Day 4: 10,016 (51,624 Total)

I have stopped at the exact halfway point for my outline. I'll be picking it back up again in a few minutes, once it gets past midnight.

Things just took a really bad turn for my MC.

And she's about to find out that it's even worse.

Here's just a little snippet:

Lily and Jordan Fuller came in. They saw me and crossed to my table, and I could tell from the looks on their faces that something more had gone wrong.

"We think we have something tracked up to the Odessa Lake area," Jordan said. "There's been some kills up that way, and we're hiking in today. If you're going to the park, stay clear of the area, okay? And watch this damned weather."

"I will," I said, in answer to the second. I didn't, actually, answer the first because I would have had to lie.

If they had something tracked up to that area I had the feeling it was going to be something very large and very much not the type of creature they were going to be able to deal with. My bet was still on a gargoyle, and one in a very bad mood.

I had to get there before them. I had to deal with this before they could because they weren't going to survive an encounter with a gargoyle. They're fast, they fly, and by the time you're close enough to shoot one, your gun pretty much isn't going to work. Rifles will work at a distance, but these things have skin like stone, and the bullets aren't going to penetrate.

I couldn't just up and leave though, not without giving some excuse to David.

And I didn't have time. The others only grabbed coffee to go and headed back out. I had to --

I Summoned Aletta. Not as strongly as I had the other night, but I made it pretty clear that I wanted her here right now, and that it was important.

She showed up looking very nearly perfect, except for that scowl that said she didn't like being called in and that I was going to hear about it --

"Don't start. The park rangers are heading up to corner something in the wild. I think there's a rogue gargoyle out there --"

"Gargoyle," she said, her eyes going wide with surprise. "How?"

"Things are coming through The Edge. Trolls, peripix, who knows what else."

"Damn. You aren't going to send me after it --"

"No." I hadn't even considered doing it. I didn't think she would stand up to a gargoyle, and I didn't think she'd do her best to protect the humans heading up there as well. "No. I want you to stay here and wait for David. Tell him -- tell him that the rangers asked me to go check something for them and try to reach Cago. I'll be back as soon as I can. You two can wait at my house, if you like. I have it warded, so be careful going in. I'll set it to key for you."

She smiled now. Oh yes, this was playing right into her hands. She'd have her time with David. I wasn't happy about it, but I just nodded, concentrated on my house for a moment and keyed the ward for her so that the two of them could go in. I wanted them to go there, not back to their hotel.

"I hope this won't take me long," I said, and hurried out because I didn't care still be there when David showed up.