Third Strike by Heather Brewer Page A

old dude was ripped to shreds by some coyotes right here and you came out here willingly?”
    â€œYeah. Basically.”
    Henry’s eyes bugged out of his head. “What if there are still coyotes out here? And what if they’re still hungry?”
    All Joss could do was shrug. Pretty much because he hadn’t really thought that there might still be coyotes out here to deal with. He didn’t believe that coyotes had killed the man in the first place. Slayers weren’t sent to deal with wild animals. Slayers were sent to eradicate vampires.
    â€œYou’re either incredibly stupid or incredibly cool.” Henry stepped back, shaking his head. The corner of Joss’s mouth lifted in a small smile—one that didn’t last. Henry put an end to it as quickly as he was able to. “I’m leaning toward option number one.”
    It bugged Joss that Henry couldn’t just enjoy a moment with him, that he had to keep Joss at bay, all because of an incident that had very little to do with him. What had happened between Joss and Vlad was between them. Not Joss’s cousin. Not Vlad’s drudge. Was it so wrong that he wanted to experience just one moment where they were simply cousins, and not two people on divided sides of an argument? Joss shook his head and went back to surveying the area around them. “Just let me know if you see anything.”
    â€œLike blood and guts? Or like vicious wild animals running at me? Because either way, I’m letting you know. Probably with a girlish squeal.” Henry looked around at the woods, but Joss didn’t see much real worry in his eyes. It was mostly boredom, and irritation at having been dragged into nature unexpectedly.
    â€œI’ll have you know that there are some pretty interesting species of insects that feed on corpses.”
    â€œYou and bugs, man. It’s weird.” Henry shook his head. Obviously, Joss’s love of entomology completely escaped him. Joss would never understand it. Insects made the world go round. They were the planet. They were life. Without them, humans would be nowhere.
    Something bold and bright and not at all natural to the forest setting caught Joss’s attention. It looked like a bit of cloth or a flag or something. Whatever it was, it was bright yellow and flapping around in the breeze. It looked, from this distance, as if it had caught on some weeds or a branch. Joss moved toward it, happy to have something other than tree trunks and dead leaves to look at. “You see anything out of the ordinary, just let me know.”
    â€œSo what horrible Slayer task are we here to accomplish, anyway?”
    Henry’s words stopped Joss dead in his tracks. He turned back to face his cousin. All playfulness was gone from each of their expressions now. Now they were all business. Joss frowned, ready to defend his duty. “I never said we were here on any Slayer business. And if I said that it was?”
    Henry set his jaw, the anger and defensiveness already rising up inside of him in an acutely visible way. “I’d kick your—”
    â€œHenry.” Joss held up a hand, softening his tone. “I’m just trying to help the kid in that shop by tracking down who or whatever killed his dad. Okay?”
    â€œYeah, right. I’m not killing anyone. And just so we’re clear, when I go back home, I don’t plan on speaking to you ever again.” Henry walked past him then, even though he hadn’t seen the yellow thing, and had no real direction to go in. As he passed Joss, their shoulders hit. He glared at Joss, as if Joss had done it on purpose. In response, Joss simply held up his hands in mock surrender. Henry kept walking.
    As Joss approached the bright piece of yellow, he recognized it as a piece of police tape. Crouching, he saw that it hadn’t just blown here freely—it was actually tied to a small shrub. The rest of the tape had been ripped away,