Page 34 of The Arbiter

I quietly open the back door and peek out the crack. Saul is still on the phone, his back turned to the door as he talks in hushed tones to someone on the other line. It’s so quiet I can’t make out what he’s saying until he shouts.

“Fine! I’ll come to you! No, I don’t want you coming here!” His voice is angry, and smoke is practically coming from his ears as his hands fly with aggravation as he speaks. Suddenly, he quiets down and looks back toward the door.

I swiftly shut it just enough that it will still look closed and wait. When I hear his muffled voice again, I press my ear to the crack and only manage to hear him say ‘the Arbiter’ before his voice goes normal in tone as he says goodbye.

I peek again through the crack as his footsteps start to move toward the stairs. When he’s out of sight, I open the door and step out, hiding behind the wall a bit to watch him walk down the stone steps.

My suspicion that he’s up to something only heightens when he starts looking over his shoulder while walking to his car, making my Arbiter sense tingle again.

I know that the Damned are quite the mischievous bunch, but something isn’t sitting right with me about him. It’s more than just his overall shitty attitude and lack of empathic emotions. It’s something inside of me telling me he is far more than what he shows to the other Infernal.

It only takes me about two seconds to decide I’m going to follow him. I can feel it in my bones that wherever he’s going is somewhere he doesn’t want others to know about. There’s nothing worse than a sketchy-looking Infernal Lupin running around the streets late at night.

Waiting until he’s settled into his shiny black luxury car and pulling out of the drive, I race down the steps before hopping into my truck. The engine purrs as I start it and back out into the road. I’ve put just enough distance between us that it won’t bring notice to myself, especially if I don’t turn on the headlights. My vision is good enough to see without them anyway. Now, let’s just hope that I don’t pass any human cops on the way.

We drive for a good thirty minutes. Saul avoids the city like the plague and takes all the side roads that are available. At first, I think it’s because he knows I’m following, but after a little while, I get the sense that our destination isn’t in the city at all. If this is who Larkan was staking out, then he waswayoff track with his location.

Another ten minutes and I finally see Saul’s brake lights, so I pull off into a small clearing in the trees bordering the road. Jumping out, I take off at a dead sprint through the trees being as careful as I can not to make any noise, and all the while hoping that I’m facing downwind. Otherwise, my scent will give me away before he has the chance to hear me.

By the time I catch up to him, he’s already parked his car and disappeared inside. Out of all of the places that I could picture us heading, I never would have guessed what’s sitting in front of me. An old cabin that looks like it just jumped straight out of a B-rated horror movie. There are vines and ivy crawling up the sides of the tiny dwelling, and it’s missing a few of its windows. The grass is as tall as my waist, and it makes a small rustling sound as it rubs together in the slight breeze.

Crouching behind a tree on the side of the house away from Saul’s car, I lose track of time as I sit there. It can’t be long, though, before Saul furiously stomps back out of the house. He whips out his phone and curses it as he taps it aggressively. I’m just out of earshot of whatever he’s mumbling, so I decide to sneak a little closer.

Just as I go to move, hands snake around my middle and my mouth. My elbow stops halfway to my assailant’s ribs as Larkan whispers in my ear, “Quiet.”

Instantly, I still in his arms. I was so intent and focused on Saul that I didn’t even hear or feel him come up behind me. That would have cost me my life if it had been anyone else other than him. It’ll be used as proof of my incompetence, I’m sure.

“You’re a fucking idiot!” Saul yells into his phone, startling me. “You dragged me out here in the middle of nowhere, and you’re not even here.”

He growls, “I’m not one of your minions that you can just order around. I…” He pauses at the last and winces before dropping the phone to the porch. The angry howl that escapes his mouth sends goosebumps up my spine. It’s at this point that I’m actually thankful to feel Larkan at my back. I may be the Arbiter with extra powers, but an angry Infernal Lupin is never something to take lightly, and he hasn’t even shifted yet.

Lucky for everyone involved, Saul cuts off his howl and picks his phone up from the decrepit wood porch. He says nothing as he marches back to his car and pulls away while spraying gravel behind him.

“Come on,” Larkan says, standing up and walking toward the cabin.

I stand up and cock my head to the side. “You’re serious?”

He throws a look over his shoulder as he raises an eyebrow in question.

“You’re going to allow me to go inside with you without any kind of beratement for following Saul alone?” I ask as I wade through the grass to catch up to him.

Letting out a short bark of a laugh, he says, “Not like it would do much good anyway, right? You know good well how dangerous it was coming out here alone. As you saw for yourself, it could have gone to Damnation in a handbasket real fast. All I ask is next time, wait for me, and I’ll come with you.”

To say that I’m shocked at his words would be a complete understatement, but I’m not going to question it at the moment. Instead, I focus on the cabin that now looms in front of us. The stairs creak as we make our way up to the door. My heart is racing, but not from fear of whatever Saul has been up to. I’m terrified to see what we’ll find once we’re on the other side of that door.

Larkan pulls out his blades and nods to me before kicking the door in. Between Larkan’s strength and the outdated wood, the door cracks into splinters and falls from its hinges with a loud bang. Well, if there’s anyone inside, they know we’re here now.

He rushes in, and I follow. We stalk from room to room, checking to make sure it’s clear. I cover his back as he enters each one. Once we confirm that there isn’t anyone left in the cabin, Larkan pulls out his cell and calls into his superior. I wander into the first room by the door. Moonlight filters in from the window, providing enough light so the room isn’t pitch black. There’s a chair sitting by the wall that has a weird smell coming from it. I didn’t notice it before, an easy miss when you’re trying to make sure that you’re not going to get ambushed.

I’m only a few steps away from the chair when the scent of Damned blood hits my nose. A glint of silver wrapped around the leg of the chair catches my eye. As I bend down to examine it, I see a silver chain with a cuff tangled around the bottom.

“Motherf-”

“Nocturna?” My word is cut off mid-sentence as Larkan comes back around the corner. “What is it?”

I stand so he can see around me. “Can’t be certain about this, but it appears to me that Saul has been playing everyone from day one. Whoever he’s working with him might have killed the person strapped to this chair when they weren’t supposed to. Either way, this whole thing looks just like the set-up of the Strige video. I’d get your people back on the phone and let them know to be on the lookout for Saul.”

Monroe

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