Cerberus – 2

Davers and Alders – Paranormal Fixers – Story 2

I stopped in front of the prison bars and looked at my business partner and roommate, Jonah.

“I go on one date, and you end locked up. What the hell were you thinking?”

Jonah sat on the ground, doing his best to look innocent. It almost made me choke on my coffee. Jonah was half Norwegian giant, topped two and a half meters, and a scar pulled his face into a permanent snarl. The eyepatch, green hair, and roadmap of scar tissue just completed the look.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said and crossed his massive arms. My ears twitched, and my tail flicked back and forth, a reaction to the anger starting to spike. I took a deep breath. Being mad at Jonah would help nothing. He was my best friend, even if he sometimes had the mind of a five-year-old.

“You bit Zag’s dog,” I pointed out.

“It snarled at me,” Jonah defended himself.

I wanted to reach in and strangle him. “Let me get this straight. You saw a three-headed dog bound outside a bakery, and you thought you would just walk over and pet it?”

“It looked cute.”

“It’s a three-headed dog, the size of a big draft horse, and it has glowing red eyes.”

“It also has a sign around its neck that says ‘please, do not pet’,” Zag said. I looked at the half-god who stood leaning against the wall, looking at us with humor in his eyes. I always thought Zag should be ‘more’ but he just looked like any other twenty year old. If I didn’t know his father, I’d never have thought he was the son of the god of the underworld.

“I didn’t see the sign until after.” Jonah got on his feet. “Look, I’m sorry I bit your dog.” Jonah huffed and flexed his fingers. None of us had had an easy life. We never fit into the old world. Too violent and too aggressive. Then magic changed everything. Jonah turned into his true self, and so did I. He was the half-giant, and I was the cat hybrid. But we were still very much colored by our pasts and saying sorry wasn’t easy for Jonah.

“Okay, big guy. Just don’t bite him again.” Zag unlocked the cell door.

Jonah walked out, and I grabbed his arm. “Come on, let’s get home. Oh, and you owe me ice cream. I had to leave before dessert.”