by Mac Flynn
A grin slid onto the long snout and stayed there even as the thing shed its fur and fangs for the smooth pink skin of a human. A human named Orion. A mostly naked human named Orion. He walked over to the truck and shut off the engine, then returned to stand before me.
"I tried to tell you the truth," he scolded me.
"Don't you think showing me would've been a little more effective?" I scolded him.
He tilted his head to one side and studied me with that crooked grin of his. "You're taking this pretty well for someone who just helped a werewolf drop a were-bear."
I nodded at the prone figure of Tom. He was unconscious, but still transformed. "That's a were-bear?"
"More or less, but don't let his ugly side make you think they're all like that," Orion commented. He stooped and rolled Tom onto his back. A frown slid onto Orion's lips as he studied the were-thing. "Looks like he's sick, too. I guess that explains why he attacked us."
"Mind explaining your ramblings?" I spoke up.
He stood and shook his head. "Actually, I would. At least right now." I opened his mouth, but he held up his hand and jerked his head towards Tom. "You really want me to explain right now and risk this guy waking up while we're standing here?"
I shut my jaws and frowned. "No, but there'd better be an explanation later."
"Cross my heart and hope to drink silver," he promised.
I nodded my head at the still body. "So what do we do with him?"
Orion pulled out a cell phone. "We don't do anything. The cops can deal with him. They're the only ones with the serum." He dialed a number and someone picked up the other line. "Hey, it's Orion. We need someone out here with some serum. Yeah, I know, another one. This one's Tom. He's had a good beating so I don't think you'll have trouble with him. We're just a block down from city hall towards my house. Yeah, we'll wait, just hurry." He hung up the phone and glanced down at our foe. "Damn it. . ." I heard him mutter.
"So if we're going to be staying here a while freezing our assets off, mind explaining what happened here?" I spoke up. I swept my eyes over the town around us. "Or even what's going on everywhere?"
A chill breeze blew past us. Orion wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. "Mind if I borrow your coat during this talk? I left mine in my other wolf suit."
I took off my coat and held it out to him. Orion reached for the coat, but I drew it back and studied him. "First, tell me what I want to know."
His shoulders drooped along with his face. "That's a cruel thing to do to the guy who just saved your life."
I waved the coat just out of his reach. "Tell me, and it's yours."
He sighed and wrapped his arms tighter around himself. "This isn't exactly your normal small town."
I rolled my eyes. "That's not the scoop I'm looking for."
Orion looked out over the snowy white deserted streets and pursed his lips. "This place was settled a couple hundred years ago. The settlers were drawn to the tree, and it didn't take long for them to find out what happens when you take a bite of an apple."
"Werewolves?" I guessed.
He nodded. "And anything else were. Bears, tigers. You name it, someone can be it."
"Even beavers?"
"Yep."
"A kangaroo?"
I managed to get a small laugh out of him. "That hasn't happened yet, but we don't get too many visitors from Australia. Anyway, those settlers benefited from the tree. It's a lot easier to hunt a deer as a werewolf than with a flintlock gun. They agreed to keep quiet about the tree and make sure nothing happened to it. That's where Armel comes in. He's the Sentinel, the protector."
I furrowed my brow. "I heard somebody at the meeting mention some of the people weren't from here, but they were already changed. How'd they do that?"
He chuckled. "Nothing gets past you ever, does it? Those people were transformed through other means. A curse passed down through the family mostly. The tree called them here."
I arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
He scratched the back of his head and sheepishly grinned. "To tell you the truth, nobody has any idea. I mean, some people have guessed, but-" At that moment the sounds of sirens reached our ears. We glanced down the street and watched a pair of police cars speed our way. Orion sighed. "I'm saved."
I half-turned to him and tossed him my coat. "I'm still not done with my questions."
He wrapped the coat around his shoulders and smiled. "I meant from my death of cold."
The police cars stopped on the curb beside us and the familiar four men stepped out. The chief walked over to us while his men took care of Tom. He looked from Orion to me. "Well?"
Orion shrugged. "The usual. Viciously attacked for little-to-no reason and stuck in the transformation after he's knocked out."
The chief pursed his lips. He glanced over his shoulder and watched his men heft the antidote-injected Tom into one of the cars. "This is getting worse."
"Any leads on the origin?" Orion asked him.
The chief returned his attention to us and shook his head. "Not a one. It's like it came from nowhere. We can't even figure out how it's spread." The chief paused and looked Orion up and down. "Maybe you should get some clothes on, son."
Orion grinned. "I'm well aware of that. Does that mean I can file the report tomorrow?"
The chief nodded. "Yeah." He turned to me and held out his hand. "I saw what happened at the meeting. I don't believe we've been formally introduced. My name's William Orso, chief of police for the Blessing area."
I took his hand, but arched an eyebrow. "The Blessing area?"
He nodded. "Yep. That's what the folks here call the area on account of the tree." His men slammed the door shut and he half-turned to them. "I'd better be going. Goodnight." He nodded his head and left with his men.
I turned to Orion. His pink skin was a little pinker than I remembered. I sighed. "We'd better get you-" I winced and clutched my stomach. The pain was back.
Orion was at my side in an instant. He wrapped his arms around me. I tilted my head back and he smiled down at me. "We'd better get you home."
I snorted. "My home's on the other side of a mountain."
He guided me down the street. "Then think of it as a home-away-from-home."
Orion's house was a few more blocks down and farther up the hill. His backyard abutted the wilderness of the forest. It was one of the two-floor old-style box homes with a wrap-around porch. He helped me inside and I was glad for the warmth, and the comfy couch in his living room. The long living room stretched into the kitchen at the back. On the opposite side of those rooms was a closed-off door and the kitchen. The stairs divided the house in nearly two with a hallway down the side with the kitchen and shut room.
I glanced around at the walls. They were filled with framed maps and Wanted posters. The largest map hung over the fireplace that stood in the wall opposite me.
Orion knelt in front of the hearth and kindled a fire. He stood and shrugged off my coat to hang it on a hook in front of the crackling flames. He turned to me and his eyes settled on my tense form. "How's your stomach?"
I rubbed my stomach and winced. "Could be better."
He walked over to stand by my side. "You should get out of those cold clothes."
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, and shook my head. "Not until you tell me what's going on with these guys trying to kill me."
Orion sighed and took a seat beside me. Heat radiated off his warm body and drifted over to me. I took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of him and his house. It smelled like lemons. I shook myself and found him staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.
I frowned. "What?"
He grinned. "Has anyone ever told you you smell sweet?"
I leaned away from him. "No. Now what about this Sickness? Is it what I have or was that apple poisoned by a witch?"
He leaned back and sighed. His eyes watc
hed the fire consume its food. "You don't have the Sickness, at least I hope not."
I arched an eyebrow. "Isn't there a way to tell besides the person acting like a crazed murderer?"
He shook his head. "No. Well, other than the sick person not changing back to their human form when they're knocked out."
"And that stuff the police keep putting into them? What's that made out of?"
"Wolf's Bane mostly, along with a few other herbs like garlic."
I stuck out my tongue. "Sounds like something that would scare away any legend." I winced and grasped my stomach tighter. "Okay, this is getting annoying."
He pursed his lips. "Mind if I ask you something?"
I frowned. "That depends on what it is."
He scooted closer to me. I scooted farther from him. "What did your apple taste like?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Like an apple. Why?"
He shrugged. "Everyone's apple tastes different. I was just curious what yours tasted like."
"'Everyone's apple?'" I repeated.
He smiled and moved closer. The arm of the couch stopped any further escape on my part. "You don't think you're the first one to try one of those, do you?"
It was my turn to shrug. "I guess not, but how special is this tree, anyway?"
Orion smiled and shook his head. "There's no other tree like it in the world."
"Good." I stood and shuffled around the arm of the couch. "Otherwise, the world would be crippled with bad stomach aches."
He followed me and grasped my shoulders. "Let's get you to bed."
I shook my head. "I think I need to worship the porcelain goddess for a while.:
He guided me up the stairs. "Believe me, you'll want the bedroom."
CHAPTER 10