Page 62 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“Come on inside. I’ll fill you in,” Dirkin replied, motioning us toward the smaller building he’d come out of.

It was a small, one-room affair with a bed squeezed into one corner, a couch, and a small table with a couple of chairs taking up the rest of the space. Dirkin turned up an oil lamp that had been burning on low, casting a warm glow over the space. He waved us toward the sofa.

“I’ll put some coffee on for us,” he said, moving to a wood stove that looked like a recent addition to the place. “I’ve got some smoked jerky if you’re hungry, too, but that’s about it. The rest of us, the ones left, anyway, are out hunting.”

“How many are left?” Kicks asked, settling onto the sofa.

Dirkin sighed, his shoulders sagging. “We lost about half the pack on Death Day, which was a helluva lot better than the human packs around here.” He glanced at me and nodded. “Sorry about that.”

“We all are,” I said quietly.

“How’s it been since?” Kicks asked.

“So, like I said, we lost half the pack. It was a tough hit. Not to say it was easy on anyone, but we were never a big pack, only thirty or so,” he explained, looking at me. “With so few of us left, it hasn’t been easy. Groza sent an invite to come join her pack not long ago, and a couple of our people were grumbling about how it might be the right move. I’m not overly fond of her, but it might come to that.” He shuddered and made a face like he’d stepped in horseshit. “I think I’d rather be left here alone.”

“Groza isn’t an option for us,” Kicks said. “You could say that territory is scorched earth.” He gave Dirkin the broad strokes of the situation, leaving out how many bodies I’d left behind.

“I’m sure glad to see you, though. Been wishing every day that I’d taken you up on that satellite phone offer,” Dirkin said, handing us coffees.

“I’ll get someone from the pack to run you one out after I get back,” Kicks said. “I’ve been wanting to come check in on you, but there’s another reason we came. I know you have connections with the others around here. I need to speak to one of them.”

Others? What the hell did that mean? I’d had enough of any kind of other.

Dirkin whistled low. “You sure? We’ve got a lot of problems without looking for any.”

“Yes. They might have information about some of the issues we’re having.”

“If you’re sure, I’ll give you a map. It’ll lead you to their territory. As soon as you set foot beyond their boundary, there’ll be no problem getting one to talk to you. Tell them I sent you. It will hopefully buy you a little grace, but not much.”

What else was said seemed to fade from my numbing mind as the mention of others lingered. Did I really need more problems? More unworldly creatures to contend with?

Dirkin pulled out some jerky. I didn’t do much talking, still feeling numb, and I wasn’t sure when that was going to wear off.

After a little more catching up, Dirkin showed us to one of the other small buildings. It had another retrofitted wood stove, which Kicks started loading up with wood, and a small cot in the corner we wouldn’t be sharing. I couldn’t even get nervous about that when I had too many other things to worry about.

“What are we supposed to be meeting, exactly?” I asked.

“It’s sort of like a vampire—”

“What? You want me to meet a vampire?”

“Not the way you’re thinking. They aren’t pleasant, but they aren’t what the movies would have you think. They don’t go around feeding on people’s blood until they die. They leech energy from humans, a little here and there, and people don’t even know it’s happening. A brush too close is all they need. They’re integrated into the populace, living among humans, only taking the energy they need. You ever feel like you were dragging after a great sleep? It might’ve been them. I’ve never been a fan, but they don’t bother shifters and we leave them be.” He shrugged. “If there’s someone who might have an answer, they’re a good place to start, considering she’s using your energy, in a sense.”

I didn’t want to meet these creatures. Like Dirkin said, didn’t I have enough issues? But Kicks had a point. It was worth at least investigating when there were no other options on the table.

I sat down on the small cot, wondering how I was possibly going to sleep tonight, whilehe got the fire roaring.

Then he walked over, pulling off his shirt.

“We’re not sleeping in this cot together,” I said.

“Why not? Death isn’t killing me. You said she likes me.” He smirked, his eyes burning with heat. His stare alone was enough to send a surge of want through me. Sometimes when he looked at me, I felt like I was the only woman in the world.

“You think it’s good that Death likes you?” I tried to keep my voice from betraying the heat building up inside of me.

“It’s better than her disliking me, right? I think it’s safe.” He stood beside the cot, brushing my hair back from my face.

“She didn’t say she liked you. She said she liked what you did,” I said, leaning away from his touch.

---