In the Mouth of the Wolf

by Nicole Maggi

  The thing nodded, and then I understood. She was immortal, a member of the Concilio . . . Of course she wouldn’t turn into something as mundane as a falcon or a panther. No, a mere mammal wasn’t good enough for Nerina; she had to be mythical. I squinted. “A griffin?”

  She nodded again and padded away from me. I followed, stepping carefully over her human form. As I did, I saw the glimmer of burnished gold near her neck. A locket, similar to the one Alessia wore that kept her caul safe.

  I could tell Nerina was dying to fly; she kept flexing her wings, furling and unfurling them, but she stayed on the ground to lead me through the woods. Miracle of miracles, it had stopped snowing. Now it was just cold. I followed her into a cluster of birch trees, their limbs white and bare in the moonlight. The sound of rushing water filled my ears. Nerina stopped. She swung her huge head toward me. It was totally unreal to see her eyes in the depths of the red-gold fur that covered her face. She stamped one giant paw into the snow, which I took to mean, Stay here. I stayed. I wasn’t about to argue with a freaking griffin.

  Nerina gathered her haunches and launched into the air, her magnificent wings blotting out the sky above me. Damn. Girlfriend was impressive. No wonder Heath was so hot for her. She disappeared into the night. I hugged myself against the cold and realized I was going to have to buckle against my better fashion sense and get a puffer coat.

  The woods here were dead quiet. After a few minutes, it got spooky. I glanced around, trying to figure out where Nerina was, but everything was dark and shadowy. There were no birds or squirrels or deer—nothing except the sound of water. I stilled. Of course. We were near the Waterfall.

  A twig snapped behind me. I flattened myself against the trunk of a birch tree, as if it would really do anything since my coat was bright red. A hulking white wolf crept past me. Jesus. I grappled against the tree—could I climb it? —but the wolf shook its head. Eyes wide, I took in the faint blue glow that haloed its whole body. It wasn’t a wolf. It was a Benandante. A bird called softly above me. I jerked my gaze up, away from the wolf. Alessia soared over the treetops, her outline just visible against the darkness.

  The Clan was gathering.

  It felt like ages before Nerina returned.

  “I think my toes might’ve fallen off. I’m pretty sure I have frostbite,” I told her when her unearthly form reappeared. “Does the Benandanti have health insurance?”

  She tossed her head, her breath white in the frozen air, and turned away. I followed her out of the birch trees, through some brush I had to practically Indiana-Jones my way through, and to the shores of a deep, clear stream.

  I was so not a nature girl, but the sight of the Waterfall could turn me into one. The water flowed, end over end, tumbling down rocks into a glittering pool below. Blue light haloed the entire thing; that had to be the protection to keep the Malandanti out. The Malandanti . . . I whirled in a circle, peering into the forest all around us. “Isn’t there usually a Malandante here, watching us?” I asked Nerina.

  She shook her head.

  I threw my arms into the air.

  She couldn’t exactly answer me in the form she was in. Seriously, how did the Clan talk to each other when they were transformed? Charades?

  Nerina urged me forward with a jerk of her head. I stepped through the protection bubble. My skin tingled with the magic, and I felt a surge of power down my spine. Maybe someday I’d be capable of magic this potent. Maybe tomorrow.

  I stopped on the shore of the pool. Nerina led me around the edge of the pool to the other side, where I could see the Clan waiting. Alessia perched on a branch that hung out over the water. A huge, fierce-eyed Eagle sat next to her. Beneath them were the White Wolf and a Stag, its antlers shimmery in the moonlight. I swallowed. They were missing one. Mr. Foster. Alessia had told me he transformed into a Lynx. Even though I had never really known him, I could feel the Lynx-shaped hole in the cluster of animals in front of me.

  The Stag and the Wolf trotted out. Alessia and the Eagle fluttered down so the four of them formed a semicircle. Only then did I notice a glowing line in the ground. Nerina nudged me toward it with her nose. I flashed her a look—What the hell am I getting myself into?—but she was maddeningly unresponsive. I edged toward the line until my toes met it. Nerina pushed her head into the small of my back, and I stumbled over the line.

  My whole body lit up with blue light, filled me with warmth I hadn’t felt since we’d lived in Florida. The Clan closed in around me. Something bubbled inside me, something like when Jonah and I were kids and we would talk to each other in our own made-up language and no one else could understand us—we were our own world. I felt that now . . .

  Belonging.

  My throat tightened. No, no, no . . . don’t cry, don’t cry, I told myself. But I couldn’t help it. Tears squeezed out of the corners of my eyes. Dammit. Why did Alessia have to be here to see this? I buried my face in my hands.

  I didn’t know . . . I had no idea. The Clan was a family, just like me and Jonah. And they’d just let me in. I was part of them now. I was part of something bigger than myself. Yeah, I’d known that before. But now I knew it to the core of my being, as deep as I knew the language that only Jonah and I spoke.

  Welcome, Bree.

  The voices echoed in my head. I slid my hands from my face to my temples. “What the hell?”

  This is how the Clan communicates.

  I looked wildly amongst them. “What, you read minds?”

  Not exactly. That voice—male—it was familiar. The Wolf stepped forward. Heath. I was sure of it. I almost said his name out loud, but his blue eyes pierced into me, and I remembered. I wasn’t supposed to know their identities. Except now they all knew mine . . .

  We can speak to each other with our minds, the Wolf said. But we can’t read any thoughts beyond what we want the Clan to know.

  You can open or close it at any time. That was Nerina; her voice was unmistakable. Don’t worry; you’ll grasp that soon. But if the Clan is Called, you will be, too.

  “But now you all know who I am,” I said.

  Yes. The Stag tossed its head. Its voice was deep, unfamiliar. He and the Eagle were the only ones whose real names I didn’t know. But you are a member of our Clan now, and we are sworn to protect any and every Clan member with our last breath. Knowing your identity will never change that. By stepping into this circle, you have sworn the same oath.

  I fought for my breath, trying to control it, but I sounded like a dog in heat. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t even think clearly—God, could they hear the jumbled thoughts inside my head?

  Alessia flew to me and landed gently on my shoulder. She pressed her feathery face to mine. Despite the cold, she was warm. We all know what you’ve sacrificed, Bree. We all know the danger you’re in by being here.

  And we are all grateful. It was a new voice, soft and maternal. By process of elimination, it had to be the Eagle.

  I turned to Nerina. “But I thought you said I wasn’t ready.”

  Ready or not, we all have to be prepared. The Malandanti will attack, especially now that we are one member short.

  I felt the ripple of sorrow that shuddered through the entire Clan. Whoa. It was like a hive mind. “This is weird,” I muttered.

  Alessia’s wing brushed my hair as she launched off my shoulder. You get used to it.

  “So do we all sing ‘Kumbaya’ now or what?”

  I could swear the Stag laughed. Thank God one of them had a sense of humor. Not surprisingly, Nerina ignored me. We cannot stay here long. She paced between each member of the Clan. I cast a spell to keep the Malandanti away, but it is fading. My magic is not as strong as our new mage’s. She blinked her dark eyes at me. From now on, Bree and I will be training here at the Waterfall. She will learn to mask herself so she cannot be identified. And when the Malandanti come, we will meet them with our new power.

  I shivered. The Malandanti would attack, and I would fight them . . . including the Panther th
at was my brother’s soul.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The Time Traveler

  Alessia

  I caught up to Bree just beyond the stone wall, swooping low. Can we talk?

  She nodded. “But can we do it someplace warm? Unlike you, I haven’t been covered in feather down for the past hour.”

  Meet me at the Cave. I’ll be there after I transform. I soared toward the farmhouse. A faint blue light tinged the edge of the horizon. It would be dawn soon; we would have to hurry.

  My body was bone tired when I slid back into it. I’d been Called the instant my head had hit the pillow. No rest for the wicked, I thought, tiptoeing downstairs and out the back door.

  Bree was waiting against the little hobbit door of the Cave. “I should buy stock in coffee,” she muttered.

  “It’s amazing how well I’ve learned to function on no sleep since joining the Benandanti,” I said, unlocking the door.

  Inside, the Cave was warm and close. The pungent smell of cheese tickled my nose. I pulled out a tray of fresh goat’s cheese and put it on the table. “Want some?”

  “Yes, I’m starving.” Bree reached for the knife I set next to the cheese. I found some bread in the little fridge beneath the counter and set that out, too. “So, um, that was intense.”

  “Yeah.” I hauled myself onto a stool. I rolled my ankles and wrists, my joints crackling. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

  Bree swallowed and leaned against the table. “Okay, look, I’m really sorry. I was being stupid and power hungry, and I didn’t think anything would come of it.”

  I squinted at her. “What are you talking about?”

  She froze. “Nothing. What are you talking about?”

  “Nuh-uh. What did you do?”

  “Fine.” She sighed. “Nerina gave me this book to unlock, and when I did, it gave me the power to control people.”

  “Like what the Rabbit did to Mr. Salter?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  She nodded, not looking at me.

  “And then what happened?” I was getting an itchy feeling in my gut.

  “I kinda told Jonah to just figure out this thing with you guys already—”

  “Bree! What the hell!” I jumped off the stool. “Is that why he wanted to meet?”

  “Did you guys meet?” Bree asked, her eyes wide. “What happened?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Did you guys do it?”

  “Oh, my God! That is so not any of your business, but no.” I slammed around to the other side of the table.

  Bree had this little smirk on her face that made me want to hit her.

  “I can’t believe you did that. I hope Nerina gave you a long and boring lecture on how wrong that was.”

  “Yeah, yeah, she did.” Bree popped another cheese-slathered piece of bread in her mouth.

  I wanted to scream. But even if she’d pushed us together, what had happened in the basement was just between me and Jonah. She didn’t manipulate that.

  I pressed my hands flat on the table. “Okay, whatever. That’s not why I’m here.” I took a deep breath. “I promised Jonah I wouldn’t tell anyone any of this, but I also promised him I would help him, and I can’t do that alone. So I’m going to tell you something, and you have to swear on anything you hold sacred that you won’t tell anyone. Okay?”

  “You should know by now that anything involving Jonah is my business, too. And that he will always come first. You can trust me.”

  “I know, and that’s why I’m coming to you.” I ran a hand over my face. “He wants to leave. The Malandanti. He wants out.”

  Bree stilled, holding the knife just above the table. “That’s not possible, is it?”

  “I don’t know.” I blew a long breath out. “But if it is possible, the answer must be in one of those books we took from the Guild. And you can read them now, can’t you?”

  “Not all of them—”

  “But you just said you unlocked that one book—”

  “Yeah, one book.” Bree dropped the knife. It thunked on the gnarled wood. She pushed the cheese plate away. “But there’re six more. Plus countless documents and stuff. And I have no idea what my training with Nerina will look like now that I’m a full member of the Clan. We might not even deal with the books anymore.”

  “But if the books contain the magic of the sites, I’m sure you will.” I leaned toward her. “Even if you don’t, you have to get into them. You have to see if there’s something in there about this.”

  “I will. I promise. Because if there’s a chance he can get out . . .”

  I stretched an arm across the table to her.

  After a moment, she took my hand and squeezed my fingers. I now had the Benandanti mage working with me. If that couldn’t help Jonah, I didn’t know what could.

  “Alessia?”

  The sound of my mother’s voice made my elbow slide off the table. I jolted awake. “Huh? Sorry, Mom.”

  She crossed the kitchen and ran a hand through my hair. “Cara, are you feeling okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” I gave her hand a gentle push and dug into the oatmeal she’d just set in front of me. “Thanks for breakfast.”

  She didn’t answer, just slid into the chair opposite me and picked up her cup of coffee. I felt her gaze on me over the rim of her mug. “You haven’t been sleeping well,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

  I shrugged and shoved another spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth.

  “You’re working too hard.”

  I stilled for a split second before recovering and gulping down more oatmeal. Not for the first time, I wondered how much Lidia knew about the Benandanti. She’d lied all those weeks ago when I’d asked her about the amulet; I was sure of it. I took a sip from my own cup of coffee. “School’s hard this semester.”

  A shadow crossed her face, and she looked away as she nodded. “I wish I could afford to give us a holiday,” she murmured. “It would be nice to get away for a few days.”

  My heart skipped. Had she really just given me such a perfect opening? I put my spoon down. “Actually, Mom, I wanted to ask you about that.”

  She looked back at me, her eyes wide. “Sì, cara?”

  “Well, Jenny and Carly and Melissa are planning to go away for a few days to look at colleges in Massachusetts.” I hunched my shoulders. “I’d really like to go with them.”

  Lidia raised an eyebrow. “What colleges?”

  “Williams, Amherst, and Mount Holyoke. Jenny’s already called and set up tours.”

  “And when are they going?”

  “Next weekend.” I finished my oatmeal, hoping to look casual even though my heart was racing.

  “And whose parent is going with you?”

  Thud. My heart slammed to a halt. “Um, none. We were planning to go by ourselves.”

  Lidia’s mouth opened.

  Before she could speak, I held my hand up. “Mom, I’m almost seventeen. So is Carly. And Jenny and Melissa are already seventeen. We’re old enough, and we’ll be fine. I’ll check in three times a day, I promise. And it’s only for two nights. We’re going to stay at this cute, little inn that’s run by an old retired couple. Talk to Barb about it if you want,” I added.

  Lidia closed her mouth. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head, all the reasons she wanted to say no. But as the long minutes stretched on, and she wasn’t saying no, I wondered again what she knew. Did she know I had been Called? And if I was old enough to handle the Benandanti, wasn’t I old enough to go away for the weekend with my girlfriends?

  At last, she picked up her mug and downed the rest of her coffee. “You know, Alessia,” she said, setting the cup gently down, “ever since your father died, you have been a big help in running this farm. You’ve risen at dawn without me dragging you out of bed, and you’ve never complained.” She swallowed. “And I’ve been preoccupied lately—with Ed, with helping him out—and still you’ve done y
our chores and your schoolwork without me looking over your shoulder.”

  I half-smiled at her. Where was she going with this?

  “What I’m trying to say is—you deserve a little vacation. You have proven to me that you are mature and trustworthy. So, okay.” She reached out and patted my hand.

  “I can go?”

  “You can go.”

  “Oh, thanks, Mom!” I jumped out of my chair and hugged her. She laughed and kissed my cheek.

  Just before I pulled away, she held me closer. “You are a good girl, cara. I love you so much,” she whispered into my ear.

  “I love you too, Mom.” And I let go of her with a pang, wishing once again that I could tell her everything.

  It was only on the way out of the house, my heart light with the thought of how Jenny would react when I told her, that I remembered the real person I needed to get permission from wasn’t Lidia.

  “Crap,” I muttered, shaking my head. There was no way Nerina was going to let me leave Twin Willows for a weekend—not with the Malandanti closing in. Up ahead, at the bend in the road, I spotted Jenny, her hot-pink peacoat like a flower blossoming in snow. My steps grew heavy.

  “Did you talk to her?” Jenny asked by way of greeting.

  I nodded. “She said yes.”

  Jenny squealed and jumped up and down a few times before she noticed my face. “So why do you look like Ryan Gosling just died?”

  “I’m still not sure I can go,” I said. Jenny’s jaw tightened. I grabbed her arm and started walking toward school. “Look, things are still really hard at home, with the fire and the goats gone. I just feel really bad taking off right now.”

  “Lessi.” Jenny laid her head on my shoulder as we walked. “You are like the goodiest of all the Goody Two-Shoes I know. That’s really sweet. But your mom said yes. And I’m sure she’ll be okay for three days. Not even. Like two and a half.”

  “Yeah, I know. Okay, okay. But if I have to cancel at the last minute, please don’t be pissed.”