Mortal Kiss

by Alice Moss

  “If you’re going to have a creature like that loose in your shop,” he heard his mother say icily, “then you should learn how to control it. The thing’s practically feral.”

  “I’m sorry,” the woman repeated. “Like I said—”

  The dog lunged again, and Lucas’s mother stepped backward, onto the little step outside the shop and directly beneath the wolf model, brushing it with her hair. As Lucas watched, it seemed to freeze for a second before slowly turning again, but in the opposite direction. He blinked, unsure of exactly what he’d seen. Then a gust of wind rattled along the street, shaking the hanging baskets and setting the little model spinning.

  Mercy kicked at the dog before turning on her heel and sweeping toward the car. She opened the back door and climbed in, the little dog still going crazy, trying to bite her with every step she took. It yelped and danced backward as the car door almost slammed on its nose.

  Lucas turned and looked at Mercy, who was rearranging a few stray strands of hair with one immaculately manicured hand.

  “What on earth was that about?”

  His mother smiled tightly and shrugged. “Some people just don’t know how to control their dogs. They shouldn’t be allowed to have pets.”

  Lucas saw his mother glance at the rearview mirror, sharing a look with Ballard that he didn’t understand. Then she looked out the window.

  Lucas was about to turn away too, when he noticed something in her hair. It was a thin streak of pure black, as if something had stained it right down to the root.

  He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be exactly where the little model of the wolf had touched her head.

  Chapter 25: Jimmy

  Standing on the school steps, Jimmy watched as Lucas Morrow got into the car, and he felt a sharp pang of jealousy as it pulled away. Lucas didn’t even have to drive himself home! Jimmy, on the other hand, didn’t have a car, let alone someone to take him home in it. Which meant another long, cold, wet walk back from school.

  He’d hung back behind the first surge of kids leaving Winter Mill High, waiting until he saw Liz Wilson emerge from her last class. Every time Jimmy saw her, his heart skipped a beat. But she’d always given him the brush-off, which didn’t surprise him in the least—Liz was one of the prettiest girls in school, and he was the undisputed King of the Geeks. But the other day, at the mall, she’d actually talked to him. She’d smiled at him, in fact. So maybe Faye was right. Maybe he just needed to have a bit more guts around girls, and they’d notice him.

  Which was why he’d decided to try talking to her again. Sure, it had taken him a couple of days to get his courage up, but he was ready now. He’d wait until she walked past, and say …

  “H-hi, Liz! H-how was your d-day?” Jimmy called from a few paces away.

  Liz didn’t answer. She was texting, one hand working her phone, the other reaching up to push a stray strand of long dark hair back under her cute woolly hat. Jimmy was stuck in a moment of indecision. Should he try again? She might not have heard him.…

  “Hey, Liz! Wait up!” There was another shout from farther off. She turned to see who it was, smiling and waving as the owner of the voice snaked through the knots of kids toward her.

  Jimmy scowled. It was Hart Jesson, one of the boys from the basketball team. He was tall, muscular and tanned, and as far as Jimmy was concerned, he had the IQ of a lower primate. He sighed as Liz and Hart headed down the steps and off the school grounds together. They were probably going to meet a group of kids at Griffin’s. The most popular kids sometimes went there after school if they had a light homework day. He’d never been, even though Faye had asked him along a couple of times. He’d known he wouldn’t fit in, so what was the point? He’d just sit there silently like an idiot, or else he’d start talking about something no one was interested in and bore them all to death.

  Jimmy shouldered his backpack and trudged away from the school. It was going to be a miserable walk home. They’d actually had some sun during the day, which had been great at the time. But it had also started to melt the top layer of snow, turning the sidewalks into wet piles of dirty gray slush that soaked his feet and pants after just a few steps.

  Reaching the crossroads, Jimmy turned away from town, starting his long daily trudge up the hill. His family’s home stood in an isolated section of the forest on the edge of the Morrow mansion’s land. The place had originally been built as a farmhouse by his great-grandfather. The family history that went with Jimmy’s home meant his parents would never leave it, but Jimmy often wished they’d sell and move closer to town. It was a beautiful place to live, tucked away among the trees. But sometimes, just sometimes, it would be nice to live a bit closer to someone else.

  He’d been walking for a while when he heard the sound of a car behind him. Turning, he noticed it was the same one he’d seen Lucas jump into after school. Odd, he thought, they must have gone into town first. Who knows, maybe they’ll give me a lift.

  Jimmy was out of luck again. Instead of slowing down, the car sped up, taking advantage of the long stretch of empty road. As it passed him, its tires released a tidal wave of icy water that drenched Jimmy, soaking him to the bone.

  “Oh! Oh yeah, that’s j-just—that’s j-just g-great!” Jimmy spluttered, wiping his face and looking down at his wet clothes. He still had at least another mile to walk, and the cold was beginning to ache.

  Shivering, Jimmy glanced away from the road into the trees. He could take a shortcut—if he walked through the forest rather than on the road, he’d save at least fifteen minutes. But it was getting dark, and just a few days ago Sergeant Wilson (in front of both of Jimmy’s parents) had told him not to go into the woods until further notice. The officer had told them about some poor guy—a vagrant, most likely—who had been stuck out there in the snow and had frozen to death overnight. Jimmy shuddered at the thought of it. What a horrible way to die.

  But right now, Jimmy was so cold. And he wasn’t some sick old hobo; he knew where he was going. And who would know, anyway? Making up his mind to take the shortcut, he struck out through the trees, pleased to see that under their thick canopy, the snow had remained firm.

  He hadn’t gotten far before he heard a rustling behind him. At first he thought it was the evening wind stirring the trees, but then he heard it again, and again. Suddenly scared, Jimmy turned, relieved when he saw nothing behind him.

  You’re just spooked, he told himself. You’re hearing things. Stop worrying. There’s nothing there!

  Jimmy kept on walking, picking up the pace, stepping over the uneven forest floor as quickly as he could. Up ahead he saw the light at the end of his family’s driveway and smiled to himself.

  There. Home. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all …

  But then something made him turn his head. He didn’t hear anything; something was just there in the corner of his eye.

  Two yellow eyes stared at him from the darkness. They didn’t blink. They just hung there watching him, and Jimmy stared back, his mind blank. For a moment he was rooted to the spot; he tried to make himself run, but he couldn’t move. His skin was icy cold, but he couldn’t even shiver. All he could do was stare into those horrible, evil-looking eyes and hold his breath.

  Then the eyes moved, slinking forward out of the dark leaves and into the meager light. It was a great gray wolf, its cruel face scarred, its mouth wide open. Saliva dripped from long, sharp yellow teeth. The wolf snarled at Jimmy, hackles raised.

  Forcing himself to move, Jimmy turned, yelling, “M-Mom! D-Dad!”

  He tried to run, but his feet felt like lead. He managed to take one step, but the creature pounced. Jimmy felt its claws on his back, knocking him forward. His head cracked hard against a tree trunk before he crashed to the ground, stunned.

  The wolf sank its teeth into his leg. Jimmy screamed, still trying to get away. He couldn’t feel anything, even though his mind was telling him that his leg should hurt. His heart was pounding in his chest. Home was just
a few yards away. He just needed to—

  The last thing he saw was a pair of black boots as someone stood over him. Then everything spun away into black.

  Chapter 26: Hopes and Fears

  Faye couldn’t believe it. She waved her copy of the Miller at Liz as they sat eating lunch together in the school cafeteria.

  “My article has been almost completely rewritten!” she said. “And it’s been cut in half—look! Ms. Finch made the piece about Mercy Morrow twice as long and hacked out all the important parts of what’s going on in the woods. Can you believe it?”

  “Well,” Liz said, eating her pasta, “she did tell you she didn’t want you to write that piece in the first place, didn’t she?”

  “Well, yes,” admitted Faye. “But—I don’t know—I guess I thought that when she read it, she’d see that something needed to be said about it all. What we found up there, Liz … If there are wolves back in the Winter Mill forest, surely people need to know? At the moment the students think they shouldn’t go into the woods because of the weather, not because they might end up being hunted by a wolf! And now the piece doesn’t even mention the bikers at all.”

  Liz put down her fork and grimaced. “You know, Faye, I’ve been thinking. Those paw prints could have just been from a dog, couldn’t they?”

  Faye stared at her friend. “Liz, come on. You saw the size of them! And I told you what I heard when I was being chased.”

  “I know, I know.” Liz nodded, making a face. “And it’s not that I don’t believe you—but, Faye, it was at night, and you were all alone in the woods in the dark. You don’t think … I don’t know, maybe that your imagination was playing tricks on you?”

  “No!” Faye exclaimed. “Liz—you saw what I did up there!”

  Liz sighed. “I know. But come on, you’re the smart one. Are you telling me that everything we saw couldn’t be easily explained?”

  Faye shook her head. “Liz. I swear this isn’t me imagining things. Something’s going on.”

  “Well then, what do you think it is?” Liz asked. “All we know is that there might be some wolves in the woods and there’s a bunch of bikers camping up there in the snow because they’re obviously crazy.”

  “There was the horn, too,” Faye said slowly. “Didn’t I tell you? When I was being chased that night, I thought I heard a horn.”

  “What, like a car horn?” Liz asked, puzzled.

  “No. I’m not sure what it was, but I think it had to do with the wolves that were chasing me. I think it was controlling them.”

  Liz took another forkful of her lunch and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “So you think someone is what—keeping wolves as pets, or something?”

  Faye sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Who would do that?”

  “I don’t know, Liz, I really don’t.”

  Liz nodded. “What about the bikers?”

  “Liz …”

  “Don’t pretend you didn’t think of them first! And if what you say is true, it has to be them, doesn’t it? They’re camping in the woods, and all this strange stuff started happening when they turned up.”

  Faye shook her head, adamant. “No. Finn rescued me from them. Why would he do that if it was his gang chasing me?”

  Liz shrugged. “Well, if you don’t think it’s them, who do you think it is?”

  Faye shook her head. She had no idea. Liz was right; the bikers were the obvious answer. But she didn’t want it to be them. She didn’t want Finn to be involved. “I’ll just have to keep investigating,” she said, determined.

  #

  After school, Faye and Liz stayed behind for a Halloween Ball meeting. Halloween was still weeks away, but the students all wanted this year’s ball to be Winter Mill High’s best yet, so preparations were starting early. The meeting ran long, and it was already eight p.m. when Liz dropped Faye off at home.

  The bookstore was long closed, but Faye could see a light burning downstairs as she unlocked the door. Aunt Pam was at her desk in the store’s little back room, surrounded by piles of open books. Jerry jumped up from his bed and ran over as Faye came in, and she bent down to pet the little dog as she said hello to her aunt.

  “Hey,” said Aunt Pam, attention still on her books. “Did you have a good day at school?”

  Faye moved to the desk, sitting on a nearby chair and leaning her elbows on the old wood. “Not really,” she said, but decided not to say more.

  Aunt Pam stood up, a sympathetic look on her face, and moved around the desk to give her niece a hug. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but try not to worry.”

  Faye assumed that meant there was still no word from her father. “Nothing from Dad?”

  “No, not yet.”

  Faye nodded as her heart sank. “When should we start to worry? It’s been weeks now.”

  Aunt Pam squeezed Faye gently before letting her go. “I’m sure everything’s fine. You know what he’s like when he gets into a dig. But if you like, tomorrow I’ll put in a call to the consulate in Tanzania. I’m sure they’ll be able to track him down.”

  Faye smiled. “Thanks, Aunt Pam. So, what’s all this?” she asked, waving at the books in front of them.

  “Just some local research about the area and the history of Winter Mill. Did you know,” Aunt Pam went on, getting the faraway look she always got when she was intrigued by something, “when the first settlers got here, they tried to tame the local wolf pack? They actually thought they might be able to domesticate them. I suppose they thought they could use them like huskies.”

  At the mention of wolves, a shiver ran down Faye’s spine. Had Aunt Pam read her mind? Why was she researching that particular subject all of a sudden? She forced her voice to remain steady as she asked, “But it didn’t work?”

  “Of course it didn’t!” exclaimed Aunt Pam. “Wolves aren’t at all like dogs; they’re far more independent. Far more intelligent—no offense, Jerry, dear,” she added, looking over the counter at the little Jack Russell terrier. “No, they have their own complicated social structure, more like humans than dogs. That’s why the natives stuck with huskies in the first place. Far more manageable.”

  “So what happened? To the settlers who tried to tame the wolves, I mean.”

  Aunt Pam looked over her glasses at Faye. “The wolves turned on them. Tore them to pieces. It took another ten years before the settlement really established itself here. People were too scared.”

  Faye shivered. “That’s horrible!”

  “It is,” agreed Aunt Pam.

  Faye wondered whether now was the time to confide her suspicions. Aunt Pam was always so cool about stuff … but the last thing she wanted was for her aunt to ban her investigation in the woods, which she’d probably do if she knew there were dangerous creatures out there.

  “What brought on all this research, anyway?” Faye asked.

  “I had that Morrow woman in here yesterday,” said Aunt Pam, and Faye was surprised to see her face darkening. It was unlike her aunt to dislike anyone, let alone someone she didn’t know.

  “Mercy?”

  Aunt Pam made a disparaging sound. “I doubt she has much of that!” She shook her head with a sigh. “There’s something about her that worries me. I can’t figure out what it is, but Jerry can feel it too. I’ve never seen him go for someone the way he went after Mercy Morrow.”

  “Is that why you’ve put the new amulet up?” Faye asked, referring to the small wolf hanging over the store’s door. Her aunt was fascinated by folk art, especially charms and talismans. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before.”

  Aunt Pam smiled. “Yes, to be honest, that’s one of the reasons I started thinking about wolves in the first place. Finn gave it to me—the young biker I told you about?”

  At the mention of Finn, Faye felt herself flush. “Yeah,” she murmured. “Yes, I remember.”

  “He told me he’d made it himself,” Aunt Pam went on. “It’s for protection, apparently, altho
ugh he didn’t say from what. I thought it was beautiful, so I put it up. That boy’s got so much talent. He really should enroll in Winter Mill High if he’s going to be here for a while. The amulet doesn’t seem to have protected the whole town, though, does it? Not with what’s happened to poor Jimmy.”

  Faye felt her blood turn to ice. “What do you mean? What’s happened to Jimmy?”

  Aunt Pam looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean? Faye—you don’t know?”

  Faye swallowed hard, shaking her head.

  “I thought …” Aunt Pam shook her head in turn. “I’m so sorry, Faye. When you said you’d had a bad day, I assumed that’s what you meant. Jimmy never went home after school last night. He’s been missing since then.”

  Faye put a hand over her mouth. “Jimmy’s missing?”

  “Yes. I really don’t know what Mitch Wilson is doing. He should have been all over that school this morning, trying to find out what he could from you kids. But you haven’t seen him?”

  Faye shook her head. “No. Liz didn’t know anything about it either, or she would have said something. I noticed Jimmy wasn’t there, but I just assumed he was sick!”

  The shadow on Aunt Pam’s face grew darker. “Those poor Paulsons. They must be worried to death.” She sighed heavily. “There’s something very strange happening in this town, Faye. I don’t know what, but it’s nothing good.”

  They both jumped at a loud knocking on the front door.

  Chapter 27: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

  “Who on earth could that be, at this hour?” said Aunt Pam, looking at her watch. “It’s almost eight-thirty!”

  “Don’t answer it,” Faye said, grabbing hold of her aunt’s sleeve as she stood up.

  “I’ve got to. What if it’s Mitch Wilson, finally here to talk to you about Jimmy?”

  Faye realized she was right and followed Aunt Pam out of the little room and toward the front door, with Jerry at her heels. Through the patterned glass, they could see a large shadow—someone was standing on the steps outside. Faye was shocked to see Aunt Pam look around before picking up the heaviest book she could find.