The Wolf's Daughter (The Tala Chronicles 1) (2 page)

“You always
could cheer me up. I’m traveling light, because I don’t intend to be here very
long.”

“Well, come on.
Come on. Let’s get in the car.” Vanessa put the baggage in the back seat and
helped Tala sit in the front.  

“Thanks for
picking me up. I may not have made it to the curb if someone hadn’t brought me
in a wheelchair.”

“Well, what’s a
high school best friend for?” Vanessa smiled her homecoming queen special and
then got behind the wheel.  

“Still, thanks.”
 

“Oh, I have so
much stuff to tell you.” Vanessa grabbed her arm. “Don’t worry. Everything’ll
be fine.”

Best friend or
not, Tala had envied Vanessa’s former slim figure, frequent-vacation tan, and
sun-streaked hair, not to mention her great personality. She’d always been a
jock magnet.    

“Well, I guess I’m
a captive audience for the next hour. It’ll take my mind off things.”

Just then, Maeve
meowed, and the women laughed.

Tala shrugged. “I
guess she’s eager for the news, too.”  

Vanessa grabbed
the wheel. “Okay, on to Wolfeboro.”

Tala zoned out
while Vanessa blabbed. Someone she didn’t even remember had gotten married in
the past year, and six months later divorced. A scandal, with the husband
marrying the wife’s stepmother. Then all the news about the quadruplets born to
the friend who was on fertility treatments, so the rumor went. But Tala perked
up when Vanessa mentioned a drunk beaten up in the graveyard, and not just
beaten up, but also bitten.

“Bitten?” 

“Oh, I heard it
was terrible.” Vanessa revved up with rapid speech and hand gestures. “He would
have died if dogs hadn’t chased the person away.”

“What? Whose
dogs? And how did they know the dogs didn’t bite him?”

“Because he told
them. And…the bites didn’t match dog bites. They were human bites. And… the
dogs—two German shepherds. No one’s seen them since then.”

Tala raised her
eyebrows. “How do you know all this?”

Vanessa gave her
a mysterious little smile. “It pays to have a hairdresser as a friend.”

“Okay, so the
drunk said the dogs didn’t bite him, but a human did? Isn’t that a little
farfetched?” Even though Tala pretended to dismiss the tale, she recognized the
eerie similarity to her senior-prom-night episode.

“I’m just
telling you what he said.” Vanessa frowned.

“Don’t get all
huffy. Any other hot news?” Tala wrung her hands.

“Well, maybe
there is
one
more thing. I’m sure you don’t remember Matt Griffin, but I
just found out this morning he broke off his engagement with Megan.”

Tala rolled her
eyes. “You know I remember him. How could I forget my date for the senior prom?”

“Isn’t it funny
how some of the bad boys become detectives?” Vanessa stared straight ahead.

“Yeah, a riot.”

Chapter Two

“We can have
more fun in the graveyard. Let’s dump the others.” Matt pushed Tala’s hair away
from her face and put his arm around her shoulders. “Finish your punch.”

Matt was so
handsome in his tuxedo. Maybe someday they’d get... No, she wouldn’t think
about it. Thinking too far in advance was bad luck.

The band cranked
out the last dance of the prom, “How You Remind Me.”

She could never resist
Matt’s grin. “All right.” She drank the last of her punch, a sickeningly sweet
mixture tasting like pineapples and ginger ale. “Let’s go.”

While everyone
else slow danced, they crept away and barged though the heavy gym doors. They kicked
off their shoes and giggled as they half ran and half slid down the hall. Matt’s
beater of a red pickup with one white door waited near the school. As they sped
away, he reached under the seat and pulled out a bourbon bottle.

“Are you crazy?
Do you know how much trouble we’ll get in if we get caught with that?”

“Darlin’, you
worry too much.” Matt stared at the road and took a big gulp. “Here.” He held
the bottle out to her.

“Uh-uh.”

He glanced at
her with a smile. “Everything’s going to be all right. Just relax.”

Tala squirmed.
The graveyard was huge, but it loomed next door to her house, where her father would
be extra vigilant. “Matt, maybe we shouldn’t—”

“Hey, trust me.
I have it all under control. I even brought a blanket.” He reached behind the
seat and pulled out the Mexican blanket he’d bought on their senior class trip
to Cancun. Matt deposited it on her lap and leered at her with up-and-down
eyebrows.

He parked at the
north end of the cemetery, where her parents wouldn’t be able to see the pickup.
He grabbed the red, white, and green blanket, and they crept inside.

Tala hugged
herself. “It must be ten degrees colder in here.”

Matt wrapped the
blanket around her. “Yeah, isn’t it great?” He put his arm across her
shoulders.

The silence of
the graveyard amplified their steps. A rotting smell filled the dark air,
invading her body and her mind. She relaxed a little when she spotted their
favorite tombstones, which were side by side. Matt’s had “Farewell until we
meet again” inscribed under a swan statue. Tala’s, also under a statue of a
swan, proclaimed: “We meet again.”

Matt spread the
blanket out, and they sat against the monuments. The air seemed warmer. An owl
hooted, and another one answered.

Matt reached for
Tala’s hand and squeezed it. “So soft... And the stars are shining just for you
tonight.” He turned her face toward him. “I think they’re jealous of your eyes.”

She pulled her
lips to one side. “Matt, that’s so corny…but kind of sweet, too.” Tala scanned in
the direction of her house, which a thick curtain of trees hid. But bats, not
butterflies flew around in her stomach. “I think we should leave.”

He sighed. “You
worry too much.” Matt moved closer. “Your face is beautiful with the full moon
shining on it, but what’s with your eyes now? I’ve never seen them like this
before.”

“What are you
talking about? Is something wrong with them?”

“No, they’re just
different. But even more beautiful,” he added quickly.

Tala tilted her
head. “Different in what way?”

Matt shrugged. “I
don’t know. Maybe a lighter color.”

“Let’s go, Matt.
I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I don’t want to
go.” His voice sounded different, raspy.

Tala got up, but
he pulled her down. Matt twisted her hair around his hand and kissed her hard
on the lips. The bourbon smell turned her stomach.

“Stop! You’re
hurting me.”

He pulled her
head back with her hair, and kissed her again.

Tala struggled
and escaped. She went running down the path lined on both sides with statues of
angels and saints, the graves silent witnesses to her distress. Matt’s footsteps
pounded on the ground. How could he move that fast?

Matt jumped out
from behind a mausoleum. “Why are you running away from me?” He grabbed her
again, this time holding her upper arms tightly enough to make her cry out.
Evil filled his face, his mouth contorting into a sneer, his eyes burning into
hers. “See what you do to me, Tala?”

She kicked him
as hard as she could.

He gave her a
look of disbelief. And then the evil cast returned to his face.

She backed up
and then turned and took off again.

He almost caught
up to her when two German shepherds attacked him.  He screamed. “They’re going
to kill me!”

The dogs growled
and barked.

She looked back.
One took a chunk out of his leg. Her heart was torn apart, but she was so
terrified of Matt and the dogs she kept running, out of the graveyard and up to
her house. She banged on the door. “Help!”

Her father
opened the door, his eyes wild with alarm. “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”

Where was her
mother? She must have gone to sleep already. “No. Please, you have to help
Matt. He’s in the graveyard, and some dogs are attacking him,” she said between
deep breaths.

Her father dialed
911. “Matt Griffin’s being attacked by German shepherds in the cemetery.” He
turned to her. “Where?”

“I-I... N-near
the entrance, I think.”

He repeated what
she said. “Okay, thanks.” He hung up and hugged Tala, who was crying softly.

“Oh, Dad. It was
terrible.” She sniffled.

He gave her his
handkerchief and smoothed her hair. She wiped her nose, and he hugged her
again.

“I’m afraid they’ll
kill him.”

He patted her
back. “They’ll be here soon. Try to calm down.”

The sirens blared,
and lights flashed. A fire emergency vehicle streaked past the house, followed
by a police car. And then an ambulance.

Fifteen minutes
later, Tala said, “Maybe you should go, too, Dad.”

“That’s not a
good idea. We’ll be hearing soon enough from the—”

He turned in a
knock’s direction. Her father opened the door. “Hi, Charlie, what’s going on?”

“Harry. Tala.”
The officer nodded to each. “I was just about to ask you the same question. Isn’t
it prom night?”

“Yes,” Tala
said. Didn’t everyone know that? “Is Matt okay?”

“They’re taking
him to the hospital. Weren’t you with him?”

Tala
concentrated on not rolling her eyes. “Yes.”

“What happened?”

“Well, we went
to the cemetery—”

“Why would you
do a thing like that?”

Tala shrugged. “We
just did, that’s all.” If only she’d come up with a better story before this. “We
were walking out, and that’s when the dogs attacked Matt.”

“They didn’t
attack you?”

“No.”

The look on his
face showed disbelief.

“It just doesn’t
make sense. Why would they attack Matt and not you?”

Her shoulders
slumped. Think, Tala, think. “Maybe they don’t like males.”

The officer
raised his eyebrows.

“I just don’t
know.” She wrung her hands. “But I know how crazy the whole thing sounds. I’m
even having trouble believing it happened.” She started crying again.

“Look, Charlie,”
her father said. “Tala’s really upset right now. Maybe she’ll remember more
tomorrow…after a good night’s sleep.”

The officer
sighed. “Okay, Tala. Get some shuteye. We’ll get in touch with you tomorrow.”

Her father
walked him to the door, and the officer left. He turned to her. “There’s more
to this story, isn’t there?”

Tala nodded. “Mom’s
asleep already, isn’t she?”

“Yes.” He
paused. “Let’s not involve her in this. She’s volatile enough. But you need to
tell me, although I think I know already.”

“What do you
think you know?” she asked in a small voice.

“That Matt
became violent, maybe just after he said something about your eyes.”

She looked at
her father, eyes wide. “H-how did you know?”

“That’s all I
want to say about it. It’s too dangerous for you to be together.

“But, Dad.” She
covered her face with her hands. “Maybe—”

“No, Tala. There’s
no maybe, only never. It’s for your protection. And his.”

“Can’t he
change?”

Her father just
shook his head.

Tala wanted to
ask him more questions. Despite what had happened in the cemetery, she wanted
to scream there had to be some way she and Matt could be together. Some way
Matt could change. But her father’s eyes frightened her. They spoke of resignation,
remorse, and exhaustion.

“Okay, Dad.” Once
he’d made up his mind, he wouldn’t budge. She hugged him. “I’m tired.” If only
she could erase the sadness from her father’s eyes.

He tousled her
hair. “Go to sleep, Tala. Things will be better tomorrow.”

No, they wouldn’t.
Nothing could ever be better without Matt. But she nodded and started up the
stairs. When she reached the fifth step, her father spoke.

“And Tala…”

“Yes, Dad?”

“I’m proud of
you. You’ve never looked more beautiful.”

A tear ran down
her cheek, and she blew a kiss. “Thanks, Dad.”

After Tala went
upstairs, her father sank into the couch. He and Carol knew the risks they took
when they’d married. It wasn’t what he’d wanted, but his father… And now his
nightmares were becoming a reality. He’d have to keep her away from Matt, and
everyone like him. And how was that even a possibility? Hard enough now. What
about when he died? He ran his fingers through his hair. He’d protect her the
best he could until that time.

***

“He’ll kill me.”

Vanessa grabbed
Tala’s shoulders and shook her slightly. “Would you stop being such a drama
queen.” She pressed the sixth-floor elevator button.

“I’m serious. My
father will have a fit if he finds out. Tala took a deep breath. “What room is
he in? Please don’t say 666.”

Vanessa rolled
her eyes. “It’s 618.” 

The doors
opened, and they boarded, Tala scrunching herself into a corner. Someone had
drawn a skull and crossbones on one of the walls. Creepy. An omen? “I’m
serious. If he finds out... After what happened last night, my father really
meant it when he told me to never see Matt again.” She wrinkled her nose. “Why
do hospitals smell so awful, ammonia, bleach...” She sniffed. “Blood?”

“Don’t think
about it. Just try to figure out how you’re going to tell the love of your life
you’re not seeing him anymore.”

When the ding of
the elevator sounded, the doors parted.

Tala loped out
of the elevator. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I should have
just called—”

“Never again!” her
father cried, storming out of Room 618.

***

“Are you still
with us?” Vanessa glanced over at her. “You’ve been so quiet.”

Tala sat up
straight and nodded. “I’m sorry, I guess I just fell asleep.”

The white
Mercedes, like an elegant ghost, glided past the graveyard. A cold chill
wrapped icy fingers around Tala’s heart. They passed statues and gravestones
she remembered, an angel with one wing, Saint Francis with a wolf at his feet,
a gravestone so old the name and dates on it were like whispers from the wind.
But the marble swans hid.