Quentin knew what he should do. He should deliver the amulet to David Katz, and then Quentin could transform into a crow or a starling and fly away. For sure he would die, but the alternative should be unthinkable. If he turned this amulet over to Alistair, he would be responsible for creating a monster.
Dr. Frankenstein may have done this unintentionally, and the monster he had created had not desired to harm humans (even if his desires and actions did not always coincide), but Quentin knew what he was doing and was doing it to preserve his life; doing it because even after so many centuries, it was hard to die.
So he sat in his office staring at the charm in his hands, waiting for the expected knock on the door.
“Enter.” Alistair came in; as always, his clothing immaculate and expensively cut. Quentin looked into his face and shuddered. There was an expectant, hungry look in his eyes.
“Did you succeed?” asked Alistair, greedily casting his eyes at the chain in Quentin’s hands.
Quentin thought, Maybe it’s not too late. I could lie, tell him it didn’t work, that the charm would still burn him. But instead, Quentin handed Alistair the charm, and instantly he was terrified. What if Alistair puts on the amulet now...But Alistair held the amulet in his hand for a moment and then placed it in his inside pocket.
“Thank you, Quentin. I knew I could rely on you. And your reward...” He lifted out of his messenger bag a small, soft cooler, which he passed over to Quentin. In it were six bottles of red liquid. “These should last you for a while. I may be out of contact after we’ve finished our business here in St. Louis.”
“Thank you, Alistair. Be careful...”
“Oh, I will be, dear Quentin. I will.”
After Alistair left, Quentin stayed sitting at the table, staring at the six bottles of blood. What have I done? He thought. What have I done?
Chapter 40
Jessamyn shifted into hawk form and stared for what seemed like the millionth time into her scrying bowl. She didn’t really expect to see anything new. Alistair had protective wards, she knew, placed by the magician in his service. But still, after talking with Lilith this morning, she felt she needed to at least try. There was no proof, of course, that the monster in Lilith’s vision existed at all or had any connection with Alistair, but somehow Jessamyn had not been able to let go of that idea ever since Lilith described her vision.
She focused on Alistair’s essence. This was hard for her to do, as only once in her long life did she have direct contact with him. Yet even that one time had left an indelible mark on her soul. If anyone was destined to become such a monster, it was him.
Jessamyn’s hawk eyes gazed deep into the scrying bowl.
“Show me,” she chanted in the ancient language. “Thaispeáint dom Alistair! Show me Alistair.”
The water in the silver bowl bubbled and flowed in impossible directions. Then slowly, a picture began to form. It was Alistair. He was standing in a room (she could not scry where), gazing in the mirror. He had something silver in his hands, a shapeshifter’s charm, she was sure of that, though Jessamyn could not see what kind. He held it up to the mirror. There was a look of triumph in his eyes. Carefully, he fastened the chain around his neck.
Jessamyn held her breath, waiting... She saw Alistair’s face momentarily change, and it seemed that he was trying to control an urge deep inside him. Then he smiled at his reflection in the mirror. Slowly, he turned and gazed directly at Jessamyn. No, that’s not possible, she thought. He can’t know I’m watching. Can he? There was a look of triumph on his face, and power. Immense, all-encompassing power.
His image faded from the bowl, and Jessamyn understood. It was a challenge. They had met once before. She had survived that encounter... another had been less fortunate. Jessamyn felt a wrench in her heart. She had blocked out that memory for so many years.
So Alistair was coming here to challenge her. She would be ready this time.
Chapter 41
On the morning of the full moon, Nora woke from a restless night of disturbing dreams. All of them featured Alistair. Each time she would run away from him and feel immense relief that she was free, only to find him returning to her over and over again. By the end of her dream, she had barricaded herself in a small bathroom stall and was trembling. She could hear his heavy breathing from the outside.
“Nora, my love, let me in...”
The door started to creak open, and Nora awoke screaming.
Mrs. Bumsqueak came rushing in to see her. She placed a cool hand on her forehead.
“A fever,” she said. “I’ll be right back with some fever- reducing potion.” Nora took the potion and lay back in the bed, but every time she closed her eyes, Alistair’s face would reappear in front of her.
***
Mandy was terrified. Tonight was the full moon. Tonight she had to transform again. She had asked Josh over and over again what would happen if she just stayed inside. Maybe she could fight the transformation.
“No, Mandy,” he explained patiently, for what seemed like the thousandth time. “You won’t be able to do that. The pull of the full moon will be too strong. Better you embrace it. Start the night outside. I’ll be with you, Mandy. I’ll transform with you. I’ll help you.”
“But it hurt so much,” said Mandy, “last time. I don’t think I’m strong enough, Josh.”
“Yes, you are. Trust me, Mandy. You never know how strong you really are until you are tested.”
So, as the sun began to set, Josh led Mandy out into the park. His plan was for the two of them, after they transformed, to join the wolf pack by the zoo for the night. She would likely be hungry, and they would teach her how to hunt.
For now he took her to a quiet spot where they were unlikely to be disturbed. It was December now, and there was a bitter chill in the air. He wondered if it would snow soon. Snow would make it easier to track the stray wolves that had been appearing more and more frequently these days, though, of course, it would also make it easier for Alistair’s wolves to follow them too.
They sat down on a bench and watched the sunset. In the distance they heard a single howl of a wolf. Mandy huddled closer to Josh, who put his arms around her.
“I’m scared, Josh.”
“It’ll be all right, Mandy. I’m here,” he said, gently stroking her hair. He kissed her, and she hungrily kissed him back. He could feel an urgency inside her. She was trembling; she could feel the moon rising. He took her hand and led her to a quiet, secluded clearing.
“Listen to me, Mandy. It doesn’t have to hurt. Embrace the moon; it is who you are now.”
Mandy turned away from the moon, shaking. “No, no, I can’t...” She tried to run, but Josh held her. “Look at the moon, Mandy. Let it enter your body.”
Josh was now beginning to change himself. Even though at other times of the month he could transform at will, he still could not control his metamorphosis when he was outside on the night of a full moon. Tonight the moon was in control.
He let the moon fill his body, embracing the familiar feeling of the change and willing Mandy to do the same. He could tell she was still fighting it, that it was hurting her, and this made him very sad. In the last month he’d grown extremely fond of Mandy. He hated to see her in pain. He wondered briefly if Miri might be able to help her. Her power was interesting. It had a lot of potential to help... or hurt.
Finally, Mandy gave up her struggle against the moon. And as she did, the moonlight permeated her body, and the metamorphosis to wolf became more fluid until, at last, she was standing next to him, a small, sandy-brown wolf.
“You did it, Mandy,” he said proudly. “Let’s go and visit the pack.”
***
In the distance Alistair was watching. He had dispatched his wolves around the perimeter of the park, instructing them to stay silent and out of sight until he gave the signal. Despite the full moon high in the sky, he had yet to transform tonight. Centuries of experience had given him mastery over his form eve
n during the full moon. He felt its tug, but resisted... waiting.
He sensed the amulet around his neck. It felt comfortably warm but not burning. The alchemist’s spell had worked, he was sure of that, but he saved his power, letting it build inside him like the pressure inside a volcano, building slowly, slowly...
***
Inside the infirmary at P.A.W.S., Nora was crouching on the floor. Every part of her body was shaking, and she could feel that her fever had reached an unimaginable level. She was burning, burning; her whole body felt like it was in flames. She had to get out of here but had no idea where to go. She had been brought into P.A.W.S. unconscious and had never been anywhere in the institute apart from this room.
Mrs. Bumsqueak was sleeping. Nora could hear her snores. She’d been giving Nora her fever-reducing potion all day long, with no discernible result. Before the healer had gone to sleep, she had given Nora a sleeping draft, but this, too, had had no effect.
Painstakingly, Nora crawled across the infirmary floor until she reached the door. She was scared it would be locked, but it opened easily. Nora continued her crawl out into the corridor. The hallway was deserted. It was late; everyone was sleeping. At the end of corridor, she found a staircase going up. Was this the way out? She knew she had to get out. The fire inside her was raging stronger and stronger. She feared she would explode into flames.
The stairs led up to another floor and another corridor, still empty. She crawled up and down the corridor, scared to try any of the doors lest she wake someone and they return her to the infirmary. She knew she couldn’t go back there. She had to get outside.
On the third pass down the corridor, she thought to look upwards. On the ceiling above her appeared to be a trapdoor. Was this the way out? On the wall near the trapdoor, she found a large button, which she pressed, and she watched as a ladder extended from the ceiling to the floor.
Agonizingly, she began her ascent up the ladder. Every part of her body wracked with pain as she climbed slowly, slowly, one rung at a time. Finally, she reached the top and pushed up on the trapdoor. It gave way and she climbed out and saw the sky. All around the vast universe was spread out, thousands of stars shining in the heavens, and in the middle a large, round, full moon hung golden in the sky, tinged with red around its circumference. To Nora it appeared to be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
In the few seconds that Nora witnessed the moon, a change came over her. Energy poured through her body, a wave of electricity that coursed through her, propelling her towards the welcoming moon.
The crash was earsplitting as Nora dove through the glass of the Jewel Box, a scream and a howl combining in her body as it tried desperately to change form.
Down below in P.A.W.S., everyone was instantly awake. Lilith let out a cry. “It’s coming!” she screamed.
Chapter 42
Miri, asleep on her bunk, was jolted awake at the sound of the crash and Lilith’s scream, and she felt a wave of terror so great that it threatened to engulf her. She was up instantly, climbing in the direction of the crash. In the corridors everyone was milling around, confused. Some went out to the exit via the cedar tree. Miri instinctively went upwards towards the Jewel Box. In the corridor by the infirmary, she was met by a distraught Mrs. Bumsqueak.
“She’s gone, Miri,” she said. “Your mother, she’s gone.” But Miri realized that she already knew that; she could feel it. She could sense her mother’s distress far above. Miri knew Nora was the source of the crash and could feel, even from this distance, that Nora was both desperate and terrified.
Miri climbed upwards until she reached the trapdoor, which she noticed was already open. She climbed quickly into the Jewel Box. She was the first one inside.
There was a huge hole in the glass, and something was lying on the ground on the other side. From this distance Miri could not make out what it was, just that it was moaning and covered in blood. She could feel the fear and pain coming from the figure. Cautiously, she walked forward and climbed through the hole in the glass, being careful not to catch her skin on the jagged edges. She guessed ruefully that the Jewel Box would be “Closed for Repairs” again!
Slowly, she approached the shape on the ground. Miri could sense it was Nora, but it didn’t look like Nora or anything else she had ever seen before. The body on the ground kept quivering and changing, sometimes wolf-like, sometimes human, but never able to hold its shape properly.
As Miri approached, suddenly the silence of the park was broken by the howls of wolves. It sounded like hundreds of wolves coming from all directions. But only one wolf came into view – Josh. Oh, thank God, thought Miri.
“Josh, over here, please help! Help!” Miri screamed. Josh walked into the clearing and started talking gently to Nora. “Nora, can you hear me?” Nora just moaned, but Miri felt her fear, her terror at what was happening to her.
In the meantime the other members of P.A.W.S. were slowly coming out of the institute. They stood in a semicircle around Nora, no one quite sure what to do. In the middle of the group was Jessamyn, dressed in a luminescent white robe and carrying her silver scepter.
Surely Jessamyn could help Nora?
The howling of the wolves was getting louder, and then out of the crowd burst Lilith.
“It’s coming!” she screamed. “We have to get away! It’s coming!” And as she finished her warning, she turned to cat form and dashed away so fast she was just a blur of white fur running into the distance. Miri noticed Jessamyn whisper something to Danny, and he too shifted into his feline form and ran off into the night. A pang of remorse filled Miri’s heart. It would have been good to have Danny by her side at this moment. A tawny owl rose into the night sky – Tessa, Miri presumed, taking a message to the wolves.
Miri was filled with a terrible dread. She tried to focus her power on Nora and Josh too. Josh, help me, she thought desperately. The two of them concentrated on Nora. She was shaking terribly. Josh nuzzled her. “You can do it, Nora,” he said. “Let the moon enter.” But Nora could not hold either form no matter how hard she tried. Alistair’s attack had left her too damaged. He had never intended to turn her. He had intended to kill her.
A terrible howl echoed through the park. Josh cried out. “Mandy!” he howled. “The pack… they’re being attacked. Strange wolves, lots of them… and… and something else!”
“Any sign of Alistair?” asked Jessamyn, stepping forward.
“No,” said Josh nervously, “not yet.” He glanced at Miri and Nora. “I have to…”
“Go, Josh,” said Jessamyn firmly. “We’ll take care of Nora.
“Sandy, Sean, trot around the perimeter of the park. See if you can get a message to Ian. Maybe some of the zoo animals can help.
“Mrs. Bumsqueak, please take Joey back downstairs. He can help you prepare the infirmary. I fear they will be casualties.”
Joey protested. He wanted to be where the action was, but Mrs. Bumsqueak, ignoring his protests, pushed him back into the Jewel Box and down below.
“Zamir, can you help Nora?”
“I will try, Madam Jessamyn.”
After Mrs. Bumsqueak and Joey had gone back inside, Jessamyn waved her scepter over the area of the Jewel Box where Nora had come through the glass. Instantly it looked as if it was unbroken.
“It’s only illusion, but it will do for now. Everyone else choose the forms that will help you best in a fight, and spread out around the Jewel Box. I fear it’s going to be a long night.”
The howling of wolves was louder now and appeared to be closing in.
Zamir was kneeling by Nora now. “I’m going to try something, Nora,” he said in his gentle, accented voice. “This may hurt, but I hope it will help.”
Miri watched as Zamir changed into his fluid obsidian form. Nora was clearly terrified. Miri reached down inside Nora with her mind, trying to calm her and remove some of her fear or at least combine it with Zamir’s calm.
The snake twined around her body until he
found what he was looking for, the large wound on her chest where Alistair had originally attacked her. Despite all of Mrs. Bumsqueak’s salves and potions, it had never really healed, and it took just one little nip for the blood to start flowing again. Zamir sucked at the wound, adding his poison to Alistair’s.
Miri understood what he was trying to do. He was attempting to use his own poison as an antidote to give Nora some relief. It was a valiant attempt, but Miri could see already that it was futile. Even a small bite from a werewolf passed on lycopanthy. No potion, however powerful, could reverse that. Nora’s best bet would be if she could transform into wolf form, but she could not. She was too damaged.
Yet the venom was doing something. Nora seemed to be gaining a little strength. She tried to sit up. Her form was neither wolf nor human. “Help me, Miri!” she cried. Miri tried desperately to help, but she was deeply scared of hurting her. Nora’s pain was so tangible, she could feel it infiltrating her body.
Miri walked around her and stood opposite her. “Nora, can you move? Maybe we can go back inside and go to the infirmary? Let Mrs. Bumsqueak help you?”
“No!” Nora screamed suddenly and leapt into the air, flashing between wolf and human forms, and she was upon something on the ground, trying desperately with the little strength she had to subdue it. A small wolf had broken into the circle, and Miri realized that it had just tried to attack her, but Nora, even in her broken state, was attempting to protect her daughter. She tore at the wolf with her teeth and claws.
Then Jessamyn stepped in.
“Bí ar bith níos mó!” she screamed.
There was a flash of silver light from Jessamyn’s scepter, and the attacking wolf lay dead on the ground. As the wolf died, it changed back to human form, and the body of a young boy lay in its place on the ground.
P.A.W.S. Page 17
