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Chapter 130: Newfound Treasure
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The True Nature Series Chapter 131: Turned
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
The True Nature Series Chapter 132: Kissing Cousins
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
The True Nature Series Chapter 133: Cabin in the Woods
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
The True Nature Series Chapter 134: Family Reunion
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
The True Nature Series Chapter 135: Vengeance
"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
The True Nature Series Chapter 136: Rabbit Hole
CAROLINE'S WORDS TRIGGERED A shift in me. I felt something changing and I feared it was me, or at least my life, as I knew it.Everyone moved in slow motion. Iosefa pulled away like I was burning him and Isaac moved toward me. I started falling ever so slowly toward a spinning void of darkness, like the space of time between wakefulness and sleep. And then with a sudden swoosh I plummeted like Alice down the rabbit hole, spinning and weightless, my chest seizing up with fear. **But after the longest time, my downward descent slowed. I opened my eyes to reassess my situation and gasped with astonishment. Different scenes floated around me, a different home with Caroline and another man, the Euro-looking man from one of my visions, happy, both of them holding blond-haired babies, teasing them while another baby crawled around on the floor. Swoosh. I accelerated downward again before slowing once more. Another scene displayed before me. Three small children, two girls and a boy pla
The True Nature Series Chapter 137: Greek Tragedy
I FOLLOWED CAROLINE THROUGH the door and onto a covered wooden deck. The backyard was basically a mountainside that provided a natural amphitheater-like setting to the tragedy playing out before us. Beyond Caroline's slumped form I could see the retreating fog unveiling miles and miles of pines and redwoods. She crossed the deck and climbed down the steep steps to a well-worn path that led to the side of the house. An outdoor seating area appeared with wooden lounge chairs surrounding a fire pit. She led me to the chairs, sinking down with a deep sigh.I nibbled my lip, trying to contain my internal tremors. My life just took another spin on the crazy ride and I was experiencing motion sickness. Would my life ever settle? Did my dad, the man who raised me, know who I really was? Did he know about this strange supernatural world? I mean, what the heck? I was adopted? It wasn't even that simple. I wasn't that simple. I was freakishly complicated, like the woman who gave birth to me. C
The True Nature Series Chapter 139: Don't Poke the Wolf
CAROLINE GASPED WITH HORROR, "No!""Dante may have kidnapped me, but I escaped. I'm not completely helpless," I quickly added, before realizing I was making it worse for her.Her face began to ripple as if the wolf wanted free. Sharp points pressed into my hands and I looked down to see that her fingers had become claws."Ow!" I jerked against her with renewed effort, afraid she would transform into the creature that killed my mother.Just as swiftly, her skin shifted back to her human self and she jumped up, moving away from me. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She said quickly and then took a deep breath before letting it out. "Strong emotion makes me lose control." Her eyes drooped in regret. Note to self: Don't poke the wolf. I thought she could use a dose of "the fixer" herself. I stood, moving forward to lay my hand on her arm. "Could I heal you?""No!" She pulled away, speaking so harshly, it startled me. Then she drooped, sinking down into the nearest chair. "I'm sorry again. I d
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