Page 38 of Forensics of a Fable

Yes, he showed up in town right before two murders shattered Bajka’s peace.“No, I was just curious what youthought. Olivia spends a lot of time with him, and she’s a good person. I don’t want her getting hurt.”

“Well, I can’t say for certain, but I didn’t notice any red flags. He seems smitten.”

Bel opened her mouth to argue he seemed too smitten for a man who had just met Olivia. Maybe he had zeroed in on her because she was an officer, but she fell silent as her mind summoned Eamon. He was too intense, too possessive, too attached, too obsessed. Outsiders would be concerned for her safety, as they undoubtedly should be, but she wasn’t. Eamon felt safer with each passing day, and maybe the magnetic connection between her and her demon with the death-black eyes was the same thread that stitched Olivia and Ewan together.

The women fell into comfortable conversation as they sipped their wine, but Violet said her goodbyes when Cerberus started asking for his night walk. Bel strapped him into his harness, and they escorted her friend to her car, moving for the woods after Violet disappeared down the street. Bel hesitated in the darkness, wary about venturing into the shadows, but she finally relented, deciding there was no harm as long as they kept the cabin in sight. Cerberus was content to stick close to home, more interested in peeing on every tree than exploring, and she wondered if he was all right. Yes, he was a male dog, but his reaction was excessive. He never marked his territory this aggressively. Was he feeling well? Had someone walked through these trees? Bel froze, knowing it couldn’t have been Eamon. A friend’s scent wouldn’t inspire this level of territorialism.

“Hey, baby beast.” She tugged his leash. “Let’s go in—”

Cerberus loosed a low and vicious growl, planting himself firmly in front of her. Every muscle in his stocky body coiled, and fear twisted around Bel’s heart until she couldn’t breathe. She’donly witnessed this sheer violence from her pitbull once before, and it had been when a witch tried to kill her.

Cerberus growled again and leaned against her, shoving her backward toward the cabin. That her dog was forcing her to retreat instead of running headlong into the fray told her that whatever he sensed was a predator of the deadliest breed, and her instincts screamed at her to run while her brain warned it was too late. Whatever had found them wouldn’t let them escape, and as if to reinforce the terror coiling through her, a massive shadow shifted in the darkness. The size was unlike anything she’d ever seen. It was colossal as it silently advanced, and as Cerberus snarled with all the malice within him, their stalker stepped into the moonlight.

Bel forgot to breathe. She forgot to move. Her heart stopped beating. Her skin flushed cold, and a new and unsettling brand of fear took root in her gut. It wormed its way inside her, taunting her with her imminent death, for there, only feet away, stood a bear. But it was no ordinary beast. It was an unnatural creature, a monster not of nature but of darkness. It was the largest animal she’d ever seen, and as it stared down at her with evil in its eyes, she knew. This was the bear that had killed that hiker, and it was here to kill her.

Bel braced for death,knowing she could never outrun such a beast, but the monstrous black bear didn’t move. It merely studied her with its hellish gaze, as if it was waiting for something.

Bel stepped back slowly, but the animal took note of her movement and stepped forward. He didn’t advance. He simply maintained the distance between them as Cerberus snarled. The bear didn’t glance at the dog, though, his focus intent on Bel, and she had the unnerving sense that those eyes saw more than what stood before him. Her hold tightened on her dog’s leash, and they both retreated another experimental step. Once again, the creature followed, the movement forcing him further into the moonlight. Even on all fours, it was almost double her height,and Bel couldn’t help but picture the brutalized hiker. His body had been torn to shreds, eviscerated while he was still alive, and she dreaded her oncoming death. Being ripped apart by Eamon would be nothing compared to this agony, and she wondered if the bear would leave Cerberus alone if she gave him herself.

Bel slowly shifted her leg and guided the stubborn pitbull behind her. He fought her force, and the movement agitated the bear. It let out a warning growl and then rose onto its hind legs. It moved gracefully, almost as if it was human, and through her paralyzing fear, she wondered if another creature of magic had made Bajka its hunting ground. Nature hadn’t birthed this monstrous creature, and she craned her neck to see the vicious face peering down at her.

Yet the bear did not strike. It stood a few paces from her, watching her reaction to him with alarming attentiveness, and once again his deadly eyes struck her as unnatural. They were too observant, almost human, and she had the distinct impression the bear was deciding something. Was it trying to decipher if she was a threat, or was it contemplating the best way to taunt her before flaying her open?

Bel shuddered under the animal’s intense scrutiny, and just when she got the sense that he was going to let her live, his head twisted with an alarming speed, and he snarled. Before Bel registered what was happening, the shadows moved and a second figure exploded from the darkness on powerfully silent legs. Only the faint crack of branches heralded the new monster’s movements, and it raced by in a blur faster than her eyes could follow.

“Isobel, run!” a deep command echoed through the trees as the second predator collided with the bear, and the force was so violent, the animal crashed backward, breaking tree limbs as it collapsed to the forest floor. It leaped to its feet in seconds,whirling on its attacker with a savage roar, but the newcomer planted his towering height protectively before Bel and her dog.

“Run, Detective!” Eamon shouted as the bear launched for him, and Bel obeyed immediately, dragging a terrified Cerberus behind her. The raging battle sounded like thunder come to dance on earth, and she was too afraid to turn around, to watch Eamon be ripped to shreds.

The bear roared an ungodly sound, his voice followed by the dangerous crack of a tree, and suddenly Eamon was at her side, shoving her faster toward the house.

“Eamon!” she screamed, terrified to look at him and witness his innards hanging out of his slashed gut. She’d seen what that monster did to flesh.

“Move.” He cut her off, pushing her for her house. She felt his fear bleeding through his grip and knew his hands would leave bruises from their panicked hold. They reached her cabin, and he shoved her inside, hovering in the doorway as she almost fell onto her wood floor.

“Stay inside.” He growled as he slammed the door in her face, and Bel raced for her window to catch sight of him. Eamon hovered before her locked door, and she let out an ugly sob of relief when she saw that while his clothes were in tatters, his skin was only scratched. Blood dripped down his torso, but the wounds were superficial. The bear’s claws had eviscerated the hiker, but it seemed his power was weak against Eamon’s dominance.

Bel clamped her hand over her mouth to hold back her sobs. He was relatively unharmed. He hadn’t sacrificed himself to save her, and it terrified her how much the prospect of losing him destroyed her. She refused to lose him. She didn’t want to survive a world without Eamon Stone.

Eamon heard her cries through the wall and shifted toward her without taking his eyes off the woods. His frame settledbefore the window so she could see him clearly as he stood watch, but the bear had vanished as silently as he had appeared, leaving only broken trees in his wake.

Bel hesitantly opened the door,afraid to step foot outside even in the daylight. The sunshine blinded her as she stepped out with two cups of coffee. Eamon sat on her front stoop in the same spot she’d left him when she’d finally caved to her exhaustion. He hadn’t slept. He hadn’t moved from his guard post, and he still wore the same destroyed clothes from the night before. They were stained with his blood, but relief pricked her emotions when she saw the wounds on his bare chest were already healing into pale pink marks.

“Do you want some breakfast?” She asked, sitting beside him and handing him the coffee. She didn’t know how he liked it, so she made it the same as hers. “I can make you some eggs.”

“No, I’m fine.” He drained half the mug before draping a muscled arm over her shoulder and pulling her close. He pressed a kiss to her hair as he stared out at the destroyed tree line, and Bel wondered how on earth she would explain the carnage. Just how strong was Eamon, that he could throw a bear four times the natural size into the forest like it was a ball?

“You didn’t have to stay outside all night,” she said, feeling guilty that he’d guarded her and her home while she slept, yet thankful for his sacrifice. Terror would’ve stolen her sleep if it hadn’t been for his presence.

“Yes, I did.”

Bel slid an arm around his waist and leaned into his embrace. His body relaxed at their connection, and she rested her head on his shoulder, allowing herself this one moment of surrender.She gave in to her need to be near him, and for long minutes they drank their coffee in silence, clinging to each other. He had stood guard all night. He hadn’t slept, hadn’t abandoned her, and seeing him still outside when she woke chipped at the wall she’d built around her heart.

“It didn’t attack.” Bel broke the silence. “The bear just studied me with these eyes… they almost seemed human. It wasn’t until you showed up that he attacked.”

“A predator can always sense when he’s outmatched,” Eamon said.

“I was afraid it would…” she trailed off. “Why didn’t it try to kill me?”

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