Page 85 of An Invocation of Monsters

If she had left the Lodge, then she had also left behind all her worldly possessions. I pulled down another photo, but this one didn’t have the Lodge in the background.

No, this one had been taken on a sprawling lawn, with an imposing stone mansion in the background. If I peered closely, I could just make out the word “Miskatonic” on the gate in the background.

The four founding members of the Wendigo Society were sprawled on the grass, surrounded by discarded backpacks and piles of books.

My mother had drawn on her hand and arm with a pen, but there was something purposeful to the lines. Circles within squares bisected by triangles…

They were all smiling, but there was a shadow over the group. I looked at Joseph, who was sprawled between Mary and Gillian, his hand on a thick leather book. There was a gnarled lumpiness to the cover that was a little stomach-turning, like it was more of a hide or skin on a creature than a cover on a book.

Even in the past, his smile was secretive and more than a little smarmy. That much hadn’t changed, at least.

On a whim, I flipped the picture over, saw the bold writing, and felt cold fingers from the grave brush the back of my neck.

If I am missing, I did not go willingly. If I am gone, I did not kill myself.

Tasha’s last words, relayed from the grave.

Looking at her bold, confident pen strokes, I did in fact feel like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over me. The hairs on my arms were standing up.

It felt too coincidental, but I reminded myself that there were no coincidences here.

She’d known someone would come looking. Someone would have to notice she was gone.

And she’d hidden her message in plain sight.

The question was, why was she gone, and who had made it happen?

I carefully fit the picture back into its place in the mirror frame. Suddenly I felt bad for pawing through her things; God only knew where her body was.

Did she have family? Had they spent years wondering where she’d disappeared to?

I made sure every picture was exactly where I’d found it, and put the ring back in place as well.

I also pulled the bedroom door shut and made sure the smiling-sun hanging was covering it. I wanted to leave everything as I’d found it, in this weird, disquieting time-capsule of a dead woman’s life.

Oddly enough, I even felt bad for assuming Tasha was the Hunter.

The only thing I didn’t move back into place was the boxes of clothes. I pushed them back a little so that if I ever had to come back, I’d be able to open the door farther.

When I stepped back into the sunny hall, I had the odd sensation of stepping back into the normal flow of time. In those darkened rooms, it felt like everything had come to a halt.

I exhaled slowly, wiped dust off my hands and face and clothes, and thought of her words. A plea from another lifetime.

If I am missing, I did not go willingly.

The Wendigo Society had weak links in their chain.

And I knew exactly who would talk.

27

Elle

It took me an hour of searching to find Kase, who was, as always, accompanied by Willow.

They weren’t in the vicinity of the Lodge, which made me feel a little better about my break-in.

Instead I had finagle information out of Tater, who sent me hiking through the woods to the south.

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