Blood-Lines

Part 5

"I'm a witch." Clementine informed him; her voice soft, almost in whisper.

The Sheriff had been quietly examining her sister's body, looking for whatever it was that lawmen looked for in such situations.

"I beg your pardon?" He asked with some surprise, having turned back to face her.

"When you asked me back in your office, I was hesitant to tell you. I realize now that it may have been a mistake on my part not to have done so then."

When Poe remained silent, she looked up to find that he'd gently reached down to move her sister's long hair to one side in an effort to expose her slender neck.

"What on earth are you looking for now?" She asked, not entirely sure of what he was doing or why.

"It's fairly clear from what we can see of her that she couldn't have done this to herself; someone would have had to have done it for her, although there aren't any marks on her skin that I can see. If she'd been grabbed, there should have been bruising, even now with most of her blood having run out as it appears to have along the way."

"I'm afraid that, at least at one point, there were more than just marks."

Poe did what she least expected him to do; he laughed.

As he tipped his hat back, he sat in the dirt against the log next to her sister and brought a knee up to rest his arm across it without having realized that by doing so, he'd almost mimicked Daniela's pose exactly.

"Alright ..." He offered with a mused sigh as he settled in, "... what else should I know about your sister that might just help us find out who may have done this to her? Something tells me she wasn't your average who ..." he quickly changed gears as he caught himself mid sentence, "... rather, I meant, um, woman; as sorry as I am for your loss and all, ma'am."

"It won't be a 'who' that you'll find yourself looking for Sheriff, but rather a 'what'. The demon that I sensed earlier undoubtedly must have had something to do with her death and I'm probably the only one who may be able to get rid of it."

"Tell me how to kill it and perhaps I can help."

"That's just it ..." She replied with a resigned sigh, "... you can't just up and kill a full demon like that; you have to convince them that it's in their best interest to leave this particular plane of existence and never come back."

"And you plan to do this convincing ... how exactly?"

Clementine smiled with clear intent that was not entirely lost upon him. "I'm not your average witch, Sheriff; it's something that only someone like myself could probably do; if it's even possible with what we have available to work with."

When he simply motioned with a roll of his hand to continue, she realized that she was as far in as she was going to get and placing her cards on the table might be the only thing she had left if this plan was going to work properly without anyone else getting hurt in the process.

"My mother was assaulted by a full demon. It's how I came to be."

His raised brow spoke volumes as he glanced sideways at her dead sister next to him and then back toward her with his question clearly implied but left unsaid.

"No ..." she laughed at what thoughts must must have gone through his head, "... she was mortal and did not inherit near as much of our mother's abilities as I have. We have two very different fathers."

Poe took a moment to absorb the information, his expression somber as he sat against the log.

"I've met a demon vampire once, how exactly would I know whether you're not any more evil than she was at the time?"

When his hand gestured to his wounded knee, she suddenly realized where he'd gotten the brace from.

"Actually, the answer is quite simple Sheriff; I wouldn't try to kill you. Vampires are blood hunters and would see you as prey more-so than someone that could help them. If I were a vampire or a demon on the hunt, you and your deputy would have already been long dead along with several others along the way – long before I would have arrived here as we are now."

The calm coolness and certainty in her voice clearly left little room for doubt.

Poe climbed back to his feet to dust off his pants while he took one last look at the body of her sister.

"We'd better get back up to the road and wait for the others."

Clementine reached over to gently close her sister's eyes before she rose to follow him back up the hill.

It was time to play a bit of demonic truth or dare, where the stakes might be just high enough that even she could not afford to play.

The giant Negro that wore a smith's apron startled her as he walked up the road toward them and smiled, while his kind eyes looked down upon her.

Carried gently in one of his hands was what looked to be an over sized shotgun of some sort, until she realized it'd probably have to be bigger than most for the giant to have used it effectively.

His hand rose to touch the brim of his hat as he looked from her to the Sheriff and back. "Tyrone Montreal. However my friends just call me The Cat, or just Cat as it suits them, ma'am." he rumbled as he turned to look up the road.

"Widow Maker get another one, Sheriff?"

"Widow Maker?" She asked, watching as a thin gaunt man in a worn suit and top hat lead a horse drawn cart toward them as the wheels gently wobbled beneath.

Running-Deer was close behind with her shotgun and yet another thin man, the mirror image of the first. Apparently, these would prove to be the undertakers as identical in appearance as they were in choice of suits.

"They call the mansion Widow Maker ..." Poe informed her as he frowned toward Cat who simply smiled, "... due to how many deaths that it's caused over the years, something our smithy here enjoys telling folks all about."

Everyone watched as the two men made their way down toward Daniela.

"While the twins take care of retrieving your sister ..." Poe offered, "... we should go up and have a conversation with the man that lives in that cursed mansion."

"And this time you go first." Running-Deer suggested more to Poe than anyone else.