“He has to spend it guarding Lizzie and his grandpups,” Jackson replied quietly.
“And Dylon and Cody…though that is unnecessary,” Oracle said. “After Frank confronted me about Cain, I asked him to speak to you about his concerns, and he said he would, but…”
“You’re not sure he will, hm?”
“No.”
“Okay…I’ll take care of it,” Jackson said. “Is there anything else?”
Nodding, Oracle said, “It is about my new assignment from the Fates.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jackson groaned, “Please don’t tell me it’s about another request they have for me.”
Smiling, Oracle replied, “No…nothing like that…but I will need Sawyer’s help. Is it all right if I ask him to cloak me?”
“Is that all? You don’t need him to go with you?”
“Definitely not. I just want him to cloak me and Mystia.”
Jackson paused for a moment, thinking about the new information Oracle had just revealed. As far as he was aware, Oracle always worked alone when she was carrying out the assignments from the Fates, but not this time. But even though he was curious, Jackson didn’t waste his breath asking why Mystia was included since he knew he wouldn’t get an answer; instead, he said, “Sure…tell Sawyer he has my permission.”
Smiling, Oracle rose gracefully and said, “Thank you...I appreciate it very much.” Turning, she slowly made her way out of Jackson’s study, deciding to speak to the Fates next about Frank’s demand to know about their intentions regarding Denport. Since the Fates were the ones who usually made demands, and not the other way around, she was eager to hear what their reply would be.
Chapter 20
Indrik looked over his shoulder at his cousin, Owen, and whispered, “The house should be on the other side of those trees. Stay here.” After receiving a nod, Indrik pulled his hood further over his head until his face was hidden. Then, silently slipping through the deep shade of the forest surrounding his target, he stopped at the edge of the clearing where the old wooden house stood, to check for guards. Finding none, he quietly approached the front door, raised his hand, knocked twice, and then three times more. The door slowly swung open.
“You’re late,” the human growled.
“Yes, sorry about that,” Indrik murmured. “May I come in?”
“Do you have the money?”
Lifting a worn duffle bag by his side, Indrik said, “I do.” But when the man went to grab it, he quickly moved it out of the human’s reach and said, “Uh-uh, I want to see the merchandise first.”
Grunting, the human stepped back and turned around before heading into the dark interior of the house.
Somewhat surprised at the human’s swift compliance with his demand, Indrik hesitated for a moment and sniffed. Once satisfied he wasn’t walking into an ambush, he followed the human into the shadows. Peering out from his hood, Indrik’s eyes took in his surroundings before coming to an abrupt halt in front of a cage. Staring at the poor animal locked up in a space too small for it to do anything other than lie down in a ball, Indrik’s eyes flashed fiercely with the fire of his ancestors before he quickly concealed his fury from the human.
“There it is,” growled the human. “Now gimme my money.”
Indrik kept his eyes on the animal as he threw the duffle bag over to the human. Ignoring the curse that erupted when the bag hit the human’s chest with a thud, he watched the caged animal, relieved when it finally sensed his presence.Soon, my little one.
“Fucking asshole,” the human muttered, lowering the bag to the ground. Bending over, he unzipped it and pulled it open, his eyes gleaming with greed at the bundles of cash inside. This was the easiest money he’d ever made. Eager to leave, he zipped the bag closed.
Without waiting for the human to fully straighten up, Indrik shifted one of his hands into his wolf’s paw, extended his claws, and slashed the human’s throat. He saw the shock on the man’s face as he grabbed his neck in an attempt to stem the flow of blood, but to no avail. Within seconds, he fell to the ground. Only the last few gurgles of blood trickling onto the floor broke the silence in the room.
Satisfied the human was no longer a threat, Indrik shifted his paw back and then crouched down and unlocked the cage. Slowly reaching into it, he held his hand close to the animal’s nose, and murmured, “C’mon, little one…no one will ever hurt you again.” It took several minutes before the small animal moved, and then it was only to lick Indrik’s hand, but it was a step forward for the cub—one that would ultimately lead him to freedom.
Although Indrik could see that the cub’s doubt about his rescuer had been dispelled, the cub was still shaking with fear. Slowly withdrawing his hand from the cage, he sat down on the filthy floor. He remained quiet for a moment, softly murmuring encouragement interspersed with words of comfort. But, whenthe cub still failed to respond, he racked his brain for another idea. Then it came to him—the song his students loved to sing. Humming the first few opening notes of its melody, he smiled when the cub’s eyes looked up at him, and then he began to sing.
In the forest deep and wide,
Little bear cub loves to hide.
Tumbles down with a silly grin,
Gives a growl and starts to spin!