As her claws and teeth sunk into his flesh, and he felt the world disappearing from his grasp, a middle-aged man, with dark brown eyes and thick curly hair on his head, appeared with an entourage of guards surrounded her and the screaming child.
“Your Majesty, please,” the man pleaded. “Just let him go.”
* * *
Keira’s head jerked up from the cool glass of the Dodge. Briefly, she couldn’t tell where she was, or remember how she got there.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes again. It was no matter; she couldn’t get back so easily.
Luza felt Keira’s hand twitch and held it tightly. She even reached across and stroked the teen’s arm.
“Are you okay Princess?”
Keira didn’t respond. She didn’t want to.
The more she sat with her head against the glass, she remembered what happened. That wasn’t her in the dream, but it was her in the parking lot.
She went after Bobby. There was no mistaking that.
Taking her hand away from Luza, she wiped the fresh tears from her face. She could see Bobby on the ground.
She had never seen anyone in so much pain. For once, she was the one to blame.
As she feigned sleep, Keira didn’t hold a grudge against the others in the truck. This was her family curse. If she wasn’t careful, there was no telling who she else was going to get hurt.
* * *
“Is she awake?” Riley asked.
“I think she was, but not anymore. Listen to her,” Luza whispered.
Keira had in fact fallen back asleep. It wasn’t right away, but several minutes after her dream, the lull of the truck had caused her to drift back into a dreamless sleep.
“Do you know how much longer we have to drive?”
“I don’t know. We’ll get there when we get there.”
“Just wake me when we do,” Luza frowned with her parting comment.
She was irritable and afraid. Perhaps for the first time in her entire journey, she felt unsettled, unconfident, and doubtful that she would see the end of this.
Even looking at Riley, realizing that at some level they had a deeper bond, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t the man she thought he was and now it made her question how things might be in the future.
Closing her eyes, she felt herself falling into a deep sleep.
* * *
The stars were clearer than she remembered. They were so bright and large over the lake. When was the last time she had seen her home? Had it been months? Years? Luza stood under a large oak tree that served more like a watch tower on the banks of the vast lake before her.
Frozen over, the first snow had yet to arrive, and the ice was dark and menacing. Crackling sounds of the settling ice filled the air. There was no breeze to speak of and no light at all save from the stars above. Even the moon had disappeared this night. A long shadow had covered the celestial object and there it was blocked from view, save one little sliver.
No matter, Luza could still see everything. She knew it was only a few minutes to her mother, the same mother that told her to undertake this foolish mission. Not far down from where she stood was where the Great Mother had appeared to her family. How would they have known that the flames meant to celebrate the coming of the summer were a better representation of the road Luza had traveled?
Still it was for a higher calling. That’s what she had been told. It was what they had all understood. Even now as she stood under the mighty oak, half wondering how she could stay permanently in this spot, her long white hair with several prominent dark streaks told her otherwise.
Despite her porcelain skin, and the fact she now stood on two feet as opposed to four, some things remained. Luza could hear the racing of paw prints across the hardened ground. There were others, almost too many to count, in close distance.
Turning away from the lake, her eyes still worked the same they always had. She could see her cousin Freddo, fat though he was, waddling at a speed he had never had a reason to travel before.
Behind him, a pack of wolves were in pursuit. These weren’t the ones from the adjacent territory; those the foxes had learned to avoid and manage daily life with. No, these wolves were different. Their fur was a matted grey and not the familiar white. These wolves worked as a unit. Far bigger than any wolves Luza had even seen, they continued to gain on Freddo.
“Get away from him!” she screamed.
“What are you doing? You aren’t supposed to be here,” Freddo wailed as he came to a sudden halt at her feet.
“Did I cause this?” She knelt down and looked at her cousin’s glistening amber eyes.
He shook his head and pointed.
“She lied. This is the end for all of us,” he cried.
“It can’t be,” Luza said.
She was bold. Luza stepped out of the shadows of the oak tree and onto the path where the wolves ran.
“Freddo, warn the others before it’s too late.”
Before he could acknowledge her words, the lead wolf ran past her and sunk his sharp teeth into her cousin’s now lifeless body.
The majority of the pack continued running past her, with the exception of three wolves that slowed to face the Arctic princess.
“What have I done?”
Chapter 7
“Luza wake up,” Keira shook her traveling companion.
“No, don’t!” Luza screamed.
With that, her eyes opened and she heaved for air.
“What happened?” Keira leaned in from the open passenger side door.
The white haired teen couldn’t speak. Images of her family, of her home, of the wolves filled her mind. She took several deep breaths and then wiped a lone tear on her cheek.
“Talk to me. It wasn’t just any dream was it? Were you back at the cave?”
Luza shook her head. “We’re done with that cave. That much I know. This was far worse.”
“The dogs at the lake?”
“No. Why are you asking me these questions?”
“Because you did this just a second ago.” Keira pointed to her shredded turtleneck sleeve. “For someone that doesn’t have their claws anymore, you put up a good fight.”
She was dumbfounded. “How did I do that?”
“I don’t know. I think you drew blood even.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t . . .”
“Not another word. Where were you?”
“Later Princess, I can’t spend another second revisiting where I just was.”
Keira looked away. “Sort of like me from earlier.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Luza said.
“If you say so,” Keira felt herself wanting to cry. She bit her lip, whimpered slightly, and fought back the tears that wanted to flow.
“I’m telling you, sometimes you have to act. I certainly would have.” Luza looked to the driver’s side. “Where’s Riley?”
“Birchard flew down a few minutes ago. He guided us here to this cabin, campground, something of the sorts.”
“Is it safe?”
“How would I know?”
“Is this where we are for the night?”
“You keep asking questions Luza, as though I know the answers. They went off. The light turned on over there at the main lodge. The last thing I saw was Riley and Birchard heading inside.”
“You don’t have to get snippy,” Luza pushed herself out of the middle seat and out of the truck door.
Keira leaned back against the side of the old truck.
“I’m not snippy. Maybe I’m just annoyed that I didn’t have to do what I did.”
“You weren’t in the wrong. How could you have been?”
“For one, I knew that boy I attacked.”
“Is he a good person?” Luza grabbed the letter jacket from the floor. “It’s still wet.”
“Throw it in the back. You look ridiculous with it anyway.”
“Now you tell me,” Luza flung the coat into the bed of the truck. “It�
��s not like you gave me a lot of options. Come on Keira what am I supposed to wear?”
“We’ll think of something later.”
Keira looked back at the letter jacket she had commandeered at the Tearel cabin. That seemed so long ago. For that matter, the last time she had seen Bobby, until tonight that is, felt like ages.
“You never answered my question.”
“Which one?”
“Is he a good person?”
“Oh,” Keira turned away. She kicked at a rock on the ground, thinking of the right words to say. “I don’t know. He made fun of me when I was just a kid — too many times to count actually. I can’t blame him for ‘Tigress’ or ‘cat lady’ because all the kids called me that.”
“Why?”
“Luza, you’ve seen my eyes right?”
“They are perfect,” she replied.
Keira smiled. The comment took her by surprise. “Thank you. That means a lot. To Bobby and his classmates that wasn’t the case. For a time I could handle his stupid comments, but then he said I killed my mother. That was too much.”
“You didn’t kill your mother.”
“There were other things too. He tried to stop me from getting the Whistleberries.” Keira trailed off.
“Let’s not forget what he did tonight. He insulted me repeatedly. And it’s not like I could fight back with more than words. I appreciate what you did even if Bucky doesn’t.”
“That’s because I killed him,” she whimpered.
Luza smirked. “I don’t think so. He was a big boy. It was going to take more than your claws to put him out of his misery. Don’t get me wrong he’s hurting, but I don’t think you killed him.”
“It doesn’t make it right. I can’t just go off attacking people.”
“Don’t listen to Riley. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Since when can he be in your shoes? And now mine I suppose?”
“Luza don’t talk like that. Being cautious —”
“Get’s you killed. I don’t know what I’m going to do now. It’s not like I can outrun everyone. I need that knife at least.”
“You don’t need a knife.”
“Yes I do. I need something to protect myself.”
Keira looked down at her cut arm. “Looks like there’s still some fight in you,” she laughed.
“I’m serious,” Luza shrugged.
The black haired teen was about to comment again, to shift the topic away, but it was no matter. At that same moment, the front door to the main lodge opened. Riley stepped out and Birchard flapped his wings and flew past him.
Before either of the girls could comment, the red-eyed bird was on the hood of the truck.
“Princesses.”
“Looney,” Luza chuckled.
“Nice Foxy.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Riley will fill you in. You’ll be here for the night. I’ll be back in the morning. That’s when the fun stuff begins.”
“Fun stuff?” Keira repeated.
“Fun for me, not so much for you I suppose.”
“Why can’t we see your Great Loon tonight?” Keira faced the bird.
“Unless you can fly or swim, it might be difficult.”
“More riddles and questions.”
“Like when we first met Red-Eye,” Luza said.
Before another word could be shared, Birchard took off and flew into the night sky.
“Don’t say it Princess. He can be trusted,” Riley interrupted as he stepped towards the truck.
“Coming from you, I don’t know what that really means.”
Riley ignored the comment, grabbed the backpack, and shut the truck door.
“Nothing huh?” Keira prodded the shape shifter.
He handed her the bag and turned for the lodge.
“Come on. The truck’s not going anywhere. We’re safe for the night. I can assure you both of that.”
“Oh yeah, and how do you know?” Luza walked beside him.
“Look around and tell me what you see my friend.”
She didn’t have to spend much time scanning the area. The surrounding woods were filled with glowing yellow eyes in the trees and a series of rounder oval red eyes at ground level.
“Are you sure they are on our side?” Keira asked. The more she looked, the owls and foxes of the forest were easily recognizable. She couldn’t believe she had missed them during her conversation with Luza.
“You can ask them if you want.”
“Maybe I will later,” Keira said under her breath.
* * *
“It can’t be,” Keira dropped her bag on the hardwood floor. “You’ve been gone since . . .” The teen tried to count the years.
“Since your mother my dear. I had no choice,” the middle aged woman said.
“I’m so happy to see you,” Keira’s eyes watered at the sight of her mother’s dear friend.
“It’s good to see you darling. Far too long, and I suspect under less than ideal circumstances. It’s the times we live in I fear. Come along now Keira.”
“Who is that?’ Luza whispered to Riley.
“My Princess of the Northern Wood, you may call me Corky. I was born under a different name, one far too long and boring to share. This is a place you can feel safe, call home for the night or for years. It’s for the wayward traveler, those under duress, or in the case of my best friend’s daughter, a respite from a very long day.”
“How long? I didn’t remember till I saw that clock on the wall,” Keira lamented.
She looked wearily at the grandfather clock. Was it really 10:00pm? It seemed earlier, yet later. Despite her overall exhaustion, she smiled back at her mom’s friend.
Corky was a beauty. She glided with every step, as though she was in dance with an invisible partner guiding her along the hardwood floors. Few wrinkles if any were on her face. She may have been the same age as Lane, but time had no quarrel with this woman. Her skin was fair and her cheeks rosy.
She was of average height and frame, and her auburn pixie styled hair was a delight that accented her emerald colored eyes. If Keira had not recognized her mother’s old friend, she still would have been put at ease, simply because for the first time in days, she felt safe and at home.
* * *
The next few minutes were a whirlwind as Corky led the teens on a tour of the house. Besides the kitchen and the large parlor, where Luza had hoped they might linger longer, Corky showed the trio a living room fitted with oversized couches and a library worth of books stuffed in a series of built in shelves. A large sun room was next with three walls of windows and plants from across the world.
There was a complete wicker furniture set with cushioned seats placed in the middle of the room, with a small coy pond and accompanying fountain. Even Keira had to stop to look at the large golden fish. She might have stayed longer had Luza not asked if she could eat “the giant gold fish.”
Finally, Corky led them down a vast hallway with a collection of doors on the left and right. Stopping at the first door, Corky turned the brass handle and stepped aside.
“Luza dear.” Her genuine spirit and loving nature filled the room as she smiled at the white haired teen. “Here is your room for the night. It might not seem like much, but the bed will comfort those tired feet and legs of yours. You’ll find a change of clothes more to your liking, and some other things you’ve been hankering. If you need something, my room is the last door at the end of the hallway. Of course everything in the house is at your disposal.”
Luza grinned uncontrollably. She felt special and relieved. She looked at the other teens and wondered if she was supposed to remain close, but once the door was open the pink and purples hues of the fluffy down comforter on the oversized twin bed and the accompanying chaise proved too tempting.
She was speechless.
Keira smiled back at her traveling partner while Riley mouthed, “We’ll catch up later.”
As the others walked down the hallway,
a loud thump and boisterous giggle filled the air. “Cheez-Its!”
“How did you know?” Keira smiled.
“I know a lot of things.”
“Really?” Keira furrowed her eyebrow. “Give me an example.”
“For one, you’re not the only one who has traveled a great distance to get here. I’ve had lots of visitors of late.”
“My dad? Portia?”
Corky nodded.
“Are they still here?”
She shrugged. “No, my child. You know they couldn’t be. Yet, you’ll feel them here. There might be even something left behind to guide you.”
“Really?”
“In a moment my darling. Let’s get the fair Prince of Perucica to his room.”
Riley was restrained, “I would appreciate that.”
“Your parents were always overly polite, almost to a fault. I always enjoyed your mother’s company. Yet your father, not as much. Kind of a bore if you ask me,” she grinned at the boy. “Be careful young prince. Not all advice is meant to be followed.”
He gave her a puzzled look as she opened the door to his room.
“Good evening,” was all Riley could muster before shutting the door behind him.
“Corky, what was that about?”
“You’ll understand better in the days, weeks, and years ahead; hopefully so. Sometimes we don’t trust ourselves enough, but rely on the wisdom of old people like me who have no clue what the reality of the situation is. At a point you have to march alone.”
Keira found herself lost in thought, contemplating the deep response.
“I’m sorry it’s these fleeting moments of someone not so young as you anymore. I’ve seen too much and yet experienced too little. ”
Grabbing Keira by the arm, Corky led her farther down the hallway.
“Let’s get you settled my dear.”
* * *
The Christmas lights hung up around the bijou room immediately reminded Keira of home. Already plugged in, Keira couldn’t help but smile, at the familiar lighting. Even the distinct frost white color with one section blinking periodically, was a mirror of what she knew. For that matter, the entire room was practically a replica. Adjacent to the door was a twin bed covered in bright colored afghans and quilts. There was a large maple bookshelf firmly drilled into the opposite wall. The top of the shelf was covered with knickknacks.
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