When the man was gone, Daniel pushed along the muddy bottom, moving to deeper water as he pulled his load with him, so slow the water did not ripple, enjoying the kiss of tiny fish on his skin. Heading toward the bridge.

After a while, he slid beneath the arch, then turned toward the house, keeping the load tucked in close as he floated in the shadows. Daniel had watched the house since midday, and his care had paid off twice. Others had appeared to watch the house, too, and now he knew they had been watching for him. He took this as an excellent sign, and proof that he was close.

“Can you feel it, boys? We are so close I can feel it.”

“So close we can touch it, touch it.”

“So close we can taste it, taste it.”

Their feathery breath caressed his ears.

Daniel bobbed in the darkness, waiting without any real sense of passing time when a flick of black moved at the end of their fence, catching his attention. Another flick, and the black became a shadow at the edge of the water. A glint of light flashed at the top of the shadow, flashed once more, and then the glint and the shadow were gone. Daniel thought about this and decided the glint was light from a house across the canal flashing off the tall dude’s glasses. Had to be. The tall dude had gone to their house.

Daniel waited for the shadow to reappear, wondering who the man was and why he was here. This made Daniel smile because the truth was always the same. He was here for the same reason as everyone else. This would be worth a call to his friends, which Daniel would make in the morning.

Daniel waited another twenty minutes, just to be sure, but the shadow and its glint did not return. Like all good hunters, Daniel was patient, but after a while he determined it was safe to move on.

Daniel whispered, soft as a kiss.

“Be seeing you.”

Daniel had been holding the body for well over an hour, but now he released it. The body rolled over once, a hand rising to wave good-bye, then slid beneath the cold black surface.

Daniel waited, and watched, and wondered who would come next.

Part Three - THE LORD OF WAR AND THUNDER

Part Three

THE LORD OF WAR AND THUNDER

Chapter 21

21

At four minutes after seven the next morning, Pike received the call that changed everything. One minute earlier, at seven-oh-three, he was watching Carla Fuentes’s house from a camellia bush in her backyard, the milky sky overhead promising a hazy day even between the leaves.