Page 86 of Midnight Auto Parts

We reconvened in fresh clothes with damp hair, and I texted Vi that we were ready.

The baggies of soil we collected from outside the commune had already been set into place within easy reach for him. A ripple of purple static in the air preceded her arrival, and I was quick to close my eyes to prepare for our next foray into the unknown.

“Calm your mind.” She tapped a finger between my eyes. “I’ll be right here, but you lead us this time.”

Calming my mind was easier said than done, but eventually, Kierce’s presence, his firm clasp of my hand, allowed me to slip into a meditative state that snapped like a rubber band around my middle.

Stumbling, as much as one can stumble without substance, I found myself in the commune.

Without Vi. Damn it. I botched it. I slingshot myself here without her.

Darkness yawned overhead. The bonfire roared. The women danced. The children laughed.

And in the shadows, Anunit watched their weak attempts to reassure themselves.

Her gaze lifted to mine, her lips curving in the promise of a smile, and I drifted toward her.

“Playing with your food?”I stabbed the thought toward her.“Is the meat tenderer after they’re limber?”

With a wide paw, she patted the space beside her in invitation.

And, though I could hear how my siblings would scream at me for getting closer, I did as she requested and sat.

As much as I was able, given the whole floating thing keeping me buoyant.

“These women have known pain and suffering.”She flexed her claws in the dirt.“I respect them. I even admire a few. Ihave spent enough time here, watching from the shadows, to understand why they stole from us.”

“Then can’t you forgive them?”

“And permit them to continue their desecration? No. I will not allow it.”

“One of the women here can see me. Let me talk to her. She can explain the situation to the Morgans.”

“You are welcome to try.”Her warm breath fanned my face, the scent oddly sweet.“But understand that I am soul-bound to this purpose. Even if I pardoned them their trespass, I am called to hunt them.”

The cow must have bought us some goodwill if she summoned me for a chat so soon.

Mind whirring, I pressed for answers.“What are the parameters of your binding?”

“Until the day every bone is returned to its rightful place, I am to claim one life in exchange.”

“You kill a person per day?”I cringed away from her. “Why didn’t you just explain…?”

“Precisely.”Anunit tipped her great head toward me.“I am dead. None in this place can hear or see me. I have no means of defining what is owed or how they might survive paying their debts.”Her whiskers flicked forward.“They could not understand my tongue even if I could speak to them.”

Ah. She had reached out, not because of the offering, but because we could talk.

Thinking back on what Kierce had told me, I asked,“How do I understand it?”

“That is an interesting question, is it not?”She resumed staring at the fire.“You are out of time.”

A shove thrust me back into my body, and I shot upright, gasping for breath.

“What happened?” Vi brushed her fingers across my brow. “Your soul was snatched.”

“Soul snatched,” I panted, sliding the pieces around in my mind. “That sounds about right.”

“Now ain’t the time for jokes.” She hardened her tone. “You could have been lost.”

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