Blood Creek Beast Read online

  It wouldn’t be the first time Jack felt under-dressed. Several people turned and stared as he walked in alongside the guard. Some voices snickered. Having lived a third of his life mocked as “Lyin’ Jack,” he’d cultivated a disregard for the opinions of others, but it hurt when he saw Delcina at the head table. Even more finely dressed and beautiful than Jack remembered, with fancy dress sleeves that were poofy at the top and slender below the elbow, she stood out in a crowd of elaborately dressed, beautiful people.

  Jack turned to the guard with the sword, hooked his thumb at the head table and said, “Hey, I know her! That’s Delcina. She can back me up!”

  The guard scowled. “If you make any attempt to approach the table without explicit permission, we will kill you where you stand!”

  Jack gaped, but the guard looked like he meant business. He closed his mouth and muttered, “Y’all are pretty harsh. Ain’t there any laws against that?”

  The dark-skinned man who had arrested Jack approached. He still wore the same armor he’d worn earlier, but the uniform under it seemed more formal. As the officer grew close, he nodded to the two guards. “I’ll take it from here. You are dismissed.”

  “Yes, sir!” they said in unison. With a crisp turn toward the door, they marched out of the room.

  “Are you the feller I’m supposed to talk to?” Jack asked.

  “No.” The man kept his baritone voice low, so that only Jack could hear him. “Do you know who I am?”

  “The man in charge, I reckon.”

  “No, I serve the man in charge. I’m Bachan, Captain of the Royal Guard. Do you know what that means?”

  “You protect them royal folk, like Delcina?”

  Bachan’s left eyebrow raised slightly, but he simply nodded. “Yes, I protect the princess and the rest of her family. To do this, there are certain protocols that must be followed when one has an audience with them. Violation of those protocols could mark you as a threat, which means the guard would strike first and ask questions later. Do you understand?”

  Jack shook his head. “Um, not really. You mean if I sneeze or something, y’all are going to shoot me?”

  “Potentially. However, you are obviously a foreigner and unfamiliar with our protocols, so I’m here to make sure you understand the basics before your audience with the king.”

  “Thanks, I guess. I don’t mean to threaten anyone, especially not Delcina’s family. What is it I’m supposed to do?”

  “First of all, you are not to approach the king closer than five paces. If he’s on the dais, then make sure you stand at least one pace away from the first step. There will be a guard standing in front of the king. In general, if you are out of that guard’s immediate reach, you’ll be fine.”

  Jack nodded. “Okay. That sounds simple enough.”

  “When you get there, you must bow, and keep your head lowered until he tells you to stand. Only speak when spoken to. Keep your hands at your sides or in front of you. Never reach into your clothing for anything unless you receive his explicit permission. Answer questions directly and keep your answers concise. Don’t go rambling on and on.”

  Jack blinked and asked, “Would y’all really kill people for talking too much?”

  “We haven’t yet, but it is very annoying,” Bachan deadpanned. He stared into Jack’s eyes with deadly intensity. “Do you understand what I have said? Can you follow those instructions?”

  “I reckon I can, yeah.”

  “Very well.” Bachan turned toward the head table. The man at the far end of the table was dressed in finer clothing than the rest, with a gold chain looped over the left shoulder of his suit coat. He glanced up at Bachan, and Bachan nodded.

  The man with the gold chain made a motion with his hand, and guards wearing similar uniforms to Bachan’s appeared. One stood near the table, with his sword drawn with the blade vertical and resting against his shoulder. The other guard approached Jack and stood behind him. Bachan walked toward the table. Jack started to follow, but the guard behind him whispered, “Not yet!”

  Bachan stepped past the guard at the table, bowed to the man with the chain, and said, “Jack Parsons of Maple Bend, your highness.”

  The king nodded. Bachan turned and stepped to the side. The guard behind Jack said, “Now.” Jack walked forward, trying to gauge his distance and speed. He shot a look at Delcina, who stared back at him with what he took for an encouraging expression. Was this good? Did she believe him? Did she care about him and hope he’d succeed?

  He snapped his attention back to what he was doing almost too late. The guard in front of him quivered with open eyes. Jack stopped suddenly and took a half a step back, bumping into the guard behind him. A wince flickered across Bachan’s face, and the guard behind Jack grunted menacingly before composing himself.

  The king raised an eyebrow. Jack tried his friendliest grin, and then realized he was forgetting something again. He ducked down low, eyes toward the ground, and nearly put one hand behind his back before remembering that this, too, was forbidden. He locked both arms to his side. Then he felt himself start to tip forward.

  “You may stand,” the king said quickly. Jack caught his balance, righted himself, and stood straight before the seated king.

  “Thank y...” he started to say, and then shut his mouth, wondering if there were any other protocols he had violated, and if he’d actually live through this introduction.

  The guard in front of him released his breath.

  The king glanced at the woman to his left. Jack followed his gaze, but only for a moment. The woman, clearly the queen, was strikingly beautiful, and somehow vaguely familiar. He snapped his attention back to the king. The king was a stunningly handsome man, too. Now that he was close—and not looking at the floor—Jack could see many of Delcina’s features in the king’s face. Maybe it was the nose and the eyes. One had to respect someone with those eyes. The king’s waxed mustache and well-trimmed goatee reminded Jack of men in movies set in the early twentieth century.

  Jack didn’t consider himself a person who impressed anybody. He certainly never sought to do so. For some reason, he wanted to impress this man. He thought of Delcina’s encouraging look and squared his shoulders. He was about to say something stupid by way of introduction, but then remembered he hadn’t really been addressed yet. He kept his mouth shut.

  The king stared at him for several seconds, his eyes moving from Jack’s head to his feet and back again. When he spoke, his words rang out like a perfectly recited script. “Jack Parsons of ... Maple Bend, is that it?” Jack nodded. The king continued. “You stand accused of attempted kidnapping against a member of the royal household. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

  Jack stood in stunned silence for several seconds, before fully realizing the question had been addressed to him. “Um, that, still? No sir. Your honor. Your highness. I mean, that ain’t what... that is not what happened at all! My friend Rumela and I were just heading off to this here town, since we heard that y’all had giants here who weren’t treated badly. We kept to the woods on account of how big she is and how that’s caused some people to get really nervous around her and everything...”

  Jack glanced over at Bachan, worrying that he was going into too much detail. Bachan gave him a microscopic nod of approval. Jack continued. “Anyway, so we ran into Delcina—um, I guess Princess Delcina—and I had no idea who she was. When I saw her surrounded by that son of a b—um, excuse me, that robber, Zainus and his henchman, I thought she was being robbed. So did Rumela. So we tried to fight them robbers back. We succeeded, too. You can ask Delcina. We’re sorry about that bodyguard feller, Adam. We thought he was also one Zainus’ gang.”

  Murmuring echoed around the room. The king glanced at the woman beside him, and then back to Jack. “Perhaps you do not realize that accusations against others here in my court could potentially be answered by a duel.”

  “Huh? No. Zainus already tried to kill me twice before I saw him with Princes
s Delcina. But you could go to Hobbfield and ask them yourself. They can tell you. The folks at Dane’s Point had heard of him and his men, too. I’m just telling you what I’ve seen.”

  The king held up his hand dismissively, waving at the air. “Let’s table that for the time being. So you claim this was all a misunderstanding, with no ill intent, yet you brought a dangerous giant near my daughter.”

  This wasn’t going well at all. “Rumela ain’t dangerous. I mean, she didn’t mean any harm, except to Zainus and his flunky. We were trying to protect the princess.”

  The king looked over at Delcina. “And what is your view of this incident, Delcina?”

  The princess spoke firmly with careful enunciation. “It is my opinion, Your Majesty, that this man is speaking the truth. He threatened me no harm, and made no demands of me, and expressed a desire to escort me back to the castle.”

  “Is that so?” the king said. He leaned forward in his chair, staring intently into Jack’s eyes. “If this is true, Jack Parsons, I owe you an apology. What would you say to an offer of five gold in gratitude for your service in escorting my daughter?”

  “Um, excuse me, sir? I mean, your highness. I appreciate the offer and everything, but that ain’t why I did it. Whether Zainus meant to harm her or not, you shouldn’t go around paying people for doing what anyone ought to do anyway.”

  The king narrowed his eyes. “I shouldn’t, you say?”

  Jack couldn’t tell if the king was being serious. But everyone else seemed to be. “I mean, um, I wouldn’t.”

  “You want nothing in return?”

  “No. I mean... no. Unless you know of any places where Rumela might be able to find a job. We’d appreciate it. We heard y’all have other giants around here, and she’s real nice. But I don’t need anything. Actually, we kinda had to run out of Dane’s Point in a hurry, on account of the folks there not liking giants so much, and I left a bunch of money on the counter at the general store, so I might could use a job, too. If you know of any. But otherwise, I’m good.” Nobody spoke. It felt like everyone in the world was staring at him. Had he forgotten to say something? “Thank you,” he added.

  Somebody stifled a laugh. Otherwise, the entire hall was silent. The king looked Jack up and down again, and shook his head. “Damn me for a fool, but I think I believe you, too.” His face hardened. “However, the fact remains you brought a dangerous giant near my daughter. And this I cannot accept!”

  “She’s not...” Jack stopped himself at a warning glance from Bachan.

  “You don’t believe she’s a threat? You do realize the danger a giant poses?”

  “Yes. I’ve fought giants before, and they scare the hell out of me. I mean, the heck out of me. But Rumela ain’t like that.”

  Echoes of hushed whispers and astonished gasps filled the hall. The king raised both eyebrows. “Now you claim to have slain giants?”

  “Slain? No sir. But my friends and I fought against a whole mess of ‘em, plus a witch. We beat ‘em. We did kill an ogre. And a snallygaster. That’s kind of this dragon-thing with tentacles? I had a shotgun at the time, though, and...” Jack stopped. He was rambling again.

  The king stood and stepped past the guard to stand directly in front of Jack. Jack didn’t know what the protocol should be now. The king stared into his eyes. Jack wasn’t sure if he should avert his eyes, or smile, or something else. He just stood there.

  The king frowned, almost sneering. He looked dissatisfied with whatever he’d seen in Jack’s eyes. “You claim to be both a friend of, and a fighter of, giants. Very well. Here’s a deal. I happen to have an old problem with a giant by the name of Korak Lash. You will solve it for me.” Muffled gasps escaped the crowd around them. “Kill Korak Lash, and I will accept everything you just told me. Your companion will go free, and I will reward you well beyond the standing bounty on that villain’s head.”

  “What if I don’t accept?”

  “Then I will know you are boasting, and your bonds of friendship with your giant companion were exaggerated. In which case, she shall be put to death, and you’ll be imprisoned for as many years as it takes for us to forget about your lies. What shall it be?”

  The room was absolutely silent for several seconds. Delcina spoke first. “Please, Your Majesty, I beg you to reconsider.”

  The queen answered quietly. “I believe His Royal Majesty the King has spoken, young Delcina.” She looked even more unhappy than Delcina, for no reason that Jack could see.

  The king stared intently at Jack. “Well, young man? Which is it?”

  Jack wasn’t sure he could find his voice. In spite of everything, the king had all but pronounced Jack’s execution. “One question, sir?” Jack asked. The king nodded. Jack continued. “If the giant kills me, does Rumela still go free?”

  The king hesitated a moment. His eyes seemed to be weighing a dozen different options that had nothing obvious to do with this request. At length, he answered, nodding. “Yes, Jack. I promise you that once this matter is concluded, either with your success or your death, we will know you were a man of your word. She shall be released and considered a free creature within my kingdom.”

  “Okay then. I reckon I’ll face that giant of yours.”

  Jessabelle tried to wait them out. It was a stupid plan, but until something better occurred to her, it was all she had. While she knew there were people from the Coven watching the exits, she was sure she was also being watched inside the hospital. But who was watching her? And how? She hadn’t seen Gabriel since she’d left him in the cafeteria, but she was sure he’d be around somewhere, waiting for her to break.

  She would break, sooner or later. She couldn’t stay here forever. She liked the idea of wasting as much of the Coven’s time as possible, but she also recognized they had people far more powerful than Gabriel who could simply come in and force her to leave when they ran out of patience.

  Two hours passed. The guards outside in the hot afternoon sun showed no sign of discomfort or change, but Jessabelle’s patience strained. What were they waiting for?

  Josie appeared in the waiting area, carrying a large handbag that she hadn’t brought with her to the hospital. She didn’t offer an explanation, or even recognition as she walked past Jessabelle and into the ladies’ room. Jessabelle waited for a few moments and looked around the waiting area. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to her, but that meant little. Finally, she grabbed her jacket and followed Josie into the restroom.

  Josie’s new handbag was clearly visible in the center of three stalls. “What’s going...?” Jessabelle began to say, but Josie interrupted her by flushing the toilet and making an exaggerated groan. Jessabelle stared at the stall door, baffled, as Josie nudged the handbag to one side with her foot.

  Confused, Jessabelle entered the bathroom stall next to Josie and latched the door. Josie pushed the handbag part-way under the wall between the stalls. Jessabelle peeked inside the bag. It was empty, except for a set of car keys and a handwritten note that said, “Get in.”

  Taking a moment to put on her jacket, Jessabelle became the cat, and dove inside the handbag. Josie said nothing as she picked up the bag, flipped the top closed, and hoisted it over her shoulder. Jessabelle couldn’t see much through the crescent gaps below the top as Josie washed her hands and hummed a little to herself. Jessabelle laid as flat as possible at the bottom of the bag as it rocked through Josie’s walk from the bathroom to the lobby, out the sliding glass doors, and into the afternoon sun.

  No one accosted them. Josie walked farther, humming a little bit again, and then reached into the handbag. She gave Jessabelle a comforting touch, and then pulled out the key chain. In another minute, the bag was set on the floor of Josie’s truck, and Josie started the engine. “Stay there,” Josie said as they pulled out of the parking stall. “Wait ‘till we’re clear.”

  In another minute, Josie was accelerating down a road and said out loud, “You’re best off if you stay a cat, I reckon. Leon’s waiting
for you in the Safeway parking lot. This is the best plan I could come up with on short notice.”

  Jessabelle poked her head up out of the handbag and stared at Josie. Josie glanced down and smiled. “Sorry for all the cloak and dagger, but Leon figured out you were being guarded. I had no way of letting you know what was going on.”

  Jessabelle nodded, although she doubted Josie could see the motion.

  Josie continued. “After this, we all may have to lay low for a while. In case I don’t see you again, or for a long time, just remember that you’ll always have my gratitude. You saved Burke’s life today. That ain’t the sort of thing I can repay. Just be careful, and be safe, Jessabelle. You and Leon will be in our prayers.”

  Josie pulled her truck into the parking lot of a supermarket. Leon opened the passenger-side door and lifted Jessabelle out of the handbag. “Sorry,” he muttered in her ear as he hoisted her through an open window and into his neighboring SUV.

  “Well, look at that,” Josie said in mock surprise from her truck. “Silly me, I left my wallet with my other purse. I guess I’ll have to go back and get it.”

  “Thanks, Josie,” Leon said.

  “Don’t mention it,” she replied, reversing out of the parking lot and driving off.

  Leon pulled out of the parking lot through a different exit and drove in silence. After a several minutes and a couple of turns onto back roads, he said, “I don’t think we’ve been followed. You can change if you want.”