House Call

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Halak looked through the alleyway at Tara. She rifled among the trash looking for things of interest. Usually, nothing too fascinating could be found in the garbage but, in this part of town, anything was possible. Finally she stood up straight, flipping something over in her hand. She examined it, cocked her head in Halak's direction, and began walking toward him. Halak waited patiently, watching the strand of dark hair that hung in front of his eyes.

"I told you you could use a haircut." Tara said as she drew closer.

"What did you find?" He asked, ignoring her. She handed it to him, a small metal circle with a jagged whole through the center.

"Why won't you just get it cut?" She pressed on.

"I don't feel like the forty-five minutes it takes sitting there is worth it. I don't like sitting that long." He flipped the object over in his hand.

"Is it a pendant? Looks imbued." She said turning her attention back to the object.

"It was, but nothing more than a little luck. Must have been a gambler's coin." Halak tossed it to the side. "It wouldn't be worth more than ten bucks even if it wasn't pierced. It's probably a fake." Tara looked at it longingly. Halak knew she hated when he tossed things without asking.

"Sorry." He said.

"It's okay." She told him, but it didn't sound like she meant it.

A door opened nearby, accompanied by the creaking sound of rusty metal that alerted everyone within a block it was doing so. It didn't matter though, all the doors in the area sounded like that.

Halak turned to the man who walked out. He was large and gruff, but at the moment he trembled like a scared dog.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" He said, eyes wide. Sweat beaded his forehead.

"Yeah. We've got this." Halak patted Tara's arm and nodded in the man's direction. She forgot the object and followed him into the apartment.

Walking through the door, Halak was expecting more of a dump. A lot of the homes in this end of town turned out to be a mess, but this one wasn't. The door led to a small kitchen that, except for it's size, was charming. It was painted in bright blues and the appliances were fairly new. A woman, middle aged and frightened, sat in the next room on a well used but expensive couch. It seemed these people would rather make their home comfortable than save up for a better one.

The woman shook in her seat and glanced nervously at the hall from which animalistic noises were echoing. Halak looked at the man who had let them in.

"That's the way. Second on the right." He told him. Halak already knew which room. The hall wasn't very long and the noises were distinct. They were the kind of noises children heard in the darkness while drifting into that middle ground between sleep and awake. Parents always told their kids monsters weren't real, but they didn't know any better.

Halak looked at the base of the door where light was spilling into the dark hallway. It flickered as something moved on the other side.

"How long has he been like this?" Halak asked. Tara watched over his shoulder nervously, but she bounced on her toes with a kind of child-like excitement.

"A few hours. Maybe three. We couldn't find a number for someone of your," the man paused, "talents."

Halak turned back to the door.

"Why are the lights off?"

"We didn't want to draw any attention."

"He knows you're out here." Halak said. "He just can't figure out the door knob."

Halak watched the room as Tara peaked from around the corner, curiosity buzzing. She breathed quickly in anticipation, as if she were getting ready to go on her favorite amusement park ride. The movement stopped.

Halak took three steps to the door, turned the knob and shouldered it open. The young man stood in the center of the room, halfway into a crouch. His eyes were feral and his teeth barred. He looked at Halak, peeled his lips back in a venomous hiss, and lunged. Halak punched him in the face.

The boy cried out, falling to his knees. As he looked down at his blood covered palms, pain and surprise pulled his eyes wide and he quickly clamped his hands over his nose again. Halak loomed over him, not much older than the boy himself.

"Tilt your head back. Pinch the bridge of your nose." He said. The boy did so, his eyes darting around the room as if he wasn't quite sure where he was. His father peaked his head around the corner. "He's fine, you can come in." Halak told him. The man hesitated, then stepped into the room.

Halak glanced at Tara. A frown hung on the corner's of her mouth as she watched the boy. She looked... disappointed.

"So," The man said, "That's it? I thought there would be some kind of ritual." He looked unsure whether he should step any closer, as if any minute his son might revert back and attack him. It was possible. It was also a concern his wife didn't share. She emerged from the other room, pushed past her husband while carefully avoiding Halak, and fell down next to her son. She squeezed him in a way that would probably have just as effectively expelled the spirit. Like ketchup from a bottle.

"Nope. That's it." Halak said, holding out his hand. The man looked at it, brows knitted together, before pulling out his wallet.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Two-hundred." Halak said. The man cocked his head and whistled, drawing bills from his wallet. He handed them over and Halak slipped them into his jacket.

"You don't want to count them?" He asked.

"I know where you live." Halak said, but the statement afforded his client little comfort. He nodded to the young man whose nose was still clamped tight in his hands. The boy had already forgotten to hold his head back and Halak wasn't going to remind him twice.

"You'll want to get some ice on that." He said to the mother before turning and leading Tara out of the room.

They stepped out of the apartment, waking the night again with that same screech of twisting springs. They walked in silence, Tara kicking random bits of trash as they did. Halak wouldn't push her; he thought it best to let her speak when she felt the need. It never took long.

"So that was it?" Tara asked abruptly.

"What was it?"

"That! There wasn't much action."

"But there was blood." He told her

"From a nose. There was probably snot mixed into it. That's not very exciting." They turned down an alley heading towards the main road. "I just don't see why you waited so long to take me with you."

"That was an easy one, you can never be sure. I didn't want to risk it."

"Yeah but two years?" She said, exasperated. Halak hailed a cab just as it passed. It was late and there weren't many people out in this part of town. He was lucky to even see one. He didn't like being out late around here. The cab slowed to a stop and they took their time walking to it. "Azu did an exorcism in his first week."

"Yeah, well you're different." Halak said, opening the door for her.

"How?" She asked, not climbing in. Halak glanced over his shoulder.

"You're special." He turned back to her and she smiled.

"How special?" She said, drawing out the word how. Halak could swear he actually saw her eye twinkle.

"Not as special as you think. Now get in." He told her. She huffed, but climbed inside.

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