Page 38 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade

I grabbed the paper and shoved it into my pants pocket before nodding quickly to Cadee. I wasted no time hurrying out to the pump. I filled my car as Torid leapt out of the open car window, landing with ease on the concrete. I gave him a stern look and motioned with my head to the SUV that pulled up to one of the open garage bay doors.

Torid let out a huff and walked lazily over to a patch of grass near an air pump. He lifted his leg and proceeded to relieve himself without a care in the world.

My hand instantly went to the pendant and ring that were hanging around my neck. The pendant was cool to the touch for the moment, but that would change if it was activated. The ring hadn’t warmed once in the last eighteen years, and it certainly hadn’t created any more bursts of lights that left Torid and me two states away in an empty field.

I tapped it, still giving Torid a stern look.

He grunted and strolled slowly back in my direction. He jumped into the car via the open passenger-side window and got comfy on the seat once more.

A tall man with a head of ink-black hair with white sprinkled in at the temples stepped out from the driver’s side of the SUV. He was in full uniform with a white shirt.

Michael stepped out of the garage. “Brett,” he said with a nod. “Cadee was going to call Stratton to let him know…”

The passenger side of the SUV opened, and another man exited. I couldn’t get a good view of him from my angle. He was tall with brown hair, but that was all I could see. Strangely, my thoughts went back to Shaggy Professor, not that he’d been clean-cut or anything like this guy. Yet he was in my thoughts all the same and had been one of the many people whom I’d worried about for nearly two decades. If he’d survived whatever had happened to us, he’d probably be in his late fifties or early sixties by now. As would his friend—the other professor.

I’d tried using library computers over the years to search for them on the university’s faculty website, but hadn’t found any sign of them.

I finished up at the pump and was in my car again in record time. I didn’t dare glance back as I drove back the way I’d come.

ChapterFourteen

Astria

I drove,glancing in the rearview mirror more than once, paranoia setting in. In my mind Michael had told the police I was in town, and they were getting ready to take me into custody. So far, the reality seemed to be vastly different. There was no sign of the police following me.

At the sight of Gobbs, Torid stood in the seat and looked from it to me and back again.Yu-mmy, he said in my head, making me laugh.

I pulled my car into a back shaded corner area.

Torid didn’t wait for me. He was out of the car and running toward the building. In his haste, he ran into a tall man with black hair, knocking him up into the air, looking like a scene straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. Torid kept running, but the man struck the gravel-covered parking lot with a thud.

Gasping, I hurried from the car to the man who was lying flat on his back as two other men, who looked a heck of a lot like him, leaned over him, laughing hard.

“Ohmygod, are you okay?” I asked, rushing to his side.

The surrounding men continued to laugh.

“He’s fine,” said one of them, putting his hand out to the guy. “Aren’t you, Austin?”

Austin took the extended hand and rose to his feet, glancing around as he did. “What hit me? A freight train? Tell me it wasn’t another squirrel. Those things are downright hazardous to your health.”

I cringed. “My, um, dog. Sorry.”

Austin glanced toward Gobbs as Torid jumped around in circles, excited and waiting for me to come and order. “Uh, that’s a horse. Not a dog. How much does it weigh?”

“More than you probably,” said one of the other men, messing up Austin’s hair in the process like Austin was a child rather than a grown man.

Austin made a big show of fixing his hair, annoyance on his face. “Don’t mess with the hair, Brian.”

Brian snorted before looking at me. “Hi.”

Austin seemed to actually notice me for the first time as well. A suggestive smile spread over his face. He was handsome, but a bit young for me. He didn’t look like he was out of his twenties.

Brian, on the other hand, was closer to my age. He rolled his eyes and gave Austin a slight push. “Go get your kid’s cone and don’t bother trying.”

“Trying?” I asked, still concerned for Austin. Torid had struck him hard. I’d be shocked if he didn’t have some serious injuries. Torid had far more strength and size than a normal rottweiler.

Brian tried to hide his amusement. He extended his hand to me. “I’m Brian Van Helsing. The human bowling pin is my cousin, Austin.”

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