"G'night, Mom."
"Goodnight, honey."
* * *
"Sali, they're gonna execute Randy Smith." Ashe waited until they were in a corner booth at the Burger Hut on Wednesday to whisper the news.
"They'll do it at the next full moon then." Sali dipped a French fry in a puddle of ketchup and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Sali, that's almost an entire family wiped out in the space of a month." Ashe stared at the young werewolf. How could he eat while discussing someone's death so casually?
"Pack Law," Sali mumbled around a mouthful of food.
"Sounds a little callous, don't you think?"
Sali chewed thoughtfully and swallowed before answering. "Dude, look at it this way. We have to stay hidden. People will kill you and your mom and dad if they find out what you are. Oh, some humans will think it’s cool, but there are others who'd hate us and they'll get all of us. They think we're evil or something."
"Anybody has the capacity for that," Ashe shoved half his burger in Sali's direction. "Not every human is good. Not every vampire or shifter is good either."
"You're not gonna turn into a philosophizer, are ya?" Sali grinned and bit into Ashe's burger.
"Sali, I may have to alter my impression of you," Ashe said. "You just used a five-syllable word."
"I'll try not to let it happen again," Sali laughed.
Picking dead leaves off caladium plants was their job for the afternoon. Brown or yellowing leaves were dumped in an old cardboard box as Ashe and Sali made their way through potted plants lined up in neat rows at the back of the greenhouse. While they worked, several customers came in to select plants. Ashe dutifully hauled out cut-off boxes filled with seedlings and loaded purchases into waiting cars or trucks. The weather was definitely warming up and people wanted to plant.
Ashe and Sali walked to the Dumpster behind the store to empty the box of dead leaves before Adele closed up for the evening. "Dude, do you smell anything?" Sali asked after pounding the bottom of the box to get the last of the plant detritus out of it. The box would be reused—Adele didn't like throwing anything away if it could be recycled or repurposed.
"Smell what?" Ashe's nose wasn't as sharp as Sali's, even when Sali was in human form.
"Weird. Like ozone or something." Sali was still sniffing and following after whatever he'd smelled.
"What?" Ashe trailed behind Sali, mystified.
"You know, sort of like after a spring rain or something?"
"Dude, I can't smell anything," Ashe grumbled, but didn't doubt Sali's ability to detect the scent. It hadn't been raining, either, although a spring storm was predicted for the following day.
"Boys?" Adele's worried voice reached them from the back door of the greenhouse. They'd wandered behind the Dumpster, walking toward the wooden stockade fence at the edge of the property.
"Here, Mom." Ashe grabbed Sali's arm, halting his best friend's search for a source of the mysterious scent.
"Thank goodness." Ashe's mother muttered the words so softly that most people wouldn't have heard. Ashe heard.
"Come on," Ashe hauled Sali toward the greenhouse and his mother. "Sali thought he smelled ozone," Ashe poked Sali in the ribs.
"Ozone?" Adele lifted an eyebrow in Sali's direction.
"Yeah." Sali ducked his head, suddenly unsure of his own abilities.
"If you say you smelled ozone, then there was probably ozone. Come on, I'll make dinner and we'll have cookies for dessert. Sali's mother had to run an errand and asked if Sali could come over until she got back."
"Sweet," Sali grinned.
* * *
"Hey, Mr. Evans," Sali said when Aedan joined them at the dinner table nearly two hours later.
"Salidar," Aedan smiled at Sali. "How's your brother Marco?"
"Marco's okay, but Mom says he's depressed." Sali picked at his green beans while Ashe watched his friend. Ashe knew not to talk about Marco. Sali felt overshadowed by his older brother much of the time so Ashe hadn't brought Marco up the past few days. He figured if Sali wanted to talk, he would.
"I'm sorry to hear that. What about you, Sali? Everything all right?"
"Yeah. I'm good." Sali speared two whole green beans and stuffed them in his mouth.
"You can take your cookies to Ashe's room if you're careful with the crumbs," Adele handed a plate of cookies and a small glass of milk to Sali after the dinner dishes were done.
"I wanted to do some surfing anyway," Ashe received his plate of cookies next. He led the way toward the middle door separating the upper and lower floors. Aedan closed it behind them as they clumped down the steps. Ashe heard, even though Sali didn't. His mother was explaining to his father about the scent of ozone Sali picked up behind the shop in Cordell.
* * *
"Dad, has any shifter or paranormal ever been able to disappear?" Ashe stood beside his father as they watched Denise DeLuca drive away. Sali waved from the passenger seat of the DeLuca's Honda sedan. Ashe waved back as he waited for his father to answer the question.
"Son, that's impossible, I think. Maybe some of the witches or warlocks can put up a shield so people can't see them, but they're not truly invisible. There are two very rare types of vampires, though, and one of those can turn to mist. The other can mindspeak."
"Really? Some vampires can turn to mist and read minds?"
"They can't read minds, but they can send messages to someone else with the talent," Aedan smiled down at Ashe. "And that may be more useful at times."
"What about the ones who can turn to mist? How do they do that?" Ashe blinked curiously at his father.
"Ashe, only two or three of those exist at the moment," Aedan herded Ashe inside the garage and shut the door. "The rest of us don't know much at all about them. All that information is kept secret and I imagine all of them work for the Council in some way or another."
"But what happens after they turn to mist? Are they still shaped like their bodies?"
"I've heard tales through the years that misters can slip through the smallest cracks or keyholes, even. And I heard an old vampire say once that their clothing and such turned to mist as well. I didn't believe that. After all, your mother and all the others must disrobe before they turn or their clothing can hamper them in their other shapes."
"Yeah. I've gathered up clothes for Sali and the others in class," Ashe agreed gloomily.