Size Matters (6 page)

When she did, would she still want him?

Or would she run screaming, calling him a freak all the way back to her office?

When she got there, would she talk herself down, laugh about it, laugh about him?

Then write up some outlandish story in her newspaper about her illicit love affair with Bigfoot?

“Carrie, are you okay?”

Now she turned to him and her expression told the whole story.

“His wings are real.” Her tone was factual. Not even a hint of a question.

Tim thought about lying. Didn’t want to, not to her. He nodded. “They are.”

“And you two,” she wiggled a finger back and forth between him and Andy,

“you’re related.”

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Stephanie Julian

“We’re cousins.” Which was true. Tim’s mom’s sister had married Andy’s dad. The Yeti and Citeka tribes did a lot of intermarriages. They had common ancestors, going back several centuries.

Their family trees looked more like an English royalty chart.

Her eyes narrowed. “And where did you say you’re from?”

“Western Nevada.”

She turned to Andy. “And you?”

Andy paused for a few seconds. “Nepal.”

She nodded and her gaze arrowed back to Tim’s. “Wow.” Her rueful smile grew slowly and, as it did, Tim’s heart sank. “Guess I owe my editor twenty bucks. I bet him there was no such thing as Bigfoot.”

Carrie couldn’t believe how easily all the pieces fit together and how easy it was for her to make the leap from skeptic to believer.

Of course, Tim did nothing to abuse her of the idea. He just stood there staring at her.

Andy was Yeti. Fry was a fairy. And Tim was…Bigfoot.

She wondered if he called himself that or if there was a more PC term—

No.
Great freaking Christ, no.

Jesus, she was just as nuts as the people who wore tinfoil hats so aliens couldn’t read their minds.

Tim wasn’t some huge, hairy ape loping around the forest, impregnating rednecks and beating on idiots eating jerky.

There were no such beings as Bigfoot or Yeti or fairies. Logically, there was an explanation for the out-there conclusion she’d leaped over a crevasse to get to.

She looked up—and up—at Tim. His grim expression made her stomach clench.

And not in the good way it had earlier.

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

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Size Matters

She couldn’t form the words, couldn’t make herself say, “Bigfoot.” Tim didn’t say anything. Neither did Andy or Fry. They all just stood there, staring at her.

“Holy shit.” Her eyes widened. “Holy shit. No wonder you look like you’re gonna throw up.”

Because he was nuts, that’s why.

Tim started to shake his head. “Carrie—”

“No, wait.” She held up one hand like a traffic cop. “Don’t say anything. Let me…

Just give me…a minute.”

“Carrie, we need to talk.”

She looked deep into his eyes, trying to will him to tell her the truth. Or convincingly lie to her. “Are you really going to tell me you’re Bigfoot?” He didn’t smile, his expression showing nothing. “No.” She sighed, relief pouring over her like a waterfall. “Oh, thank G—”

“But…you remember those red-haired giants you say lived in the Western desert?” Her mouth dropped open but she couldn’t make a sound.

“I’m one of them.”

She didn’t say anything for a full thirty seconds, her mind a complete void. “You’re an ancient giant?”

His lips in no way indicated a smile. “The group of humans who became the American Indians crossed a land bridge from Asia a millennia ago. Our tribe arrived then, as well. The Citeka, what we call ourselves, are an offshoot of Andy’s Himalayan tribe, the Yeti. Most of my tribe lives in Nevada in a remote village, where we moved after leaving the Pacific Northwest. We don’t get many visitors and we tend not to move around too much because, well…” He made a sweeping motion with his hands.

“We’re kind of noticeable.”

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Stephanie Julian

Tim paused, as if trying to gauge her reaction but she just knew there was more so she raised her eyebrows and waited.

With a sigh, he finally continued. “We’re pretty self-sufficient and most of us are gifted with an artistic gene. We make a lot of money creating artwork for galleries and high-end boutiques and designer showcases. But…we also make a fortune propagating the Bigfoot legend.”

He looked completely serious even though she knew he had to be kidding.

“Bigfoot.” Her tongue could barely make the word. “As in big, hairy ape-like creature with huge feet.” Her gaze automatically dropped to Tim’s large feet for a brief second and she just shook her head. “I’m sorry but even if I saw you walking through the forest at a distance, I’d still know you were a man and not…not…”

“A monster? A freak of nature?” Tim sighed. “We’re not. But…we do have special, uh—”

“Hey, Tim, maybe we just oughta show her.”

The sly amusement in Andy’s voice made her eye him with apprehension. And more than a little challenge.

“And what exactly would you show me?”

Tim drew in a deep breath then held it for a few brief seconds as he felt the air in the room crackle with the electric sensation of impending magic.

And it was magic, a magic handed down through the ages. A magic lost to everyone but the few scattered tribes of the Fringe.

Normals knew of them only as myth. The faerie folk. The Vampyr. The witches.

The shapeshifters.

In the blink of an eye, Andy was gone and in his place stood a huge, shaggy, grayish-white bear. He looked nothing like the grotesque pictures people created of the infamous Yeti. He looked like a bear, except with a more human-looking face.

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Size Matters

Nearly eight feet of soft fur, powerful muscle and fearsome teeth. Which he bared at Carrie in a smile right before he made a courtly bow.

He looked so much like a trained circus animal, Tim nearly laughed. But he couldn’t quite get his vocal cords to cooperate.

Because Carrie made a sound halfway between a squeak and a yelp before she fell silent with her mouth hanging open. She stared at Andy, wide-eyed and shocked.

But not afraid.

She’d already started to reach for him but her hand paused in the space between them. As if she needed permission to touch him.

Andy reached out his paw to meet her halfway and she drew in a deep breath when she touched his fur.

“Holy shit.”

Tim braced himself for the inevitable screaming and running in fear most people did when faced with something magical and completely out of their comfort zone.

Of course, Carrie wasn’t most people.

She turned to him, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. “Can you do that too?” His eyes narrowed, watching her for any sign of fainting. “Yes.”

“Will you show me?”

He stared at her for a brief second, trying to debate all the angles.

She’d already seen Andy change and she seemed to be over her initial shock. And unlike in the movies, there wasn’t any gross bone cracking or shedding of skin. It was pure magic.

But would she still want him after—

Oh hell, what did it matter at this point?

With a thought, he released the magic held in his very cells and let it transform his body into that of the reddish brown bear he’d lived with since he’d been a child. He could honestly say he loved his form, loved the strength and his glossy fur.

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Stephanie Julian

Loved the magic he’d been born with.

As he watched, Carrie sucked in a deep breath, her eyes wide.

Then she reached for him. Her hand paused for a brief second before she settled it over his forearm and stroked down to his hand.

Her touch felt wonderful against his fur but he knew how much better it felt against his skin and he shifted back into his human body, exactly as he’d been before he’d shifted.

She didn’t pull away. She let her hand settle once again on the skin of his arm.

“That… That was…” She shook her head, blinking up at him.

“Andy’s tribe has been perpetuating the Yeti myth for a thousand years.” He moved his arm but only enough that he could lace their fingers together and hold her in place. “My tribe’s only been doing it for a couple centuries. But it makes us a decent amount of money. The stories grew out of Western settlers catching sight of us in the forests. It started as a way to keep outsiders away from our lands but when the Patterson film was released, we saw how much money there was to be made from the legend so we figured why not? Besides, it’s harmless.”

“And it’s fucking hilarious.” Andy had reverted back to his natural state. “Normals are just too much fun to play with. Y’all are pretty gullible.” Carrie frowned as her hands went to her hips as she stared up at Andy. “Gullible?”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, sweetheart.” Andy patted her on the shoulder.

“Most Normals can’t see beyond the nose on their faces. If they can’t touch it or explain it using science, well then, they think it can’t exist, which is a damn shame, if you ask me. They miss out on so many wonders of the world.” Her head tilted to the side, her eyes narrowing. “So you taunt them?”

“We have our fun, yeah.” Andy mimicked her pose. “You Normals make it so damn easy. All we have to do is walk upright through a few backyards and your people fall all over each other to tell the tabloids. Christ, the National Geographic Channel 50

Size Matters

spends a mint on documentaries about Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster every year.

Of course, we usually have a hand in making those shows. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?”

Carrie blinked and her mouth opened then shut with a snap.

Andy just shook his head. “And you’re all too willing to feed the frenzy, aren’t you?

You must have felt so superior to all those idiots who believe in people like us.” Carrie turned to face Tim again, her beautiful eyes sparkling. He swore he could see the gears turning in her brain. This was
so
not good. “So Fry’s wings are real and you just turned into a bear?”

Tim’s sigh held a note of resignation. “Yeah.”

She swallowed and he could see the excitement she was trying to contain written all over her face. “Holy shit.”

Tim just shook his head. “We call ourselves the Fringe. Fry’s people are members.

So are mine and Andy’s.”

“And Fry’s a fairy.”

“We call ourselves Fae,” Fry chimed in, fluttering his wings for full effect. “You can call me whatever you like, sweetheart.”

Whoa. Just…whoa.

Carrie’s head buzzed with thoughts, images. Cutlines. Story ideas. Headlines.

“Does this mean aliens are among us? Bat Boy? Chupacabra?” Tim’s expression never changed. “I’ve never met Bat Boy.” Holy shit.

Holy freaking shit!

She’d crashed into the biggest story of her life. A story bigger than the
Weekly News
Journal
. Bigger than the
Harrisburg Daily
. This was
New York Times
big.
Washington Post
big.

Pulitzer
freaking
Prize.

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Stephanie Julian

Her father would bow at her feet in awe.

And if she went public with it, she’d expose Tim, his family and his friends to the unwanted scrutiny of the entire world. And make his life a living hell.

She blinked up at him. “Tim, I—”

“Oh,
fuck
.”

Carrie turned in time to see Andy make a beeline for the door. Throwing it open, he ran out into the snow. A flash of dark green streaked by the front window and she hurried to the door to see what was going on.

By the time she got there, Andy held someone three feet off the ground by the back of a forest camouflage coat. Squealing like a stuck pig, the man wore huge, round glasses that would have made him look like an insect if it weren’t for his all-too-human expression of abject fear.

“Well, well, well.” Andy turned the guy backward and forward as if he were inspecting a side of beef. “Looks like I caught a SPAz. My lucky day. I was just starting to get hungry.”

Andy bared his teeth at the guy, setting off another round of squeals and Carrie rolled her eyes at Andy’s over-the-top antics. How could anyone think the guy was serious?

Of course, if that weasely-looking guy had seen everything…

The SPAz shook and shivered and generally looked like he was about to be eaten.

Yeah, he’d seen what she’d seen.

“So you wanna tell me who you are and what you’re doing creeping around out here?” Andy shook his head and gave the guy a shake as well. “And don’t be stupid and lie. Of course, you were stupid enough to wear forest cammie in the snow. Jesus, did you think you wouldn’t stick out?”

“You c-c-can’t h-h-hurt me.” The man swung his gaze around at all of them, his pupils so dilated, she would have felt sorry for the guy—
if
he hadn’t had that camera in 52

Size Matters

his hands. “My f-f-friends know where I am. If I don’t return, they know where to l-l-look for me.”

“Yeah, but they won’t find you.” Andy bared his teeth again, straight and pearly white, though he did have rather elongated incisors. “At least, not all of you.” The guy paled even more, clutching his camera to his chest, his knuckles white with strain.

Carrie walked over to him, wrestled the camera away and started to flip through the digital pictures, her heart sinking as she realized he had pictures of Tim. Before and after his amazing change.

Hell. Even though the quality wasn’t great, Tim’s face was clearly recognizable right up until the moment he became a bear. And she could still see a little bit of Tim in the bear’s eyes.

Her heart pounded against her ribs like a trapped bird.

She dropped the camera and brought her boot heel down on it, smashing it with a satisfying crunch as the man gave a girly squeal of protest.

Her dream of breaking this story was just that.

A dream.

* * * * *

Fry and Andy bundled the SPAz into Andy’s rental SUV and drove off through the snow.

Tim knew Andy hadn’t been serious about harming the guy. Once Andy used his own brand of inherent magic and wiped the guy’s memories, he’d be harmless.