by Kali Harper
The shield flickered, then slowly turned the other way, trapping the animal inside of it.
“Astrid?” Kat said, peering over my shoulder. “Is everything okay?”
“There,” I said, pointing at the trees. “I saw something. It should be trapped for the moment.”
Ivan didn’t wait for instruction, shifting and running in the direction I’d pointed, only to come back laughing. “It was a rabbit.”
Kat and I both laughed as well.
“Well, I thought I saw something,” I told them, positioning myself on the broom before taking off with Sammy clinging to the space in front of me. “Let’s get back to town before Max realizes we’re gone.”
Chapter Nine
“How many shifters did you say you had?”
We left town less than an hour ago, but instead of finding the streets being bare like they were before, it was as though the entire town had turned into wild animals. Wolves to be exact. Funny thing was, none of them attacked one another. It was almost as though—
“They’re confused,” Kat said, shaking her head.
“It looks like we don’t need to investigate that lock after all,” Ivan said, referring to the one I still held in my hand. “This is way bigger than one wolf, even if he is a hybrid.”
“What about Lance?” I asked, not moving from where I was. “Isn’t he a hybrid?”
“He is, but not like this. Hybrids are capable of magic, but almost always side with their wolf while using magic to aid in their hunt. The hunger we shifters feel during our first shift is never-ending. So the wolf responsible for tampering with Kyle’s lock did so because of his wolf and the hunger he feels.”
“And you’re sure these wolves are shifters?” Kat asked, stepping back when one of them turned in our direction.
“How many wild animals have you seen in one place outside a zoo?” Ivan asked, shifting into his wolf form. “Unless this is an initiation ceremony, I think you might have an epidemic on your hands.”
“An epidemic of what?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. The scene in front of us never changed. “Do you smell anything, Sammy?”
Sammy took a handful of wobbly steps as he scented the air, his footing off. Then again, he had gripped the broom pretty hard. I actually had to pry him off once we got back into town.
“Magic,” he said, “tons of it. These shifters aren’t natural.”
“I agree,” Ivan said, sniffing at the ground. “Even if a wolf were to bite everyone in town, the spread of Lycanthropy takes more time than this.”
“How much time?” I asked him.
“Days? Possibly weeks. And that’s only for a single individual. There would be symptoms, not humans randomly shifting like this.”
“If they’re bitten, right?” There was more than one way for packs to recruit new wolves. Ivan had said so himself. “But what if someone used a serum?”
Ivan heaved a sigh and looked right at me, his ears pinned back. “Are you trying to place the blame on me?”
“No one’s blaming anyone,” Kat said, standing between us. “But Astrid does have a point. You and Lance were recruited into your pack at the same time.”
“But for a pack to recruit at this level…” Ivan trailed off and lowered his head. “It wouldn’t be a pack reinforcing their numbers. I honestly don’t think this has to do with a wolf pack at all. Someone would’ve said something or let something slip.” Then, looking at me, he said, “Did you notice anything at your town meeting? Anything at all?”
“You mean aside from some very panicked townsfolk looking for loved ones?” I shrugged. “Not really.”
“Then we’ll check there first. The wolves out here have no sense of direction or purpose, which means whatever this is, it’s recent. It takes time for a new shifter to come to terms with what’s happened, especially if it isn’t their choice.”
None of us said anything after that, keeping to the edge of town as at least a dozen wolves prowled up and down Main Street. Gray, Timber, and even a handful of very light, almost-white wolves searched around for anything they could find. Some of them lapped at the sidewalk while others scrounged around mailboxes and trees.
“They’re hungry,” I said, hesitating when Ivan headed for the town hall.
“And unless you want to end up on the menu, I suggest we get going,” Ivan said, turning away from me.
Offering the wolves a cautious glance, I scooped Sammy in my arms and ran after Ivan. Kat wasn’t far behind me.
“There are wolves hunting our streets.”
Ida’s voice carried in the room where a portion of the town had gathered. Those who arrived earlier this morning were still present, along with Max and the rest of his team who were doing whatever they could to calm the crowd down.
Max held up his hands and patted down the air. The edges of his sleeve were torn and he wore a white bandage underneath.
“That can’t be good,” I told Ivan who stood next to me, nodding in Max’s direction. “He’s injured.”
“I saw,” Ivan said, peering at our police chief. “He wasn’t wearing the bandage before?”
“Not that I can remember.”
Ivan combed his hand through his hair. I didn’t have to ask to know what he was thinking because I was doing the same thing. To my other side, Kat removed a book from her purse and read over the glossary for an answer that didn’t exist. Sammy was quiet as well, his paws tucked underneath of him with his tail curled around half his body.
“We’re doing everything we can...” Max said, trailing off as his face twisted in pain.
He gripped his injured arm, holding it close to his chest. It may have been the light, or how crowded the room was, but the amount of perspiration on his brow was worrisome.
“How long does a bite take to infect someone again?” I asked Ivan, leaning close enough so only he would hear.
“If we’re talking natural shifters, I already told you,” Ivan said.
“And if this is something else?” I asked.
“I have no idea.”
“What’re you looking at?” Max bristled, talking to someone in the front row.
“He was defensive earlier,” I told Ivan after a long moment, keeping my eye on Max as he argued with the crowd.
“And now he’s becoming aggressive,” Ivan said with a nod, shifting back into his wolf form.
“What’re you doing? You going to get yourself killed.” As soon as someone mentioned a wolf inside the hall, he’d be through.
“Trust me,” he said, his tail tucked underneath of him. “This only ends badly.”
With that, he ran down the aisle between the chairs toward Max. He stopped before he could reach the front of the room, sitting back on his haunches with his ears raised. His tail was still tucked under him, so his confident posture was probably for show and not much else.
Max glared at him, his eyes hardening in Ivan’s direction as he sat silently in his wolf form. The rest of the room had noticed Ivan as well, gasps erupting from the crowd as some folks started to scramble for the exits.
“It’s okay,” I said before the entire room panicked. “He’s a friend. He isn’t the wolf I saw inside The Laughing Bean. He also isn’t the wolf responsible for killing Kyle’s cows.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Max growled, his jaw tightening as another wave of pain washed over him.
“Because I paid him a visit,” I said, slowly walking up behind Ivan who had been quiet up until now. “What’s waiting for us outside aren’t wolves. They’re our friends. Our family. They’re hungry, scared, and confused.” Just like you. I kept the last bit to myself and went to touch Max’s arm. “ What happened to your arm?”
Max didn’t say anything for a long unnerving moment. The other officers gathered around him as he fought for control over whatever thoughts were tormenting his mind.
“It’s nothing,” Max said, crying out as he dropped to one knee.
“Get him out of here,” Ivan bar
ked at the other officers as he rose to his paws. He closed the distance between him and Max, his ears pinned back as he spoke. “Do you have any idea how reckless this is? Endangering civilians and your friends after a bite? Come on, Max. You know better than this. I might not live here, but we all go through the same training.”
“And what would you have me do?” Max asked, forcing himself to meet Ivan’s gaze. “Lance has gone to who-knows-where and no one else on the force is qualified to deal with… with—”
“No one is,” Ivan agreed, his voice full of regret. “Not even me. But you aren’t fit for this. You cannot fight the shift. Not here. You need to quarantine yourself immediately before anyone else is hurt… or worse, killed.”
“I can fight it,” Max insisted, lowering onto his hands and knees as he clawed at the floor. “I can fight…” Whatever he’d intended to say was lost behind a pitiful whimper as his body morphed.
I didn’t wait for Ivan’s direction, ushering everyone out of the room and into the hallway outside. “Get to the nearest exit, but don’t go outside. I’ll explain everything once we’re all safe.”
Getting the entire room to mobilize in an orderly fashion was impossible, so I didn’t even try. Kat helped gather folks the best she could. Ida did as well along with Felix and Mr. Clark. Once everyone had gathered in the long carpeted hallway, Felix barricaded the door by shoving a folding chair under the doorknob. Max, Ivan, and the other officers were locked inside.
“What about Ivan?” Ida asked as an edge of panic reached her voice.
“He’ll be fine.” I hope. I didn’t want to worry her more than she already was. “You know Ivan?”
Ida nodded, her suddenly pale complexion ghostly against her vibrant red hair. “Lance brought him to visit a few times. They went to school together.”
Among other things. If Lance hadn’t bothered to tell her about his pack or being a wolf, there must’ve been a good reason for it.
“Though he didn’t tell me Ivan was visiting,” Ida said, oblivious to my thoughts. “Fortuitous timing, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… yeah, it is.” I set a hand on Ida’s shoulder, then called Kat over to join us. “Stay with her, okay?”
“Sure,” Kat said, sitting beside Ida once she lowered to the floor.
“I’m going to check on everyone else. Make sure you get her a drink of water when you can.”
Kat gave me the thumbs up and excused herself to get a cup of water from the cooler down the hall. Knowing Ida was in good hands, I continued in the opposite direction, doing what I could to calm everyone down. Felix and Mr. Clark were busy talking amongst themselves as I walked by. Apparently, Mr. Clark had finally pieced things together regarding his plants, his words more panicked than before.
“A wolf, in my garden. Can you imagine?” Mr. Clark asked with a shake of his head. “There’s no fighting that.”
Felix released a nervous laugh, petting his gecko which he held in his hand. “You’ll bounce back. You always do. Remember the cold snap a few years back?”
I let them continue their conversation undisturbed, my eyes fixed on Connie, Harris, and the piece of paper they held between them. Of course they’d take any opportunity for a sale, a list of goodies and charms scribbled on the page.
“Preparing for World War Three?” I asked them both, offering them the best smile I could.
“Looks like it’s already here,” Connie said, wrapping the tail-end of her bun into place before fastening it with a bobby pin she’d pulled out of her purse.
“You still have cookies with you?” I asked her.
“Cravings, dear?”
“No, I was wondering if I could get your help. Harris’ help.”
Connie shrugged and excused herself after handing me a cookie from whatever she’d smuggled in before the meeting. Once she left, Harris smiled, likely knowing what I was about to ask.
“I know it’s a tall order,” I told him, “but is there any chance you’re fluent with suppression charms?”
It was one of Maggie’s strongest charms (a bestseller, in fact), and one she offered to shifters who either didn’t want to shift or had no time for it in their lives. I wondered then if she ever knew about Lance’s condition. She’d never told me about it, but she sold charms to almost everyone else in town.
She’d been selling him charms for as long as I could remember. I knew every charm she’d used, including the ones she’d used to keep me from seeing all things supernatural. So she must’ve known about Lance, right?
“I don’t mean to put you on the spot like this,” I went on when Harris didn’t say anything, “but it might be enough to save Max.” Or at least to turn him back.
“They’re temporary,” Harris finally said, crestfallen. “It’s hard to say if it’d even work on him since this is his first shift. Those who usually ask for suppression charms have fought their shift for years. Those like Kat, Adelle, and Thomas.”
“But you can make it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need your bakery? I can fly us there if—”
“No broomstick necessary,” he said, taking the cookie from me as he closed his eyes, mumbling something under his breath before handing it back. “Whatever it is you plan to do, you’d better do it soon. All this magic floating around is clouding my mind.”
Now that he mentioned it, my head felt a little fuzzy as well. “Thanks, Harris. One more thing… if I need another one—”
“Just ask. I hope that Ivan fellow can figure this out. I can’t say I’ve ever liked him, but I don’t know much about the guy.”
“You know Ivan as well?” Was I the only one who hadn’t met him before?
“He’s been gone a while, but whenever he rolls in, the town gets… weird.”
“We are weird,” I told him.
“Well, yes, but more than usual. He has a certain air about him, doesn’t he?”
I nodded in agreement.
“Be careful around him. You can never be too careful.” Then, lowering his voice, Harris said, “Maybe you should use the charm on him instead.”
I laughed. “I’ll think about it after he handles things with Max.”
Connie made sure to give Harris an earful once we were through, raising her voice once she realized he’d enchanted the cookie for free.
“You’ll have to pay double next time,” Sammy said with a purr.
“And it’ll be worth every scent,” I said, continuing down the hallway with Sammy walking close behind me. I might not have been able to use the charm on Max, but I could still use it on someone else. Like Kat, for example, in case her fox decided to make a reappearance. Or Lance… If we ever find him.
I chased the thought from my mind when I practically ran into Dillon, his face streaked with tears. “Hey, you okay?”
“I… you went out there, right?” Dillon asked, his words short and quick. “Did… did you happen to see Matt and Toby? I keep trying to call, but no one’s answered, and with the wolves walking the streets, I think… I thought…” He hiccuped and shielded his eyes, breaking down in front of me as I gently led him away from the group so we could talk in private.
“Here,” I said once he got his sobbing under control, taking a cup of water from one of the few coolers.
Dillon’s eyes went wide. A moment later, he slapped the water from my hands. “Are you crazy? I can’t drink that!”
Surprised by his sudden change in behavior, I picked the paper cup off the floor, then threw it in the trash. “It’s just water. It isn’t going to kill you.”
“No, but it could make me shift.” He covered his mouth with his hands but it was too late. I’d heard every word.
My heart dipped into the pit of my stomach. “What did you say?”
“The water… it’s… it could be…” He gestured at the water cooler, frustrated. “I told them not to do it. It was supposed to be a prank, you know?”
“Whoa, slow down.” I set a hand on his shoulder and
waited for him to meet my gaze, his brown eyes full of fear. “What prank?”
Fortunately, Sammy was in a listening mood and didn’t say a word as I calmed Dillon down.
Dillon sunk to the floor and pulled his knees in close to his chest. “Every year around this time we joke about pranks we can pull around town. We try to outdo each other. Matt and Toby are in on it, but the others… they’re mostly there for support.” The others being the remaining teens in their group.
“Sam and Justin, right?” When Dillon nodded, I continued. “So what was the prank this time?”
Dillon shook his head. “It shouldn’t have been one at all,” he explained. “Sam and Justin are judges. We run our pranks by them and get their approval. Sam’s dad is a cop, so Sam knows most of the rules. He makes sure our pranks don’t get us into any serious trouble.”
“Dillon, what was the prank?” I asked in the kindest voice I could. My patience was wearing thin, but if I snapped now, he probably wouldn’t tell me at all.
“They’re in so much trouble. It was a joke. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Dillon…”
“And who in the world pulls a prank like this, then drinks the water?”
“Dillon!” This time Sammy was the first to speak, catching Dillon by surprise. “What did they do? What’s in the water?”
“I… I can’t. I can’t.” Dillon said, rocking back and forth as he shut down.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Sammy asked, pacing in front of him.
“Not helping, Sam,” I told him, glaring at my feline companion.
“We don’t have time,” he growled under his breath. “Others could die because of you.” His last words were directed at the teen in front of us.
“But I didn’t do anything,” Dillon argued between sobs.
“Then help us fix this,” I said, getting down to his level so I could meet his gaze. “Please. What was the prank?”
