Thirteen

thirteen

Zhen

After years of being basically a first responder, it only took two rings of the phone to wake me up. I flailed, extricating myself from Kris—we’d been curled up together to sleep—before I flopped sideways and got hold of my phone. Then I swiped Accept while I was still trying to get my left eyelid to cooperate.

“Whazit?”

“ Sorry, Zhen, I need you here ASAP. ” Sheriff Parker was speaking concisely, and she did not sound happy. “ I’m shooting you the address, meet me here. ”

I already had my legs out of the bed, reaching for jeans. “Did it attack someone?”

“ It tried. We finally have a living witness, but I have no faith I can fight this thing off if it comes back for round two .”

“I gotcha. We’ll get there STAT.” I hung up and immediately called, “JAKE! WAKE AND SHAKE!”

Kris grumbled, flopped, and looked this mix of fuzzily cute while also completely cross.

“What’s the emergency?”

“Raven tried to attack someone tonight,” I relayed, pulling on jeans quickly. “Only they survived it somehow.”

My wife went from sleepy to much more awake in two blinks. “Whoa, they fought it off?!”

“I have no idea what happened, just that they’re alive and Sheriff Parker wants us there ASAP.”

Kris needed no other words. She dove for clothes.

I heard a yelp from the bedroom across the hall, then Jake cursing up a storm. It took no imagination to realize he’d slept through my call and one of the huodou had played alarm clock for me. Such good puppies. I’d get whoever did that peanut butter later.

Running on three hours of sleep was kind of standard for me, as most of what went bump in the night was nocturnal by nature. So, while not fun, I was able to function. Kris looked like she was awake through sheer willpower and wishing desperately for coffee.

The address was something my GPS recognized, and I drove us straight there while ignoring speed limits, at least until I hit the driveway. It was all washed-out gravel and some mud from the recent rainfall, which at night was even more fun to navigate. I had to slow down considerably or risk getting the Jeep stuck, which was not a problem we needed, tonight especially.

The drive curved and climbed up the mountainside, shrouded by thick trees on either side. As beautiful as this drive probably was during the day, it was creepy as hell at night. I kept waiting for something to jump out at us.

Finally, the taillights of an SUV came into sight. I rounded one last corner, and the area opened up into a clearing. I counted cabin, barn, beat-up old truck, and not much else to this place. Homesteader? It looked like it from this view. This place was too established with the box gardens to be a hunter’s cabin or a getaway.

The SUV was parked in such a way to shine lights on the front porch and general area. I had a feeling the sheriff had done that on purpose to give us more of a heads-up if something did come to attack.

I made sure I had multiple daggers, a handgun with extra ammo, and my silver sword on me before I left the Jeep. Still wasn’t sure what it took to kill a Raven Mocker, but my silver sword had not failed me yet. Kris had her Glock, so she was armed, too.

Jake let out a whistle as he climbed free of the back seat. “There was definitely a fight here.”

I saw what he meant once I stood in front of the car. The gravel in front of the cabin was all torn up, like giant claws had scuffed up the area. And was that fresh blood I smelled?

“Zhen,” Sheriff Parker greeted, waving us in closer. “Come meet Bobby Pulaski.”

I obeyed the summons, looking Bobby over. He looked about my father’s age, something of a beer gut on him, wearing nothing more than boxers, a coat, and cowboy boots. The man was white as could be but looked grey from shock. He seemed unharmed, though, so he was better off than the other victims already.

I offered a hand to him. “Zhen Barre. This is my wife, Kris, and my partner, Jake.”

He shook hands, still rattled, but I saw his eyes linger on all our weapons, and he seemed to take heart in that.

“Thank ya kindly for coming in so quick,” he responded with a fleeting smile. “It was the damnedest thing—excuse my French, ma’am—ever to happen up here. Most of the time, it’s peaceful, except the occasional wild hog or dog. But this thing. It came out of nowhere.”

“It does,” Kris said in sympathy with a smile at him meant to charm. I’d seen her use that exact smile to calm down upset customers. “Can we go inside? I’d dearly love to hear what happened to you. The more intel we have, the easier it is to hunt this thing down.”

“Well. You’re welcome in. I, uh…” He looked around the yard in dismay. “I don’t know how safe it is.”

“We’re here because it might not be safe,” I soothed him. “We’ll get you to a safer spot for the night in a few minutes, but let me hear your story and canvass the place first.”

“Oh, sure, sure. Come in, then.”

We followed Bobby inside. One glance told me he definitely lived here, as the place was very cluttered, in a sort of organized fashion. The main area was all one room—living room immediately to our right with a large stone hearth, kitchen lurking in the back with a beat-up kitchen table, and I supposed a bathroom off to the left, although the door was shut. I saw a sleeping loft on the back side with a simple set of stairs going up to it, along with a glimpse of a bed.

Bobby sank into one of the couches covered in quilts, hands still gripping a shotgun like it was his life support. To him, it might’ve felt that way. I sat next to Kris on the hearth, as I wanted to face him while we talked. Jake sat as well, but Sheriff Parker stayed near the door, her eyes on the window. Then again, she’d already heard this story. She didn’t need to hear it again.

“Well.” Bobby kept smoothing his hands up and down the barrel, like he was trying to calm himself. “I was dead asleep up there in my loft when I heard the loudest commotion on my roof. It startled me awake. Things always sound loud on a tin roof, just the nature of ’em, but this sounded like something the size of a car had landed on it and was walking around. First thought was a cougar or something, so I grabbed my gun, went out to see. The second I got out the door, it landed on the ground and—”

Bobby looked up at us, and he seemed defensive already. “At first, I thought it was an old woman. Then it stepped out of the shadows, and it was a raven, but the biggest raven I’d ever laid eyes on. Had to have been sixteen, seventeen feet easy.”

“Raven Mocker,” Kris supplied with a grimace. “That’s what you saw, sir. It’s Monocan legend, or should be legend, but this one’s all too real. It switches to a Raven’s form when it actively hunts, hence what you saw.”

I thought he’d expected an argument, and when he didn’t get one, he relaxed visibly. “You know what this is?”

“We’ve been trying to track it down ever since we arrived in town,” Jake explained, rubbing his eyes. “We’re working with a Monocan medicine man to help take it down. How did you drive it off?”

“Oh, I didn’t.” Bobby was back to running his fingers along the barrel. “Now, the bird was bad enough, but what happened after...I don’t know how to explain that. I fired at the Raven, but it did fuck all—excuse my language, ma’am—and I was just thinking that even if I ran inside, it could break the window or get in through the door, and there wouldn’t be much I could do to kill it. Then they showed up.”

They?

His hands lifted in illustration, going wide. “These massive creatures came right out of the shadows. Kind of had the body of a hound, but the head was large and the fur curly like a lion’s. Pitch black they were, and two of them tore right into the bird. I fled inside, watched through the window as I called 911. They had quite the fight for about a minute, then the Raven screamed in pain as one of the dogs bit its wing, and it flew off in a hurry after that. Dogs disappeared too.”

Now I did startle. This man must have a touch of the sight if he could see the huodou . I realized what he meant by dogs, and my gaze sought Kris’s. “Did you ask them to patrol the area?”

“I didn’t,” she admitted, a proud smile on her face. “But I know they do when there’s danger about. Sir, the dogs are my friends.”

Bobby blinked at her. Then blinked again, head jerking back. “What?”

“Do you mind if I call one in?”

“Uh. Sure? I mean, they already defended me once tonight. Only right to say thanks.”

He was really taking this rather well. I’d seen people lose their minds after getting attacked, so I was amazed Bobby was talking rationally right now and not diving for alcohol.

Kris turned her head and called, “Guo.”

From the shadow of the woodpile near the hearth, Guo popped out. He immediately rubbed his massive head up against Kris’s hand, tail flicking happily. Note that he ignored the rest of us because we were chopped liver.

Bobby seemed about to swallow his tongue now that he’d gotten a good look in the light, but he didn’t faint. Man was made of sterner stuff, apparently.

“Guo is a huodou ,” I explained to him. “Think of him as a Chinese hellhound, and you’re not far off the mark. My wife made friends with a huodou pack, and they basically travel with us wherever we go to protect her. I wasn’t aware they were patrolling the area up here, but I’m glad of it.”

“Me too.” A shaky smile lifted Bobby’s mouth up at the corners. “Um. Thank you?”

Guo regarded him for a moment before dipping his head. “I was not the one who saved you. Qian and Jun Hie were. But I will pass along your thanks.”

Poor Bobby about fainted. “He talks, too. Lord have mercy. Um. Thank you.”

This was all well and good, but I had to ask the obvious. “Where’s Qian and Jun Hie, then?”

“Still trying to follow the Raven,” Guo answered. “I think they lost the trail, as they’re heading back now. I feel their approach.”

“Oooh, but they have a direction?” Jake pressed. “Where the Raven fled to?”

“They do.” Guo’s lips curled back in a smile that was all teeth. Just one long row of teeth. “When we find the trail, flight will not save it.”

My money was on the huodou . Just saying.

Sheriff Parker turned from the window to ask us, “What now?”

“Well, now I’m going to join the huodou in the hunt.” I glanced at Kris, but she was already silently urging me on with a nod. “Or try. Bobby, you need to not be here tonight. This place is too isolated, I’m afraid. You’d be safer in a town with people.”

“I’m all for that. Can’t settle to sleep here now, anyway. Before I go, I want to say thanks. Um, hold on.”

Bobby popped up, gun still in hand, but he went for the pantry built along the wall and came back with a very large glass bottle with a cork top. It was clear liquid, and it didn’t take more than a second to put two and two together. Remote location up in the mountains but no sign of a farm?

Looked like Bobby was a moonshiner.

Oh goodie, Appalachian moonshine was the best . I accepted the offering with a wide smile. “Why thanks, Bobby.”

“Don’t know if…” He looked at Guo directly. “You like moonshine?”

“I do not know,” Guo answered. “But it smells of alcohol, and that we do like.”

“Oh, good. You get some of this, then. It’s my best batch yet.” He glanced at Sheriff Parker and said, “Just gimme five minutes to throw some clothes on and pack a bag, then I’ll be gone.”

“All right.” Sheriff Parker looked pointedly at the jug. “I do not see that.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I agreed brightly. “Anyway. Jake, put this in the car, if you don’t mind.”

Jake promptly took it and sing-songed as he went out the door, “Carrying charges~”

Of course he was going to steal a sip or three. Color me surprised. I waved him off and spoke to Guo.

“How far off are Qian and Jun Hie?”

“Some distance,” Guo admitted easily. “It’ll take you two hours at least to walk that distance. Want a ride, Zhen? I can call Jun Hie back to give you one.”

“If you’re offering what I think you’re offering, absolutely. Kris?”

She gave me a pat on the arm and smiled indulgently, like a mother turning her child loose to play. “You have fun, honey.”

Riding a huodou in the darkest hour of the night, through monster-infested woods? Hell yeah, I was going to have fun.