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“And the way to stop it was to call it by its true name,” Oliver said. “Like a fucked up version of Rumpelstiltskin.”
“That’s crazy,” Demetrius said. “Where the hell did it come from?”
“No idea,” Oliver said. “But Clarabell and I are still doing some research on that.”
“I have my suspicions,” Clarabell said with a nod. “But I’m not ready to talk about them just yet.”
“All right, but when you are, I’d be interested in hearing them.” Demetrius adjusted himself in the bed. “How many bodies did they find at the pond?”
“Five,” Oliver said, making a face. “All weighed down with rocks or tied with seaweed. And one of them was Jordie, your trainer.”
Demetrius nodded. “Yeah, I heard that. It’s so sad.”
“We think the nix didn’t secure Claudia and Devin Sykes as well as it had the others, that’s why they were found,” Clarabell said.
“So, where’s the thing’s body now?” Demetrius asked.
Oliver and Clarabell exchanged a look.
“Uh oh.” Demetrius felt a nervous twitch in his gut. Had it escaped? Or could one of them be it? Or maybe it had a mate and they were slowly taking over the town like Nicolae had attempted? “What?”
“There is no body,” Clarabell said.
Demetrius felt a surge of panic. “It got away?”
“No no,” Oliver said, putting a hand on his arm. “It was dead. Yeah, Lucia killed it.
Demetrius put his head back and sighed. “Well, thank God for that.” He lifted his head to look at them again. “But now there’s no evidence.”
“Right,” Clarabell said with a sigh.
“What happened?”
“It just disintegrated,” Oliver said. “It turned kind of mushy, and then broke down into this thick, dark, gooey stuff.”
“I got some samples of it,” Clarabell said. “But there’s no corporeal body for anyone to look at.”
“Well, at least Lucia saw it,” Demetrius said. “And that deputy.”
“Yep. And, damn, Lucia is a good shot,” Oliver said. “Two shots, one in the chest and one in the head.”
“She wasn’t messing around,” Clarabell said. “And I’ve talked to Deputy Walsh a little bit since then. She’s shaken up but open-minded. It’ll be good to have her on the force to keep an eye out for, you know, things.”
“Things that go bump in the night?” Oliver said.
Clarabell grinned. “Exactly.”
Demetrius yawned, covering it with the back of his hand. “Sorry. It’s not the company.”
“We know that. We’re exciting as hell,” Clarabell said, then she patted his hand. “You rest. Hopefully they let you leave today.”
“Yeah, I hope so. Thanks for stopping by, guys. And for the updates.”
“We’ll talk with you later,” Oliver said. “Get some sleep.”
Once they’d left, Demetrius dozed. He awoke some time later, surprised to discover the room filled with the orange light of the setting sun. Cody slouched in a chair in the corner, his long legs stretched out before him, feet crossed at the ankles. His big hands rested on his belly, fingers intertwined. Demetrius smiled and watched him sleep, the years between them more healing than any medicine the hospital could pump into him. He felt pretty confident if he hadn’t been well on his way to drunk, he would have been able to tell the nix wasn’t really Cody.
A gentle knock at the door roused Cody, and he pushed upright, confused for a moment before his gaze landed on Demetrius and he settled.
