Evangelina Green (5 page)

"
You have to find them, Evangelina Green.

Listen!! Listen!!

They’re out there—together is best.

You have two, you need the rest.

Fill the space, defend our race.

Color spells—Keep evil in hell!"

What the... Then Susan relaxed back into her
chair, totally unaware of her outburst. She slept quietly for a
while. Lina went to bed that night with a feeling of impending
doom. She hardly slept at all that night and never found out how
Susan unlocked four-key deadbolts, without a key and down three
flights of stairs while in a body cast with a broken hip. And yet
that next day, in the early morning, her mom walked from the
apartment building, stepped directly in front of a city bus and
died instantly.

Those sad thoughts reminded her she was more
tired than she thought. Lina turned off the water, twisted the
water out of her clothes and draped them over the drying rod in the
shower/tub combination. She brushed her teeth, pulled on a clean
pair of boy-short undies and a white tank, her usual sleep wear,
then shuffled the short distance to her room.

She heard an owl hooting nearby and felt a
sense of peace. She’d always been good with animals but since
returning to the mansion, that had increased to more than just
sensing their emotions or being able to calm an animal. She now had
a sensation or a feeling. She couldn’t describe it, but it was like
she felt what they felt.

The owl was looking for a mate. She knew it
without knowing how she knew. He wasn’t hungry or claiming his
territory. He was lonely. That just made Lina feel lonely and as
tired as she was, she felt her eyes watering and knew the tears
would follow her into sleep. She wasn’t wrong. However, her sleep
was uneasy and her dreams full of symbols and signs she didn’t
understand.

She saw green eyes. Those just had to belong
to Keaton. She saw the mansion from up above as if she were the owl
circling above the trees. She could see an attic window open,
curtains billowing out with a fury. The closer she circled the
easier it became to see the green glow coming from within the
attic. She never flew close enough to see what was causing the glow
but she felt it was important.

Then she heard the howls.

She sat straight up and was wide-awake.
Coyotes? This close to the house? A shiver ran down her spine as
she slowly slid out of her bed over to the open window to scope it
out. The moon was full and high in the sky, as it was almost
midnight. She could almost make out some movement out beyond the
old garden, making a mental note to clean out the weeds and replant
the vegetables and the flowers her Grams had always loved. Once
that was done she could re-fence the entire yard and maybe feel a
bit safer. Maybe.

Another howl and she shivered because it
seemed closer. She’d been woolgathering and making those damn
mental lists.

"Oh yeah, I need to get some post-it notes
for the kitchen. Damnit, there I go again.”

She almost missed the flash of white that
sprinted past the far gate to the garden. She sensed the animal’s
loneliness, a sadness that was laced with hopelessness. It felt
odd. She also knew without a doubt that it wasn’t a coyote. The
proud, almost arrogant thoughts portrayed none other than the noble
wolf. In Arkansas?

She had to guess it
was
possible.
Even after the authorities had spouted for years there were
no bobcats here, she had proved them wrong. She felt proud of her
connection with the animals and that had gotten her the notice
she'd needed to be heard. It didn’t hurt that she had video of two
mated cats with kittens. She smiled at the thought. She’d never
divulged the location for fear they’d be hunted, killed, or
worse...caged. She'd known the latter would most assuredly kill
them, just a much slower and a less humane death than a
bullet.

Her eye caught the flash of dark movement
heading for the porch below her window. Her heart began
pounding.

"Can wolves climb trees?" she whispered but
her voice only squeaked, "Or walls?" Slamming her window shut Lina
dived for the bed, pulling the covers over her head.

"Oh great! So now if the big bad wolf gets
in, he won’t be able to get to you and sink his huge, sharp teeth
into your soft tissue…”

Duhhh!
She heaved a sigh, quickly threw off the sheets and made a
mad dash for the door.

Growl
.

She actually felt it
before she heard it and she froze with her hand on the doorknob.
She felt like one of those bimbos in those low budget
movies.
Don’t look! Don’t turn
around!
Yet they
always
do. They scream bloody murder
and are immediately dinner for whatever the monster-de-jour was.
So, she turned around.
Duhhh
. What was wrong with her
lately?
Want a list?

Two green reflective eyes stared back at her
from her window.

"I won’t hurt you, Angel." She swore she
just heard a wolf talk. Now she knew she was a goner.

I...c-can't t-trust a
wolf! But... I think...maybe...?
She
thought. Although she
felt
he wouldn’t hurt her, she was still on guard. She
watched him behind the windowpane, realizing if he really wanted to
get in, all he would have to do is push on the glass. He was huge
and although menacing in appearance, his demeanor seemed
friendly.
Oh sure Lina, a huge, completely
not-normal wolf, who shouldn’t even be in Arkansas, is friendly?
Geeesh.
Things have been odd lately but
they were rapidly spiraling into bizarre. The wolf spoke again and
it was just then she realized she heard him in her
thoughts!

"We are alike, Angel.
Enough so, that my thoughts are easily understood by you. And
you
are
safe with
me. Stay inside after dark and beware the Silver. His motives are
at times not what they seem.”

She shivered, thinking of how the “Silver”
had seemed so sad, and might have been dangerous, but then realized
she wasn’t afraid of the dangerous animal at her window. So what
was with the Silver?

"I’ve felt the Silver as
he ran by earlier. He seemed lost or lonely. Yet,
you
say he’s dangerous?
And now I'm supposed to just believe what you say?”
And the wolf closer at hand?
She thought. “Are you being honest with me? It's not often
I
speak
with a
wolf.”

She should be scared out
of her mind; instead she was excited by it. In a sexual, sensual,
erotic kind of way! Now that was just weird. She loved animals—but
not
that
way. But
this
animal
had a
different feel? It was, after all, talking to her. Okay, talking in
her head
. Oh, Lina! You are in deep
trouble!
She saw the wolf as a handsome
male? Not a male animal. She wanted to wrap herself in his fur and
rub against him.
Yikes!

She heard him chuckle, apparently hearing
her thoughts.

"I feel your heat, Angel. Your scent drives
me to madness, and your light is full of promise.” The wolf thought
toward her. She was drawn to him and it frightened her as much as
it excited her.

"I don’t understand why
I’m even thinking this and I really cannot
believe
I’m asking this, but if I
open the window...you promise you won't hurt me?” And if he said
yes, would she? “May I touch you?"

"Sure you can, Angel...I'd like that very
much.”

She walked slowly toward
the black wolf silhouetted by the moonlight. She opened the window,
and immediately stepped back a safe distance.
Sure Lina, that safety would be measured in miles!
But the wolf dipped his head in a sign of
submission and allowed her to touch his head and
shoulders.

"Your fur is very soft,
just like I imagined. Amazing! Why is it I'm not being
wolfed
down? Pun
intended."

His warm laugh in her head made her shiver
and raised goose-bumps over her arms "I don't want to hurt you or
anyone else. I'm a protector of sorts so as long as I'm around,
you’ll be safe."

"Am I in some sort of
danger? Why would I need protection? And from whom?" She
absentmindedly petted his shoulder and ran her hand through the fur
on his shoulder. He made a growling noise that sounded almost like
a
purr.

"You’re very warm to the
touch. Are there others like you? Why are you here? How is it I
can
hear
you in
my thoughts? And you’re
huge!
" Just then noticing he was a
good five feet tall at his shoulder!
Yikes!

"So many questions, little one!" She sensed
his smile in those words. He then used his rough tongue to lick up
the side of her face. She giggled as she buried her hand in his
thick fur. She was not afraid nor did she even think of being
cautious. She took his head with both her hands and looked directly
into his eyes.

"There's something familiar about you.
We...somehow...do we know each other?" She trailed off thinking she
probably should precede with caution.

"You are a special woman, Angel and have no
idea what you're capable of. You are coming into a time of so many
new and wondrous things. However, there are dangerous times coming
also. Remember I'll always be near. Rest now, you'll need your
strength.”

Ooookaaay. That was a little corny and
cliché.

"I don't want to
know
why
I'll
need my strength...but for some reason I believe you. And lord help
me, even though I know I shouldn't
even
be this close to you, I trust
you. I must be asleep having this wonderful dream. That's it! It's
all a dream.” She stood toe to toe with a giant wolf, what else
could it be? “Goodnight, dream-wolf. Be careful.”

He pulled his massive head back through the
window opening. “Sleep well, my Angel.”

With that final thought in
her head, he turned and jumped from the balcony to the ground below
then ran out of sight. She shut the window against the night even
though she could use a cool breeze to cancel the heat in the
house
and
the
heat in her blood.

Safety first.
Reluctantly, she turned from the closed window
and turned the ceiling fan up to high. Finally crawling beneath the
cool sheets she tried to sleep. Yeah right. After tossing, turning
and beating her pillow into submission, she did finally drift off
and dreamed of wolves with greenish-gold eyes. Like
that
was a surprise? She
soon dreamed that it was not a dream of other wolves, but it was
she was running through the swamps with that wolf, feeling free and
aware of everything around her. It was amazing.

CHAPTER THREE

Lina was not a morning person. She woke when
the sun was fully burning away the swamp mist. Another hot day
ahead but at least the rain had stopped. Work could continue on the
mansion and she could get some of the garden cleaned. The garden!
Where she’d seen the wolves! Not a dream then?

"We shall see!” She jumped
out of bed, opened all the windows and put on fresh underwear. Then
she dressed in yesterday’s clothing, still a little damp, and
headed downstairs for coffee. She sipped the hot, magic liquid and
blessed whoever figured out how to brew coffee from
beans
!

She was making another one of her lists. She
needed to remember to buy some plants and seeds for the gardens.
Stepping into her boots, grabbing a pair of gloves, she was raking
debris from the farthest spot in the garden before she even
realized it. She saw wolf paw prints near the fence. Following them
she wondered how in the world wolves had ended up here. And then
she became curious about how they had had entered into the
property. Did they jump over the fence or crawl under? Perhaps
there were openings she couldn’t see. The recent rain made it
easier to follow the trail since the paw prints were deeper and
more clearly defined.

Lina stopped at the fence line, looking up
to the top of the eight foot tall wire. That was tall enough to
discourage the deer from making a free lunch of her few remaining
lilies. She stopped in her musings when she noticed the paw prints
stopped suddenly on the outside. From there, backtracking in the
direction the wolves had traveled, she saw footprints from rabbits
and maybe squirrels but no more wolf prints. Walking further along
she found more than she wanted to find. Human prints! Barefoot,
human footprints. She squatted for a better look.

She swore they were human, but wanted to
make sure before she started spouting off to the sheriff that
barefoot humans were skulking around her gardens. Yeah, bad enough
people thought the mansion was haunted, but now the current
resident is talking to animals and thinks naked people are stalking
her? But there were more prints! What the hell?

"Hey, Ms. Lina! Whacha' doin?"

The voice startled her from behind. She
yelped and stood so fast, she stumbled but grabbed the wobbly fence
to steady herself. It was Pete Warren from the work crew.

"Ohhhh, I was weeding and...uhhhh...looking
for holes in the fence...ya know...where...uhhhh, rabbits might get
in...”

She’d always felt a little creeped out by
Pete. Oh, he was nice enough but the way his eyes followed her
every move, made her feel naked and dirty and not in a good
way.