Chapter Twenty-eight
Emotions beat the shit out of Hamel. He felt like a pregnant lady—laughing and crying at the same time. The witch doctor kept a step ahead of him.
“Sefu,” he said. “My name is Sefu, if you’ve forgotten. It means ‘sword.’”
Okay, nice to know. “I’m—”
“I know who you are, transformer. I see the cat in you. Glad you survived the venom. That woman of yours saved you. You know that, right? She’s one of the reasons I’m doing this. Mates should never be separated.”
“I totally agree. What’s the second reason and what are you doing?”
“I will essentially kill you so you can bring her back. The second reason is what she carries should never get into the hands of the demon king.”
Hamel grabbed his arm. “Whoa, wait a second. Listen, I will gladly die to bring her back, if that’s what it takes. But this demon shit—” The conversation with his boss this morning flashed through his head. “I don’t believe in it.”
The witch doctor stepped into his face. Even though Hamel was six inches taller, he felt looked-down upon. “You listen to me, you little punk. I don’t give a flying fuck what you believe. Just because you can’t see or touch it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Can you grab and hold on to the wind? Can you put it in your evidence bag and carry it home? Yet it exists.
“Those magic tricks you see on TV, do you really think magic made the car disappear? No, you just couldn’t see how they did it. Yet it’s done. The eye is never fooled, huh? How do you ever expect her to believe that you are a transformer? That a cat lives in you and shares your spirit, when you doubt.” He turned and continued walking.
Hamel thought about that as he followed. What the old man said was right. He couldn’t touch the wind or see the sleight of hand of how magic tricks were done. And he needed Melinda to trust that he wasn’t crazy when he explained he was a shifter. But still. He shouldn’t believe everything people say.
Sefu growled as if he had an animal inside. “Child, I’m not telling you to believe everything you hear. There are many folks out there who lie and steal when they can. Don’t get mixed up with them.”
He curled his hands at his sides, trying to control his frustration. “How am I to know the difference between those who lie and those who don’t?”
“Listen to your heart and brain. They will tell you true.”
Right. Not good enough. He huffed out a curse. “But what if they’re wrong?”
“Then you’ve been swindled out of some money.”
“That’s a lot of help.” Hamel wanted to strangle the guy. “Tell me why they took Melinda. Why her?”
The old man walked quickly for someone his age.
“Today is the Day of the Dead, child. The veil is at its thinnest. That is why all the ghost and monster stories exist. This one day and night, they are able to move between realms with relative ease. The portal your mate disappeared into led directly into their realm.”
“Their realm, meaning demons’ realm.” Fuck. He didn’t want to believe in this shit. But if that was what it took to get Melinda back, he’d believe.
“Yes, child.”
“But why her?” He growled.
“It is for what she knows, what she carries. It can never fall into demon hands. It would mean the end of our civilization as we know it.” Sefu said the words quickly. Impatience tinged his tone.
Christ, what was he talking about? “What does Melinda know or carry?”
The man stopped and turned to him. “She carries the virus with her. Only she knows how to make more serum.”
“Why the hell do demons want a virus that doesn’t kill people?” His jaguar wanted to leap out of his skin and roar at the old man for talking in riddles.
The old man smiled. “That’s for you to find out.”
“Wait a minute. How do you know about the virus?” He prepared to take down the senior citizen twice over if he said the wrong thing. Was this a fucking conspiracy?
“No, child. It’s a repeat of history because we didn’t learn the first time.”
Hamel froze in his tracks. “Ah, fuck! You were the other researcher with Mr. Kintu.” Sefu stopped and turned to him. His face seemed sad, regretful.
Sefu turned back and continued. “Yes, I was. I’ve missed my dear friend many times through the years.”
“But he works at the virus lab. He thinks you’re dead. Go see him.”
He shook his head. “No, child. That is not possible. It is best he think I am gone.”
Frustration curled around his heart once again. “Why? I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t, child. This happened before you were born.”
The jaguar pushed at the skin, ready to ignore everything and look for a new way to find his mate. This shit was taking too damn long. “What happened?”
The witch doctor sighed, shoulders slumped. “Did Kintu tell you everything he knew? He was gone during most of it.”
“He told us how you three worked together. One was killed by his grandfather. And you he never saw again.”
Sefu wiped at his brow. “Good. That’s all he needs to know. He’s lived with heavy guilt for not being there when this all happened. The guilt is not his to bear. It is mine.”
“Yours? What happened?” He scowled at the old man.
“Now is not the time or place to go into storytelling. Every second we hesitate is one lost before time runs out.” The old man gave him an impatient stare.
“What do you mean, time runs out?” Frustration built within him. Bigger. He wanted answers and the man wasn’t sharing. But if he had a limited period to find Melinda, then it would wait. The trees came to an end at a homesite with a beautiful log cabin and aluminum shed around back. One structure was large. They headed toward that one.
“Whoa, where are we? This is incredible.” He’d watched enough Amazing Cabins to know this deserved a spot on TV. “So what are we doing here?”
The man looked over his shoulder and smiled. “This is where I kill you.”