“No, no, not that one,” she said.
Her lips twitched, bringing about a narrowing of my eyes. She was up to something.
“Which one then?” I asked warily.
“The one that says that animals must be on a leash and collar when outside.”
“Leash … and collar,” I repeated slowly.
Sylvie nodded eagerly, the smile finally breaking through. “It’s a county bylaw. Don’t worry, though, I’ll go get you a nice set bright and early tomorrow.”
Sylvie
Waking to the smell of fresh wood burning was exactly the sort of peaceful rise-and-shine I needed. After the events of the day before, peace, quiet, and healing was the name of the game. A drowsy smile crossed my face. I’d always loved campfires and log fireplaces. The crackling of logs and the dancing of flames as they reached for the sky in a never-ending dance, it all came together to put one at ease.
Maybe Lincoln and I can have a campfire sometime. Sit around it on the fall in sweaters, under a blanket with the stars above. That would be nice. And cute. We could put the fire pit where the oak tree was and-
I shot up in bed, sniffing again. There was no mistaking that scent. Flinging the sheets free, I leaped from bed.
“Linc!” I cried, stumbling as my foot didn’t quite clear the comforter. “Lincoln, wake up!”
The problem was, we didn’thave a firepit. And my grandmother had blocked the wood-burning fireplace years ago due to insurance rates on her aging home. Which meant that if
I was smelling smoke so strongly, the house itself had to be on fire.
I raced from the bedroom in my short-shorts and light gray T-shirt with faded original
Star Wars logo on it.
“Lincoln!”
He wasn’t in the spare room I’d made up for him the night before. The sheets were neatly folded and, thankfully, bloodless. He’d regained enough strength to hold himself upright for a shower, but that had been about all he’d had in him. Sleep had come shortly after.
“Damnit, where are you?” I yelped, racing down the stairs while calling his name repeatedly as I booked it for the back door, desperate to escape before the flames engulfed the rest of the house.
I was out the door in a flash-
And immediately caught up in something that wrapped itself around my chest and hauled me off my feet. I kicked and screamed. The tree-thing had me! It was back!
“Get off me! Let me go! You can’t have me! Lincoln, help! It’s back!”
I hauled back and kicked hard against my captor, making solid flesh-on-flesh contact.
Something grunted, and I stilled. The tree-thing didn’t have flesh.
“It’s okay,” Lincoln said, speaking in a low rumble right into my ear, his lips a fraction of an inch away. “I’m right here, Vee. I’m right here. I’ve got you. You’re safe. I promise. I promise.”
I sagged. He was right. Iwas safe when he was around. Every time, he’d worked hard to protect me. To keep me alive. I could trust him.
“What’s wrong?” he wanted to know.
The answer didn’t come right away. As I regained my senses, realizing it was his arms around me, it banished the fear. Replaced it with a warm blanket of safety that melted my fears and had me curling up against him. The nightmare was over.
Fresh burning smoke came to me once more.
“Linc?” I asked, on the verge of hysteria despite his grip. Too much had happened to me. It was too much. The attack, the truth about who he was,what he was. I couldn’t handle it. I was breaking.
“Yes, it’s me, Vee. It’s me.” He took a breath. “Did you have a nightmare?”
“No!” I yelped, standing upright. “Linc, the house is on fire. We need to get away!”
I tried to wiggle free, but it was like fighting against steel bands. His arms didn’t yield a fraction of an inch. He held me fast and firm.
“The house is not on fire,” Lincoln said calmly, lifting me from my feet and moving through a swaying turn like we were slow-dancing. “See? It’s not the house.”
The bass of his voice ran down my spine and out in all directions, soothing me and filling me with something else.
Flames and smoke were in view now. They weren’t coming from the house. Just like he promised. In the middle of the backyard, where the old oak tree used to be, was a pit. And stacked nearby was fresh-cut wood, most of it blackened and dead on the outside, and rotting on the inside.
Comprehension dawned.
“You’re burning the tree,” I whispered, gathering his shirt in my fingers and trying to fight down the demons in my head. The demons cried out, warning me that the tree-thing was still out there. That it would come back.
I could do nothing to stop it.
I hated being helpless. It was a horrid feeling. But it was all I had. I couldn’t turn into a giant wolf like Linc. I could do nothing to fight back.
Lincoln grunted an affirmative. “What’s left of it. A loft of the core went into that … thing. Most of what’s left is rotted or in pieces. I cut up what was left, including as many roots as I could hack apart, and I’ve been burning that and shoveling in the rest as fast as I can gather it. It’ll take a bit, but I’ll get as much gone as possible.”
I watched the flames for a minute in silence. Imagining each one as a death cry, robbing the tree-monster of part of its power. Pushing away from Linc, I walked up to the pile of wood, grabbed a piece of rotted oak, and tossed it on the fire. Then another. And another, hurling each piece into the fire until ashes jumped and sparked.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked as Lincoln walked up behind me, watching my back and keeping me safe from surprises.
“Because,” he grunted, wrapping his arms around me once more, this time from behind. He pulled me back to his chest as he lifted me from the ground, stopping my attack on the logs. “I don’t want there to be any lingering link between thatthing and this beautiful place. I want you to feel safe.”
“Oh.”
The heat of his body pressing against me reminded me of how little clothing I was wearing. My shorts were halfway up my butt by that point, and I didn’t have on a bra. His arms were brushing against the sides of my breasts, pushing them slightly together, his hands clasped gently over my stomach.
It was far more intimate than I thought.
“You can put me down now,” I said, wondering how long it would be before his arms shook with the effort.
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