Hounacier (Valducan Book 2) Read Free

before Ulises, he stood straight, hands at his sides, aviator sunglasses hanging from his open collar.
    Once he'd passed Ulises' test, the officer walked back to the gate as another policeman was brought forward. Afterward, he returned to the yard entrance.
    A cluster of policemen circled behind the van, pistols and shotguns drawn. They pulled a man in filthy green shorts out of the back and pushed him into the yard. Once cleansed, the two officers dragged the haggard prisoner forward. Steel cuffs bound the man's wrists and ankles. Swollen bruises and scabby cuts marred his hollow-cheeked face, likely remnants of some terrible beating. Judging by the officers' treatment of him, Malcolm could guess the handiwork was theirs.
    Ulises displayed his palm, and the prisoner let out a high, terrible scream. He struggled to pull away, but the officers held him firm. Hounacier out, Ulises marched the cuffed man to the yard and locked him inside with the others.
    "Who was that?" Malcolm asked as they walked back to the front.
    "The man they caught," Ulises said.
    "The killer?" Malcolm glanced back. The man stood, shoulders slumped inside the corral, the two policemen beside it. "You said he was innocent."
    "No," Ulises corrected. "I said he wasn't the real murderer, but he did kill those people."
    Confused, Malcolm opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it. Just go along with him. Don't ruin your chance of the interview.
    After several more minutes, the last of the attendees were admitted, and the priests made their way toward the erect post at the yard's center. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Malcolm located a food-cluttered table and fetched some lukewarm water from a white-haired woman. He gulped it down, refilled the cup, then carried it and a fresh one to Ulises.
    "I had hoped for more," the old bokor said to Father Tavel. The two men stood beside a row of wooden trunks.
    Tavel frowned. "You said you only needed three."
    "Three is the minimum for an anchor. Four is preferred."
    "Can you still do your magic?"
    Ulises pursed his lips. "It will be difficult. The beast will fight. If it is strong enough, it may resist."
    Tavel met Ulises' eye. "Then fight it harder," he said, his tone hard, almost threatening. He picked up a brown bottle from a trunk and joined the other priests gathered near the pole.
    Ulises let out a long breath then picked up a grimy brown duffel from behind one of the boxes and set it on the lid.
    Malcolm offered one of the cups. "I brought you some water."
    The bokor accepted it and downed it in three gulps. He dug through the canvas bag and removed a long necklace of tiny shells. A graven bone hung from the end, its curved shape resembling a claw or crescent. Ulises kissed the bone then pulled the necklace over his head. He removed a rolled leather bundle from the duffel and continued to dig. "Here," he said, pulling out a second necklace, a single-strand rather than three. He kissed the bone amulet at the end. "Wear this."
    Malcolm lowered his head, and Ulises put it around his neck. "Thank you."
    A brief smile tugged the edge of the old man's mouth then was gone. "I am sword-bearer, but a laplas should be armed." He untied the lace around the bundle and unrolled it.
    Malcolm swallowed, seeing the ancient, sawed-off Remington. The wooden stock had been sanded down into a curved grip.
    "You are to carry this." Ulises drew the weapon from a long, stitched holster and thumbed the lever on the back, opening it. "Do not fire it unless I tell you. There will be many people around, and the spray might hurt someone if you aren't close to the beast."
    "Beast?"
    Ulises removed a green cartridge from a loop inside the roll and loaded it into the right barrel. "This one is bronze. I suspect it will work." He loaded the second barrel with a red one, a black stripe drawn around its end. "If not, this is a general load. Something in here may hurt it." He snapped the shotgun closed and slid it back into the holster.