dropping my hair as he turned to look around the room. I gestured my head to the left and sure enough, there he was, crouched over one of the hacked up corpses with that same enthusiasm reeking from him.

 

“Do you really have to ask?” I said, turning towards Julius. He smiled at me once more, his pale skin creasing slightly. I smiled back, Julius and I could have been twins. Both quite thin, very pale, black hair and very similar personalities, though mine was slightly wilder once the sun set, his was proper and perfect all the time. He was true gentleman.

 

“Perhaps I'll wait until the unit meeting later…” Julius remarked, looking at Fletch again. “I read the files before I came.” He said, changing the subject and looking back to me. I nodded, Julius was more of a part time member to our group, though he would have loved to be full time, he could only come out at night. “Is there really anything for us to do?” He asked, tilting his head around the room.

 

“Fine tooth comb.” I quoted and Julius smirked at me. So, we moved through the house together, finding very little in the first few rooms, until we reached the fourth bedroom, once belonging to the youngest anthro, she'd only been four years old. I crouched down and searched the edge of the carpet, running my fingers along the seam, when I felt a slight bump. I pulled the carpet back with a tear, attracting the attention of Julius who was instantly at my back and watching over my shoulder. I tugged the carpet back and revealed a wooden floor underneath, not concrete as I had expected. Again, I ran my fingers along the wood this time, feeling it out of joint.

“Call Rio for me.” I said and felt the displacement of air as Julius moved silently from the room and out to the rest of the house. Moments later, Rio and Fletcher were in the room and Julius hovered at the door. I called Rio to me and showed her the gap in the wood, even though it had been nailed back down it was fairly obvious. She nodded her head and ushered me back. I moved next to Julius, looking at him for a moment before I traced his eyes across the room to where he was watching Fletch closely.

 

“He's still straight.” I whispered, low enough so Fletch couldn't hear, not that he'd have noticed, too intrigued with Rio's actions.

 

“All in good time.” Julius replied with a wink before looking back to the rump in question. I chuckled and turned to Rio in time to hear Fletch growling. A soft scuttling noise sounded under our feet. Rio whistled gently and a moment later, the nails holding the wood down were pushed out of place and left to roll onto the floor. This followed by a loud anxious squeaking. I moved forwards now, I'd given Rio her space, now I needed to see what was going on, though I had an idea.

 

Sure enough, I found the section of wood pulled out of place and a group of house mice crawling over Rio. She laughed loudly and pet them affectionately, then turned to Fletch and poked her tongue out at him. I ignored them both as I slid my hand into the revealed opening, feeling around, my fingertips landed onto something hard. I got a grip and pulled it out, revealing a small white satin box. I turned it this way and that for a moment, then flicked the latch keeping it closed and opened it. From within the box, a ballerina dressed in white appeared, a soft lullaby played as she began to spin and dance. I raised an eyebrow, it was quite new, only a fine coat of dust covered it.

Julius reached over my shoulder and took it from my hands. He instantly slid it into a zip lock bag before looking it over himself. His eyes stared with a cool lack of emotion, then he turned and called over a human detective. There was a few words and the man left with the bag in hand, Julius watched him leave before he turned back to us.

 

“They're doing another sweep of the other houses; we'll see if this turns up again.”

It did. At each house, a music box was discovered, hidden in the rooms of the youngest occupants, concealed mischievously. I fiddled with a couple of silver rings on my fingers as we sat in the meeting room, I was at the end of the long table, next to Julius. Fletch paced back and forth and Rio sat at the end with her feet up and one of my winged followers on her hand.

 

I had already voiced my opinion, that whoever had planted the boxes wanted someone special to find them—supernatural kind of special. It was a lure, a bait to reel us in, and we had no choice but to grab it. I raised my eyes from my hands as a loud thud suddenly landed on the table.

 

“Will you stop it with that damn bird!” Fletch growled angrily at Rio. I sighed, they were at it again.

 

“Bite me fairy boy.” She replied back. I felt Julius tense next to me, but we both knew better. Let them sort it out, it was just nerves and Fletch was always high strung at times like this, he was a control freak and when something lay in the dark and there were no clues to follow to it, well let's just say the outcome was never pretty. If you then added animals into that equation—run for cover. Unless you were Julius and I who always ended up refereeing whoever he decided to lash out at next.

 

“If you don't make that bird amscray, I'll show you what this fairy can do!” He barked, balling his fist.

 

“You want another date with my beasts?” Rio asked, raising a brow to Fletch. A beast master, Rio didn't need weapons, she had animals to come to her aid and a couple of times Fletch had been the target of that aid. It was a way of Rio putting him in his place, she didn't appreciate disrespect, mostly a very laid-back kind of woman, though you didn't want to get on her bad side.

 

Fletch smirked manically as he stepped back, his hand worked next to him, tensing and relaxing rapidly. I could see the confliction crossing his eyes, to combust or not to combust. The decision was made for him as Julius appeared at his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Fletch turned to him, ready to bite his head off. Julius just looked at him. Fletch growled, threw his hands up into the air and stormed from the room with a trail of words I'd rather not think of the meaning once translated into English. I watched him leave, placid in my seat, more than use to his ranting. Julius sighed and slumped his shoulders, I watched him now. I took in his prominent calm, the way all stress just slid from his body, all emotions, fleeing from his cold skin. It must be great to be a vampire.

 

“Well!” Rio proclaimed as she rose from her seat, she flicked her arm out, the crow on her hand took flight and soared towards me. It landed on my knee and instantly pecked gently at my fingertips, I sighed and began to scratch the back of its neck.

Rio stretched and yawned loudly, cracking a couple of bones back into place before she waved her hand slightly and headed towards the door. “I'm gonna head to the lab and see if they've found any matches for those fingerprints we found on the box.” Before Julius or I could say anything, she'd already walked out, leaving an eerie silence behind her.

 

I turned back to Julius. He lifted his head and looked back to me.

 

“Don't take it too personally.”

He chuckled, “I never do.”

“You know how Fletch is. He'll calm down.”

Julius nodded slightly, rustling his hair into his eyes. “He's annoyed, and he's allowed. He may be from a malicious blood line, but there's a reason why he chose to be a detective.”

It was my turn to nod. I'd seen it, Fletch—unlike most Sidhe from the Netherworld court, who were nothing but sex crazed pain addicts, Fletch had feelings. He was dark, he was sadistic, but there weren't many times you wouldn't see him counseling traumatized witness's, even though he denied any accusations of having a heart. He cared, it was just a matter of how and when he cared.

 

“Damn Roger is good!” Rio yelled, bursting in and breaking the silence she'd left behind. Roger was the head of forensics, we'd only been back at the department for a couple of hours and already he had results. “One Mr. Nathan Ward is in for a surprise visit from the police.” She smirked.

 

“Any connection to the victims?” I asked.

 

“He was their cleaner.”

 

“All of them?”

 

“All of them.”