Shadow Borne by Angie West Page B

two wing-back chairs. Other than the clothes
in the single tiny closet and dresser, there were maybe a handful
of personal possessions scattered around the place, some dog-eared
paperbacks, and enough food to fend off starvation for a day or
two.
    I've never had to worry about thieves
ransacking the place, that's for sure. Like its out of the way
location, the cabin's lack of amenities wasn't normally an issue,
either. There was a stream about a quarter mile to the east and
really, I wasn't home all that often, anyway. When I wasn't working
patrol or training with the soldiers, I was with Claire and the
girls.
    Right now, though, it seemed like all bets
were off; I was nervous. A quick look around showed what I'd
already known before hopping the fence–there was no one around. No
menacing forces lurked about and if the shadows seemed a little
thicker, a little heavier tonight, well it was probably just the
clouds overhead that kept racing across the moon to blot out the
light. Shivering a little as I walked up the little stone path and
let myself into the house, I admitted that maybe it was time to
have electricity run to the cabin.
    It wasn't a bad idea, really, especially now
that, thanks to Mike's return, I'd be spending a little less time
up at the big house and more time at home. The lock clicked into
place behind me and I headed to the counter of the cabin's tiny
kitchen and made quick work of lighting a few candles on a tray
before I unlaced my boots, kicked them off, and nudged them under
the table before wandering down the hall to the single bedroom.
Yes, I decided, standing in the large box-like room, I would go
into town first thing and hire an electrician to update the cabin.
In fact, it would be my first stop.
    And maybe it wasn't fair to blame Mike for
that one, I sighed, sinking onto the double bed that lay against
the far wall, beneath the larger of the room's two modest sized
windows. Updating the cabin was something I'd been planning on
getting around to for a while and it might as well be now. Maybe
I'd even head to the fabric store before heading to Claire's.
    Laying back against my single folded-in-half
pillow, I turned my head a little and let my eyes wander and do a
slow study of the bedroom, trying to view the space objectively. It
wasn't a bad room. It was quite large, especially considering the
rest of the house could only be described as cozy.
    The dark knotty pine double bed, dresser,
and matching nightstand were beautifully crafted and I'd purchased
the gray sheets, silver and gray comforter and silver pillow case
new six months ago, along with the dark brown and silver rug that
occupied most of the floor. It was plush and hadn't cost all that
much but kept me from eating and drinking in the bedroom, something
I used to do frequently.
    The rug was not only large but it had a
thick non-skid type backing and I was terrified of spilling things
on the fabric; no doubt it would be an absolute bitch to wash and
dry. But it was perfect for the wood floor it graced and it kept me
from freezing my feet during the cooler season. The cold weather
was right around the corner, I reflected idly, rolling half over
and tugging at the comforter until I'd freed enough to wrap around
myself.
    The temperature was dropping rapidly in the
overnight hours now and what had been tolerable earlier in the
evening when Claire and I had been swimming in the lake now
bordered on uncomfortable. It wouldn't get much worse than this,
though, and that was something. I wasn't all that fond of cold
temperatures. None of the nymphs were, with the exception of
Juliette but then, Juliette basically liked everything. She was
pretty much the opposite of me, although we had grown up together
and were the same age; Juliette could almost always find an upside
to anything. And I...well I wasn't ever like that, not really, not
even before my life was turned upside down, shaken, and
stirred.
    Other than when dumb bitch Aries reared her
naïve