Page 13 of Soul Sucker

“Then why do they want me?”

She hesitated. He didn’t really need to know that it was probably his emerging empath powers that made him irresistible to Otherworld creatures. She settled on a lesser version of the truth. “You bring a lot of food up here, don’t you? Once the thing has gotten used to an easy source of food, he’ll stick around.”

Tom shivered. “I won’t do it anymore.”

“After tonight, you won’t have to worry about that. You’ll be able to eat whatever you like, whenever you like.” She gave him a quick hug. “Now you settle down for the night, and I’ll turn off the TV and then get under the bed.”

While Tom stretched out, she settled herself under the bed and positioned the bucket of chicken temptingly in front of her. Outside, the trees rustled and sighed to the hypnotic rhythm of the ocean breeze. She waited for the first telltale hint of magic to reach her and gripped her gun and flashlight more tightly. A rustling sound from the closet drew her attention, and she peered through the darkness at the shape moving toward her and the chicken.

Tom sighed and the thing paused, giving her a clearer view of coal black eyes and a piglike nose. It sniffed the air and crawled closer, one long bony arm outstretched to hook around the bucket of chicken. As its clawed fingers curved around the container, she moved forward and grabbed hold of its hairy wrist.

“SBLE. Stay where you are.”

The thing gave a startled shriek and tried to scrabble backward, but Ella held on to it and allowed herself to be pulled along as well. She locked one arm around the creature’s throat and held on despite its thrashing, ignoring the scratch of claws on her jeans and bare arms. When she pressed the barrel of her gun to its big shaggy head, it went still.

“That’s better.” She tightened her grip. “You know you’re not allowed to frighten kids. What the hell are you doing here?”

In a sudden flurry of bedclothes, Tom sat up and swung his baseball bat dangerously near her head. “What is it, Ella? Can I see it?”

“Sure, get my flashlight.”

Tom bent to pick up her discarded flashlight and turned it on full beam making Ella blink hard.

“Ew, it sure is gross,” Tom said. “All hairy. It’s kind of like a cross between a monkey and a spider.”

“Yeah, it is.” Ella didn’t loosen her grip as Tom stared in fascination at the creature. “You’ll probably know it better as a troll.”

“Like the internet ones or the one under the bridge with the goats?”

“The goat one. They’ve been around for a long time. As a species, they are usually quite harmless, unless they feast on human flesh and get a taste for it.”

The troll hissed. Tom jumped and picked up his baseball bat again.

“I want the chicken, not the child.” The words were issued in a sibilant whisper that she understood more at a basic empath level rather than as speech.

“You sure about that?” She forced herself to delve into the troll’s mind. She couldn’t allow him to hang around Tom if he ate humans. He’d consider a young empath a true delicacy.

“Stop, soul sucker,” the troll squealed. “I don’t want the child!”

Ella twisted around so that she could stare into the troll’s ageless black eyes. “Do you swear it on the lives of your brood?”

“I swear it! If you get your filthy hands off me, I will leave this place and never return.”

“Or tell anyone else about what you found here.”

The troll blinked slowly at her, his gaze deadly. “Or tell my brood about the tasty little empath.”

She nodded, then removed her gun from his head. “You know I can force the memory from your head.”

“We all know that, soul sucker,” the troll said. “That’s why we hate you. I’ll not return.”

“Good.” Ella looked up at Tom. She wasn’t sure how much of the conversation he’d understood. “If he comes back, you’ll tell me, won’t you, Tom?”

“Sure.”

She reached for the bucket of chicken. “Shall we let him have this as a going-away present?”

“Sounds good to me.”

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