Forging Day (Crucible of Change Book 1)

by Noelle Alladania Meade

  Our little caravan was gathering quite a few double-takes, especially with the Trolls on motorcycles with the distinctive red and black banners of the forces of Chaos. I’m kind of glad no one knew Stella was in the back of the van. I’m guessing a pet license wouldn’t cover raptors, but she and the compys weren’t exactly farm animals, either.

  Kat was a good driver, which really helped in this nerve-racking stop-and-go traffic. Just to give myself something to do, I called Ted.

  His voice sounded a little different, but it was still him. The most alarming thing was how subdued he sounded. “Ted here.”

  “Ted, it’s Olivia. How are things going at the homestead?”

  “Olivia, it’s good to hear from you.” He paused. “That’s kind of a tricky one. So far the walls have deterred any casual looters. When you get close to the neighborhood, make sure you have your IDs ready. The neighborhood watch group got militant, and they’ve blocked off access to non-residents. It’s probably a good idea until things settle down.”

  He was quiet for a minute. “You know, I’ve always tried to pretend that Mikah’s Grammy wasn’t really haunting the place. She wins. I got here after Mikah called last night, and I heard a noise from Grammy’s old room. I figured the cats had gotten in there. Her old rocking chair was going, without anyone in it. I still would have blamed one of the cats, except that the door was closed. That wasn’t the strangest part, though.”

  “What was?”

  “She was knitting. There was knitting happening in thin air, but with real knitting needles and yarn. I stared for a minute, and then the needles stopped clicking together and writing appeared on the mirror over her dresser.”

  “What did it say?”

  “Stop staring. You made me drop a stitch. I said, ‘Sorry for staring, ma’am,’ and got the hell out of there as fast as I could. I slept downstairs on one of the couches. I’m not going back up there again until Mikah gets back.”

  “Grammy won’t hurt you. She likes you, but I’ll let Mikah know. We’re getting closer. We’ve just about reached the turnoff to I-270. It’s slow going, but so far so good.” We could always tell him about the crazy militia unpleasantness later. It wasn’t really something I wanted to discuss over a cell phone. “We’re bringing houseguests, by the way.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, about thirteen if I counted right. Good thing Grammy had a lot of guest rooms, but there are some couples so I know some people will be doubling up. Um, one of the guests has kind of a large—actually, very large—pet with him, as well as about six smaller pets. If you could raid the deep freeze in the basement and start thawing ten of the biggest roasts you can find, I think that would be a huge help.”

  “Sounds like you guys have quite a story when you get home.”

  “You could say that. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to scout any hot elves for you. Things came up.”

  He was quiet. “I understand. Things came up here, too. Drive safe.”

  “Thanks, Ted. You stay safe too.”

  I rang Berto next since Mikah was driving. “Berto, I gave Ted a head’s-up that we’re on our way with guests and pets. He said something interesting. It sounds like Grammy is getting more active. She was knitting in her room and wrote a message to him on her mirror. He’s freaked out. I guess it’s hard to pretend a ghost doesn’t exist when she writes personal messages to you.”

  “Interesting. Poor Ted. I’ll let Mikah know.”

  “We’ll be there soon enough. I guess if Grammy is knitting something, at least she’s a reasonably friendly ghost.”

  “Yeah, until you make her drop a stitch…”

  Our route on I-270 took us through the industrial area of Commerce City. There was normally a funk in the air, but it was truly ferocious this afternoon. I rolled up my window and tried not to breathe. Kat couldn’t stop sneezing.

  Tessa wrinkled her nose. “Whatever it is, it’s not brimstone.”

  There was normally a steady expulsion of white steam from the stacks all around, but not today. It seemed more greenish than anything. I was glad for my rolled-up window, and noticed Kat and Tessa did the same with theirs. I felt bad for the Trolls out on their motorcycles.

  We exited onto Colorado Boulevard heading south, more than glad to see Commerce City in the rearview mirror. The green haze finally receded in the distance, making Denver’s normal brown cloud of regular pollution seem positively benign by comparison.

  The closer we got to home, the more impatient I got. I just wanted to be there already. Colorado Boulevard rose, going over I-70. Mikah stopped short in front of us again, and again Kat slammed on the brakes. “If he keeps doing that, I swear I’m going to kill him,” she said through gritted teeth.

  I craned my neck to try and see what the holdup was this time. There were trees—giant trees—where the zoo and city park should have been. “That’s not right. We don’t have redwoods in the middle of Denver.”

  Mikah gestured and we got going again, but only long enough to pull off into the nearest open parking lot. I was glad for a chance to stretch my legs, and I wanted to find out why we’d stopped here. Mostly though, I really wanted a bathroom.

  Oaken said, “This is where we’re going to part ways. The Lord and Lady said we were to serve at the Redwoods, and that we’d know it when we saw it. We thank you for getting us here safely. We will be taking the body of our fallen one with us, to do proper burial honors. We offer you the same, Korembi, for your fallen.”

  Korembi looked a little misty-eyed. He turned to Frank, who gave a small nod. I knew Sonya had been his girlfriend. I’d barely known her, but I still had tears in my eyes. “We be honored for you to tend her remains. Someday, when all this be settled, I be hoping we can find her family, and let them know.”

  He and Oaken clasped hands. “Cliff, you take care.”

  “And you, old friend. The God and Goddess watch over you.”

  We transferred the bodies, including the two compys, as discreetly as possible. We were getting stares from passing cars, but I think they were too busy gawking at the Trolls, cat-person, demon, and Dark Elf to notice the body-shaped bundles.

  We got back on the road, this time with Oaken and Lilith taking the lead in their little cars. The trees towered over us, impossibly big. The closer we got to what used to be the zoo, the darker it got. The trees were so close together, the foliage blocked out the sun. Where there used to be a parking lot entrance was a thorny hedge. Oaken slowed, and the hedge opened itself long enough for their two cars to enter. I caught a glimpse of lush vegetation and grazing animals before the hedge closed, impenetrable once again.

  Our caravan was down to one car, a van, an SUV and four motorcycles as we continued south. The forest extended all the way to the next major intersection, where it abruptly ended, returning to normal city streets.

  The traffic was insane as we approached Colfax. Sirens blared constantly as emergency vehicles raced to the various medical facilities concentrated in this area. It looked even worse to the south, with the two hospitals further down that way. Mikah signaled for us to turn at the next intersection. We caught the next cross-street going west, avoiding the worst of the jam-up.

  We headed south again, now less than a mile from home, as the crow flies. I finally saw what Ted had been talking about with the neighborhood watch. About two car-lengths in on each street leading into the neighborhood around the park, one or two vehicles were pulled across the road. There were people sitting in lawn chairs, often under some kind of umbrella for shade. Signs were taped to the sides of the car blockade. SHOW YOUR ID OR LEAVE. RESIDENTS ONLY.

  The Botanic Gardens were coming up on the right. Given what we saw at the former zoo, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was almost anti-climactic. The gardens actually looked mostly normal, no giant trees or towering prehistoric plants. What I did notice was a bunch of those weird bluebirds we saw back at the nature conservancy. They glared at passing cars, eyes glowing red.

&nbs
p; Traffic ground to a stop again. Now what? I just wanted to get home and use the facilities. Was that asking too much?

  I kept watching the birds. Those glaring eyes were too creepy. A guy on a skateboard, maybe twenty or so, came whizzing along the sidewalk. He saw the birds and stopped, and then walked over to get a closer look. Every instinct I had screamed get away, you fool! but I didn’t say anything. I just watched.

  The birds started beeping, all in sync, and their eyes pulsed red. The skateboarder reached toward the nearest bird, and I heard a loud beeep, followed by a chain-reaction of exploding blue feathers—bird after bird going off like grenades with the pins pulled. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but drifting blue feathers, smoldering sneakers, scorch marks, and a large bloodstain. Two women screamed in horror and ran straight out into traffic. They’re lucky they weren’t killed.

  “Did you see that? The freaking birds exploded!”

  Kat looked like she was trying not to be sick. “Yes. Oh, Goddess, yes.”

  “So much for happy little bluebirds,” said Tessa. “Tweet. Tweet. Boom.”

  Traffic started moving again as we heard sirens coming this way. There was no point in trying to stop and help. Even Berto’s newfound healing required some kind of body to work with.

  We drove south of the park, following Mikah and Berto when they turned north into our neighborhood. A pale, pointy-eared Elf with green hair waved at us to stop. Kat pulled over to make room for Korembi and the motorcycles to get out of traffic. The Elf walked over to Mikah. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looked like things were getting hostile. Kat and I both hopped out of the car and went over.

  He said, “Get back in your car!” and then actually looked at us. “Sorry, but we’ve had some Human-related hate crime incidents. He still looked wary, but his tone of voice got calmer. “Please wait in your car and I’ll be with you as soon as possible. This area is for residents only.”

  “I told you, we are residents,” said Mikah. “Move that vehicle out of the street, or I will sue you so hard, your children will cry. I’m a lawyer. I can do that. I live here. Look at my bloody driver’s license already!”

  “We’re with them,” said Kat, gesturing at the lot of us, “so you might as well deal with all of us at once. Those folks back there are friends. They’re invited guests.”

  I said, “We’ve had a sucky drive home already, dude, and I really need to pee. Please, just chill out and let us go home.”

  He stared at me—another Elf, but not the same—and looked a little nervous.

  It finally seemed to occur to him that there were more of us than him, even after his partner, another Elf with green hair, came out of a nearby house. “Fine. Go ahead, but the Humans better keep their IDs with them if they’re in the neighborhood. Some people aren’t very happy with Humans right now.”

  “We were all Human this time yesterday. People need to get a grip,” I snapped.

  He gave Mikah back his license and the second Elf moved the SUV to let us pass. They never asked to see the rest of our IDs—Tessa stared at the first Elf as we drove by. She winked and blew him a kiss. It was kind of funny watching him try to sit and miss his lawn chair by a good foot.

  It was odd seeing so few people out and about on a beautiful June day, but not too surprising that people were inclined to stay inside.

  The wrought-iron gate rolled back as our caravan approached. There was plenty of room on the long driveway for everyone to park. The gate clanged shut behind us.

  We all got out. I was so happy to be alive and home. I hugged Kat and Tessa tight, just feeling the moment, and then ran for the house. Behind me, Mikah said, “Welcome to Denver.”

  Chapter Eleven

  We’re Here – Now What?????

  I made a mad dash for the house and took care of business. After that, I went back outside to help unload the vehicles. There was another Elf standing there, talking to Mikah, with flowing golden hair, sapphire eyes, and a flawless complexion. “Ted?”

  “Olivia?” He looked over at me. “I thought it was weird around here. Guess you guys got a taste of it too.”

  Mikah made introductions. “This is Korembi and his wife Razaini. They’re paleontology professors. These are their grad students—John and Stacy, Henry and May, and this is Frank. We lost his partner, Sonya, to a crazy militia group just outside of Lyons.”

  Ted went pale. I guess shit got real for him all of a sudden. “Where’s Kat—she wasn’t…”

  She stepped forward. “I’m right here, Ted. I’m okay.”

  His eyes got wide, looking her over.

  “I know. Kat the Cat. Oh, the sweet irony,” she said. Her ears pricked forward and her tail lashed from side to side. She jerked around to see what was behind her, inadvertently chasing her tail for just a moment. I bit my lips and said nothing.

  Tessa glided over to Ted, wings barely extended. “He’s pretty. I want to play with him. I’m Tessa and I like you.” She backed him up against the ivy-covered wall and kissed him deeply, gliding her hands down his back to cup his perfect butt. For a minute he even kissed her back.

  Then he jerked away like he’d touched a hot stove. “I don’t think I know you, and I don’t play with girls.”

  “I think you might, with the right inspiration.” She smiled and stalked toward him again.

  “Tessa! Ted said no. Stop chasing him and come back over here.”

  She gave me a beautiful pout, and only petted him once more, stroking the erection that I was trying to politely ignore, before coming back to stand beside me. “His mouth is saying no, but his body says yes. I’m so hungry, Olivia, and he’s so pretty. I have a right to feed too, you know.”

  I gave her a horrified look.

  “Not that way. I can feed without killing him. I have to feed. Sex or souls. I’d prefer sex. Why don’t you show me your room?”

  “Not to be a spoilsport, Tessa, but we’ve been up all night. We need to help unload the cars. I need to shower. I think we all need to eat, and you had a pretty big meal in Lyons…” I covered my mouth, horrified that I’d said that.

  “That wasn’t enough. It was like junk food. I have needs, Olivia.”

  The red glow in her eyes should have been alarming, but her pull faded my worry to a whisper. I walked over and kissed her deeply, burning to be with her again. She grabbed my butt and wrapped one wing around me, pulling me into the house.

  As focused as she was on me outside, now she stared all around her at the house. “I’ve never seen a place like this. It’s huge!” She idly pulled off my shirt and bra and dropped them on the floor as she looked around. “Tell me about this house,” she said while she teased my nipples.

  She made me not care about anything but pleasing her. I arched into her hands, wanting her, still compelled to answer her question. I looked around, trying to see the house from her perspective. The entry foyer was ten feet across. The floor was tiled with rose marble and the walls were a warm, polished golden oak. The stairs to the second floor were ahead of us at the end of a long hall. Paintings dotted the walls, and you could just see the library through the archway to the left.

  “Mikah inherited the house from his Grammy. His family made their fortune in mining and business stuff. I guess she liked Mikah better than her own kids, because she cut his dad and uncle out of her will and left everything to him. He’s still the CEO, but he has other people manage the day-to-day stuff. “I gestured to the right of the main entrance at the heavy, carved oak door. “Mikah and Berto have their suite down here. The family room and library are off to the left. Kitchen and dining room are in the back of the house. My room is upstairs.”

  “Take me upstairs, then.”

  I had a hard time climbing the stairs. I was ready to fall over, but she refocused her gaze on me, and that smile curved her lips. It was like bathing in warm honey. She trapped me against the wall, kissing me over and over and stroking me through my jeans. When she told me to pull them o
ff, I did, leaving my jeans and panties on the stairs.

  “That’s better,” she said, and stroked my bare skin. The glow became a blaze, and I kissed her back, desperately pressing my body against her. She easily lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around her. She licked my ear, and whispered, “Point to your room or I’ll take you right here.” I pointed.

  She carried me down the hall into my room, and I fell back onto the bed with her riding me down. Peeka’s high-pitched barking filled the room. “Leave!” said Tessa, and the barking stopped. Toenails clattered on the floor as Peeka fled.

  “I’m so hungry,” she whispered in my ear, and kissed me again.

  She slowly licked her way down my body. She suckled gently at each breast before impatiently moving lower. “I can’t wait.” No one had ever adored my body as thoroughly as she did. Her hair tickled my thighs as she teased closer and closer. She licked gently at first, and then sucked hard, nipping ever so slightly. She entered me with her fingers, stroking in and out as her lips and tongue devoured me. I screamed, coming over and over, until everything went dark.

  * * * *

  A sheet slid up over my body, and I heard people in the room, but my ears were ringing so they sounded like they were a thousand miles away. I must have made some kind of motion, because a straw pressed to my lips, urging me to drink. Something annoying squeezed my arm. Someone stroked my cheek and I finally started drinking. It was chilled orange juice and tasted wonderful.

  The annoying squeezing finally stopped and I heard the zip of Velcro as Berto removed the blood pressure cuff. My eyes were so heavy, but I finally pried them open. Kat held the glass and steadied straw for me. Berto’s stethoscope was draped around his neck. Tessa perched on the edge of the bed, looking unhappy. Berto gave her the stink eye.