Verchiel hooked his thumbs through his belt loops and mock pouted. "What am I doing here? That's the best greeting you can come up with? They sent me to investigate."

"But they already sent Ark." She thought of his car wreck. Was it worse than the others let on? "Is he dead?"

Verchiel chortled. "Ark is fine. He was in New York last I checked. I'm the one they sent."

"Oh. You were in the car wreck?"

"Yep. The car and the moose didn't make it, but I did. ...