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The cries echoed off the water, coming from the direction of the marsh lighthouse.
Had Big Nasty cornered someone out there? I found myself hoping so…Anything would be better than Ukinim.
A low layer of clouds was rolling in toward land. It was particularly dense around the short, one-story replica of an original marsh lighthouse, built on a deck at the end of a narrow pier. The structure’s lights were noticeably dark.
My feet were bare, but my footsteps thudded on the wooden planks, the only sound in the still night. Even the insects were silent. It was yet another sign that something supernatural was out there waiting.
I had no hope of sneaking up on whatever awaited me, so I decided to go in big and bold. I had two choices once I reached the deck of the lighthouse. I could stay on the lower, wider walkway, or I could head up to the raised walkway that hugged the perimeter of the building. I chose the lower deck and circled the back, the blood rushing in my head. When I rounded the corner to the back section, I found nothing but swirling, transparent clouds.
My breath coming fast and shallow, I took tentative steps across the surface. I had made it halfway across the deck when I heard a sound behind me. Terrified, I slowly turned around, my heart squeezing with fear.
A large, grey, furry animal with glowing yellow eyes and sharp, pointy claws stood ten feet away. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so terrified. It looked fluffier than I’d expected, kind of like a giant demented teddy bear.
Ukinim.
I forced myself to stay silent as I started to slowly back away from him.
His squatty legs looked ridiculously inadequate to support his three-foot-tall and four-foot-long body. I moved to the side of the building, and his glowing eyes tracked my every movement.
I took several steps backward.
“I knew you would come,” he said with an evil smile, his voice a garbled growl.
I glanced around the area, still trying to keep an eye on Ukinim. “Where’s the woman who was screaming?”
The creature laughed, and when he opened his mouth again, a woman’s cries came out.
I had walked into a trap.
“You stupid human. I knew you couldn’t stay away,” Ukinim said, pacing back and forth across the deck, blocking any possibility of an escape except through the water. “I don’t see what’s so special about you.”
Fighting hysteria, I flexed my hand by my side as I continued to walk backward toward the opposite end of the lighthouse. But the badger switched directions, pushing me toward the upper deck surrounding the building. “You should compare notes with Mishiginebig. He said the same thing.”
The badger growled at the mention of the snake.
I knew that I should use my mark to send the stupid thing away, but I hoped this excursion wouldn’t be for nothing. Maybe I could at least get some information out of it. If it didn’t manage to kill me first. “Why do you want me?” I asked. “Other than the obvious.”
His eyes narrowed and he snarled, “Because Okeus does.”
“Why? What did Okeus do to you?”
He stopped and lifted his chin. “I was a great warrior, but Okeus was jealous of my glory.”
“You were aperson?” Could Okeus turn people into demonic animals?
The badger snapped and I jumped backward, jamming my shoulder into the railing behind me.
His head lowered. “I was until Okeus tricked me with the promise of untold riches and power. He betrayed me and forced me to live underground. I was only allowed to come out once a year to see the sun. But the tables have turned. In Popogusso, we were all on equal ground, and I vowed to seek my revenge. Okeus no longer has control over me. I want to take the thing he wants above all else. You.”
“Why does Okeus want me so much?”
“I don’t care. It only matters that it will cause him great pain to lose you.” He was three feet away, and the stench of blood, dirt, and decay clogged my nose.
Great pain? How could that be?
My palm burned. Ukinim was close enough that he could easily slash my belly with his claws. “I want to get even with Okeus too. Maybe we could work together.”
The creature laughed. “I’d rather eat your heart.”
