Chapter 8 - Drake
We ran through the desert, paws thundering on the ground, kicking up dirt and sand behind us.
I inhaled the fresh air, caught glimpses of scents of fresh prey and rain somewhere on the horizon.
The wind ran through my fur. It felt great to stretch out my legs, to get out and just run.
It had been so long since I had gotten the chance to shift and run through the desert that I hadn’t realized how badly I’d missed it.
But I couldn’t enjoy it for too long. We were on patrol, after all, and I couldn’t afford to lose myself in the run the way I normally would. Still, I could let myself forget all the problems for at least a few moments.
Except that only lasted a couple more minutes. A second later, a horrific stench made me stagger to a halt. Behind me, I heard other growls and the skidding of paws as others followed suit, the same reek forcing them to stop as well.
The smell of sulfur burned my nostrils, made worse by the heightened sense of being in wolf form. I growled, pawing at the ground as I shook my head to get rid of the worst of the scent, but it did nothing.
Glancing around, I tried to catch a glimpse of anything that might be causing the stench, only to find nothing that might point to it.
The wind carried it across the desert, somewhere from the northwest. A growl reverberated low in my throat as I turned toward it, fur bristling.
By now, we all knew the scent: demons. Some were nearby, or had been recently.
Snarling, I lunged forward in that direction, taking off like a gunshot.
The others followed behind me. My eyes stung as I forced myself to follow the horrendous smell.
There were iron weapons in the pack strapped to my back.
If we came across the demons, they would have an unpleasant surprise to deal with.
After a few minutes, I came to a stop, snarling. The sulfur stench was even stronger here, almost unbearable. But what I saw was even worse. Horror struck me as I took in the sight before me.
The waterbed was entirely dry, as if there had never been water here to begin with.
The shrubbery was blackened and twisted as if burnt.
The ground seemed scorched, blackened, almost as if cursed.
I knew without knowing a thing about horticulture that nothing would grow here for a long time, not even the most resilient succulent.
A low growl reverberated next to me. Turning, I saw Elias.
His hulking wolf form loomed over most of the rest of the pack.
His fangs were bared in a snarl as he looked out at the devastation.
A moment later, the wolf was gone, replaced with Elias’s human form, that same snarl and pure rage burning on his face.
“I can’t believe it,” Elias said as Sam, Oz, and I shifted back to human.
“This is…what the hell?” Sam said.
“The demons cut off the water somehow,” Oz snarled.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Elias said. “The water was fine a quarter-mile back. It flows straight here. What the hell could have done this?”
“You don’t think it was the demons?” Sam asked.
Elias shook his head, but I was the one who answered.
“If the demons could do this, then they would have already,” I said.
No one responded right away. Everyone looked out at the devastation, taking it in.
Elias took a long moment to study the sight, clearly holding back rage as his fingers curled into fists. No one spoke, letting him come up with a plan. A moment later, he turned to look at us.
“Everyone go in pairs, scout the area,” he barked at the others. To Sam, Oz, and me, he said, “You three stay.”
Everyone obeyed. A minute later, the four of us were alone, staring down at a dry riverbed that had been fresh just a day ago.
I clambered into the middle, crouching and rubbing my hand on the ground. Bone-dry dirt coated my fingers, not a trace of moisture to be found anywhere.
“I went past this area yesterday. It shouldn’t be possible for it to get this dry in twenty-four hours,” I said.
Shaking his head, Elias growled. He ran his hands along the riverbed as well, brow furrowed.
“What do you think, Oz?” Elias asked.
Oz was uncharacteristically grim as he looked out, his jaw set as he shook his head. “I’m not sure,” he said. “This isn’t like anything I’ve seen in any of my research, at least not when it comes to imps and other lesser demons. This is too expansive, too powerful for anything that low-tier.”
The Oracle’s warning echoed in my head once again as I stared out at the desert. Some great danger was coming. Looking out at the devastation, I believed every word of it. Whatever was happening, there was more to it than a little bit of chaos by some imps.
“So what are we thinking, then?” Elias asked.
“No idea.” Oz’s eyes narrowed as he considered.
They swept across the ruined landscape, calculating, assessing every detail that he could in the short span of time he had.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would have said it was one of the more powerful demons.
The reek of sulfur definitely suggests as much.
But that doesn’t make any sense. Imps and other lesser demons might help a wraith.
Greater demons rarely leave their domain, and there’s no way in hell they would work with another creature.
Based on all my research, they’re selfish by nature.
They wouldn’t want to share any power, let alone with something like a wraith. ”
“All right, so we’re looking for something that isn’t a demon but does similar damage to one, and shares some of the same telltale signs,” Elias muttered. “Should be simple.”
“Don’t worry,” Oz said. “I’m going back and burying my head in a bunch of books, only coming up to breathe to scour the internet for more information. I’m going to figure out what’s going on here.”
He was furious, but I also knew he was excited in his own way. He always loved a challenge, and this one was about as complex as you could get. He clapped me on the shoulder, nodded to Elias, then shifted back into a wolf and charged back toward the town.
I watched him for a moment before turning back to Elias and Sam. “Whatever this is, we have to assume it’s not friendly,” I growled.
“I’d say that’s a fair assessment,” Elias said.
“Why the river, though?” Sam asked, brow knitting together. “What’s the point? It didn’t dry the entire riverbed or anything like that. And this river doesn’t flow into town. We don’t use it for water. Maybe fishing in summer sometimes, but that’s it. So it isn’t a strategic choice, either.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “But it is on our patrol route.”
Elias’s head whipped around toward me. “You think they planned for us to find it?”
“I think it would be absurd not to take that into consideration,” I growled.
“I don’t know why, beyond the fact that maybe they wanted to do it to prove a point or scare us.
But I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence. If there was some reason they wanted to do this in private, there are plenty of places they could have done this where we wouldn’t have noticed. ”
“So it’s what, a warning?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s clear they didn’t care one way or the other if we found it. And if it was a warning and they picked this specific creek knowing we would find it, there’s another thing we need to consider.”
When both Sam and Elias looked at me, waiting to explain, I added, “They know our patrol routes. Probably even the timing of them.”
Neither of them said anything as they let that sink in. Once again, I thought back to the Oracle, her warning. Was this what she had seen? What the hell could have caused this?
“Even if that’s the case, we can’t afford to leave this the way it is.
This river is too important for the wildlife and ecosystem.
” Elias frowned, staring at the destruction with slitted eyes.
“We’ll get Emma to come and see if she can’t at least restart the water,” he said.
“Though keep her guarded at all times. I’m not taking any risks.
I don’t like bringing her out here at all, but we need to get this water moving again if it’s at all possible. ”
I nodded. Part of me wondered if the riverbed here would ever flow again. But if anyone could make it happen, it would be Emma. That much, I was sure of.
“Come on,” Elias growled. “Let’s make sure there aren’t any more demons lurking in the area, then we’ll head out. Hopefully, it won’t take long for Oz to come up with something.”
***
I had other things on my mind that didn’t involve demons or dried riverbeds.
The bits of my thoughts that weren’t preoccupied with that swirled around Liv.
Things hadn’t improved since our conversation.
Liv still left the room as quickly as possible whenever I came in, unless I asked her to stop.
I wanted to change things, to make them a bit easier between us.
I had a plan, or at least the beginnings of a plan, but I needed help.
Which was why I found myself walking up to Jessie as she stepped out of work the following afternoon.
“Hey, Jessie,” I called.
Jessie turned. She blinked in surprise as I approached.
“Hey, Drake,” she said. “What’s up?”
I hesitated for a moment, then pushed forward. “I was hoping for your help on something,” I admitted. When Jessie raised her eyebrows expectantly, I continued. “I want to do something nice for Liv. I was hoping you might have some suggestions.”
“Oh. Oh.”
The surprised blinks intensified, and I wondered how much she knew about Liv and me. I couldn’t imagine Liv telling her much, but I had been wrong before. At the very least, I got the sense that Jessie guessed something wasn’t quite right between the two of us.
“I mean, I can try,” Jessie said. “What sort of thing are you thinking?”
Shrugging, I rubbed my neck, glancing around. “I’m not sure. She’s been sort of closed off about that sort of stuff. I’ve tried asking, and she doesn’t ever really answer.”
“Really? That doesn’t sound like Liv,” Jessie said.
I shrugged, feeling more uncomfortable every moment. “Do you think you can help?” I grunted.
Jessie chewed the inside of her cheek as she contemplated. “Liv’s got a big romantic streak.”
“I could believe that,” I said. It fit with everything else I knew about her.
Jessie’s lip twitched upward in agreement. “She likes beauty and secrets, that sort of thing.” Jessie shrugged as she scratched at her elbow, brow knitted. “Honestly, grand romantic gestures are always a surefire way to make her happy.”
“What constitutes a ‘grand romantic gesture’?” I asked.
Letting out a puff of air, Jessie gave a half-shrug. “I mean, that depends on the person, I think. What counts for someone isn’t going to count for another, you know?”
I scratched the back of my neck as I frowned, my general discomfort continuing to stir.
“I don’t know if Liv has told you, but I’m not really big on public stunts,” I said. “They come across as cheesy and forced to me. They seem more fake than anything else.”
Jessie smirked, and she looked as though she might have been trying to bite back a laugh.
“‘Grand’ doesn’t have to mean big or public,” she countered.
“I think it means it’s more about it being special and thoughtful than anything else.
That’s what matters to Liv. She wants to know that you care, that you think about her enough to know what would be special to her.
She’d rather something private and intimate that shows you understand her as opposed to something large and bombastic that tells her you don’t have a clue about her at all. ”
I let that sink in, nodding as I processed the words. It made sense. It fit with what I knew about Liv, and it gave me somewhere to start.
“Thanks, Jessie,” I said. “This helps a lot.”
Liv gave me a speculative look, head tilted as she considered me, something inscrutable in her gaze as she regarded me.
“You’re welcome,” she finally said. “Liv’s one of my best friends. I want to make sure she’s happy.”
There was a hidden threat there, a cautionary tale: If you hurt Liv, then I will hunt you down and make you wish you’d never been born. The burning intensity in her stare was enough to tell me she would carry out that threat the second she thought I had hurt Liv.
“I want to make sure she’s happy, too,” I said.
She blinked, taken aback. Her head tilted again as she considered me.
“Fair enough,” she said. “I’m glad to hear it.” She checked her phone. “I’ve got to go. Good luck!”
She gave a friendly wave as she turned to walk away.
I walked back down the house, hands stuffed in my pockets as I let my mind wander, mulling over what Jessie had told me.
Liv liked beauty and secrets. She wanted something that showed I knew her, rather than something anyone could do for someone else.
She wanted something that told her I cared about her, that I thought about her.
If someone had told me a year ago I would try this hard to make my mate happy, when I didn’t believe in mates to begin with, I would have laughed. Now, all I could think about was how I wanted to make Liv happy. I wanted her to be comfortable. I wanted her warm smile to be directed at me.
Beauty and secrets. Someplace special.
An idea crept over me. The more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me.
I just had to hope that it would appeal to Liv, too.