It took a great deal of control to keep from storming out of the office and slamming the door behind her. Lori fumed as she stormed through the barn. Devin backed into a corner of the barn and quietly tried not to be noticed. Selene had awoken and stretched, the blanket falling from her back as she yawned. She froze when she saw Lori, then studied her fingernails.

  Lori jerked the pantry door open and yanked several venison strips from their hooks. She slammed the door and marched across the barn. She dropped the dried meat on the floor and motioned for Jangles to come and eat as she hoisted the large saddle to shoulder height. She crouched beneath it to unhook the top pack from the riding saddle. She moved with quiet fury, trying to calm herself in the comfort of a familiar task. Once the top pack was loose, she hoisted it up as high as it would go, then raised the riding saddle for Jangles to stand beneath. He did, chewing his breakfast as Lori tightened down the straps. While Jangles finished eating, she opened the double doors of the barn.

  As she watched Jangles eat, she had a sudden guilty thought which cooled her temper, and searched her flight duster for her wallet. She had a lot of cash from the bartering she had done at the general store in Oblivion, and she figured she owed the waystation some money. She took two dollars out of her wallet and walked back to the office where she laid it on the desk. Her father looked up as she did so, and she shrugged.

  “We’re not thieves.”

  He nodded, then returned to his conversation with Redhand.

  As she left, Selene asked, “Where are you going?”

  “Oh, Dad thinks I should take a walk around the town with Jangles. He wants my opinion on things.”

  “Oh, I’m coming with you!” Selene stood and brushed herself off.

  “Suit yourself.”

  “Any chance on a quick breakfast?” Devin asked.

  Lori gave a disgusted sigh, but decided he was right. She had Jangles move aside and lowered the top pack saddle. She distributed dried biscuits, cheese, and a strip of jerky for each of them.

  Jangles walked out of the barn.

  “Wait!” Lori yelled with a mouthful of dried biscuit.

  Jangles shouted back over his shoulder. “I’m thirsty.” He wandered into the barnyard, out of sight.

  Lori cursed, spewing bits of biscuit, and jogged after him stuffing a chunk of cheese into her mouth. She yelled something muffled and incomprehensible as she followed him out. She had no idea what really happened to this town, or what could happen, and she had to look out for her dragon.

  Once she entered the yard, she was taken aback by the absolute dead silence of the place. No sound whatsoever. No wind, no people talking, no horses pulling wagons, no one walking on the boardwalks. No birds chirping, no dogs barking. Just silence.

  Lori could see that the sun had risen over the horizon, but the distant hurricane of swirling dirt and dust obscured its light. The storm painted the eastern sky in hues of orange and pink while casting an eerie shadow over the rest of the land, stretching as far as her eyes could see. And overhead was clear sky, bright and deceptively peaceful.

  Jangles ducked his head into a trough and slurped violently. The sound, so loud against the dead quiet of the town, made her wince. She pulled her pistol and held it by her thigh, thumbing the hammer back and squeezing the trigger to ease it down repeatedly as she watched their surroundings. She pushed the last of the cheese into her mouth and wiped her hand on her duster as she slowly turned, scanning for any threat to her dragon.

  Jangles head burst from the trough with a loud, satisfied groan. “Wow, I was thirsty!” He shook his head like a dog after a bath and trotted over to Lori. He saw the gun in her hand and looked around, wary. “Something wrong?”

  “Just being cautious.” She slipped the revolver back into her holster and shook a finger at him. “You’d better stop rushing off like that. We don’t know what might be out here.”

  Jangles snapped his jaws at her finger. “Don’t point that finger at me unless you intend to use it.”

  Lori pelted him on the nose with it and he licked her hand with his massive tongue. Lori pulled back, her hand dripping with saliva, and shook it.

  “Would you stop that?” She wiped her hand on her duster. “Be serious!”

  “You’re serious enough for the both of us.” Jangles looked around. “So, where are we off to?”

  “Dad wants us to walk around the town for a bit, see what we can see. He wants your opinion.”

  “Yeah! Let’s go!” Jangles bolted for the split rail fence that bordered the street and leaped it with ease.

  Lori chased after him. “Slow down!”

  Jangles waited impatiently for Lori. Devin and Selene followed after.

  “Lori! There’s something I wanted to show you!” Devin called after her.

  “Well, come on then,” Lori shouted back. “We have to keep a reign on a crazy dragon.”

  The three walked briskly side by side and occasionally broke into a run as Jangles trotted down the street, sniffing at buildings, then crossing the street to sniff at another. He stuck his head through any open door he found, or any open window he could fit his head into. He snaked his long neck along the tops of houses and stores and into alleys.

  The stillness of the town felt eerie to Lori. She remembered the liveliness of Hakitaw even this early in the morning. This had been a place of stirring business where people lived, really lived. Now those people were gone. Tall buildings of wood and brick loomed over both sides of the narrow alleyways, their windows dark and empty. Bright, decorative signs hung above doors, their cheerful colors out of place in the utter silence that enveloped the streets. The ground beneath their feet was hard-packed and dry, each step sending faint echoes that bounced off the empty stores and homes. Jangles' curious sniffs and occasional snorts were the only sounds breaking the silence, making Lori and her companions more aware of how desolate the place truly was.

  Devin was breathing hard, trying to keep pace with the two young women. “It’s down the street here,” he puffed as he pointed ahead.

  Lori let Selene walk a few paces ahead before she asked, “Where’s your medallion?”

  Devin whined. “Oh, now, Lori, there’s no need for that, not here!” His raspy voice added a touch of the pathetic to his plea as he clutched at the medallion beneath his shirt.

  “Devin, if something jumps out at us, I don’t want you fumbling for it. Take it off.” She held out her hand.

  “Well, I just don’t think it’s really necessary. I mean, whatever’s happened here already happened and-”

  “Devin, give me the damn medallion.”

  Devin sighed, managing to make it sound like a sob, and placed it in her hand.

  Lori stuffed it in her inside pocket of her duster. She patted his shoulder. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you could handle it.”

  Devin drooped. “I know, Lori, but, gosh darnit, I hate it when I change. It’s painful sometimes, and I’m not always in control. Sometimes the beast in me is the one making all the decisions. I worry I might hurt someone.”

  Lori gave him a comforting side hug. “Devin, I think we’re going to need a wild card, and you’re it. And besides, I didn’t bring you along for the company. You’re here to watch my back.”

  Devin gave a resigned nod. “Just keep your promise, that’s all I ask.”

  Lori touched his shoulder. “I’ll always keep that promise.” She took both his shoulders, turned him to face her, and looked him dead in the eye. “Always.”

  “Okay.” He looked past her. “Jangles is getting away.”

  Lori spun and saw the dragon’s tail disappearing around a building with a sign that read ‘Hakitaw Steakhouse’.

  “Oh, good Lord, he’s after the meat!”

  “I’ll get him!” Devin ran after him.

  Lori let him go. Devin had run behind the restaurant, following the dragon down the alley before she remembered her whistle. She pulled it up from beneath her shirt.

  “What promise did you make to him?” Selene asked.

  “Huh? Oh, I shouldn’t really say.”

  “Ebeneezer told me what he is.” Selene hunched her shoulders as if bracing herself. “How could you be friends with a werewolf?”

  Lori gave her a level look.

  “I thought you hunted those. Killed them. Why did you let him live? They’re dangerous!”

  Lori sighed and shook her head. “It’s not as cut and dried as that. He’s not the kind of lycan that changes at night or at the full moon. He wasn’t bitten, and he’s not contagious. He was born with it. His whole family is like that. They don’t hunt. They generally don’t kill. Not for food, anyway.”

  Selene frowned, still not entirely convinced by Lori's explanation. "Even so, how can you be sure he won’t turn against us?"

  Lori laughed. “When he turns, he’s still in there, in the beast, reasonable to some extent.”

  Selene considered the matter though uncertainty still clouded her eyes. Lori saw the doubt and added, “Trust me, if he were a danger, I wouldn’t be defending him. He’s saved my life twice.”

  Lori and Selene took up their fast pace again.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Did you promise to kill him if he ever got out of control?” Selene asked.

  Lori gave her a strange look. Selene was never this direct. “That, or hunt him down and put that medallion back on his neck. Now, don’t ever tell him I told you that.”

  They rounded the restaurant. Down the alley, Jangles, tail stuck out, the rest of him hidden behind the steakhouse.

  “Jangles!” Lori shouted.

  He popped his head up over the roof of a shed built against the restaurant, his jaws packed with meat and a large bone sticking out like a cigarette.

  “What did I tell you about running off?” She scolded, and he drooped a little, but said nothing. “What are you eating?”

  “Meef?” he mumbled around the mouthful of a side of beef. He chewed, the sound of the bones crunching echoed off the walls in the back alley.

  Devin poked his head into the alley beneath Jangles’ tail. “I’m sorry, Lori, but he found a smoke house. The door was open.” He shrugged.

  Lori frowned. She jogged around the corner and saw the smokehouse with the double doors wide open. She pushed her way past Jangles and looked inside. Several slabs of brisket and rump roast hung next to pork and poultry. The fire that kept the smoke going had long died out. “Jangles, did any of this look like any critters had been in here?”

  Jangles shook his head, still chewing and smacking his meal.

  Lori touched the hanging meat, then she bent to examine the other cuts of meat that sat on shelves lower down. Other than the obvious meat Jangles had pulled off a hook, the rest seemed untouched and undisturbed.

  “And the door was open?”

  Jangles nodded, chewing.

  “Lori, could I…” Devin gestured to the meat.

  Lori rolled her eyes and nodded, and Devin pulled a ham hock off a hook and sunk his teeth into it. Then he felt embarrassed, took his knife and cut off a slice for Lori, who took it and ate absently. He offered a large slice to Selene, who politely refused with a shake of her head.

  “Something is wrong. What is it?” Selene asked Lori.

  Lori shook her head in confusion as she chewed. “Have you ever heard of this much food not being picked at by rats, skunks or dogs? The door was wide open. Why didn’t anything eat any of it?” She looked up a Jangles. “It sure didn’t stop him.”

  Devin and Jangles stopped chewing as they realized she was right. Selene looked into the smokehouse again. “You’re right. Nothing’s been touched.”

  Lori examined their surroundings. There were no signs of disturbance anywhere, nothing that jumped out at her as significant. “What was it you wanted to show me?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Devin said, and took another bite as he turned back into the alleyway.

  “Come on, Jangles,” Lori said when the dragon looked longingly at the smokehouse, “We’ll come back this way and get you some more.” Jangles grunted in mild disbelief.

  Devin led them to an intersection where a bank, a saloon, a sheriff’s office and a post office sat catacorner to each other. He opened the door to the bank and stepped inside. Lori stopped and put her hands in her pockets, looking at the doors.

  “What’s the matter?” Devin asked.

  “The bank doors were open? You didn’t have to force them?”

  Devin shook his head, slowly, not understanding. Lori bent to examine the door handles and locks for damage. There was no sign of any tool marks on the door.

  “Devin, did you open the door or was it already hanging open?”

  “I opened it. I was checking doors all along this street. I didn’t go inside anyplace unless the door was unlocked. Why?”

  Lori shrugged. “Just seems odd that no one locked up the bank.” She turned to Jangles. “Would you stay out here and keep an eye out?”

  Jangles sat on his haunches. “You bet.”

  Lori followed Devin inside, and Selene followed after. Lori gave the teller lobby a quick study before trailing after Devin behind the teller desks. Everything, as far as Lori could tell, was in order. No paper, no bottles of ink, lamps or chairs seemed to be out of place.

  “It’s in there,” Devin said and pointed with the ham hock at the large black safe built into the wall.

  Lori stared at it, curious and considering. The door stood opened about a third of the way, it’s interior dark as pitch.

  “Devin, put that ham hock down for a moment and let’s get some of these lamps lit.”

  Devin reluctantly put the ham on a desk and wiped his hands on his pants. They searched for lanterns to light, but most were empty, and Lori guessed that they had burned out when whatever happened, happened. But they managed to find a few with oil and lighted them.

  Selene took a wand from the pocket of her dress, a gorgeous, delicate shaft that seemed to be carved of light grey and purple marble with an amethyst handle, and she used it to conjure a ball of lilac-colored light that hung in the air.

  Lori’s eyes widened in surprise. “When did you get that?” She pointed at the wand.

  Selene grinned nervously. “I found it a few months ago. It belonged to my mother.” She waved it around and lavender sparks popped into the air and fell gently to the ground, fading. “I’ve been learning to use it. Father says I have her talents, and he thinks I could become as good a sorceress as she was.”

  Lori watched the sparks float down and fade. “It’s beautiful.” Lori wanted a closer look, but it would have to wait. She took the lantern with her and carried it to the opening of the safe. She pulled the door open, and it moved smoothly and quietly.

  The interior of the safe was enveloped in darkness. Lori's lantern cast a warm, yellow glow, illuminating the immediate area with a comforting and soft light.

  Selene's conjured ball of light floated nearby, emitting a cool, purple hue that added an ethereal quality to the scene. The two contrasting lights combined to create a surreal interplay of colors; the safe’s interior bathed in a mix of golden warmth and mystical lavender. The shelves lining the walls, stacked with metal boxes, appeared in sharp relief, their metallic surfaces reflecting both the yellow and purple lights.

  A table stood in the center of the safe, where open boxes sat next to several thousand dollars in cash stacked alongside an assortment of papers, certificates, stocks, and bonds.

  She was about to ask Devin what he wanted to show her, but he had lit a lamp and was examining large papers that looked like plans strewn about an enormous desk in the corner.

  Selene and Lori entered the safe. Lori approached the table cautiously, her gaze drawn to the documents that bore official seals and signatures. The disorder of such crucial documents only added to the sense of urgency and chaos that must have erupted during the event.

  “What do you think happened?” asked Selene, her voice barely above a whisper as she eyed the contents of the table.

  Lori examined the scene carefully, her mind racing. "The bankers must have been closing up when it occurred. Right around the time Devin mentioned, after suppertime, around 7 or 8 pm."

  As Lori moved closer to the table, something on the floor caught her eye. A shard of crystal lay atop a burlap rag, its unbroken sides angular and polished smooth, like the corner of a pyramid with one side jagged and broken. The crystal seemed out of place among the mundane items scattered around.

  Devin entered the safe, chewing on the ham hock. “Oh, you found it. That’s what I wanted to show you.” He pointed at it with the greasy ham. “I thought it was weird, and it felt wrong, so I didn’t touch it.”

  She reached for it but hesitated, ultimately deciding not to touch it directly. Instead, she used the burlap sack as a rag to pick it up. There was a symbol etched on the polished side, something Aegyptian, perhaps an ancient hieroglyph. Lori carefully placed the crystal inside the sack, making sure not to make direct contact with it.

  “I think you were right, Devin.” She looked into the open sack before twisting it closed. “I think you may have just stumbled onto the key to the whole thing.”

  “Really?” Devin said with pride and a mouthful of ham.

  As Lori turned to leave, a flash of reflected light on the floor caught her attention. She nudged at it with her boot, revealing a gold cufflink gleaming against the dusty ground. Her eyes widened as she recognized its significance. She glanced at the burlap sack in her hand and began piecing together the puzzle in her mind.

  "We need to get out of here," Lori said, the urgency clear in her voice. She then spun on her heel and rushed to the table, stuffing as much cash as she could into her pockets.

  Selene gasped. "Lori, that's stealing! You can't just take it!"

  Lori looked at Selene, frustration evident on her face. "Must be nice to afford to have the high ground, Selene." She then shoved a wad of cash into Devin's hands. "For services rendered," she said, before grabbing another handful of cash and rushing out of the safe.

  Devin glanced at the cash in his hand, stuffed it in his pocket, then grabbed another handful from the table before following Lori out. Selene, looking torn, hesitated for a moment before following.

  Devin turned and ran toward the large desk in the corner. Selene wondered what he was doing, but decided chasing after Lori was more important at the moment. As they left the bank, Selene continued to lecture Lori. "Stealing is wrong, Lori! You can’t just take that money! It belongs to someone!"

  Lori shot Selene a serious look as she mounted Jangles. "The bankers are never coming back. They're dead, and so is everyone else in this town. Now, get on or get left behind."

  Jangles looked surprised but said nothing. Devin came running out of the bank, ham hock in one hand, and with his free arm he carried large, rolled up papers in the crook of his elbow.

  “What are you doing with those?” Lori exclaimed.

  Devin tossed the ham hock bone and what little meat was left on it toward Jangles, who snapped it out of the air and swallowed it whole.

  “Might need them,” he said as he wiped his greasy hand on his pants and hurriedly climbed into the saddle.

  Selene, still sputtering about the theft, followed with a look of discomfort etched across her face. "What did you mean about the townsfolk being dead?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

  "I'm not entirely sure yet," Lori admitted, her eyes scanning the surroundings, searching for unseen threats. “Jangles!” She shouted, “Get us to the edge of town as fast as you can!”

  “Hang on!” Jangles said as he galloped through the deserted town. His wingspan was too wide to take off in the relatively narrow street, but his powerful legs made up for it, propelling them forward at a breakneck speed. They sped past the abandoned storefronts, the wind whipping past them, tousling their hair and stirring the dust on the ground. The rhythmic thud of Jangles’ claws on the hardpacked dirt streets echoed as he ran.

  The air thickened with the scent of salt and decay as they neared the mine. At the edge of the town, the hilltop dropped off suddenly, revealing the salt mine far below. The ground around the mine was white with salt deposits, creating a jarring contrast against the surrounding rugged and brown terrain. A central mineshaft elevator building sat next to a smaller one amid a network of rail tracks. The white hills around it stood covered in sheds and office buildings, like a well-organized shanty town. The silence added an eerie ambience to the scene.

  Lori took her telescope and dismounted swiftly and instructed Jangles to stay back. Her eyes were sharp, scanning the ground with a meticulous focus. Ignoring Selene's and Devin's curious questions, she paced back and forth, her brows furrowed in concentration. She knelt down, examining the soil and debris.

  “What are you looking for, Lori?” Selene insisted, her voice tinged with frustration and curiosity. She watched as Lori methodically inspected the ground. Selene's patience was wearing thin. Devin, equally perplexed, stayed silent, hugging the large rolls of paper.

  Lori found what she was looking for. But she couldn’t believe it. Peering over the edge, her face went pale. The salt mine stretched out beneath them, a vast expanse of white and grey, dotted with the remnants of human activity. The machinery lay abandoned, and the eerie silence was punctuated only by the distant echo of their own movements. One quick glance through the telescope into the dark opening of the elevator structure added to the clues. Lori's mind raced, piecing together the clues she had gathered.

  “We have to get back to the waystation,” she declared, her voice trembling slightly. The urgency in her tone was unmistakable, and it sent a shiver down Selene's spine. Lori knew that time was running out—every second counted.

  “What is it?” Jangles asked, the concern evident in his voice.

  Lori’s face was a mask of shock. “They’re down there, in the mine. The townsfolk. And if they’re doing what I think they’re doing, we don’t have a lot of time left.”

  Selene’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How do you know that?”

  Lori threw her hands up in frustration. “Can’t you see it? The abandoned homes after supper, the money left behind, the gold cufflink on the floor, the hundreds of footprints leading past the edge here, the marks on the slope where they fell as they went down the hill to the mine! And the elevator shaft is down!” She pointed furiously down the hill.

  Devin, Selene, and Jangles stared at her blankly.

  “Ugh, never mind,” Lori muttered under her breath, mounting Jangles once more. “Jangles, take us back to the waystation.”

  Jangles leaped from the precipice, his wings spreading wide and catching the air like a majestic sail, gliding gracefully toward the mining facility below. Lori leaned over with her spyglass, meticulously scanning the mine for any signs of life or activity. The abandoned site stretched out beneath them, a desolate landscape of white and gray packed with sheds and warehouses and offices, silent as a grave. Jangles turned, his powerful wings beating rhythmically as they ascended, heading back to the town and the waystation.

  Lori put the spyglass away and turned her gaze to the horizon. The circle of calm, clear skies overhead still shone a bright, serene blue, but to her discerning eye, it seemed to be shrinking, encroached upon by the ominous storm beyond. The hurricane's fury, a swirling wall of wind, dirt, and sand, seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment. She imagined the storm's relentless advance, engulfing everything in its path—farms, ranches, towns, and forts—all buried beneath an unyielding torrent.

  Her heart ached for the people caught in the storm's path: farmers, homesteaders, hunters, and railroad workers—men, women, and children of various races and classes—trapped in a maelstrom they could neither escape nor comprehend. The thought of their plight fueled Lori's resolve, her jaw clenching with determination. She knew she had to act swiftly, but her father's safety weighed heavily on her mind. She needed his wisdom and guidance before she could confront the looming threat.