The Winter People

by Rebekah L. Purdy

  When she saw Gareth on the bed with me, she gave me a lopsided grin that said, go get him tiger, I don’t care if my dad is standing right here and I just got my butt chewed.

  “You two are in serious trouble,” Mr. Byler said. “And you.” He pointed at Gareth. “Shouldn’t be taking advantage of young girls.”

  “I never do anything they don’t want.” Gareth smirked.

  My eyes went wide. “You’re not helping things,” I muttered.

  “You’re a punk kid.” Kadie’s dad rushed forward, but Gareth was too quick and caught him by the neck.

  Gareth’s eyes gave off an eerie glow. “You will forget I was here. You’ll go back to bed and not wake up until Kadie screams for you. When you awaken you will find a branch that broke their window.”

  What the hell. It was like I’d stepped into some weird dimension or something. This stuff wasn’t supposed to be real. I mean, there were sci-fi flicks with storylines like this. I rubbed my temples. More than anything, I wanted to believe this was nothing more than a bad dream. And, like Gareth said, I wasn’t crazy.

  Mr. Byler nodded mutely and went back to his room, shutting the door behind him.

  “What the heck did you do?” I caught his arm.

  “Kept you from getting grounded and me from being noticed,” he said.

  Kadie crawled into bed like nothing had happened and shut her eyes.

  “Who are you?” The blanket dropped from my shoulders as I stood between him and the door.

  His tattoos glimmered beneath the light and he flashed me a smile.

  “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I do want answers. I need them. Don’t treat me like I won’t understand. Like I’m just some dumb, brainless girl.”

  “I’ve never thought you were dumb or brainless. Bullheaded, maybe. But let’s just say someone wants me to keep an eye on you. And to answer your earlier question, yes, I’m your bodyguard.” Gareth’s fingers pried mine open and he shoved something hard into my palm. “You seem to have forgotten yours.”

  I glanced down to see another hunk of rowan wood in my hand. When I peered back up, he was gone. As if on cue Kadie screamed and her dad rushed in. Everyone stared at the broken window.

  Kadie’s parents called the front desk and we were moved into another room, no questions asked.

  The next day was nuts. Especially when Kadie waved Zac and Jeremy over. They seemed shocked to see her.

  Zac treaded water near the edge of the pool where we sat, soaking our feet.

  “I hope your dad didn’t bust your ass after last night,” he said.

  Kadie appeared confused. “No, he’s cool.”

  As if to reiterate the fact, her dad gave us a wave from the lounge chairs then went back to reading his crime novel.

  Oh great. Gareth had screwed with Kadie’s and her dad’s memories but not the guys’.

  “Damn, wish my parents were like that. If my dad would’ve caught us sneaking out like that, my car would’ve been gone.”

  Kadie slipped into the water next to him, splashing as she swam around him. “Why don’t you go get Jeremy? We can all hang out again.” She blew bubbles in the water.

  He grinned. “Sure, be right back.”

  “God, he’s hot. A little dumb, but who needs brains.” She smirked at me. “And speaking of hot, you want to fill me in on a certain blond-haired guy in your bed last night.”

  I groaned inwardly. Of course he’d leave that memory intact. My eyes scanned the indoor water park until coming to rest on Gareth. He stood at the edge of the wave pool, arms across his chest, with a smug look on his face. He gave me a wink and my face blazed.

  Piece of advice, never trust a guy who says he wants to protect you—because sooner or later it comes back to bite you in the ass.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Better than half of winter break was behind me and, until now, I’d managed to distance myself from Nevin and Colton. In the end though, here I was, sitting and waiting for Nevin to show.

  A sigh escaped my lips as I fingered the locket that dangled around my neck, one of the deciding factors in my decision to visit him. He’d left the small piece of jewelry on my back porch, probably his form of an apology, and I’d struggled to keep him out of my thoughts.

  I’d run up against a wall in my research and hoped he’d be able to give me a few more clues. Waterfall Lodge, and learning the tree woman could follow me no matter where I was, drove me to solve the curse before I wound up in the family graveyard with all the others.

  My gaze flickered to the trees, which swayed like Latin dancers beneath the strong gusts of wind. I tugged my hat down. Heavy flakes cascaded across the yard, the downy-looking piles drifting against the house.

  Everything was silent except the sound of my breathing. I kept checking over my shoulder. I don’t know what I expected to find, but there was only snow.

  I sat and waited, hoping he’d turn up. I wandered around filling up the feeders, knocking snow off the stairs, and staring off into space. After more than an hour, I knew he wasn’t coming. Could I blame him? I mean, I hadn’t been to visit him in over a week. I stopped in at odd hours in order to try and avoid him and so far I’d managed not to see him.

  My eyes drifted to the woods surrounding our property. I’d have to suck it up and find him. And there was only one place he might be. The ruins.

  “This is a really shitty idea,” I said, trying to force myself to walk forward. The stuff in Grandma’s office said as long as I stayed on our side of the fence and kept the gate shut, whatever was on the other side couldn’t get me. But now I knew better.

  I had to solve the mystery before it killed me. Today, tomorrow, in the woods, on a bus, it was going to find me.

  Right. I took a deep breath. If I wanted to see Nevin I’d have make myself find him. It was only a couple of trees and snow. Sure it was dumb-ass, and Jason from Friday the 13th was only a hockey player. But this was what breaking curses was all about. Wasn’t it?

  Before I talked myself out of it, I trudged into the gloom, heart clunking like a car with its muffler dragging on the ground.

  I could do this. One. Two. Three. I counted each step. If I focused on my steps everything would be okay.

  “She’s come back.”

  “But what is she doing in the woods?”

  “Should we tell Master?”

  “She’s heading to the estate.”

  I quit walking and searched the woods.

  “Hello? I can hear you, but I can’t see you.” I cupped my hands around my mouth. “You don’t have to be scared of me. I won’t hurt you.” But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t hurt me.

  So maybe calling to them wasn’t such a good idea. I thought I heard something scurrying away, knocking a chunk of snow from the treetops. Shielding my eyes with my hand, I glanced upward, but still didn’t find anything.

  In an effort not to get lost, I stuck close to the fence line, struggling to push my way through the mounds of deep snow, downed branches, and brambles. The farther away I ventured the more my thighs burned.

  The snow came down harder, almost blinding me, but I didn’t turn around. Instead, I bumped into the wrought iron spires of the fence. Movement on the other side caught my eye.

  Wiping the flakes from my eyelashes, I leaned closer to get a better look. Then I saw Colton, bent over a large rock structure.

  What was he doing? I wanted to shout to him, tell him he was in danger. She would get him. Then he glanced up, his eyes glowing eerily against the white backdrop. He raised his hand as if to examine it and I saw the dagger clutched in his fist, cutting his other palm. Blood dripped onto the stone. His face twisted in an evil smile.

  “I command you to show yourself. To give me what I’ve asked for. What you promised me,” he said.

  Oh God, what the hell was he doing? Spooked, I backed up, stepping on a dead branch that snapped under my weight. The
noise sounded as loud as a firecracker in the quiet. Colton shot to his feet and looked around.

  I spun away, racing through the maples, oaks, and pines. Branches snagged my clothes; limbs scratched at my face and grabbed my coat like an angry mob. Behind me, Colton called my name. But I didn’t stop.

  Panic overcame me as I scanned my surroundings. The trail and the fence had disappeared and I couldn’t see anything. The snow whirled about, creating a white out.

  The sky grew darker, each cloud taking a bit of daylight with it. Every tree looked the same. I was lost. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I started to sob.

  “Nevin! Please. I don’t know where I am.” I tripped over a stump. Too much white, the air too cold.

  The last remnants of light faded, pitching me into blackness. Like the shadows had opened their mouths and swallowed me up. I leaned against a tree while the air howled through the naked branches like monsters on the hunt.

  “Salome,” a familiar voice called. Oh God, he’d found me.

  “Nevin?” I croaked.

  Then he was there, clutching me to his chest. He carried a lantern, which illuminated his icy features.

  “You scared the hell out of me. What in the world are you doing out here this late?”

  “I needed to find you,” I said. “But then I saw Colton and he had a dagger—”

  “What?”

  I explained what I’d seen while he led me to a clearing. The gusts had increased and the raw air stung my skin.

  Nevin ripped off his jacket. “I have no way to keep you warm.” He seemed distraught.

  My teeth chattered. “M—maybe we can find shelter.”

  He draped his coat over my shoulders; flurries clung to his dark sweater like stars in the night sky.

  “Keep this on.”

  “You’ll freeze to death.”

  “If only it were that easy.” His mouth drew into a sneer. He sat the lantern on the ground near my feet.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just stay put while I go find someone to stay with you.”

  “But I need to go home.”

  “Not in this you won’t. You’ll get lost. That’s what she wants,” he said. “Please trust me. I’ll bring back someone who can keep you warm and get a fire going.”

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t want someone else to stay with me. I want you to be here for me.”

  For the first time, Nevin looked torn. “I—I’ll be right back. I promise.”

  He disappeared behind a knotted oak tree, leaving me alone in the clearing. The lantern dimmed against the blizzard’s fury.

  I gripped his coat tighter to my shoulders. Long minutes ticked by, my feet numbed. I did some one-armed jumping-jacks to keep the blood pumping.

  At last, Nevin reappeared, his arms loaded with furs.

  “Follow me.”

  With the lantern in hand, I trudged after him until we came to the ruins. I’d been so close to them and didn’t even realize it. We found a corner with the roof intact out of the wind.

  “Where did you get all this?”

  He spread a bed-sized white fur on the floor. “An old trunk.” He shifted his gaze away. “Take your boots off and lay down.”

  Sitting on the edge of the fur, I fought to tug them from my feet. Once I had the boots off, Nevin covered me with several furs, tucking me in like he’d woven a cocoon.

  Slowly, my body warmed. “Where did you find a trunk out here?”

  “Let’s just worry about keeping you safe, okay?” Nevin sprawled beside me without a coat or blankets.

  “You never answer any of my questions. That’s why I came looking for you. How can I help you if you won’t tell me anything?” I propped myself on my elbow to see him better.

  “Because I can’t tell you.”

  I sighed, offering him some of the blankets, but he shook his head no. I slipped off my mittens. “What are you?”

  “Your curse,” he said bitterly. He turned to face me. His fingers entwined with mine, thumb tracing my palm like it was a precious artifact.

  “Nevin, don’t say that.”

  “It’s true. If it wasn’t for me you’d be safe.”

  I inched closer, hovering over him. An overwhelming ache encompassed me. I wanted to make everything okay. As if sensing my intentions, Nevin cupped my head, easing it down to his chest and far away from his lips.

  “Thank you for rescuing me.” I listened to his heartbeat.

  He snorted. “Some rescue. You’re stuck outside in a blizzard, no fire, no heat—just me.”

  “Maybe that’s enough.”

  “Get some sleep,” he said in a hushed voice. He stroked my hair and pulled the fur over my shoulders.

  “He saved her.”

  “She has to be the one.”

  “And she likes him. Did you see how she looked at him?”

  “Go to sleep my friends. You can debate over Salome in the morning. She needs her rest,” a more familiar voice said.

  And the woodland fell silent.

  The next morning Nevin and I left the ruins behind, walking toward my grandma’s.

  “You’re certain you saw Colton last night?” He cast me a sideways glance.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t understand what he was doing out there.”

  “That makes two of us.” He caught my hand in his as we came to Grandma’s deck.

  Nevin traced my lips with his thumb, his free arm pressing me against him. “I will never harm you.” He released me. “Time passes quickly for some and for others it feels like an eternity. Remember that.” He sauntered off leaving me with yet another riddle.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  “So, do you want to tell me what you were doing in the woods by my house last weekend?” I cornered Colton when I saw him at school two days later.

  He gave me a bewildered look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t you?”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I was at a basketball tournament all weekend. You can ask anyone on my team.”

  Embarrassed, I glanced away. Okay, so what exactly was I accusing him of? “I know what I saw.”

  “Or what you think you saw.” He shut his locker. Did I dare believe him? He and I hadn’t exactly been on speaking terms lately. However, I reminded myself how easy it’d been for the creature to make me think my mom had been in the woods. It’d be just as easy for her to pretend to be Colton. Unless, of course, he lied to me and was the one in the woods.

  Colton glared at something behind me, and I turned to see Gareth sauntering down the hall. “Next time, tell Gareth he can do his dirty work himself, he doesn’t have to send you to try and get information from me.”

  “What? This has nothing to do with him.”

  “For some reason, I don’t buy that. Later.” He pushed by me, his shoulder nudging mine.

  “Everything okay?” Gareth joined me.

  “Yeah. So he claims it wasn’t him I saw in the woods kneeling in front of some rock.”

  Gareth grabbed my books from me while I shoved my bag into my locker. “I don’t trust him. He’s been acting stranger since winter began. I think it’s best if you stay as far away from him as possible. And make sure you keep that bracelet on.”

  The month following Christmas flew by in a predictable routine. Since Kadie had gotten a new car, my days consisted of riding with her to and from school. Lunch was dominated by Gareth. After school, I was off to Grandma’s for chores and Nevin. A few times, I’d thought about asking Gareth to join me, but something about having Gareth and Nevin together didn’t feel right.

  It was a comfortable routine—except I knew nothing more about the curse. Somehow, it tied Nevin, the creature in the woods, and possibly Colton and Gareth, to me.

  I had begun to spend all of my free time in the hidden room at Grandma’s. I determined rowan wood kept people safe from malevolent spirits, although it only protected against a magical attack, not a physical attack.
In hindsight, I probably would’ve kept it on me more if Grandma had just told me its use. Now I made sure I always had a piece with me, along with wearing Gareth’s bracelet. I also learned that certain creatures, like faeries and such, didn’t like iron. I tucked these tidbits in the back of my mind. On top of that, I had found many fantastical stories in the room. I read all about faerie magic and curses. I was beginning to formulate a plan to break the curse, nothing concrete, but a plan was better than nothing.

  One disappointing part of my life was my mom. I never saw her anymore. With Dad gone, she’d been forced to get a full-time job. She needed the hours in order to cover the bills, which meant she was gone more often than she was home. It wasn’t like she had a choice, but I missed seeing her. And Dad, I hadn’t heard from him since that horrible night he’d thrown me outside. No calls. No letters. Nothing. It was like he’d disappeared off the face of the earth.

  “So Valentine’s Day is coming up,” Kadie chimed as we made our way to first period with Gareth.

  “Oh yes, the holiday of love.” I snorted.

  She laughed. “Don’t be so cynical. You have to go to Snowcoming. Gareth, tell her she should go and have fun.”

  “How about you let Salome decide. Besides, high school dances are lame.” He winked at me.

  Oh great, he was baiting her. “Why don’t we talk about something else,” I interrupted.

  “What do you mean they’re lame? Have you actually ever been to one?”

  He ran a hand through his blond hair. “No.”

  “Well then maybe you should take Salome so she has a date. We could double.” She glanced between us. “You guys hang out all the time now, anyway.”

  He shot me a quick look.

  My heart thundered like a bass drum.

  “Actually, I’m gonna be busy,” he said at last.

  “Yeah, me, too.” I ignored the disappointment. Had I really wanted him to ask me?