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Alastor felt like he was being watched. Ever since he’d entered this alley, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone—or something—was following him.
Very intriguing
Normally, no one who wasn’t an Overlord or Vox would be foolish enough to follow him, especially not alone. But he could only hear a faint sound. Just one person.
Whoever it was, they were confident and foolish. Alastor was more than curious to find out which soul had such a strong desire to be a part of his radio show.
He turned into a dead-end street. The streetlights flickered faintly, but Alastor didn’t need much light.
It was more than enough to catch a glimpse of that foolish soul who was brave enough to face him.
“I have to say,” Alastor began, turning around slowly, “you seem to be either very strong or very… Huh?”
There was no one in sight, even though he was sure he’d heard footsteps following him.
Maybe whoever was following him had gotten cold feet and decided to give up.
“What a shame,” Alastor said with a shrug, “I was actually looking forward to a little fun.”
But as he took a step forward, he heard them again—those light, soft footsteps. He tilted his ears.
Where are you hiding? He looked around, but couldn’t spot anyone.
A sound that was clearly not humanly possible made him look down in front of him, and he tilted his head in confusion.
“Hello,” he said calmly, leaning down slightly, “To whom do I owe the pleasure?”
“Kekekkekek.”
“Pleasure to be meeting you.”
He had never seen anything so hideous.
The little creature in front of him looked like a cat, with fiery red, shaggy fur and glowing red eyes that seemed to look in two directions at once. The cat’s mouth was twisted into an eerily menacing grin. Its black-tipped ears and tail appeared to be slightly chewed up, but this did not seem to bother the creature in the slightest, nor did its blood-soaked black paws.
“Why are you following me?” Alastor asked, and received the same answer as before.
“Kekekekke”—a sound that resembled a deranged laugh more than a meow.
“As much as I’d love to chat some more, I’m afraid I have to go,” he nodded to the thing and vanished from the alley.
But he heard the footsteps, which he could now clearly identify as those of four little paws, right behind him again.
“I really appreciate your interest, but I don’t need a house pet,” he said, turning halfway around. “Go away,” he said, making a shooing motion, but the cat-like creature just grinned even wider and moved closer to him. Alastor shook his head and took a step back.
“What do you want?” he asked bluntly, leaning on his staff. The creature stopped in front of him and stared at him menacingly.
“Kekekekek,” it said again, spinning in circles. Alastor could see that patches of fur were missing from its coat, probably from a fight.
“If you think I’ll take pity on you and protect you, you’re wrong. If you can’t stand up for yourself, you won’t get very far around here.”
The creature stopped writhing, looked at Alastor with empty, soulless eyes, and began rubbing its face against Alastor’s leg. He sighed, “Don’t even try to play on my emotions, you little monster,” and pushed the feline creature away with his staff. “You’ll have to offer me something better in return if I’m going to take you with me.”
Almost as if it had understood Alastor, it looked up at him and opened its mouth much wider than should have been possible for such a small body.
A multitude of sharp teeth came into view. Alastor’s eyes widened as it began to retch something up.
“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Alastor said appreciatively, examining the forearm the little monster had spat out.
“Kekekekekek,” the monster chuckled, its tail swishing back and forth gleefully.
“I’ve made up my mind,” Alastor said cheerfully and started walking again. “You’re coming with me to the hotel. I already know where you’ll be staying. Can you eat plastic and rubber, too?”
“Kekekkeke,” the monster chuckled and trotted along beside him.
Alastor smiled, “Perfect, my little friend.”