The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (100 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

looking for him still. He wasn't in his room." Mjolnir scratched his chin.

"We better find him then."

Jackal pulled on the stretcher, guiding it through the halls. Little did he know, Fenris was doing the steering. The valkyrie helped him to the medical bay, opening the door so he could float through.

"Oh, wonderful! I've been waiting for that!" Reynolds cheered. "Hey, Robby, could you put that where it needs to be for me?"

The nurse came, took the stretcher, and disappeared through another door.

"Liam, how are you feeling?"

"Fine." He shrugged.

"Anything different?"

"These bandages have been itchy lately."

"Come sit! Let me have a look."

"Aren't there better things to do? We need to find out who did this before it's too late."

She watched him for a second.

"You really think they would go after him?"

"They tried last week. This could be the end all. He's innocent in this."

She put a hand to his shoulder to get him to sit down.

"Leave it to Mjolnir and the Captain. You know they'll figure it out."

"Someone is setting him up."

"Now, I don't believe that. Everyone is just afraid."

"I've seen how evil humans can be…" he huffed. She pulled on the bandages to unravel them from his head.

"Well, I have some good news. I got permission from the Captain to run some tests. If Fenris agrees, we can start tonight. It's just basic written tests."

"Nothing is basic with you." Jackal smiled.

She chuckled. The happiness faded when she saw his eyes. Pus had covered them, even crusted over.

"Oh my. Let's give you a good cleaning."

"Is it bad?"

"No. Not entirely. Next time it feels itchy, come to me immediately. If it sits like this too long, it could get infected."

Alcohol and cotton swabs with a small plastic scrub. She got to work cleaning up the yuck from his eyes.

"Y'know, Fenris, you aren't smelling any better yourself. When was the last time you had a bath?"

"What is bath?" Its head tilted to one side.

Both of them perked up in visible confusion. Fenris only tilted its head the other way. A curious wolf who tried to understand, but could not.

"It's, uh... When you clean yourself." She was at a loss for words. She never had to explain the concept of bathing before.

"Clean?"

"Oh, no…"

Jackal pulled away sharply with an ow. Fenris had jumped up to see what happened.

"Oh. I'm so sorry!"

"Jeez, woman." Jackal groaned.

"Sorry! I got distracted." She looked closer at his face. "You're fine. It was just a poke."

Fenris sat back, well, floated back. Jackal was fine, and there was no need to be alarmed.

With a deep breath, Reynolds got back to work cleaning up Jackal's eyes.

"You take soap and water and scrub yourself clean." She explained slowly.

Fenris scratched at its teeth, seemingly in thought.

"Jackal does that." It said abruptly. "It taste bad."

"Wait, what?" Jackal tried to look at it.

"The... Sapphire water. Jackal rub it on body."

"You've been watching me shower?!"

"Yes."

Reynolds covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud.

"What else have you watched?!"

Just as Fenris went to list, Jackal waved it off.

"On second thought, I don't want to know."

"It's okay. At least it's out of innocence." Reynolds grinned.

Jackal shivered.

"Maybe you two are a lot closer than you think."

"I don't think he understands boundaries." Jackal grumbled.

"He may not eve---"

"What is boundaries?" It completely butchered the word with a scratchy growl.

Reynolds grabbed new bandages to wrap around his head.

Jackal sighed. "I'll tell you later."

"You're good to go!" Reynolds smiled. She soon frowned, seeing the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Do you believe the rumors?"

"I don't believe in hearsay. I trust experiments and evidence."

"Right…"

"This really bothers you, huh?" She squeezed his shoulders.

"I mean, look at him. He barely knows anything at all! Not to mention, it's physically impossible. I couldn't make him leave me if I even tried."

She smiled. "He cares about you. It's awfully sweet having a friend like that."

"I just don't think he did it. It's fucked up everyone is attacking an innocent man like that just because he's a little different. "

"Well, perhaps you could change that. Make them see Fenris the same way you do."

He gave a firm nod. Pushed from his seat. Fenris was right with him, following him out of the medical bay.

"Doctor Reynolds, we've finished the autopsy." A nurse peeked out from behind a door.

"I'm coming!" She hurried over. Shut the door. She wanted to see the results herself.

"What did you conclude?" She looked over the body, fitting on a pair of gloves.

“A short blade was used to do the damage.” The other doctor said, patting his hands dry.

“I see. Defense wounds as well?” She lifted an arm to further inspect it.

“Yes. It seems he was taken off guard. Then tried to stop the knife. The killer must have been angry with him judging by the amount of wounds.”

“Almost seems to be spur of the moment. An argument gone wrong?”

“Possible.”

“Wonderful. Write up the report and take it to Mjolnir and the Captain.”

“Do you suspect it could be involved in this?” He asked with a hushed tone.

“No evidence points towards him. So, no.” She waved him off.

TWENTY

"Goddammit!" I shouted. I groped the air, hoping to snatch the cup from his hand. "Let me have it!"

"No." The guttural growl made my bones shiver. "Reaper said no booze."

"You don't even know what booze is!" I swung both hands through the air.

I could hear him sniffing, probably smelling the coffee that was, hopefully, still safe inside the cup.

"Not water." He grumbled.

"Fen, man, buddy." I groaned. "Ol' pal, it's coffee. Coffee. It's sugar. Milk. Water."

"Smells not water."

"Because it's flavored." I whined.

"Reaper said only water."

I groaned even louder. I was exhausted from a long night. I could not get through this day without some sort of caffeine. I could barely stay conscious. Ever since Reaper gave him that order, my life turned into a new kind of hell.

Not only did I have this strange creature watching my every move and, I think, trying to take care of me in my blind state, but now I couldn't quell the demons in my head with alcohol.

He