The Prophecy Read Free

“I’m not
going to hurl,” I yelled over the rushing wind. “I just need some air. I’ll be
fine.”
    Without
warning, a shock of electricity zipped like lightning from my toes to
fingertips. My scalp tingled, and I ran a hand over my head, half expecting my
hair to be standing on end. “What was that?”
    Adrian
grinned. “You felt that?”
    I
opened and closed my hands repeatedly and shook them to make the tingling
sensation stop. “Yeah. You felt it, too?”
    “It’s
the protective enchantment Katori placed around the boundaries of the
reservation,” Shyla said casually from the front seat. “Didn’t Meg tell you
about it? None who mean harm to the tribe can breach its barrier . . . 
or some nonsense like that.”
    I
rolled up the window. “Meg told me. I guess I didn’t believe her.” And why not,
I thought? Every other unbelievable thing my aunt had said turned out to be
true.
    What I
didn’t add was that I’d been wondering all along how my father, in wolf form,
had been able to breach the boundary line more than seventeen years ago.
    “How do
you feel now?” Adrian asked.
    I
wiggled my toes and shook my hands again. “Fine, I guess. It was just, you
know, shocking. My fingers are still tingly.”
    “It’s
annoying, but it goes away after a few minutes,” Adrian said with confidence. I
nodded, taking his word for it.
    Peering
ahead, I kept my attention fixed on the taillights of David’s car in front of
us. They flashed red as the car slowed to a crawl, and I got that
roller-coaster feeling in the pit of my stomach, when you feel like you’re
going to throw up just before taking that first big plunge. Gripping the door
handle with my right hand and clutching Adrian’s arm with my left, I knew this
was it. The moment of truth.
    David turned
into the driveway of a gray-shingled house, and Shyla pulled in behind him and
killed the engine. “Ready?” she asked, turning around in her seat to peer at me.
    Adrian
patted my knee and gave me a reassuring look, but I saw the excitement in his
eyes. He wasn’t nervous at all. I opened my own door but didn’t move, even
after he’d already gotten out.
    “Adrian!
What took you so long, man?” I heard someone yell as the front door of the
house swung open.
    Adrian loped
up the front walkway and did some complicated hand greeting with the guy. “Long
time no see, Caleb. What’s up?”
    “You
know, same old stuff,” I heard him say. “Working on cars. Getting in trouble
with the chicks.”
    Chicks ? Ugh.
I didn’t like him already.
    Caleb
wore faded jeans and a black muscle-shirt with the words “BABE MAGNET”
emblazoned on front in half-peeling gold metallic paint. His hair stood up in a
faux-hawk, the tips dyed a bright blue. I thought I saw the glint of a small gold
hoop in his left eyebrow. His mother must be so proud.
    Caleb
tore his attention away from Adrian and fixed it on Shyla next. They didn’t say
anything at first; only stood staring at each other with a sort of detached
interest. Or maybe not so detached after all, I thought, craning my head to get
a better look.
    “You’ve
changed,” Caleb said appreciatively, looking her up and down. He wore a slight
smirk on his face.
    Shyla
took a step closer and crossed her slender arms over her chest, thrusting up her
chin to make up for the difference in height. “And you haven’t,” she stated. I
thought I saw her lips tremble as she tried not to smile.
    A slow
grin broke out on Caleb’s face and he whooped with laughter, making everyone jump
in surprise. He grabbed Shyla in a fierce hug and spun her around so that she
screamed through her laughter and pounded his back to be put down.
    “Man, I’ve
missed you.” He set her on her feet and held her at arm’s length. “I can’t
believe you’re actually here. It’s so good to see you again.”
    “Dude, that’s
my sister you’re talking about,” Adrian said, not even bothering to hide his disgust.
“What the heck?”
    I