A Curse So Dark

by Heather Davis

  Maybe that’s all parents ever did, try to protect their kids from heartache, real or imagined. Alex’s dad wasn’t so different from my own. But when would they realize that you can’t prevent pain? The truth hurt, but at least it was real. And if it was real, then maybe you could do something about it.

  ***

  The next morning, I could tell my sisters were anxious to hear what’d happened the night before. Smiling at me as I shuffled into the kitchen, Rose made coffee while Fawn scrambled some eggs. Both of them were already dressed for school, Rose wearing a gray skirt and a cute plaid top. Fawn, dressed in jeans and a forest green sweater that set off her eyes, seemed to be wearing clothes from her own closet for once.

  “It wasn’t Morgan,” I said, plunking down into a seat at the kitchen table.

  “Oh, lame,” Fawn said.

  “It was just Alex, but he thought he had a lead.”

  “So helpful,” Rose said. “He does seem like a good guy.”

  I nodded and filled them in on Alex’s poaching theory.

  “So it could be an illegal fur ring. Gross.” Fawn added slices of toast to the plates and then brought them to the table. “Well, at least there’s some kind of theory now. The sheriff phoned last night to check on us. They’ve had a few people call the tip line, but nothing big.”

  “Do you guys want to go searching after school tonight? I don’t really want to go alone.”

  “The Carters want us to come over,” Fawn said.

  I swallowed a bite of toast. “And they’ll be there, with you, the whole time?”

  “Yeah.” Rose poured me a mug of coffee. “We’re going to work on some party decorations.”

  “I see that look on your face, Lily. Please don’t say that we can’t do this.” Fawn held up her hands. “The party is the only thing keeping me sane.”

  It may have been a good distraction for the twins, but without the lupine stones, the party was going to be a disaster. Dad hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell them the truth, but I realized that there was no way for me to avoid it. Maybe if they understood the danger coming their way, they’d agree to shut it all down.

  “Guys, I feel like something bad is gonna happen at the party. I know I said that we could go through with it, but—”

  “Please,” Rose said, taking her plate to the sink. “Just let us have this one thing. We won’t get this birthday back.”

  “It’d be so embarrassing to cancel this at this late date,” Fawn said. “Please.”

  I could feel my hands starting to sweat. “People would understand, given what’s going on.”

  “But we won’t understand.” Fawn collected the rest of the dishes from the table. “I never ask for anything from you. Really! And this is the one thing I want.”

  “Can we argue about this in the truck? We’re going to be late,” Rose said.

  I double-checked the deadbolt on the door while the girls headed down the steps to the driveway. A minute later as I started up the truck, I saw the sedan with the dark windows parked in front of the house. I was sure it was the same car the social worker had been in the other day. It followed our truck down the street on our route to school. At the stop sign, I made a right turn instead of a left.

  “Wrong way,” Fawn said.

  “Detour,” I explained. “Someone write down the plate of the car behind us.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it, guys.”

  Rose got out her notebook and a pen and looking behind us, started to write. When I pulled into the sheriff’s station, the sedan sped off. I tore the page out and made the girls wait while I ran inside and gave all the info to Deputy Williams, who was on duty again at the front desk.

  “We’ll keep an eye out for that car,” he said, taking down notes in his log.

  “I think it was the same one the social worker was in yesterday, but why would she be following us? Do they do that?”

  “Actually, the sheriff got a call from Social Services last night. The caseworker won’t be out your way until Monday. Name is Ms. Simon, I think.”

  “Simon?” I let out a long breath. “Then who was on our porch the other day? She said her name was Jenkins.” Panic rose in my blood. I thought about the woman’s disheveled appearance, about the strange musty smell I’d noticed on her. Was that the smell of another female werewolf? It’d been peculiar and had set me on edge.

  “Didn’t sound like they’d sent anyone yet. I can call over to the supervisor and see if she’s ever heard of any social worker named Jenkins in this part of the county.”

  Just then the sheriff pushed through the double doors. “Lily, hold on.”

  I felt dread pooling in my gut. “What is it? Something about Dad?”

  “From all accounts your dad was coherent that night, engaged in confronting these people of interest, whoever they were. Rick Bowman called me with a theory about a fur trapping ring that seems credible.”

  I exhaled, realizing that meant Alex had told his dad about the hair on the fence.

  “But that’s not the only thing. Cooper North came to me today. He’d been by to see his father, Ivan,” the sheriff said, her expression darkening.

  “And?”

  “His father’s place had been burglarized, maybe hit by the same thieves that’d been breaking in around town. Most of his hybrid dogs were loose. We’d been getting reports of them spotted around town for the last few days, incidentally.”

  “Anything taken?”

  “Lots of damage. Place was ransacked.”

  “But what does that have to do with Dad?” I asked, hoping I sounded genuine. I knew the connection and it wasn’t something I could talk about, of course.

  “Ivan was gone. Another possible disappearance. We’re looking into it. Cooper hadn’t talked to his father for a couple of weeks, so he doesn’t know if he’s off fishing or what. But that’s not like him to leave his dogs without a feeder.”

  “What is happening to this town?”

  The sheriff looked offended. “We’re working on it. We’re a small force and we’re short-handed. I’m organizing another search party for your father this Sunday, we’ll comb for Ivan, too.”

  Before I could ask more questions, the sheriff walked me out and promised to call with any new developments. I felt shaken, more worried than I had been before. Poor Cooper. I hoped his dad was all right.

  As I returned to the truck, I took deep breaths, not ready to face my sisters. I didn’t know what our next move would be. I sent Cooper a text, asking if he wanted to talk, but I didn’t expect a very quick response. He had to be angry, maybe at me, at my father, because surely his dad’s absence had something to do with us.

  Someone must have gotten to Ivan, maybe the pack who had a hand in Dad’s disappearance. Someone was systematically destroying our support system, trying to weaken what was left of our defenses.

  I didn’t have the lupine stones for the twins. I wasn’t any closer to finding Dad. And this rival pack was circling closer. I shivered with the realization that the full moon might be the least of our worries.

  Chapter Ten

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that Dad was near Alpine Lake, that the bloodied snare had been the biggest clue we’d found. It was worth heading back up to the hills with the few hours of daylight left on Thursday after school. I felt like the twins would be safe, hanging out over at the Carters’ house, and Maggie had asked her cousin to cover the rest of my shifts for the week. I armed myself with supplies and headed out. I just needed to stop for gas on the way out of town.

  After I’d filled up the truck, I washed the windshield. As I pushed the soapy squeegee across the glass, I noticed Morgan’s SUV pull into one of the parking spots near the convenience store. He rounded the pumps at a jog. “Going back up into the hills?”

  “A little early for stargazing, isn’t it?” I replied, scraping the suds away.

  “Actually, I wondered if you might like some company.” He wore a rain parka, je
ans, boots, like he meant to be out in the weather. As always, his signature green scarf was wound around his collar, contrasting with his amber eyes. Morgan grabbed a paper towel and brushed away some soapy water I’d missed.

  My hands shook as I returned the squeegee to the bucket. “I wasn’t sure you were still around.”

  “I told you I’d see you again.”

  “Yeah,” I said, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks. “But we left it in kind of a weird place last time we talked. And, you know...you didn’t text or anything.”

  “You were hoping I’d text? Of course you were. I’m an idiot.”

  I shrugged but chanced a smile. “Maybe.”

  He grinned back, the dimples in his cheeks deepening. “I can be rather clueless, admittedly.”

  I let out a little laugh. “You didn’t seem clueless on the stakeout.”

  “Hopelessly distracted, but not clueless.”

  My stomach did a little flip. I chewed my lower lip, trying to think of something to say. Meanwhile, the pause lengthened.

  Morgan cleared his throat. “So, what do you think? May I offer my assistance?”

  “Yeah, okay. I’m low on help these days.”

  We climbed into the truck. I swallowed against the nervous lump in my throat. It was probably crazy to head into the woods with him, but I wanted company. His company.

  “Where to first?” Morgan asked as we came to the traffic light at the end of town, one of only four in the city limits.

  I handed him one of the Forest Service maps.

  “Why the circle around Alpine Lake Road?” he asked.

  “That’s where I was the other night. Today I was planning to try Devil’s Nook.”

  “Sounds like a cheerful place,” Morgan said, cocking an eyebrow.

  I managed a weak smile. “If he’d started at Alpine Lake, it’s possible he would have headed there next. It’s a little higher in elevation and the trailhead is just up the road.”

  “Very logical. But you’re speaking as if he were up there under his own power. Didn’t I hear that the squad car was parked at the pub?”

  “Yeah. It’s a hunch. If he’d been driven up to the hills and dumped, he would have gone somewhere familiar to seek shelter.”

  “And he wouldn’t have tried to hike his way out, return to town?”

  “He could be injured,” I said, unable to keep the worry from my voice.

  “True. You have to consider all the possibilities with things like this, even if they’re difficult to think about.” Morgan touched my shoulder. “It’s going to be all right. Don’t give up hope.”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling myself, but so far, it isn’t working.”

  Passing the marker for Alpine Lake Road, it was only a mile more to reach the trailhead for Devil’s Nook. Fog blanketed the forest as we stepped out onto the gravel in the parking lot.

  I slipped a couple granola bars into my pocket and handed Morgan a flashlight. “I don’t know if this is even the right place to start.”

  “Sometimes a hunch pays off,” he said.

  As we started walking up the trail, I felt his hand reach for mine. I stole a glance at him, saw his slight smile, and intertwined my fingers with his. It was a little gesture, but I felt comfort in his touch until he had to let go as the trail got steeper.

  Half an hour later at the trail marker, we stopped and scanned the dusky landscape below. I looked out over the tops of evergreens, the shivering leaves of cottonwoods, the shadows formed by bushes. The landscape behind us was rugged, with caves, crevasses, and rocky peaks. A view I remembered from hikes with Dad. It seemed to me there were lots of places up there for an animal to hide.

  “Hello?” I yelled, my voice bouncing from the rocks to the lush glades below.

  “George?” Morgan shouted.

  “Dad, are you out there? Can you hear me?”

  We kept calling out, but there was no response. Raindrops splatted on my coat as I glanced toward the caves further up the trail. “We should head up there.”

  “It’ll be dark soon,” Morgan said, his voice low.

  “We have the flashlight.”

  “Good for the trail, not so good to keep us from plunging to our deaths from a cliff.”

  “You’re right,” I replied, barely able to control my frustration. All I could think of was the failure I’d been in trying to solve this alone. That time was running out and I’d failed. Failed my family, my sisters. The creature I’d felt straining to get out of me the other night—that was our destiny, our fate. There was no avoiding it. Who was I to even try?

  “Hey.” Morgan reached out to smooth away a raindrop trickling from my forehead. His hand slid under my chin, tilting my face up so we were looking into each other’s eyes. “You’re doing your best.”

  “It doesn’t feel like anything I do is making a difference.”

  “You’re going to find him.”

  “How do you know?” I whispered.

  Morgan’s hand cupped my palm. He thumbed away another raindrop. “Because there’s nothing stronger than blood. Family is everything.”

  I gazed at him, wanting to feel something, anything other than the dread coursing through me. He smelled like the forest, pine and warm salt and something sweet. I reached up to touch his cheek, his neck, strands of his hair. It was silky as I’d thought, so soft.

  “Lily.” Morgan pulled away, sliding his hands to my shoulders. “I know you’re going through quite an ordeal,” he said, holding my gaze. “But this isn’t what should happen...not like this. Not now.”

  My breath caught in my chest. “Of course,” I mumbled. “I didn’t—”

  “We need to find him. Do your senses tell you he’s been up here?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, turning away and trying to regain my focus. “Clearly I can’t sense anything correctly.”

  Morgan took a step back. “I’m not saying that—”

  “I get it. No need to explain.” I wiped my eyes and studied the rocky hills behind them. “Maybe I can convince the sheriff to send the search and rescue team on this trail.”

  “I’d caution against sending more people up this way.”

  “Why not?”

  Morgan ran a hand across his chin, as though he was thinking. “You said it yourself, too dangerous. Rockslides with all this rain.”

  “They train for this kind of terrain in all seasons,” I said. “They’d be safer than we are.”

  He let out a long sigh. “It’s actually more than just the topography. There’s danger bringing outsiders into this. You must sense that.”

  The hair on my neck stood up. “Is that why you’re here? Do you have something to do with his disappearance?”

  “No,” Morgan said, his eyes flashing in the dim light. “Not at all.”

  “Then I don’t understand.”

  He dropped his gaze, turning to the valley vista below. “I want you to find your father alive,” he said. “Really, that’s my aim. I know how it’d feel if a member of my family went missing. I’d be beside myself. And you’ve been so brave. Truly.”

  I sat down on a flat boulder, shivering against the rising wind. “I don’t know what else to do to find him.”

  Morgan joined me on the rock. He lowered my rain jacket’s hood, then slowly unwound his scarf and wrapped it around my neck. “I can look tomorrow, while you’re at school,” he said. “Just tell me if you sense he’s up here. Concentrate.”

  “I’m telling you, I don’t know what you mean by sensing.” Frustration welled inside my chest. I pulled my hood up, feeling the soft wool of Morgan’s scarf against my neck, the scent of him surrounding me.

  He reached for my hand. “It’s going to be all right.” His amber eyes seemed to grow brighter with the fading light. More golden.

  I intertwined my fingers with his. “You’re the only one who seems to understands how huge this problem is. How much my dad means to me.”

  He pulled me closer, and I wr
apped my arms around him, settling my head against his chest. I started to relax, but then I felt something flat and round against my cheek. I pulled back abruptly and turned toward it. My gaze fixed on a thin black cord around Morgan’s neck and the pendant hanging from it.

  Lupine stone. Like mine. Like the ones missing from our house. That had to mean Morgan had been in that alley that night. I felt dizzy, confused.

  “Everything all right?” Morgan asked, stroking my hair.

  “I...” I didn’t know what to say. I suddenly realized I was in the forest with a complete stranger and had no cell reception, had left no note. No one knew where I was, since I’d left only the vaguest of instructions with the twins and Maggie. “Yeah. We should get back to the truck. Like you said, it’s getting dark.”

  I got up and led the way down the trail. I was conscious of Morgan behind me, wondering if he’d figured out the source of my abrupt change of attitude. I exhaled in relief when we reached the truck. My sisters needed me alive. The drive down the hill was quiet, an awkward silence falling between us.

  At the gas station, I took off Morgan’s scarf and held it out to him. “Here you go.”

  Morgan accepted it. “Listen, I do care for you. If things were different—”

  “We’re good. You don’t have to explain.”

  He gave me a half-smile and then hugged the scarf to his chest before fitting it around his neck again. “You’re upset with me. I’m an idiot. Please forgive me for that moment up on the hill. I didn’t mean for you to think that I’m not interested.”

  “No. It’s fine.”

  “The last thing I want to do is hurt you,” Morgan said, giving me a last uncertain look before getting out of the truck. “You’re sure everything’s all right?”

  “Yeah, great,” I said, giving him a wave.

  He shut the door and I watched him get into his Subaru.

  As his taillights faded in the distance, hopelessness settled over me. So much for trusting Morgan. I couldn’t let him find my father before I did—not if he’d been one of the bad guys in the alley.