“We just have to use that map. We know she is somewhere near Thunderhead Bay. I can get the wolf clan across the way to head over, see what they can track down for us,” she replied.
“Do we trust them?” I asked, placing the hot chocolates on the table in front of my friends. Then sat down to sip mine.
“I have no reason not to. I would have heard from the group out east, or west if anything odd, or violent had been occurring within our allie lines there. We try to keep each other informed. They were, notified when Du-Vance was killed, and your father was put on the case.”
“Good to know.”
“Now do you young adults have anything pending right now? I apologize for referring to you as children, but to me you are adolescent,” she confessed.
“We have a big test pending in our Myths class for Mr. Jones,” replied Molly.
“He gave me a pop quiz extra credit essay I need to write. It has to do with the investigations, but I need to dig out my notes to find it,” I added.
“Do you have it with you?” Nayla asked. She trotted over and sat down beside me.
“Not sure, let me go through my backpack. It could be with me, or at home. I packed pretty quickly this morning.” My tummy rumbled. I had to stop skipping meals for this. Molly, Jenson, and Owl hadn’t eaten either. Unzipping my pack I pulled out my notes from class. I’d scribbled down what Jones had told me.
“Here it is,” I said, giving her my notes.
“I have paws, therefore, I cannot turn pages.”
Opening my notebook, I figured I might as well give her a condensed version of what Jones wanted.
“Write an essay based on your knowledge of what happened to Cal Summers or did not happen referring to rumors: She joined a fox clan, was kidnapped by bandits, or may have been taken in for security reasons,” I muttered pushing the papers aside.
“Do we give Jones what he wants?” asked Owl.
“As an enforcer of our laws you must answer his questions.”
Nayla and I looked up at my dad who stood in the doorway. He strutted over to the table, slammed the papers onto the desk and sat.
“Security, safety, higher powers, have been established for some time. Jones must be one of them. Rascal and I have shared the responsibility of the tribe. He is working from a distance. Mike, did you know about this?” My father demanded.
“No, who assigned him the task?”
“Why would I, ask you, if I knew?” Dan hollered.
Nayla jumped onto the table and sat down facing us.
“Now, let’s not sit here and argue. You confirmed Jones hadn’t looked as if he’d aged, at the meeting. Perhaps he’s immortal. If so, he may have anonymous contacts. He could be playing both sides or safeguarding all of us. We don’t know. Clearly he’s not a threat thus far. The worst that occurred was those dang bandits at Nuria’s house! They were probably there to try to capture Starla,” she spoke sternly.
I sat straight up in my chair.
“Why would they want me? You said yourself I need to be trained, as a guardian. I can’t just have a vision whenever I want, and do not yet fully understand how the rest of my abilities work. If I did, wouldn’t I have established a way to get Cal back by now?”
“Leverage my dear. One of their’s went rogue to protect our side. Wouldn’t that piss you off, if you were a bandit?” she remarked.
“Definitely, a friend, doing an 180 or would it be a 360?” I contemplated.
“Doesn’t matter, I want all of you back here tomorrow to start training. In the meantime, Dan, you and Rascal will keep an eye on Jones. You say he’s an enforcer, but to me, he’s still a suspect.”
“Whatever you say, I’m beginning to believe that the women do have the upper hand in our clan, after all.”
“Do I write the essay?”
“Yes, write what you know. If he’s an allie as he has currently been acting, a protector, he’ll give you more clues. Don’t let on that we’re training for Thunderhead Bay. I have to find out if Minder and Cal are, actually there. I sure as hell hope, Nuria is with them.”
“Do you presume the bandits have her?” asked Molly.
“If they did, they would have sent us a ransom note by now,” responded Nayla.
“Or they are waiting for the right time to attack us, separate us and pounce on us one by one,” I reasoned.
“Three p.m. tomorrow we’ll train physically for endurance, speed running, dodging, tumbling, and the use of sticks. After that, a few mental tests to see where your skills lie. If you need to Starla, let Denny’s know this is an emergency. You’ll be needed this weekend. The trackers should be back by Friday, relaying what they’ve discovered. Any problems, let me deal with your boss. I’ll put him in a trance,” ranted Nayla.
I felt like I was in a cheesy movie. My life kept getting stranger and stranger. I sunk into my seat, as Nayla, bounced off the table, disappearing into a fog-like mist. Dad got up collecting our mugs and placed them in the sink.
“Make sure you wear something warm tomorrow. I haven’t checked the forecast yet. Have you Mike?”
He shrugged, “It’s supposed to warm up a bit for a few days. They say the forties, which is bizarre for February.”
“We can always stash our stuff in here if it’s too warm better to come prepared rather than freeze,” Molly spoke up.
“Darn right about that girlie. I despise the chill during this time of year.”
I gathered up my notes sticking them back into my pack. Jenson leaned over giving me a quick hug. The dance would be at the end of March. I hoped this would all be over by then. Molly and Owl were getting their coats on when Eva shuffled in.
“Nayla just told me about Cal. Star and I want to assist with training. We have experience.”
“Yeah, and what about the men in our clan, are any of them going to help us?” I asked.
“Cavin is getting up there, and someone has to watch the little ones.”
I laughed. “So are the roles reversed here? It’s usually the men that go off to war, and leave the children with their wives,” I stated.
“I can probably scrounge up a few of them. You won’t be getting away from Shellena and Lance. They’ll fight tooth and nail to come. They love a good brawl!”
I stood up and took my coat off the back of my chair preparing to leave.
“And I thought we were a peaceful clan,” I sighed.
“We are until one of our own is killed. Cal and Lang went missing ages ago, and Nuria takes off. It’s not as if, we didn’t strive to get them to sign a peace treaty before all this.”
I put on my jacket, then picked up my backpack pushing passed Eva to leave. My friends followed behind me. Before reaching the doorway, Eva grabbed me by the arm stopping me. I thought she was going to throttle me to the ground or something! Instead, she pulled me into a hug.
“Now there is hope. A light shines again brightly in a mother’s heart. If you feel anything, get any kind, of signal I want to know,” she said.
I pulled back a bit from her hug. “OK, but I haven’t heard from Cal in years, not since you left L.A. I didn’t know she was missing nor did I realize she’d lived here until I read those files.” I shook my head. “I wish mom and dad never kept this from me. Then maybe this wouldn’t have taken place,” I said, trying not to let my emotions show.
“No, don’t look at it that way. If you had known, you could be right beside Cal at this very instant. You’re our light, our guardian, and we’ll start preparations tomorrow. Nayla will lead us, and we’ll begin again,” she said, letting me out of her embrace.
I nodded, not sure exactly what she intended.
“I hope this means this war if it is one, or ends up one, will lead to tranquility. I’m not one for bloodshed.”
“Neither are we,” said a gal standing in the doorway.
Perchance, it was Star in her human form?
“Star?”
She grinned mischievously.
“
See you all tomorrow,” she said then turned away, Eva trailing behind her.
“Let’s go,” I said to my friends.
“Are you, forgetting something?” asked my dad.
“What’s that?”
My dad dangled the keys from his hands. “You forgot I drove this morning. Here,” he said, throwing them to Jenson. “Drive safe, I’ll pick it up tonight at your house.”
“Thanks,” he said to him. Then turned to me, “We need to get some food. I heard your stomach growling loudly, overall this crazy chaos.”
I said goodbye to my dad and took Jenson’s hand in mine. We shut the lodge door behind us, allowing Molly and Owl to walk ahead.
“I’d ask if you were OK, but that might seem macho,” he said pulling me a bit closer.
“I have you, Molly, Owl, and the others. I’m pretty strong.”
“I never said, you weren’t, but if you need anything...”
I didn’t answer him, instead I, kissed him right there, quick, soft and sweet.
“What was that for?”
“Because it was what I needed,” I said, looking up at him. Owl and Molly were almost to the car.
“Come on, I’m starving!”
“Alright, alright,” Jenson answered, as I began running towards the vehicle. He ran behind me. Molly and Owl were now sitting in the back seat waiting for us. I tagged the car first.
“When are you going to start driving your moped?” asked Jenson.
“When we don’t have to carry passengers,” I said giggling.
“Hey, lovebirds, where are we going to eat?” Owl broke in.
“How about the diner Rascal met Nuria in,” Jenson suggested as he opened the driver side door.
“Sounds good,” he nodded to him.
I opened the passenger’s side door and sat down. Well, he wasn’t going to be a gentleman every time, I contemplated. He hadn’t opened the car door for me.
Later, that evening Jenson dropped me off at home. I sat at the kitchen table observing big snowflakes as they fell outside. My books were strewn, about the table. Math class, I’d turned in assignments, but when had I last attended? I couldn’t even remember. Mom never asked me either. My grades were falling, and I only had three classes! Mom had made me promise I would take the whole college thing seriously. Maybe I’d make it through in less than four years.
“Hey, what’s up,” Megan asked, waltzing into the room. Yes, literally, she waltzed. I shoved aside my homework sighing. I placed a hand on my head trying not to cry.
“Is it math class again? I can help you.”
I started to snicker, and then the tears began to fall.
“It isn’t that bad is it? I’ve managed to help you with this class before when it’s trying to kick my big sis’s butt.”
“I’ve missed one class, but turned my last assignment in. I haven’t attended, since this whole fox stuff happened,” I replied, getting up to get a glass of water. I filled my cup and sat back down. Megan pulled out the chair across from me and sat.
“Have you missed any tests?”
“Not yet, we have one this Monday. I’m sure it’s not going to be fun, and this is just intermediate algebra!”
Megan patted me on the back, “Ok, let’s look at your syllabus. Have you picked up any of the assignments you turned in?”
“No, just put them in her office mail. Afterward, I hightailed it like a sissy.”
“Molly has this class. I thought she was your tutor?”
I gave her the look.
“I know, I know I sound like, mom.”
“Molly has had her own, dilemmas to deal with. She knew I’d skipped class, but never talked to me about it.”
“That’s rather odd, even for her. Maybe she’s skipping out now too,” she said, pulling my math book towards her. She began to look it over.
“No, she went to class. It was the same day she watched Ellen with us.”
“Hmm, why don’t we finish the next two assignments, then you’ll be a bit ahead of the game. You should take the practice test. I think you know you need to call Mrs. Price. Tell her we had a family emergency. Hopefully, that will do the trick. If not, talk to mom,” my sister suggested.
We went over several polynomial problems and other crazy equations. Myth class was my thing, English, Art, sociology, but math class was parallel to waking up, in a nightmare and realizing it was real.
I completed the next two assignments on the list with Megan’s help. After that, I took the practice test.
“What are her office hours? You need to call her. I know this, and I’m only a seventh grader,” she said sternly with an aggravated stare.
I got out my cell and found her number leaving a quick, but brief message. Thank goodness. If I remembered correctly, the mission was taking place on a weekend. At this point, I might have to give up college and my job. How the heck was I going to live? If this is how it was, maybe I shouldn’t be part of the clan. Then again, maybe I was just, being my drama queen self.
“Are you going to be alright? Can I leave you alone?”
“I’m just going to call Molly. I would contact Jenson, but...”
“Girl time,” my sister said, getting up from the table. “Well, I am going to make myself a snack and head upstairs. Mom should be home soon.”
“Yeah,” I said as she exited.
I didn’t know how I could be so irresponsible. It wasn’t like me, to not go to class, nor was it like Molly not to rag on me about math. She’d been the instigator that pushed me to sign up for it. My mother was right beside her at the time. I collected up my books, notes, and other miscellaneous materials that had cluttered the dining table. I picked up my cell off the counter to dial, Molly’s number.
I listened to it ring till she picked up.
“Hey, um, didn’t I just see you at the meeting?”
“Yeah, but...”
“What’s up?”
“I just finished up the assignment I missed in Math class, and the next one. Plus I studied for the test. Megan helped me,” I stammered.
“It’s OK, you only missed, one class. I’m not sure right now what I’m going to do. It’s like the-the battle of the bands here. My dad is on one side, my mom on the other.”
“You lost me. Whose side is who on?”
“Mom says that she’s going to stick with me. That she doesn’t care what the church will think, but dad, he just isn’t handling it well.”
“What changed her mind?” I asked.
“She had a girlfriend once.”
“You mean!” I exclaimed.
“No, not like that, but a girlfriend of hers back in college was gay. So now she decided she can deal with it. I did find a job. I’m supposed to start Monday. I just hope I can. I hate to back out of all of this now...”
“If you, really need to I’ll understand. Nayla said we didn’t have much time.”
“Too bad I couldn’t live with the clan,” Molly pondered.
“If it gets worse, you could stay with us. I’m not sure how much mom would want to charge for rent. Maybe you could do the dishes?”
“Yeah, your mom is, down to earth nice. I wouldn’t want to impose on you guys, though.”
I sat back down at the table. I’d been staring out the window for a bit as the clouds covered up the stars.
“I don’t imagine she’d look at it that way, OK?”
“Alright, is there any reason you called besides math?”
“Not really. Megan said girl time. I don’t have any plans this evening unless you do with Maine?”
“Nah, we did talk on the phone for a bit. I’m, we’re kind of in the gray zone.”
“Friend zone?”
“No, gray zone, you know nonchalantly bumping hands, or a slight suggestive gesture that you like him or her more than friends.”
“Ah, as Jenson and I were a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah, but you and Jenson, you’d been playing cards for a while on that one.”
/> I laughed, “You’re right.”
“Hmm, so have you seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The film, not the TV show.”
“Oddly enough, I haven’t.”
“Say, that I have it. Do you want me to bring it over, say slumber party?”
“That is tempting, we don’t have to be at training til 3 p.m.”
My mom walked in the back door. I mouthed to her “Can Molly come over?”
“Sure, sure, I just have to get a few things done for the library.”
“Was that your mom?”
“She just got home from work. I’ll see you in a few,” I said hitting the end button on my phone. I got up, proceeding into the living room.
“Mom, Can we watch a film in here tonight?”
“Hmm, sure, let me grab my things. I can take care of this in my bedroom. Is Molly, OK?”
I shrugged, “Not really, her folks are now fighting over if she stays, goes, or if it’s right or wrong,” I replied.
My mom picked up her book list and put it in her tote. “If she needs a place you know she can stay here.”
“Yeah, I did suggest it, in exchange for rent or dishwashing.”
My mom picked up her glasses and put them back on. She stood up and then touched my back as she walked around me to get to the hallway.
“Tell Molly for now, no charge. If she needs to stay with us dishes, chores, and she has to finish college.”
I smiled, leaning against the wall of the room. I loved my mom.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Now enjoy whatever it is, you’re watching tonight. Don’t forget you have Denny’s in the morning. I know you’re an adult, but no eye rolling!”
I rolled my eyes anyway, after she left the room.
The movie and popcorn had been what we both needed. Molly’s parents arguing over their daughter’s sexuality? Why couldn’t they just love her? I accepted Molly already fast asleep on the flip couch. She was way more comfortable here than at home. Maybe I’d get to meet Maine soon. It would be nice to put a face with a name, and see why Molly cared for her so.
Gazing at my nightstand the clock read, 11:57 P.M. almost midnight. I pushed myself up and leaned to look out the window. The moon was full, the stars filled the sky, and I breathed in the cool air. It seeped out of the cracks in my window pane. I yearned for my fox form, wishing I could just transform and go out for a run as my mother did. Perhaps tomorrow I’d get a chance to train in that structure. Right now running wasn’t risk-free. Even if it was, would Nayla allow it? I snuggled down further into my quit. My shift at Denny’s would start at 10 am. I only had to work til two, but I’d be talking to Don about taking a little time off. Too bad Nayla hadn’t given me a time frame. I couldn’t quit my job.
Myth (Book 1) Page 19