The Book of Dreams (17 page)

“We do the
feux follet
, we can do this,” Jean assured her.

• • •

At lunch in the cafeteria, he joined her in the line.

“You eat with me,
non
?”

He was obviously not shy with girls. His manner was both casual and confident.

Battling her own shyness, Dana followed him to a secluded corner. She was painfully aware of the looks cast in their direction. At one table, the older girls she had questioned about Jean raised their eyebrows at each other. At another table, Janis and her circle sat stupefied.

Indifferent to their audience, Jean drew up his chair close to Dana’s. If he was aware of her discomfort, he didn’t show it. Unwrapping a baguette of ham and cheese, he tore into it hungrily. His manner toward her was both casual and intimate.

To cover her embarrassment, Dana spoke quickly, keeping her voice low so no one else could hear. “How did you become a werewolf? Were you bitten by one?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “
Mais non
, I tell you I am not this thing. I am
loup-garou
.”

Mesmerized, she watched as he took another voracious bite of his sandwich and almost swallowed it whole.

“It happen to
mon grand-père
… my grandfather … and he tell me of the others, my great-grandfather and his great-grandfather. The first one, he come from Poitou in France but it only happen here,
je pense
. He don’t go to Mass for seven year, so he become a wolf at night. He can be normal again if he confess the sin to a
curé
. A priest
catholique
. Then he go back to the Church and he is
loupgarou
no more.”

Dana thought for a moment. “The men in your family didn’t go to a priest?” Then she grinned. “They liked being a wolf.”

“Mais oui.”

Jean’s teeth flashed white. He threw back his head to laugh.

Dana couldn’t help but join him. Their laughter was so loud and wild, they drew more looks. She no longer cared. She was caught up in the wonder of a Canadian fairy tale.

Enjoying her response, Jean was happy to continue his story.

“Unless the man confess, it stay in the blood of the
famille
. But not all the peoples. My father is not
loupgarou
. But my dear
grand-père
he see that I am. He wait for me outside the house the night I have seven year. When I turn, there is much fear.
Terreur.
Here I am a
petit
boy in my bed, then I am on the floor with four legs and so much hair and big teeth. I am all—how you say?—shivering. Then I hear the call to me. This howl in the night. This
cri de coeur
. A cry from the heart, yes, that is
liberté
… freedom … the freedom of the wild. It is like a fire in my head, in my blood. I jump out the window to start my new life.”

“Was it less scary being with your grandfather?”

“
Mais oui
, but also with the wolf comes courage.”

“Of course,” Dana murmured, remembering.

“That first night we run together, I never forget.
Mes parents
, they live in Trois-Rivières at that time but
grandpère
he live in Labrador City. He invite us to visit at his house for my birthday. He know I am to turn that night and he want me to run free in the wild place with him.
Câlisse, c’était merveilleux!
I have not the word to describe. It is the winter. The land is all white with snow and the ice. The trees, they are tall and black like arrow that shoot into the sky. We run across many lake that are frozen and across many hill with snow and many river that are like a road of ice …
c’était très beau.
”

Eyes shining, face aglow, he was lost in his memories. Dana could see that he was far away, running with the wolves through the cold white interior of Labrador and Quebec. Oh, how she yearned to be there with him!

“Is it up to you when you turn?” she asked. “Do you have any choice about becoming a wolf or not?”

“
Toujours.
Always I choose. Except when the time is full moon. Then the moon, she call to the wolf and the wolf he come out whether the human like it or not.”

Again, the wide grin.

“And during the day?”

Dana saw immediately that she had said the wrong thing. Jean’s face darkened suddenly. His features seemed to close in on themselves.

“It is not good to turn wolf by day. Then you stay wolf forever. You can never be human again. But I don’t want to talk about this.”

She didn’t press him. From her own experience, Dana knew all too well that magic was a two-edged sword. Enchantment could be beautiful and exciting, but it was also perilous. Fairy tales did not always end happily. She could sense an old wound, some deep loss he had suffered. Instinctively, she rested her hand on his.

“Back in Ireland, when I was lost in the mountains, a wolf came to be my friend. To guide me. She was my
anamchara
. That means ‘soul-friend’ in Irish. She … she died. I loved her so much. I … I’ve never told anyone about her … till now.”

She could see that her words affected him deeply. His features worked with emotion and he seemed unable to speak at first. Then he took her hand and kissed it lightly.

“The first time I see you, you feel like
famille
. The life of the wolf can be lonely,
non
? But he always know his people. Your wolf friend, she is gone. I will be in her place. I will be your soul-friend. How you say this
beau
word in your language?
Anamchara?
In my language, it is
âme soeur. Alors
, now tell me. Why do this monster want to kill you?”

For a moment Dana was overwhelmed, not only by his charm, but by the generosity of his offer. This was what she had so dearly hoped for: that she could set out on her quest with a companion by her side.

“I don’t know who or what he is, only that he’s an enemy of Faerie,” she began. “He took over Mr. Crowley somehow. I guess to get closer to me.” Even as the thought struck her, Dana went pale. Felt sick. How many more innocent people would suffer or die as this thing tried to kill her? She fought back the fear and the nausea. There was only one thing she could do to stop it: succeed in her mission. “He’s trying to keep me from finding something. It’s a bit like the quest for the Holy Grail, except it’s not a treasure, but a book I’m looking for. The Book of Dreams.”

As Dana told her story, she grew afraid that Jean might not want to join her. After all, it was not his battle, the mission had nothing to do with him. He already knew from his experience with Crowley that the dangers were real, could even be fatal. Why would he want to risk his life for someone he hardly knew? She faltered at the end of her tale and waited anxiously. How would he respond?

The wintergreen eyes glittered with excitement. There was not a moment’s doubt, not a second of fear.

“Already I meet the monster before the night I try to save you. He attack me in the city. He is my enemy too. In my heart I know this—he hate all the thing that live, all that is good.
Alors
, I do this quest with you! We go together.”

Dana caught her breath. She could hardly speak she was so happy. How much her life had changed in so short a time! As if she had stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

“So where do we look?” said Jean.

With a thump, she was back to reality.

“It’s somewhere in Canada,” she said lamely. “That’s all I know. Talk about a needle in a haystack!”

“Needle?” He looked confused. “Haystack?”

“Sorry, it’s an expression,” and she began to explain.

His face cleared. “Ah
oui
, it’s the same in French.
Chercher une aiguille dans un botte de foin.
”

A shiver ran up Dana’s spine. She loved to hear him speak his own language.

“I have an idea,” he said suddenly. “You can run with the wolf?”

She frowned nervously. “I … I’ve done it before. But it’s been a long time.”

He gave her a stern look. “It is necessary you run with me. I can be no help if you don’t.”

Her throat tightened. She had no idea if she could do what he asked. All her recent attempts to shape-shift had gone very badly. It was one of the most difficult of fairy arts. But she could see that he was growing impatient.

“Yes, of course I can,” she stated, with more confidence than she felt.

“
Bon!
” he said. “When we do this? We go the whole night,
n’est-ce pas?
”

“How about on the weekend?” she suggested, thinking fast.

She needed time to prepare, not only for the magic, but to cover her tracks. If she was going away overnight, she would have to do it in secret.

“
Bon,
” he said again. “Saturday. We meet
chez toi.
Your house. I know where you live. I go there as wolf.”

“I saw you that night!” she said. “What—?”

He shrugged, but didn’t bother to explain. He would make no apologies for the lupine side of his character.

• • •

They were still discussing their plans when their teacher approached them.

“You’re hard to get ahold of,” Ms. Woods said to Dana, smiling tentatively. “But it’s really important that I speak with you. I understand if you’re afraid or suspicious. Believe me, I know what’s going on. Well, I know something. I want to help you.”

Jean looked surprised and leaned forward with interest, but Dana’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t need your help.”

Ms. Woods glanced around her anxiously. Her presence in the cafeteria was already drawing attention. Teachers usually kept to the staff room. Some of the nosier students edged closer in an attempt to overhear. Who was in trouble? What had they done?

“If you would just come with me,” she urged Dana, in a low voice “where we could talk in private. If you’d like to bring your friend, I don’t mind.”

“Leave me alone,” Dana said. “If you come near me again, I’ll report you.”

Ms. Woods was taken aback. Yet it seemed for a minute, as she regarded the two of them, that she also looked pleased.

“Very well,” she said. Her sigh seemed to echo sadness. Then, reluctantly, she withdrew.

“You don’t like?” said Jean, as he watched their teacher leave the cafeteria.

“I don’t trust.”

“She seem
très gentille
. She don’t feel bad like Crowley. But who can know for sure, eh?”

“Exactly,” said Dana. “I’m not taking any chances. The less people involved, the safer it is. We don’t need strangers.”

“
D’accord.
So, we got a date for Saturday?”

Dana blushed furiously.

I
t was late when Jean finally appeared outside Dana’s house. She was watching for him at her bedroom window, ready to go in jeans and parka. She had grown worried that he might not come, but there he was, in the shadows beyond the street lamp: the great black wolf.

Dana glanced toward her bed, at the lump under the duvet. What should have been a simple enchantment had taken all week. In theory, she knew how to fashion a changeling: bind leaves, twigs, branches, and clumps of earth with a string of words, a spell, to make a human shape. Getting the materials from the backyard and up to her room was the easiest part; but the magic itself eluded her at first and the early attempts left a rotting mess on the bed. Days of frustration and sometimes tears finally brought the desired result. There lay the counterfeit Dana with dark curls of hair, fair skin, similar height and weight, wearing her pajamas.

Gabriel and Aradhana had retired earlier that evening, but there was always a chance they might look in on her. Aside from the musty smell that lingered in the room, all seemed normal.

Dana leaned over the sleeping form for a final check.

The eyes shot open.

“Go ’way,” it said grumpily.

Dana jumped back. The eyes closed again.

Perfect
, she thought.
And creepy
.

She tiptoed into the hall and down the stairs. By the time she had shut the front door and crossed the road to the park, Jean had returned to his own shape to greet her.

Hands plunged into the pockets of his jacket, he leaned toward her eagerly with a big smile on his face. Though the rest of him was human, the eyes glowed like polished amber.

She was happy to see him, but at the same time suffered an attack of bashfulness. She had grown used to meeting him at school, sharing lunch, and talking between classes. His manner was so natural and easygoing, she was able to relax in his company. But this was different. They were no longer surrounded by the security of the school routine and the presence of other students. This was just the two of them, alone in the night. And she could hardly believe what she was doing. Behind her, a light shone through the blinds of her father’s bedroom. What would he do if he looked out the window and saw her meeting with a boy!

Jean caught her arm and drew her into the park.