Year One (Chronicles of The One #1)(70)

“He’s Lupa,” the boy said, and smiled. “He wouldn’t mind a biscuit.”

“Sure.” Eddie dug down in the basket, opened the box of Milk-Bones. “Ah, he’s not going to take my hand off, is he?”

“Not unless I tell him to.”

“Ha-ha. Don’t, okay? Here you go, Lupa. Nothing like a Milk-Bone, right?”

Lupa studied Eddie with steady eyes of burnished gold, then nipped the biscuit out of his fingers. “He’s some good-looking dog. Can I…” Eddie made a stroking motion.

“He’ll let you know.”

Cautious, Eddie held out a hand, eased it toward Lupa’s head. When Lupa didn’t growl or snarl, Eddie took the chance, ran his hand over the fur. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. You’re one beautiful bastard, yeah, you are.”

“Have you got a name?” Max asked.

The boy said, “Yeah,” and nothing more.

“Is this your place?”

“I guess it is now. It was my uncle’s. He’s dead.”

“I’m sorry.”

Now the boy shrugged. “He was an asshole. Knocked me around every chance he got.”

“I’ll be sorry for that instead. We can pay for at least some of the supplies.”

“I’ll put it on the Iseler account,” he said and smirked. “Money doesn’t mean dick anymore.”

“No, but we can barter.”

“You haven’t got anything I need. You might as well take what you want.”

“Are you alone here?”

“No. We’re fine.”

“Store sure is clean,” Eddie commented.

“My aunt and I cleaned it up after … after. She’s dead now, too. She did the best she could. You didn’t come in to bust things up. Otherwise, Lupa and I wouldn’t be so friendly, so you can take what you need.”

“We’re grateful,” Max told him. “One thing we need is propane. Is there any chance we can take a truck up to the Iseler place, fill the generator?”

The boy’s eyebrows lifted into the hair that flopped over his forehead. “The chance would be getting a truck up there on these roads.”

“We’ll manage, if we can take one.”

The boy studied Max a moment, nodded. “All right. Load up what you’re taking, and I’ll show you.”

“Is it okay if I check across the street, take some beer if there’s any?”

“I don’t like the taste of it. If you find it, you can take it.”

Thinking of the boy, and whoever he might have with him, Max took less of everything than he would have otherwise.

“You should come with us,” he told the boy as they loaded the supplies. “It’s a big house, and we’ll have supplies, heat, light.”

“No. I like the quiet.” He paused a moment. “But it’s good of you to offer. I’ll remember that.”

“If you change your mind, you know where we are.”

“I know where you are. You’re going to drive to the other side of town, take the first bend to the left. Can’t miss Stanley’s Fucking Gas and Electric. You’ll see three propane trucks in the back lot. The first one on the left’s more than half full, so you should take that. Don’t blow yourself up,” he added with a half smile.

“Thanks.” Eddie bent down, gave Lupa another enthusiastic pet. “See you around, boy, see you later. You ought to come on up and play with Joe. Thanks, man,” he said again.

“If you need anything, or if there’s trouble, find your way to us,” Max told him. “Even if you just want a hot meal. My woman’s a hell of a cook.”

“We get by.” The boy laid his hand on Lupa’s head, stepped back.

Max got behind the wheel.

“Don’t like leaving him,” Eddie said.

“We can’t make him come. But we’ll drive down next week, check on him, bring him a hot meal, some of Lana’s bread—I found plenty of yeast.”

He glanced in the rearview, saw the boy standing in the middle of the road, watching them.

Saw the light shimmer around him, heard the voice clear and cool in his head.

I’m Flynn.

“His name is Flynn.”

“Huh? How do you know?”

“He just told me. He has elfin blood.”

“He has … He’s an elf?” Mouth gaping open, Eddie swiveled around to look back. “Like, you know, Will Ferrell in the movie?”

With a delight he’d all but forgotten, Max laughed. “Christ, Eddie, you never fail me. No, not like that. He’s magickal, and I have a strong feeling if we’d had any thoughts about causing trouble back there, we wouldn’t be driving away with supplies and propane.”

“Ain’t that some shit? I met a fucking elf. Well, I guess he’ll be all right then. And he’s got that big dog, too.”

“That’s not a dog. His name says what he is. Lupa. Wolf.”

“Now you’re shitting me. You’re not shitting me,” Eddie realized. “I gave a Milk-Bone to a wolf? I petted a wolf? That is freaking awesome!”

“It’s a brave new world, Eddie.” Max made the turn at the bend. “It’s a brave new fucking world.”