dark faerie 06 - ever dead Read Free Page B

Hank was many times able to pass himself off as one of the hundreds of people that passed through to or from their jobs in the area. He’d also brought along a supply of cigarettes and candy bars, which he casually offered to the people that he talked to.
    Sometimes a little bit of sugar went a long way.
    Lucifer would stay in the shadows, ever watchful but staying out of sight, allowing Hank to appear as if he were alone when he approached someone. They were the perfect team.
    Almost everyone that talked to Hank knew of someone that had gone missing. He also noticed that many of them were doing their best to hide their fear at what was happening.
    After talking to whoever he could in the last few days, he’d come to one inevitable conclusion, although he wasn’t sure how the information would help him.
    The ones that had been reported missing were all the strangest of the strange.
    What the various homeless were telling him was that the missing persons were either the meanest, the shyest, or the sickliest of anyone that called the street home. Additionally, many of them had more than one of these traits, sickly being the most prevalent. 
    Two hours later, Hank and Lucifer took a break at a long-abandoned bus stop.
    “What do you make of all this Luci?” he questioned the dog seriously. “Every one of the people that have gone missing were supposedly different from most , according to those that lived amongst them. On top of that, you have to add what Dr. Jacoby said in the lab this morning…that at least one of them was different…a completely different species.”
    Luci laid her head on Hank’s leg as he brooded about everything he knew…and everything that he didn’t!
    To say that Dr. Jacoby’s revelation that morning had shocked him would be an understatement. Not that he could see how it really helped his investigation yet. But the fact that most of the missing people had been described as different certainly seemed to point to the fact that they could all be this new type of…person.
    Laying his hand on Luci’s head, Hank rubbed it absentmindedly as his mind continued muddling though his thoughts.
    “Let’s assume that all of these people are not the same as me Lucifer,” he spoke to the red dog. “Say they are all this new breed of human. My first thought is…I don’t know what my first thought is!”
    Standing up, Hank started pacing in front of the bench. Luci kept tempo, walking alongside of him, helping him worry over the problem.
    “I guess my first thought is: why are they here in the first place, and what the hell is happening to them? Do they all just disintegrate into ash when…what…they get out in the sun? I’m not even sure yet that they all do turn to ash!”
    Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the stone before plopping back down on the bench. Staring at it, he was again mesmerized by the flashes that glinted off of the stone.
    And what the hell is this all about? He thought to himself.
    Taking a deep and determined breath, Hank then slipped the chain over his head and let it settle onto his neck.
    Nothing.
    Luci started whining as she looked in his direction.
    “What’s the matter girl?” he questioned.
    Reaching out toward the dog to pet her, she moved away warily.
    What the hell?
    A movement to his left caught his eye. Turning, he saw a large man cross the street…a very large man! Hank estimated that he must be at least seven foot tall! He hadn’t noticed anyone being on the street only seconds before.
    As he watched the giant, a glint of light caught his eye, followed by another, and then another.
    He is sparkling! Hank realized suddenly, just like the old man Roscoe had described the day before!
    Lucifer started barking in Hank’s direction, her teeth bared in warning.
    “Seelie or Unseelie?”Hank suddenly heard behind him.
    Jumping up and turning quickly, he found himself facing yet another man, wearing a hoodie and sunglasses…and brandishing a