Bramble Burn

by Autumn Dawn

  The conversation quickly got technical as they discussed possibilities, and Juniper grew a simple table with benches, fetching paper, pencils and enlisting the students to carry up the coffee pot and cups.

  “This is from your coffee beans? It’s delicious,” the lady professor said, savoring her beverage.

  “I love these pencils,” a student remarked, admiring her homegrown writing implement. “You put a whole new spin on growing green.”

  “I could live here,” the girl who’d admired her cocoa tree said wistfully. “It’s like a slice of paradise.”

  “Except for the monsters,” Juniper quipped, but she considered the girl’s words. After all, she had a family moving out of the chestnut tree.

  “This is doable,” the professor said. “We can talk to the University and enlist student volunteers and horticultural enthusiasts. I realize you’re worried about the security of the greenhouse, but we can find sponsors to provide wards, and you did say the wolves help deal with the larger animals.”

  “Yes, but they do it for fun. They’re under no obligation to continue,” Juniper stressed. “Volunteers would have to sign a waiver, and there are other issues.”

  “True, but nothing insurmountable. I’m friends with the manager of the Manito Park greenhouse. I’m sure he’d love to give his opinion on this project.”

  Juniper was feeling upbeat and hopeful that afternoon. She had fascinating projects in her future, and she had a possible new tenant for her tree. She was standing on her balcony, contemplating the best place to grow the greenhouse, when a bellow shook the park. She looked past the ten foot wall of thorns, and swore when she saw the top of a huge, black-furred head. Heart racing, she dashed into the tree and grabbed her staff. “Stay here,” she ordered Gilly, racing to fetch a snorting Twix.

  Gilly ignored her. “I’ll take you up. You can see what you’re dealing with from the air.”

  “You’re hurt,” Juniper protested.

  “Shut up,” Gilly snapped, limping out the door. “There’s nothing wrong with my wings.”

  Juniper shut up and climbed on the pink dragon as another enraged roar made her gut clench. Gilly climbed above the trees and circled, giving her a satellite view of the area.

  “What is that? A bear?” Juniper squinted as the wind dried her eyes and whipped her hair, trying to get a good look. Over four stories tall, the swamp green hide was covered with hard bumps and matted, filthy fur. Long ridged horns pointed down past the jaw and it blinked four sets of beady eyes.

  Five wolves fired on it, trying to drive it away, and the beast stood on hind legs, releasing a cloud of noxious green gas.

  Gilly gagged and fluttered, losing altitude.

  The smell hit Juniper like a blast furnace, curling her nose hairs. She pressed a hand to her nose, fighting the urge to vomit as the stench coated her tongue. Even the werewolves on the ground staggered, struggling to avoid the monster’s swiping paws and snapping jaws. With their senses, the smell had to be unbearable.

  Gilly circled higher, trying to get above the stink.

  “No!” Juniper shouted. “I need to get closer. We need to take that thing down.”

  Gilly flamed in protest, the sulfur adding to the olfactory misery, but she circled closer, staying well out of swiping range.

  Juniper took an automatic deep breath to center herself…and promptly vomited. Dear God, the stench!

  Gilly flamed again, disgusted by the vomit on her scales.

  Helplessly dry heaving, Juniper held on, struggling to focus long enough to find a seed, a root, anything in the blasted park.

  A werewolf fell, crushed by a giant paw. No! Juniper choked with horror and acted instinctively, launching her staff like a spear at the monster’s head. She missed, and the staff bounced off its neck, started to slide off the green fur, and burst into amber flame. It stuck, rooted, and green shoots slid from a slender stalk and snaked over the bear.

  The bear roared and swatted at the thing, snarling when it wouldn’t dislodge.

  The werewolves took advantage and charged, scaling the beast, swarming up the sticky, nasty fur to stab and hack at the thick hide, shooting at the vulnerable bits.

  Gilly landed, snarling when Juniper hopped off and promptly dry heaved. She grabbed Juniper’s shoulders, but Juniper waved her off. “No! Let me.” She crouched and placed her palms on the dirt, hands curling in the grit. She had to keep the staff from becoming a tree. It wasn’t in a proper anchor spot and it was feeding on a huge beast, with wolf blood on the soil. That was a recipe for a carnivorous tree even she would have a hard time rooting out.

  Her head swam. The stink tore at her, making breathing a misery, but she forced her will on the staff, wrestling with it. It was like wrestling herself, and she wasn’t at her best, while it fed on the bear, rooting deeper. Hauling in a harsh breath, she sank her will deep and grabbed Bramble’s power. A vast river of magic perked up, thrilled to play. Surging through the ground, it gleefully grabbed the staff, twisting it with wrenching force, forcing it into compost, making the beast decompose to harmless mulch.

  Juniper panted with distress, rippling with the strain of guiding the stream to its natural flow. Down, down. No! Go down. Sweat ran down her back, dripped in her eyes, blinding and burning. Inch by inch, she smothered the power and capped it, leaving it dormant. Shaking, she stood to wipe her eyes…and saw the second bear attack.

  Gilly snatched her shoulders and took off for the Iron Oak, arrowing toward the door. Breaking at the last minute, she thrust Juniper through the door with her human hands and dragged her to the sink, turning on the tap. “Rinse your eyes so you can see. We aren’t done.”

  Juniper obeyed, rinsing her mouth, wishing she could flush her nose, too. Gilly thrust a paper towel into her hands and pushed her aside, rinsing her face. She had to be hurting by now, but she stayed focused.

  Juniper leaned on the kitchen island and threw her senses out to the thorn hedge. She dare not use the Bramble directly, but thorns were another matter. Her target was moving swiftly, but not far. Using vibration as a guide and praying the wolves stayed out of the way, she set the thorns to subdue the largest vibration. The thorns tore and shredded, biting into muscle, bleeding it out. Thankfully, it wasn’t armored like the pigs, and there were too many thorns for the bear to resist. After a violent struggle, the beast shuddered and stilled.

  Juniper waited to make sure it wasn’t moving, and disconnected with a groan. Muscles shaking, she braced against the counter before sinking to the floor. Back to the island, she sat and let her jellied muscles rest.

  Strangely, her bracelet hadn’t vibrated once. Maybe she was getting stronger. It could be that growing all those trees worked like weight lifting, raising her load tolerance.

  Gilly came in from scouting a few moments later. “The thing is dead, and so is one of the werewolves. Two others are badly hurt, but F&R is on the scene.” She pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hey. She’s fine. Tired and stinky, but fine. We’re going to get cleaned up here, so we’ll talk later. Thanks. Bye.” She looked at Juniper. “That was your boyfriend. I told him I’d check on the neighbors, who lit out, by the way. No worries.” She held a hand out to Juniper. “Come on, you stink.”

  “Thanks,” Juniper muttered, climbing to her feet.

  “What was with the vomit?” Gilly demanded, wrinkling her nose. “That was disgusting, sis.”

  Juniper shook her head. She hated puking. “Tell me about it.” They went to their separate showers, grateful the tree filtered most of the stench. There was nothing quite as horrible as bear skunk perfume to ruin a day.

  Chapter 10

  “Shut up and quit whining. I want to make sure you didn’t tear anything,” Juniper snapped, tired of her sister’s protests. They were at the hospital, and Gilly was griping that she didn’t need a doctor, even though she was clearly in pain.

  F&R ordered them to evacuate while they dealt with the toxically smelly corpse, and guys in hazmat suit
s torched it. At first it smoldered, and then the body liquefied and exploded in a stink bomb so powerful it burned human noses a mile away. Shifters and dragons were fleeing the city and the outbound roads were clogged with traffic. The ER was packed with wheezing asthmatics, and the news channels were filming it from the air, since no one wanted to get close. Word was they were bringing in an elf team for magical containment.

  Juniper sighed. If they had waited a day, she could have composted it.

  She’d already talked to her grandfather, Kjetil and Grigori while they waited for the doctor, and she’d paced outside the waiting room, gaining dirty looks from those who blamed her for stinking up the city. Despite her shower, she still smelled like skunk and she was wiped out. She bought a couple of sandwiches from the hospital coffee shop and brought one to Gilly, solving at least one problem.

  She took one bite and her phone vibrated. It was her mother. “She has spies. She has to,” she muttered, ignoring it to devour her meal. She was starving.

  “She’ll keep calling, and then she’ll make Dad call,” Gilly warned. “Better answer it.” She shifted uncomfortably, a muscle ticking in her jaw.

  Juniper shot her a worried look and took the call and her sandwich out to the hall. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Juni! I heard there was an explosion at your park. Are you all right?”

  An explosion? So the rumor mill wasn’t that accurate. “Yeah. We’re fine. Gilly’s getting checked out. She’s uncomfortable, so I thought we should look at it. We’re fine.” Repetition was good when dealing with an anxious mom.

  “Are you eating?” her mom asked disapprovingly.

  “Yesh.” Juniper chewed the bland sub, determined to fill the yawning pit in her belly. It needed hot peppers and mustard, but that wasn’t slowing her down. “Starvin’.”

  “What happened?”

  Juniper sighed. “Stinky monster. We took care of the first one, composted it. F&R torched the second one; it was like roasting a skunk. Reeks for a couple of blocks.” Or twenty or thirty.

  “I don’t like you living there.”

  “I know.”

  “We’ll talk about this when we get there. Gilly said you were adding a room?”

  “Um…you might want to rent a hotel room until the stink fades. It’s not bad inside the tree, but it doesn’t smell good.”

  There was a short silence. “We’re definitely going to talk about this. Do you need money for a hotel room?”

  “What? I don’t need you to pay my bills, Mom! Thanks anyway. I’ve got it covered,” she said grudgingly. She almost added that she wasn’t Justin, but bit it back in time. She hadn’t thought about where they’d stay, but she’d add it to the list. She didn’t know when the city would lift the quarantine.

  “Hey. How are you?”

  Juniper whipped around to see Kjetil at her back. “Oh, hey. I’ve got to go, Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She put away her phone. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

  “Visiting friends,” he said, glancing upstairs. He looked tired.

  She slumped with guilt. “I’m sorry. I should go see them, but Gilly…”

  “Not your fault, and you’re doing what you need to.” He glanced at the waiting room. “It looks like they’re calling her in.”

  “Oh! I’ve got to go with her,” she began, but she didn’t want to leave him when he looked like this.

  “You’re welcome to stay at my place tonight,” he offered, walking her into the waiting room. “Call me when you get done and let me know. I’ll be here.”

  “You’re sleeping at the hot wolf’s tonight?” Gilly prodded as they followed the nurse. “Cool.”

  “I’m not sure yet,” Juniper said repressively. “One thing at a time.”

  “Thanks for letting us stay,” Juniper said as Kjetil made up the couch in his apartment. It was a nice place, with dark hardwood floors and leather furniture. Gilly was snacking in the kitchen, and Juniper felt awkward talking to their host alone. “I should have known every hotel outside the city would be booked.”

  He laughed. “Yeah. The guys tell me the elves are making progress, but the neighborhood is going to reek for a while. I’m glad I could help.” He stopped fussing with blankets and looked at her. “You scared me today. I need to see you safe.”

  It was hard to meet his gaze. “About your wolves…I don’t want them in the park anymore. I don’t want anyone hurt.” She closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  He wrapped her in his arms. “Hey, don’t. We all have choices. It wasn’t your fault. In fact, F&R is on record saying that we would have lost more lives if we didn’t have you as a first line of defense.” He sat on the couch, pulling her into his lap against her protests. “Hush. You need it, and God knows I could use a cuddle.”

  She wasn’t sure about that. She hadn’t been in someone’s lap since she was five, and he didn’t smell anything like her grandpa. Heat lapped at her, making her shiver.

  He murmured soothingly and nuzzled her temple. “You have to remember that the Bramble’s been spawning monsters since way before you bought it. It doesn’t care whose name is on the deed.” He laughed without humor. “I have to admit I was one of the biggest opponents to allowing an unknown young woman buy it. I didn’t care who your granddaddy was; you were going to get killed.”

  She huffed in protest, heart racing from their proximity. “What do you think now?”

  He kissed her lightly, teasingly. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “I think you’re an amazing woman who could use all the help you can get. You live dangerously, baby.”

  “Amazing?” she asked in disbelief, even as she melted. He made her sound like someone special, a rock star.

  “Amazing, beautiful, brave…” His kiss was hotter, making her sizzle like bacon on a hot skillet. His hand fisted in her hair, drawing her closer…

  “So will you two be sharing the couch or the bedroom?”

  Juniper jerked away and stared at her sister, horrified to be caught making out.

  “Oh, relax! I’m not going to tell Daddy.” She looked earnestly at Kjetil. “I can be bribed. I’ll get you a list. In fact, Houdini Falls is playing at the Dome this weekend…”

  “Gilly,” Juniper warned, leaping out of his lap. At least, she tried, but he wasn’t keen on letting go.

  Gilly wagged a piece of jerky at her. “Hush. I’m trying to negotiate with my future brother-in-law.”

  “We’re not getting married! Will you let go?” she demanded, gaining her feet after a disconcerting kiss. She smoothed her hair anxiously.

  Kjetil put his arm on the back of the couch and studied Gilly playfully. “That depends. I’ll need inside information. What kind of gifts does she like?”

  Gilly sauntered over and carefully sat in a recliner to spare her ribs. She waved Juniper away. “Go on. Negotiating here.”

  Juniper glowered. “Don’t make me hurt you, brat.”

  Gilly smirked. “He’ll protect me. Trust me, anyone willing to kiss you when you reek of skunk is going to stick around.”

  Horrified, Juniper shot a look at Kjetil. Did she stink?

  He shrugged. “It was worth it.”

  Argh! “I’m going to shower,” she stalked off, hot with embarrassment.

  “You girls get the bedroom,” he called. “Use one of my t-shirts to sleep in. I’ll arrange for clothes tomorrow.” When she turned back to protest, he added wickedly, “Trust me, baby. You’ll want to burn those.”

  The blush made her turn her back. No woman wanted to smell, especially not around a man as hot as Kjetil.

  “He’s a sweetie,” Gilly said when she crawled into the queen sized bed later. “You’re not going to snore, are you?”

  “You’re not going to kick, are you?” Juniper retorted, miffed. The sheets were fresh, but the pillow smelled faintly of Kjetil. Disturbed, she fluffed it, trying to get comfortable. She was exhausted, but the day had been too weird to simply drop off. She tugged the covers. “Quit pulling u
p the blanket. My feet are cold.”

  Gilly tugged back, taking most of it. Tug of war with a dragon was a losing proposition. “Scoot closer if you’re cold. My feet are hot. Internal flame, here.

  “Hey, aren’t the heroes always supposed to have giant beds? Maybe yours likes to snuggle.” She snickered.

  “Shut up, Gilly.”

  “Do you think he gets hot feet?”

  “Go to sleep.”

  “What else is hot…ouch! All right, already. No need to kick me.”

  Juniper growled and closed her eyes. Gilly’s words rang in her ears, raising images of Kjetil’s hotness. She’d felt his chest, and it was unbelievably hard. No doubt it was chiseled, too.

  A spike of adrenaline made her eyes pop open. She couldn’t spend all night dreaming of him. With a groan, she buried her head under the pillow and recited her bones in Latin, starting with her flanges and working up to her cranium, telling them to relax. Then she started on her muscles, forcing out all the tension. She had to sleep, had to escape for a few hours. Tomorrow was going to be a better day.

  The scent of coffee coaxed her awake. She sniffed, smelling bacon, too. With a yawn, she pulled on her pants, leaving Kjetil’s giant t-shirt on. Gilly was already gone, so she padded barefoot to the kitchen, raking her messy hair out of her face. If Kjetil was scared of her morning self, now was a good time to know.

  “Good morning, Juni,” her mother said.

  Juniper stopped dead, blinking as her mother got up from the kitchen table and gave her a hug. Pre-caffeine, she couldn’t parse why her mom would be here.

  “Are you feeling well? You look pale,” her mother fretted. “Maybe you should eat.” She fixed a plate while Indris rose and kissed her brow.

  “Daughter,” he said gravely, with a hint of warning. “It’s a good thing Kjetil told us where you were staying. We were worried.”

  Gilly waved. “Hey, Jun. Did you know you talk in your sleep? You kept going on about rabbits. You were going to stab them with a carrot.”