Page 24 of The Claiming of the Shrew
“Well—I—I don’t think I’d—” Fawkes felt himself trying to duck out of the conversation. He made himself duck back in. “Yeah, I guess so. He’s a fair bit older than me, about ten or fifteen years. I guess in some ways he’s sort of the older brother I never had. He told me I was being an idiot with you, by the way.”
“So he gives good advice, then.” Leah’s playful teasing tone changed to a wondering one as their path broke out of the trees, and abruptly they could see what they had just climbed. “Oh, wow.”
The treetops fell away below them in a sweep of soft spring green, dotted with the darker and more austere shapes of pines and firs. Fawkes hadn’t realized they had climbed so high; he had been too distracted talking with Leah to even notice.
Although the path had meandered around somewhat, they had ended up almost directly above the lodge. The roofs of the buildings were clearly visible, as well as the expanse of flower-dotted lawn. They had a birds-eye view of the sprawling region of trees and campsites that the Menagerie had taken over.
“I need to sit,” Leah said, and suited actions to words by plopping herself on top of a boulder. The trees were thin here, the ground scattered with outcroppings of rocks left over from the mountain’s glaciated past.
Leah opened her purse and took out a small pair of portable birding binoculars. She scanned the view below and then held them out to Fawkes. “Want to look?”
The binoculars, though small, were powerful, and Fawkes mused that he and Sam ought to add this brand to their standard field equipment. He focused on a couple of tiny figures moving purposefully across the lawn—that was probably Mauro and one of the other employees.
He swept the binoculars over to the theater area. The tops of the trailers and the campsites made bright splashes in the woods. He found the set by the masts and trailing ropes of the pirate ship. The cast were breaking up, drifting in small groups toward the lodge.
“Looks like everyone is heading off to dinner,” Fawkes said. He glanced up at the sun and found it was lower than he’d realized. Evening wasn’t far off.
“You know,” Leah said thoughtfully, taking the binocs back and stashing them in her purse. “While everybody’s at dinner would be a great time to check around the trailers while nobody’s there. I’m not saying lookinthem exactly, but if anyone’s been up to anything nefarious, that’d be the time.”
“It’s both prop trailers and residential ones, right?”
“Yeah, there’s a mix. Maggie’s staying in the lodge, but she also has a trailer in the campground that’s being used as a rehearsal area. So do Halstadt and some of the others.”
“Okay, I gotta know if that’s his first or last name.”
Leah laughed. “Last. I don’t know why we all call him that. I can’t even remember his first name off the top of my head. Paul? Peter? Something like that.”
Fawkes looked down the trail, back the way they’d come. “If it takes us as long to get down as it did to climb up here, they’ll be done by the time we get there. We could go straight down the hill, it looks like.”
Leah looked torn, contemplating her crutches. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea for me. I mean, I can try, but?—”
“Dumb suggestion, sorry,” Fawkes said hastily. “The trail is fine?—”
“No, wait.” Leah glanced up at him, and her gaze turned mischievous. “Want to carry me?”
He had a sudden mental image of staggering into a tree with Leah clasped in his arms, losing his balance, and falling headfirst down the mountainside. “Based on how things went earlier, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, I’d be game for it, but?—”
“I meant as a shrew.”You walnuthung in the air, unspoken.
“Oh!” Now he pictured Leah’s shrew shape, which he had only previously glimpsed in her pile of clothing during her transformations—tiny, soft, and fragile, nestled in the palm of his hand. “Yes. I’d like that.”
“You’ll also have to carry my crutches, clothes and so forth. I have a comfy shrew pocket in my purse, so I can cozy up in there while you do the work. Are you sure you don’t mind being my pack animal?”
Fawkes executed a little bow. “Ma’am, I would be honored.”
Leah rolled her eyes. “Please never call me ma’am again.” But her sense of humor glimmered at him from her eyes, especially when she stood up and began to strip.
He had already seen her naked during her previous transformations, but in those cases, she had simply dropped in and out of her clothing, not removed it piece by piece. His mouth went dry as Leah’s lean, strong, beautiful body emerged from her clothes. Her breasts were small and perfect, tipped with upright nipples a few shades lighter brown than her hair.
“Aren’t you supposed to turn your back?” Leah asked archly.
“Right, uh ...” He started to turn, caught a glimpse of Leah grinning, and then there was a little plop as she transformed and dropped to the ground.
Horror rushed through him at the idea of accidentally stepping on her. He put down his hand and carefully picked her up. She was just as small, soft, and captivating as he had thought she would be. Her tiny shrew feet tickled his palm.
Leah squeaked imperatively and began squirming toward the edge of his hand, a weird tickly feeling. Her purse was sitting on top of her clothes. She squeaked again, with surprising volume for something so small.
“Demanding little critter, aren’t you?”
