“Governing Circles are a necessary evil.” Cooper shrugged. “I don’t have to like them any more than I have to like the taste of dragon eyeballs.”
“We should really get that glove.” Charlie adjusted the cat sling, shouldered her AK-47, and started across the lot, beckoning us to follow her.
“I’ll wait out here and keep watch for more SUVs,” Pal told me.
The front glass door to Lee’s Western Wear & Rodeo Supply was hanging brokenly on its steel hinges. Charlie pulled it aside and we followed her into the store. There were five checkout lanes and a customer service desk; all the cash registers had been forced open, the dumped-out money trays lying atop discarded checks and small change on the conveyor belts. The floor was covered with stray pennies and dust and grit that had blown in. Someone had smashed a glass case of knives, taking everything but the tiniest pocket folders. There was an impressive collection of rodent droppings and shredded cardboard and plastic beneath what used to be display racks of beef jerky and cactus candies. Most of the rest of the store looked relatively undisturbed, however.
I spotted an aisle sign for “Bull Riders’ Bazaar” toward the back of the store. It occurred to me that a bull-riding glove would be long enough to cover my burning bits and surely sturdy enough to resist being pierced by my claws.
“Hey, guys, I’m going down this way to look.” I started toward the aisle.
“I’ll come with you.” Cooper hurried to catch up to me.
The Warlock glanced up from inspecting the Damascus blade on one of the looter-spurned pocketknives. “I’m gonna stay up here looking for stuff we can use for the enchantment.”
“Watch out for rats,” Charlie said. “If they’re starving they’ll jump out at your face and try to blind you.”
“Been there, done that,” I muttered.
Cooper and I stuck to the middle of the aisles, nervously watching for sudden movement on the shelves. My fire abruptly went out when I was about fifty yards away from Charlie and her mysterious orange tabby. We passed rows of dusty leather chaps, helmets, gear bags, ropes, and vests until we came to the gloves.
“Well, at least you can actually try one of these on now.” Cooper started sorting through the boxes of left-hand bull riding gloves. “What kind do you want?”
“That Heritage Pro model up on the top shelf looks good,” I replied, looking at a black deerskin glove with a wide built-in Velcro wrist wrap.
Cooper plucked the box off the shelf and slid the glove out. As my sweaty hand touched the leather I got a faint echo of the deer’s death. I carefully slipped it onto my claw; the death-memory was gone. The glove was several times bigger than anything that would have fit on my flesh hand, but I wanted it to have some give to accommodate the claws; the built-in wrist strap would tighten it down enough to keep it from slipping off. It seemed as though the leather and padding would resist being sliced fairly well, and the neoprene cuff came up high enough to cover everything that would be on fire.
“So do you think you and the Warlock could strengthen this up a little bit?” I handed the glove back to Cooper. “I’m pretty sure it will work as is, but my claw tips are kinda sharp.”
“Yes, I noticed that.” He stretched the cuff and peered inside at the foam padding. “Why don’t we go to the craft store next door and get some thimbles to stick down in the fingers? That would make things a whole lot easier.”
“Oh. Yeah, good idea.”
But Cooper didn’t move. He chewed the corner of his mustache thoughtfully, glanced down the aisle toward the front of the store, and pulled me closer to him.
“I’m trying to decide what to do here,” he whispered. “On the one hand, I do want to help the townsfolk. I feel bad for Rudy, and Charlie seems like a nice girl. I’m curious to meet this Sara person. But on the other hand, I’m worried about my baby brothers. I’m worried that someone in the Circle might’ve sold us out, and that Riviera might go back on her word and drug the kids or lock them up. But on the other other hand, Mother Karen is not to be trifled with. I pity any idiot who tries to hurt a kid in her care.”