“Well what is it?” I asked Jared, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer anymore, based on the look on his face. But I needed to know. And I was getting impatient.
“Well if I’m not mistaken- and I’m not, then the thing after Haven is a wendigo. I’m actually not that surprised you ran into one, they’re very rare creatures, but they are pretty popular in Canada, close to you guys. And they are attracted to Vampires more so than humans.” A wendi-what? I had never heard of anything like that. And judging by the blank looks the others had, they hadn’t either.
“What the hell is that?” I asked, my voice was low and serious. We knew what this thing was now; we would finally be able to kill it.
“That’s an interesting question. They were once humans or vampires- judging by your description of this particular one, it’s my guess that it was formerly a vampire- that are turned into wendigos after resorting to cannibalism.”
“Cannibalism?” Haven asked, her eyes had grown wide.
“That explains the creature practically ripping out your throat and taking the dead girl’s heart.” Danny chimed in, he had a point. I saw Haven shudder out of the corner of my eye, and I felt an urge to rush over and comfort her.
“How do we kill this thing?” Damian asked, and we all turned our heads to Jared.
“Yeah, well, that’s the thing. Wendigos are notoriously hard to kill. This thing is a good hunter during the day but an unbelievable hunter at night. So if you want to have the best chance to kill it, don’t wait until it gets dark. They can only be killed by iron, steel or silver. Or burning them to death but that’s not as easy.” Jared concluded, and I didn’t think any of that necessarily sounded easy.
“Why is it harder to burn it to death?” Danny asked.
“Well because you have to trap it to light it on fire and these things are fast as you already know. You’re better off finding something sharp and silver and driving it through the bastard’s heart.” Jared said and I saw Haven flinch at his bluntness. “But that’s pretty much all I know about these creatures. If you like I can call up a few of my connections and see if they know more?”
“No, I think you told us enough.” I shook my head, declining Jared’s offer. We knew how to kill this thing now. We didn’t need to know anything else.
“Very well then.” Jared said, just as Shy walked back into the room, carry a tray of glasses. We drank the sour lemonade in silence, before Jared dismissed us.
“It’s getting late and you all have had a long day. I have some work I need to do, so please, feel free to show yourselves to your rooms. Damian and Aaron know where you can sleep.” He stood up and walked away. Damian went off to go hunting, and I showed Ryan and Danny to their own rooms, leaving me and Haven alone.
“Where am I sleeping?” She asked, glancing at the many doors.
“You’re sleeping with me.”
“Oh?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand, leading her to the door at the end of the hallway. This was the room I had lived in for over fifty years, and it hadn’t changed at all since I had last been here.
The room was decently sized, big enough for my king-sized bed, a dresser, and a desk. The walls and floor were different shades of brown, which matched with my green comforter. My guitar was propped up against the closest wall. I ran my fingers over the strings, having missed their familiar touch.
“You play?” Haven asked me, and I could feel her breath on my neck. I nodded, I could feel my palms getting sweaty. Why was I so nervous? This was Haven, I was always comfortable around her.
“Will you play for me?” she asked, giving me an alluring smile.
“If you’re lucky.” I winked at her, regaining my composure. “Let’s get to bed, it’s been a long day.” I stripped off my jeans and shirt, leaving me in just my boxers, before I remembered Haven. Crap. I could feel her gaze on my body, and my cheeks immediately flushed bright red. I looked up to find her staring at me, but instead of the embarrassment I had expected to find on her face, I only saw an expression of wanting. Could I be seeing things right?
“I am so sorry. It was just habit, I didn’t think about what I was doing.” I apologized as I bent to pick up my shirt. I had just grabbed it when I felt a hand on my back, stopping me. I straightened up to find myself face to face with Haven, and my body tensed as she put one of her hands on my chest.
“Don’t worry about it.” She smiled, before crashing her lips to mine.
