by Cassie Power
Dan winked at her, smiling.
“I can’t see that one, myself. Anyway, we should get some food going, while we still have a tiny bit of light left. Then you can tell me all about your favorite color. Blue, wasn’t it?”
That he’d bothered to recall that got her face to warm a bit. As if it were special that he could recall what she’d said the night before. She did that kind of thing.
“Well, it’s no brown, but I enjoy it.”
“That’s just true. So… Chili? I have some canned potatoes as well. That or rice?”
“Both sound good. I’m starving. Um…” She stopped for a bit, then shook her head. “I don’t know what to do, but I should help. I really can’t cook. Not without a microwave.”
It felt silly, but it hadn’t really been part of her life. Oh, she could open cans really, but warming things, even on a stove, wasn’t a skill that she’d done a lot with.
“It isn’t that hard. Here, I can walk you through it? You just sit. You look a bit stiff, already.”
That one was just the truth. Sighing, Merry shook her head a little bit.
“It’s going to put a crimp in my plans for later tonight, I bet. You don’t mind doing all the work in bed, do you?” She nearly gasped, as soon as the words were out. She honestly hadn’t meant to be that blunt about it. Not that it wasn’t kind of her plan.
It had been, since they’d been in the tub together. It had been hard to make out everything about Dan, but he had abs that had shown in the dark and what was between his legs had been impressive from what she could tell. Enough that she wasn’t certain he might not be a bit too large, when the time came.
Thinking that made her flush a bit. At least she was pretending that it was about that, not her having basically just told him he was getting lucky that night.
He chuckled a little bit. It was a deep thing, but sounded friendly.
“I can do that. Still, we can also wait until you feel up to it. We have time. I mean, clearly, I like you. You got that part, right? I haven’t been too subtle on that, have I?”
She winced, but hearing the words were actually nice. Most of the time she felt like relationships were hard. This was almost simple compared to that. Plus, Dan was nearly perfect.
“I did kind of wonder for a bit. I think you’re pretty nice too, by the way. Not that we shouldn’t do something tonight. I need to get your attention somehow. I mean, so far, I’ve only proved that I’m baggage that can’t cook. It isn’t exactly a great start, is it? If I can prove that I’m worth something in bed at least that will let you know that being with me isn’t totally without value.”
She looked down then. Her voice had been solid, thankfully. The sofa moved a bit under her, as she felt a bit like an idiot. Pointing out that she’d been a burden wasn’t the most brilliant thing in the world, if she wanted the man to like her in a long-term fashion.
“I swear that I’m normally more useful than I have been here. Honest.”
He made a single sound. It was considering, rather than dismissive or doubting.
“See… I was just thinking that you did a lot better than most would have, given everything. You didn’t even freak out about the strange missing window thing. That… It almost has to be something strange. I do wonder if you’re right though.”
She looked up, forgetting her plan to use sex to get the man to like her. For the time being. It was still a good idea, if she could pull it off. Her back was stiff enough that she got it might not be happening that day.
“Um… What did I say again?” She blinked, recalling that part, as he spoke.
“That someone would have been able to use our tracks and trails to get in. The raccoons might have been part of that, or just taking a chance to get some free food. We didn’t lock the doors or anything, so a person might have walked right in and removed the window. Possibly with a glass cutter. Then walked off with it.”
She nodded, getting the idea.
“Which would mean that someone knows who we are. That we’re here for a television show. There would be no reason to do that kind of thing otherwise. Someone is trying to do weird things to make it seem like something supernatural is going on?”
There was a nod, but Dan walked from the room, raising his voice a bit. She got up, since moving a bit was better than letting herself stiffen up totally. In the kitchen, he moved from box to bag and got things out efficiently. Staging it all on the counter, since it would have to move back into the front room for cooking.
“Except that it would take someone who could move in the snow. We could do it, so it isn’t impossible. I didn’t see snowshoe prints out front. Those can be taken off though, and I have to admit, I didn’t check the footprints to make sure they were ours. I also didn’t look for another trail. Not close to the house. There was nothing the way we went earlier, but that only covers about forty degrees in a circle around us.” He went silent while opening the large can of chili. It was the kind that was meant for six people. The whole thing was emptied into a large pot, however. Then the can was rinsed in the sink, the hand pump working away, making only a little sound.
Merry sat in one of the chairs. After all, she’d already admitted she didn’t know what to do. It was hard enough to just settle, given everything.
Her voice was quiet though.
“I’d figure you for that, the window thing, most of the time. Except that I was with you all day. The same goes the other way, doesn’t it? I would have noticed it if the window was missing before we left. That means that you and I are in the clear. I suppose that someone from the crew could have done it, but…” They were really off in town.
Even if the roads had been clear, they wouldn’t have done something that strange, then left. Weird things only really worked if you were able to catch them on camera. She had one with her, but it was in the bottom of her bags. There just wasn’t enough light to make it worth digging out. Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought anything like night vision with her. The team had that, but she’d just figured that she might need to send some vid back, so that everyone would get a sense of the location they were headed to.
Picking up a spoon and two pots, both with lids on them, he moved back into the other room. She got up and limped along behind him. After he settled the things on the stove, he stirred each, using the same spoon. One was filled with potatoes, she knew. At least that had been the can being opened.
Glancing over his shoulder as she settled back on the sofa, he shook his head.
“None of that makes sense. I can’t find any sign of a person being here, either. No cologne, perfume or body odor. Nothing moved around that caught my attention, other than the window. It’s probably someone local, given that. A neighbor.”
“Not a nomad?” She was trying to be joking. It came out sounding deadly serious however.
Meaning it was answered in the same way.
“Definitely not that. For one thing, we’re both still alive. Probably not even regular cannibals. After all, why give your prey a chance to figure out you’re coming? No, this looks like someone figured out who was going to be here, then decided to do a lot of work to make it seem like high strangeness is going on. As if Bigfoot would steal our window?”
The words got her to think for a few seconds.
“Interesting. If nothing else we can do an exposé on people trying to punk us. I guess it will get the tourism up in the area? I mean, it would, if there were a lot of Bigfoot sightings, right? There isn’t anything else out here. No spa or destination to attract people. Just the forest. Lots of that. People could search for years and still have to wonder if they just missed seeing things out here.”
Dan didn’t say anything. He did turn away to stir the food though.
Then, for a long time, neither of them spoke at all.
Chapter eight- Dan
Dan didn’t enjoy lying to Merry.
It was a struggle, actually. The woman was a wonder, in the true sense of the word. Even her idea ab
out what was happening fit the evidence she could notice, nearly perfectly. The idea that someone had broken in, then removed the window like that was brilliant.
It also wasn’t correct.
There was a feeling of magic in the air. He could both feel and smell it. Like ozone, it hovered around the edge of where the glass had been. There were no shards of glass on the ground at all. Probably meaning the window had been teleported away.
Combining that and the sudden storm, along with the sightings that had been reported and the conclusion was clear. There was a mage in the area. One that was trying to draw attention for some reason. That part just fit. There was no reason to remove the glass like that otherwise. Even the raccoons had probably been part of it. Influenced or directly controlled to go in. Most likely in order to collect information. For instance, whoever it was probably knew that they had bread in the kitchen now.
The issue was that telling Meredith about how he knew things wouldn’t make a lot of sense to her. Not yet. The other part of things was that he simply didn’t know enough yet. While getting people into the area made some sense, doing it for tourism reasons didn’t.
Not for a person that could steal a window at a distance like that. If they could do glass, they could take gold. Diamonds or just as easy, paper. If they wanted to make it seem more legitimate, they could have simply won a gambling contest. The lottery came to mind for that. So, it wouldn’t be down to wanting something like cash.
That left a lot of things, in potential. Most likely it was that there was a group working in the area. One that was practicing and casting spells, just to learn what they could do. That, or they did want to draw people in. For sacrifices. If they didn’t eat the bodies, of course.
That was the one that made the most sense to him, anyway. It could be, and was probably going to turn out to be, a bit off. He was going to be missing something, no doubt. That was just how life went. In that way, Merry might have the right of things. Yes, there was real magic involved, but so far it had been pretty harmless stuff. Racoons, stolen windows and a storm that was clearly meant to keep people in place.
If the enemy could scry at all, then they might have worked out that he and Merry would be there, even. That would explain why they’d been targeted later. It wasn’t an actual attack though. They, whoever it was, had simply shown their hand. Without making it an overt threat. A bit of one, since anyone that could take a window could also take your heart at a distance, but there was no writing on the walls in blood or anything. No message telling them to get out, or to prepare to be dead.
Then, scaring them away wasn’t the purpose. If it was, then trapping them in place first was foolish. They couldn’t leave yet. It simply wasn’t going to be happening. His truck was stuck there and even if the road was plowed directly, it would take a day or two in order to get Merry’s little car out of there. They could, in potential, leave the vehicles, but his friend would probably be hard pressed to travel on foot the next day.
Not that Dan didn’t think she would do it if it became needed. Anything that was really needed, as long as the body allowed it at all. Her inner strength was great that way. Even when he adjusted for the fact that he liked her, she was kind of impressive. Enough that he would have honestly appreciated her just for that, even if her looks hadn’t been about perfect for him.
Hopefully that meant he wasn’t all that shallow. He’d lived plenty long enough to get past that. Then, for one of his people, looks were a choice, so they didn’t really respond to that alone. For a human woman to move past that invisible mark spoke of something incredible.
The meal he was making, once again, was a simple one. He had the ingredients for more complex things. Even flour and yeast, for when the bread ran out. A lot of it was in cans, but not everything. It was a bit short on treats, of course. Candy, cakes and that kind of thing were delicious, but not a thing he did each day. Just like his idea of breakfast wasn’t what most would have thought of, in America. Instead of pancakes or cereal, he tended to eat a normal meal, most of the time. A sandwich wasn’t unheard of, for instance. More of what he’d eaten the day before was kind of normal as well.
It occurred to him that he needed to do something like that for Merry, the next day. They really hadn’t eaten a lot yet. The day had been hard, but they’d worked through much of it. He could easily enough make up for that at one meal, for him, but that could be hard for his friend. Especially if the food was too strange for her.
“I should make something else. I don’t know what kind of things you like though…” It was so obviously leading that she straightened a bit.
Then she winced, in discomfort. That wasn’t a great sign, he knew. Humans got stiff a day later, not that fast. It meant she’d pushed right up to the edge of what her body could take already. The lactic acid buildup was bad enough that it had harmed her. That would leave her impaired, if she had to flee or fight the threat they were facing.
If it was one at all.
Hiding her pain, she smiled. It was strained, and came with a deep breath. That shuddered a bit.
“Um… You know, I eat almost anything. I never was all that picky. Well, except pickles. I mean, I totally can eat them, but I really don’t get why anyone likes them. I’d rather lick a block of salt, or drink the sour stuff straight.”
“Vinegar?”
“Yep, that’s the stuff I was talking about. But, I mean if that’s what we’re eating, then I will. You can’t be picky out in the field all the time. It isn’t always like this, but different regions serve different things, you know?” She yawned then shook her head. “Sorry. I feel tired, but you barely got any sleep at all. I should be the one cooking. Well, burning, but you know what I mean.”
She cleverly didn’t get up though, since that would be hard at the moment, he had to guess.
“I’m fine. I dozed enough for now. It looks like I’ll get more sleep tonight. I mean, it’s only about five right now and already getting dark. That tends to lead to early bed times.”
Except that they were being targeted by someone. That meant he needed to be alert enough to handle anything that came at them, for the foreseeable future. That had happened before in his life of course. Over the centuries there had been many times when sleeping past a doze wasn’t really a thing that could be allowed. There was a trick to it. He slept, of course, but by clearing his mind he could keep a small part of himself alert, even as he rested. The only real danger then was when the dreams came.
People weren’t meant to recall all of their dreams.
It was a realm of power and magic, but being too close to that world, the one inside of himself, for too long tended to warp reality externally. Still, a day or two on low sleep wouldn’t harm anything. They had coffee, after all.
Merry stretched, without making any facial movements this time. Her arms went over her head, pushing her chest out. Oriented directly toward him. It was a sexual display of course. Her shirt pulled over her body alluringly as she did it. Which was the point. The big trick was if she understood why it was happening. He got it, but that kind of thing was most often unconscious in other people.
When the move ended, she blushed a little, however. He smiled and turned away from her, to make certain the chili didn’t burn. The potatoes were just starting to boil a little bit, so both pans got a quick stir.
The lady looked down then, and away from him. Being a bit coy.
“Well. I guess that we can, you know, do some things then? If it’s going to be all dark anyway. I don’t feel that sore. I probably will tomorrow.” From her tone it was clear that she meant it.
That there was a real time window on when they were going to be able to do things like that, in the near future. It was, of course, the correct idea. Especially if things played out so that the others came. Not that he wasn’t willing to have relations with her in a crowded house. She probably wasn’t used to things like that though, so it would stress her. Really, it would do that to him, even if he had
done it before. It always just seemed a little rude.
“That sounds fun. I…” They were at a delicate moment. If he turned her down right then, it wouldn’t seem to her like he was being kind about it. No, she’d take it as a rejection. Plus, he really wanted her. The sense of that had grown over the last day. It was a powerful thing between them. One that wasn’t going to be kept hidden for much longer.
If at all. Meredith had just offered herself openly and with enough firmness that he was supposed to simply agree with her.
So, he did. Smiling a bit, with a lopsided grin.
“We should eat first and maybe get another bath? I don’t know about you, but I need to scrub up after that hike.”
There was a little giggle then, along with a look that promised a lot of good things to come.
“That… Yeah. It’s a lot of work though. Still, we can do that, I bet. I should go and see about making sure there’s a fire. I just blow on the coals until I nearly pass out and then feed it little bits of wood? Except I bet I can’t see out there. Not without the lamp.”
Instead of telling her that he’d do it, Dan nodded. After all, it was kind of clear that his new friend was getting her feet under her already. Even if she was stiff as she stood up. Even better, there had been an intrusion and she was still willing to be alone, in order to get things done.
“That sounds about right. We have a bit of light in here and I can open the front of the stove when it gets too dark. I need to stay with the food. Well, one of us does. Grab the Coleman lamp and the can of fuel for it? I can walk you through getting it lit. It isn’t that hard but there are a few tricks to it.” The green metal and glass thing had a few decades on it, after all.
It was interesting, helping Merry with the lighting of the lamp. She wasn’t confident at first but was able to pump the pressure valve after getting the fuel inside the holding chamber. Then, almost as if fearing an explosion, she stuck the flame from the stove lighter against the cloth lamp hood inside. A powerful light shone forth then, as the whole thing buzzed softly.
