The Hunter In Me

18 - Story

Owen slid from the truck, leaving the mimic remains behind while searching for Lilla. "Are you here? Lilla?" Leaning through the basement door, he waited for an answer.

"Do you think she's out?"

"Her car's here."

Footsteps thudded above us, and Owen turned to the stairs. She was descending with a yawn. "I was napping. I spent most of last night hunting. What are you doing here?"

"You've been sleeping up there?" Owen asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes. In a bed with fresh air, not in a basement on a couch. Is that a problem?"

He gawked at her for a second before waving. "No, of course not."

Lilla being up there bothered Owen, but I wouldn't question it now.

In the fading evening light, she didn't notice the blood and torn shirt until she came closer, squinting. "What happened? I thought you couldn't hunt on workdays."

"We weren't. Bash had to help his old track coach with something at the school, but he was a mimic, and it was a trap."

Her eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed. "I suppose you killed another one without getting any information about Catriona?"

Owen gritted my teeth, but my voice was calm when he said, "There was no choice, Lilla. There were two of them, and they injured Bash in case you already forgot."

He pointed at the blood, and her expression softened. "I can help with that."

She came closer to wrap her hands around the wound, and we braced for the pain. The burning was intense but fast. Unfortunately, that was only my arm; she still had to do the rest. Owen peeled my shirt off and held his breath as her palms moved over the claw marks covering my torso.

When she finished, she stepped away. "That should do it. This is why you should run the body, though; in case you're surprised again. You're lucky you were in charge when you stumbled upon mimics."

Owen's anger flared in me. "Actually, I wasn't. Bash was. He was shocked and trapped, but he killed them both, including someone he thought of as a friend."

Her mouth fell open, but she stayed quiet.

I couldn't stop myself from piling on. "The only reason they even attacked me was that you yelled my name in the woods. So, if one of us is messing things up, it isn't me."

Guilt crossed her features, but she said nothing.

"This is the part where you apologize." Owen glared at her.

"Of course, you're right. Bash, I'm truly sorry, and it's impressive that you handled them on your own." The mocking tone that usually coated her words when she had to speak to me was gone. It sounded like a sincere apology.

Coach and the choice he'd forced me to make flashed in my mind. It wasn't really her fault. It's not like she sent them after me, but I wasn't ready to be friends, so I remained silent.

She cleared her throat. "I'll do whatever I can to help clean this up."

Owen said, "People will miss the coach, so we need a story. Did you recognize the other one, Bash?"

"No, I've never seen him before."

"Okay, we'll assume he was new. Do you have everything you need for the spell?" Owen asked Lilla.

She was already digging through the trunk that contained her things. When she finished, she tapped her lips, examining the items she'd piled on the floor in front of her—vials of different colored liquids and a burlap sack holding about a cup of something that smelled like we were driving past chicken coops. She nodded. "Except for the remains."