ZANDER LET LOOSE A heavy sigh. "Maybe," he said, "but first she wants to hold her dog."Isaac frowned in disapproval, but he moved out of the way. Last week, I wouldn't heal Ruthie until Isaac left. Now I didn't have the same privacy. If Knox was going to make it, I had to risk Isaac finding out about me. Based on this morning's events, I didn't think he would freak out. Obviously, he was good with weird already.Zander settled me next to Knox's still form, placing my hand on his neck. His fur was wet and sticky with blood. More blood dripped from his ear. I realized that I wasn't numb everywhere. I could feel tears dripping from my eyes. If I could cry, then we might be able to save Knox. Zander kneeled over me, blocking Isaac's view. I think we both knew that we could share our abilities, especially when we were touching each other. This had to work. He laid one hand on my shoulder and one on Knox. "Okay, Tru," he whispered, so softly I almost didn't hear. I debated how to go a
AS ISAAC STEPPED TOWARD the front porch he asked, "Think you can stand?" "Yeah," I said, stretching my mouth from side to side. My whole body tingled, sensation returning like shifting sand. He carefully stood me up, bracing my shoulders in his large hands while I found my balance. I slowly straightened my spine, and he let go one finger at a time, his hands hovering as if he expected me to collapse. When I remained upright, he cocked an eyebrow and grumbled low in his throat, reminding me of the way Knox sounded when I played tag with him. Did Isaac find this funny? I shot a glare at him. With a resigned smile, he backed away. Knox moved with him, pressing his nose into his hand. I moved up the steps, toward the front door with little robotic jerks and unzipped my pocket to pull out the house key. Because I still lacked full sensation in my hands, I had to concentrate on holding the key. It felt like an extra thick layer of leather covered my skin, and without the sensation of dir
I TRIED TO BLOCK out Isaac's face as I leaned against the smooth wood of the doorframe. How long could I stall his questions?"Drea."I shot up straight. What the heck? Someone was here with me!"Who said that?" I yelped."You can hear me," replied a faint and surprised voice, a feminine voice.I walked through the downstairs rooms, peering into each corner with Knox padding alongside me. But each room remained quiet and empty. "Who are you?" I asked, passing the mirror in the foyer. Shocked, I backtracked to it to see my face reflected there, but not my eyes. At least not the brown eyes I should have. They were blue! Happy laughter spilled through my mind. "I never thought I'd ..." The voice and the blue eyes faded away until all that remained were my own brown ones, and the silence of the house. For some reason, I felt unquestionably lonely."Hello?" I said, feeling foolish talking to my reflection."Is that you, Tru?" Dad hollered, causing me to almost jump out of my
I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that I wouldn't sleep like a normal person after the strange events of today. **The Efotis were seated around their kitchen table, eating dinner. Isaac's plate looked like a mountain. Unlike her brother, Phoebe approached her meal with little enthusiasm, trailing her fork through her food. A stranger sat with them, but he looked so much like Mr. Efoti that I assumed he was a relative.Mr. Efoti was talking. "Of course, you may stay longer, Iosefa, as long as you and your mate need." Mrs. Efoti pushed back her chair and stood, her small body stiff. "Toluta'a," she almost barked. Her small body strained with anger and her dark eyes darted between her husband and the man called Iosefa. Then she marched across the room and out of the kitchen door, which led to the back porch.Everyone at the table looked at Mr. Efoti, no one daring to breathe as they waited to see what he would do. Clearly, his wife wanted him to follow, but would he? After a moment, the large m
BY THE TIME I was ready to leave Ruthie was beyond rattled by Knox's barking. As she started her car, she wailed, "He hates me!" over the sounds of an alternative band singing about a ghost. The haunting notes fit my mood with eerie accuracy.Although Dad had asked me to stay home and look after Knox, it had sounded more like a request than a command, so I didn't feel too bad for leaving. Besides, Dad's friends lived in Salinas, and whenever he visited them, he was gone all day. I'd probably get home before him. Going to see Dr. Frankler was important."You need to get ahold of yourself," I told Ruthie with a frown. "Because I have a lot of crap to tell you and it's not for the faint of heart." Ruthie made a pouty face by sticking out her bottom lip. "By the way," she said. "You've been holding out on me!" She drew something out of her side door panel. I recognized the letters that I'd tucked under my pillow. "What are these?" she said, one eyebrow raised.I grabbed them from her
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, WE were driving down a dark road into the forest of trees that were so tall, they blocked out most of the sun. The further we drove into the woods, the more I doubted our decision to track down the twins. "You realize this is exactly what the stupid kids in all the movies do right before they get killed, right?" I said, chewing on a fingernail. Ruthie hunched over the steering wheel, driving a little slower. "We need to know what's going on, right?" she said, her voice a little breathy. "Besides, Isaac and Phoebe wouldn't hurt us. And they won't let anyone else hurt us, either. Phoebe can't possibly be usemi. Can you imagine her turning all furry and toothy?" She shook her head and continued without waiting for a response. "Isaac is a different matter altogether. I mean, this might explain a lot about him."I debated texting my location to Dad so he would know where to look for our bodies when we didn't return. "What if they are running around in these very
RUTHIE AND I SAT like conjoined twins, connected at the hip. I looked around the room. For some reason its well-kept state surprised me. Late afternoon sunlight shone through the windows and reflected off the white walls, brightening the room. More light filtered through the sun lights in the vaulted ceiling, casting a warm glow wherever it landed. The decor was rustic and worn with a mix of furniture styles with accents of denim blue and deep red. A black pot-bellied stove sat in the corner near a large fireplace. The home was cleaner than I'd imagined. The phrase "a den of wolves" had conjured up rough furniture and sloppiness. Usemi, I corrected myself. I absently rubbed a hand along the couch, its fabric worn down like my favorite jeans. In the corners, bright red pillows popped with color, as did the matching valances that trimmed the large windows overlooking the forest valley. From the driveway, I hadn't noticed that the landscape dropped off behind the house, so the beautiful
"CARO," SAID IOSEFA WITH concern. "Do you think now is the right time?""It's never going to be the right time." She stood and walked rigidly to a bookcase, sagging against it. Despite her distressed and somewhat worn-out appearance, I recalled my dream about the man and the woman in the forest, and the wolf that attacked them. Sympathy bubbled up inside of me, but I pushed it down as I tried to process what she had said and why Iosefa looked so worried.How could she be my mother's sister and not my aunt? It sounded like a stupid riddle.The two adults looked at each other, communicating in a way I didn't understand. I noticed again that she seemed a bit older than Iosefa, and it suddenly registered that she was a lot older. My mother had been in her sixties when she'd died, but Caroline seemed decades younger than her actual age. Perhaps it was the unusual white streaks in her hair that aged her. If I ignored the lines of strain on her face, she'd appear quite young. Zander said u