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“Why claim it as a pet? You can’t exactly walk it around town on a leash.” Then I remembered the other critical piece of information—a domesticated culebrón was capable of bringing wealth to its ‘owner.’ My stomach turned. Of all the reasons to sacrifice people. “This is about money?”
“We’ve sacrificed too much to let you stop us now.” Margaret rushed forward to protect the culebrón. The creature showed its appreciation by opening its massive jaws and devouring the witch. Its mouth snapped closed, and I fought the revulsion that pushed its way through my insides. This wasn’t a Jonah and the Whale situation. The creature wouldn’t be vomiting out Kelsey and Margaret.
I wasn’t sure when people stopped screaming; the sound had become background noise.
Tears streaked Brenda’s face. “This has gone too far, Penelope. Too many lives have been lost already. What if the sacrifice fails to work again? Let her kill it before it kills the rest of us.”
Again. There’d been other attempts. I’d bet good money Officer Lindley was one of them.
Penelope’s face remained impassive. “Sierra, our visitor says buckshot can’t hurt her. See if magic can.”
Sierra’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. She seemed torn between Brenda’s good sense and Penelope’s terrifying madness.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Sierra,” I warned, “but you lob a single spell at me, and you’ll live to regret it.”
While Sierra debated her unappealing options, the culebrón took the opportunity to change into its natural form. With bulging eyes and deformed ears, its head was grotesque, not at all like any calf I’d ever seen. Its serpentine body was covered in a layer of coarse hair.
“There you are, big fella,” I said. “I bet it feels good to be back in your own skin.” I felt a strange connection to the beast, knowing it could access the nightmares of its victims.
Screaming at the transformation, Sierra turned and ran. Wrong move. The culebrón was a predator, and Sierra just identified herself as prey.
“Sierra, no!” Brenda’s cry came too late.
The culebrón shifted in the direction of the sound. Brenda didn’t bother to run. She simply dropped to her knees and offered herself as a midnight snack to prevent the creature from chasing Sierra. It didn’t work. The monster easily caught up to Sierra and gulped her down as a side dish.
Rage twisted Penelope’s features. Her body twitched as she pointed a finger at me. “You’ll pay for this.”
“Yes, with the treasure my new pet manifests for me. At least these sacrifices won’t be wasted, am I right?” Despite my bravado, I wasn’t sure what magic Penelope was capable of. There was also the rather large matter of the culebrón…
A blackbird swooped down and landed on a nearby fencepost. I waved my hand in an effort to scare it away. No need to put itself in harm’s way.
“You’ve taken everything from me.” Penelope’s voice shook with fury. “I won’t let you take this gift too.” The older witch charged at me. Unfortunately for her, the culebrón had decided to do the same from the opposite side. I jumped back and watched as the two of them collided, or more accurately, Penelope collided with the monster’s mouth.
I heard the sound of clapping and looked over to see Kane. Wearing a crisp white shirt beneath a black suit, he seemed overdressed for the occasion. “A well-executed maneuver, Miss Clay. And a nod to the classics as well. I fully approve.”
“The classics?”
“The Marx Brothers, or perhaps The Three Stooges, if your slapstick preferences lean more lowbrow.”
I couldn’t manage a snarky reply. Now that the monster had probably managed to pick its teeth with Penelope’s bones, it had circled back to me.
“Don’t you need a nap after such a big meal?” I asked. “You just had Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners rolled into one.”
The monster roared. The force blew back my hair and covered my face in a fine mist that reeked of moonshine.
“You seem to be struggling, Miss Clay.” Kane’s tone suggested mild amusement. What a prick.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.” I reached into my backpack and slowly retrieved a three-pointed star, keeping one eye trained on the monster. I let it fly, and the curved points became a blur. The star stuck in the monster’s neck but seemed to have no effect.
“Are you certain a mortal weapon can kill it?” Kane asked mildly. “Perhaps it requires something more potent.”
“Don’t know.” Grunting, I hurled another throwing axe at the monster’s head. The blade wedged itself into the beast’s forehead, yet it remained unfazed. “But, so far, they haven’t had much impact.” All those previous sacrifices had likely strengthened the culebrón.
On the ground about twenty feet away, a metal fragment glimmered in the moonlight. I ran for the shotgun left by Penelope. As the monster bore down on me, I fired. The noise startled the creature, which bought me enough time to fire again. A shotgun wasn’t the most efficient weapon. My guess was that Penelope had only ever intended to use it on humans.
Kane continued to observe me from a safe distance. “You strike me as an educated woman. I’m going to assume you’re familiar with the definition of insanity.”
“I am.”
