“I don’t have…. Wait. Do I?”
Quade gave a wolfish grin. “On the second shelf, you’ll find bottles of Farmhouse Pale Ale.”
“My favorite.”
“I know. Ten pulled it from your memories and had the kitchen stocked with things you like. As you grow accustomed to Sanctuary, you’ll discover many artisans craft their own beer. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something in there you like as well.”
“So you have my favorite beer, and this room is amazing, but I don’t want to be comfortable here. I want to go. Help me understand why I can’t leave.”
“Grab each of us a cold one, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Getting up, Caden walked to the refrigerator and found the beer where Quade said it would be. He pulled out two, then carried the ice-cold bottles back to Quade and handed one to him before he took a seat across from where Quade sat. “Okay, so spill.”
Quade twisted the top off the beer, then chugged down half of it before he returned his attention to Caden. “Before I say anything, I need you to understand something. Sanctuary is home to a lot of different types of gifted people. We’re very picky about who knows of our existence. The guy in charge? He’s richer than God, and he made arrangements with the government to build this so that we could live in peace.”
“So I’m here because I somehow am a threat to you?”
Quade shook his head. “If you were a threat, you’d be dead. I would have sliced you open on the mountain and left your body there. In fact, that’s why I was there. I had been sent to kill you because we believed you’d murdered those men in cold blood.”
“How could I kill nine men?”
Quade’s grin was positively feral. “With your gifts. You’re like us.”
Well, shit, Caden hadn’t seen that coming at all.
Chapter 5
“What do you mean, I’m like you?”
Quade took a long draw from his bottle, then wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “Don’t think I stuttered. Those men died because you were controlling the plants that killed them.”
“That’s….”
“Impossible? No, not really.” He scratched his chin. “I admit, you’re the first person I’ve ever heard of who can control plants, but in this world, very few things are actually impossible.”
Caden was reeling over the revelation that he had abilities. He’d never been anyone special. An average kid, who lived an average life. But that still didn’t answer his most burning question.
“I think the most important thing for me is why I can’t see my friends again.”
“That’s going to be a tough one. To know our present, you have to learn our past. The world of humans and that of demihumans has always existed side by side, but we learned early on that it was a mistake to mingle with humans, because for the most part, they represent greed and avarice. I’m not saying all humans are bad. In fact, if it wasn’t for a human, we wouldn’t have Sanctuary.”
Quade drained the rest of his bottle, then let it dangle between two fingers. He really wanted another, but figured he should keep his head on straight.
“About a hundred years ago, give or take a few decades, the founder of Sanctuary, one Alfred ‘Alfie’ James, was in a bar kicking back after a hard day working in one of the copper mines that dotted the area. He was a demihuman—a dwarf, to be precise—and although no one knew his heritage, Alfie’s knowledge of the mines made him invaluable.
“Well, one night he went into the only bar for miles around, and one of the serving girls had just delivered him a shot of whiskey when another man grabbed her from behind and pulled her into his lap. She tried to push him away, but he was drunk and wouldn’t take no for an answer. She slapped him and he hit her back, knocking her flat on her ass. Well, one thing about dwarves is they revere women. That whole Snow White thing? Yeah, the story is bullshit, but there’s a kernel of truth to it. To dwarves, nothing is more sacred than a woman. They’re our mothers, our sisters, and they deserve to be cared for.”
Quade sighed. Another beer would be good right now. This story always dragged out the shittiest of emotions for him.
“Can I get another? Maybe two.”
“Whatever you want. You guys paid for them.”
Caden stood and walked to the refrigerator. Quade’s wolf watched him intently. There wasn’t any anger or demands for blood or sex. It simply watched. For the first time Quade could remember, his wolf wasn’t fighting him for dominance, and the relief was overwhelming.
After handing him two more bottles, Caden took his seat again. Quade popped the top on one beer, took a slug, then put it on the table.
“Okay, so…. Even today, dwarves are the same way. Their thinking is very old-fashioned, at best, but their hearts are in the right place. Nothing has changed from Alfie’s time in that regard. After the miner hit the woman—Lillian McMurtry—Alfie got up and laid him out with two punches. Then he helped Lil to her feet, asked her if she was okay before he reached into the guy’s pocket, took out the money he had, and handed it to her, telling her that the guy was sorry and wouldn’t bother her again.”
“There has to be more than that.”
“Oh, there is, but it’s not a pretty tale. See, Lil fell for the short, stocky Alfie. Fell hard. She was humbled that someone would stand up for her, a serving girl who’d had to deal with lewd comments every working night.
“Alfie continued to go to the bar, and he’d always bring Lil a gemstone or rock he thought she’d like. But Alfie was playing a dangerous game. He knew better than to get mixed up with her, but he did it anyway. They grew closer over the next eight months, with Alfie treating Lil like a princess. He swept her off her feet, even knowing that he had to leave her. But… instead of going, he decided to stay and asked Lil to marry him. She said yes. They were wed, moved into a cute little shack up on this mountain, and started a life together. In order to provide for his wife, Alfie went out and found an ore vein that would keep them in money forever. He used part of the proceeds to buy most of the mountain we now live on.”
Quade hated the rest of the story and would give his fucking eyetooth not to tell it. Why it bothered him, he didn’t know. He’d killed people, but those were in order to protect others. This? It was savage and brutal.
“You can’t stop now.”
“Sorry, it’s just…. I promised I’d tell you, and I will, but I’m going to need a sec.”
Caden cocked his head. “Is it that bad?”
“Yeah, it is. One day, after four years of being married, Lil told Alfie she was with child. Alfie was beside himself. He was going to be a father. Nothing could have made him prouder. The following year, Lil gave birth to the first known half-human-slash-half-dwarf child. They named him Dandrot after Alfie’s father.
“Life was perfect for Alfie and Lil. They were deeply in love, and they had a son and everything they would ever need to live a life of leisure. Except for one small problem. Dwarves are workers. They can’t sit around the house. Every morning, Alfie would get up, kiss Lil and Dandrot good bye, then head off to the mine to see what he could find. Their land was off-limits to everyone, so there weren’t people around for miles.”