by Abby Tyson
After getting Nissa and Glenn checked into a motel, Marley had gone back to the highway clover. He'd scoured the clearing, following the path of broken brambles and the scent of vinegar back to the same lot where he'd last seen Savi. He could see footsteps and tire tracks, but once they left the dirt lot, there was no way to trace them on the pavement. Glenn had told Nissa that Savi recognized the woman who tranquilized him, and that they drove an unmarked black van, but those were only clues, not leads. Marley stayed in the clover until sunset, ignoring Savi's mom's persistent calls, and hoping someone would return -- even the kidnappers. No one came. When he'd woken up this morning in the clearing, there was no scent of anyone but himself. Now he'd wasted another half a day here, telling himself there was a chance that one of them could return, but knowing in his heart that he was hiding.
He'd broken his promise. He hadn't protected Savi. Again. Not only was she gone, but Kofi, and the kinship Marley had experienced the night before with the coywolves, was lost. The old man had spoken as if he could read Marley's heart, sharing with them the vision of a united world, where coywolves could live free of fear, achieving their true potential by rising together as one strong family. Marley had felt Ren bristling beside him, could almost hear his arguments about why coywolves were safer in the shadows, but Kofi's resolve, his faith, his certainty, had made Marley certain. He knew that his place was with them, helping to make the dream real.
Now his family -- Kofi, the coywolves, Savi, Ren -- had been ripped from him by a ghost, made into ghosts themselves. Even his dad was as good as dead. Marley couldn't rescue Karis on his own. Lila had said she would help them, if Kofi agreed, and now she was gone too.
Not that Lila had anything to do with the pull he felt to the coywolf pack. He had simply been caught off guard that night, caught up in the thrill of meeting his own kind. If he saw her again, he wouldn't feel the same way. Her touch wouldn't make him shiver, her smile wouldn't make his heart stop, her smell wouldn't make him want to...
Marley let out a fierce cry, his pulse racing, his head spinning with shame and desire, fear and rage, hope and loss. Blind with the need for release, he turned to the nearest tree and began punching the smooth bark until his knuckles bled. He wrapped his arms around the trunk and rocked it back and forth, shoving and heaving, until the roots began to snap. Howling with fury at the gray sky above, he threw all the might of his supernatural strength against it. When the two-story tree toppled over, filling the tiny forest with its death knell, Marley dropped to his knees beside the gaping wound in the earth, exhausted.
The scent of vinegar wafted towards him. Marley jumped up to see a figure standing by the path through the briars. For a split-second he thought it was Savi, but then his vision cleared.
"Lila?" he said, wiping his eyes. "Nissa said you and Kofi --"
Running across the small clearing, she closed the distance between them and threw her arms around him. The strength of her embrace, so different from Savi's tentative, gentle arms, took his breath away. She was also taller than Savi, her wet cheek pressing against his.
A fresh wave of guilt washed over him and he grabbed her shoulders, pushing her off.
"What happened?" he demanded. "Where is everyone?"
Her eyes -- brown, but lighter than Savi's -- widened in surprise at his anger, but she recovered quickly, pulling away from him and looking down at the new hole in the ground. "Kofi's dead," she said, stifling a sob.
The pain pierced his heart as if it were his own father. "What about the others?" he asked. "What about Ren and Savi?"
At the tremor in his voice, she started to move close to him again, but stopped when he backed away.
"I don't know," she said. "Does Savi have wavy black hair?"
Marley nodded.
"She was there with the rest of us at first, but then it was only me and Ren."
"Where?" Marley fought the urge to shake her. "Where are they?"
"It was a Zuun lab, but there weren't any windows. They never let me outside. I don't even know how I got out. When I woke up this morning I was near St. Paul. I stole a car, drove to my house to get some clothes, and here I am. Have you seen any of the pack?"
The longing in her voice matched his own. He shook his head. Lila bit back tears and gave a mirthless laugh.
"I knew it was all a load of crap," she said. "They all pledged their allegiance to the pack, but at the first sign of trouble, they scurried back into their holes. Kofi was stupid to believe in any of it." Lila put her hands on her temples, her anger mixing with her grief. "I was stupid."
Without thinking, Marley gently took her hands. "You are not stupid," he said, staring into her brimming eyes, "and neither was Kofi. Hoping for a better world is not stupid."
The sound of her racing heart filled the silence between them. He could smell her body responding to his touch, and threw her hands away from him like they were on fire.
"We should go," he said, starting toward the path.
"We?" she asked, still standing by the fallen tree.
"Aren't you going to help find them?"
Lila crouched by the hole in the ground, picking up a handful of black dirt and clutching it to her chest. The sky had darkened, and Marley smelled the rain long before it began to fall, but even the smattering of drops didn't distract Lila. She was muttering something too quiet for him to hear, scattering bits of the earth back over the hole like it was a freshly dug grave. When she at last stood and walked towards him, the rain was falling in earnest, her face dripping with tears, or rain, or both.
"Okay," she said, "I'll go with you." She took his hand and began leading him through the path.
Kofi said we're all family, Marley thought as he allowed himself to be led. She thinks of me as a brother.
But when they came into view of the van, he pulled his hand from hers and darted across the street, jumping into the driver's seat.
"Ren called," Nissa said as soon as he was in.
"What?" Marley cried, unbelieving.
"He called about an hour ago," she confirmed as Lila climbed into the passenger's seat.
"Why didn't you come and tell me?" he barked.
"If you'd taken much longer, I would have."
Marley glanced at Lila and tried to reign in his anger. "Where is he? Is Savi with him? What did he say?"
Nissa sat in the middle seat, directly behind him, her swinging feet the only sign that she was excited. "He said he and Savi are in Tallahassee."
"They're together?"
Before Nissa could answer, a phone rang. Marley dove for his, which was on the seat beside Nissa, but it was silent. The ring was coming from under the seat. Marley pulled out Savi's purse, accidentally ripping a hole in its side in his haste to get at the phone, but when he saw the caller ID, the hope in his chest plummeted, turning into a knot in his stomach.
"It's Savi's mom. She's been calling me all day." He looked up at Lila. "Should I answer?"
Lila grimaced, but didn't say anything.
"What would I say?" He turned to Nissa. "What else did Ren say?"
Glenn barked.
"He says answer it," said Nissa.
The phone stopped ringing. Marley let out a sigh, relieved that the burden of answering had passed. "Tell me what Ren said," he said to Nissa.
"He said he woke up in a cage in the back of a parked SUV. Savi was --"
Savi's phone beeped in his hand, indicating a text. Marley flipped the phone open, whooping with joy as he read the message. "It's Savi! She's with her mom!"
He called Savi's mom back, and Savi answered before the first ring was over.
"Marley?"
Her voice was a balm for his soul. His body relaxed, and he leaned his head against the steering wheel. "Oh, thank god, Savi. Are you okay?"
"Put it on speaker," said Nissa.
"Sort of," said Savi's voice, filling the van. "I'm at the Den with my mom, like I said. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than being with the Zuun."
Marley looked at Lila. "Oh yeah, you said something about them. Who are the Zuun?"
"Are you talking to me?" asked Savi.
"Sorry. Lila's here with me -- and Nissa and Glenn." He heard the edge in his own voice and hastily continued. "Who are the Zuun? What happened to you?"
"Lila did get out? That's good. I thought maybe the guard was lying to me."
Savi started recounting what had happened, starting with the ambush and through to her attempted rescue.
"They flew us on a small charter plane down to Tallahassee," she said, "with Ren in a cage in the cargo hold. We landed at a small airport outside the city after sunrise, and as they were carrying me down Ren busted a hole in the plane and ran buck naked down the runway. They didn't heal my knee with werewolf tears until we were at the Den, so I couldn't even try and escape. I don't know what happened to him."
"He got away," Marley said, trying not to think about how Savi had seen his brother naked before him. "He called."
"Thank goodness. Does he still have the tracker implant?"
"No," said Lila, "I saw them remove it. He was sedated, but it was a hack job," she growled. "I think they took his healing ability for granted, because it was way bloodier than it should have been."
"Well I'm glad it's gone, at least," said Savi.
"It's so good to hear your voice," said Marley, leaning back in his seat. "I'm glad you're safe. We'll leave right away. I think it's another day's journey to Tallahassee, but we'll get there as soon as we can."
"I'm glad you guys are all okay too," she said. "Lila?"
Lila looked suspiciously at the phone. "Yeah?"
"I'm so sorry about Kofi."
Muttering a weak, "Thanks," Lila turned to the window.
Someone near Savi knocked on a door. "I'm gonna go," she said. "Call me when you guys arrive, okay?"
"Okay." He needed to say something else -- and to hear Savi say something else -- something other than simply goodbye. "I miss you," he said, but that wasn't it.
Her silence was an eternity.
"I miss you, too," she finally replied, but the warmth he had been hoping for was missing in her voice. "See you tomorrow."
She's not good at the romantic stuff, he reminded himself as he said goodbye and hung up. She's probably self-conscious with everyone listening in. I should have taken her off speaker.
Lila was staring at him, her lips pressed together.
"So you and Savi are together?"
"Yeah," he said, more harshly than he meant to. He was still distracted by Savi's tepid response. "Why?"
"Seriously?" she asked.
Heat crept into Marley's throat as he remembered that her ears and nose were as sensitive as his. "Never mind," he said, his eyes on Nissa and Glenn in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, we're together."
To his surprise, Lila smirked, the anger in her eyes melting into amusement. "So it's off to Tallahassee, then," she said.
"You're coming?" he asked.
"I said I'd help, didn't I?"
"We don't really have a plan," he said. "And I think we were hoping for a bunch of people to... you know... storm the castle, as it were."
"So you'd rather no help than only me?"
"No," said Nissa, "we need you. Let's go, Marley."
"Right," he said, although he wasn't entirely comfortable with the arrangement.
"I need to pack," said Lila. "My house is only a few minutes from here."
As they drove, Marley kept thinking about Lila's question. Keeping his voice low in hopes that Nissa and Glenn wouldn't hear, he said, "When you asked if me and Savi were together, you said you, as in you thought Savi was with someone else. Who did you think she was with?"
"I was confused," she said. "I'm sure if I saw her with you it would have been obvious."
"You did it again," he said. "What do you mean, with you?" Marley knew he shouldn't push, after the way he had acted with Lila, but he couldn't let it go. "Who did you see her with?"
Arching an eyebrow at him, she said, "We were all pretty drugged up. I must have imagined it."
When Marley's brain caught up with Lila's implication, he slammed on the brakes. Glenn yelped from the back and Nissa cried out in protest as well, but Marley barely heard them. "Ren?!? You thought Savi was with Ren?"
"I told you," said Lila, her hands braced on the dashboard, "we were all flying high."
Marley stared through the rain-spattered windshield at the road ahead of him. "Sorry," he said, trying to laugh it off, but the attempt sounded hollow even to himself. "I'm just surprised. Savi doesn't even really like Ren all that much. They've barely said two words to each other."
"I guess drugs will make you enjoy anyone's company," she said. "For all I know she thought she was laughing and talking with you. You may not know this, love, but you're identical twins."
Marley gave another half-hearted laugh and pulled up next to the brick house that Lila called home. Set between two much larger contemporary houses, the Cape style cottage reminded Marley of Massachusetts, of home.
"This is your house?" he asked.
"It's --" Lila cringed and closed her eyes before starting again. "It was Kofi's, but I lived with him." Reaching for the handle, she turned back to Marley. "Can you come in for a minute?"
Even after all of that talk about Savi, he found himself too ready to say yes. "I'll wait out here."
"Oh, come on, cutie," she said. "There's something I want you to see."
"Like what?"
Lila laughed. "Will you just buck up and come inside?" Marley caught himself watching her as she jogged up the brick pathway to the front steps, and with a glance back at Nissa and Glenn, hastily looked away.
"Why don't you want to go?" asked Nissa, drawing on the condensation on the windows.
"I don't care. It doesn't matter." Needing to get out from under Nissa's suddenly curious gaze, he opened his door. "I'm going now, okay? I didn't want to get caught in the rain." He got out of the van and ran through the downpour toward the house.
What could she possibly have that I want to see?
When his primitive brain conjured up a few answers he instantly fought them back with a muttered curse.
"Get a grip," he said to himself. His palms were sweating as he pushed open the front door, which she'd left ajar.
It was a quaint house, with a cozy, lived in atmosphere. Laid out like a typical Cape, the stairs were directly in front of the door, separating the living and dining rooms, with the kitchen taking up the rest of the first floor behind the stairs. The walls were decorated with framed maps, sketches, and paintings of natural landscapes.
He went to the kitchen sink and washed his hands, which were healed but caked with dry blood. Hearing movement above him, he called, "Lila?"
"Upstairs," she called.
"Should I wait down here?"
"No, come on up."
Marley eyed the stairwell warily, visions running through his mind of evil enchantresses ensnaring innocent knights with their beauty.
Well this is one knight who's not going to go easily, he thought. Gripping the banister firmly, he walked purposely up the stairs. If she tries anything, I'll let her down gently. I'm already committed to Savi.
Steeling himself, he peered into the bedroom to the left, where he'd heard her walking. He'd run through so many scenarios during the twelve steps leading up to her room that Marley was half-expecting her to be lying naked on the bed holding handcuffs. But she was fully clothed, standing with her back to him, packing a duffle bag.
"Snag that fireproof box by the door over there, will you?" she asked without turning around.
Chiding himself for his immaturity -- and disappointment -- Marley looked down at the black fireproof box by his feet. "What's in there?" he asked.
"I'll show you if you bring it over here," she replied.
He picked it up and walked around to the other side of the bed across from Lila.
"Why did you live with Kofi?" h
e asked. "Were you guys related?"
"All coywolves are family," she said with a grin. Entering the combination lock to the fireproof box, she said, "Kofi found me when I was eight and living under the Memorial Bridge. He took me in." She chuckled. "I was kind of a wild thing. My father tried his best, but he was a hot mess himself and in a lot of pain. He was always kind, but he treated me more like a pet than a kid. So when he died, I became a stray."
The lock popped open. Lila looked up at Marley, all levity gone. "What I'm about to show you is a huge deal, and you have to swear to keep it secret -- even from Nissa and Savi and the rest."
"Why?"
"It's not their business. I'm the only one who knows about this -- not even the other coywolves in the pack know."
"Can Ren know?"
Lila studied him for a moment, then nodded. "But only him."
She opened the lid and pulled out a wooden box that fit in her palm. She offered it to Marley.
Inside was what appeared to be the front half of an ivory necklace charm. There was a dog's face and front legs, but the rest of the charm had been broken off at about the halfway point. What must have once been a sharp, jagged edge, was now smooth, weathered with age.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Don't you remember the story of Anwi and coyote?"
Marley scoffed. "You really believe in that Anwi's necklace myth?"
Lila looked lovingly down at the charm. "Kofi believed it. I believed in Kofi. He said this had been given to him by someone he met in his travels, and that it inspired him to unite all coywolves."
She took the charm back from him and carefully returned it to the fireproof box. "Honestly, I don't know if this is the coywolf charm, or if it even exists. But if there's a chance that it is, I can't be the only one in the world who knows about it, especially if I'm knowingly walking into danger."
Marley reached out to take the fireproof box from her and accidentally brushed his hand against hers. He prayed he was far enough away for her not to hear his heart stutter from the electric shock of her skin on his, but when he heard hers do the same, he knew he wasn't so lucky.