The Case Of The Pixie Deal

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Samantha didn’t see Lilith for a couple of days after she broke down. She guessed the latter was embarrassed and needed some space. If there was one thing Sam was good at, it was leaving people to it.

Despite worrying about her friend, she enjoyed having some time to herself. After her ex-wife moved out, the house needed a good clean and suddenly there was space for all kinds of things Melissa never wanted. A new whisky cabinet for the living room, brand new sheets in her favourite colour, and a set of whimsical salt and pepper shakers. One-day shipping was a blessing and a curse.

“What do you think?” she asked, smoothing out her new duvet.

Shadow tipped her head, her floppy ears a second behind. “Arf?”

“No, you’re not allowed on the bed. These sheets are really nice and expensive. I—” Sam softened under the twinkling eyes of the puppy. “I guess there is enough space and you’re really small… Fine.”

She patted the lower end of the mattress and without hesitation, Shadow jumped up. She chased her tail for a circle or two before she settled down against Sam’s leg with a satisfied grunt.

“Don’t get used to it,” Samantha scolded, her authority weakened by her affectionate tone.

Shadow yawned, blissfully unaware of all the rules.

Sam reached down to scratch the puppy behind her ear and smiled. It was nice to share the bed, even if it was with a hellhound. She caressed her soft new sheets and happily settled in for the night. Maybe she was getting old, but there was nothing like fresh linen.

With a grin, she drifted off. But not for long. She didn’t even get an hour of sleep before loud knocking awoke her again.

“What the?”

The doorbell rang repeatedly in a fashion that Samantha recognised as emergency mode. Nobody sane would disturb her at this time of night unless it was urgent.

Grumbling and groaning, she descended from her bedroom to the hallway. The stone floor sent a shiver up her legs as she made her way to the door.

“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” She fumbled with the keys, struggling to unlock the door.

“Finally.” Lilith waltzed past her, her eyes flickering. “Took you long enough.”

“I was asleep. What are you doing here?” Sam asked, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

The other woman responded with a boisterous grin. “Get dressed, we have a new case.”

“Now? It’s the middle of the night?”

“So?”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Sam accentuated, groaning as the other woman made her way to the kitchen.

“I don’t see your point. You do remember that Nox stands for Nocturnal, right?”

“Well, yes… But up till now, we’ve always done things during the day.” Sam thudded the front door shut and followed the bane of her existence into the empty kitchen. The one place she hadn’t managed to redecorate again after her divorce.

With a sigh, she sat down at the kitchen island as Lilith helped herself to the coffee machine. The gurgling noise of the beans being ground up filled the quiet house, a sound usually reserved for morning.

A steaming mug of coffee was placed down in front of Sam and she groaned. “I was already asleep, Lilith.”

“You’ll have to change your rhythm,” she replied in her matter of fact tone.

Samantha paused for a moment, staring at the other woman. Lilith was acting like nothing had happened, so Sam had no choice but to play along. Her companion would talk to her when she was ready. She hoped.

She yawned again. “I’m not nocturnal.”

“No, but you work for us now.” Lilith slurped from her coffee, her chipper attitude a stark contrast with Sam’s mood.

“Can’t this wait until morning?”

Lilith patted the kitchen island. “You know what, you’re right.”

“I… What?”

“You’re totally right. It’s not that urgent. I’m sure the human police will know how to deal with a body without teeth and covered in glitter, right?” She pushed her mug away and hopped off her chair. “I’ll let you get back to bed, goodnight.”

“Wait.” Sam rolled her eyes. “There’s no need to be so passive aggressive. You could’ve just told me we were dealing with a… body with no teeth and glitter?”

“Yup, that’s the one.”

She sipped from her coffee. “And why do we have to deal with it?”

“The body is on Will-O-Wisp territory. Although it’s annoyingly close to the Gravitas border, I’m sure they’ll leave us alone. Nobody likes dealing with Pixies.”

Sam perked up, her interest piqued. “Pixies?”

“Yes.”

“Like those from the necklace we found in Harry’s cobbler shop?”

“Exactly like those.” She swung her long hair over her shoulder, smoothed out her dress, and swayed towards the hall. “Chop-chop.”

That got Sam moving. She’d been interested in the toothy necklace ever since they found it in the illegal vampire gambling basement from Harry the cobbler, but Lilith had insisted that the less she knew about Pixies, the better.

“I’m coming, but because I want to, not because you made me,” she declared while transporting her coffee in the travel mug Lilith got her. She grabbed the sweater she’d been intending to wash for days and caught up with the other woman, just in time to meet the sleepy hellhound coming down the stairs.

“Ah, Demon Bite! Good to see you,” Lilith cooed, her voice echoing in the bare hall.

The entire house still looked like Sam had been fleeced by a set of picky but thorough burglars but the hallway was the worst. With the carpet and the paintings gone and the beautiful oak coat stand half-empty, it looked like an attempt of someone trying to inhabit a house that didn’t want to be inhabited.

It certainly felt that way to Samantha.

She sighed as she crouched down to meet the greyish hellhound.

“When are you going to start calling her Shadow?” she asked while rubbing Shadow’s ears.

The other woman turned dramatically, her hair whipping around. “Never.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Thank you.” Lilith gestured to the small hellhound. “How’s your training going?”

Sam frowned. “Training?”

“Yes. At the Puppy Academy?”

“Umm…” She stared at the other woman, trying to figure out what she was on. “You’ve lost me.”

“Puppy Academy. Hellhound school? Did I not sign you up for that?”

“I… don’t think so?” Samantha scratched Shadow’s chin, earning a playful growl.

Lilith slapped her forehead. “Damn it. I’ll sign you up for it after we’ve inspected the body. Hellhounds can be quite useful, if they’re trained well.”

“Really?”

“Yes, little Demon Bite might be able to come along if she scores well on her tests,” Lilith said on her way to the door. She grabbed the bronze door knob and clicked her tongue. “But this little puppy won’t be any use to us now. So say goodbye to the hellhound and let’s go. Dead bodies wait for nobody.”

“Yes, they do. They’re dead,” Sam muttered softly, not loud enough for Lilith to hear.

She fussed the hellhound, made sure to check the bowls for food and water, and followed Lilith out of the house, ready for her first Nox murder.