“I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring her home to you.” I probably shouldn’t make promises, but the other options are unacceptable.
Dorothy wraps her arms around my neck, and I pat her back.
The sun peeks through the windows.
Chief Martinez stands. “Lori, stay here. I’ll have Willa stop in and keep you up to date with what’s happening. We’ll organized a search with all the best trackers in town. Maybe she simply climbed out the window and went on a little adventure.”
“That doesn’t sound like Olivia.” Lori picks Dorothy up and holds her like something is coming for her, too.
With a squeeze of Lori’s shoulder, I walk outside with the chief. As soon as we’re out of the house, I say, “I don’t think she left on her own. There’s another scent. It’s not anyone from Harmony Glen, but something came to that window last night.”
Frowning, he asks, “Can you track it?”
“I can try. Bring some of the others over to that window. Try not to freak Lori and Dorothy out, but they might pick up the scent as I did.” My senses sharpen as the hunt begins.
The chief walks to his car and pulls the radio handheld through the open window. Lori is one of our dispatchers, but I hear Willa’s voice. He tells her to send anyone willing to track a scent over to the Manning house, then turns to me. “Call if you need anything, Max. Be careful. We don’t know what we’re up against.”
Willa says, “Quite a few residents have already come forward. The Alfson brothers; Manus and Sven have good tracking instincts. They said the Dead and Breakfast can do without them until Olivia is found. Roarke is here too. His lion’s sense of smell might be a big help.”
The lion man is the town’s veterinarian and a good guy. I listen for a moment while the chief give a few more instructions, then with one last nod, I return back to the window, find the scent, and take off to the north at a full run.
Encouraged by the fact that I don’t sense any blood and that the creature’s scent and Livi’s are both present, I keep moving.
I’m miles away when I lose the trail at a river. I walk along, east and west, searching for a clue as to which way it went. Maybe it flies or leaps and crosses the river. I’m about to wade across when movement to my right has me drawing my sidearm.
In a blur, Ion Radu comes to a stop a few feet away. “Hello, Maxime.”
“Mr. Radu, what are you doing here?” I’m cautious, but the scent of Ion is far different from whatever took Livi.
“I came to see Tilda and Mari. I arrived just after dawn and heard of the trouble. I thought perhaps I could help.” He’s a tall vampire. His dark hair has a smattering of gray at the temples, and his eyes are hazel. There’s something calming about him, and I wonder if he’s put me in thrall.
“Did you track Olivia or me?” I secure my weapon.
He scans the trees and the water. “Neither. I smelled the bogeyman, and that horrible smell was easy to follow.”
“I thought those were just stories people tell children to make them behave.”
“People said you and I were myths as well, my friend.” He shrugs.
“True.” There’s no arguing with that. I imagine there are more monster species in the world yet to reveal themselves. “What’s the nature of a bogeyman, and why would it take Olivia?”
A low growl rises up from his chest, and his eyes flash. “They are malicious beasts who feed off the innocence of children. He’ll want to keep her secure for as long as her thoughts are pure. From my last visit, I remember Ms. Manning has twin girls, and they were sweet. I witnessed a music lesson with Mari.”
“They are good girls. Does that matter?” I’d search for a rotten kid just the same.
“It bodes well for the time we have to find Olivia. He’ll not be able to destroy her spirit easily, and he’ll like that source of energy and want to keep it as long as he can.” Ion paces the edge of the river.
“What do they look like, the bogeymen?”
“Nightmares. A giant sloth with long teeth and deadly claws. They can shape-shift and become invisible. However, if he’s carrying a human, he will not shift. He can’t feed on her energy in any form but his true one. They like dark places and can easily blend into shadows.”
The sun peeks through the canopy, and Ion pulls a light gray hood over his head. “I suggest we split up. I’ll go west.”
Not sure if it’s right, I feel I have to continue north. “I’m crossing the river.”
When we part, I slog through the rushing water and reach the other side.
Ion watches me until I’m safely on the other side, then moves with blurring speed to the west.
