tried not to panic, surrounded as I was by four creatures capable of turning me into Kibbles ’n Bits in about 2.3 seconds. I knew The Will prevented werewolves from attacking anyone without due cause, but given my current criminal status, I wasn’t sure that included me.
We followed a winding path in and around mausoleums, benches, statues, trees, and flowerbeds. The place was beautiful in a creepy, gothic kind of way. It was scary, too, full of shadows and odd noises.
Eventually the lead werewolf came to a stop out front of a gigantic mausoleum I recognized at once as the Kirkwoods’. A sudden sensation of déjà vu made me shiver with dread.
The werewolf pointed at a bench next to the door into the Kirkwoods’ tomb. “Sit. Wait.”
Did I mention werewolves were chatty?
I sat and waited.
He walked around the building, leaving me alone with the other three. They continued ignoring me and I them. We had a mutual understanding.
I focused my attention on the murmur of voices on the other side of the tomb. Lights flashed here and there above my head, reflecting off leaves and structures, but I couldn’t see anything from where I sat.
“Who found her?” a male voice said. To my surprise, I recognized one of my teachers, a wizard named Mr. Marrow. Knowing there was somebody I knew here made me a little less nervous. I liked Marrow, mostly because he taught history, a subject that didn’t require us to use a lot of magic, thereby lowering my chances for making a fool of myself.
The voice that answered him, however, I’d never heard before and hoped never to again, it was so horrible. Female and ancient, it sounded like the grinding of old gears in desperate need of oil. “The maintenance man found her. Mr. Culpepper was on his way home from fixing a plumbing problem at Flint Hall when he heard a disturbance.”
“This late? I’ve never known him to be so willing to repair something in the student dormitories after hours.”
“Yes, well, he says he was worried about structural damage if he didn’t fix it right away.”
“I see.” There was a long pause, then Mr. Marrow said, “I suppose, given the missing hand, she was one of the Keepers?”
Missing hand? Keeper? I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“Yes. I’ve been telling the senate for years they shouldn’t allow Keepers so young, but the families have started to treat it like a rite of passage, mere ceremony. They’ve grown complacent about the threat.”
“Well, now I imagine they’ll realize none of the Keepers are safe.”
The old woman took a deep breath. “Ambrose, I didn’t see this coming.”
“No sign at all?”
“No. It’s as if something’s blocked my visions. I can’t begin to fathom the kind of magic necessary to do that.”
“Yes, but best to focus on what we can for now.”
“You’re right. I’ll know more once I speak to the girl.”
Sheriff Brackenberry appeared from around the side of the mausoleum. He stopped beside the bench and stared down at me, so big he blocked the moon from sight. He looked like an NFL linebacker with some extra paunch and body hair. Not only was he head of the magickind police force in Chickery, he was also the alpha werewolf.
“Listening in, were you?” said Brackenberry.
I swallowed.
The sheriff shook his head. “I would think someone who’s been up to as much trouble this evening as you, Miss Everhart, would know better than to press her luck by eavesdropping.” He paused and smiled, his mouth all long teeth and snarl. “Then again, I guess it’s not that surprising after all.”
His condescension was a little undeserved, I thought. Aside from the night last March when I first came into my Nightmare powers and went on an unauthorized dream-feed on the neighbor boy, I’d never been in serious trouble. Nothing worse than a couple of detentions and a D on my alchemy final last year. Well, there was that incident in spell-casting class when I turned Katarina Marcel
We followed a winding path in and around mausoleums, benches, statues, trees, and flowerbeds. The place was beautiful in a creepy, gothic kind of way. It was scary, too, full of shadows and odd noises.
Eventually the lead werewolf came to a stop out front of a gigantic mausoleum I recognized at once as the Kirkwoods’. A sudden sensation of déjà vu made me shiver with dread.
The werewolf pointed at a bench next to the door into the Kirkwoods’ tomb. “Sit. Wait.”
Did I mention werewolves were chatty?
I sat and waited.
He walked around the building, leaving me alone with the other three. They continued ignoring me and I them. We had a mutual understanding.
I focused my attention on the murmur of voices on the other side of the tomb. Lights flashed here and there above my head, reflecting off leaves and structures, but I couldn’t see anything from where I sat.
“Who found her?” a male voice said. To my surprise, I recognized one of my teachers, a wizard named Mr. Marrow. Knowing there was somebody I knew here made me a little less nervous. I liked Marrow, mostly because he taught history, a subject that didn’t require us to use a lot of magic, thereby lowering my chances for making a fool of myself.
The voice that answered him, however, I’d never heard before and hoped never to again, it was so horrible. Female and ancient, it sounded like the grinding of old gears in desperate need of oil. “The maintenance man found her. Mr. Culpepper was on his way home from fixing a plumbing problem at Flint Hall when he heard a disturbance.”
“This late? I’ve never known him to be so willing to repair something in the student dormitories after hours.”
“Yes, well, he says he was worried about structural damage if he didn’t fix it right away.”
“I see.” There was a long pause, then Mr. Marrow said, “I suppose, given the missing hand, she was one of the Keepers?”
Missing hand? Keeper? I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“Yes. I’ve been telling the senate for years they shouldn’t allow Keepers so young, but the families have started to treat it like a rite of passage, mere ceremony. They’ve grown complacent about the threat.”
“Well, now I imagine they’ll realize none of the Keepers are safe.”
The old woman took a deep breath. “Ambrose, I didn’t see this coming.”
“No sign at all?”
“No. It’s as if something’s blocked my visions. I can’t begin to fathom the kind of magic necessary to do that.”
“Yes, but best to focus on what we can for now.”
“You’re right. I’ll know more once I speak to the girl.”
Sheriff Brackenberry appeared from around the side of the mausoleum. He stopped beside the bench and stared down at me, so big he blocked the moon from sight. He looked like an NFL linebacker with some extra paunch and body hair. Not only was he head of the magickind police force in Chickery, he was also the alpha werewolf.
“Listening in, were you?” said Brackenberry.
I swallowed.
The sheriff shook his head. “I would think someone who’s been up to as much trouble this evening as you, Miss Everhart, would know better than to press her luck by eavesdropping.” He paused and smiled, his mouth all long teeth and snarl. “Then again, I guess it’s not that surprising after all.”
His condescension was a little undeserved, I thought. Aside from the night last March when I first came into my Nightmare powers and went on an unauthorized dream-feed on the neighbor boy, I’d never been in serious trouble. Nothing worse than a couple of detentions and a D on my alchemy final last year. Well, there was that incident in spell-casting class when I turned Katarina Marcel