by Zoe Tasia
“I’ll be right over.”
“Thank you.” When a decent amount of time had passed after the water turned off and Lundy still had not come out, I called through the door to him. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
“Do you have anything else to wear?”
“I’m sorry, but nothing else would come near to fitting. What’s wrong?”
He came out dressed in the sweats, but a towel was wrapped around his middle. I just assumed he was extra shy. “I made some sandwiches. Help yourself. Your uncle is coming to pick you up.”
“Okay—thanks.” He trudged past me and I went to get the girls.
Tate claimed the place beside Lundy and stared at him until he quit eating and looked at her. Tate saw it as an invitation to talk. “We have the kitten in our room, so it won’t bother you. Is everyone in your family allergic to cats?”
“I guess, I don’t know.” Lundy shrugged and took another big bite of his hero.
“Have you always been able to turn into a dog? Are you like Kay?”
Lundy frowned at Tate. “I don’t turn into a dog. I turn into a wolf and, no, it isn’t like Kay.”
“Mom said that when Kay changes, her clothes vanish and reappear. Why didn’t yours? Or did you already take them off?”
Lundy spoke to his plate. “Kay’s a different kind of shapeshifter. We usually remove ours before changing, but it surprised me, and I turned into a wolf before I could. They’re nothing but torn shreds now.”
Pitying Lundy, I said, “Tate, eat your dinner.”
“I can eat and talk at the same time.”
“I know, honey, but let’s just focus on eating for now.”
Jessie came in and sat as far away as she could from Lundy. I cleared my throat. Jessie mouthed, “Mom, do I have to?”
I nodded.
“Uh, Lundy?”
He tried to talk around a mouthful of potato chips then thought better of it, thank goodness, and motioned to her to wait while he swallowed. “Yeah?” he finally said.
“I’m sorry about the cat hair. I didn’t know it would bother you that much.”
“Jess—” I prompted.
“It was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.”
“You could have just said—you know.”
“I did say. A lot. I just wanted you to give Nessa a chance. She really likes you.”
“Well, I don’t like-like her, and ever since we turned thirteen, everyone’s been after me to go out with her. She’s nice, but I don’t wanna date her. I just want to be friends. I thought maybe if you and I were dating, she’d get the idea, and everyone would back off. It isn’t easy when an entire village decides you should be with someone. I wish she would have just kept it to herself, but she’s never been able to keep a secret and talks more than anyone I know. Heck, she talks more than anyone ever.”
That was more words I’ve heard from the boy since I met him. “Well, it isn’t easy when you like someone, and they don’t reciprocate. The best thing to do is to keep on being a friend and not push them.” I looked pointedly at Jessie. “And no one likes to be pushed at someone else.”
“I’m sorry if I bothered you, Jessica,” Lundy said.
“It’s okay.”
He lit up.
“But don’t come onto me anymore. I’m fine being friends, but that’s it.”
“If you change your mind before you leave—”
“Very unlikely,” she said. His face fell. Jessie heaved a sigh. “But if I do, I’ll let you know.”
As we finished up our sandwiches, there was a knock at the door. I opened it.
“Hello, Conall. Come on in.” The wind nearly snatched the door from my hands. It looked like the weather was about to get bad again. Conall stepped through the doorway, sniffed, and frowned.
He greeted me then turned to his nephew. “What happened to you?”
Lundy blushed and hemmed and hawed. I felt sorry for him and interceded. “That’s something that we’d like to talk to you about.” I told him about seeing the wolf and the mud and hair and about the wolf turning into his nephew. “So, what’s the deal? Are you—” I felt silly for saying it, but Tate didn’t.
“Werewolves, like in the stories?”
“This isn’t anything we like to talk about. It’s personal.”
“But—” I prompted.
“We are wulvers,” he reluctantly answered. “I suppose you could call us werewolves.”
“Wulvers?”
“Wulvers are...well, they can turn into wolves, but they have a second form that’s manlike in that they can stand upright, but have fur and characteristics like a wolf. Their faces are slightly elongated. The ears are pointed. They have longer, sharper canines. Wulvers are pacifists. They help people and are friendly. We are told, but we don’t know for sure, that wulvers are a mix of wolf, fae, and human. The fae blood made the change possible. The human blood keeps us here instead of with the fae.”
“So, the wolves we’ve been seeing have been you and Lundy?”
“Yes.”
“Why were you two growling at us in the grocery?”
“I don’t know. Something’s wrong, and it’s affecting everyone with a trace of fae blood.”
“Do you remember being in the shop with us? It was Kay, me, Jess, and Tate.”
“Vaguely. It’s all fuzzy. Usually, when I’m in wolf form, I’m as aware as I am when in human form, however, the wolf instincts are stronger and hard to resist. For instance—” He looked down.
“Yes,” I encouraged.
“Well, if I’m in wolf form and hungry, then a rabbit hops past, I would probably go after it.”
“And kill it and eat it?” Tate asked then clasped her hands over her mouth.
“Well—yes. That’s what wolves do, and there isn’t anything wrong with that,” he answered defensively.
“Do you have to change during the full moon?”
“There’s some truth in that. We do feel the urge to do so but are able to decide when and where. Now, if we refused to change for a long time, a change might be forced on us. I don’t know for sure, at this point there are only rumors. We—me and Lundy—are the only werewolves here.”
I thought on this for a moment. “What do you think is going to happen? What will you do if you keep changing sporadically and not remembering things?”
“I guess—” Conall paused.
“We’ll have to be locked up,” Lundy said bitterly.
“Wow, I’m so sorry, Lundy,” Jessie said and actually reached across the table to pat his hand.
“Does anyone have any idea why this is happening?” I asked.
“You are an outsider. I really shouldn’t talk to you about it.” Conall pressed his lips together so tightly that they whitened.
“Okay, I get the same thing from Kay, and I am so tired of it. What can be done about this?”
Conall sighed but answered, “Greg Gillie is the Keeper of the Forest. It’s his job to make sure the fae don’t affect the humans in any major, detrimental way. This—” He gestured to include his nephew. “—is very detrimental.”
“What’s Greg supposed to do, exactly?”
“Well, he guards the fairy hill. He should know instantly when anything leaves the hill and investigate it. Lately, things are out that shouldn’t be, and Greg seems to be late finding out or ignorant of it. Worse, it isn’t just fae escaping. Somehow the fae’s nature is affecting us and the island.”
His revelation was greeted with silence as we attempted to digest it.
“Look,” he continued, “it’s difficult for me to talk about this. We keep to ourselves. I don’t much care for Greg. There’s no secret about that. There’s some bad blood between my family and him. Too many of my kin have died in that forest. If he was doing what he should, tragedies like the ones my family have suffered for so many decades shouldn’t be occurring. I guess it’s also fair to say that the McNeils have not always heeded warnings, though,
and that probably contributed to some of the deaths, but still. Memories run long here in Scotland. Feuds are common and last centuries.”
“That’s stupid,” Jessie said. “Why don’t you guys just say ‘sorry,’ shake on it, and if you can’t be friends, at least don’t be enemies.”
“Because we live in a small area. And the sins of the father are indeed visited upon the son. Call it genetics or nurturing, but it’s true. Greg is self-absorbed. Caught up in his own grief so that he can’t see that others hurt too. No one hurts more than he does. He took all that pain and wrapped it around him. He doesn’t let anyone in.”
“He doesn’t strike me like that,” I said.
“Well, for some reason, he’s different around you. Trust me when I say, he rarely spoke to anyone before you came, and if he did, it wasn’t with a smile on his face.”
“Well, he was pretty gruff with me the first few times we met. Maybe it’s because this cottage is closest to his place. He sees more of me and the girls when he takes care of the woods.”
“P’raps so.”
“So, this is ultimately related to this fae hill?”
He nodded. “Aye.”
“Why doesn’t someone go to this hill and talk to the fairies. Explain things.”
Conall and Lundy had identical expressions of horror on their faces.
“No one volunteers to go into the hill. Most never come out, and the few who do are...changed,” Lundy said.
Conall rubbed his chin in thought then spoke, “I’m afraid though, that you may be right. And if someone does need to do it, it should be Greg. He’s the one who’s supposed to keep the peace between us and the fae.”
“Maybe you should form a committee or group,” Jessie suggested.
“Safety in numbers,” I said thoughtfully.
“There’s no safety to be had in that hill,” Conall said flatly. “Greg has some power over them, but the high fae? No. Thankfully, they rarely venture forth with the exception of Puck who likes to wreak mischief. I don’t think Greg has any power over him. Puck will leave when he chooses. Usually, the fae help on their side to keep what is theirs in the hill, but they don’t seem to be doing it with as much diligence—or perhaps the creatures are trying harder to get out—or the barrier that usually keeps them out is weakened. I don’t know, but something needs to be done and soon.”
“Would the island be overrun?”
“Probably. The island was uninhabitable for centuries. A few families would move here and then vanish or be found dead. Even when my family and the other families who established this community first arrived, there were incidents so horrible, due to the fae, that there was talk of abandoning it. Then the caretaker went to the woods, and the fae’s interference ceased. It could be worse than just the island suffering, even. Fae could take over the mainland too. We would be at their mercy. Truly a nightmarish situation. We’ve been at peace for centuries.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Conall.” Noting that Lundy had almost finished his food, I asked, “Conall, would you like a sandwich? I could make another if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes.”
“No thank you. I ate before I came and I should be getting my nephew back. Thank you for taking care of him. Ready to go, boy?”
Lundy nodded and stood. When he did, the towel dropped off revealing the reason for it. I hadn’t noticed it when I gave it to him, but the sweats were so frayed in the back that his furry behind was as clearly visible as though he wore gauze over it. His back was to us and when he spun to replace the towel, all three of us, even Tate, pretended that we hadn’t seen a thing.
“Well, then. Thanks again. Take care of yourself. I would keep to the cottage, especially at night.”
After Conall and Lundy left, I said, “I didn’t want to say anything while they were here, but I think you girls should carry wolfbane with you all the time. I don’t think that they would ever hurt you on purpose, but Conall did say that things weren’t normal around here. Also, Jess, I’d like to look at the spell book again.”
“I think it would be cool to meet a fairy,” Tate said.
“Not so cool, according to quite a few fairy tales I’ve read. Don’t get any ideas about going near that forest, young lady,” I sternly warned her. “Let’s clean up.”
As Jess put up the food, and Tate cleared the table, I started doing the dishes. When Jess finished, she brought me the spell book and took over washing while Tate dried.
I sat at the kitchen table and flipped through the book. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. “Jessie, you need to think of a way to make up for the evening you ruined.”
“Mom, what can I do other than apologize?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” I paused. “Jessie, do you remember seeing anything about protection from fae?”
“No, but I did see something about seeing through ‘Glamours.’”
“Hmmm—that’s something worth looking at, but I’d be happier if we could find something that affected more than our ability to see when they’re tricking our eyes.”
“There’s a recipe for an ointment. It didn’t look too hard. It had four leaf clover, marigold, mugwort, bee’s wax, and a couple of other things. The hard part will be collecting them at the right times.”
“Why don’t you search it and see what comes up on the internet?” Tate suggested.
That would have been my first option if I’d been at home, but I was used to not having access and dealing with the library, so I’d almost forgotten.
“Good idea. Now let’s see if it’s up.” Amazingly, I was able to get on the internet. The girls finished the dishes and came to sit at the table with me. Jessie flipped through the book and Tate read over my shoulder.
I skimmed an article. “Here’s something. It says that iron is a protection from fairies. I’ll bet I can find some in the shed.” We read silently for a while.
“Look! This says we can leave milk and bread out and they won’t bother us.” Tate pointed to the paragraph.
“Again, great for when we’re home, but out and about, not so helpful.”
Tate’s face fell.
“It’s a good idea for here, though, Tate. Good eye. Why don’t you get a glass and plate so we can try it tonight?”
Tate gathered a slice of bread which she insisted on toasting and a cup of milk. We left it on the front porch to one side of the door, so we wouldn’t trip on it when we went out.
“Do you think it will be here when we get up?” Tate asked.
“Guess we’ll find out.” I figured some animals would take care of it and hoped we hadn’t just invited a bunch of pests to our front door. Tate smothered a yawn.
“I think it’s time we all go to bed. We can look for more tomorrow.”
Chapter 27
THE NEXT MORNING, JESSIE came to me. “Mom, I think I have an idea for making it up to the other kids.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, I wanted it to be something different from what they normally do, and I still need to figure out the specifics, but I thought I could invite them over. Have the party we were planning, but with more guests and with more to do than just watch a movie and play one game.”
“It’s a start. You need to plan before you ask, though. A group of teens sitting around in a cottage isn’t going to be fun.” Especially not for me.
“I’ll keep thinking on it.”
“You’ll come up with something, I’m sure. In the meantime, I want you to write notes to everyone.”
“Oh, Mom. Nobody writes notes anymore, and I don’t even know everyone’s address!”
“You can get on that today. Go to the grocer. As small as the island is, you could probably hand deliver them.”
“Oh, no way! If I gotta write them, I at least don’t want to have to see their faces when they get them and read them.”
“Suit yourself.”
After breakfast, the first thing I wanted
to do was check for something made out of iron. Even though steel might work, iron is what I’d seen most during our research. I wondered how effective it was, but then remembered that Puck had been in the shed. If it contained something made of iron, and I would be surprised if it didn’t, it hadn’t bothered him. Based on that, I guess iron didn’t keep them back that far. One area I could eliminate searching through, was the path that he took on his way out. Surely, if the iron touched him or he was very close, he would have reacted. I was sure I could remember. We checked the dish and cup. Both, to Tate’s delight, were empty. She decided that her job would be to make sure to put some out every night. Jessie wanted to go buy some cards, so we would visit the village at some point today. I set the girls to weeding then went to the shed, opened the door, and sighed. There was a lot of stuff and it didn’t seem to be orderly like the cottage.
“Might as well start, it isn’t gonna sort itself.” I wheeled the bicycles out and moved the gardening tools which were in the front. I made yet another mental note to have the bicycle tires fixed. I wished the shed was lit in some way. I banged the shelves with the hoe hoping to scare any critters that had taken refuge. Nothing ran out, thankfully. I found a pair of mud-encrusted wellies just beside the croquet game and shifted the items out. Then, I tugged a tarp off the nearest shelf. With a “whoomph,” the dust that had collected on top went air-borne. Using the bandana, I wore to keep my hair back, I dusted myself off the best I could, and kept looking. An ancient, push lawn mower occupied one corner. Behind it, a tool chest so rusty I feared the handle would break off if I tried to lift it sat. Once I dragged it out, I used a garden spade to get past the rust and open it. It held the usual array of tools, but no nails.
One box held an extensive bottle collection. I didn’t have to delve in as far back as I thought I would, but all the same, it was ten o’clock when I finally found a tin full of nails. Thankfully, it was lidded and the nails, while old, weren’t rusty. I took out the tin and put everything else back inside the shed. The girls finished gardening. Jess was in the cottage trying to remember all the kids she had offended. She wanted an idea of how many cards she would need. Tate realized she hadn’t fed the kitten or made the bed. She busied herself with chores I had given her. I was glad to see some initiative with the girls. By the time I finished, I was a sweaty, cobwebby mess, and it was practically lunch time.