Page 21 of Hounded

The patrol car swayed and rocked on its tires, and my ears pricked to the sounds of muffled groans. I tapped the blunt end of my weapon against the pavement while counting seconds and yellow cabs passing by until I heard the car door creak open, then slam shut.

I kept my head turned away as the scantily clad woman skirted past, reeking of fresh sex. My hound snorted and snuffled like the Big Bad Wolf while I, too, tried to clear my senses of the bitter stink that only got stronger as I closed on the patrol car. The lieutenant must have barely had time to stuff his cock back into his pressed navy slacks before the vehicle’s taillights flashed red, catching me intheir glow.

Lurching forward, I rounded the back bumper and aimed the butt end of the polearm at the driver door window. With a jab and a loud pop, the glass spiderwebbed. Stabbing it again cleared a path for me to flip my glaive around and thrust the blade through the opening as the officer swung the door open into me.

It struck my midsection and knocked me backward, but the polearm had already found its mark. The lieutenant rose from his vehicle with a stripe of deep red blood opening across his throat.

He stopped, staggered, and grabbed at his wound while I withdrew. Blood bubbled between his fingers and coated his hand. He garbled a choked sound.

I released my glaive, and it dissipated into darkness. I would have preferred the officer remained in his car to contain the gore that was now running out on the cracked asphalt, but I couldn’t risk hanging around to rearrange the scene.

When Abernathy hit the ground on both knees, I turned to leave. But the crack of gunfire stopped me.

A bullet ripped through me as a searing sensation. I braced against it and spun, reaching into the shadows for my weapon again. It reformed in my grasp as I faced the formerly downed cop now on his feet and looking spry for a man whose jugular had been severed.

Usually, the sound of shots fired would draw an immediate crowd, but those who frequented this part of town knew better than to insert themselves in nefarious business.

My hound growled as the cop sighted down the barrelof his pistol.

“So, the devil finally found me.” The lieutenant’s voice had a wet rattle. “You should’ve known that wouldn’t work.”

He considered his gun, then gestured to the bullet wound closing on my chest, leaving behind a wet spot that soaked my sweater front and back.

“Guessing this won’t do the trick on you, either,” he said.

I shook my head.

Invulnerability in battle, I reminded myself. That was Abernathy’s deal. I hadn’t counted on my sneaking up and slitting his throat being considered any kind of battle. Situations like these made me wish I could read the infernal contracts Moira wrote instead of simply being told to execute them.

While Abernathy lowered his weapon, I retained a grip on mine, barring it between us as he looked me over.

“What’s it like there?” he asked. “Down below?”

As the last thing some people saw before they died, I had fielded scores of questions about life, death, and everything in between. I’d been asked about Hell before, but I didn’t have much in the way of insight.

“It’s hot,” I grunted.

“You don’t say.”

With a mustache, crew cut, and a wide, flat mouth, the lieutenant looked a bit like a toad. His features sagged into a droopy frown the longer he stared at me.

“I’m in no hurry to die, you know,” he added after a pause. “I don’t suppose anyone is.”

Another shake of my head answered him.

“Chatty fella, aren’t ya?” Abernathy chuckled while fiddling with the slide of his gun.

My hound bristled.Hunt,he insisted as if our prey wasn’t standing scant feet away.

What he meant was kill, and why was I taking so long? It didn’t bear explaining that killing the lieutenant was a puzzle I had yet to solve.

I’d almost decided Moira assigned me this job out of spite when Abernathy broke the growing quiet.

“May not be able to kill ya,” he mused, “but I can slow ya down.”

The gun fired again, and pain ripped up my leg. My hound yelped as I staggered and nearly went down, leaning heavily on my glaive while the hot piece of lead burned through my thigh.

The patrol car door shut with the cop inside. He revved the engine then gunned it, and the vehicle lurched backward.

---