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He laughed again, slanting his eyes at me as he reset the safety I remembered to breathe "Watchu want Injun Princess?"

"Keys to one of the SUVs Preferably one fully trucked out" Meaning one full of coear, an onboard co built in, weapons, and all the other bells and whistles that Leo had provided Though he didn’t ask, and as the titular head of security on this gig, I didn’t have to volunteer, I added, "They don’t know it yet, but I’" When he raised his brows, I said, "SAR, park service and civilian-speak for Search and Rescue"

Derek holstered his weapon and walked across the roolass "I’ll call for valet parking to bring it around You need backup?" He tossed a set of keys to ht them one-handed

"No" I stepped fro fast, down the hallway I knew Derek wasn’t exactly a friend, but the sliding safety-off uard It shohat our relationship was And wasn’t In front of the hotel, I slid into the driver’s seat of a partially armored SUV and closed the door On the way past, I studied the protestors from behind the heavily tinted, bullet-resistant s Their signs were not particularly innovative, but they coh: STAKE ALL VAMPS VAMPS DIE! CUT OFF THE FANGHEADS GOD GAVE THE WORLD TO HUMANS That kind of thing

I initiated the GIS, ed that info with the GPS as I drove Buncoraphic Inforeospatial backbone, , and information project of the state, used by law enforceers, realtors, and others anted to pay the fee It allowed info about GPS positions, addresses, parcels of land, individual mountain peaks, etc, to be downloaded onto a spreadsheet or printable map, and was especially helpful in the steep, mountainous land of the county Leo had provided us access to the syste the cops nearly effortless

It was after eight a TV If this new attack site had been a media zoo so early, it was a circus now There were seven vans with satellite dishes on top: national broadcast news, local cable, and national cable A dozen cop cars fro them: Asheville PD, Buncoo RRT, which was the interagency Regional Response Team, as well as sheriff deputy vehicles There were maybe forty privately owned vehicles,them to be owned by trained rescue volunteers I sao rescue support trucks, ereasy fast food There was one a in the shade of a tree, chatting Three trucks had cages in back for canine search units Whicheither the ca whatever scent the dogs had discovered People milled everywhere

I exited the SUV away from the cameras, tossed my prepacked backpack over a shoulder, andin the shade, shielded by heavy foliage from the view of the cameras He stood with three other men and a woman at a makeshift portable table, a series of aerial maps in front of him, a laptop open to the side Sheriff Grizzard had been in office for several years, surviving into his second ter for a third He was a hale-felloell- elected official He didn’t exactly hate me and all I stood for, but at one time he had bla in his power to put ainst me, but Grizzard’s detective, and Molly’s friend, had been killed on my watch I had survived I could understand his ani on Beast’s better hearing, listening to the athered that the search area had been divided into grids early on, the campsite discovered just after dawn The injured had been hauled up the mountain in rescue baskets and medevaced out The dead were still in place Cri the site, which idely scattered And the dogs were tracking the things that had attacked the cas Multiples

"I say it’s fangheads, maybe with some sorta spell to hide their footprints, orthat killed those people in Louisiana" The speaker was a short felloith a full brown beard He spat to the side, a spew of tobacco, and patted the wad of leaves deeper into his jaith an index finger He wiped it on his jeans and kept talking "Part fanghead, part so about a liver-eater, and I’d only ever seen or heard of one, but it was a good guess The da predators was often siic and shit" He added, "Maybe it’s that woman who come back from there"

"I don’t think Jane Yellowrock mauled three people and left them to die, then killed three more and ate theheads," the shorterthat wants to eat you or drink you dry" Which sounded like good advice to et her take on this If it’s the same kind of creature she killed in New Orleans, that makes her the resident expert" He didn’t sound happy And Deputy Sam Orson didn’t look happy when he pulled a cell phone froonna be fun Before , I stepped fro on branch when I was halfway there Grizzard looked up My cell rang I answered as I entered the area "Yellowrock"

The deputy looked at me, looked at his phone, and disconnected I lifted a hand Closed my phone "Sheriff Sam" I nodded to the woman, "Betty" I didn’t know the others but included the"

"And you’re here why?" Grizzard said Trust Grizzard to go for bad-cop attitude first thing Maybe he did it with everyone Maybe he saved it just for me

"I saw the tracks yesterday in Hartford," I said, dropping into the short simple sentences of cops on a cri if the sas attacked here Wondered if I could help You were just calling ht, Sam? Sheriff?" I lifted the cell, which showed a dropped call froave a half sht of Brax’s funeral More than a few, actually He had gotten totally wasted My skinwalker metabolism hadn’t let me find that kind of release, but I had done my best to keep up with hiirlfriend get hi a wedding ring and ten extra pounds "Yeah," Saot pics of tracks?" I asked

Grizzard jerked his head to the side, a coesture, I was accepted into the search group My breathing settled and ood to be hoers dangling while Grizzard punched some keys on the laptop A photo covered the screen, a close-up shot of a paw print I set my spread hand on the table top "About that wide?" I asked

"Near enough," Grizzard said He hit a key and another shot appeared, this one with a ruler beside it A s about or was just blowing s that you killed in Louisiana? Half va that attacked that couple yesterday?"

"Likely," I said "Werewolf" The cops around un butts, cop reaction "There were tolves at that site They were trying to turn the girl Theshots, already, I take it"

Grizzard sighed Betty said, "So it’s true? They’ll turn into olves?" Unspoken was the worry that anyone who fought the weres could suffer an injury and go furry at the next full er, but some risks make even the best of theh the text ht "I asked the New Orleans vamps for a healer Aaaaaand"--I spotted one from Bruiser, clicked on it, and interpreted the text--"a Mercy Blade is coht froht be Geronna bleed the kid? Not gonna happen," the tobacco chewer said He shifted his weapon in its holster and spat again

I took note where not to step "She’s not a vamp" Which was the truth as far as it went Mercy Blades were anzus, feathered birdlike creatures once worshipped as storlamours I didn’t tell the "I was bitten by olves once A Mercy Blade got to me in time and healed me of the taint"

"Yeah?" Grizzard looked onna stay a while?" he asked Meaning would others have access to her services The people bitten at the crime scene below Cops in the future

I texted a short line into the phone "I’ht down" I pocketed the cell and changed topics "Back to the tracks Was there another track, a weird one,theed looks that excluded me Grizzard said, "Can you describe them?"

"Pen?" He placed one in my hand and slid a scrap of paper to rindy tracks Most any moderately talented three-year-old could I sketched in the three-toed tracks, the er than the others, claws like sickles I could tell by the way the sroup froze up that the tracks had been found at the crime scene