Page 65 of The Bone Man

I frown as we push through the gathered crowd to the counter. “Philip. What’s this about?”

He grins at us. “We got our hands on a real prophet, so we’re playing apocalypse bingo.” He points to a board behind him. “All paths are paved in bloodwe figure was that whole mess at the Conservatory, andSacrifice your queen, well, that was obviously you on Main Street with the Beast.”

My gaze lifts to the board, where lines of the prophecy fill squares. The center and top right square are already crossed off, with images from the news taped around them. Other squares include:When One Falls, Another RisesandThey Ride With Death, The World Burns.

My frown deepens. “You have a lot of empty boxes there.”

“This prophet seems really fixated on these specific events, unfortunately.” Philip taps the club he holds against the cage. “He’s not giving us any new ones.”

The man lunges at Philip. “You can’t stop it! No one can stop it!”

Marc squints at the board. “These aren’t signs of the apocalypse. They’re just mad ramblings that you’re forcing context onto.”

“Entertainment is entertainment.” Philip shrugs. “So, what brings you lovely people into this hell hole?”

“We’re here to talk to the bartender.” I reach into my pocket and step past Philip to thrust the picture of Jimmy toward the demon behind the bar. “Have you seen this man? He was here looking for puff in the last few days.”

The demon doesn’t even look at the picture. “We don’t sell puff here.”

“I don’t care if you sell puff.” I tap the picture. “Was he here?”

“Might have been,” he grunts. “We get a lot of customers through our doors. I just take their coin and give them booze.”

“Aww, too bad,” Philip pokes out his bottom lip. “But I’m sure he’ll pop up somewhere.”

Annoyed that he’s the one who gave us this lead and wasted our time, I tuck the picture away. “You think that’s funny?”

Philip shrugs with disinterest. “He was selling demon body parts. Stop wasting your time on this case when we have an apocalypse coming.”

With a broad smile, I snap my baton to full-length and flick it out, blowing off the lock on the cage.

The madman bursts free, tumbling to the floor, and Darius sends a streak of fire through the crowd, forcing open a path for the man to race to freedom.

I turn back to Philip. “Nowthatwas fun. Enjoy your bingo night.”

As we head for the door, a man at the entrance catches my eyes before he ducks out of view. But in that brief glimpse, I recognize the gaunt, dirty-blond man as the one in my photo.

Looks like Jimmy really has been hanging out at the Poison Frog. And he just made us.

dozens of lives

- Flint -

I closemy eyes and take a deep breath, releasing the world around me as my consciousness spreads outward. Orianna, who sits at my side, shines like a beacon of energy, her presence an anchor as my magic flows downward into the pit, connected with the rodents I summoned.

Small granules of dirt shift beneath my paws, the swish of dozens of tails travel down my spine, and air ruffles my fur, while the scent of earth fills my nose with a richness I’m unused to. My senses feel sharper, and my vision of the pit comes from all directions.

Small claws dig through the dirt, burrowing beneath the surface in search of the missing bones. We need to find them, not just for Sharpe, but for all the beings who’ve died, whose loved ones never knew what happened to them.

I guide the small creatures, directing their movements to scurry into the depths of the earth. The rats can only go a foot and a half, but the mice can burrow far deeper.

It takes time, but after nearly ten feet without even a finger bone found, I direct them to return to the surface of the cave.

Once they’re back on top of the dirt, I send their tiny bodies to the walls, seeking out narrow passageways. They spread outward, moving in different directions that pull my consciousness thin.

As we delve deeper, I sense a shift in the energy around us, and other movements join the scurry of small bodies. A slithering that sends tiny hearts racing with the need to flee, but my hold keeps them moving forward.

And then, two of my mice find it—another pit deep within the earth, filled with all the missing bones from the mass grave, hidden in the heart of the forest.

---