Fiends and Familiars - Debra Dunbar Page 0,2

him. “Pick something else.”

He tapped his beak on the dash.

Rio.

I sighed. “How about something that’s not a cartoon? We saw Up last night. Let’s go for a romance, or drama or something not animated.”

I’d enjoyed Up, although I’d seen it a dozen times before. Drake had been particularly fond of the scenes with Kevin the bird in them—go figure—and I never failed to cry at the part where Carl’s wife, Ellie, dies.

Was that a spoiler? I hope it wasn’t a spoiler.

Drake hissed again.

“The Birds is a classic,” I admitted, “but I’m not sure I’m in the mood for horror tonight. How about we watch Ladyhawke, and save The Birds for tomorrow night? I’ll even scrape a possum off the side of the highway for you to eat while we watch. Put it on a plate for you and everything.”

Drake seemed to think this was a good compromise. I turned on the radio as we took an exit and headed up the mountain toward the pass that marked the boundaries of Accident. I figured that would be a good place to turn loose a group of belligerent squirrels. There was plenty to eat, lots of good spots to stay warm during the coming winter, and the werewolves would most likely ignore them since they preferred to hunt larger prey.

I pulled down an unmarked dirt road, throwing the truck into four-wheel-drive as we bounced over potholes and some tree limbs that had fallen during the last storm. About a mile in I put the truck in park and got out. Drake joined me, but took to the air as soon as I lowered the tailgate. The squirrels were not happy. I tried to tell them how wonderful this place was, and how peaceful it was going to be here without some woman screaming at them all the time, but they weren’t having any of it. It seems they’d grown fond of indoor living, and were not interested in making their home out here in the wilderness.

Finally I gave up trying to convince them and just unlocked the cage. When none of them budged, I grabbed the handle and upended the thing, trying to dump them out on the ground. They held on for dear life and I resorted to shaking the cage and trying to pry their little paws off the wires. One fell out and promptly jumped into the cab of my truck. Another bit the tip of my finger, making me drop the cage onto the ground.

“Ooo! So sorry about that!” I squeezed my finger, blotting the blood on my shirt as I bent to make sure none of the squirrels were hurt. That’s when they made a break for it.

I shrieked as one used my head as a launchpad, then fell back onto my ass, scrambling out of the way and shielding my face with my hands. Thankfully none of the squirrels attacked me.

Not thankfully, none of the squirrels ran into the woods either.

So there I was, sitting in the dirt with another bite on my hand, watching as the last squirrel jumped into the cab of my truck after the others. That’s when Drake returned and dropped a very dead, very bloated, very rotted weasel at my feet.

At least he hadn’t dropped it on my head.

“Lovely. Is that your dinner, Drake? Possum not your choice for tonight? Maybe you can put it in the truck bed then help me get these squirrels out.”

He grabbed the weasel carcass and tossed it into the bed of the truck. I picked up the cage and motioned for him to stand guard at the driver’s-side door and make sure any squirrels I ejected didn’t get back inside.

Then I went in.

The next half hour was like a Keystone Cops film. Those squirrels were agile bastards, leaping all over my truck as I tried in vain to grab them. Sweaty and frustrated with my hair half out of its ponytail, I gave up. It wasn’t going to be easy driving home with a bunch of squirrels in my truck, but I didn’t seem to have any alternative to that besides spending the night here in the woods. That wasn’t an option. I wanted my hot shower. I wanted my leftover ribs. And I wanted to sleep in my own bed tonight.

Drake climbed into the passenger seat, and I got in. The car started and I saw a furry head poke out from under the seat. Drake hissed, and the squirrel vanished with a squeak.

“That’s