"And you`re saying you`re sure that he was here?"

　　Lucy tried to ignore Kulthurack as he stood too close for comfort, instead focusing on the woman she was interviewing. Vera had met them outside her home, still dressed in a stained set of overalls. Her eyes were wide, and she didn`t react at all to Kulthurack`s presence. Not that Lucy could blame her. She`d caught sight of the property damage the moment they`d stepped out of the car.

　　Her gut churned as she tossed a glance at the trampled fence and the bloodstained grass. Bits of the cows that had called it home were scattered about the place, as though Erodicilee had felt rushed to get through his meal.

　　The sight confirmed her worst fears—that any chance of this ending peacefully was slipping through her fingers. Then again, what little hope she had for that had faded after watching Mark die. It took everything she had to hold it together and not text Jerry to get weapons ready.

　　"I can`t imagine what else could have done this," Vera said in a tone of voice that made it obvious she was trying desperately not to shout.

　　Lucy didn`t miss the way she glanced back at the house or rubbed at her throat as though nervous about what to say next. She`d mentioned early on that she`d told her granddaughter to stay inside. It made sense. The scene was ghastly. Though she knew they`d have to talk to her as well. From what Vera had said during their last discussion, her granddaughter spent the most time with Erodicilee. She wished Jerry had come along. The man had a way with people that she simply didn`t.

　　Perhaps Lecorondia might be a suitable substitute?

　　Her gut churned at the idea, and she wasn`t sure why. The ambassador had spent time with the children of the tourists and had loved every second. They`d bombarded her with questions, and she hadn`t once so much as raised her voice. Still, she resolved to sit in on that interview, regardless.

　　"I see. And you mentioned being out for the weekend? You didn`t have any security measures in place?" Lucy asked, hoping they`d have something she could use.

　　Vera shook her head as she scratched at her neck. "No, no security. We`re so rarely off the property together that I never figured it would be worth it. But, yes, we were away for the weekend. One of Jenkins` cows was sick again. I keep telling him he needs to check what fields he puts them in, but he never does. She`s fine now, but he offered to cook us a meal if we kept her under observation for the night. I figured what could go wrong?"

　　"So no one was with the animals?" Lucy frowned. "Isn`t that an issue?"

　　Vera`s cheeks colored, but Lucy elected not to press. "As I said, we didn`t intend to stay until he made the offer. Besides, I gave them extra food and water before we left, just in case. They`d be fine for a day."

　　While it might be a minor detail, Jerry had drilled into the idea of being thorough into her head so often she couldn`t help it. Not that she suspected it would matter in the end. If they were present, it was possible Erodicilee may not have struck, but there was no guarantee.

　　From the way Vera glanced back towards the house, she thought the same thing.

　　Lucy`s next question was on the tip of her tongue when Kulthurack spoke in that monotone voice he always used. It made her uncomfortable for reasons she couldn`t quite put her finger on.

　　"You had dealings with the creature before?" He asked, each of his three eyes winking in their strange patterns.

　　To her credit, Vera didn`t seem perturbed by the newest alien in her life. Though Lucy wondered if that was due to all the current stress suppressing her normal reactions. People, she knew, reacted vastly differently to tragedies. Jerry was full of such stories, and she`d listened to him share enough of them.

　　"Yes. We held him for a time. He. Well. He wasn`t a problem until he got out of the cage somehow. Broke out. We were both inside when he escaped. He ran off not long after, and I figured it would be the last time we`d deal with him."

　　Her words faltered, and she turned to Lucy, who tried to give her a consoling smile. Kulthurack continued asking questions.

　　"Would you have considered the beast a threat at that time?"

　　Vera paused, thinking, before she shook her head. "No, not at all. H e didn`t seem to care about us, and he played with my granddaughter. She was so excited when he reacted to her book. Like I said, he was fine until he escaped."

　　"So you would say your opinion has changed?" Kulthurack pressed, and Lucy could tell what he was doing.

　　He wanted to spin a narrative to get Vera to admit she thought of Erodicilee as a problem. Her thoughts turned to the mechanical soldiers waiting back at the town, and she knew full well how he planned on solving it.

　　Vera nodded. "Now? I don`t know what he`d do to us now. All the cows are dead, and I found bits of one of the roos. The rest fled. All those other animals we rescued."

　　Lucy murmured words of encouragement as Vera dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. When she was done, she continued.

　　"I didn`t let anyone else into the barn. It was too much. He killed them in their cages. What? What is he?"

　　"A monster," Kulthurack said, the monotone somehow making the statement worse.Stolen novel; please report.

　　"He just wants to get home," Lucy broke in, even though she wasn`t sure she believed it. "Stopping things like this is why we`re trying to locate him."

　　Vera sniffed, and her eyes hardened. "Miss Lucy, I`ve looked after a lot of animals in my lifetime. It hurts, and it`s not fun, but some need to be put down because there is a danger to others. I hope if you find him, you keep that in mind."

　　"I concur." Kulthurack nodded, and Lucy turned to him, aghast.

　　At her look, he simply shrugged. "The beast is designed to be a killer as much as a protector. With the amount it`s eaten, who knows what it can do now? Approaching it with any semblance of bringing it under control is insanity."

　　"I`m not sure the ambassador would appreciate that, sir," Lucy bit out.

　　In response, he turned to watch her with an unfeeling expression. "She is no longer the one calling the shots."

　　That sent a shiver up her spine, and she thought again about what those mechanical soldiers were doing back at the town. Not that she could do much about it now. Instead, she focused on doing what she could here.

　　Which meant reassuring the civilians instead of scaring them. The last thing they needed was Vera spreading rumors, or more likely, her granddaughter. She had enough trouble with the hunters loitering around town without them deciding to raid this place in search of potential clues.

　　"We will do everything in our power to contain the situation, I promise," Lucy said, trying her best to sound gentle. "Anything you know about him now or anything you observed while you had him would help us greatly."

　　She watched as Vera frowned, her eyes turning towards the ground as she thought. Kulthurack stood still, clearly happy to wait. Then she started talking.

　　"As I said, he was happy to play with my granddaughter when we had him. He knew tricks, and he would beg for the dog biscuits we gave him. I never saw him act aggressively even during his escape, at least not towards us."

　　"And what about his more recent presence?" Kulthurack asked.

　　Vera gestured to the ground. "He came back for the roo, probably the next day. That meant he chased the cows down somewhere, I`d bet."

　　Lucy followed her gaze away from the fence, where trampled grass lay slick with red. Her stomach twisted at the sight. At least she knew it was cows this time.

　　"Grandmother!" A young girl shouted from the direction of the barn, and they turned to see what had to be Vera`s granddaughter running towards them, Lecorondia and Julep walking behind.

　　Lucy cursed herself for not seeing the ambassador slip off, though Kulthurack`s slight twitch made her sure he didn`t either.

　　"Sal. I told you to stay inside!" Vera shouted back. "What are you doing?"

　　"I wanted to see what happened," Sal said as she skidded to a halt.

　　While the two farmers talked, Lucy felt a shiver run up her spine as she watched Lecorondia, unable to miss the fading smile that graced her face.

　　***

　　Lucy refused to let Lecorondia out of her sight as they checked the records of the creatures kept on premises.

　　That meant they were all crammed together in the small living room, which Vera clearly had designed for guests. Sal and Lecorondia sat on the floor going over recent records, while Kulthurack and Vera sat on the couch discussing potential abilities. Lucy leaned against a wall, looking over documents that reported local creatures.

　　She really hoped the Emu sighting was false.

　　"I think we have it," Vera said as she plopped the papers down onto the tiny coffee table.

　　Lecorondia looked up from Sal, who was discussing the baby animals they kept. None had caught Erodicilee`s attention in the small nursery in the main house. Lucy couldn`t help but feel grateful for that.

　　"What do you suspect?" Lecorondia asked. "We know some of them."

　　Vera frowned as she gestured to the paperwork. "It`s not a particularly long list, at least with what we can confirm."

　　Lucy stepped over as Lecorondia moved as well, so they could read the guesses.

　　"And what might he have gained?" Kulthurack asked.

　　"Oh," Lecorondia said. "All kinds of things. Though we can take out any major physical changes. I told them during the design process I wanted him to remain as small and cute as ever."

　　Lucy frowned. "So he won`t gain physical alterations?"

　　"No, he can gain some, provided they don`t change his form too drastically. He could have gained gills or tougher skin. But we don`t have to worry about him growing fifty feet tall." Lecorondia laughed at the idea, but no one else did.

　　Kulthurack leaned forward in his seat as he tapped at the paperwork. "Lecorondia. When you designed the beast. Did you give it any specific instructions? The scientist`s notes were unclear."

　　"Aside from the physical changes?" Lecorondia frowned. "No. They knew what they`d built. I wanted a protector, and a pet rolled into one."

　　"So it won`t target a specific ability, then? It will just attack generally." Kulthurack asked.

　　"Not that I`m aware."

　　Lucy bit her lip as her gut churned. "So what abilities do you think it will have from the list?"

　　"Hard to say. The choice of ability is his to a degree. An instinctual option that would match with what he could do. He really could have anything." Lecorondia said, in a tone that seemed too calm for Lucy.

　　"But you must have some ideas." Kulthurack leaned back, the order clear.

　　"I would guess he`ll take whatever abilities give him better odds of finding me." Lecorondia reached back and took the list from Sal. "Anything that enhances his vision, his smell, his hearing, or his maneuverability will be the things he`ll take first."

　　"Plenty of birds on the list," Vera remarked.

　　"True. But he can`t double up; he can only enhance. So who knows what he`ll be like when we find him?"

　　Lucy forced herself not to react, but the idea that he`d take hunting abilities over combat ones cheered her up somewhat. Perhaps he`d stick to running away instead of attacking.

　　"In that case, this trip has been a waste. We should head back to town and see if we can`t figure out the best spot to use you as bait." Kulthurack stood as he spoke.

　　"I still don`t believe that is the best plan." Lecorondia stood as well. "The group size—"

　　"We can discuss such matters when we get back," Lucy said, watching Vera, who didn`t seem pleased they were arguing in her house. "Thank you for your time, and we`ll be in touch if we have any more questions."

　　Veras nodded as Sal stayed in place on the floor. "Of course. Please, do call."

　　"We will."

　　And with that, Lucy all but pushed the two aliens out the door and back to the van. It wouldn`t be a long trip back to town, but she couldn`t wait to get back. Her gut churned, and all she wanted to do was talk to Jerry.

　　He`d know what to do.