Lily sat on the bed, listening to Lucien.
He was pacing back and forth across the room.
"You two have the same necklaces. That means they're meant for something. You can't take yours off, so I have to take you with me."
Lily leaned back, resting her hands behind her on the bed.
"And why did you decide that my necklace will help you?"
Lucien stopped, then walked closer to her.
"I think the necklaces are supposed to react to each other. Basically, I want to use it to find that Jack the Ripper. Though there's no guarantee it'll help."
"And if it doesn't help?" Lily asked.
Folding his arms, Lucien answered:
"There's always that chance."
Lily narrowed her brows and asked:
"Wait, what did you say his name was?"
"As they told me in one of the taverns — Jack the Ripper, I think," Lucien replied.
Suddenly she stood up from the bed, walked up to him, and looked him in the eyes.
"Lucien, maybe this is crazy… but do you remember the man who used to visit my grandmother? His name was Jack too. What do you think?"
Lucien widened his eyes.
"That's actually possible. Without her he has no reason to live. Do you know where he lives?"
"My grandmother and I visited a couple of times. Their romance lasted for many years," Lily answered.
Grabbing her hand tightly, he pulled her toward the door:
"Perfect. We're leaving now."
After several hours of traveling by carriage, they finally reached the house where Jack lived.
The whole way, they exchanged only a few short phrases.
"We're here," Lucien said.
Slowly rising and opening the door, he stepped out. Then suddenly stopped, turned around, and extended his hand to help Lily exit carefully.
"Thank you, gentleman," Lily mumbled with a smile.
Lucien smiled back.
Before them stood a large house with beautiful white patterns on the walls.
"I'll go first," Lily said.
Walking up, she knocked on the door several times.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
A drunk man appeared, holding a bottle of aged whiskey in his right hand.
"Oh, it's you, Lily? Why did you come? And who's this with you?" Jack mumbled, leaning on the doorframe.
"Jack, what happened to you? You never drank," Lily asked.
"Alright, less talking, more business," Lucien said.
Bursting forward, he entered the house, dragging Jack inside with him.
They headed into the large hall; Lucien threw him onto the couch and sat across from him.
"Let me ask plainly — are you working with demons?"
Jack only laughed.
"Don't talk nonsense. They don't exist."
Lucien's face hardened.
"I can see you're lying. Your eyes darted the second you heard 'demons.'"
Jack tried to stand, but Lucien immediately pushed him back with one hand.
"I don't know any demons. I don't even see a point in living anymore… not without her," Jack muttered.
"I see. Then I'll just take your life — since you don't want it," Lucien said.
His finger ignited, forming a blade of flame.
He raised his hand — but Lily stopped him at the last moment.
"Don't kill him!"
He ignored her and drove the burning finger into Jack's shoulder.
A scream echoed through the entire house.
"I KNOW! I KNOW! STOP!" Jack yelled.
Lucien smiled.
"That's more like it. I always knew Michael's methods were better than mine."
Clutching his shoulder and dropping the bottle, whiskey spilling across the floor, Jack said through the pain:
"I only made a deal with demons once in my life. For all this wealth… I had to send them one girl every month."
Enraged, Lucien grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.
"Why? What do they need girls for?"
"I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW!" Jack cried, barely holding back another scream.
"You know where they're hiding?" Lucien asked, releasing him.
Barely getting up, Jack answered:
"I know… but I won't tell you. I'll show you. That will be my insurance to stay alive."
Lucien's jaw twitched, but he nodded.
"So you don't know anything about Jack the Ripper?" Lily asked.
Pressing a cloth to the hole in his shoulder, Jack answered:
"I've heard of him… but I don't know anything."
Lucien slammed the table.
"We wasted our time. Lily, let's go. And you — I'll come back for you later."
They gathered their things and left, heading toward Lucien's district, hoping the next killing would happen there.
After they left, Jack kept drinking.
Standing up from the couch, he went to his bar counter, opened a drawer with expensive whiskey, pulled out a bottle, and poured himself a shot.
I'm worthless… I have nothing left, flashed in his mind.
"You really are worthless," said a figure hiding in the shadows.
"WHO'S THERE?!" Jack shouted, panicked, his head jerking around.
From the shadows stepped a man with pale skin and a golden monocle.
"You didn't meet my expectations. You're no longer needed, Jack," he said.
"No, no, I didn't say anything about you! They asked—"
He didn't finish.
"I don't care. I came to destroy you for breaking our deal. You failed to send a new girl."
Trying to escape, Jack threw a glass at the man, but when he turned to run — the man was already in front of him.
"You know… I always get what I want. Now let's choose your death," the man said, smiling as he extended his left hand.
"Please, Abizar, give me another chance! I won't fail!" Jack begged, falling to his knees.
"No," Abizar replied and kneed him in the face.
The blow was so strong Jack flew several meters backward, crashing into a table.
"Since you won't choose — I will," Abizar said, adjusting his pant leg.
Extending his left hand, a portal opened beside him, filled with wild screams of people.
"Who should I pick today?" he said, stepping out from behind the bar.
Walking up to Jack, he stepped on him and smiled:
"Chosen. The Sinners of Gluttony will be perfect."
From the portal crawled pale people with giant mouths.
[Inn, Hackney District — Evening]
"Well, here we are. We'll be living here for a while, until we catch him," Lucien said, opening the door.
"So I'm an exorcist now too," Lily smiled.
Inside, they were greeted by the same old woman:
"Mr. Graves, you're here again. Your usual?"
Lucien simply nodded.
While walking away, the old woman grabbed his hand and whispered:
"A strange man came today. He asked me to tell you… if you don't stop, they'll have to kill everyone. And he was very curious about the girl with you."
Lucien smiled:
"If they wanted to hurt me, they would've done it already. They're afraid. Thank you for the message."
They spent several more hours in the room, chatting about everything, until the necklace began to emit faint flashes of light.
"It's time," Lucien said, looking at the dark streets of the district.
Running outside, he asked Lily to pull her necklace out from under her dress.
With each step, it glowed brighter — sometimes weaker when they went the wrong way.
After several minutes of walking, they reached a completely empty street.
As they came closer, the space cracked.
Smiling, Lucien said:
"HE'S HERE!"
Thank you for reading the chapter. I'll be glad for every comment and will gladly answer your questions. You can learn more on the Discord server. I'm really looking forward to seeing each of you there.