Page 82 of Demon and the Raven

He was such a grounding presence in my life, and I appreciated that so much. “Yes. Very.”

“Okay,” he announced, turning to the others, “you all need to get your stuff and⁠—”

A low snarl came from close by, startling me for the second time that night. Because shrieking and crying were one thing, but growling from the darkness near the trees was a whole other nightmare come to life.

“Get up,” Lorne ordered everyone, and I had to give it to him. He didn’t wait to see what would emerge to attack us, instead scrambling to his feet, lifting Shelby to hers, and right before he bolted, he glanced at me.

“I’m right behind you,” I promised.

“You better keep up, Xan,” he warned, then grabbed Shelby’s hand, yanking her forward, and ran. “You too, Father!”

“Come, children,” Father Dennis directed the paranormal team. “We must keep up with the chief.”

Everybody ran, and I was last because I had to be. Even without the power of my land, there was still some inherent power in me that would, I hoped, protect me. I wished for Argos but knew that, unlike me, he was smart enough to remain where he was safe when he sensed danger.

I thought of throwing the amalgam I’d made, but without first putting it in my hands and releasing it, the mixture wouldn’t do much. I needed to stand still and direct the protection and banishing magic, and right now there was no time.

The footfalls were heavy behind me, the ground soft and squishy from the earlier drizzle. Ahead of me, Jeremy went down, and Liam stopped and lifted his friend up enough for the other man to get his legs under him and run on. Shelby stumbled too, but Lorne scooped her up.

“I’m here,” I called out so he could keep his focus forward.

At the cobblestones, everyone’s speed increased, but so did the horror of hearing the creature—feet, talons, paws—knocking the stones around as it closed the distance. Lorne’s police car, parked on the road, was like a beacon of hope, and hearing the lock chirp loudly let me know he’d had the presence of mind to get it open for us. It was impressive to be so calm under life-and-death fear and pressure. And yet, getting in the car would take precious seconds we didn’t have.

Darting left, I felt hot breath on my back—the creature was following me. It made sense to go after the closest of us, and I slipped between gravestones, zigzagging around ones taller than me, and then smaller ones, feeling it close behind me, but because it was bigger, heavier, not as agile, it was having trouble getting a hold of me.

The clouds covered the moon again, and it got dark, but it was summer, so it was never as shadowy as in the dead of winter. I veered right, not wanting to take whatever was after me toward two deer grazing nearby, but they moved, deliberately rushing forward to intercept me, then turned at the last moment, the thing leaping at me landing instead on the closest stag.

“No,” I screamed as they rolled together, and I tried to follow, to help, but another stag rushed in front of me. We collided, and I bounced off, falling to the ground.

“You.”

Something had spoken, and it took me a second to parse that it was the deer. As they didn’t normally speak to me, I felt okay with the fact that I was rendered mute.

Looking up, I saw the deer’s eyes glow red.

“Run,” it ordered, and I got up and bolted for the car.

If I had to guess, most people would’ve probably taken that moment to freak out about a stag speaking to them. But when you were aware of magic, you took it for granted that not every day would be a normal one.

The passenger-side door was open for me, and I dove in and swung the door closed.

“The fuck were you doing?” Lorne yelled as he put the car in gear and pulled out.

Turning to look, I saw the two deer again, both running, the first easily leaping over the six-foot wrought-iron fence and heading west toward town, the second close behind. It was hard to see in the darkness if the creature was following them, and there were trees as well, but I heard a roar, and then a portion of the fence flew forward. It started to rain again then, harder, and I checked the side mirror, but I couldn’t see anything.

“Is it gone?” Shelby gasped, her breath coming out in a staccato rhythm. When I glanced toward the back seat, I saw her sitting in Jeremy’s lap, both of them riveted to the rear window. Father Dennis was cradling Meijun, who had her face pressed into his chest, eyes closed tight. Liam was on the other side of Father Dennis, trying to look out the side window. It was a bit disconcerting, seeing all of them and the priest where normally suspects sat in handcuffs.

“No, it’s—fuck, what is that, two?” Jeremy asked, his voice high-pitched, terrified.

Lorne gunned it, and at the entrance to the cemetery, took a right toward home.

“That’s smart,” I whispered to him, and then, “Could you see what it was?”

“Some kind of reptile,” he answered icily, his eyes solidly on the road. He was furious. I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves.

Taking a moment to compose my thoughts and give my voice some strength, I said, “You wouldn’t have made it to the car, and even if you did, you wouldn’t have been able to get everyone safely inside.” I was gentle but firm. “We both know there was only one way for that to happen.”

He was silent as Liam and Jeremy said they lost sight of “whatever those fucking things were” in the trees on the side of the road.