SECRET OF THE WOLF By Susan Krinard

“It’s a long story,” Harper said, addressing Johanna’s frown with a wry nod. “You remember when I told you that I get visions from things belonging to people, things they’ve touched. I took May’s book right after she was kidnapped. I had lots of things of yours, Doc, and I had this—” He pulled a woman’s ring from his pocket and pressed it into Quentin’s hand. “I saw Irene with it, not long after I came out of my long sleep. I don’t know how she got it. She dropped it and ran away, guiltylike, when she saw me, and I picked it up. Knew it was yours right away.” He shrugged in embarrassment. “Sorry I kept it so long. I had a feeling I’d need it.”

“I’d wondered what had become of it,” Quentin said. “I’d thought it was gone forever.” He kissed the ring and slipped it onto his little finger. “Thank you, Harper.”

“You’re welcome.” He glanced at Johanna. “I couldn’t just let you come out here alone, Doc, knowing what’d happened. So right after you left, I started concentrating on these things. And I could see where May was. I could see you, and Quentin, only he didn’t feel right.” He cocked his head at Quentin.

“Another long story,” Quentin said. “You were saying?”

“Well, I got enough of a sense of where to look that I talked to Mrs. Daugherty and asked her if she could hire some help to see to the others while I was gone. But Miss DuBois overheard, and she asked me if I knew where Bolkonsky was.” He glanced at Boroskov. “She was in a right taking. Didn’t do any good to tell her no. She insisted on coming along, said she’d follow if I didn’t let her. And then Andersen found out, and he said he wasn’t going to let either one of us go without him—though he did a right lot of scrubbing and praying before we left.”

Johanna rubbed at her eyes. “Mein Gott.”

“Then, well… Oscar wouldn’t be left behind, either. He’s strong, so I thought he might come in handy. Lewis donated some money he’d saved, and we took the train and the ferry to San Francisco. Then I just followed what the visions told me.”

Quentin exchanged glances with Johanna. Both of them knew that Harper and the others had only the vaguest idea of the danger they’d rushed into. But even leaving the safety of the Haven had been a great act of valor for people who had feared and distrusted the world, or themselves. An act of valor, and of selfless loyalty.

“You should not have done it,” Johanna said thickly. “But I thank you for your concern.” She brushed at her cheeks. “Mrs. Daugherty is still at the Haven with my father?”

“Of course,” Harper said. “She warned me that if we didn’t all come back in a few days, she’d get the law involved.”

“That is not necessary.” Johanna rose. “We will go home as quickly as we can, as soon as we find May—”

“I can help,” Harper said. “I still have her book in my pack. She’ll be all right.”

Johanna shook her head, her eyes suspiciously bright. She gave Quentin an intensely private glance, acknowledging that their conversation was not over. “Lewis?”

The former reverend gave up his attempt to clean his blackened gloves and rose from the couch. “Doctor?”

“We must find May, and I will need Quentin’s and Harper’s help. Will you look after Irene and Oscar if we take you to a hotel where they can rest?”

Andersen stood very straight. ” ‘The Lord is my strength, in whom I will trust.’ I can, Doctor Schell. Simply tell me where to go.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at Irene and Oscar. Irene sniffled, but her habitual hostility was as absent from her face as the garish paint. Oscar sang a nursery song under his breath.

“Are we going home now?” he asked.

“Very soon.” She drew close to Quentin again, and his constant physical and mental awareness of her rose to a higher pitch. He felt a little of Fenris’s irrational desire to drag her off to a dark corner and ravish her, but also the patience to wait. Their time would come.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *