CHAPTER 36

"Velvet?" It was Dana. "Are you in there?"

Velvet ran to the door and threw it open. Impossibly, her friend had come for her. She would have hugged the zombie, except for all of the arrows sticking out of her.

Dana flicked the sword a few times to knock the blood off of it, then folded it up and handed it over.

"I probably should have brought this back sooner," she confessed.

"Yes. You should have." Velvet smiled, then looked over Dana's shoulder. The yard was covered in a thin blanket of snow, and all around were several nirumbi-sized lumps beneath it. The air smelled of blood and ozone, and she walked outside with Emery right behind her.

The fox woman knelt down over one of the lumps, her nostrils flared as she sniffed the air. Nearby, the gargoyle thudded into the ground and rose, her features twisted in disdain, then indifference.

"Thank you," Velvet said. "You guys saved us. Please, you have to help me. Bigfoot is hurt."

"Poison?" asked the fox. "I can smell it. I may be able to do something to help that." She made it to the door and gave a little bow. "My name is Yuki, by the way."

"Thank you, Yuki." Velvet watched her walk inside and kneel next to the couch. She turned her attention back to Dana. "How did you get here?"

"Magic rat portal. Will explain later. This is Abella, by the way." Dana gestured at the gargoyle.

"I will stand watch," Abella informed them, then lifted into the sky and disappeared.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Velvet said. "Those weird little guys came out of nowhere and I—"

Movement from around the barn caught her eye and she turned her head, her heart coming to a stop. One of the figures was a woman with a large horn coming from her head, but all Velvet could focus on was the man next to her.

He wore a brown coat and jeans and was talking with the horned woman. The wind was catching in his hair, causing it to billow ever so slightly backward. Dark brown eyes that reminded her of earth sat just above a smile that made her entire body hot and smooshy at the same time. In her gut, she felt the heat shift from her belly immediately down to her groin. She suddenly felt heavy, as if the ground were about to swallow her up.

"You must be Velvet." When he spoke, it was as if his voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket. "My name is Mike. I'm the new Caretaker."

"Caretaker?" Emery shook in anticipation.

"And you must be Emery. I have something for you." Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny coin. "I got this a while ago, in case I made it out this way. It's a real silver dollar, and—"

"SHINY!" Emery snatched the coin from Mike, then landed on his shoulder as he gave the coin a bite with his teeth. "It's real silver, Vee, real silver!"

"Uh, yeah." Velvet's brain wasn't forming any words, and she just stared at Mike. It was as if she couldn't get enough of the very sight of him, and she felt her groin tighten beneath her.

"Not to be that person, but can we head inside?" Dana pulled one of the arrows out of her leg. "Pincushion isn't my favorite look."

"Yes, please, come in." Velvet's mouth was dry and her hands shook as she led them into the house. When she followed Mike inside, all she could think about was what it would be like to run her hands through his hair, to touch his skin, to feel him up against her body.

But most of all, what their children would look like.

004

The snow crunched beneath Mike's feet as he walked through the forests of Oregon. In front of him, Yuki walked on top of the snow carrying her shield, leaving no trace of her passage. Up above, Abella circled.

The Nirumbi, in their haste, had made no effort to hide their tracks. The ones who had survived the slaughter at the cabin had gathered into a larger group and headed north. Though his tracking skills were only slightly better than the average person, the thirty-foot wide path made of tiny footprints and discarded spears made his job easy.

"Anything up ahead?" he asked, then looked up. Abella held up both fists, which was the signal for NO. He adjusted the strap on the rifle Velvet had loaned him.

"Then we keep going," Yuki said. They had spent the night in the cabin, and were now trying to track the Nirumbi. The plan was to find where they were hiding in the woods, and then figure out what to do with them. The internet had been no help—in fact, his phone had been unable to acquire any kind of signal since their arrival.

With Bigfoot still sleeping off his poison, they would have to wait for him to wake up before they could leave. Quetzalli and Dana had stayed behind with Velvet in case of another attack. Not only could Quetzalli shock any attackers, but the away team would hear the resulting thunder and be able to send Abella back to assist.

"Here's another one," Yuki declared as she knelt down in the snow. Mike joined her and frowned.

The Nirumbi had been quick to carve up their own at the cabin before being forced to run. While fleeing, some had obviously fallen due to injuries and had received similar treatments. This one had been hastily hacked apart and was missing both legs and an arm.

"Why the fuck do they do this?" Mike asked.

"Don't know," Yuki replied. "Quetzalli had some ideas, but her information is rumors from hundreds of years ago. Her best guess was that it was a way to honor the dead or the act has some kind of religious implications."