The Whorehouse Devil

Silkie snatched a dagger from beneath the pillows and rolled off the back of the bed, squeezing herself down just as the door slammed open.

The rakshasha stood in the doorway in her voluptuous hybrid form, covered in orange and black fur, teeth and claws gleaming. "Human for dinner, wolf for dessert."

Cullen snapped his knives out of their sheaths, sprang onto a low dresser and kicked the contents at her. She sprang past him and whirled, raking him down the back with her claws. Cullen backhanded a blade into her side and leaped away.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Cullen spun about and faced her in a crouch.

The tiger yowled in pain and rage, charging after him. When she got close enough, she barred her fangs and hissed.

His dead left eye ached facing her, remembering the rakshasha that had taken it. The logic of the situation was plain and simple: if he didn't get lucky and strike a fatal – and immobilizing blow – she'd rip him apart as soon as he got within reach of her claws. He could feel the blood soaking his back. Her claws had gone through his leathers as if they were paper.

Cullen scanned the room for something to offset his disadvantages. She lunged as his gaze flicked to the side. The wolf jumped backwards, his hold on his left knife shifted and he threw it without thinking. It lodged in her heavy breast, the fleshy amplitude absorbing most of the blade's length. It barely slowed her down.

"Fucking shit!" He darted toward the dressing table, going for the stool in front of it, hoping for anything that might keep her at arms length. A backswipe of her claws sent him slamming into the wall head first with his shoulder and arm torn. He struck hard and the world turned gray. Cullen forced himself to roll to the side.

Silkie erupted from beneath the bed with her dagger and leaped upon the rakshasha's back.

"Kidneys!" Cullen screamed.

"Kidneys?" Silkie jabbed the creature in the side with the blade. The rakshasha reached back, seized the madam by the hair, and threw her onto her back on the floor.

"Aww shit." God damned whore don't know where the kidneys are.

Cullen staggered to his feet and lurched across the room, swaying like a drunk, as the rakshasha opened its mouth to bite Silkie's throat out. He popped his knife into the rakshasha's side just above the hips.

The creature's eyes went wide and it stiffened before collapsing atop Silkie.

Cullen toed it off Silkie. "Kidneys."

Silkie scrambled to the side and crouched near the bed. "Is it dead?"

"No. Just hurtin' too bad ta move." Cullen straddled the rakshasha, yanking his blade out of its breast. "Paralyzed by pain. Easiest way ta kill 'em."

He grabbed it by the left nipple, pulled the breast to the side, and inserted his blade into its heart with a twist. The rakshasha shuddered. The air rattled from its dead lungs. Cullen abandoned his blades, rising shakily to his feet. He leered at Silkie.

"Open yer legs, here I come…" Cullen blinked as his awareness of all the pain in his torn body rushed into him. "Or don't…"

Darkness swept over Cullen and he fainted.

When Cullen woke, he found himself in that nice bed he had admired with his injuries bandaged. His head hurt. His back, shoulder, and arm throbbed.

Silkie sat in a chair watching him with an unexpected fondness in her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible."

She poured an amber liquid into a glass and held it to his lips, supporting his head. "This will make it better."

Cullen drank it and made a face at the taste. "You gonna re-open?"

"The girls have already started coming back. There's one I can't locate…"

"The one ya shouldn't've hired."

"What?"

"Ya hired a new girl. Ya're always hiring new girls. She must have had creamed coffee skin and eyes like black pearls."

Silkie frowned. "Nidra Takeri … the one I can't find."

"Hah!" Cullen snorted. "We killed her."

The madam looked stunned.

"Last time I ran into one was crossing the Black Mountains into Creeya. She was a pretty little thing, smelled like a cat, but looked human. That's how they sneak up on folks. One minute you're getting all cozy and the next minute you're missing some pieces. My horse didn't like her. I should have listened to my horse."

"Do I get my reward?"

"I swear … you think with your bone, Cullen Blackwood."

"It's not a bad thing to think with."

Silkie leaned in and kissed him. "I guess not. Yes, you get your reward."

Cullen managed a dry chuckle that made his head hurt worse and winked at her. "Any time you're ready."

GODWAR CENTRAL

The Whorehouse Devil