Wicked Hungry (13 page)

She smiles at all three of us and I just barely avoid her eyes.

“I am Morgan,” she says. “But in here you can call me Morgaine.”

She looks just as beautiful and longhaired as she was at Carolina’s party, but now there’s a pentagram around her neck and bracelets around her wrists. Her bare arms are covered with tattoos. Or are they sigils drawn on her skin? They seem to glow and move in the dim light.

I can’t hear the storm outside anymore. This seems like a very bad sign, somehow.

“It’s very quiet in here,” Enrique says.

“We are completely soundproofed, cut off from the world as you know it,” Morgaine says. “Here, no one can hear you scream.”

Enrique and Jonathan freeze up next to me. The air is suddenly muskier, and Enrique makes a low growl.

T
hen Morgaine laughs, and there is a man behind her, balding with circular spectacles and a frown on his face. “Hi, Stanley, Jonathan, and friend. I’m Blaine Whelan,” he says. “I’m sorry, but Morgan likes her bit of fun with newcomers to the store.”

“Is she really High Priestess in my mom’s coven?” I blurt out.

“Yes,” Blaine says, “And I’m a werewolf.”

I stare at him, but then he’s laughing, too. Was that a joke, or what? Enrique glares at me, and Jonathan too.

“I am many things,” she says. “As you are, too; I can tell just looking at you. But tell me, boys, what are you looking for? What can I interest you in? How can I help
you?
”

“We were looking for something,” I say. “Enrique and me.”

“And what is that ‘something?’”

Looking around, I recognize nothing. There are herbs, and bottles full of colored liquids. And lots of very old-looking books. But nothing that looks like the board that Enrique described.

“
Un Tablero. De Ouija,
” Enrique says. Now it’s my turn to stare at him. Sometimes Enrique is like this—he forgets what language he’s speaking. But Morgaine seems unfazed.

“A Ouija board? We might have one of those around here somewhere.”

Blaine nods. “I’ll take a look in back.” And he goes through
another
door.

You can hear him rummaging back there. Morgaine smiles at us and it’s really hard to avoid her eyes. “So,” she says. “Are you all homeschooled?”

“No,” I say. “We go to Lansfeld High School. We’re all freshmen.”

“That wasn’t the type of schooling I was referring to. Have you been trained?”

I look at Jonathan, then at Enrique. They both shrug.

“Trained?” I ask.

“Well,” she says, “just look at you.”

“Look at us?”

“Are we ignorant, or just in denial?” she asks me, looking a little cross.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Morgaine sighs, pouting with full dark red lips, and the room fills with unhappiness. Suddenly, comforting her seems like the most important thing in the world. Anything she needs to know, I’ll tell her. “Kids today,” she says. “Know nothing, want to know nothing. Just want to watch television and play games.”

Blaine comes back in then, carrying a dusty box. “Morgaine,” he says. “I think they’ve been taking Eternal Cleanse.”

He looks at us, and we nod.

Morgaine’s eyes narrow. “No wonder you have no idea what’s happening. Do you even know what you’re putting in your body?”

“I read the label,” I say.

“You read the label?” Morgaine asks. “What does it say?”

I pull out the bottle from my pants, and watch Enrique and then Jonathan do the same.

“Well?” she says. “What does it say?”

“Not what I remember,” I say.

“This room is protected from enchantments,” Blaine says. “Come on, read it.”

“‘ETERNAL CLEANSE’,” I read aloud. “‘Feeling human? Your humanity getting you down? We can’t promise miracles, but these pills have rid users of their peskiest human natures. We promise you’ll be surprised by the results.’”

“Well, are you?” Morgaine asks.

“Are we what?” I ask.

“Surprised by the results.”

We are all silent, then.

“Those pills aren’t made for humans,” Morgaine says. “They’re meant for halflings. Or werefolk. I wish I knew who gave them to you.”

“Zach,” Enrique says. “It was him.”

“Yes, but how did
he
get them? Their sale is tightly regulated. Only the highest of the Seelie and Unseelie courts have access.”

“Seelie and Unseelie courts?” I say.

“You really don’t know much of anything, do you?” Morgaine asks.

“We came here to find out what is going on,” Enrique says. “We want to know.”

“They are the two courts of
Faerie
,” Morgaine says. “The Seelie and the Unseelie. They balance each other out, but—”

“Should we stop taking the pills, then?” I interject.

“It’s too late for that. Once we find out who is behind them, perhaps we will find a cure. Until then, you have no choice. But you wanted a Ouija board, is that right?”

“And we’d like some more books on magical creatures and magic,” says Jonathan. “Like dudes who turn into wolves, or chicks that suck blood and are all cold and icy.”

“Or people who turn into other animals,” Enrique says.

“And run wicked fast,” I say.

“And get wicked hungry,” Jonathan says.

I look at the two of them, and they nod. So Jonathan knows.

“I already told Jonathan here that there are many things written in books that are completely false. Just plain made up to confuse the ignorant.”

“We’ll take our chances,” I say.

She looks at me queerly then, her eyes scrunched up. But I avoid her gaze. Her voice is hypnotic enough. “You speak for your...
friends
, then?”

I look at the two of them.

“Stanley, dude, you are
the boss
,” Jonathan says.

“He is my leader,” Enrique says, nodding. “How do you say it? His wish is my command.”

“Whatever,” I say. “I’m not the boss of anyone.”

“You may surprise yourself one of these days,” Morgaine says.

I shrug.

“We have some books that could help you,” she says. “They’re expensive, but we might be able to make you a deal.”

“So,” Enrique asks, pointing at the dusty box in Blaine’s hands, “is that the Ouija board?”

Blaine nods and smiles at us. “Morgaine, let me talk to Stanley here alone for a moment, man to man, while you bargain with Enrique.”

I look at Enrique, who kind of shakes his head. Then at Jonathan, who raises an eyebrow. What’s the harm, though, in just a little talk?

Blaine hands the board to Morgaine, and walks over to the corner of the store, me following him. “So,” he says, “let’s cut to the chase. Who do you run with? How many of you are there? Carolina wasn’t sure.”

What am I supposed to say? All I can figure out is that somehow Carolina was spying on me.

“It’s hard to say,” I say, which is true, at least.

“What I don’t understand is those other two. Like attracts like; that’s the general rule. You go out and change with them around and you’re likely to rip each other apart, all three of you, teeth to throat. Morgaine and me, we’re an exception. Not that my family is very understanding at times. But she...”

I look at him, waiting for him to continue, but he shakes his head.

“What am I saying? You’re just a pup, a kid. You couldn’t understand.”

“I’m not so young,” I say. “And Enrique and Jonathan are my friends.”

He looks at me, shaking his head. “You’re kidding me, right?
Friends?
That’s
impossible
. Change and that cat will
kill
you. And I’d watch my back with the fox, as well.”

“They won’t hurt me,” I say.

He shakes his head. “That’s what you think. Wait until it’s a full moon and you want to tear them apart. They’ll smell it on you. Then there won’t be anything else to do except fight.”

“I’ll take my chances,” I say.

He shakes his head. “You do realize, don’t you, that a loner is the most dangerous? Who will keep you from harming those you love? And who will protect you if the ghouls come out in force?”

“Ghouls?”

“Dead people, brought back to life. They’re very hungry. And very difficult to destroy.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Blaine shakes his head again. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to learn some things the hard way. How old are you?”

“Fifteen,” I say. “Just.”

“Interesting. You can still learn how to hunt, how to control the beast. Wait a few months and it may be too late. Remember, a lone wolf is a dangerous thing. Foxes, jaguars can run alone, but wolves always run in packs. It’s safer to join a group.”

“Safer for whom?” I ask.

“For everyone.” he says. “Look, pup, we should get back to your ‘friends.’ It looks like Morgaine is about to strike a deal.”

“Don’t call me ‘pup,’” I say. “My name is Stanley.”

“Okay, Stanley.”

We walk back to join the others.

Jonathan catches my eye. “She wants twenty dollars for the Ouija board, or...”

“Or what?” I ask.

“A favor,” Morgaine says. “I’d like you to help out my daughter. Keep an eye on her.”

“Carolina?” I ask.

She nods. “All three of you,” she says. “I’m worried about her.”

“Dude, she’ll even loan us a book,” Jonathan says. “Full of spells, and information.”

I look at Enrique, who pulls me aside. “This book could be useful. Who knows?”

“Nothing comes for free,” Jonathan says, huddling up with us. “If she’s willing to lend us the book, and give us the board, Carolina must need some serious help.”

“She scares me a little,” I say quietly.

“Who, Carolina?” Jonathan asks. “Or her mother?”

“Both of them, in different ways. But Enrique’s right, the book could be useful. And I’d like to have the Whelans on our side.”

“Our side of what?” asks Enrique, but I don’t know. Maybe his great grandmother will.

The smoke still burns my eyes and irritates my throat. I cough. Enrique and Jonathan are staring at me expectantly. So are Blaine and Morgaine.

When did I become the leader?

“Okay,” I say. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Thank you,” Morgaine says, placing the Ouija board into Enrique’s waiting hands. “We’re very nervous these days.”

“About what?” I ask. “I still don’t understand what’s going on.”

She shakes her head then pulls me aside.

“Stanley, you’re a handsome young cub.” Her eyes narrow. “You’ve been with one of the sisters, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“My kind leaves a mark... I can see it on your neck and on your hands.”

“You can see it?”

She laughs. “To my kind, it’s as clear as can be. I don’t think normal eyes could see the marks, but she’s definitely marked you, Stanley.”

“Marked me?”

“Our kind is a very possessive lot. It tells others to keep their hands off.”

“But why would she mark me?”

“We mark our lovers, and we mark our...”

“What? Your what?”

“Our
food
,” Morgan whispers, her eyes thin slits.

“Your
food?”

She shakes her head as we turn back to the others and hands me the book. “I’ve said too much. Watch over my niece, and we’ll try to watch over you as much as we can.”

“Can’t you at least tell us why Enrique is changing into a jaguar and Jonathan into a fox?”

“The pills bring out what’s hidden under your humanity. Those who don’t have anything else would turn into little more than...a zombie.”

“A zombie?”

“Yes,” she says. “A half-dead person, ready to be controlled by the unscrupulous.”

“Like the Seelie and Unseelie?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I very much doubt they would have anything to do with it.”

“There’s so much we don’t understand,” I say.

Blaine frowns. “Some of the answers you seek are in the book. Perhaps Carolina can help you find others. But I must warn you once again: being clanless, as well as clueless, is very dangerous. Are you sure you won’t join us, Stanley? We could watch out for you.”

“And what about Enrique and Jonathan?”

Blaine shakes his head. “Jaguars and foxes have no place among us. The Whelan clan is only for
our
kind, Stanley,
your
kind.”

“Then we’ll look out for each other,” I say. “Jonathan and Enrique will watch my back.”

Morgaine sighs. “Blaine is right about like needing like. You can’t change your friends by staying with them. Only with a clan will you ever feel at home. Not to mention the danger to all of you...”

“We’ll take our chances, thanks,” I say once again.

“So be it,” says Blaine. “But look after our daughter.”

We nod.

Blaine hands us a small, heavy book. It looks older than my grandfather. The cover is dark, inlaid with thick gold letters. I see sigils on the cover and on the spine of the book. But at least they aren’t silver. Jonathan takes the book and opens it. “Wow,” he says. “Is this what Frumberg took?”

Morgaine shook her head. “He’s no shapeshifter. We lent him another tome, for those who would do magic and protect themselves from your kind. He fears shapeshifters above all. Be careful with him—I’m afraid he could do something desperate.”

“Like what?” I ask.

“No,” Blaine Whelan says. “As we talk, night falls. You must all be off to your homes. Just be wary in the dark. Soon it will be time to run.”

Time to run? What does that mean? And dark outside already? How can he tell? In here, the gloom is only pierced by the glowing sigils on the walls.

Morgaine smiles one last smile and opens the door back into the front part of the shop. Someone different is working at the cash register. She looks really familiar, and it takes me a moment to figure out why. It’s Carolina, and she’s reading this graphic novel—at least I think that’s what it is. But when I look at it out of the corner of my eye, it seems to change and look more like the black book I have in my hands.

Except that when I look down at my black book, now it looks like a graphic novel, too. But when I look at it out of the corner of my eye, it’s the black book again.
A SHAPESHIFTER’S ELEMENTARY GRIMOIRE: Of interest to the young werewolf and other shapeshifters of all kinds.