Page 10 of Dark Stars
The back of Bobby's neck tingled, and helooked up right as the door opened, inhaling sharply as a familiarscent struck him. Faint, whisper faint, but he would know thatsmell anywhere. A faint miasma that emanated from the bones of theuniverse itself. To Bobby, it was the scent of home.
To humans, it was the scent of power, andthe more of it they smelled, the more of it they wanted. Until theywent mad and shattered completely, or were consumed by thehunger.
Or consumed, literally, but no point inbeing hasty. Good meals were best savored. And he really liked toplay with his food.
"I think our first clue just walked in thedoor," he murmured just for Alejandro's ears.
Alejandro gave no indication he'd heard, butas the stranger walked past him, his eyes followed, probably takingin every last detail.
The man was middle-aged, roughly fifties,give or take a few years. His gray hair was unkempt, his facescruffy, his clothes wrinkled and reeking of cigarette smoke thatdid not hide the miasma beneath. He wore jeans, a dark redlong-sleeved t-shirt, and heavy, steel-toed boots. The watch on hiswrist was an expensive one, but not a Rolex, though that was thebest Bobby could do. Out of place, for certain.
"Just coffee," the man called out to thesame woman who'd served Alejandro and Bobby before settling in acorner seat that let him see the entire room. The weight of hisstare crawled along Bobby's neck, but he ignored it for now. "Whatcan you see?"
"Nothing's remarkable except his necklace.He's got it spelled to hide it from view, but I can see it. Blackleather cord, something I can't make out hanging from it, carvedfrom stone or something."
Bobby sighed softly. "Greenish-black, withflecks of gold?"
"How did you know?"
"He reeks of it."
"I didn't smell anything."
"You wouldn't. I really think it best if youbow out of this one, little hunter."
"No."
Bobby rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't sayI didn't warn you, and do—"
"You're not my parents, or my overbearingsiblings, or any other part of my interfering, busybody family. Idon't have to listen to you."
"You askedmeto be partners for thislittle venture, so you could at least take note of my advice, evenif you don't heed it like the stubborn, crazy human you are. Whydid your family let a mere child come all the way out here alone,anyway?"
He almost drew back at the anger that flaredin Alejandro's amber eyes. "I'm young, but young doesn't meanchild. Stop calling me that."
Bobby tilted his head, curiosity spiking."What happened back west?"
"None of your damn business," Alejandroreplied, even as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. Bobbycouldn't feel or taste anything, though, so the arcana must beheavily dampened. Even his deeper search earlier hadn't revealedit. "Especially right now, when Mr. Weird Jewelry is not so subtlywatching us."
He went back to eating, but after a momentsaid, "Our server seems to be on his side, whatever that side is.They're speaking in looks and gestures." He jerked his head in thedirection of Bobby's truck, parked right out front, a silentshould we follow him?
"No need, not right now," Bobby replied,finishing his coffee. "I have his scent. We'll take a touristy walkaround town and see what that gets us. I also want to learn moreabout each person that's gone missing. Harold's file didn't havemuch in the way of personal information, just police reporthighlights. I want details." That would tell him who they wanted tosummon, what particular flavor of chaos they wanted to draw intothe world, and what he would need to do to stop it.
How much he'd piss off his relatives forinterfering, but they shouldn't have built a little cult in hisbackyard. Assholes.
Everything would be so much easier if hecould simply go ask them, but they wouldn't tell him, and would dotheir best to hide it, because his family was good at stickingtogether—especially against the disgusting half-human in theirmidst.
"Why do you look so cranky all of a sudden?"Alejandro asked.
"Family. You know."
"Don't even get me started. Mamá has alreadytexted me twenty times, and I give it another hour before she callsme. What's your family like?"
"Complicated," Bobby said slowly. "I am… notas pure of blood, you could say, as they would prefer. To this day,they still complain that my mother fell in love with my fatherinstead of… hmm… holding to tradition." Which would have entailedeating his father and the whelp she bore him, but Bobby didn't tendto share that tidbit of information. Humans got squeamish, eventhough they had a long history of turning each other into shoes andbooks and dinner.
Alejandro laughed. "Complicated. Yeah, I getthat. My father is first generation Haitian. Moved to the US whenhe was seven. His mother is a Vodun priestess, and he inherited agreat deal of her arcana. My mother's line has always beenhunters."
"The Jaguars."
