Page 16 of Suncatcher

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“What is your favorite thing?”

Pearl frowned. “What?”

“Oh.” Driz’s wings twitched, and her face grew even fiercer as she frowned too. “I should have practiced that one better. I mean, do you have a favorite treasure?”

Pearl eyed her warily. Practiced what? And what was her angle? “Why d’you wanna know?”

Driz’s wings twitched again. “I want to know more about you.”

And yet Pearl’s question of why was never truly answered. “Listen, I dunno why you wanna help, but it seems like you do.”

The face nodded, appearing closer. Pearl repressed a shiver and the need to step away.

“Have you ever had pie?”

The face tilted sideways. “No.”

“Well, the kind Molly makes is incredible. Best you could ever have. I’ll bring you one if you do something for me.”

When Pearl had tried to think of what to offer a creature who didn’t appear to have or want anything, the pie seemed as good a thing as any. If Driz would accept a pair of clothes, a delicious pie might be as tempting.

She reluctantly moved her hand away from her revolver and into her pocket, withdrawing a map. “A caravan should’ve arrived days ago, but it hasn’t. From the city. You know the road?” Pearl shook out the paper and showed it to Driz.

Driz’s gaze slid from Pearl’s face to the map, and back. She slowly stepped closer and reached, almost hesitant.

She carefully took the map. Her large hands were more elegant than Pearl had expected, the nails on the ends of her long, strong fingers sharp and clawlike.

“I have seen many roads,” Driz said. “I do not know what these lines mean. Show me.”

Pearl pointed out Salt Bluff, and the river, and the road, attempting to ignore the fact that she was standing only an arm’s length from a goyle.

Driz’s eyes tracked Pearl’s own hands, as if mesmerized by them, and Pearl was very aware of her cracked, roughened knuckles and nail beds.

“There should be five wagons, painted red. If you can tell me if they’re intact and on the road—or if they’re not—I’ll bring you that pie.”

“I can do that.” Her wings rustled, catching the light.

This had to be one of Pearl’s worst ideas ever. “Can you be back by dawn? We’re riding out then, and I wanna know what we’re looking for.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll meet you here.”

Driz flew through the night sky, following the lines of the road captured on the map Pearl had shown her.

She spotted several wagons along the route, all stopped as their occupants made camp. Driz quickly dismissed them. Wrong number, and wrong color. Someone was singing by a crackling fire. Driz slowed, longing to linger and listen, but she had a focus. She had a purpose. She moved onward, humming to herself, trying to recreate the tune.

Pearl had asked Driz for help. No one had ever done that, and Driz would not let her down.

The wind caught her wings and she used it to climb higher. The stars stretched above in the clear sky. Soaring under the endless stars was one of the things that had always brought Driz a bit of joy. She loved it when it stormed and the rain dampened her wings, but she also loved it when it was so clear she thought she might see forever if she just looked. Would Pearl enjoy this sight? Perhaps one day Driz could show her.

Driz appreciated the scene for a moment before she forced her gaze down and continued her hunt.

She only had tonight to search and could cover a lot more ground in the air than humans could on foot, but she couldn’t risk being late to meet Pearl in the morning. And her pie. Driz didn’t know what a pie was, but if it came from Pearl, Driz would accept it gladly.

She tracked the movement of the moon and the stars, stopping briefly to eat. Finding a handful of scorpions, she twisted off their spicy stingers first to enjoy, relishing the crunch.