Winter Prey

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

She brought the dog over to him, ordered it to sit and reached for his hand. A scant inch before she touched him, she hesitated and lifted an inquiring eyebrow. Obviously, she didn't want to get zapped again, and he tried to reassure her.

"My controls of the cross are in place," he said, although he as yet had no idea why the consecrated cross had...attacked her, for want of a better explanation. "It's as much mind control as anything else. There's always some dormant power there, though, in case I need protection I'm unaware of. But for the most part, I control it, not the other way around."

And could that be the reason for the discord? he mused. She's obviously wearing some sort of consecrated pouch of her own. But why would the two types of defenses, supposedly geared to the same safeguard, war with each other? It doesn't make sense.

"I see," Kymbria said.

She probably did, Caleb realized. She was working with a Midé. She'd probably seen the power of practices and beliefs recently - a few hours ago with Keoman. He was still pissed that Keoman had risked contact with the windigo out there on his own with Kymbria. It must be something damned important, to her at least, for them to proceed right now with whatever they were up to. Even rumors of a windigo were enough to frighten most people who understood the entities...and thousands who didn't. A couple of his experienced friends had even bowed out in Colorado when....

Kymbria at last intertwined her fingers with his and held their hands near the dog's muzzle. Despite his rigid mind control, Caleb felt a stir of vibration where the cross lay against his chest. Only slight, though, nothing more dire.

"This is a friend, Scarlet," Kymbria said. "Remember him?" The setter sniffed, then licked Caleb's hand.

"Glad she just licked me," Caleb said with a chuckle, for some reason missing the contact with Kymbria when she dropped his hand. "From outside, her whines sounded like she was starving to death."

"She was just lonesome and letting me know." Kymbria handed Scarlet a doggie biscuit from a sack on the counter. The setter flared her upper jaw, exposing teeth Caleb wouldn't want to confront bare-armed, and gently took the treat. She finished it in two bites, then wandered away to drop on the rug in front of the fireplace.

"She's a bit spoiled, and quite vocal about her wants and needs, much like my daughter, Risa," Kymbria went on. "And she's accepted you, since she remembers you from this morning. See, she's snoozing. She doesn't do that if she's worried about someone."

"I'm honored. I didn't know you had a daughter, although Keoman did mention that you were widowed."

"Let me get out of these heavy clothing and I'll fix our drinks," she replied instead of following that conversational thread. "Would you mind building up the fire?"

By the time Caleb had the fire revived and the sturdy screen secured, Kymbria had taken off her boots and snowsuit. In jeans and a heavy brown sweater decorated with a moose and snowflakes, she stood barefoot beside a mirror-backed bar on the far side of the room.

"Any preference?"

"Bourbon or whiskey." Caleb tossed his heavy jacket on a chair. "Straight up."

A moment later, she handed him a crystal glass and settled in a corner of the sofa closest to the fire, a longneck bottle of beer in her hand. Caleb sat on the other end of the sofa and took a long swallow of his drink.

"Jack Daniels," he said with a nod. "One of my choices."

"My dad's, too," Kymbria said. "He was a whiskey man. Look, I know it's really none of my business what you're doing up here, even if it does have something to do with the tribe. I've been away for the better part of over twenty years, so I don't have any say in what the tribe does these days. Not that I ever did, but Mom has always stayed close to her roots."