Moonglow (38 page)

Just as Barnaby comes into plain sight, Jess appears in front of me and spreads her arms. From her fingertips a wall of flames erupts, and the sun goddess is replaced by the beginning of a forest fire. The flames spread out several feet on both sides of me and then turn inward as they start to form a circle. In a matter of seconds I'm going to be surrounded by hot, raging fire. Instinctively, I want to break free before I'm burned to death, and my paws start to dig at the ground, a high-pitched whimper joining the chorus of crackling flames. Only two feet remain open behind me; if I don't move now I'm going to be engulfed, and there won't be any escape. Crouching low to the earth, I position my body to leap forward, but before I can fly into the air, Jess's voice slams into my ears.

The two ends of the line of flame connect, and the circular wall is created; there's no longer any way to escape unless I want to be burned alive. But wait.... Why can't I feel any heat? Suddenly I realize that the flames aren't threatening to me; they're not even flames at all. They're an illusion. Once again, Jess is saving my life. And confusing my brother and his fellow witch-hunters stuck on the other side of the wall.

“It's a fire!”

But that isn't my brother's voice; it's Louis's! Why in the world is he helping my brother hunt me down? Or hunting this animal that they think is terrorizing the town? He's the police chief, not a vigilante! Could this be the only way he could think of to avenge the death of his best friend, my father? Could they have figured out that the killings are all connected to the full moon? It doesn't matter; what matters is that if they find me, they won't know it's me. They'll think they've found the wild animal that needs to be killed, its dead body put on display to show the rest of the town that the horror has finally come to an end. Louis won't know that what he's looking at, what he wants to kill, is Mason Robineau's daughter, the girl he's agreed to raise as his own child. He'll only think he's looking at a murderer that needs to be put to death.

The voices are louder now and pull me from my thoughts, which are completely useless anyway. I don't recognize who's shouting; it could be a neighbor, a teacher, anyone who's known me my entire life. But whoever they are, they're just as startled by the sudden, unexpected fire and just as angry that it has interrupted their outing. Once again, if it weren't for Jess, I'd probably be dead.

“Go back to town and get Tourtelot!” Louis screams.

I know that name. Nathan Tourtelot is the fire chief.

“Tell him we've got a fire out here,” Louis commands. “He's got to put it out before it gets out of control.”

Louis's voice is different from the others. Yes, there's a hint of fear, but mostly there's authority. After years of sitting back, following my father's command, and acting as if he didn't have a decisive bone in his body, Louis seems to have gone through his own transformation. He's become a leader. Which means, to me anyway, that he's very much like Luba. Another nemesis I need to be wary of.

But I can't help feeling that he's also like my father. Protective and strong and courageous. All he's trying to do is keep his family and his town safe, which is exactly what my father tried to do his entire life. Wherever my father is, I know that he's proud of his friend. He may, however, feel a bit differently about his son.

“Look!” Barnaby cries.

Taking a step back, I lower my snout, thinking that this in some way will shield me from my brother's stare. But I have nothing to worry about; Jess's flames are impenetrable. And besides, he's not looking at me; he's found something else even more interesting.

“The trap is shut!” he tells the crowd. “The thing was here!”

Thing?!
The word fills me with rage, and if I weren't being held prisoner by Jess's flames, I don't think I'd be able to restrain myself; I'd reveal myself to my brother and Louis and the entire town, show them I'm not a thing! I'm a
werewolf!
It isn't something I chose to be, it isn't something I ever imagined I'd become, but I am! But then I realize with heartbreaking clarity that even if Barnaby and the others knew what I was, knew what I was forced to become, it might not change their minds. They might not be able to separate the wolf from the girl, and they might still want me dead.

“We have to split up,” Louis orders. “Half of you go that way; the rest follow me.”

I have no idea which directions they're heading into, but I can hear them leave, not retreating, but moving closer to what they hope will be victory. When the flames around me recede, I don't have to look up; I know that we're alone, my enemies have gone, and it's just Jess and me.

“That special-effects display is something I've been working on for a while now,” Jess explains. “Just to, you know, test the limits of my skill set.”

I nod my head in gratitude, too exhausted and shocked and confused to respond.

“We're very much the same you and I,” she adds.

Looking at her splendid beauty, I have no idea what she's talking about.

“We're both works in progress,” she says, one hand running its fingers through my fur. “We're both finding our places in this world and in our new selves.”

Impatiently, I nod my head. Not because I don't agree with Jess or want to hear what she has to say, but because the hunger has returned. Licking my lips, I walk toward the dead rabbits, unable to contain my joy.

“And that, Dominy, is my cue to leave,” Jess says. “I love you, but I cannot watch you eat. It is beyond gross.”

Before I can say good-bye, Jess disappears, taking her sunshine with her and leaving me alone in the glow of the moon. The truth, however, is that I'm never alone. I'm never just me. For the rest of my life I'm destined to have a companion, a connection. Like darkness and light, like the sun and the moon, the wolf and the girl will never be separated.

So which came first, the wolf or the girl?

It doesn't really matter, because it looks like they're both here to stay.