Page 16 of Burn

The weight of the pixie’s stare settled on me like a heavy cloak. I didn’t see her right away as the survivors began to climb aboard. They were all swaying from the exhaustion. Lunchbox had scooped up one of the kids from his mom and carried him for the fatigued woman.

Bones was right behind him with another. Voodoo had circled around all of them and gone to the backdoor to speak to Doc. It was late into the night again, a good time to leave under cover of darkness. I wasn’t sure how much sleep any of these people had gotten.

There she was, moving quietly behind the others, she drifted up toward the tour bus door. We were taking seventeen passengers with us. The others would need more time. If Doc could place them before we were done, he would.

If not, we’d come back. Then Pixie was the last one at the door. She glanced at me, her thoughts an utter enigma behind the shadows moving in her eyes. She was so damn beautiful it kind of hurt to look at her. Despite that, I didn’t turn away.

“You ready?” Bones said from behind me and it tugged her gaze from me to him. For the first time since the accident, I found myself almost resenting him.

“Just need the pixie aboard,” I told him. I made a point of keeping an eye on her from the periphery of my vision. She frowned at the description, or maybe she was frowning at getting on board.

Right, time for backup. I whistled. Goblin had been parked up in the truck with the window open while we got all these people moving. Not everyone was comfortable around dogs.

He leapt out of the open window and raced toward me. The pixie swung her gaze around as Goblin slowed to a trot. Histongue lolled with his open mouthed grin. I raised the fingers on my right hand at his approach.

It was a signal to halt. He stopped. When I curled my fingers, he sat then looked from me to the pixie then back.

“Good boy,” I murmured.

“Is he friendly?” Three words in beautiful unaccented English. I kept my comments to myself. Dogs worked their magic every time.

“He is,” I told her. “Goblin, come.”

Goblin trotted toward me.

“Goblin?” Surprise popped through both syllables.

“It fits him.” Not crouching, I made a circle motion with my index finger and Goblin pivoted. “Friend,” I told him, then held out my hand for hers. “Just place the back of your hand against my palm.”

She gave me one wary look then obeyed. I lowered our hands together and Goblin gave her hand a thorough inspection and sniff before he licked it.

“Friend,” I repeated, then glanced at her. She was wholly enthralled. “You can pet him if you want.”

It was the closest to relaxed I’d seen her since we arrived. The tension in her body eased and she crouched slowly. The clothes were far too baggy and oversized, especially around her torso and waist. The t-shirt hid her silhouette and the sleeves dropped down to her mid-forearm. Even as she lowered herself to meet Goblin, the hem of her shirt was nearly to her knees. From a distance, she looked more like a child wearing her parents’ clothing than an adult woman. The pair of flip flops revealed her pale pink toe nail polish and tiny delicate feet.

When she was at eye level with Goblin, I said, “Easy.” It was a release command. He hurried forward to greet her, tail wagging. He didn’t jump. Instead, he just sat there in front of her while she stroked his head. He leaned right into the contact.

“He’s sweet,” she said, the faintest of tremors in her voice. “Yes, you are.” No longer paying any attention to me, the pixie seemed to relax for real. Finally.

“If you want, he can sit with you.” Goblin usually stuck close to me, but I was doing okay right now. She needed the comfort and the support.

“Really?” She met my gaze briefly, not stopping her petting of Goblin.

“Yep.” Then I held out a hand to her. “Come on, let’s get you two on board and comfortable.”

She stared at my hand for a moment. Considering the circumstances, this might be pushing it. If she refused, I wouldn’t take it personally. After a too long moment where I almost lowered my hand, she gripped it lightly and I gave her a gentle tug.

Once on her feet, she released me and I took a step back. She glanced down at Goblin. “Want to sit with me?”

Goblin wagged his tail, he looked between us again, always checking with me first. I lifted my chin and motioned to the stairs. “Up you go.”

He dashed up the three steps to the inside and she followed along, still slow, but I didn’t think her movements had anything to do with reluctance now. After a beat, Bones descended.

“They’re in the second row,” he said. “You good?”

“I’m fine,” I told him. “She needs Goblin and he’s helping. I’ll stay near the front.” That way if I started to slip, Goblin could warn all of us.

Bones took me at my word and clapped me on my shoulder. With everyone on board, we got moving. Doc waved us off and by the time Voodoo turned the tour bus out of the lot, the pixie was sound asleep, curled up under a blanket with Goblin stretched out against her lap.

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