Page 36 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“I appreciate your trying to make me feel better, if that’s what you’re doing.” It was really the only thing that made sense.

“I’m not trying to make you feel better. I’m telling you, Zetti wasn’t that good. Never could prove it, and no one would take me seriously, but she was a bad apple. I knew her my entire life, longer than anyone here. She hated humans with every fiber of her being. I heard whispers that she killed some, too. Before she started putting on the act, she did a lot of things she shouldn’t have. She wasn’t the saint she’s made out to be. If your gift worked on her, it was for a reason.”

I nodded, not sure what to say. Part of me wanted to pump him for more details. Another part of me was afraid it was some kind of gag. Was the pack screwing with me now? Was this a practical joke?

I was relieved of having to say anything because Old Freddy suddenly got up, his eyes widening. “Oh no. She’s coming for me. Best get going.”

He made his way to the door, where a young woman appeared. “Old Freddy, are you telling your tales again? You know that’s not nice.”

“It’s not tales if it’s true,” he said as he walked out of the house.

The young woman turned her attention to me. “He likes to sneak some sips and then gets creative. I wouldn’t listen to him,” she said, then moved to follow him.

She leaned closer to him as they walked away, whispering something I couldn’t hear, but I would’ve sworn she was warning him not to visit me again.

Logs burned in the fireplace, casting a warm glow and the scent of wood through the room. The crackling was the only sound as I waited for Kicks to return home for the night. Charlie had gone to sleep hours ago.

He’d had to run out earlier because the repair to the mill hadn’t held, but I knew I’d never be able to sleep until I got this off my chest.

The door finally opened and Kicks walked in. “I told you I’d sleep here. You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

“That’s not it.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly as he settled on the couch.

“I had an unexpected talk with someone today,” I said, curling my legs under me.

“Did someone give you a hard time?” he asked, the tendons in his neck immediately tensing. “Just so we’re clear, I’m not Duncan. When someone comes at you, I want to know about it.”

I didn’t need the reminder of how different the two of them were. It was more obvious every day. When I first committed to coming here, I’d kept my distance, afraid I’d get hurt. The situation had completely flipped. Now I was afraid just being around me was hurting him.

“No, nothing like that,” I replied, shaking my head. “I want to talk to you about it, but I don’t want it to come off the wrong way.”

“I won’t judge. I’ll just listen,” he assured me.

I bit my lip, hesitant to repeat the conversation. If it was a gag, I’d look like a fool. I wasn’t sure I believed Old Freddy’s words. I swallowed hard, feeling like the sound echoed in the quiet room.

“I just want your honest opinion. I don’t want you to take what I’m going to tell you as my trying to make excuses for what happened.”

“Understood,” he said.

“Someone told me today that Zetti wasn’t always such a good person. He said she wasn’t who she appeared to be. He said he knew her when she was younger, and she hated humans. He even suspected she’d murdered some. I don’t want to buy into it too much. I’m afraid because it makes me feel better about what happened, and I’m clinging to it to justify that. And he might be making this up.”

“And you think that maybe what he told you could explain what happened?” Kicks asked.

“I’m not trying to throw excuses out there. I wasn’t looking for him to speak to me. I’m just telling you about his visit, and I was curious if you’ve ever heard something like this before.”

“No, but she also didn’t live here her whole life. She was originally from a pack in Northern California,” he explained.

“Do you speak to them? Is there any way we could follow up on this?” I asked.

“If you want to find out this kind of information, it’s better to go in person. Who told you all this?”

“Old Freddy. Do you think you could talk to him? See if you can sniff out a lie in his words?”

He froze and then leaned back. “You want me to talk to Old Freddy?”

“If you could. I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.” At the mention of the name, his whole demeanor had seemed to shift.

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