Briar on Bruins' Peak (Bruins' Peak Bears Book 7) Read online

  “I can build you a house, Mama.” Tina pointed to a little lean-to she had fashioned out of a stick and a leaf against a nearby boulder. “See? I know how to build lots of things.”

  “Oh.” Her mother stared at the little structure and then at Tina with that strange look she got sometimes. Tina knew it was silly, but every once in a while, she wondered if her mother was scared of her. “That’s very good, darling. Very, very good. I like it.”

  Her mother smiled at her in that weird, big smile that she used sometimes, and Tina’s shoulders fell. She knew what that meant. “I’ll go find some other kids to play with.” Sighing, she trudged away, unappreciated yet again.

  There were lots of kids in The Hills, but many of them were too frightened to make friends. They had all grown up around other shifters who were just like them – if not from the same territory, at least the same species. A lot of them were airbornes who cowered behind their parents’ legs when Tina waved and smiled at them. She didn’t mind; she thought it was kind of funny that the other kids were scared of her. She wasn’t scary.

  After she’d walked quite a ways away, she came upon Grey running with scraps of wood and putting them in a pile. He had scratches all over his arms, but he didn’t stop; he ran as fast as he could to the nearby supply trucks, picked up what he could carry and then ran back, pumping his short legs and breathing big, heavy breaths.

  “Hi, Grey.”

  When he heard his name, he looked back and stopped as soon as he recognized Tina. “Oh, hi.” He set his pile down, but that turned out to be a mistake. Other kids ran over and took all the pieces as fast as they could, zipping away as fast as they could.

  “Hey! Hey, that’s ours. We need it. Stop!” He stomped his foot and yelled after the other young scrap-collectors who were too busy running away to worry about a young shifter’s rage. Frustrated, he walked back to the truck and Tina followed, determined to help out.

  The two of them fell on the scrap pile, collecting any piece they could into their arms, and Tina prided herself on finding a big, wavy piece of metal that she was sure her mother would like. She piled her goods on top of it and then dragged it behind her all the way back to her mother.

  “Bye, Grey,” she called out as she left, but the little boy wouldn’t be deterred this time. He put all his focus and energy into his delivery as Tina watched and then shrugged, walking back.

  She had to stop a few times to scare off a few other kids who tried to steal her loot. She gave them a quick snarl and they froze, not wanting to get gobbled up by a wolf-girl. She rolled her eyes at them as they shrieked and ran away. Was she living with a big bunch of scaredy-cats?

  Tina hummed a little tune to herself as she walked through the little bumps that gave The Hills encampment its name. What a joke – these were barely even bumps. Not only were there no homes here, it was flat! Adults were incredibly weird.

  The shifters were silently organizing themselves into the kind of shifters they were. First, there were the airborne shifters. They took the area right by the western boundary. This was the highest part of the land, although it was only slightly higher. It had more boulders and even some short, scraggly trees, but otherwise was unremarkable. There was a small, nondescript border after the final airborne family, then earthbound shifters started with the bears.

  Tina knew a few bear shifters before the big move. They were incredibly quiet and calm. Nothing got them upset. She had once asked her mother why they never seemed to get upset, and her mother had simply shrugged and said, “Well, if you knew you could get ten times bigger and gobble up anyone you wanted, nothing would worry you, either.”

  The bear families had the nicest fireplaces and some had even created scrappy rock structures reminiscent of caves. Tina stopped to admire an especially big one, and an older boy of about fifteen came around the corner and looked at her calmly.

  “Hi.” She stood on her toes to try and look into his new home. “Nice cave.”

  “It’s not a real cave. We made it last night while everyone was sleeping. My parents are resting.” The boy had big, sleepy eyes, broad shoulders, and he slumped forward a bit as if he were eternally relaxed.

  “Wow. I really like it. I’m Tina.”

  “I’m Sam. Sam Digger.” He turned his head slowly and looked over his shoulder into the blackness of the cave. “I would say come in, but if you wake my parents up, they’ll eat you. They should wake up in a couple days.”

  “That’s okay. I have to go help my mom. We’re over with the wolves.” Over Sam’s shoulder, she saw Larissa walking with her mother towards the scrap pile. “Hey,” she said to Sam, “do you know that girl? Larissa?”

  He turned to stare directly at the girl and regarded her for a long time. “No, sorry. What is she?”

  “I don’t know. Her family is here from Madagascar. They’re not lemurs or anything like that. She’s an animal I’ve never heard of. Sometimes she looks like a boy.”

  That got a slight reaction from Sam. His eyebrows raised slightly, and he turned back to Tina a bit faster. “Whoa. I’ve never met a shifter like that.”

  Behind them, Larissa walked across the landscape with her mother, found some ugly, grey wooden boards that she eagerly collected up and then moved on to the piles of metal rebar and gears. Tina watched for a moment, waiting to see if Larissa would turn into a boy again, but the girl stayed consistently female.

  “I better get back to my mom. Bye Sam.”

  “Bye, Tina.”

  The girl walked on through the bear settlement, which wasn’t too big. Next were the cats – cougars, jaguars, a few cheetahs. All of them were on high alert as Tina walked through, and her friendly wave and big smile seemed to make them more suspicious than anything else. They all narrowed their eyes at her and lowered their chins down to follow her with an intense gaze. At the edge of the cat settlement, she saw Larissa and her mother and stopped a moment to see what they were building.

  Rather than make a house, Larissa’s family was making a series of platforms with rebar legs and flat, wooden tops. The wood was splintering, and the rebar was difficult to work with, but Larissa’s father seemed to be an expert.

  He was a massive, muscular black man with a big welding mask on his head that made him look half-machine and half-human. He had pulled off his shift, and his big shoulders were like slabs of onyx. The sight of him welding and the stream of sparks flying from his welding tool and his wide, strong stance enchanted Tina. She stood and watched him with her mouth open without even realizing she was staring.

  “What are you doing?”

  Tina spun around and found a quiet, big-eyed Larissa staring at her. Her heart had tried to jump out of her chest with the surprise of Larissa’s voice, but as soon as she saw who it was she took a deep breath and pressed her hand to her chest.

  “Whoa. Larissa, you scared me.”

  Larissa didn’t respond, but she gave a little half-smile, highly amused that she was so frightening. “You should be scared of us. We’re predators to everyone, even wolves.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She turned and looked at her father who stopped welding for a moment and lifted his mask to reveal an animated face with a big, friendly smile. For a moment, Tina was even more confused. This friendly man was Larissa’s father?

  “Tonga eto ny zanako vavy,” he called, making a scooping motion with his hand through the air. Larissa quietly walked over, and Tina followed, anxious to see this shifter up close.

  “Wow!” She took in his stature and his huge, open structure with big, admiring eyes. “Look at this! And what language is that? And how do you know how to build so well?”

  He let out a big, deep laugh and tousled Tina’s already messy hair. “That is a language called Malagasy, little wolf. All fossa shifters speak it.”

  “Fossa shifters…” She thought hard, but couldn’t recall ever hearing about this mammal. She turned to Larissa. “What’s a fossa?”

  “Nothing.
” Larissa walked off to get another round of scrap and left Tina there with a man who she didn’t know. Not that she minded. She tried again, facing the father.

  “What’s a fossa? I’ve never heard of that animal before.”

  “The fossa is the hunter of the world. We can eat lots of different animals: frogs, rabbits, little wolves…” Tina sucked in a frightened breath, but he winked and laughed at her. “Don’t worry, baby cub. We won’t eat you. We’re building a tall shelter so that we can see non-shifter animals for our food and so that we can protect the camp. No one is a better hunter than a fossa.”

  “I bet I am.” She lifted her chin and stood tall.

  “Look how tall you are! I am certain you are a fine hunter, zaniko vavy.”

  The odd phrase made Tina tilt her head in confusion. “What does that mean?”

  “It means ‘my little sister.’ And you can call me Andry or zoky lahy. It means ‘big brother.’”

  Tina clapped her hands in excitement. “I’ve always wanted a brother. I mean, a zoo-key lah-hee. Hey, can you come with me? My mom needs some help.”

  A moment later, Tina came over the boundary where the wolves had gathered and saw her mother standing and talking with a group of women. Her mother turned to see her and went stark white. Tina waved to show that everything was okay, but it didn’t seem to help. Her mother ran over as if she was hurt and grabbed her hand.

  “Hi mama. This is Andry.”

  Her mother stood slowly and then raised her head almost all the way back to take in Andry as he smiled and extended his hand.

  “Good morning. Your lovely daughter tells me you are looking for some help building your house.”

  Tina smiled at her mother, but her mother just squeezed her hand tightly and swallowed hard. The little girl waited for her mother to be happy for the help, but something seemed wrong. After a moment, her mother cleared her throat and spoke.

  “Hello. I’m Faye. Nice to meet you. I, uh, I don’t know anything about building a house. We need something cool and that doesn’t stand out too much. There’s just two of us, so...”

  “Of course,” Andry offered, “something modest. Not too showy. Sounds perfect. Let me take a look at the materials you have here, and we’ll see what we can do.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Tina watched her mother look around as if she were searching for someone to help her, but everyone was busy with projects of their own. She looked down at Tina and the pile of scrap metal she was guarding. With a big sigh, Faye nodded.

  “Yes, please. Please help us get this place together.”

  For the rest of the day, Tina had a great time. She and Andry sorted through the junk, and he got busy building an arched framework for their new home. He sent her on endless errands to the scrap pile and she shot through the camp, now familiar with all the little paths in the community. On one trip, she caught sight of Larissa watching her and got a chill down her back, but she shook it off and continued her errand. She was excited to see her new home.

  She came back to find Andry lifting his weird, square facemask and talking to some of the other wolf shifters and smiled at him. She knew everyone would like him. She turned to see that their new place was looking good – a slapped together metal shell in a kind of cave shape, a cheap version of stone and mountain. Tina liked it; it looked fun and crazy. She ran inside to look up into what seemed like an endless arch and was thrilled to feel a rush of cool breeze come from an opening in the very top. In the back were cozy, dark corners, perfect for sleeping in. The front was broad and clear with plenty of room for a fire pit.

  She ran back out and looked for her mother. She saw her standing alone and staring at their new home the same way she used to look at a messy kitchen or Tina’s unmade bed. Curious, Tina walked up to her.

  “What’s wrong, Mama?”

  Her mother put her hand on Tina’s head, but it didn’t feel nice. It felt like a toy hand was on her head, not her mother’s caressing touch.

  “Mommy’s just tired, sweetheart. The move was a little more than I was ready for.”

  “I made lots of friends today. Did you?”

  “No, baby. I didn’t make any friends.”

  Perplexed, Tina looked up at her mother, squinting against the bright glow of the sunset over the dry land. “Can I go and play with my friend Grey? He’s an airborne on the other side of The Hills.”

  “Sweetheart, you should play with earthbounds. You know that.”

  Tina sighed. Grown-ups never understood anything. “Mama,” she whined, pulling on her mother’s hand, “it doesn’t matter anymore.”

  She yanked her hand away and ran towards Grey’s house, leaving her mother behind.

  Chapter 3

  Family

  Harper Bachmann, daughter of President Bachmann, smiled up at her father as he smiled and waved to the photographers and journalists in front of him. All of them fired questions at him, and each question was about The Hills.

  “Where did you find the money to fund this project?”

  “That’s the best part,” President Rhett Bachmann said, his voice pouring down onto the heads of the audience like thick, dark honey. “We found an unused, unclaimed piece of land just perfect for a little development. We want our shifter community to be safe and have a place to hunt without being a threat to nearby humans. When my Chief of Staff proposed this location to me, I fell in love right away. It’s a gorgeous expanse of green, with sources of fresh water, plenty of wildlife, and just begging for someone to come and live there.” The crowd murmured appreciatively, and the cameras snapped away. Right on cue, President Bachmann smiled down at his adorable daughter, and the two crinkled their noses at one another as everyone in the room ahead and chuckled at the sight.

  Under the table, Harper swung her seven-year-old legs back forth, kicking her black, shiny shoes against the metal legs of the folding chair that she sat in. Her brown hair was looking extra shiny in all the lights, and she was glad she had worn her new, red velvet headband with a flower on the side to go with her red dress. Making sure to smile, she folded her little, manicured hands on the table and looked around the room so that everyone could see the dimple on the right side of her face just like her father’s helpers had encouraged her to do. She was short for her age, so any time she had to attend a public announcement she had to sit on a special cushion that lifted her up a bit. The cushion was a secret; the helpers had explained to her that she couldn’t ever talk about it. She had yet to tell anyone.

  A rough-looking journalist in an old, brown coat covered in stains stood up and raised his pen. Bachmann nodded at him. “Yes?”

  “President Bachmann, when will the press be invited out to The Hills?”

  “I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” the president chuckled. “As we all know, shifters are a highly unpredictable, very violent bunch and are more than happy to kill and eat a human. We’ve separated this population for a reason, Mr…”

  “Mr. Nissy, Independent Press. What do you have to say about the allegations that this beautiful location is, in reality, nothing more than desert with no plumbing, electricity, or access to clean water?”

  The room went quieted as everyone waited for the president to respond. A man in a dark suit leaned down to the president and whispered something in his ear. The president smiled a nodded up to him. The suited man lifted his chin to the back of the room.

  “Now, why would I do that, Mr. Nissy? That simply wouldn’t make any sense. I don’t want them somewhere desolate. That would drive them into the city to hunt – an illegal act if there ever was one.”

  As Mr. Nissy listened to the president’s response and quickly took notes, two security guards came up behind him and took hold of his arms. The reporter dropped his pencil to the floor.

  “Now,” the president continued, “I have always been a huge supporter of The Independent Press. It’s very important to have an unaffiliated source of media available for the everyday consumer.” As he spoke
, the two guards escorted the reporter out of the room while the other journalists watched. “Why, it’s the cornerstone of free speech. In fact,” he continued as all the other reporters turned to him and continued taking notes and snapping pictures, “I encourage all of my constituents to pick up a copy of The Independent Press first thing tomorrow. I will be reading the front page with everyone else. I just cannot wait to see what my favorite publication will have to say about this historic day.”

  Harper reached down and pressed her hand into the secret cushion, adjusting her weight. She was sweaty, and her dress was stuck to her legs.

  “Excuse me, everyone, but the duties of fatherhood call. My young one requires a snack and a nap, and I think I do as well.” Everyone laughed, and Harper slumped down onto the table at the mention of her afternoon bedtime.

  “Daddy, I’m not tired. I’m bored!”

  “Me too,” he whispered, giving her a wink. To the crowd, he said, “If you will all excuse us, we have to wrap this up for the day.”

  The press gave their usual round of applause as he walked out of the room. Harper turned to wave goodbye to them and got a new round of ohhs and aahs. She spun back around and looked up at her father.

  “Daddy,” she said, “how come everybody likes you so much?”

  He looked down at her and gave her a sad smile. “Well, I don’t know if everybody likes me. But,” he sighed, lifting her into her spot in their big, gleaming car, “the ones who do like that I help people. That’s Daddy’s job – helping the people.” He closed the door and then walked around to the other side and climbed in.

  “I think one day you may have to take over as president. Would you like that, darling?”

  “I don’t want to be president,” she said, tapping her toes together in the air above the floor of the car. “Presidents have to work a lot. I want to play all day.”

  “Alright then,” Rhett said, scrunching his nose up and touching the tip of it to his daughter’s nose. “You will be a professional fun-haver. You’ll help everyone by making them play.”