Thunder Moon (Nightcreature 8)

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It wasn’t as if the wolf could tell anyone my thoughts, but they were my thoughts, and I preferred to keep them that way.

“What difference could it possibly make if I go home or not?”

As if in answer, the air seemed to shriek. I put my hands over my ears and glanced up just in time to see a shower of sparks falling from the sky.

The wolf whined. I would think a noise like that would hurt her ears worse than mine, even if they were spirit ears.

The animal ran south again, then turned, waited. South, the direction of peace and good health—the direction of home.

I peered at the area of the sky where the sparks had disappeared. Just like last time, orange glowed against the night.

Cursing, I jumped into my truck, fumbling for my cell phone even as I thrust the vehicle into gear and drove over the messenger wolf. The animal didn’t seem to mind, catching up in seconds and loping alongside, oblivious to the trunks of trees that lined the road. The wolf just ran right through them.

I reached the fire department and gave them the approximate location of the blaze; then I called Cal. “Remember when the sparks came down and started the fire that wasn’t?”

“Where is it this time?”

“I think it’s my house.”

“I’ll be right there.”

I continued to drive as fast as I could on the narrow, winding roads, praying that this fire was as much a myth as the last one. The wolf ran beside me until I turned down my long, rutted driveway; then she disappeared.

The orange glow had only brightened as I approached. I knew even before I shot out of the trees and into my yard that my house was toast.

The fire department had arrived ahead of me, as had Cal. A scuffle was going on near my front porch. Cal and the fire chief held on to someone who seemed to be fighting to get inside.

“What’s going on?” I called.

The three men stopped struggling and turned. One of them was Ian.

“You’re okay,” he said.

“Not really. My damn house is on fire.”

“I told him you weren’t in there, but he didn’t want to listen,” Cal said.

Ian had been trying to run into a burning building to save me? I couldn’t help but be touched. Because I was, I turned away to look at my house. I almost wished I hadn’t.

The roof was completely engulfed. There wasn’t much I could do except watch the fire department do their thing and wonder what had fallen from the sky onto my house. Whatever it had been, it wasn’t there any longer.

Ian and Cal joined me, staring at the flames, too.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Ian.

Cal took one glance at my face and left.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Was the house on fire when you arrived?”

“Yes.”

“So you didn’t see what started it?”

“You’re thinking arson?”

I hadn’t said that, but I found it interesting that he’d heard it.