Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  Okay, vague much? "That would depend on what the project is exactly. I'm a zoologist with a specialty in big cats. I'm not a cryptozoologist and wouldn't know where to start with something outside of felines, so I would be little help if the project has to do with Bigfoot."

  He smiled again, and this time a spark of amusement flashed in his eyes. Why did Kat feel like it was the smug look of a hunter about to go in for the kill shot?

  "Ah, but that is the beauty of cryptozoology. If a creature is not an established member of the animal kingdom, has never existed in the eyes of science, how in the world could anyone become an expert on the thing? There are those with merely the knowledge of the facts at hand, those who are obsessed, and those that have a general knowledge of animal species and can use it to their advantage in seeking out clues to the possible existence of such a being. And that last kind of person is what I need you to be."

  Being? Did he say being? Oh, Christ. It was Bigfoot, wasn't it? Kat looked around the room, waiting for a person to leap out, point at her, and laugh hysterically.

  "Mr. Bach, I'm still not following. What exactly is the cryptid you want me to try to locate?"

  "Oh, I didn't tell you?" He was the very picture of innocence. The type of innocence the serpent in Eden would have been if it had taken on a human figure. Those dark pits of his eyes held her reflection within them, sealing her fate.

  "N-no, sir," she squeaked out, cheeks heating at her less than confident reply.

  "My apologies. I have a terrible habit of getting ahead of myself." Another piece of paper was set on top of the overturned pile. He picked up the next page, glanced at it with a smirk, and placed it in front of her. He tapped it lightly with the tips of his fingers before pulling his hand away and revealing the picture printed there.

  Kat stared down at it, glanced back up in disbelief, and quickly looked again. She had to have imagined it. Nope, there it was. It appeared to be a bipedal horse with scrawny stork legs, a forked tail, and bat wings. It was as though she found herself trapped in an episode of Looney Tunes with the word SUCKER printed across her head in all capital letters. At any second, the ground would fall out from under her.

  "Pardon me, but what the hell is this thing?" She kind of wished it had been Bigfoot. At least a new species of primate walking on two legs was conceivable, even if the legends were fantastical. This thing was a nightmarish monster out of a storybook.

  He laughed. He had a jolly, infectious laugh that made her want to join in. She began to smile foolishly, but then she remembered the horse-headed, bat-winged, demon thing and sobered up.

  "That, my dear Dr. Silverton, is the most common depiction of the Jersey Devil. It's a creature that has supposedly been sighted off and on in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for over three hundred years." With a grin, he added, "They named a hockey team after it."

  Kat blinked.

  "Well?" Mr. Bach's face went stoic. At least on the surface. His eyes had more of a twinkle to them than Kat appreciated. Is he enjoying my confusion? Kat crossed her arms and rubbed the skin exposed under the short bell sleeves of her white dress shirt. Gooseflesh met her touch, and she shivered.

  "I really don't know what to say." And she didn't. Was he serious?

  "Say, 'Why, yes, Mr. Bach. I will take the job.'" He examined another page in the folder. Kat inwardly groaned. What next? "Bach Industries will supply film equipment, pay for hotel costs, gas, and meals. You have two to three weeks on the location to handle the project however you feel works best, beginning in two weeks' time. I would only advise you to try to look like you believe in at least the possibility of the creature's existence. You want to sell the footage, not make a mockery of it."

  There was actually a way to make more of a mockery of it?

  She studied felines, not crazy hybrid urban legends. There was a high chance the creature couldn't even have the precedence to exist—unless it was a freak show like the platypus, which also was said not to have existed at one point. But the platypus was tiny. This thing looked huge. And it flew!

  Then again, people repeatedly reported the existence of pterosaurs in New Guinea, among other places. Either there were too many skeptics and no one took it seriously, or those creatures were really good at staying hidden even though they soared around all day, hunting whatever they made a diet of. They must have a grand ole time of causing hapless witnesses to run about in a tizzy, trying to make someone believe they saw what they saw.

  Or there was that other crazy theory. The one where they don't exist and people let their imagination run wild. Kat put her money on that one. The way she saw it, animals that went extinct within the last century had a better chance of existing than something that had died out millions of years ago. And a black panther in an uncommon region could be an escaped exotic pet no one had reported. It was a small possibility, but a plausible one. Unfortunately, mistaken identity—an average cougar, a large Labrador, or a black alley cat that looked like it was a big cat from far away but really wasn't—ruled out most sightings.

  Kat was a skeptic. She'd own up to it if challenged. She was a product of the stuffy scientific community, after all. Until proven, it didn't exist. Though it was fun to daydream about discovering a new or previously extinct species, she knew the chances of such a thing occurring were slim to none. People wasted their lives hunting for monsters and rarely found a single piece of compelling evidence to make it worth their while.

  "If you don't mind me asking, why would you consider me for this particular project? I'm sure there are several cryptozoologists who would die for a chance like this. Not to mention how far outside of my field of expertise this is. If you're familiar with my accident, then you likely know I've had difficulty regaining my footing because of my mishap. A project like this one could ruin me, if I haven't accomplished that feat already."

  "Everyone makes mistakes. You survived yours, and the majority of your problems stemmed from dealing with recovery and physical therapy rather than not having work. You've been in and out of the Florida research facilities. I've done my homework. In fact, it was while researching scientists to bring onto this project that I came across your previous work. The documentaries you did for National Geographic on the African leopard were phenomenal." He paused. "You blush, Dr. Silverton? Are you not used to praise?"

  From a wealthy, attractive icon? Hell no, she wasn't. Though she didn't miss the fact Mr. Bach hadn't voiced concern over endangering her career by sending her out to chase urban myths.

  He continued, "I figured a woman who takes her research and projects seriously would be a very nice investment into my documentary series. The fact you are accomplished in your field at only thirty-two is also a good sign. It's a bonus to have an attractive woman with beautiful red hair and bright blue eyes in front of the camera as well. Helps market to the shallow crowd and not only to those who are interested in science or the paranormal."

  Because of her pale skin there was no hiding the blush that scalded her face and neck at his compliments. There was truth to what he said, but it still made her uncomfortable when people in the industry labeled her as beautiful. She was a scientist, not a movie star. Lately, the lines between the two had been thinning, even before the accident, as finding work in the current economy became more difficult than ever. She used the money from the films she'd made toward field research assignments. While she didn't mind lab work and researching from home, she preferred to be in the middle of it all. She loved being engulfed by nature. The sights, sounds, and smells...they were a wonderful escape from city life. She never thought she'd be on television, but she welcomed the opportunities when they presented themselves.

  Mr. Bach put the paper down and folded his hands in front of him. "I'll let you pick your crew and your pay rate. I'll even fund the next three research expeditions of your choice as a thank you for taking on this project. I know it is rather last minute."

  Wait a second? Three funded research trips? Choosing her own pay and crew?
Hellz to the yes.

  In that case... "Why, yes, Mr. Bach. I will take the job."

  Even if you do give me the creeps.

  Chapter 2

  Two weeks later

  "Penny for your thoughts?"

  Kat glanced up from her laptop and shrieked. Recovering quickly, she hopped up and punched Rick Martinez in the shoulder. Behind him, Cindy keeled over laughing on the hotel bed.

  "Ow! Lighten up." Rick rubbed his shoulder. Then he chuckled as well. "Oh, man. You shoulda seen the look on your face. You were like, 'Oh my God, the Jersey Devil is gonna get me!' and jumped about ten feet out of your chair." He dodged a second punch.

  "Eat me." Kat leaned over her computer and yanked the red devil mask off Rick's face and dropped it to the floor.

  "No thanks. And you better watch out, chica. One of these days, you're gonna say that to the wrong dude and find yourself flat on your back. Besides, I'm taken." He made a show out of planting a loud smooch on Cindy's lips and sat down across from Kat at the small round table next to the window.

  "Where the hell did you get that ugly thing?" Kat sneered at the mask which peered upward like a bloodstain against ugly tan carpet.

  "Gas station next door," Cindy chimed in as she tied her long brown hair into a high ponytail with a shockingly neon pink rubber band. She stretched out on the bed and then reached for the remote.

  Kat snorted. "Waste of money, if you ask me."

  Rick and Cindy Martinez had been married five years, and they had been working with her longer than that. Cindy was Kat's best friend, so when Cindy tagged along to "chaperone" the all-male film crew Kat used when working with National Geographic she hadn't minded. Though her goal was to make sure no one took advantage of the overly trusting zoologist as they followed her around, Cindy had hit it off with Rick right away. They'd been nearly inseparable ever since. The two of them worked well together and knew the equipment. There really hadn't been any question as to who was right for the job when Kat went about organizing the trip to New Jersey.

  However, she would never admit aloud that she'd only hired her two friends and no one else because the project itself embarrassed her. Oh, the ridicule she'd face in the eyes of science. Kat should've picked out a rock to hide under for when she returned to her rinky-dink apartment in Tampa. She was still trying to figure out what possessed her to tell Mr. Bach she would make the film. Temporary insanity maybe? Over exhaustion from having to drive to Atlanta to meet with him?

  "Learn anything new, Scully?" Rick leaned over to retrieve his mask, which was a mix between a horse face and a classical red devil. It even had the little demon horns at the top and a pointed goatee.

  "Scully? Really? X-Files references? If that makes you Mulder, you're not a very good one. Last I checked, you considered this project to be, and I quote, 'The most atrociously stupid thing you ever agreed to do, but if you were being paid that much to hunt air, then you would be a fool not to jump on the crazy train before it left the station.'" Kat crossed her arms and raised a brow. Cindy snickered behind her as she flipped channels.

  "Just because I don't believe in horse-faced demon bats doesn't mean I don't believe in other monsters." He reached up a naturally tanned hand and scratched at the back of his head, mussing his short, black hair.

  "Uh-huh. Name one you believe in."

  Without missing a beat, Rick chucked the mask on the table in the dramatic fashion of someone dropping a football on the ground in a post-touchdown victory move. "Chupacabra."

  "Oh, God. Here we go again." Cindy groaned and shook her head.

  Kat shared a look with her before facing Rick. "You do realize your grandmother told you those stories to prevent you from wandering off when you played outside." El chupacabra was a canine-like creature that supposedly sucked the blood out of goats and other small animals if they were unlucky enough to encounter it.

  "That's exactly what Scully would say."

  A knock at the door sounded, and her body jerked in the seat. Second time she'd jumped in surprise, and she was not amused by it. From outside, someone muttered "room service," and Rick strolled over to the door to see what was up. No one had placed an order, so it was with baffled surprise that Kat observed Rick accepting a bottle of wine from the hotel employee before the young woman mumbled something and turned on her heel to scamper off.

  Rick placed the bottle beside Kat. It was a red wine in a frosted-over, clear bottle with a foreign label. The characters written across it seemed as though they might be Greek, but she had snoozed through foreign languages, learning what she needed to know only when she needed to know it. It could be Russian or ancient Sumerian, but she wouldn't know the difference. She was all about the animal sciences and really didn't give a crap about the human ones. They were jackasses in history, and they were jackasses in the present. Aside from a few close friends and family, Kat would rather deal with animals than humans on any given day.

  "What's this?" she asked, picking up the bottle. It was cool to the touch, like it had been chilled before delivery. The rosy liquid inside swished around with movement; in the fading sunlight it could easily pass for blood. Very thinned out blood, anyway.

  Okay, morbid much? Second time you've compared things to blood tonight. Get it together, Kat.

  "It's a gift from our employer. I guess it is all yours since we don't drink alcohol." The last time Rick drank was in his college days. He'd blacked out and then woken up in jail for public indecency. It seemed drunken streaking through a sorority house was frowned upon in modern society. He'd gone cold turkey ever since. When they started dating, Cindy stopped drinking as well to keep him from temptation. Kat thought it was nice seeing the support she gave him in cutting it out of her life too.

  "This looks like expensive wine." Kat searched for a year marked on the bottle but only saw the foreign label. "I guess it would be rude not to drink it. I'll try a glass, well, plastic cup, rather, before bed." She'd have to see if the hotel store had a corkscrew. Although she wasn't sure why Mr. Bach wanted her boozed up to film his documentary. Then she focused back on the computer screen where artistic renderings of the Jersey Devil awaited her attention and decided being drunk might actually help her survive the project.

  Kat set the bottle aside and resumed her research. The number of police reports, urban legends, sightings, and supposed facts Mr. Bach had e-mailed her the week before still boggled her mind. She kept reading them over and over again, trying to determine the best course of action. Some of the official reports were laughable and beyond farfetched. She really had her work cut out for her and not because it was a far cry from felines. Not to mention, the reasoning for her part in the project still wasn't clear to her other than using her looks to sell the product. So this is what selling out feels like, eh? Kat shook her head. She needed the money and the funded projects. Exactly. You sold out.

  Kat rested her face against her hand, leaning her elbow on the table, and made a real effort not to smack her forehead into her laptop repeatedly. "This thing has an origin story to coincide with the first documented sightings, and it has been seen all through the area since the eighteenth century. If it was even possible for one of these things to exist, there is no way it could have survived this long, unless it was part of a breeding population. If it came into existence the way the legend suggests, there isn't anything it could have bred with, logically, to create offspring in its image. It would have to be immortal for people to continue having sightings, and immortality is a fairy tale."

  "Could be asexual reproduction." Cindy proposed.

  Kat shook her head. "No. Parthenogenesis has never been proven in any mammal species. Aside from the serpentine tail, the other features of this thing come from mammals. Besides, where is the bone evidence to prove these things are even out there alive, let alone dying or reproducing?"

  She was getting a massive headache. Kat didn't know how she would pull this documentary off given her own skepticism. Mr. Bach wanted believable, but sh
e'd be lucky if she could force an authentic smile for the camera while talking about the subject. "No animal is immortal. So how is it still being sighted if not a case of mistaken identity or hoaxes?" Her question was more for herself to decipher than her companions, and she quickly scribbled it in the margin of her notebook to go back to later.

  "And what was the origin of it again? You were very vague in the whole we-leave-in-two-weeks-pack-a-bag method of pulling us onto this project." Cindy had grown bored with the television and began filing her nails. She held one hand out in front of her to inspect her work. "Come to think of it, you haven't said much more on the subject itself since then."

  "Yeah, because you laughed so hard when I tried to tell you about the project that you couldn't stand up. So you laid there on the floor guffawing, crying from it, and clutching your stomach like an alien would shoot out of it if you continued on that way. Which you did. For nearly an hour." If only she had videotaped it. One to show the grandkids.