Sunblind (10 page)

“I have to get home right after school and help Barnaby with some project,” I said. “I think I'm making the solar system out of Styrofoam, which isn't the best way to spend the afternoon, but I need to bond with my brother.”

Nadine clutched her books a bit tighter to her chest. “Is he still acting out since your father's death?”

A flicker of silver light shined over Nadine's body for a second, less than that, but long enough for me to witness it. Did Nadine will the light to remain within her body? If so, it's the first time that I realized she may have control over this silver shadow, just like Napoleon obviously has control over the light that's within him.

“Let's just say it's been a difficult time for him,” I replied.

“Of course it has,” she said. “But it would be even more difficult if he knew why his father died.”

The silence that followed Nadine's comment was interrupted only by the clicking of her pen. Two quick clicks, then a pause, then two more. I waited for Nadine to continue clicking, but she stopped. Once again an interruption offered me a moment of clarity. I knew it was time for me to stop talking about my brother and my father and how death is now their only connection.

“Maybe we can meet tomorrow,” I said. “I don't have cheerleading practice.”

Nadine smiled just as the bell rang, and we both had to sprint or risk being late for class. I whipped past her and ran off to my World History II class, but just as I turned the corner I saw Nadine staring at me. Her lips were moving like she was talking to herself, and the silver mist slowly started to rise above her head. I was transfixed as the mist began to move down the hallway toward me. I don't know what would've happened if the wolf hadn't taken control of my body and ran the rest of the way to class. I sat in my seat just as Mr. Lamatina entered the room. I wasn't late, but definitely was puzzled.

Now after school, I'm even more puzzled because I'm standing in between Arla and Caleb behind some scenery on the stage. The curtain is drawn, so even though I can hear voices in the theater, our presence will remain secret. Unlike Archie and Napoleon's relationship.

Archie is sitting in the half-built convertible Corvette that is being constructed for the upcoming production of
Grease
—the PG version with all the dirty words and references cut out, of course, and starring a boy and a girl Danny and Sandy and not the all-male version that's about to take place.

Just as I hear footsteps, Arla nudges her elbow into my stomach, and we both peer through a tiny crack in the wooden flat we're standing behind to see Napoleon nervously climb into the car and sit next to Archie. They start whispering to one another, and Arla and Caleb look at me, expecting me to interpret what they're saying, but it's a private whispersation so I tune them out. I wouldn't want someone listening in to my intimate conversations with Caleb. But my boyfriend's so determined to hear what's going on that he presses his ear closer to the flat so hard that I'm afraid it's going to topple over. But very quickly there's nothing to hear except for the sound of kissing.

All wolf instinct is gone, and the girl has taken over completely. Arla and I clutch each other and we press our free hands against our mouths so we don't scream in sheer delight when we see Archie and Napoleon start to make out. Caleb isn't so quick to conceal his comments.

“Dude! You really are gay!”

The shock of hearing Caleb's voice causes Napoleon to jump out of the fake Corvette and fall right onto his head. I fight the urge to call Nurse Nelson because it looks like Nap might be suffering from a heart attack. He's gasping for breath and sweating, but he doesn't need my help; he's got Archie.

With one deft movement, Archie grabs Nap under his armpits and lifts him off the ground. He's not going to die, but he's still in shock.

“What the hell is going on?!” Nap screams, clutching his heart.

“I'm sorry, Nap,” Archie starts, “but they didn't believe me when I told them you were my boyfriend, so I thought it would be best to show them.”

“We believed you,” Arla and I say at the same time.

“Caleb was the only doubter,” I add.

Napoleon should be starting to look better, but instead he looks worse. His skin is losing all its color, and he's actually holding onto the convertible for support. Maybe we do need a nurse.

“Are you okay, Nap?” I ask.

“This stays among us, okay?”

More of a command than a question, but it's his personal life, so it's totally his decision that it should remain contained to a small group. We all assure him that we're not going to say a word about what we just witnessed or start singing “Nap and Archie sitting in a tree.” Except for those times when we know no one is within earshot so we can tease the lovebirds, because that's what friends do.

“Thank you, Dominy,” Nap replies. “I appreciate it.”

I don't know if I misjudged him or if I'm just a sucker for a happy ending, but despite my promise I want everyone to know the good news.

“Jess is going to be so happy about this!” I beam, tears starting to gather in my eyes.

I can only blame my faux pas on the fact that I'm ecstatic that Archie has found a boyfriend. Even if that boyfriend is the twin I thought Jess was trying to get me to mistrust. I'll focus on that later; right now I have to focus on correcting my tongue-slip.

“Full disclosure,” I begin. “I talk to Jess all the time, and I know that she can hear me.”

Listen hard enough and you can hear Caleb, Archie, and Arla sigh in relief. I'm not sure if Nap believes I really can speak with Jess or if he thinks I'm just speaking metaphorically, but he buys my explanation.

“When you speak with her again, please let her know that I never meant to deceive her,” he says sincerely. “I was just trying to be, you know,
normal
and date a girl, and Archie's made me realize I was already normal.”

Now I'm crying. And so is Arla. Even Caleb looks moved by Napoleon's comment. So moved that he gives the guy one of those multipart fist-bump, high five, handshake things.

“Welcome to the family, Nap,” he says.

“Don't worry, Bells,” Archie says. “You'll always be my special guy.”

Whispering into my ear Arla asks, “You know what this means, right?”

“That you are officially the fifth wheel,” I joke.

She doesn't laugh. Have I gone too far? I didn't think she cared about not having a boyfriend, but maybe I'm wrong.

“No,” she whispers. “If this is the reason Napoleon's always been the strange twin, now that his secret's out we can trust him.”

Damn! This also means my gut instinct has to do a 180.

“So the twin we absolutely cannot trust,” I say, “is Nadine.”

Chapter 9

I barely notice the transformation this time.

It's still painful and grotesque and terrifying, but the sensation is nothing in comparison to what I felt upon learning the truth about Nadine only a few days ago. The girl who has become a confidante to me, the girl who I was beginning to feel could be a Jessurrogate, who I thought could become a lifelong friend, is nothing but a fraud. I don't understand how Nadine's duped all of us, and I definitely have no idea why she's done it, but I know that she is my enemy. And if she's an enemy to Dominy, then she's even more of an enemy to the wolf.

Before the full moon rose above the horizon and started to glow in the night sky as it's doing now, casting a purplish haze like a bruise over the world, I decided that I was going to roam free tonight, regardless of the risks. Caleb fought me on it, bitterly, but I wouldn't listen to him. Now that I have another enemy lurking out there and not just Luba, Caleb flip-flopped and changed his mind, thinking that it would be safer if I spent the night in my cage in the uninhabited barn on his Uncle Luke's property. But I wouldn't give in. Finally, he accepted my decision because deep down, he knows that the rules have changed.

We might not know exactly what or who Nadine is, but we do know that she isn't what she pretends to be. And although she's been doing her best to act like our ally for the past year, she's just the opposite. We have to be on guard; we have to be ready to fight back. And it's kind of hard to fight back if I'm stuck in a cage.

That's why I find myself within the belly of Robin's Park, uncaged and free, swallowing the last bits of a deer that I killed because he was too scared and I was too determined to have an early feast. Licking my lips I wash away the last traces of blood and flesh from my lips. Now that I don't fight the hunger, now that I understand the wolf needs to be nourished as much as the girl, my meals taste so much better. Once the hunger and thirst have been quenched, once my wolf appetite is satiated, I can embrace the spirit living inside of me and enjoy the part of me that normally stays hidden. I lift my snout toward the dark violet sky and open my mouth; the sound of my howl is clear and loud and unafraid. If someone hears it, so be it. I'm not in the mood to hide.

In this part of the park the trees are farther apart from each other. The land isn't open and flat like it is near the low hills, the area known as Dry Land, but it's also not densely wooded. Still, I could find a hiding place if I wanted to; I could become part of the landscape until the dawn. But remaining invisible isn't on the agenda for tonight; tonight I want answers. At the thought of this my body twitches, a shudder that rustles my fur so it looks like it's gotten caught in a breeze. There's an ache deep within my body, in the place where girl meets wolf, like the physical manifestation of a premonition. Yes, tonight will be different.

The third time I walk in a circle I stop myself. I didn't even realize I was absentmindedly tracing and retracing my steps, but when I look down I see that I've created a circle in the dirt. A circle that is now drenched in a pool of moonlight. Nothing is a coincidence, and everything happens for a reason. Standing inside the makeshift circle, I look up and let the moonglow spill all over me. A smile sneaks slowly across my face, because I know that the moon is shining on me like a spotlight; it's drawing me out, drawing me closer to someone who's patiently waiting for me. Let them think that I don't know; let them think that I'm not prepared; let them think that I'm easy prey.

A low, guttural growl seeps out of my mouth; I don't even know I'm making any noise until half a minute later when I hear the sound join the wind. As a wolf my body seems to understand things before my mind. I find that I react physically before I can mentally assess a situation. It's something that I fought at first, but now that I'm more familiar with these restraints, now that I'm learning to trust this other part of me more fully, I let the wolf lead, and I willingly follow. Even if it leads me into danger.

I feel Luba's presence as easily as I can smell the rotting flesh of the deer. She's nearby; she's waiting; she's smiling because she thinks she's going to be victorious. She's also thinking that tonight is going to be special. It is, but not in the way that she imagines.

Giving in to the wolf spirit, I feel my body weave in and out of trees, in and out of the moonlight, and walk toward the scent of evil. Suddenly my body stops, and I feel myself crouch low to the ground. My head is almost flat on the dirt, camouflaged by a bulky spray of long, thick leaves from a large bush. The early autumn chill has made some of the leaves turn color, so the bush is a collection of reds and oranges and yellows mixed in with the vibrant greens and my fur isn't immediately recognizable. It looks as if I've taken another form, just like evil has.

Nadine is standing alone, her silver mist forming curlicues all around her, making her look like a metal statue of Medusa. Keeping my body still, I scour the land with my eyes, searching for Luba, but she's nowhere to be found. I could've sworn I sensed that witch, but it must've been Nadine's scent. My sense of smell must have gotten confused, or different types of sin simply smell the same.

Fighting the innate desire to spring forward and pounce on Nadine, tear her limbs from their sockets, I dig my paws into the earth and allow the coolness to squash the fever building inside of me. But when Nadine's companion comes into view, the fever threatens to overtake me. When I see Barnaby I actually think I can feel my blood boiling.

What is he doing with her?! What is she trying to do to him?!

Slowly the silver tendrils start to float into the air, stopping to hover over Barnaby's head. The preternatural force seems to be invisible to the human eye, because he's not moving. He is, however, speaking, and I can hear every word of their conversation.

“I don't know what you mean,” Barnaby says. “What are you talking about?”

His voice is soft and not angry and contemptuous like it is when he speaks to me. I don't know if this is his normal voice or if Nadine has somehow enchanted him. She clearly has powers. I just haven't figured out what they are yet or their origin.

“You have to choose sides, Barnaby,” Nadine replies. “And it shouldn't be that difficult a choice to make; there are only two.”

The silver mist now looks like a river floating in the air, whisking against Barnaby's ears and his arms and his heart. Whether or not Barnaby can feel it, he's doing nothing to get away from it. He's standing completely still as if he's paralyzed.

“But why?” he asks. “Why do I have to make a choice?”

When Nadine speaks, her voice is no longer friendly or sweet; it's the vile, disgusting voice that she reserves for use when she's speaking with her brother.

“Because every boy has to make a choice if he wants to become a man,” Nadine spits. “And the time for you to make your choice is now.”

I can hear growls escape my lips; a constant rumbling from my soul into the air. If it had wings it would race into the night and wrap itself around Nadine to silence her, to keep her away from Barnaby, to kill her.

“But why now?” Barnaby asks.

His voice sounds as young and unsure and confused as it did in the first few days after my father died.

“I told you, Barnaby; there's good in this town, and there's evil,” Nadine starts. “Which side do you want to be on?”

Before Barnaby can answer, the silver mist dives to the ground with such force it looks like it's going to pierce the ground and burrow a hole until it disappears. But at the last second it veers to the right and begins to wrap itself around my brother. Round and round and round it whips, moving up his stationary body, not touching his skin or clothing, but hugging so tightly that if Barnaby moves an inch in any direction, if he lifts his arm or shifts his leg he'll collide with the unnatural fog. When he speaks I can tell that even though the silver mist isn't touching him, it's controlling him.

“I want to be on your side,” he declares.

It's not his announcement that convinces me Nadine is controlling his mind, but his voice. He doesn't sound like my brother; he sounds like a zombie, a robot, a voice that has had all the life sucked out of it. He sounds dead.

“You chose right, Barnaby,” Nadine whispers. “And now it's time to reap your reward.”

Nadine takes a step back and slowly raises both her hands. As she does the silver mist rises above the ground, taking with it Barnaby who is trapped within its tendrils. She can control this force; she has the same power as her brother.

Barnaby makes no move to resist or maintain his balance or prevent himself from levitating in the air; he accepts the movement almost as if he was expecting it. If Nadine can do this to him, what else can she do? No, I'm not going to wait around to find out. I've seen enough!

The howl is so loud and powerful and filled with rage that it startles even me. It startles Nadine so much that she drops her hands and as a result loses control of my brother. Barnaby falls to the ground with such an impact that a cloud of dust rises and comingles with the silver mist; earth and unearth join together as one. For a moment he doesn't move, and I'm afraid that the crash or my wolf cry or the sudden release from Nadine's power was too much of a shock and he's been seriously injured, but it's just the opposite. He's free.

“What am I doing here?” he asks. Then he looks up at Nadine staring down at him through a silver cloud. “Nadine? Is that you?”

Her lips form a smile, but like before when she was fighting with Napoleon, her eyes do not join in.

“Of course it's me, Barnaby,” she seethes. “Don't you remember? You asked me to take a walk with you.”

Upright, Barnaby slaps his thighs to get rid of the dirt that's clinging to him. Next he waves his hand violently in the air. Maybe he can see her silver extensions; maybe he's trying to swipe them away before they latch onto him.

“No, I didn't!” he screams. “You followed me!”

What?! She was stalking my brother. Why?!

“You said you wanted to show me something,” he says. “And that's all I remember. Everything's blank after that.”

With desperation etched on her face, Nadine moves closer to Barnaby, which makes him take a few steps backward.

“Stay away from me!”

“Oh you don't mean that, Barnaby,” she replies, trying very hard, but failing, to sound sexy.

“Yes, I do!” he screams. “Stay back!”

This time when confronted, Nadine doesn't shrink like she did when Napoleon fought back. Now she shows her true colors and unleashes an even greater power.

As she lifts her arms overhead, bolts of silver light rip out of her hands and lunge for Barnaby. He may not be a supernatural creature, but he has incredible speed, and just as the light tries to grab hold of his legs, he turns and runs, making sure to push into the ground with his left foot to spray Nadine with a shower of dirt.

“Get back here!” she roars.

Ignoring her, Barnaby runs off into the inner depths of the park. The second I see Nadine sprint after my brother, I spring forward. There's no way she's going to get close to him again. Not while I'm around, not tonight.

Just as Barnaby fades into a bevy of thick-trunked trees, I run into the clearing. Shocked, Nadine loses her footing and stumbles forward, falling onto the ground. When she looks up, the first thing she sees is my fangs.

Her nails clutch at the ground and disappear into the dirt as she tries to prevent herself from shaking in my presence. She isn't successful. The skin on either side of my snout rises to show off more of my pure white fangs, chiseled to a point like a series of ivory knives. My red fur is thick and standing straight up, bending only slightly whenever the wind picks up, and my paws are restless, unable to stay put for more than a few seconds. Nadine and I both know that I desperately want to attack.

“Dominy,” Nadine says softly, her voice shaking a bit, “I know you can hear me.”

My howl in response doesn't deny or agree.

Crawling backward, Nadine looks pathetic and scared and weak. She is such easy prey. All I have to do is lunge forward, let my paws fly through the air, and extend my legs so my nails can rip through her flesh. Tear the skin off of her cheeks and her arms and destroy that silver mist as well. Maybe the mist is like her lifeline—if I tear that to shreds, it'll destroy her too. Worth a try.

“Dominy, no!”

This time I'm the one who's startled. I heard the voice, but I didn't see Nadine's lips move. She's just staring at me with a look of fear in her eyes. No, wait, she's not staring at me; she's looking behind me. Whipping my head around, I understand why. Who wouldn't be afraid to see Luba, looking like a corpse, floating six inches above the ground, with her arms outstretched and clawing at the air?

Nadine screams something, but I don't hear it because my howl is too loud. Suddenly there's too much going on, Nadine, Barnaby, Luba, all my enemies together, everyone who wants to hurt me in one place. It's too much! I knew tonight was going to be different; I knew something unexpected was going to happen, but I didn't expect so much. I didn't expect to be torn between attacking Nadine and destroying Luba.

I can feel the violence and anger and confusion erupting within me, and I can't control them all. The wolf and I are no longer working together; it's trying to take over, and I'm fighting. I don't want to lose myself within the beast. I want to be part of the destruction of my two enemies.

“Leave now!” Luba bellows.

Her voice is so loud some of the branches on the trees shake as if a strong wind erupted out of stagnant air and took them all by surprise. The branches may have bowed in Luba's presence, but not Nadine. I don't know what game she's playing now, but her initial fear has given way to a crazy confidence. She's not afraid; she looks defiant, as if she's possibly a match for Psycho Squaw. Nadine may have skills; she may even be a master of black magic, I don't know. But I do know that Luba has had lots more years of practice.