Watch Fire

by Jade Wolfe

  Of course, telling him the truth carried its own set of risks. He might decide I was crazy, walk out, and never talk to me again. He might decide I needed help and call in an anonymous tip to some mental health line somewhere. Was that a thing?

  Hell, he might even believe me and decide to help by going into the woods and opening fire on every forest creature he saw. That would be bad, and he would wind up dead. I'd hate to have to kill him. Like I said, he was cute.

  I decided to be as honest as I could. "Listen, I'd love to tell you everything, but this is a pretty unbelievable place. You would think that I was either, one, making it up, or two, crazy as a bat. I don't like those options, so I'm not sure what to do here."

  He waited until I finished, then nodded. "I get it. I'm still an outsider here. It'll take time. But you have to admit that last night was just...weird."

  I relaxed and grinned. "I freely admit that, and I'll even warn you that last night won't be the weirdest thing you see around here."

  "So, can you at least tell me how you manage to blow stuff up wherever you go? Because that is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

  "I told you, that was -."

  "A gas main, my ass. Two in one night? Don't think so, sweetheart." His smile was still in place, but when I met his gaze I saw real curiosity there, as well as something else - respect. He really wanted to know about me.

  I turned my head away, just in time to see Sheriff Michaels walk in with a nice looking lady about his age on his arm. His wife, maybe. He was out of uniform, dressed in a navy pants and a button-down with the first button undone. He didn't see me, but Sam saw me looking at him.

  "What do you know about him?" Sam asked, nodding toward Michaels. Apparently he was dropping the explosion questions for now. Good.

  "I don't know much - I only met him yesterday." I finished my own wine. "Why?"

  "Because I don't know a lot about the southern way of life yet, but I saw something yesterday that kind of bothered me."

  "What?" This could be bad.

  "Well, he was with that guy who brought the dog, and I followed them about a hundred yards into the woods. You know, when they were tracking whoever killed that old man?"

  I nodded, worried about where he was going with this.

  "Ok, so as soon as they were out of sight of everyone else, the sheriff bent down and...I think he was whispering in the dog's ear. Or kissing it. I'm not sure."

  "That is weird."

  "Also, he disappeared for a while after that. I kept following the man with the dog, but then when I saw Michaels again he was buttoning up his shirt, like he'd been sunbathing out there or something. He looked rough, too."

  "Huh."

  "I know. Any idea what he was doing?"

  I shook my head. "You got me. Like I said, I just met him yesterday."

  I could guess what he was doing - becoming a werewolf to track the killer himself - but I didn't want to say that to Sam. But Sam's description had given me another piece of information. If Michaels had turned in front of Mercer Kane, then Kane knew what was really hiding at Red Rock. Hell, Kane might be a werewolf, too, for all I knew.

  Sam sat back in his chair. The interest in his eyes had changed to something else - hurt. I was hurting his feelings by not confiding n him. He didn't believe one word of what I was saying.

  Damn it. I hated this, stepping so carefully and still hurting people. Still lying. "OK, first of all can you keep a secret?" I asked.

  Sam looked at me and leaned forward. “Indigo, I'm a lawyer."

  I nodded. "Then let’s go for a walk."

  Chapter Eighteen

  The evening had grown cool by the time we made our way back to Lucy's house.

  "Why do you call it Lucy's?" Sam asked. "You live here too, don't you?"

  I nodded and closed the door of his Jeep. "Yeah. I haven't been here long, though. I guess I'm still getting used to it. Like you."

  He glanced around. "Three lifelong friends? Three houses? I like it. Maybe you should build your own house. Next in the row."

  I smiled at that, but didn't answer. It hurt to think about, but Lucy found me because she would be gone soon. I would most likely just live in her house when that happened, hopefully a long time from now.

  "Hey," Sam said softly. He'd come around the hood of the Jeep to stand beside me, and now he touched my elbow. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

  I shook my head. "You didn't. Let's go."

  I led him around the back of the house to the creek. I'd made a risky decision, but now that I had I would stand by it. We would go for a walk in the woods, and if something happened....well, then, it just did. I would explain it honestly and see how he reacted. I was walking a fine line here, and I figured this way I'd just let the chips fall where they may.

  Also, I would hope the decision didn't blow up in my face, because that happened sometimes, too. As we crossed the creek I glanced back toward the houses. A curtain moved, and then Pearl's face appeared in the window. She saw me and waved. I waved back. That made me feel better, because I knew for a fact that Pearl liked to tell people about what went on out here in Red Rock. The thing was, she embellished to the point that no one really believed her, even though she was essentially telling the truth. I'd met more than one of her dates, and they all just thought she was quirky and charming.

  I didn't think Sam would fall for that. He'd take me - and what I told him - seriously, whether he actually believed it or not.

  We stepped into the shadows and started down the well-worn trail that led to the heart of the park. "So this place was designated by President Harrison?" Sam asked.

  I nodded. "Yep. He and my great-great-great grandfather were good friends, apparently."

  "Wow. It must be nice to know your history that way."

  Something in his voice made me glance over at him. "Honestly, I wouldn't have known without Lucy's input. What about you? Do you know your family history?"

  He shook his head. "Nope. Grew up in the foster system. My foster folks didn't exactly encourage that sort of thing."

  "Oh. What did they encourage?" Now I was just being nosy, but I genuinely wanted to know more about this guy.

  He chuckled. "You don't want to know."

  "I'm a foster kid, too. My parents died when I was ten."

  "Ouch. Sorry."

  "Not your fault, unless you're in charge of freak avalanches in Colorado."

  He was quiet for a moment while we made our way across a fallen log. I made a mental note to have it removed so that Lucy didn't hurt herself next time she came out here. "Did you get a good set?" he finally asked.

  "A good set? Oh, you mean foster parents. Yeah. Yeah I did. They were great." They had been. Not rich or special, as most people would define those terms, but I loved Ed and Beezie and the home they'd made for me. I got the impression, from Sam's tone of voice, that he hadn't been so lucky.

  "That's good."

  "Lucy apparently picked them out. I didn't know that until recently, either."

  "Ah, every foster kid's dream - that someday a long lost real relative would show up and make them feel like they belong."

  "Right. Like I said, I got lucky."

  "You know it's almost seven, don't you? It'll be dark soon," he said, holding back a wayward branch to keep it from slapping us in the face.

  "This won't take long." I looked up. The banshees were starting to gather in the treetops. Sam looked up, too. I held my breath, but he didn't notice them. They were hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for, and he didn't. The way they were watching our passage, I had no doubt they would make a meal of him if I wasn't there.

  I wondered why they hadn't escaped the park while the barrier was down. I didn't know, but I was glad they hadn't. Getting them back would have been next to impossible.

  I'd decided against sticking to the public trails. If we were going to see something, it wouldn't be there unless one of the forest creatures got especially brave. A litt
le farther down the trail, while we were on an upslope, I saw silver eyes flash in the dim light. So we hadn't killed all of the Navarro. That was good. Regardless of what they were, I didn't want to eliminate a bloodline. Corralled in the park they were mostly harmless.

  "What was that?" Sam asked at my side.

  "Not sure."

  Yeah, now that we were here, I was feeling like a chicken.

  We were nearing the river when he asked, "Why did you bring me out here, Indigo? I like nature as much as the next guy, but I'm still waiting for you to tell me about this secret of yours. Care to spill?"

  The bank of the river came into sight and I made a hard left, away from the mountainside - and the cave where Isadora had been holed up. I looked though, and was relieved when I saw no lights or movement from up there. Raul must have finished the job of getting them out. They were hopefully on their way back to Sweden by now.

  The banshees were shifting in the trees, and a couple had started their low mourning song, just barely discernible over the rustling leaves around us. Sam heard it, too. I could tell by the way he kept looking around. Like he was trying to pinpoint it. I didn't say anything and he didn't either, At least not yet.

  We were very close to our destination now, so I turned on the path and stopped him with a hand on his chest. That felt good. I pulled it away. "OK, listen. This is going to be weird, and I don't blame you for thinking I'm nuts. But you asked, so I'm going to answer your question."

  A curious smile crossed his lips. He nodded.

  I almost hated to do this. The truth was, I was enjoying our walk through the woods. He was easy company - no fuss, no posturing. It felt like we were old friends, in spite of having met less than twenty-four hours ago.

  Had it only been that? It felt like a month. I shook my head and got back to the conversation. "You're about to meet Peony and her family. Her tribe, you might say."

  His eyebrows came up and that smile deepened. "Her tribe?"

  I shrugged. "Best word I've got for it. All right?"

  "Is this Peony some kind of animal?"

  "No..." I stopped and took a deep breath. Licked my lips. "Peony is an ogre."

  His smile flicked downward. "That's not nice."

  "I'm not being mean. That's literally what she is." I watched his expression closely, but besides that initial frown, he didn't respond. "She and her tribe have lived in Red Rock for hundreds of years."

  "Oh, yeah? She's that old?"

  "Lucy is around nine hundred."

  That made him blink, at least. "All right."

  I'd decided that introducing him to Peony would be less jarring than, say, showing him the banshees or introducing him to Myla, who I'd already seen pacing us through the trees. She was staying out of sight for now, but I had no doubt that if Sam went bonkers on me she would be right there to help. Her presence made me feel better.

  Also, I didn't know how to explain Red Rock to Sam without just showing him. Who would believe any of this, if they didn't see it for themselves?

  He and I were still staring each other down when I heard Lopey's voice from off to my right. Lopey was Peony's husband, or partner, or whatever ogres called them. "You all right there, Indigo?"

  Sam turned that way.

  Lopey emerged from the trees off the path, almost as if he had appeared out of thin air. He was shorter than me, and squat, wearing the denim coveralls he always wore with one strap undone. His homemade boots were wide and heavy, like cinder blocks. His floppy dark hair was covering one eye, making him look almost like a kid, except for the long beard. He scratched at it now, taking in Sam and then me. He jerked his head toward Sam. "Who's that?"

  I gave him a vaguely reassuring smile, which he probably couldn't see in the dark. "Lopey, I'd like you to meet my friend Sam."

  "He a particular?" That was the ogres' word for the supernatural beings in the forest. I'd heard Peony use it a few times.

  "No, he's from town. Sam, this is Lopey."

  Sam was standing very still, taking in the odd-looking little ogre. He was at least twice as tall as Lopey, and lean-looking next to the ogre's wide body. Slowly, he held out a hand, and Lopey shook it. "Nice to meetya. Ya'll coming in to see Peony?"

  "Is she busy?" I asked.

  "Nah. Bakin' somethin'." Lopey turned and disappeared back into the forest. I motioned for Sam and followed.

  "What the hell...?" Sam asked, his voice low.

  We stepped into the clearing that held the ogres' homes just as the dark deepened into night. I started to pull up a ball of fire for us to see, but then Lopey walked to the spot beside the door to light a torch. It flared, showing the ring of houses that made up their little colony. Five small homes, each with their front door open to let in the chill night air. Smoke drifted out of four chimneys. I noticed that Springer's home was dark.

  Springer was one of the older ogres. He'd lost his wife to the Navarro years ago, according to Peony's story, and he had been content to remain alone ever since. He was quite the character, acting as both leader and comic relief for the ogres. He always said that he was too mean to die, everyone else said all the children running around kept him young. I wondered if he was OK, but didn't ask. The ogres were kind enough, welcoming enough, but they still preferred to keep to themselves a little. I was probably pushing their hospitality by bringing Sam here.

  Peony was dressed somewhat like her husband. She was pulling a loaf of steaming bread from the wood-powered oven, and she stood up when we came in. She smiled when she saw me, but then she spotted Sam and her smile faltered a little.

  It wasn't that the ogres didn't see people - in the summer time, half a million visitors traipsed through Red Rock - it was just that her general isolation made her nervous. I sometimes got the impression that she would be perfectly happy to limit her socializing to her family and us witches. "Hello, Indigo," she said, coming over and reaching up for a hug. She was roughly the size of a chubby ten year old, but her eyes showed her true age. Right now they were on Sam.

  I hugged her back. "Peony, this is my friend Sam. I'd like you to meet him."

  He started to bend down, like he was talking to a child, but then he stayed where he was, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. His voice, when he spoke, was hesitant, and he glanced at me before saying, "Nice to meet you. You folks are...ogres?"

  Peony grinned, and Lopey, picking at the fresh bread, looked around. "We are. You ever heard of an ogre?" she asked, fiddling with one of her pigtails.

  "I have," Sam said. "I just thought..." He let his voice trail off.

  "That we were big old ugly things? Like the trolls?" Lopey said. His chuckle became a laugh.

  "Hey!" I protested. "Trolls are cute...when they're babies."

  Lopey was too busy laughing to answer, and Peony just grunted and kept her eyes on Sam. "Well, at least he's good-looking, not like that other one you were running with the other night."

  My jaw dropped. I stared at her and put my hands on my hips. "Peony!"

  She glanced my way and shrugged, then went back to checking out Sam. "That one was a real piece of work, crying about being tired and expecting poor Indigo here to carry him out of the woods, practically." She shook her head. "That man was a mess."

  Sam grinned and looked at me. I could tell he had a million questions but he didn't ask any of them.

  "It was Tom Turner," I told him. "I had to save his butt when he fell in the river."

  Sam nodded. He didn't say anything, but he didn't look like he believed me, either.

  "You need to make him go home, by the way," I said.

  "I can't tell him what to do. Free country and all that."

  I reconsidered protecting him from the banshees. They'd find him tasty.

  "Besides," Sam said, "I wouldn't want to break up your friendship."

  Peony was looking from me to Sam, confusion in her eyes. "What?"

  "Nothing," I said to her. "He's being an ass."

  Peony sniffed. "Well, I don't know abou
t that, but do y'all want some fresh bread?"

  "Yes, ma'am," Sam said. "It smelled good before I even got in the house."

  Peony grinned, and I swear I saw her face go pink. "Lopey, cut these folks some -. Lopey!"

  Lopey had half the loaf gone and he was still chewing. "What?"

  I rolled my eyes, pretty sure that this was the worst first date ever.

  Wait...was this a date?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Peony whacked Lopey on the shoulder with a dishtowel. He squawked and ran away, disappearing through the front door. Sam and I were laughing at the two of them when Myla trotted into the door behind us. I felt the pressure of her voice before I saw her.

  Trouble.

  I turned. "What is it, Myla?"

  Town is in trouble. Lucy sent me to find you.

  Uh-oh. "What kind of trouble?" I asked.

  Not sure. Humans lost.

  I didn't know what that meant, and Myla was already turning to go. "Come on," I said to Sam. "Something is going on."

  He was staring at the big wolf, then he turned his head to me. "Did you just...?"

  "Can I explain later? Come on. I've got to go."

  I glanced at Peony and she nodded. Lopey, catching her distracted, had sneaked back inside. He was biting into more bread and paying no attention to any of us.

  I took off out the door, with Sam right behind me. "What's going on?" he asked as I ran into the trees, back toward home.

  "Something is wrong in town," I said over my shoulder. I was barely able to see now, so I was trying to decide whether to freak out the poor guy even more tonight. On the other hand, I didn't want to break my neck. I pulled up the ball of fire and let it flare across the tops of my fingers.

  Behind me, Sam's footsteps disappeared.

  I turned to look at him. "Are you coming?"

  "Yes.... What is that, exactly?" He was staring at my hand.