The Keeper Saga: Wynter's War, Charmed, and The One (The Boxed Set Book 2)

by K. R. Thompson

  In an effort to diffuse the situation, Nikki placed her hand on Brian’s arm and smiled up at him. “I know you don’t mind, but you’re already stuck playing chauffeur to me twice a day now. Besides, if I’m home, I can keep an eye on Emily in case Mom needs to go out.”

  I grinned. “Okay, it’s settled. I’ll come to your house.”

  “I live right past Brian.”

  “Don’t worry, I know where you live,” I said over my shoulder as I walked away. I’ve found you before, I added silently. I think I could find you anywhere.

  I made my way out to the parking lot and met up with three of my pack in front of the Jeep.

  “You’re late,” Ed said, raising one eyebrow in an unspoken question. “You’re U-la-gu. You’re never late when it comes to heading back to the Res for Heritage Studies.”

  “I had things to take care of,” I replied, getting into the Jeep. Things that I don’t want to discuss yet.

  “Okay,” he replied, “Erik has already left to drop Penny off, then he’ll meet us there.”

  Being tribe, our group always left to go back to the Res a few days each week at noon. It was labeled as “Heritage Studies” and meant to keep our traditions alive as we learned and studied about the old ways, and most of the kids did exactly that, but for those of us with Keeper blood passing through our veins from one generation to the next, our studies were quite a bit different from everyone else’s.

  These were the afternoons that we didn’t only learn about our history and how to control the wolves inside of us—but the five of us also kept an eye on the forest surrounding Bland. We were the Keepers of the woods and protectors of all beings within it, which sometimes got us into sticky situations as the Appalachian Trail ran right through the middle of the county. Magical creatures typically didn’t give us any problems; it was the ones without magic who always seemed to get lost in our forest.

  “Your grandpa is going to be grouchy if we are late,” Michael piped up from his place behind me. “I hate it when Evan gets after us.”

  “Yeah. Step on the gas, dude,” Tommy said.

  I gave them both a hard look through the rearview mirror, but still did as they asked and hurried home. They were right. I would be the reason if we ended up being late and my grandpa, Evan Black Water, was a force to be reckoned with. As the chief of our tribe and eldest of all of the former Keepers, it was his duty to teach us the ways of the wolf. Since my dad was the sheriff, he wasn’t around all the time when I was growing up, so Grandpa was always the one who showed me the importance of being the leader of my pack and all the responsibility that it entailed.

  And sure enough, he was waiting on his back porch when we pulled up. He looked down at the watch on his arm. I glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. We’d made it on time, but only barely.

  “Your father called,” he announced the instant we got out of the vehicle. “They have a report of another missing hiker. He wants you all to go and search for her. No lessons today.”

  He walked down the steps and handed me a piece of paper. Dad had faxed over the description of the missing girl. I looked at the photograph in the corner to get an idea of who we were meant to find, then passed the paper to the others. Each of them studied the fax intently. It wasn’t every day we were given a visual for who we were to find. Sometimes we were only told the barest of details, whether they were male or female, age, hair color, and where they had been seen last.

  “Megan Dougherty, twenty-two. Her parents say she had just had a spat with an ex-boyfriend before taking to the trail, so they thought he might be involved in her disappearance somehow,” my grandpa said. From the tone of his voice, I knew he was reciting his telephone call that he’d had with my father. “But she was last seen walking back toward Kimberling, so it’s doubtful the boyfriend came all this way to cause trouble. She’d already made it into town to restock supplies and was heading back to the trail before she disappeared.”

  “How long since she made contact with her parents?” I asked.

  “Four days.”

  I winced. In four days, she should have made it to her next checkpoint and even farther. Most hikers carried cell phones with them to check in with their loved ones, but the magic in Bland was so thick, there was no signal. Those travelling alone typically hunted out a telephone in one of the neighboring counties as they passed through to assure their family they were okay.

  For some reason, Meghan Dougherty hadn’t.

  “Okay, let’s roll,” I told my pack as I handed the paper back to my grandpa. “We’ll start near the road at Kimberling and work our way up the trail from there.”

  My grandpa nodded, and then his eyes narrowed. He gestured to Erik. “This one tells me you have to study this evening or else you may not pass your class at school.”

  I looked over at Erik, who gave me a sheepish shrug. “Yes, sir,” I answered.

  “Do your searches, but make certain you do not miss your schoolwork,” he ordered. Then, without waiting for me to reply, he walked back up the steps and into the house, the screen door slapping shut behind him.

  Erik didn’t stay embarrassed for long. The need to joke was too strong. “Your date has been approved by the Chief of the Wighcomocos tribe,” he said solemnly, though his dark eyes were gleaming with laughter. “You are not to miss the date.”

  I punched him on the arm as I walked past. I wasn’t going to tell him that I intended to keep my study date, with or without any of their permissions. But right now, there was someone who needed us.

  The air filled with a glittering black mist as I shifted into my wolf. I sat on my haunches and waited for a second before I growled, low and threatening, letting Erik and the others know that I didn’t care for waiting on them.

  Within the next few seconds, four other wolves stood in front of me. Just as we were about to run into the forest, I saw a lanky teenage boy walk up the back steps to my grandpa’s door and knock. He shoved his hands into the back of his jeans and waited.

  Darren, the only one of my pack who had yet to receive his wolf, gave me a small wave as my grandpa answered the door. Hopefully soon, he would be running with us. While our pack was strong, it was always meant to be the Six. Until then, he was stuck learning the ways of the Keepers with my grandfather, while the rest of us searched for those who needed our help.

  He looked disappointed that he wasn’t coming with us, so I yipped and wagged my tail for just a second. He gave me a small smile, and then disappeared through the door.

  Poor kid, I thought, as I led my pack under the canopy of trees. His dad was the last of my father’s generation that still had his wolf, but it wasn’t strong. Reuben rarely ever ran with us and when he did, it always felt odd, as if he wasn’t really the one who should be there. Hopefully, the wolf will pass from Reuben to Darren soon. As much for our sake as Darren’s.

  Darren was the only kid in the entire reservation who was homeschooled. He looked forward to the time he spent with us during lessons, simply because none of us were there during the day.

  Hopefully soon. Erik had echoed my thought and written it in my head. As wolves, the Keepers were always tuned in to one another’s emotions and thoughts, but the way we spoke was in a series of pictures.

  Erik always preferred the straightforward way of sending his thoughts. He always sent images of television screens that would pop up with the words he wished to say.

  Realizing that my pack was now worried about the final member of our pack instead of the task at hand, I changed my thoughts and sent them a clear message of the picture of the girl, reminding them that we had to search.

  Yep, Erik’s television read in my head. ‘We don’t want to make you late for your date.

  We searched for hours, but didn’t find a trace of the missing girl. We combed one mountain, scouring every inch of the trail, before spreading out to the next.

  Erik stopped suddenly and brushed his nose against his forepaw, in the place where there would hav
e been a watch, had he been human.

  It was a clear message that it was time for me to head to Nikki’s house. I glanced up at the sky at the sun. He was right.

  We’ll keep searching, he offered.

  We’d made it to where the trail crossed the highway and just on the opposite side, I spotted police cruisers. Dad was standing at the edge of the road and his eyes locked onto me. I stepped forward and put my nose to the ground, giving him the sign that we hadn’t found anything, but we’d keep looking if he wanted us to. He shook his head just the slightest bit and turned to look to the east, telling me to head back home.

  I nodded and melted back into the shadows so as not to be seen by any of the other search parties and gave my pack their directions to head back. I followed them most of the way, then broke off and headed toward Nikki’s house.

  I found her standing outside, her hands on her hips, head cocked to one side as she looked up at the window that glistened in the evening sun. The air smelled like sawdust and sweat and the house that had looked so foreboding only a week earlier, was taking on a totally different look.

  I shifted back, walked quietly across the yard, and stood next to her. “It’s looking good,” I said, hooking my thumbs into my pockets.

  She whirled around and nearly knocked into me. “I didn’t hear you drive up!”

  “You wouldn’t have. I walked.”

  “You walked? Isn’t the reservation a couple of miles from here?” she asked.

  “It is,” I grinned.

  “Did you walk down the road or come through the forest?” This question was asked with narrowed eyes, as if she wished to know every detail of my arrival.

  “The forest, of course.” I nodded toward the path at the edge of the trees. I fought to keep from rolling my eyes. You didn’t think I was going to walk past Brian’s house, did you?

  She was staring really hard at me now, so I plastered a completely neutral look on my face and stared back at her.

  “Did you bring your book?”

  “No.”

  “That’s fine, we can use mine,” she said, turning to walk to the front of the house. “Let’s go inside and get started.”

  “All right.” I followed her in and up the stairs to a bedroom at the end of the hallway. Her room, I realized, as soon I stepped inside. Everything about this place told me it belonged to Nikki, from the air that smelled lightly of strawberry shampoo, to the pink-and-white sneakers sitting neatly on the floor near the doorway.

  My attention locked onto a chair facing the window. “You like watching the woods.” I hadn’t meant it as a question, and it didn’t come out that way.

  “Yes.”

  I gazed past the chair and saw the place where I had stood when I first saw her. I hadn’t realized that I was talking out loud, until it was too late. “I didn’t think I would like you when I saw you that first time.” I looked over at her.

  She seemed uncertain as what to say, so she walked over to the window and tried to tug it open. It came up a little bit, and then stuck, refusing to budge any further.

  “Here, let me help,” I offered. I put one arm on either side of her and gripped the window.

  It slid up and a cool breeze welcomed us. As if she hadn’t expected it, she took a step back and her back pushed solidly against my chest.

  I froze. Then, as if she had just realized where she was, she turned quickly and lost her balance. Without thinking, once again I reached out and steadied her before she fell.

  Her cheeks went pink and one small, blonde curl brushed against the side of her face. I turned loose of her waist and reached up to brush it back.

  “Okay, English,” she said quickly, ducking around me to grab up a huge book off her bed. She held it up in front of her as if that was going to be the only thing able to ward me off.

  “Okay, English,” I agreed with a smile.

  She hopped up on her bed and sat cross-legged, then pointed beside of her, indicating I should sit too. “I think we should start at the beginning,” she said.

  “That sounds like a good idea.”

  “Nouns,” she began. “What are they?”

  I shrugged. How should I know? I was here to learn, which meant I didn’t have a clue what any of this stuff was.

  “Nouns are the subject of a sentence,” she explained. “For example, if I were to say ‘the tree is green.’ Then tree would be the noun. Understand?”

  I nodded. Explained that way, it seemed simple enough. So she quizzed me on several different examples, making them gradually harder when I began getting them right. At the last one, her eyes took on a faraway look, and she didn’t answer me.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “Well, what?”

  “Well, did I answer it correctly?” I asked.

  “Umm…” She looked back down at the book, searching for the question she had given me. When she found it, she nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s right.”

  While she kept looking at the book, I reached up and pulled the small, fluffy band that held her hair back. Blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders and down her back in ringlets.

  “You are beautiful,” I whispered. Then I smiled at her. “’You’ would be the noun.”

  “Um, yes. I mean no,” she stammered, her cheeks going pink again. “That’s a pronoun.”

  The air began swirling around us, warm, crackling.

  Then I heard the crunch of gravel and she sprang up from the bed to look out a different window. “That’s my mom and my sister. Let’s go downstairs and take a break.”

  I nodded and followed her downstairs.

  “Hi Nikki.” The same woman I saw on that first day was in the kitchen, putting something into the refrigerator. “I didn’t think you’d be home yet. Didn’t you have a study date?” When she looked up and saw me, she stopped and smiled. “Hello.”

  “Mom, this is Adam,” Nikki said, introducing me.

  “It’s nice to meet you Adam,” her mother replied. “I’m sorry the house is such a mess. I thought Nikki was going over to study at your house, or I would have cleaned up around here.”

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Harmon. We thought it would be easier if I came here instead, so Brian wouldn’t have to wait and Nikki wouldn’t be rushed,” I explained.

  A little girl came running around the corner, seemingly from out of nowhere. She had the same spiraling curls as Nikki, but hers were solid black. She stopped an inch from me, swaying up on her toes in an effort to stop in time before running into me. Her dark eyes widened as she stared up at me. I felt as if I was some strange, mythical creature, when she said in an awe-filled voice, “You’re a real Indian.”

  I couldn’t help the grin that came next. “Yes, I am.”

  “Wow,” the little girl was so excited that she was bobbing up and down on her tiptoes. “Did you come from the woods? You know, Nikki thought she saw someone outside the window that first day we came here.”

  I froze for a second. Exactly what all had they seen? I had managed to shift back before stepping out of the shadows…hadn’t I? I shook that thought out of my head and smiled at her. “Yes, I came from the woods. You’ll have to come and visit us sometime. I hear that the school is bringing everyone on a field trip to the reservation soon.”

  “I know. I can’t wait,” she said, a wide smile stretching from one side of her small face to the other.

  “Emily, you need to go on up and get started on your homework. You can talk to Adam later. Here, take some pizza with you.” Her mother herded her out of the kitchen, a plate in her hands.

  “’Bye, Adam,” the little girl said, managing to send me a wave around her mother’s legs.

  “’Bye, Emily. See you soon.”

  When she was sure the little one had gone up the stairs, Mrs. Harmon turned to me. “I’m sorry about that. She’s your typical six-year-old. She would have pestered you the entire time you were here. By the way, I didn’t see your car in the driveway. Do you need us to give you a ride home?�
��

  “No, ma’am, I’ll be okay. I’m used to walking. It won’t take me long to get home.” Only a few minutes, really, I added silently.

  “Well, make sure you are careful when you head back,” she told me in a way that said I was not to argue. “I think they are calling for rain tonight.”

  Again, not a problem, I answered in my head. But still, I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She smiled, and then turned her attention to Nikki. “So, I saw Anita today. She told me about Brian’s scheme to get you driving.”

  Nikki snorted. “Yeah, it was a scheme.”

  “Well? How did it go?” her mother prodded.

  “Okay.” Nikki shrugged, as if there wasn’t anything all that interesting about learning how to drive a rickety old truck.

  “Once you get the hang of it, we’ll have to look into getting you a decent car,” her mother said. “I think it’s sweet of Brian to be taking you to school every day, but I’m sure you would like a little freedom of your own. Now, you guys grab some pizza and get to studying.” She thrust half of the pizza at us on a plate and shooed us out of the kitchen.

  When we were back upstairs, I ate one slice in record time, and then downed a second one while Nikki was still on her first. I hadn’t realized that I’d been hungry until then. I stopped long enough to peer over her shoulder to see what she was going to make me learn next.

  “No cheating,” she said, shoving my face back and away.

  We worked until the sun set over the trees. Papers were strewn all over the place from the notes we’d taken and the different examples she’d jotted down in an effort to teach me something new.

  She yawned and stretched. “I think we’ve made quite a bit of progress today.”

  “I think so too. Thanks for helping me. I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said. Then, the phone rang and my wolf’s keen ears picked up the voice of the person on the other end. I bristled and a low growl echoed from deep inside of me, thankfully never making it out.

  “Nikki, the phone! It’s Brian,” Mrs. Harmon called up from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Tell him I’ll call him back in a few minutes,” Nikki yelled back to her.