The Hunted

Four

Blake

There was a body near Navy Pier. It was a hundred feet away, resting in a clump of bushes near the waterfront. Hardly identifiable, the skin was torn and swollen. Large pieces of flesh had been completely ripped off and in some parts solid bone was visible. The eyes had been gouged out completely.

"God, I hate mermaids," Caden muttered. He looked slightly green.

Blake grimaced but said nothing. She had to agree. Mermaids were a pain in the ass. Not difficult to kill compared to some of the creatures she'd dealt with in the past but an annoyance. They preferred to do most of their hunting in darkness, stealing away sailors and drunken idiots who wandered down by the waterfront in the night. They lured them in and drowned their victims before gorging themselves on the flesh. The hardest part was that they rarely left the water, though they were capable of living on land for short periods of time.

"I'm sure they hate you too," Hix responded dryly as he ran his fingers through his chestnut-coloured hair.

Blake had always liked Hix. He was only a few years older than she was but there was something about him that made him seem experienced and wise. Almost everyone listened to his opinions. Hix was a valued, calm voice in the community. And while he was respected, he was also funny and easy to get along with. There was not one person who disliked him.

"What's the plan going to be? This is the fifth kill in the past few weeks. The police have got to be thinking that there's a serial killer on the loose."

Caden was the opposite of Hix in most ways. Edgy, unconfident, younger than her by a year. He was a relatively new addition to the Beare Lake community. He'd arrived only a few months earlier after a run-in with an angry spirit that refused to cross. He had asked for Malachi's help in getting rid of it and Malachi agreed though Caden hadn't left even after the spirit was gone. Blake didn't know why. Perhaps he just had nowhere else to go.

"We should try to take them out tonight if we can." Blake looked out over the water as if she could see the dangers lurking beneath the lightly lapping waves. "I'll get us a boat."

"I'll head back to the motel to start arranging the gear we need," Caden said.

Hix crossed his arms over his chest. "Guess that means I'm canvassing the area. Do my best to talk to some locals and see if anyone has seen something weird. It's a big place. We don't want to be going in blind."

Blake nodded. "Sounds good. I'll join you once I've finished."

"Okay."

They split up, dividing up the workload to get the hunt finished as soon as they possibly could. Though they'd only arrived in Chicago yesterday, Blake was already aching to leave. The werewolf team had arrived in Denver two days earlier and it had been complete radio silence. No word on if the monster she was tracking was there. Not so much as a peep from Malachi.

Nothing.

So, she was focusing on the hunt at hand. One of the local marinas she visited was busy but she managed to rent a motorboat for a two-day period. Blake didn't think that they'd need the vessel past that night but the multiday rental allowed her to have the keys to it overnight. Once she had the keys in her possession, she checked out the boat. It was small but large enough for three people and the weapons they'd need.

Blake met up with Hix on the boardwalk. At some point, he'd picked up lemonade and a pastry from somewhere near the pier. "You've been busy," she commented dryly to him. There were crumbs and icing on the corner of his lip.