You were damn lucky you didn’t break your wrist or leg given the way you fell, Belle said. Do you want some water to wash those cuts out with?
When we get down to the bottom. It’s pointless doing it before then, because I might just fall over again.
Even you’re not that clumsy.
Maybe not, but the damn path does get steeper.
I picked a small stone out of one of the wounds and then walked on, this time concentrating on every single step rather than getting distracted by the darkness still tugging at my senses.
We made it to the bottom of the ravine without any further problems. I swiped at the sweat dribbling down my cheeks and scanned the nearby scrub and blackberry canes. Despite the fact they’d looked like an unbroken wall, there were quite a few usable paths meandering through the various clumps. Whether roos or werewolves had created them, I couldn’t say, but it did at least mean we weren’t in immediate danger of being scratched raw by blackberry thorns.
We followed a path that meandered through the canes and crossed over the small, stone-lined creek several times. Though the sky was now a riot of color, shadows still lurked down here. With the growing dawn came life, and the noise of unseen creatures skittering away from our approach filled the air.
The path crossed the creek one more time and then split in two—one track heading back up the ravine, the other moving into thicker canes.
Left or right? Belle directed her light toward the path leading upward. I’m guessing since that track looks less forbidding, we’ll be going left.
I grinned. I think you’re getting the hang of this.
I’d rather not.
What happened to that ‘you lead, I’ll follow’ sensibility you were spouting not so long ago?
It got snagged on blackberry thorns and torn away.
Amusement bubbled through me, but it didn’t last long. As the path led us into the thicker grove of blackberries, the canes closed in and their thorns were impossible to avoid.
After multiple snags and scratches, I was just about ready to call off the hunt when the breeze sharpened, rattling the canes and bringing with it an odd, metallic scent.
I knew what it was almost instantly, having smelled it on more than a few occasions since we’d set up shop in this reservation.
Blood.
I drew in a deeper breath, but there was little hint as to what else might lie up ahead. There was no sense of magic and nothing to suggest that anything living—or dead, for that matter—lay in wait. I nevertheless wove a repelling spell around my fingers and cautiously moved on.
After a few more meters, the blackberries gave way to a small cleared area. The creek bubbled along one edge, and there were several small dirt pits to my right that suggested foxes or maybe even stray dogs had been making themselves at home here.
In the middle of the clearing was a large bloodstained area.
Belle stopped beside me. “The first thing that strikes me as odd is the fact that there’s no skin or bones. Even scavengers wouldn’t erase all evidence of a kill.”
“I don’t think the blood came from a kill.”
She glanced at me. “Why?”
“Because it has the taint of darkness in it.”
Her gaze shot back to the bloodied patch of ground. “Do you think it’s from the ghoul?”
“Possibly.” I hesitated, remembering the weird images I’d gotten from the victim’s mind.
“Even ghouls can’t break the laws of life,” Belle said. “If this thing actually tore itself apart, it would be dead.”
“If it was a ghoul, yes, but we’re obviously dealing with something very different.”
She rubbed her arms. “Do you think it’ll be possible to track this thing through its blood?”
“Monty would probably know that better than I would.”
“You want me to ring him?”
I glanced at her, amusement lurking around my lips. “You’re volunteering to do that quite often these days.”
She gave me a deadpan look. One that said ‘step no further’.
My grin broke free as I raised my hands. “It might also be a good idea to ring Penny and see if she and Celia can open up for us. I’ll check out the blood.”
As she got out her phone, I walked across and squatted next to the stain. This close, it looked surprisingly fresh, which no doubt explained why darkness still radiated from it. Droplets gleamed on the tips of the grass, and pools little bigger than a twenty-cent piece had yet to soak fully into the ground.
I hesitated and then reached out to—but didn’t quite touch—the nearest pool of blood. My fingers tingled and warmed, and my psi senses stirred. This tiny patch of blood still held its secrets, but they were fading as fast as the blood was drying.
I withdrew my hand and turned as Belle hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket. “Monty and Aiden are on their way.”
“What happened with the other murder?”
“It was a family argument that got nasty and loud, but thankfully no one was killed.”
That was at least good. “And the café?”
“No problem. Apparently, Celia’s staying with Penny until she gets enough money for a place of her own, so she’d welcome the extra shift.”
Celia was Penny’s niece and had only recently arrived in the reservation from Geelong after an apparently acrid split with her boyfriend.
“You find anything?” Belle added.
“As yet, no, but I think I can read the blood.”
She blinked and stared at me for a second. “Seriously?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“Well, yes, but… how is something like that possible? You’ve never been able to do it before now.”
“It’s not like we’ve had a lot of opportunities—”
“Since coming here, there’ve been ample,” Belle cut in. “Hell, the watch you found in the forest had dried skin attached, and you didn’t get any images or memories off that.”
“Maybe because I was trying to pull something from the watch rather than the skin.”
And even when I had touched the skin, I’d been unable to
