by Massey,M. D.
He shrugged. “Like I said, once this gets out the Pack’ll be crying for blood. And alpha or no, if the Pack wants to go to war there’s not much I can do to change their minds.”
We left the clubhouse and Belladonna dropped me off at the junkyard. She didn’t have much to say before leaving, other than to keep her posted if I found out anything. I figured she was still mad about what I’d said earlier, but I was too tired to try to fix it. Not that I didn’t want to—it’s just that I knew in the state I was in, I’d only make it worse.
Finn was waiting for me on the warehouse dock when I walked into the yard. The dogs were hanging out with him, and he was scratching behind one dog’s ear and giving the other one a belly rub. Like I said, most animals were suckers for druids—at least, those who weren’t cursed.
My shoulders slumped, because I didn’t feel like dealing with him at the moment. It was late, and I just wanted to go to bed so I could get some rest before I had to go kappa hunting in a few hours with that idiot from CIRCE. I waved Finn off and walked past him.
“Finn, I don’t have any money to loan you, and I’m not telling Maureen to increase your allowance. If you want more money, you’ll just have to stay clean and earn it here in the yard working for Ed.”
He looked down at the dogs briefly, and they both perked up and moved away so he could stand up. It was eerie how he could communicate with some animals without using verbal commands or even hand signals. It was almost like a form of animal telepathy, but he said it was just being in tune with the animal’s energy. These days that sounded like a crock of horse shit to me, but then again since Jesse had died I was biased against much of what Finn had told me in the past.
“That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
I rubbed my face. “Can it wait till morning? Because I have to be somewhere in—” I paused to look at my phone “—about five hours, and I need to get some sleep before then.”
His shoulders sagged a little, making me feel sorry for him, but not nearly enough to show it. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m going to get clean.”
“You’ve said that before. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
He stood up and approached me. “This time, I mean it. I had a vision, Colin, and you’re about to face something that might be worse than the Caoránach. When the time comes, you’re going to need my help.”
“Oh brother, I’ve heard that line before. Look, if this is just another ploy to regain my trust so you can manipulate me into enabling you, forget it—”
“Damn it, boy, listen to me!” he exclaimed as he stamped his foot on the dock and pulled himself to his full height.
I smelled ozone and felt the ground shake slightly beneath us as the dogs scattered. For a brief instant, I saw a glimpse of the powerful druid who’d mentored me through my youth and into manhood. Even in the weak moonlight, I could see that his eyes were clear and free from their customary drug-induced glaze. Then he staggered a little; his brief display of power had taken a lot out of him.
“Listen to me, please,” he wheezed, reaching out to the wall for support.
“You’re drunk, Finn. Go sleep it off, alright?” I knew he wasn’t, but I didn’t want to deal with him and I needed an excuse to end the conversation. I walked off toward the warehouse entrance. Finnegas called out after me in a weak, raspy voice.
“You’re going to need my help, damn it! And like it or not, you’ll have it when the time comes. Mark my words: something is coming, and you can’t fight it alone.”
I waved over my shoulder without looking back. “‘Something is coming’—yeah, that’s not nebulous at all. Whatever, old man. I’m going to bed now.”
I barely heard his last words as he whispered them to the dark. “At least, you can’t fight it alone and remain human,” he said, voice quivering.
I gently shut and locked the door behind me and sagged against the wall for a moment, taking time to touch a kiss to Jesse’s photo. Then I kicked off my shoes, stumbled the last few feet, and flopped face first into bed.
“Tell it to someone who cares,” I mumbled as I drifted off to sleep.
16
Journal Entry—9 Months, 12 Days A.J.
Well, that went well. I found Finn at his offices, drunk as a skunk. His secretary Maureen says he’s pretty much been that way since the night it happened. I ended up in a shouting match with a drunken druid; thankfully it didn’t come to blows. We’re trying to get him sobered up long enough so he can tell me how to fix this.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he lets us down again, though. In fact, I’ll only be shocked if he actually comes through for us. Guess we’ll see.
-McC
Austin, Texas—Present Day
An alarm on my phone woke me up the next morning, and I reached over to shut it off before it vibrated off my footlocker. I had a moment of panic thinking I might have lost my cash, and frantically patted my pockets down until I located the small wad of bills Sonny had given me. I rolled onto my back, hanging one leg off the bed and staring at the ceiling, wondering if I could afford to buy an espresso machine for my room with the money I’d made.
Sighing with relief, I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes, then grabbed my shaving kit and walked down to the public restroom to clean up before I headed over to CIRCE. Taking a whiff of my pits on the way there, I decided it was worth risking being caught in the buff by the early crew to get a decent shower before I headed out. No one was in the yard or warehouse yet, and I still had a few minutes until the morning shift arrived. I ducked back in my room for a towel and headed behind the warehouse to take a freezing cold shower.
The shower stall I’d rigged up was nothing more than some metal uprights, a wooden pallet for a shower floor, and a few pieces of corrugated metal left over from the last time Ed repaired the fence. To say it was drafty would have been an understatement, but short of using the student rec on campus it was my only option for getting my Irish Spring on. Besides, part of my training had involved spending days on end in the deep woods with Jesse, with little more than a knife and the clothes on our backs to keep us alive. So I was used to bathing in streams and creeks, making this a luxury compared to what I’d gone through to become druid-trained.
By this time, I was late for my meeting with Elias, so I had to skip my usual stop at La Crème. The good news was that the cold water woke me up a bit, and I decided to forego my helmet on the ride over to get the full effect. That proved to be a mistake. The cool morning air left me feeling chilled and miserable by the time I reached CIRCE’s offices.
Numbed and tired, I pulled my scooter around back, where I almost collided with a ruby red Porsche four-door that was leaving as I turned in the drive. I honked my horn and someone flipped me off in reply out of the dark, tinted windows. I returned the favor and pulled up to the back entrance to find Elias loading the panel van with gear.
“Hey, Colin—glad you’re here! Help me load this stuff up, and we’ll be ready to tackle your first trip into the field.”
I planted a fake smile on my face, and tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible. “Morning, Elias. Sure, happy to help.”
I grabbed a large black equipment case and placed it in the van, making an effort to chat as we worked. I decided to play dumb, just to see how reliable Elias would be with regard to his knowledge of the supernatural. “I’m—excited about what we’ll find out there today. But just what is a ‘kappa’?”
He took the metal shipping container I handed him, and thought for a moment before answering. “Well, a kappa is a Japanese water sprite. Legend has it that they can be either benevolent or cruel to people—it all depends on their mood and so on.”
“But what do they look like? They must be pretty big to be able to eat a whole cow.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Naw, they’re little guys. Maybe four feet tall, and they look like a cross between a monkey, a frog, and a turtle. Sort of like ninja turtles, to be honest, and kind of
cute in a way. Are they dangerous? Yeah, but there’s nothing for you to worry about, so long as you watch yourself and follow my lead.”
Elias was either stupid, or he was purposely playing down how deadly kappa could be. Strictly speaking, kappa were yōkai, demons that were more or less the Japanese equivalent of the unseelie fae from European legend. They were strong, much stronger than a human, with lots of sharp teeth and claws to match. Kappa were quick and violent, and when hungry they’d attack and eat a human without hesitation. In fact, it was a wonder that this rancher Mr. Graves hadn’t been eaten already.
At that moment, I decided that Elias was not my favorite person. I had the distinct impression that he cared little about the safety of his staff, and was only interested in capturing the creatures CIRCE supposedly relocated. That indicated he was in it for more than just pure altruism, and I began to wonder whether someone might be paying him for the creatures CIRCE captured. If so, I needed to find out who that was, and what their motivations were for doing so. Then, hopefully, that would lead me to the Tathlum.
The ride to the ranch was long and boring, and Elias listened to early 70s pop the entire way. It was kind of like going on a road trip with Ed. Ed was a bit older than my mom, and he was into the same style of music. KC and the Sunshine Band, Earth Wind and Fire, stuff like that. It wasn’t bad music for the most part, but Elias sang along with just about every song. By the time we arrived at the ranch ninety minutes later, I had a headache and seriously wanted to shoot him in the face with a tranq gun, in the worst way possible.
Mr. Graves met us at the gate, and we followed his beat up work truck for a mile or so. Eventually we reached a creek that had been dammed to create a small pond surrounded by live oaks and willow trees. Combined with the beautiful fall weather we were having it was all very picturesque. If it hadn’t been for the half-eaten cattle carcasses strewn along the edge of the watering hole and the smell of rotten flesh, I’d have been tempted to go in for a dip. We parked about fifty meters away and got out of the van, waiting for Mr. Graves to join us. Instead, he waved at us and leaned over to roll down the window.
“Aw hell, I’m not getting out. Damn near got eaten yesterday—those little bastards are quick. Naw, I’ll let you city folk handle it, and come back to haul them carcasses out of the water once you give the all clear.”
I decided to gather some intel, just in case Elias was too stupid to ask the right questions before the old man left us to our work. “Mr. Graves, if you don’t mind me asking, how many of them have you seen?”
He scratched his nose and shrugged. “Hard to say. I reckon there’s at least three of them moving around down there. Usually if one comes out of the water the others stay under and watch, kind of like gators with their eyes peeking out just above the surface. And with the way their heads are shaped, you almost can’t see ’em when they’re submerged like that.”
That physical feature Mr. Graves was referring to was a unique characteristic of kappa. In lieu of a brain, they had a weird concave indentation on their heads that held water like a bowl. That was their greatest weakness, because somehow the water in a kappa’s skull deformation acted as part of their central nervous system. Once out of the water, if you could somehow get them to spill the contents of their skull cup, they were helpless.
When Mr. Graves mentioned seeing more than one kappa, Elias’ face blanched. It appeared that he hadn’t expected to deal with more than one or two of these creatures. I wasn’t overly concerned about it, because I had a surprise tucked away inside my Craneskin Bag. Still, the plan I had in mind both for dealing with the kappa and getting some answers out of Elias might be tricky if there were more than three of the little bastards lurking in that pond.
Elias covered his nervousness well, I had to give him that. He cleared his throat and gave Mr. Graves a reassuring nod. “Don’t you worry, we’ll have these little guys off your land and safely in another habitat before you know it.”
I raised a hand to catch the old man’s attention. “Sir, you seem awful calm about having monsters on your property. Is this the first time this has happened?”
Mr. Graves pushed the brim of his straw cowboy hat back on his head and scratched at his hairline. “Saw a bigfoot once. It got up real close, sniffing around and stuff, and scared the living tar out of me. Since then, I figure there’s more to this world than most people know about. Which brings me to ask—it’s just you two boys catching these things? Ain’t no others from your outfit comin’?”
Elias nodded. “Just us, but we can handle it.”
The rancher shrugged. “Well, it’s your funeral. I’ll check back on you around lunch, and call your office if you get eaten.” He then put his truck in gear and cut a quick U-turn in the clearing, driving faster than was probably safe back the way we came. I watched him go and then turned to Elias.
“What now? I mean, you’re the expert—I’m just here to watch and learn from your extensive experience.”
Elias looked toward the pond and stammered slightly, apparently at a loss as to how to capture three or perhaps four kappa at once without being eaten.
“Yes—of course, of course. Start pulling those traps out, and set them up close to the water line. But not too close—I don’t want you to become a casualty of the cause on your very first day.”
He continued staring at the water, tapping a finger on his chin and conveniently becoming occupied with deep thoughts while I did all the heavy work. I sighed quietly and did what he asked, keeping one eye on the water line as I dragged the heavy cage traps close to the shore. I spotted at least two sets of eyes hanging back from the water’s edge, and a third skimming under the surface toward me as I set up the second trap.
Without bait, it was unlikely any of the kappa would be dumb enough to enter the traps. But Elias hadn’t instructed me to place anything inside the traps to lure the kappa in. I had come prepared, however, and surreptitiously reached inside my Craneskin Bag, pulling out a few Japanese cucumbers I’d picked up from a farmer’s market years ago and stowed away for just such an occasion. Thanks to the temporal stasis field inside the bag, they were as fresh as the day I’d bought them. I cut them in two with my pocket knife and tossed several in each of the cages, backing away quickly while still keeping an eye on the water.
Sure enough, the two that had been hanging back emerged as I retreated, the water in their skull cups sloshing back and forth without spilling a drop as they walked onto dry land. Cucumbers were a favorite food of kappa, only second to small children, and I knew they’d be hard-pressed to resist the Japanese variety as they were difficult to come by here in the States. Each of them marched straight into the traps, stepping on the trigger plates as they gobbled the cucumber halves up greedily. The gates to each cage slammed down behind them, latching and trapping them inside. The kappa keened and wailed when they realized they’d been fooled, beating on the side of the cages with their webbed and clawed hands.
Elias clapped his hands together as I approached, walking backward so I could keep an eye on the remaining kappa.
“You see, Colin? I told you this would be an easy first job. Just look at those shells, and their beaked mouths—fine specimens, fine indeed.” His man bun bobbed up and down as he spoke excitedly and marched down to the traps.
I decided not to warn him, since I needed him good and frightened and in no position to negotiate. He was hiding something, and short of beating it out of him I didn’t see any convenient way to get him to reveal what CIRCE’s connection with Ananda Corp was, or why they were footing the bill for CIRCE’s operations. Instead, I reached into the van and grabbed one of the cases, opening it while he was preoccupied with the caged kappa. Then, I followed at a safe distance and observed as he circled each of the cages in turn.
As he rounded the first cage, the final kappa’s creepy frog eyes began to glide through the water, closer and closer to the shore. The cages were a good twenty feet from the water’s edge, but I knew that once o
n shore, the creature could clear that in a heartbeat. As Elias yammered on, he turned his back to the water a second time—and that’s when the creature struck.
In the blink of an eye it leapt from the water like a dolphin clearing a wave, landing on the shore just ten feet from Elias, who startled and froze like a deer in headlights. As the kappa closed the gap between them, I waited for just the right moment before I triggered the net cannon I’d grabbed just moments before. The capture net flew forward at tremendous speed, entangling them just a few feet apart while taking them both down at once.
Elias began screaming as the kappa began clawing and chewing at the net. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit—get me out of here before that thing frees itself. Quick, Colin, cut me loose and shoot it with a tranquilizer or something!”
I dropped the net cannon and sauntered up to them, taking my time about it and watching as the kappa tore the netting to shreds with its teeth and claws. I estimated that it’d be free within a minute or two, which gave me just enough time to have a lively chat with Elias.
I squatted down next to him and cleared my throat. “Well now, it looks like you’re in quite a pickle. If my guess is right, that kappa is going to be free in, oh, maybe ninety seconds. But you—you’re tangled up something fierce. I bet he’ll be on you, just as soon as he gets loose.”
He tugged at the net and looked at me through the holes in the webbing with a mixture of fear and desperation. “Colin, listen to me—that thing really will eat me if you don’t get me out of here. Look, you want a paid position? Fine, just cut me loose, now!”
“Oh, this isn’t about money, Elias. And I’m well aware of the danger you’re in right now. I may be young, but I’ve dealt with a few kappa in my time, back while I was being trained as a hunter.”