Chapter 4

We spentthe afternoon reading over every reference we could find to the sluagh. I thought of trying to contact Briar for more information, but that would only indebt me further. Maybe I could cadge more out of him when we met on Sunday, if I was careful.

“I’m trying to figure out where it could be. Maybe I should check with Millie to see if there have been any unexplained attacks in the past week?” Millie Tuptin was our local chief of police. A German shepherd shifter, she was good at her job, and we’d had altogether too many discussions over dangerous cases.

“That might be a good idea,” Tad said.

I pulled out my phone and called her. Wonder of wonders, she was at her desk. “Hey, Millie, I have a question for you, and it’s not just rhetorical. Has anyone reported any unexplained attacks or scary encounters as of the past week or so?”

“Hey, January. Nice to hear from you, and yes, actually, now that you mention it, we’ve had two reports of townsfolk being attacked by something they didn’t recognize. Two men were hiking in Devil’s Gulch and encountered a monster they couldn’t identify. Well, the one left alive couldn’t identify it. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human—or humanoid—and it blends into the shadows and just seems to vanish.” She paused, then asked, “Why did you ask? Do you know what this thing is?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Can you come over to the office now? I’m back at work, at least part time, and I think this is a case we should discuss in person.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she said. “I’ll be over in fifteen minutes.”

As she hung up, I turned to the others. “She’ll be here in fifteen. She said there have been cases of unexplained attacks in the past week by something that isn’t humanoid. I’m thinking it’s the sluagh. According to the references, the creature feeds on human flesh.”

“I’m almost hoping that the encounters are related. That would give us a direction in which to look,” Tad said.

“Me too.” Hank rose to pour himself another cup of coffee. “Anybody else?”

Caitlin raised her mug. “I’ll go for another.”

I took the opportunity to call Killian. He was on his lunch break. “Hey sweetie, I just wanted to let you know that I’m at the office.”

“You’re at work?” He sounded surprised, but not concerned.

“Yeah, I’ve decided I need to start back to work again. I’ll begin with part time and see how my ERS handles it. I think I should be fine. I’ve got a lot to tell you tonight, so I’ll bring home pizza for dinner and it will keep till you get home.”

“Don’t bother saving dinner for me,” he said. “We’re going to order in here since it’s going to be a long evening.”

“No worries. I can always eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.” I blew kissing noises through the phone, then hung up. “While we’re waiting for Millie, what’s the news? I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot.”

Tad and Caitlin glanced at each other. “Shall we tell them?” he asked.

Caitlin nodded. “Since January’s here, yes.”

“Tell us what?” Hank asked.

“I hoped Wren would be here too, but given how her schedule is so erratic lately, I’ll just call her,” Caitlin said.

Tad slid his arm around Caitlin. “We’re getting married!”

I jumped up and clapped, hugging first Caitlin, then Tad.

“Woohoo! I figured once you two actually got together that it would go fast.” Over the past couple years I’d watched the pair orbit around each other, never quite meeting. I had also known—thanks to their confidences—that they were both interested in each other, but they’d been afraid of spoiling their friendship. Finally, I meddled a little, they took the plunge, and now—they were getting married.

“I knew you two were right for each other,” Hank said. “I’m so pleased!”

“Pleased enough to be my best man?” Tad asked.

Hank blushed and ducked his head. “You want that, given the…” He motioned to Tad’s cane. Tad had recently discovered that his recovery had progressed about as far as it was going to. He’d needed liver surgery after Bigfoot just about killed him, and now he was stuck walking with a cane forever. He’d sustained a lot of damage other than his liver, as well.

“Of course. You’re my bro, you know?”

Caitlin turned to me. “And would you be my matron of honor, January?”

I blinked, tearing up. Caitlin had been ousted from her Pride when she broke away from an arranged marriage. She literally had no family left who claimed her. “Of course I will. I’d be happy to stand by you.”

At that moment, the door opened and Millie entered the office. She glanced over at Wren’s desk. “Walter having another bad day?” she asked. Her voice was soft. Everybody who knew Wren adored the woman, and we all watched, feeling helpless, doing what we could, when we could. But it never felt like enough.

“Yeah,” Tad said, frowning. “It’s getting more frequent. I hate to say it, but I don’t think…”

“He doesn’t,” I said. “I’ve been reticent on the subject, and of course I’d never mention it to Wren, though I’m sure she knows, but Walter’s on the fast track out of this realm. The past few times I talked to her, I could feel his energy back there, and he’s waning. It breaks my heart.”

“A sobering note, but I think you’re right,” Hank said. “I can feel it too.”

“Well, we’re not here to speculate on Walt’s health,” Caitlin said. “I mean, I think so too, but let’s focus on what we can do something about.”

“What have you got for me?” Millie asked. “I brought pictures of the victims. One’s going to live, but he’s pretty sliced up. The other’s dead. Whatever the creature is, it took a bite out of both of them. Nasty wounds, and the victim who survived has a raging infection. The doctor has it under control but it’s required IV antibiotics to do so. Not as bad as a Komodo dragon’s bite, but far worse than any dog or cat bite.”

She tossed a couple file folders on the table. “I would have just emailed these, but we haven’t had a chance to scan the pictures in and the paperwork is still waiting on our data entry clerks.” As she headed over to pour herself a cup of coffee, Tad pulled the files over in front of him.

I sat on one side of him, and Millie sat on the other. Caitlin and Hank settled down as close as they could. Tad flipped open the file and sorted out the pictures. Millie was right. The bite was nasty—as were the slashes across their arms and legs. Both victims were men, and neither looked weak.

“You said this happened in Devil’s Gulch?”

Devil’s Gulch was a ravine on the distant outskirts of town. It was seldom used or visited, and it was overgrown with vegetation. I wasn’t familiar with why people avoided it, but my instincts had always kept me from even getting near it.

“Yes. Here, these pics show the bites.” Millie paused, then said, “What have you got for me? Do you know what we’re dealing with? You must have had some reason to ask about attacks today.”

“We do, actually,” I said. “You remember when I told you about my little bargain with the Fae—how I owe them a favor?”

She nodded. “Yeah… Oh, I assume they’ve called it in?”

“Right. This needs to remain private—I can’t have the news getting around, but it might give you a leg up on the investigation. Maybe we can work together.”

Millie frowned. “What do you mean, ‘private’? How can we work on a case if we can’t talk about it?”

“Millie, we have to. The information can’t get out.” I held Millie’s gaze. “I’m serious about this—if word gets out, my life could be in danger. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

“Past who? Is somebody blackmailing you?”

“The Fae are negotiating with the Court Magika right now. They can’t have anything of this nature slip out.” That was all I had to say.

Millie stiffened. “Okay, I see. All right, I’ll keep this as private as I can. No need to say more.”

I nodded. “This could affect those delicate negotiations. Briar specifically told me I’m not to let them get wind of what’s happened.”

Millie thought for a moment. “And you’re okay with keeping this quiet from your grandmother?”

I nodded. “I have to be. I honestly don’t think it would shake things up as much as Briar seems to think, but I’m not willing to fuck around and find out. I owe him a favor, a favor that saved Tad and Hank. I owe him two lives’ worth of reciprocation.”

“All right, tell me what’s going on,” she said after a moment’s contemplation.

“What’s going on is that they accidentally let a sluagh get loose. The creature’s in town, prowling around, and they want me to destroy it. Not return it, but destroy it.” I told her what we had learned about the creature.

“Then you truly do need to take it out. And I understand why Briar didn’t want you to say anything. To be honest, I know a little about the negotiations going on. I wasn’t going to say anything, because this is dicey, explosive territory. But at this point, you’re correct. It wouldn’t be wise to tell your grandmother or any power player in the Court Magika about this situation. The Fae are attempting to connect to the world around them, after all these thousands of years of self-exile, and something like this could muddy the waters.”

“Is that what the negotiations are about?” The thought of the Fae mingling with townsfolk seemed absurd.

Millie nodded. “The Fae are looking to join society, like the vampires did decades ago. But as I said, it’s a delicate balance. They’re more arrogant than the vamps were, and more volatile. However, if they don’t manage to find their place in the modern world, they won’t be able to keep their sacred grounds without resorting to a war on the world around them. And they would not win—and they know it.”

“So they’re desperate, and their egos have been stung? That’s not a good combo,” Tad said.

“No, it isn’t. And something as simple as this sluagh could truly topple the delicate dance of diplomacy going on at this moment,” Millie said. “I’ve probably told you more than is wise, but if you’re involved in this matter—and I understand that you have no choice—then you really should understand the stakes.”

I let out a long breath. “I kind of wish I didn’t know. But you’re right. We’re playing a political game of Jenga right now.”

“Good analogy,” Millie said. “Anyway, this creature sounds like the same one who attacked my victims. The survivor couldn’t give a good description except that it made him think of a cyclops, only smaller than those in legend.” Millie sorted through the reports in the files.

“That sounds about right,” I said. “The sluagh like to eat people.”

She grimaced. “Delightful. All right, call me for whatever assistance you need.” She glanced at me. “I should temporarily deputize one of you, so I can assign officers to help you if need be.”

I shook my head. “Nope, don’t pick me, please. If I get a sudden migraine and have to duck out, you want somebody here who can still run the show.”

“Hank,” Tad said. “Deputize Hank.”

Hank rolled his eyes. He liked being classified and labeled as much as he liked tech that was twenty years out of date. But he just cleared his throat and nodded. “I’ll do it.”

“All right. That will give my men someone to answer to. I’ll put Tyson and Cece on call. They’re both good at keeping their mouths shut, and they’re seasoned. Cece can take the lead. She’s led a number of investigations. I’ll tell them it’s on an NDA unless I give the go-ahead.” She stared at the pictures we had dug up. “That’s one nasty-looking beast.”

“I’m not even sure what its vulnerabilities are. I’m supposed to meet Briar on Sunday. If we haven’t caught this thing by then—I’ll press him for more information, as long as it doesn’t create another deal. With the ERS, this, and the Crow Man, I feel like my life isn’t my own anymore. At least the shadow man’s off my back now.”

“That was hard enough,” Tad said. “All right, let’s get back to work. See if you can find any references to what it might be vulnerable to—fire, maybe? Water? Anything that might give us a leg up on the critter.”

With that, Millie said her goodbyes and left. I slid right back into work mode and, after changing my password on my work computer—we changed them every few months and Tad had a database of new and old passwords—I brought up a screen and dove into what I could find out about the sluagh. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking about what was at stake, and why we had to keep this quiet. I hated keeping things from my grandmother, but this time, it was necessary. The question was: could we discover this creature, take it down, and fulfill my favor to Briar without her finding out?