Chapter 18 #2
Honey couldn’t help her catch of breath.
Even though there was nothing left of the girl, somehow she still looked like Beth—the same long limbs and attentive gaze, that sense of quivering eagerness.
Her coat was the same russet red as her hair in human form, gleaming with auburn highlights.
Long black socks marked each leg, as though she’d been dipped in ink.
Her mane and tail were black too, soft and silky.
With a whisper like satin rubbing together, the pegasus unfolded her wings. They were mottled in a striking pattern of red and black, each feather fading to white at the tips. The pegasus turned her head in Honey’s direction, ears pricking.
“Oh, Beth.” Honey couldn’t resist reaching out a hand to those astonishing wings. The feathers flexed under her touch, warm and living. “You’re so beautiful. Look at you. Just look at you!”
The pegasus ducked her head bashfully, mane tumbling over her neck. Her ears flicked toward the cliff, and she let out a little whinny, one hoof pawing at the ground.
Honey patted her neck. “Yes, you can go.”
Beth didn’t need to be told twice. She launched herself off the cliff, legs tucking up underneath her like a horse clearing a jump. Honey’s hair whipped across her face as Beth beat her wings, soaring into the air.
Something bumped against Honey’s hip. She looked down, and had to bite back a yelp. Two golden eyes regarded her solemnly, set on either side of an enormous hooked beak.
“Rufus?” she whispered.
The young griffin blinked at her. He head-bumped her again, like a friendly cat.
Surprise giving way to delight, Honey kneeled, holding out a hand. Rufus rubbed his beak against her fingers. She ran her hand down his neck, feeling the place where the gold feathers changed to tawny fur. A low, deep rumble started up in his chest.
“You purr! ” She laughed, ruffling his feathers. “You may look tough, but you’re just a big kitten, aren’t you?”
Rufus playfully snapped his beak at her, then bounded away. Flora and Archie were already in animal form, chasing each other around the meadow. Rufus joined in the game, his half-eagle, half-lion form dwarfing both of them. Even discounting the wings, he was easily twice the size of Archie’s bear.
If that’s what he’s like now, how big is he going to be when he grows up?
A pang went through her heart as she realized it was something she’d never know. She wasn’t going to get to watch any of the campers grow from quirky, funny kids into strong, confident young adults, let alone help them on that journey.
A tentative tug at her elbow pulled her out of her melancholy thoughts. Looking down, she found Claire peering up at her, expression worried.
“Honey,” Claire whispered. “Do we have to shift?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Honey whispered back. “Why don’t you go join Finley and Estelle at the waterfall? They aren’t shifting either.”
Looking a bit happier, Claire went to join the others.
Honey did a quick head count, checking that she could see all the kids.
Ignatius was ostentatiously ignoring his fellow campers, moodily flicking pebbles into the stream.
Flora, Archie, and Rufus were a noisy, tumbling ball of fur and feathers, Flora’s wombat holding her own against the two boys despite her much smaller size.
The three campers still in human form seemed happily engaged in poking about the waterfall.
Beth turned effortless spirals above them all, her shadow skimming across the ground.
Honey bit her lip. Kids who could fly were well outside her comfort zone. Beth looked like she was in control, but it was still a long way down…
“Don’t worry about Beth,” Buck said, as if reading Honey’s mind.
He dumped a pile of sticks next to the area that he’d cleared.
“She’s been flying since she was knee high to a gnat.
She’s not going to fall out of the air if you take your eyes off her.
Sit down and rest, damn it. How’re you holding up? ”
Honey gingerly lowered herself to the grass, wincing as her abused knees protested. It really had been quite a hike. “Oh, I’m fine.”
From the look Buck gave her, he wasn’t fooled. “These kids have literally superhuman stamina. Don’t kill yourself trying to keep up. Take off your shoes and socks so your feet have a chance to recover. We won’t be heading back for a while.”
Honey was only too glad to rest her tired feet. Rubbing at her soles, she watched, bemused, as Buck assembled twigs and sticks into a rough pyramid. He pulled out a firesteel, striking a spark with a quick, practiced motion.
“Is this all part of your plan?” she asked him.
He bent over to breathe on the tiny flames, coaxing them higher. “Yep.”
“And what, exactly, is your plan?”
“This.” Buck fed a couple more twigs into the fire. He lifted his voice. “All right, you feral fur balls, enough horsing around. Or bearing around, as the case may be. Who wants to learn how to make a fire?”
From the excited whoops and general scramble for clothes, it seemed everyone did. Beth landed, her hooves turning to feet as the moment they touched the ground. Even Ignatius showed a flicker of interest, following the other kids at a distance as the whole pack came charging over.
When they saw the campfire—now burning merrily—they stopped. Mass confusion descended.
“Aw,” Archie said in disappointment. “I thought you said you were going to teach us how to make fire.”
Buck calmly added a branch to the crackling flames. “I am.”
“But it’s already lit,” Estelle pointed out.
“Yep.” Buck poked at the fire with a stick. “Cardinal rule, kids. Never make a fire unless you’re damn certain you can put it out again. So here’s the first lesson. How would you extinguish this fire?”
Beth immediately thrust a hand into the air.
“Full marks for enthusiasm, but I want to hear other suggestions first,” Buck told her. He looked around the circle. “Claire? Any thoughts?”
Claire went bright red. She looked around for help, then down at her feet. She mumbled, almost inaudibly, “With… water?”
Buck made a neutral sound, deep in his throat. “And did anyone bring a bucket?”
The campers blinked at him.
“Uh,” Flora said after a moment. “Were we meant to bring a bucket?”
Buck shrugged, going back to poking at the fire. “Going to be hard to carry water without one.”
“We could use our hands,” Flora suggested. “The stream’s not that far away.”
Rufus shook his head.
“Rufus says that wouldn’t work,” Finley relayed. “The fire’s too big already. We wouldn’t be able to carry enough water to put it out.”
“Good eyes, Rufus. You’re right.” Buck tossed his stick into the fire. “And while you’re all standing around trying to figure out what to do, this fire’s spreading. Any bright ideas? Still not you, Beth. Try not to explode.”
Beth, who did indeed look on the verge of spontaneous human (or, Honey supposed, shifter) combustion, reluctantly lowered her hand. The other campers stared into the campfire as though trying to put it out with sheer willpower.
“Maybe jump on it or something?” Flora said, sounding uncertain. “That’s what they always do with fires in movies.”
“We could smother it,” Finley agreed. “But what with?”
Archie shouted, “Flora’s butt!”
“Good thinking, two of you,” Buck said over the outbreak of snickers. “Archie, see me after class. Anyone else want to chip in with ideas not involving anyone’s rear end? No? All right, Beth. Go ahead.”
Beth had gone red-faced, biting her lower lip with the effort of holding herself back.
Now words spilled out of her in an eager rush.
“Fire needs three things to burn. Oxygen, heat, and fuel. We don’t have a way to remove the heat, so we have to remove oxygen and fuel.
The first thing to do is to knock the fire apart and remove any fuel that hasn’t caught yet.
Then we should smother it with moist dirt, and stir the ashes to make sure any remaining embers are—”
“Thank you, that’s enough,” Buck interrupted. “Full marks for a clear, accurate, and comprehensive answer. Also, no.”
Beth deflated somewhat. “But… that’s how my dad puts out campfires.”
“Your dad is a highly trained, experienced wildland firefighter.” Buck shoved another stick into the hungry flames. “Also, he’s not here. Fire’s spreading, kids. Better think fast.”
By now, the fire was starting to reach the limits of the space Buck had cleared for it. A branch cracked, shooting embers into the air. A couple of the kids flinched back.
“Honey?” Flora said, turning to her. “Can you give us a clue?”
Honey shook her head, privately fascinated to find out where Buck was going with this. “This is Buck’s lesson, not mine. I’m as much in the dark as you, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t worry, guys,” Estelle said, though her words were more confident than her expression. “Buck’s just messing with us. He wouldn’t actually let that fire get out of hand.”
Buck’s deadpan expression gave nothing away. He added more fuel, flames licking higher. The kids exchanged wide-eyed looks, bafflement starting to border on panic.
“Maybe we should use Flora’s butt?” Archie said, and this time he didn’t sound like he was joking. “I mean, this is shifter camp, right? So maybe we’re supposed to use our shift forms somehow.”
“How about we use your butt,” Flora snapped. She folded her arms. “I’m not sitting on that.”
“I don’t see how my pegasus could help,” Beth said. “Or Rufus’s griffin.”
“How about you, Ignatius?” Finley turned to the other boy. “You’re a dragon, after all. Your scales are fireproof, right? Maybe you could put it out by rolling on it.”
“I am the heir to the entire Golden clan,” Ignatius said, every syllable sharp enough to cut. “And you want me to roll around in the dirt? ”
“I’d rather you rolled off the cliff, actually,” Estelle muttered.
“Well, my shift form won’t help,” Finley said hurriedly, as Ignatius glared daggers at Estelle. “Claire? Would your animal be any use?”