The Secret of Spellshadow Manor 6 by Bella Forrest (books for men to read .TXT) 📕

are staying for a little while at least, to help with the—” I shot a glance at Liu and cut my own words off. “With the creature that has been seen in the lands around here.”

Yue scowled, and she, too, looked at Liu. “That is not a matter for you to concern yourself with. We are taking care of it.”

“Are you?” I said, my blood rising. “Is that why we found this boy alone, abandoned in the woods? Despite your obvious desire to see us only as troublemakers, we are not here to harm you, or anyone in this town.”

Yue turned back to the boy, and then back to us. Her hands were twitching, as though she sought someone she could feel justified in seizing and throttling. “Why did you go looking for the creature?” she said. “What is it to you?”

“A danger to the people of your town,” I said. “And we think we can end that danger. As you have said before, we are rather well-armed travelers.”

“You turn my words on me like a jest,” she said. “Forgive me for thinking this hardly matters to you.”

“Because I do not always look like I am chewing on a lemon rind does not mean I am not serious.”

Her scowl deepened, and she strode towards my horse. I jumped down from the saddle and planted my feet as she stalked up to me, looking down into my eyes. I did not realize until just that moment that she was almost a full head taller than I was. Mag tensed in her saddle, but she did not yet climb down to help.

“You think you can insult me in front of the people of my town?” growled Yue, too quiet for anyone but me to hear. Her breath washed over my face, and I was surprised to find it unexpectedly sweet.

“That is the first time I have done so,” I said in an equally low voice. “Yet your words to us have been a never-ending stream of disrespect. I appreciate your position, constable. For once, try to see ours.”

She looked over my shoulder at Mag. I felt some of the tension bleed from her, though she did not back away. “What position is that?”

I waited until she met my gaze again. “We want to help. We have other business that will carry us far away from Lan Shui, but we will not abandon your people while this monster threatens them. What do you have to lose? The worst that may happen is that the beast kills us. The best that may happen is the reverse.”

She seemed to want to argue further. But the eyes of the townspeople were upon her, and they were pitiful. At last she stamped her foot in frustration.

“Fine,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “If you wish to go riding off after this beast, I suppose I cannot stop you. But do not expect me to go trooping off after you.”

“We will not,” I said. “Now, if you will excuse us, we mean to do more hunting before the sun wanes.”

Yue’s face went from dark to pale in an instant. “The sun is lowering. Night will be here soon.”

“We mean to lure it out of its cave just after sundown,” said Mag. “Better, we think, than following it into its lair, even during the day.”

The constable shook her head. “I cannot say that is a wise course of action. But it seems clear you will do whatever you want.”

“Take Oku!”

Liu’s thin shout came from nowhere, and I looked up at him in surprise. The boy still clung to the man holding him, but he looked at us in earnest appeal.

“Take Oku,” he said again. “He is a good hunter.”

“Thank you, Liu,” said Mag gently. “But we can look after ourselves.”

“Oku is a good fighter. You will need him.” The boy’s eyes welled up, and before we could answer, he burst into tears. “He kept me safe,” he gasped between sobs. “He will keep you safe, too.”

My eyes stung, and I blinked hard before looking to Mag. She met my gaze and sighed. Oku sat near the villagers, his ears cocked as if he knew what we were saying.

“Oku,” I said. “Tiss.”

The hound’s mouth parted in a smile, his tongue lolling to the side, and he trotted up beside Mag’s horse. She gave a sigh and wheeled around, riding away from the wall. I remounted, looking down at Yue again—mayhap for the last time, I suddenly realized.

“We will return when we have killed the beast, or not at all,” I said. “I wish you and your people good fortune.”

I turned and rode after Mag, hoping I cut a suitably impressive figure as we trotted towards the northern horizon.

Now that we knew where we were going, we pressed the horses harder, and we had returned to the homestead in what felt like no time at all. But looking up, I could no longer see the sun over the western spur ahead. Daylight would remain in the sky for a while yet, but we were running out of time. Oku kept up with us easily, apparently untroubled by the slight wound in his flank. As soon as we stopped in the clearing with the farmhouse, he trotted around the perimeter, sniffing at the ground.

I led Mag to the woods where I had seen the tracks earlier. “We can follow them easily. But I am not sure whether we should bring the horses or not. They will make the journey faster, but I do not want them to panic if the vampire should attack us.”

“Let us bring them, and if we sense we are nearing the end of the trail, we can leave them behind, or tether them to a tree,” said Mag. “I want to find the creature’s lair in time, or we may not catch it as it tries to slip out to hunt.”

That seemed a sensible point, and