Shadows and Sinners | A Striker x Reader Story

The Herb Supplier

Lena was the best herb supplier in all the nine circles...but she was located in a back alley in one of the worst areas of town. Thankfully, most sinners left me alone. Only one scrawny blind sinner asked for some scraps while sitting on a blanket that looked like it hadn't been washed in months. I would have given him a few dollars, but then others would have demanded money as well.

"Lena?" I called out, pushing past the purple and red rug that covered the doorway to her little shop. The inside was dimly lit, candlelight reflecting off of thousands of jars. It smelled heavily of herbs, mint, and cedar and hundreds of others blended together. 

"Back here," I heard her call out from the back. A short imp with bright eyes and a tattoo on the backs of her hands emerged from a back room. Her smile was bright in the dim light, almost as bright as her eyes. 

Holding up a list I had made the night before, I said, "I've come to get herbs from the best supplier in Hell."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear," Lena crooned, taking the list from me, "Where have you been? I went to your apartment but the bastard said you didn't live there anymore."

I rolled my eyes, unsurprised Micky had been a complete ass, "We broke up and he tossed me out on my ass. I've been subletting a room not too far from here."

"With who?"

I looked up at her. Lena and I had been keeping each other's secrets for years now. After a moment, I replied, "A killer."