by Candace Colt
Ryan kissed her shoulder. "Where are you?"
His presence was like morning sunshine. At least he was very real and no dream.
"I’m not sure what to do," she said as she stood.
Ryan walked to her side, held her tight and gave her a loving deep kiss. Her giggle vibrated against his tongue.
"I meant about my future," she squeaked around his lips.
"I know," he said as he kissed her again, and again.
In a way, she was glad nothing came through. She could go on being plain old Jess Callahan with a MIA grandmother. And a hot man’s arms around her.
Hot? Jess pressed against his shoulders. "You smell that?"
"What?" He ran his finger over her chin and her lips.
A thrum coursed her body, but quickly halted. "Something’s burning."
"I’m flattered," he said.
"No. Something really is burning." She poked a stick into the fire pit. Cold.
Was someone burning leaves? As dry as it had been, surely no one was that stupid.
Stronger, the odor scorched her nose. Then the vision.
A building consumed by a scorching fire. Windows exploded.
"It’s our house." Her neck pulse galloped. How fast could fire trucks get here?
She broke away from Ryan and ran, slipping on flagstones and cursing her useless leather sandals. Bounding up the stairs, she burst through the rickety door, throwing it off its hinges.
Everything was fine.
With a sheepish grin, she went out to the porch where Ryan stood watching her; a woman who may have had a psychotic breakdown.
A stabbing pain shot through her temples.
Another vision.
Smoke thick as wool. Woods on fire. Crackling tinder. But where?
Her legs gave way. She dropped to her knees, engulfed in a burning firestorm.
"I can’t breathe. Smoke. Everywhere."
"There’s no smoke. What’s happening to you?"
The animals. Screeching and howling. Panic. Fear. Trapped.
"It’s the Sanctuary. Ryan, the fire is there."
Bewildered, he shook his head. "The Sanctuary is thirty miles away."
Never a vision so powerful or so real. Not a hallucination. "Call somebody," she said.
"I’ll prove it. I’ll call Katya Dostoyevna. I’m sure everything’s fine." He tapped in the number to the Sanctuary supervisor. Voicemail.
"It’s not fine. I can see it. Disaster. Death. They’ll all die." Tears ran down her cheeks.
"I need to get you to a doctor."
Her throat burned as she wheezed. "Not me. Save the animals."
"Believe her, Ryan."
Clear, distinct and loud, the voice belonged to Echo Stargazer.
"Nana? Help. Us. Please." Jess choked out the words.
Ryan looked around. "Where is she?"
"Do what I say. Go out there."
He turned his head, looking for Echo. "By the time I drive there—"
"Not drive, you fool. Fly."
"Tell me this isn’t real," he said.
Jess struggled to stand. "It’s real. You must go. I’ll follow in the car." She turned away from him.
By some miracle, and Jess’s stubborn perseverance, the 9-1-1 dispatcher agreed to route emergency units to the Sanctuary.
When she turned around, Ryan was gone.
"Thank you, Nana," she whispered.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ryan circled the main building at the Sanctuary, darting through the rising smoke, looking for a safe place to land. Though only two fire vehicles had arrived, he couldn’t risk being seen.
A few yards away from the access road, he landed in a recessed area in the bushes. Once he fully changed to human, he sat knees drawn to his forehead. Until the shifting effects wore off, he’d be no use.
How had he doubted, even for a minute, Jess’s vision? While in flight, he’d witnessed the raging fire climbing the ridge as it approached the main buildings. He needed to tell someone.
He rose and stretched his arms, then made his way to a volunteer firefighter assembly point. He recognized them from Nocturne Falls. They’d believe his story about flying over the approaching fire.
As he explained what he’d seen, someone handed him goggles and pointed to a team wrestling a firehose. Ryan led them along a path toward the ridge.
Embers were floating in the air around them. If Jess was on her way, as he was sure she was, she better stay out of the way. This monster was gaining strength and moving fast.
*~*
Jess’s forty-minute drive was nerve-wracking. All the while, an HD movie played in her head nearly blinding her. Flames lapped the Sanctuary perimeter. Pine trees burned like torches. Even her steering wheel burned like hot lava beneath her fingers.
Breathing became harder.
At the gate, just as in her visions, she watched fire plumes rise from the central compound.
Three fire trucks and a water tanker had arrived. Firefighters scrambled to run hoses.
But she couldn’t see Ryan anywhere. With a falcon’s speed, he had to be here.
She parked then raced toward the main building, only to be blocked by a state highway officer.
"Let me go in. I have to help." And find Ryan.
The patrolman insisted that she couldn’t go closer. She stepped a few yards away and out of his eyesight.
Then she was overcome with another vision. A small nursery held the magical animals away from the public, hidden in the deep woods.
All the efforts were directed to the main building and beyond. There were no crews headed toward these woods. Smoke was growing thick; the radiating heat was everywhere.
With the bustle around her, Jess found the right moment to run.
Following a narrow dirt path through the woods, she stopped three times to gag. Finding the strength, she pressed branches away from her until she came to a small clearing.
A few yards ahead, black smoke poured from a building. The nursery.
Her stomach wrenched. Anything inside might already be dead.
If she could get close, she might be able to see inside.
Before she could move, a wind gust rolled a dark cloud in her direction.
Retching again, she dropped to her knees. Any closer and she might die herself.
But there were living creatures inside. And though they were magical babies, they were helpless.
With one more gulp of air to fill her lungs, she crawled forward, feeling more than seeing her way to the building.
Single minded, she left fear behind.
Heat singed the hair on her bare arms. She blinked hard to clear her eyes and reached the door just as Katya came around the corner.
"Jess? Thank goodness it’s you. Help me. This door. It’s stuck."
Together, they threw their combined weight against the steel door as though they had any chance to open it.
She put her hand on Katya’s shoulder. "Window?"
Katya led the way around the building and pointed to a small, high window just beyond her fingertips.
Jess found a brick and threw it through the glass, then motioned for a boost.
With a push from Katya, Jess scrabbled for a foothold and ran her hand along the sill until she found the latch. After sliding the frame open, she pulled herself up and through. Her feet steadied on a workbench, she hopped to the floor, then unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
The room lit only by smoke filtered sunlight, the women went cage to cage. Was each one occupied? Where to start? The hot air nearly strangled her.
"Take these," Katya said.
A cage in each hand, Jess carried them far from the building. Katya followed with three smaller cages that she sat next to them.
No time to check which ones were alive or dead. They raced inside, the room filling with a dense, choking blanket.
Katya’s emergency li
ght shined an eerie glow on the terrified animals crouched in their cages. Some were leaning against others separated only by thin metal rungs, their eyes filled with panic.
Sympathy could come later. Now they had work to do. By Jess’s count, there were still at least ten little creatures.
A long, frightening rip overhead caused both women to cower. "Ceiling," Katya said. "Move fast."
With two cages each, they raced to the outdoor holding area.
"How many more?" Jess asked.
Katya made a quick count. "Two."
"Stay here. I’ll get them."
Inside the burning building, the ceiling had partially collapsed. Was she too late?
Just past the threshold, glowing beams blocked her. She willed a vision, praying this one didn’t show dead animals.
The last two cages were on her right.
Her ankle turned as she kicked rubble aside. Just a few more steps. One more step.
Let them be alive.
The wire cages were hot to the touch. How could anything survive?
Despite the heat, she tucked one under each arm. To reassure the animals, and herself, she kept talking and fought her way to the door.
Though it scorched her throat, she forced herself to inhale desperate for any sliver of air.
Then she ran.
In the clearing, she and Katya loaded cages as fast as they could into a van.
Once the truck was moving, Jess sunk into the passenger seat and wiped her arm over her eyes.
Through the thinning haze, they approached the triage area crowded with fire and rescue vehicles. After they had parked, she jumped out and gulped fresh air. Her nausea and dizziness eased.
Katya tended the animals then joined Jess. "They made it. They look like deer in the headlights, but they’ll be okay. And you?"
Jess ran an internal scan. Throat raw. Eyes stinging. Blood running down her arm. White capris ruined. Urge to vomit waning. She was fine.
Jess hugged Katya. "We made it, didn’t we?"
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jess poured water over her face and eyes. Her head still tipped to the side; she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stood and faced a man smeared with soot and dirt, dressed in filthy clothes and pitch black sneakers.
More soothing than water, gratitude washed over her. Ryan.
"I’m not sure who looks worse." His broad smile brightened his smudged face.
Her arms were around him before he could say another word. He smelled of burnt wood and ash, but no worse than she did. "You look amazing."
She hissed in pain as he brushed her arm. She’d forgotten the glass cut.
"Crap. You’re bleeding." He waited by the EMT truck while someone cleaned and bandaged Jess’s wound.
Communication radios squawked. Another water truck crunched along the gravel road. Someone yelled orders to a group of firefighters.
Fire’s stench everywhere.
She closed her eyes, waiting for another vision. This one came quickly.
In it, she floated above the trees.
White wisps circled over the hillside and around the main building.
No black smoke or glowing hotspots.
She lingered in her vision to be satisfied that what she saw was real and not her conjured imagination.
"It’s under control," she said.
"What is?" Ryan squatted on the ground beside her.
"The fire. It’s contained. They just don’t realize it yet. And it’s going to rain," she said. "Soon."
He scanned the cloudless sky.
She dug into her pocket for the ring and put it on. "Trust me," she said.
They leaned against her car while the fire crews reloaded equipment. The chief explained that one small contingency would stay behind to watch for any flare-ups, but they had a solid perimeter and firewall.
The Sanctuary was secured and except for the nursery which was a total loss, no damage that couldn’t be cleaned up or repaired.
"Can I hitch a ride?"
Somehow Ryan’s question struck her as insanely funny. A man who had shifted into the fastest bird on earth, and a first responder to a forest fire, needed a ride home?
"Can’t you just wing it?"
He answered with an annoyed glare.
Jess nudged the car into the line winding down the access road. At the Interstate junction, most vehicles exited out of her way, and she picked up speed.
"You did a really foolish thing going into that building. You could have been hurt. Or died," he said.
"And we could have lost the animals."
"Still, a huge risk."
"Some things are worth the risk, Ryan."
Between adrenaline and sheer impulse, she’d pushed through broken glass and fire, uncertain what she’d find. Her possible death had only nipped the corners of what she had been compelled to do. Save lives.
She rolled the car to a gentle stop in the Carpe Diem driveway behind her grandmother’s truck, still right where Echo had left it.
If Nana were here, little girl Jess would run inside and tell her all about her great adventure.
How she longed to hear Nana’s tinkling bracelets as her grandmother smoothed her hair, and fussed about how proud she was.
And Nana would brew tea.
A gentle hand covered hers on the steering wheel.
"Car’s still running," Ryan said.
She switched off the ignition. "What I did was crazy, wasn’t it?"
"That nursery is hidden. The firefighters wouldn’t have gotten there in time. Yes, you were crazy. A brave fool."
It had all moved so fast, too fast even to think.
Images replayed. Climbing through the window. Looking around the smoky room. The inferno. Carrying animals out, cage-by-cage.
His eyes were still fixed on her. His tender, loving, dark eyes.
"What now?" He asked.
"I’m filthy and need a bath."
"I mean about us."
Her hands grabbed the steering wheel again, nails pressed into her palms, the only way she could stop shaking. Staring forward, she couldn’t bring herself to answer.
She knew what he meant.
The passenger door opened and shut. In her rearview mirror, she saw him walking toward his car parked on the street. No.
She threw open her door and raced down the driveway, breaking through a tourist family with children dressed as goblins.
One child called to his mother. "Look at that lady. She looks just like the guy over there. They’re zombies. Cool."
Ryan stood beside his car, flashing a bright smile across a sooty face. Her heart unlocked as she ran to him. As she enveloped her arms around him, the words that wouldn’t come earlier released in a flood.
"Don’t leave like this. In the car, I couldn’t think straight. My words froze. I still saw those poor animals. And you’re right. I was a fool."
She rested her forehead against his chest. Though he still smelled of smoke, his embrace spread healing light through her.
"I’m curious. What happens if zombies kiss?" He asked.
"Huh?"
Ryan made a quick head nod toward the boy who was still watching them. "Anything we can do to promote Nocturne Falls, right?"
"Ah. My thoughts exactly."
"That your only thought?"
His lips grazed hers in a gentle, in-public kiss, then released her.
"Not so fast, mister." Jess clasped her hands around his neck and pressed her lips into his. Their growing need was no match for the taste of smoke and ash.
"Eeeewe. They’re kiiissssing. Yuck. They don’t do that on TV," the zombie spotting kid said.
As rain began to fall, they broke apart but stayed in their embrace. The child’s mother grabbed the boy’s hand and mouthed ‘sorry’ as they rushed away.
"I’m not sorry, are you?" Ryan asked.
"Nope. But I was serious about a hot bath
," she said.
"I suspect showering together is out."
"For now." But not forever.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A dinner date with Jess. Their second official date.
Ryan realized they had a lot to straighten out, but tonight, he hoped they might do a little more than talk.
He parked his truck in between the cars in his mother’s driveway. Another gadfly party.
Before he could reach his door, Solange approached marching stiff as a general.
"We need you inside," she said.
Now what? "Who’s we?"
"Don’t pretend with me."
He knew whose cars those were, but facing her shifter squadron was the last thing he needed.
"I don’t have time. I’ve been busy, or haven’t you heard? A fire nearly destroyed the Sanctuary," he said.
Typical Solange Ford prioritizing social niceties over tragedy.
"You have time. Come with me."
He could turn away, and suffer endless nagging, or get this behind him.
Her feathers were riled to let him inside her house looking like a rain-soaked ‘zombie’.
Around a massive Louie the fifteenth dining table, ten women, each about Solange’s age, sat with their sour faces focused on him.
Exhaustion had spilled the last drop of give-a-damn out of him. He’d play this to the hilt.
He bowed. "Ladies, my sincere apology for my appearance."
Solange took her place at the head. "No need for impudence."
To the person, no one broke her stare. Had they ever seen a grimy man before?
This was a hopping mad gathering that could become a shift-con from hell.
His mother’s crimson fingernails disappeared into her fists. He could almost hear her saying, ‘all the better to claw you with.’
"Are you aware that you broke a cardinal rule?" Solange asked.
No kidding. He shifted before nightfall. Imagine the scandal.
"Yes."
"Not only could you be banished from Nocturne Falls; this could hurt us all," she said.
Banished? So be it. If Jess was with him, he could live anywhere.