The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

labeled under Fenris. "It seems to be parasitic? Maybe not. Symbiotic. Something living has grown into that suit of armor. Something that I can't find in any database. It's not even mentioned in our oldest text books and I can't find any hint of something similar in the books available from the fleebeerons."

"Could you get any samples from him?" Reaper took the papers to look over while they talked.

"I tried." She sighed. "Needles broke upon contact. Scalpels broke, too." She hummed. "I did get a temperature."

"What does that tell us?"

"Well, its internal temperature matches ours. Twenty-eight degrees."

"That would be normal, right?"

"Only humans and most other earth animals have that temperature. No other species is even close. Eldiravan have thirty-seven. Fleebeeron twenty-two. Ardrizi at a whopping forty. Verbanass have twenty. Kotoli are pretty high as well at thirty-eight."

Reaper was quiet, processing the information.

"Without getting deeper samples, why a valkyrie, or rather, something not from Earth, has the exact same body temperature as those from Earth, will elude us."

"Has he cooperated?"

"Yes! He is the most cooperative patient I've ever had! Though I have concerns… I was wanting to get your permission to conduct intelligence tests on him. I suspect his IQ is equivalent to that of a young child, what with the lack of knowledge about its own body."

"He may be smarter than he lets on. His skills as a tactician far surpasses mine."

"I see...that raises more concerns…."

"Do what you need to, as long as he consents, I see no harm."

"Wonderful! I'll start preparing tests!"

Reaper put the papers neatly in the folder. Said his goodbyes and left the medical bay. As always, the answers only brought more questions. He didn't need the details for her concerns. He saw them already. Fenris had no idea about itself, or its kind. All it knew, from what it told him, was it was meant to fight the eos and ascend humanity. Whatever that all meant.

NINETEEN

The protesting calmed down with Fenris rarely seen. Still the hallucinations and nightmares remained as fervent as ever. Reports stated that the monster in their dreams was further away than it used to be. Others seemed to be affected worse. A poor mental state only enhanced the terrors. Many had lost their families and succumbed to mourning.

When it happened, once more everyone wanted to blame Fenris. The monster they allowed to board their home. Who else would do it? None of them would dare think of it! To take out one of their own was unthinkable. They were all family. Their own little village. They worked together. Ate together. Partied together. Who would be driven to such madness as to commit murder in cold blood deep in the night?

It must have been the ever hungry wolf. The one Ianisse named Astradon. The monster that would come to devour the souls of the impure. The sinners.

Rumors swirled through the ship. The wolf mauled the poor soul like a bear. Attacked him from behind while he was busy in the service box. Deep in the maintenance tunnel where only smaller humans could fit. A hundred feet in either direction of the body was roped off with yellow tape. Only a handful of people were allowed through. Mjolnir, hunched over to fit inside the hall, led four others to investigate the area.

Blood in individual bubbles floated about the hall, still pluming from the body.

The issue with crimes in space was not that no one could hear you scream. It was the zero gravity. The scene naturally contaminated itself. It was impossible to tell where it started and where it ended. Only that it happened. The body floated around until it was gently strapped into a stretcher magnetized to the floor.

The blood was bagged and taken to be tested.

The hall was searched thoroughly for any discarded weapon or other materials. Everything swabbed for fingerprints and other bits of DNA that could have been left behind.

Reaper joined the scene as soon as he could. A murder was perplexing. He could not imagine it happening on his ship. What could drive someone into so much anger?

An inspection of the body showed deep lacerations across the chest. Defense wounds on the arms and hands. A vicious assault that took him by surprise.

This engineer was not down here alone the time it happened. He had a partner assigned to assist him in checking every bit of wiring and piping in this hall. Yet his partner was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps he escaped the attack.

Reaper knew to leave this matter in the hands of the security team. His curiosity got the better of him. He had no training to deal with this situation. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, checked the area, checked the body, and talked to Mjolnir about it.

That was when Jackal showed up with Fenris right behind him.

"Jack! What are you doing here?" Reaper held up a hand.

"I want to help. We have to figure out who did this."

"Sir, I have it under control." Mjolnir whispered. "We already have the scene roped off. No one but us have been here for the last two hours."

"You aren't in any condition to help." Reaper was stern.

"Bullshit!" Jackal snapped. "I can totally help! Who are the suspects? I can talk to them."

"Fenris, could you please take him back to his room?" Reaper asked.

"Arturo, let me help."

He sighed.

"We don't have any suspects yet." Mjolnir stated. "It looks like an animal attack."

Jackal was quiet. There were no animals on board capable of that. Just Mjolnir and Fenris.

"I see…" his voice was unusually soft.

"It's not like that." Reaper jumped the gun.

"What about the autopsy?"

"We haven't taken the body to Reynolds yet."

"So, there's a body?"

"Of course." Reaper's brow furrowed. How could there not be one in a murder? He thought for a second. Then it clicked in his head.

"Jack, why don't you take the body to the doctor?"

"Yes, sir! Let's go, Fen." Jackal waved his hand. The two were off.

"Hey, where is his partner? He should have been there with him."

"We're