“You ruined our lives! We didn’t ask for this!”
The pacing stopped as she turned to Wolf, a look of irritation obvious on her face. “And now you have squandered your gift beyond all comprehension!”
There was no point in letting the argument continue. “How many of us are there?”
Nimue waved an airy, dismissive hand. “Oh, who can keep count after all this time? I sent my best man and your father killed and skinned him.” Head held high, she folded her arms imperiously over her chest as she looked down her nose at her adversary. “Perhaps I should have gone further back in time and claimed your father as my own. He had more sense than his son.”
After a prolonged silence, Kimberly cast a look at Wolf who still stood beside her. He could only stare at the woman who had altered his life forever. “Wolf? My arm is getting tired.”
Now that his question had been answered, there was nothing left to say. “Go back where you came from, witch. There is nothing here for you any longer. The clue search you set up for Peter was meaningless.”
Kimberly gave a small gasp. “That explains it. That’s why the whole thing was so odd, why nothing was secured or as it should be. Walt had nothing to do with it.”
Ignoring her words, Nimue’s slender finger pointed at the pendant, still slowly turning at the end of Kimberly’s hand. “There we will disagree once again, Wolf. We are not finished. There is still my diamond.”
“You’re not as demanding as you were when you faced a defenseless boy.” Wolf took a step closer, the sword that Wals had used to defeat her in the epic battle now aimed at her heart. “We can end this now, or you can go back to your castle, your time, and never bother us again. Either way, I will enjoy it.”
“Or, I can summon the forces of ….”
“No, Nimue, you can do nothing. Merriweather told me your powers would be scant. I can see that’s true. You might’ve gotten a mere boy to cower and willingly hand you the necklace, but we will not do so. Go home and do not come back.”
Knowing she was defeated, the evil fairy tightly grasped her staff. Not wanting to possibly damage the precious diamond, she focused her last remaining spell on Wolf. With one final surge, a green bolt shot out at him. The sword effortlessly turned sideways to block the energy and it dropped harmlessly to the ground in front of Wolf. As he ground out the small green ember with his foot, rage filled her eyes. “I will go. For now, Wolf, you are correct. But, remember this: It will not always be thus.” As she leaned toward Wolf, her voice dropped to a menacing whisper. “I will regain my strength. My power will return. And I promise you this: I will come back to get what is mine.”
With a grand gesture, a regal flourish of her hand, the green mist encircled her and she was gone.
“Can I lower my arm now?”
Wolf wiped the sweat from his brow. “Yes, sorry. She’s gone.”
Kimberly held the necklace out to Wolf and put it into his outstretched hand. “Please make this go away.” When he slid it into a pocket, she symbolically dusted off her hands and took a deep breath. She was more shaken than she would admit. A sparkle on the ground caught her eye. Forgotten in the battle, the piece of celluloid still lay where it had been dropped. “Is this what Peter had been searching for?” Kimberly picked it up and turned it front to back. “I don’t understand. It’s blank.”
Not willing to set down the sword just yet, Wolf looked over at the clear cel. “It was all a trick to get Peter to bring her the pendant. As you realized, this was never from Walt.”
Kimberly ran a shaking hand down her arm and shivered. “Let’s get out of here. I need to hug my son.” As they ran down the stone-like steps, past the silent displays and bejeweled storybooks, Kimberly had one last question, one she feared to ask. “Was Nimue right? Will she be back?”
His mind still on what had happened, Wolf could only nod. After a few moments of silence, he answered, “Yes, I’m afraid that part wasn’t a bluff. She will regain her strength. But, I don’t know if it will be in our lifetime. Well,” he added with a slight grin, “at least, not in your lifetime.”
Fullerton
”It was a fake! The whole thing was fake.”
“Peter, honey, you need to calm down.” Kimberly sat next to her distraught son. After the drama in the Castle at Disneyland, when they had first come home, Peter had thrown himself on his bed. The Michaels hadn’t even received a good-bye when they finally left to go home. Now, ten days later, Peter was still in that same frame of mind. “I know it was scary for you, but everyone is all right. We’re just so glad that you or anyone else got hurt.”
They looked up as Wolf came into the family room. He tried to act casual, but they all knew Lance had called him. Perhaps he could get through to the boy. Nodding a hello to Kimberly, he basically pushed her out of the way as he sat next to Peter. “I heard you’re still having a difficult time.”
Taking his broad hint, Kimberly patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll let you two talk. I need to check on the other boys.”
Just as Peter was about to rebuff his friend, his brave front fell. “I can’t believe it anymore, Wolf.”
“Can’t believe what?”
Peter waved a vague arm around in the air. “Everything. I was tricked. I got so greedy I ruined a priceless picture. I was put under a spell. And it was all for nothing. I just don’t get it.”
Wolf wondered if he should tell Peter the animation cel was also fake, another manifestation of Nimue’s to get what she wanted. He decided it might help relieve the guilt Peter seemed to be feeling. “Well, I examined what was left of the cel, and it wasn’t a real one.” He let that sink in for a minute as Peter mutely stared at him. “Does that make a difference? Does it help to know that you didn’t ruin anything from Walt?”
Peter raised one listless shoulder. “I guess. I don’t know. It’s…it’s just more of the same thing. It was all fake. It was just like the Kobayashi Maru. How was I supposed to know what to do against that?”
A look of confusion came over Wolf’s face. “The what?”
“You’re kidding. You don’t know what the Kobayashi Maru is?”
“Don’t talk to me as if I’m an idiot. Explain.”
Peter knew his attitude had gone too far. “Sorry. How could anyone not know…. It’s from Star Trek. It was the ultimate test for captains. But what they didn’t know was that it was rigged. There was no way to win. That’s just what I feel like. No matter what choice I made, it was wrong because it was all bogus! How do I know if anything I’ve done was real? What if all of it was fake and it was all for nothing?”
Wolf decided to let the Star Trek reference slide. Even with his special ability and all he had seen during his long life, he still wasn’t a fan of science fiction. “Do you trust me, Peter?”
Wolf’s question caught Peter off-guard. “Of course I trust you. You’re always there. You never lie. You got rid of Nimue. Of course I do.”
“Then believe me when I tell you that everything else you’ve done—up to this last quest—was real. Do you believe that?”
Again Peter merely shrugged. “But this one felt the same as the other ones. It just felt real, Wolf! How…how am I supposed to know? If I can’t tell the difference, what kind of Guardian am I going to make?” Peter lurched up from the sofa as he became more agitated. “I’ll tell you what kind…I won’t be a Guardian! How can I protect Walt’s legacy if I make stupid mistakes like that?”
Wolf thought he saw what was behind the drama. “Is that what’s bothering you? You feel you won’t be a good Guardian?”
Peter turned from playing with the pulls of the blinds covering the windows. He had to do something with his hands. “Of course that’s what’s bothering me! I failed, Wolf! Fake or not, I destroyed something just so I could get more clues. That’s…that’s not what Mom and Dad…or you…would’ve done.”
Wolf went over to where Peter stood and glanced out the window. Kimberly was outside with the boys and Lance as th
ey all played with Dug. Despite the worry they had for Peter, they still showed what they were: A happy family. He gave an inward sigh. Having been around the Brentwood family from the very beginning, the warmth and the closeness never bothered him before. Now it did. It just magnified what he hoped might have happened, what he thought had started to happen, with Omah. But now, traveling back and forth through time until he was dizzy, there was still no trace of her.
“Are you all right, Uncle Wolf?”
The sharp blue eyes jerked back to the boy’s worried face. How long have I been standing here mooning? “Yeah, sorry.” He had to think back on their conversation. “I don’t know what I would’ve done, Pete. Who knows until they actually find themselves in that position?” He thought back to the missing Omah and all that she had gone through. “People make mistakes all the time. Sometimes it’s not their fault. Sometimes it’s just the circumstances that happen after other people mess things up.”
“I don’t think I want to be a Guardian.”
Only Wolf’s sharp hearing could have picked up Peter’s last, mumbled remark. “Well, it’s a big responsibility. And, you’re only thirteen right now. But, Pete, remember that you’ve been working toward that goal for a long time. You love Disneyland, and you even got to meet Walt! Your dad can’t even say that.” When he saw that his words didn’t have much effect on the boy, Wolf put an arm around Peter’s slim shoulders. “You have a few years to go before you’ll have to make any decision.”
“But what if Catie had gotten hurt? What if she had been lifted up to the ceiling like that, thinking she was going to drop at any minute?”
Ah, I wondered if that was part of it. Wolf gave him a kind smile. “You know something? Worry isn’t a bad thing. I worry about you and Catie all the time. When I was gone….”
Peter let out a disgusted snort. “Chasing that horrible Omah?”
Wolf had to keep himself from getting angry at the crack. “She isn’t what you think, Peter. You, of all people, know how much strain she was under. You know why she was upset.”
“You’re defending her?” Peter jerked away from Wolf, a look of disbelief on his face. “She pulled a knife on me!”
A blank look came over Wolf. Earlier Peter had said how she only wanted to get the mermaid back to Walt. He had defended her to his parents. He must be more troubled than I realized. Sheesh, how do parents deal with this every day? He took a deep, calming breath. “Okay, let’s leave Omah out of this right now. What was I saying? Oh, that I worry about you. Peter, I worry about you every day. Things happen. Good things. And bad things. That’s just the way of life. But we can’t let the possibility of getting hurt paralyze us. All we can do is our best. Did you know Catie wanted to go into that little cave after you?”
Peter hadn’t heard about that. “She did? But she’s afraid of spiders and stuff.”
“But she still wanted to find you to see if you were all right. How brave is that?”
The hard edge on Peter’s face softened a little. “That’s pretty cool. I’m glad she didn’t have to.”
“Me, too.” Wolf pulled Peter back for a hug whether he wanted one or not. “I’m very proud of you, Peter. So are your parents and so is Catie and her family. I think you’d make a great Guardian.”
Peter made a noise just to say something. He wasn’t going to say yes or no at this point.
“Your dad invited me to stay for dinner, so let’s just go outside and play with Dug with the rest of your family until we eat. I don’t think she gets enough attention around here.”
“What? Are you kidding? She….Oh, you’re trying to change the subject. I get it. Yeah, let’s go outside.”
“You know, you’re way too smart for a thirteen-year-old.”
A small smile played over Peter’s lips. “What am I supposed to be like?”
Wolf pulled his face into a stupid grin. “You know, like, you know, duh, for sure, I dunno, what, like, sure!”
Peter just slowly shook his head. “That sounds so bad when old people do it.”
“Old!?”
Peter hit the back door running.
Mikey and Andrew were sitting in Wolf’s Mustang as they played with the steering wheel and making VroomVroom noises. Watching from the porch, Kimberly stood next to Wolf. “Just make sure you don’t give them your keys. I wouldn’t put it past Michael to take off down the driveway.”
Wolf held up the keys and jingled them. “Not that stupid, but thanks for the warning.”
When Kimberly said nothing else, Wolf glanced at her face. It was obvious she had a question for him, but wasn’t sure if she should ask. “Was there something else?”
“Uhm, yeah, there is. I didn’t have a chance to ask before, but it was about something you said in the Castle. About Omah.”
Wolf remembered he had shushed her at the time. “What is it?”
“Did Omah have anything to do with Peter’s…incident?”
Wolf had to let a moment pass just so he didn’t answer with any anger. “No, Kimberly. Omah didn’t have anything to do with Nimue.” He found his voice getting a bitter edge and hesitated again. “She…you haven’t gotten to know her like I have. She isn’t what you all think.”
“You were gone a long time, Wolf. We didn’t know where you went, or with whom.”
“I know that. I’m still working through something and…you need to trust me.”
Kimberly put a hand on his arm and could feel how tense he was. “We do trust you. Always have. But, you know what our impressions of Omah are and why we have them. If you want to explain something different to us, we’d be glad to hear it.”
Wolf looked off into the distance. Not seeing his bright red car, he saw, instead, the dusty encampment of the Blackfoot tribe and the wolf Omah rolling and playing with the children who shrieked with delight. That was when he had begun to change his opinion of her. It was then that their relationship had begun to alter.
Thinking she was not going to get a response, unaware of his inner turmoil, Kimberly decided to change the subject. “Glad you could stay for dinner, Wolf. And, thanks for trying to help with Peter. He’s been so inconsolable since Nimue cornered him in the Castle. We just weren’t getting through to him.”
Relieved not to have to explain himself just yet, Wolf gave her a small smile. “Well, I don’t know if I succeeded, but time will tell. He’s young. Hopefully he’ll find another real clue and forget all about this.”
Kimberly shrugged. “We both know more are out there. They’re lit up on the holographic map of Disneyland, but he doesn’t even want to go in the War Room any more. I mentioned the same thing about another clue. You know what he told me? That he wasn’t going to look any more. He said he’s done with it. And, if he did find one, he’d turn it over to you. Now that’s sad.”
“He had more enthusiasm for the treasure hunts than even Lance.”
“Did I hear my name? Okay, Wolf, you’re not teaching Mikey how to drive yet, are you?” Lance planted a kiss on his wife’s cheek as he came out to join them.
“No, not yet. I’d rather borrow your Jaguar for that.”
“No chance, buddy, no chance. So, what momentous decisions have been made since you left the dining room?”
Hoping Kimberly wouldn’t bring up her question regarding Omah, Wolf made the first comment. “Only that I need to get home. Some of us have to work tomorrow.”
“Yeah, the poor slobs.” Lance wasn’t going to take the bait. He had a week off and was determined to enjoy it.
Kimberly did have one more thing she wanted to run by Wolf. “So, Wolf, are you sure you don’t want to come to Walt Disney World with us and the Michaels? We were going to wait until summer, but, with what happened to Peter, decided the winter break would be better. I think you’d have a good time. You always seem to enjoy being around our families.” As she waited for a response, she saw an expression quickly pass over Wolf’s face. It was gone so fast she couldn’t tell if was wistful or I’d-rather-
be-dead. She decided to see if it had been wistful. “You could even bring someone….”
Wolf suddenly strode off the porch and pulled the laughing, protesting boys out of his car. With a silent wave, the Mustang tore down the driveway and he was gone.
“Wow, you really know how to clear a room, Kimberly.” Lance flung the six-year-old Andrew over his shoulder and swung around in a full circle before heading back into the house.
Slightly stunned by the speedy exit of their guest, she just stood in the driveway as the churned-up dust settled around her. “What’d I say?”
Bothered more than he would admit, Wolf turned the radio on full blast as his car sped down the freeway. The distraction didn’t work. Yes, he would love to go with the two families to Disney World. And, yes, he would love to bring someone. Someone with bright red hair and biting sarcasm.
He hit the steering wheel with a clenched fist. “I’m not going to give up. I have to find her…or at least find out if she changed her past.”
As the car skidded to a stop in his parking space, he turned off the engine and pocketed the keys.
He pulled the snapshot of Omah out of his jacket pocket, his intense eyes boring into it, his face in deep concentration.
The Mustang was empty before the roar of the engine had stopped echoing through the parking lot.
Flashback – Vancouver – 1966
Wolf appeared soundlessly on the 140-foot yacht. The view of the coast of Vancouver was beautiful, but the object of his search had his nose deep in the script of The Jungle Book. Seated on the top deck, Walt relaxed in a deck chair as the bright July sun beat down on him.
“Nice hat, boss. Oh, and happy 40th anniversary.”
Startled by both the interruption and who it was who made it, Walt dropped the script and tried to get to his feet. “Wolf? You like my captain’s hat, hey? Well, I certainly didn’t expect to see you here.” Not feeling well, Walt dropped back into the lounge with a grunt of disgust. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t get up. Must be the sun.”
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