Page 83 of Sparks Flying

“What the hell?”

“What is it?” she asked again.

“I’m not sure. Someone’s outside the house. I can’t tell what they are doing. It looks like they are starting a fire or something.”

“A fire?”

I could clearly feel her fear. It was such surreal moment tainted by a possible threat.

“Get dressed,” I said.

As soon as Bailey was off my lap, I jumped up and found my clothes.

She didn’t argue with me or seem put out by this drastic change of events. She just quietly dressed and calmly waited for my lead.

The phone rang. I glanced down to see it was Patrick and answered it quickly.

“Patrick? I think I found two of them.”

“Help,” I heard him say. “Something in the fire. A paralytic. Feels like a fecking tranquilizer. Team’s down. I’m fighting consciousness. Reports all over town.”

“Shit!”

The line went dead.

“Patrick! Patrick!”

“What’s wrong?”

Bailey’s anxiety spiked.

I showed her the screen of the men out front.

“They’re setting these fires all over town with some sort of airborne paralytic. Patrick says it’s like a tranquilizer.”

Bailey took a deep breath.

“Okay. We’ve both been training for this.”

I looked at her like she was crazy. An unexpected calm washed over her.

“First, get ahold of the Counsel and sound the bell. Your ravens, the most intelligent species of birds on this planet, and one of the most vocal. What is your distress call? Sound it now.”

“It doesn’t look like they are at the back of the house.”

She grabbed the phone from me to check for herself.

“They’re struggling to light the fire. Go to the back and sound the alarm.”

I didn’t hesitate and ran all the way. I had to manually open the window and then call my raven forward as I screeched the caw of warning as loud as I could. Three times, and then I stopped and listened. No response. So I did it again, and again. Over and over until at last I heard a cry of response.

Tears pricked my eyes.

“They’ve almost got it lit. Close the window,” Bailey yelled.

“Think, Dean. Think.” I told myself. “I got it! Let’s go.”

I grabbed her hand, and we ran down the steps and all the way to the basement.

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