The Dragon's Consortium 2

53 - The Second Victim

Soterios Dragvern - POV;

"Yo Bud!" Klein greeted me as I walked through the busy doors of The Princess Cherry Tavern.

"Hey dude. So what's shaking?" I started friendly conversation as I sat on the stool beside him.

"We can talk about that all night but first we need some drinks. Hook up my pal here will ya bartender!" Klein shouted.

"Coming right up!" the bartender answered as he came bearing the jugs of mead beer.

"Oh? A new friend of yours Klein?" the bartender asked.

"Yeah. This is Soterios. We met 'cause he has been havin girl problems like myself. It was fate I tell ya," Klein explained from his point of view.

"By the way Soterios, this dude here is Thanatos. He is a long time friend of mine," Klein added.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said as we shook hands.

"Pleasure is mine," he responded.

"Hey! Don't you two go becomin' pals an' leavin' me alone now," Klein complained, as he downed his fourth jug of beer. The alcohol had obviously begun to take effect on him.

I looked back to Thanatos. He was a unique character to say the least. His entire appearance was very...... blue. His hair and eyes were of a matching dark shade. A similarly coloured shirt was draped over his relatively small body frame. A light blue tie and a black vest thrown over the other layers completed his look. He really did look his part as a bartender, including his rolled up sleeves.

"Klein is a regular at my bar. He comes almost every night to drink the darkness away so we've become very closely related. He used to bring friends too but then they stopped and since then he's been paranoid about me leaving him," Thanatos seemed to realise that I attributed Klein's remark to mere drunkenness.

"They didn't jus' leave I tell ya," Klein burst out, "It's their damn women. Those bitches hate my wife and for that they don't want their husbands around me. Cause of that, all my best buds in the world just upped and left. I can't exactly blame them though, not after my devil of a wife threatened t' kill my friends and their families if they continued t' drink wit' me. She wants to ruin my life I tell ya. She wants to see me rot alive."

I listened to Klein rant for hours about his wife's abuse and the domestic violence he faced. I had to admit that he really had a hard time at this home he couldn't escape from amidst court orders and his spouse's threats.

When he finally finished he got up to excuse himself from the table while Thanatos went into a room in the back.

"I'm just going to take a breath of air. I'll be back in a minute," he confirmed with me before staggering outside. Thanatos returned from the back and stared at me.

"Where did Klein go?" he questioned.

"Outside for a bit," I told him.

"While he's gone, this is perfect," Thanatos began as he looked at me firmly, "what do you want from him?"

"I don't understan-" I started.

"Bang!" Thanatos slammed his fist on the table. "I know that you are just pretending to be a friend. It's obvious that you are trying to use him for something!"

I watched the deductive bartender in awe. He was clearly very aware of what happened around him.

I shook my head before responding to the man, "You are partially correct. I did intend to find out something from him. However I did see him as a friend and while that view may have faltered for a while this evening, I can now say my trust in him has been rediscovered. I feel horrible that I ever held doubt in my mind."

"Hmm. That's interesting. And what exactly are you looking into? Bartenders tend to hear alot more than most people. I may very well be able to help you," he continued.

"I am actually looking into the murder that happened around lunchtime earlier today. The murderer is more than your average man and that makes him quite dangerous," I revealed.

"I see, the Reaper's Kill Case huh?" Thanatos remarked.

"The what?" I pressed him.

"The Reaper's Kill Case. Apparantly they had a spiritual monk perform the autopsy after the medical professionals failed and it was determined that the victim's soul was ripped right out of his body. They are calling the murderer Shinigami, The name comes from the term which refers to the Grim Reaper. Many seem to believe that the killer is related to the Dragons which is understandable," Thanatos rattled out what he knew.

"Thanks but I already knew most of that. One thing though, it isn't a Dragon. There are no Dragons known to live in these areas, nor was any seen in the area within the last few months. It's a human-dragon hybrid," I corrected him.

"Oh? You seem to have found out quite alot then. I am impressed Soterios," Thanatos praised me.

He looked around the now deserted establishment before posing the question, "What is Klein doing so long outside? I'm going to check on him."

With that statement he stepped out leaving me the sole person in the tavern. I sat and contemplated the facts of the case in my head, hoping for some realisation. I was cut short by a sudden scream from outside.

"Oh God! What happened?!" Thanatos shouted. I got up and hurried behind him when I heard the outburst. When I exited the building a painfully familiar scene greeted my pupils. Thanatos was stooping next to a motionless body slumped against the wall in a seated position. The man's eyes were rolled back, his face was off coloured and froth bubbled from his ajar mouth.

Thanatos raised a lantern to the man's head. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist as I fought back the confusion of emotions which overflowed as I stared at the deceased body of none other than Klein.