“No! Nope! Absolutely not!” She punches the man in the chest with every new word to punctuate her point. “Why. The. Hell. Do. You. Keep. Showing. Up. Here?” While he flinches, it is not nearly enough pain…
But it is a start.
“Did you do something to her?!” she screams, continuing to pummel her brother. And something in me snaps—his involvement in this situation was not something I had previously considered. The thought of this man palling around with Magnus is enough to make my stomach lurch. But I must stay focused.
“Holy shit.” He throws his hands up in the air. “Stop,stop!Please, just listen. I promise I’m not here to cause problems.”
The fool has backed toward me, and Rosie clears the way so I may move forward. Baring my teeth, I shift into the monster he feared and hunted two years ago. My claws flex. I will not kill this man,buthe does not need to know that.
“Wait! I’m here to help!” he begs.Hm, doubtful, but I do enjoy the way he is cowering.“Please, man, hear me out. I promise I wouldn’t have come back without a good reason.”
“Explain yourself.” My claws twitch, itching to be done with this. I will never tolerate this disgrace of a mortal darkening our doorstep again. Rage boils within me at the thought of whatmen like Chris and Magnus have done with their unwanted obsession. How dare they have caused my flame such pain and distress.
“I think Heather is in some kind of trouble—she is, isn’t she?” He frantically glances toward my future mother-in-law as if she will save him or at least help mediate. Considering Marsha is now armed with the knowledge that this man shot her daughter, she does not budge.
The growl I emit is guttural, and I find my resolve fading. Perhaps I will maim him ever-so-slightly for the crime of allowing her name to pass his lips.
The group has now gathered outside to watch the show. Oak mutters something about making popcorn, while Pepper stands ready with a blade. But this infernal mortal persists.
“Why should I not kill you where you stand?”
“Because,” Chris says, backing away. I follow each step, keeping my eyes trained on him. “I think I know where she is…”
He—what?
There is a flash of light below us in the trees—a portal has opened. My sister tumbles through, a mess of blue wings and periwinkle hair, before she straightens, brushing leaves off of her clothes.
“Compatriots!!” Holly springs toward us, her gaze focused on me, not the surrounding chaos. “Promising news! Gil has made much progress on the wards and—”
“What the fuck?” The human hunter gawks. Concurrently, my mother-in-law’s jaw goes slack. I sigh. At least now she can see an example of the portal travel we described yesterday.
“This is Chris. He’s Rosie’s—” Clara begins and within seconds, Holly’s blade is at the man’s throat. A fair reaction, one that I am unsure I want to put a stop to. This man will not die by my hands. I cannot make the same promise for my sister.
“Oh, I knowexactlywho you are.” She narrows her eyes, looking at him like he is a rat who has clawed its way into our home. She is wrong, of course, a rodent would be welcome. “And I should skin you alive for what you’ve done to Heather.”
Tension hangs thickly in the air.
“Yeah, we got past the overt threats of violence about two minutes ago,” Rosie says with a glance at her watch.
Holly raises her eyes to me, and I nod, confirming what Rosie said to be true. At that my sister withdraws, heaving him away from her person like a bag of garbage being tossed in a bin.
“It is just as well.” She crosses her arms and shrugs. “This is a new gown, and his blood seems unworthy to stain it.” I let my fangs spread into a smile.
“Oh my God,” Chris wheezes, his eyes wide. It would be so easy to snap him in half. And I doubt the god he calls to would save him.
“The information. Now.” It is bad enough to speak to him—to know that he has knowledge about Heather’s whereabouts that I could not find makes me feel that I have failed. But, I will not let my pride keep me from what could be valuable information.
“Yes! Okay, look, it’s right here. Look.” He pulls out his phone and shows me a website that reads ‘CRYPTID SIGHTINGS’ in a bright green text. “There’s this forum I go on, and one of the subjects is this guy with the red hair. There’s something about him that’s eerie, right? Anyways, I’m scrolling and all of a sudden, I see this—” With the flick of his thumb, the screen moves, revealing a series of photographs.
At first, they appear to be King Magnus through time. But I do not believe that’s true… The first man has hair far too light, the second a forehead too wide, none of them are consistent. Though they are similar and perhaps related, I do not believe them to be him.
“Everyone says he might be a vampire,” Chris says with an expression that reminds me of a dog bringing home a bone and expecting a treat.
“That is not new information,” I say flatly.
“Chris, you promised you’d stop going on those monster hunter forums!” Rosie says. A deep frown creases her brow, and I wonder if she thought he was capable of keeping such a promise.
“I know, I know. It’s just… I’ve been talking to the old group again, the guys from high school, and they’ve got such a different outlook on things. I’ve been—”
