by Holly Hook
There's a basketball game finishing up when I reach the school, so faint whistles and stomping feet float through the wall when I enter the auditorium. How can anyone concentrate in this noise? It‘s no wonder Mr. Saffron had to change the time. A horn blows and Ellie waves as she and Olivia sit on the edge of the stage. Today, Olivia has forgone the expensive makeup. The two swing their feet in unison the way friends do.
I hate not seeing Noah here. My gaze shifts to the rafters above and the lighting equipment. Everything looks intact.
Had I been here before, I would have heard the beam breaking before it came down on Noah's shoulder.
I would have shoved him out of the way and taken that injury myself.
But I feel better now that I'm here. I don‘t have to think about Matthew. “How's Noah?” I ask, walking up to Ellie and Olivia.
Olivia answers. “Doing better. They set everything and my mother says he should be out of the hospital in a couple days. He's refusing the pain meds. I can't believe how tough he is.” Admiration fills her eyes.
I check the stage for Jansen, but I neither see him nor smell him. I must argue with him tonight, and it'll feel good after the frustration I've had even if it‘s just acting. “Noah won't want to take those meds again after what happened.”
Olivia blushes and Ellie grins.
I don't regret coming.
“I'm wondering,” Olivia says, “why that beam fell right on Noah.” Her eyes have a question, but no blame. At least, not on me.
“Hey. I'll watch for any other things that might fall on our heads,” I reassure her and Ellie. Olivia knows what I am, and as I speak, relief fills her eyes. I flex my biceps the way Noah would have done, which makes Ellie laugh. “If that new guy's a secret assassin after our talent, I'll stop him.”
“There's nothing wrong with Jansen,” Ellie says.
“We don't know him,” I say. “He was there when the beam came down.” I keep my tone light, but Ellie's not having it. Doesn't she realize he was following her earlier today? That he changed classes to be around her?
“Just because he's bi doesn't mean he's promiscuous,” Ellie says. “It's a dumb stereotype.”
“That's not what this is about,” I say, blushing. Why won't that moment die? “We don't get new people oft--“
The auditorium door opens and Jansen enters the room, weaving through the seats. He jumps over two rows and eyes us, turning his gaze away from me, the mysterious strong girl, and takes the steps to the stage. I sniff, taking in every scent in the room as the basketball game continues full force on the other side of the concrete wall.
Mr. Saffron, and a small crowd of people, enter through the backstage door. The stage fills and Olivia and Ellie jump back up on the stage as a light turns on.
“I know it will be hard to concentrate tonight,” Mr. Saffron says, “with the noise, but we'll try our hardest. Everyone onstage. The game will end before we finish, and we'll have peace for the final scenes.” Mr. Saffron takes a seat behind his table and gets out his usual clipboard. He takes his time getting out our line books, which we still need. “However, we'll get done late, and I‘d prefer all of you to leave as a group.”
Jansen and I square off and begin a long night of rehearsal, arguing, and strife.
* * * * *
When rehearsal ends, I can't wait to get out of there. The game on the other side of the wall has stopped, and the crowd cleared out of the bleachers. From listening, I also know most of the cars have left the lot, taking excited or disappointed fans with them.
We'll all be alone when we leave.
But at least we're all together.
“I don't want to walk out there alone,” Ellie says once Mr. Saffron gathers his clipboard and the line books. He rubs his head, exhausted.
“We'll all walk together,” I say, glad nothing's happened during class. Brett hasn't showed up and I smell no trace of the Savage King.
Ellie and Olivia gather their loaded backpacks. A few others, Ryan included, do the same as Mr. Saffron nods at us and opens the backstage door. “Good rehearsal tonight. This is coming together. I'll see all of you in a couple days. And if any of you see Noah, give him my get-well wishes. We need him back.”
“I swear, he cares more about the play than the people in it,” Ellie says, leaning close to my ear. “Why don't we all go to Teeyah's after this if we're not too tired?”
“Sounds good,” I lie. I can't tell anyone how I helped to kill Matt tonight. Sure, I buried a body. How did your days go?
But unlike Mr. Hayde, I don't feel the horrific guilt over killing Matt, a Savage Wolf. It's there, but it's not as sharp as that of killing a human. Even that's different from what I was before. Maybe Romulus is right and I am turning weak. Unable to protect the pack. If Romulus is the ultimate Savage, then maybe Remus was the ultimate calm Wolf, the ultimate do-gooder. And maybe that's why he died.
And the longer I'm a Wolf, the more I become like him.
The thoughts weigh almost as heavy as the thought of Cayden. The theory spins in my head. It's likely. I am different since turning as if my nature has settled deeper within me. I'm a Royal, unlike the other Wolves.
I check my phone. No further messages from Cayden. “Well,” I tell Ellie as we wait by the auditorium exit doors. “Cayden will be coming back, so there's that.”
“What's the deal with that?” Ellie asks.
“He was in Chicago. Leonora left town for a bit, too, but I don't know where she went.” I won't give Ellie any crazy ideas.
“Weird. How come? Or is it something you don't want to talk about?”
I take her lead. “It's something we don't want to talk about. Hey, where's Olivia?” Best to change the subject.
“She's coming,” Ellie says.
“I can't believe she had such a change in heart,” I say.
“Those idiot friends of hers were terrible,” Ellie says. “Alesha and Tiffany. They're spreading a new rumor about her as we speak. They're saying she's screwing every guy on the football team.”
“Figures.” Muttered conversations vanish from the stage as most people exit through the backstage doors to go to the north parking lot. Figures I had to park in the south one. A pair of footsteps approach through the auditorium and towards where we stand in the hall. “Olivia and Ryan--“
The door swings open. Olivia steps through, but it's not Ryan with her.
It's Jansen.
Our gazes meet and his hardens. What's he coming along for? He's bold.
“Are we ready?” Olivia asks.
Maybe Jansen's just headed to the parking lot like we are. Mr. Stalker parked out there or plans to walk out that way. He has Brett's protection. Well, sort of. My hairs stand on end as I think about them both.
“I am,” Jansen says. “So, this Teeyah's. What do they serve?”
“Well, they--“ Ellie starts.
“He is not going with us to Teeyah's,” I say, horrified.
Olivia faces me. “What is your problem? Jansen needs to make friends.”
“That's what I'm wondering,” Jansen says. “I was hoping this girl wasn't coming along.”
“Brie is my friend,” Ellie says. “She's coming. Provided she can behave.” Ellie forces a smooth-it-over smile.
The last thing I need is for Jansen to see where we hang out. And Ellie and Olivia are both falling into the trap. Why didn't Noah tell Olivia about this? If anyone should be on my side, it's her.
Jansen pushes open the door and waits for the three of us to step outside. “You won't stop me from going,” he says with a grin.
It's a threat. A threat right in front of the others. And Noah's not here to stop it. Rage pumps through my veins and I hold down a growl. I want to protect my friends, and my instinct is kicking in now, even more than it was with Matt. But Jansen is a regular human. He doesn't even have the exotic smell of a warlock. I force out a breath. Maybe the Savage King has blackmailed him. He might not even be here out of his own free wi
ll. I can hold back from attacking him.
At least I know I'm still Noble.
I breathe out. “I guess I can't,” I agree. “Teeyah's is public property, right? But you also can't prevent me from going.” I watch as Mr. Saffron gets in his car and starts it. He drives away, leaving the four of us alone on this side of the school. I hear no one around.
“Exactly,” Jansen says. “This town must be so insular they shun outsiders.”
“Just Brie,” Olivia says with a grin. “By the way, I'll call Noah and see how he's doing.” For a second, she glances at me. Worry glints in her eyes.
But she still doesn't seem worried enough. Something's not adding up here.
But I know one thing: while Cayden gets closer to his death, I must go to Teeyah's to make sure nothing happens to my friends. I don't know what magical accidents can happen there, or if Jansen has another way to contact Brett, but I won't take the risk.
So as we cross the parking lot, I text Aunt May and tell her where I'm going. It makes me feel like I'm below her on the totem pole, and she responds with a smiley face.
Olivia starts the car. Jansen insists in sitting in the backseat with Ellie, which I don't like, but I can't imagine what he can do in the car with me sitting right here. So I get in the front passenger seat, a place only Noah has sat for a while. The seat carries his scent, and it makes me sad to know he's not here, enjoying our company. If Noah were coming along, Jansen wouldn't have fit in the car. Unless we shoved him in the trunk.
“So,” Jansen tells Ellie. “I still can't find my phone. I don't know what happened to it, even after the principal's office. Someone lifted it to dig up dirt on me, but I don't know who.”
“Passive aggressive much?” I ask. “You know I didn't do it.” The lie slips off my lips with ease. “Principal Orton didn't find a thing.”
“Someone could have,” Ellie says. “I'll keep asking around and seeing if anyone's found it. That sucks.”
“I had a lot of stuff on it,” Jansen says. “All my crap from home.”
His tone tells me something I don't want to hear: he's trying to get closer to Ellie. That's the last thing we need. If Jansen worms his way into our group, he will be hard to get rid of.
“I see the game you're playing,” I say.
“What game? Sheesh.”
“Stop playing stupid.”
“Can we just go?" Olivia asks. “This parking lot is creepy at night.” She drives toward the back gate.
“Look, I don't know what I've landed in the middle of, but Brie, you need to calm down a little. I know you're stressed about Noah, but trust me, Jansen had nothing to do with that beam falling on his shoulder," Ellie says.
“How do you know?” I ask.
Olivia stomps on the brakes. “What is that?”
I haven't paid attention while arguing with Jansen. Whirling, I face the road ahead as Olivia's tires squeal, struggling to stop the car in a second's notice.
A huge, hulking shape steps out from between a clump of trees and the fence to the football field. Headlights illuminate coarse brownish-gray fur, hackles, and eyes that are red deep within. The enormous wolf stands chest-high, rippling with muscle as drool coats long teeth and flows down its lower jaw. Its rotting stench hits me, enveloping me in the worst parts of nature.
It's Romulus.
He's ambushed us.
Chapter Thirteen
“Werewolf!” Olivia screams as the car squeals to a stop.
“Go!” I shout at her, aware we just have a metal box between us and this monster.
In the presence of Savages, my normal instinct is to shift and fight. But this monster fills me with pulse-pounding terror.
“What is that?” Jansen shouts, playing stupid.
He can still communicate with his pals. Somehow he still has a way. The phone might have been a ruse.
“Go!” I shout to Olivia.
Olivia stares, frozen, as the Savage King takes a bold step towards the car. He lifts one massive paw and places it on the hood, raking claws along the paint and lifting flecks. The flecks vanish into matted fur. Reddish eyes train on me.
How didn‘t I smell him coming? I should have.
I grab Olivia's hand and put it on the gearshift.
Together, we put the car in reverse.
Brie.
Cayden's voice returns to my head. He's closer now. Much closer. Our bond is strengthening.
I'm coming. Get away, Brie. Run.
“Drive!" I shout.
Olivia blinks and snaps out of her terror. The Savage King steps back, ready to leap. He‘ll smash through the glass and kill Olivia first. Then he'll go after Ellie. And then I'll be alone with him.
Olivia mashes the accelerator.
We squeal backwards. The fence to the football field zips past as the massive wolf gives chase. Ellie's scream pierces the world as the creature's feet pound the pavement, vibrating the ground.
My stomach turns. “Reverse to the parking lot, turn around, and go!”
Olivia's chin wobbles. She nods.
Brie, Cayden thinks again.
I don't respond. Time slows. The parking lot spreads around us, now empty. But Romulus closes in the distance. He blocks the way to the gate. Ellie screams again. Jansen remains silent.
Darkness moves at the edge of my vision.
Then I see them.
Several dark figures stand around us in the lot. Men in black robes with red trim stand in a large ring around us. In my panic, I count twelve or thirteen. A dark coven. Romulus has brought his witches and warlocks. This is his attack.
“What is going on?” Olivia repeats. “Are we in some cult sacrifice?”
“Get out of here!” I shout. “Run one over if you have to!”
Romulus closes the last twenty feet. Olivia puts the car in drive as fierce determination fills her eyes. She's a different person now. She guns the car to the trail leading to the park, and we lurch forward. Headlights land on one warlock, a tall guy in a dark robe.
It's Brett.
He stands between us and the trail to the park.
His eyes widen as he realizes the car won‘t slow for him. The scent of adrenaline fills our metal box as Olivia guns it again. She's no longer some pretty girl. Now she's willing to kill.
“You're gonna hit that guy!” Jansen shouts.
Brett leaps out of the way at the last second. His robe billows around him as he seems to merge with the darkness outside. Olivia bursts onto the paved trail as trees surround us. The smells of the witches and warlocks invade the car, blending with that of the Savage King. It‘s an atmosphere of rotting herbs.
“What was that?” Olivia shouts, facing me. “I almost ran a guy over.”
“He would have deserved it,” I say, hating my words. But Brett won't help us anymore. It's a sealed deal, and I put the nails in the coffin. “Keep going. We're in danger.”
Shadows dance around the car. A dark, sick feeling fills me. Brett's dark spirits, spun off from his hatred, surround us and follow like gremlins. I hope Ellie and Olivia can't detect them, but Ellie whimpers in the backseat while Jansen stays silent. Olivia's car scrapes tree branches. The path‘s not wide. Far back, Romulus‘s footfalls follow us. The trail's slowing us down. No one's plowed or shoveled it.
“I might spin out,” Olivia says, leaning over the steering wheel. “My tires don‘t have chains.”
I watch the road, taking my attention off the dark spirits. They could help that happen. “To the left! Ice!”
Olivia banks to the left. She doesn't ask how I can see the dangerous spots under the snow. I listen as her tires spin, struggling to get through the awful conditions. Romulus‘s paws crunch snow, far behind us. He veers off into the trees. The Savage King is looking for another way around, a shortcut.
I might have to kill Jansen as much as it hurts me.
Not for me, but for my friends.
He helped to do this. He helped to get us trapped.
“
Right!” I shout. “Stay on that mound. There‘s an opening between those trees.”
The car lurches. “I trust you, Brie.”
“There's the park,” I say.
“How can you see?” Ellie asks. She hiccups with terror.
I have a lot of explaining to do if we live. “Vitamin A!” I shout. “Keep going!”
The ground undulates and the car lurches over hills as light falls onto icy tree trunks and low-hanging branches. The ground here is open. Olivia drives through the park and towards the parking lot where I almost destroyed Matthew. By some miracle, we get back onto the street and she hits the gas again, now on dry pavement.
We're off.
And as I listen, I realize Romulus has given up the chase. The dark spirits dance on the periphery one last time before falling away.
I don't tell her to stop. The moment we do, it's over. “Keep going,” I beg. “All the way back to your house. We have to get behind the gate.” That won't stop the Savage King, but it‘s better than nothing. And Olivia's house is across town.
I've forgotten Jansen is in the backseat.
“Without Jansen," I add.
“You think I had to do with that mess back there?” he asks, acting incredulous.
“You had more to do with it than you're letting on.” I whirl on him as much as I can in the seat.
Ellie looks at me in terror. “Jansen brought those guys?”
“He's at the least communicating with them.”
“Without my phone? How do I do that? Telepathy? If I had that ability, I would have aced all my classes, no sweat.”
“How do you know?” Ellie's chin wobbles.
“Who else would do it? He's the only new guy.”
She looks at him.
He looks back. The air thickens. So much for Ellie's new friend.
“What is going on?” Ellie asks.
“There was a werewolf, and then there were creepy cult members who wanted to sacrifice us to the werewolf,” Olivia says. “Maybe they worship the moon or something?”