The Fragile the Broken and the Brave

21. Killer

8.05.20

Jack's POV

I woke up early the next morning, and I quickly threw on some clothing before descending into hell. Just when I thought I was going the wrong way, the passage opened up into a wide area. It was extremely warm, and I recognized the area from when we sieged it to imprison Oliver's father. However, that was a long time ago, and a lot of things had changed. The gates were still black and intimidating, but I could see some greenery and beauty through the slightly transparent bars.

"State your business," a man at the gates commanded, and I pulled out my paper from Oliver. I was almost instantly allowed in, and I walked through the streets with a bit of hesitance in my step. I just have to find the castle, investigate those on my list, then get out. Simple... Right?

I wandered in, and I looked between the list and the map of the castle. The first name on the list belonged to a "Cameron Salominal", so I set my paths towards his office. The man was doing paperwork when I entered, and he looked at me with a strange expression. "Who are you?" he snapped while setting down his pen, and I played with my hands nervously.

"Hi, I'm here investigating a murder..." My voice was timid in front of the demon, and I fidgeted a lot. For some reason, it was different talking to Oliver. He had a semi normal aura, but the person in front of me was sending horrible waves of darkness all over me.

"And you assume I'm the one that did it? Why? What evidence do you have."

"I don't know, okay? I just have a list and you happen to be at the top!"

"Give me that!" He snatched the piece of paper out of my hand, and he snorted aloud when he read it. "Kid, the most likely person on here to even think about murdering someone is Kyle Demiocanan. He used to work for the old king as a hired assassin. He did all kinds of things for the man, but he abruptly stopped about 17 years ago. Go there and leave me in peace."

"U-uhm, okay."

"And for the love of God wear more deodorant next time. You smell like a 13 year old rolled in shit."

"O-okay," I squeaked before walking out, and I yanked out my map again to follow the way to the Kyle person's office. He was labeled as Oliver's royal advisor or some shit, but that was it. I didn't get much other information on him. I arrived at his office, and I knocked lightly on the door. I was still very fidgety, but all of the nerves dropped when the person on the other side of the door revealed themselves.

He was the most beautiful person I've ever seen even though he was an average demon. He had black hair all the way down to his thighs even in braids, and his blood red eyes stared into mine. He did a double take when he saw me, and I pegged the action as suspicious in my mind. Any normal person wouldn't make that sad expression at me like he's currently doing.

"Hi, my name is Jack Evans... I'm here to investigate a murder that occured about seventeen years ago. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Who let a mortal into hell?"

"Oliver did."

"Okay fine, you can come in." I entered the office, and I looked around at the rustic decor. The temperature in here was actually pretty nice, and I found my shoulders relaxing a bit. No no no, don't do that stupid shoulders! I immediately began to dig through his stuff, and he looked at me strangely. "What are you doing?"

"Searching for anything that may help me to identify you as a killer." I opened a bin on the bottom inside of his desk, and a whole bunch of papers came flying out. "What are these?"

"Oh, that's nothing!" I picked up a few of the papers, and I recognized the similarity the held to... Devon's handwriting? What the fuck?

"Why is this here?"

"What?"

"Nothing." I pulled out a slip of paper from my pocket, and I compared it to one of his papers. Just when I was about to look between the two, a hand grabbed onto my upper arm, and I felt sparks fly up my whole body. I had always convinced myself that I would never get to feel the bond– that Dan was my only shot at love. However, when his warm hand grazed against my skin, I just knew that what I was feeling was something special. In my mind, I knew that I had just connected a soulmate bond with a complete stranger. A gasp fell from my lips at the knowledge, and I felt his hand pull away from my arm.

"Sorry about that, I just..."

"No, no it's fine." I left both papers, and I stood up to face him. He was nervously looking at the floor away from me, so I knew he had felt it too. He was probably scared I was going to reject him, but I had no intentions to do that. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his strong body, and I enjoyed when he relaxed into my grip. The world was totally quiet around us, and the only thing I heard when he held onto me was the steady beating of a heart meaning that he wasn't a full demon. His scent was a warm, musty aroma, and I knew that I would grow to know it as home. I would realize that the man in front of me was home.

"I'm sorry for randomly touching you."

"It's okay... I've craved another person's touch since– well for a long time now. I thought I would never get the chance."

"You probably don't want me for a soulmate. There's so many bad things I've done. Yeah, I heard you were a hired assassin for awhile there... I don't care, though. We were designed to love each other for the rest of our lives."

"That isn't totally it, Jack. What I've done to you has extended much deeper than just murdering others."

"What is it?"

"Well, for the most part I killed demons, but Oliver pardoned me for the few mortals that I had killed. He knew that I was just trying to keep my head from his father, so he didn't mind. I knew he didn't exactly like it, but there was nothing either of us could do. He shouldn't have, though, because I did so much more than just kill random mortals."

"What are you implying?" I was nervous. The way he's wording this makes it sound like he's personally affected me with a kill. I don't think I've ever seen him before, but there were a few things around the office that arose my suspicions of him. I was willing to let almost anything go... Well except for what he said next.

"Jack... I killed the father of your children."