Grimm: The Killing Time (30 page)
Read Grimm: The Killing Time Online
Authors: Tim Waggoner
The mother of the dead Skalengeck teenager had held back the entire time Nick had been curing the others. He’d noticed, of course, and he’d wondered if she’d be able to bring herself to let him help her. Even though Nick hadn’t been responsible for her daughter’s death, her killer had been an almost exact duplicate of him. He wouldn’t blame her for not wanting to come near him.
The woman finally approached him. She stopped short of coming into arm’s reach of him, though. Since becoming aware of the existence of Wesen, Nick had become skilled at reading their facial expressions when woged. But he couldn’t read her now.
“What’s your name?” he asked gently.
The question seemed to catch the woman off guard. It took him a moment to respond. When she did, she said, “Jessica.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Jessica.”
She regarded him for several seconds before speaking again.
“At least you got the bastard who killed my girl.”
She stepped forward and gave him a stiff, awkward hug. He held her, and after a moment, she relaxed into his arms. It didn’t take long for the
Ewig Woge
to release its hold on her. She assumed her human aspect—a brown-haired woman in her early fifties—and then pulled away from Nick.
She gave him a tentative smile, and then turned and departed the Hafen.
Nick looked around. Wildermanner had tidied the clearing and removed their companion’s body. There was no sign anyone had ever been here. You couldn’t even see where the campfires had been. Even the Wechselbalg’s ashes were gone, leaving no evidence the creature had ever existed in the first place.
“Do you think we got everyone?” Hank asked. “I mean, there could still be some affected Wesen in town who didn’t make it to the Hafen for one reason or another.”
“It’s possible,” Renard said. “I’ll have my contacts keep an eye out for them.”
“And word will get around about how to cure the
Ewig Woge
pretty fast,” Monroe added.
“I saved enough of the ‘special ingredient’ to make more of the cure,” Rosalee said. “Just in case.”
“Well, I hope we don’t need anymore,” Nick said. “I don’t know everything that was in that stuff, and I don’t want to know. But I’ve got a pounding headache and my mouth feels like it’s lined with cotton.”
“Your system’s been through a lot in the last twelve hours or so,” Rosalee said. “Go home, get some rest, drink lots of fluids, and you should be fine.”
Nick smiled. “Thanks, Doctor.”
“Don’t worry, Rosalee,” Juliette said. “I’ll take good care of him.”
Nick grinned at her. “When you say ‘take good care…’”
She smiled. “I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
“Looks like we avoided a repeat of the Killing Time,” Renard said.
“People
did
die,” Juliette said.
“But it wasn’t a wholesale slaughter,” Monroe pointed out.
“I guess so,” Juliette said. “I still can’t help feeling sorry for the Wechselbalg. Do you think there are any more out there somewhere? Ones as old or even older than the one we encountered?”
“Impossible to know,” Renard said. “We’ll just have to hope that this one was among the last.”
They started walking toward the Hafen’s entrance then, Hank carrying the talwar and Monroe carrying the battle-axe. Monroe couldn’t help giving the weapon a couple experimental swings, but he stopped when Renard and Hank both gave him warning glances.
As they left, Nick couldn’t help feeling they were forgetting something, but he couldn’t think of what it might be. He was bone-weary and his heard hurt, and all he wanted to do was go home, take a shower, crawl into bed, and sleep for a week. He figured whatever he was trying to remember would come back to him if it was truly important.
* * *
De Groot was sitting at his desk reading an email from a Council operative in Japan regarding the Yakuza situation when there was a knock at his door. While he appreciated his assistants’ good manners, sometimes he wondered how much of his work day he wasted giving them permission to enter.
“Come,” he said.
Adelbert opened the door, stepped into the office, and closed it behind him.
“Sir, about that matter in Portland…”
“Yes?”
“We’ve just received word that the Wechselbalg has been killed and those Wesen exposed to the
Ewig Woge
have been cured.”
De Groot raised an eyebrow. “The Grimm?”
Aldebert nodded.
De Groot contemplated this development for several moments, Adelbert standing quietly by as he thought. At length, he said, “Very well. Recall our agents.”
“Yes, sir.” Without another word, Adelbert departed.
De Groot leaned back in his chair, folded his hands over his stomach, and thought about Nick Burkhardt. The man was resourceful, even for a Grimm. He might prove useful in the future. Quite useful.
De Groot leaned forward once more, returned his attention to his computer monitor, and resumed his work.
* * *
The morning was overcast in Portland, and a light rain began to fall. In the Hafen, hidden within a small clump of grass where even the sharp-eyed Wildermanner had missed it, a lump of flesh and bone—the tip of the Wechselbalg’s finger, sheared off with Nick’s axe—absorbed the moisture that fell upon it. Little by little, it began to swell, to grow, its surface edging away from charred pink as it assumed a silvery cast. It twitched once, twice, and then, moving slowly at first, but with increasing speed, it began crawling toward the forest in search of life. An insect, or perhaps a rodent—anything would do, really.
All it needed was a place to start.
Thanks to Cath Trechman for inviting me to play in Portland, and to Natalie Laverick for picking up the ball and running with it. And a huge thanks to Cherry Weiner for her friendship and wise counsel.
Shirley Jackson Award finalist Tim Waggoner has published over thirty novels and three short-story collections of dark fiction. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and in Seton Hill University’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program. You can find him on the web at
www.timwaggoner.com
.
GRIMM
THE ICY TOUCH
JOHN SHIRLEY
When a torched body is found in an underground tunnel, Portland police captain Sean Renard takes one look at the victim’s burned claws and assigns the case to homicide detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin. They soon discover that a criminal organization known as The Icy Touch is threatening Wesen into joining their illegal drug-smuggling operation, and brutally murdering those who refuse. But as Nick closes in on the gang’s charismatic and ruthless leader, the Grimm uncovers an ancient—and deadly—rivalry…
A brand-new original novel set in the
Grimm
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THE CHOPPING BLOCK
JOHN PASSARELLA
When a pile of bones is discovered in a Portland forest, severed and stripped of flesh, homicide detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin quickly rule out an animal attack, but suspect the killer is something other than human. Soon more skeletal remains are unearthed, and tests reveal that the bones were cooked before burial. As the body count increases, Nick, Hank, and reformed Blutbad Monroe must track down a Wesen with a taste for human meat, before the killer can butcher their next meal…
A brand-new original novel set in the
Grimm
universe.
AUNT MARIE’S BOOK OF LORE
As his Aunt Marie is dying, homicide detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he is descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as “Grimms,” who keep the balance between humanity and mythological creatures. As well as inheriting the “gift” from his aunt of being able to see the creatures’ true forms, he also inherits useful artefacts, including the Book of Lore.
An in-universe book exploring the weapons, potions and creatures of
Grimm
.
BELOW THE SURFACE
THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE SHOW
A full behind-the-scenes guide to the show, from costumes to special effects to makeup and more, with exclusive production designs and images direct from the ABC studios!
Acclaimed showrunners David Greenwalt (
X-Files
,
Buffy
,
Angel
) and Jim Kouf (
Ghost Whisperer
,
Angel
) reveal all about the development and on-going creation of the show.
Read interviews with the entire cast of the show, including David Giuntoli (Nick), Silas Weir Mitchell (Monroe), Bitsie Tulloch (Juliette) and more!
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