by Sonja Bair
I pointed the way for him and we started walking at a brisk clip. David scanned the surroundings constantly, and I did as well. Pausing, he stopped and looked straight at me. “You were rubbing the back of your head. Does it hurt?”
I didn’t even realize that my hand was resting on the back of my head until he said something. I dropped my hand. There was a faint buzz in my skull, but the adrenaline rush had prevented me from realizing it before.
“Yes,” I said. “But I’m not getting any weird instructions. What does that mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” David said. “Be aware of it and let me know if you do feel something strange.”
I didn’t like knowing that some else could be in charge of my brain. I now had a lot more respect and fear of the gift of giving false memories. I only used it under extreme circumstances, but I still needed to be very careful with my powers. They were scary.
I stopped and pointed out a boulder. The last time we’d been here, Robert was hidden behind it. Sure enough, just as I pointed, a large gray wolf steeped out. The hair on the nape of its neck was bristled out and its lips were pulled back, showing a very large set of teeth, visible even at this distance. David stopped and stared at the werewolf I recognized as Robert. After a few heartbeats, Robert dragged his eyes away from David and looked at me. I took a step closer to David. A woman I assumed to be Maria stepped to Robert’s side. She was about average height and probably in her late thirties. She had curves in all the right places and strangely was wearing only a wrap skirt, a thin halter top, and was barefoot. She looked me up and down dismissively and then turned her attention to David.
“David. The pack has missed has missed you. Why have you stayed away from us?” she asked, honey dripping from her voice.
“Please, Maria. Let’s do away with the theatrics. Where is Elin?” he asked.
“Elin?” Maria asked. “Why would you care about her? She’s not a werewolf. She’s not even a supernatural. Such creatures are below our notice.” She took a slight step forward. Robert matched her.
David placed a restraining hand on me. I was quivering in anger but I allowed David’s hand to stay in place. I yelled out to the werewolves, “She’s worth ten of you put together. You are cowards hiding behind an innocent. Let her go. We’re here.”
Maria laughed in a high, pinched tone at my bravado. “She was a pretty thing, but I don’t think she’s worth much anymore.” She pointed to a heap of bloody rags lying in the dirt. It took a second before I realize the pile of rags was Elin’s favorite sundress. I went crazy. All the talk about letting David and Alrik do the fighting flew out of my brain. I tore David’s restraining hand off my chest and launched myself at Maria, releasing my wings at the same time. But no wings came out. I stumbled forward, my balance thrown off since I usually lean forward to compensate for the added leverage. I saw Robert race by, ignoring me and going after David.
I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could to get my wings out. But rather than wings, I felt a strange bristling sensation run down my shoulders and onto my arms. There were white patches of fur popping up on my skin. I looked in horror at my hands as they bent uncontrollably, and I heard bones cracking as my fingers twisted into unnatural, paw-like positions. I screamed for David, but no sound came out of my mouth. There was the sound of fighting behind me, and I could see splatters of blood and fur all around.
The grey and black wolves were locked in tight. I couldn’t see if either had the advantage. I tried to stand up, but my legs buckled under me. My joints had moved to different places in my legs, and they no longer worked right. My feet started to bend like my hands, and soon bones started to crack there as well. The pain was choking me. I felt it roll up my arms and legs into my chest and squeeze down. I fell onto my back, gasping for air.
Maria’s face hovered over me. “How horrible,” she said, smiling. “You should have stuck with being a little bird and not try to be a big bad wolf. Plus, it looks like the transformation isn’t going well.” She sneered down at me. “I think you are going to get trapped halfway between wolf and human.”
I heard a loud crack and sharp pain screeched through me, igniting fireworks in my brain.
“That was your leg breaking, by the way,” Maria said in a conversational one. “I usually don’t like the sight of blood, but it’s somewhat rewarding to see your bone stick out like that. I really don’t think you are going to survive the transition to werewolf, but there should be a lot of pain in the meantime. I’m glad, because we lost a lot of face when you joined with David. He was well on his way to death until you came around. The pack back home seemed actually happy that he was alive. Fools. They should have known Robert and I would always win. But we made them pay for...” Her voice became smaller and more distant. The light around me narrowed down to a point.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Maria slapped me across the face. “I’m not letting you go unconscious. I want to tell you all about how Elin died and how David is dying. It would be a shame to let such information go to waste.”
The mention of Elin’s name brought me back from the edge of unconsciousness. Anger pushed back the pain for a moment. Maria sat down next to me and continued talking like nothing was wrong. “In fact, I think Robert is finishing him off right now. Ripping out the throat is always Robert’s favorite move. I bet he’ll do that.” There was a pause and Maria turned away from me, watching the fight. In a moment, she shrieked in happiness. “I told you so! It’s always the throat. It’s very dramatic that way. But I think I might not get to tell you all about Elin’s death because you are fading on me. It’s a shame; I didn’t think you were going to die this fast. But I guess little birds are fragile. Good-bye, Freya. Death certainly was sudden and painful for you.”
My eyesight narrowed around me again until there was only blackness. I heard another sharp crack, probably my other leg or maybe an arm, but it didn’t matter. The blanket of death was coming to take me, and I welcomed it.
But the darkness wouldn’t come closer. It hovered a few feet away. I tried to reach for it, but no part of my body would move. The black was fading at the edges, turning a deep purple, which then lightened to royal blue. I wanted to cry. If the black went away, the pain would return, and I couldn’t handle it anymore. But the black kept retreating in on itself and the colors around the edge kept spreading.
The purples and blues started vibrating, and if I listened closely, I could hear the sound they were making. I concentrated. The noise seemed so familiar. It meant something to me. I leaned into the noise, basking in its tenderness. The black was now gone and I was surrounded by the colors of the rainbow. I wrapped the colors around me and smiled into them, and then, out of the blue understanding washed over me. The colors were love and the noise was my name. I opened my eyes.
Chapter 30
The beautiful blue eyes of my sister stared down at me, calling my name over and over.
“Am I dead? Are you dead?” I croaked out hoarsely. Elin shouted in joy and wrapped her arms around my prostrate body. I got a bunch of her hair in my mouth in the process and tried to work it out, but more kept falling in. In the end, I gave up and laughed through the hair. Other people’s hair in my mouth proved that I wasn’t in Heaven, and Elin was there, so it couldn’t be Hell. I tried to lift my arms to hug Elin back, but they were dead weights at my side. I had a moment of panic that my arms might truly have gotten stuck in some horrible transition stage between human and wolf, but a quick glance told me there were joints in all the right places. No wolf fur, either. Good. One problem solved. Next problem: What in the world did happen?
Elin let me go after a couple minutes, and other hands gently lifted me up to a sitting position. I leaned back against a strong chest. It was Alrik. So three of us were okay, but where was David? Elin must have read the concerned look on my face because she answered my unspoken question.
“All of us are okay. Alrik and David killed Robert, but Maria was a little trickie
r.” Elin tucked some hair behind my ear. It had escaped my ponytail. I looked up at her; even moving my head took enormous amounts of energy.
“David is standing right over there with her.” She pointed and I moved my eyes in the direction of her outstretched arm. David was standing behind Maria. He had her arm trapped behind her back and a forearm around her neck. She was gagged with what I recognized as Elin’s sweater. They were both staring at me, one with concern, the other with hatred.
“Everyone wanted to kill her, too,” Elin said, her eyes blazing in anger. “But we didn’t know what that would do to you.” I crumpled my forehead in confusion.
Alrik’s chest rumbled against my back as he spoke. “Let’s get out of here right now and explain things later. David, can you restrain Maria if we drive back to your house?”
“I have tow cables in my car,” I spoke up. Driving a collector’s car meant I had to always be ready for anything.
“Tow cables would work best,” David replied. Alrik motioned Elin to take his place as my chair back and he headed to the car.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” I asked Elin.
She gave me a squeeze. “No, they scared me, but they didn’t hurt me. I was so worried for you the whole time. Especially after what happened in Florida.”
I shrugged—I’m hard to get rid of. Alrik was back in short order with the tow rope and David’s clothes. Elin whispered in my ear, “Don’t tell Drew I said this, but David is one big hottie. For being so tall and thin, I wouldn’t think he would have muscles. But he does. Oh yeah, he does. And he had to get naked to turn into a wolf and, let me tell you, he’s got the full…” From across the forest, David cleared his throat. Loudly. He must have had a wolf’s good hearing. Elin snickered, not embarrassed at all at being caught talking about his full… whatever.
“Don’t worry, David, I bet you aren’t half the cowboy Drew is in bed,” she called back to him.
It was my turn to snicker. Elin can get away with saying anything.
Alrik and David finished tying Maria up. She hissed at them in a surprisingly cat-like way for being a werewolf, and struggled to get free. At one point, she even tried to lunge and bite Alrik through the gag, but David held her tight. When she was firmly secured, David let go, turned around, and donned his clothes. I didn’t get a view of the full... whatever... but I got a second look at his derrière, and it was as good as in my memory.
Alrik walked back to Elin and me and knelt down. “Can you get up?” he asked me softly.
“Of course,” I said. My legs moved a few inches and then stopped. I looked at my uncooperative appendages in puzzlement. I tried to lift my arms, but the same thing happened. “I guess I can’t. Do you know why?” I asked both Elin and Alrik.
Alrik answered. “I think it has something to do with the mind control Maria used on you. It seems to be wearing off a little, but I’ll carry you to the car.” Alrik scooped me into his arms and lifted me as if I were a small child. I was impressed but a little embarrassed at my helplessness.
“What about him?” Elin asked, scornfully looking over her shoulder.
I tried to look at what Elin was referring to, but Alrik’s shoulder was in the way. “She’s talking about Robert, and it’s not pretty. You don’t want to see it,” he said.
“I’ll call Pedro and Philip and put them on clean-up duty,” David said. “ We’ll figure out what to do with the remains later.” He pushed Maria forward to get her walking. She stumbled a bit, but David made no effort to right her. Her eyes shot daggers at him. He shrugged.
“Sucks to be pushed around, doesn’t it, Maria?” he asked in a flat voice.
***
When I think back on the few hours after the confrontation with Robert and Maria, my overwhelming emotion is satisfaction in the goodness of humankind. At the time, however, it was a mix of anger, confusion, and begrudging mercy.
We all drove back to David’s house and pulled in behind his house to prevent the neighbors from seeing the trussed-up Maria. She fought us all the way into the house but was easily overpowered. Although I could now take a few steps, my legs were still rubbery, so Elin helped me into the house. David closed the blinds and dumped Maria on the floor. The living room was the only spot that would be big enough to fit us all after Pedro and Philip returned from cleaning up what was left of Robert.
“Alright,” I said, “could someone now fill me in on the details of what happened in the woods, please?” I had held my tongue as long as I could, since we had more pressing details to take care of, but now things were (relatively) under control.
“Why don’t you start with what you remember? It’s clear you were mentally far away for most of the time,” David said.
I took a moment to remember what happened. I started to shake a little at the horrible images, but Elin put her arm around me. Her touch steadied me, and I began my story. I told of Robert and Maria appearing from behind the rock; of how Robert attacked David and I started the terrible process of turning into a werewolf. I spared them the gory details of the bones breaking and throat ripping. I finished the story with the darkness of death approaching to take me but then how it mysteriously turned into a rainbow of love which surrounded me.
There was a heavy silence after I finished. Then Elin kicked Maria. Maria yelped through the gag, and I couldn’t help but giggle. I don’t usually laugh at other people’s pain, but in a way, it was a reaction to all the stress of the moment.
Elin started to giggle, too. The giggling snowballed into laughing, the way it often did between us (though it usually happens in church). After a few seconds, Elin and I had to hold on to each other, we were laughing so hard. Tears were rolling out of both of our eyes. Alrik tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for us to finish. David shrugged and started to laugh as well. By the time both Elin and I could breathe normally, I felt so much better. I felt like myself for the first time in ages.
“Clearly I am not a werewolf nor dead. So something else must have happened in the real world. Please tell me,” I said.
David started the story from when I first rubbed the back of my head. Right after I did that, I collapsed. Robert took that as his sign to attack, and it took a David a good minute to break free from him and shape shift. David was bigger and stronger than Robert and started to win the fight as soon as he could get stable footing. While David was distracted with Robert, Maria had taken over my brain. She was hiding behind some trees watching Robert and David, with Elin bound and gagged with duct tape beside her. As close as David could figure, Maria had discovered that using the mental link I had with the werewolf pack, and she could twist my ability to plant false memories and use it hurt me.
Elin saw me go down and understood that something Maria was doing was hurting me. Besides being tall, beautiful, and brilliant, my sister is also double jointed. She was able to wiggle a hand free, bend it to an unnatural position, and grab a stick. She used it to sweep Maria’s feet from under her and then sat on her head. From years of tormenting younger, smaller siblings, she knew it was an effective way to distract and incapacitate someone. Alrik arrived on the scene about that time and helped Elin secure Maria. But even with Maria secured, I was still in trouble. My breathing had become very faint and my heartbeat was weak and getting weaker. Alrik... encouraged... Maria to stop whatever she was doing to me, but she only laughed at him. She told him that she had only started and enhanced my vision. My body had been convinced that it was real and was now shutting down all by itself.
Meanwhile, David killed Robert without much problem. Robert and Maria had seriously underestimated David’s strength and skill. He joined Alrik and Elin by my side, but I was fading fast. Elin pushed both of the men aside and took over. She said that she started to say my name over and over, pouring all her love into the word. My heartbeat grew stronger until I woke up.
After Elin finished, everyone looked at me expectantly, as if they imagined I was going to say something profound or wise after my nea
r-death experience. Nothing came to mind besides the obvious love and gratitude toward my amazing sister. So in cases where profound thoughts won’t come, I generally settle for the ridiculous.
“Umm... now that’s what I call a dead parrot?” I asked.
Elin and Alrik stared at me blankly. David busted out a huge laugh. I hugged Elin tight and whispered in her ear, “Thank you and I love you.”
We all turned when we heard the back door open.
“It’s Pedro and Philip,” David said.
“How was the movie?” I called out to them.
Pedro walked in to the living room and shook his head. “What was left of Robert is in the trunk of the car. I think we got all the pieces. So what do we do with her, boss?” He asked David with a nod toward Maria.
“Kill her,” Philip said instantly. I was surprised at his response. In my experience, Philip seemed so laid back.
“Whoa, whoa, let’s not make hasty decisions here,” I said with my hands poised between Maria and Philip.
“It’s not hasty,” said David. “This is the way of the werewolves. When an Alpha dies in violence, the mate dies, too, by the hand of the succeeding Alpha.”
“Plus, Maria has committed enough crimes to have warranted death three times over,” Pedro added.
“Okay, I understand that you are angry at her,” I said, using just a little bit of understatement. “And let’s not forget that she did almost kill me, so I’m a little annoyed at her as well. But death is a bit drastic. And permanent.”
“You are a very compassionate person, Freya, but this is werewolf tradition,” Pedro said. His condescension ticked me off.
“And according to your magic, it seems I’m werewolf enough to be David’s mate,” I said. I heard Alrik breathe an angry sigh.