Chapter 5 #2
“I’d normally say we should make the kids aware of your ability before we question them,” she said. “Honesty is one of the virtues we try to promote here at camp.”
Shan’s eyebrows rose over the rim of his sunglasses. “But?”
She blew out her breath. “But I don’t want to lose the kids’ trust. If we tell them right at the start that you’ll know if they’re lying, it’ll seem like we’re accusing them of making the whole thing up. Even if they’re exaggerating a little, I don’t want them to feel we don’t believe them.”
“It will be easier for me to determine the truth if they are comfortable enough to speak freely.” Shan’s mouth tightened in a small grimace. “Which may be difficult enough even without revealing my ability. I’m aware I am…intimidating.”
“No kidding. Guess that’s usually an asset in your line of work, huh?”
“Yes,” Shan said, though he didn’t sound happy about it. “But not in this case. I do not wish to frighten the children.”
“You, scare those five?” Leonie snorted.
“They’re more likely to pepper you with endless questions about whether you have a secret base, and if you’ve ever had to defuse a nuclear bomb, and whether they can try on your special spy glasses.
But to be honest, I’d rather they didn’t even find out you’re from Shifter Affairs.
Like I said, I could do without gossip flying around the camp all summer. ”
Shan gazed thoughtfully at a roll of construction paper propped in a corner. “In that case, I have a suggestion.”
Leonie had to admit, it was indeed difficult to look intimating while wielding a glue stick.
Even Shan couldn’t quite pull it off. The kids still did a collective double-take when she led them into the nature hut, but that was understandable.
You didn’t often see a fully grown man sitting cross-legged on the floor, solemnly sticking colorful paper butterflies to a banner reading WELCOME TO THE NATURE HUT.
“Thanks for helping me with these, kids,” Leonie said. She put the box of books down on a table. “I didn’t want Paige carrying anything heavy in her condition. Do you mind staying to give us a hand in here?”
With clear effort, Finley wrenched his eyes away from the special agent. “Of course, Leonie. We’d be happy to help.”
Beth, Archie, and Estelle were still openly goggling at Shan. Out of all the kids, Rufus was the only one who didn’t seem fascinated by the hulking stranger inexplicably doing collage in the middle of the hut. He lurked behind his friends, staring at his shoes.
“Kids, this is Shan,” Leonie said, since she could hardly introduce him as ‘Special Agent Zhao.’ Even ‘Mr. Zhao’ would have raised questions, as camp staff always went by their first names.
“He’s helping me out with a few things today.
Shan, these are the local kids I was telling you about.
Beth, Estelle, Archie, Finley, and Rufus. ”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Beth said politely. She jabbed Archie with an elbow, muttering, “Stop staring!”
“Could you help Shan finish that welcome banner?” Leonie said to the kids. “Paige was going to do it, but she’s been called away. It would be nice to have it up on the wall by the time she gets back.”
Most of the kids were all too happy to join Shan on the floor, finding scissors and glue. Rufus, however, hung back. She could understand his hesitation. Rufus was acutely sensitive to anything out of place, and even wearing a staff T-shirt, Shan didn’t exactly blend in.
“Would you rather stay with me?” Leonie murmured to Rufus.
Rufus’s gaze flicked to Shan, then quickly away again. He nodded.
Well, it wasn’t like the agent would be able to learn much from him, anyway.
Rufus rarely spoke out loud, and she assumed Shan’s ability only worked if he could hear what someone was saying.
She wasn’t sure whether Rufus would even be able to communicate with a winged tiger.
Generally, he could only speak telepathically with other mythic shifters or close family members.
“That’s fine,” she told her nephew. “Come on. You can help me unpack these books.”
She led him to a free table, deliberately picking one a little way off from the group gathered on the floor.
Apart from a few murmured instructions to Rufus, she held her tongue, watching Shan out of the corner of her eye.
Maybe she should have stepped in to help, but she was curious to see what he would do.
Apparently, the answer was ‘not much.’ He just nodded at the kids, shifting to one side to make room for them all around the half-finished banner.
“Sooooooooo,” Estelle said, drawing out the word. “Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors, Shan?”
“Estelle,” Beth hissed.
“What?” Estelle protested. She snipped her scissors closed, beheading a paper butterfly. “I’m just asking.”
If Shan was at all fazed by the question, he didn’t show it. “Necessity.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Archie asked.
“It means he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Finley said, shooting his friends a warning look. “So we shouldn’t pry.”
Shan inclined his head in silent thanks. He carried on sticking butterflies to the banner with the gravity of a brain surgeon performing an operation.
The kids exchanged glances. The silence stretched, broken only by the snip of scissors, until Estelle finally burst out, “You don’t talk much, do you?”
“No,” Shan agreed placidly.
“Why not?” Archie asked.
“I prefer to listen.” Shan seemed wholly focused on the collective project. “The head counselor was telling me some of you had an interesting encounter recently.”
Estelle needed no further prompting. She perked up, as though she’d been waiting for an excuse to turn the conversation to this topic. “Oh, yeah! Beth, tell Shan about the ghost!”
Beth didn’t seem nearly as keen on sharing her experiences. She flushed, casting an apprehensive glance at the agent. “Um…it’s more Finley’s story, really. He got a better look at it.”
Shan tilted his head at Finley, who seemed to have discovered a sudden intense interest in drawing scientifically accurate leaves on the banner. “What did you see?”
Finley fidgeted with his pen, avoiding the agent’s hidden gaze. “Well, it’s hard to say, really.”
“Oh, come on,” Estelle said in exasperation. She leaned toward Shan, dropping her voice to what was probably meant to be a conspiratorial whisper. “They don’t want to talk because most adults don’t believe in stuff like this. They’re worried you’ll laugh at them.”
Shan’s face was as serious as a terminal diagnosis. “I will not laugh.”
“I don’t think this guy ever laughs,” Archie muttered.
“I would like to hear your story,” Shan said to Beth and Finley. For such a big man, his deep voice was surprisingly gentle. “I promise to take it seriously.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Leonie noticed Rufus pause, a book in his hands.
He was watching Shan too, she realized, though not openly.
It was always hard to read Rufus’s closed, still face, but she didn’t get the impression he’d caught the agent in a lie.
More like he’d expected Shan to lie, and was trying to figure out why he hadn’t.
“See?” Estelle said to Finley and Beth. She made a kind of ‘go on’ motion with her hands, as though trying to shoo words out of their mouths. “He wants to hear all about it. So tell him.”
Finley still looked a bit reluctant, though Leonie couldn’t tell if he was indeed worried about not being believed, or battling with his honor.
“Well…first of all, you have to understand that Thunder Mountain is a special place. I don’t mean because of the camp, or the shifter community. It has a history of strange events.”
Shan nodded, as though this wasn’t the least surprising. “I know.”
Something about the way he said it made Leonie suspect he was speaking from personal experience.
Most of those ‘strange events’ had occurred years ago, long before she’d come to Thunder Mountain herself.
Still, she’d heard enough stories from family and friends to know that Shifter Affairs had been tangentially involved.
She made a mental note to ask Zephyr if Shan had been one of the agents sent to assist.
Finley, for his part, seemed reassured by this calm reception to his tale so far. He relaxed a little, words flowing more easily. “Years ago, something evil came into our world here. I wasn’t even born back then, so I’ve only heard my parents’ stories. They drove it back—”
“With my parents,” Estelle broke in, clearly unable to contain herself.
“And mine,” Beth added, her narrow shoulders straightening with pride. “My mom and dad both fought too.”
Archie, finding himself left out of this story, folded his arms, his bottom lip sticking out. “Hmph. If there had been any bears there, I bet the battle would have been over a lot quicker.”
“Bears make strong allies,” Shan said, which made Archie stop pouting. “But in any case, I know that the evil was defeated. Permanently.”
“Yeah, that’s how our parents tell it too.” Estelle dropped her voice, adopting a spooky tone. “But was it?”
Shan tilted his head at her. “You believe it was not?”
Estelle shrugged. “From what my dad says, there were a lot of evil things running around back then. Maybe one of ‘em managed to hide. Everyone says there’s still something creepy lurking in the woods.”
Archie nodded eagerly. “It’s true. I met a camper last year who had stone cold proof that the ghost really exists. His older brother was at camp three years ago, and he swore on his life that one of his packmates had a friend in another cabin whose sister’s cousin actually saw it.”
Shan, to his credit, somehow managed to keep a straight face. “I see. But I am more interested in the most recent encounter. What exactly did you see, Finley?”
Finley hesitated. Archie and Estelle stared pointedly at him, as if he were an actor who’d missed his cue.