Blood Oath, Blood River (The Downwinders Book 1) Page 32

  “I talked with Lyman earlier today,” Carma said, entering the room with a tray filled with cordials. She set the tray down on a table near the windows. “Help yourself to any of these you want.” She walked to an oversized chair and sat in it. “He was wondering, Deem, if you’d be willing to help him out with a little project.”

  “What?” Deem asked.

  “Naturally he asked me to have you talk to him about it yourself,” Carma said. “You know how he likes you.”

  “What time?” Deem asked, blushing again.

  Carma checked her watch. “Let’s see, it’s just after nine, and the moon’s out around two. About five hours from now. I hope you can stay.”

  “Sure,” Deem said, leaning back in her chair.

  “Lyman does seem to have his finger on the pulse of what’s happening around here,” Awan said. “And he seems highly intuitive. I’m still impressed on how he picked up on Winn.”

  “That’s right,” Deem said. “He was the one who knew about you being ‘blank,’ just from meeting you. It’s what wound up saving us from Ninth Sign.”

  “Did you ever figure out what that was about?” Carma asked Winn. “Why you’re a blank? We didn’t talk much about it after it happened.”

  Winn considered how to respond. When he’d first found out he was blank, and was used to hide things from Ninth Sign, he felt embarrassed. Although it surprisingly wound up being an asset in that case, he always figured his deficiency would be a liability, and he still worried that it might hamper his ability to help Deem and Awan going forward.

  Deem’s words to him the other night about not knowing much about him had been rattling around in his mind, and the mixture of the company and the wine made him feel relaxed, as though he could open up to these people without fear of judgment or repercussion.

  “Well, I have been thinking about that,” he said. “And I think I know why I’m blank.”

  “You do?” Awan asked. “Why?”

  “Well, it’s a long story,” Winn said. “And you may not like it.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I will like it!” Carma said with enthusiasm, delighted at the prospect of Winn telling a tale. “Doesn’t matter how it ends. I’ll like it.”

  “I’m warning you, it’s long,” Winn said.

  Deem closed her eyes and sunk further into her chair. “I’d like nothing better right now than to relax and hear it,” she said.

  “Me too,” Awan said.

  “Alright,” Winn said. “If you insist.”

  “I insist!” Carma said, jumping out of her chair. “Just let me adjust the lights down in here. This room is too brightly lit for a good long story!” She walked to a dimmer on the wall, and lowered the level of light coming from the overhead fixtures. The lights outside became brighter, and Carma walked back to her chair. “There we go. Alright, Winn, begin!”

  Winn took a deep breath and exhaled. “When I was eleven, my mother and I lived in a trailer court outside of Tucson…”

  ▪ ▪ ▪

  This has been a complimentary first chapter of the next book in The Downwinders series,

  The Impossible Coin

  Enjoy the rest of the novel by downloading your complete copy from Amazon.com!