by TM Simmons
"Get back in the car, Channing!" Grant called, never breaking visual contact with the entity echoing his path. "Get out of here!"
"Circle around, Grant," she said in a voice she hoped wouldn't allow Nenegean to recognize the fear lodged in it. "I’m not leaving without you! Move back this way!"
"I will, when I can," he told her in between sentences of his own protection chant.
She forced herself to be quiet. Anything she did to distract his concentration could be fatal. Trying not to envision Grant torn to bits like Alan, she glanced at the car trunk. The lid was still up.
Channing quickly walked down the side of the car. The duffle bag spilled contents as though Grant had been in too much of a hurry to worry about making a mess. Which, of course, he had been. She pawed through the strewn objects until she found the crossbow from the locked room. She had no idea how it worked, or whether Grant could accomplish any damage if she managed to get it to him. However, nothing else among the trunk litter caught her attention.
She picked up the bow and adjacent quiver of arrows, then started toward Grant. Her terror deluged her more intensely with each step she took, and her trembling hands struggled to notch an arrow into the guides.
The entity continued to stalk Grant, and the closer she got to it, the stronger its odor and her panic grew. She couldn't let him fight this thing alone. If he died at Nenegean's hands, she and Nodinens would be next, and she wasn't going down without a fight.
"Grant," she called in a whisper she hoped he could hear. "Don't look around, but I'm coming up behind you."
"No, Channing," he replied in a harsh undertone. "Get away."
"I'm bringing the crossbow. Earlier today one of the men shot this thing with his bow and a consecrated arrow. It ran her off. "
She could make out the low words of Grant's chant now: the same St. Michael's prayer she had used. She joined in as he said, "Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls."
Instead of beginning the chant again, Grant emitted a sigh and asked, "How close are you?"
"About six feet."
The problem was, her voice now caught Nenegean's attention. The entity glared over Grant's shoulder. The next thing Channing knew, it was right in front of her, between her and Grant.
Grant's body had shielded Nenegean from realizing what Channing carried. She threw up her hands and stumbled straight into Grant, who was rushing toward them.
Nenegean screeched and grabbed Grant. She lifted him over her head, and before Channing could think about it, she shoved her forefinger inside what looked like a trigger guard on the crossbow. Though she pulled back on it, nothing happened. She hadn't notched and cocked the crossbow correctly.
But the arrow was there. As Grant twisted in Nenegean's hold, Channing rushed forward and pushed it into Nenegean's back. The entity threw Grant onto the side of the road as she hissed her fury and swiveled to face Channing.
Channing already had another arrow in her hand, and when Nenegean saw that, she disappeared. For the blink of an eye, she reappeared at the edge of the road where she had tossed the bag she'd carried on her shoulder. Channing next caught a flash of her buckskin-clad figure at the tree line far down the road.
Keeping a firm grip on the crossbow, Channing raced to Grant. He was already struggling to regain his feet in the deep-piled snow. Crossbow and quiver in one hand, she held out her other one and stepped near enough for Grant to use her body to leverage himself free.
"Damn, I'm glad she threw me into the snow rather than onto the asphalt," Grant muttered.
"Me, too," Channing said. "But we've got to hurry back to the car and check Nodinens."
"First," Grant said as he took the crossbow from her, "did you see where that thing went?"
"Into the woods," she informed him, already on her way to the vehicle. She paused at the passenger side door to assure herself Grant followed rather than headed into the woods. He was by the side of the road where Nenegean had tossed her sack. He didn't tarry, though, only picked up something and stuck it in his pocket, then walked toward her.
"I know better than to try to go after that thing alone," he assured her.
Nodinens had refused to go to the clinic for an x-ray, ordering Channing instead to drive to the resort.
"Go on to your cabin," Nodinens said when Channing slowed the car at the office, "so we can talk privately before we have to introduce your husband to the others."
Channing parked in front of her cabin, and while Grant retrieved his bag, helped Nodinens out.
She hesitated in the open cabin doorway to examine the interior. Nothing appeared disturbed. The bedroom door stood partway open, as she remembered leaving it. The fire guard was in place, a fake fire log in the grate, ready to be lit. Real wood logs filled the log carrier, to be used once the fire took hold.
She stared on through the cabin, out the rear windows. She had made it a point to leave the security lights on. They burned brightly, and she couldn't discern any new tracks in the layer of snow covering the yard.
Not that we would know if Nenegean had returned here, she thought. She doesn't leave evidence of her comings and goings, unless she wants to.
Channing led Nodinens in and pushed her gently onto the sofa, beside a floor lamp she could use to examine her better.
"Let me see in your eyes," she told Nodinens as she cupped the elderly woman's chin. Nodinens cooperated until Channing was fairly certain there wasn't any major damage.
"I still would like to have an x-ray," she said. "However, if you promise to let me know if you start feeling dizzy or weak, I'll just get you an ice pack and watch you for a while."
"I would not turn down some aspirin, either," Nodinens said in an agreeable voice.
"Actually, I have some Tylenol with codeine," she replied as Grant emerged from the doorway to the one bedroom in the cabin, his duffle bag evidently stored in there.
"I have taken that before," Nodinens admitted. "And yes, I will have one. But I will not ask for another unless I feel I have to have it."
"If I notice you hurting," Channing warned, "I'll insist you have an x-ray, as well as another pain pill."
"Agreed," Nodinens said, then squinted with the pain the movement caused.
As Channing headed into the bedroom herself to get the pill, Grant called after her, "I'll make myself at home and fix some coffee, if that's all right, Channing."
"Fine," she agreed. "Coffee's above the stove."
After she got the prescription Tylenol and a glass of water from the bathroom sink for Nodinens, Channing settled her on the sofa, legs up and a cushion under her head. She left the light burning, but scooted it aside so it wouldn't shine uncomfortably in Nodinens' eyes. With Nodinens covered with an afghan, Channing sat at the end of the sofa until Grant brought a tray with cups and condiments in and placed it on the coffee table.
"Coffee's about done," he said. "I'll be right back."
Grant carried the pot back and filled two cups, then hesitated and glanced at Nodinens before he filled the third one.
"I am awake," Nodinens said. "The pill is already starting to work. If Channing will let me sit up, I will have my coffee."
Channing helped Nodinens adjust herself, her experienced gaze examining how the other woman moved. When Nodinens swayed slightly, she propped the pillow behind her back and received a grateful glance in return.
"I'm only going to tell you this once," Grant said, his accusing stare zeroed on Channing. "If you aren't going to obey me when I tell you to do something, I'm going to order everyone around here to keep you away from that monster."
Channing sipped her coffee, her eyes never wavering from Grant's. After she enjoyed another swallow, she said, "I appreciate your concern, Grant, especially when I'm already well aware of how vicious this thing is. However, for one thing, you won't be in charge here. And for another, I don't think you've thought about what would have happened if I hadn't reacted as I
did."
"Your first obligation should have been to your patient," he reminded her. "The person who was hurt in the car."
"I checked Nodinens immediately! And decided what to do rationally, not without thought. I'd already had encounters with that thing, so I'd also seen what would work against her. I remembered you'd had a crossbow in the locked room at our house and hoped you had it with you."
"You didn't know that —"
"I didn't," she interrupted. "But right now, I think we should combine our knowledge rather than waste our time fighting."
"She is right," Nodinens broke in. "That is why I wanted the three of us to have a few moments alone."
"You should rest," Channing told her.
"I can rest when I am dead," Nodinens said in a non-confrontational tone. "I am sure you have heard others say that, and it is how I feel. I know far more than you do about this thing. Since you feel you are so necessary, then you should understand how much more important my experience will be in destroying Nenegean."
Channing kept her silence and sipped her coffee as Nodinens turned her attention to Grant. Instead of explaining more about Nenegean, Nodinens asked, "Have you ever fought with anything like this before?"
"Keep in mind," Grant said in a musing tone, "no one has ever successfully explained the paranormal. If they say their conclusion about a certain entity is true without doubt, they're fools. These supernatural creatures are all the same in some ways, completely different in others. In many, their physical strength is far superior to ours. Some, like this one, can more or less think themselves from place to place. Most seem to despise human contact. Some were once human, others appear to have been formed from thought or, as some believe, from necessity."
"We had a windigo here a few months ago," Nodinens said.
"I heard about that from Caleb," Grant replied. "He was seeking information in a chat room we both frequent. That was one of the monsters that used to be human. Something that was formed because the man broke a taboo. However, Caleb's report afterwards indicated the woman he was working with eradicated the windigo without benefit of any of the supposed remedies passed down via lore."
"There were not any successful remedies known," Nodinens corrected him. "There was a blood tie between the windigo and Kymbria, the woman you are talking about. She used the fact that she was a direct descendant of the windigo to help her get rid of it. This will not help with Nenegean. I am one of the storytellers of our tribe, and part of what I do is keep genealogical records. Nenegean's line died out soon after her and her children's deaths. The white trapper who came looking for her also brought a disease. At least half of our tribe died before it was through with us, although the trapper left before the disease became apparent."
"That happened a lot among the Native Americans," Channing added. "They were susceptible to diseases that people from other areas of the world had built up immunity to. Yellow and typhoid fever, diphtheria, small pox, Spanish influenza."
"I have heard it said that you know much about our people, Channing. That will help you as you care for them."
Her comment reminded Channing of something. "Earlier you mentioned a woman I needed to make a house call on. But we haven't been able to go out there with Nenegean roaming around. How is she doing without medical care?"
"I asked Nurse PawPaw to take some men with her for protection and bring the woman into town. Dr. Silver will be told of her symptoms and have his nurse take care of her for a while."
"Are there any other families living in isolated places?" Grant asked. "With small children?"
"A few," Nodinens supplied as Grant walked over to where he'd hung his heavy jacket inside the cabin door. "They have all been called and told to be on the watch. Or better yet, move in with someone in a safer area."
"This thing came right into town after Annalise's niece," Channing reminded her.
"True," Nodinens said, her gaze still on Grant.
He walked back over to them and set a small plastic bottle of milk down beside the coffeepot.
"That's what you found tossed into the snow out there," Channing said.
"It probably fell out of the pack she was carrying," Grant replied.
"She is gathering food for the children she stole," Nodinens said.
"Food won't keep them from freezing!" Channing crossed her arms as though chilled herself. "Doesn't this thing understand that?"
"She does not," Nodinens said. "Do not put human feelings into this thing."
"But given her background story…." Channing sighed. "God, I hate to think about those tiny children freezing to death."
Grant grabbed one of the chairs from the small kitchen table and placed it near the sofa. He turned it backward, then sat down and laid an arm across the back.
"There was something you wanted to talk to us about alone," he reminded Nodinens.
"It is something I also want to talk to our sheriff and Keoman about," Nodinens said. "Perhaps even Caleb. But I do not want what I am thinking to stir up the tribe, in case it proves false." To Channing, she said, "I need my cell phone. Did you bring it in from the car?"
"It's still on the console."
Grant stood. "I'll get it."
Channing gasped and rose to grab his arm. "You're not going out there alone."
He gently removed her hold. "Someone has to get the phone, Channing."
"Stand at the door and keep watch on him," Nodinens said. "If necessary, we can call the other cabins and get help."
Heart in her throat, Channing followed Grant to the door. Before he could reach for the doorknob, she pulled him into a hug. "Please," she said. "Be careful."
With only a preliminary knock, the door opened.
Chapter 20
Keoman halted when the door on Channing's cabin hit something. The gap was wide enough to see Channing standing in the embrace of a dark-haired man, her arms clasped tightly around him.
"Sorry," Keoman said. "I should have waited for someone to answer."
Channing stepped back and asked worriedly, "Is something else wrong?"
"No," he assured her. "I saw your car return and came over to meet the agent." He held out his hand. "Keoman Thunderwood."
"Grant Stoneman," the agent said. "Not Agent Stoneman, though. I'm not here in an official capacity. I came because Channing called."
Keoman kept his face carefully blank as he studied them both. Channing had remained close to her ex-husband, one hand on his back.
"You're just in time, too, Keoman," she said. "Grant was going out to the car to get Nodinens' phone. Can you please go with him?"
"Given what Channing's told us about you," he said to Grant, "I'm sure you have your own protections in place. But you need to know that we've already learned Nenegean is hard to judge. At times, she acts like she might be able to get through our barriers."
"From the research I've done, it doesn't surprise me that this one's able to come a lot closer than other entities I've encountered," Grant admitted. "Still, she doesn't seem able to completely break through."
Startled, Keoman asked, "You've already seen her?"
"On the drive back from the airstrip."
Grant opened the door the rest of the way and walked out. When Keoman followed, Channing remained there, as though listening to their conversation while Grant explained the confrontation with Nenegean. However, her eyes probed the shadows around them rather than watching as they retrieved the cell phone. Back in the cabin, Channing closed and locked the door behind them.
"You probably should try to get some rest," Channing said to Nodinens, who lay on the couch, a cup of coffee in her hand.
"You are right," Nodinens agreed. "The pill has made me sleepy. Before I yield to the rest I need, though, I want to say something to Keoman. He can use his own judgement about who else needs to know."
Keoman knelt in front of the sofa and carefully touched the bruise on Nodinens' head. "Are you all right, Grandmother?"
"I will be fine," No
dinens replied. "My heart is what hurts worse. It is heavy with what I have to say."
"Just between us or can the others hear?" Keoman asked.
"Grant and Channing are part of this, too." Nodinens stared directly at Channing. "Although it will be hard for them, if what I suspect does turn out to be true."
"You think what's going on here has to do with the first child we found," Channing said softly, blinking back the tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes," Nodinens admitted. "I think there is someone in our tribe who is hurting children."
Channing swiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hands. "There was only one child. Wasn't there?"
"I have heard of two possible other cases," Nodinens informed them sadly.
Keoman gasped. "Why haven't any of the rest of us been informed?"
"The children's deaths appeared to be accidents," Nodinens said. "I am just now making the connection. But —" She lifted a hand to forestall Keoman when he started to interrupt. "But I may be wrong. I pray I am wrong."
"You don't believe you are though," Grant said.
Nodinens glanced at him. "I am desperately afraid I am right."
"What can you tell us about these other two deaths?"
Keoman found himself resenting Grant's take-charge attitude, but had to admit that what Nodinens had told them filled him with too much anger to think clearly. He felt the first glimmer of another migraine, but managed to walk over to the closest lounge chair and sit as he listened to Nodinens.
"They were several months apart," the tribal grandmother said. "But the ages are the same, both two-year-olds. They seemed to have wandered out of their bedrooms at night, while the rest of the family was sleeping. They were found within a distance that made it appear they could have walked that far, frozen and died."
Channing stuffed a fist in her mouth, and Grant pulled the chair that had been sitting beside the coffee table around and helped her into it.
"Did the authorities investigate the cases?" he asked, one hand on Channing's shoulder.
"Yes, of course." Nodinens sipped her coffee. "There was even an investigation into both sets of parents, but they were proven loving and caring. I do not believe the authorities made the connection between the two deaths, though, since they were so far apart in both distance and time."