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He hiked over to the shed. As I watched him go, it occurred to me that Bran was handsome, in a rugged, Birkenstock sort of way. He didn’t remind me of a witch at all, though May had mentioned he had psychic flashes, and a green thumb that wasn’t normal. I usually didn’t go for blonds but with his ready smile and easy nature, he reminded me of Rian in a way.
He returned, mallet in hand, along with a pickaxe and shovel. “This is a rubber mallet,” he said. “Don’t you know what tools you have in there?”
“I didn’t stock the shed. I paid the contractor to buy a good array of tools the average homeowner might need and so…that’s how I have what I have.” I grinned at him. “I figured he would know what to buy better than me, so I left it up to the expert.”
Bran chuckled. “Well, that’s one way of doing it. Anyway, where are the corner posts for the beds?”
“Corner posts? I didn’t know I needed them.”
He restrained a sigh. “Corner posts will strengthen the bed, especially if you want to use it for more than one season. Do you… You know what? I’m going to go pick up a few things and I’ll be back in an hour or so. You want anything else from town?”
“Let me give you the money for that—”
“I’ll keep the receipts,” he said, waving me off.
“All right. Why don’t you pick up a pizza or sandwiches for our lunch and add that to the cost. I’d love a roast beef sub, butter and barbecue sauce—no mayo, no mustard. Lots of tomatoes, a leaf of lettuce.”
“Text me. What’s your number and I’ll ping you so you can add me to your contacts.”
I gave him my number and he texted me a smile emoji. I added him into my contacts. “Bran Anderson?”
“Right. Okay, text me what you want for lunch, and I’ll stop at Simon’s Subs on the way back.” He waved, then jogged back toward the trailhead.
As I watched him retreat, I heard a noise from inside the house. Frowning, I darted in, following the noise. It was coming from near the woodstove. I crossed over to it and saw that the egg in the drawer was beginning to wobble. Frowning, I knelt beside it, and it was then that I saw that thin cracks were beginning to spread across the top of it.
Whatever was in that egg, was about to hatch.
CHAPTERSIX
“Oh crap!”I hadn’t thought ahead as to what to do if the egg actually started to hatch. It had been too late at night when I found it, and I’d been too tired to consider what I was really doing. I set the dresser drawer on my bed and sat down beside it, waiting. I didn’t know if I should be helping or not. Chickens broke out of their own eggs, so did ducks so far as I knew. But this egg was a mystery—and if the internet was right, it might be a dragonette—and I had no clue what to do.
“Whatever you are, do you need help?” It was useless to ask, but hearing the sound of my own voice calmed me down a little. At that moment, my phone chose to ring and I jumped, startled out of my thoughts. I glanced at the caller ID. It was May. Relieved, I hit the speaker icon. “May, can you come over now instead of waiting till two?”
“You sound frantic, girl. I was about to ask if Bran was still there. He mentioned that he wanted to meet you this morning.” She sounded her usual matter-of-fact self.
“He is…or was. He went to buy corner posts for my raised beds. May, can you please come over? I have a situation that I’m not sure how to deal with.” I didn’t want to sound frantic, but for some reason, I had a distinct sense that whatever was in that egg might need help. “I found something last night and I need your opinion on it.Now.”
“I’m on my way.” She hung up.
I tossed my phone on the bed as I continued to watch the egg rock back and forth. As it wobbled, I leaned over the drawer. “If you can hear me, let me know if you want me to crack the shell for you.” I paused, then muttered, “That’s ridiculous. Whatever’s in there isn’t going to be able to understand me.”
But at that moment, I distinctly heard a faint voice say, “Help.”
“Help? Help who? Was that you? In the egg?” Feeling like I was caught up in some surreal joke, I hesitantly reached out to the egg and lightly ran my fingers over the spreading cracks. They were turning the egg into a mosaic, but they weren’t deep enough to break open.
My nail file was thin enough to fit in the cracks. I jumped up and hurried over to my dresser, sifting through the containers I had spread across the top. One of the acrylic holders had the nail file, along with several emery boards. I grabbed the file and hurried back to the bed. Once there, I eyed the biggest crack and gently placed the tip of the file against it to see if the point would fit in the crack. It barely did. But if I applied pressure and it broke suddenly, then I ran the risk of stabbing whatever was inside.
“I don’t know what to do!” I tried to tell myself that panicking was useless. After all, I had no clue what was in the egg. It could be a lizard. A snake, maybe. Well, not a snake. Snake eggs weren’t that big and some snakes had live births, and I had no idea what the snakes around here did. I’d never thought to ask.
“Elphyra? Where are you?” May peeked around the bedroom door. “The door was unlocked.”
“Hurray! You made good time.”
“You sounded so frantic that I drove. What’s the matter—” she paused, staring at the egg. “Oh good gods. You found a dragonette egg!”
“You’re sure? I found it last night and now it’s hatching and I heard it ask for help,” I said, scooting over and dragging the box farther on the bed so she could sit on the other side. “How did you know what it is?”
May leaned down to examine it. “A long time ago, I was out hiking in the woods with Angus—my husband. I saw one then.” She paused, then—catching my attention—said, “Slip the tip of that nail file into the side of the crack, not the top. Use it to gently add leverage to the side of the egg.”
