“Nikki,” I began.
“I need to go to Jenna. Are you coming?” She was shoving her feet into her pink and white sneakers before I could even blink.
“Nikki…”
“Where are my car keys? I know I left them on that table. Maybe they are in the kitchen.” She was talking more to herself than to me now and I knew it was time to bring that wall down.
My bubble popped. Stop and listen to me!
She froze in mid-step, then turned and blinked. “Oh.”
“There isn’t anything wrong with you. You are fine and we aren’t going to see Jenna. I asked her if there was some way to keep you out of my thoughts for a while since I didn’t want you in my head. I guess it worked. I’m sorry if that worried you,” I spoke as fast as I could, trying to explain.
“You don’t want me?” she whispered and I realized that while my words had been fast enough, they weren’t quite the right ones.
“No, that isn’t what I meant. Not at all.” I reached over and rubbed my hands lightly down her arms, then leaned forward and touched my forehead to hers. “No, I always want you, just not in my head for a few minutes. That’s all.”
“You looked worried. What was wrong? Was it those big cats I saw?” she asked. She hadn’t moved a muscle.
I leaned back and smiled, shaking my head. “I didn’t mean to frown, I was concentrating. And I’m not worried about your vision. The Sioux are coming. They’re not trouble and I’m glad you saw them. Those big cats are mountain lions. They are to the Sioux what the wolves are to us. The last I’d heard, Rune hadn’t decided if they were going to make it to the powwow, so they must be coming. I’ll let my grandfather know.”
“So what are you worried about?”
“I have something to ask you.” I took a step back.
This is all Erik’s fault, I thought, when butterflies filled my stomach and the nervousness set back in.
“Okay, go ahead. Ask me.”
If only it was so easy…
“I was wondering if…well…I mean, if you wanted to, of course.” I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.
She nodded in encouragement, her blonde hair bobbing around her shoulders. I closed my eyes tight.
“I-was-wondering-if-you-wanted-to-go-see-a-movie-or-something. Or-we-could-go-get-something-to-eat-if-you-wanted-to-but-if-you-don’t-that-is-okay-too.” Once it was finally out, I opened one eye cautiously.
“You’re asking me out?” The grin on her face was wider than anything I’d ever seen before.
I opened my eyes and blinked. “Yes.”
She only stood there and grinned more.
“Well?” I asked, impatient. This was, hands down, the hardest thing I’d ever tried to do in my life. I needed an answer. Soon.
“Well, okay,” she shrugged easily.
“Okay, as in yes?”
“Yes, that’s a yes.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath and it came out in a whoosh. Then my smile matched hers. “That’s great. So what shall we do?”
“What? Right now?” she asked, taken aback. Then she looked down, finally noticing that I’d traded in my jeans and t-shirt for what I thought would be more appropriate “date” attire.
“Yes,” I said softly. “If you would like.”
She looked out the window, as if she wanted to reassure herself that I’d driven instead of shifting and coming through the woods as a wolf.
“I know a nice place where we could go eat,” I said carefully, wondering if she was about to change her mind.
She looked again at my black silk shirt and trousers and then looked down at her faded jeans and stained shirt.
Realizing now what she was thinking, I smiled. Thank you, Mrs. Harmon. “Your mom said that if you said yes, you should go and look in her closet on the left side. She left you a surprise. I’ll wait here if you want to go look.
Her eyes narrowed, suspicious, then she ran up the stairs. I heard a door creak open and something that sounded like a bag being opened. Then everything went quiet.
I waited for a minute, but when I heard nothing, I took a step forward and leaned on the banister. Are you okay?
“Yes, just go get comfy on the couch. The remote is down there somewhere. I’ll be down in a little bit,” she called down.
Comfy wasn’t happening. I sat on the couch for all of a minute. I eyed the remote for a second, not even bothering to turn the television on. Instead, I hopped back up and walked around, full of nervous energy.
Common sense told me that I’d already done the hard part—that she’d said yes. But the irrational part told me that waiting was torture.
After an eternity passed, every sound upstairs left and I heard her whisper so quietly, I nearly missed it. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Then I heard her footsteps and she stood at the top of the steps.
There was no air in the room, yet the atmosphere came alive with her presence, popping and snapping around me as she walked down. She was dressed in a blue dress that hugged her body to her waist, then it flared out, wispy, the air catching it as she moved.
An angel.
I didn’t dare blink or move. When she stopped in front of me, she bit her bottom lip. “Is this okay?”
“You’re beautiful,” my voice came out all wrong, so I reached out and traced a finger down the line of her cheek to her chin, then tipped it up so she would look into my eyes. My thoughts would be so much better to hear than my voice.
Beautiful isn’t the word, but it’s the closest thing I know. I don’t trust myself to find a better word or to hardly touch you for fear you’re just a dream.
I leaned forward and kissed her, softly at first, but then I couldn’t help myself and my arms came around her, pulling her close. The kiss deepened and she wrapped her arms around my neck. There wouldn’t be any going out if this kept up, something in my subconscious told me, and that was the only thing that made me break the kiss and step back. It had been too hard to ask for this date not to go on it.
“We should go out now, I think,” Nikki said, but the tone in her voice implied that she’d rather stay here and continue what we’d been doing.
I looked down at the watch on my wrist. I normally never wore one, but for this night I made an exception. I’d made a reservation, hoping she’d agree to come. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Are you up for it?”
“Sure.” She sounded curious and I carefully put my bubble back up to block her from peeking in on my thoughts. The expression on her face told me that she’d noticed I was blocking her again.
“I promise it’s nothing bad. C’mon.”
Once in the Jeep, I drove out the driveway and down the road, eventually turning onto the interstate.
“So where are we headed?” she asked.
“South.” I grinned, thoroughly enjoying my surprise.
Just then an I-77 South sign passed by. “You don’t say,” she said, sarcastically.
“It’s a surprise, Nikki. Trust me. You’ll see soon enough.” I reached over and laced my fingers with hers.
“Okay.”
It didn’t take long and we were coming off the interstate, making our way through downtown Beckley, West Virginia.
The traffic was heavy. Cars dodged in and out. “Sorry,” I said, taking my hand from Nikki so that I could concentrate on the directions Erik had given me.
A few more turns and I pulled in front of the restaurant. Dmitri’s the sign read. I caught myself wondering which time Erik had brought Penny here and if it had been for a regular date, or one that he’d apologized with.
When we entered, a man with a rather dour countenance asked in a deadpan voice, “Reservation?”
“Black Water,” I answered.
“Of course, sir. This way.”
Mr. Personality led us to the back of the restaurant to a small, private table illuminated by soft candlelight.
I held the seat out for Nikki and after we were seated, the waiter
gave us each a menu and left.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“It’s beautiful. How did you find this place?”
“Erik told me about it. He likes to surprise Penny sometimes. He highly recommends the steak,” I said with a grin.
When the waiter returned, we placed our order, both of us deciding to take Erik’s recommendation on steak. Then a band began playing. It was a soft melody, worthy of candlelight.
I stood and held out my hand. “Would you like to dance?”
“Yes,” she smiled.
The air sparked around us as the music played and we danced slowly. She laid her head on my chest and I knew there was nowhere in this world that I would rather be.
I was meant to be here. With her. And nothing else mattered. I wanted to tell her how I felt, but I knew those words needed to be spoken aloud and somehow, this moment seemed magical and anything but music would break it. So I sang softly and held her close to my heart.
“Thank you for a great night,” Nikki said, clinging tight to my hand as I walked her up onto her front porch.
“Thank you for coming.”
She leaned forward and kissed me, her lips tasting like strawberry lemonade.
It began raining, filling the air with a different kind of music—a different kind of magic. I knew now that this was the moment I’d been waiting for.
I broke the kiss and traced her chin with my thumb. “I love you, Nikki.”
My heart felt ready to burst with joy when I heard her say the words back to me. I was whole. Complete.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 13
“I heard they released Mr. Walters for lack of evidence,” Nikki told me as she took her seat beside me at English.
I nodded. “Just as well, because everything inside of me is telling me that he didn’t have anything to do with anyone’s disappearance.”
My pack and I were still rotating shifts, guarding the forest around the Res at night.
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Nikki continued. “We should ask Wynter.”
“Ask Wynter what?”
“She may know who the Trail Killer is,” she explained. “After all, you told me she is hundreds of years old. She might know something.”
“The elders thought of that a long time ago. She won’t interfere in anything she thinks may alter the history of humankind. But, yes, it is a good idea. It’s just been done already,” I said, thinking about the latest time my grandfather had cornered the Spriteblood at the Res.
I must have looked either distant or resolved on the matter, because all she did was nod and say, “ah,” then class began.
She didn’t mention it anymore, so I thought she’d let it drop, but when the sudden feeling of anxiousness mixed with adrenaline hit me after school, I knew something had happened.
She whipped her Jeep into my driveway, sliding sideways in a fashion that would have made a Nascar driver proud. Erik was with me when we ran out of the house to see what was wrong.
I opened the car door and she jumped out. “What’s going on? Are you all right?” I asked, worried.
“I just talked to Wynter,” she said, breathless, as if she’d been running for her life instead of driving.
“That explains the hurry,” Erik quipped. “What did ye ol’ fairy queen have to say?”
Please tell me you didn’t thank her for anything, I said silently.
Nikki looked at me and shook her head. “Well, no. I didn’t do that. She says you should walk through your cemetery. Slowly.”
“Huh?” Erik’s face was a mask of confusion and I knew exactly how he felt.
“Are you sure that’s what she said?” I asked, hoping for some clarity. “Tell us word for word.”
“She said, ‘They should walk through their Deadlands. Slowly,’” Nikki quoted.
“Ah. Okay. That makes somewhat better sense,” Erik replied.
I knew then why I was getting that anxious feeling and I knew that it wasn’t completely coming from Nikki. Most of it was mine. She’d gone to ask the Spriteblood for her help.
What did you have to promise her?
“I’d rather not say,” Nikki said quietly, which put me immediately in the mind of blood sacrifices and firstborn children and any other fairy tale disaster where someone asked fey for help.
Will you tell me everything later? I asked her.
She nodded and I turned to Erik. “Call the others. We’ll start a search.”
Not having to be told twice, he ran around the corner of the house, and a second later a howl filled the air.
Ed, Tommy, and Michael showed up only moments later and we all shifted and we turned to head into the forest.
Nikki stopped me. “Can I come, too?” she asked.
Sure. Come on.
I waited until she had hopped onto my back and wound her fingers in my fur before I ran, following behind the others.
“What are the Deadlands?” she asked.
Magical places. I know with the name, that’s not the way it sounds. There are spots in the forest where there is so much magic, that it soaks into the earth. Anything that breathes stays away from the Deadlands since they have a foreboding feeling to them. It’s as if these places don’t want anyone or anything around. We can’t even scent anything there. The magic blocks us. I’m guessing that’s why Wynter said to walk slowly. I shrugged, feeling the fur between my shoulders pull where she was holding on.
We came to the first Deadland a few moments later. The atmosphere changed, the air becoming heavy and ominous. The wind gusted against us, throwing dead leaves in our faces, as if giving us a final warning to go no further. In the next instant, it was calm and silent, leaving only the sounds of five wolves walking slowly on the dry, forest floor.
The trees even looked different here than in other places in the forest. There weren’t any new saplings, only old ones bent at odd, crooked angles that made it look as if they’d been searching for a way to leave the Deadland over the years.
Tommy whined and ducked his head, tail tucking between his legs, a clear, unspoken message that he didn’t like being here.
Making any progress in a Deadland was painstakingly slow. As Keepers, we were accustomed to nature accommodating us. Vines and roots always moved, clearing the way.
But here, nature attacked. Briars reached out to claw at us, twining into our fur and vines spiraled in front of our paws, wishing to trap us.
Ed yipped and began limping. He shifted back and stood, inspecting his hand. “I stepped on a frigging briar.”
Nikki jumped off my back and went to help him. I waited for a moment as they looked over his wound and Nikki handed him a tissue, knowing he would heal at any second.
I smelled the blood welling from his hand and heard the light splats as a few drops hit the dry dirt at his feet. The ground shook and a deep moan echoed in the air. The sky above us darkened. Then, just as quickly, it cleared.
Erik snorted, then sent me a clear message on his television screen. Okay, so that was weird.
“It’s a Deadland,” Ed replied, having also picked up on Erik’s thought. He squeezed the tissue in his fist and it turned red. “It thrives on magic. And blood too, it seems.”
“I wouldn’t call it thriving,” Nikki whispered, looking at the trees around us that had seemed to bend toward us.
I shifted back and came to take Nikki’s hand. “Split up, but always stay within sight of someone. We’ll cover more territory that way. Walk slowly and use your eyes. Your nose won’t do you any good here,” I reminded my pack. I looked over at Ed, who was still trying to staunch the blood coming from the gash in his palm. “How is it?”
“Not healing yet,” he said, opening his hand for me to see. When he lifted the tissue, dark blood pooled in his hand. I reached over and closed his hand around the tissue. “Keep it tight. Try not to let any more blood drop. We don’t want to feed this Deadland any more magic. It doesn’t want us here and your blood
will make it stronger. Nikki, have you got any more tissues?”
She searched her pockets and came up empty. “No, that’s all I had.”
“If it doesn’t heal up soon, you go back and wait for us,” I told Ed. “If you need to head back to the Res, get my grandpa to look at it. He may know how to counter the magic.”
He answered me with a silent nod.
I squeezed Nikki’s hand “Let’s look around. Stay close to me and don’t let go, okay?”
“You’ve got it,” she said, squeezing my hand back, tight.
We all spread out, moving slowly across a dried creek bed. We’d nearly made it across when I heard Ed mumble, “Oh, great.” I looked over to see his hand spurting blood, soaking the ground below him in a dark stream.
The dry rocks of the creek bed clanked as they rolled toward him, wishing to soak up his magic. A root sprang free from a nearby tree and crawled toward him.
I turned loose of Nikki’s hand and shifted just as she screamed, “Look out!”
I felt the root pull at my fur as I slammed Ed out of its grasp, rolling us both to the edge of the Deadland. Then I sprang back up and ran back to get Nikki, throwing my head back in a howl to call the others back.
Within seconds, we were all safe, just outside of the Deadland. Ed sat where I had left him, shaking his head as if trying to focus. “I think I’d better go back,” he said, his voice shaky. “I don’t feel right.”
“We’ll all go,” I told him. It wasn’t only his blood that had made the Deadland come alive. Erik had a red scratch running down his forearm and the cousins both looked a little worse for wear, but as I watched their wounds disappeared. Ed’s hand was the only wound that hadn’t healed. “We’ve fueled the Deadland’s magic too much to search. It’s alive and bloodthirsty. We don’t need to be here right now.”
“I’m sorry,” Ed said, dejectedly. “It was as if nothing mattered when I was standing there. I just stood and watched myself bleed. It didn’t hurt. I think I would have stayed there as long as it wanted—or until it was satisfied.”
I reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. There’s no need to be sorry. Don’t worry about it. We’ll come back once it’s calmed down. Let’s go and get you fixed up.”
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