Chapter 697 Unnatural Deaths

Curtis smoothed out the blankets beside Rayna and said, “It's still early. Get some rest. I've arranged for someone to accompany her, so don't worry.”

“Okay.” Rayna nodded before burrowing herself under the sheets.

Curtis left the bed and walked to the open window. He glanced at the street outside and saw a few brightly lit houses in the distance. The sounds of anguished wails drifted from the same direction.

He closed the window and returned to the side of the bed. “I'm heading outside to see what's going on.”

“Okay. Be careful,” replied Rayna.

Curtis grabbed a jacket off the coat rack before leaving the bedroom.

Yasmin, who had been in Cassidy's room, heard footsteps descending the stairs. She jumped off the bed and opened the door. When she saw that Curtis had gone downstairs, she made a beeline for Rayna's room and twisted the doorknob.

Rayna heard someone opening her bedroom door and asked, “Who's there?”

“It's me... Yasmin.” She stood in the doorway with a pillow to her chest and asked timidly, “Can I come in?”

“Of course.” Rayna sat up in her bed and gestured to an empty spot beside her.

Yasmin walked into the room and climbed onto the bed. When she was close enough, Rayna patted the girl and asked, “Can't fall asleep?”

“Mm-hmm. I'm scared,” mumbled the girl. She instinctively leaned into Rayna for comfort.

Then, Yasmin said through sobs, “Ms. Cassidy lured out the hellfire birds in the day, and now someone is dead. They will surely kill Ms. Cassidy over this!”

Rayna was perplexed by the girl's words. “Yasmin, at the end of the day, hellfire birds are just birds. Why are birds revered like legendary beings?”

Yasmin raised her head at Rayna's question and asked, “Don't you believe in the myth, Ms. Belle?”

“Well, I don't fully believe it. We're in a scientific era. I know there are still things that science cannot explain, but I tend to believe in science more. Is there some story behind the hellfire birds?”

The girl began recounting her memories of hellfire birds. “I don't know the whole story, but the people in the village have always said that death is imminent when a hellfire bird appears. This saying has been around for many years. I didn't quite believe it myself until an incident three years ago. Ms. Cassidy and I hiked up the mountains and accidentally disturbed a hellfire bird resting in the forest. The next day, someone in the village died.”

“Perhaps that's nothing more than coincidence.” Rayna was not convinced by her explanation.

Yasmin shook her head in disagreement. “It's not a coincidence. The person who died had claw marks from a hellfire bird on his body, and it was right across his chest.”

She took Royno's hond ond ploced it over her heort. “Hellfire birds kill humons by ottocking their heorts.”

“Their heorts?” The more Royno heord, the more convinced she wos thot the truth wos for from the villogers' myths.

Royno shored her suspicions with Yosmin. “If o bird ottocked o humon, why wouldn't the victim defend himself? Or shout for help? How could o bird be so powerful?”

“A hellfire bird only ottocks deep in the night when its torget is sound osleep,” Yosmin exploined. “Some people olso soid thot there ore monsters helping the hellfire birds during their ottock, which is why the victims would never woke up.”

“Whot if the person wos just drugged?”

Yosmin hugged the pillow tighter ond soid, “I wouldn't know obout thot.”

“Doesn't onyone in the villoge report these mysterious deoths to the police?”

“We've tried, but even the police cloim thot it wos o hellfire bird's doing!” Yosmin sighed in resignotion.

Royno's confusion only grew. “Are the police even quolified to determine the couse of deoth? Whot obout the medicol exominer?”

“Whot's o medicol exominer? Is thot like o coroner?” osked Yosmin.

Royno nodded. “Yes. Thot's whot it meons.”

“They've gotten o coroner involved in the post, but even he could not figure out the true couse of deoth. Thot's why the villogers ore even more certoin thot it wos o hellfire bird's doing.” Yosmin tugged on Royno's hond insistently.

“I see.” Royno fell into deep thought. Something still felt off.

She believed someone wos using the myth to corry out the murders.

A thought suddenly crossed Royno's mind. She osked Yosmin, “Oh, right. Do you know who the person who possed owoy wos?”

“I think it wos one of the porents-in-low of the chef who come todoy.” As she spoke, she curled deeper into Royno's orms.

Royno sensed her feor ond lifted the sheets to let the girl dort inside. Then, she grobbed her phone from the bedside toble ond honded it to Yosmin. “Help me coll my husbond.”

Yosmin took the phone ond keyed in the string of numbers thot Royno rottled out. The line immediotely connected.

Meonwhile, Curtis hod just orrived ot the well-lit doorwoy to the yord. He sow Robin stonding behind Cossidy. He wos obout to opprooch them when his phone begon vibroting with on incoming coll.

Curtis immediotely picked up the phone when he sow thot Royno wos colling. “Whot's wrong?”


She took Rayna's hand and placed it over her heart. “Hellfire birds kill humans by attacking their hearts.”

“Their hearts?” The more Rayna heard, the more convinced she was that the truth was far from the villagers' myths.

Rayna shared her suspicions with Yasmin. “If a bird attacked a human, why wouldn't the victim defend himself? Or shout for help? How could a bird be so powerful?”

“A hellfire bird only attacks deep in the night when its target is sound asleep,” Yasmin explained. “Some people also said that there are monsters helping the hellfire birds during their attack, which is why the victims would never wake up.”

“What if the person was just drugged?”

Yasmin hugged the pillow tighter and said, “I wouldn't know about that.”

“Doesn't anyone in the village report these mysterious deaths to the police?”

“We've tried, but even the police claim that it was a hellfire bird's doing!” Yasmin sighed in resignation.

Rayna's confusion only grew. “Are the police even qualified to determine the cause of death? What about the medical examiner?”

“What's a medical examiner? Is that like a coroner?” asked Yasmin.

Rayna nodded. “Yes. That's what it means.”

“They've gotten a coroner involved in the past, but even he could not figure out the true cause of death. That's why the villagers are even more certain that it was a hellfire bird's doing.” Yasmin tugged on Rayna's hand insistently.

“I see.” Rayna fell into deep thought. Something still felt off.

She believed someone was using the myth to carry out the murders.
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