Free Forged in Fire by J.A. Pitts

Circle Q Farm, had called her an hour ago. Someone had broken into her place and killed one of her high-steppers—Blue Thunder. He’d been a beautiful animal.
    “Brutal,” Julie said into the phone. “Ritual killing, and whoever did it left a message. The cops are here now.”
    “Holy shit,” I breathed, hot dogs and kraut suddenly the last thing I wanted. “Are you with her?”
    “Yes,” Julie said, and I could hear some voices in the background. “Mrs. Sorenson and I came out as soon as she called. Mrs. Sorenson is making tea, and Mary is lying on the couch. I’m interfacing with the police, but I’d appreciate it if you could come out.”
    Her voice got quiet, and I had to strain to hear her. “I think this is a warning for you, Sarah.”
    I slid down the wall I’d been leaning against. My legs just suddenly didn’t want me to be standing any longer. “Me?”
    “No one else will get it,” she said, a sense of urgency in her voice. “But I think you need to see this.”
    “Okay,” I said, letting my legs settle out in front of me, blocking one of the aisles to the food court. “I’m in Seattle. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    “Thanks,” Julie said. I hadn’t heard her this freaked out, ever.
    I hung up and thought about who to call. Jimmy, Gunther, and that crew would have a better idea of a lot of cultlike signs and such. But I wanted to call Katie, and she wouldn’t come out if Black Briar was getting involved. It was too soon for her pride.
    But something had to happen. It was early, eleven thirty. Katie was at her school at the moment, working on lesson plans. She’d knock off around three thirty, and maybe Jimmy and the crew would be long gone before then.
    I climbed to my feet, swung by to grab a soda. I needed the sugar and caffeine to fortify myself. Then I called Black Briar.
    The phone rang several times before it was answered by Trisha. I was surprised to hear her, but she told me that Jimmy had taken Deidre to her physical therapy.
    “He’ll be back in a couple of hours,” she said. “I’m letting Frick and Frack watch some videos. They really like the music and the motion. They’re pretty damned smart.”
    It would be cute, if I hadn’t personally murdered their mother.
    “What about Gunther or Stuart?” I asked.
    “Stuart’s out in the barn working on some gear,” she said, laughing. “I’ll call him. Bub can watch the kids a minute.”
    I waited, amazed. Bub had made himself a part of the little bizarre family pretty damn quickly. Pride rose in me. I counted him as one of mine. My responsibility, mine to keep safe.
    I’d made my way out of the hall and was heading across the parking lot to my bike when Stuart got on the line. I gave him a brief of the few facts I knew and asked him if he could gather Gunther and Jimmy and head to Mary’s.
    “Glad you called,” he said, seriously. “This tiff between Jimmy and Katie isn’t good for any of us.”
    I ground my teeth. This was a pain in my ass. “Look, Stuart. Jim’s being an ass here, you know that, right?”
    He didn’t answer right away. “He’s scared, Sarah. Afraid to lose her, even with everything that’s gone on.”
    I growled, letting my frustration echo out of me. “She was kidnapped by a fucking dragon, Stuart. How much worse can it get?”
    He chuckled then, not that it was funny. “Yeah, you got a point. Look, I don’t like that they’re fighting, but you need to let the man come around as he can. It’s been hard for him keeping all this balanced, you know?”
    “Yeah, I guess.” I rubbed my eyes. “Look, Stuart. The thing is, I need your help, and Katie doesn’t know I called you, yet. You know I gotta let her know. Gotta keep in her good books. I just need to make sure we don’t miss anything important here. If this is a warning to me, I’d like to have as much input and advice as I can get.”
    “This is some serious shit.”
    “Amen, brother. Look, can you work on Jimmy to