جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 9

When I opened my eyes again, my body felt strangely weightless.I passed through the locked basement door and saw the warm lights in the living room. Mom and Dad sat pressed close to my sister on the couch. Mom stroked her back while Dad bowed his head, his shoulders trembling.My sister, Celia, wore the silver-blue dress prepared for her First Moon Rite. Tiny moons and stars were embroidered along the skirt. Her face looked unusually pale beneath the lights. Less than twelve hours remained on the black countdown that only her blood relatives could see."Mom, Dad, is Wren really all right?" Celia's voice was soft and thick with tears. "I heard her saying her head hurt. She also said something scratched her arm while she was arranging the ritual supplies this afternoon.""Ignore her," Dad said, weariness making his voice hard.Mom brushed the hair from Celia's forehead and caressed her cheek. "She isn't poisoned. She saw everyone paying attention to you and decided to pretend she was si

"Wren," Dad called softly through the storage-room door. "I brought you a meat pie. Eat something so you won't be hungry."I floated over and crouched in front of him. His eyes were red, the lines around them deeper than the year before. Gray had appeared at his temples. He was only forty, but he looked ten years older."Dad, I'm right here," I said. "I'm dead. Please open the door and look at me.""Wren?"He called my name again.I reached out to touch his face, but my fingers went through him.After waiting without an answer, he sighed in disappointment. "Still sulking."He pushed the meat pie through the gap beneath the door. "Stay quiet in there. Stop making trouble. Once your sister gets through tonight, I promise I'll make it up to you."He did not open the door.I watched him walk away and whispered, "You don't have to, Dad. You'll never get the chance."The basement hallway fell silent again.Not long afterward, Mom stepped out of Celia's room and gently closed the door. She st

"Wrong about what?" Mom released Celia's hand and stepped toward the threshold.Dad raised an arm to stop her."Wait."His voice was barely a breath, as if he feared waking someone. With the morning light behind him, I could not see his face. I saw only the trembling of his shoulders as he stared at the small body curled in the corner.Celia peered past Mom, her face turning even paler."Wren?" she called carefully. "Can you hear me? The curse is gone. I'm not going to die. We can stay together now."My body did not move.There was no breath and no heartbeat of a young wolf.Mom's smile slowly froze. She moved around Dad and entered the room one uncertain step at a time. Then she crouched beside me."Wren?"She touched my shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. My body rolled limply toward her. My eyes were closed. My lips were blue. The wound on my arm was completely black."Wren?"Her voice rose as she pressed a palm to my cheek.Cold. Rigid. Empty of life.She jerked her hand away as i

Members of the pack began arriving for Celia's First Moon Rite.They carried flowers, gifts, and blessings for her, but the moment they entered our living room, they smelled death.Mrs. Harper from next door was the first to notice the body in Grandma's arms."Moon Goddess," she whispered, covering her mouth. "She couldn't make it after all? Celia had only just turned sixteen.""It isn't Celia," Grandma said.Mrs. Harper stared. She took two steps closer and finally saw my face."Wren?" Her voice shot upward. "How can it be Wren? Celia was the one with the countdown."The living room fell silent.Every eye turned to my sister. Nothing floated above her head now, but her living wolf spirit was unmistakable.The elderly pack priest among the guests closed his eyes and searched the currents of magic that remained in the house."The debt has been paid," he said solemnly. "The prophecy said the Moon Goddess would take one daughter of the Calder family when Celia turned sixteen. We assumed t

Grandma carried my ashes onto a bus bound for the northern edge of the territory.I floated beside her and watched the city retreat beyond the window. Tall buildings gave way to low houses, and then to unbroken forest and mountains dusted with snow.Grandma never loosened her hold on the urn. Her aged face was reflected in the glass, and bottomless grief seemed to live in every line around her eyes.It was dark when we reached the cabin where she lived alone. No other house stood nearby. There was only the whisper of wind moving through the pines.Grandma lit the fireplace and placed a lamp on the table. Its warm golden glow filled the room. She set my urn beside the hearth, then arranged a laurel branch and a white candle beside it.When everything was ready, she stood before the table in silence.Then she slowly turned toward me."Wren."I froze."Grandma," I answered instinctively before remembering I was dead. The living could not hear me.But she nodded."I can see you."My tears