Page 51 of A Brighter Yellow
“Where’s Scarlet?” she demanded again, looking around the open loft. She had only been in Liam’s apartment a couple of times. The only thing she could tell that had changed was that there was now an accumulation of plants. It didn’t matter. She was just glad he hadn’t moved since she stopped talking to him.
“I need Scarlet.” She wiped tears out of her face. She could smell the scent of the girl all over the apartment. Like Ochre, there was the indefinable scent of spring and growing things. Scarlet had to be here.
“She’s not home yet,” said Liam, and Anna let out a sound that she knew was borderline on howling. He put Charlie on the couch and dashed into the kitchen. “What the hell is going on?”
Anna wiped her nose and tried to take a breath. Her hands were shaking. “I need Scarlet.”
He pulled a backpack from under the sink and took it back to Charlie. He opened it up on the coffee table, and Anna realized that it was a first-aid kit.
“Anna! Talk to me. Who is this? What happened?”
“That’s Charlie. The warlock’s fucking… They tortured her so that she would do work for them. She’s going to need more than Band-Aids, but I don’t know what it is. Maybe witches will know.”
“OK,” said Liam, reaching for his phone and sending a text.
“Are you texting Scarlet? I need Scarlet.” Liam opened his mouth as if to respond, but there was a jingling at the front door, and Anna swung around eagerly.
“Liam,” called a female voice. “The door was unlocked. Are we—” She was blonde and slender and wearing a red rain jacket with a hood. She looked a little like Ochre in the set of her eyes, but probably more like him in the way she immediately looked concerned for Anna.
“I need your help,” Anna managed to gasp out.
“OK,” said Scarlet, dropping her purse and jacket into a chair and coming across the room to her. Anna found herself clutching at the girl’s outstretched hands and babbling.
“The fortune-teller said—she said: the path to true love lies with Liam Grayson. Only I misunderstood, and I was early. I’m always getting the timing wrong. I was even born early.” Anna knew she was starting in the wrong place, and she felt the same old frustration that she couldn’t get one thing right.
“OK,” said Scarlet, squeezing Anna’s hands reassuringly. She looked very concerned, but Anna doubted that she understood anything that had just been said.
“You have to open the woods. He’s hurt! He said to picture someplace, and I thought you could help him, so I came here.” She tore a hand out of Scarlet’s grasp and covered her mouth, trying to keep the tears in. “But I couldn’t hold on to both of them! I tried!” Anna bit down on the palm of her hand, trying to stifle a sob. “I let go of him! And now Ochre is in the woods. This is all my fault!”
“Oh!” said Scarlet. “You’re Anna! But Ochre’s not here?”
“Yes! Yes, I need you to open the woods! He’s stuck. I can’t get back in.”
“Oh, Ochre is stuck inthosewoods? Shit. OK. Uh… That’s not good.” Scarlet’s eyes had gone wide. Anna felt another stab of terror. If Scarlet was scared of the woods, that meant it was even worse than Anna had thought.
“I can find him,” said Anna. Her grandmother’s journal had been quite clear that one of the benefits of being mated was always knowing where to find her mate, and Anna was sure she knew what to do, but she needed Scarlet’s help. “I can. I just need you to open the path.” Anna was struck with panic that Scarlet wouldn’t believe her.
“Ah! Because I lie with Liam Grayson!” Scarlet exclaimed.
“What?” Liam asked, looking between the two of them. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Fortune tellers,” said Scarlet. Scarlet’s heart rate had dropped back to normal, and she was making a very soothing petting motion over one of Anna’s hands as she turned to Liam. “They mess with you every time. Azure says she doesn’t do it on purpose, but I swear it’s a destiny thing.”
Anna took a deep breath and then another. Scarlet understood. It was going to be OK. Scarlet understood, and Anna still had a chance to fix things. But Liam made a wolf noise of disbelief and confusion.
“I got the timing wrong,” said Anna. “I thought it was you. But it was about Scarlet.”
“Right!” exclaimed Scarlet. “It was really for Ochre.”
“No, seriously,” said Liam, sounding as disapproving as every other wolf Anna knew.
“We are serious,” said Scarlet. “And I have to go help Anna get Ochre out of the in-between woods.”
Liam stared at them, and Anna expected some sort of argument that she would have to fight through. “OK,” he said. “I’ll stay here and help… Charlie?” He looked at Anna to confirm the name. “But you should probably change.”
Scarlet looked down at herself. She was dressed in what Anna thought of as office-y clothes.
“Right. I should do that.” Anna let out a whine of distress. “Anna, don’t panic. I swear I can change in under five minutes. How badly is Ochre hurt?” she asked, kicking off her heels and unbuttoning her blouse as she walked briskly toward the bedroom. Anna followed after her.
