Page 20 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“Charlie, how well can you smell?” I asked.

“Good,” he said, not looking up from changing out two links of track.

“Like, do I smell different than other women here?”

“You smell like you. No one else smells like you. Everyone smells different.” He held up part of his train, turning it this way and that.

“Is it because of lotions and stuff?” I said, pressing a little further.

“Just you,” he said, not taking his eyes off his train.

“What about Kicks? Does he smell different?”

“Everyone does.” Charlie looked up at me as if something was clicking in his head. “Why?”

I shouldn’t have dragged him into this, even unknowingly. He might only be a kid, but those wheels were turning. But how did I not use his small super senses for this?

“I was just curious.”

“You know, Buddie said you can’t smell like us, but I wasn’t sure.”

“No, I can’t.” The tension left my body. What was I thinking? He was turning six. He had no idea what I was doing. “So Kicks doesn’t smell like anyone else? He never smells like a girl?”

Charlie looked up at me, his face scrunched up as if that was the worst thing I could possibly ever say about a boy. “No.”

“Hello?” Evangeline called out as she walked into the living room. “Sorry I didn’t knock. We don’t do that here. Shifters usually hear people coming, so knocking tends to be redundant. I’ll try to do it if it bothers you.”

“Yeah, I noticed that at the other pack that no one knocked much there either. I’ve adjusted.”

“Whew,” she said, her eyes widening. “That’s good, because I didn’t want to have to start knocking.” She looked down at Charlie. “Cool train!”

“Thank you!” He beamed up at her.

“I’ve got some stuff for you for the party tonight,” she said, holding up a bag.

“Oh. Kicks got a few things for Charlie and I figured I’d just go like this. No?” I’d found a shirt of Kicks’ and belted it like it was a dress over some pants.

She tilted her head sideways, the look on her face not hard to interpret.

“That bad?” I said.

“Not good. You really need to go pick some stuff up. We’re close to the same size, so I thought I’d bring you a couple of options.” She walked into the bedroom and started whipping out outfits in every color of the rainbow, all with tags. “You can keep all these.”

“This looks like your entire wardrobe,” I said, looking at the array spread out all over the room.

“Not even close. I was really sad after Death Day. I kept going to my restaurant every day, but no one would show up, unless they were looters. Some of them got a little handsy. I’d have to kill them, and things would get messy, so I’d go shopping afterward.”

I peeked into the living room. Charlie didn’t seem to care what we were talking about.

“How many did you have to kill?” I whispered.

“I don’t remember the exact number. More than a few but less than ten? I always gave them a warning, but they’d look at me and not believe that I could shift into something that would absolutely destroy them. Hard to help those who won’t help themselves.

“Point is, bloodstains are a bitch to get out, and I’d always pick up a few extra outfits. I did it for a while. Then I finally gave up after about a month. Might’ve been longer. I don’t know. Those early days felt like a blur. Anyway, I’ve got tons of clothes. I’ll drive you down into the closest city tomorrow if you want, but you can have these, so no rush.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

She dragged out more outfits, laying them down on the bed and hanging some from the trim so I could see all the options.

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