Chapter 3

Good Morning To You Too

No matter where Finn looked, there was only pitch-black darkness; it was so dark, he literally couldn't see his own hands. He tried to move his legs in an attempt to move from his spot and find a source of light that could lead him out of here, but it was like his feet had fused with the surface he was standing on. He tried to lift his feet with all the strength he had, even consider to use a part of the dark powers that had been brewing in his body for as long as he could remember, but he was unable to move even an inch. The demon hunter was blinded and stuck in one place; he was almost on the verge of losing his cool, it almost felt like this was real.

No sounds were heard during the time Finn had found himself stuck in the darkness, but now there were two voices who started slowly breaking the silence, accompanied by a very faint heartbeat. Whose heartbeat was that? Finn couldn't help but wonder that. The voices became louder and it was quickly revealed that they had Irish accents.

'Dear God in Heaven, how is she still alive?' one of the voices asked.

'It's a miracle that the police have even found her in the first place. Just a few more days and she would've starved to death. The doctors said she must've been raped and tortured in that abandoned house for nearly ten months...'

'Ten months?! Good God, that sick fuck... no wonder she has gone insane.'

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream of a woman drove the two other voices away; Finn could clearly sense that the woman was in agonizing pain.

'Kill it! Please, I'm beggin' ya, for the love of God! Kill that thing! Ya have to kill it now!'

A faint white light started to emerge and became brighter and bigger, causing the woman to scream even louder, hurting Finn's ears. Then the all too familiar smell of blood filled the demon hunter's nose; he could swear he even heard it splattering onto a floor.

'The baby is coming out! She's losin' too much blood! She's bleedin' to death, doctor!' a hysterical male voice shouted.

The bright light eventually swallowed up the darkness, forcing Finn to close his eyes to protect them. When he opened his eyes again, he saw something entirely briefly. The faint heartbeat and the voices were gone. It was like he was looking through the eyes of a person. Judging by his surroundings, it looked like he was in some sort of nursery. Numerous toys were scattered around the floor and the bookshelves were stacked with picture books. Then Finn suddenly heard two new voices, voices that belonged to women, whispering behind him.

'That couple canceled the adoption?'

'Aye, apparently they said that lad was creeping them out too much.'

'Well, I won't blame them. He's not like the other children... he's so quiet, so secluded... he doesn't want to interact with the other children, let alone adults. Honestly, I think he's a freak. It's like that lad is not even a human! I mean, he had grown a full set of teeth when he was just two weeks old, for God's sake!'

'I couldn't agree more with that... he just creeps me out.'

A bright light suddenly appeared again, only it now appeared as a brief flash, blinding Finn once more. Opening his eyes once more, he saw that he was now sitting at a table, working on what appeared to be a spaceship made of Lego; just a few more blocks and it would be finished. Suddenly, rapid footsteps could be heard and a hand grabbed the spaceship, throwing it against a wall, shattering it.

'Grab that freak!' the voice of a boy shouted.

A couple of hands grabbed his clothes and pulled him away from the table, pushing him into a corner. The hands formed into fists and started punching him mercilessly. Laughter could be heard from the three young assailants; they were all boys who couldn't be older than twelve.

'What are ya gonna do, ya little twat?! Fight back then, if ya can!'

'Ye're such a freak, Finn! It's true what the caretakers said, ye're not a human! Nobody wants to adopt ya 'cause ye're a fuckin freak!'

'Freak! Freak!'

Finn saw the fists and the grinning faces of the bullies fading away in a thick mist of red, clouding his eyes. A deep, inhuman growl could be heard. Startled gasps followed, along with the sound of claws ripping through flesh. Once again, the smell of blood filled Finn's nose; the smell was so strong this time that it nearly made him dizzy. When the red mist disappeared, the bullies had disappeared along with it, making place for a much more pleasant sight. Finn saw a girl standing in front of him with the warmest, friendliest smile he had ever seen. She had long red hair, was wearing a green tank top and a pair of shorts and she was reaching out for him with her hand, as if she was about to give him a polite handshake. But then, in the blink of an eye, the girl had aged into an adult woman and there wasn't a single trace of friendliness found on her face; it had turned into a mask of hatred and heartbreak. Tears were running down her face as her eyes seemed to be burning with rage.

'Get out of my life!' she screamed at the top of her lungs.

With a loud gasp, Finn finally snapped awake.

A huge headache started to form in his head as he looked around him, quickly realizing that it was all just a bad dream, thank God. But it sure was one hell of a bad dream; the demon hunter could feel a sheet of sweat sticking on his forehead. A ray of sunshine gently illuminated his bedroom. The Lego pirate ship still remained on his desk, untouched and almost completed. Finn sat up and slightly leaned forward, supporting his head with his hands.

'Bloody hell...' he mumbled.

It looked like some things could never be forgotten... they would always come back to taunt him.

Glancing at the digital clock on his nightstand, Finn saw that it was past nine o'clock. Time to get up. The demon hunter swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up. Only now he noticed how much he reeked of sweat. What he needed at this moment was a splash of cold water to the face. He exited his bedroom and walked into the bathroom, which was right across from his bedroom; it was just a few steps away. Finn was pretty sure that Paige would also be awake by now, perhaps she had already started making his breakfast. He couldn't help but chuckle for a moment. Until the day she had allowed him to stay at The Pentagram, Paige had never cooked a meal before. Since there is no need for demons to eat the food humans eat in order to survive, that thought had never crossed her mind once. Now that she was living with a half-demon, it was time for her to finally get to cooking. After accidently burning numerous meals, Paige had proven herself to be a decent chef.

Standing in front of the sink, Finn took a little moment to stare at himself in the mirror; his reflection, a man in his early thirties with short brown hair and blue-grey eyes, stared back at him. He twisted the knob of the tap and cold water poured out. He formed a little 'bowl' with his hands and allowed the water to fill it. Splashing it onto his sweaty face felt so good, it was exactly what he needed.

When he looked up, Finn saw something in the mirror that would scare the living hell out of anybody. His reflection had transformed into a demonic version of himself. His skin had turned pitch-black, his veins clearly visible and red, pumping with dark energy. His mouth had grown huge and was filled with razor sharp teeth that reminded him of butcher knives. His eyes seemed to be blind, they were completely white. The creature in the mirror loudly roared at him as if he was enraged about something, but Finn wasn't fazed for a little bit. He knew exactly what this meant.

His demonic side wanted him to let him out.

'Shut up.' the demon hunter mumbled in annoyance, grabbed a towel and dried off his face. He walked back to his bedroom, where he put on his clothes. No, he wasn't going to give the demon inside him any attention. He could scream and roar all it wanted, he wasn't going to let him out sooner or later.

After he was done dressing up, Finn walked to the living room, where he was greeted with a rather unexpected surprise.

Detective Dolph Ziggler was sitting at the dinner table with Paige, who had apparently made him a fresh cup of coffee. Finn frowned in confusion. What the hell, he thought he was going to visit them at the end of the day! The blonde detective had clearly heard him, turning his head to face the demon hunter. And judging from the look of his face, Finn guessed that the secret was out.

'I guess Paige already told ya what happened last night.' he said.

Dolph briefly nodded. 'Yeah, she did.' he replied, obviously ticked off. 'Their bodies have been found, Finn. Damn it, I told you to keep them alive!'

'I really wanted to in the first place, Dolph, believe me. I had warned them, but then they attacked me. It was them or me.'

'And you couldn't let them live while fighting back?'

Finn shook his head as an answer.

Dolph groaned in frustration, softly hissing through his clenched teeth. 'Fantastic. Just fucking fantastic, Finn. Now there will be a chance this case will never be solved! Whenever I come to you with a case that may or may not have a paranormal background, doesn't mean you must kill the damn suspects! If you had let Brie and Nikki live, there might've been a trial against them and would've been justice for the families of those missing men! And who knows, we could've found them as well, whether they are dead or alive. Now it looks those families will never have the justice they deserve!'

'Dolph, I too want justice for the families of those men, but think about it for a moment... Nikki and Brie could've walked out of that court that very same day.' the demon hunter calmly replied.

'What do you mean?'

'Have ya forgotten? Demons don't have fingerprints. Those twins were succubi, they were no exception. Ya wouldn't have gotten any evidence against them anyway. Demons like them are better off dead, believe me on that.'

'Now you listen to me...'

'Alright, that's enough, both of you!' Paige suddenly said, most likely feeling to her bones that a heated argument would unfold if she wouldn't step in. 'Yes, Finn may have killed the suspects, but what's been done is done. Brie and Nikki may be dead, but that doesn't mean all is lost, those bodies could still be out there and be found by your men. Nobody will be arrested, but at least it will give some closure to the families. Does that sound better to you, Dolph?'

The blonde detective briefly stared at the female demon, then let out a tired sigh and slightly nodded. 'Yeah, I guess.' he mumbled.

'Good. Now that all's good, let's celebrate it with some coffee, what do you say?'

'Alright then. Just one more, then I'll head back to work.'

'Aye aye, captain!' Paige replied with a grin. She got up from her seat and walked to the countertop to prepare another cup of coffee for the detective. 'Say, how are Bayley and Sami doing?' she asked while filling the coffee maker with fresh water. 'And their baby? How... how was she called again?'

'Her name is Molly.' Dolph replied. 'They're doing fine, they're still the most loving couple I've ever met. And I'm pretty sure their daughter is going to be one happy kid when she grows up.'

'Ah... time sure does fly, huh? Man, it was a year ago and I still remember Sami entering my store like it was yesterday. I'm glad that all ended well for Bayley.'

'Me too. But hey, Paige... can I ask you something?'

'Sure, what is it?'

'Why do you let Finn stay at your place? I mean, no offense, but I think it's pretty damn strange for a demon to shelter a demon hunter...'

Paige turned around and looked at Finn. 'You wouldn't mind if I'd tell him, would you Finn?'

The demon hunter shook his head. 'Nah, it's fine.'

'Okay then. I think it was about... three months ago. Yeah, that has to be it. I was heading back home from the graveyard after putting some human souls to rest when I saw this bloke right here lying on the streets. Some demons had found him and beat him up pretty good, I'll tell you that. I couldn't let him just leave there, now could I? So I took him home and treated his wounds. That's when I noticed something strange about his aura. It was the typical aura you'd see around a demon, but his aura... it also had something human. From that moment on, I knew I was dealing with a half-demon. They are rare, but they do exist. While he was resting, I couldn't help but going through his stuff, I was so curious at that moment. His pistol was filled with bullets made from rock salt, that's when I knew he was a demon hunter. Yes, of course I wanted to kick him out at first, but then he told me he had nowhere else to go. His apartment was burned down by those demons who beat his arse. He said that he knew I wasn't a malevolent demon, because when I found out he was a demon hunter, I chose to kick him out instead of immediately killing him. He would only hunt down malevolent demons. He wouldn't hurt me, he promised that. That's why I decided to let him stay here, and so far things are pretty cool between us, eh Finn?'

The demon hunter smiled and nodded before Paige started to speak again.

'Now... you could say that Finn and I are on the same side. We both think that demons who want to hurt humans are better off dead. Demons like that will never change, it's in their nature. I may be a demon, but I don't want to be associated with those evil bastards. They have tainted the reputation of our kind enough. And even if you manage to put a demon behind bars, it will always find a way out with its own powers... or the powers of one its buddies. That's why I'm siding with Finn.'

'I see...' Dolph replied. He stared at the thin layer of coffee that still remained in his cup; he was pretty sure it would've gone cold by now.