Chapter 9
Thano spotted Byrd land outside his house a moment before there was a knock on his door. What the hell?
He opened to glare at him. "Yes?"
"I left Eli alone."
"Okay." Thano didn't know what else to say. They'd always left Eli alone before.
"Joshua left too, the sheriff gave him a warning, and everyone is scared."
Scared? "Scared of what?"
"Not sure, but the town is quiet. Everyone is moving around as if they're expecting an attack, hiding, being silent to not draw attention to themselves. It's strange. Can I have a table at the market?"
Thano blinked. "What?" How did they go from attacks to markets?
"Eli said he wasn't sure, and I should ask you. I would trade things, not sell things."
Taking a breath, Thano looked at him. "You want to bring things to the market and trade with the humans?"
"Yes. I'm gonna trade with Eli today."
"Is Eli allowed to trade?" Thano didn't think businesses were allowed to trade things.
"He'll buy it from the shop and then trade it with me."
He guessed no one could say what Eli could and couldn't do with the money he had. "What are you trading?"
"A shiny."
"A shiny what?"
"It had a handle and several shiny metal strings forming a ball at the end."
Ball? Thano went through all the kitchen utensils he could think of. "Are you giving it to Eli or is Eli giving it to you?"
"Eli giving it to me, of course. If I had it already, I wouldn't give it to Eli."
Of course not.
"So can I trade on the market next week?"
"I'm not sure." He was silent for a bit. "I can ask the board." It would give him a reason to go into town.
"Great! I need to get a thing for Eli now." Then he shifted. Thano remained in the doorway until he'd flown off. Crows.
He shut the door behind him and shadow walked toward Last Hope.
* * * *
About an hour later, Thano stepped out of City Hall, ready to tear some throats out. Fucking humans. He crossed the street with determined steps, making a woman whimper as she moved out of his way. He flashed fangs in reply.
"Stop." A man puffed his chest like Romeo's rooster and stepped into his path. Thano looked him directly in the eyes. There was a flicker of fear, but mostly distaste.
"Yes?" Thano spoke with his fangs on full display.
"No others in town."
"What?"
"New law as of today. Supes aren't allowed to be in town."
Thano glanced at his chest again since the man tried to make it bigger.
The star. It must be why he was acting like a stupid bird.
He wanted Thano to see the star. Thano huffed a laugh.
"You think you can decide if breed will come into town or not?
" He took a step closer to the man, anger igniting inside.
"You're cattle, you can moo all you want, but in the end, you're nothing but walking meat. "
The man fumbled to get his gun out of the holster, and Thano pulled the shadows around him and continued his walk to Eli's shop. Idiots. Humans were idiots.
As he neared the shop, he noted the chickens in the crate outside the door.
They didn't look as terrible as Romeo's had when he'd acquired them, but they didn't look as healthy as those poor birds looked now either.
Maybe Thano should buy them for him. If Romeo had more chickens, he'd have more eggs, and then he could sell them to Eli or trade them with someone else.
The door opened, and an elderly woman stepped out with a basket on her arm. Thano slipped by her unseen and walked into the shop before the door closed.
Eli leaned his elbows on the counter and breathed deeply. There was no one else in the shop, and Thano took a moment to study him. He looked tired. Scared. And worst of all, dejected.
Eli raised his head and looked in Thano's direction with a crease between his brows. "Hello?" It wasn't more than a whisper, but it made Thano grin.
"Byrd?" He rounded the counter and almost walked straight into Thano as he looked down the other side of the middle table.
Thano ran a finger over the backside of Eli's hand. He yelped as if burned and almost fell as he jerked back. Thano cupped his elbow to make sure he stayed on his feet and dropped the shadows.
"Fuck, Thano." Eli placed a hand on his chest while Thano still held his elbow. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
Thano smiled, his anger ebbing away, and without thinking he caressed Eli's arm with his thumb. Eli looked at him, a look of something Thano couldn't name taking over his eyes.
"Are you okay?" He touched Thano's upper arm with the hand he'd held over his heart, and Thano moved a little closer. Eli's eyes widened and he glanced over his shoulder toward the door before focusing on Thano again.
Thano waited. Had he been Ciar and Eli had been Romeo, they'd touch their mouths to each other's now, but Thano wasn't sure how to do it.
There was a twitch at the corner of Eli's mouth before a smile formed. "What are you doing?" He spoke in a whisper.
"Waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to do the mouth thing."
Eli's eyes widened. "The mouth thing?"
"Kiss." He stepped closer still, wanting to try it now. Thano slid the hand from Eli's elbow up to his shoulder, then his neck.
Eli blew out a shuddering breath. "It's not safe." Then he bent and touched his lips to Thano's. It was weird, but a great sign of trust. Warmth bloomed in his chest. He could bite Eli, but he trusted him not to.
When Eli gently pressed a hand to Thano's back, he stepped close enough for their chests to touch. He had to crane his neck since Eli was a good bit taller than he was, but when Eli moved his hand from his back to cradle his head, he didn't care.
Then Eli wrenched away, eyes wide as he looked out the window. "Fuck!"
Thano wasn't sure what had made him stop, but he'd hoped it would last longer. "I went to the board."
All color drained from Eli's face. "You reported me?" Then he rubbed a hand over his mouth in rough motions. "You set me up." He spoke into his hand before gesturing at Thano without looking at him. Thano wasn't sure what was going on.
"They said Byrd isn't allowed to trade things in Last Hope. They said as of today breed aren't welcome."
Eli stilled, no more jerky motions, he was a frozen statue or whatever they were called. "What?"
"Are you okay?" Maybe he was sick. Humans did get sick. Was it because he hadn't eaten properly? Thano should've gone home with him instead of going to see Samir last night.
"No! What's going on?"
"I'm not sure. They said breed aren't allowed in Last Hope. It's not sanitary to have animals on the streets. They've fired Conal from the board, and from midday today, breed aren't allowed within town limits."
Eli blinked, then rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. "What?"
Thano smiled, almost all anger gone now.
* * * *
Eli wasn't sure what was going on. Had Thano reported him as being a gender traitor or not?
Had the kiss been to prove he'd been right?
And why the hell had Eli kissed him? He'd been tempted many times in his life without crossing the line.
He may have crossed it a few times, but not in the middle of the day in his shop in central Last Hope with a new sheriff who wanted nothing more than to report him. Stupid.
"Take it from the beginning." Eli rubbed his neck.
"What?"
"Your day. Walk me through your day. What happened, why are you in town, what did the board say, and so on." Dizziness made it impossible for Eli to think.
"I got up, and right as I was done getting dressed, Lark came by and told me the sheriff had been in your shop and given you a warning."
Eli nodded.
"I told Lark to tell Fala I have baking powder."
Eli stared. How the hell had he managed to get hold of baking powder? "How did you get it?"
Thano grimaced. "I traded with Samir, the leader of the Grave Ville coven."
Eli was aware of staring, but he couldn't stop himself. "What did you trade?" It wasn't easy to get hold of baking powder. Though, he assumed Grave Ville had more regular deliveries from other big cities. There had to be factories in some of them.
"Nothing important. I got two packs of baking powder."
Packs? Like jars or like two small bags with one teaspoon in each?
"Then I went to talk to Conal about not telling me there was a sheriff, but Conal didn't know there was a sheriff.
They'd sent him on his way after we'd finished the board meeting, telling him there was nothing to discuss.
" Thano spread his hands. "And today there is a sheriff and new laws, and Conal is fired from the board. "
Eli's lungs didn't allow air into them. "But...can they do that?"
Thano shrugged.
"Will you allow them to?"
"I don't know. When we talked about leaving the board, people were in favor. Why should we be in Last Hope when the humans can deal with the humans?" He crinkled his nose, and it was...cute. Deadly, dangerous Thano was cute.
Eli's heart beat too fast. "But..." It was a strange moment to realize he trusted the others more than he trusted humans despite knowing many of them would eat him without hesitation.
Thano tilted his head to the side. "But what?"
What could he say? "Will Romeo be allowed to deliver meat?"
It wasn't what he wanted to say, but he had to think about what this meant for the shop.
"I'm not sure. He's human, so I don't know if they can stop him."
Eli nodded, but he feared it wouldn't be safe for Romeo to be in town. He feared it wouldn't be safe for anyone.
"Maybe we should postpone tonight's baking."
"What?" Eli stared at Thano.
"I think I need to discuss the development with everyone on the ranch, and I fear it's gonna take some time. Many will have things to say. Can we bake tomorrow instead?" Thano was unnaturally still, his face blank like it had been before Eli had come to know him.
"Of course. It's Saturday, so the shop is closed." It most likely wasn't safe to be seen with others right now anyway. "But how will I get to the ranch when you aren't allowed into town?"
Thano smiled, with fangs. "How will they stop us?"