“I know it wasn’t a bear,” he said. “It had a long tail, was huge, had dark shaggy fur, and most importantly…” Eddie reached under his shirt and withdrew a silver-toned pentagram. “I think it was afraid of my amulet.”
“Why do you think that?” I asked, studying the pendant.
“Because my pentagram lit up when I got close to it. I hit the thing with a big branch from the fire and that got its attention. But when my pentagram swung free, it glowed. Really brightly. I’ve never seen my pendant do that before, and I think that is what made the monster let go of Hunter.”
“I see,” I said. My mind was racing as I sat back in my chair. I’d once seen my own pentagram react in a similar way a few years ago…
“I didn’t know who else to go to,” Eddie said. “No one believes me. My family is so mad about what happened. They think I’m making all of this up to try and get out of trouble for swiping my dad’s beer from the garage.”
“Were you drunk that night?” I asked softly.
“No I wasn’t! None of us were.” Eddie shot to his feet and started to leave. “I thought you at least would believe me.”
“Before you stomp off.” I held up a hand. “I never said that I didn’t believe you.”
Eddie paused and looked back over his shoulder.
“Eddie,” I sighed. “I know what it’s like to have folks roll their eyes and assume you’re being dramatic or making things up.”
“Okay,” he said, sounding suspicious.
He looked so young standing there, with his shoulders hunched in his letterman’s jacket, I thought. “Why don’t you sit down, and tell me everything that happened that night.”
Eddie took a seat again and told me about their camping trip, and the details on what had happened to his friends. The more he talked, the more intrigued I became. After we spoke, he announced he had to get back home. I walked him to the door, promised I would be in touch, and told him that everything would be okay.
Flashing a confident smile, I waved goodbye to him, even as my mind raced. It was hardly a coincidence that Mrs. Waterman had mentioned the creature in the woods just before Eddie had arrived. “No such thing as coincidence,” I murmured, recalling what my mom had always said.
I grabbed a notepad and started to write everything down. Everything I could recall from my conversation with Mrs. Waterman, and then with Eddie. I covered three pages with notes in what seemed like no time at all.
If what Mrs. Waterman said was true, then Eddie and his friends weren’t the first ones to come across a monster in the woods. I flipped back a page and studied the notes from my conversation.
I circled the words the creature wasnot of this world. I underlined the words, Not since ’79. “Which means,” I said, as I thought it over, “there’s probably a newspaper article about her father’s experience. Or perhaps a copy of the picture she’d spoken about, somewhere.”
Mrs. Waterman had described her father’s experience as a ‘narrow escape’, and after hearing from Eddie about the seriousness of Hunter’s injuries, I was inclined to believe her.
Now, all I had to do was start digging. Rubbing my hands together, I headed to the store’s computer and booted it up.
This was what I’d been waiting for. A mystery to solve, and a little paranormal adventure to sink my teeth into.
This, I decided, was exactly what I needed.
Mistletoe & Ivy
Legacy Of Magick, Book 10
By Ellen Dugan
Coming November 2019
