Chapter
1
Running again. The paths through the forest all too familiar. The angry and jeering voices coming from her pursuers that were not too far behind.
Over the brook and up the embankment. Hang a right at the oak. Make the leap for the branch and haul herself up high into the tree for safety. She should have been very out of breath, but found that she was holding it in anticipation. She should have been feeling her muscles burning after putting out such an effort, but she felt almost energized, poised and ready to go again if she had to.
It was mere moments later when her pursuers had caught up to her clearing, pausing to make a decision on where to go next. She counted about seven of them, all panting and out of breath, tired from the chase.
“Which way did she go?” one panted.
“You’re gonna let a girl outrun us?” another one panted.
“Tabby! Here, kitty, kitty!” another called. From her treetop perch, Tabby rolled her eyes. The sport of Tabby-Hunting was a real annoyance for her and she silently waited for the group to catch their breath, give up and go away.
Sometimes it was great fun, and other times, she just wished they would leave her alone. It wasn’t her fault that she was different from them. She was just born that way, she guessed. Granny Dan always told her that her differences were what made her special, not to mention that Grampa James used her “differences” to a positive advantage.
Tabby never learned who her parents were. All she knew was that her parents had given her over to Granny Dan and Grampa James when she was an infant. They were obviously outsiders, claiming to be from a place called Amber. That would explain how at the age of fourteen she suddenly seemed to have Herculean endurance, strength, agility, an uncanny knack for coming out on top in a fight and a heightened sense of empathy. However, whenever she would ask, Granny Dan and Grampa James wouldn’t say a word about her parents and would abruptly change the subject.
They weren’t gone yet? Tabby rolled her eyes and fought a big sigh down. All she wanted was to reach her sanctuary and home.
“C’mon, Brad! Which way?” one of the boys was pestering the ringleader. Brad scanned the tree line of the clearing and then looked up. Tabby’s breath caught with a thrill of anticipation.
“Up there!” he stooped for a stone and took aim.
Tabby reached out and caught the stone that would have beaned her in the forehead and returned fire, hitting him square in the chest, causing him to stumble back.
“Come on down, Tabby!” Brad taunted.
“Here kitty, kitty!” the boys chorused. Tabby rolled her eyes but still said nothing. They weren’t worth it. Seven might be too many to deal with on the ground. She waited for an opening where she could reach the ground and take off running again.
Her opening came quickly and she took it, taking a mighty leap from her high perch, landing neatly like a cat and instantly took off at a sprint. Brad and his band of boys howled in frustration and took off after her again.
Tabby led them all over the forest, losing them one by one as they got either too tired or lost interest in chasing her, all except for Brad who despite his constantly needing a breath, still persisted. She stopped now. She could handle him.
Brad came to a stop, gasping for breath. Tabby hadn’t even broken a sweat. She stood and calmly surveyed him as if to size him up.
“Freak!” was all Brad could manage. Tabby took this as his defeat for the day and wordlessly turned and walked away, shooting him a look over her shoulder.
It was only moments later when Tabby reached the front gate of her home. Grampa James was mending the fence and Granny Dan was on the porch with a basket of freshly picked vegetables and was going through them.
“You are late, Tabitha,” Grampa James did not look up from his work.
“I’m sorry Grampa. I lost track of the time,” Tabby lied.
“Did you fall asleep in the tree?” he asked casually, indicating the leaf that she never noticed was stuck to her hair. He looked at her with a look that told her he knew she was not telling him the truth. She hastily removed the leaf and looked down at the ground.
“Get to your chores then,” he jerked his head in the direction of the barn, the tone of voice meaning that he would deal with it later.
“Yes, sir,” she replied and stopped at the yard pump to clean up and drink. Granny Dan had come to join her to wash her vegetables.
“Those boys again, isn’t it?” she asked simply.
“Nothing came of it,” Tabby replied quietly.
“Nothing?” Granny Dan asked. Tabby stopped her with a look that indicated that she wasn’t about to discuss it. She didn’t want Granny Dan to worry so.
“I have to hurry and get my chores done before sundown,” she muttered and headed for the barn. Granny Dan headed for the porch where Grampa James was now sitting, having just finished with the fence. Granny Dan handed him the water dipper she brought over for him.
“I worry about that child,” he muttered as he finished off the dipper.
“She wouldn’t tell me where she had been,” he said.
“That’s probably because she didn’t want you to worry. Those boys from town like to tease and taunt because they do not understand her. They know she’s different. They are afraid of her so they go out of their way to let her know that,” Granny Dan said gently.
“She’s told you all this?” he asked, his eyebrows arched as he watched Tabby easily heft a bale of hay onto her shoulder as if it were a mere feather and took it inside the barn. He knew that he himself couldn’t heft a bale of hay that easily without exerting effort, let alone walk with it. Tabby made it look effortless.
“She has,” Granny Dan said simply. “That is why she is late. The children aren’t the only ones who fear her. Townspeople know that she is different and an outsider.” She got out of her seat, hefting the basket under her arm. She took one last knowing glance at Tabby as she worked and went inside to begin preparations for dinner.
Grampa James took a moment to consider his wife’s words. It was true that Tabby had always found it much easier to confide in Granny Dan rather than himself. Granny Dan had accepted Tabby as their own immediately. As Tabby was now fourteen years old, he was sure that her parents were never coming back and that they had met with some mysterious end.
As the sun set, Tabby had completed her chores and after stopping by the pump made her way to the porch where Grampa James still sat. Smells of Granny Dan’s dinner were beginning to waft out toward her. Grampa James silently indicated the empty chair next to him which she took.
“Granny Dan told me,” he said quietly.
“Not entirely my fault, you know,” she replied.
“I know,” he said and paused.
“I know how different I am. I know that I’m stronger than most people and that I can go a lot longer and farther than most. I know it has everything to do with my parents. Am I old enough to know where I come from?” Tabby asked, hoping that he would tell her this time, even though she was sure of the answer. “All I have is this.” She raised her wrist to show him the charm bracelet that her mother had left her with. It was a simple, slender gold chain that held one, solitary charm of a strange looking “spiral” (--it was best word to describe the design).
“Grampa, I do wish I was a normal girl. However, no one around here is willing to let me forget it,” she murmured.
“But you are a normal girl,” Grampa James patted her shoulder. “You have feelings and dreams and act about as normal as the next girl.”
“It would be easier if I was a boy,” she sighed.
“No. Not at all,” he said reassuringly.
“Grampa, ever since I was old enough to play with other kids, I’ve been pushed aside, laughed at, teased at. Even if I was allowed to play, I was chosen last for teams and made to lose. I’m the only orphan, did you know that? But that doesn’t bother me—it never has,” she said with a smile.
“I know. I’m happy that you have not turned into an angst-filled teenager,” Grampa James said proudly. “You never do let life get you down.”
“I may be different, but I am proud of who and what I am. You two taught me that. You two never treated me special because of my differences. I thank you for that,” she said.
“That’s our girl,” Grampa James said appreciatively. “When did you get so wise?” Tabby only smiled.
“Dinner!” Granny Dan called from inside. They rose to go in. Grampa James opened the door and Tabby was following when she suddenly stopped short. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end and she felt as though she was being watched. There was a hint of excitement in the air. She snapped her head around to see who was there, but saw no one. The fast approaching darkness was making it hard to discern anything in the forest beyond. Seeing nothing and satisfied that it was a trick of the light since the “being watched” feeling was gone, she dismissed it and went inside for dinner.
It was well after midnight when the alarm and call to arms had sounded. There was a pounding on the farmhouse door as well.
“James! James! The Call! The town is in trouble!” It was one of the neighbors, Mr. Palsk.
“What is it?” Granny Dan answered the door as Grampa James pulled his clothes on.
“Wolf-Raiders from the North. They’re tearing the town apart! James, hurry!” Mr. Palsk entreated.
“Danielle, you and Tabitha stay put,” Grampa James ordered as he picked up his sword and sped off into the night with Mr. Palsk.
“Never you mind, dear. Get dressed, quickly,” Granny Dan instructed as she placed the fireplace poker and all the toasting forks she could find into the red embers of the kitchen fire and brought it ablaze again by throwing another log on. Tabby quickly found her clothes and pulled them on. She was just finishing pulling her boots on when Granny Dan thrust a sword into her hands.
“What the…” Tabby was staring at it.
Tabby used it to her advantage, using the momentum to throw her legs up and she felt her boot make contact with the Wolf Raider’s snout. He growled in protest and was about to bring his club crashing down again when he suddenly howled in pain. Granny Dan had taken the heated poker from the fireplace and had stabbed him with it. Of course this howl of pain only brought more Wolf Raiders running.
When she arrived, she could see that there were three Raiders helping themselves to the Wickelby home and to poor Mrs. Wickelby.
“The fever just broke this morning and she’s sleeping it off now,” Granny Dan invited Mrs. Wickelby to sit.
“Danielle, if you don’t mind my asking, where does she come from? It clear by the way the children treat her and the way folks talk that she isn’t from anywhere around here. Did she come from a magical family?” Mrs. Wickelby asked.
“No, at least, her parents never exhibited any magic of any kind. They just showed up one night. James found them stranded in the forest and he took them in. You know how folks never like to wander the woods at night—Wolf Raiders and such. A young couple with an infant and running scared from something,” Granny Dan paused to get her tea kettle that was now steaming.
From the other room, Tabby was listening intently. She thought that this should be an odd thing to be able to do, as the ladies were speaking in hushed tones, thinking that she was asleep and they did not want to wake her.
Come to think of it, a few things seemed to be odd since
the other night. Late into the
night, when she could hear the howling of the wolves she had the crazy thought
that she could understand what they were saying to each other; almost as if she
could hear them conversing within her
head. Also, one time when she had
awakened suddenly in the middle of the night, she was surprised that she could
see in the dark as if it were as bright as day.
Looking out the window she could see far into the distance and could
discern the shapes of the wolves as they ran through the trees.
Attributing this to bad dreams, she rolled over for more sleep and
didn’t think anything more of it.
The following morning, Tabby was feeling well enough to get out of bed and have some breakfast. Her shoulder had quit throbbing and the itching from the poultice had stopped. Aside from feeling hungry, she was feeling perfectly fine.
As she opened her door she stepped back and closed it again as all sorts of smells had suddenly assaulted her nose. There was the usual breakfast smells she could identify, like the bacon, eggs and sausage. But then there were other smells that weren’t breakfast related.
She paused, closed her eyes for a moment and took a moment to sort them out and catalog them in her mind. She could smell two distinct scents that were in the house. One was sitting at the table—that had to be Grampa James—and one other that was bustling around—that had to be Granny Dan. And she could hear Granny Dan moving about. Their smells were pleasant and comforting. The subsequent scents basically told her that she was home. Safe.
Tabby opened the door again, slower this time, and headed for the kitchen.
“Good morning!” Grampa James greeted.
“Good morning!” Tabby greeted in return, squinting her eyes against the morning sun. So bright!
“You are feeling better!” Granny Dan praised as she set a plate down at a vacant spot on the table. Tabby nodded and sniffed the table. It all smelled good. She was about to dive right into it when she stopped short. Grampa James was staring at her and she could sense a strong concern coming from him.
“What?” she asked innocently. It was just then that Granny Dan had looked up at her and gasped in surprise and backed up against the sink.
“Your eyes!” Grampa James managed to sputter and with a shaky finger pointed to a little mirror that hung on the wall next to the front door.
“What about them?” Tabby asked as she rose from the table and went to take a look for herself. What she saw in the mirror startled her. Her eyes were no longer the jewel green they usually were. They were golden eyes. Wolf eyes. Moreover, she noticed the dog-like ears that were perched on top of her head. Grampa James couldn't stifle another another cry of surprise.
“Yipe!” Tabby turned back to the kitchen and noticed that a long bushy tail coming from her backside had painfully thumped against the wall as she turned away from the mirror. “What’s going on?” No one could say anything for a long moment, because no one had an answer. Tabby had the tail in her hands and she was staring hard at it.
“Your bite,” Granny Dan began.
“Yes. It could be from that,” Grampa James said thoughtfully. Tabby very carefully sat down again in her seat to avoid hurting her tail. So the odd things happening over the last couple of days. Not a dream. All for real.
“Well, that would explain that,” Tabby muttered, the tail in her hands again. Granny Dan had come over to her now, gingerly feeling the ears and tail, then carefully removing her bandage to inspect her wound. For once, she didn’t feel any pain or discomfort. Granny Dan gasped again and pulled the bandage away completely. Tabby glanced down and her eyes went wide.
There was nothing there—no evidence whatsoever that she had ever been hurt.
“My nickname suggests “cat”. The boys tease, calling me “kitty”, and here I am with Dog features. Ironic.” She dug into breakfast now with no further preamble. Breakfast was finished in strained silence.