Wolves & Monsters

by Dyan Chick

  I raced over to the window and my stomach flipped as I noticed a trail of brown slime oozing across the rocks on the bottom of the window well and dripping along the side of the metal ladder that went up to the surface. It was like a giant slug had left a trail behind. Only, this ooze was bubbling a little.

  Swallowing back the threat of vomit, I leaned in a little closer, careful not to breathe in through my nose. The metal of the window well looked corroded in the places where the slime was touching it. That wasn't good.

  I turned back to Draven. "You know anything about this creature?"

  "I know they're nasty beasts," he said.

  "The sound," the girl said. She had her arms wrapped around her waist and was slightly rocking.

  That's when I noticed she had blood smeared on her face and neck. Some of it was on her shirt. I took a few steps toward her, my hand outstretched. "Are you okay? What happened? Did it get you?"

  She shrunk back, away from me, lowering her eyes.

  Draven stepped in front of her. "She's fine."

  My eyes widened. It couldn't be. Draven had promised me he only took blood from willing victims. This girl didn't look willing, she looked terrified. "I believed you. I stood up for you. How could you?"

  Draven lifted an eyebrow. "You think I drank from her?"

  I bit down on the inside of my lip, feeling terrible for blaming him. But what else was I supposed to think? There wasn't any other explanation for it.

  "He didn't drink from me," the girl said. "But I'd let him if he needed it."

  "Draven, what the hell is going on?" I asked.

  "She's an aswang. A flesh eater," Draven said, matter of factly.

  I rubbed my temples. Another one. "Is this whole town full of flesh eaters? There's the thing in the woods and the demon. Now you're telling me she eats flesh, too?"

  The girl started crying.

  "Angie. So sensitive coming from a girl who kills her sexual partners," Draven said.

  "I don't kill them. They just die," I said. "And is now the time?"

  The girl kept crying. I should have felt bad, but the sobbing was driving me crazy. "Can you make her stop?"

  "Just as understanding as ever, I see," Jason's voice came from behind me. "It's okay, Julie. Angie isn't always the most nurturing person. Are you okay?"

  "I'm okay," Julie said.

  I turned to see Jason standing at the bottom of the stairs. "You're not supposed to be here."

  "I know. You want to sacrifice yourself or some bullshit," he said. "You know I'm not going to let that happen."

  "Does that mean the two of you made up?" Draven asked.

  I glared at him. "Really, Draven?"

  "Was it down here?" Jason asked, ignoring Draven's comments. "And are you two safe?"

  "It was here," Draven said.

  "It was horrible," Julie said.

  "We dumped the embalming chemicals over us to mask our smell," Draven said.

  "That's the smell," I said, wrinkling my nose. "Smart."

  "Then we hid. We heard it, but we didn't see it. It left right before Angie got here," Draven said.

  "Through the window," I said, pointing.

  Jason walked toward the window.

  "Don't touch anything," I shouted, running over to where Jason stood. "Look at the trail of goo. It's like it's eating away at the metal."

  "Probably how it breaks down the bodies it finds," Draven said.

  I turned to the vampire. "What else do you know about this thing? Where do you think it's going?"

  "It's chasing the scent of the dead," Draven said. "It didn't find what it was looking for here. Where did you hide the body?"

  I stiffened. We were back to that again. It was as if we were going in circles. "We don't have a choice, Jason."

  "We can't go there," Jason said. "You don't understand. She'd come after the entire town."

  "The demon already is," I said.

  "Not to mention what the Shadow Club will do as payback once they have confirmation that they body was stashed here."

  I'd brought nothing but trouble to Crescent Falls. "I'm so sorry, Jason. I'm going to fix it."

  "You can't fix it," he said.

  I could see the anger in his expression. His jaw was tense, his nostrils flared. If it weren't for his feelings toward me, what would he do? Would he carry me away to the demon himself? Offer me in exchange for the town's safety?

  Honestly, that was what I was planning to do, but it somehow made it harder now that he was looking at me like this. As if he couldn't find a way to balance his anger and his love. I was nothing but pain. He deserved so much better than me.

  "Where is she?" I asked.

  "Who?" Draven asked.

  I ignored him and stared at Jason, showing him I wasn't going to back down. "She told you not to go to her woods. She didn't tell me. Where is she?"

  "I don't want you going there," Jason said. "She'll eat you alive."

  "And if I don't get this fixed, worse will happen to everyone you care about. You have to let me do this," I said.

  "Oh, I am intrigued," Draven said. "Is this a new monster? The other flesh eater?"

  "Yes," I said. "I have to go see her. You know it's the only way."

  Jason looked over at Draven, then back to me. "Take the vamp with you."

  "You're trusting me now?" Draven asked. "Does that mean we're friends?"

  "Maybe it means I'm hoping the monster will eat you," Jason said.

  "Someone please explain this to me," Jane said.

  I looked over at the terrified girl. She was another monster. Like the rest of us. But she seemed so much more timid. In a way, she reminded me of my younger self. Before I started experimenting with my magic. "Stay with Jason. He'll keep you safe."

  "Now, tell us where to find her," I said.

  Jason sighed, then dug his hands into his pocket. He pulled out his car keys and held them out in front of him. "Don't scratch my truck."

  I took the keys.

  "The old campground," he said.

  I nodded as a chill ran down my spine. I knew the place. We'd hiked near it once when we took a wrong turn. The entire area was silent. No signs of wildlife. It was one of the creepiest places I'd ever been. And that was saying a lot considering I was currently standing in the basement of a hundred-year-old funeral home with a vampire, a werewolf, and a flesh eating teenage girl.

  Life as a siren was never boring.

  Twenty-Eight

  Angie

  "You really didn't need to come with me," I said, glancing at Draven.

  He didn't look the part of someone who should be digging through the woods in search of a dead body. He was too clean and put together for that. I was sure I looked like I'd just crawled out of a dumpster. My hair was all over the place and I'd tried to tie it back in a knot, but I stupidly didn't bring a hair tie. It was already back in my face again.

  "Someone's got to look out for you," he said.

  "I can take care of myself," I said.

  "I'm sure you can. But you've got that look about you," he said.

  "What look?" I asked.

  "That sacrifice myself for the greater good look," he said.

  "So what if I did? It's not like it matters in the long run," I said. "I can't be with Jason, anyway. If I can keep him alive, isn't that good enough?"

  "Good enough? Darling, has nobody explained how powerful a mating bond is to you?"

  "I never exactly had that talk with my mom," I said. "She's one of those supes who tries to pretend she's human."

  "Oh, yikes," he said.

  "Did you just say yikes?" I asked, giving him a sideways glance.

  "I did," he said. "And I meant it. If you knew the basics, you wouldn't be offing yourself so quickly. It's not Joe Verses the Volcano here."

  "I have no idea what that is," I said.

  "It's a movie," Draven deadpanned. "And you officially made me feel old. Do you know how hard that is to do to a vampire? Come on, it'
s a classic. Your mom failed you in more ways than one."

  "I get it," I said. "My mom had issues and she passed them on to me."

  "Did she by chance leave her mate?" he asked.

  "Maybe," I said. "I don't know. She never talked about this stuff."

  "And your father is?" he asked.

  "Some siren who left us when he got a less than desirable reading from a seer," I said. "So yeah, add daddy issues to the mix."

  "You need to see a therapist," Draven said. "I know a guy."

  "Seriously, Draven, now?" I turned into the abandoned parking lot. "Don't you think we have more pressing matters to deal with?"

  I turned off the truck and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Can you hold these? My pockets are shit."

  "First," Draven said, holding up his hand, "you have to hear this."

  "Hear what?" I asked, letting out a frustrated breath. "You do realize we have a dead body to find and a demon to take down?"

  "Yeah, I do. You do realize you can't go offing yourself. It'll literally be the end of Jason."

  "His dad lost his mate, and he's fine," I said.

  "Is he?" Draven asked. "Cause I've never seen someone recover from that loss."

  That made me pause. I didn't know Earl's history. I knew he was heartbroken when he lost his wife. He'd also been injured the entire time I'd known him, but other than being grumpy, it didn't seem to bring him down.

  Then, I realized I'd never seen Earl do anything other than work in the shop and sit in his house. I knew Jason had moved in after Earl's injury, but I wasn't sure when that all happened or why.

  "How do you know he wouldn't just move on and be fine?" I asked.

  "Because it doesn't work that way for shifters," he said. "They only get one shot. Vampires, Sirens, Fae, we're different. We can feel mating bonds with multiple people. Shifters are territorial. They only get one."

  "That's a lot of pressure, you know," I said. "So you're telling me the only way he'll ever be happy is if we're together?"

  "Possibly," Draven said.

  "Well, what is it, vamp?" I said, using the slang that I knew would piss him off. I'd never actually been brave enough to call a vampire that term. It was rude and I knew it, but I was pissed. "Either he's going to be okay or he's not. Possibly isn't an answer."

  "I can't tell you for sure," he said. "But most of the shifters I've known have taken their own lives when their mate passed. Especially if they didn't have children. Some of them live for their children. That might be what Jason's dad is doing."

  "Jason would never do that," I said. "He's got his pack. And he didn't care when I left. He just kept going. It wasn't like I got a warm welcome on my return."

  "Can't you feel him?" Draven asked.

  I blinked a few times as I stared at Draven. "What do you mean?"

  "You're connected," he said. "You can feel the other. Even if you're not together. At least that's what I've been told."

  "You know what?" I said. "This is stupid. I can't be responsible for someone else's happiness. Right now, my goal is to take care of the mess I made."

  I didn't wait for a response before opening the door and stepping out of the truck. I shoved the keys in my pocket and headed into the woods. If Draven wanted to follow me, he could. I couldn't hear any more. Jason was a big boy. Even if he couldn't find another mate, I wasn't convinced he wouldn't find someone he loved well enough to settle down with. Look how close he was to Jane and his pack. He was clearly capable of forming relationships. Unlike me. I brought nothing but ruin to anyone who cared about me.

  I might not have killed the members of the pack, but my stupidity had brought a demon into their town. And it was still out there somewhere, slithering around with a trail of slime in its wake. I knew I couldn't let it have Magnus, but I could at least find the body and then do something. I shook my head, feeling stupid. I had zero plan for what I was going to do once I did find the body.

  Pinecones crunched under my feet, but I didn't care if I announced my whereabouts to every monster in the woods. All sense of self preservation and regard for protocols were gone. I just wanted to end this.

  I tripped over something and landed face down on the cold ground. Sticks and pine cones sliced into my palms as I pushed myself up. My vision blurred and I struggled to see in the darkness of the woods. The nearly full moon had been enough light to make my way through at first, but it was as if the moon had been extinguished. "What the fuck?"

  I brushed the pine needles and dirt off of my palms, then brushed off my clothes. Thankfully, my cell phone was still in my back pocket. I quickly felt for the keys. Shit. They'd fallen out. Of course.

  I clicked on my phone's flashlight and started looking around in the dirt. "I hope you're happy, Draven. I lost the keys."

  The ground was covered in thick, green vines that looked like something that belonged in a rainforest or a bad science fiction movie. I didn't remember seeing them in the woods before. Yet, they were so familiar.

  One of the vines moved.

  I remembered where I'd seen them before.

  Suddenly I didn't want to be alone. "Draven? You there? I'm sorry for yelling at you."

  My phone slipped in my sweaty palm. I quickly wiped my hands on my shirt and then re-gripped the phone. There was no way I was going to lose my light. I glanced up at the sky. The moon was nowhere in sight. How the hell was the monster doing this? Nobody should be able to control the moon.

  "Hello?" I asked. "I know you told the wolves not to come back. I'm here to take the body from you so you don't have to deal with it."

  The vines moved again, pulling away from me into the darkness beyond.

  Fuck. I had a feeling I was supposed to follow.

  "Draven, if you're out there, I'd really super love if you could find the keys. I'll leave my sweater in the spot where I lost them."

  I pulled off my sweater and dropped it on the ground. Thankfully, the chilly mountain air wasn't too cold. It was crisp and refreshing. There were perks to being a siren, after all.

  Twenty-Nine

  Angie

  The woods were even quieter than I remembered as I stumbled after the moving vines. I could hardly see them in the darkness and mostly relied on the sound they made as they dragged across the underbrush.

  Holding my breath, I focused on where they might be. The last thing I wanted to do was step on one of them. I needed to keep this monster happy, not piss her off. And I knew nothing about her. I didn't know what she did with the bodies she took or why she was given fried chicken. Which was super weird. What kind of monster eats fried chicken?

  Shaking my head, I tried to stop thinking about trivial things and focused on what I was going to say or do when I finally got to wherever she wanted me. Hopefully, it wasn't a dead end. It was totally possible she was luring me right into a trap. How's that for irony? A siren lured to her death by a land dwelling female monster. I'm sure the families of the trail of bodies I left behind would be thrilled to know I'd come to such an end.

  I still wasn't convinced my life was as valuable as Draven tried to make me think it was. Jason was so much stronger than he knew. Though, I had to admit, my heart ached at the thought of never seeing him again. Even if I was set on running off, I didn't want to. I wanted to find a way to be with him. In order for that to be possible, I'd have to live through this first.

  There wasn't time to consider my romantic future. Right now, I needed to find this creature and get on her good side. I should have brought some fried chicken.

  "Hello?" I tried again. "I come unarmed and alone. I'm here to make good on the problems I caused."

  Vines wrapped around my ankles and I stopped walking. They squeezed around me, working their way up to my knees. She was pinning me in place.

  I let out a slow breath and worked to steady my heartbeat. The last thing I needed to do was ooze fear. I knew there were lots of creatures, old monsters that fed on the stuff. If she was one of the ancient beings, I ne
eded to make sure I didn't come across as a delicious snack.

  I held my hands out in front of me in surrender. Even though I couldn't see in the darkness, it was likely that my captor could. "I promise, I'm not a threat. Can we talk? Woman to woman?"

  The vines continued to climb, circling my waist now.

  I swallowed a lump in my throat, failing at staying calm. I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears. This was not good. This was not the way I thought I'd die.

  "I'm no woman," a hissing voice cut through the eerie silence of the woods.

  "Well, I guess technically I'm not either. I suppose it's more accurate to call me female, given that I'm a siren and not a human," I said.

  "You're rambling," the creature called out. "You're nervous." She dragged out the s sound until it vibrated all around us, filling the woods with an odd lingering sensation of the single sound.

  Chills ran up my spine and into my arms. "I'm not used to being tied up."

  "But you're into that sort of thing, aren't you?" she asked.

  "Possibly," I said, my eyes widening in terror. What the hell was she planning on doing with me? "In certain situations."

  "I can smell the curse on you," she said. "You're the one who cursed the dead man. Then you had your mate bring him to me. Why?"

  "I don't understand," I said. She'd just dumped a whole lot of information on me. "I didn't do anything to intentionally harm you, I swear."

  A rustling sound on my right made me turn. Suddenly, I was face to face with the creature herself. In the dim light, I could just make out her pale face and the movement of the vines in her hair. Up close, I could see an unnatural chalky appearance in her skin. It wasn't normal.

  The skin looked stretched. Thinner in some places than others. My chest tightened as I realized she was wearing the skin.

  "You're a skin walker," I said.

  "I am," she said.

  I was trembling now. I'd never actually stood in the presence of one of the ancient creatures. Sirens were new by comparison to many of the things that went bump in the night. Skin walkers were said to be made of vapor. Able to take whatever shape they pleased. They could wear the dead - human and animal alike, and blend in to any situation. If threatened, they'd vanish into mist and float away. They couldn't be killed, but they were deadly themselves.