Shattered Souls Make Good Pets

10

He was woken up earlier than yesterday. When he checked the time he had only been sleeping for five hours. He knew they wouldn't let him go to sleep again.

He followed behind the two guards, his ribs aching from where they needed to heal. They weren't allowed to anymore. He wasn't able to recover any of his magic from five hours of sleep, and not to mention the magic around the house was dead.

He had to look away when they passed another two guards, wheeling the last Piasa away to get locked up. Probably in the basement, but he wasn't too sure. He couldn't check.

They led him down to the sixth floor, to an old office that Rulyn used to use. He was sat down on the chair and left to wait.

This room had no windows, and very little lighting. The only things he could see on the walls were some of Rulyn's anatomy drawings and a glass frame full of Nazi medals from her grandfather. Her ushanka hung on the wall, the red communist symbol shining, and a few of her fathers medals as well.

Her desk was dark and the swivel seat behind it hadn't been used for weeks.

It took almost a half hour for another man to come in. Or it was just five minutes and he wasn't sure. Either way, this was a room that messed with your ability to perceive time.

"Hello, you may call me Officer," the man said, nodding. He looked like a detective from a movie- grey suit with a weird tie.

"Why not just tell me your name?"

"The chance you have the power of fae," he replied, placing a folder down before sitting in Rulyn's seat. He almost started snickering. She wouldn't be happy about that.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I want to know what you know," he answered.

Alfred growled, baring his teeth. The man didn't falter as he stood up, his claws gripping into the desk.

"Such a beautiful creature," the man shook his head as Alfred tilted his head in confusion, "stripes, elegant like a tiger, the voice of an angel, and the strength of the lord."

"What are you going on about?" Alfred asked, getting nervous as he pulled himself back, sitting down and making notches in the chair where his claws dug in.

"As I said before, I only want to know," Officer said, smiling as Alfred pulled himself in.

"Know what?"

"What you know."

"That's vague, get on with it."

"While these walls tell us about these creatures, we're never able to truly understand them unless it is from the perspective of another of the creatures," Officer replied, motioning around the walls. Rulyn drew out all the little mishaps of creatures, she was just like that, and of course they would use that to their own advantage.

The systems of dragons, the bone structures of griffons, the psychology of a wendigo. It was all written down for them to find.

"What do you want to know," he growled, "human."

"Where do they come from," Officer replied, "demon."

"Everywhere." Alfred said, "China, Ireland, Antarctica, Greenland, Italy, Hell. Anywhere and everywhere, that's where they come from."

"How do we find them?"

"You know where to look."

"Be specific."

"You need to be specific first. You won't find a dragon in the same place you'll find a centaur."

"Where would you find a demon?"