Chapter 12
Eli walked from his house toward the shop.
The streets were deserted. He might not have cared on any other day, but now it left him nervous.
Where was everyone? Even if the bank and the shop were closed on the weekends, people milled about.
Weekends were when they had time to visit friends, time to work in their gardens, and most often there was a lot of borrowing each other's tools or helping each other with one project or other, but there wasn't a single person in sight.
He rounded a corner, and the shop came into view, but the moment he stepped onto the street, there was a bang. A gunshot.
Eli froze.
A second later, there was movement to his right. He turned to see Theodore Carner holster a handgun. "Got it."
It took a few seconds before Eli could find his voice. "Got what?"
Theodore crossed the street and grabbed a crow by its feet from within the narrow passage leading to the shop's back door. The air froze in Eli's lungs. "You shot it?" His voice was no more than a whisper. Who was it?
Theodore shook the bird a little. A drop of blood landed on the ground, and Eli's stomach threatened to turn.
"Should teach them not to come in here."
"You can't shoot birds." Fuck, if it was a shifter, they'd all die now. Thano might have acted like a civilized person this morning, but if someone killed his people, there would be a blood bath.
"Sure I can. The sheriff has put a bounty on every bird shot in town."
Eli turned. There was no use in getting milk or butter. There would be no cupcakes. There would be fear and death instead.
He hurried back the way he'd come, almost colliding with Lisa-Mae. She was pale as she tilted her face to meet Eli's gaze. "Was that a gunshot?" Her whisper almost got eaten by the spring morning.
"Yes. Theodore Carner shot a crow."
She gripped his arms. "A crow or a crow?"
"Don't know. If people start to die in a bit, we'll know for sure."
She stared into his eyes. "What do we do?"
"The sheriff has put a bounty on birds shot within the town limits."
Her hand flew to her mouth. "No. No, they can't. We'll die."
They would. "Stay inside. I fear more idiots are walking around with guns. I'll try to...talk to Thano."
She nodded before turning around and hurrying down the street. Eli followed her, continuing on when she turned into her house. His street was deserted. It was only he and the Gallos who lived there, and Romeo had made sure to get them out of town already.
He followed his own example and went inside to wait for Thano to arrive.
It took forty-five minutes before there was a knock on the door, and when it came, Eli wasn't sure he could face the reality. Slowly, he went to open.
Alice was waiting on the landing. Her smile fell when Eli only stared at her.
"Is Thano with you?"
An invisible hand cupped his elbow, and he almost jerked away. "Inside." He looked up and down the street while he waited for Alice, and most likely Thano, to enter. He couldn't see anyone watching his house, but if they were crouching by a corner, he wouldn't be able to.
"What's going on?" Thano's voice filled the room, and a second later, he was visible. Dressed in a black suit that fit him perfectly, a white shirt, and a dark red bow tie. Eli wasn't sure he'd seen him in a bow tie before. He kept staring at it.
"Eli?" Thano's voice softened.
"Theodore Carner shot a crow."
Thano might as well have turned into an ice sculpture. The air grew frigid around him. "What?"
His fangs were always there, but they were more or less prominent.
Eli believed they elongated when he was about to use them, but his teeth were never entirely human.
He was good at hiding them when he wanted to.
The tips often peeked out when he spoke, which Eli suspected was deliberate.
Now they were on full display, and a chill went through Eli.
"Jack Ambrose, the sheriff, is offering a bounty for every bird shot within town limits. I was heading to the shop when I heard a gunshot. I stopped, and Theodore was there, outside my shop. He shot a crow who'd been pecking at something in the small walkway leading to the back door. It's dead."
Alice made a sound, but Eli didn't look at her. His eyes never left Thano.
"I turned around and hurried back, not wanting to be out and about if people were shooting in the streets. I almost collided with Lisa-Mae." He fell silent for a second, not sure if there was any use in asking for favors. "Lisa-Mae is a good woman. She'd never do anything to hurt the others."
Thano's eyes narrowed.
"There are good people here, Thano."
"We need to head back." Thano turned to Alice. "Drive him to the ranch. I'll shadow walk." Then he was gone. Could he walk through walls? He looked at Alice, then the door sounded. Whether he could go through walls or not, he didn't this time.
"Better pack a bag." Alice gave him a wobbly smile.
"You think?" He took a step in the direction of his bedroom only to turn back. "What about my animals?"
Alice filled her cheeks with air. "We'll bring them."
"Chickens and rabbits?"
She shrugged. "If I were you, I'd bring them. If they'll level Last Hope to the ground, I'd love for there to be eggs in the aftermath. While you pack, I think I'll run home and grab my seeds."
Eli stared at her. "You think this is the end?"
"I think Thano will be at The Moonlight Ranch in a few minutes, he'll call the crows, and if someone is missing, I think we better be on the road back before they can gather everyone and head here."
He nodded, but he couldn't help but think about Lisa-Mae, Rosie, and Elijah. There were more people he cared about, but those were the ones who he was certain feared the direction the board was taking.
"Let's go, Eli. We have one chance to get out, we better take it."
He gave her one curt nod and headed to the bedroom to pack.
* * * *
Thano had never traveled between Last Hope and The Moonlight Ranch as fast as he did now. When he appeared on the gravel road between the rickety cabins in front of Romeo's, he didn't take more than a second to catch his breath.
"Crows!" He called as loudly as he could, and Ciar and Draven tumbled out of Romeo's house shortly followed by Romeo, Lorenzo, Teresa, and Maria. Humbert rushed out of the forest. Thano ignored them all and scanned the sky.
A black form came flying directly toward him between the tree trunks. They only slowed when they were out in the open. It landed on the gravel and shifted. "Thano?" Lark tilted her head as if she was still in crow form.
"Is anyone missing?"
Before she could reply more crows came flying. Fala landed next to Lark and shifted. There was a gasp from the terrace, he couldn't tell if it was Lorenzo, Teresa, or Maria, but he didn't care. They were at The Moonlight Ranch. This was wild country.
"Are you missing anyone?" He focused on Fala since she was the leader.
She gave a slow shake of her head, but the look in her eye was uncertain. "I don't think so." She turned and faced the murder that had settled in the nearby trees. "Is anyone missing?"
There were several low caws while they waited. Seconds went by while Fala made eye contact with several of the birds. Thano couldn't tell them apart when they were in crow form.
"No one is missing."
The air fit in his lungs again. "No one is allowed to go into Last Hope, no one with feathers."
Several grating coos rose to the sky, but Thano ignored them. "Is Raven here?"
One of the crows took to the air, which Thano interpreted as they were going to get her.
"Thano." Romeo stepped off the terrace and walked up to him. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell everyone once Raven is here."
A handful of crows lifted from the branches and flew in different directions.
"Where is Alice?" Lorenzo's voice shook. Thano could understand the worry for a mate, so he turned to face him.
"She's with Eli. They're bringing the car back."
"Is it safe?"
"Safer than if she were to stay." A knot formed in his belly. Maybe he shouldn't have left them. What if something happened to Eli?
Raven walked out from the forest, a crow sitting on her shoulder. "You called?" Her tone was annoyed.
"No one is allowed to go into Last Hope, but definitely not any birds." He turned to the tree with the most crows in. "Not in bird form and not in human form."
The air flickered as Emeric dropped the shadows around him. "What about feeding?"
"Stay in the shadows. We can't be seen."
Emeric dipped his head in acceptance, and Thano was sure the word would be spread among the vampires.
"What happened?" Raven stepped closer.
"Alice and I drove into town to pick up Eli, we were supposed to do the surprise.
" He gestured at Fala who nodded eagerly.
"To be able to do it, Eli needed a few things from the shop, but since it's Saturday, it's closed.
He said he'd go in through the back door to get it while I found someone who could drive us. "
A crow landed next to Lark and shifted into Byrd. "I flew to Fisherman's Lake to deliver Eli's message to the man who came in through the back door."
Thano wasn't sure what it had to do with anything, so he gave Byrd a nod and continued. "Before Eli reached the shop, there was a gunshot."
Someone hissed, and Thano looked toward the trees where several of the bears and a few of the vampires had gathered.
"Theodore Carner, who is on the board, shot a crow right outside Eli's shop. It's dead. Eli didn't know if it was a natural crow or breed. He hurried home as quickly as he could and waited for Alice and me to arrive." He focused on the crows again. "You're sure there isn't a crow missing?"
Fala, Lark, and Byrd all turned to face the tree where the most crows perched. There were hoarse caws, clicks, and weird rattles, but Thano couldn't pick up on any panic.
"No, everyone is here." Fala spoke in a loud voice to make sure everyone heard her, and there was a collective breath of relief.
"The sheriff will reward anyone who shoots a bird within town limits."
"Reward them how?" Byrd looked more curious than afraid.
"I don't know. Eli said a bounty." He turned to Romeo. "Did he mean money?"
Romeo nodded. "Most likely, yes."
"And as of yesterday, no breed is allowed in town. I don't know if there is a bounty on us too."
Conal walked toward him, his eyes those of his wolf, and his teeth sharper than normal. "This is the board's doing."
"I would assume so. I don't think the sheriff can act on his own." He glanced at Romeo again who shook his head in confirmation.
Conal growled. "We can't let this continue. We had control, and now we're letting them push us out."
Thano took a deep breath. "We had a meeting."
Silence fell and held.
"Does anyone have someone they care about in Last Hope?" Thano looked around. "I'm taking Eli to my place. Anyone want to get anyone else out?"
No one replied, but Conal frowned.
"Conal?"
"Aren't we doing anything?"
Thano shrugged. "Are we going to do something?" He looked around, but no one met his gaze.
Conal grimaced. "What about Elijah?"
Who? "What about him?"
"I...eh...when I went to see him about the telephone, I got the feeling no one is looking out for him. The board members don't like him, not after all those weeks wasted on arguing about the phone."
Thano assumed the same held true for many people, like the woman Eli had mentioned, for example.
"I wanted to go to the market on Wednesday." Byrd looked disheartened.
"No birds in Last Hope." Thano wasn't sure how to deal with this.
Last time, the humans had attacked them on their land, but this time they kept to Last Hope.
Should they interfere or should they leave them be?
"Meeting tonight?" He spoke low and directed the question to Conal, but he was sure most of the people around them heard him.
"Yes."
Thano turned toward the trees. "Meeting tonight." He looked at the humans on the terrace. "Let's make it here, so the humans can participate."
There was a murmur, then the crows dispersed.
Romeo sighed. "You think it'll be a long-term thing?"
"I don't know. I guess it depends on whether we'll do something or not."
Nodding, Romeo turned to walk back to his house.
* * * *