Ghost Cat (Totem Book 5)

by Christine Rains

  “When did people start to see them so close to town?” Kinley clasped her hands in front of her and leaned forward slightly. A whole family of sasquatches. Maybe they were having a family reunion.

  “About two months ago, I’d say. I mean there’s always been sightings, but not like this. Not in Newhalen.” Clyde tapped a finger on the counter. “I haven’t seen one, but there’re prints all over. And the dogs go nuts. My mom’s seen one, and she don’t put up with no nonsense. The kids love the things, say they only want to play. But the adults freak out and say Bigfoot’s chucked stuff at them, damaged four wheelers, and smashed hunting blinds. Some suspect Bigfoot’s even scared off the fish. The boss plans to hire someone to come check the water quality just in case, but sick as he is and being so close to winter, it hasn’t been done yet.”

  A beast like a sasquatch wouldn’t frighten away any wildlife. They likely ate a lot of fish themselves. She should have asked Saskia to send her more information about the creatures. That could be done later, at least. The giant cell tower that loomed near the village assured her she’d at least be connected.

  “Brayden saw one the day before he disappeared.” Clyde took a long drink after that statement.

  “Do you think Bigfoot might be taking kids?” Ransom frowned with his question. It seemed he didn’t think it was true and neither did Kinley. Why would they take children? There wasn’t a reason in the world… Okay. She could think of several. The Jinxioc had taken kids from the village Sedge and Saskia helped, and it was because of the totem’s influence that they did so. So it was a possibility Bigfoot could be acting out of character because of a totem too.

  “No. I don’t know. Things are so screwed up. Anything could be possible.” Clyde downed the rest of his beer at that and helped himself to another.

  Kinley exchanged a look with Ransom with the silent agreement that it had to be one of the missing totems. Knowing which one would help, but it was with Bigfoot their answers lied.

  “That they are, man.” Ransom raised his glass in a cheers and took a sip. “How about you settle us up in one of the rooms, we all have some lunch, and then we can talk to the folks who have seen Bigfoot.”

  Clyde handed them the keys to the deluxe suite and refused to take their credit cards. Ransom warned him he’d be sorry after the big party they would have, but Clyde grinned and said he’d be right there swinging from the moose’s antlers himself.

  After lunch, they visited a half dozen adults who claimed to have seen a sasquatch. All were guarded about their experiences, and it was only when school was let out for the day that they got to interview more eager witnesses.

  Clyde introduced Kinley and Ransom to the children and added they were expert Bigfoot hunters. While Kinley wanted to protest that remark, she noted the kids seemed keen on that fact and held her tongue.

  “He wanted to play hide-and-seek!” An eight-year-old boy giggled.

  “And he helped us build our fort,” a second boy added.

  “Bigfoot came right up to you and built your fort?” Kinley gaped. She couldn’t help it. This just wasn’t an animal being playful, but intelligent interaction.

  “Well, not exactly. He watched us from the woods near my house, and when we went in for hot chocolate, he finished making the fort. Did a good high roof too.” The first boy nodded approvingly.

  “It’s not a boy. It’s a girl,” a preteen girl stated. “I saw her. I was making a wreath for our door, and she brought me leaves. Really pretty orange ones.”

  “Bigfoot’s a boy.” One of littler kids made a duh face.

  The preteen folded her arms and shook her head. “Nope, totally a girl.”

  “And how do you know that?” Ransom flashed her a smile.

  The girl’s face flushed pink. “Well, uh, because, you know, they don’t wear clothes.”

  “Are you saying you could see… their parts?” Kinley didn’t want angry parents calling her later for talking in such a manner with their children, but this was important. Only a few of the older girls seemed unnerved by the question, though.

  “Oh yeah, totally.” One of the boys laughed. “Bigfoot’s a boy.”

  “Girl.” The preteen folded her arms.

  “Maybe there’s more than one. A whole big family.” Clyde suggested, and many of the kids agreed with him.

  They received various descriptions and let the children go on their way home, advising them to keep their distance from any sasquatch, no matter how playful they might seem.

  If there was a totem creating magical havoc in the area, it was going about it in a strange way. Bushmen who were playful and who could also burst out with violent acts. There were plenty of totem animals that were playful. Otters, seals, even bears.

  But the real mystery here was why were children disappearing? Did it have anything to do with the totem or Bigfoot? Kinley listened to the wind as the kids left. Not that she needed the whispers to tell her that everything was tied together.

  Find him.

  The same message. The same urgency.

  Find Brayden and they’d have their answers.

  Clyde invited Ransom and Kinley to his mother’s house for dinner. Mara, his mom, lived with his sister Yvette and her two small children. The main part of the cabin had to be over sixty years old with a few additions pieced onto it over the years. It wasn’t a beautiful building, but inside, warmth and coziness nestled around her.

  Mara greeted Ransom like one of her own children. “My boy, it’s been too long. I missed you. Though it doesn’t look like you’ve been eating enough.”

  “I eat plenty, but there’s nothing like your cooking.” Ransom could even charm the old mothers. He kissed Mara’s wrinkly cheek and reached over for Kinley’s hand. “Mara, this is my gal, Kinley Dorn.”

  “You mean the angel whose life you somehow weaseled into.” Clyde snorted. Ransom pointed at his friend, making gestures that he’d gladly take it outside. Clyde flexed an arm muscle and then flipped him off.

  Kinley grinned at their antics before turning her attention to the older woman. She towered over Mara, but somehow, the Yupik woman felt bigger than she, in a good way.

  “Boys.” Mara shook her head and took Kinley’s hands. “So nice to meet you, dear. You look just like your mother. Peace to her soul. It’s a pleasure to have one of Tassa’s daughters in my home.”

  Kinley’s world spun upside down. This was the last thing Kinley expected. Sure, her father seemed to know everyone in Alaska, but her mom? She hadn’t heard anyone utter Tassa’s name in years. No one in her family dared, as if it were taboo.

  Her chest tightened as she squeezed Mara’s hands. She wanted to ask about her mom, how Mara knew her, everything and anything. But the questions didn’t come. Instead, she whispered, “Thank you.”

  No further words came out, and Mara nodded as if she understood everything Kinley was feeling. “Sit down, dear. Dinner will be ready in a bit. Yvette’s getting the children dressed and ready to go to a party at a friend’s house. So it will just be the four of us. Clyde tells me you have some questions about what’s been going on lately.”

  Kinley muttered another thank you and sat on the couch where Mara indicated. Had her mom been in this house? Was she sitting in the exact spot her mom had?

  Her mind swirled, and when there was a whoop from the kitchen and a rush of footsteps, she gripped the cushions as if she might fall off the sofa.

  “Ransom Averhill!” A young woman with wild black hair and a cute nymph’s face ran into the living room and pounced on Ransom. Not just an embrace, but a wrap-her-legs-around-him hug.

  Ransom caught her with a great bark of laughter, and they kissed. There wasn’t any tongue, but it was full on the lips and ended with an audible smack. “Yvette, looking good as always. How are your brats?”

  Another woman Ransom kissed like that. He didn’t even flinch or waggle his finger. Kinley realized she wasn’t breathing and took in a deep breath.

  “Shut up.�
� Yvette gave him a little whack and chuckled, planting her feet back on the floor. “I’m good, they’re good. How the hell are you? I haven’t seen you in, what, like a year?”

  “Thirteen months. He hasn’t been back here in over a year.” Clyde flopped down in a patched recliner and leaned back with his feet propped up.

  No one else seemed to think it a big deal that Yvette greeted Ransom like that. Kinley wondered if she needed a psychological test. Maybe her anxiety was getting out of hand and making her freak out about things that were actually nothing at all.

  But Ransom kissed Yvette. He kissed Victoria. Or, rather, he didn’t protest the kisses. Shouldn’t he make it clear there would be no more hellos like that while he was seeing her?

  “Hey, I’ve got a job and the band’s doing good.” Ransom pointed out.

  “And you’ve got a lovely woman to keep you busy.” Clyde motioned to Kinley.

  Clyde said it. Not Ransom.

  Yvette turned with a smile and offered her hand. “Hi, Yvette Hanson.”

  Kinley stood, as her manners dictated she should, and shook the other woman’s hand. “Hi, nice to meet you. Kinley Dorn.”

  “Like the Dorn sisters who run that renovation business?” Yvette’s dark eyes glimmered as they widened.

  “Yes.” Kinley bobbed her head once.

  “Wow. I’ve seen you, mostly your sister, on TV.” Yvette looked to the kitchen when a small child called for his mama. “Coming. Geez, Ransom, what did you do to get yourself a woman like her?” She didn’t wait for his answer as she headed to the kitchen. “Really good to meet you, Kinley. I’ve got to get my kids to a birthday party, but maybe I’ll see you here or in town again soon. Bye!”

  Kinley waved and listened to the noise of Yvette getting her children together and leaving through the back door. Ransom stepped over the coffee table and took a seat next to her. He laid his arms along the back of the couch and smiled that knee-melting smile at her.

  How was she supposed to stay mad at him? Or should she be angry with the women? No, it wasn’t as if they knew he had a girlfriend. He should have told them right away. But really, who starts a conversation with someone you haven’t seen in a long while by saying they’re no longer single? That was something a person worked up to, or at least, she did. The kisses had come right away. So… no one’s fault?

  If she truly believed that, she wouldn’t feel any anger.

  “Yeah, Ransom, what did you do to get a woman like her?” Clyde smirked at him from his chair.

  “I saved her from a giant.” Ransom chuckled, running his fingers into her long, loose hair and playing with it.

  “No, seriously.” Clyde rolled his eyes.

  “Seriously.” Ransom nodded.

  “He did, but I think I might have gone out with him even without the heroics.” Kinley shivered slightly from his touch. All Ransom had done was smile at her, and she’d been ready to follow him wherever he wanted.

  “You know…” Ransom trailed his fingers along the back of her neck. “I sometimes think that Bert hired me to play matchmaker with us.”

  “What? No.” Kinley couldn’t believe that. Not Bert. Maybe. Would he? Why would Bert think Ransom her type then? He’d only seen her in a professional manner up to that point. Unless it was the geek angle. Still, none of her family could understand what she saw in Ransom. How would Bert know what she was attracted to?

  “Never underestimate the bossman.” Ransom drew her against him as she still tried to reason out the possibility of Bert playing Cupid.

  “Like a real giant? There aren’t any giants, are there?” Clyde goggled at them.

  Before either Ransom or Kinley could offer an explanation, Mara called them into the kitchen. The guys were standing even before the echo of Mara’s shout silenced. Ransom offered Kinley a hand and led her to the chipped and scratched round wood table. She could imagine many a family meal was eaten here. A small pang tugged at her heart. She missed her own family, especially her mom.

  The kitchen wasn’t modernized. Half of the wood cupboards stood open and a kettle boiled on a wood stove. An old fridge hummed, and there was a slight warp in the floor near the sink. No one needed to tell Kinley this was the well-loved heart of the home.

  “Kinley, Ransom, please sit. Clyde, help me bring everything to the table. And you don’t dare eat any of it before we all sit.” Mara mashed potatoes by hand as she directed them.

  “Mom,” Clyde groaned like a spoiled teenager but did as he was told.

  The plates and the silverware didn’t match. Her dad would approve. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Sit.” Mara repeated as Clyde brought over the meatloaf. From the delicious scent, Kinley could tell it was venison instead of beef. Buns, buttered veggies, and homemade gravy. Yes, her father would more than approve.

  Kinley took the chair closest to the wood stove and fidgeted as the food was loaded onto the table. Her mind said “my job,” and she had to remind it she was the guest.

  But she wanted to do something. There were children missing. It felt a little wrong to be sitting down to a good meal when they could be out looking. Sure, it was too dark to go out, but that fluttering nag in her belly made it very difficult for her to sit still.

  Ransom sat to her left. He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. Maybe she should just talk to him, explain her feelings. But then he might think she was one of those smothering, clingy women. No way she wanted to be seen as that.

  Mara sat across from her. The woman knew Kinley’s mom. Her heart ached to talk to someone about her mother. Even after twenty years, the hole in her had always remained glaringly empty. Her father and Saskia refused to talk about Tassa, and Ametta barely remembered anything.

  Clyde sat, muttering something about giants, but went straight to piling food on his plate. Ransom immediately followed suit.

  Kinley waited as the guys dug in until Mara motioned to her. “Please, help yourself. Before these boys eat everything. Someone isn’t feeding you enough.”

  “Hey!” Ransom paused just before stuffing a bun into his mouth. “I bring her cookies and chocolate—”

  “She needs meat on those bones. Give her that fatty middle piece of meatloaf and another piece on top of it.”

  There was no sense protesting, and part of Kinley liked Mara fussing over her. Everyone ate until they could eat no more, and then Mara brought out an apple pie. No one could pass it up, nor did they want to.

  Once the dishes were cleared and each person had a steaming cup of coffee, the simple dinner conversation ended.

  “So Clyde tells me you’re here looking into the missing children’s cases.” Mara arranged her apron on her lap and sat back, crossing her legs at the ankles under her chair. “Brayden’s such a good boy. I hope you find him, all of them, but don’t be too hard on yourselves when you don’t.”

  Kinley was certain for a few seconds she must have misheard the other woman. She imagined Mara giving them the clue they needed to find the kids and rescue them all. Not this.

  “We’ll find them,” Ransom stated without hesitation. Kinley silently cheered him.

  Mara smiled, but it was full of sympathy rather than satisfaction over his determination. She held her mug on her lap, and her gaze drifted to the old black stove. “My grandfather loved to tell us old tales. The once great monsters of the north, ice dragons, giants, trolls, and sea serpents. Stories about Bear and Raven. I particularly liked the ones that took place here at the lake. It made me feel as if I lived in a world of magic.”

  Kinley knew that feeling. It was one of the reasons she loved to play fantasy games and read. Though the reality of magical happenings wasn’t as awesome as many might think.

  “Mom, what does this have to do with anything?” Clyde rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee.

  Ignoring her son, Mara continued, “One of my grandfather’s favorite tales was about the Urayuli. It means hairy man. Very similar to Bigfoot in a way, but while Bigf
oot is a creature unto itself, the Urayuli are not.

  “The old gods lived among the people. Sometimes being a god can be lonely, and so they made families, had children, and came to care for humans. The land is not a merciful one, and children have insatiable curiosity. So many got lost and died.” Mara wetted her lips with a drink. “The people cried. The gods cried. Their tears flowed down the rivers and created our lake.

  “In the forests here lived another lonely creature. The hairy man was ugly, and so the gods had not made more of him when they created the world. Yet alone as he was, he, too, cried for the lost children and for the ones he’d never have.

  “Raven could not bear the tears anymore. The next child who wandered off and got lost in the woods found the hairy man. The tender beast offered the boy his hand, and when the child took it, he turned into one of the Urayuli.

  “So this is why you will not find the children. Or at least not as you think them to be. They are now Urayuli.”

  Kinley hadn’t touched her coffee. She sat still, riveted by the myth. While she could hear Mara’s quiet voice, there was another whispering the same tale in her ear. A man, his tone dry and grizzled. Mara’s grandfather telling his stories around the warmth of the stove again?

  Stories fascinated her, and while she would have been an eager audience any time, she would have just thought it to be only that: a thrilling tale. Not now. Not with the missing kids and totem tokens. A giant, the Jinxioc, and ghostly household guardians. Why not the Urayuli?

  Her internal organizer went swiftly to work. So if there are Urayuli, it would make sense only a few missing children ever came across them and joined their numbers. But now both the number of missing kids and Bigfoot sightings had increased. More children becoming Urayuli. And why? A totem.

  “Oh, come on. No one really believes… You guys believe her?” Clyde stared at Kinley and Ransom.

  Kinley locked eyes with Ransom. He didn’t need to say a word. He’d come to the same conclusion as she had.