Hollow Nights (Deziel Book One)

Craven's Demons

The house stunk of smoke, even when Katie and Deziel stood at the front door they could feel the pungent scent groping them. It made Deziel screw up his youthful face. Craven’s house was made of rotting wood, a typical run-down place found in the slums of Northwood. When Katie drove down the cracking road of the slums, Deziel had spotted some curious looking people staring at them. To them, a clean, well looked after Commodore was the equivalent of a diamond, which meant it was more dangerous. 

And yet, as Katie thought about what questions to ask, she could not help but feel disturbed. Something felt a bit off. It could be the quiet. There was no noise from the house, street or any neighbouring homes. Taking a deep breath, Katie knocked the decaying door. 

There was no response, no movement for about a minute, until Katie went to knock again. The door fell back, revealing the scruffy man from the photo standing in the doorway. His body was thin from malnutrition, there was no sign of his beard, only rough stubble aligned his frail jaw. A strong smell of urine, bile and feces emitted from his grimy body. Deziel had to stop a laugh from emerging. 

"What do you want?" He grumbled, staring down at Katie and Deziel's feet. 

"James Craven?" Deziel questioned. The man finally looked up, eyes widening when he finally saw the two. 

"Who wants to..."

"Don't try and be cliché." Deziel growled. "We want to talk! Now!" Katie intervened, placing a hand on Deziel's chest as he stepped forward, fearful that he would strike at the grubby-looking man. 

"What my colleague means to say is, we wish to ask you a few questions." She claimed, James raising a weary eyebrow at the companions. 

"What kind of questions?" He grumbled, eyeing them up and down again. 

"It's about your wife, Nora Craven." As soon as it left Katie's mouth, James began to shrink back into the house, slowly closing the door, as if he had a terrible secret on the subject. 

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like talking about that..." Craven said. Deziel shot his leg out, catching the door before it was about to close. He forced his way around Katie's arm, forcing the door open. 

"We are coming in and you will answer our questions, do you understand?" The boy growled, intense flames burning within. Katie just realised that Deziel also shot out his arm, for he had grabbed Craven's thin neck within his powerful grasp. Yet, she did not interfere, by doing so, she risked Deziel tightening his grip, crushing Craven's airways as if it were nothing but a stick. 

"Fine," Craven spat. "Just let go of my fucking neck." 

"Thank you." Deziel remarked, sarcastically, a slight curve on his lips. As his grip loosened, Craven gave him a disgruntled look, before moving aside to let them inside. Katie had to cover her nose at the pungent aroma of weed mixed with alcohol. The house was a mess. Chairs were overturned, a wall charred black from what Katie assumed were flames. There were holes in the plaster, baring the skeleton of the house. Bottles laid about, empty. Craven sat down on the his couch, which looked as if it were about to fall apart. On the table, lay a see-through packet with a leafy green substance within. As soon as Katie eyed the marijuana, Craven retaliated. 

"I have a prescription for that shit, if you want to see it, I'll go grab it." He smirked at Katie, eyeing her body. "Take a seat, if it please you, officer." 

"I'll stand." She responded quickly. Deziel had wandered off somewhere around the house, which slightly irritated Katie. 

"Where shall we begin?" Craven asked, leaning back, opening his arms. "You wanna know more about my mum or dad? Do you want to accuse me of killing my fucking whore of a wife?" 

"No," Katie said. 

"You know, fuck your kind. You're not high and mighty because you carry a fucking badge, you hear? I have lived most of my life high as Mt. Everest, I didn't give a shit about what people thought of me or what I thought of them. I just lived. Your kind, however, take the fun out of life. My Nora, my wonderful wife, she followed me. She worshipped me. I just wish that some asshole didn't slice her open in Epping." 

"Where were you that night?" Katie asked, keeping her poker face strong. Craven shifted in his seat, the springs underneath him screeching at his weight. 

"I was...at a mates." 

"Doing what?" 

"Cooking...you know. It's what we all do lately. Anyway, I was far away from her. I got the call the next morning that some fucking asshole tore out her uterus and carved a pentagram on her stomach. She was three weeks pregnant too! Like, who the fuck does that?" He began to shake, either out of fear or sadness. His fists clenched, while a small tear trickled down his grimy cheek. Katie walked over to him, kneeling to his eye level. 

"Listen, we are only here to help. The same killer that killed your Nora is here somewhere, in Northwood. He killed a poor man yesterday by beheading him and drawing an upside down cross with his blood. Some speculate that it is the Ichabod Crane Murderer. We only want to help..." 

"Katie," Before Katie could finish what she wanted to say, Deziel appeared from a connecting corridor, clutching the bottom of his shirt as he did. He had a certain look in his eyes, an accusing look, as if he had found something to connect the murder to James. "Come on, we're leaving." He grabbed her arm, dragging her towards the door. 

They left Craven sitting there, Katie did not hesitate, she knew from the look that Deziel gave her, of the importance of his revelation. As they entered Katie's Commodore, Deziel gave out a long, loud sigh, rubbing his legs as he did, a smile beaming on his face. 

"What?" Katie asked as she twisted the ignition of the car. The engine roared to life, and they were off. 

"I can't believe that son-of-a-bitch. First, you'll never believe how big his weed stash is. No, that's not the problem, we aren't conducting a drug stakeout. I found this, though. It kind of relates to the previous murder." Deziel smirked as he pulled a rolled piece of yellowing paper from under his shirt. "Pull up here." 

Katie stopped before a hunting store with barred windows at Deziel's command. When the boy unrolled the paper, Katie noticed the medieval text, bolded by black ink, the letters of the alphabet, along with the phrases yes or no on either side of a grinning moon, placed at the top of the page. 

"What is that?" Katie said. She had seen them on T.V. shows and that, but the name escaped her as she gazed at it in reality. 

"A Ouija Board. I thought only goths used this. It's used to communicate with the dead, so they say." 

"Maybe he is trying to get in contact with Nora?" Katie shrugged. 

"Hm, not sure. Going to think things through." Deziel opened the door and stepped out. Katie lowered the window as he rested open it. "I shall see you later, okay?" She nodded, a soft feeling of comfort deep within her. Even though he had irritated her a few times today, she could not help but think of Deziel as the son she wished she could have. She watched as he walked away, concerned for his safety. But she knew, in her gut, that he would be able to handle himself. Katie just smiled at the thought and drove off.