The Tiny Curse (Werewolf High Book 2)

by Anita Oh

  I sighed. That line of thinking was pointless. Things were what they were.

  Eventually, Nikolai and Sam wandered in. Neither of them acknowledged Astor, just sat down at the table.

  "Calculus quiz tomorrow?" Sam asked quietly.

  Astor snorted. "Don't pretend like you guys don't buy your grades just on my account. Just do whatever you'd be doing if I weren't here. Chase your tails or whatever, sniff your butts."

  "Why are you even here?" asked Nikolai. "You can't lie around playing on your phone in your own house?"

  "Would that annoy you into handing over the girl? I don't think so."

  If it'd been me, I'd have gone to my room and left him there to his annoying self, but I supposed they didn't want him snooping around unsupervised.

  Eventually, he switched off his phone and got up to go to dinner.

  "Same time tomorrow then?" he said as he left. "Tell your sister hi from me. Hope her pretty face isn't too messed up from the acid bath I gave her. Even though she's half-dog I know I'd let her chew on my bone, if you get what I'm saying."

  The three of them lunged for him at once, but he was out the door.

  We needed to break this spell, get the footage from the pool and get this whole mess finished once and for all.

  Chapter 13

  If any of us had hoped that Astor would lose enthusiasm for his douchebag campaign, we were in for disappointment. Instead, he seemed to gather momentum with every frustrated sigh, roll of the eyes, clenched fist. It was like he fed off other people's annoyance. He spent more and more time at the house, and each visit was more invasive than the last.

  "We need to get that footage," I told the others. "If we can get the footage, he has no hold over us. He doesn't even know for sure that I'm here, for all he knows I've been living like a queen with the rats, so as long as you play dumb he's got nothing."

  Nikolai rolled his eyes. "And how do you propose we get the footage? We don't even know how many cameras he had or how he was filming it."

  "Our security team have a real time feed of all security footage through the school and intercept it to protect our privacy, then relay the safe footage back on a 30 second delay," Tennyson Wilde said. "If they have the original footage from the pool, we can see where he placed the cameras."

  "And you think he's going to just hand them over?"

  "We'll find them," Tennyson Wilde said. Rather than his usual confidence, he sounded distracted. Althea was still away sick.

  The days seemed to pass too quickly. I had missed a lot of classes, I was starting to fall behind and even the casual teachers were noticing my absence. If I didn't get biggened soon, I'd lose my scholarship. Well, according to Astor, if I didn't get biggened soon, I'd get so tiny I vanished forever, but losing my scholarship seemed a more real-world sort of awful.

  As the full moon approached, Astor's evil glee only seemed to grow.

  "He's planning something," I told the others. "We need to stop him before the full moon. Nothing that makes Astor smile like that can be a good thing."

  Nobody disagreed.

  "I thought you guys were supposed to be super powerful badasses. I thought you could just make people disappear. Why don't you make Astor disappear, just rub him out? It's okay, I won't judge."

  "We're not in the habit of casually murdering people," said Tennyson Wilde.

  He sounded all offended but I'd heard the stories.

  "Who says it needs to be casual," I said. "Look, I'd do it myself but I'm only two inches tall and shrinking, and plus you have a whole army of hired goons."

  "We're not in the habit of asking other people to murder on our behalf either," Tennyson Wilde told me. "Is this how commoner's deal with their problems? If you go around murdering each other all the time, why are there so many of you?"

  "He shrunk me to the size of a teacup," I said. "I'm allowed to want him dead. Don't invalidate my feelings."

  "You are a strange tiny person," he said, but I could tell he was worried about the full moon too.

  Nobody was more obviously freaking out than Sam. Astor obviously had a problem with him. It had been Sam who had attacked him, after all, and Astor never missed an opportunity to annoy Sam. You'd think even someone as stupid as Astor would know better than to pick a fight with a volatile werewolf, but he seemed to be hoping for it. The closer the full moon got, the more Astor tried to irritate Sam. Sam tried his best to ignore it but it was easy to tell he was losing his control. The night before the full moon, Astor didn't leave the house at all. Tennyson told the others to go sleep but he stayed up to keep an eye on Astor. Even with Tennyson keeping watch, every time he dropped his guard, Astor would sneak away and do something to wake Sam up — set off an alarm, smash some glasses against the wall of Sam's room, and every time, all Astor did was laugh. Oh man I wished I was big enough to smack him upside the head. Even if it didn't knock some sense into him, it would be very satisfying.

  The last time he did it, Tennyson had nodded off over a pile of books and Astor pulled the fire alarm, sending sprays of water down all over us. From far away, I could hear the angry roars of Sam and Nikolai as they were woken up, but Tennyson was cold as steel as he stood up from the table. Astor was still laughing as Tennyson grabbed him but stopped when Tennyson slammed him hard up against the wall.

  "I have been more than patient with you," Tennyson said. "And I have been more than generous with our resources and facilities. It is time for you to stop."

  Astor was turning red in the face but that didn't stop his smug smile. "Give me what I want and I'll leave you alone," he wheezed.

  "You want the girl?" Tennyson asked, tightening his grip on Astor's neck. "Do you really think if I knew where she was, I would protect her and risk exposing my entire werewolf pack? Do you imagine for one second that some random commoner means more to me than my family and my heritage?"

  "What are you saying?" Astor gasped. I was fairly sure that Tennyson was close to crushing his windpipe.

  "I'm saying we don't have the girl."

  "If I leave you alone, will you help me find her?"

  "If we help you find her, will you hand over the footage at the swimming pool?" Tennyson squeezed Astor's neck so hard it looked like his whole head would just pop off.

  "Yes, okay! Fine, just let go of me, you big freak."

  "Swear to it."

  "Yes, I swear. Come on, let go!"

  Tennyson nodded and stepped back, dropping his grip on Astor. I made sure I was well hidden under the books. There was no way I was going to let him just hand me over to the enemy, no matter how good the deal was. And to be honest, the deal wasn't even that good. Especially not for me.

  "I will contact you when I know where she is," Tennyson Wilde said. "I do not want to see or hear from you until then. Get out."

  Astor ran out, clutching at his neck and gasping for breath. What a crybaby, Tennyson Wilde wasn't even that scary.

  "That should keep him out of the way for a few days at least," Tennyson said, sitting back down at the table. "You can come out; I have no intention of trading in our one bargaining chip so early in the game."

  I poked my head up from behind a book. "You're going to break your word?"

  "I never gave him my word and I do not trust his. I did, however, take the opportunity to slip a small recording device into his pocket."

  I was a little bit impressed with his smooth moves but no way was I telling him that. I curled up on the table and went to sleep.

  Apparently werewolves got a day off school for the full moon. I was fairly sure that wasn't approved by the school board but then, I was also sure the Golden could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Going to class was more like a hobby for them than a requirement.

  Since Althea had been away, the mood around the Golden house hadn't exactly been full of chuckles, but the day of the full moon came and it was 100% serious business.

  "We've created a safe environment for you while we're out tonight," Sam
told me.

  He looked bad, pale and like he hadn't slept in around ten years. He was twitchy and wouldn't meet my eyes and I got the impression he was one false move away from losing control. That was why I felt as if I couldn't say anything when he showed me the "safe environment". It wasn't so much the creepy doll house that bothered me, but the fact that the creepy dolls still lived in it. I just knew that as soon as the lights went out, those dolls would start moving around and boy would they be mad that a tiny human had encroached on their territory. I had no idea what was supposed to be "safe" about it, though I had to admit that the bed looked comfy. I really, really wanted to ask if the creepy doll house belonged to Tennyson, but the mood was way too somber, and without Althea there, I doubted they'd tell me if it was his.

  "Okay," I said, because seriously. What else could I say? I didn't want to make a fuss and cause any more bother, but Astor knew the house would be vulnerable during the full moon and he suspected they were harboring me. Astor was stupid but surely he could put "tiny person" and "tiny creepy house" together and come to the logical conclusion.

  "You don't like it," said Tennyson Wilde.

  "I like it fine," I told him. Just because I was spending time in the werewolf house didn't mean he could start using his werewolf juju on me and sensing my feelings or whatever. That was the last thing I needed.

  "It's not just the house," Sam explained. "Look."

  He pointed to a little trail around the house and then pressed a button. Water started trickling out from somewhere, forming a little moat around the house.

  "Magic can't cross running water," Tennyson Wilde explained.

  "That's really awesome," I said. And it was. But magic wasn't the only thing you had to worry about when you were teensy. "But you know what can cross running water? Astor."

  "I told you," Nikolai said from his spot in the chair, not looking up as he scrolled through his phone. "She's ungrateful and she thinks we're stupid."

  "I am grateful!" I said. "This is the best house with a magic-resistant moat that anyone ever gave me. But if Astor finds it, he'll know I was here all along and what do you think the first thing he'll do will be? He'll release the footage from the pool. This isn't just about me, so you can stop acting like I'm the bad guy here."

  "I don't think you're the bad guy," said Nikolai. "I think you're the incredible shrinking girl."

  "This is all irrelevant," Tennyson said, raising his voice to silence Nikolai. "We have, naturally, thought of every precaution. If you look on that table to your left, you will find a panic button. If you press that — don't press it now! An iron cage will drop around you and protect you from any intruder. Magic cannot pass through iron and a magic user cannot touch it. Keep in mind that it is very difficult, expensive and time-consuming to then remove the cage and as you are currently under a spell, you will not be able to touch the iron or pass through it until the cage is lifted, so do not drop it unless you feel it is absolutely essential that you do so."

  "Right," I said. I hoped there was a miniature bathroom in the creepy dollhouse, if I was going to be stuck in there for hours. Going to the bathroom wasn't a fun experience when you were small even if you weren't locked up inside a cage.

  "Maybe one of you should stay here with her," Sam said to Tennyson and Nikolai. "It might not be so bad this month."

  Tennyson and Nikolai shared a heavy look. I remembered Tennyson telling me that most wolves have more control during the full moon, that the moon is their source of power, but Sam wasn't like that. Tennyson and Nikolai were fine with the full moon, it was a jolly lark for them, but whatever had happened to Sam made him different, and the full moon was the most difficult time for him. It wouldn't be fair for me to take away one of the two people who could bring him some comfort just because I was a bit freaked out.

  "It's fine," I said. "I have a whole house to explore, I won't even notice you guys are gone." I gave Sam my most reassuring smile. "You go and have fun. Howl at the moon or whatever you do. Don't eat anyone's face off. Unless you run into Astor, then munch away!"

  They left me alone to go do their wolfy stuff, but as soon as they were gone, I began to worry. What if Sam did eat somebody's face off? He'd never forgive himself. I knew that Tennyson and the others had been looking after Sam all this time, but being around me seemed to bring out the more vicious aspects of Sam's wolf side and he'd been around me a lot lately. I supposed there was nothing I could do about it, I had to trust in the others to keep Sam safe. I wandered through the house, amazed at the level of detail that had gone into making it. Everything looked so real. Somebody must've had nimble fingers to carve the bannisters on the staircase so finely and paint the flowers on those tiny little plates. The books on the bookshelves weren't real, which was disappointing but to be expected, I supposed. The armchairs in the study sure were comfortable though. I sat down in one for a rest. The house was massive, I'd hardly explored half of it and I was ready for a nap. Being small really burned through the energy, I definitely had motivation proportionate to my size.

  I hadn't intended to nod off completely but I woke with a start at the sound of a door closing. Not a tiny door, a regular door. I wasn't sure of the time but I definitely hadn't been asleep very long, so I doubted it was the others back from their werewolf shenanigans. I supposed it could be one of Tennyson Wilde's staff, but they were usually super quiet and Tennyson was careful about his privacy, I doubted any of them would be in the house without him around. That left one person.

  Astor.

  I jumped up and rushed around, trying to find somewhere to hide. Everything was stuck down, fastened to the walls and immovable. The sound of footsteps got closer and closer. I had to press the panic button but it was back in the entrance way, near the front door. I ran from the study and down the long corridor, trying to remember the way back. Oh man, I was so stupid, I should've stayed close by in case this kind of thing happened. I should never have dropped my guard.

  I couldn't hear anything over the pounding of my heart as I ran, had no idea how close Astor had gotten to finding me. Finally, I came to the main staircase and thundered down it, my eyes never leaving the panic button. I only had to make it that far. My feet skidded on the floor as I hit the entrance way running. I could hear the rattle of the doorknob outside the room. I was almost there, so close. The door swung open and I reached out, stretched my arm out and hit the button.

  I sunk to the ground, exhausted, but for a moment nothing happened. No protective cage fell around me.

  In the doorway a figure appeared.

  But it wasn't Astor.

  Chapter 14

  The figure slinked into the room. It wore a long, dark robe, face covered by a hood like it had read the Evil Villain 101 handbook and dressed accordingly. Astor wouldn't bother disguising himself, which meant that this could only be one person. The person behind everything. The spellcaster. I ducked behind a tall vase of flowers and watched it through the petals.

  The entire building let out a groan and for a moment I thought it was magic, that the spellcaster was bringing the whole place down around our ears, but finally, the iron cage dropped. The spellcaster jumped back to avoid getting split in two. Lucky for me — if they'd jumped the other way, they'd have been locked in there with me and I'd have been royally screwed.

  Still, even locked safely inside the iron cage, it was disconcerting. The room was too dark to see anything clearly so the spellcaster kept fading in and out of the shadows, a darker spot in the darkness. It paced backwards and forwards around the cage, then reached out to touch the bars. There was a hissing noise and the smell of burning flesh, which was kind of disgusting but also smelled a bit like bacon, which was more disgusting in a different way.

  I was torn between whether or not I should stay hidden or try to talk to the spellcaster. Tennyson Wilde had said I'd be safe in the iron cage but I had no proof of that, so I was reluctant to reveal myself, but at the same time, this was the best chance we'd had at getti
ng information. If only I didn't have that deep and abiding fear of ventriloquism and had learned how to throw my voice.

  "I am not here for you, Lucy O'Connor," the spellcaster said. They'd obviously done something to disguise their voice because it came out all distorted and wobbly, so I had no hope of identifying them. "You do not need to fear me."

  I couldn't let that stand.

  "Oh really," I said, not moving from my spot and hoping that my size and the darkness made me hard to spot. "If that's the case why did you shrink me."

  "There is a greater plan at work. You are but one small part of it."

  I snorted. "Size jokes are not funny."

  "We are on the same side," the spellcaster said. "Your kind and mine are natural allies. We should be working together."

  I didn't know what they meant about "my kind". Small people? People from the Red House? Scholarship kids? Who even knows, when someone goes around casting spells to hurt people, it probably isn't a good idea to look too deeply into their words for sense.

  "Yeah, great idea," I said. "How about you put me back to normal size and we'll talk about that."

  "Even if I could, the iron bars prevent it."

  "What do you mean, even if you could?"

  "The one who cast the spell must lift it. I only provided the source of power for this spell, I did not cast it."

  "So, tell Astor to lift it. He obviously takes his orders from you."

  "I give no orders, only opportunities."

  I sighed. "Look, spare me the cryptic evil villain BS. If you can't break the spell and you're not here to attack me then just go away and leave me alone." I probably should've questioned them more, got as much information on them as I could so we could work out who they were, but I was tired and annoyed.