Phantom Warriors: Riot (3 page)

The lovely redhead turned at the sound of his
voice. Her gaze flicked to his, and her welcoming smile died on her
face as she took in the scar on his cheek. Riot stood to move
closer, so he didn’t have to shout. The woman’s eyes widened as she
craned her neck to look at him, then she let out a scream that
would’ve curled his hair had it not been so straight.

Flashbacks of the night he’d nearly crushed
the woman rushed through his head. Riot stiffened. Afraid to move
for fear it would scare her even more. She backed away, keeping a
wary eye on him. Horrified and more than a little humiliated by the
woman’s reaction, Riot threw money down onto the bar and quickly
left.

He knew he wasn’t as appealing as his
brethren. His face was handsome enough, if you could overlook the
scars covering his cheek, arms, and hands. There was only so much a
body could heal, when it was routinely shredded during battles. He
glanced down at his hands and growled, curling them into fists.

Riot rushed out, only to find that it was
raining. He let the cool wetness wash away his humiliation. He
tilted his head up and closed his eyes, taking deep heaving breaths
of sea air into his lungs. He could still picture the red-haired
woman in his mind’s eye, screaming at the sight of him. What would
she have done, if he’d been in his bear form? Dropped dead?

He shuddered at the thought. Riot gazed at
the people as they strolled down the wet streets. He needed to
leave this place, needed to leave this planet. But he’d only just
arrived and knew his commander on the ship wouldn’t allow him back
so soon. Riot had thought Washington State would be a good place to
search given the history and the acceptance of the bears in the
area, but he’d been wrong.

He pulled out a map and stared at the vast
country before him. This search,
his search
, was useless.
Riot knew that as sure as he knew his other half. Some warriors
weren’t meant to find a mate. And he was convinced that he was one
of them. He only needed to hang on a few more days and then would
he be able to return to Zaron and live out his remaining years
fighting the planet’s enemies. He growled in frustration and ripped
the map up into tiny pieces, throwing it to the ground. When he was
done, a small square section clung to his palm. Riot peeled the
paper off and stared at it. What did he have to lose?

“The Great Smoky Mountains it is,” he said,
then took out his communications device.

***

Riot exhaled and scanned the small sign at
the base of the strange mountains that appeared to exhale smoke.
Was there a fire? Gatlinburg, Tennessee stared back at him
cheerfully, welcoming him to the town. Riot scowled. He was in no
mood for cheer. It had taken the ship most of a day to reach him in
Seattle.

Not that it mattered how many days or hours
that he’d lost. Unlike most Phantoms and Atlanteans, he’d been
granted ‘extra’ time to seek his elusive mate. The Commander had
told him as much when the ship picked him up. He’d barely made it
onto the deck, when the orders came down directly from King
Eros.

Once more, Riot had tried to argue that the
‘extra time’ was unjust to the others, but his words fell upon deaf
ears. No way was he going to get out of this
punishment
. The
King had spoken. He was to take a shuttle and return to Earth. He’d
been instructed to stay for as long as it took.

The situation was made worse by the pity Riot
had glimpsed in the Commander’s aqua-colored eyes as he relayed the
King’s message. He still bristled when he thought about it. Riot
didn’t want, nor did he need, more days to prove that he’d failed.
Two days were quite enough. But he was a good warrior. He followed
orders, even ones he did not agree with. And he most certainly
didn’t agree with these. He’d stay the extra days or Goddess
forbid—weeks, if only to return and tell them ‘I told you so’.

He stared at the small but bustling town,
taking in its quaint shops and souvenir T-shirts. The air here
smelled different. Somehow better. Sweeter. His shoulders relaxed
as an older woman walked by and smiled at him. In her wake, a
younger woman followed.

As soon as the female saw him, she rushed to
the elderly woman’s side and hurried her along. He sighed and the
tension he’d been holding returned in force. Despite its fragrant
air and southern hospitality, this place would be like all the
others.

Riot scanned the mountains as he strolled
down the sidewalk. Several people crossed the road to avoid him. He
pretended not to notice. He should be used to their response by
now. He
was
used to it. He rubbed his chest, but it did
little to alleviate the pain. “Just keep walking,” he muttered to
himself, but his feet had other ideas.

Within seconds, he was sprinting down the
sidewalk, past alarmed faces in an effort to reach the woods up
ahead. The second he entered the lush green canopy of trees, Riot
exhaled. Really exhaled. His muscles flexed, then slowly loosened.
The moisture from the forest clung to his skin, leaving a light
sheen behind.

The cloying heat from the asphalt gave way to
refreshing coolness. He took another deep, hardy breath, feeling at
home for the first time since landing on this blue-green rock.
Tonight, he’d go to his ship, fly it deeper into the mountains and
hide it in these peaceful woods.

***

Nina arrived at the veterinary office she
shared with one other doctor. The receptionist, Sarah Mouse, who
also doubled as her assistant, looked up and smiled. “How is Harold
doing today?” she asked.

She gave Sarah a sad smile. “I think he’s
worse, though he hides it well.”

Sarah’s smile faltered. “I’m sorry,
Nina.”

“Yeah, me too.” She glanced at the clock on
the wall. “Has Maggie Backwater phoned?”

Sarah looked at the notes in front of her.
“No, not yet.”

“Is she still scheduled to come in with
Humpty and Dumpty?” The dogs were due for their rabies shots. Nina
flipped through the phone messages on Sarah’s desk to make sure
there weren’t any emergencies that needed immediate attention.

“Yes, she should be here anytime now.” The
phone rang and Sarah answered it. “Cherokee Pet Care Clinic.”

Nina left her to it, and went to check on the
few patients that were already receiving treatment. There weren’t
many. Liddy Whirlwind’s cat, Speckles looked much better today. Her
eye infection was clearing up nicely. She should be able to go home
tomorrow. Robert Hummingbird’s dog, Trixy had been brought in to be
spayed. With three litters of puppies under her furry belt, it was
about time. That left Ben, Max Dreadfulwater’s Chow-Labrador mix.
He’d managed to get himself quilled by a porcupine. His wounds were
healing nicely and Ben wasn’t in near the amount of pain he’d been
in when Max dropped him off. Hopefully this had taught the dog a
lesson like the skunk incident last year. If not, she’d be seeing
him again soon.

Unless something changed, the recuperation
kennel would be empty by the end of the week. Nina petted each
animal and softly cooed to them. Most Cherokees didn’t have much
use for a vet. If an animal got sick and couldn’t be healed by
over-the-counter remedies, folks in the Qualla Boundary just shot
them. In general, it was a pretty common occurrence in the south.
It hurt Nina to think about it, but a lot of folks in the area
didn’t have the money for such frivolous things as veterinary care.
Not when the money was the difference between eating and not
eating. The arrival of the casino helped, but it didn’t eliminate
all of the poverty.

She walked back into the front office and
dropped phone messages back onto Sarah’s desk. There was nothing
there of any real importance. Not that she’d expected there to be.
Work was slow. And quiet. The bell on the front door clanged in
disagreement. Maggie Backwater struggled through the door with
Humpty and Dumpty in tow. The two mastiffs had somehow managed to
tangle their leashes and seemed to be determined to trip Maggie.
Nina rushed forward to help.

“Come here, Humpty,” Nina took one of the
leashes from Maggie’s hand.

“That’s Dumpty,” Maggie said.

“Of course.” Nina guided the giant dog toward
the examining room. He yanked her arm, nearly pulling it from its
socket when he caught sight of Speckles. The cat’s back arched and
all the hair on her body rose as she hissed at the dog. Dumpty let
out a loud
woof
. Humpty joined in, though he didn’t appear
to know what he was supposed to be barking out.

“Hush!” Maggie said.

Both dogs ignored her and continued to
bark.

Nina dragged Dumpty away from the cage and
into the examining room. “Sit,” she said, waiting for Maggie to
join her.

It didn’t take long to give the dogs their
rabies shots. While they were there, Nina took the time to examine
them. They both appeared to be in good health. She helped Maggie
take them out of the office and load them into the back of her
pickup truck. Soon they were driving away and Nina was back to
waiting for her next patient.

An emergency call came in from Lulu Ball.
Sarah took the message and handed it to Nina. “Lulu says that you
need to come right away. Daisy is bleeding from her nose and she
can’t tell what’s wrong.”

Nina walked back into her office and grabbed
her ‘Vet House Call Bag’. “Call if there are any other problems.
You know where I’ll be.”

Sarah nodded.

It only took twenty minutes for Nina to reach
Lulu’s patch of ground. It wasn’t large, only a few acres, most of
which was wooded. Lulu had managed to clear a little over an acre
and cram a lot into the space. Nina turned off the ignition and
climbed out of her truck. She honked the horn once.

“I’m back here!” Lulu called out from behind
the house.

Nina grabbed her bag and walked around the
house to the backyard. There were a couple of cows fenced in on the
north side of the property. Lulu had set up a chicken hutch in the
middle and flanked it with a pigpen on the right. A small garden
brimming with pumpkins and squash took up the rest of the yard,
giving way only to a short clothesline.

“Where is she?” Nina asked.

Lulu pointed to her right. “I don’t know what
happened. She was fine yesterday.”

“Let me check her out. It might be nothing.”
Nina walked over to the pigpen and gazed inside at the five
piglets. Fresh blood covered one of their snouts. The rectangular
pen stretched thirty feet and was ankle deep with mud. “I’m going
to have to climb in there and catch her.”

“Figured you would. I tried, but she was too
fast for me,” Lulu said.

Nina glanced at Lulu’s boots. There wasn’t a
drop of mud on them. She arched a brow, but said nothing. Nina
reached down and rolled up her pant legs, then grabbed a pair of
gloves before stepping into the pen. Her boots sank down six
inches. She took a step. Her boots made a sucking noise as mud and
pig excrement covered her feet. She waded across the enclosure,
slowly herding the pigs into a corner.

She let the first two piglets rush past her
as she singled out Daisy. Nina reached for the piglet. She managed
to get her hand on its back leg. Daisy let out an ear-piercing
squeal, her little hooves spinning madly in the mud. Muck flew into
Nina’s face, splattering her cheek as she lifted the piglet into
her arms.

***

Riot heard a high-pitched screech, echoing
through the woods. The sound was loud, which meant it was coming
from nearby. The squealing continued. What was it? And what was
killing it?

Curious, he made his way through the woods
toward the horrendous sound. A yard filled with livestock came into
view. He stopped, keeping to the shadows. There were two women
standing in the yard, discussing an object between them. One was
wearing a long skirt with a flowery shirt. She was a big woman,
hearty and full of health. The other smaller female wore jeans and
boots. She appeared to be holding something pale and squirming in
her arms. There was another loud squeal. The object in her arms
tried to escape and the smaller woman turned to catch it before it
dropped to the ground.

Riot’s breath seized, when he glimpsed the
woman’s mud smudged face. Her features were delicate and lightly
browned. She had full lips, long lashes, and high cheekbones. Her
long, dark hair had been pulled back and tied at her nape. She
smiled, flashing a row of slightly crooked teeth, as she caught the
squirming creature.

“Get back here, Daisy.” She pulled the animal
close once more and scratched it lovingly behind its ears. The
squealing quieted and so did its struggles, giving her time to
carefully examining its face.

Riot stared, mesmerized by her soft brown
eyes and caring manner.

“Lulu, can you please hand me my bag?”

The woman wearing the skirt reached for
something on the ground and handed it to her. “I’m going to give
Daisy to you. Hold her close, so I can clean and disinfect her
wound.”

She handed the pale pink creature over to the
woman and reached into her bag. She pulled out cloth, wetted it
with a clear liquid, then carefully dabbed at the animal’s nose.
“It’s just a scratch,” she said. “Looks like one of the other pigs
might’ve bit her.”

Lulu glanced at the pen and frowned. “Will
she be okay if we put her back inside?”

The woman nodded. “I’ve cleaned the wound and
put some medicine on it. Pigs are pretty hardy, so you shouldn’t
have any problems with infection. If it looks like it’s getting
worse, give me a call.”

“Thanks Nina.”

Nina…her name whispered on the air, bringing
to mind cool breezes and sweet, fragrant wildflowers. Riot inhaled,
but could only detect the odor of the livestock. He continued to
stare, caressing her body with his eyes, longing to get closer.
Something about the way she handled the animal drew his beast. It
rose inside of him.