of his parents. Sure, there were moments he prayed they were not his parents. Especially when he invited a bunch of friends over one afternoon to play some holobox, and there was his mom doing her Kenpo routine to Baby Gangsta’s platinum soundtrack, A Tale of Two Cribs. Still, wishing and beholding are two different things.
“Daniel?” Tim stood up. “Daniel Kobayashi?”
There stood Daniel leaning on his cane. His hairless, questioning brow said what his mouth could not, “What the heck is going on?”
“What’re you doing here?” said Nick.
“It’s your parent’s funeral,” said Daniel. “Should we not be in attendance?”
“But they’re not your parents,” said Nick.
“Are we not friends, Nick?” said Daniel.
“Sure . . .”
Daniel cleared his throat. “Anyway, Caroline insisted we attend. Said you two needed the support of true family during such a loss.”
“Oh. My. Gawsh!” Brandy stood in the doorway wearing a black dress, thin black veil, three-inch black heels, and a matching black purse.
Haley pushed herself around Brandy while Xanthus flanked the left. All were dressed uniformly in black, and all were completely dumb struck by Grand’s body snatching.
“Tim, Nick.” Caroline cut through the growing crowd. She flung herself at Tim and then wrapped her other arm around Nick. Her hands were rough and smelled of pie crust.
“I was so worried.” Caroline stepped back. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” Nick said.
“Close the doors,” Grand growled.
“That dude just yanked your dead parents from a funeral,” Xanthus said, wide-eyed, as he watched Grand push their mom’s nostrils up, pull her lips open, and smell a handful of hair.
“What?” Haley said. “Hospital short on cadavers?”
Grand twisted to Haley, then Nick.
“They’re my friends—” Nick put his hands up. “—from the refugee camp.”
“Where’ve you two been?” Haley sided around Grand.
“Everywhere,” Tim said.
“Police couldn’t find you,” said Haley. “Doing the vanishing act after your parents were poisoned wasn’t a great idea. They interrogated all of us, even Rocky the She-Bully. You know she didn’t have nice things to say about you, Nick. Told them you were a violent psychopath who burned down forests and punched pretty girls in the mouth.”
“We didn’t kill them,” said Nick. “Besides, they’re not dead. Wait. What did you tell them?”
“Nothing.” Haley rolled her eyes to Grand who had his ear to their dad’s palm. “Should we have?”
“Seriously,” said Xanthus. “What’s with William Wallace?”
“That’s Grand. He’s my grandfather. I told you all ab—”
“Nick, Tim.” Grand waved them over. “We need to store them away. Cannot be lugging them all the way to Huron. Bring me the pressers.” Grand pointed to the two antique blowers.
Screams peeled from the sanctuary.
Xanthus, nearest to the sanctuary, turned and peaked between the foyer doors.
“Merciful Minerva!” Xanthus turned to Grand. “Bunch of animals chased the pastor off stage.”
“Like a bear?” said Brandy.
“No, it’s, um . . .” Xanthus fumbled through his trench coat, mumbling to himself. “Sci . . . sco . . . sce . . .” He pulled out a book titled, Perlock’s Mythological Bestiary: 30th edition. It looked abused beyond use. He quickly undid the rubber band and started flipping.
“Long neck . . . wings behind ears . . . I believe it’s a . . . yeah. Scucca!” Xanthus held the book up to Grand.
“Trackers?” Grand shoved the kids aside and placed bluish hands against the foyer doors. “This was a trap!”
“Article needs to be seriously updated, though.” Xanthus held the book to his nose. “Scales are more heather blue. My bestiary is pretty dated. I prefer the books over the tablets. Just found them more honest to the source material . . .”
Sounds of a wooden object skidding across a stone floor came from the sanctuary. The screams doubled.
“Dude,” said Brandy. “What’s with your grandpa’s eyes?”
With palms leveraged against the door, Grand’s eyes once again turned blue, and a blue smoke crept from his hands.
“It’s his jynn’us,” said Nick.
Glass shattered.
Grand turned his glowing eyes on them. “To the truck, all of you. And take the bodies with you, Nikolas!”
Nick couldn’t move.
“Now, Nikolas!”
Boom.
Grand rocked back. The sanctuary doors were pushed open and then closed. The sounds of a clogged vacuum hose came from the other side.
“Reeiihh!!” A creature sounded the call of recognition and rammed into the door again. Then, it pushed. Grand slid backward. Veins ribboned his neck as he tried to keep back whatever was pushing the doors apart.
“Grab his feet, Nick,” Haley ordered.
But Nick couldn’t look away from the door. Something like the belly of a boa constrictor with two slits edged its way in. The slits pulsed, grung,