Burning

Chapter 19

Valdis limped into the antique shop and didn't even notice the intruder until she nearly tripped over Henry and Adam's feet as they came to an abrupt halt. When she looked up she realized why: Cerberus was sitting there calmly while the others stood near the stairs watching the three headed dog with fear and curiosity.

"Cerberus, why are you here?" She asked as his middle head bent down so he could look her in the eyes.

"You were dying. I came to find out who was killing the one who saved me." His voice seemed to reverberate throughout the small space despite the fact he was now only the size of an average horse instead of a two or three story building.

"I'm fine." She glanced at the others and found only one person missing besides Jo. "Where is Vetis?"

Cerberus grimaced, growled, and got a worried look simultaneously, easy when he had three heads. "The two you killed were not the first bitten..."

"...Are you saying what I think you are?" She asked as horror took place of her anger.

"Yes."

Abe cleared his throat. "Care to introduce us to your friend?"

"This is Cerberus, guardian of Afterlife much like Grimm." She replied. "I freed him from the vampires... he always hated them."

"More like despised... words do not describe how I feel about loathing them." Cerberus growl, making the floor vibrate with the sound.

Ingeras, Slayer, and Abigail stepped forward and each seemed to be having a separate, private conversation, with each head. Valdis felt Henry and Adam walk back up to her side with mirrored awe on their faces, it was actually a bit amusing except for the fact they would be at each others' throats once she was gone. A howl interrupted her thoughts and she backed outside to see a monstrous form of a large werewolf with bone white fur, red eyes, and bat wings jump down from a room across the street and land on the ground a few feet away from her with another loud howl.

"Vetis...?" She looked him over again but it was really him, he was close enough now for her to see the telltale vampire fangs along with the monstrous sized canines to add to it.

It took her a moment to realize the growling sound coming from him was laughter before he spoke. "Yes... Do you know how amusing it was to watch you drown? To watch those stupid dogs to be defeated, especially when you thought Cassius was the first bitten, don't you know that some people just have more self control than others when facing two people, or a person and creature, they hate?"

"The poison isn't killing you?" She took out an arm length silver bladed dagger. "You wanted power, you always have, so you made her turn you into a werewolf-vampire-human hybrid."

"Very good sister... let's see how good you are at fighting one." He crouched down and snarled before lunging at her throat, which she dodged by a millimeter.

"Got to be faster than that brother." She taunted as she dodged another attack, though she did notice she was slower than the first time as the pain in her neck spread down her spine, but she wouldn't let him see her weaken. "Perhaps it's your clumsy wings!"

"You mock me now, but what about by tomorrow? I didn't think corpses could speak." He growled back, this time searching for a weak point.

"Good thing that portal is still open, maybe I'll just stroll right through it." She paused their circling as she saw him shift his weight for another charge.