Winter Prey

by T. M. Simmons

  “Sit,” she said with a dip of her head. “Kymbria will rest now. I have heated some soup, and there are bowls and crackers on the table.”

  “I think she needed that,” Caleb said as he obeyed her and pulled out a chair from the table. “But I was afraid it was going to be too much for her.”

  “She has not completely broken yet, even with everything she has gone through. And she won't. This was a healing outburst. It released what needed to be gone.” Nodinens picked up the pot from the stove and set it on a hot pad on the table. “She is from a strong lineage.” When Caleb avoided her gaze, she slipped her gnarled fingers under his chin and drew him back to face her. “Even though her ancestors do include a windigo. Perhaps even partly because of that.”

  Caleb covered her hand with his. “It's hard for me to accept,” he admitted. “Especially when I was falling head over heels in love with her.”

  “Was?” the elderly woman repeated, but before he could respond, she went on, “She cares for you in return. You must give her time. Strong people sometimes take longer to heal. And give yourself time, also.”

  “I agree. But — ”

  Caleb nearly missed the sound of his phone when it rang on the coffee table where Kymbria had left it the day before. He hurried in to grab it, hoping it wasn't a malfunction and they were truly back in communication with the outside world. As he answered, he glanced out the front windows of the cabin to see the storm abating. Trees were now visible, even the lake beyond.

  “Hello?”

  Static crackled, but it didn't obscure Daniel's voice. “Are you where you can talk privately? And are you sitting down?”

  “Yes and no,” Caleb answered. “What's going on?”

  “Sit first,” Daniel ordered.

  Even knowing Daniel wouldn't be able to see if he complied or not, something in his friend's voice stirred Caleb to move to the couch he'd spent so many of the past hours on.

  “I'm sitting,” he said into the phone. “So?”

  For a moment, Caleb thought he had lost the connection, then he realized Daniel was hesitating when he heard an “uh” with nothing to follow. Patience minimal after the past couple days, Caleb said, “Either shit or get off the pot, Dan. I'm not in the mood right now to play cat and mouse with you.”

  Daniel's words when he spoke didn't make sense at all to Caleb. He shook his head, the roaring in his ears threatening to crescendo into blackness.

  “Wh….” He cleared his throat and the roaring abated to a silence just as sinister. “What did you say?” he forced out.

  “I said, my friend, that Mona and Skippy may be alive. I'm not positive, but I'm very close to sure. I wouldn't have called you if I weren't.”

  “What…how…what the fuck are you talking about? Jesus, Dan, don't joke about something like this.”

  “It's no joke,” Daniel assured him as Caleb collapsed against the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “I told you someone tried to access one of your accounts using an old password. I tracked it back, and the password was in effect when you and Mona were…well, if I'm right, you're still married.”

  “What's that got to do with the fact she and Skippy might be alive?” Caleb demanded.

  “If you'll let me finish.” The smile in Daniel's next word penetrated even across the air waves. “I found out where the attempted access took place. Called a friend who works in that financial institution and had him check the video surveillance from that day and time. The woman is disguised, but for someone who knew Mona as well as I did…do, she's not disguised well enough. Also, she probably didn't know the camera would pan across her. There was a kid in the passenger seat. If it wasn't Skippy, I'll give you free financial help for the rest of your life.”

  “You don't charge me now,” Caleb said distractedly. “The video…?”

  “If you'll check your phone, you already have it,” Daniel said. “I've been watching the weather, so I knew you probably wouldn't have phone service for a while. But I've kept trying.”

  Caleb pulled the phone away and saw the message waiting icon flashing. Without bothering to say goodbye to Daniel — his friend would understand — he cut off the current call and retrieved the waiting one. A second later, the video played out on the screen.

  Skippy. God, it was him. His son was alive! He barely noticed the woman, although he agreed with Daniel it had to be Mona. She punched numbers into the ATM machine, then pounded the driver's door with a fist when the machine didn't cooperate. Caleb kept his focus centered on his son. His son, that plucky little cowlick standing up on the left side of his hair. Skippy, with Mona's perky nose, Caleb's own mismatched lips, top one smaller than bottom.

  He replayed the video twice before he forced himself to save it and re-dial Daniel.

  “It's him,” Caleb greeted Daniel in a choked voice. “Where is he?”

  “San Diego,” Daniel informed him. “And I've got a PI on the way there to keep an eye on them until you can get there.”

  Caleb glanced out the window again. “The snow's letting up. And my pickup's 4-wheel. By the time I get to Duluth, the airport should be open. Can you get a plane there for me?”

  “On the way,” Daniel assured him. “The storm missed Minneapolis-St. Paul, so it's waiting there for clearance to land in Duluth. I'll keep in touch.”

  “Please,” Caleb replied. “And Dan?”

  “I know,” his friend said with a chuckle. “Thanks. But hell, buddy, I'm probably nearly as happy as you are.”

  Daniel disconnected, and Caleb laid his head back. He couldn't believe it. How could it be possible? How could Mona be so malicious as to let him believe she and Skippy were dead? Had been eaten by a damned windigo!

  He leaned forward again and replayed the video. His son. His son was alive!

  “Are you all right, Caleb McCoy?” Nodinens asked.

  Caleb glanced up at her with a grin he couldn't suppress. “I haven't been so all right in the past few months!” He rose to his feet, carefully re-saved the video, and stowed the phone safely in its holster before he put it in his shirt pocket.

  “I have to leave,” he told Nodinens. “Something wonderful has happened.”

  Quickly he explained what Daniel had told him. When he was finished, the elderly woman reached up and hugged him around the neck. “I am so very glad for you, Caleb McCoy. And I understand about your leaving. Hurry, though. My bones tell me this break in the storm will be short.”

  He hugged her back, then released her and turned to stare at Kymbria's bedroom door. “I hate to wake her. She needs her rest.”

  “She will not mind,” Nodinens assured him.

  Caleb shook his head. “No, you can tell her. I need to get on the road.”

  He strode out to the glassed-in front porch to retrieve his snowsuit and boots. He dressed in the protective clothing, then reached in his pocket for the pickup keys. When he didn't find them, he walked into the kitchen to see Nodinens holding them out to him in a wrinkled hand. Of course. Kymbria had driven back here.

  Kymbria —

  He glanced behind him, then quickly stopped himself and took the keys from Nodinens. “Thanks.”

  “You are not planning to come back, are you?” she asked quietly.

  Caleb stiffened and couldn't stop himself from staring over his shoulder at the bedroom door this time. Was he? He couldn't rationalize right now. Two major upheavals had hit him back to back within the past half hour. He'd learned the woman he was falling in love with carried monster blood. And he'd found out his beautiful son wasn't dead. No one could expect him to make any sort of lucid decision right now.

  Except for the one decision he would not put off. He was going to his son. Grab him into his arms and never, ever let him go again. He'd fight Mona for custody, which shouldn't be a problem, given her deception.

  As for Kymbria…no, he probably wouldn't return. He didn't think he could get past the fact she had deceived him as to her ancestry. That she was maybe even part wind
igo.

  Ah, hell, he knew better than to believe she was truly evil. And he didn't even know how long she had been aware of her ancestry, how long she had hidden it from him. Admittedly, her reluctance to come clean with him probably had a lot to do with the growing feelings between them. Feelings he shared.

  Had shared.

  Feelings he now didn't even want to recall, especially the ones from that night of lovemaking….

  He shrugged and walked to the kitchen door. “I wish all of you the best in tracking down the beast killing your people,” he said with a final nod at Nodinens.

  Nodinens smiled noncommittally. “Remember, Caleb McCoy. There are paths in life foretold. They are part of our growth.”

  “I don't see how all these months thinking my son had met such a horrible death could possibly nurture my spiritual growth.”

  “Do not separate only one thing out of the overall situation to focus on, Caleb McCoy.”

  He exhaled the words in his mind rather than spit them out in an argument. The wind outside was quieting even more. He had a trip to make.

  “I wish you a good life,” he told Nodinens again. “And tell Kymbria I wish her the same.”

  He shoved out the door without waiting for any further advice. He still admired Nodinens deeply. No sense alienating her completely, even if he would never see her again.

  And he did wish Kymbria a good life. The stab of hurt when he thought of her finding someone else to fall in love with surprised him. Someone to make love with. Someone who would enjoy that glorious body.

  Someone who wouldn't shrink away at the thought of the monster in her background.

  The pickup started on the first try. Given the importance of his trip, Caleb checked the instrument panel, including the gas gauge. He had plenty of gas to make it to Neris Lake, but he'd stop there and fill up. Get a cup or two of coffee.

  Then he would begin his journey to his son.

  Hours later, Caleb realized he should have waited, like the man where he got gas had cautioned. Roads hadn’t been cleared yet. There was ice mixed with the snow and, despite his four-wheel drive, he’d spun out twice already. He hadn’t thought to bring his chains with him from Colorado and spent precious time getting back on the roadway. At this rate, it would be late night before he reached Duluth.

  Chapter 45

  The loose gang of kids who traveled together that summer took advantage of an afternoon without scheduled activities and set off again to explore the caves in the hills behind the summer camp. Sixteen-year-old Kymbria James walked beside Jason, a boy who had filled out extremely well from the skinny, awkward kid he had been the summer before. Jason, the boy the entire camp knew Tina would do anything to have notice her. Yet Jason had more than once shown his preference for Kymbria, which only furthered the antagonism between the two girls.

  Jason nudged Kymbria and leaned close to whisper, “Let's you and me sneak off as soon as we can. I saw a cave a couple days ago that looked like it had wolf prints around it. Might be a den with babies. But we'll never see anything if this noisy crew tags along.”

  “Cool,” Kymbria whispered back. “But how can we…oh, wait. I know.”

  Kymbria squealed in distress and stumbled over to a fallen log. She sat down and rubbed her right ankle as the rest of the group flung concerned questions. Everyone except Tina.

  “I twisted my ankle,” she said with a grimace of feigned pain. “I have to go back.”

  “I'll go with you,” Jason said immediately.

  “Oh, for pete's sake, Jason,” Tina said. “Her ankle's not even swelling. Look at it. Why should she ruin the day for the rest of us? She can make it back on her own.”

  The enmity between Kymbria and Tina had grown into open warfare that summer, and Kymbria didn't think twice before she shot back, “Is it you don't believe I'm hurt that bothers you, Tina, or the fact Jason cares enough about me to make sure I get back to camp safe?”

  Tina gaped at Kymbria's audacity, then flounced around and strode off down the trail, her ponytail bouncing back and forth across her stiff shoulders. “I'm going on to the caves!”

  “Go with Tina,” Jason ordered the rest of the group. “I'll take care of Kymbria.”

  Used to Jason's leadership, the others obeyed. As soon as they were alone, Jason laughed and grabbed Kymbria's hand. Together, they raced down a deer trail angled beside the main path. Soon, though, Jason slowed and placed a finger against his lips to warn her to silence. He kept her hand clasped in his, and Kymbria didn't protest.

  At a rise partway up the hill, Jason lay down, pulling Kymbria with him. He finally dropped her hand and belly-crawled onward, indicating for her to follow. They inched on until they could see over the rise, and Kymbria gasped. She threw an elated glance at Jason to thank him for this experience before she stared down at the cave mouth. Three wolf puppies gamboled and frolicked in the sunlight, two of them gray and black and one pure white. The mother lay on top of a nearby rock, out of reach of her litter's sharp teeth on her teats.

  The wind blew towards them, carrying their scent away from the vigilant mother, and they watched for nearly five minutes. During that time, Jason silently worked his hand close again to take Kymbria's. She squeezed in return, all the while wondering why she didn't feel tingles of sexual urge coursing through her with a boy as handsome and well-built as Jason. Maybe the joy of watching the wolf family overrode her attention.

  Suddenly the mother wolf's ears pricked, and an instant later, she was off the rock, herding all three pups into the den. Not even a growl or yip of discontent from the pups emerged.

  “Oh,” Kymbria said. “The wind shifted. They smelled us.”

  Jason frowned. “Not us. At least, I don't think so. The wind's coming from our left.”

  Then Kymbria smelled it, an odor so vile she gagged and clapped a palm over her mouth and nose. Jason, though, stood and started walking into that wind.

  “Don't!” Kymbria said, then covered her nose again.

  “Aw, come on,” Jason said over his shoulder. “It's probably just a dead animal. Let's see.”

  Reluctantly, Kymbria followed. She could have disregarded him and started back down the hill on her own, but her curiosity was aroused. Besides, his rear was sort of cute in those cut-offs, his tanned legs strong and healthy. Maybe she could figure out what it was about him that made other girls her age ogle but left her feeling friendship with Jason was as far as she wanted to take it.

  The odor finally halted even Jason when they were about twenty feet away from a huge boulder. Whatever the smell was, it came from a cave behind that boulder. She could see a small trench dug into the hillside. Rainfall had opened a slit in the ground. The wind blew across the slit, carrying dregs of whatever odor was trapped in a cave with it.

  “You want to go on?” Jason asked.

  “No,” Kymbria said adamantly. When Jason's face hardened in a macho expression, she re-thought her tone of voice and decided perhaps feminine wiles were called for.

  “Please, Jason?” she said with a shiver. “I'm afraid. I want to go back.” She stopped short of batting her eyelashes, but hoped she had the right amount of pleading to touch his masculinity. To reinforce her appeal, she held out a hand.

  “Oh, all right,” Jason said, covering up a touch of relief well. He strode towards her, took her hand, and led them away at a fast clip.

  ~~~

  Kymbria stirred and opened her eyes. She was in her mother’s bedroom. Nodinens must still be in Kymbria’s.

  She rubbed her hands over her cheeks, recalling the reason for the tightness: dried tear tracks. Her training kicked in, and she lay there contemplating what had happened before Caleb carried her in and tucked her in bed.

  The news about Keoman — that she would take with a grain of salt until she talked to the Midé and asked him to honestly, in the name of their friendship, come clean with her. She frowned slightly as she recalled her attempt to lie to herself about what had triggered her mel
tdown. It hadn't been the news about Keoman. No, the whispers in her mind had finally been too much, especially given she could now put a presence to the spoken words.

  Strange, she didn't think she had slid into the depths of a PTSD episode. Nor did she feel uncomfortable about her rant and rave. Instead, it had been cathartic. Not that she was at peace, but close to it. Not even the recollection of her spitting out the information about her bloodline to Caleb could send her tumbling down the regret trail.

  What would be, would be. If what she was, who she was, bothered Caleb, it was better to find out now. Their relationship was still new enough, it shouldn't be a problem for them to let it die of negligence. That thought caused a stab of hurt somewhere in the vicinity of her heart, but she pushed it away.

  She pillowed her cheek on her hand. She would get up in a minute. Seek out Caleb and confront whatever they had to say to each other.

  The dream lingered, and it materialized visually in her mind, as though the events had happened only a few minutes ago. Even some of her long-ago thoughts were clear. She had wondered whether she would have treated Tina so badly, had she known that was the other girl's last summer to live.

  The fire in the cabin they shared had begun at night. It was eventually proven to be defective wiring, no fault of any of the girls leaving one of their multitude of hair dryers or curling rods plugged in. By the time Kymbria raised the alarm, fire engulfed one wall of the entire cabin.

  The camp counselors had insisted on fire drills, and Kymbria woke the other three immediately. They scrambled outside without trying to save anything but their own lives. Except Tina.

  Counselors were on their way with fire extinguishers, which wouldn’t and didn’t help the raging fire fueled by dry cabin logs and curtains. Kymbria instantly missed Tina, then heard her blood-curdling scream from inside. Instinctively, she rushed back to the cabin…only to be pinned under a collapsing beam just inside the door.