Seven

seven

Kris

Zhen, Jake, and I all went to the local diner the next morning for breakfast. Zhen had gotten up stupid early and performed the necessary ritual to burn the two Bloody Bones. The volunteer fire department stayed nearby, watching it burn. Frankly, I thought they had nothing better to do, and this was far outside the ordinary for their job, so they were intrigued enough to pitch in. It saved us from sitting there for several hours watching something burn, so I certainly wasn’t complaining.

I ate with one hand and scrolled on my phone with the other. We hadn’t bought return plane tickets because we’d had no idea how long the job would take, so my sole task this morning was to search for possible return flights.

Zhen leaned in against my side to look over my shoulder. “How’s it going?”

“Well, if we hustle, we can grab the afternoon flight at two.”

“Hmm, I’d rather not. I want those Bloody Bones at ash stage before I leave the state.”

“Fair. There’s only one other good possibility, and that’s a flight at seven tonight.”

“Oh. Now that’s totally doable. Grab—” Zhen cut himself off as his phone rang. He sat back and answered it. “Hey, Sheriff Tucker.”

I was sitting pretty close, and the diner was thinly populated this morning, so I had no trouble hearing both sides of the conversation.

“ Zhen, I can see through my office window the Bloody Bones burning in the back parking lot of the station. How long do they need to burn ?”

“Until they’re ashes. Then bury the ashes, but not near the corner of a house or under a tree. Anywhere else is fine. It’s defunct at that point and harmless.”

“ Got it. I’ll make sure it’s done. Part of why I’m asking is, I think I’ll have to wrap that up. I got a call from a colleague in the next town over. ”

Zhen abruptly switched to speaker and put the phone down on the table so we could all hear it.

“ Place is Paint Bank. She called asking if you were still here, as apparently, she’s had some nasty trouble over the past week and she doesn’t think it’s human evil responsible. ”

“What went down?”

“ I don’t have all the details. What she told me is that she’s got several dead bodies, and the coroner claims either a wild animal got to them, or we’ve got an Edward Scissorhands situation. But it’s getting weirder and closer to town, and she’s not sure how to resolve this. I’d take it as a favor if you’d at least swing by, take a look, and weigh in with your opinion. Just so she knows what she’s up against, if nothing else .”

Zhen looked up and met my eyes, silently asking for my opinion. I gave him an immediate nod. I wouldn’t want to leave with people getting hurt and the local law enforcement unsure of how to handle it. If we left now, I had a feeling we’d be coming back to a higher body count.

Jake gave Zhen a thumbs-up, and Zhen grinned at us both before answering.

“Yeah, we’ll swing by and take a look. Ask the sheriff to get us a hotel or bed-and-breakfast reservation and assure her we’ll leave after breakfast.”

“ I do appreciate it, Zhen. I’ll shoot you her contact info and an address. ”

“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.” Zhen hung up and blew out a breath. “All right, I’m putting this out here right now. I’m not an expert on monsters in the Appalachians, so I have no idea what it could be.”

“Let’s drive over there and see,” Jake encouraged, grabbing another biscuit. “If we’re stumped, we call the adultier adults.”

I rolled my eyes. “You mean the experts?”

“That’s what I said.”

We finished up breakfast, paid the bill, then left. All of my attention was on crossing the road to our hotel, as it was literally across the street, but I didn’t get that far. Just as I got out of the door, I ran into the two boys who had survived the Bloody Bones, Cooper and Derek.

“Oh, it’s you!” Cooper beamed up at me. “Hi, Miss Hunter Lady. I heard you shot the Bloody Bones.”

“Well, I did shoot one of them.” I felt rather proud of myself for it, too.

Derek turned to the man with him, who looked like a coal miner, what with the worn-in blue jean overalls and black t-shirt, and excitedly explained, “Dad, this is the lady who helped us. Oh, and he’s the one who made us the knives.”

Zhen reached around me and offered a hand. “Zhen, nice to meet you.”

The man grasped Zhen’s hand, all smiles, revealing some very crooked teeth. “I do appreciate you all very much. My boys have been anxious to hear how it all went down. Sheriff Tucker came by and assured us the creatures were both dead, but you’re sure there’s nothing else in that pond?”

“I’m sure.”

In a snap decision, I chose to really put their minds to rest. I turned my head toward the nearest shadow, which happened to be near the building, and called, “Guo?”

Guo shot out of the darkness, coming to stand right beside me. It startled both the father and the boys, and I hastily reassured them.

“Guo is a very dear friend of mine. He’s…hmm, think of him as the Chinese version of a hellhound, except he’s nice. Guo fought with us, and he’s half the reason I’m still alive, as the Bloody Bones almost got me, too.”

“Whoa,” Derek breathed, looking up, and up, and still up at Guo’s face. Then again, I was pretty sure the kid’s head could fit inside Guo’s mouth, that was the kind of size difference there was. “You’re so cool.”

Guo’s tongue hung off to the side in a laugh before he responded. “Thank you, young one.”

I did a double take. “Since when do you speak English?”

Guo just laughed again, not answering me. “I assure you, young ones and your sire, this area has no more monsters. My brother and I scoured the area many times to make sure of this.”

The father still looked very unnerved by the talking lion-dog-looking creature with its gold eyes and brimstone voice, but with me standing right there next to it, he didn’t seem to know how to respond.

“We’re clear,” Zhen promised. “Guo’s senses can’t be fooled. So, just keep the knife on you if you leave this town, but here at least, you’re safe.”

“I’m really relieved to hear that.” The dad ruffled both boys’ hair. “They had a rough time of it, so it’s good the danger’s over.”

“Where do you go now?” Cooper asked. From his tone, it sounded like he was convinced we were off on the next grand adventure.

Which, really, he wasn’t wrong. “Paint Bank. The sheriff over there said something weird is happening, so we’re going to check it out.”

The father was back to worried. “That’s not far from here. About a thirty minute drive.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll help fix it, too.” Zhen shrugged. “It’s what we do. Anyway, we need to get on the road. Boys, keep those blades sharp.”

“You bet!” Cooper grinned up at him.

I did not trust his grin, but he wasn’t my kid.

Guo shot back into the shadows, which made the kids go whoa . The father seemed to do a double take at that, too.

We went on our way back to the hotel. We’d already mostly packed up, anticipating that we’d be leaving today for home, so it took nothing more than five minutes and one last sweep of the room to make sure everything was back in the bags. Then Zhen grabbed mine and his and hoofed it down to the Jeep. Jake had us checked out by the time we reached the lobby. I just turned over the key, thanked our hostess, and that was that.

Once back out in the parking lot, the scent of the burning Bloody Bones was much stronger. Honestly, it smelled like hickory smoke, and very strongly of iron, which came in wafts. At least it didn’t smell like a tannery. There was that.

I chose to sit in the back seat, giving Zhen more legroom. He was supposed to have taken it easy on that newly healed broken ankle, but of course he hadn’t. I harbored a vain hope that if he was in the front seat, he could stretch the leg out a little. Yes, I realized it was wishful thinking. Take it easy was not in this man’s vocabulary.

Jake got us on the road, and I spent most of the drive updating Boss on the fact we might not be flying back tonight. She assured me this was par for the course for Zhen. When people learned he was in the area, they capitalized on it, if at all possible. Which, honestly, I’d figured. I’d do the same in their shoes. She was fine with me being out a little longer, as long as I kept up with the intake forms, which I said I’d do my best with.

I hung up and spent the last five minutes of the drive just looking at the area.

Anyone who’d been in the Appalachians would tell you, it was beautiful country here. We were on a curvy, one-lane highway, trees lining either side. We had a few moments where the earth rose up on the right side, dropped on the left, so we were clearly cutting in along the side of a hill, at the least. Then again, the Appalachians were known to be more on the gentle, rolling side of mountain ranges. No jagged peaks here.

I rolled down the window and inhaled deeply. It smelled like rich earth, green things growing, and fresh air blowing through the leaves. I could see why people loved living out here. Maybe I’d come back for vacation. Rent a cabin near a lake and enjoy being outdoors with a good book.

We didn’t pass many houses on the way in, just the occasional ranch style house or farmhouse, and then all of a sudden, we hit a “town.” I used that term very loosely, as it was a three-way stop, no traffic light, with a grand total of about five buildings. Uhh…surely this couldn’t be it. I knew some Southern towns were small, but this couldn’t even be considered a town, surely?

Jake pulled into a small parking lot next to a two-story grey building. It was beyond cute, with a wraparound porch on all sides, a dark grey tin roof, and a sign on the front reading simply PAINT BANK . I saw off to the side a red train caboose, and it hit me that this was likely the former depot station now turned town hall. Or something equivalent.

Off to the far right side of the building there was a secondary door and a very discreet sign in black and white that read SHERIFF’S OFFICE .

“Wow,” Jake commented as he put the Jeep in Park. “Glad I had that address to put in the GPS. I’d never have found this place otherwise. This is the sheriff’s office? Really?”

“Town’s not big enough for crime most of the time, I bet you.” Zhen unbuckled, already opening the door. “I’ll bet you anything this is an ancillary office and she’s actually the county sheriff.”

Now, that made more sense to me. If more than five hundred people lived here, I’d eat my new camos.

We all got out and went to the door but didn’t make it all the way there. A thin woman in a khaki uniform, hat, and all the police gadgets strapped around her waist stepped out. She had her blonde hair pulled back in a low bun, with a very sharp bone structure and tan skin. You could tell from the look of her she was a no-nonsense woman.

She spotted us and lifted her hand in a hail. “I’m Sheriff Tilly Parker. Are you my demon slayers?”

“That’s us.” Jake held out a hand, which she took. “I’m Jake, and this is Zhen and Kris. We were sent over here by Sheriff Tucker but didn’t get much in the way of details.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “It’s because I didn’t have much to tell him. Come on in. I’ll show you the pictures.”

We followed her in, and this was clearly a branch office. It consisted of a single room, with hints of one other room right near this one, as there was a partially opened door showing a peek of file cabinets. She made sure we all had a chair in front of her desk, then plopped down behind it. Even the desk didn’t look all that used. Honestly, it looked more like a farm table drafted for the cause. Aside from a landline phone, printer, and laptop, there was nothing else on there.

Well, except the files.

She handed us each one. I took mine, flipped the top over, and promptly regretted it. A deceased man’s face stared up at me from the top corner, slashed badly and with blood all over the skin. Ewww. The poor man. What a horrible way to die.

I was no expert, so I skimmed the report just to get an idea of the timeline. This poor dude had died three days ago, or at least he’d been found just outside his house three days ago after a wellness check. Coroner put the death about five days ago. Huh. He must have lived alone to be dead that long with no one the wiser. I flipped the page and found that he was a bachelor and a diesel mechanic. One of the few mechanics in the area, I bet you.

There was a whole stack of pictures of the crime scene, which I skipped. I wouldn’t have been able to tell from looking at them what they were, anyway, and I did not need nightmare fuel. Thanks muchly. I did read the report, though, and it wasn’t much to go on. The man had been caught alone, most of the wounds to his back, and he’d been literally torn to shreds. The thought that this was an animal made sense, but still, very few animals would kill like this and not eat. Unless it was rabid or something.

“How many people have you lost?” I asked her.

“Six,” she said with a sigh. “And this community isn’t big to begin with. It’s not even a proper town, but a village, which is why I cover it. People are running very scared here. We’re urging everyone to be at home with locked doors by sunset and to not go out again at night, as that’s the one consistency. All of these attacks happened at night. Other than that, there’s no commonality. We’ve had young women, old men, and everyone in between attacked. No one’s survived, either. No witnesses. No cameras catching footage. People just don’t have much tech out here.”

“I can see why you’re frustrated.”

“I have no clues, and people are dying. Frustrated doesn’t begin to cover it.”

Jake and Zhen closely went through the files, especially the pictures, and still looked confused.

“Huh.” Jake swapped files with me.

“Huh,” Zhen agreed.

“You two are so enlightening,” I drawled. “Come on, give the poor woman something.”

Zhen shrugged. “This looks like nothing I’ve seen before, but I’m not an expert on Appalachian monsters, either. Ma’am, if it’s all right, I’d like to call my dad. He’s researched more things out in this neck of the woods than I have.”

“Sure, that’s fine. Right now, we’re desperate for answers. Call in whoever you’d like.”

Zhen called, then frowned when the call wasn’t picked up. The next second, his father texted him. I leaned over to read his response.

Can’t talk, what ?

Zhen texted back, Got weird murder cases over here. Looks like an animal but there’s six victims. Nothing like I’ve seen before.

Could be a number of things, his dad texted back. Find a Monocan medicine man. They’re your best bet.

Oh, now there was a good idea. They’d know better than anyone else what was in this area and how to combat it. I refocused on Sheriff Parker.

“Sheriff, know any medicine men in this area?”

“I don’t, but I know who to ask.” She sat up abruptly. “So, this really isn’t an animal?”

“Not of the normal kind, at least.” Jake put the file back on the desk with a sigh. “This smacks of something mythical. Especially as there’s no footprints coming in or out of the scene. I’m afraid it might be a flying thing.”

Zhen reared back and hissed like an upset cat. “Don’t you dare jinx us!”

Jake knocked on wood, face screwed up in a grimace. “One of my photos had a three-toed prong footprint, which says bird to me, man. Really afraid it might be a flying thing.”

I was with Zhen—no flying things. Having had experience with a flying monster, could I just say no thank you?

Seriously. No thank you.