Page 10 of Amber Gambler

Flames erupted from the trunk, engulfing the leaves, consuming it whole.

And for just a second, I swore the summoning token Kierce branded into my skin, the tattoo-like rendition of Badb on my forearm, burned too.

Wailing filled my ears, but I hadn’t made the call yet. It wasn’t a siren. It sounded more like…

Oh God.

Josie.

“Make it stop.” Josie, crumpling in the parking lot, clutched her head in her hands.“Make it stop.”

Hose forgotten, Matty skidded in the gravel to reach us, but I threw out my hand. “The tree.”

“What about Mary?” He froze halfway to us. “What’s wrong with…?” Then he got it. “The tree.”

Panic had a way of making you forget common sense.

Josie was a dryad. She was on friendly terms with all the trees in the county, but the one across the road must be near enough to our property that it had bonded with her. Knowing my sister, despite it being an old elm tree with more holes in its trunk than in a whole block of Swiss, she had been tending to it as if it would put food in our mouths. Now it was in pain, crying out to her for help, and their bond was blazing.

“Go,” she panted, sweat beading her brow. “Save it.”

Only my certainty that protecting the tree would do the same for my sister pried me away from her side.

The one thing we had no shortage of was gardening equipment. I didn’t have to go far to locate another, longer hose.Armed with the sprayer, I cranked the water on as high as it would go then sprinted toward Matty, who was already blasting the crackling limbs, and joined him in soaking the poor crispy tree.

As soon as it was good and doused, not a speck of ember to be found, Josie limped up behind us.

“I’ve got it,” she slurred, her eyes verdant green and glowing softly.

“And we’ve got you.” Matty made it a promise. “Don’t overdo it.”

Twisting the nozzle on his hose, he turned off his water flow, and I did the same.

“I’m sorry,” Josie murmured as she embraced the tree, her skin turning brown and rough. “So sorry.”

Her tears caused my throat to tighten, but there was nothing we could do to help. Except for turning our backs to give her privacy. That left Matty and me standing shoulder to shoulder, listening for the familiar sound of her inevitable crash after expending too much healing energy.

“When we first moved to Thunderbolt,” he said after a minute, “I didn’t believe the folks who told us the town got its name from random lightning strikes, but I’m starting to wonder if they weren’t telling us the truth.” He tipped his head back. “Not a single cloud in the sky. Where the hell did that lightning come from?”

Pretending I hadn’t been mesmerized by it, that I hadn’t hoped for a split second it was heralding Kierce’s return, I mumbled, “Lightning can travel several miles away from the storm producing it.”

This exact scenario was how the phenomenon earned the namea bolt from the blue.

Even though, in this case, it had been more of a bolt from the starlit black.

“Let me guess—” he bumped into me, “—if I hadn’t slept through science class I would know that.”

“There’s a reason they say to go inside as soon as you hear thunder.”

Not that there had been thunder or any other warning before the tree wentkaboom.

“Guys?”

We spun toward Josie, who gazed up in wonder at the lush green canopy swaying above her.

“Wow.” I gawked at the elm’s transformation. “You do good work.”

Staring at her palms, Josie flexed her fingers. “I’m not sure it was me.”

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