charges, with Colton asleep in his makeshift sling.
Seeing her wonder at the flock and the farm ignited his own, as if he were seeing it all for the first time himself.
“I’ve got sixteen,” she said, returning to him. “Do you see another one?”
“Let’s start from here and count together,” he suggested.
They began with the first sheep she had seen afloat and covered the whole grove.
“Sixteen,” he said at last. “You’re right. Someone is missing.”
“What do we do?” she asked.
“It seems odd that Keerah didn’t alert us,” he told her. “She has excellent senses.”
Keerah trotted over at the mention of her name and smiled at them, panting.
“What could have happened?” Liberty asked. “Would it have wandered off?”
“They live in groups, even wild sheep do,” Odin said, shaking his head. “I’m guessing a predator.”
“That seems unlikely with them up so high in the trees,” she said. “What would have taken it? A bear?”
“I’m thinking it could have happened before they began to float,” he said thoughtfully.
He closed his eyes, allowing the dragon a little closer to the surface.
“Odin?” Liberty said, sounding worried.
The dragon stretched out his senses, seeking…
“Odin,” she repeated.
He opened his eyes and she gasped and stepped back slightly.
The dragon retreated, allowing Odin back to the surface of their consciousness.
“Your eyes,” she breathed. “They were red.”
“That’s the dragon,” he said gruffly. “I let him come to the surface, to taste the air for predators. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
He didn’t tell her she had no need to fear the dragon, since he had vowed to never let it be truly free again after what happened the last time he’d shifted.
“It’s okay,” she said with a smile. “Now that I know what was going on, I actually think it’s kind of cool.”
He grinned in spite of himself. This woman was everything he was not - easygoing and happy about surprises. He wondered if he would ever get used to it.
“Did he find anything?” she asked. “Or did I ruin it?”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” he assured her. “And yes, we scented something at the edge of the forest.”
“Where?” she asked.
“Come on, we’ll check it out,” he said. “Don’t worry, the scent was cold.”
He headed for the forest and was gratified to sense her right by his side, half a step back, as if he knew right where he wanted her - close but protected. Keerah trotted happily just a few steps behind.
Just as the full shade of the trees closed in, he spotted what he had been looking for, and crouched for a closer look.
“What is it?” Liberty asked.
“Webbed paw prints,” he said. “Looks like a jaguarootte, maybe even a flamelikk.”
“What are those?” she asked.
“Big cats,” he told her.
“Like the lions and tigers in the storybooks from Old Earth,” she said thoughtfully. “I guess one of those could easily carry off a sheep.”
“Unfortunately, yes,” he replied. “But it doesn’t explain why Keerah didn’t respond. Maybe she was overwhelmed with us being here.”
Liberty nodded and reached down to stroke the tree-hound’s shaggy head.
“So do we go after it now?” she asked.
“You don’t go after it at all,” he told her. “And I don’t go after it until the farm tasks are done. We still have sixteen sheep, an orchard, and plenty more to take care of.”
“Yes, and I need to feed Keerah,” she said, endearing herself to him.
“Yes,” he agreed. “We’ll get everything squared away and then make a plan to figure out what’s going on with our feline neighbor. Even if it’s too late for our one missing sheep, we need to protect the others, and ourselves.”
“I’ll send a transmission to Crispin,” Liberty said decidedly. “His daughter can watch the baby. We can’t bring Colton on a hunt for a big cat.”
“I don’t know about that,” Odin said. He didn’t exactly want Liberty hunting a big cat either.
“She’s very skilled,” she said. “They both said so. And she knows how things work around here better than either of us.”
“Let’s get our day started,” he suggested noncommittally.
She nodded bravely and they set back for the farm together.
But everything was far from fine.
While he had made things sound simple for Liberty’s benefit, Odin was actually pretty angry about the whole situation. Big cats were notoriously entitled when it came to nearby farm animals. They could be fiercely territorial, and they played with their food.
This was going to be a battle - one he hadn’t planned on, and one that he didn’t want to fight with Liberty around.
15
Liberty
Liberty was surprised to hear the chime on