by StacyPlays
Dedication
For my dad, Papa Ford, and Grandpapa
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Map
Cast of Characters
Rune Key
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Stacy’s Favorite Words from the Book
Meet the Real-Life Pipsqueak!
Get to Know a Sea Turtle Scientist!
Acknowledgments
Back Ad
About the Author
Books by Stacy Plays
Copyright
About the Publisher
Map
Cast of Characters
Rune Key
One
STACY PACED BACK and forth across the cave. A few hours had passed since Everest, the alpha wolf in her pack, brought the sickly lynx cub to Stacy’s attention. The cub, Pipsqueak, an orphan they’d rescued from the high mountains that lay north of the taiga, was in very poor condition. Stacy wasn’t sure what the weight of a baby lynx ought to be, but Pipsqueak seemed to be very undernourished—the result of being stranded in the snow with no mother for several hours, if not days. Stacy and her pack of wolves had found him just in time. They’d brought him back to their home in the taiga forest and warmed him up, but the cub was refusing food and water. That’s not a good sign, Stacy thought to herself.
Pipsqueak wasn’t the only animal in the cave who was feeling under the weather. Stacy’s wolf Tucker was also not well. He was still recovering from transferring a large amount of healing energy to the elder wolf the pack had encountered during their last expedition. It had been in vain—the elder wolf had passed away, leaving Tucker weakened and inconsolable. Stacy had set Addison, the brainiest wolf in her pack, in charge of tending to Tucker, and tasked Noah, her blue-eyed wolf, with watching over Pipsqueak while she and the others attended to another animal who needed rescuing in the taiga. It had turned out to be a false alarm—an old opossum who was playing . . . well, who had been pretending to be asleep. Stacy had rushed back to Pipsqueak’s side and had been there ever since—pacing about and consulting the small library of books she had in the cave, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
“If his condition doesn’t improve by morning, I’m going to have to take him to the animal hospital in the village,” Stacy said to her wolves, who were milling about the cave. Noah was changing out the cub’s small water bowl, using the tiny stream at the back of the cave to fetch fresh water for Pipsqueak. Addison was ladling out pumpkin stew to Everest and Basil, who were eagerly lapping it up. And Wink and Tucker were lying in front of the hearth. Page and Molly, Stacy’s rescue dogs, were also near the fire, which cracked and popped as the evening stretched on. Stacy walked over to where Pipsqueak and her cat Milquetoast were nestled and scratched Milquetoast under his chin.
“Such a good big brother,” she cooed. Next, Stacy gently stroked Pipsqueak’s back. She knew there was an animal hospital in town, but it was mostly for the livestock from the farms that surrounded the village—animals like cows, pigs, sheep, and horses. Stacy wasn’t sure what they would say if she were to stroll in with a lynx cub. She would need to come up with a convincing story to tell . . . as well as money to pay for whatever medicine Pipsqueak required.
I think I have some money lying around here. Stacy walked over to her bookshelf and rummaged around, searching for any spare coins or bills she had tucked either between her books on the lower shelf or on the top shelf where Fluff, her chicken, roosted. She gathered every bit of change she could find and spread it out on her desk to count.
“Five dollars and nineteen cents,” Stacy counted. “That’s probably not enough.” Stacy had long thought she should get a part-time job in the village—perhaps washing dishes at the village diner where her only human friend, Miriam, worked. Stacy visited her at the diner nearly every week and had gotten a lot better at speaking to other humans since she first met Miriam in the taiga almost a year ago. Stacy knew having a bit of money around was a smart idea—she could use it to buy food during the cold winter months when things were scarce, or to purchase seeds for Addison to plant or occasional treats for her and her animals (like jars of peanut butter), or for instances like this when one of her pets needed medicine. Stacy had come to rely on Tucker being able to heal any injury or sickness that anyone in the group had. None of them knew yet if his powers would return. But even if they didn’t, Tucker was still a very good natural healer and knew the best herbal remedies growing around the forest. That knowledge wouldn’t go away, at least. Even if I were to get a part-time job, though, there’s still the problem of people asking why I’m not in school. What would I tell them?
As for Stacy’s other wolves, their powers were still very much intact. Basil was as fast as ever. Wink was indestructible. Everest could read Stacy’s thoughts and camouflage into the forest. Noah could hold his breath underwater for as long as he wanted, and Addison possessed human-like intelligence. Actually, Addison is smarter than most humans. At least . . . this human anyhow. It had been Addison who brought Stacy books to read when she was younger and instilled a love of reading and writing in her. Stacy looked down at the two diaries on her desk. One was her own—filled with stories of the animal rescues she and her pack had performed in the taiga over the years. The other was the one she’d found in the cavern in the glacier on the tundra a few days ago. It was written in code—code that Addison knew how to read perfectly. Stacy was still learning.
This much Stacy knew: the diary had belonged to a female Arctic explorer who, like Stacy, had discovered wolves with powers. For years, she had lived in hiding with a pair of wolves—Stacy’s wolves’ parents—in a cavern on the tundra, studying the wolves’ behavior and protecting the secret of their existence. But something had gone wrong, because when Stacy found the cavern, only the old male wolf was there, and he died soon after. Stacy didn’t know where the explorer was now, but she was grateful she had this journal that she could translate. She also had a mysterious rune she had copied down from the explorer’s base that she had finished decoding only a few hours ago. Translated, it read:
Stacy struggled to make sense of the rune. There were words she recognized. Tundra. Taiga. Mesa. Stacy had been to all three of those biomes and guessed that the explorer had too. Other words she knew—words like amethyst and diamond—but didn’t understand what they meant in relation to the three biomes. And then there were words Stacy didn’t recognize at all. Lqcca. Auiom. Patpb. Irrpe. Stacy hadn’t a clue what those words meant, but she desperately wanted to understand. She wanted to read the journal in its entirety and secretly wondered if someday she would be able to read and write in the code language like Addison and the explorer. But until that day came, she would have to translate each letter by hand, which was a slow and arduous task. And one that would have to wait until Pipsqueak was better. He needed Stacy’s full attention right now.
Stacy walked to the entrance of the cave and poked her head out. Even though it was still dark, she could just barely make out the shapes of the towering spruce trees that surrounded their little cave—a sign that morning’s first light would soon reach them. Suddenly, there was a commotion
behind Stacy. She spun around to see Everest, Basil, Addison, Wink, Noah, Page, and Molly all getting to their feet. Instantly, Stacy saw what had their attention—Tucker was standing!
Tucker walked slowly to the back of the cave and took a long drink from the stream. Then he turned to face the others, water still dripping from his muzzle, and they all ran over to him, meeting him with enthusiastic tail wagging and head nuzzles. Tucker greeted each of them, almost smiling. Stacy knew wolves didn’t really smile, but Tucker’s cheery disposition made it seem like he was. Stacy realized how gloomy the cave had seemed while Tucker was recovering. Now that he could move on his own again, everything suddenly felt brighter. Stacy was sure the cave had gotten ten degrees warmer. She ran over to him and threw her arms around the massive white wolf.
“Tucker!” Stacy breathed into his fur. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”
Stacy gripped Tucker’s thick fur with her fingers and pulled herself closer to him.
“Addison,” Stacy said, turning to her spectacled wolf. “Will you make something for Tucker to eat, please?”
Addison nodded and walked over to the small kitchen in the cave. Meanwhile, Tucker strode confidently toward Pipsqueak.
“Tucker, maybe you’d better not . . .” Stacy started. But Tucker was already pressing his head to Pipsqueak, determined to heal him from whatever infection or ailment he had.
Seconds passed. And then a full minute. Pipsqueak didn’t stir.
“It’s okay,” Stacy said to Tucker, whose face bore a forlorn expression. “It’s not you. He’s too sick. He needs a doctor.”
Stacy wasn’t entirely sure if that was true or if Tucker really had lost his ability to heal other animals. But she didn’t want Tucker to feel bad. Stacy scooped up Pipsqueak and tucked him gently into her leather satchel and slung it over her shoulders. She layered her flannel sleeping shirt over the blue-and-white-striped, long-sleeve T-shirt she was wearing, since the sun was still on its way up in the sky.
“I’m heading to the village,” Stacy announced to the others. “Hopefully the animal hospital will be open by the time I get there.”
Stacy said good-bye to Page, Molly, and Milquetoast—giving each of them a pat on the head and a small biscuit from the batch Addison had just whipped up. Then Stacy and Everest headed out of the cave and west toward the river that divided the taiga from the farms that surrounded the village.
I don’t want to hear it, Everest, Stacy thought as she trudged through the taiga. She knew Everest could hear what she was thinking—it was the first power he had developed, and, to Stacy, it was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because Stacy could instantly communicate with Everest, even if he was far away, which made animal rescues easier. But it was a curse because it meant that Everest knew everything Stacy was thinking before she had a chance to explain some of her crazier schemes. For instance, Stacy knew that Everest hadn’t been too thrilled when she brought home her first cat, Milquetoast. And now a big cat? Definitely not. A lynx would grow to be at least fifty pounds in size. We don’t even know if this little guy is going to make it, Everest. We’ve got to be prepared for the worst. But we couldn’t have left him alone on that mountain to freeze to death! We did the right thing in rescuing him.
Everest nodded in agreement as he walked alongside Stacy. Stacy knew this was the best response she was going to get from him. She also knew that Everest was only trying to protect her and the others. The truth was that caring for a lynx was way beyond Stacy’s abilities. She wasn’t sure how she was going to manage it. She also wasn’t sure how she was going to pay for Pipsqueak to see a village doctor, but she trusted that it would all work out . . . somehow.
Stacy and Everest crossed the river, which was moving fast due to all the melting snow from the mountains that lay north of the taiga. Light was just beginning to shine on the dewy farmland that surrounded the village. Stacy and Everest walked briskly across the first pasture, which was filled with grazing cattle.
Stacy reached inside her satchel and cupped the little cub’s head. He didn’t move at all. “Hang on just a little longer, okay? We’re going to get you help.”
Stacy and Everest had just hopped over a wooden fence and started up a hill filled with sheep when she saw the farmer staring at them, his mouth hanging open. He reached for something that was hanging at his side—a rifle—and slowly and shakily raised it up to point at them.
“Stop right there . . . or I’ll shoot.”
Two
“WHAT IN THE world do you think you’re doing?” the farmer shouted at Stacy. “I saw you walking with that wolf!” Stacy froze in shock. The farmer spun around, his rifle still raised.
“Where did he go?” he said frantically. “I just saw him.”
Stacy turned around to discover that Everest was no longer standing beside her. She began to panic. I knew Everest coming with me was a bad idea. He could get shot! And Tucker isn’t here to heal him—and might not be able to heal him even if he was. Everest . . . where are you?
Suddenly, Stacy realized what Everest had done. He’s using his camouflage ability! He must be around here somewhere . . . hiding in plain sight. Stacy scanned the horizon once more and spotted him instantly—concealed among the flock of sheep, his white fur easily blending in with their white fleece. It was the kind of thing you could only see if you were expecting to see a nearly invisible wolf standing in front of you. But the farmer would never suspect it. Stacy knew what she had to do. She turned back toward the farmer.
“A wolf?” Stacy said innocently. “Oh no! Where? I haven’t seen any wolves. I was just admiring your sheep over there.” Stacy knew pointing to the sheep was risky, but she also had to convince the farmer that he was hallucinating.
“What?” the farmer said. “No, there was a huge wolf here a second ago. And I read something in the paper a few months back about a white wolf in the forest. I could have sworn I saw . . .”
“I’m sorry, mister,” Stacy interrupted him. “But you think that I was in your field with a white wolf? And the wolf didn’t frighten your flock?”
The farmer lowered his rifle and furrowed his brow. “I know what I saw,” he said, sounding less convinced than he was before. “I swear I saw what I saw. . . .”
Stacy felt bad lying to the old man. But she knew it was for his own good. She walked up to him and put her arm on his.
“Sir?” Stacy said sweetly. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I . . . I must not be,” the old man stammered, blinking several times and shaking his head. “I just could have sworn . . .”
Stacy turned the man toward the village and started walking with him. “You should probably lie down,” she said. “And then maybe have something to eat. But before you do that, would you mind pointing me in the direction of the village animal doctor?” Stacy looked back to see a relieved-looking Everest trotting home toward the taiga. It wasn’t like Everest to slip up when it came to humans—Stacy was sure he hadn’t been expecting to see anyone out this early. She couldn’t wait to tell the others when she got home about Everest’s close brush with the farmer. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too sheepish about it.
“Oh, you mean the veterinarian?” the farmer asked Stacy, snapping her back to the present. “Her office is on the west side of the village. If you take a left at the diner and walk about a quarter mile, you’ll run straight into it.”
Stacy had no idea what the word veterinarian meant, but she knew where the diner was.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “I hope you get to feeling better.” But what she really meant was that she hoped the farmer believed he’d imagined it all and didn’t tell anyone about what he’d seen.
The farmer nodded and started toward his farmhouse.
“Happy to help,” he said. “I’m just glad there wasn’t a wolf. Imagine that. I must have been seeing things.”
Stacy waved good-bye, relieved she had been able to convince the farmer that he hadn’t seen Everest. She hea
ded down the dirt lane, away from the farmer’s house and toward the village. She made her way to the diner and peered through the window. She could see Miriam setting up tables for the breakfast rush. Stacy thought about popping in to say good morning, but she knew the little cub needed a doctor straightaway. Besides, Stacy wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Miriam about the cub. Miriam was keeping Stacy’s secret: that she lived in the taiga with wolves. But a wild lynx? That might be too much for Miriam to understand.
Stacy headed west and quickened her pace. Soon enough, she arrived at the doctor’s office. It was open! Stacy pushed the door in and stepped inside.
“Welcome, do you have an appointment?” a cheery woman asked Stacy from behind a desk. Stacy steeled herself. She still wasn’t used to lying, even though she had to every time she visited the village. I’m going to need to lie about my name, where I’m from, and how I rescued this animal . . . I might as well be honest about everything else.
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” Stacy said. “I don’t have much money either, but I found this lynx cub while I was hiking in the forest and he’s very sick.”
Stacy reached into her satchel and pulled Pipsqueak out and showed him to the woman.
“Oh dear, poor thing does look to be in bad shape,” the woman said. “We’ll get you right in to see the doctor, just have a seat over there for a moment. And don’t worry about payment, I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”
She motioned to a small waiting area to the left of where her desk was. Stacy took a seat and looked around at the walls. They were filled with framed posters. Two of them were charts of different dog and cat breeds. Another explained which foods were unsafe for pets to consume. Grapes . . . garlic . . . onions . . . good to know, Stacy thought.
She looked down at the coffee table in front of where she was sitting and saw an array of veterinary journals and pet magazines. She picked one up and began flipping through the pages. What a cool job it must be to be a . . . veterinarian, she thought, taking a second to remember the word. I bet it requires a lot of schooling—I’ve never even been to school. Although . . . Tucker is sort of like a veterinarian. I bring him sick or hurt animals from around the taiga, and he makes them better! Our cave is like our office . . . and Milo the bat is our receptionist!
