Bound to Earth

21: Perfect Bait

The shotgun spat two shells at me as I broke it open to reload it. The girl's body had ceased to exist. Only her scattered ashes, tainting the ground beneath her, remained. Brynjar's fire was so hot it'd even burned her bone and teeth to nothing but ash.

The larger Wendigo was nowhere to be seen. And with dawn approaching in the next few hours, time was running out. I wanted to sleep, before dawn, preferably, and to not do this whole fiasco again tomorrow. Or for the rest of this trip. I was a city girl at heart. One that loved to roam the crowded streets late at night, hunting for my next feast.

"Malachi, Alistar, you're with me." Brynjar walked into the night, checking for tracks. "You're in charge of Token, Valentino. Don't let her out of your sight."

"What the hell?" I snapped the shotgun closed. "That's fucking bullshit." Maybe the lack of sleep was making me grouchy, overdramatic. Or maybe it was just my personality. Either way, I was no longer going to put up with their shit.

Brynjar stalked to me until my chin was barely an inch away from brushing his chest. Heat pulsed off of him, seeped into my body. "You wanted to help, I am letting you help. But you stay with Valentino the entire time."

Damn their height. I'd invest in spiked platform shoes with twelve inch heels if needed. Then I'd steal his ankles, his kneecaps. "I don't need a damn chaperone."

"I am trying to give you what you want." He gritted the words through his teeth, refraining from possibly wrapping me in bubble wrap and locking me upstairs. "But you have to work with me too."

I clicked my tongue and grabbed Valentino's hand. He chuckled at the string of vulgar language pouring from my mouth. I'd take a babysitter today, no decapitation required. But I couldn't say the same the next time Brynjar suggests this. 

Brynjar led the way, somehow seeing what tracks the Wendigo left behind. I only saw dirt and grass and trees and bushes. I was shoved towards the back of the group, with Valentino behind me. The only reason I wasn't up front, sprinting to beat the shit out of the Wendigo, was, I had no idea where the hell we were.

"Stop grumbling," Malachi whispered harshly to me. He turned enough for me to see his silver eyes shining. "You're going to give us away."

"Good," I whispered back. Tracking the Wendigo was taking too long.

"Do you want us to get killed? The Wendigo is going to attack us before we even know it's there." Malachi's hands morphed into claws, not in anger but preparation.

"You deserve to die if it gets the upper hand on you." It seemed too harsh, even for me to say. So I added, "You're lucky I'm here to save your ass if that happens."

"My death will be because I chose to save your ass instead." He slowed enough to turn and scowl at me. Even though his mouth was twisted in anger, his eyes and voice held none of that contempt. If anything, there was excitement in his eyes, and maybe a little annoyance.

This was Malachi's pathetic way of flirting. And I would play along, only to entertain myself for a little bit. "Valentino's the one who's in charge of me, not you. Stop paying attention to me and focus on what's out there." I urged him to move faster, we were falling behind.

"Excuse you, your crankiness is distracting me from doing my job." Malachi stumbled over his feet as he scrambled to catch up behind Alistar. "Shit."

"Maybe you're not cut out for this line of work." I chuckled, not paying attention to the ground beneath me. My ego plummeted down with me as I tripped over the same spot Malachi did. "Fuck."

Malachi snickered. "Maybe we should have left you back at the house." 

I raised my shotgun, out of his view, and aimed at Malachi's knee caps. This would be the perfect opportunity for me to gain some height on one of them.