In the Mouth of the Wolf

by Nicole Maggi

  And the rest of the Concilio? Heath spoke for the first time. Where are they?

  In the very brief time we had before we had to flee, Nerina said, we agreed to scatter to each of the Clans.

  And why did you choose to come to Twin Willows? Heath asked. The line of his jaw was tense as he stared at Nerina. Why this Clan?

  The Stag swung his head toward Heath, nearly unseating the Eagle. What does that have—?

  I came to this Clan, Nerina interrupted, because it is the one best positioned to set my plan into motion.

  Everyone stilled except the Stag, who stepped toward her. What plan?

  Nerina trotted to the very edge of the pool. She unfurled her wings, stretching them so wide they seemed to encompass the Waterfall and the barrier of protective magic. The Malandanti are wholly focused on this site. It is the last holdout against them. They need it to gain the power granted by controlling all seven sites.

  We know this, Heath said, and I could feel his impatience like a slippery eel in my mind.

  And they have shrouded their presence here behind the veil of legitimacy, Nerina continued, ignoring Heath. She met the Stag’s eyes with a calm stare. We must shred that veil.

  The Guild, he breathed.

  Yes. Nerina tucked her wings back against her body. The Malandanti relies heavily on the Guild—to secure their footing in the communities surrounding the sites and to do their dirty work once there. If we take down the Guild, we will deal a blow to the Malandanti that they will not recover from.

  But the Guild has offices all over the world, said the Lynx. How can we take them down from here?

  The entire company is focused on Twin Willows right now, Nerina said. This is the seat of their power. I would not be surprised if the Concilio Argento shows up here soon.

  The branch crackled beneath the strong grip of my talons. The Malandanti’s Concilio in Twin Willows? That would be catastrophic. I fluttered my wings and looked at the other Clan members. None of them seemed surprised by this news; apparently it had already occurred to them that the Concilio Argento would show up any day now, and I was just catching up. I tucked my wings back in.

  Is this what the Concilio agreed on before you left Friuli? the Stag asked.

  Nerina turned to the Stag. We did not have time to discuss this particular issue.

  That wasn’t exactly an answer. We disagreed on strategy, she’d told me earlier that day. I ruffled my feathers. Well. It seemed Nerina was taking advantage of the chaos that had rousted the Concilio from their nest to put forth her own agenda. The Guild is a huge, multimillion-dollar, Fortune 500 company, I said. How on earth can the six of us bring them down?

  It won’t be easy. Nerina padded toward me and stopped just beneath my branch. And everyone will play a part. I want all of you to come up with at least one good, viable idea.

  I stared at her. She didn’t blink or look away, but I didn’t need to read her mind to know what was going on behind those large, clear eyes. She had no idea how to topple the Guild, and she needed the rest of us to figure it out for her.

  We’ll meet again in a week. Nerina swung her gaze away from me and faced the Clan. Any questions?

  Yes, Heath said. How exactly—?

  Good. In bocca al lupo, Nerina said, giving the blessing that all Benandanti used. May the wolf hold you in its mouth. The crystalline magic of the barrier illuminated her as she passed through it. I shot a look at Heath, whose blue eyes were narrowed to slits as he glared at Nerina. I tracked him through the woods toward the farm, trying to break into his thoughts, but he had turned them off.

  Something silver flashed against a snow-covered pine as I brushed through its needles. I wheeled, peering into every corner around me, but nothing was there. Rising up to the treetops, I tried to reach Heath again, but he was still shut down. A spark of silver winked again.

  I veered away from the farm, my feathers cold. Something was following me, and I was pretty sure it was the Raven. That damned aura trick. If it followed me home, it would know who I was. My heart jumped, and I dropped several notches. Below me, Heath’s pale form streaked through the trees. If it followed Heath home, it would know who he was, too.

  Heath! Heath! I tried to break through to him. No answer. I climbed, my eyes razor focused for another telltale glimpse of silver. There it was, just below me, tracking Heath’s path . . .

  An ungodly sound filled the air, like a hundred different animals screaming in unison. The Raven uncloaked, quivering in midair mere feet away from me. The sound ripped across the forest again. Nerina burst through the trees. Her aura lit up the world, shimmering like a thousand prisms. In the glow of her light, the black feathers of the Raven looked white.

  Nerina pounded through the air toward the Raven. For a moment, the Raven hung frozen in shock at the sight of this unearthly creature. I almost laughed at its confusion. But it shook itself into action and bolted toward Nerina, its dark eyes focused on her throat.

  I raced behind Nerina, but she reached the Raven before I did. She dodged its attempts to strike her with the grace of a boxer and a ballerina rolled into one. The Raven rushed her. She swiped one of her enormous paws, and the Raven tumbled out of the air, disappearing into the trees below.

  What the hell? Heath’s thoughts came roaring through.

  The Raven was tailing you, Nerina replied. You need to pay more attention. The Falcon was trying to warn you, and you weren’t listening.

  Now they know you’re here! Heath headed west, taking the long way back to the farm in case the Raven was still lurking. You should’ve stayed hidden!

  They were bound to find out sooner or later.

  Later would be better, Heath snapped. You can bet their own Concilio will be here in a matter of days.

  Their own Concilio was probably on their way anyway, long before they knew I was here, Nerina said. They need the Waterfall, and they will muster all their force to get it.

  It was rash, insisted Heath. You should have—

  Stop! I sliced through their thoughts. The Raven already suspects we’re connected to the farm, and my mother is already in danger. Nerina is right.

  Nerina reversed her course, heading back to the Waterfall. I dipped low, skimming the trees just above Heath as I followed him home. What was that about?

  She shouldn’t have done that. He sounded like a six-year-old, in trouble for roughhousing in the sandbox. Her being here is the one element of surprise we had, and now it’s gone.

  Give it up, Heath. I floated over a branch. Your attitude toward her is just making you look bad.

  He tilted his head up. Who’s the Guide now?

  I’m serious. We came to the stone wall that bordered the farm. Heath jumped it in one long, graceful leap, the frozen earth crackling beneath his paws as he landed. Somewhere below was Nerina’s hideout, filled with expensive appliances and plush throw pillows and all the information she could gather on the Guild. Besides, I’m far more interested in her plan.

  Or lack thereof?

  So he had noticed that too. We crested the hill and passed the ruins of the barn. The light in the kitchen was still on, the back door still open. Heath’s body lay in the doorway, with mine slumped over the table just beyond. With a burst of bright light that I hoped wouldn’t wake Lidia, we transformed back to human.

  I grabbed my coat from the peg by the door and walked with Heath back to his cabin. “So she really has no clue what she’s doing?”

  Heath sighed. “It’s not that. It’s just—Nerina tends to make grand plans, which is great, but then she has no practical way of making them happen.”

  “She thinks big.” I folded my arms and hugged myself. “And she needs us to think small.” I walked to the window and peered out into the night. The Raven had almost found us out. Even the skies weren’t safe for me anymore. I bid Heath good night, walked back to the house, and tiptoed up the stairs and down the hall to my mother’s bedroom. I rested my palm on her closed door. If they found out who I w
as, I knew they’d go after Lidia before they’d come for me. They would make me suffer first.

  I turned away from the door, my mind reeling in a dozen directions. Nerina had the grand plan, and I needed the small puzzle piece that would fit into her big picture. But what could I do? I was just a kid. Or at least, I had thought I was before I had been Called. I had grown up a lot in the last couple of months, and I had learned that kids could do a lot more than people gave them credit for.

  People underestimate kids. It was true. I climbed into bed and drew my knees up to my chest. It also meant kids could get away with a lot more. Kids could fly under the radar. Nobody suspected kids. In the dark, an idea formed in my mind. I was a kid; Jonah was a kid. And there was one other kid who linked us and could be the key to everything.

  Chapter Six

  Why You Should Never Talk To Your Twin Brother’s Ex-Girlfriend

  Bree

  I stood across the street from the school, wondering if I should ditch. I mean, what the hell was the point? There was not one person on this planet who could convince me I needed algebra to survive in the real world. When the Malandanti came calling at my door, they weren’t interested in whether I’d read Wuthering Heights. And it had taken a skill that I hadn’t learned in school to dodge their clutches.

  I took a deep drag on my cigarette. The smoke tasted delicious in the morning chill. Kids milled on the lawn in front of the school, but no one seemed to notice me on the other side of Main Street. And that was just fine. You know how people are always asking which superpower you’d rather have—flying or invisibility? Well, I knew what it was like to fly, and I didn’t need it. But invisibility? Now, that would come in handy.

  “Hey, Bree.”

  I dropped my cigarette. “Jesus,” I hissed, spinning around.

  Alessia Jacobs had somehow sidled right up next to me without my noticing. Great. I stepped off the curb and walked toward school. Guess I wasn’t ditching after all.

  Alessia jogged to keep up with me, like a freaking puppy dog.

  “What the hell do you want, Alessia?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “I’m not talking to Jonah for you. No way am I stepping into the middle of that pile of dog shit.”

  “This isn’t about Jonah.”

  I stopped and cocked my head at her. “Really.”

  “Really.” She laid three fingers over her heart. “I swear.”

  The warning bell rang. God, I did not want to face first-period English. “Meet me in the auditorium in ten.”

  “Don’t you have a class?”

  “Do you want to talk to me or not?”

  Kids streamed past us into the building. I could see Alessia itching to join them, like the goody-two-shoes joiner that she was. “Fine,” she said and dissolved into the throng of students.

  I waited for the second bell before I ducked inside. The hallways were claustrophobic with activity. Josh Baker cornered me outside the auditorium. He leaned in close, his breath hot on my neck. “You in the mood for a free period?”

  Free period was Josh’s code for let’s-find-an-empty-supply-closet-and-make-out. I was definitely not in the mood for a free period. I laid my palm on his chest and ran my finger down to his navel. “Meet me after school.”

  “I got practice.” He slipped his hand under my coat. “Come on, skip English.”

  Well, I was skipping English but not to make out with him. I danced just out of reach of his groping hands. “Skip practice.”

  “You know I can’t.”

  He caught me by the waist.

  I gyrated my hips into him for a moment, my lips at his ear. “Well, then you’re out of luck, aren’t you?”

  The second bell rang. Josh gave a little groan as I pulled away from him. I blew him a kiss and slipped into the auditorium, hiding behind the door until I was certain he hadn’t followed me inside. I shrugged my coat off and smoothed my shirt where Josh’s wandering hands had wrinkled it. He was getting too easy to lead around on a leash. The last thing I needed was a boyfriend.

  I tossed my coat on the floor of an alcove at the back of the auditorium and settled in, stretching my legs in front of me. The door opened with a creak.

  It took a minute for Alessia to locate me. “Hey,” she said, sitting down next to me.

  “So what the hell is this about?”

  She dug into her backpack and pulled out a Ziploc bag. “Want a biscotti?” she asked, holding the bag out to me.

  A sweet almond scent wafted out of the bag. I drew one out and bit into it. “Oh, my God,” I said with my mouth full of cookie goodness, before I could stop myself. “This is amazing.”

  “Yeah, my mom’s a really great cook.” Alessia nibbled on the edge of her biscotti. “They’re better when you dunk them in coffee, but you don’t want the crap they serve in the office.”

  We ate our biscotti in silence. I reached for another, then pulled my hand back. What, she thought she could bribe me with a few tasty cookies? The girl had kidnapped me, for Chrissakes. I folded my arms over my chest. “What do you want, Alessia?”

  She brushed crumbs off her sweater and tucked her knees up to her chest. “Um, I have something to ask you. And you can say no, but—”

  “No.”

  Her cheeks reddened. “Can you at least hear me out?”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” My voice echoed in the rafters of the auditorium. Alessia glanced around, but I didn’t take my focus off her face. “You kidnapped me, dragged me into that whatever-it-is-you-call-it on your farm, and then tried to attack me. And now you’re asking me for a favor?” I pushed myself up on my hands and started to get to my feet. “You’re outta your mind.”

  “Bree, please.” She grabbed my arm, forcing me to sit down. “I know what I did was wrong, and I am so, so sorry. I was upset and got totally fixated on the—the Panther—and you got in the middle of it—”

  “Because you put me there—”

  “And I’m just so sorry.” She lowered her gaze so all I could see were the tops of her wet eyelashes. “If there was a way to make it up to you—”

  “You can leave me the hell alone.” I got to my feet.

  Alessia put a hand on my ankle.

  I looked down at her. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I.” She raised her eyes. “You wouldn’t be helping just me. You’d be helping Jonah.”

  My breath caught, the taste of smoke and biscotti trapped on my tongue. Slowly, I sank to the floor. “I’m listening. Talk fast.”

  Alessia swallowed. “We need to take down the Guild.”

  I didn’t need to ask who she meant by we.

  “And I think one of the best ways to do that is to have someone on the inside.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, so?”

  She didn’t say anything, just swallowed again and searched my face.

  My stomach squirmed. “You mean me? No. No way.”

  “Think about it.” Alessia leaned toward me, her eyes gleaming. “You’re perfectly positioned. You could tell your dad you’re interested in the company. He could set you up with an internship or something. No one would suspect you—because you’re already connected to the Guild.”

  “And then what? We brush-pass on our way to biology? Secret meetings under the bleachers?” I shook my head. “This isn’t Hollywood, Alessia. These are dangerous people.”

  “But you would be protected. No one would suspect you, because of your dad.”

  “And if they found out, not even my dad could protect me.” I stood up and stepped back so she couldn’t grab my ankle again. “You have a lot of nerve asking me to do this. Especially since I don’t owe you anything.”

  “You’re right. You don’t owe me anything.” Alessia rose and leveled her gaze at me. “But you owe it to Jonah.”

  Who the hell did she think she was? I slammed my locker shut so hard I heard the books inside tumble off the top shelf onto the floor. I gave the locker an extra kick for good meas
ure and stomped down the hall. Several people scattered out of my path, shooting me dark looks, but I ignored them. Whatever. I didn’t need anyone’s approval at this place. And I certainly didn’t need Alessia-freaking-Jacobs telling me what I should or shouldn’t do.

  You owe it to Jonah. My ass. If anyone owed anybody anything, he owed it to me for keeping his little secret for as long as I had. He owed it to me for all the times I had saved his skin when he’d go on a bender during the drinking days. A little dark of guilt pierced my gut. You didn’t save his skin when it mattered most, said that slithery voice inside me. I stomped harder to shut it up. It wasn’t my fault what happened in Fairfield.

  With my head down, I rounded a corner and smacked into something very solid. “Watch where you’re going!”

  “Uh, Bree,” said a laughing voice, “you’re the one watching the floor.”

  I looked up into the face of Mr. Foster, the teaching assistant for my English classes. “Sorry. Bad day.”

  He put a hand on my elbow. With most other teachers, it would’ve been creepy, but with Mr. Foster, it was actually genuine. “You want to talk about it?”

  Sure, dude. My brother’s ex-girlfriend just asked me to infiltrate a dangerous organization and spy on them. Let’s discuss the Shakespearean themes in that scenario. “No.”

  He cocked his head. “We missed you in class this morning.”

  “Yeah, uh—something came up.” I looked over his shoulder, beyond to the door that was my escape from this claustrophobic building.

  “Well, stop by my classroom after school, and we can go over what you missed.” Mr. Foster dropped my elbow. Little creases appeared at the corners of his eyes as he smiled at me, making him look older than he was. “You’re a bright girl, Bree. There’s no reason for you to fall behind.”

  “Okay, I’ll stop by.” I knew there was a slim-to-none chance in hell that I actually would, but the kind look on his face almost made me want to. “See you later.” I stepped around him and hustled to the door. Above me, the bell went off, announcing I was officially late for government class. Whatever. Let Clemens report me. Then both the Wolfe twins could be known as screw-ups.