Page 109 of Suncatcher

Spencer took her grasping fingers firmly in his own and then pulled her up and into his arms.

“Bring her in here,” Doc directed, swiping off the nearest table just inside the saloon.

A terrified, whispering crowd hovered out of sight, peering from windows and around the sides of buildings. As if those could save them. Pearl ignored them, her eyes tracking her mother’s limp body into the saloon. She scrambled to follow, but Driz kept her locked to her chest, a stone forearm across Pearl’s torso and the other around her hips.

An angular nose nudged Pearl’s cheek, running up and down, collecting and distributing the dampness, smearing it into her bruising skin. The growling grew louder. Her wings flared again.

Even in Pearl’s distress, she realized she needed to keep Driz calm. “I’m safe,” Pearl whispered, forcing herself to believe it. “Thank you, sweetheart. You did so well.”

The growling quieted. Driz’s nose sank into Pearl’s hair, nuzzling her almost aggressively. Pearl might have enjoyed it, at any other time.

“What’s happening in there?” Pearl called through the open doors, where she could see her mother’s boots and a bloody waistcoat on the floor. No one answered her, and Pearl tried not to hyperventilate.

She’d had lots of practice calming herself. Her mother had taught her.

If Pearl gave in to her panic, Driz might too. Pearl had to stay calm.

With every ounce of control she had, she steadied her hands and stilled her mind as she glanced toward the setting sun.

31

A Welcome Sunset

The shift in Driz’s body washed over her like fresh rain. Like breaking through a layer of dense clouds where everything was confusing and muddled before, now growing clear.

She shuddered, her breath rushing in and out. She swayed as the weight of her body changed and pain ricocheted through her.

Pearl was in her arms. Driz blinked, freshly disoriented.

Why was Pearl here? Where was she? What…

The realization and flashes of memory hit her. She’d woken already.

“Driz?” Pearl gazed at her, one hand stroking Driz’s cheek.

Pearl’s shiny golden teeth were missing. She looked just as lovely without them, except for the salt stains streaking down her face.

Driz’s insides went cold.

They were standing alone in the street in the middle of Salt Bluff. But people hovered all round. Driz could sense and smell them. Their terror. And fresh blood. Blood on Driz. Blood on Pearl.

“What happened?” Driz asked, dropping her arms and scrambling back, her eyes flying frantically over Pearl’s form.

Her shirt was dark and stained. Driz’s arms and hands wore more of it.

A keening sob escaped Driz’s lips. “You are hurt?” Had she hurt Pearl? She would never recover if she had hurt Pearl.

“No.”

“What have I done?” Driz demanded, only fragments rushing through her mind. A wall breaking. Holding Pearl. Pearl’s tears. Flying.

“You woke. You helped us.” Pearl held out her hand for Driz.

Driz backed up, her eyes flicking to the saloon, recalling Oak lying on the ground. “Your mother?”

Pearl’s eyes glistened. “I must go in to her.” Her hand was still outstretched. “Come with me.”

But Driz hesitated. Her wings ached and when she glanced, one of the joints was damaged. The bone had fractured. Aching, hollow welts marked her shoulder and her hip. Where she had been shot while stone.