Blood on Sand

A GOOD DAY TO DIE

It was hard to deny the uneasy feeling that curled in the pit of Zoe's stomach. He should've felt good, well, apart from the persistent queasiness—he would never drink wine again, especially not since Wojtek didn't seem to care that he'd opened one of his fancy bottles. But it didn't matter that he'd been allowed to eat his fill for a week and just had a bath, something he'd dreamed of for more than three years, because there was something going on. He didn't know what it was, but he had a sneaking suspicion it somehow revolved around him. He hadn't seen any intruder, but his gut told him it was somehow connected to him being there.

Wojtek paced the kitchen, his eyes glowing and claws clicking on the floor as he walked. Zoe had never seen anyone stay in partial change for as long as Wojtek did. His muscles were bulging, much bigger in this form than in his human one. His skin was not quite the brownish colour it held when he was completely shifted, but darker. The fangs were there, but no canine ears, and no tail. It was impressive to see. Zoe could do a partial shift, but only for a little while. Then he'd either turn reptilian or force it down and go back to human.

The others weren't shifted at all. Satul sat on one of the chairs, his head resting in his hands. Koray leaned against the doorpost, and Zoe sat on the floor rolling up the sleeves of the shirt he'd got from Wojtek. Did he have to be so big? Stupid monster!

"You're sure?" Wojtek glared at him again.

"Yes."

"You didn't see or hear anything?"

"No, I didn't, but that doesn't mean no one was there."

Wojtek sneered, a grisly sight. "We know someone was there, and it would help if you could tell us who it was."

"Yeah, I get that. Contrary to what you may think, I'm not stupid."

"He can't help, Wojtek. He was out cold in the cellar." Satul didn't lift his head from his hands as he spoke, and for the first time in the entire week, Zoe felt a bit sorry for him. The man looked exhausted.

"I'm just asking him to try to remember if there was something out of the ordinary, a scent, movements, something."

Zoe found himself flicking his tongue as Wojtek mentioned scent, and of course, he was caught in the act. Heat spread on his cheeks. Why the fuck was he blushing? It wasn't like he cared what they thought of him. Wojtek grinned and the heat on Zoe's face increased. "No, sorry. I didn't hear, see, or smell anyone, and I don't really see how any of this has anything to do with me." No, he couldn't see it, but it sure felt as if it had something to do with him.

"Me neither. But I've lived here my entire life, and not once have we had a break-in. You've been here for seven days and all of a sudden this place is crawling with intruders."

Zoe could see how Wojtek would come to blame him, but he really didn't have anything to do with it, at least not in any way he could figure out.

"Don't exaggerate, Wojtek. It was one intruder." Satul really did have a death wish today, not that Zoe couldn't sympathise—it was a good day to die.

The snarl coming from Wojtek had him shivering; there was power where that came from. "Maybe you should go home, Satul. You look a bit tired."

Satul looked up as if in a daze. "Yeah, I feel a headache coming on. But if you're going somewhere, I'm coming with you."

Both Wojtek and Koray nodded. "I think we'll visit minotaur-land tomorrow," Wojtek said in a softer voice than Zoe'd ever heard him use. Both Satul and Koray nodded, and Zoe felt like he was missing something crucial.