Page 68 of Hummingbird and Kraken

Geir had been late for dinner twice in the last month. Once when he was following a bear for no reason that Declan could fathom, though he’d come back and told Declan all about it. And once when he’d gone into town for some sort of tool and come back with extra groceries. But both times he’d returned long before the summer sun had set.

When he slipped off into the waiting, he at least seemed to notice when it was growing dark.

Declan wasn’t sure if he should feel worried or not. Geir had explained, on more than one occasion, that he moved more slowly than Declan, that he saw time on a different scale. So perhaps he’d simply started swimming and hadn’t noticed the whole afternoon and evening slipping away.

Declan fancifully imagined him doing battle with giant whales and pirate ships on their little bay off of Lake Erie. That led to a sobering thought, though. A kraken might be able to take down a wooden sailing ship, but what about motorboats? Or modern weapons?

From Ro’s stories, it wasn’t an unreasonable fear. The idea of such dramatic encounters was a lot less exciting when Geir was involved.

But Geir was older than the trees and almost as old as the lake, in his own words. He would surely know how to avoid such mundane dangers.

Reluctantly, Declan returned to the cabin. In his worry about Geir, he couldn’t bring himself to eat. He wrapped everything up in the fridge and, lacking anything better to do, climbed into bed.

Sleep was a long time coming.

Chapter 24

Declan

When Declan fitfully awoke the next morning, he went from patiently concerned to slightly panicked. His stomach rumbled, and he grumbled back at it. It almost didn’t make sense that his body should continue to function when Geir was still missing.

But in all of the military and adventure books he read, the hero was supposed to eat when he had the opportunity. He forced down a slice of the bread that Geir had made just two days ago.

He felt a little warm for a moment, knowing that Geir had made it just for him. It didn’t last, though. Because if he was that important to Geir, he wouldn’t be alone right now.

He’d been wishing yesterday that he had more friends, but now he was realizing a much more severe consequence of their isolation. Ro popped in unexpectedly, but when something went wrong, he didn’t have anyone to call.

Thinking of the phone did give him an idea, though. He knew that Geir had a cell phone, nestled in his dresser drawer with his wallet and truck keys that he rarely used. Predictably, it was out of battery, but the charger was coiled beside it.

Now he just had to wait.

He perched on the bed and wondered whose numbers might be in there. Tier’s hopefully? Geir’s sister whose name he didn’t know? Certainly not Ro’s, since they’d never met before the day Declan arrived.

Surely Tier would be the right person to go to for help.

Declan’s musings were interrupted by the sound of a car coming down the drive. Declan rushed to the front door.

As if the thought had summoned them, Ro got out of the car along with another man.

Declan would have said that the new shifter was tall and muscular, but standing next to Ro, he looked downright compact. He still towered over Declan, but then, everyone did. His skin was a warm chestnut and his straight silvery-black hair was drawn back in a ponytail. He had a well-groomed beard, though his cheeks were a little scruffy, like he’d been too busy to find time to shave. He held himself with authority, and he was definitely hot.

He hoped this was Tier, for Ro’s sake. He deserved a yummy-licious strength-sharer to appreciate all of that shy and hopeful submissiveness.

As soon as they reached the porch, Declan started talking, letting all of his fears spill out. “Hey! Thank God you’re here. Are you Tier? Actually, it doesn’t matter. I can’t find Geir. Like, I think he’s just swimming in the lake, since his clothes were on the dock. And I know there aren’t pirate ships and whales in the lake, but what about motorboats? Or are there people that might be hunting him? God, that would be scary. And I didn’t even have anyone to call. Can I get your number? Just in case? Or can you help me? You can help me, right?”

The visitors looked at each other and then back at him.

“You said Geir’s missing?” the new one said. His voice was deep and had a gruff formality, but Declan noticed now that he had bags under his eyes. He looked tense and exhausted.

His worry made Declan feel worried, too. He’d already said everything, and he knew he tended to babble, so he just nodded.

“You’re Declan?” His eyes seemed to pierce through Declan, like he was solving some sort of puzzle.

“Yeah, that’s me. I’m Geir’s… I guess his boyfriend. Did Ro mention me?”

The man looked at Ro, his gaze softening for just a moment. Yeah, Declan caught that.

Then he turned back to Declan with sharp eyes. “He did. How long has he been gone?”