Page 8 of Arresting the Warlord

The jerk held me effortlessly. “Teleporting’s faster.”

“His soul has passed. There’s nothing you can do to help him.”

“How do you know his soul has passed? Can you talk to the dead?”

I pulled my pistol and stuck it in Jake’s stomach. “Let go of me. Now.”

“We need to collect what evidence is left before it’s destroyed.” Jake snapped, not a bit intimidated by my gun.

“Put the gun away, CeeCee. He has a point. Do as he asks,” Father ordered.

With a growl, I holstered my weapon. “Fine.” I focused on the bank of a creek that flowed by Spider Rock.

The Jackass wrapped a muscular arm around me. There was a fleeting flash of black and presto. We were standing next to two towering red sandstone spires.

The General and my father appeared next to us.

The burnt-out remains of a jeep protruded from the slow-moving creek.

Thankfully, the water had kept the flames from spreading to the cottonwood trees and bushes.

A horde of flies swarmed over a large pool of blood. The General scanned it with his warrior’s bracelet. “It’s Jivo’s blood.”

The Jackass tightened his grip on me. “Whereisthe body?”

“Spider Rock is a sacred place.”

“And,” Jake drawled.

“It needs to be cleansed of the evil that was done here.”

“Your father can deal with that. Where’s the fucking body,” Menace radiated from Jake.

“Show him,” Father said.

I pointed at Spider Rock. “Up there.”

Poof. We were standing on top of the left spire. A darkness like nothing I had ever felt before hung over the area. My gaze fell on the mangled body sprawled across the crown of the right spire and my stomach knotted in horror. Our holy place had been desecrated. Dried blood stained the white rocks and bones from previous kills were scattered around the corpse.

“Fuck. Something ate his face off.” Releasing me, Jake teleported over to the spire and examined the body.

I linked with Father and flashed him the image of the deceased and the creature I had seen in my vision.“Chupacabra or alien shapeshifter?”

“Difficult to know. Use your gifts to discover the truth. If General Jones summons the Overlord, we are doomed.”

“Yes, Father.”Assuming a lotus position on the rocks, I chanted, “Creator, source of all knowing, cleanse this space of all negativity. Banish all energies that would mean us harm. Let love and light fill each of us and our sacred space.” Once I felt the negative spirits disappear, I focused on who or what had violated our holy place. I caught fleeting glimpses of an injured Jivo fighting off the Chupacabra with a knife. For some reason he seemed unable to teleport and where the hell was his body armor?

I concentrated on the creature. Grisly hair sprouted from its misshapen skull. It had pointy ears, a mouthful of serrated teeth and lethal claws. I knew without a doubt, it was not of this Earth. I shuddered. The creature was driven by a hunger that ruled its every thought. It needed to kill. It wouldn’t stop until it was dead.

Jake was suddenly in my head.“That’s what killed Jivo?”

“Yes.”Alarm flared to life. How had the Jackass breached my shields?

“I’ve never seen anything like it,”Jake said as he shared the image with General Jones.

“Neither have I.”General Jones teleported up and studied Jivo’s corpse. “I have a shuttle coming to transport the body and Shrek will do a complete autopsy. Zarek’s informing the family.”

Father’s worried voice sounded in my head,“There’s been another murder.”

---