Wolves among men (13 page)

“
Alright you, let’s go
claim it before you explode.” I laughed. I followed as closely
behind her as I could as she nearly ran to the front desk and
thrust her ticket at the man behind it with a smile. He took it
from her and offered his congratulations before counting out her
winnings with an apathetic tone.

To say she had her money spent before
we even left the casino would have been an understatement. She had
mentally bought a puppy, a bike, some clothes or maybe a few new
pairs of shoes. She mentioned dinner for us and Robert, gas money,
saving it for a rainy day and even suggested we go to an amusement
park for fun. I listened as she rattled things off all the way to
the truck and a few more as she climbed inside. I sparked the old
girl up and began to pull out of the parking lot as Cordy was
suggesting we find a mall and go shopping. I drove down the street
lined with stores and chuckled as she suggested going for a movie
and ice cream.

I laughed as I pulled into the parking
lot of a small clothing store and she seriously asked if she could
buy a small Ford for sale on the side of the road. I was beginning
to think the excitement was going to her head as she spent her
winnings several times over before we even left the store with our
new clothes, my treat and I couldn’t take it anymore as I changed
my shirt in the car and was beginning to wonder if she had even
stopped to breathe since we left.

“
Cordy… sweetheart,” I
chirped with a laugh trying to get her attention. “You do realize
you would need a couple of grand to buy all that right?” She smiled
at me and took a deep breath.

“
You’re right.” She sighed
as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed back down the narrow
dusty road toward Robert’s house. The sun began to set over the
tops of the trees that surrounded the little town and the sky was
beginning to turn a wonderful shade of purple and dark blue as
Cordillia traced waves in the air while I drove. I was happy for
her. She deserved to win, to have something to take her mind off of
all that had happened in the last few days. I just hoped that her
spirits would continue to soar as we traveled on.

I pulled up the narrow dirt path
slowly, parking just outside of the familiar wood cabin. The smell
of burning wood filled the air and permeated the truck as I killed
the engine and breathed it all in. We climbed out of the truck and
immediately I could see a thick ring of black smoke rising up from
the back of the house and not far behind the scent of burning earth
came with the succulent aroma of the deer we were promised. My
mouth watered as we walked closer to the house and I could hardly
wait to see if it tasted nearly as good as it smelled.

We walked up the path, only this time
circling around to a small clearing in the back. The sun was
finishing its decent behind the treetops turning the sky a myriad
of colors that were as beautiful as they were inspiring. The trees
had darkened in color and it almost seemed that the forest was
taking on a life of its own amidst the setting sun. An owl called
to us from somewhere deep within the woods, the sound of a deer’s
soft footsteps as it walked through its home was faint and
ethereal. I was so used to the desert that I hadn’t had much
exposure to wildlife outside of coyotes and the odd quail here and
there so I closed my eyes and took it in, smiling as the life that
surrounded me filled me with a sense of peace.

The forest felt nice almost like home
and I had to admit I was beginning to grow attached. I looked over
at Cordillia who was smiling up at a large hawk perched on an oak
tree not far from where we stood. It looked at us for a moment
before jumping from its branch and I was left nearly breathless as
it flew into the sunset with a kind of grace and majesty I had
never seen before.

“
You never see anything
this beautiful in California,” I spoke softly to Cordillia. I
wasn’t sure if there were any other critters around and I didn’t
want to scare them off when they had more right to be here than I
did. She took a deep breath and nodded. A peacefulness I had never
seen in her crossed over her face as she closed her
eyes.

“
The desert is beautiful
in its own way,” a familiar voice rose up behind me. I whipped
around and turned to greet him, the same expression of tranquility
on his face as he looked beyond me and toward the setting sun.
“I’ve been here many years but I never tire of the view,” he spoke
as he lifted a small table that sat near the back steps of his
home. I quickly reached over and grabbed the other end, helping him
to walk toward the clearing behind us where several lawn chairs had
been placed.

We set it down and Robert nodded in
thanks before turning toward Cordillia and pulling her into a
friendly hug, whispering something in her ear before turning
away.

“
What language was that?”
She smirked.

“
It was Cherokee,” he
answered with a smile. “Just a little prayer to help you heal,” he
explained as he gently pulled the collar of her shirt to the side
to check her wound. From where I stood it didn’t look good but at
least it was healing and for that I had no choice but to be
grateful. He gave her an approving nod and patted her shoulder
before turning to pull me into the same embrace. It was awkward
sure but at least I could be sure that he didn’t judge me for what
I was.

“
Beautiful day isn’t it.”
He smiled as he looked up at the sky.

“
Yeah I guess.”

“
You guess?” I chuckled
nervously and nodded.

“
Yeah it is.”

“
Sit with me.” His smile
was pleasant and inviting as he motioned to the chairs around him.
Cordillia didn’t need to be asked twice as she hopped into the
chair closest to him and I took my place next to her.

“
My family will be here
soon but I wanted to talk to you first.” I was confused as his eyes
turned to me. He nodded lightly as he adjusted himself in his
chair. “They know about you by now I’m sure. My son Marcus was
excited by what you are and he never did quite learn to keep things
to himself.” He smirked.

“
Wait, so he knows what I
am?” I asked quietly as if someone could be listening in on our
conversation. Not that it would matter anyhow. Robert
nodded.

“
He was the one that told
me.”

“
How did he know?” I asked
quickly.

“
There are ways of telling
your kind from ours.”

“
Like what?” I felt bad
for firing so many questions in his direction but as far as I knew
there was nothing I did to set off any kind of werewolf radar. So
naturally, I was more than a little curious. Robert sucked in a
sharp breath as he leaned forward, his expression never changing
from one of peace and undisturbed contentment.

“
The way you move for
instance, the way you smell but what stood out to my son was the
yellow tint in your eyes. He told me that they were almost glowing
as you begged him to help your sister.”

“
Wait, what?” I laughed
lightly. “My eyes aren’t yellow.”

“
They are when you
change,” Cordillia added from her seat.

“
Really?” I asked as I
turned to her.

“
You’ve seen the change?”
Robert asked quickly.

“
Sure.” She nodded. “Only
twice though.”

“
And you’re
alright?”

“
What do you mean by
that?” She smiled sweetly as she crossed her arms on her
lap.

“
Most people who see
something like that lose their minds.” Cordillia shrugged, a
nervous smile crossed her lips as her eyes flicked between us
quickly.

“
I guess I’m just not most
people.” He looked at her for a few moments, intrigue written in
his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. “Okay you want me to be
honest?” she leaned forward as she spoke. “At first it was creepy
as all hell. I honestly thought I was stuck in some crazy ass
nightmare and I’d be lying if I said that I was completely okay
with it or totally used to it by now but...” She trailed off and
stared down at her fingers as we waited for her to continue. “But
he’s my brother,” her voice was soft, sincere as she looked up at
me before turning her eyes to Robert. “He’s all I have left and
he’s always stuck by me when I needed him so I guess it’s my turn
to repay the favor.”

A smile crossed Robert’s face as he
nodded again. I reached over and pulled her into me, holding her
tight in a silent thank you for what she had said.

“
You are lucky to have
each other.” Robert smiled as I let her go and leaned back in my
chair.

“
Okay so about your
family, is it a problem if they know about me?” The idea that
anyone knew what I was seemed a little scary and the change in his
expression did little to comfort me in my fear. He took a deep
breath and looked down at his feet.

“
You are in no danger from
my family that I can promise you. But I can’t speak for everyone.
Some of my people don’t believe in the stories that our people have
passed down and some do.”

“
And that’s bad for me?” I
asked quietly.

“
Yes and no.” He leaned
forward and began to speak quietly, “There are legends about the
return of your kind and those that do believe might see your
arrival as a bad omen.”

“
An omen of what?” I
smirked.

“
The return of the great
evil.” I was taken aback by what he had said. The more I learned
about myself and my kind the more I realized that I was in over my
head and no matter how many questions I asked I truly felt like
getting to the bottom of it all was a task I would never be able to
accomplish.

“
What’s that?” Cordillia
asked softly as I stared on in disbelief.

“
A long time ago a young
woman from our tribe saw the return of the yellow eyed beast to our
lands. She said his return would be marked by the coming of a lone
wolf, a messenger and a truly naive spirit. Marcus my son grew up
hearing this tale and he seems to think that you are a bad sign, he
is a bit worried.”

“
The yellow eyed beast?
Like the man from my dream?”

“
It’s hard to say but it
is possible that he could be the very same.”

“
What’s his name?” I
finally managed to speak. Robert turned to me and shrugged
slightly.

“
That I cannot tell you.
But I wanted you to know that if my son seems weary or afraid,
please don’t take it personally, he’s just very superstitious.” I
nodded and just as I opened my mouth to ask another question our
conversation was ended by the sound of a car door slamming shut
just on the other side of the little cabin. I dammed them for
coming so soon, I had so much I wanted to know and so many
questions I needed to ask but as I saw Marcus rounding the corner
with a smile on his face I resigned myself to silence for just a
little while longer.

He moved around the edge of the
building, his eyes locked on me as Robert stood to greet him. I
smiled up at him but somewhere behind our quiet introduction I
could feel a thick wave of nervousness coming off of him as he saw
me sitting there. I felt bad, I didn’t want to make their family
get together awkward but I remembered what Robert said about not
taking it personally and somehow that made me feel better about the
whole thing.

His wife, I assumed stood next to him,
her long white sun dress waving in the gentle breeze that blew the
smell of the roaring fire all around us. She was tall and her skin
was dark but it somehow managed to glow a wonderful golden shade in
the fire light. Her raven black hair reached down to her hips and
matched her chestnut eyes perfectly. She was young like her husband
and carried an old world dignity with her that seemed almost lost
in a day when there would be few left to appreciate such
grace.

When I greeted them, Marcus
reluctantly shook my hand but his wife that I now knew as Maura
only greeted me with a gaze that suggested we were old friends.
Something told me that I was at home here.

They sat with us and took control of
most of the conversation. Marcus told jokes that made everyone
laugh but Maura was a nice contrast of quiet for the most part. One
thing I noticed was that she possessed a laugh that seemed like it
didn’t belong to her but was more suited to a child in its
sweetness.

Shortly after, Robert’s sister, May,
his brother in law, Billy, and their two children arrived and sat
with us.

May was an older, husky woman with a
look of an old maid about her. She looked at home being a mother
and I could tell she had been one for a while. Her husband was
shabby and dressed in blue flannel that got coated in dirt as he
played with his kids on the ground. He didn’t say much if it wasn’t
to his children, it was nice to see a father with that kind of
devotion.