Wolf Incarnate (Shadows Over the Realm) (3 page)

Then he was gone.

Chapter 4

The following weeks passed without event, and Amber tried her best not to worry too much about the events of that strange day. After all, what could she do? Even though there were no other witnesses, she knew she wasn’t crazy. She’d done a little research, and it seemed like her chances for a breakdown were low. Amber wasn’t under any duress in particular, after all. The other major factor, of course, was a family history. For more information on that, however, she’d need to talk to Big Momma - something she wanted desperately to avoid.

She turned the block to her street, noticing the lazy afternoon summer weather putting the scant people on their lawns at ease. Still a few houses down from hers, she saw a black car pulled in front of her house. She didn’t slow, but kept driving past - intending to make the block before pulling into the driveway. She’d recovered enough to drive her car again, but not so much that an amount of paranoia didn’t linger in her mind.

Sure enough, as she drove past, she saw a man in a polo shirt and shades knocking on her door. As he looked to the windows for signs that she was home, she saw that he was wearing shades.

Big Momma had just finished baking cookies, and had put on a pot of tea when the door bell rang.

“Just a minute!” she bellowed,
dusting her apron off and preparing to look surprised.

Opening the door,
a very frightened looking Amber stepped inside without being asked. Big Momma had never seen the girl looking so shaken, but was glad she was safe.

She welcomed the girl in, and gave her tea and cookies the way she used to when Amber was a child, patting her back and whispering “there, there” as Amber held back the tears. In this house Amber was safe, so Big Momma could take her time getting it out of her. She knew instinctively what it was about, though. They had found her.

Amber wasn’t particularly proud of having to go back to her grandmother, especially in her current state. When it came down to it, though, there was no place she felt safer than Big Momma’s house. The old, tempered building carried the same weight and meaning as a fortress. Of course, Amber never suspected just how correct she was.

Big Momma was wonderful. She didn’t ask her what was wrong. She just let her sit shaking in the living room, offering her tea and snacks until she was ready to talk. Amber got the feeling that her visit wasn’t totally unanticipated, but didn’t care. She’d thought the strangeness was over, that the incidents of that single day were a lost island in her life, one that would never be visited again. Yet aft
er a morning of weekend errands she found herself on its shores once again.

After a few moments of silence in which Amber laid her head on Big Momma’s arm, she started speaking.

“Strange things are happening to me Big Momma. I don’t think I’m crazy but -- is this related to how Mom….was?”

Big Momma was silent a moment. These events were, indeed, related to how her Mom “was”. She doubted that it was in the way Amber thought, however.

“Now baby, I’m gonna tell you some things, and I don’t want you to be afraid,” started Big Momma, choosing her words carefully. Amber was in a precarious place, and Big Momma didn’t want to scare her off or shock her by telling too much at once.

“Your Momma was a good woman, but she got mixed up in things. Things she couldn’t help getting mixed up in. Bad people were looking for her.”

Amber scrunched her brow in confusion. An idea popped into her mind.

“Did she testify against someone?
Someone powerful? Is that why that man was at my door?”

Big Momma didn’t have to ask the man’s description.

“Something like that, baby. Now, I’ve managed to keep you hidden so far, but now things are changing. Now we need help looking after you,” she said, getting up.

“Right now,
it’s best you leave town,” she continued, grabbing a cigar box off of the coffee table. She pulled out a necklace, with a jade sun, the sun having a peaceful countenance. She put the necklace over Amber’s head and around her neck, lifting her hair over it. Amber didn’t resist. What was happening? She was beginning to get the feeling that Big Momma knew what was going on. She found that, surprisingly, that was making her feel much better. Rather than risk it not being true, she decided not to ask too many questions just then. One thing bothered her, however.

“If this is all about witness protection, shouldn’t we go to the police?” she asked.

Big Momma looked at her incredulously, and put her hands on her hips, cocking her head in her famous pose.

“Sweetheart, based on what you have experienced these past few days, does this seem like a police matter to you?” she said.
So far so good,
thought Big Momma,
“she hasn’t jumped out the window yet.”

“Now, you need to leave town for a few days. Just until things cool down,” said Big Momma. “I’ve hired someone
who’s expertise could come in handy.”

And who stepped into the doorway but the handsome stranger, wearing the same long black jacket as he had the last time she’d seen him.

“This is Vance,” said Big Momma, picking up Amber’s small saucer and empty tea cup as if it were a normal day and she was introducing her to a normal boy. Neither was true, of course.

“His name’s not Vance,” said Amber, standing warily. It’s Thomas.

“No,” said the man. “Thomas is my twin,” he said simply.
Of course,
thought Amber. With how insane her world had gotten, why should she be surprised at this?

“Vance was looking for his twin,” clarified Big Momma. “He was close on the night you ran into him. In exchange for helping him find his twin, Vance is going to look after you,” she said, smiling earnestly.

The words almost wouldn’t stick in Amber’s mind. She’d come to Big Momma’s house looking for a little stability, some place where things were always the same and the world made sense. However, things just seemed to be getting more ludicrous. Help Vance find his twin? She could barely find her reading glasses, sometimes. She didn’t even own a computer.
Well, I suppose next she’ll reveal that she’s a top-secret hacker for the government. Nothing could surprise me, now.

Enough was enough. Her grandmother was obviously hiding the mother of all secrets (no pun, intended) and Amber simply wasn’t ready to hear it, yet.

Amber picked up her purse and headed for the door.

“Where are you going, baby?” asked Big Momma.

“Anywhere but here,” said Amber, and she walked out of the door.

Chapter Five

Amber sat at the worn booth at the café overlooking the interstate highway. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been driving before she
stopped, only that she was in need of food and a good, strong, coffee.

Blowing over her mug, warming her hands with its sides, she waited for her eggs and toast. Her waitress was
a older woman named Rose, and she wore the waitress uniform that was customary for every small town waitress.

“More coffee, ma’am?” she asked holding a steaming fresh pot.

“No thanks.”

“Are you all right? You look to be in quite a state
, hon,” said Rose, sitting herself on the other side of the booth. Amber looked askance at the woman.

“Oh, it’s all right. I’m on break,” said the woman, smiling. As if that
were the problem. Amber sighed. The place was empty and it wasn’t as if she wanted to be alone.

“Now, you just tell Rosie all about it,” she said, patting Amber’s hand on the table.

Amber hesitated, looking at the woman blankly.
Well, it’s either this or keep running away, forever.

“Rose, have you ever felt like your world was changing too fast? Changing in ways you didn’t like?”

Rose studied Amber solemnly, thinking. After a moment, she leaned in and grinned.

“All the time,” she said. Rose got up to get herself a cup for coffee. Her shift was another couple of hours, and this young lady needed some sorting out. She continued.

“Honey, I’ve got news for you. It’s gonna keep changing, and there ain’t a thing you can do about it. You’ve got two choices. You can either shut the door and stop participating, or you can adapt.”

“What if I don’t want to adapt? What if I can’t?”

“You can always adapt,” said Rose seriously. She paused another moment, looking out the window.

“When my Robbie died, I thought life was over. What I’ve learned over the years is that
yes,
that
life was over. And that was sad. But sweetie, I’ve got a whole new one and it is worth living for,” she said, winking.

“My new beau is different, but there are advantages,” she said in a lower tone. “Hell,” she added. “I’m getting more action now than I did when I was
thrity!”

Amber burst out laughing, almost spitting up her coffee. This woman had to be in her mid-fifties. She brightened. Whatever she was going through, it couldn’t be as bad as losing a spouse. Whatever was going on, she would face it. That meant going back to her Big Momma’s house and not leaving until she had all the answers she needed.

Just then, the bell on the stores front door ringed. Two people entered, stepping in time.

Vance hated driving. Running was more his style, though it was more dangerous in some ways. As he dashed along past the buildings and structures, they changed form shifting and warbling as he ran faster and faster. Faster than any human.

When he had reached a dash, he dove into the ground shifting completely into his new form. He didn’t slow as the honking and buzzing of the city was replaced with the midnight chirping of the dark forest in the Shadow Realm. Faster, faster he went, following Amber’s scent out into the wild. He paused for a moment in the moonlight, sniffing the air. Her smell mixed with a plethora of others on this side of existence and the one she was in now. Picking out a smell was like looking for a piece of information in a tome.
The speed of your pursuit was determined by your familiarity with its passages. Fortunately, he’d met Amber twice - more than enough time for him to be able to find her miles away.

He shifted back and forth between realms instinctively, always choosing whichever path was easiest. He walked along a path in the Shadow realm until the brush became
to thick and slid back into a plain in the other realm. Amber’s realm.

Eventually he came to a cave and, shifting back into his human form, he transitioned to the normal realm to find a roadside café. He’d stopped at many such places during his travels, but something was wrong here.

The café windows were darkened, even at only 7p.m., and the parking lot outside was empty. He sniffed the air. There was a burning smell, like that of rubber. Bad magic.

Carefully, he opened the door to the café, nearly cursing when the bell sounded. Adopting his wolf eyes, he scanned the place, looking for signs of a struggle. He saw none.

His ear twitched at a sound behind the counter.

Taking soft steps he walked around the side to peak over the far end.
Sitting on the ground, a rotund older woman sat, wide-eyed and wimpering quietly. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, her head resting on her knees.

“What happened here?” Vance asked, trying to use a gentle tone and failing.

There was no response. The woman continued to stare at a spot just in front of her, not even noticing his presence. Vance hopped over the counter, peaking through the door leading to the kitchen before leaning down to comfort the woman. She looked in a bad way.

“I know it’s hard. What you’ve seen, I won’t ask you to repeat it. I do need to know if you met a woman named Amber,” he said, decided to start with something simple.

The older woman looked up suddenly, seeming to remember something from long ago.

“Amber?
That sweet little African-American girl. She was so pretty. She was so…” the woman faded off, looking back down at her spot once more.

Vance sighed. What had happened to this woman was terrible, but time was of the essence if he was going to retrieve his brother. He needed the old woman’s help to do that. He needed to bring her Amber.

He turned to leave. Maybe Amber’s scent picked back up outside. If she was taken, perhaps her pursuers had a unique or bizarre smell.

“Wait a second, honey,” said Rose, standing. “They left a message for you.”

She stood, opening her arm with wrist facing outward toward Vance. On it, scratched into her arm in bloodied letters were two words.

Cherry Pie.

Vance looked over at the display case and saw the only empty spot was just above the cherry pie placard. He dashed out the door, nearly bursting it off its hinges, and breathed deep sorting through smells
.

Chapter Six

Mrs. Nguyen licked her short, plump fingers and dabbed her chin with a blue handkerchief that matched her outfit - which was now blue, also. Dr. Eiph, sitting next to her in the derelict house, ate his carefully measured slice with a fork, spilling not a crumb.