The Harvest

by Sara Clancy

  “Looks like she’s been here a bit,” Ozzie said to Mina. “We should definitely give her the compass.”

  Basheba turned down a side street, absentmindedly giving her dog a playful nudge and smiling at his overreaction.

  Mina took pity on him and decided to take a run at Basheba herself. “I was told you’ve been in the woods before.”

  The dog paid more attention to them than its owner did.

  “Have I done something to upset you?” Ozzie asked.

  “No,” Basheba replied.

  While she didn’t turn around, she did manage to sound honestly confused as to how he could have come to such a conclusion. Mina and Ozzie shared a glance, each clearly hoping the other would somehow know how to handle the small woman.

  Before they could sort out a plan of attack, they had reached the police station. A reception desk separated the small waiting area from the larger back. A few scattered desks filled the space, topped with more books and takeaway containers than paperwork. A row of thick black bars turned the back corner into a series of holding cells.

  “You can’t just walk back there,” Mina whispered harshly.

  It wasn’t a surprise that Basheba didn’t listen. She pushed through the low swinging gate and into the back office. Her dog leaped the aged wood to follow.

  “Ladies first?” Ozzie said with a shrug.

  It was getting harder for Mina to keep a tight grip on the frustration growing inside of her. “This is how people get shot.”

  “Huh. Hey, what do you think will happen if we were shot before we have to go into the woods?”

  Mina fled from that question by grudgingly trailing along behind the older girl, leaving Ozzie to follow. Almost in unison, they entered the restricted area and the staff bathroom door flung open. Ozzie jerked back a step, as if contemplating outrunning the law enforcement officer. Holding up one hand to steady him, Mina straightened her spine and fixed a gentle but polite smile upon her lips. Before she could speak, however, Basheba greeted the man with an energetic and almost childish glee.

  “Trevor! I missed you!”

  She raced to the man. Instead of surprise, the taller man scooped down and caught her around the hip, lifting her clean off her feet. One quick spin, and he placed her back down.

  “Oh, look at you. You must have grown half a foot,” Trevor beamed, ruffling her hair. His skin seemed a dozen shades darker against her golden hair.

  “Does he know she’s in her twenties?” Ozzie whispered in Mina’s ear.

  Mina shook her head, captivated by the sight before her, “I don’t think he does.”

  “Now, what are you doing here?”

  Basheba giggled and clasped her hands behind her back, twisting her torso like a proud child.

  “I’m here to pick up Cadwyn.”

  Trevor frowned, “He called you?”

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Basheba pouted.

  Suspicion crossed his face, and she matched it. However, she kept a certain adorable charm to her glare, which soon had the man chuckling.

  “I’m sure you know what you’re doing, little poppet,” Trevor dismissed.

  Crouching down, he called the dog over. The move effectively hid his face from Mina’s line of sight and kept her from getting a good read on the man. The towering beast of a dog wallowed happily in the officer’s attention, tongue lolling out the side of its jaws and tail whipping about as he leaned into the body rubs.

  “Who’s this gorgeous boy?”

  “That’s my dog, Buck,” Basheba beamed with pride.

  Mina managed to catch Basheba’s gaze over the distracted officer’s shoulders. The innocent façade slipped like a mask to reveal a small smirk. No more than that. But it spoke volumes and made a slither of ice coil in the pit of her stomach. The front door burst open, allowing a very loud elderly woman to come waddling inside. Trevor’s head snapped up and Basheba instantly resumed her performance.

  “I’ve got to go take care of that.”

  “Okie dokie,” Basheba chirped.

  The officer barely hesitated before holding up his hand, the cell key dangling from one finger.

  “You need to give this back to me before you go.”

  Basheba nodded rapidly, sending her hair flying. “I will. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

  “Good girl.” He placed the key in Basheba’s cupped hands and headed off to the front of the station.

  The second his back was turned, Basheba’s smile dropped, her eyes grew cold, and she stalked toward the cells.

  Mina rushed to catch up. “Exactly how old does he think you are?”

  “No idea,” she dismissed. “If I ask, people start looking at the details and it spoils the illusion.”

  Ozzie joined the group. “I always hate it when people think I’m a kid.”

  “You are a kid,” Basheba said.

  “And why tell the truth when the lie lets you manipulate a police officer?” Mina added.

  For once, the blonde paused and turned toward her. “You disapprove?”

  “I do.”

  Basheba hummed thoughtfully. “It’s a good thing I don’t care about your opinion then, isn’t it? Otherwise, you might have actually hurt my feelings.”

  “What is it people say about burning bridges?” The voice drifted groggily to them from the furthest cell. The one tucked into the corner.

  “That it makes good kindling?” Basheba replied.

  The roll of her eyes wasn’t enough to hide her smile. It was small but honest and instantly spiked Mina’s curiosity. She decided to keep her mouth shut and watch the interaction unfold.

  A mound that Mina had mistaken as blankets heaved as a man worked his way out from under it. Rich brown hair flopped over his forehead in sweaty strips. A fledgling bruise had started to claim the sharp peak of his right cheekbone. The remains of a nosebleed stained his upper lip and dried blood coated his shirt. Finally succeeding in freeing his long legs, he hunched forward and braced his elbows on his knees.

  “What happened to you?” Ozzie asked.

  “I beat a minotaur to death with my helmet,” Cadwyn grinned. “How was your morning?”

  “A real minotaur?” Mina snapped despite herself.

  “You killed it?” Ozzie asked.

  Basheba straightened, “Are those my pretzels?”

  Chapter 11

  “Wait, you weren’t arrested?” Ozzie asked, squinting as they left the station and reentered the sunlight. He kept glancing over his shoulder, sure Trevor would chase them down. “I thought you were arrested. Don’t you have to sign something or talk to someone?”

  Cadwyn smiled as he stretched his arms over his head. His teeth were long, sharper than the norm, and slightly stained pink with blood. Ozzie adverted his gaze to the Halloween decorated streets, trying to quell the queasy feeling steadily trickling into his stomach.

  “Trevor wouldn’t dare cross me after what happened last time,” Basheba commented.

  Ozzie’s gut tightened. “What happened last time?”

  Cadwyn stifled his humor to give him an actual answer. “She’s just messing with you, Ozzie. Which is mean.”

  He clearly said the last sentence in reprimand of Basheba. She ignored him.

  “I wasn’t arrested,” Cadwyn continued. “Trevor was just letting me sleep in the cells until he could hand off responsibility of me to someone else.”

  “Responsibility?” Mina pushed.

  “Black River doesn’t have a hospital, and the local doctor is a quack. I refused to see him.”

  “I don’t get it,” Ozzie said.

  “Having found him, Trevor would have a duty of care over Cadwyn,” Mina explained. “Cadwyn has a right to refuse medical treatment, of course. But can you imagine the legal and ethical nightmare Trevor would find himself in if he just let Cadwyn wander around and die of his injuries?”

  Ozzie gave that some thought. “So, Trevor’s covering his butt? Why couldn’t you just say that?”

/>   Mina takes herself too seriously. The glare she threw Ozzie’s way made that little bit of information blatantly clear. Shrinking away from her annoyance, Ozzie found his attention drawn to Cadwyn’s blood-soaked shirt.

  The man’s biker gear had protected most of his body, but it gaped in the front where it had been slashed open, allowing glimpses of the bandages wrapped around his torso. The majority of the material was still pristine, white as snow against the midnight black of his leathers. But blood had started to seep through to the surface. Little crimson dots that seemed to grow before Ozzie’s eyes. The vibrant color filled his vision.

  “Maybe we should take you to the doctor,” Ozzie said before swallowing thickly.

  Cadwyn made a sneak attack for Basheba’s yogurt pretzels. It earned him an elbow to the ribs. Not hard, just enough to make him jerk away. The motion must have reopened the wound because fresh blood pushed against his bandages.

  “You’re bleeding,” Ozzie said weakly.

  “It’s just a little seepage. Completely normal for new stitches,” Cadwyn assured.

  The comment drew Mina’s attention. “Trevor knows that kind of first aid?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “I did it myself.”

  After being rebuffed from the snacks, Cadwyn began rummaging through the bright red bag he had retrieved from Trevor’s desk before they left. Ozzie had dismissed the fat backpack as Cadwyn’s luggage, but now, as the older man searched through the numerous pockets, he caught sight of the medical symbol embroidered on the top. A medical bag, he realized. Ozzie found himself strangely disappointed. It doesn’t look like the ones they use in the movies. With a grunt of victory, the nurse pulled free what he had been searching for. A beaten-up pack of cigarettes.

  “Maybe we should still take you to a doctor,” Ozzie said.

  “Why does no one take my degree seriously?” he mumbled around a cigarette, already fumbling with a lighter.

  “They do,” Basheba said. “They just don’t take you seriously.”

  One well-practiced strike of his thumb got his Zippo to work, and he glared at her over the steady flame.

  “Thanks for the clarification.”

  “Anytime.” Basheba’s smile faded when the tall man managed to snatch a handful of the pretzels out of the bag.

  “I will burn you,” Basheba declared. “Don’t try me.”

  The threat made Ozzie’s chest tighten. He didn’t doubt for a moment that she meant it. Cadwyn, however, only chuckled. Even though he towered over the woman beside him, the nurse still tilted his head back to blow a lungful of smoke into the air.

  Mina cocked her head to the side, “You’re a medical professional.”

  “So I know exactly how bad this is.” With the slender cigarette nipped between two fingers, he took a long drag and blew the smoke above them once more. “Don’t smoke kids.”

  While his words remained playful, there was an undeniable shift in Cadwyn’s tone. Something colder. Almost bitter. Don’t judge their coping mechanisms.

  “I need either a nap or a coffee,” Cadwyn said, gingerly rolling his shoulders. He exchanged his cigarette with a pretzel. “These things don’t have enough sugar to keep me awake.”

  “If we survive, you’re buying me a new pack,” Basheba grumbled.

  “A minotaur ran you off the road!” Mina’s enraged outburst made everyone flinch.

  Their small group stopped in the middle of a residential street and turned their attention to her.

  “That’s right,” Cadwyn said.

  Mina’s jaw dropped. “You expect us to believe that?”

  “Why would I lie?”

  Don’t bring me into this, Ozzie silently pleaded. It didn’t stop Mina from turning to him for backup.

  “Can’t you see none of this makes sense?”

  Ozzie winced, not sure what to say, or whom he was better off isolating.

  “Where do I even start?” she declared.

  Cadwyn took another deep draw of his cigarette and said, “Throw them at me in any order.”

  “All right.” Planting her feet, she crossed her arms over her chest. “How did you survive a bike crash with only minor injuries?”

  If Mina was expecting a reaction beyond a smirk, she was disappointed.

  “Everyone in the four families should know how to fall. Not that the additional training didn’t help.”

  “Someone trained you?” Mina asked. “To fall?”

  “Fall, absorb impact, take the pain and keep going,” he nodded.

  “That’s some strange training for a nurse, isn’t it?”

  Basheba didn’t stop chewing as she cut in, “He’s a psych nurse at a hospital for the criminally insane. Don’t you know violence against medical professionals is a real problem?”

  “Besides that, bikes are death traps. No one should ride one unless they know how to crash them.” Almost as if he had momentarily forgotten about Mina, he turned to the short girl beside him. “Now that your car’s totaled, are you going to get a bike? Maybe a side cart for Buck? Ginger’s expanding Ride or Die. She’ll have room for you in the program.”

  “I sleep in my car.”

  “It sounds so sad when you say it like that.”

  “You should give Ginger a call. She might make you her poster boy.” Basheba raised her hands for emphasis. “My program kept this idiot alive.”

  “Slightly hurtful.”

  Mina’s frustrated groan brought the pair back into her interrogation.

  “For the sake of argument, I’ll concede you know how to fall and that was enough to save you. It’s a long shot, but okay.”

  “That’s clearly the sound of conceding,” Basheba noted.

  “How did you kill it with your bare hands?”

  “Determination and a deep reservoir of resentment,” Cadwyn mumbled around his quickly disappearing cigarette.

  “From what I remember, minotaurs are heavily muscled beasts,” Mina pressed. “It’s a little unbelievable someone like you could kill one with your bare hands, don’t you think?”

  As subtly as he could, Ozzie inched a bit further away from Mina’s side, not wanting to get caught up in the dark looks that were now being sent in her direction. Especially since Basheba started that creepy smiling again.

  “And what do you think I can kill?” Basheba asked.

  Mina ignored the question and switched tactics. “And your whole story goes against the established legends. I’ve always been told the demons can’t cause physical injury until the box is opened.”

  Basheba laughed. A sweet little cackle that held an edge of mania. It was Cadwyn who replied.

  “We’re in Black River, Mina. I was passing by the Witch Woods.”

  “So?”

  Instantly, Basheba’s humor fell away. “You have to be kidding me. Didn’t your daddy teach you anything?”

  “The Witch Woods is Katrina’s home turf. She can do things there that she can’t do anywhere else.”

  “With all due respect, Cadwyn, what does that mean?”

  “It means if you can’t wrap your brilliant mind around the idea of a guy with a bull head, you’re not going to last,” Basheba said, her humor flooding back into her voice.

  Mina bristled, the muscles in her jaw twitched as she met Basheba’s cool gaze.

  “Cadwyn,” Mina said, still staring at the small girl before her. “You killed it. Then Trevor found you. Is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then Trevor must have seen the corpse. He didn’t strike me as a man who has just seen a mythical beast brought to life.”

  It clearly enraged Mina that Basheba lazily selected another pretzel. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her pretty face growing taut.

  If Basheba noticed, she didn’t care. “It’s almost as if it’s not the weirdest thing he’s seen around these parts.”

  “Then where is it?” Mina snapped. “There has to be a corpse. He wouldn’t have just left it on the road for an
yone to find. So where’s the body, Basheba?”

  “Because that’s something she would know,” Cadwyn cut in.

  Basheba grunted, took her time swallowing, then said, “Funeral home.”

  Doubt crossed Mina’s face for the first time. “I’m not sure I follow.”

  “Well, let’s use logic,” Basheba said, paying more attention to her dwindling rations. “There’s no hospital around these parts. The funeral home is the only place decked out to take care of a corpse if they felt like holding onto it. If they don’t, the crematorium and graveyard are nice and close.”

  Nonchalantly, she stared at the woman and continued munching.

  “I’m just guessing this last bit, but I’m envisioning this thing as being really buff. Heavy. Not something you can shove into the back of a police cruiser. So that big old hearse the funeral home has would be pretty convenient for transportation.” She turned abruptly to Cadwyn. “These things are making me thirsty, have you got any water?”

  He quickly produced a bottle and handed it over. “You know, that’s a pretty good idea.”

  Somehow, she managed to hum quizzically while chugging half of the bottle’s contents.

  He lowered his voice to elaborate. “They do have a distinct lack of practical experience.”

  Once more, Ozzie found his thoughts spiraling beyond his control. All that toppled out of his mouth was, “I can see it?”

  “Funeral home’s right around the corner,” Cadwyn said cheerfully.

  Basheba released a disgruntled humph.

  “What else have you got to do with your day?” Cadwyn asked.

  “Sleep, mostly.”

  “Damn, that does sound good.”

  “No, this will be very educational,” Mina cut in. She smiled up at the towering man. “Please, show me the minotaur.”

  It then turned into a staring contest between the two girls, each one daring the other to back down. Eventually, Basheba smiled. Small and sweet and with a predatory edge.

  “You know what? Let’s go. There is no foreseeable way this could go wrong.”

  Mina’s unspoken confidence only grew when Basheba turned on one delicate heel and stalked off, Buck trotting along beside her.