Flame Moon (A Flame Moon Novel Read online

  "Goodness, Aiden, what sort of mess is this, now?" Her voice all at once crackled and scolded like that of a tough-as-nails grandmother. The woman grabbed the horse’s reins and closed the rest of the distance to them. “I’m out for a ride, and then I see you trudging across the meadow with this poor thing in tow. Explanation?”

  Skye was thrown off at the juxtaposition of the woman. She was unusually spry with a springy step and the gait of a young woman on a slight frame, but as she got closer, her short, silver cropped hair and her pretty, but weathered face gave her age as much older.

  “Let’s get to the house first, Mary, before you start in.” He tilted his head back to Skye in reference. “We need to get warm before we can talk.”

  Skye thought Aiden’s comment curious, for the cold had stopped long ago for her. She could feel the scrutiny from the young-old woman, but didn’t have the energy to care.

  “Of course,” Mary said. She patted the horse’s neck. “Let me get Dagger into the stable and I’ll be right in.”

  The pull of Aiden’s hand set her feet moving once again, and within a few minutes, they were stepping up onto the wide porch that lined the entirety of the large log house. The glow of lights from the interior beckoned them in as the last streams of daylight faded.

  They stepped into the house, and before they had even taken three steps into the foyer, Mary showed up in a hallway from the back of the house. Her riding boots clacked quickly across the wide-plank floors.

  “Aiden, first, you need to introduce me.”

  It was clear that Aiden was used to being bossed around by this woman, and that he took it with good will. “Mary, this is Skye.”

  Mary held out her hand, and Skye looked at her awkwardly, knowing something was expected of her, but not sure as to what. It wasn’t until Aiden started to peel her fingers off his hand, that she snapped too and realized she was still gripping him, and wasn’t shaking hands with Mary.

  “I’m so sorry.” Skye gained control of her hand and grasped Mary’s hand, embarrassed, as her voice trailed off. She had no more words at the moment. What was she to say? Thanks for taking them in, and oh, by the way, I don’t know who I am? She decided to stick with her silence.

  “Not to worry,” Mary’s smile seemed genuine. “It’s good to meet you Skye.” Her gaze switched to Aiden. “That’s done, so now, it’s quite obvious this girl needs to get into a hot bath, and you,” she scolded as she poked his still-naked chest, “can get changed and tell me how in the world you ended up at my door, in a wetsuit, tagging along a frozen stiff girl.”

  She turned back to Skye and put her arm around her. “Upstairs we go with you.”

  Mary started to usher Skye up the stairs off the foyer, but not even two steps up, Aiden interrupted them. “Mary.”

  “Yes?” She turned back to him.

  “No questions.”

  Startled, Mary measured up Aiden’s face. Something clearly passed between the two of them and Mary nodded, then continued to move Skye up to the second story.

  The enormous white marble bathroom that Mary deposited her in was not what Skye expected out of a mountain ranch house. She sat on a comfy settee next to the running water Mary had started in the tub. Skye watched the steam come off the water, dying to get in, but decided to wait until Mary came back with towels and some spare clothes.

  “Sorry, it took me a moment to rummage up the towels — I don’t have the guest quarters stocked for the season just yet,” Mary said as she came back into the bathroom. “The clothes I could find should fit you — you’re taller than me, but skinny, so you should be fine. May not be your style, but nothing is better than flannel for coziness.” Skye was grateful for the idle chatter, and to Aiden for making her own silence okay.

  Mary put the stack of towels and clothes next to Skye on the settee. “I’ll have some hot tea ready for you when you get out. I do plan on getting some answers out of Aiden down there, and if I know that boy, I imagine this is all of his doing.”

  Skye could only shrug. “Thank you.”

  Mary left, and exhausted, Skye got lost staring at the steaming water splattering into the copper tub. Whether or not she hated water, nothing had ever looked as good as that hot water. Minutes passed, and at the point the tub was almost too full, Skye gathered up the energy to stand up and turn the water off. It was at that point she realized she was shivering violently, and that every muscle in her body was painfully contracted.

  Shaking, she reached behind her back, grasping at the pull leash attached to the zipper on her wetsuit. It slipped out of her fingers again and again. The shake in her arm got worse as she tried repeatedly to reach the cord. Every time she managed to grasp it, it didn’t budge. Skye wasn’t sure if the zipper was stuck or she just had no strength in her arm. She needed help. Downstairs she went.

  She had no trouble making her way through the hall and back down the stairs in the large house, but at the base of the steps, she looked around, not sure where Aiden and Mary had disappeared to. Lights were on everywhere, so that was no indication. Guessing, she walked past the stairs down the back hall where she had seen Mary come from earlier. She soon tuned into the whistle of boiling water and talking, which she followed. The voices became clearer as she approached the open door — something about her not remembering anything — and what she heard next made her freeze at the wall just outside the door, light spilling into the hallway in front of her feet.

  “That’s just it, Mary,” she heard Aiden say. “When I was underwater, there was the flash of light.”

  Something clanked to the counter. “What?” Mary’s voice was a whisper. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I didn’t blink, and I was down there a long time. It was the light. There was no mistaking it — you know how long it lasts. It couldn’t have been anything else.”

  “No...no, how could that happen?” Mary’s voice trailed off. There was a long pause.

  Even though her curiosity was riled as to this “light” thing, Skye was feeling guilty about listening in on the conversation, and was about to say something as she moved to enter the room, but then Aiden spoke.

  “We’ll need to keep her here, until we know what’s going on. You need to check out the back of her head — she got cut, don’t know how deep it is. I’m guessing that’s what knocked her out. But I’d rather not chance bringing her into town until we figure this out.”

  Skye could hear the teapot stop whistling and the clatter of pouring.

  “And you’re sure she doesn’t remember anything?”

  “As much as I can be. She seemed genuinely scared and lost at the river, and she was knocked out for a long time. But who knows. I’ve never heard of the river and the light happening this late in life. And I thought the elders had a lock-down on lineage. So if they don’t know about it — and you haven’t heard from any of them today?”

  “No, I haven’t heard anything, and you know they trust me for nothing, so this is one of the first places they would be. But I was out most of the day with Dagger on the trails.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll go down to the shop and get her things. That should at least tell us who she is and — shoot — the dog.”

  “Dog?” Mary asked.

  “Yep, she had a dog with her — big thing too. He was well under her control, though. It didn’t like us getting on the river, but once she told it to stay, it laid right down — whimpered — but did it.”

  “How odd. But bring it back with you, maybe that’ll trigger something for her.”

  The shivering that had been racking Skye’s body had evolved into a violent shake — so it wasn’t that she wanted herself to be known at that point, she just couldn’t stand another second freezing as she was. She coughed in way of announcing herself before she walked around the corner into the kitchen.

  They were both standing on either side of a big farmhouse table. Aiden, mug in hand, had already changed into jeans and a snug black t-shirt. She had startled them, and both were looking at her with suspicion.

  She tried to muster her own face of suspicion, but it was impossible with the uncontrollable chatter of her teeth. Useless — just get on with getting some help, she thought.

  “Sorry to interrupt whatever this is,” she gave a flip of her hand. “I’m stuck and can’t seem to get unzipped.” She turned around to show the wetsuit pull leash.

  Aiden was closest, and took a step toward her.

  Mary was quick to speak. “We were just talking about Aiden getting down to the adventure shop to get your belongings. He told me you were having trouble remembering things?”

  Skye nodded, but was concentrating more on Aiden behind her. After a quick pull of the leash and it not budging, his hands, hotter than ever, brushed on her neck as he moved her hair out of the way to fiddle with the top of the zipper. It was loose in a moment, and he slowly pulled the zipper down, his fingers protecting her skin underneath. The heat from his hand trailed down her spine, spreading across her back. Heat that managed to halt her shaking, at least for a moment.

  Mary’s arm suddenly dove between the two of them, wedging them apart. She propelled Skye back out into the hall. “And I also need to take a look at that cut on your head. But we first need to get you thawed out in that tub.”

  Aiden followed them out into the hall. At the stairs, he parted ways with them and told them he’d be back soon.

  { Chapter 3 }

  The hot, wet breath on her neck eased Skye out of sleep. It took a while, as the depths of her shuttered mind cleared, thin peel by thin peel. Still half asleep, she opened her eyes and saw enormous brown eyes staring at her.

  “Hey Rafe,” she reached out her hand and softly dug her fingers into the fur behind an ear. The dog lifted his chin off the bed and
nuzzled his nose into her neck. The abrupt cold wet of the nose snatched the last remnants of sleep from her mind.

  “Rafe?” She sat up. The name had just come out, she hadn’t thought about it at all. She looked down at the dog. The strip of white fur from his nose expanded out as it traveled over the top of his head, circled around the base of his ears, and stopped at the end of his neck. His ears were solid black, and the rest of him, a peppered mix of black and white.

  He was a big dog, tall, but very solid, and Skye wondered if he weighed more than her. He was definitely a mutt. Gazing up at her, Skye saw clear patience in his black eyes. She knew this dog. He was hers. And with even more certainty, she loved this dog.

  Her mind raced as the events of the last day flooded her thinking. She looked down at him, still absent-mindedly scratching behind his ear. “Okay, so if I know you’re Rafe, then I also must know who I am, right?”

  The dog just looked at her.

  Skye closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. “All right, I remember yesterday, and Aiden told me my name was Skye.” She tried to manifest a vision of someone talking to her, calling her Skye, but there was nothing, aside from Aiden and Mary talking to her, that showed up in her mind.

  “Well that’s no help.” Her face scrunched. There had to be something to trigger some memory. She stared at Rafe, thinking. “So what do I look like? Maybe that will help?”

  She crawled out from under the white down comforter and went over to the mirror atop the bureau at the side of the room to look at her reflection. She was surprised she was pretty, for she hadn’t considered her looks at all. She wasn’t a dramatic beauty, but from what was looking back at her in the mirror, she knew she could hold her own in a room full of women.

  Yesterday, she hadn’t bothered to care, or even had a sense about what she looked like. Her auburn-chestnut hair, which gave way to an occasional streak of blond, fell in thick soft waves past her shoulders. Her eyes were interesting — a mix of swirled blue-green, framed with long dark lashes. Beyond that, she thought, things were normal and in the right place. But there wasn’t even a twinge of recognition for her in her reflection.

  Skye turned back to Rafe, disappointed and arms crossed. She was in the plaid flannel shirt and grey sweat pants Mary had produced for her last night. “Well that was no help.” Rafe watched her, unflinching, eyes taking in her every motion.

  She couldn’t help a small laugh at herself. “And I must be always talking to you, dog, as I’m having no problem doing so now. And you are very good at hanging on my every word.”

  She sat back down on the bed next to him, her hand on his head. “So your turn. What now, Rafe?”

  The dog stood up, nudged her knee and went to the door. His head went back and forth between looking at her and the door.

  Skye smiled. “Yep, I get it.” Downstairs it would be. She stood up. “Just let me go check if there’s a toothbrush in this bathroom first.”

  At the bottom of the stairs, Rafe rushed ahead of her, heading toward the back of the house to the kitchen. He had already turned the corner when a sense of uneasiness hit Skye as she approached the opening to the kitchen. The conversation she had overheard between Aiden and Mary replayed in her mind. Even though it had made little sense to her, she knew that they weren’t being completely honest with her. Nor did they trust her.

  She turned the corner into the kitchen and was surprised to find a pretty, slim blond perched at the end of one of the two long benches spanning the sides of the big wooden table. The blond was vigorously scratching Rafe’s back while feeding him what looked to be sausage from the plate in front of her.

  The woman looked up at Skye in the doorway and smiled. Immediately, Skye revised her first assessment of the woman, she wasn’t just pretty, she was gorgeous, and her smile only amplified it. And she had Skye’s dog feeding out of the palm of her hand. Was she wrong about Rafe belonging to her? Wary, Skye gave a half-smile.

  “Skye, I’m so glad you’re up. I could only pick at Mary’s,” she looked over her shoulder at a back door to make sure no one was there, “homemade sausage for so long. I love her like a mother and I haven’t had the heart to tell her I became a vegetarian years ago. But you should come and eat some. If I remember correctly, it is tasty stuff.”

  Skye took another step into the room, slightly more confused than she already was at the whole situation. “I’m sorry, have we met? Do I know you? I don’t know if Mary told you, but I...” she trailed off, not sure how to finish, because she still didn’t really fully understand what happened yesterday. It didn’t help that there were holes in yesterday’s memories too.

  The woman stood up and moved to Skye, concern on her face. “You don’t remember meeting me last night?” She grabbed Skye’s arm and guided her to the table. “Here, sit. I want to look at your head.”

  “My head?” Skye’s hand went to the back of her head as she sat. Underneath her hair, she found a throbbing spot that had what felt like stitches in it.

  “Yes, I had to put stitches to the cut last night.” She bent down behind Skye. Her delicate hands went into Skye’s hair, gently separating out the space around the cut. She studied the area. “Forgive my manners then, if you’re not remembering. My name is Charlotte and I’m one of the few physicians on the mountain. You were pretty out of it last night when I arrived. Mary had you propped up in the tub sleeping when I got here. Which was good, since you most likely had hypothermia yesterday.”

  “Where is Mary?”

  “She’s in the stables, I think. She made breakfast, then had to tend to the horses.” Charlotte promptly removed her hands from Skye’s head and sat down next to her, studying her face closely. “The wound looks like it’ll heal up nicely. It was only eight stitches, but I imagine you’ll be a quick healer.” She gave an odd smile, then rushed on. “I gave you a sedative, which is why your memory is probably foggy about last night. Have you remembered anything in particular from before yesterday, yet?”

  “No, not really.” Rafe moved close to her leg and nudged her thigh. Skye looked down at him. “I did call the dog Rafe, without thinking about it, and I’m pretty sure that is his name and that he’s mine.” Her statement was half question.

  Charlotte gave a reassuring smile. “Well if he’s not, he’s a mastermind of a stray dog. Aiden picked him up and brought him back here last night. He was pitifully anxious until he saw you. I don’t imagine he left your side all night.”

  Skye wasn’t sure if she hid her relief or not, she was just happy she had something to grasp onto. Rafe was hers. Her hand went down unconsciously to the dog’s head.

  “That’s a great sign that you remembered Rafe. Head injuries with memory loss are hard things to predict. Can I get you some tea?” Charlotte stood up and began to ready some tea without an answer. “Our brains are amazing and so intricate, and even with all the research we really don’t know a tenth of what is actually happening in there. It’s possible you may get all your memories back in one big wave, and soon. Or they may come back in bits and pieces like old home movies. Or, of course, it is possible you may never fully recover everything.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help it along?”

  Charlotte turned back to face Skye, leaning on the counter. “I think the best you can do is keep trying, and hopefully something familiar, like Rafe, will trigger other memories. It would help if we knew more about you — then we could get you in front of familiar things.” She turned back to steep the tea. “Aiden is working on figuring out where you came from before you were at his shop yesterday.”

  On cue, the back door to the outside opened and Aiden walked in, his large form shrinking the large kitchen. The chilly morning air rushed in around him. Behind him strolled in another man, who looked to be about the same age as Aiden, almost as tall, but slighter, with the same dark hair as Aiden. Skye wondered if they were brothers.

  Charlotte’s eyes lit up at the two. “Hi guys, you bring us news, I hope?” She grabbed the tea cup and set it in front of Skye as she sat down next to her.