Read Online Shepherd Hunted by Christopher Kincaid - Free Book Online

a demon to know or say such words.
    “What is wrong, Sister? Who is this?” Maggie asked.
    “Where is my shepherd? Where is Timothy?” The demon took a step closer.
    “L…lies,” Tera said. “You couldn’t…I don’t know where Timothy is.” Tera took a breath and thrust her rosary at the creature. “Demon, you did this!”
    All the petitioners’ eyes locked on the fox.
    The demon’s mouth twisted.
    “Sister?” an old man asked.
    “She is a demon!” Tera said. “She is the cause of this sickness.”
    “Idiot. I would do no such thing even if I could.” The vixen backed away.
    “We will get the demon for you, Sister,” a man said.
    Several people lunged at the demon. She danced and kicked at the grasping hands before racing away. The hood slipped from her head. White tufted ears that no human could own betrayed her true nature. Several people screamed.
    One of the men lunged at the fox’s feet. True to her nature, the fox leaped free. She dashed down the cobblestones bordering the church grounds with people in pursuit. The creature lunged into an alley and out of Tera’s sight.
    “S-Sister. Was that a demon?”
    “Yes. And she is the reason why God punishes us. We must make her face divine justice.”
    * * *
    Kit tripped over refuse. She caught the brick wall and looked behind her. No one appeared. She gasped for air. That didn’t go as I hoped. The fool nun still thinks me a demon. Kit’s mouth twisted. I was a fool to expect anything different, but I have to find him. If the nun didn’t have so many people around her, she would know how much of a demon I can be.
    Kit replaced the hood, and her tail pressed against her skirt. If her tail was a tangled mess, Timothy wouldn’t hear the end of it! She trudged down the street, stepping around a pile of…something. Best not to look. She covered her nose.
    “Where are you, Timmy?”
    No one followed her. She stepped over a broken table. Smashed furniture littered the street. She considered all the places Timothy could have gone. She knew to her tail that he would still be in the city. She may have known him only a short time, but he was simple enough to understand. Although he did spring a surprise now and again. She pushed away the cloud of loneliness that whispered to her. Creaking and rasping of wood and metal touched her ears through her hood.
    What if she didn’t find him?
    “Not that I need him,” Kit said. “I did just fine on my own.”
    But he was nice to have around. It was nice to know someone who didn’t see her as a trophy. Someone who sees me for me. She sighed. Her efforts to make him jealous really had gone too far. As if I would want to be with a man that grabbed my tail like Trent did!
    The thick, sweet, cloying scent of rotten onions smashed her nose. Kit clenched her jaw and swallowed. The creaking grew louder, and the scent grew stronger. Two men tugged a sagging two-wheeled cart. Filthy rags covered their noses and mouths, and their staring, tired eyes gazed ahead. Twisted bodies piled, limp. Men, women, and children stacked on each other like firewood.
    Kit’s eyes watered, and she gagged.
    The axle screeched. The men stopped at another refuse pile. They eased the cart to rest. The refuse turned out to be another body. One man took the feet, the other took the shoulders. They tossed the body onto the stack. In just a moment, the creaking resumed.
    Kit turned to move away. A cold shiver ran through her. What if Timothy was…? She glanced at the cart.
    He isn’t going to be there. He made a promise, after all.
    But she had to be sure.
    She forced herself nearer to the cart. The men ignored her. Their faces looked almost as dead as those in the cart. The rotten air threatened to overwhelm her. She breathed into the hem of her cloak. It didn’t help much at all. Flies buzzed despite the chill air. Kit glanced through the twisted, blackened faces.
    Relief brought tears to her eyes.
    The cart continued on its way. “Where