“Don’t worry,” Oz said. “I’m going back and burying my head in a bunch of books, only coming up to breathe to scour the internet for more information. I’m going to figure out what’s going on here.”
He was furious, but I also knew he was excited in his own way. He always loved a challenge, and this one was about as complex as you could get. He clapped me on the shoulder, nodded to Elias, then shifted back into a wolf and charged back toward the town.
I watched him for a moment before turning back to Elias and Sam. “Whatever this is, we have to assume it’s not friendly,” I growled.
“I’d say that’s a fair assessment,” Elias said.
“Why the river, though?” Sam asked, brow knitting together. “What’s the point? It didn’t dry the entire riverbed or anything like that. And this river doesn’t flow into town. Wedon’t use it for water. Maybe fishing in summer sometimes, but that’s it. So it isn’t a strategic choice, either.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “But it is on our patrol route.”
Elias’s head whipped around toward me. “You think they planned for us to find it?”
“I think it would be absurd not to take that into consideration,” I growled. “I don’t know why, beyond the fact that maybe they wanted to do it to prove a point or scare us. But I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence. If there was some reason they wanted to do this in private, there are plenty of places they could have done this where we wouldn’t have noticed.”
“So it’s what, a warning?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s clear they didn’t care one way or the other if we found it. And if it was a warning and they picked this specific creek knowing we would find it, there’s another thing we need to consider.”
When both Sam and Elias looked at me, waiting to explain, I added, “They know our patrol routes. Probably even the timing of them.”
Neither of them said anything as they let that sink in. Once again, I thought back to the Oracle, her warning. Was this what she had seen? What the hell could have caused this?
“Even if that’s the case, we can’t afford to leave this the way it is. This river is too important for the wildlife and ecosystem.” Elias frowned, staring at the destruction with slitted eyes. “We’ll get Emma to come and see if she can’t at least restart the water,” he said. “Though keep her guarded at all times. I’m not taking any risks. I don’t like bringing her out here at all, but we need to get this water moving again if it’s at all possible.”
I nodded. Part of me wondered if the riverbed here would ever flow again. But if anyone could make it happen, it would be Emma. That much, I was sure of.
“Come on,” Elias growled. “Let’s make sure there aren’t any more demons lurking in the area, then we’ll head out. Hopefully, it won’t take long for Oz to come up with something.”
***
I had other things on my mind that didn’t involve demons or dried riverbeds. The bits of my thoughts that weren’t preoccupied with that swirled around Liv. Things hadn’t improved since our conversation. Liv still left the room as quickly as possible whenever I came in, unless I asked her to stop. I wanted to change things, to make them a bit easier between us. I had a plan, or at least the beginnings of a plan, but I needed help.
Which was why I found myself walking up to Jessie as she stepped out of work the following afternoon.
“Hey, Jessie,” I called.
Jessie turned. She blinked in surprise as I approached.
“Hey, Drake,” she said. “What’s up?”
I hesitated for a moment, then pushed forward. “I was hoping for your help on something,” I admitted. When Jessie raised her eyebrows expectantly, I continued. “I want to do something nice for Liv. I was hoping you might have some suggestions.”
“Oh.Oh.”
The surprised blinks intensified, and I wondered how much she knew about Liv and me. I couldn’t imagine Liv telling her much, but I had been wrong before. At the very least, Igot the sense that Jessie guessed something wasn’t quite right between the two of us.
“I mean, I can try,” Jessie said. “What sort of thing are you thinking?”
Shrugging, I rubbed my neck, glancing around. “I’m not sure. She’s been sort of closed off about that sort of stuff. I’ve tried asking, and she doesn’t ever really answer.”
“Really? That doesn’t sound like Liv,” Jessie said.
I shrugged, feeling more uncomfortable every moment. “Do you think you can help?” I grunted.
Jessie chewed the inside of her cheek as she contemplated. “Liv’s got a big romantic streak.”
“I could believe that,” I said. It fit with everything else I knew about her.
