The Golden Bell Read online

  “She can’t go on like this,” Fallon insisted. “I can’t let her keep running.”

  Keilor stretched out a leg, getting comfortable. “So retrain her; it works on the stags. Don’t see why you can’t recondition her to get more at ease around the things she fears.”

  Fallon thought about it. Rain wouldn’t appreciate that approach, but it might work. If it kept her from leaping off cliffs, he was all for it.

  CHAPTER 8

  Rain opened her eyes and found that she was alone. Lovely. She’d had unpleasant dreams and would have welcomed a distraction, even if it were Fallon’s scowling face. Not that she could blame him. She felt a creeping embarrassment that she’d thrown herself over a four-story waterfall without a good reason. She shifted and winced. She must have hit every rock in that blasted river.

  The current had been fast, and she was amazed that she’d survived. There had been a couple of times she’d been sucked under and nearly drowned. Maybe somebody upstairs was watching out for her, because there was no way she should have made it out of that river.

  If a higher power had saved her though, she couldn’t fathom why. Fallon was mad at her, for one. You’d think he’d have a little sympathy for his half-drowned wife.

  As she lay there feeling sorry for herself, the devil himself popped in. Bearing flowers, he handed the bouquet to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Hello. How did you sleep?”

  “Terrible. Why are you so happy?” He looked like a man who’d had good news. Feeling hopeful, she asked, “Did Azion die in his sleep?”

  He laughed. “No. But you’re alive, the sun is shining and the medics say you’re allowed to go home. How about it? Would you rather lie on your own couch or here in the hospital?”

  “It is a little boring here.”

  “Great! Let me get you a chair.” He turned to go.

  “Hold it! There’s nothing wrong with my one leg. Crutches will work fine.”

  He raised his brows. “They said you strained your shoulder, too.”

  He had her there. The stupid shoulder throbbed if she worked it and she could barely raise the thing. It was going to cost her if she insisted on walking with crutches.

  However, her left shoulder was fine, and that was her lame side. “One crutch will do it.”

  Fallon considered her a moment. “All right. If you want to hobble up three flights of steps, a quarter mile of flagstone paths and another quarter mile of hallways on top of that.”

  She sagged into the mattress, exhausted just thinking about it. “Okay, you can bring a chair. Just this once, though.”

  “Of course. Let me help you get dressed.”

  Thanks to the jarring of the wheelchair, she was feeling grouchy with pain by the time they reached their rooms. The sneezing wasn’t helping, either. She couldn’t help glaring at their Haunt escort, knowing they were the source of her discomfort.

  “Let me get you some medicine,” Fallon said as he helped her settle onto their couch.

  She sneezed in answer and glared at him just because she could.

  He grinned and got the bottle.

  Once she’d eaten and napped (amazing how tiring pain could be) he settled down for a discussion. She could tell what was coming when his face got serious. She tried to head him off. “Now’s not a good time.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not going to lose my temper. I’ve dealt with your near-death experience and I’ll be okay now. The important thing is that I help you to cope with your fear.”

  “I don’t need help.”

  “You’re going to be here for a long time. We need to make you more comfortable with your surroundings and your heritage.”

  “My heritage died back on Earth. I’m an American citizen unlawfully transported. End of story.”

  “Beginning of story. Your life got more interesting, is all. It’s my job as your husband to help you with the transition.”

  “Is it now?” she asked sarcastically. She didn’t care for his cheerful attitude or the feeling that he was looking forward to this.

  “Absolutely. I figured we could work on proximity first.”

  She quirked a brow, trying to distract him. “I think we’ve covered that.”

  He smiled and kissed her. “We’ll get back to that later. You need to relax around the Haunt, at least enough so you don’t jump out of your skin every other day.” He leaned back and looked at her. “Granted, Haunt soldiers are intimidating. We train hard to be…but your fear is beyond what’s reasonable. I’ve thought of a way to fix that.” He waited.

  Not that she was interested in his cure, of course, but curiosity finally drove her to ask, “What?”

  He smiled. “I’m going to let Kial into the room. He’s going to hang around for a while until you get used to seeing him.”

  “He’ll get fur on the furniture!” she snapped, reaching for an excuse. “I’ll be sneezing all day.”

  “It’s leather. It’ll clean,” he said confidently, and went to the door.

  She drew in a sharp breath as the Haunt came in. Was it her imagination, or did he look equally wary?

  “So, Kial. Anything interesting happen to you today?” Fallon asked.

  Kial responded with sign language, surprising her. Well, maybe it shouldn’t. Normal Haunt lost the ability to speak when they changed. Sign language was one way to solve that.

  Fallon gave her an ironic look. “He says ‘no, not since yesterday’.”

  She glowered.

  Fallon looked back at Kial. “So, what did the wife have to say about that?”

  She blinked. Kial had a wife? It was hard to picture. The idea made her uneasy.

  “Really? How old is your son now? Two?”

  The unease grew. The werewolf had a son. So? Makes sense that he could reproduce. It didn’t mean he had any fatherly feelings. She looked aside, her thoughts making her vaguely ashamed.

  With barely a glance at her, Fallon lead the Haunt closer. She could feel her nails digging into the couch. A silent growl trembled on her lips.

  They reached the armchairs opposite her. Just as she was poised to climb over the back of the couch, they stopped.

  “You know how she is about sneezing, so if you don’t mind changing before we sit down…”

  Kial did as Fallon directed. The change itself wasn’t dramatic, just a simple melting of form, accomplished in seconds. Underneath all that fur, Kial was an unassuming brunette of average height and looks. His expression was a little hesitant as he addressed her. “Good morning, my lady.”

  She stared at him without blinking, wary as a kitten suddenly dropped into a box of pit bull puppies. Her abused muscles were screaming at her to relax, but her mind wasn’t listening. She’d run hurt before.

  Fallon gestured for Kial to sit. “So tell me, are you still thinking about getting your red sash? You’re more than eligible.”

  “I don’t know if I want it. I’m happy and content where I am, and so is my wife.”

  “You know I can’t promote you without it.”

  “I’m not worried about it yet.”

  Rain found it was difficult to maintain rigid muscles for extended periods, especially when she was hurt. Despite herself, she was also following the conversation. Fallon’s nagging was beginning to wear on her.

  “There’s more money for captains. Think what you could do with that,” Fallon urged.

  Rain rolled her eyes.

  “We have simple needs. The promotion would mean less time with my family. We’re not ready to sacrifice that,” Kial said firmly.

  “Yes, but…”

  Rain couldn’t take it any longer. “For heaven’s sake, Fallon! Give the man a break. He doesn’t want the promotion.”

  The men looked at her, surprised. Fallon even smiled, very slightly. “He’d really make a good addition, hon.”

  She scowled and peeled herself from the couch. Reaching for her crutch, she snapped, “He already said no. Why are you so stubborn? Can’t you just ta
ke a ‘no’ once in a while?” She hobbled to the bedroom door and slammed it behind her for good measure.

  Fallon looked at Kial and smiled. “So, when are you taking the test?”

  Kial smiled back. “Next week.”

  “Good man! You’re going to make a good right hand for Rykarr.” Fallon grinned. Rain had taken the bait. Now all they had to do was think up a stage two.

  Rain was drowsing in her garden, minding her own business, when she heard a low growl. It sounded like a puppy at play, somewhere on the other side of her garden wall. She was about to drift off again when she heard the sound of a grunt, then a pitiful whine.

  The hairs rose on the back of her neck as she reached for her crutch and scrambled up on the bench to see over the wall. A circle of three young boys were ganging up on a young…well, he was young. The boys were roughly eight years old, and she guessed that the…kid…on the ground was about the same age. One of the boys was sitting on the furry kid, pummeling him with his fists while his buddies cheered him on. It wasn’t until she spoke that Rain realized that the kid on top was a girl.

  A sense of outrage made Rain’s blood boil as she took in the sight. “Hey! Get off him, you little snot! It’s not fair to kick a guy when he’s down.”

  The girl looked up in surprise while the hairy fellow lay there, panting. She was missing her two front teeth. “He was teasing me!”

  Rain swung up on top of the wall, grimacing as her knee throbbed. “Yeah? Well he’s down now, so get off him before I boot you in the butt. My word! In my day we beat up the boy, but we didn’t need our girlfriends helping, too.” She raked a scathing look at the boys, making them blush.

  A dark-haired boy, also missing a front tooth and sporting silver bracelets, scowled at her. “We weren’t helping. That wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Whatever.” Rain swung down from the wall and carefully got her balance. She poked the girl with her crutch when the kid just stared at her. “Get off and run along. Go find another girl to beat up.” Rain shook her head at her own words, then bent down and gingerly hauled the hairy kid to his feet. “You okay, mate?” Funny how her time in foreign countries came out when she was under stress.

  On his feet, the little guy came up to her chin. If he was eight, he was tall for his age. He looked at the girl, who hadn’t bothered to leave, and glared.

  Rain felt her mouth twitch. Her nervousness toward the miniature werewolf were fading fast. “Not allowed to hit girls, eh?”

  The kid hunched his shoulders.

  Rain rotated her aching shoulder and made a stab at acting like the adult. “Well, were you teasing her?”

  “DJ jumped out and scared her,” the boy with the bracelets reported helpfully. “Carri hates it when he does that.”

  Rain took a closer look at the freckled little girl with the orange bush of hair. Maybe it was a case of puppy love, maybe not. “Whatever, we don’t hit people. I should tell your parents.”

  The girl hung her head.

  Yeah, she should, but that would be too much trouble. Rain decided to cut them a deal. “Fine. If you can behave yourselves for the rest of the day, especially when I’m trying to nap in my garden, then I suppose I could let you off the hook. Now, apologize to each other.” She poked the hairy kid. “You! Change back so you can speak up.”

  DJ looked aside and shuffled his feet. He made a few indistinct signs.

  Rain frowned and shook her head. “I don’t do sign language.”

  “He said he can’t change back,” Bracelet kid said. “He has a hard time changing sometimes.”

  A little slow, was he? Rain felt herself warming to the kid and didn’t like it. “Fine. Do your sign language thing, then. It’d better look sincere, though.”

  DJ made a few quick signs to Carri.

  Carri huffed and mumbled, “Okay, I’m sorry.”

  Relieved to have the whole business over, Rain nodded her head and started hobbling back toward home, going the long way around. She didn’t feel like trying to scramble over the wall again.

  The kids followed her.

  “Whatcha doing?” Bracelet kid asked.

  “Going home. You should, too. What’s your name, anyway?”

  “I’m Malix.” He grinned at her, showing off his missing tooth. He nudged the unknown boy, another red head. “This is Twix. He’s Carri’s older brother.”

  Rain grinned. Twix, was it? Did his mama know she’d named him after a candy bar?

  “What’s your name?” Malix asked. He really was a cute little thing, with black hair tumbling into his eyes.

  “Rain.” She would really rather the kids took off. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

  “No,” Malix said innocently. “Do you have any toys?”

  She shook her head. “I’m too old for toys.”

  “You don’t look old,” Carrie said suspiciously. “I bet you know how to make all kinds of toys.”

  “Just the exploding kind,” Rain muttered.

  “Really! That’s cool! I want to see,” Malix cried.

  “Me, too! Me, too!” the others chimed in. All except for DJ, who was looking at her with interest.

  Rain sighed. Unable to take the torture, she grouched, “All right! I’ll show you one little thing, but then you’ve got to find something else to do.”

  Ahead of them, she could see a couple of Haunt in uniform. By the purposeful way they strode toward her, Rain guessed they were her security detail. They didn’t look happy, but then they rarely did.

  The kids quieted down as they saw where she was looking. Rain couldn’t take her eyes off the Haunt and she could feel her breathing accelerate.

  Malix tugged on her sleeve. “DJ wants to know why you smell afraid.”

  Startled, she cut a look at the half-pint werewolf. “I don’t.” It came out more harshly than she meant.

  “Are you afraid of Haunt soldiers?” Malix wanted to know.

  “No,” Rain said curtly, but she could feel the tension closing in on her as the soldiers flanked her.

  “But DJ says…”

  She cut Malix off. “Have you ever seen a Gauss rifle? You use steel balls and magnets to fire them off. I built one the other day while I was bored.”

  The inevitable questions helped her to relax. She wasn’t sure if it helped or not to see DJ edging protectively toward her. Or maybe she had it wrong. Maybe he was afraid of the bigger Haunt, too.

  Suddenly, she began to sneeze.

  “Bless you,” Malix said.

  She sneezed again.

  “Do you have a cold?” Carri wanted to know.

  “Allergies,” Rain said grimly, resigned to the inevitable. “I hate taking my medicine.” Funny, though, she hadn’t sneezed around DJ, and she’d been around him long enough for his fur to affect her.

  “What’s an allergy? Is it catching?”

  Rain rolled her eyes at the questions and hobbled faster. She couldn’t wait to unload this bunch.

  Once in the suite she shared with Fallon, the kids were fascinated by the pile of odds and ends on a corner table. They especially liked the simple version of a Gauss Rifle, a grooved wooden board with four gold plated, neodymium-iron-boron magnets taped to it.

  “Cool! What is it?” Carri asked.

  “It’s a linear acceleration device for studying high-energy physics.”

  They were silent for a moment. Then Malix piped up, “Can I play with it?”

  She snorted with amusement. “Sure. Bring it out to the garden. Carri and Twix, you bring the little table there.” She didn’t think Fallon would care if they used the marble topped end table. It wasn’t like they were going to damage it.

  She handed a pouch of nickel-plated steel balls to DJ and followed the kids out to the garden. She’d set up a board for a target earlier, but hadn’t used it yet. Once the rifle was set up, she explained its use. “Okay, we point the rifle at our target, then put two steel balls against each magnet, right in the groove. Good. Now we put a ball in
the groove and give it a little nudge and…” The kids cheered as the ball struck the magnet, causing a chain reaction that sent the end marble shooting off the end, striking the board with a satisfying “whack!”.

  Rain grinned, surprised that she was having fun. “Okay, now you try. Youngest to oldest.” Carri started out, then Malix, DJ and Twix. They played for a whole fifteen minutes before the game began to wane.

  Rain found herself amused to be playing with four little kids. She’d never enjoyed something like that before. Maybe she was changing, scary thought!

  When she finally told the kids it was time for them to go home, they protested a little, but not too badly.

  “Can we come back tomorrow?” Malix pleaded.

  She considered and shrugged. “I guess. As long as your parents know where you are. Now run along, and don’t beat up on each other,” she said with a stern look at Carri.

  “As long as he doesn’t tease me,” she said pertly, and escaped before she could be reprimanded.

  DJ was slow to leave. He didn’t seem to want to abandon the Gauss rifle.

  Rain eyed him. “You know, it’s easy to build your own. Ask your mom and dad if it’s okay. I’ll give you a parts list if you like.”

  It was the first time she’d seen a werewolf smile. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a pretty sight, even on a kid. She made quick work of the list and sent him on his way.

  Fallon found her in the garden later, finishing up her nap. “I heard we had visitors.”

  She grunted and sat up. Smothering a yawn, she informed him, “I found this little redhead beating up a boy. I took pity on him.”

  “Hm. I heard about it second hand from Malix.” He sat down and began massaging her foot, the one attached to the good leg. “He says you’re pretty cool.”

  “Huh.” What he was doing felt pretty good.

  He kissed the top of her foot. “His brother gave their parents the parts list. He can’t wait to make his own…Guess rifle, was it?”

  “Gauss. Wait. You mean DJ and Malix are brothers?”

  “Yes, twins. His dad’s proud of him for not hitting a girl, but he promised to give him pointers about making her stop without hurting her. He also told him to stop teasing girls.”