Free Eater of Lives(SPECTR #4) by Jordan L. Hawk

drakul will be set free to
inhabit corpses once again. Its continued existence will save many
human lives in the future, as it has done in the past, by
eradicating malevolent NHEs.
    SPECTR’s mission is to destroy all NHEs which
come into contact with humanity, without exception. We need not
remind you Special Agent Starkweather supports this mission with
great enthusiasm. When your time is up, SPECTR will feel it has no
choice but to lock you away, for study and containment. If you do
not wish to spend eternity in a holding cell, we strongly suggest
you do not reveal this communication to Starkweather.
    Below is a number where you can reach us, day
or night. We probably don’t need to mention the number is for a
disposable cell phone, which can’t be traced back to us.
    Call soon. Your time is running out.
    * * *
    The bells from one of Charleston’s many
churches chimed the nine o’clock hour when John finally unlocked
the condo’s front door. A long damn day, and nothing to show for
it. None of the tips coming in panned out. A few new missing person
cases cropped up, but he had no way of knowing if any of them were
connected with the wendigo.
    His body felt like it weighed a million
pounds, every step slow and painful. The wendigo was out there
somewhere. It would kill again, if it hadn’t already. And every
death lay at his door, because it was up to him to stop it.
    Caleb waited inside, curled up on the hideous
orange couch he’d insisted on bringing with him. He’d brought down
his easel and paints, but the canvas still sat blank. The first
painting he’d done stood propped against a wall.
    “Hey,” John said, dredging up a smile. “Are
we going to hang the painting down here?”
    Caleb shrugged. “It was in the way upstairs.
In the bedroom.” He stood up, unfolding his long legs. “Where have
you been?”
    “At work.” John winced. “Sorry. I didn’t
think to call.”
    “So you weren’t with Will?”
    John frowned. “What? Of course not. Why would
you say that?”
    Caleb looked away, his arms crossed
defensively over his chest. “He hasn’t come back yet, either.”
    The hell? “I was working the case, Caleb. I
don’t blame you for leaving early, but if you’d stayed you know I
was at SPECTR the whole time.”
    “Looking for the wendigo?”
    “Of course.”
    “And what about me?”
    “I’m too tired to play twenty questions
here,” John said, struggling to keep a leash on his temper. “What about you?”
    Caleb let his arms fall to his sides. “When
do I start taking priority, huh? You keep saying you’ll exorcise
me, but there’s always something more important.”
    “I have worked on it! You’ve seen me with the
books—”
    “Yeah, and I’ve seen you chasing down ghouls,
an incubus, and now a wendigo, and doing everything else on earth but focusing on how the hell you’re going to get rid of
Gray!”
    John rubbed at his eyes. “I understand you’re
scared—”
    “I’m not scared!” Caleb shouted, taking a
step closer, fists clenching. “I’m fucking terrified!”
    Oh. Shit. “Babe…”
    Caleb’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Don’t ‘babe’
me, Starkweather. I’ve got less than nine days left. Nine
days.”
    Yeah, okay, they were cutting it close. Caleb
had every right to be upset. “We’ll take care of it, I promise. But
you still have time. And right now, we need Gray to help find the
wendigo.”
    He’d said the wrong thing; he knew it the
instant the words left his lips. All the color drained from Caleb’s
pale face, save for two spot high on his cheekbones. “You son of a
bitch.”
    Fuck. “You’re helping save people’s lives,”
he said, hoping to repair the damage.
    “Maybe I don’t want to, okay? Taking down
NHEs, helping the helpless, being a big damn hero—that’s your dream, not mine! I never wanted this! The only reason I
agreed to any of it was to keep my ass out of a cell.” Caleb shook
his head savagely. “You and Gray are the ones