by Kali Harper
“I’m really sorry, Mr. Clark.”
I knew how hard he worked to nurture his plants. In fact, he barely used any magic at all, timing things right up to the point when he picked the fruit. When I’d asked him about his specialty, he told me you can’t make something from nothing. He still used seeds, water, sunlight, and a lot of love to get his produce to where it was.
Seeing him this upset over his garden was understandable. I was just glad he didn’t run into whatever had destroyed his plants.
“If you’d like, I can help you start fresh. You already grew strawberries after the season was through, so I know you can come back from this,” I told him.
“That’s very kind of you,” he said, averting his gaze, “but maybe this is a sign.”
“A sign?”
“I’m thinking of retiring.”
“What?” Kat and I both said at the same time.
Kat was the first to speak. “You can’t retire. I ended up liking fruits and vegetables because of you. Even the broccoli.”
“And I’m sure she isn’t the only one,” I added, rubbing his back. “I promise to help any way I can, even if it means digging in the dirt.”
“It’s fine,” he said with a sigh, gesturing for us to go ahead of him as he held open the door to our town hall, letting it close behind us once Sammy was inside. “Maybe I won’t retire, but I have been thinking of taking a break. I’d like to take Maggie somewhere special if that’s okay with you.”
I couldn’t help smiling then. “She’s a big girl, just keep to our rule of not letting her possess Ginger twenty-four-seven.”
“I’m going to sit by Felix. Check up on me later, okay?” His bushy brows pinched above his blue eyes.
“Always.” I offered him a curt nod and watched him go, glancing around the large room for faces I recognized. Of course, being in a town as small as ours, I knew everyone unless they were passing through. “It seems awful sparse in here,” I told Kat as we both shuffled into the back row of chairs.
“Maybe folks haven’t arrived yet,” she said, sitting beside me as Sammy hopped in my lap. “Ida’s here.”
That didn’t surprise me. As much of a gossip as she was, not to mention a Seer, she was probably the first in line for the impromptu meeting. She sat with her back to us on the far side of the room, her large hat in her lap. Her red hair was shorter than I remembered.
“Looks like she got a haircut,” I said, leaning to the side to see who else had arrived. Mr. Clark took his place beside Felix, the two of them conversing with brows furrowed. “And there goes Mr. Clark, telling Felix about his poor vegetables.”
“I wonder if anyone else knows,” Kat said, pointing to our left at Connie and Harris Morganson who argued over something Connie had stowed away in her purse. “She brought cookies? Aww, I want some. Do you think they’ll share?”
“I doubt it.” I’d only ever been to one town meeting since my awakening, but as far as I understood, Max always provided refreshments. This time, the tables were still propped against the back wall. There were no refreshments. “Have they always brought their own snacks?”
Harris was an enchanter and worked with charms the same way Maggie had done. Connie, on the other hand, could predict the weather if we ever needed her to.
“Yeah. Connie, especially. She doesn’t care for the processed stuff Mr. Clark carries in his shop.”
“I bet Mr. Clark would prefer it if we all ate celery and carrot sticks.” Which didn’t sound half-bad. “Man, I feel terrible for what happened to his garden.”
“At least it was his plants instead of him,” Kat said.
I had to agree. Plants and produce could be replaced, but there was only one Ronan Clark in my book. In fact, he was the highlight of Maggie’s day, so whatever made her happy (and kept her from haunting me for hours on end) made me happy as well.
“You’re quiet, Sammy,” Kat said, looking at the gray tabby. “Keeping to yourself?”
It was a little uncharacteristic of him, but if I knew Sam (which I did), he was too busy sensing other magic in the room to do much else.
Shaking himself out of a trance, Sammy said, “The other familiars haven’t sensed anything.” The other familiars being Harris’ cockatiel and Felix’s gecko.
“You can talk to them mind-to-mind?” I asked. He’d never mentioned it before.
“It’s not exactly talking. More like a vibe, really. They’re as unnerved as I am, likely because they’ve picked up on me.” As he spoke, Connie, Harris, and Felix looked in our direction.
“Well, now they know something’s up,” I said.
“As they should.,” Kat said with a nod. “Where is Max anyway? Shouldn’t he address the town?”
I hadn’t seen Max since he left Kat’s shop, which probably meant he was still gathering everyone else in town. Aside from the Morgansons, Mr. Clark, Felix, and Lance’s mom, there were maybe two dozen people gathered in our town hall.
Dillon, one of the teenagers from yesterday, sat in a corner. He stared at his shoes which he’d colored with permanent marker.
“Strange,” I said, watching him as he took out a pen to draw designs on the bottom of his sneaker.
“What is?” Kat leaned forward to see what I was looking at. “Dillon’s coloring his shoe. Big deal.”
“No, he’s alone.” I’d never seen him without one of his buddies, including Matt and Toby Henderson.
“The other kids haven’t arrived yet,” she said.
“Or they’re being teens and decided they have better things to do,” Sammy added, not bothering to look in Dillon’s direction.
Checking our surroundings again, I spotted Dillon’s parents toward the front. I didn’t know much about them, but according to Kat, they were the quiet sort. It was kind of funny considering how loud and obnoxious Dillon usually was.
“I’m going to check on Ida,” I said, gently placing Sammy on the floor before standing from my chair.
“I’ll go talk with the other familiars,” Sammy purred, already heading in Connie and Harris’ direction.
“And I’ll just… stay here.” Kat forced a smile, then waved me away as she pulled out a piece of reading material from her purse. I didn’t have to check the binding to know it had something to do with shifters as that’s exactly what she was researching before we left.
Ida’s face lit up as soon as she spotted me and she patted the seat beside hers once I rounded the corner. “It’s about time I saw a friendly face. Have you come to gossip?”
I forced a smile, then sat beside her once she removed a bottle of water from under the chair. “Not today. I was actually wondering if you’d seen Lance.”
“Not since yesterday,” she said, not sounding as worried about him as I would’ve liked. Did no one else in this town care if he went missing?
Get a grip, Astrid. Ida was obviously used to his long hours.
“Have you spoken to him?” I asked, chewing my bottom lip as I did my best to meet her gaze. Ida’s ability to sniff out a lie was unmatched. The last thing I needed now was for her to butt into my personal life, especially the part involving her son.
“Oh, honey, is this about your date?” Of course he told his own mother about it! “You’ll get used to it,” she said before I could think of a way to change the subject. “You’ll be in the middle of dinner, then poof, off he goes to save the world.” She made a flippant gesture with her hand.
“And it doesn’t bother you?”
“It used to, but he always comes home.” She turned to me and offered me the best smile she could. “Is that what happened?”
I took a breath and nodded. “He got a call about Kyle’s cow. I talked to him last night,” —in the middle of the night— “but our call was cut short.” More like he didn’t want to talk in the first place. It was probably because of how late it had been, but at the time, I could’ve sworn he was shrugging me off.
“What about Kyle’s cow?” Her smile from earlier was
gone.
“I’d rather not…”
“Astrid, if you know something about my Lance—”
“No, no, nothing like that. It’s…” I glanced around the room, then leaned in close so no one would overhear. “There’s a wolf.”
“A wolf?” Ida practically jumped out of her chair.
“Shh, keep your voice down. I don’t want anyone else to know, okay?”
Ida placed a hand on her chest, then slowly settled back into her seat. “At Kyle’s?”
I nodded and left it at that. Maybe if I didn’t say anything, she wouldn’t know there was more to the story.
“Where else?”
Or not…
“Finally,” I said, spotting Max as he walked into the room, immediately bombarded with everyone else’s questions.
“Settle down, settle down,” Max called over the clamoring crowd, hustling to the front of the room as everyone else took their seats.
A handful of others filed in after him, but Lance wasn’t one of them. He’s fine. Everything’s fine. Maybe he got Max’s message about the wolf and was out there helping the team. That was just the thing Lance would do.
He wouldn’t bother telling his family of friends he was fine, right? Before he went after a wild animal?
My stomach tied itself in knots, and when I looked at Ida, she gripped her water bottle enough for the plastic to crinkle. Once she’d finished, I took her hand in mine as we looked at Max, his face flushed and his glorious toupee missing. Normally, I’d crack a smile at his balding head, but not now. Not when Lance was out there somewhere.
Seriously, Astrid? It was one date. I wasn’t even sure if I’d call it a date as we barely had the chance to sit down.
“I know you all have things to do, so I’ll make this short,” Max told the crowd once we’d quieted down. “Those of you who work at the bottom of the hill and the edge of town will need to stay here until things clear out, but we should have it all cleaned up by tomorrow morning.”
“Cleaned what up?” Felix asked, looking from Mr. Clark to Chief Tundal.
“Max, what’s going on?” Harris chimed in, standing from his seat. “What’s this about a wolf?” Sammy must’ve blabbed or Harris’ cockatiel took a wild guess on why we were here.
“Wolf?” someone else said. “What wolf?”
“People, everybody just quiet down.” Max patted down the air, his voice carrying all the way to the back of the room where Kat was sitting. “There have been rumors of a wolf here in our small town,” as he spoke, his gaze narrowed in my direction. “We take these reports seriously, so to be safe, we’ve closed down half of the town until we’re sure the wolf’s no longer here.”
“Was anyone hurt?” Kat asked, already knowing the answer but likely trying her best to keep Max as truthful as possible.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“They killed my plants!” Ronan cried out, getting to his feet. “Mangy things with paws as big as my hand!”
“Now, now, everyone’s concerns will be addressed. However, until animal control arrives and assures us things are in order, I need you all to stay here.”
“I thought you said we could go back to work,” Harris said.
“Once things clear up,” Max said again. “I promise we’re doing everything we can to get the town in working order.”
“But my Lance isn’t here,” Ida told him. “Shouldn’t he be here?”
“And what about Joe and Marcy?” Kat said.
“Or Matt and Toby,” Dillon chimed in.
“Matt and Toby are home sick with the flu, and last I heard, Joe was sleeping off a fever,” Max said, doing his best to calm the mass of worried citizens.
It only lasted so long. Soon, the entire hall erupted with names of those missing from our group, some of them children while others were looking after friends. Over two-thirds of the town was absent, many of them either living on the far side of town Max had roped off, or working in the vicinity.
If there was a wolf running around, it clearly had a territory, and Max knew it. It was the reason he sectioned the town off, likely barricading the far side of Emberdale once everyone got out. Kyle’s farm was on the edge of Emberdale, in the same exact direction as The Laughing Bean. The fact Kyle had lost a cow and I’d found a wolf inside Joe and Marcy’s cafe couldn’t have been a coincidence.
We were dealing with the same wolf.
“If you’re missing a loved one,” Max said, overwhelmed by the crowd. “If you’re missing a loved one,” he said again, louder than before, “leave their name with Astrid.”
I heard my name.
“Me?”
“You were the one who spotted the wolf, so yes,” he said. “Ask her whatever you like. For now, stay here, get a drink from the cooler, and let us do our job.” Max didn’t wait for a response, rushing outside and leaving me with a room full of worried townsfolk.
“You saw the wolf?” Ida asked low enough so only I would hear.
“Yes, but it sounds like he doesn’t believe me.” Boy, was that the understatement of the year.
“I do,” Ida said without hesitation.
“I know.”
Ida had a gift for this kind of thing. She could see the auras of everyone in town, their color turning red if what they said was a lie. She never knew what the lie was about, though. As for me, I wished more than anything I’d never gone inside The Laughing Bean.
Seeing that wolf and bringing it to Max’s attention didn’t go as planned. In fact, the entire event seemed like an inconvenience to him. Lance not answering his phone made matters even worse. He never acted like his investigations were an inconvenience. Maybe that was why it bothered Max so much. He actually had to work alone, which he clearly wasn’t any good at.
“That man has terrible people skills,” Ida said, pulling me from my thoughts. “Could you image if he was a doctor? His bedside manner is probably worse.”
“He’s stressed,” I said, though I had a feeling the wolf had nothing to do with it.
Our conversation was interrupted as folks lined up in front of me to report their missing loved ones and to ask whatever they wanted. Most asked how I’d found the wolf along with the blood once I let it slip. Ida sat with me through the entire thing, waving folks away once their questions became too aggressive.
“She has nothing else to say,” Ida told them in the strongest voice she could, standing in front of me. “She’s already told you everything she knows, and you each know about my gift. There are no ill thoughts and no lies. Return to your seats so we can get a proper headcount. If we have any questions, we’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” I said once the crowd dispersed.
“The nerve of some people,” Ida said with a shake of her head.
“They’re worried,” I told her when Sammy and Kat joined us. Kat took her place beside me as Sammy jumped in my lap. “Did either of you find anything?”
“No,” Kat said, holding her purse in front of her. “Not about my fox or whatever’s running around town.”
“Your fox?” Ida asked, looking at Kat.
“She shifted and was primal last night,” I told Ida. “I had to lock her in my bathroom until morning.”
“And this wolf, are you sure there’s only one?”
Oh god, I hope so. “As far as I know. Lance didn’t say much about the wolf when I talked to him last night. He was kind of miffed, really.”
“Because you called him in the middle of the night,” Sammy reminded me. “Anyone would’ve been annoyed.”
“Not Lance, dear,” Ida corrected him. “He’s used to getting calls. You said he sounded upset?”
“It was probably nothing,” I said, feeling stupid for bringing it up in the first place. “He told me to call Davy Mills—”
“The man from animal control?”
“Yeah, but I knew it was Kat. Or, well, I hoped it was. I couldn’t stomach the idea of sending her to a normal pound, then… I don’t know
. Kat shifting inside a kennel?”
“Which would’ve sucked, by the way,” Kat agreed.
“He would’ve been happy for the business,” Ida admitted. “He rarely has to come out this way because all we have are shifters and a handful of strays. The biggest danger you face from a shifter is when he’s drunk. Have you ever had your leg humped by a dog? Imagine the same dog being your neighbor.”
I laughed. “You’ve forgotten about what happened with Thomas.”
“Which wasn’t the same thing,” she pointed out.
“I agree, but if one shifter in Emberdale ended up like that, who’s to say it won’t happen again?”
“Shifter’s giving in to their animal instincts is rare,” Kat told us, taking a book out of her purse as she opened it toward the back. “I’ve been through this cover to cover. I’ve read every book I have on shifting, awakenings, and blood moons, but there’s nothing in them to explain what I’m going through. It’s almost like someone drugged me.”
“But then how come you shifted back?” I asked.
“A detox?” She shrugged. “You had me locked in your bathroom for… what? Six hours?”
“Is six hours enough?”
“It would depend on the drug,” Ida interrupted us.
“If that’s what happened,” I told them both.
“I’m going to try Lance again,” Ida said, excusing herself from the group. She held back a sob as she spoke to his voicemail, making me wish I’d been able to reach him earlier in the day.
As Kat continued to search through one of her books, I rubbed under Sammy’s chin and thought back to the wolf I’d seen this morning. It was real, wasn’t it? Sammy had seen it as well, so it must’ve been something. But was it wild or was it a shifter? More importantly, how could I tell the difference?
Kat’s fox had been a hunch, but I didn’t know the other shifters as well as I knew her. I’d seen Adelle, a feline shifter, once in her shifted form. Aside from Thomas Seeton, I didn’t know of any others.
