It was almost sunset when the bus reached its destination. It was another small town, the sort of place that looked like it was all about being a stop on the way to somewhere else.

Shane knew they needed somewhere to spend the night. He tried asking around, but there wasn’t a motel in this town. The best someone could suggest was a vacant house, but that would have involved breaking in.

“Here.” Avery pointed across the street as they walked through town.

Shane looked. There was a park not unlike the one they had first met in. It was smaller, but just as green and quiet. His skin crawled at the thought of sleeping there.

“We have to find somewhere safe.” He insisted.

“But where?” Avery crossed her arms, challenging him. “There’s nothing in this place, Shane.”

“We just have to keep looking.”

Newly determined to find something, Shane marched down the street. He didn’t care if Avery was mad about the park. He was going to find a safer option, then she wouldn’t care.

After two blocks, they passed a house with a sign in the front window. The sign advertised rooms for rent on a nightly basis. It looked perfect. Shane knocked on the door.

It was opened by a tall, thin man. Shane tried not to stare, wondering how someone so skinny was also so muscular. He knew there were a lot of body types in the world, but part of him wondered how what he was seeing was even possible.

The man blinked at them. “Can I help you?”

“Your sign says you rent rooms.” Shane started. “We were looking for a place to stay and wanted to know--”

“Shane.” Avery hissed at him. The hint of fear in her voice made him look back.

Noah was leaning heavily on her shoulder. He had a hand to his head and was grimacing. That wasn’t good.

“Oh no. You’d better bring him inside.” The man stepped past Shane and reached for Noah.

“Anthropophage.” Noah’s eyes flew open, freezing the man in his tracks. “Man-eater.”

The man forced a laugh. “That’s quite a complex word.” He turned back to Shane. “We can discuss my rate inside.” He gestured to the door.

But Shane was on guard now. He reached for his sword and the man flinched. He could see the weapon. So, he wasn’t human.

Shane drew the sword and pointed it at the man.

The man snarled. “Blast it, you found me out. And demigods make the best snacks, too.”

Shane frowned. How many monsters were they going to meet who wanted to eat them? He didn’t like imagining himself on someone’s dinner plate.

The man-eater appeared to be unarmed. If he had a weapon, it was probably inside, and Shane was between him and the door. Shane wanted to keep it that way.

Avery pulled Noah behind her. Slowly, she started to back away, keeping her eyes locked with Shane’s. He knew what she was thinking. She was worried about him, but Noah’s safety was her priority. He didn’t hold that against her. He probably would have come to the same conclusion if their roles had been reversed.

The man-eater turned. “Where do you think you’re going?” He demanded, reaching for Avery.

Shane swung his sword, bellowing. It sliced cleanly through the man-eater’s wrist, severing his hand. The appendage bounced past Avery’s feet.

The man-eater howled in pain. With his other hand, he reached for Shane’s neck.

Shane skewered him through the palm. With a surge of adrenaline, he pushed forward, driving his sword into the monster’s head. He twisted his hands, trying to do as much damage as possible. He didn’t know if this was one of those monsters that could somehow survive seemingly fatal injuries, and he wasn’t going to take any chances.

The man-eater went limp. All his weight fell on Shane’s sword. He pulled the weapon out before it could be ripped from his hands and wiped it on the dead monster’s clothes before sheathing it.

He looked up and found Avery staring at him, her mouth hanging open. Noah was gripping her arm tightly. They both looked afraid.

Shane cleared his throat. “You might have been right about that park.”