DAN
Still getting used to the idea of being seen…known…and it being okay, Wally replied. Staying hidden has always meant staying safe. It’s different letting someone see me on purpose…scary.
Mate, Wally sent. I can feel the bond. I’m glad we’ve found him. He will be good for you.
I have told you everything I know, Wally replied. But it can’t hurt to see what your friends find.
No. But I doubt either of them gave up and left, Wally replied.
Probably not, Dan agreed. We’ll have to be careful, but Quinn will help keep us safe.
Wally went silent, and Dan tried to quiet his worries.
In just the short time I’ve been in Fox Hollow, I’ve found friends and protectors—and Quinn.
We’re where we need to be. Maybe it takes a village to stop a bounty hunter.
“Let’s go together,” Dan said over breakfast. “To see Liam and Dr. Jeffries. It’ll save you having to fill me in, and both the wurm and the bounty hunter affect Wally and me.”
Quinn chuckled. “It’s going to take some getting used to thinking about your cryptid as Wally, but it’s a great name.”
“He’s good company.” Dan dug into a bowl of cereal and paused for a sip of coffee. “We’ve been together for a while now, so I don’t really know any different.”
Quinn paused. “Does he think three’s a crowd?” Quinn tried to sound flippant, but Dan picked up on real uncertainty beneath the humor.
“No. Don’t ever think that. Not at all. He’s happy for us. Having you makes us a family,” Dan told him. “He likes you a lot.”
“Good.” Quinn grabbed his toast when it popped up and buttered it. “I like him too.”
“So, are we visiting Liam at the library first, or Dr. Jeffries at the Fox Institute?” Dan reached for an orange from the bowl in the middle of the table and peeled it, waiting for an answer.
“I texted them to see if we could find a time for both together.” Quinn settled at the table with coffee and toast. “Ten o’clock okay with you?”
Dan nodded. “I don’t have anything on the calendar. That’s great, less recapping and fewer chances to forget to mention something important.”
“That was my thought,” Quinn said.
They lingered over coffee, then headed to the Fox Institute. The receptionist recognized them when they arrived.
“They’re waiting for you in the first-floor conference room,” she told them and waved them through.
The smell of fresh coffee greeted them when they entered the room, fortifying Dan’s courage for the upcoming conversation.
“Good morning,” Liam greeted them, breaking off his conversation with Rich Jeffries as they all shook hands.
“The coffee’s fresh and there’s plenty of it, so help yourself.” Jeffries gestured toward a sidebar with cups and fixings. “Every conversation goes better with java.”
Once they were settled at the table, Quinn cleared his throat. Dan thought his boyfriend looked a little nervous and couldn’t blame him.
“Thanks for meeting us on short notice,” Quinn said, and Dan nodded, happy to let his partner take the lead.
“What have you found out since the last time we talked?” Liam asked.
“I went out to the places on the trail where the hiker disappearances happened, and opened myself to the nature spirits,” Quinn said. “It was disquieting. The energy was jangled, and the spirits were upset, almost angry.”
“Have mediums gone out and tried to contact the ghosts of the people who vanished?” Dan asked.
Jeffries nodded. “Yes. And they got a very similar read. Nothing from the ghosts themselves, but a ‘disturbance in the Force’ so to say,” he added with a slight smile, then grimaced.
“We’ve been planning to go back to where the hikers went missing now that some time has passed and they haven’t shown up alive.
Ghosts sometimes take a while to figure out how to interact with the living. ”
“People have gone missing, but no bodies have shown up,” Quinn pointed out.
“And while there have been sightings of the wurm, there’s no physical evidence left behind—flattened grass, scuff marks in the dirt, even dragon poop.
Nothing corporeal. Are we sure we’re not dealing with a ghost, or magic? Or both?”
Liam and Jeffries exchanged a glance. “We’re all definitely on the same wavelength,” Liam said. “I’ve been reading up on dragon lore, while Rich’s psychics have been trying spirit mediums and séances. So far, it’s been like chasing shadows.”
“When I saw the wurm…” Dan glanced to Quinn for encouragement. “It looked solid and real to me. My daemon side believes that the creature is dangerous and can’t be controlled. If he’s right, we need to figure out how to bind it, since everything we’re hearing says it can’t be killed.”
“Our witches are working on that,” Jeffries said. “It’s not the first time we’ve run into a magical threat, but you’re right that it’s harder when you can’t see the danger.”
“Would smudging help dispel some of the energy left behind, even if it doesn’t solve the problem or prevent another attack?” Quinn asked. “People need to be cautious, but being scared witless doesn’t help anyone.”
“We can do that,” Jeffries said. “Maybe before you go you can talk to Amy and make sure you’re both focused on the same spots as disappearance points.”
“Happy to help any way that I can. They don’t cover this kind of thing in park ranger training.
” Quinn sighed. “Without evidence of a predator, I can’t justify closing trails to my superiors.
They won’t see the connection between the missing people and the bad energy like we do, and they won’t believe in a dragon until they see its head on a pike. ”
“Understandable,” Liam replied. “Is there something you could do that would be less than a closure but might discourage people from taking certain hiking routes? Trail maintenance projects, for example. Put the signs up, but take your time getting them done until the emergency is over.”
Quinn nodded. “I can probably get away with that. There’s always something that needs to be repaired, and if I get push-back, I can actually send maintenance out for a day to move things along.”
“Smudging or a cleansing ritual will help with the energy and send the spirits of the dead to rest, but it isn’t likely to dispel something as powerful as a dragon,” Jeffries said. “We’re still trying to figure out how it got here and where it’s been, but we’re making headway on the research.”
“Check the caves and the mines,” Dan suggested.
“What if the idea Liam proposed is right and it’s been bound by some kind of ancient magic and something broke the binding?
There’s been new mining in the area, and some of those cave systems go a long way.
Once it got loose, it could travel through the caverns or at least have a perfect hiding place. ”
He paused before going on. “I’ve talked to some other…
creatures…who spend a lot of time in various forests.
They’re older than I am, even older than my daemon.
They haven’t encountered a Tatzelwurm themselves, but they knew about them, that they are magic, and agreed the caves were a likely hiding place. ”
“I’ve been talking to some of our local cavers to map what’s in the vicinity of the attacks and disappearances,” Liam said.
“We had already started the cave mapping project because of new interest in exploring them, and this adds some urgency to fill in the gaps. There have been some legendary cave explorers in the Adirondacks, and they’ve already done a lot of the work. ”
“What we don’t know is whether there are connections between some of the caves that a person might not be able to use but wouldn’t hold back a magical being,” Jeffries added.
“Or a creature that isn’t always entirely solid.
That would help it move distances without being seen, if it can’t completely disappear for long periods. ”
“If there are resources from Park Services that would be useful, I can request them,” Quinn volunteered.
“Much appreciated. I’m probably going to take you up on that at some point.” Liam turned his attention to Dan. “Now, let’s talk about your bounty hunter.”
Dan grimaced. “He isn’t mine, or at least, I wish he wasn’t.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. I’ve made some inquiries of my own.
What I’m going to tell you is in absolute confidence.
” Dan watched as the other three men nodded solemnly.
“There is an online chat room for cryptids, the one I mentioned before, and I’m part of it.
There are probably other groups, but these are good folks I trust, and I’ve known them for years.
I’ve tapped into their knowledge and connections to see if anyone can identify the guy who’s chasing me as well as anything they might have heard about the wurm.
I don’t have answers yet, but everyone in the group understands the danger and will help if they can. ”
“That’s good. And Armel is looking into it too. He’s a good guy, even if he can be a little pig-headed sometimes. Well…bear-headed I guess,” Liam amended with a smile that softened his words.
“I’ve been keeping a low profile,” Dan continued, and Quinn gave him an encouraging nod, “even around town. The fewer people who see me, the fewer who could say something without meaning to if the hunter’s sniffing around.
But I can’t stay hidden forever, and I miss being part of everyday life.
It’s exciting to move to a new town, even if it’s to keep a killer off my tail, but I want to explore, and I really can’t right now.
” He sighed. “Compared to the wurm making people disappear and missing hikers, it’s a one-person problem, but since I’m the person, I’d like to fix it sooner rather than later. ”
Quinn took his hand. “It’s a two-person problem,” he corrected gently. “I’m in it with you.”
“So are we,” Liam vowed, and Jeffries nodded.