210 Tik-Tik

Paul's wife shook while she yelled, "How? No one would confess to doing such a terrible thing."

Nuria's lips flattened, and she glanced at Macha and her team. They moved to block the exits, not wanting to let anyone escape. This was the only time they had everyone gathered in the same place, including the lumberjack.

"We know of a way, but we need you all to cooperate."

When the villagers heard there was a way to find out the killer, they all whispered angrily amongst one another.

A man cried out, "How? Why didn't you do it sooner if you knew?"

Nuria held her hands up, "Calm down. I just found out about it recently. We tried to conduct our investigation quietly, so we did not disturb the peace."

She then turned to Macha, "Explain the situation to everybody, please."

The fear and hope in everyone's eyes weighed down on Macha's conscience. If they did this incorrectly, and the skinwalker was not actually among them, the villagers would be furious. She took a deep breath to gather her courage.

"Everyone, I need you to line up so we can begin the investigation. We'll inspect each of you one by one. When you are done, we want you to face that wall." She pointed to a wooden wall with no windows. "Do not look anywhere or at anyone after that. Understand?"

Macha understood that if the skinwalker wanted, they could easily hop bodies with whoever had been checked. It would be as easy as looking into their eyes.

After everyone lined up, the group began to check the villagers one by one. Palila had a large blue cape which they used as a screen so the people would not see each other strip. To gain everyone's trust in the method, Nuria volunteered to go first. She wanted the village to understand that there was nothing to be ashamed of in this inspection.

As they narrowed down the suspects, Macha walked up to Nuria and whispered, "We think it's Joseph. When we visited his house, he had bloodied clothes and blood on the handle of his front door."

Nuria frowned, continuing to look at the wall. "Mmm. I see. You only have five more people to inspect. Should I escort everyone else out?"

She was unsure how dangerous a skinwalker was. It was a creature she had not heard of before.

Macha shook her head. "Even though I instructed everyone to not look at anyone, they still might have. If I was the skinwalker I would be waiting for someone to make eye contact with me. If all else fails, we can still use the white ash method."

Joseph stood in line. Sweat dampened his shirt, and he turned his head around nervously. Macha watched him carefully and made sure he did not plan to run. It was just before his turn when he suddenly collapsed. She looked around the room, but everyone was staring at the wall.

Minh kicked the man's arm.

"What the hell is going on," she growled.

"Something's not right." Macha held out her hand. "Give me your ash pouches," she said to her group.

Everyone handed their bags over to her and she reached up to smear some on their faces, just below their nostrils. Aierim sneezed from inhaling the powder, but other than that, no one had a reaction.

She put a bit on Joseph's face, but he still did not stir. Her eyes narrowed as she walked over to the rest of the people. She did the same thing to everyone. As she was going down the line, one of the children ran away.

"I gotta pee," the child cried and ran to the exit. "I can't hold it anymore!"

The boy she knew as Giovanni held his crotch and danced as he made his way to the door.

Macha cut him off. Not looking at his eyes, she said in an upbeat voice, "Let me put this on your face, then I'll have auntie Minh take you to the restroom."

She held out her hand which was full of white ash.

The child knocked her hand away, and the powder flew in the air.

"No!" he screamed and ran away.

The other villagers began to turn at the child's outburst.

Nuria saw from the corner of her vision that their heads were beginning to move, and she yelled, "Don't you DARE look away from this wall!"

At this point, she realized something was not right. Giovanni was always a well-behaved boy.

Macha's hand snaked out and grabbed the boy. He was almost the same size as her and his strength seemed too much for such a small child. She kept her eyes fixed on his collarbone.

"Hold on," she instructed through gritted teeth.

He struggled too much.

Lily, who stood next to Nuria, began to turn her head, "It is just Giovanni, he..."

Nuria slapped Lily's face. "I said keep your damn eyes on the wall," her voice held danger in them.

If anyone challenged her on this, she was not afraid to get in a fight. Her village was in danger and she did not want anyone else dying to some outside monster who came into her town.

Castel ran towards the two who were struggling and grabbed a bag of ash. He smeared it on the boy's face. Immediately the child's veins became black, and the boy coughed violently.

"No," he cried as his head bobbled back and forth at an unnatural pace.

His skin rippled and bubble as his limbs mutated. Furs and feathers sprung forth from his tan skin; some of his limbs became paws while others transformed into talons. His mouth grew fangs and a beastly roar resounded throughout the room.

Macha took out her dagger and began to saw at the boy's neck.

"Shit!" she cried out.

His strength was increasing and a large white bear claw flung her across the room into the wall. Her body crashed through the wood and she moaned.

When Macha's body went flying out of the room, Minh ran towards the skinwalker and drew her scimitars. She crossed them in front of her and slid to meet the chimera-like body. It was growing larger with every second and she did not know how strong it would get.

Her blades lopped off the boy's deformed head as a claw slammed her down into the floor. Her ribs cracked and her left side was flattened by the hit.

"Ahhh!" she cried out in pain.

Never in her life had she felt as terrible as what she did now. She looked at her side and was unable to move it.

When the boy's head rolled to the floor the ripples under the monster's skin stopped. The large body fell to the floor, stuck in the middle of its transformations.

Nuria's voice shook when she called out, "May we look now?" The sounds that the creature hollered were terrifying and the villagers stood still, fearing what they could not see.

Castel came and stood next to her. "It's over now. It's dead."

When Nuria turned, she saw the large white chimera-like transformation. She gasped in surprise. Never would she have imagined something like that made its way into her village. It was not something she would have been able to deal with on her own and her body shook from the realization.

Her arms wrapped around Castel and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she said demurely.

****

After the party left, Nuria was walking outside the village. She wanted to check on Joseph and make sure he was all right. A small rustle sounded ahead, and she stopped, unsure if she would need to fight.

Nepo's boy, Huck, came out from behind a tree. He looked dirty and hungry.

"Is it gone?" he asked in a soft voice.

She bent down so she could be eye level with the child. Her hand patted his head gently.

"You knew about it? Why did you not you come and tell us?"

She did not expect Huck to be alive. He had left his favorite hat in the woods and everyone expected him to be dead after all these weeks.

The boy scratched his head, "The average man don't want no trouble or danger. I ain't-a fool. Figured I would wait it out."

When Elodie transformed and attacked him, he ran as fast as he could. Luckily he knew the woods well and lost her in the forest. He had been waiting out here until the problems in the village died down.

Nuria picked the boy up.

"I understand you don't like trouble or danger, but only a coward wouldn't stand up to monsters. Cowards don't fight with the courage born in them," she pointed out.

It was important that people understood that bravery was something important. After all, monsters did not only come from the Outer-Reaches. Sometimes they resided within people as well. Throughout her long life, she always thought people were the worst monsters. They did some of the most terrible things out of greed and jealousy.

It had been almost a year since Nuria last ate. The skinwalker had come at an inconvenient time for her, so finding Huck, who everyone believed to be dead, was quite convenient.

Nuria pinched the boy's cheeks, "I'm so glad I found you."

****

Aži bounded into his room and checked on his mouse farm. His nostrils pressed against the glass and hot steam formed on the clear window. All of his pets looked healthy and well, and it delighted him that Tik-Tik seemed to have grown since the last time he saw him.

He flipped the lid open with his long tail and lowered his clawed arm down into the tank. Tik-Tik climbed up.

The black wyvern brought the mouse out onto the porch and licked him a few times. He wished Macha could be here to put the shallots in, but she was still on her mission. Although Tyr was home, he would not be indulgent enough to prepare the meal for him.

Resigned to having a bland snack, Aži tossed the mouse into the air and gobbled him up.