Page 13 of Firedrake Betrayal
“Dude, you’re not about to just…” Patten’s voice trails off as the fingers on Shep’s right hand lengthen and sharpen to form claws. Wolf claws.
Patten and I are a couple of steps behind Shep when he swings the door open.
Standing on the porch is a petite woman whose throat I find myself staring at until I force my gaze away. Behind her is a gray Volkswagen Beetle.
It takes one quick sweep to discount her as a threat.
About five feet tall, short curly bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and probably in her mid-thirties. Sweet features. Probably a schoolteacher who likes to garden from her calf-length green floral dress and her earthy scent. She also looks familiar.
She smiles, flashing dimpled cheeks. “Hello.”
Shep holds his clawed right hand out of sight. Could this woman have gotten lost? Be looking for directions? Here to raise money for some church event?
“Can I help you?” Shep asks.
Before she can respond, Patten nudges Shep out of the way. “You were in the bar.”
Yes.
When Patten went to confront his father, I followed. This woman approached us as we were leaving.
Her gaze sharpens. “Yes, I was trying to?—”
“Pick me up.” Patten starts to close the door. “Well, if you followed me back here thinking?—”
“No.” The woman steps forward and the door bounces off her brown sandaled foot. “My name is Meliah, and I came to see Brennan. I knocked before, but you weren’t here. I’d hoped you would come back, and you did.”
Patten scratches his hair. “Yeah, well, now is not really a good time, lady. He’s not up to seeing anyone right now.”
No. He’s too busy dying.
“I know. Brennan transformed, and I watched him fall out of the sky, which could only have happened if he’s hurt. I’m here to help him.”
“I appreciate your offer. But I don’t think you can,” Shep says.
“I’m a witch, so yes, I believe I can,” Meliah says firmly.
Patten ducks behind me.
“What are you doing?” I bite out.
“You can get hit by the spell first this time,” Patten says. “One curse is one time too many. Not again.”
“I’m not here to harm. Brennan helped me once before. Please, let me help him,” Meliah says.
I look at Shep. He looks back, then he sighs.
She must take it as a sign she’s won this fight because she steps forward and I feel Patten inch back. “Can I see him?”
Meliah pushes the door closed, her eyes roving the room.
“He’s in the bedroom,” Shep says.
Patten’s hands tighten in the back of my shirt. “This is a bad idea,” he mutters.
“You’re creasing my shirt,” I angle my head to tell him.
“Yes, worry about your shirt and not about the witch in our midst,” he says, unclenching his fingers. “And I repeat, this is a bad fucking idea.”
