We can help. Adam took a cigarette lighter out of his pocket. Adam didnt smoke, but he took being prepared to a whole new level.
I only have one stool, Calvin apologized.
Thats okay. Adam moved behind me, grabbed my hips, and lifted me up over his head and onto his shoulders.
Hey, I said indignantly.
It would have gone a little smoother if he warned me first. As it was, I had to scramble a bit for balance. He waited until I was steady, then patted me on the hip.
I dont need a step stool, Adam said, walking over to one of the monoliths and handing up a lighter. I have a Mercy.
Even with the three of us working on it, lighting the candles took a long time. Id never noticed how many of them there were before. More than thirty, I thought, maybe even fifty of them.
When we were through, there was a Christmasy air provided by dozens of white candles. By happenstance or design, we met Calvin at the last standing stone, right next to the altar. Adam set me on the ground while Calvin finished the last light. In the short time, the magic in the ground had grown, and it jumped at me like an eager flame when my feet hit the gravel. I staggered a bit, and Adam, probably thinking I was still off balance, put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.
Calvin climbed off his step stool, put his lighter in his pocket, and folded up the stool.Im going to take this over to the parking lot. Meanwhile, Uncle Jim asked me to tell you that you need to take the shape of your beasts.
Do you know what Coyote has us doing? I asked.
Calvin dropped his eyes.No.
I snorted before he could say anything.Dont bother. You are without a doubt the worst liar I have ever met. Good for you. But you might keep it in mind and compensate for it. Cultivate a mysterious air and dont answer the things that might tempt you to lie. That was what Bran did. Even Bran couldnt lie to a werewolf. I didnt think he could anyway.
How long do we have? Adam asked. Walkers may be able to flash between shapes, but I take more time.
I didnt know. Sorry. I should have told you before I started on the lights.
If they want us here, theyll wait for us, I told Adam.
Yeah, Calvin agreed. Im pretty sure that this ceremony needs both of you. He took a step away from us, then stopped. Hey, Fred told me you were asking about deaths on the Columbia. He asked me to check into it, so I asked a friend of mine whos a cop on the river. He told me that in the past three weeks there have been twenty-six people who are presumed drowned between the John Day Dam and the one at The Dalles, not including the family of four that was reported missing late this afternoon when their car was found at a state park on the Oregon side of the Columbia. Thats more people than weve lost on the river in the last five years combined.
What family? I asked.
A stockbroker and his elementary-teacher wife and their two young children, he told me.
Lee and Janice Morrison. The dream had been real. I could have done something about it. Surely I could have done something.
Thats right. Did you see todays paper?
Adams hand was on my shoulder. How long had they been missing? he asked.
Two days.
Before my dream. Id seen something that had happened in the past. No chance of doing anything. It should have made me feel better, but it didnt.
I think, said Adam softly, it is safe to say that this is something that needs to be hunted down and killed.
Calvin nodded.Word is that there is an FBI team working on the idea that we have some sort of serial killer on the loose. Theyre being quiet so far; they dont want to encourage the killer or panic anyone. My buddy was pretty interested in why I was asking. I told him it was because of Benny and Faith. He looked at me. That way I wasnt lying to him.
Lets go change, I said. I didnt want to think about Janice and her family anymore. They were gone, and there was nothing I could do for them. *
HAD WE BEEN HOME WITH THE WOLF PACK AROUND, wed just have stripped and changed, but I wasnt comfortable stripping in front of strangers anymore. Even if Id been willing to, Adam would not change in public.
Bran had requested the wolves refrain from changing where others could see. The werewolves were beautifulbut the change is horrific. No sense in scaring people with what they were, Bran said, not when the wolves were still trying to be tame for the news cameras.
So we left Stonehenge and climbed over the drop-off just beyond, which hid us effectively from Calvin, Hank, and Fredas long as the hawks stayed on the far side of the henge.
Still, we were exposed. There were no trees nearby, and we could see all the way down to the river and beyond to the highwaymiles and miles. Darkness ensured that no one down there could actually see us, but it felt like they could.
Beside Adam, who was doing the same thing, I took off my clothes, folding them tightly to discourage any bugs attracted by the leftover warmth. I stuffed my socks in my shoes.
Ill stay human until youve shifted, I told him. So I could guard his back or run interference if I had to.
Shifting to coyote wasnt without its cost. I could do it several times a day, but eventually I wore out. I could also stay human for a long timemonths if I had to. Wolves are different.
Werewolves are moon called. They have to change during the full moon, and it is harder for them to control the wolf during that time, too. However, a lot of werewolves only shift during the full moontwo or three days a month. The shift is painful and takes a lot of energy. Shifting more than a couple of times a week was beyond a lot of wolves abilities. Adam had been changing much more than that lately.
His shift was a lot slower than usualand it looked as though it was a lot more painful, too. I sat beside him on the pad my folded-up clothes made. Maybe I should have left my clothes on, but since, tonight, at least, I wasnt wet, it wasnt cold. I stayed close to him, but not so close Id touch him inadvertently and hurt him.
The pulse of Stonehenges magic was growing more regular, like a beating heart. I thought it was getting even stronger, too, but that might have been because I was sitting on the ground. My own heart sped up a little until it kept beat with the magic. It wasnt unpleasant, just disconcerting.
Mercy? Calvin called.
Not yet, I told him.
How long?
As long as it takes, growled Adam, his voice hoarse and deep as he was caught halfway between wolf and man.
The flow of magic paused, as if it had heard him, then took up its beat again. I didnt like it.
Are you all right? I asked, very quietly.
He didnt say anything, which I took as answer enough.
His breathing grew labored until I started to be seriously worried for him.
Its the earths magic, Coyote said, sitting down beside me on the side opposite Adams struggle.
Adam growled, a hoarse and pained sound that was nonetheless a threat.
No harm to you or yours, Coyote told him. I stand guard for you. They were supposed to tell you to change before you came here. I suppose the instructions got garbled in the translation from Jim to Calvin. Mother Earth does not change easilythat is an aspect of water or flame. Earth magic is interfering with his change, but it shouldnt make it impossible.
Impossible wasnt goodbut I buttoned my lips because even I knew that intent and will played a part in any kind of magic. No sense putting doubts into Adams head until he really failed to shift.
What are we doing tonight? I asked Coyote to give myself something else to think about.
Probably wasting our time. He didnt look at me but stared out over the world spread beneath our feet. I noticed that he seldom spoke directly to me. Half the time it felt as though he addressed the open air instead.