Page 12 of Stalk the Dark
Two men occupied the brightly lit space. One wore an apron and looked to be maybe late sixties. His thick mop of dark hair was threaded with silver, and deep laugh and frown lines sat comfortably on his face, telling me he had a mercurial disposition. The other guy, sitting at a long wooden table, was much younger; in fact, he looked too young to be on active duty, but if he was here, then he had to be at least twenty-one. He had a wide-eyed, open face. An honest face. The kind that made people feel at ease.
They both wore modern clothes, and there was even a bottle of soda on the table. The young guy caught me looking at it.
“It’s okay,” he said. “We’re allowed to have this stuff as long as we keep it in lockdown.”
“You keep telling yerself that.” The older guy pointed his spatula at the tray of brownies and scowled at me. “They’ve just come out of the oven. You’ll have to wait.”
I bit back a smile. “Oh? But they taste the best just out of the oven.”
The young man’s eyes lit up. “That’s what I just said! Didn’t I, Haiden?”
“Ganging up on me now,hmmm?” Haiden, who had to be the cook, grumbled. “Go on, then, have at it. Eat them all. Leave none for the others.”
The young man sat back looking guiltily at the tray of chocolatey goodness. I had no such qualms. I took a large piece and bit into it with gusto. Flavor exploded on my tongue, and I was momentarily speechless.
Haiden watched with an expression I could only describe as anticipatory.
I finished my mouthful and took another bite.
He growled in exasperation. “Well?”
I bit back my smile. “Delicious.”
He snorted. “Of course it is. My special recipe.”
“He made them as a welcome treat for you,” the young man said.
I polished off my slice. “And I’m grateful. I do have a sweet tooth.”
“Go on, then, have another piece.” He said itgrudgingly, but the twinkle in his eyes belied his tone. “You too, Edwin.”
Edwin let out a squeak and aimed for the biggest chunk.
Haiden smacked his hand. “Not that one. That’s for our guest.” He looked up at me expectantly.
“Sorry, Edwin. I need to get my blood sugar level up.” I claimed the mega piece.
“What happened to you?” Edwin asked. “There was so much blood.”
I didn’t have the energy to retell the whole sorry story. “A little run-in with some wolves and then a meeting with Ezekiel.”
Edwin’s mouth fell open.
Haiden handed me a mug of what looked like tea. “Drink up. Got to keep you fueled up if yer gonna dance with the devil,” he said. “Edwin, close yer mouth unless yer gonna shove a brownie in it.” Then to me, “Got a nice casserole warming in the oven fer yer.”
“Fresh rolls with it,” Edwin said around a mouthful of brownie.
“You’re lucky the Singer boys came across you on the round,” Haiden said to me. “I put them brownies in as soon as Merry fixed you up. Figured you’d need a sugar boost. You lost a lot of blood. But at least it didn’t go down the devil’s gullet.”
The tea was strong, sweet, and perfect. “I need to thank her when she’s up.”
“You’ll see her at breakfast.” He pulled a huge pot out of the oven and lifted it easily onto the stove. The guy was stronger than he looked. “Padma will be here soon, and we can eat.”
“And the other Order members?”
They both looked at me in surprise.
“There are no others,” Edwin said. “Just the three of us and Merry. Well, five now with you.” He grinned.
