The Waking (The Upturned Hourglass) (21 page)

Jack nodded more seriously, beginning to think about the matter at hand.

“We’ll have to be very careful how we apply it. You might be as susceptible to the herb as any werewolf would be. We can’t let it touch the skin.”

Valie suddenly felt uncomfortable holding such a package.

“Right.
If I’m part werewolf . . . .” Up to this point, Valie had not consciously let her mind focus on any physical implications about having Isaac as her father. And such thoughts didn’t set well with her.  “Are we going to see my father now?” she asked impatiently, as the yellow motorcycle popped back into view.

Jack was hard-pressed to remain calm as he was once again faced with the idea of leading Valie into the lions’ den. The thought of the girl within a hundred miles of Isaac was distressing, to say the least. She simply did not realize the danger she was in. How could she? The boy didn’t believe for one moment that he could stop the older werewolf from hurting her if it came down to a fight between the two of them. And surely Isaac would have Terrence and Eliza with him or, at least, Eliza—and that would be bad enough.  Knowing Terrence, he would pop up at the most unexpected and inopportune moment for Jack, which would surely mean the end of Jack’s ill-conceived plans. They were formidable werewolves, loyal to Isaac, and would love nothing better than to defeat Jack in an open
battle—pack-mates or not.

“Jack?”

He shook himself out of his brooding reverie and glanced over at Valie. Her brow was furrowed, too. She was beginning to look worried herself. 

Well, about time
, he thought.

“Are we going now?” she re
peated. Jack’s darkening mood wasn’t instilling a whole lot of confidence in her.

“Yes,” he answered flatly. “We’ll meet up with Noah at the lake.”

They reached the end of the alley where the yellow motorcycle waited. Jack handed Valie her helmet as he mounted the vehicle.

“Try not to fall off—or pass out.”

Valie glowered at him before taking a deep breath and shoving on the heavy helmet once again. She had to concentrate on simply breathing in and out-- instead devising inventive ways to hurt the beautiful, obnoxious guy in front of her. Though, he
was
taking her to see her father. She would focus on that.

Valie was going to meet Isaac.

TRUTH HURTS

When Jack and Valie reached the highway, they drove halfway to the lake and pulled off near the woods at some obscure truck stop. Jack hopped off the bike and immediately started walking away from the road. Valie, wobbly-legged and awkward, dismounted and dragged herself along behind him slowly.

“How is Noah going to come with us?” she complained, trying to get Jack to slow down.  “He won’t fit on your bike.”

“He’ll run,” Jack asserted. He walked ahead of the girl, on, to the very edge of the woods. Valie stopped, apprehensively scanning the dark outline of trees looming ahead of them, but then hurried to catch up before she could lose sight of the graceful boy.

They soon left the road and the motorcycle behind as they navigated through the trees. Jack was silent, tense. Valie was anxious as well, but selfishly decided she had more of a right to be than the wolf-boy.  After all, it was her life at stake.  It was her life she was endangering.  But was it just hers? She shook her head, trying to banish any second thoughts from her mind, but they persisted.

The young girl suddenly felt the implications of what Jack was doing. He was risking his life and the life of his friends just to fulfill her whimsical notion of seeing a father she’d known nothing about for eighteen years—the same man she ought now to fear. She was being cruelly selfish and she knew it, but it was too late to repent.

“When are we going to use the aconite?”

“When we get closer to the lake, I would prefer not to smell it all the way there, at least not so pungently.”

Before Valie could ask anything more, she heard the light crunch of leaves and a large, familiar wolf trotted up—
it’s appearance unsurprisingly darker and more imposing in the shadow of the forest; even still the uninitiated girl recognized the creature.

“Hi, Noah,” Valie greeted with a smile.
Jack turned toward her, both surprised that she recognized Noah’s form, as well as how casually she could speak to him in his wolf form.

Noah ruffed quietly in response, but his tail wagged a little.

“You are utterly bizarre . . . .” Jack muttered scornfully, a scowl on his face.

“What?” Valie rejoined, realizing that the remark was meant for her.

“
Most
humans do not welcome the presence of an oversized predator.”

It was Valie’s turn to scowl. She snapped back, “Well
, you’re
the one who keeps reminding me I’m not really human. Maybe it has something to do with
that
.”

Jack shook his head. He was beginning to think the girl was hopeless.

Noah turned to Jack questioningly.

“Don’t ask,” Jack sighed. “We have aconite as you probably guessed, but it is, of course, no safe bet. I need you to find a suitable hiding spot for her. Hidden enough from wolf eyes, but secure, and close enough so that can see without being seen.”

Noah nodded, but he now seemed as troubled as Jack, and the werewolf whined and nudged the girl’s hand. Valie responded to Noah’s disquiet more than she had all evening to Jack’s moodiness.  Suddenly, she sensed that this plan of hers might do much more harm than good. 

“
It’s okay, Noah,” she responded.

The wolf took off into the forest in the direction of the lake, running with incredible speed.

“Wow,” Valie murmured.

“He’s the fastest of the pack. All of our physical abilities are heightened as Lycans, but some more than others.”

“Like his ability to sense other Occult.”

Jack looked taken aback. “He told you about that did
he?”

Valie nodded. “I was asking about moths for Luci.”

The Lycan suddenly whirled to face her. “You
told her?
” he demanded incredulously. “What part of ‘don’t tell anyone’ didn’t you understand!”

Valie ignored his outburst and kept walking.

“I don’t lie to Luci,” she stated simply.

Jack fumed behind her.
“Of course not. What
was
I thinking,” he grumbled.

The two teenagers retraced their steps to the road; but neither seemed to be in a hurry anymore. They found the motorcycle easily enough, but hesitated in putting on their helmets. Valie seemed no more inclined to continue than Jack did, but she had pushed the situation this far.  She couldn’t help but see it through to the end.

The boy was about to put on his helmet when he suddenly turned and faced her squarely. “You do realize this is insane?” Jack asked unexpectedly. His voice was gruff, but Valie could sense that, beyond the frustration, there was also genuine concern.

“Yes,” she murmured. She looked at the ground to escape the naked stare of Jack’s azure eyes.  “And I appreciate you’re putting up with me. I get that this could end badly. I’m just sorry I couldn’t do this alone.”

Jack snorted and shook his head, which made Valie’s head jerk up in surprise.

“
Alone
. You have to do everything alone,” Jack said with more than an ounce of disdain in his voice. “You’re not
alone
, sweets. Sure, this is insanity; but it would have been far more dangerous for you to have tried it
alone
. Your compulsion to isolate yourself is astounding. I’m surprised you had any friends at all when I found you—you seem so utterly fixated on yourself and your precious independence!”

The blood rushed to the girl’s cheeks and her nostrils flared in anger.

“Well, thank you
very
much for your totally
unwanted
opinion on my social life. I’m surprised, too, how anyone could possibly want to befriend
me
.”

Jack sighed. “That’s not what I meant,” he murmured, but his reply was half-hearted.

Valie didn’t respond. The blood was pounding in her ears so loudly she could barely hear him. She just turned away and jammed her helmet on as fast as possible. Jack thought he heard her breath catch in her throat as they mounted the bike in silence.

Valie didn’t realize it, but the minute the words were out of his
mouth, Jack was sorry—sorrier than he had the ability to convey to the angry, tearful girl behind him. He had no right to pass judgment on her. Straddling the motorcycle, he couldn’t help but notice that Valie was holding herself as far away from him as possible. Her hands were shaking and this time it wasn’t from the cold.  He sighed, knowing that once more he had screwed up.

When Jack wheeled slowly into the deserted parking area of the lake, Valie practically hurled herself off the motorbike as soon as they came to a full stop. She threw the helmet on the ground, and Jack watched her stalk off to lean against a lone pine tree near a path which led to the water. Once, she wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. He knew he’d hurt her feelings, but he didn’t know just how much. Unfortunately, there was no time to make amends. The most important thing now was keeping her alive.

“Come on,” he murmured as he strode passed without looking at her. Grudgingly, she followed without a word.

The side path of the lake was unfamiliar to Valie. She’d only been to the lake a couple of times to sit on the bank while her friends swam around a little, but even then, she was sure they hadn’t come this way.

As the pit of her stomach began to churn, her arms tightened around her body.  She stared at the ground rather than at the back of Jack’s head, which she wished would explode. He was such an
ass.
Who was he to judge her life? She
was
independent, but what did he expect?

Trust me,
he’d said. Hardly. She could not trust him more than she could trust herself. She’d only known him for what? A few weeks?

At that thought, she stopped. A lot had changed in these last weeks. . . .

“Where’s the aconite?” Jack asked. His voice was muted, almost a whisper. The entire forest was oppressively quiet. Valie suddenly had an urge to yell at the top of her lungs just to break the silence.

“Here.”  She handed the package to him.

He took it and abruptly frowned. “We should have brought gloves. We can’t touch it.”

Apprehensively, the girl watched as he carefully opened the tiny package. Inside were about a dozen dried, brownish-green leaves—and a single latex glove. Borken had taken care of his werewolf acquaintance.

“I thought you said Craftsmen never did anything for free?”

“I suppose nearly three hundred dollars was enough of an exchange,” Jack said in a smug voice, but he soon looked just as worried as before. He frowned and
glanced Valie over, his eyes lingering along her torso.

“What are you looking at?” Valie demanded, obviously uncomfortable.

He met her questioning gaze, and his eyes softened slightly. He smiled, though his expression conceded more embarrassment than he intended.

“I’m trying to decide which article of your clothing I am going to ruin. After I rub this on it, it’ll have to be burned when we’re through with it.”

“Oh,” Valie said. “Umm. It can’t touch the skin right? How about the scarf? I just won’t touch it.”

“I suppose; but you will have to remember not to play with it. You tend to do that when you’re distracted.”

Valie blushed at his perception. “Okay. Fine. I’ll remember.”

Jack took the glove and slid it on his right hand. Carefully he picked up two small leaves. His face couldn’t hide his distaste, as he rubbed them on the portion of Valie’s scarf near the collarbone. He also crushed some on the back of her jacket and on the bottom of her shoes. She was almost sad he’d included her jacket. It was the warmest one she owned.

“Remember. Do not touch.”

She nodded.

“All right. Noah is about a half-mile that way.” And with no other words they started deeper into the woods. After more than five minutes of vigorous walking, Jack tried to prepare Valie for what lay ahead.

“Controlling this situation will be tricky, because Isaac is unpredictable. I have no idea what this rendezvous is about. As far as Isaac is concerned, Shane is supposed to be watching you, so she won’t be expected to be there. Noah will have told her to hang back by the road. She’ll hear us, though, and can be here in less than a minute if something goes wrong. You are to stay
quiet.
I mean no sound, no movement. No matter what happens, no matter what you see or hear or feel.  Do you understand?  It’s absolutely essential that you stay put and stay silent. Werewolf hearing is extremely acute.  I’m hoping that we can keep the others occupied enough to lessen the chance of discovery, but, Valie, the odds are against us.”