Tales of Halgen City

Part 1

The city of Halgen is rife with crime and sin. The police hardly do their jobs; most are on the take. When a problem needs solving, they go to a hired hand. The private investigator job is lucrative in the city, but few pursue it due to the risks that come with it. And those that do join it are often good at a set of skills.

The Ford Torino raced through the street, rain tapping against the roof. A purple-skinned incubus sat behind the wheel. His black hair barely touched his shoulders and was unkempt. His body was lean and slender, the perfect model's body. His face was the perfect definition of androgynous, having the right combination of feminine and masculine traits. A purple tail idly flicked behind. Between his lips was a cigarette, idly hanging out of his mouth. Stopping the car in front of a rundown hotel, he sighed.

Getting out of the car, he slammed the door behind him. His clothing was the complete opposite of his body. While his body was perfect for a male model, his clothing was very subdued in looks, a white dress shirt, loose hanging tie, brown trench coat, black pants, and shoes. His entire ensemble made him look as least sexy as possible. Pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, the incubus flicked it onto the ground. He was now on the job.

The interior of the hotel was filthy and rundown. The smell of old rotten food wafted from a garbage can. The incubus covered his nose as he walked up the steps. He wanted to get this job over with. He had been crawling around too many places like this today, and he wanted a strong drink. Pulling out a notepad, he looked at the room numbers as he passed them. Stopping at the right one, he gave a loud knock.

He waited for a few minutes, but there was no answer. Pulling out a Browning Hi-Power, he cocked the gun. "Okay, listen, you little pissants. You got thirty seconds to open the door. I know you're there, junior." Waiting thirty seconds, and with no response, he aimed his pistol at the handle and fired.

The door swung open, and the incubus came in with his gun at the ready. A vampire was on the couch, his eyes glazed over and a needle in his arm. Walking over to the vampire, the incubus carefully pulled it out of his arm. "Junky blood, a fan favorite of addicted vampires." Before he had a chance to try and question the vampire, he heard something coming from an adjoining room.

Walking into the room, he saw someone in just their dirty boxers trying to climb out the window. Rushing over to them, he grabbed them by the pants and pulled them back in. "Okay, where's William? I'm looking for a young man named William. He's a demon from one of the High Gates. Tell me, where the hell is he?"

The incubus rolled the man over, seeing his crazed eyes. The man was a pale-skinned demon, his eyes wide from the drugs he had consumed. But this was his guy. With a sigh, the incubus grabbed him by the hair. "For fuck's sake. Okay, I'm taking you back home to mommy in your underwear."

As he walked out of the room, the incubus pulled out his pistol once more, casually firing two rounds into the shoulder of the vampire, and from the wounds came red smoke. "That's from his mother, a reminder to stay away from him."

Walking out of the hotel, he tossed the demon boy into the trunk of his car. Slamming the lid down, he sat on it as he lit another cigarette. Taking a short smoke break, he flicked the cigarette onto the ground as he walked to the driver's seat.

From the back of the car, the incubus could hear the man banging against the trunk. He now wished he had paid double and got the soundproofing the car dealer offered him. Seeing a pothole, he swerved his car, making the back wheel hit the hole. He heard a loud thud in the back and then groaning. He smirked; that would shut him up.

The incubus watched as the city around him changed the more he drove. From a broken-down neighborhood to a high society neighborhood were night and day, from empty buildings to upscale cafes. The incubus felt out of place, his eyes carefully studying the people he drove by, and his presence did not go unnoticed by the people here. His kind of demon was often only invited to sex parties, which wasn't unheard of in this neighborhood. No matter what part of the city you found yourself in, the sin was always the same.