“I—but—”
She floundered. She wasn’t sure why her first instinct was toward secrecy, a desperate feeling that nobody could know what had just happened, or they would ... they would ...
What, exactly?
I’m afraid he’ll think I’m crazy. Except Grandma doesn’t. But she could be crazy too—but it really happened, I know it did, but—
“Look,” said Grandma kindly, “I dunno what all happened to you, and you sure don’t gotta tell me. Thinkin’ your ex had something to do with it, probably, and I’m guessin’ you got in the habit of hiding when something bad happened.”
Selena gulped.
Grandma nodded. “Right. And maybe that works sometimes, ’cause a lot of people do it. But we don’t have time for all that today, ’cause there’s a lot of work to do before the sun goes down, okay?”
Selena took a deep, shaky breath. “You’re right,” she said. “Of course. I’m being stupid.”
“No, you’re being human, and that’s not always an easy thing to be. Now come on.”
Selena followed her onto the porch. It took an effort of will to get to the stairs, even with Copper trotting unconcerned in front of her.
“You’re fine,” said Grandma. “There’s none of ’em out here. That sort of thing don’t like daylight, usually.”
Selena scanned the road. No cowled figures waited for her. The cicadas were buzzing. A hawk drifted overhead.
Copper wandered over to the place where the things had stood, sniffed the ground, and then squatted over it.
She had to snort at that. She shut the door behind her.
The walk felt very long. The space between her shoulder blades itched. If Grandma had not been stumping along beside her, she would have turned and run back to the house.
She was very glad when they reached Grandma’s house.
Her relief lasted almost ten seconds, and then a tiny monster exploded from the back garden and went for Selena’s ankles.
“Ah! Ah! Get it off! Ah!”
Copper barked and made a brief, confused charge. Selena shook her leg wildly, and her assailant rolled off and into the dirt.
“Oh, don’t mind him,” said Grandma. “Sorry. He gets ideas.”
“He . . . ?”
The creature glared up at her. It had an extraordinary topknot of feathers, like a fright wig, over black plumage and thin, scaly legs.
“That’s not arooster, is it?” asked Selena. It was the smallest chicken she had ever seen, but it had a sweeping tail like a rooster and a red flap of skin under its bill.
It made another run at her foot. She dodged out of the way. The peck had been more surprising than painful, but she didn’t want to give it another chance.
“Of course he’s a rooster! He’s a bantam. What else would he be?” Grandma scooped the creature up under one arm. It glared at Selena from the safety of her elbow.
“It looks like a rat with feathers,” said Selena, too tired to be tactful.
“Don’t listen,” Grandma told the rooster. “You’re a handsome beast. And a good guard rooster.”
Selena dragged a hand through her hair. Copper barked again, in case the bird got ideas.
“Right,” said Grandma. “Let me go put him back in the pen, and I’ll get my gun.”
She vanished into the house. Selena looked at Copper. “Is this really happening?”
