Storm Season (27 page)

“Yes. Really.” Jasper grinned as well, overwhelmed by the force of Tobias’s unexpected happiness. “Now go to sleep,” he added, fondness he couldn’t deny coloring his tone. “We have a long day tomorrow.”

A long day the next few days,
Tobias corrected while he yawned.
We still have about forty miles to get to Shaleton, and that’s probably the edge of town. Samantha could be all the way on the other side of it.

Jasper hoped not, but finding Tobias’s sister in a city the size of Shaleton was a bridge they’d have to cross when they came to it. They had to get there first, and Tobias was right. They had at least three, probably four more days of walking just to reach the city, and they weren’t likely to have an easier time finding shelter from the storms they’d have to endure than they did tonight.

“Yeah,” he agreed, letting his eyes close. “The next few days. So sleep.”

Okay,
Tobias said, his hand relaxing in Jasper’s grip. If he said anything else, Jasper didn’t hear it and he fell asleep almost immediately, despite the cramped quarters and the wind howling outside.

M
ORNING
dawned bright and early, the sun filtering through the tree canopy at just the right angle to penetrate the gap left in the entrance to the tree hollow and shine in Jasper’s eyes. He blinked, raised one hand to block it, and groaned as Tobias stirred next to him. “Morning.”

Already?
Tobias stretched, or tried to anyway, his arm hitting the side of the tree before he could straighten it and his legs only managing to jostle their bags.
Feels like I just fell asleep.

Jasper could relate. Logically, he knew he had been asleep for several hours, that he’d slept through the storms that had likely raged all night long, and that it was probably midmorning, given how late in the wet season it was, but he felt no more rested than he would have if he’d just sat there all night listening to the weather. Less rested, perhaps, because at least if he’d been awake he would have consciously shifted some instead of keeping his arms and legs in the same tight ball that he’d fallen asleep in. “Me too.”

Tobias grabbed his bag, pushed it out through the hole in the tree, then did the same with Jasper’s, freeing up enough room in the tree hollow that they could both uncurl from the tight balls they’d spent the night in. Neither of them could straighten their legs all the way without putting their feet through the hole as well, but it was a start, and Jasper sighed in relief as he straightened his knees a little.

“Sun, that feels good,” he said, extending his arms straight up and moaning as his shoulders and spine popped.

You’ll stretch better out of here,
Tobias said, shaking his head fondly as he twisted around, his limbs bumping against Jasper with every move, until he was on his hands and knees.
Come on.

Jasper watched as Tobias crawled through the opening before slowly shifting onto all fours as well. He probably could have stood up in the hollow—it seemed to go high enough, but the opening wasn’t that tall, and he’d just have to bend over again to get out. Staying mostly curled up seemed like the best idea, given the kinks in his muscles. So, undignified as it was, he crawled out, trying not to wince as the stones and sticks on the forest floor dug into his palms and knees.

His back popped the moment he stood, and he bent over, popping it again and sighing just before he noticed the unnatural stillness. Their bags were at his feet, right where they had landed when Tobias pushed them out, but Tobias wasn’t nearby, and there were no animals to be heard, only the slight rustling of a gentle breeze through the trees. “Tobias?” he asked, turning slowly. The sharp rustle of leaves on the forest floor told him what he would see before it came into view, and his stomach sank.

Two of the three men who had been chasing them were standing on either side of Tobias, holding him securely despite his struggles. They looked like the same two who had broken into Jasper’s house all those weeks ago and started this whole adventure. Jasper definitely recognized the one with the amethysts on the back of each hand, but couldn’t be sure about the other. Briefly, he wondered what had happened to the third man. Before he could start to formulate a plan, the leader—or at least that was what Jasper assumed the man with the amethysts was—pulled something from his pocket while still holding Tobias with his other hand, and squeezed it.

Pain shot through Jasper, his whole body shaking as he fell to the ground. The last thing he was aware of before darkness claimed him was the shocked look on Tobias’s face and the voiceless cry of denial that echoed in his skull.

“S
TATE
your business.”

The walls of Shaleton loomed above Jasper, seeming larger than their two stories as he peered up into the barrel of a gun. The guardsman holding the gun scowled down at him, frowning at his disheveled appearance, and Jasper had to resist the urge to run his hand through his matted hair in what would be a futile attempt to tame it. “Visiting. A friend’s sister moved out here last year, and I promised him I’d make sure she’s okay. We’re hoping to get her to come back inland once the wet season is over,” he said, using the same lie he’d told the woman back in Needa’s Crossing as he hefted both bags on his shoulders so the guard could see them.

“You walked?”

Jasper couldn’t blame the man for the suspicion in his tone, but his heart still jumped when the gun moved closer, pointing directly at his head. “Truck broke down about forty miles from here,” he said truthfully. “I’d hoped to find someone else on the road, but I had to hide from the storm that first night, and I didn’t really get back to the road much. Seemed safer in the trees with the storms popping up all day.” He’d only rejoined the road a few hundred yards before the trees gave way to the paved ground separating the forest from Shaleton on the inland side.

The guard’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Jasper, but after a moment, he nodded and lowered the gun. “Wait there. I’ll let you in.”

It wasn’t as though Jasper had any choice, so he nodded his thanks and tried not to shuffle from foot to foot as he waited for the guard to descend. After what felt like an eternity, the door in the wall blocking Shaleton from the woods opened slightly, and the same man who had been peering at Jasper down the barrel of his gun looked out through the tiny opening. His eyes roved over Jasper once again, and he nodded, stepping back as he pulled the door all the way open.

“Thank you,” Jasper said, hefting both bags up on his shoulders. Over the past four days, he’d discarded as much as he dared, but he needed some stuff to survive and some to blend in once he arrived in Shaleton, and he hadn’t been willing to discard anything Tobias might need either. It would have been too much like admitting defeat.

“You’d better find your friend’s sister quick,” the guard said as he secured the door behind Jasper. “Or see if one of the inns will take you in. You don’t want to be on the streets once the storms start.”

It was never advisable to be in the open once the storms started, but something in the man’s tone told Jasper that he was referring to more than the danger from the elements, so he refrained from commenting. “Do you know of any inns that might have openings?” he asked, glancing up at the sky. It was still sunny, but on the west coast they often rolled in with no warning at all, and he doubted it was any different here on the east coast.

The guard didn’t look too pleased to be providing the information, but he did point down the street and give Jasper directions before stomping back up the stairs to resume his post. “Thank you!” Jasper called up, but the grunt he got in reply was no friendlier than the directions had been, and he shrugged as he started down the street. At least he’d made it this far.

T
HE
residents of Shaleton proved to be as brusque as the guard at the gate had been—more so in most cases. On his way to the inn, Jasper had been given wide berth by the few people he saw on the streets, and the innkeeper greeted him with a gun he only lowered when Jasper said the gate guard had sent him. That was the only concession to courtesy Jasper got. Even in the morning, when he’d showered, shaved, and put on clean clothes so he looked and felt like a real human being again, the residents of Shaleton showed no sign of wanting to talk to him.

“I’m looking for—” he would start, but the moment he’d start to describe the men who took Tobias, people would shake their heads and stammer out that they didn’t know before suddenly remembering something they had to do immediately far away from Jasper. Just mentioning the emerald green dusters was usually enough to make most people pale and turn away, but the few times he described the tattoos, people practically ran in the opposite direction.

He was about to give up when a hand closed around his arm, and he looked down to see a one-eyed man who looked crazier than Jasper had when he’d arrived tugging him toward an alley. “Wait—” he started, but the man put a finger over Jasper’s lips and shook his head.

“I know who you’re looking for,” he said in a low tone after glancing up and down the street several times. There was no one near, but that didn’t seem good enough for the man, who jerked harder on Jasper, scowling when he resisted. “I’m not talking about them out here!”

Jasper followed him to a dark alley and leaned down despite the man’s rancid odor. “Who are they?”

“The Order!”

“The Order of what?”

The man looked at him as though he were the crazy one. “You really aren’t from around here, are you? They’re just The Order. Or they are now, anyway. They had a name, once, a long time ago, but no one uses it anymore. No one who’s not a member, anyway. No one talks about them, either.”

“So why are you?” Jasper narrowed his gaze as he started calculating whether he could pull his arm free from the old man’s grasp. He had no doubt that if it came to it, he could outrun the guy, but the man’s thick nails were digging into his arm and his grip was stronger than Jasper would have guessed by looking at him.

“Because you’re makin’ people talk, and that’s never good.” The man leaned around Jasper to peer out at the street. “You’ll get their attention. Bring it on all of us. We don’t want that.”

“Right.” Jasper drew out the word. The man was sounding crazier by the second, and Jasper was starting to understand the reputation Shaletonites had. If men like the one in front of him were the only ones willing to talk to anyone, of course people thought the whole town was crazy.

“You don’t know, because you’re not from around here, but trust me on this. Don’t ask anyone else.” The man’s grip tightened enough to make Jasper wince. “If your friend is with The Order, he’s in the temple in Center Square, but don’t go there. You’re better off just hoping that your friend gives them what they want.”

Jasper didn’t know exactly what The Order wanted from Tobias, but he knew that it wasn’t something Tobias could give, or something he was willing to let Tobias give. “I can’t do that.”

The man grabbed Jasper’s shirt with his free hand and pulled him down so their noses were almost touching. The look in his eyes was wild, and his breath was even viler at this distance, but his tone was serious enough to hold Jasper’s attention despite the stench. “Then don’t mess up, or we’ll never see the dry again.” He released Jasper with a push, which sent him staggering backward.

“What?” Jasper regained his balance with effort, catching himself against the stone wall for support as the man approached him again.

“Remember,” he said, poking his finger into Jasper’s chest as he walked past, leaving Jasper standing, speechless and wondering what had just happened. Little of what the man had said made sense and he didn’t know if he could trust it at all, but it was the first clue he’d gotten, and if he knew anything, it was that he needed to get to Tobias as quickly as possible

The temple in Center Square seemed like a good place to start.

T
HE
idea seemed to lose its merit when Jasper actually saw the building. The Order’s temple dominated Center Square, its polished black stone rising eight stories into the air, and the mere sight of it from across the square sent a stab of fear through Jasper’s heart. It was obvious he was in the right place at least—the green swirls that Jasper recognized from the tattoos were mounted above the double doors, a large purple stone in the center of the swirling arms—but the building was so big he couldn’t imagine searching it and finding Tobias without being caught.

As he watched, a steady line of people walked in through the doors and walked back out only a few minutes later, clearly having accomplished whatever it was they went to do. Most of them left the square immediately, hurrying away with their heads down and their hands tucked into their pockets. The few people who didn’t leave right away bustled across the open space to the opposite side, where they purchased food from the few booths open there. The rest were boarded up, just as the benches remained empty and the fountains dry. What had once clearly been a busy gathering place was nearly lifeless despite the number of people walking through it.