Meanwhile...

Detective Troy shivered. He couldn't help it.

This place always had the same effect on him. It wasn't just the cold, either, it was the atmosphere. In fairness, he was of the firm belief that the mortuary wasn't a place that anyone should truly be comfortable being in. And he was grateful that he still possessed the capacity, with over thirty years on the job, to be uncomfortable around the normalisation of death. His discomfort told him that he was still human, in spite of everything that he had seen and experienced.

He glanced from the three corpses lying before him to his partner, many, many years his junior.

'Well Malcolm,' he asked, 'what are your thoughts?' The youngster, only halfway through his twenties, already looked completely at ease in this sterile, dehumanising environment.

'Three homeless,' he began, speaking as though reading from a script, 'one with an estimated time of death just over three days ago, the second two happened together, barely a day ago. Two bodies with multiple, unusual stab wounds and a third having had his skull caved in via blunt force trauma. There is a distinct absence of blood spilt from two of the bodies and evidence that all three victims had their souls removed at the time of death. No ID or personal effects on any of them. As such my conclusion would be that this is the work of a demon.' Troy glanced back at the bodies.

'I agree,' he confirmed, 'and a new demon at that. Or a newly established servant to a demon with some power if they are able to do such things so early.' He could feel his new partner's eyes burning into him. It strangely made him feel more uncomfortable.

'May I ask how you came to the conclusion that this is a new demon?' Malcolm asked, his expression unreadable. Or at least it would be for most men. Troy shrugged:

'To put it simply,' he replied, 'these murders are too sloppy, too obvious. It's a classic tell for an inexperienced demon still getting used to its new powers. More experienced demons are subtle. They play the long game. They prefer to hide in the shadows, picking their battles and praying on the weaknesses in the hearts of man. They'll whisper in your ears, make you promises, take advantages of your deepest darkest desires and turn you against your own humanity. And before you've even realised it you've fallen down the rabbit hole and cannot climb out of it.

'Demons like to lay low and have others do the majority of their dirty work for them. It makes sense, of course, they cannot move around freely like the others can.' Malcolm took all this information in with the same impassive expression. He'd likely heard all of this already, of course. Why they'd foisted this newcomer on him, Troy had no idea.

Having seen all they needed to from the bodies the two detectives made their way out of the hospital.

'So, what is the next step?' Malcolm asked as they walked. Troy grunted. He could feel the eagerness in the newcomer's voice, even if his poker face did a good job of hiding it. They were all the same after all. The moment a detective is granted 'special' investigation privileges they immediately think that they are going to start hunting down demons, as if a regular joe with a handgun and an enthusiastic attitude could actually take down such creatures.

'What's next?' he repeated, dryly, 'the same as with any other investigation. We try to identify the victims, search the crime scenes, gather evidence, speak to potential witnesses. Try to build a case and pinpoint who might have been compromised. Only difference is what happens when we do get confirmation.' Malcolm frowned, so he did know. Good. Maybe this would be easier than Troy had expected.

In truth there was very little that regular law enforcement could do against creatures with supernatural powers. That was for the department's special enforcers. Those few individuals the force was able to recruit who had useful powers who weren't already part of the Church. It went without saying that there weren't very many of them. Pressed thin it was only natural that the government would be forced to cooperate with the various religious orders to combat the threat. Whether they liked it or not.

'You might as well head home for the night,' he told Malcolm, 'the real legwork will start in the morning.' His junior partner didn't look satisfied with this, but eventually he nodded and Troy drove him home with little conversation. Not heeding his own advice, Troy found himself instead heading back to the office. It was an unfortunate habit of his whenever a situation like this occurred. It wasn't unusual but… There was something nagging at him with this one, something he felt the need to check.

It was when he got back to his office that he understood what had been nagging at him. It wasn't just his office of course; it was the office of the Special Investigation Bureau. All four of them. But right now wasn't the time to concern himself with their department's staffing issues. He instead brought his attention up to the map of the city. It wasn't a great map as maps went. It didn't really even include most of the street names.

Instead, it included all the known territories and patrol routes of the various supernatural powers present in the city. Red indicated demons and their servants, the various shades of blue were the Church factions and there were other colours for miscellaneous parties of interest. And of course, there was a circle around the entire city that represented…

'Working late again, Detective?' Speak of the devil…

'I could say the same to you, Milady,' he responded. The woman glided into the room, Troy had long given up trying to work out where she came from every time or how she always managed to turn up while it was just him in the office. It just was. Which was the best way to summarise much about this woman. That's just how things were.

'You were curious,' she stated, 'I was curious about your curiosity. Your intuition is the reason you are still here despite having no actual power or ability.' As usual he flinched at her words, but he knew she didn't intend for them to be taken in such a way. To her none of them had any real ability.

'It was a gut feeling,' he admitted, 'the place where we found those last two bodies seemed odd to me. So, I checked again. Turns out I was right. There's an overlap, see?' He brought her attention to the map and she moved up next to him. Her scent, as always, threatened to overpower him. It called to some primal instinct within him. Something feral that all humans had but very few liked to admit to. He had tried to grow used to it, but it was certainly difficult. So, he held his breath, hoping she'd see what he had seen and move away. Thankfully she did.

'So you are right,' she continued, 'we had that series of alleyways down as being part of Aria's current territory. Strange that a newcomer wouldn't have known that.' Troy eyed her warily, still hoping she'd move a bit further back.

'In fact,' he contemplated, 'all of the demons' movements lately have been strange. They've been oddly passive. It's very strange. It's not just Aria, pretty much all of them have been acting way more reserved. It's not stopping the Apostles from going after them, of course, but it is certainly odd.' She nodded.

'It's also not normal for them to be this coordinated,' she commented, 'they don't tend to outright fight amongst themselves but there's usually quarrels at least. Squabbles over the best locations and the like. With the exception of this one incident, they've been behaving surprisingly well.' Troy nodded. Yes, it was very strange. Not that he should be upset about this, of course. The less demon activity there was the less problems would occur across the city. And the less work he'd have on his desk. But he couldn't feel happy about it. Not until he knew the reason why this had happened.

'The Apostles have already started to try and capitalise on this,' he mentioned, 'they are cracking down on so called sinful activity in their part of the city. And their advocates are putting pressure on the mayor to issue new laws. He's been reluctant to do it up until now because the majority of the public don't actually know about supernatural beings. Once they do know…' he didn't need to finish the sentence. It would be widespread panic. She clicked her tongue, obviously as dissatisfied with this as he was. The demons fed off of negative emotions. Troy could just imagine the banquet they'd have if word of them spread and the public panicked.

'Those people have gotten very uppity recently,' she commented, 'they're just as bad as the demons now. They don't seem to understand how badly their hatred for their foes hurts their cause.' Troy nodded. What was that expression again? 'You don't mud wrestle with a pig, you just end up dirty and the pig likes that'. That was pretty much what the Apostles were doing, by fighting the demons with their own weapons they were feeding their enemies. Though at the same time it was difficult to come up with another way to fight them. You couldn't throw flowers or bunny rabbits at them after all. But you could fight your enemy without hating them.

And it was that simple truth that seemed to continuously elude the more fanatical servants of the Church. It didn't matter how many of the demons' servants and worshippers were purged, the demons themselves would always escape, and grow stronger from the conflicts. Unless the demons themselves were defeated it was pointless.

But defeating the demons required more than sheer force. They were slippery and evasive, needing to be pinned down and trapped. These newcomers didn't have the patience for that, far too much of their efforts were spent tormenting regular humans. And their overbearing actions and unrepentant attitudes only led to more resentment among the non-believers. Yes, the Apostles were the real issue in the city at the moment.

'Is that why you arranged for them to take over Riverside?' he asked his companion. She nodded idly, still eyeing the map.

'It's easier to keep an eye on them that way,' she explained, 'and this way they can wage their little war against Cerberus without involving the rest of the city.' Troy couldn't help but smirk. Their humble city, simply dubbed 'City X,' for reasons he didn't really understand, was divided in two by the river Wye which originated in the West before turning North most of the way through the city.

The area on the other side of the river had quickly been divided up into Lowertown in the South and South West, and Riverside on the East and South East. For as long as anyone could remember the Lowertown had been crime central. A lawless zone long abandoned by any more traditional form of law enforcement, the single bridge connecting it to the rest of the city was carefully monitored to try and keep the rot from spreading any further.

After being taken over by the Apostles, Riverside had been renamed and was now referred to as 'The Bastion.' It was from here that the faithful would regularly sally forth to do battle against the denizens of Lowertown, seeking to expunge them from the land. It was a bloody and seemingly unending conflict and most decent folk were simply happy it remained on the other side of the river without interfering in their lives. The local government had long decided to turn a blind eye to this conflict so long as it didn't cross the river and thus far the stalemate had been maintained.

This would only have been possible due to the team of demons present in Lowertown, who had taken to calling themselves Cerberus after the guard of the Underworld. These three were undoubtedly profiting the most from the bloodshed and so would have no motivation to end it. And until one side came out on top it likely wouldn't end.

'I'll investigate further in the morning,' Troy concluded, bringing the conversation back to the task at hand. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. This same hand could annihilate both Lowertown and The Bastion with a simple wave. But she had already explained her restraint to him.

'I'm looking forward to hearing of your progress,' she told him, 'the demons are up to something. They might be planning a big turnaround and I'd like to know what it is. I'll have to rely on you for this. There aren't very many left who appreciate the way things need to be done around here.' Troy's thoughts immediately switched to his new junior.

'Have you met the new kid yet?' he asked. He suspected he knew the answer already. Malcolm was too calm, too eager and too used to all this to be an ordinary newbie. Her frown confirmed his suspicions.

'I'd keep an eye on that one,' she warned, 'he cannot be trusted. His eyes are too sharp, his focus misplaced. And he absolutely reeks of dog!' Her disgust contained just a hint of fear. It was oddly endearing. Troy simply bowed his head.

'As you wish, Milady,' he concluded, 'I'll inform you if I discover anything pertinent.' She nodded and moved away.

'I know that you will,' she replied, and with that she was gone leaving only her lingering scent and the jingling of a bell behind her…