Tricked

violent. Nicest lady. Nobody could figure out why she’d ever be a target. And these two here, « she paused, pointing to the names Robert and Ray Peshlakai , » were her sons. Twins in their late teens. They disappeared. Haven’t been seen since the day their mother was found. Most people figured they were kidnapped by their father, and they thought he’d done the murder too. He’s a bad sort, lives up in Utah. But once they tracked him down and interrogated him, it was obvious he had nothing to do with it. Ironclad alibi and everything. So the murder’s been unsolved all this time, and we still don’t know what happened to the boys. «
    » So you think …? « I said.
    » Anybody can start followin’ the Witchery Way whenever they want. But there’s only one way to become one of those things we’ve been dealin’ with, « Frank rasped. » Only one way to make your soul so black you attract a spirit from First World and gain powers nobody oughtta have. «
    Sophie circled the two boys’ names and then drew an arrow to their mother’s name. » You have to kill a family member, « she said. » You become pure evil. «

Chapter 26
    » Hold on a second, « I said. » If they’re so evil, how come they haven’t been going around killing people? «
    » ’Cause they haven’t had to go around anywhere to do that, « Frank explained. » Plenty of people climb Tyende Mesa for the hell of it. You know how those climbers are. They see a rock that looks cool, an’ their life won’t be complete until they manage to stand on top of it. They bring their pitons an’ rope an’ shit an’ walk around town smiling at everybody ’cause there’s a decent chance they’ll fall down an’ go splat . Well, for the last ten years, some o’ them people never came back. They don’t go splat, they simply disappear, gear and all. «
    » The skinwalkers are burying them? «
    » The bones, maybe. After all the meat’s off ’em. «
    » They’re cannibals ? « Granuaile said.
    » Aw, I don’t know for sure, « Frank said. » But cannibalism is part of the Witchery Way that they follow. Besides that, I don’t know what else they’d be eatin’. Ain’t like the shepherds ’round here been missin’ sheep. Nobody’s missin’ their veggies or their breakfast cereals. So what are they eatin’ up there? It ain’t delivery pizza. «
    » People have been vanishing on the mesa and nobody notices? «
    » O’ course somebody notices. Funny thing is, that only attracts more of ’em, because they think the rock’s a challenge. And then o’ course you get their relatives comin’ out to search for ’em, and they disappear too. «
    » Why doesn’t the tribe close off the mesa? « Granuaile asked. » They wouldn’t have to give any specific reason. Just say it’s too dangerous. «
    Frank shrugged. » Guess they like the revenue that climbers bring in. Hotel taxes, dining, souvenirs, all that. They go up there at their own risk. And most o’ the council don’t believe in skinwalkers anyway. After last night I think they’ll start believin’ though. «
    Sophie chuckled. » I swear we have leaders like everyone else: Some of them are genuinely bright, but some of them aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. «
    » The sharpest tools … oh! « I said. » That’s it, that will work! Frank, I know how to slow them down. «
    » What? How? «
    » Caltrops. They won’t be expecting them after having clear ground for days now. They’ll run right into them, and they’re barefoot. We’ve already seen that they’re suckers for booby traps. «
    » Psssh. They ain’t runnin’ at us anymore. Their tactics have changed. «
    » They will if we lay out some bait. «
    » Like what? Prime rib? «
    » Like me. I’ll surround myself with caltrops and ring the dinner bell, and they’ll come running. «
    » That ain’t gonna stop ’em. They’ll fight through the pain to get to you and then deal with the injuries after you’re all tore up. The First World spirit will guarantee that. «
    » They won’t be able to fight through it if the caltrops are poisoned. «
    Three jaws dropped and three pairs of eyes stared at me, and the waitress appeared with our food. No one said anything until she’d brought back some syrup for Granuaile and refilled our coffee.
    » Poisoned? « Frank said. » You gonna dip ’em in bleach or something? «
    » Or something, if you get me to a drugstore. I can whip up something pretty good.