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The Birds

They were everywhere They covered the eaves of his house, the trees and the ground, everything around him They sat on the hood and the roof of his car Every bird native to the state of Texas see at hirackles, blackbirds, crows and even seabirds--a pelican stood in the center of his lawn

It was bizarre He was being watched…stalked…by birds!

None made a move toward his,around him as the smaller birds made way When he reached his car door, he opened it slowly, carefully, and then sat behind the wheel, closing the door He revved the engine and heard scratching noises as the birds atop his car took flight

Logan eased out of the driveway As he did so, a whir of black rose with a furious flapping of wings He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, they were gone

Every last bird was gone

He looked back at his oldif he’d soet into his car But that was not the case He didn’t black out For him, visions were dreahed them away His father’s people believed that all dreams were omens, while his las--believed that dreauments within the human psyche In William’s view, fears and anxiety created alternate worlds seen only in the mind; their role was to help resolve emotional conflicts

Whichever approach was correct didn’t matter much He’d seen what he had seen This hadn’t been a vision or a dream

But it was odd that it had happened when he was on his way to ent and head of the mysterious Krewe of Hunters--a unit both infamous and renowned

San Antonio It was different, that was all Different

Kelsey O’Brien looked out the Longhorn Inn’s kitchenFrom here, she could see the walls of the old chapel at the Ala, pleasantly war, and the people she’d

She still felt like a fish out of water

That’s what she was --the water

She’d been in San Antonio almost three days and they’d been nice days San Antonio was a beautiful city Kelsey actually had a cousin living here, Sean Cameron, but he worked for a special-effects company, and they were currently out in the desert so to reproduce the Alarateful that her old caht the historic inn and one-ti Sandy made her feel a bit less like a fish out of water, but it was strange not to be within steps of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico Her life--except for sue upstate--had been spent in the Florida Keys Where there ater Lots and lots of water Of course, they had the river here, and she loved the Riverwalk area, with its interesting places to go and dine and shop The history of the city appealed to her, too

It was just…different And it was going to take so used to Of course, she still had no idea what she was doing here, or if she was going to stay She ; on the other hand, she could be transferring here And sheon a different job

She was a United States Marshal, which o anywhere She’d certainly traveled in her life, but the concept that she could bea life here, see she would have chosen Now that it , she had to remind herself that she’d always known she could be transferred But her training had been in Miami, and because of her farown up, she’d been assigned, as one of only two Marshals, to the office there She’d been doing the job for two years now, enjoying an easy camaraderie with Trent Fisher, her coworker They reported in to the Miami office when required, and occasionally their Miami supervisor came down Key West was small, and despite the friction that could exist between law enforce relations with the police and the Coast Guard and the other state and federal agencies hich the two Marshals worked And then…

Then she’d suddenly ended up here She was still wondering why, because Archie Lawrence, her supervisor, had been so vague

"You’re going to love the situation," Archie had assured her "You go to this , and then you’ll have a teek hiatus to decide what you feel about an offer you’re going to receive So, nothing is definite yet"

"I’et an offer and think about it?" That hardly seeovernment "What’s the offer?" she’d de is about," he’d said

And no a would convince him to share the details If he even knew theent and youservices," Archie had told her "That’s all I’m at liberty to say"

"Why?" she’d asked hiencies!"

"Hey, it’s come down froencies getting together on a friendly basis Hallelujah!" Archie rolled his eyes "No one’s going to force you to change You’re being presented with an opportunity You can say no I mean it If you don’t like this offer, you have the option to pack up and co me questions Go away Don’t darken s to do, arrangerins She liked Archie and considered hi until he went into "situation" mode and then he could spew out orders faster and with eant

Soht of her She was good at her job, although some of her methods were a bit unexpected Luckily, a lot of criminals were still sexist They didn’t realize that a woman could and would hold thee handcuffs with ease But she’d felt Archie’s eyes on her a few times when she hadn’t really been able to explain the intuition that had led to her discovery of a cache of drugs, a hiding place--or a dead body She even wondered if he was hoping she’d take another position