Forging Day (Crucible of Change Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

night. Berto was down for runner duties for the queen tomorrow. Basically, he got to deliver messages for her and make announcements as needed. Mikah and I had signed up for gate duty tomorrow morning. We’d get to remind the folks arriving of the few basic rules of the event and tell them their assigned campsites. It wasn’t a bad gig, as such things go, and it would be nice getting our volunteer shifts out of the way early.
    “Need any help?” Mikah asked Wendy.
    She shooed us off for now. “Go get your campsite set up and we’ll see if anything needs doing later.” She consulted her master list. “You all are in site seven this year.”
    There was one main road that ran through the campground from east to west, paralleling the Middle Saint Vrain Creek to its south. The bridge across the creek was on the east end of the road, and the pavilion loop was north of the bridge. We were camping south of the road, just west of where it split to go north to the loop or east to the bridge.
    We’d just pulled in at our site when my phone dinged for an incoming text. It was Leo. He was supposed to be on leave this weekend and joining us. Why did I feel that was about to change?
    “Srry sis, leave cncl. Duty calls. Op Moo up 2 u. Have fun.”
    “Hurry up and catch those aliens and get out here,” I texted back.
    “Not fnny. Ttyl.”
    “Leo’s not going to make it, again. I guess we don’t have to save him a spot for his tent.” It was just one more damn thing for this weekend. I hadn’t seen him in months. He said he couldn’t tell me what he’s doing or he’d have to shoot me. Ha ha . Leo and I had always been friends and partners in crime. I missed my favorite accomplice, and I really needed my big brother to make everything okay again. On the other hand, I saw my sister Cordelia way more than I wanted to. She lived in Denver and had plenty of time to harass me.
    Leo was thirteen and I was nearly twelve when we lost our mom. Cordelia was the oldest at sixteen, and she took over raising us after that. Which wouldn’t have been horrible, except her interpretation of mothering was incessant nagging and expectations of scholastic perfection. At least Mom had understood that sometimes you just needed to have fun. I still couldn’t believe she was gone. Thirteen years later, and I still missed her like it was yesterday.
    Cordie got even worse when our dad died five years ago. Fucking cancer.
    While Mikah had been talking to Wendy, I’d managed to get a peek at the camping assignment list. I couldn’t implement Operation Moo if I didn’t know where to find my targets. They called themselves the Beast Lords, and drove up from Colorado Springs. They were, in my opinion anyway, the dark underbelly of our little group. They favored fairly elaborate animal masks, with furry upper body parts. Sometimes with tails, but not always.
    A guy named Derek was their leader. He always dressed as a minotaur with huge horns. The first time I saw him, I told Kat he was obviously compensating for something. He was a big guy, and liked intimidating people, and hitting on every hot girl in camp, single or not. He was also a master of knowing how far he could push people without actually getting himself kicked out of the event. He absolutely hated when I mooed at him, which is why I couldn’t resist. I would have felt better if their campsite was a bit further away, but at least there would be another campsite between us and them.
    Even though Leo wouldn’t be here to help, that didn’t mean I couldn’t stick with our plan. “I need to run a little errand,” I told Kat. “It shouldn’t take too long and I’ll be right back to help.”
    She just shook her head when I retrieved my lumpy, slightly jangling bag from under my seat. Nobody paid me any mind as I sauntered toward the three campsites soon to be shared by Derek and company. It took a little longer on my own, but it was still easy enough to rig the practically invisible