by Kat Zaccard
Then Diego did something I’d never seen before. He began to shift back into a human, but not quite, instead of his regular self, he convulsed and shuddered, muscles rippling across his back as his fur thinned out. He grew into a grotesque half-human, half-wolf; a monstrous creature straight out of Hollywood.
I was so startled I gasped, and the upyr fell out of my mouth. It scrambled to get up, blood pouring from its neck. I was surprised it could still move after so much blood loss. It lunged at my throat, jaws wide. I felt a hot, searing pain. It had bitten my neck, but couldn’t get a good hold through my fur. I twisted out of its jaws, swiping at its eyes, but missing. It tried to scratch me, but Diego was too fast. He batted the creature off of me, slamming it into a tree. The creature crouched and hissed, long teeth dripping blood. As it paused for a moment, I took in its appearance.
It appeared to be male, human, but alien-looking. His skin was pastey-white, and his eyes were a scary shade of red. He wore ragged clothes and no shoes. He grabbed at his bleeding neck, the flow of blood already slowing to a trickle as the skin sealed itself under his hand. He pulled his hand away, and I gasped to see a jagged, pink scar knitting itself together. His wounds healed even faster than a werewolf’s. My nose stung as I remembered his claws marks on my skin.
“You win this round,” he hissed with a menacing grimace, voice gurgling on his own thick, tar-like blood. Then, faster than humanly possible, he disappeared into the trees, trailing blood.
Diego’s chocolate eyes were rimmed with purple and looking at me in fear. He was still a half-man, half-beast. I stared at him in disbelief and shifted back into my human self, spitting out the tainted blood. I vomited once, then I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. My vision was different when I was a wolf, less colorful with heightened smells and sounds. Now, I gazed at Diego with my human eyes and I was still not sure how to process what I saw.
He stood there, panting, at least eight feet tall on furry canine legs, between which he held still a fluffy, wolfish tail. His chest was broad and bulging almost human; his muscles had muscles. His upper body was covered in fur and his burly arms ended in oversized, human-like hands, with fingers and opposable thumbs from which protruded extremely sharp claws. His head was like his wolf face but larger, and his eyes were more human, almost disturbingly so, almost more beautiful. He was monstrous and yet, surprisingly still, entirely fascinating.
“Diego?”
He looked at me, his breath slowing.
“Can you shift?” I asked.
He opened his mouth, then stopped. His eyes, so strangely human, looked rueful a moment, then closed. He heaved a deep breath, and slowly his body began to shimmer. In a moment, he’d shifted back into his wolf, then another breath and he was human once more. He looked exhausted and terrified.
“I never realized we emit a little rainbow shimmer when we shift. I guess it happens so fast you don’t really notice, but you just, well … shifted a little slower. It was like a tiny burst of the northern lights.” I was rambling to cover the awkwardness. Probably shock. I had just fought off something that was not human, yet like no animal I’d seen before. And I just saw my … friend? colleague? guy I know? … turn from a wolf into a half-man, half-wolf monster. Which do I address first?
“So, that was, um—” I guess I’d run out of words. “What was that?”
He looked up at me, eyes guarded. “I have a secret, Alice, and I need to ask that you to keep it.” He looked imploringly at me. “Please.”
“Um, is your secret that you turn into an enormous wolf-man creature when your life is in danger? Cause I think I figured that part out.”
He laughed, just one quick bark, and a smile lit his face with a sudden and fleeting joy. Then, like air rushing from a balloon, he explained. “The truth is, I don’t know much about it. I never knew my dad, so I’m guessing that’s the side of the family I get it from. My mom has no idea. I asked her if she’d ever heard of anything like that, and she told me I’d been watching too many movies. I haven’t told anyone. It’s only happened twice. The first time was when Jack and I were chasing down that strange scent in the woods when you first arrived. I think it was that creature we just fought off. It smelled all wrong. It sounds crazy, but I think that was an upyr.” He was also rambling nervously, which I took as a good sign. He stopped and looked at me quizzically. “You don’t look surprised?”
“Oh, I’m surprised, believe me. This is more than I’d bargained for. But if you mean about the upyr, no. I knew they were real.”
Now Diego looked suspicious, “My grandfather used to tell me stories about the upyr. He always said they were real, or at least had been. Other kids used to tease me about it, especially after he died.” His eyes clouded for a moment, then cleared. “How do you know about them?”
I glanced up. This was a longer conversation for another time. “Diego, a few months ago I was a normal teenager, and now I’m a werewolf princess who just fought off a vampire. I’m learning to roll with it.” At this, he almost grinned.
I looked down at my bloody hands. I felt sick, and relieved, and guilty—in that order. I swallowed with difficulty and looked away from the blood. “I’ve never fought like that before.”
“If it makes you feel any better, me neither.” He looked grim and bent down to wipe his hands in the dirt. I did the same.
“It doesn’t, but thanks.” I knew it was us or him, yet that creature had looked almost human. He had spoken.
Diego looked over at me. “We have to get Jack, and … get our story straight?” he said, tone imploring.
“I won’t tell anyone, Diego. That’s your business to share or not. We’ll tell the truth about the upyr and leave out your new talent.”
He smiled. “New talent?” I shrugged, and he turned to the task at hand. “Right, okay, you stay here and I’ll go get Jack.”
“Um, no,” I countered looking over the bloody scene. “You stay here and I’ll go get Jack.” He agreed, and we both shifted into our wolves. I ran for Jack while Diego patrolled the scene.
Jack organized patrols to search the woods for the upyr. The only luck they had was that other staff were available to track, given the full moon. Their luck ran out there, though, and there was no sign of the creature. It was a few hours of questions and waiting and more questions before I was free to go home to my room and shower. When I finally did close the door on all of the noise and commotion of the last few hours, I started to shake. I ran for the toilet and vomited. After brushing my teeth a few times and scrubbing my hands for twenty minutes, I got into a steaming shower and didn’t emerge for some time.
I couldn’t face the dining hall, so I ate cereal and went to bed early, though most of the night I stared at the ceiling interspersed by the occasional nightmare of gnashing teeth and blood-soaked fur.
Chapter 21
The next morning I awoke to pounding in my head—no, wait … that was the door. I opened it to find Shea. She stepped into the room with a tray laden with covered plates that wafted delicious smells.
“I didn’t know what you’d be in the mood for so I got a little of everything: eggs, bacon, sausage, kale salad, avocados, blueberry buckwheat pancakes, assorted gluten-free pastries, a BLT, ham, toast, OJ, and a slice of quiche. Want me to make tea?” She set the tray down on the corner, and I burst into tears. “Oh, hey now, it’s all right, I didn’t make any of this.” I burst out laughing but couldn’t stop the tears.
Shea crossed the room and embraced me. “It’s okay. Just let it all out, Alice. You’ve had a shock. You were attacked, for crying out loud—er, uh, which I guess you are…” And I laughed again.
“You heard?” I hiccupped.
“Everyone’s heard.”
“So much for it being a secret.” Shea patted my back, and we both laughed a little more and I cried a little more, telling Shea the full story, only holding back Diego’s bizarre transformation. She looked startled and amazed.
“So you really wer
e attacked by an upyr?”
“Yes, and if Diego hadn’t been there, I’d be dead.” My hand shook a little at the thought, and I clenched it into a fist. I also had a responsibility. “But yes, I did help fight it off, and I can’t help feeling like a murderer.” I’d whispered the last word, surprised I’d even let it out.
Shea gave me a compassionate look. “It was self-defense. You did what you had to do. And besides, not to rub it in, but technically, it got away.”
“I think it was a he, Shea, and maybe being murdered is a noble alternative to killing someone.”
“Alice, that’s crazy. Self-preservation is a basic human right. And what about Diego? Isn’t killing worth saving a friend’s life?”
“I suppose he’s asking himself that same question,” I murmured, more to myself, but Shea heard anyway.
“That, or he’s relieved to have survived an upyr attack and still be alive, like any normal person!” Shea swatted at me playfully.
“Yeah, well, I guess I’m not normal.”
“Come on, you know I’m kidding. Nobody’s normal. That’s the only thing we all share: we’re all different.”
“How’d you get so wise, Shea?”
“Troubled childhood. Come on, eat something. I slaved over this tray.”
“Yeah, right.” I smiled, and we dug in. I hadn’t thought I would be able to eat, but my wolf had other ideas: I was famished!
Shea and I decided to proceed with our Girls’ Day Out. I got dressed after we ate, and we headed out. Our plan was to walk into Dryden, get a latte, and go to the salon. But by the time we’d gotten out of the manor, the latte would have to wait. It seemed everyone had heard about the attack last night, despite everyone involved being strictly forbidden to mention it. Forbidden news travels fast. We tried to push past most inquiries, but we couldn’t blow off Hayley, Sara, and Lola when they came running up. They ended up walking with us into Dryden, asking questions until we reached the doorstep of Sublime Salon. We shooed them off, promising to meet them later for a latte.
We stepped inside the bustling salon, and I remembered my other errand I needed to run.
“Oh, shoot, I have to meet Nadia, too,” I told Shea.
“Nadia? What for?” Shea hadn’t tried to hide her displeasure. She turned away from me to tell the receptionist we had appointments booked.
“I promised her I’d have tea after she helped me find a lawyer.”
“Nadia’s helping you find a lawyer?” Shea asked excitedly. Just then, the salon attendant called our names.
“Later,” I promised. The salon was packed, and I didn’t want to tell her my plan in front of strangers.
“It must be mani-pedi day,” I joked as we followed the attendant.
“Oh, everyone comes in around this time of the moon,” remarked the attendant with a smile. “We’re good, but the polish can’t survive the shift.” It hadn’t occurred to me that my nail polish would flake off when I shifted. I guess I wouldn’t enjoy my manicure quite as long as other werewomen in town.
I grinned back. “That makes perfect sense.”
“Wasn’t it a lovely moon?” she continued, and I agreed. “Except for that nasty business down at the school, of course. Can you imagine an attack in our town? Have you heard anything, dear?”
I was conscious of the subtle shift in the air. More than one ear was hanging on my reply. “With so many rumors running around, it’s hard to know what to believe,” I said. The air released, and conversations slowly resumed. The attendant gave me a stiff smile but wasn’t pleased I wouldn’t dish.
On the way out the door, I asked Shea about it, and she responded with her usual frankness. “People gossip, and by now just about everyone knows there was an attack on the school involving you. Make no mistake, they may act like they respect your privacy when you’re in their midst, but they know who you are, and gossip loves royalty.”
“Great, thanks for putting my mind at ease, Shea.”
She laughed. “You’re welcome, Princess. And off the record, my job isn’t to put you at ease but to tell you the truth.”
“Your job?”
“Of course! What else does a best friend do?” I smiled, and we linked arms as we strolled up the street.
“Does a best friend come to a boring stuffy tea party?”
“Um, no. She does not do that!” Shea laughed, and I agreed to meet her at Luciana’s Café after my date with Nadia. She didn’t tease me about Diego being at the café, and I was grateful. Truth was, I had no idea if he’d be working, and even if he was, I had no idea what to say to him. We needed to talk, but I was happy to take some time to think about it first.
I turned down a cobbled street with large, ornate ironwork lining the sidewalks and lovely townhouses that dotted the lane. The trees were hinting at buds, and the ground had that just-about-to-burst feeling. I noticed crocus tips and other early bulbs peeking out of the dirt in many snow-rimmed flowerbeds. The air was crisp and alive, birds chirping away. Spring was definitely right around the corner.
Following the directions Nadia had given me, I sought number 217 on Lilac Lane. The town house was lovely and large, wedged between its neighbors with a small front yard. The iron wrought gate opened onto a slate-paved walk. A lovely mermaid fountain in white-blue marble graced the front yard encircled by what promised to be an impressive rose garden come summer. The steps led up to a small porch with a gold wolf’s head knocker. Not subtle, this one, I thought.
I rang the bell and waited only a beat before the door opened. A tall man in a suit greeted me and offered to take my coat and bag. I handed over my belongings and followed him through the entryway and into a parlor to the left. The parlor looked out over the front yard and garden; the early afternoon light spilled in through the windows, glinting off ornate picture frames and curio cases filled with odd trinkets. I was alone in the room, so I walked around, taking in the baby grand piano, vases of flowers, and marble fireplace in the corner.
The cases drew my attention, and I wandered from one to the next, examining the assortment of treasures. Nadia had a fondness for rocks. One case was filled with beautiful geodes and crystals each neatly labeled with its geological name and origin. Shea would love it. Another case seemed like a rummage sale from an old museum—a small pistol, a toy train, a silver compact, a green-glass vial, an old cameo locket, a white handkerchief, a glass ball, and an old wood box that looked hand-made. Another case was a collection of wolf figurines made out of a variety of materials and in a variety of poses. There was a jade wolf howling, a marble one running, a wooden wolf sleeping. Ew … was that ivory? Lovely wolf, but not cool. Maybe I’d ask Nadia if she had any wolf-skin rugs. That would be crass.
Nadia entered the room, followed by her butler, Sven, with a tea tray. “Your Royal Highness, thank you for coming, and do forgive my tardiness. It is a pleasure to see you.” She crossed the room and air-kissed my cheeks, then lead me to a small table by the window. “Let’s have our tea here. It’s such a lovely day but I’ve hardly had time to enjoy it.” We sat and waited while tea was poured. Sven left the room and we were alone.
Nadia turned to me. “So, Alice, you saw an upyr. Tell me all about it.” I guess pretenses had been dropped.
“Nadia, I’m here to discuss a lawyer.”
“Yes, yes, there’s much to discuss. But you can’t expect me to wait for this kind of news! What happened?”
“I’m not really supposed to tell,” I said, stalling for time.
“Alice, look, let’s get a few things straight. First of all, the Queen Regent has appointed me to be your unofficial advisor on all things royal. Given my exceptional talent and acting skills, she has no idea I’m not on her side. She knows I have my causes, but she also knows me to be smart and practical and to work with what will get the most done in the end. Her mistake is in thinking I believe she is the best route to achieve my end goals.”
“What are your end goals?” I asked, cutting her off from what was
sure to be a long, self-glorifying diatribe.
Nadia smiled shortly. “I believe very much the same as yours, Alice. I want to see you on the throne, and with it, a more democratic and fair approach to government. The people need a voice, and right now that voice can be you. Once you’re in office, you can give them a voice of their own.”
“The thirteenth seat.”
“Exactly. Once you take your throne back, you can hold the thirteenth seat for the people; an elected council chair for everyone who isn’t noble.”
“But aren’t you royal, as well, Nadia? Wouldn’t the queen say that undermines the legitimacy of the noble lines?”
“I am, and she would. I see you’ve been studying. But unlike some silver-spooned royals, I have sought to broaden my understanding of all werewolves in our nation. It is our duty as the privileged to look out for those less privileged. If I can give a voice to the voiceless, then I can make the world a better place.”
I was stunned. “Nadia, I had no idea your motives were so altruistic.”
“Well, they are. Don’t get me wrong, I love my privilege, but I just can’t enjoy it if others are oppressed. I want to lift us all up so we can all prosper. I’m just crazy enough to think there’s enough to go around.”
“But you have a butler, and tea time…”
“Alice, I’m still a product of my own upbringing. I like employing help and having a schedule. I need employees in my house in town for my brother when I’m at school. On the weekends, I work here as a council member and in other small ventures. I pay my employees well, and I give back to my community. It’s not any more honorable to be poor than to be rich. I can enjoy my luxuries and be a good person, too.”