Page 37 of A Brighter Yellow
Ochre stared at Anna in wonder. She was bound and determined to buck every routine, ritual, and tradition there was to change the world. She was a rebel, and she didn’t even mean to be.
He smiled at her. “Yeah, OK.” He grabbed a pill and took a chug off his water bottle.
“Also, once I ate rat poison on a dare from my brother, and I totally lived, so… you know. I always figure I’ll be fine.”
Ochre carefully swallowed the pill and water and waited until everything was well down before attempting to talk.
“Waited to slide that out there, didn’t you?”
Anna gave a wicked giggle, her eyes sparkling. “Yes, but you didn’t even spit anything out. You’re no fun.”
“Oh, I’m lots of fun,” said Ochre, sliding in close to her so that his chest pressed gently up against hers. “It’s just that I’m more the save-my-payback-for-later type.
Anna’s grin was a mile wide. “We’ll see,” she said as she went up on her tip-toes to brush a feather-light kiss across his lips.
Ochre felt a sense of glee as she walked past him out to the SUV. Anna lit up everything. He didn’t understand it, but he loved every second of it and every inch of her. He looked up and realized that Sue was eyeing him from her desk chair in the other room. She smiled at him in the all-knowing way that only grandmothers could manage. He shrugged and waved goodbye. She laughed and waved back. What was he supposed to say? Anna had him wrapped around her finger. He should probably just get used to it.
Once in the SUV, Ochre could feel the tension ratchet up a few notches. Steve’s team didn’t want to exchange names, but they did want to make sure Ochre knew how to use a walkie-talkie. Once he’d demonstrated his proficiency, the conversation dropped to nothing. Nobody spoke until they were stopped at the drop-off point—a grove of trees a mile away from the bunker.
“You’re sure about this?” asked Steve.
“Yes,” said Ochre, hitching up his pack. “Thank you for your help.”
“Wait until we actually get you out of there,” said Steve.
“I have faith,” said Ochre. And he did. He had faith that Azure had sent him to Anna and that everything was going the way it was destined to be. All he had to was complete the mission—save the girl—and he would do what he’d always wanted to do: change the world.
With a grin, he grabbed Anna’s hand, and they walked into the woods.
Episode 18
In the Grass
Anna
They walked out into a small grove of trees on the edge of a field. Ochre stepped forward, but Anna put out her arm to block him.
“We’re close to the spell,” said Anna, in response to his questioning look.
“Are you sure?” asked Ochre, looking around. Then he wrinkled his nose. “Somethingiswrong, but I can’t….” He trailed off and then stuck out his tongue as if trying to clear his mouth of something disgusting.
“It’s the warlock magic,” said Anna. “It’s got a distinct pong.”
“Pong?” Ochre looked mystified.
“Stink?” offered Anna. “It’s a dad word.”
Ochre nodded as if that explained everything. “I’ve been around them long enough that I recognize the smell. This smells like,” she paused to inhale, “a warding spell to keep intruders away, which is what we were expecting.”
“I thought I brought us out a little further away,” he said, then shrugged. “But you can tell from the smell?” Ochre looked torn between being impressed and laughing.
“Wolf nose doesn’t lie,” said Anna. “But the spell is going to go off like a security alarm if we walk directly at it. Hopefully, you brought something to deal with it?”
“Well, I brought me, and that usually does the trick.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her as if gauging how funny she thought he was. She rolled her eyes, but had to hide a smile, which made him grin.
She watched as he stretched out his hand in front of him as if trying to feel the spell. The warlock magic was tickling her nose and driving her a little crazy. She leaned over and took a hit off his shirt, rubbing her face across his shoulder.
