LustUndone (28 page)

One growl. Then a second one. Signals that carried through
the radios the two men wore around their necks. Radios they’d put on before
shifting. It still amazed her that she could differentiate between the two, but
Clint’s was much deeper. The sound of it was reassuring in some way.

“Remember,” she told them. “If you see anything at all
you’ll have to shift long enough to give me the location.”

More growls.

Sophia looked down from where the helo flew high in the air.
They’d come to the conclusion that using the chopper was the only way to trap
and kill the beast. Shifters in wolf form could track and corral it but the
kill shots had to come from the helicopter. Always. It was far too dangerous
for someone to get close to the beast on the ground. Using special night vision
binoculars she could see two dark forms streaking in and out among the trees,
heading for the house they’d agreed—hoped—was the Chupacabra’s target.

“Can you see them?” Ric wanted to know.

“They’re down there,” she told him. She was also hooked into
the bird’s comm system, the only way she and Ric could speak to each other over
the noise of the rotors. “I see them running. Oh. Look.” She tapped him on the
arm. “Now they’re heading directly for that particular house, the one Rebecca’s
closest to. They must have seen or sensed something in that direction.”

While she watched one of the wolves spun in a circle, the
black one, and Clint stood in the snow buck naked. He lifted the small radio to
his mouth. “We see it, Sophia. Just a flash of it but we’re after it.”

Then the black wolf was back and the two of them were
streaking across the frozen landscape, in and out among the trees, at a speed
much greater than normal wolves.

“How far are they from their target area now?” Ric asked.

“Not far at all. I’d say maybe half a mile away.”

Putting the binoculars to her eyes, she focused on the glare
of the white landscape, seeking any sign of what had set off the shifters. And
then she saw it, just a glimpse but a sight that nearly made her heart stop. A
beast so horrific it stole her breath and shocked her senses. It was the
appalling stuff of nightmares, a creature whose ugly, misshapen head alone
could scare someone to death. Closing in on the house sheltering its
unsuspecting prey.

“Oh, my god.” With an enormous effort she pulled herself
together. “I’ve got eyes on it,” she finally made herself say.

“Better let them know,” Ric told her.

She pressed the talk button on the radio, forcing a calm to
her voice that she didn’t feel. “Logan? Clint? I see the devil beast. Oh sweet
baby Jesus.” She swallowed hard. “Put on some speed, Ric. Don’t let it get
away.”

The two wolves moved as if shot from a cannon, running so
fast their images were blurred.

Sophia shifted her gaze. “Lights still on in the house.” She
pressed the talk button for her sister’s channel. “Bec? I spotted it. It’s down
there not far from you. Holy shit. Holy shit. You won’t believe this.” She drew
in a calming breath. “Anyway, it’s stalking the house you’re heading toward.
Better speed it up. But Bec? Don’t get out of your vehicle unless I tell you
to.”

“But—”

“Do. Not. Get. Out.” Sophia ground out each word. “Wait for
my signal.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Still got eyes on it?” Ric asked.

“Yes.” She stared harder through the binoculars. “No.
Dammit, I’ve lost it in the trees.”

“Watch for two things,” Ric told her. “Movement at the
perimeter of the clearing around it and the lights in the house to go out.”

“Bec’s almost at the entrance to the driveway,” she
reported. “And there’s a patrol car coming from the opposite direction. Let’s
hope we’re timing this right, that we’re trapping the devil beast and not
running it off.”

“Just keep your eyes peeled on that area.”

“I am. I am.” Her body hummed with the tension.

Rebecca’s voice crackled in her ear. “Pulling into the
driveway now. Soph, I can handle this. Really. I’ll get out with my rifle and
get ready to shoot the damn thing.”

“No,” Sophia screamed as fear for her sister slammed into
her. Too many people had already died still clutching their weapons. She made
herself take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No, damn it. Do
not
get out of that vehicle, do you hear me? Stay in the truck.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Bec’s voice sounded impatient. “But is
anyone in position to take a shot at it?”

“Yes.” Sophia reached for the rifle lying next to her. “I
am. And I can get low enough to do it. That’s how we handled it the other
times. You stay in your vehicle but have your rifle ready just in case.”

“Copy that,” Rebecca came back.

Sophia held her own rifle with one hand and the glasses with
the other, still concentrating on the scene below. Then she spotted something
and her heartbeat accelerated.

“Ric? Ric, I think I’ve got it again.” She forced herself to
breathe calmly and slowly. This was not the time to lose control. “I see
something moving just at the edge of the clearing around the house. Can you go
in a little lower?”

“I don’t want to scare it away,” he pointed out. “Just trap
it and kill it.”

“Clint and Logan are there now.” Sophia watched the wolves
continue to circle the area and picked up the radio, pressing both channel
buttons at the same time. “Everyone, I see something. Just a faint shadow but
it’s right where the tree line ends. Clint and Logan, pour it on. Chase it into
the clearing. Rebecca, call that deputy near you and tell him to stay in his
car, too. We’re on this.”

Her heart was banging against her ribs now with a mixture of
fear and anticipation.

We’ve got it! We’ve got the damn devil beast.

* * * * *

Marie clicked off the television set. Nine o’clock. Maybe
she’d turn on the television in her bedroom for a little while, but she started
her shift at seven in the morning so she needed to get into bed.

“Want to go out once more, Ike?” She looked at the big dog
pacing circles in the kitchen. “Come on. One last trip.”

But when she went to open the door he hurled himself against
her, nearly knocking her to the floor.

“Ike? What’s the matter with you? Come on. One last potty
break tonight.”

But the moment she approached the door against the dog
braced itself on all fours and snarled at her. It was the first sign of
aggressive behavior she’d seen in the two years she’d had Ike. Now she frowned
at him.

“What is wrong? You never act like this.” She threw up her
hands. “All right, all right. But be warned. I’m not getting up in the middle
of the night.”

The dog pressed close to her as she moved through the house,
turning off lights, locking doors, and made her way into the bedroom.

But still the dog didn’t relax. Finally Marie went into her
bathroom, carrying her pajamas. Maybe if she left the dog alone he’d quiet down.

* * * * *

“There it is,” Sophia shouted again, pointing. “See it, Ric?
It’s moving out into the clearing now. Clint and Logan aren’t far behind it.”

“I’ve got it.” He banked the helo to swoop in lower. “Put
down the binocs and get ready with your rifle. I’m going in.”

Sophia jacked the round into the chamber and the sound of it
was loud even over the noise of the rotors. Making sure her safety belt was
securely latched, she pulled the cabin door back and inched to the edge of her
seat. Below her she could see two cars—Rebecca already parked next to the house
and the deputy just turning into the driveway. And the devil beast now in the
clearing midway between the trees and the house, head lifted as if suddenly
aware of the helo above it.

“Hit the lights,” she told Ric as he leveled off at a lower
altitude, hovering over the clearing.

In an instant the spotlight located at the bottom of the
helicopter flooded the yard and Sophia stared. In the stark glare of the
spotlight every feature of the beast was vividly illuminated. Even the photos
she’d seen of the previous beasts they’d killed hadn’t prepared her for the
hideous, frightening creature rearing up now on its hind legs. And circling in
from the woods, two aggressive wolves, snapping and snarling.

“Can you take the shot?”

She heard Ric’s voice in her headphones, thrusting her into
awareness.

“Yes.”

“Well, do it, damn it, before the thing attacks. Or gets
away from us.”

She braced the rifle against her shoulder and pulled the
trigger once, twice, three times. Each shot was dead on, the creature flinching
as the bullets pierced its strange-looking hide. At the sound of the shots
Rebecca and the deputy left their vehicles and raced toward the lighted area,
holding their own rifles. They stopped just beyond the light and fired at the
devil beast, now lying on the ground.

Just for good measure Sophia pumped three more shots into it
and watched until she was sure it was still. And watched even longer as Rebecca
emptied the rest of her clip into the creature.

“Well, that definitely should do it.” She sighed wearily.
“Okay, Ric. Take us down. And get on the horn to Craig.” She pressed the radio
talk button. “Logan? Clint? Get your asses back to the motel, pick up a vehicle
and hurry on back here.”

She watched the two wolves circle the area once more before
they sped off through the trees.

Even before they landed Ric radioed Desolation Ranch. Sophia
heard him tell Mark, who was manning the comm center, to get hold of Craig and
tell him to start pulling his strings. By the time they were on the ground Mark
had radioed back that the special helicopter Craig used for retrieval was
already in the air with the project scientists on board. And Craig himself was
calling both the head of the Maine State Police and the governor.

By the time they set down near the house there were a number
of people in the yard. Marie Arquette, drawn by the noises in her yard, had
ventured out onto her back porch, a large collie leaning against her, trying to
push her back into the house. She took one look at what was lying in her yard
and passed out. Rebecca managed to revive her and had to half carry her back
into the house herself. The deputy who’d arrived with Rebecca had taken a look
and vomited everything in his stomach before pulling himself together to radio
in what had happened.

Another patrol car had arrived and shortly after that a van
with the crime scene techs and the SUV with Clint and Logan. Rebecca was
talking in low tones with both of the deputies, while Sophia stood to the side
with her team members. The shock on the faces of the sheriff’s men was plainly
evident.

Sophia could relate to that. It wasn’t easy seeing a
nightmare come to life.

Well, the devil beast was dead. Again. They’d made sure of
that.

But we haven’t found Melinda. So this means it isn’t the
end of it. The hunt is still on.

Deliberately Sophia pushed the thought away. There’d be time
enough to haul it out when she returned to Desolation Ranch.

This Chupacabra’s appearance was even more horrific than the
others they’d seen. The human-looking arms and legs had elongated hands with
long, razor-sharp claws. The body looked as if constructed of layers of armor.
And the head. Sophia couldn’t even find words to describe the awful apparition.
This one was more bizarre than the ones the Night Seekers had killed
previously. The ones Craig Stafford had flown back to his secure lab where his
scientists still worked to determine the genetic origins. And the odor of
turpentine was so strong it stung her nostrils.

This was the first one Sophia had seen outside a photograph
and she was sure she’d have nightmares for a very long time.

Bobby and the other detectives on the team arrived, stunned
at what greeted them, barely able to accept what they saw.

“I owe you an apology,” he told Sophia in a shaky voice. “I
swear to god, I’ll never doubt anything again no matter how farfetched or
absurd it seems.” He took a last horrified look and walked with her to the edge
of the clearing, leaving the shaky crime scene techs to take pictures.

“It’s all right,” she told him. “I understand how difficult
it is for someone to accept something this bizarre.” She pulled up the collar
of her jacket to protect her ears from the cold. “I’m just happy I can tell my
brother and sister-in-law that their nightmare is over.”

“You think it is?”

She nodded. “I think this area is no longer in danger. This
is the second time the devil beast has hunted here. I think it’s done with this
region for a long time.”
I hope.

“So what now?” he asked. “No way are we equipped or capable
to handle something like this.”

“Our boss is calling
your
boss as well as the
governor to tell them Night Seekers will be taking care of everything.”

“The governor’s already up to speed, right?” Bobby asked.
“Otherwise how do you explain something like this?”

“Craig St
afford gave him all the
details when he requested permission for us to come up here and stick our noses
into your investigation.”

Bobby shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m sure the man
was more than happy that someone else will be dealing with this.”

Sophia nodded. “Besides, Stafford’s been doing the lab
research on these creatures and has a helicopter specially fitted out for
transporting the carcass,” she told him. “It’s already on its way.”

They all stood silently while the crime scene photographers,
tiptoeing gingerly around the body of the beast, took pictures of everything.

Sophia looked up at Bobby, standing beside her, still pale
and shaken. “When your guys are through just throw a canvas over the, uh,
remains. Ric, Rebecca, Clint, Logan and I will stand guard until the scientists
arrive to retrieve it.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “We need to get
something to our public relations officer. Jesus, if the media gets hold of
this…” He shook his head disbelievingly. “I saw it and I still can’t accept
it.”