Page 64 of Horn in My Side
“Soon.”
He let out an annoyed snort.“And when—”
“Hey, what’s up—Mal, you’re here!”
Mal spun round, his jaw dropping at the sight ofNickentering the room.“What the—” His head whipped back to the second—or first?—Nick on the couch, whose gaze remained fixed on his book.
“I see you’ve met Ian,” Nick chuckled as he ambled toward him.“My twin brother.”
Ah, now the other satyr’s demeanor made sense.“I’m Mal,” he introduced himself.“Nice to meet you.”
“Don’t be rude, Ian.”Nick circled Mal and grabbed the book from his brother, who sent him a dirty look.Still, he got up and took Mal’s hand.
“Ian Amherst.”Though he looked and sounded like Nick, his stiff and distant air was the complete opposite of his twin.“So, Mal, did you want to be here or were you strong-armed by my brother to join us?”
“I was convinced without a chance to say no.”Mal sent Nick a sly look.
Nick grinned.“And yet here you are.Ian, Vrig was Mal’s uncle.He’s the new owner of the pet shop.”
Something shifted in Ian’s expression.“I see.Vrig was an incredible person and I was glad to have known him.My condolences on your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m really glad you’re here.I honestly thought you wouldn’t show up.”Nick chuckled.“I think I hear the others coming.Let’s go out and you can meet them, then we can get started.”
They headed back to the main hall, just as four figures were making their way in from the parking lot.
“Hey, guys!”Nick clapped his hands together.“Come on, don’t dilly-dally, I want to introduce you to our newest volunteer.This is Mal.He’s new in town.”
“And he’s Vrig’s nephew,” Ian added.
“Vrig’s nephew, eh?”An older man with white hair and a handlebar mustache—the only human of the crew, it seemed—came forward, his hand already out, which Mal took.“Jim Halloway.Welcome and my condolences.Vrig was a fine citizen of Dewberry Falls.I bet he’d be proud that you’re taking his place.”
Mal didn’t have the heart to tell him that he wasn’t staying for long, so he put that thought aside for now.“Er, thank you.”
“Jim’s our chief,” Nick explained.“He was an actual firefighter back in Seattle.”
“Took early retirement when my wife passed,” Jim explained.“I didn’t want to stay in Seattle, but found that I couldn’t leave the job behind.”
Nick gestured to the figure to Jim’s right—a brawny minotaur with shaggy brown hair and bright green eyes.“This is Rafe Kincade—after you, he’s our newest volunteer.”
Rafe let out a chuff and nodded.“Nice to meet you, Mal.”
“Likewise,” he replied.
“And this is Vendrush, or Ven.”
Lanky, blue-skinned with a bright red mohawk, and long mouth tusks, Ven was obviously a troll.“Good to meet you.”He took Mal’s hand in both of his and shook it vigorously in an unusually friendly way, at least for a troll.“Glad to have you here.”
“Er, thanks,” Mal said as he extricated his hand from the troll’s grip.
“Finally, we have Sterling.”Nick indicated the last man, or rather, wolf man.
“Wonderful to meet you, Mal.”The posh British accent coming from the lupine head was bewildering for a moment, but Mal managed to keep his expression neutral as he took the furry, clawed hand Sterling offered.“And, please, if you’re about to make a joke about a London werewolf in America, I’m afraid I’ve heard them all,” he chuckled.
“I won’t,” he said.“Great movie, though.”He glanced around.“It’s just us?”
“There’s about thirty volunteers in total,” Jim explained.“Each squad trains biweekly and then we all do one Saturday a month at a fire college in Yuba.Keeps things organized.”
