Page 48 of Ravaged Devotion

“I didn’t get a good look at it,” Rue said.

Her head turned toward the window again and then she was reaching for Bowie and practically dragging him off the floor. “Let’s go join the others. It’s creepy in here.”

“We should pack,” Rue told her. “Everyone is planning on leaving.”

“I’m not going back out there.” Bowie grabbed onto their arms. “You can’t either! It will get you!”

Yelling from the lobby cut off anything Rue was about to say.

Chapter 10:

Many of them were already packed, their suitcases in the lobby by the time Ryker followed Ellery out of the dining hall. Considering this bunch, their haste would be impressive, if not for the obvious tension in the room.

The excitement from the impromptu murders and the “bear” attack had worn off slightly, enough that most of the discomfort coming from where his peers stood was aimed not at the exits, but at the pacing woman clearly unraveling.

Darae wrung her hands as she walked a line back and forth in front of the check-in counter. She’d changed clothes, but was still pale, and kept sending fleeting glances at the entrance across the room. A set of keys, no doubt to the bus, were clutched in her left hand, and she vehemently shook her head whenever her daughter, who was standing nearby, suggested taking a break and sitting down to wait.

“Uriel said to leave her be,” Ellery told Ryker. “That having her best friend die in her arms was too much for her to handle. He’s right. No one should have to go through that, but still. She’s freaking everyone else out, and you know what happens when people aren’t thinking straight.”

They made mistakes.

Like the one Ryker had made last night.

And the one Rue had made when he’d gone outside in search of that idiot Bowie.

“Mom,” Esti rested a hand on Darae’s arm, “calm down, please. They’ve got the man responsible locked up, and this is hardly the first time a bear has attacked someone. We’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s to be expected even.”

“The fog most likely confused it,” Hollis added reassuringly. “I bet it attacked that worker because it was scared.”

Frenzy bears were dangerous even when you could see them coming. They accounted for more than forty percent of all bear attacks this side of the planet, but were mostly known for living in the deep woods. Despite that scary sounding statistic, they were solitary creatures, meaning it was typically easy enough to avoid them if spotted in time.

What Hollis said made sense. This particular type of bear relied heavily on their sense of smell. Their hearing and vision weren’t very strong, which was one of the reasons they’d been given their name. When startled, the creatures went berserk, attacking anything and everything in sight. Due to their poor hearing, extremely loud, or sudden noises could surprise them and send them instantly into fight mode.

Ryker hadn’t been able to get a good look at the creature he’d shot, but he was certain there’d been more than one. That was odd behavior for frenzy bears. Unfortunately, he didn’t know enough about this area, or what resided within it, to make an estimated guess on what else it could have possibly been.

“Where is Cosima?” he asked Ellery. The coordinator hadn’t been in the dining hall when he’d gone there.

“Went to go check the staff quarters,” Ellery replied. “Apparently, none of the kitchen staff got up for their shift. They’re meant to start breakfast at six so it’ll be done in time.”

“Think they’re being lazy because there aren’t that many guests?”

“Unlikely.”

Yeah, Ryker had figured that too, but needed to ask. He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Any take on the murderer?”

“Honestly?” Ell shrugged. “The Smiths probably did something to piss him off. You know how they were.”

Shit people. True.

They tended to look down on others, and wouldn’t hold back their distaste or act with decorum the same way Rhys would. It was very likely they had said or done something insulting toward the worker, causing the man to snap.

“Does it really matter?” Ellery grunted. “Either way, he ruined a perfectly good vacation.”

“Don’t tell me you were having fun.” They’d been at the lodge for less than twenty-four hours. All of the programmed activities were meant to begin today, but even if the Smiths hadn’t been killed, the fog outside would have prevented them from doing anything they’d planned to do.

Rhys and his associates were the only ones who’d risen before the sun and set out.

Ryker wondered if they’d lost their way, or if they even noticed. The lake was a small trek from the lodge, about a fifteen-minute walk if one was brisk about it.