Page 80 of That Mafioso Magic
“We’ll wait until they’re inside.” I had my sword handy, because chopping off a griezel’s head was the best way to kill them. The actual act of chopping was where you had problems. Their bones and flesh were incredibly hard to sever. I was powerful, but it might take me a few swings to get the job done. Once I saw the lights come on in Tom’s home, I made my move, climbing out of the car with Shi in tow. We each went in separate directions as we crossed the street. She was going to cover the back and I was going to come in full blast through the front door. I ran up the stairs faster than any human could have managed. I could smell Tom’s scent and what I knew to be the scent of a griezel.
I didn’t kick the door down. Instead, I gathered the magical elements that surrounded me at all times. I could feel it tingling through my body as I focused it on the door. Unlocking a door was easy work even before I met Adrian. I could hear them both, the sounds of lips smacking and spit exchanging was unmistakable. I closed the door behind me and moved closer, almost like a phantom toward the bedroom. This door, I did kick in and the griezel was quick to respond, leaping to his feet and snarling at me.
“You motherfucker! You’re here for me?” the griezel asked as he took on a more defensive stance. His eyes took notice of the sword in my hand and his snarl grew more menacing. “Bring it, bitch!”
Tom scrambled out of the bed and ran to the farthest corner of the room, which was smart on his part. I used my newfound speed on the griezel, hoping to take him by surprise and I did, shoving him hard against the dresser. The mirror shook and several items fell off the dresser from the impact and the griezel’s struggle to regain footing. I was on him again, punching him twice, but he blocked the third and countered with a jab and an uppercut of his own that made me stagger back. That was when he charged forward, slamming into me like a linebacker, sending us both to the floor.
The sword fell from my hand as we rolled around, trying to gain the advantage over the other. I grabbed his shoulders and headbutted him, making us both see stars. I gathered the magic around me again and this time, I shot it at the griezel through my body. Fire. The griezel’s clothes burst into flame and it was enough for him to climb off me. He snatched his flaming clothes off his body, which was untouched by the fire. I wondered if my magical fire would affect him, guess not. At least it distracted him enough for me to jump to my feet. I snatched the sword off the floor and swung, my aim on point. My blade sliced through the griezel’s neck, severing his head from his body much easier than I was anticipating. The head hit the floor and rolled as his body fell into a crumpled heap. I called the fire away, pulling back the flames from the clothes, leaving them smoldering.
“Oh shit… I think I’m going to be sick,” Tom said.
I turned in time to see him darting off into the adjacent bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard him retching. I figured this whole display was too much for a male gigolo like him.
“I see you didn’t need my help,” Shi said as she approached me, stopping to look down at the griezel’s severed head with a bit of dark blood oozing out thickly.
“I always need you,” I said, then walked over to the corpse. The heart needed to be intact, fresh. So, I carefully cut the body up with my sword, ripping into the chest cavity. Looking at the slightly congealed blood of the griezel was unpleasant. It flowed through their veins slower, which meant they were more lukewarm to the touch. They were more or less dead for all intents and purposes. Living dead. Thank God they didn’t stink like rotting corpses. Their bodies were preserved for eternity, just dead, and their souls were intact, too. But the same thing could be said about all supernals.
My hands were covered in the dark red, gooish blood of the griezel as I ripped through the rib cage and pulled away the lungs to get to his heart. It wasn’t beating anymore because I had removed the head. That was the only sure way to kill a griezel. As long as his heart and brain were connected, he could heal. That was just another thing that made griezels hard as hell to kill. I pulled his heart free, then stood up and made my way into Tom’s kitchen. I was going to need some Tupperware and ice to put it in. Shi helped me by grabbing a bowl with a matching top and filling it with some ice. I put the heart inside and sealed it up.
“Please don’t leave this here,” I heard Tom say as he rushed past the ghastly remains of his griezel john. “The griezels will be after me for this!”
“Which is why I’m going to take care of you, Tom,” I said.
He froze mid step. “T-take c-care of me? How?” he asked. And by the shaky tone in his voice, I knew he was terrified.
I’d be lying if I didn’t think killing him would be easier to cut all loose ends… well… loose. But he was innocent and he did me a solid. “Don’t piss yourself, Tom. Just follow Shi’s instructions.”
“You need to get dressed and be quick about it. You’re going to be relocating someplace nice. No griezels living there,” Shi said.
He nodded and scratched the back of his head nervously. “Yeah, I guess. That will work, thank you.” He ran off to throw on the clothes he was wearing before he got naked for his trick. He was dressed in seconds and walking up to Shi. “I’m ready to go,” he said.
“Before you do, come here.” I waited for him to make his slow approach to me. When he was standing a foot away, I stared him directly in his eyes and tried to capture him the way Salino had instructed. Five times it took me, which I found annoying, but I finally felt the link connect. I now knew what it felt like to have a human under my thrall. Oh, this shit I liked a whole fucking lot. He was staring at me all glassy eyed, waiting with baited breath for my command. “Tom, once you land in your new location, you will remember taking a griezel home, fucking his brains out, and then him trying to eat you, but you got away. You ran and kept running and never went back home, fearing for your life because he knew where you lived. You took the money you’d saved from hooking from a safety deposit box and moved to wherever the airplane took you. Do you understand?”
He nodded. “Yes, I understand.”
“You feared for your life and ran,” I repeated.
“I feared for my life and just ran wherever the airplane took me,” he stated in a droning tone.
“Good. Now, wait outside.” I released my hold over him and he blinked, but turned, heading out the front door to do as I’d commanded. I was about to have all kinds of fun with my new ability.
“So, I guess we’re taking his car?” Shi said.
“I’ll need yours to get back home. Sorry.”
Shi huffed and tossed me her car key fob. “Fine. I’ll burn his car and call Nadia to pick me up.”
I smiled as I watched her walk toward the front door. “Like I said, I always need you.”
She gave me the middle finger. “Yeah, whatever. Just don’t mess up my car with griezel goop.”
“Like I’m not about to wash this off my hands,” I said.
“I meant the corpse,” she said before closing the door behind her.
Okay, yeah, I knew that.I washed the blood off my hands. I then looked around the home and aimed my hand. Calling the magic to me, I turned my palm into a blowtorch, burning curtains, sofas, carpets, walls, whatever would catch fire easily. I knew it wouldn’t burn the body, I needed to take it with me and dump it in the lake. But any proof of him being there would be destroyed. So, if Damon was able to link Tom to whoever the fuck that griezel was, that would be the end of his investigation.
I picked up the griezel’s body and wrapped it in bedsheets, then ran out of the house using my combination vampire and shifter speed. I ran so fast, I passed Shi’s car by half a block and had to run back. The speed, I really loved it for how exhilarating it was. I put the body in the trunk and climbed in behind the wheel. Tom’s house was engulfed in flames and I pulled out, satisfied with my handy work.
