"Holier Than Monsters: San Rafael Swell" by Mercedes M. Yardley

There’s so much lore here
in the desert.

We used to joke about wendigos
And things that crept in the dark.

We’d even say, “Tell us stories of Skinwalkers,”
until half the group fell silent.

“If you speak of them, they will come.”
​
They said prayers and threw their fingernail
and hair clippings into the fire
to keep us safe.
The smell was unholy
But still holier than monsters.

Sitting around the bonfire
under the stars
pretending our faces lit by flame
weren’t demonic, that
the odd voices in the sand weren’t unnatural, that
there was nothing behind you, nothing at all
certainly not primitive
eyeshine glowing
in the dark.

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Mercedes M. Yardley is an award-winning dark fantasist. She is the author of Love is a Crematorium, Darling, Beautiful Sorrows, Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu, Pretty Little Dead Girls, and Little Dead Red. Her website is www.mercedesmyardley.com.

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