Page 22 of New Nebraska Home

“What do you mean?” Malik asked, sitting back on the couch only a few inches from me. My god, he pushed out a lot of heat. He practically radiated it. For a moment, I wondered if I could get him to cuddle in the winter.

“A few years ago, the boy who lived a few houses down started dating another boy from a few towns over. They were very cute together, both star football players on their wait for athletic scholarships. Both of those boys were destined for greatness, on and off the field. One night, someone threw a rock that said the same nonsense through his window—scared his momma half to death. Thank God his daddy was the sensible sort and protected his kid. He filed a complaint, but nothing ever came of it. The town retaliated against that poor boy. The town harassed him. They made sure he was kicked off the team, lost his scholarship, and was treated like a social pariah. All for falling in love with someone the town didn’t approve of.”

She shook her head and continued. “That family was among the first to take the money and run when the government came with checks. I think they may have already been looking at moving when everything came out.”

It took me a moment to process what she was saying. I couldn’t believe in this day that a child would get so much hate for being who he was, but I had never lived in small towns made up of mostly humans before… I had heard things, of course, but I had been ignorant enough to assume that they were things of the past.

Then I really considered what she said. It was just the same. The brick was thrown in a neighbor’s window to drive out a child for who he was, and this brick had the exact same mission.

They wanted to scare Liz so that she would take her little halfling brother and run.

I wasn’t about to let that happen, and the stern look of determination on Malik’s face told me he felt the same way.

“We need to stop this from happening again,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, mostly so I could tuck my hands away from Liz. I didn’t want her to see the way they shook with rage. She was mad right now, but she had gone from laughing to angrily pacing so quickly I didn’t want to do anything that could push that rage into fear.

“Agreed,” Malik nodded. “Do you have a plan?”

“Let’s start with the asshole that threw the brick,” Callum said, walking back in through the front door, this time with a scrawny teenager in torn clothes dangling from his grip.

“Who is that?” I asked.

Callum looked past me to Liz. “Do you recognize him?”

“No, should I?”

“He was the asshole who threw the brick.”

Malik

FLAME BATH

“How sure are you he’s the one that threw the brick? I thought they all got away in a car?” Brock said as I took a moment to look the kid up and down.

He was some kind of elemental, not even a strong one at that. Maybe mid-level abilities, if he had a lot of training. His face was still covered in acne and he hadn’t even filled out his t-shirt yet. There was no way this scrawny little assailant was older than fifteen. But that didn’t change what he did, or the pain he could have caused. If he had hurt the girl, or the little halfling running around, this kid’s age and ignorance wouldn’t have been enough to save him.

I was pretty sure he knew exactly how fucked he was. The kid was shaking as Callum held him by the back of the neck, his feet dangling just about the floor.

He smelled like fear, sweat, and something else. Something distinct I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was earthy, slightly sweet, maybe sawdust? I looked down at his shoes and saw several little flecks of wood covering the tops, and I knew he had been in a garage somewhere or at a new construction site. It made sense, there were several people building new buildings or extensively renovating the existing ones. Maybe he had a side gig working for one of the contractors?

“I think the car was a diversion,” Callum said. “I think this little punk threw the brick, and the people in the car were the ones who told them to do it. How much do you want to bet that they were supposed to let him back in the car and instead drove away, leaving him to take all the blame if he got caught?”

“You lie,” the kid kicked out, squirming. “They would never abandon me with sinners and the unclean like you.”

“Pretty sure they left you, kid,” Brock snorted.

The wind shifted outside, and a cool breeze came in from the back door. I smelled more of the sawdust, and I could just hear voices and whispers on the air. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying, but I knew they were there, and I knew they were with the kid.

“I’ll be right back,” I mumbled.

“What?” Liz asked, her hand reaching out and touching my arm. I looked down at her fingers and the warmth that spread through my body at her touch. No woman had ever made my skin heat with just a touch before.

She pulled her hand away, and I immediately missed the connection.

“I think I smelled something. I’m going to go check it out. Be right back. I think there’s more of them out there.” Without another word, I went out the back door, around the pool and followed the distinct scent.

It was odd. My sense of smell had always been strong, but this was far stronger than it had ever been before. I didn’t have near the enhanced senses of say a vampire, but my sense of smell and vision had always been far greater than a human. But not much. Until now.

Since I’d got to the house, I’d noticed small things, my dragon was constantly restless and it took far more energy to keep it at bay. I could always feel the scratching and clawing against my ribs like it was trying to escape, but it seemed bigger now, more ferocious.

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