Sins & Scars

Chapter 1

      He stared at the bodies scattered around the room, and his eyes settled on the boy covered in blood. He was always at the center of it all, whether he realized it or not. Everything, everything that had happened, everything that would happen, it was all done for him. He smiled.

      The werewolves seated at the bar were telling dirty jokes. The fairies seated at the corner booth by the stairs were giggling while sipping their mead, falling asleep again and again due to the narcolepsy of their race. Vampires sat in booths, drinking wine laced with blood, animal of course, never human. So many creatures were always coming in and out of this place, so many races and species. The only thing they all had in common was that no one was human.

     I stood behind the bar, mixing drinks and serving patrons. I cast a glance to the side of the bar, seeing Luschia sipping his tea in silence. He looked relaxed, but his eyes tirelessly scanned the crowd just as mine did. I wasn't only working as a bartender tonight. My pistol was tucked into the waistband of my pants, and my daggers were concealed under my sleeves. A flick of my wrist would be all it took to have them fall into my hands. 

      The front door opened and a figure waltzed up to the bar. Her body was deathly thin and her eyes were wide and hungry. The blood on her chin betrayed that she had a full stomach. Despite that, she walked right up to me with a smile. She knew she was being hunted for her crimes. What she didn't know, was that she was currently flirting with her hunter. She trusted me, and while that worked in my favour, it was still cruel to have to play along for so many nights. I was glad that we finally had enough evidence and this game could end.

      I steeled myself as her hand tightened around my arm. "Marcus, why don't we go somewhere more private? We have some talking to do," she whispered in my ear. I inwardly cringed. I was never fond of women and having to act interested in one was mentally taxing. Thankfully, Luschia made sure that I would never have to do anything physical with this murderous ghoul. I simply had to smile and nod while I followed her up to one of the many rooms above the bar.

      This building was old and had been used as a safe haven for many years. St. Josephine's: A Haven For The Exiled & Lost. Unfortunately, for my current prey, it was not a safe haven for those who killed others without mercy.

      We entered into one of the rooms that was currently unoccupied. I clicked the door shut behind me only when I heard the soft creak of Luschia coming up the stairs. He saw us leave and followed after to make sure everything went smoothly. There was no need for this job to get any more bloody than it had to.

      "What did you want to talk about, Corrin?" I asked. She smiled almost shyly up at me, her green eyes being somewhat shadowed by her blond hair. "I thought you'd be more perceptive to know that I didn't just want to talk, Marcus." She stepped forward, grabbing lightly at the collar of my shirt. She traced a finger down my chest as she leaned up, I supposed she was attempting to kiss me. My stomach churned.

      "I want you," she whispered. How she was trying to appear seductive with fresh blood staining her teeth, I had no idea. I let my hands circle her waist. She placed her arms around my neck and leaned into me. I leaned down to her ear as I let my daggers slide silently into my palms. "I'm sorry, Corrin, but I can't justify sleeping with a woman. Especially not one who murders innocents."

      She attemtped to shove herself away from me, her eyes wild with anger as she realized she walked right into a trap. "What are you—" her words were lost as my daggers sank into her kidneys. A twist of a blade, and she was gone before she hit the floor.

      I wiped the blood from my blades on my black pants as Luschia calmly entered the room. He glanced down at the corpse and back to me with pride in his eyes. "You did well, Marcus," he said, his voice tinged with a slight Russian accent. He ruffled my violet hair like a proud father and my bangs fell into my eyes. I brushed them aside with vague annoyance.
"It isn't exactly hard to kill a ghoul if you know what you're doing," I said. Luschia shook his head. "No, but you've never hunted one before. It easily could have gotten very bloody. Go back to the bar, I'll handle the clean up. Morgan will be on her way soon." The Morgan he referred to was the local undertaker. She effortlessly handled and disposed of the bodies if there was a job within the town limits. She was also the nearest doctor for miles in this little town in the woods of Southeast Oregon.