The Hollowing (COYWOLF Series Book 2)

by Abby Tyson

  Was that suspicion in Marley's eyes? Or was she imagining it?

  At last Warren let go of her hands, tucking his long but thin white hair behind his ears. "When will we see you again?"

  "Soon!" she called back over her shoulder, forcing herself not to run.

  "Savi!"

  Marley chased after her and caught her at the door. Before she could stop herself, she brought her hand up to his chest to push him away. Realizing her mistake, she rubbed her hand in little circles on his bare skin. He put his hand over hers. "I can't let you leave without a kiss."

  He leaned in, and Savi gave him a quick peck on the lips, leaving him looking confused. "Are you okay?" he asked.

  "No! I'm pissed that I have to leave!" she said, going so far as to stomp her foot. She felt foolish making such a big fuss, but her facade of anger was the only way to keep Marley from recognizing her heart palpitations for what they really were.

  "Will you be coming over again tonight?" he asked.

  "No," she said, probably a little too quickly.

  "What about Pearl and the werewolves?"

  "I don't know. I'll think about it." She squirmed her hand out from under his and opened the door. "I've really got to get going. I'll call you."

  Feeling him watching her, Savi was grateful for the excuse to jog down the long hallway. She pressed the elevator button over and over, in fear that Marley would appear, notebook in hand, demanding that she never leave. When she made it to the lobby she broke into a full run, unable to breath easy until she was halfway back to her house.

  Chapter Five

  "And then this kid sitting next to me, who I thought was the professor's daughter or something, raises her hand and says, 'Methanobacterium.' Turns out she's some kind of home schooled genius who was accepted to three Ivy League schools plus MIT at fourteen years old."

  Savi pulled into her driveway. "That's crazy."

  "Right?" squeaked Hettie's bubbly voice. "Everyone made such a big deal about me going to MIT -- I don't know what they would have done if she lived in Egremont. She's really nice, but awkward."

  Savi stepped into her dark house. It had been sitting in the hot September sun all day, but even though the stagnant air was stifling compared to the cool evening outside, she didn't open any windows.

  "Oh, it's too early to get lab time," said Hettie, "but I'm hoping to be able to examine your samples next week."

  "Samples?" Savi turned the kitchen lights on, then did the same in the living room.

  "Your blood. You said you gave Marcia samples: one before the artificial lupa compound experiment, and one after, right?"

  Savi winced, trying to fight back the memory. "Yeah."

  "Well I found them in the fridge at the barn, marked with your name."

  "Do we have to talk about this now? It's Saturday night -- shouldn't you be out partying?"

  "Colby's on his way over. We're meeting up with Eric and Tara for dinner."

  "What? I thought he didn't want to hang out with them anymore." Savi walked down the hallway, reaching in each door and flipping on the lights, until her entire house glowed with comforting yellow illumination.

  "He thought it would be a good idea to keep in touch, since --" Hettie lowered her voice, although she'd already said her roommate was out. “— since we'll basically have to abduct them in a few weeks."

  Cringing, Savi went back to her bedroom and changed out of her work clothes. "They haven't said anything about being altered?"

  "No. All they told Colby was that they went to a wild party Sunday night. He didn't want to admit that he and I had been altered, in case they freaked out. Honestly though, I don't think they understand what happened. All they could possibly remember is being bitten, and then waking up naked in the woods. I'm sure it was quite traumatizing."

  There was no judgment in Hettie's voice, but Savi still felt the tight hand of guilt around her throat.

  "Where will you guys take them?" asked Savi.

  "We got the numbers of some of the other saviors. They're renting a cabin in Florence, out in the boonies. I'm not sure how, but we'll figure out a way to get them there."

  "Did you tell anyone else about what happened at the barn?"

  “Only Colby.“ Someone knocked on Hettie's door. Her voice switched into a low, sultry tone that definitely wasn't directed at Savi. "Hi." Another pause. "I'm talking to Savi. I'll be ready in a minute."

  "It's okay, Hettie," said Savi, heading back to the living room and lying on the couch. "I need to eat dinner too. I just got home from work."

  "But I didn't get to hear anything about your week."

  Savi listened to her silent house before answering. "It wasn't as interesting as yours. We'll talk next week."

  "How's Marley?" Hettie asked, dragging out his name playfully.

  "He's fine."

  "Hmm," Hettie murmured in disapproval. "You don't sound as excited about him as you were. What happened?"

  "Nothing," Savi laughed. "Go on your date. Tell Colby I said hello, and that he better stick up for you with Tara and Eric, and make them apologize for how they treated you senior year."

  "He told them about us yesterday. I was listening in on the conversation, although they didn't know it. He said so many sweet things about me, I nearly melted from embarrassment!" The joy in Hettie's voice made Savi smile, although she couldn't help but wish for the days when it had been the two of them against the world.

  "I'm glad to hear it," said Savi. "Have fun tonight, you crazy kids."

  "We will. You're my hero!"

  "You're my hero, Henrietta Rosa."

  Savi hung up and lay on the couch for another minute before getting up and double-checking that all the doors were locked, as well as the windows. Then she brought the fan from her bedroom into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal for dinner and called her mom.

  She'd followed through on her promise and called that morning on her way home from Marley's, but her mom had sounded so exhausted that Savi ordered her back to sleep. She sounded better now, but still stressed. She said that when she got off the plane, she was brought directly to Berto's office. He asked her how the hollowing works, and what she knew about her ability.

  “I told him what you told me, and he asked if you knew anything else about it all," Chloe recounted. “When I said no, he dropped the subject and proceeded to give me an overview of the Den and its mission. When I asked him where the person was who I had been dragged here to help, he said that unfortunately there had been a miscalculation, and the patient wouldn't be available until the end of the month!"

  Savi turned around and looked at the calendar hanging on the wall by the glass patio door. "Anwi's Eye," she muttered.

  "What?"

  "The three days of the full moon -- the day before, the day of, and the day after -- are referred to collectively as Anwi's Eye," explained Savi, "at least in Alter and werewolf circles. The next Eye starts on the 30th. I wondered why they wanted us there so soon -- I figured the hollowing didn’t work any other time since that’s when there are werewolves. So you're coming back then?"

  "Oh, no." Her mom's voice took on a mocking imitation of Ms. Perez. "I was thanked very profusely for my haste and patience, and wouldn't Mr. Almeida be so honored if I would stay as his guest until then to make up for my inconvenience."

  "Stay? That's three weeks from now!"

  "Of course," Chloe kept up her impersonation, "Mr. Almeida will reach out to his vast network of health professionals, which happens to include someone who knows someone on the board of my hospital, and notify them of the special project I'm helping him with."

  Her mom let out a frustrated groan. "I was so strung out by then that I lost my patience and told him where he could shove his invitation. He acted like he didn't hear me and went on about what an honor it was to have Dr. Khan with them, and what a travesty it would be if he had to depart before the on-site mental health program was established."

  "Oh, Mom," Savi said
in sympathy.

  Chloe sighed. "Dave should be back any minute. Anyway, Ms. Perez brought me by the nursing station to donate blood, which I guess everyone does here as part of their -- quote, unquote -- volunteering agreement, and explained in the politest of terms, that I'm not allowed to tell Dave the real reason I'm here, or leave the city limits." She gave a soft laugh. "Poor Dave. When he saw me, he was shocked, thrilled, and confused, in that order."

  The affection in her mom's voice when she talked about Dave was bittersweet for Savi. She was glad her mom was happy, but something about Dave just rubbed Savi the wrong way.

  "What did you tell him?"

  "That I missed him, and that I called Berto to see if I could help out at the Den as a surprise. -- Hi sweetie!"

  Savi heard Dave's voice in the background. "I'll let you go, Mom."

  "Call me first thing tomorrow, okay?"

  "Okay. I love you."

  "I love you, Savannah. Don't lose yourself, okay?" The fearful quaver in her voice made Savi's eyes well up.

  "I'm right here. Don't lose yourself, okay?"

  Her mom gave a soft laugh, and Savi was able to breathe a little easier. "I'm right here," Chloe said. "I love you."

  The sound of footsteps running towards her.

  "Marley!" Savi cries. His arms are tight around her, but she can't see him. She can't see anything.

  Jameson's maniacal laugh. The footsteps are louder, closer. In the distance, a wolf barks and howls.

  Marley's arms slide off of her. She's alone.

  "Marley! Wait!"

  A cold, cruel voice answers her. "The memory of a taste..."

  An empty gun fires over and over, its useless clicks echoing in the darkness. The footsteps are practically on top of her. Her feet are tangled in something, but it's pitch black and she can't free herself.

  The bark of the wolf rings in her ear. Teeth pierce her flesh.

  "No!"

  Savi woke up screaming, the sound of the wolf ringing in her ears. She sat up, rubbing away the memory of the bite from her arm and turning off the TV that she'd left on.

  Was she still dreaming? Or did she hear a dog barking? The nearest dog was six houses down, and it was a chihuahua. This sound was coming from her back yard. As Savi picked up the baseball bat that she'd put beside the couch, something banged against the back door.

  She looked for her phone, and then cursed herself when she realized she'd left it on the kitchen table. She slid off the couch and hid behind the wall that divided the living room from the kitchen.

  Maybe she should have gone to Marley's after all. She hadn't called him at all that day, and she'd purposely stayed at work until sunset so she wouldn't run the risk of seeing him in case he was waiting for her at the house.

  Which is worse? A stalker who wants to snuggle? Or wannabe werewolf gods?

  She peered at the glass slider door, trying to see into the black on the other side, but all she saw was the reflection of the brightly lit dining room. Bat at the ready, she ran to the table and reached for her phone. At the same time, something slammed against the door again. Savi screamed and dove for the patio light.

  Her small back yard had become host to a brawl, and from the looks of it, it was two against one. Baxter, his back pressed to the door, was facing off against a girl with white hair and ghostly white skin who was at least a foot taller than him. Pearl had been momentarily blinded by the light, and Baxter took advantage of it to lunge forward and knock her off her feet, but she rolled gracefully backwards and was standing again within seconds. The other, a punkish blonde Savi recognized as Amber, stood off to the side, circling and kicking at what Savi had mistaken for a dog but now, from context, realized was a barking and howling wolf.

  Two against two?

  Although they all seemed too distracted to hear, she banged on the door and picked up her phone. "I'm calling the cops!" she shouted.

  Pearl made one last charge for Baxter and the door, but Baxter slipped out of the way and used her own momentum to throw her against the door with such force Savi was surprised it didn't break.

  Lights came on in her neighbor's house, and a silhouette became visible in the window.

  "Come on!" Amber shouted before running out of sight. A dazed Pearl quickly followed.

  Pressing a hand against his side, Baxter leaned against the door and watched the door handle expectantly. When the door didn't open, he looked at Savi. "Let me in, kid!"

  Backing away from the glass, Savi shook her head. "Get out of here before I call the police!"

  He gave her a look of pained shock. The wolf, black everywhere except for the white tip of its tail, its white belly, and a white diamond on its face, trotted to the door and scratched at it. Savi wasn't sure what to make of this wolf that behaved like a dog, but there was no way she was opening her door to either of them.

  "Come on!" Baxter pleaded. "I'm bleeding here." He lifted his hand from his side and showed her his palm, red with blood.

  "Go to the hospital."

  "And have some quack read the wrong report and cut my leg off? No thank you."

  The wolf barked and whined, scratching at the door.

  "If you don't quiet down, my neighbor's going to call the police for me," she said, pointing at the dark figure in her neighbor's window.

  "Kid, Savi, please. Just let me in. All I need to do is clean this up."

  Her eyes fell back on the wolf. It had the same eerie level of awareness she'd sensed in the silver wolf when she'd seen it caged at Marcia's barn.

  "What's the deal with that wolf?" Savi asked. "Is it a torra? An origin like Nissa?”

  Turning his tired gaze on the wolf, he said, "That's no origin."

  "What is it then? A pet of yours?"

  The wolf growled, then shook its head vigorously from left to right.

  Baxter chuckled, but immediately cut it off with a sharp breath. "Nah, that's our boy Glenn."

  Chapter Six

  The wolf whined and bobbed its head up and down, its yellow eyes locked on Savi.

  "Glenn? How is that possible?" Even as she asked it, the last time she'd seen Glenn rose up in front of her. "The lupa compound? Marcia injected her own son with that?"

  "How 'bout you let us in and I'll tell you all about it."

  Savi gave them each a hard look before leaving the kitchen. Baxter started protesting, but stopped when she came back with their toolbox-sized first aid kit.

  "Step away from the door," she said. Both took a step back. "Farther."

  "Why?"

  "I'm going to put this outside for you."

  "It's too cold," he said, rubbing his bare arms. He was wearing his usual ratty Red Sox t-shirt. Savi thought it may even be the same one he was wearing the night before.

  He stepped close again. "Let us in, kid. We're not gonna bite. Here we just fended off hooligans who wanna do you in, and you act like I'm on the Yankees lineup or something."

  "You kidnapped me!" she cried. "Why the hell should I help you? You'll bring me back there!"

  "I'm not a part of that anymore," he said, leaning against the door. Savi wasn't sure if his pale color was from her shouting at him or from blood loss, but she didn't care.

  "What Marcia did to you wasn't right," he continued. "She shouldn't've put you through all that without you giving her the okay. And that bit about Jimbo..." Baxter made a queasy grimace. "That shoulda never happened. I almost think Marcia let it happen, though I dunno if she could really be that bad."

  "What Marcia did to me was because of you. You brought me there. Twice!"

  "I thought she'd help you, like she helped me and lots more. You're the first one to have a bad time of it. I didn't know she'd turn on you like that. I think losing both her boys drove her a little nutso."

  "She was nuts long before I came along."

  Baxter slid down the door and sat on the ground. The wolf whined and rubbed its head against his arm.

  "How do I know you weren't stalking me that wh
ole time at the Convenience Mart?" Savi demanded, although with less vigor. "Planning the whole time to bring me there?"

  "It wasn't like that, I swear." He turned to face her but winced at the movement. "I didn't even think of it until the last couple times. When I saw you that night, the first of the Eye, I thought it was fate, telling me it was the right choice. You were always so sad and lonely. My heart went out to you. I thought I'd be doin' you a favor, really I did."

  Baxter rested his head against the door. "I wanted it to be different with you. I wanted to tell you before I brung you in. We did that a couple times before and it worked, but too many people lied and said 'Oh yeah, let's do this,' and then ran, so Mama never let us do that anymore. I thought you'd understand, and we wouldn't have to go through all the guns and stuff. That was always the worst part."

  Savi stared down at Baxter’s crumpled figure. He had been a friendly -- albeit strange -- presence in her life during a time when she had very few of those. Sure, he had opened the door to her dependence on alcohol, but she'd been the one to walk through it, so she couldn't really blame that on him. Besides his association with the Alters, she knew very little about him, but she couldn't deny that there was a sincerity, and a kindness, in him that was missing in the other Alters she'd encountered at the barn. What kind of a person joined a group like that, except someone who was desperate? What was he desperate for? Family? Connection? Purpose?

  With a long sigh, Savi picked up her bat. At the click of the door being unlocked, both Baxter and the wolf looked up. She backed away until she stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

  Baxter stood and opened the door. The wolf trotted in first and sat in the middle of the kitchen floor. Baxter went to the first aid kit on the table and pulled out a roll of gauze.

  "A little help here?" he asked, holding it out to her.

  "You need to clean it first," she said, unmoving, “and I'm not going near you."

  He gave her a long frown, then set the gauze back in the kit so he could start taking off his sliced t-shirt. It was plastered to his side with dark spots of blood, and he gasped in pain as he peeled it up.