Page 108 of Evidence of a Folktale

“Are you stuck, or are you mad I’m not playing?” he asked, and the pup barked again, shifting his weight to tell Eamon his tootsies were cold.

“Big baby.” Eamon chuckled as he jumped down into the white. “You can do it. I just saw you walk out there. And I know you don’t mind the cold… granted, the snow doesn’t usually reach your shoulders.” He scooped up the dog and dusted the snow off his chilly body. “Better?” he asked as he strode to the front door, and Cerberus planted a messy kiss on his cheek. “Like I said, big baby.” But he kissed the dog’s beefy head for good measure before depositing him inside. “Once the storm slows, I’ll shovel a section for you, okay?”

Cerberus wagged his tail as if he understood Eamon’s promise, and Eamon patted his head before leading the dog into the kitchen. He was up. He shouldfeedthem both before he metaphorically chained himself to his desk for the night.

“I hope your mom’s okay,” he said, checking his silent phone before dumping food into Cerberus’ bowl. “I know she’s an adult… and a tornado of a woman, but I hate when she doesn’t call.” He turned on the kitchen TV and scratched the munching pup before turning to the fridge.He always waited to make dinner until Bel returned home so he could eat with her, butthese mealshe preferred to eat alone.She’d yet to see him feed. He could go for extended periods without blood, but he couldn’t quit it. It was one of his only weaknesses. If starved, he would eventually wither into dust. Lucky for him, and unfortunately for his enemies, he was almost impossible to restrain, and human blood was one of theeasiestmeals to obtain. It was harder to consume when he drank ethically, but it would take him an exceptionally long time to starve. Many had tried starving him, including hisownmother. Not one had come even close.

Eamon removed the shelf and unlocked the secret compartmentin the back ofhis fridge. He didn’t want Bel stumbling onto his stores while fishing for a snack, so he’d commissioned a custom refrigerator. Hefundedmultiple private medical groups, which made it easy to skim donations off the top. Bel knew blood ensured his survival, and she appreciated the absence of death, but he wasn’t sure how she would react if she saw him sucking down prepacked blood as if it were a juice box.

“No, this isn’t for you.” Eamon pushed the piggy Cerberus aside. The dog had finished his meal, and his curiosity had him chasing Eamon through the kitchen. “You just ate, and your mom would get mad if I overfed you and then the vet yelled at her. I don’t get off as easily as you do. She thinks you do no wrong, but she likes to yell at me. She’ll blame me if you get tubby.” He gave the pit’s muscular ribs a loving thump. “So no begging. You don’t want me getting into trouble, do you?”

Eamon put the blood into abottle warmer.Infants drank formula at around ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit, and human blood was around one hundred degrees when flowing through the body. The bottle warmer was such an innocent thing to purchase, yet its use in his house would shock most mothers, this pitbull’s mom included. Or maybe not. Bel loved him even though his crimes had inspired the most feared literary creature.Maybethis setup wouldn’t freak her out.

Eamon glanced at his phone again, the dog’s mother still ignoring him, and he hated how his stomach roiled at the silence. The weather was atrocious, and her attention was undoubtedly focused on driving, not checking her texts, but the same fears plagued him every time their communicationswentsilent. In reality, both her hands were probably glued to the steering wheel, but in his mind, her lack of response meant she was bleeding out in a ditch.

“Get a grip,” he growled at himself as he grabbed the warmed blood and stared at the television to distract himself. She was fine. She was watching an arrogant yet unreasonably handsome actor. Being flirted with was the only danger threatening her, but that didn’t bother him. Not because he wasn’t jealous, but because Bel was a special breed of woman. She didn’t give him reason to doubt her loyalty. She might tease him, but she’d never betray his trust. It was one of the many reasons he loved her so unconditionally. He didn’t need to worry about her leaving him for the flattery of a celebrity. He did worry about her leaving him because she’d been reckless... again.

Eamon downed the blood, bored with the television program. It wasyetanother special on Aesop’s Files and the murders plaguing Bajka. He’d watched season after season to help Bel, and he was so sick of the show that the clips on the screen made him want to gag on this dinner, so he grabbed the remote and aimed it to turn off the TV when the camera zoomed in on a behind-the-scene recording from years ago.

Eamon’s alreadycoolbody flushed as cold as the snow coating the earth outside his mansion, and he hit the pause button, freezing the shot so he could get a better look. But his eyes weren’t lying. The footage was of Beau Draven and his original costar Willow Moon speaking to the director, Warren Rouge. The handheld camera shook as it captured the interactions, but it wasn’t those familiar faces that rooted Eamon’s feet to the ground. It was the man behind the actors. He was young, practically a kid helping to run cables through the set. He wasclearlyonly a production assistant, and while his outfit differed vastly from the uniform he wore now, his face was the same. Ethan Rollo had worked for Aesop’s Files before its rise to fame, and Eamon understood. The Bajka Police Department hadn’t hired Rollo by accident. He was here on purpose.

Eamon dialed Bel’s number so fast that he almost cracked the screen withhisforce, but the call failed. He tried again, but then he noticed the absence of service. The storm must’ve damaged a nearby cell tower, so he pulled up the necklace tracker on its app. Its advanced technology didn’t rely on conventional networks, and to his relief, the red dot marking her location lit up his screen. His relief was short-lived, though, because Bel wasn’t on set. She wasn’t at the station or the inn. She wasn’t even in town. The location pinged from the woods near his property, and with a jolt of fear so powerful that physical pain lanced his chest, Eamon raced for the door. He didn’t bother with a coat. He didn’t bother withcarkeys.Hesimplyran out into the blizzard, praying he wasn’t too late.

Bel pulledup next to the parked squad car, but even through the thick snow, she could see it stood empty. She cursed, slamming her fist on the steering wheel before scanning the trees. Confronting Rollo by their cars was one thing, but chasing him into the whiteness? That wouldn’t end well, and if Rollo had forced Draven into the woods, it would be a matter of minutes before the officer gutted him. Not that she’d be able to find them in this blizzard. Her SUV handled inclement weather well, though. Maybe she should push forward and see?—

Bel jumped out of the car and reached for her necklace, the crimson fabric a beacon in the white only a few yards ahead of the parked vehicles. The men hadn’t wandered far. Draven was still alive, and he wasn’t wearing the red cloak. It still hung from Rollo’s clenched fist… his unarmed fist. The deputy didn’t even have his service weapon on his person, and Bel withdrew her Glock instead of pressing the panic button.

“Don’t do it, Rollo!” she shouted above the winds, and both men flinched at her voice.

“Oh thank god, Detective!” Beau shrieked, but Rollo clocked him in the head, silencing his plea.

“Shut up,” he growled.

“Whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t!” Bel inched closer, thumbing off her Glock’s safety. “Drop the cloak and put your hands in the air.”

“You shouldn’t be here, Detective,” Rollo shouted. He wasn’t wearing his uniform either. Only a simple white tee shirt and loose hanging sweats protected him from the cold.

“And neither should you, Ethan.” Bel switched to his first name, hoping it would give him pause. “You’ve done nothing yet. We can get in the car and go home.”

“Except that’s a lie!” he shouted. “I’ve already killed four people. I can never go home, soI’m going tofinish this.”

“Please don’t do this, Ethan,” she begged. “I can’t let you kill him, and I don’t want to shoot you. I will, though, so don’t make me.”

“Leave, Detective. I like you… a lot. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then don’t!” Bel stepped another foot closer. “Just get back in the car. It’s that simple.”

“I can’t stop now!” he shouted. “You don’t understand, but I won’t let him get away with what he did.”

“I know what he did,” she said, changing tactics. Pleading with him wasn’t working. Maybe assuring him someone understood his pain would. “Jane Doe, six years ago. Her body was found in the woods with multiple stab wounds. The police surmised a different person inflicted each blow. Five killers. Five victims. Jane Doe was your grandmother, wasn’t she?”

“And they slaughtered her like an animal!” Rollo shouted, and the waver in his voice warned Bel he was crying. “I worked for the show then. I was just a production assistant, so I meant nothing to these monsters.” He shoved Beau, and the falling stage light that almost hit Taron flashed through Bel’s memory. He’d known exactly how to help because he’d worked on a set before. It was how he got his hands on the prop-like clues and weapon. He still had connections from his time with Aesop’s Files.

“They were going to cancel the show,” he continued, and Bel crept another foot closer. “They were all losing their shot at fame, so the… never mind, you wouldn’t understand!” He grabbed Beau by the throat, and Bel lunged forward, her finger ready on the trigger

“Except you know I do!” she argued. “It’s whyI’ve never seen you and Eamon in the same room together. You recognize what he is and have been hiding from his power, soofcourseI understand. I know why the show became famous overnight. These five made a deal, and your grandmother was the price. All black magic is bought with blood and pain, and your grandma was the sacrifice.”

Rollo gawked at her, and Bel seized his shock to move yet another foot closer. If he learned she understood the darkness that plagued this world, maybe he’d listen to her.

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