Snow Fright Page 3

  Until she bit my lip.

  She sucked for a moment then pulled back.

  "That fucking hurts," I griped.

  She let out a low, throaty chuckle. "No shit? Try having a chunk of your shoulder removed."

  I stepped back, watching as her skin slowly knit back together, leaving behind a reddened mark where I had just taken a bite out of her.

  "You heal faster than Kwan." And saying his name still hurt, apparently. I winced.

  She shrugged, but her expression was pinched. "I was made differently."

  She had to ingest monster blood every once in a while, to keep on living. Blood of the enemy. Mine seemed to work. Guess that made me the enemy.

  I ran a hand through my short hair, making it feather and tickle my neck. My horn bumps throbbed slightly when I touched them. "I'm sorry," I said, feeling lost.

  Would I ever be in control again?

  We did at least manage to convince Suzie to stay at my dad's place while we met with the watcher. I had no clue what we were going to do with her after that. She might be soft and human, but I knew she also had a stubborn streak a mile wide under that hipster image.

  Setting up our meeting with the watcher was like something out of a spy movie. Cloud kept a spare cell phone in her duffel bag, which she activated and used to text a two-digit number to the person. She explained to me that the phone, a "burner" was more difficult to track than a regular cell phone. And the number she texted was a code she used with the watcher to set up a meeting place and to communicate the urgency of the meeting.

  It was all very low-key James Bond. Cloud was such a weird mix of ancient and modern.

  "Isn't that a bit paranoid," I asked, trying not to smile at how twitchy Cloud was being. "Would the hunters even be organized enough and tech savvy enough to track your cell phone?"

  She glanced up at me as she tucked the phone under the base of a bird-bath in the small park where we stood. "You might have been frolicking in the woods the last couple of months, but I was dealing with the hunters and their games."

  She stood, ignoring the middle finger I waved at her for that one. Frolicking? I had been losing my damned mind. "They were hiding something from me," she said softly. "And watching me. Suspecting me of something."

  Her words were cold and flat, but I saw her eyes flash when she said that. She had been turned into a semi-immortal to serve the hunters. I knew there was all kinds of pain underneath that, which she hadn't shared with me. She had always been so duty-bound and straight-arrow. I knew that every decision she made while I was around had been hard for her. Because she tried so hard to maintain her ideals and her hunter morals.

  And they had started treating her with suspicion.

  "Screw them," I said with a hiss. "Do I get to eat them?"

  She frowned at me. "They weren't exactly wrong to doubt me, Tess. I've been keeping a monster alive and hidden in the woods for months now."

  I shrugged. Minor detail. "Yeah, and they've been lying to you this entire time about how evil we all are."

  She shook her head. "What really concerns me is that they've become more organized. And they started bringing in witches to help them. The ones I saw were like your little blond killer—modern. Used to technology. I'm not taking any chances."

  I clenched my fists at the mention of Cal. Tommy was missing, and his asshole brother was mucking up my chances of finding him anytime soon by making sure that I was too busy worrying about the witches and hunters stalking me.

  Cloud reached for me, met my eyes, and dropped her hand. She seemed to get the message that I still didn't fully trust her. And I was having trouble coping with these odd moments when she suddenly seemed all... affectionate, caring.

  Heaving a sigh, I followed her across town to a tidy ranch-style house in a sub-division. There was a for-sale sign stuck in the yard out front, boasting the name of a local realty company. I scanned the area as we crept around the back. The backyard butted up to a small wooded area. A few sets of glowing eyes peered back at me from the darkness. But they all radiated the cool, earthy energy that I associated with the creatures, rather than the danger-heat of hunter energy.

  I felt a tug in my gut. A longing to go back home, back to my creatures. To gather them around me and assure myself that they were okay. I was like some aging cat lady who couldn't be away from home too long.

  Except I didn't have a home to go back to.

  We walked up the back steps in the dark. Daylight would be coming in a couple of hours, and I could feel the threat of the damned sun. But for now, I was okay. Cloud produced a key from the pocket of her jeans, unlocked the back door and slipped inside, motioning for me to follow. She didn't turn on a light. I had the feeling we were "borrowing" the house unofficially.

  I followed, jerking back the monster instincts that kicked in when I smelled a human. The watcher was a short, balding middle-aged man. He looked so normal that I nearly laughed. He sat on a couch in the middle of the living room, no light except for a tiny flashlight, its beam dimmed.

  "Hello, Cloud," he said, rising to come shake the hunter's hand. "I'm glad to see you. Things have been... strange."

  She nodded. "Thanks for meeting with us, Bob. What have you seen?"

  He sank back down on the couch, fatigue radiating off him—whether from the late hour or the burden of what he was seeing around him, I wasn't sure. "The creatures are upset. They come and go, they aren't settled into their usual habits and routines. They are either scared or angry." He shrugged and popped his thick knuckles. "And there are strangers around who reek of magic. Mostly they just pass through. Not very often. Twice maybe? They seemed to be looking for something."

  Cloud sighed and sank down to sit cross-legged on the carpet in front of the watcher. "Witches. They are working for the hunters."

  Bob tilted his head, looking confused. "The first ones I saw were with the witches. But the other ones didn't seem to be working with the hunters. The hunters' group came first, then the witches followed them. They seemed pissed when they realized the hunters had been here before them."

  Cloud frowned. "What did the hunters do while they were here?"

  He pursed his lips, then blew out a sigh. "They ignored the small fry. They were looking for the most powerful creatures. The...the ones that had some human parts. I helped shield the duende and our wendigo's dad. Not that I had to do much—the duende's camouflage magic is strong. She's evolved to fit in with humans."

  Pulling away from the cool embrace of deep shadows, I pushed away from the place where I'd been leaning against the wall, trying not to scare the watcher. At least I didn't have antlers anymore. "What were the witches doing?"

  He looked a bit startled. As if he had forgotten I was there. He met my eyes and grinned. "Hi, Tess. Ed won't go gambling with me anymore, thank you very much!"

  I snorted a laugh. Bob had been set to watch over Ed back when the wendigo was hunting me, in order to keep him safe. My dad had probably dragged him to every card game and bingo tournament in the county.

  "It looked like the witches were looking for the same quarry the hunters were after," he said, his smile fading. "One of the beasts led them on a merry chase. I think that's the only thing that kept the witches from sensing Flo. They were creepy. All in uniform, moving like one entity. Almost like military."

  I frowned. Which creature had the balls to taunt them. Or the power to escape?

  There was a tapping noise at the door, and we all went tense. I sensed the power coming off the thing outside and relaxed. But Cloud and Bob looked like they were about to lose it. Bob cowered. He wasn't a warrior. Just a human with good eyes and barely a glimmer of magic.

  Cloud pulled out her axe and moved toward the door like liquid darkness.

  I darted in front of her. "I got this," I said with a grin. "Put the monster-killer away."

  She frowned. "Whatever is out there, it feels like witch magic. And... creature...."

  I shook my head. "Sit down, Clo
ud."

  But I was a bit on edge too. You never knew who was on what side these days.

  I pulled the door open and stared up at six-foot plus of towering hair and muscle that was stretched into a vaguely humanish shape. "Hey-ya, Doggie. How's it going?"

  The dogman stared down at me with glowing orange eyes and gave me a smile that was like something out of a horror movie with his disfigured canine-human face. My defunct raven spirit guide was perched on his shoulder.

  Cloud was buzzing with pent up warrior kill-mode behind me. And Bob may have made an eep sound.

  "You haven't joined up with the witches to hunt monsters yet, have you?" I mean, sure, he was technically a witch, but he had been a monster for a couple hundred years now. I think he was firmly in our camp.

  He reached out and patted my head with his strange, half-canine dog-hands. The thick pads of one hand explored the stump of one of my horns and he made a gurgling, wuffling sound that seemed to convey sadness.

  "They'll grow back," I said tiredly. "I think."

  I pulled him inside and closed the door. "At least I can look human."

  He huffed and rolled his eyes.

  Cloud was watching us with wary fascination. "Tess...would you introduce us to your friend here?"

  Chapter 4

  It was eerie, sitting there in a loose circle, in an empty house, in the company of a sort-of-human, a shadow hunter, and a witch who'd messed up and turned himself into a monster a couple hundred years ago. And when the half-wendigo lady with an affinity for death says something is eerie, that's saying something.

  I gestured at the raven. "Come on, Ahanu," I insisted. "Try again. You are a freaking messenger from the Gods, for crap's sake!"

  The dogman obviously wanted to tell me something. And the bird was the one who usually played interpreter.

  The raven made a weird clacking hiss sound at me as it hopped about the circle, clearly pissed off. Magic sparked from the bird like a broken piece of electronics.

  Finally, the smoky outline of an Indian boy popped into existence. He wavered a bit, then stabilized. "He wants to tell you...hunters...witches...cross-breeds--"

  His echoing ghost voice drifted in and out like faulty radio reception. I watched in complete shock as the little boy threw up his hands and paced about the circle, blinking in and out of existence. He stopped, glared upward and mouthed something I didn't hear. Then he fisted his little hands and stomped his foot like a kid on the verge of a temper tantrum.

  Magic sparked and he winked out of existence. Leaving behind a raven. Its feathers were all puffed up and it clacked its beak.

  "Okay," I said, still staring at Ahanu. "What the fuck broke my possessed bird?" I looked up at Cloud, pleading. "He said the Great Spirit sent him. What could possibly hurt him? He's a ghost for shit's sake!"

  She shook her head. "Magical interference."

  I squinted at the bird. "Are you okay? I mean besides not being able to talk to us...are you still...I don't know, you?" I held out an arm and made an effort to make my voice more gentle. "Are you hurt?"

  The bird heaved a massive birdy sigh and hop-fluttered over to perch on my forearm, then shuffled up to his old spot on my shoulder. He pecked at my hair and rubbed a sleek feathered head against my cheek.

  I hadn't known he was a spirit for the first few months after I met him. I just thought he was a strange bird that was drawn to my creature nature. When my powers grew, and I allowed myself to see through my own bullshit barriers, I found out he was a spirit—the ghost of a little boy, sent to help me. But then Kwan was killed, and Cloud and I were at odds, and I wasn't sure whose side he was on anymore.

  I still didn't know.

  But it hurt to see him stuck like this. I had a weak spot for dead kids.

  And for people who got caught up in freaky supernatural shit.

  "So," I said to the dogman. "You wanted to tell me about the hunters and the witches...I know they are here hunting."

  He rolled his eyes, a truly awful sight.

  "Okay, that isn't it," said dryly. "I know the witches are working with the hunters." This would be much easier if I still had my tablet, or even a pencil and paper.

  He spun one hand around the other in an impatient get-moving gesture.

  "Bob here just told us that the second wave of witches who came through here weren't with the hunters, but were following them."

  He nodded and made the keep going sign again.

  "They seemed to be looking for the stronger of the creatures, maybe human mixes. And they were pissed that the hunters got here first?"

  He howled.

  I slapped my hands over my ears and Cloud scowled. "Was that necessary?" The hunter snapped.

  I flapped a hand at her to shut her up. "Unless you have a notepad or a device that can be operated with paws, then don't knock my methods."

  I turned back to the dogman. "Seriously, don't do that shit inside, though." I wiggled a finger in my ear to get it to stop ringing. "So, why are they both hunting the creatures but not working together?"

  The dogman gestured back at the door and stood, holding out a hand to me, eager to show me something. Glancing at Cloud, I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet.

  Then I felt it.

  "Oh son-of-a-motherfucker!"

  I tried to pull away, but the dogman's grasp was like steel. "Let me the fuck go!"

  Cal.

  He was headed right for us, his magic unleashed, not as suffocating as it had been before, but not dampened as it had been the first time I met him.

  He wasn't hiding what he was.

  Cloud was at my side in an instant. "You've betrayed her." Her axe flashed, stopping just shy of the dogman's throat. "Why?"

  I was surprised she was stopping to ask questions. But then, I agreed that this didn't make sense. If they were hunting monsters, then it wouldn't matter if the dogman and Cal shared some distant witch blood. He was clearly a monster by their definitions.

  "Tess." Cal's smooth, deep voice was laced with power. "Come on out and talk to me. I don't have much time, and we both know I could murder you all before you got your shit together if I really wanted to."

  "Fucker," I muttered under my breath. I pushed Cloud's arm away from the dogman and yanked out of his grip to stride to the back door of the house. Flinging it open, I strode out onto the lawn, not even tense about the knowledge that Cal was a big bad witch who could kill me in an instant. At this point, my life had been threatened so many times it was just a nuisance.

  Besides, he was right. If he wanted to kill me, he would just blast me out of existence, not fuck around.

  Although, he had fucked around the first time... but I think he had initially been trying to get information out of me before he executed me. This was different. Maybe.

  "What the hell do you want?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

  His blue eyes glowed faintly in the dark as he stepped a few paces closer, wisely stopping far enough away to respect my personal space. "There are things I need to tell you. And I'm not sure I'll get the chance again. And," his gaze landed on the dogman. "I need some of your hair big guy." His blue eyes landed on me again and I felt myself bristle.

  "You collecting mementos now, Cal? What the fuck do you need with the dogman's fur. Wait...is this a magic thing?"

  He sighed. "I'm supposed to be looking for Flo and the dogman right now. To bring them in."

  I was silent for a moment, processing. Not to kill them. To hunt them and bring them somewhere.

  "The hunters would kill them," I said slowly.

  He nodded.

  "Yes. And if I can only have some bit of him, I can use a spell make it look like the hunters beat me to it."

  "Because you don't really work for the hunters."

  He gave me a wry smile as he watched me figure this out. Like he was proud of my toddler self for doing it all on my own. I resisted the urge to bite him.

  "Whoever the hell you work for isn't savi
ng the creatures out of the goodness of their hearts. Otherwise you would have just said so. And you wouldn't have tried to kill me after you fucked me and made me trust you."

  The smile disappeared. Good. He should feel bad. Asshole.

  "Think, Tess," he whispered. "Hunting down the things that scare you and getting rid of them, killing them. That's an old-school approach."

  I cringed at what I thought he was implying, my mind not wanting to make the leap. "Even your hunter girl there figured this out months ago—when she first saved you."

  "Shit," I said, at the same time that Cloud whispered, "weapons."

  He nodded.

  "The organization—the ones who trained me," his voice was full of bitterness now. "The ones who own me.... They've been fascinated by the creatures for ages. At how some of the people who came in contact with the creatures and lived were... changed. At how every once in a while, a human and a creature may even manage to produce offspring together."

  I wanted to gag. "So now they're, what? Making creature-crosses?"

  He shrugged. "They call it research. They are studying the creatures they find. Experimenting on them.” His stormy mask slipped, just a bit, and I saw how tired he was, underneath all that power. “I don’t know all the details. They hide their labs. I am trying to find out more without giving myself away. I'm not sure how far they have actually progressed. But it's possible. Imagine an army of, say human-bear hybrids?"

  "Fuck."

  "Tess." I met his eyes to see a naked pleading that shocked me. "Imagine if those human-bear hybrids were magic users."

  I shook my head. "Double fuck with fuck sauce on top."

  The dogman wuffled. Cloud elbowed me in the ribs.

  Cal swallowed hard.

  I knew exactly what he meant. But I didn't think he wanted me to say it out loud. Not yet. That he was trusting me with this information was confusing and terrible and... well, shit.

  What would an organization like that do with a little girl who was related to the strongest witch around? Were they using her in their experiments? Or using her to get her dad to cooperate so they could use him? Maybe both.