Page 77 of Blood and Bonbons

My stomach roiled, and I willed it to behave until I could gorge on large quantities of delicious pancakes.

“Don’t want to know!”

By the time I got the mixing bowl and pan out, Vena was back and hopping on her toes again.

“It’s a map, Ev.”

“A map of what?”

“I’m not quite sure. There are some towns noted but with really tiny and horrible penmanship.”

“If it was written in ink, the oil probably made it bleed.”

She was quiet for a long moment while I measured the ingredients.

“Not pen ink. I think they tattooed the skin before it was dried. Do you have a magnifying glass? Or maybe your glasses from fifth grade?”

“We agreed never to bring up that phase again, Vena,” I said with a dark warning glare that I didn’t truly mean.

She left the kitchen, and I heard the crinkle of parchment in the living room.

“Wait,” she called. “I think I recognize one of these names from the book.” A flurry of pages turning sounded from her end of the house. “Yep. Stolberg, where the story of the girl abductions is from. And here’s another one. I knew they would be related somehow.”

I mixed the ingredients, inhaling the scent of fresh lemon as she continued her mad chatter. Not even her talk of maps and stones could drag me down when I was in my happy food place.

Until she said, “We need to check these locations.”

“How?” I asked suspiciously. “You just said you didn’t recognize some of the names.”

“That’s easily fixed with a bit of research.”

Research might distract her for a bit, but I knew I’d be dragged into it.

“Somehow, Miles knew the map and the book were tied together,” Vena said. “But for what? Why did he care? What’s this map showing us?”

I heard her moving around. The crinkle of parchment grew louder. I leaned back to see through to the living room and saw her laying the parchment paper and scrotum on the dining room table.

“Vena!”

“Sorry, but I need better lighting.”

I made a face and turned back to my lemony prize.

“I was right,” Vena said. “Light’s better. I can see more of the names from the book on the map.”

I flipped the pancakes. “Why put the towns from the book on a map? Is there some kind of significance to the stories? Are they all mining towns?”

“You and I are thinking the same thing. It’s got to be a treasure map, right? But the stories are mainly about horrible things happening to humans. Thanks to Cross, we know they’re creature stories, but I haven’t found anything to link them to the stones at the back of the book.”

“Put the map away for now, and let’s eat. We’ll think better on a fed stomach.”

She snorted. “You think a fed stomach can solve everything.”

“I haven’t been proven wrong yet.” I took plates out and placed heavenly, plump pancakes on them.

Vena came around me to wash her hands. “They do smell good.”

“Better than what you’ve been playing with.”

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