Omens (Cainsville 1)

As I idled waiting for the children to pass, I noticed another gargoyle I hadn't seen before. It was a monkey tucked under a roofline, which would make it completely useless for its original purpose. It was cute, though, peeking out from the shadow as its hands gripped the overhang. Another one to add to my list.

I glanced at Gabriel. He had his head bent as he read his e-mail. He must normally use something to discipline his wavy hair and he obviously hadn't found a substitute in my bathroom, because a chunk of it had fallen forward. He'd taken his sunglasses off to read, blue eyes fixed on his phone. His expression was as intent and serious as ever, but the hair in his face spoiled the effect, and when I looked from him to the monkey, I thought of a boy hunting gargoyles.

Somewhere in Cainsville was a gargoyle with the face of that ten-year-old Gabriel and I wanted to see it. But even as I imagined asking--lightly, teasingly--where it was, I couldn't. Would he want me knowing he'd hunted gargoyles? That he had one modeled after him? No. I didn't think he would. So I waited until the children passed and continued down Main Street. I put my foot down the second we passed the town sign. Gabriel didn't look up from his e-mail, only chuckled and shook his head. I was playing with the acceleration, wishing I had a road more exciting than this flat stretch, when something made my foot pop off the pedal.

Gabriel kept his gaze on his e-mail. "If you thought you saw a cruiser, it's only Marg Wilson's black sedan."

"That's ... not it."

He looked over, frowning at my tone.

"That billboard there," I said. "What do you see on it?"

He looked from the billboard to me.

"What do you see on it?" he asked.

"I asked--"

"Olivia..."

I swallowed and adjusted my grip on the wheel. My fingers stuck to the leather, making popping sounds as I pulled them off.

"Poppies," I said. "A bouquet of poppies."

"They're roses," he said quietly.

I tried to see roses, but we were less than a hundred feet from the billboard, the car creeping along, and the flowers were at least ten feet tall. I couldn't mistake them for anything but poppies.

"Pull over," he said.

I shook my head and adjusted my sweaty hands again. "I'm fine. Just..." I tried for a laugh. "It's an omen about my driving. Keep going that speed and we'll know what Rose's warning meant."

Gabriel didn't crack a smile. "Pull over, Olivia."

I started to shake my head. Then I saw something else, just past the billboard. I rolled the car onto the shoulder and kept going until I was close enough to be sure.

"Olivia?"

"Do you see the fence there? The wire one with wooden posts?"

"Yes."

"Do you see the bird on the corner post?" I asked.

"Of course."

"What is it?"

"A crow?" He put on his sunglasses and looked again. "No, it seems large for a crow. A raven?"

"Is the tail wedge-shaped or rounded?"

"Wedge. A raven then. Does that mean something?"

"Just that ... they're practically unheard of around here. And I keep seeing them."

"Maybe it's the same one?"