He slung his backpack over his shoulder and pulled up his hood.
“Bye, Gran.”
But she was already snoring softly in her chair. Colin smiled and headed out the door.
***
A few people said hi to Colin as he passed along the outskirts of downtown. He could smell the uncertainty on them. They were likely wondering where a thirteen-year-old was going on a school day carrying a big backpack and camping gear. Colin just nodded politely and picked up his pace until he reached the edge of Merton Forest.
The trees loomed against the gray sky. Colin took a deep breath, taking in the scents of the forest, the dew on the grass, the moss growing across the ground. He began to feel a sense of comfort and a little bit of excitement. He’d always made this journey with Silas. Going it alone was scary but also came with a profound sense of adventure.
Stepping into the forest, Colin began his trek north. He passed the clearing with the babbling brook, where he’d experienced his first change, then turned west to walk closer to the shoreline. The forest sat upon rocky cliffs that ran along the shore, all the way into Washington. It was a straight fifty-foot drop from the cliffs down into the ocean. Further south there was a break in the cliffs that opened up into Elkwood Bay, a large beach area where some of the students would sometimes go for bonfires at night.
Colin walked along the cliff edge for a few miles. The wind whipped against the shoreline and waves crashed, throwing a fine mist up into the forest.
He and Silas always made a habit of taking a different route to their usual camping spot. Silas argued that it helped develop their natural tracking ability. Going it alone for the first time, Colin was beginning to worry. He’d never followed the coastline this far up, and he began to consider turning back inland in case he lost his bearings when the forest opened up and Colin found himself standing at the edge of a garden. The garden consisted of a neatly trimmed lawn of lush green grass with well-tended flowerbeds. A path made of flat stones ran through the garden, through a white picket fence, and up to the front door of a small cottage with a red door, which swung open.
The old man that Colin had seen briefly at the base hobbled out of the cottage, leaning heavily on his walking stick. His gray hair was perfectly combed over to the side and a pair of large, thick glasses was perched comfortably on his broad nose.
“Ah, young Colin!” shouted the old man. “Nice of you to drop by. I don’t get much company up this way.”
The old man beckoned Colin to come inside and disappeared back through the doorway. The smell of fresh bread and cooking bacon floated out of the open door and Colin was standing on the doorstep before he’d even realized he’d moved.
“Come in, come in!” shouted the man.
Colin ducked through a doorway that seemed a little smaller than it should have and walked down the hallway. The house was small and quaint, with a few rooms and sparse wooden furniture. Underneath the food, it smelled of leather and old books. Colin followed the smell to the kitchen, where the old man was pouring two cups of coffee. A plate of bacon and eggs, and a fresh, crusty loaf of bread were already set at a small round table near the kitchen window, which looked out over another garden at the back of the house.
“You’re Alfred,” said Colin.
“That I am, young man. That I am.”
Alfred placed the coffee next to the plate of food and invited Colin to sit down. This was a stranger—albeit a stranger who worked with Night Watch—but a stranger nevertheless. However, the stranger was serving some great-smelling food. Colin had already been walking for a couple of hours and his stomach was beginning to complain.
He leaned his large backpack against the kitchen counter and sat down. Alfred looked pleased that Colin had accepted his hospitality and, picking up his own cup of coffee, sat down with some difficulty in the opposite seat.
“So you’re a werewolf. I find that fascinating,” said Alfred, his heavily wrinkled face cracking into a wide smile.
“And you’re a sorcerer?”
“Wizard,” said Alfred. “Not many sorcerers around. Nasty bunch. Too much power for their own good. Always striving for more.”
This was possibly the best bacon Colin had ever tasted. The bread was so fresh it was still warm. And the coffee was incredible.
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking—”
Alfred held up a slightly shaking hand. “Please, call me Alfred.”
“Alfred. What is it you do for Elkwood?”
“I make sure everyone gets along. Just like it’s your grandmother’s job to keep us hidden, it’s my job to make sure the normal folk don’t notice the special folk. How is old Beatrice keeping?” asked the old man.
“Gran? She’s well. Well, not as well as she’d like. Her powers are a bit … ”
Colin caught himself. How much should he tell this old man? He didn’t really know much about him.
“How did you know I’d be coming this way?” asked Colin.
“Wizard’s intuition,” said Alfred. “I have a special relationship with the forest. It’s why I live out here. The trees speak to me.”
“What do they say?”
“Mostly boring things. They complain a lot about squirrels, you know? But occasionally they tell me something of interest. This morning they told me you were walking up the coast. I expect you’re getting out of town before your full moon change?”
“Yes. We … I mean, I camp a few miles north of here. How much do you know about werewolves?” Colin wiped up the remainder of his eggs with the last piece of bread and felt a pang of sadness that all the food was gone.
“Only what I’ve read in the books. I have some interesting old journals about werewolves if you’d ever like to borrow them. Mr. Varson and Mr. Emerson have kept me informed of your unique situation.”
“Why don’t you live in town like everyone else?”
“I’d miss my forest too much and I like the solitude. The soldiers at the base fetch me when there’s a need, like your little incident in Seattle last weekend. I must admit, it was nice to get out and see a big city again. You’re not to worry, though. I thoroughly wiped you from the minds of all those people who saw you turn that night.”
“Could you … ” Colin hesitated, not sure how to frame his question. “Could you cast a spell on someone that would make their senses disappear?”
The old man nodded knowingly. “You’re talking about what happened to you in Seattle. I can manipulate memories and I can even make people see certain things, but I can’t do anything like that. That’s Rune Magic. Tricky stuff. What you’re referring to is a binding spell, and they tend to be complicated. Whoever cast a spell like that would be trying to make sure you didn’t see, or rather, sense something.”
“They were hiding something?”
“Or someone.”
The clock on the wall chimed and Colin saw that it was already one o’clock. “I have to be going. Thank you so much for the food.”
Alfred struggled to his feet and steadied himself with his walking stick. “You’re most welcome. Good luck with your camping trip. Lots of good hunting up this way.”
The old man followed Colin to the front door. A light drizzle had begun to fall.
“Colin,” said Alfred. “The trees have been saying some funny things lately. Complaining about large dogs. Could be werewolves, could be regular wolves, could be coyotes, could be bears, could be unusually large chipmunks; trees aren’t always the best at describing things. Best to keep your wits about you though. If you find yourself in trouble and require my assistance, just talk to a tree.”
The old man winked, and Colin nodded and started down the garden path. He considered asking Alfred about Principal Sampson but he really didn’t know the wizard very well, even though he seemed like a nice old gentleman.
Colin, his belly full, headed back inland, picking up familiar scents as he went. The area where he and Silas camped was ar
ound five miles north of the Elkwood army base. He’d drawn Becca a map before he left so she and Jeremy would be able to find the place, but Colin had already decided to travel a few miles south to meet them tomorrow. The last thing he wanted was for them to get lost.
He reached the campsite at around three o’clock. A massive rectangular boulder at the edge of the small clearing marked the area, along with the obvious smells left behind from Colin and Silas’s previous visits. A ring of stones they had built for the fire sat undisturbed in the middle of the campsite. Colin quickly set up his tent, gathered wood, and started a fire. He was tempted to just change before nightfall and go for a run but decided against it. Silas had told him about werewolves that spent too much time in their wolf form and forgot how to be human. Colin definitely didn’t want that to happen.
Instead, he let several pieces of chicken cook over the fire while he feverishly wrote up the events of the last few days in his notebook. There were a few new smells he wanted to make a record of, and of course there was all the weird stuff that had happened with Terry, Micah, and Charles. He wrote several pages about what had happened when they’d discovered Charles was missing and the fire had burned Colin’s body. He’d never healed so fast before, so he wrote about the sensation, what he could remember, and how he’d felt in the moment. Colin wasn’t entirely sure what he planned to do with all these notes he was making. Maybe he’d write the Comprehensive Guide to Being a Successful Werewolf?
The smell of barbeque distracted him and, his writing forgotten for the moment, he devoured the chicken along with four baked potatoes. Chances are he would eat again tonight, but he didn’t want to be so hungry that he ate the first animal he found. What if the first animal he found was a skunk?
By seven o’clock the last sliver of sun was barely visible above the horizon and darkness was falling quickly across the forest. The constant clouds that hid Elkwood were a little thinner here, away from the township, and the shape of the full moon began to peer through the clouds. It wouldn’t be long now.
Colin stripped off his shirt and jeans and draped them across his tent, and stood in just his underwear. Colin could smell the wildlife nearby, and he imagined the squirrels were likely giving him some strange looks.
He performed a series of stretches and opened up his senses. He could hear and smell the night creatures of the forest awakening and could feel the pressure in the air shift slightly as the weather prepared to change, likely to more rain.
Colin felt the familiar tingle begin to run along his spine that signaled the change wasn’t far off. And then a new smell intruded on his senses: herbs and a strong perfume, almost like someone had been burning a candle.
“Just as I thought,” said a deep, smooth voice. “You can sense me.”
Colin spun around in a panic and watched as the man with glowing red eyes floated from above the treetops and landed lightly on the other side of Colin’s campfire.
“Hello, Colin,” said the man. “I thought it was about time that we met.”
Chapter Eleven
Remember That Time?
The man’s long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his eyes glowed a fierce red that matched the color of the rock that hung on a chain around his neck.
A hellstone!
When Colin had seen the man in Seattle, he’d thought him to be in his late twenties. But seeing him up close, there was definitely a little more wear around his face. Maybe early to mid-thirties?
He was dressed the same as before, in a dark suit with a black cloak slung over his shoulders. He looked like a magician that should be sawing a woman in half. The red rock around his neck was the size of a golf ball and Colin could hear it pulsating along with the man’s heartbeat. It also gave off a faint smell of sulfur.
This was the man responsible for what had happened in Seattle. He was the reason Colin was grounded, why no one believed him.
Anger clouded Colin’s judgment and he leapt across the fire, landing where the man had been standing. But the man was gone. Colin turned to see he was now on the other side of the fire.
“You’re very fast,” said the man calmly. “But not really very threatening, standing there in your underwear. You do know you’re just wearing underwear, don’t you?”
Colin leapt again but landed on nothing. The man was on the opposite side of the fire, examining his fingernails for dirt. “Are we done yet?” he asked without looking at Colin.
Again, he leapt high into the air over the fire and watched as the man looked up at him and then vanished, only to reappear on the opposite side of the fire.
How is he doing that?
Colin landed lightly and turned around, resolved that attacking him outright obviously wasn’t working.
“Are you done? Are we good now?” said the man. “We can just chat like two ordinary people? Well, not ordinary. You in your underwear on your side of the fire, and me on my side with, well … ” the man gestured to himself, “all of this.”
Colin noted that the rock around the man’s neck glowed brighter when he had disappeared and reappeared.
“You’re curious about this?” said the man, pointing to the rock. “I’d be careful not to try to touch it if I were you. Even with all my power, it’d still turn me to dust in a matter of seconds if it touched my skin.”
“It’s very pretty,” said Colin. “Matches your eyes.”
The man barked a sharp laugh. “You’re very funny.”
“You’re the one who planted the spell in my head.”
The man bowed. “Guilty as charged. Once I found out that Elkwood had not one, but two werewolves, I took the necessary steps to make sure I’d be able to move around the town without you knowing I was there. Like flicking a light switch, I could turn your senses on and off. How did you get rid of it? The spell, I mean.”
The man swished his cloak out behind him and sat down on a stump. His eyes seemed to glow brighter in the firelight.
Colin stood his ground. He could feel his wolf creature clawing to get out. His muscles were tense and before him, sitting very calmly, was the man who very likely was the cause of a lot of Colin’s current problems. It could have been the pending change or it could have been Colin’s state of mind, but he really wanted to eat the man.
“Who are you?” asked Colin.
The man barked that annoying short laugh again. “That’s just one of many questions, isn’t it? Who am I? Why am I doing all this? Why did I cause you to change in Seattle? Why did that vampire attack that teacher? What caused your little telekinetic friend to explode?”
There was a theatrical, sing-song quality to the way the man spoke that grated on Colin. Like he was part of a stage play and this was his big act.
“Sorry, I’m being rude,” said the man. “My name is Damon Talbot and I am a sorcerer. Actually, I’m the sorcerer. And in the very near future, I’m going to kill you. And your girlfriend. And every other person in Elkwood. If your little team ever returns from Europe with your old werewolf friend, all they’ll find is a ghost town.”
Colin’s heartbeat quickened.
“And then,” Talbot continued, “I’m going to kill all of them, though I might keep your friend as a pet.”
Who is this guy? A Bond villain? He’s revealing his whole plan.
“Why tell me?”
The man made a dramatic flourish with his hands. “Because, young boy, you won’t remember any of this.”
“I think I’m going to have a hard time forgetting,” Colin growled, clenching his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Talbot with a slight smile.
Colin recalled Silas’s training for when you encounter an enemy. Use your senses, keep them talking, watch, listen, smell. Don’t get angry.
Easier said than done.
“That’s a hellstone, isn’t it?” said Colin, nodding toward the red rock.
Talbot looked gen
uinely surprised. “How would you know … ah, the demon told you. I wondered what he was doing in those final moments.”
“You took Charles.”
“The demon’s name is Charles? How strange. And yes, I did. The last thing I need is a demon that can see into the future hanging around. I did leave a little gift in his place, though. Did you get it?”
Burnie.
“The fire imp.”
The man waved a dismissive hand. “The demon called him up in an attempt to destroy me, but he was too late. I had hoped the creature would burn down the army base.”
“He didn’t. I stopped him.”
“That was you? Well done. There’s obviously a lot more to you, Colin Strauss, than meets the eye. You stopped Mr. Winter last year. You stopped the fire imp, stopped that young vampire from eating his teacher, and without having to kill him no less. You even survived the little boy’s telekinetic attack. You’re quite remarkable.”
“It was you who made them do all those things. You’re the reason Terry lost control, the reason Micah couldn’t fight his thirst. But why?”
“One word, Colin. Chaos.”
“Chaos. That’s it? You’re a practical joker who got tired of making prank phone calls, of ringing people’s doorbells and running away?”
“You’re quite the sharp-tongued creature, aren’t you?” said Talbot. “Your grandmother never said much about you. Just that you were quiet, boring, and probably an idiot. Of course, that was some time ago.”
Colin felt his nails begin to curl into claws. “What do you know about my grandmother?”
“Everything. Absolutely everything,” said Talbot smiling. The hellstone glowed a brighter red and Colin felt a wave of anger throbbing out of it.
I need to know more about the hellstone.
“What’s that little trinket do then?” asked Colin.
But Talbot ignored the question. “I don’t know why I decided to drop in here. I think I just wanted to meet you. I’ve met a lot of werewolves. I’ve helped create many of them. But you’re the youngest I’ve encountered so far. And you have a terrible habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
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