Hair in All the Wrong Places 2

by Andrew Buckley

  Yeah, I might be going crazy too.

  Colin nodded to the Principal. “Keep Terry safe.”

  “I give you my word,” said the ghost as he floated away.

  Danseg lumbered over and looked down at Colin with a questioning expression on his wide, stony face. “FIGHT NOW?”

  “Yes, Danseg. We fight now.”

  Colin led the cave troll in a wide arc, around the field, so they could approach the Town Hall from the back. The wolves would cover the exits so they’d need to force the pack to the front to keep the fight contained.

  I must me going mad. What am I doing? I’m thirteen!

  But it was too late for second thoughts. Two werewolves Colin recognized from the forest were guarding the back door. He could smell the rest nearby, most of them around the front. With no soldiers to guard the meeting, the townsfolk were sitting ducks. He could hear Principal Sampson speaking inside.

  The two wolves heard Colin approach and turned growling, teeth bared.

  “The wolf pup!” said one.

  “Lucky us!” barked the other.

  Danseg lumbered out of the shadows behind Colin, casting a long shadow over the two wolves.

  “What the he—”

  The cave troll swung his tree like a golf club and launched both werewolves through the wall of the bakery next door.

  “Nice swing!” said Colin. “Stay here.”

  Colin entered Town Hall through the back door, cut through the small kitchen and entered the main hall to the sound of gasps. Most of the residents of Elkwood were present, as they always were at the meetings. The only people not here were the humans who had no idea what Elkwood really was. The meetings were for the town’s freaks and parents of said freaks. The people who saw Elkwood as a safe haven for themselves and their families.

  “You all know Colin Strauss,” said Principal Sampson from the podium. Varson lay unconscious on the stage. Terry stood near the main entrance of the hall, peeking out the window.

  “They’re in the street,” shouted Terry.

  Principal Sampson nodded. “A man has come to Elkwood to destroy the town and has kidnapped Beatrice Strauss and Alfred Hamjackle, along with two students from the school. Most of the soldiers from the base are away, the rest are confined to the base. Colin and a group of prisoners are the only thing standing in the way of this threat. Colin?”

  Colin gulped and stepped up to the podium, which seemed extremely small in comparison to his immense size. “I know you are all in Elkwood because it’s safe,” he began. “But that safety is being threatened right now. We’ve cleared the back door of Town Hall and can get you out that way. But I know there are powerful people among you. We are asking for your help. Fight with us.”

  The crowd murmured. Mrs. Cross, the vampire, looked furious, but Colin couldn’t tell whether it was because of him or because of all the werewolves outside the front door.

  There was a loud thump at the door followed by a snarl. Terry was standing a few feet from the door, his hands out in front of him. He was holding the door closed using his powers. Another thump, and then another.

  “I won’t be able to hold them for long.”

  No volunteers.

  Colin couldn’t blame them. He’d hoped to get a few more fighters but they were all scared. They were in Elkwood so they wouldn’t have to fight for their lives.

  “Everyone, out the back, quickly,” said Colin.

  “And please don’t be alarmed when you see the rather terrifying cave troll outside the backdoor,” added Principal Sampson, “He’s on our side and is there for your safety.”

  There was a mad rush toward the back of the building, and a clattering on the roof followed by the screech of a dragon and the whimper of a wolf.

  “They’re trying to get in through the roof,” said Principal Sampson.

  “Warzax will keep them off.”

  “I will fight!” said the voice of Mrs. Cross. She stood alone in the middle of the hall. “I hate your kind,” she spat, “but you saved my boy, Micah. I will fight for this town.”

  “Me too!” said Mr. Dugan, Gareth’s dad.

  “And I!” said Mrs. Saunders. She was the mother of a girl named Jillian whom Colin knew to be a half demon.

  Colin smiled on the inside. “Guard the townsfolk,” he growled. “Keep them safe.”

  There was another crash at the door and a crack splintered across it. The hall was mostly clear, with Mrs. Cross bringing up the rear.

  “Good luck, Colin,” she said.

  Colin nodded and leapt across the hall, landing behind Terry. “Stand back.”

  Terry backed away and Colin listened. He could hear one of the werewolves charging at the door, picking up speed. Colin kicked open the double doors, caught the wolf by the throat, and flung him back into the street.

  Colin stalked out into the moonlit night and let out a long, mournful howl.

  All twenty werewolves were in the street. Two of them were covered in white powder; they must have been the ones Danseg knocked into the bakery.

  The large dark wolf stalked forward and stood up on two legs. “Step aside wolfling, and maybe I’ll just kill you quickly.”

  “You’re not going to hurt anyone,” said Colin. “This is my town and you’re not welcome. Get out, or I’ll make you get out.”

  The dark wolf barked a laugh. “You and what army?”

  Loud footsteps like the sound of trees being knocked to the ground could be heard as Danseg rounded the corner of Town Hall. “FIGHT,” said the cave troll.

  The five ogres rounded the corner at one end of the street and Monty and Albert appeared at the other end.

  The purple dragon dropped out of the night sky, flapped his leather wings, and came to perch on the peak of Town Hall. Burnie floated down near Colin’s shoulders and he could feel the raw heat coming off the little creature, so hot that it singed a few of the hairs on his shoulder.

  Mrs. Cross blurred into the street next to Danseg and Mrs. Saunders, her head completely on fire, also emerged from behind the building.

  Principal Sampson stepped out next to Colin, along with Terry.

  “This army,” said Colin, and he could sense the uncertainty in the wolf pack, could smell their fear. This was more than they had bargained for.

  “Kill them all!” screamed the dark wolf, and the street erupted in chaos.

  Several of the wolves launched themselves at Danseg and the cave troll staggered back. The rest of the pack split off, half toward the vampires, half toward the ogres. The dark wolf stayed where he was, staring at Colin. “Come on, wolfling. You’re mine.”

  Colin charged at the dark wolf and the two collided. Claws sliced through the air, jaws snapped, and fur and blood flew. The dark wolf was strong and definitely bigger than Colin, but he wasn’t smarter. His movements were vicious but clumsy. Colin ducked under a claw swipe that would have taken his head off and clamped his jaws around his enemy’s thigh and pulled hard throwing the dark wolf off balance. Colin could taste the blood in his mouth and felt anger and hunger run through him. He wanted to kill this wolf. To eat his heart. To end his life.

  “Control,” Silas had told him. “Control is what separates the good werewolves from the bad.”

  Colin tried to maintain control but the more he fought, the more the dark wolf’s claws ripped into his flesh, the more he wanted to end the creature for good.

  You’re not crazy. You’re not crazy. You’re Colin Strauss.

  Colin flipped the dark wolf over and slammed him to the ground, but a foot lashed out and caught Colin across the stomach and he felt the warmth of blood spill out. He staggered back and clutched his belly. The skin began to stitch itself together, but his opponent followed up with a claw to the face and Colin yelped.

  The dark wolf was too strong for him. The image of Becca’s face flashed through Colin’s mind. “No!” he snarled defiantly.

  The dark wolf g
rowled a deep laugh. “Look around you, you’ve lost.”

  Colin looked down the street and saw the ogres were having trouble with two of the wolves. At the other end Monty lay on the floor unmoving, while Albert, Mrs. Cross, and Mrs. Saunders stood with their backs together as three wolves stalked around them. Even Danseg was on his knees with two werewolves at his back. Warzax the dragon was pinned down. Terry, using his powers, was holding one of the werewolves in the air but another was stalking up behind him. Burnie was throwing fire at another of the werewolves but the creature kept healing up. Principal Sampson was nowhere to be seen.

  And then Colin heard it. A slithering sound beneath the street followed by a rhythmic clicking.

  “You might have ogres, a dragon, a troll, and some vampires,” said the dark wolf, “but they’re still no match for a pack of werewolves!”

  Colin’s wounds had finished healing and he stood to his full height. “Yeah, but you forgot about Norman.”

  “Norman? Who’s Norman?”

  “He’s our kraken,” said Colin.

  All the sewer covers along the block exploded into the air and clattered down on the pavement. The fighting stopped as a loud, high-pitched squeal erupted from beneath the street. Colin covered his ears, as did the rest of the werewolves. The sound was brutally piercing and for a moment Colin thought his head might explode. The sound stopped.

  Three shiny black tentacles shot out of the sewer hole near the vampires, each one latching around a werewolf’s leg, and dragged them down the hole. The werewolves clawed at the pavement, leaving grooves in the concrete before they disappeared down the hole. There were yelps and some horrible crunching, squelchy sounds, and then silence. Then more tentacles out of another hole, then another, and more and more of the werewolves were dragged beneath the town. The two on Danseg’s back leapt down and made a run for it but a long tentacle grabbed both of them, coiling around their middles, and sucked them back underground.

  The remaining werewolves turned and fled. A couple of them almost made it to the end of the street but it appeared Norman was very hungry, as the last of the pack disappeared beneath the street. There was a final round of crunching and squelching, followed by a long burp that sent a rumbling echo beneath the ground.

  “Next time, let’s just lead with the kraken,” shouted an exhausted-sounding Albert.

  The dark wolf stood, completely shocked at what had just happened. In mere moments, the battle had turned completely. Principal Sampson floated out of the ground and stood next to Colin.

  “I’m sorry, my dear boy, for leaving the fight. I thought it’d be a good idea to go and find Norman. The poor thing had gotten lost on the way to town.”

  Colin barked a short laugh then turned his attention to the dark wolf. “Where is Damon Talbot?”

  “I’ll never tell you!” growled the wolf. “You can kill me for all I care.”

  “Kill you?” said Colin with a snarl. “Let me ask you something. Have you ever been haunted before?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Fake Sorcerer

  Colin raced out of town with Burnie blazing a line of fire through the air by his side. It had only taken a few seconds of Principal Sampson haunting the dark wolf before he wet himself and told Colin that Damon Talbot was at Elkwood Cove.

  Colin had left the others behind. They were all pretty beat up and exhausted from the fight and he didn’t want any of them to get hurt any more than they already were.

  From the sounds of snoring coming from beneath the street, it seemed like Norman the kraken had gone to sleep. He had, after all, just eaten nineteen full-sized werewolves. Monty had lost a lot of blood but was otherwise okay. Mrs. Cross had assured Colin that he would heal. The ogres had taken off as soon as the fight was over, as had Danseg and Warzax. They likely didn’t want to go back to their cells and Colin couldn’t blame them. He was probably going to get blamed for their escape at some point, but it was the last thing on Colin’s mind.

  The dark wolf had said that Talbot was holding prisoners at the cove on the beach. He’d ordered the werewolves to kill the residents in the Town Hall and then Elkwood would be theirs.

  Principal Sampson had assured Colin that he’d take the dark wolf back up to the army base with the assistance of the vampires, and then he’d rally the soldiers and send them down to the cove.

  Colin hopped a wall and tore across a grassy field. He could hear the waves washing up against the beach and smell the salt water in the air. Elkwood cove was a collection of small caves and a long beach that ran north until the cliffs took over. None of Elkwood’s residents spent much time there, as it was almost always cold and raining. Some of the students from school occasionally had a campfire on the beach but other than that, it remained deserted.

  Colin veered around to the south, where a rocky outcrop ran into the foamy swirl of the ocean. Staying low to the ground, he crept up the rock and peered over the edge down at the beach below. The scene there was a strange one.

  In the middle of the sandy beach stood Damon Talbot with his arms outstretched. His eyes glowed their usual red and the hellstone around his neck was brighter than Colin had ever seen it. It sounded to Colin like he was chanting, and every so often he would stop and draw a symbol in the air with his hands and then push the symbol away, where it floated in the air. There were already four symbols floating around the beach, each glowing bright red.

  Jeremy was tied up on a nearby rock but otherwise looked okay. Alfred, Colin’s grandmother, and Charles the demon sat tied back to back, not too far from Talbot. Becca stood next to them wearing a blank expression.

  She’s under Talbot’s control. How do I fix this?

  Colin crept back down the rock to where Burnie was waiting. The fire imp had been igniting small clumps of grass.

  “Burnie,” said Colin. “I’m going to distract Talbot. I need you to stay out of sight and free the people on the beach. Burn through their ropes so they can get away. Do you understand me?”

  The fire imp nodded gleefully and shot off back the way they had come.

  Colin stood and stretched and tried to prepare himself for what he was about to do. The full moon shone across the water and cast Colin’s shadow against the rocks. His body ached from the fight with the dark wolf and despite his healing powers, he felt tired and weary. His inner wolf wanted to take control so badly, but his job wasn’t over. Elkwood wasn’t safe yet and neither were his friends and family.

  Maybe he was going mad. He felt his wolf side tug at him to run. Run away into the darkness and hunt and climb and be happy. But Colin couldn’t ignore his human side. It was the side that kept him grounded. The side that reminded him who he was. He was a thirteen-year-old boy who was dating the girl of his dreams, who had a math assignment due on Monday, and who just happened to have been bitten by a centuries-old werewolf.

  I am Colin Strauss. I’m a teenage werewolf. It’s up to me to protect Elkwood. Or die trying. If I’m being honest, I’d prefer to avoid the dying part.

  Colin turned and leapt off the edge of the rock high into the air and landed on the beach, his clawed feet digging into the wet sand. He threw back his head and howled long and loud. Talbot stopped chanting and turned to face Colin, a look of disgust on his face.

  “You have got to be kidding me! My pack of werewolves couldn’t beat you?”

  “I had a little help from some friends,” said Colin. “Your werewolf army is gone.”

  Talbot turned back to what he was doing and began drawing another shape in the air. “Doesn’t matter. My spell is almost complete. I’m going to suck the power out of this old wizard and witch and that ugly demon and then I’ll be unstoppable. You hear me? Unstoppable!”

  Colin stalked toward the wizard and wondered how on earth he was going to get the hellstone away from the man without touching it.

  A cave troll would be really useful right about now.

  Talbot reached inside his cloak
and with a flourish produced a short, thin blade that shone in the moonlight.

  Silver. Why did it have to be silver?

  The scar along Colin’s back where Mr. Winter had stabbed him with a silver blade tingled.

  Talbot handed the knife to Becca, who was still staring blankly. “My dear, we appear to have a dog problem. Your werewolf of a boyfriend needs to be put on a leash. Be a darling and kill him for me.”

  Becca’s eyes flashed red for a brief moment and she walked past Talbot toward Colin.

  She’s under his control.

  Gran? Are you okay?

  This young punk has our magic bound and gagged. We can’t help you. But you can stop him. He doesn’t understand werewolves, not really.

  How do I stop him?

  Get that hellstone away from him before he finishes the spell. He’ll lose all his borrowed power.

  What about Becca? I can’t hurt her.

  She’s under mind control, all you have to do is—

  Becca waved a hand and the voice in Colin’s head went silent. She wiggled a finger at Colin and shook her head.

  “Ah, ah, ah. No chit chat,” said Becca, her voice empty and strange.

  “Please, Becca, I don’t want to hurt you,” pleaded Colin.

  “I’ll make this quick.” Becca knelt down and shoved her free hand into the sand.

  “Please Becca, it’s me, Colin.”

  The sand beneath Colin’s feet became softer and he sank a few feet. He tried to pull free but the more he struggled, the more he sank.

  Quicksand! She’s turning it into quicksand.

  “Becca, listen to me,” growled Colin, trying to form his words carefully. “You know me, I know you. You’re my girlfriend. This isn’t you. Talbot is controlling you.”

  Talbot laughed as he finished drawing another symbol in the air. “Oh yes, it’s all very tragic. You act as if I’m the bad guy here.”

  “You think you’re not?” spat Colin as he sank deeper. The sand was up to his chest and as much as he tried to claw his way out, the sand enveloped him faster.