Crowbones

CHAPTER 6

Vicki

Windsday, Grau 31

Aggie, Jozi, and Eddie shifted back to looking fully human, which helped all the guests relax. Or it was an alcohol-induced relaxation. Julian had poured me a stiff glass of relaxation after those four boys ran away, so I was able to pretend aggressive men didn’t scare me. I think everyone believed that I wasn’t worried that those boys would come back when there were fewer people about. Everyone except Julian, of course. And Grimshaw. And Ilya.

Julian didn’t offer any of the words that sounded kindly meant but were never kind because the words indicated surprise that any leering or lusting would be aimed at someone who looked like me—a short, pudgy thirty-year-old woman whose curly brown hair usually gave the impression it had been styled by sticking a fork in an electrical outlet. Julian doesn’t see me that way, which I don’t understand but am working to accept since he’s a good friend. I think he would like to be more than a friend, and sometimes I think I’d like him to be more than a friend, but every time I wonder what it would be like to kiss him—or be kissed by him—I suddenly hear my ex-husband’s voice telling me to use some mouthwash because who would want to kiss someone whose breath smelled like that? Since I always brushed my teeth at bedtime and Yorick never did, I never understood why it was my breath that smelled bad. It took a long time to realize those remarks were another way to control my feelings and leave me vulnerable to other manipulation, but those memories still got in the way of my exploring anything more than friendship with Julian.

Having had enough socializing, Fred and Wilma Cornley, the almost newlyweds, took a plate of pizza and other treats up to their room. Two of the Owlgard and two Hawks showed up with an almost-human-looking Cougar to help finish off the snacks in the heads-or-tails bowl. Jenna McKay made arrangements with Bobcat to do our donkey-cart tour of The Jumble tomorrow. Ilya and Natasha were holding glasses of red wine—I hoped—and listening to a couple of men talk about . . . Well, I wasn’t sure if they were trying to impress the Sanguinati with their academic credentials or were trying to persuade Ilya to invest in something, but I hustled over to Grimshaw intending to ask him to break up that conversation before one or both men ended up with an extreme case of anemia.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

And that’s when someone thumped on the front door.

Ilya and Natasha turned in that direction. So did Julian and Grimshaw. And I headed for the door.

And Aggie and Jozi rushed to the door, gleefully shouting, “Another trickster!”

No one at the door. No one within the reach of the lights.

A rattling sound came out of the dark, and I heard Grimshaw say, “Crap!” as he rushed toward the door.

Rattle, rattle, rattle. Then something stepped out of the dark.

I caught a glimpse of ragged feathers and a skin-over-bone crow’s head with black eye sockets.

Aggie and Jozi sucked in a breath.

A feathery hand pointed at them and a harsh voice said, “Gonna gitcha.”

Aggie and Jozi screamed and knocked me into Grimshaw as they bolted toward the kitchen. Grimshaw shoved me into Julian’s arms as he and Ilya ran out the door. But the thing I’d seen was already gone.

“Gods above and below,” one of the academics said. “I never thought I would see . . .”

He looked excited and sick, which was unnerving, but I needed to find Aggie and Jozi. And Eddie, since he seemed to have disappeared too.

Julian and I found Aggie and Jozi hiding under the kitchen table. Aggie had a skillet. Jozi had a rolling pin. They were shaking and whimpering.

I crawled under the table with them, my size for once being an advantage. “It was a scary costume,” I offered.

Jozi shook her head. “Coming to get us.”

“Who is coming to get you?” Julian asked quietly, crouching beside the table in order to see us.

Aggie looked at him, her dark eyes filled with terror—and resignation. Then she whispered, “Crowbones.”