But Caspin never allowed the same male to return. If they showed up on his doorstep, he refused them, and someone would have to bring them back to the estate.
Giving them to a team seemed to ease the rejection, especially if they remained in the barracks to be mounted multiple times a day.
“If he didn’t know I was different before, he knows now. But I think he’s always suspected I was different.”
Jonathan tried to keep the worry out of his voice. “What happened?”
“He helped a woman leave an abusive relationship with her husband, and the husband didn’t take it too well. He showed up here a couple of months ago with three other men and shotguns. I killed them. The Priest saw.”
“Fuck.”
“I hauled the bodies back to where they’d left their truck, tore up the ground, the seats. Took a while for the police to find the bodies. By then, scavengers had gotten to them. The rain took care of any blood near the church.”
“Did the Priest say anything to the cops?”
“They never asked. They assumed the men were mauled while poaching bears. Was talk of the town for a while, and the church.”
“And the Priest?”
“He left me five pounds of steak. Raw.”
Sometimes humans surprised Jonathan.
“I better go. They’re tuning up the choir, and it makes my head hurt.”
“Thanks again for being my ears.”
“I’ll call you if I hear anything else.”
Caspin hung up, and Jonathan went to tell the others they were catching the next flight to Washington.
* * *
It was just after dawn when Nox exited the horse trailer and headed to the picnic table where Isaiah had met him the last two mornings to do the injection.
A few snowflakes fluttered from the grey clouds, only to get lost in the wind.
Nox blew a warm breath into his hands. He’d forgotten what winter was like. Especially the damp cold that sank through muscle and into bones.
Isaiah came out of his trailer wearing old jeans, a heavy flannel shirt, and knit cap. He carried the leather wrap with the serum in one hand and a bundle of fabric under his arm.
He met Nox at the bench. “Where’s Luca?”
“He didn’t feel good.”
Tension made crow’s feet around Isaiah’s eyes.
“It’s the cancer, isn’t it?” Nox said.
“I doubt it will come back this fast.”
That left one possibility. “The Anubis.”
“It might have stopped giving resources to Luca.”
“It’s taking them now, isn’t it?” And there was nothing Nox could do to stop it.
He sat.