The growl emanated from Quade’s throat, harsh and guttural. He’d fought a skin-walker once before. Whoever this person had been, she’d died horribly. Skin-walkers liked to play with their victims as they sliced the flesh away from their bodies and peeled it off. It wasn’t unheard of for it to take days for the person to die.
Once they’d taken great pains to remove the skin, the walker would slide into it, essentially becoming the person. Who knew how long Caden had known this thing? It could have been watching him since he arrived in Millinocket, waiting for the right time to take him.
Quade sliced across the walker’s throat, sending a spray of its vile, bitter blood over his face. It collapsed to the floor, dead.
Caden was up a moment later, hiding behind Quade. “Mrs. Conway?”
Quade leaned closer and sniffed. The flesh was already months old.
“No, it’s a skin-walker who has the shape of Mrs. Conway. How long did you know her?”
“She was my first customer. She would come in to pick up flowers for her house every month. A couple of months ago, she got sick and couldn’t have them. I used to send her boxes of chocolate instead.”
“I think the walker killed her a few months ago. I doubt anyone saw her much after that, and if they did… well, it wouldn’t have been for long.”
“What do you mean?”
It wasn’t pleasant, but he couldn’t spare Caden the realities of life. “They eat flesh. Whoever this woman was, she’s no longer among the living. Anyone she met probably fell to the same fate.”
“Are you saying it ate—”
He wasn’t surprised when Caden lurched for a trashcan near the register and dropped to his knees, expelling the contents of his stomach.
Quade went to him, kneeled down, and started rubbing his back. “I’m sorry. It’s just…. They’re after you or us or something. I know why, but not who.”
Caden rose up, wiped a hand over his mouth, then turned to Quade. “Why would someone be after me?”
“Because if you are the new Tree of Life and they somehow manage to kill you, all reality will die as well.”
Blink. Blink. “Oh, so no pressure, huh?”
Quade wrapped his arms around Caden, holding him close. “I won’t let them have you, I swear it.”
“And you think you can stop them?”
“Honestly? I do. I have something to fight for.”
“You say the sweetest things.” Caden took a breath. “What do we do about Mrs.… that thing?”
“A skin-walker burns through the body unless it gets nourishment to sustain it. Once you cut off its food source or kill it, the body eats away at itself.”
A noise, not unlike bacon sizzling, filled the room. Caden peered over Quade’s shoulder and saw the body dissolving.
“Wow. That’s like next level Wizard of Oz shit.” He swallowed. “So Mrs. Conway is dead?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so. I’m sorry.”
“Me too. She still owed me for the last batch of flowers.”
Quade reared back and glared at Caden. “How can you be—?”
Then he saw the tears. Caden wasn’t trying to be funny—he was doing his best to cope with a shitty situation. Silently Quade cursed the Fates or the gods or whoever the hell thought this was a hilarious thing to do. He clutched Caden to his chest and held on while Caden sobbed.
After a while, he whispered in Caden’s ear, “We should go. It’s not safe for you here.”
A laugh, somewhere between a bark and a sob. “Is anywhere safe?” He rose to his feet and backed away from Quade. “Seriously, is anywhere fucking safe? First Sasquatch nearly kills us, and now this… this thing. What’s next?”
His eyes wide, Caden started for the door.
Quade leaped up and blocked his path. “Where are you going?”
“Away. Mrs. Conway died because of me. Who’s next? You? Ten? Matt or Kieran? I mean, how do I know one of them isn’t already dead? Since I never knew Mrs. Conway was a fucking zombie. Think about it! My best friends in the world could be dead and how the hell would I know?” He narrowed his gaze. “How do I know you’re not dead?”
Caden was becoming hysterical, and Quade needed to stop it. With lightning speed, he lashed out and grabbed Caden’s hand. He pulled him in and held Caden’s palm to his chest.
“Do you feel that?”
Caden said nothing, just glared.
“I asked you a question. Do you feel that?”
“Yes.” His voice was small, hurt.
“I’m alive. I think you know it. Ten would have told you if I wasn’t.”
“I can’t do this. I’m a florist, not a warrior.”
Quade shook his head. It was obvious that Caden didn’t see himself in the same light. “You think you’re not? Who was it that stood in front of the Bogran to protect others?” He tapped Caden on the chest. “Pretty sure it was this guy right here. You could have—should have—run, but you didn’t. You distracted it from coming after Matt and Kieran. You pulled it away from me.”
“You didn’t need my help.”
Quade grabbed Caden’s chin. “No, but you’re missing the point. You had no idea what a Bogran was. You didn’t know if I could win, but you wouldn’t leave me. Why?”
Muttering something, Caden tried to turn away, but Quade held fast.
“Nuh-uh, that won’t wash. What did you say?”
Caden glared at him. “I said because I love you, goddamn it. I couldn’t let it hurt you if I could stop it.”
“So you were scared?”
“I almost crapped my pants.”
“But you still didn’t move. Being a warrior isn’t about being brave—it’s about standing your ground when you’re afraid. It’s about doing what you can to protect the people you love. Do you think I’ve never been afraid?”
Caden scowled. “You? Doubt it.”
“When I saw him coming after you, I thought my heart would stop. Everything for me narrowed down to that one point in time. I moved faster than I’ve ever moved before, because I knew if I couldn’t get to you, I would lose you. So yeah, I’ve been afraid, but I’m not going to back down, especially now that I have something to live for.” He stroked the side of Caden’s face, loving it when Caden leaned into the touch. “I know you’re not going to want to hear this, but grab what you need. I don’t think we can come back.”
“Yeah.” Caden sighed. “I figured that already.” He looked around his shop, his sadness obvious. “This place was mine, you know? I worked hard for it, made it what it is today. I thought I could make this into a life. Find a partner, be happy. Guess now it’s just another dream that won’t come true.”
“Hey, you found me, and we will be happy. As for your shop, why can’t you open one in Sanctuary? We have space, and flowers would be popular, I think. We can reproduce a lot of things, but even we have limits. Live plants, tended by you? Or, if you prefer, we can talk to Dandrot about clearing space for a park. You could use your talents there, make it a place people would flock to. Can you imagine Ten running through your gardens? Smelling real flowers? Most of our people never venture aboveground. Think of what a park would mean to them.”