Frostbitten (28 page)

“Are you a relative of
hers?”

“More like close
friends,” Frost lied. “I know she’ll be pleased to see us.”

“It’s our policy that
non-family members call in advance,” Martha informed them. “I’m afraid we’d
need to get permission from Mrs. McKinley’s family before you could...”

“I speak for myself,” a
woman interrupted Martha in a strong, steady tone, “and I say these two are
visiting me today.”

Unaware that anyone was
there, Anastasia and Frost spun around to see an old woman who could easily be
in her late eighties. She had unusually pale skin which was deeply wrinkled and
a slender, frail-looking body frame. Her appearance contradicted the strength
in her voice; although one glance at the sparkle and fire in her dark brown
eyes was evidence enough that this woman was very much alive.

“Alright, Mrs.
McKinley,” Martha said. “Please keep your guests within our sight.”

Slowly, Anastasia and
Frost followed Julia as she led them toward a blanket-covered couch and a worn
chair. Even though these seats were already occupied by three men, they hurried
to leave upon seeing Julia approach them. With a small, satisfied smile, she
sat down and then gestured for Anastasia and Frost to do the same.

“I’m Frost, and this is
my girlfriend, Anastasia,” he said politely, once they were seated on the
sagging couch.

“It’s nice to meet you,
Julia,” Anastasia said with a flicker of excitement, almost unable to believe
that they’d found her so easily.

Julia offered no
response. Instead, she stared at Frost, as if studying his every feature. Then,
she turned to Anastasia and began visually examining her as well, paying
particular attention to her eyes. Although it was extremely uncomfortable to be
looked upon so closely, especially by a stranger, Anastasia sensed that she
meant them no harm.

Suddenly, Julia sucked
in her breath like something delightful and unexpected had just occurred. “I know
what you are,” she said in a quick, quiet tone, while shifting her attention
between Anastasia and Frost. “I know what you
both
are.”

Wrinkling her forehead,
Anastasia asked carefully, “What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry, child,
your secret’s safe with me,” Julia replied, with an extra twinkle in her eye.
“However, the truth
will
come out – it always does.” Focusing her gaze
on Frost once again, she said softly, “You resemble your father when he was
your age.”

“You know who I am?”
Frost was clearly surprised.

“I already told you
that. For someone who has such large ears, I’d expect you to listen better.”

Anastasia felt her
blood run cold as she looked at a stunned Frost. They both knew that he was
perfectly proportioned; therefore, Julia couldn’t possibly be referring to his
human ears. If she really did know that Frost was a werewolf, then it didn’t
faze her in the least; she just sat there, while stroking her waist-length
silver hair which hung over her shoulders.

“Tell me, how is
Symon?” Julia inquired. “It’s been far too long since I’ve last seen him.”

“He’s, um, dead,” Frost
was hardly able to choke out.

From the pained
expression upon Frost’s face, it was clear that he was reliving that fatal
moment in the woods. In an attempt to console him, Anastasia reached for his
hand. When he held onto her tightly, she realized how much he needed her.

“Oh my!” Julia gasped,
her eyes filling with tears as she processed the significance of his words.
“It...it surely can’t be true.”

“My father kept a
journal, and he wrote about you,” Frost said boldly, seemingly driven by his
grief. “You
and
werewolves.”

Julia was silent as she
reached for a box of tissues that sat upon a nearby table. She then dabbed her
eyes and took a deep, shaky breath before speaking. “I can sense that you have
a pure spirit, Frost, and I feel the love that Anastasia has for you. Both of
you can be trusted with what I have to say.”

Leaning forward and
lowering her voice, Julia continued. “Cedar Falls used to be a haven for a
special kind of wolf. When my ancestors first arrived over two hundred years
ago, we found a way to co-exist peacefully with these most magnificent
creatures. Unfortunately, as the town grew larger, so did the fear and
paranoia. Humans started to believe that wolves couldn’t be trusted, so they
slaughtered them, almost down to the last one. The few wolves who did survive
fled to the darkest parts of Cedar Falls Woods, where they remain to this day –
or so I’d thought.”

“Who else knows about
this?” Frost pressed anxiously.

“Hardly anyone
nowadays. When I tried to pass on the stories of our heritage, my family
declared me crazy. That’s how I ended up in this dreadful place.”

And that’s why we never
knew who you were,
Anastasia thought, disgusted that the
McKinleys had treated Julia like she was a shameful secret.

“Perhaps I should make
a new family for myself,” Julia said, smiling widely at Anastasia and Frost.
Ever so carefully, she reached around the back of her neck and released a long,
black heart pendant necklace. “I want you to have this,” she said, handing it
to Anastasia.

Taken aback, Anastasia
stared at the necklace. It was a stunning piece of
jewelry
,
and one she hadn’t noticed Julia wearing since it’d been hidden behind her
hair. “I couldn’t take it,” she began to object.

“I insist that you do,”
Julia replied. “You may one day find it useful.”

“Well, thank you,”
Anastasia said graciously, even though she was still confused by the act of
charity. “I’ll take excellent care of it.”

“I’m afraid we need
your help, not your
jewelry
,”
Frost stated bluntly, ignoring the warning glare that Anastasia was now giving
him. “Cedar Falls is at risk of getting a lot of new werewolves, and we need to
know how to stop it.”

Julia shook her head in
disappointment. “Mistakes like these put everyone in danger. Fortunately, you
already have the tools, but you must act fast.”

“How?” Frost pleaded.

“Mrs. McKinley, it’s
time for your treatment,” someone suddenly said in a deep voice.

Jumping slightly at the
unexpected interruption, Anastasia looked over her shoulder to see a tall,
middle-aged doctor with a muscular build. As he stood there, with his arms
folded across his bleached white uniform, she knew that he was as stern as he
sounded. There would be no use in begging for extra time.

Anastasia’s assumption
about the doctor must have been correct because Julia obediently stood up and
began walking beside him. Not saying goodbye, she instead sang in an enchanting
tone as she went. “Queen of poisons’ meant to burn. Heal, forget, then all is
done.” With increasing passion, she repeated the lyrics, treating them like
they were some sort of chant.

Julia’s singing caused
the doctor to hurry her down the gray carpeted hallway and around a bend until
she could no longer be seen. Then, he cast Anastasia and Frost an odd, somewhat
cautionary glance before disappearing himself. The doctor had seemed so strict
and somber, and there was something about him which Anastasia didn’t trust. It
was like he couldn’t wait to put distance between them and Julia.

“We should leave,”
Frost advised, causing Anastasia to notice how eerily quiet the room had become
as everyone, including the staff, gawked at them.

“Good idea,” she
muttered, feeling awkward as they passed the reception desk and then exited
through the double doors. It was all too evident that they hadn’t been welcomed
there, even upon their arrival.

Once they’d entered the
car, Anastasia let out a frustrated sigh as she thought about what had just
happened. Not only had they received no information that would be useful in
stopping the transformations, they’d also allowed Julia to assume that Frost
was a werewolf. Anastasia wasn’t sure if she needed to worry about that,
though; Julia had been a friend of Symon’s, so it was likely that they could
trust her. Besides, it’d already been proven that no one believed her tales
about extra special wolves.

The sound of the car’s
engine snapped Anastasia out of her thoughts. She expected Frost to immediately
speed away to their next destination – wherever that may be. Yet, she was
surprised to find him remaining idle behind the wheel, even after several
moments had passed. As Frost stared out the windshield, without really looking
at anything, it was clear that he was greatly conflicted.

“Julia was our only
lead, and she could hardly give us a straight answer,” Frost spoke gravely,
before Anastasia had the chance to inquire if he was alright. “The doctor
mentioned that she was receiving treatment – maybe she really is crazy.
Besides, I doubt werewolves and humans were ever friends. She probably didn’t
know what she was saying.”

“You don’t have the
right to be skeptical,” Anastasia argued, feeling a little hurt by Frost’s
disbelief in human-werewolf relationships. “It’s not like anyone would readily
believe our story, despite it being true.”

“Let’s just grab some
lunch and then return to downtown,” Frost suggested with a heavy sigh. “We need
to think of a new plan and can’t waste any more time here.” Without waiting for
Anastasia to respond, he pulled out of the parking lot and then drove away,
causing a heavy silence to fall over them.

Anastasia had always
thought that hope was one of the most precious of sentiments because with it
anything was possible, but without it everything would seem bleak.
Unfortunately, she was now part of the latter category, and who could blame
her? After returning to the downtown core, they’d parked behind a building that
saw little to no human activity. Then, for almost two hours they’d sat there,
wrapped in blankets which she’d found in the car. They had talked – or rather
argued – about what actions they should take next. These proposed plans had
ranged from highly impractical to just plain stupid, and in the end they both
agreed that none of them would ever work.

Despite the unspoken
realization that they would have to go back to the cabin and tell her
grandfather that they’d failed, something kept nagging at Anastasia. It was
Julia, and although Frost had already written her off as crazy, she couldn’t
bring herself to do the same. Julia said they had the tools to stop the
transformation, yet what did that even mean? Since Anastasia hadn’t figured it
out by now, she doubted that she ever would.

“I’m sorry for putting
you through this, Anastasia,” Frost said, gently reaching for her hand as if to
show her how much he cared. “Even if coming back here was a mistake, at least
I’ve realized what I have to do – I can’t allow your grandfather to kill those
men. When they become werewolves, I’ll be there to help them.”

And how the hell do you
plan to do that?
Anastasia resisted the urge to ask,
believing that the idea was more foolish than noble. Instead, she pointed to
the clock which read 3:17 p.m. “Dusk falls in less than three hours, and if I
know my grandpa, he won’t be waiting until after they’ve transformed to shoot.”

As they hastily started
for Hartfield, Anastasia’s mind unwillingly returned to thoughts of Julia.
Instinctively, she reached into her pocket for the heart pendant. It was a
heavy, unique piece made all the more unusual due to the ornate leaves which
were etched onto the rounded black heart. Wondering if the back was engraved as
well, Anastasia turned it over to discover a slit running along the side. At
first she thought it was an imperfection, but upon closer examination, she
realized that the pendant was actually a locket. With growing interest, she
used her fingernails to carefully pry it open. Inside the hollow heart she
found a strange-looking dried flower which had a hint of color still left in
it.

“Why would she give you
that?” Frost asked, glancing at the flower.

Anastasia shook her
head in bewilderment. It was such an odd object to keep in a locket that her
curiosity was immediately peaked. Beginning to rifle through her grandfather’s
belongings, she searched for his copy of
The Encyclopedia of Plant Species
.
Although Anastasia distinctly remembered making fun of him for keeping such a
large book in the car, she’d never been so grateful to see it lying underneath
the backseat. Grabbing for the book, she ignored Frost’s warning for her to sit
back down and put her seatbelt on.

Opening the
encyclopedia, Anastasia flipped through the yellowing pages, searching for a
plant which had a delicate thin stem and a long, purplish-blue flower that sort
of resembled a hood. Since the flower was so peculiar, she was certain that she
would recognize it. The problem was the length of the book; no matter how many
pages Anastasia turned, it felt like she was getting nowhere. Then, just when
her hand had begun to cramp, she saw a flower identical to the one in the
locket. Beneath the picture was the word,
Wolfsbane
.

With a racing heart,
Anastasia realized that this was no coincidence. Julia had given her the flower
for a reason, and she was going to find out why. Unrelentingly, Anastasia
hastened to read the description, learning that wolfsbane grew mostly in
mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere and, despite being poisonous, it
had long been used for medicinal purposes. There were several other interesting
facts about this intricate plant, but nothing else mattered when Anastasia’s
eyes fell upon the words,
Queen of poisons
; it was an alternative name
for Wolfsbane and something which Julia had sung about when she was led away by
the doctor.