Juliette's jaw dropped. "I haven't heard them saying anything at all!"
"Animal ears hear certain things better than human ones."
Emma rubbed her hands together. "So what now? Want me to fly as far as I can?"
"I think we should canvas." Jareth leaned against a tree with his arms crossed.
"How about going farther north?" William said.
"Canvas." Challenge dripped from Jareth’s voice.
William drew himself to his full height. "North."
A couple slender branches snapped under Jareth’s pounding feet. "Canvas!"
"North!"
Exhausted and anger rising, Juliette jumped between them and shoved a hand against each of their chests. "What the hell! Act your ages! You’re humans again five seconds and start fighting. Grow up, both of you!"
"Well, he started--"
"Jareth, shut up! Listen, all we know is Nathaniel had some reason to think something important about this place, right? He stayed here for weeks."
No one answered, their attention glued to her. She turned hers to the three who had previously been in the area. "Where is the nearest town?"
Ash gestured to the east. "About two miles that way."
"Take me." Roughly she pulled a few items from the larger knapsack and fit them into her purse.
"Why?" Tristan reached for her hand.
She stopped what she was doing and stared hard. "If I get a lot of questions, I will walk to find that town. I’ll take my bow. Now can someone give me a lift?"
Without speaking Ash headed behind a tree, reemerging as his animal self.
"Please," Gabrielle gently asked, "is something wrong?"
The concern in Gabrielle’s voice softened her, and she flashed a small smile. "Everything's fine. Just to borrow the words from Tristan: ‘Trust me.’” She grabbed her bow case and swung up onto Ash. "Let's go."
Unusual tenseness in Ash’s shoulders made a harder ride than usual as he moved through the forest. He held his head higher, ears flickering toward the slightest noise, listening and watching for danger. A few buildings soon showed between a break in the trees, and he stopped.
Juliette lowered herself to the ground. "An hour, Ash. I'll be back."
She picked her footing to the dwellings. Only one street went into the town. She passed a sign bearing the name Boulder Avenue and looked around. Dozens of long driveways connected older houses to the worn blacktop of road, but few streets led anywhere else. At the end of Boulder, she found a small orange-roofed grocery store called Super A. She’d passed no one else on the road, but needed to find someone to talk to. Since Nathaniel had been so close for several weeks, perhaps someone had heard or seen something. Someone must be in the dimly-lit store.
Nervously she headed to door. An elderly gentleman held it for her as she entered. "Thank you," she said, and he nodded. Juliette grabbed a hand basket and wandered the aisles hoping the clerk didn’t notice her trembling hands. She tossed the fixings for s'mores into the basket along with a couple packages of campfire popcorn, some sausages, and several pounds of raw roasts. Pickings for produce were slim, but she procured a bag of apples. For good measure, she selected a container of a powdered flavored drink mix and a couple bottles of cold juice. Bota bags filled with water had lost its appeal to her. She was sure her friends would appreciate a change in pace their traveling fare. Certain she could carry no more back down the long road, she approached the check-out stand.
The middle-aged clerk greeted her. "You ain't from around Dease Lake," she said. "Passing through?"
"You could say that." She grabbed a few fabric bags and tossed them on top of the groceries. "Would you tell me if there are any local myths? I'm hiking through and love a good, scary myth. Werewolves, coyote people, bipedal mountain lions, anything strange."
The clerk stopped packing away the food and snapped her head up, her eyes strained. "Young lady, you be careful out there."
"What is it?" she whispered, a chill running through her.
The clerk turned and pointed toward the back corner of the store. "From off that a’way comes a…I don't know what. But on them nights, folks here keep their guns loaded. People that look like shaggy monsters get to be seen, wolflike, and they cackle. Been since early summer. Month ago a paper-white feller walked into town, looked around, and went back. It was unnatural."
“Has anyone been hurt by them? How long since they’ve been here?” Juliette opened her purse and pulled some cheerfully colored bills from an envelope.
“Nobody hurt yet. But we ain’t taking chances. Couple kids saw ‘em last week. You be careful. Might wanna stay in town ‘til you can catch a ride."
Juliette fought to maintain her composure. "I'll think about that. Keep the change. Thanks for the info."
She looped the heavy bags over her arms and made her way slowly down the street, noting the direction the woman had pointed. The back of her neck prickled; she glanced over her shoulder. The clerk had left the store to stand on the sidewalk and watch her. Being observed added to Juliette’s discomfort. Her pace quickened to the end of the road and into the woods to find Ash.
"Can I put these on your antlers?" she asked. "Sorry, they're just too heavy for me to hold all the way."
Ash tipped his head down, and she did her best to balance the bags.
"Let's get back as quick as we can."
The return journey tested Juliette's nerves. She kept her eyes in the direction the monsters had come, keeping a lookout for them. She was so intent on watching that she didn't realize they'd returned to the others until Tristan ran to her to pull her down.
"Juliette! What's wrong?" Tristan asked.
"She's white as a sheet!" William grabbed her hand and rubbed it. “Cold too.”
Juliette tilted her head without meeting anyone's eyes. "The northwest. A lady in town said wolf-like monsters have come from that direction, and a man she described as unnatural went down there, only looked, and left. We need to go that way. They were seen last week. Nathaniel can’t be too far."
No one spoke for a moment. Ash’s nose nudged Sunil, who silently removed the bags. Ash bounded behind bushes and disappeared.
"So they're still around here?" Emma whispered.
Juliette nodded.
Tristan swore under his breath.
Deeper into the forest something popped. Sunil jumped. "Those of us who can fight--no offense to you ladies, but an eagle and a pretty petite Iberian lynx aren't much match against wolves or whatever else they probably use--should take shifts at night. Emma, during the days we'll need your sharp eyes to scout ahead and look for danger."
Emma nodded, gasping lightly when Ash returned.
Hoping for a distraction, Juliette opened the first bag. "Hey, I got some food. A change from working for your supper. Roasts, the way you like them."
Despite the new concerns, dinner was pleasant. Juliette showed them how the camp popcorn was made, and Jareth and William gleefully raced to see whose pan finished first. After supper, she held a marshmallow in a stick over the flames, smiling as it fluffed and caught fire.
A howl off in the distance made Juliette gasp. "I don't know if I can sleep tonight. The cashier was freaked out just telling me what they've been seeing."
Tristan grabbed a piece of chocolate and held it up to Juliette's mouth. "Here, eat this. Don't be too scared, okay? I'll take the first watch. If anything comes up, Emma can get you out fast."
"How?" she asked around the chocolate melting in her mouth.
"Well, not only do we have faster than usual speed, but we're a lot stronger than regular animals, and have heightened senses borne out of decades of honing. If an emergency happens, we’ll all change immediately. Our clothes wouldn’t matter. You would hold Emma’s legs, and she’ll lift you out. She knows how to get Gabby. Gab’s tiny for a lynx."
“Wow. Okay. I’ll still be nervous.” Juliette stared into the crackling fire, tying to ignore the flames highlighting the darkness ar
ound them. “Did you know an upiór is a Slavic word for a vampire?”
“We’re not vampires.” Emma chuckled. “Where did you come up with that idea?”
“When Jareth let me use his computer, I Googled upiórs.” Juliette shrugged. “It doesn’t change anything. I just thought you might like to know you’re vampires.”
“Juliette,” Gabrielle said, crumbling a graham cracker, “we have no reason to distrust Jane. If we were vampires, she would have told us. We don’t need blood and can walk in the light.”
“But Jane did you what you are! Only in a different language.”
Ash speared another marshmallow onto a stick and held the confection over the flame. “Words don’t always have a direct translation, so similar ones are used. An upiór can also translate to phantom. However we’re neither vampire nor phantom. There isn’t an English word for what we are.”
“Remember when we did homework in your room, and I told you I want to be one? For a better sense of identity?” Tristan reminded her. “We know nothing more about ourselves than we’ve shared with you.”
Juliette huffed. She broke a cracker in half and offered a piece to Tristan. “I still think you’re wrong. Whatever you want to believe is up to you though. Anyway I’m keeping my bow out from now on. I’ll feel more secure. I won’t rely on anyone to save me like I'm helpless."
"We’ll all be saving each other." Gabrielle tossed a few twigs onto the fire.
"If I'm supposed to run at the first sign of danger, how is that being part of a team?"
Silence and a spark answered her. A rough fist lifted her by the arm and dragged her several paces away.
“Hey!” Tristan started to rise, but stopped when Jareth held up a hand and shook his head.
Juliette’s wide blue eyes stared at the face above her. “What?”
“Listen,” Jareth breathed into her ear. “I don’t like you, but my brother loves you. If you stayed, he’ll be distracted trying to make sure you’re okay and could die for it. If they killed you instead, he’d be devastated. So get your ass out of here if you love him. Understand?”
She wrenched her arm away and glared. With a huff, she dropped back to the ground by Tristan. “I’ll go if they come. I'm going to lie down now and try to be up before the sun."
"Rest is a good idea,” Gabrielle agreed. “Those of us not on duty should get some. I don’t think it’s safe to change alone, so keep nearby when you do."
William stood up and turned his head toward the northwest. “Since we don’t have to sleep, we should stay up.”
“You know as well as I do our bodies recharge more efficiently when we sleep. We need it right now. It’s too dangerous to risk not being in top shape.” Where she sat, Gabrielle shrank into the body of a small lynx and sprang out of her sweater’s cowl neckline.
Bow by her side, Juliette lay by the fire and closed her eyes. She listened as the others held a quiet conversation, her fingers curled around an arrow, waiting.
* * *
The crystalline morning shimmered, frozen dew covering them all. The light had crested the horizon ahead of the fiery sun soon to follow. The forest was unusually still and quiet, absent of the creaks and cracks of wildlife waking for the day.
A black cat’s head nuzzled closer to the pink cheeks and nose of the only human in their midst. He purred, trying to gently wake her. His efforts were rewarded with a scratching over his ear and a small smile.
"Nice kitty. I didn't mean to sleep so late." Juliette sat up and stretched.
Ash kneeled down next to her, a bow, quiver, and bag of water dangling from his antlers. Juliette, aching from a cold night on rocky ground, tossed a leg over and hoisted herself up before reaching forward to grab her weapons and bota. She blearily looked around for a knapsack but saw them both latched onto Jareth. "Here we go, day number something of trekking through the woods."
As the days before it, another four passed with no conversation between Juliette and the animals. Each meal period she'd light a fire, and they'd bring food. One evening Emma brought her a fish from a nearby lake that Juliette gutted and filleted. After tossing a piece onto rocks in the flames to cook, she divided the rest up among the others, then rubbed her hands through dirt and ash to remove the fishy scent. When it didn't work, she drizzled some mouthwash over them, and more dirt.
She sat down to eat her own meal, but merely picked at it and barely ate. After finishing their dinner, Ash kneeled beside her. Enough sunlight remained to cover more distance for the night.
"No." Juliette dropped her forehead onto her palms. "I can't go farther tonight. I just can't!"
Two feet instead of four rushed to her side, and Tristan kneeled beside her. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He pulled her to his chest. “You’re burning up.”
"I don't feel good," she whispered.
Tristan tightened his hold for a moment. "We'll stay here tonight, okay? Let me get some clothes and I'll be right back."
Juliette lay down and listened to him tell the others the evening's travel had been shortened. She kept her eyes open only until his arms wrapped around her.
18. Pursuit
Juliette arched her back and stretched out an arm. She stifled a yawn as she opened her eyes and sat up to stretch her other side. With a shiver from the frigid late-night air, she glanced down at Tristan's face, his unfocused stare aimed skyward. She settled back into his arms, curling close, craving both the nearness and heat of his body.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, her mouth near his ear. She followed his gaze, taking in the beauty of the moonless night studded with what appeared to be millions of stars and a denser ribbon of white.
Tristan sighed. "The different times I lived through. When I was newly a man, society still allowed me to be a boy in many ways."
"How do you mean?"
His hold on her tightened. "Well, we were selfish about our needs. At least those of us of any means. Certain things that aren’t acceptable today were expected then."
"Like what?"
Tristan's face contorted into a grimace. "Please don't make me answer."
Juliette nuzzled into his neck with her forehead. "Tell me. I won’t judge."
"My amis and I were all the same."
"Amis?"
"Friends. Sorry, starting to slip back to my French side."
"Yeah. Your accent's getting heavier. I can't believe I didn't notice you had one until Emma pointed it out. Please tell me."
"All right. We paid for what we wanted from some women, then went to balls with their social betters or on hunting trips. The dames were de toute beauté. Very lovely. They wore gowns of fine cotton and silk intricately embroidered by hand. Hundreds of candles lit the ballrooms. I was thinking about you at the ball and what that would’ve been like."
Juliette giggled as quietly as a whisper, imagining herself in an old gown at a ball. "How is the thought?"
Soft lips kissed her between her eyes, then her nose. "Not good, but not for the reason you might think. We evaluated women like livestock. Who would produce the best babies or bring the most advantageous business match, or further the family name. Relationships were political for my class. You would have been beautiful but harshly criticized behind closed doors. If I had taken you, you would have been an accessory to my life, not a true part of it. But without you having a pedigree and family money, we actually wouldn't have socialized at all. At best, I’d pay to take care of my…physical needs. I don't like who I was." He stopped speaking and clenched his jaw shut, eyes closing.
Juliette didn't press for more. This side of him both fascinated and unsettled her. “You’re not that man anymore.
"Je t'aime, ma Juliette," he said softer than a whisper.
"Hm?"
"Thinking to myself."
"What do you think the coven will be like?"
Tristan watched the sky for a while. He raised his hand and traced a line above them. "Shooting star. I always wish on them. I have a better g
uess about when the next star will happen than about anything regarding the coven, if they exist."
An icy gust of wind blew down through the trees, causing Juliette to tremble. Tristan let go of her only long enough to shrug off his jacket to wrap around her fur one.
"Tristan, no, I have a coat on. Your arms will get cold." A finger tugged at his black short t-shirt sleeve.
"I'm okay, but you’re still feverish. After you passed out last night, Emma went scouting, and she said about ninety miles northeast is a town with a motel. We’ll stop to give ourselves a chance to figure out where we are, let all of us get some rest. You need to be out of this cold for a while. And," he raised an arm and sniffed, "I could use a shower. That's eye-watering."
Juliette covered her face with her hands, trying not to laugh too loudly. "I think we all need showers, Tristan! I can't believe you did that though. Oh my god!"
William stirred nearby. "Oh my god? Are you guys actually getting some? Get a room or something."
"Shut up, Will," Tristan said at the same time Juliette told him, "No, William, I'm laughing at Tristan being silly. Go back to sleep." Tristan closed his point by lobbing a stick at William.
"Okay, my gross, sweet man, time for me to catch more shut-eye and for you to get some at all. But first, would you tell me what you wished for?"
Tristan kissed her tenderly. "I can't tell you. Well, I guess…J'ai demandé à la star de votre amour."
"That doesn't count, and you refuse to translate most things, so your secret is safe. Sleep well, Tristan."
"You too, Juliette."
* * *
William dropped a handful of crushed leaves over Juliette and Tristan. Debris tickled Juliette's eyelashes, waking her up. "William, you suck," she moaned.
"Revenge." He smiled and hopped away, wiggling his behind.
"William, we did not!"
Tristan took a deep breath and stretched. "Didn't what?" He reached for the fresh fish on a makeshift plate beside them and handed her a warm piece.
"Oh, that brother of yours." She crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
Tristan broke out laughing.
"What’s so funny?" she asked, continuing to sulk.
"You rarely look as young as eighteen. When you do, I’m amused."
"And what do you mean by that, Mr. Laroqcue?"