On the Edge

“It means he won’t pay you for this week.”

Rose stiffened. No gas money. Without the truck, she couldn’t exchange Declan’s doubloon for U.S. currency. They had enough groceries to last for three days, four if she was careful. She had no way to pay the electric bill, and it was due in five days. She had to get to work.

“I still have no gas, and it’ll take me about a half an hour to clean up.”

“Shit. I can’t leave—I don’t dare piss him off any more.”

It hit her: the Broemmer account. Broemmer Hotel had fired Clean-n-Bright two weeks ago, because they caught Emerson overcharging them. Losing that account had dropped Emerson’s business by almost a quarter, and he’d been biting at the bit to compensate for his losses somehow. She’d just singled herself out as the perfect scapegoat.

“Okay, wait, I got it,” Latoya said. “We’ll take an early lunch. Can you get to Burger King?”

Six miles. She could walk it. “Yes.”

“Start walking. We’ll head there for lunch and pick you up. Emerson won’t even know when you got in.”

A huge wave of relief rolled over her. “Thank you.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Latoya hung up.

“I’m so sorry about all this,” Amy said.

Rose forced a smile. “I was glad to help. I’m sorry about your house.”

Amy paled a bit, glanced at the missing wall and busted roof, and forced a smile, too, plainly trying not to cry. “There was no help for it. At least we’re all in one piece. Even Grandma.”

Rose looked for Elsie Moore and found her in the yard at a picnic table. Elsie wore a fresh dress. She had braided her thinning hair and was flirting outrageously with Declan.

“How did it start?” Rose asked.

“She was having one of her parties, and something had chewed up a teddy bear. One of those things, I guess. Then she wouldn’t come out of the room.” Amy hesitated. “What are they?”

Rose shook her head. “Nothing I’ve ever seen before. Maybe she knows.”

Amy sighed. “If she does, you’re welcome to try getting it out of her. She won’t tell me anything. She just calls me stupid.”

Rose headed to the table. Elsie gave her the evil eye. Rose ignored it. “Hi there, Grandma Elsie,” she said brightly.

Elsie pursued her lips and glanced at Declan. “We’re having a special time,” she said. “Go away.”

“Oh, well, in that case, I’ll just ask you a couple of questions and be on my way.” The sooner you answer them, the faster I’ll go away.

Elsie got the message. “Hurry up, then.”

Rose crouched by her. “Do you know what those things are?”

“Evil.”

“What sort of evil?”

Elsie shook her head.

“Have you ever seen one before? Do you know where they came from?”

“They were after my bears,” Elsie volunteered. “So I cursed them.”

Pieces clicked together in Rose’s brain. “You made a wold?”

Elsie nodded. “But it couldn’t kill them.”

Amy, who had wandered over to the table, gasped. “You made a wold? Jesus!”

“It’s dead,” Rose told her. “It was after Kenny Jo, and I killed it.”

“You’ve done lost your mind!” Amy stared at her grandmother. “Sending a wold out into the neighborhood? Who knows what it could’ve killed!”

Elsie pursed her lips.

“Honestly!” Amy put her hands on her hips. “What’s next? Are you going to blight East Laporte?”

Rose sighed. That was the end of that. She wouldn’t get anything out of Elsie now. She got up to her feet and glanced at Declan, standing to the side while Amy continued to chew her grandmother out.

“Thank you,” Rose said. “You didn’t have to help us, and you did. I’m grateful.”

Declan’s face thawed a little. “You’re welcome.”

Rose walked away. If Elsie didn’t know what those things were, perhaps Grandma would. Unfortunately, all the evidence was here. To the left, in the woodshed, an overturned wheelbarrow sat by the log pile. Rose went into the shed, wrestled the wheelbarrow upright, and dragged it to the house. The nearest charred carcass lay only a few feet away. She put the wheelbarrow down and went to pick it up.

She couldn’t even lift it, let alone carry it. Rose grasped its disgusting legs—the feet looked almost like ape hands—and put her back into it. The carcass slid across the floor. She dragged it to the wheelbarrow.

Leanne emerged from around the corner. Rose stopped. Leanne walked over. Without a word, she grasped the creature. Magic pulsed in her, and she picked the corpse up and slid it into the wheelbarrow and walked away.

That same talent—five seconds of incredible strength—had made Leanne the school’s terror. She could only do it once every twenty minutes or so, but once was usually enough to do the job. Rose never thought she’d see it work for her. I guess there’s first time for everything.

They’d never be bosom buddies, Rose reflected, pushing the wheelbarrow up the path to her house. But at least when Leanne decided to stab her in the back, she might hesitate for a second or two.

The house looked undisturbed. Rose maneuvered the wheelbarrow behind Grandpa’s shed. He slammed at the walls and hissed, but she just grunted at him. Later she’d wheel the hound corpse to Grandmother’s for identification, but now she had to get her spare uniform on and start walking. She ran up the stairs to the porch and knocked on the door.

Georgie opened. “Get ready,” she told him, running to the shower. “I’m taking you to Grandma’s, and then I’ll have to go to work.”

GEORGIE sat on the porch steps. His overnight bag lay next to him. He always took the overnight bag just in case. Inside was a book about a boy who lived on the edge of the woods, an InuYasha comic book, spare socks, underwear, a T-shirt, and pants. And his toothbrush. Inside, Jack was banging things, looking for his sneakers. Georgie closed his eyes and pictured Jack’s shoes. He felt a slight tug to the left and turned toward it. Not too far. A little more to the left . . . About fifteen feet. He opened his eyes and found himself looking at the kitchen window. Yep. The shoes were under the kitchen table. Jack must’ve pulled them off while he was eating dinner last night and forgotten about them.

He could go inside and tell Jack where his shoes were. Rose said to get ready quick. She had the look on her face. Georgie knew the look well. When she came out of the shower and saw that Jack didn’t have his shoes, she wouldn’t be happy. He could save Jack from getting in trouble, but those were new shoes, the second pair of new shoes. They cost a lot of money, and Jack had to learn to take care of them.

It was odd with Jack, Georgie reflected. Sometimes he’d find a piece of green bottle glass and carry it around with him everywhere for days, like it was some great treasure. But something like shoes or clothes, he didn’t care about. They were poor. Rose tried to hide it, but Georgie knew they didn’t have money. Jack needed to learn not to be wasteful.

Georgie turned his face to the sun and squinted, feeling the warmth on his face. He didn’t mind going to Grandma’s, and he didn’t mind skipping school. Oh no, he didn’t mind that at all. Georgie smiled a private smile to himself. School was boring and tedious, and he didn’t care for it. He studied and made good grades, because it made Rose happy. Sometimes she talked about him getting a good job in the Broken, if his grades were high enough. Georgie didn’t want a job in the Broken. The Broken had no magic.

Staying at home also meant he might get to keep an eye on Declan. It was his job to keep an eye on things. That’s what Dad said before he left. He was only six back then, but he remembered. Dad put his hand on his shoulder and said, “You mind the family, Georgie. Keep an eye on your sister and brother for me.” He wasn’t a baby. He knew Dad didn’t really mean it, but he did it all the same because somebody had to do it.

He wasn’t sure about Declan. Rose said all bluebloods couldn’t be trusted. Rose was often right. When she said someone couldn’t be trusted, they usually turned out to be a scumbag. Georgie ducked his head and looked