Chapter 32
Lucy: My, Granny, What Big Teeth You Have
By the time she arrived at her grandmother’s cottage, Lucy could scarcely breathe through the tightness of her chest. She hadn’t dared to transform back into her human self; she’d heard wolves howling throughout her journey, making her heart pound even faster than it had been before.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure what she’d have done if she’d run into Issak or another wolf; for that matter, she could hardly think of what she would do when she arrived at the cottage, and that was a lot less harrowing, despite her grandmother’s acerbic tongue.
She paused along the treeline, trying to slow her breathing.
She hadn’t known foxes could pant, but her breath, even to her own ears, sounded harsh and ragged.
As she sucked in a gasp, she basked in the noises of nature.
The birds were singing their soft songs, and, somewhere to her left, she was aware of a second fox stealing into the glen.
She wished she knew the languages of foxes.
It might be interesting to get a real fox’s perspective on her experiences thus far.
Even better, the fox might know where she could go next.
Lucy gave herself a little shake. She needed to stop stalling. Her grandmother was in there, waiting for her. The old werewolf needed her. She needed to move.
With thought running on repeat through her head, Lucy took her first step into the glen.
However, as soon as her foot landed, all her senses went on the alert.
The birds in the trees had suddenly gone silent.
The sun hid itself behind the clouds. Everything was deathly still.
Even the flowers seemed to wilt slightly.
The only sound was the whistling of the wind through the trees.
Lucy swallowed hard. Something was very wrong.
Still, as she looked around, there was no one around.
There was no obvious threat, and, more to the point, there was no one to witness her transforming into her human form.
With great reluctance, she did so. She could always transform back into a fox if she figured out what was wrong, she reasoned.
But if she was going to go into the cottage, she needed to be a human.
Once she was human, she cocked her head and listened closely, trying to see if there was anything that her human senses saw that her fox senses didn’t.
But she still couldn’t see anything wrong.
She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the sounds and smells, rather than her sight.
Sometimes, she knew, spells could affect a person’s vision, but they were often less effective against other senses.
The silence was even more unnerving with her eyes closed, she decided. A shiver ran up her spine. The smell of rot invaded her senses, but when she tried to track it, the smell evaporated.
For at least the third or fourth time that day, Lucy wished she hadn’t left her knife embedded in Thaddeus’s side.
At least if she had her knife, she wouldn’t feel so defenseless.
Her only weapon at that point was the tiny bottle of poison she had tucked into the little pouch at her belt.
After a moment’s hesitation, she took it out and wrapped her fist around it.
It may not have been much of a weapon, but at least she didn’t feel totally unprotected.
It was time to go inside, she decided, straightening her shoulders. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the cottage.
If the weather had made the day slightly overcast in the glade, it was much worse in the cottage.
It was dark, so much so that she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.
She blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the sudden change in the light, but, try as she might, she still couldn’t make anything out.
However, it apparently didn’t stop her grandmother from seeing her, because she heard Tala say, “Come in, girl, and shut the door. You’re letting all the heat out. ”
Lucy frowned, but with great reluctance, she nudged the door shut, shutting out what little light had slipped into the room.
Though she didn’t think it was possible, her heart beat a little faster.
She focused on taking slow, deep breaths to calm herself as she fumbled toward the bed.
She ran into the dining table and knocked over a chair with a clatter.
“Hush,” growled her grandmother, her voice a little lower and raspier than usual.
“Gran, where’s Avelar?” Lucy asked as she righted the chair.
“Who?” Tala demanded.
Lucy strained her eyes against the darkness. “You remember, Gran. Avelar, the healer that was here yesterday and the day before?”
“Never heard of him,” Tala grunted. “Come closer, child.”
Lucy took another step toward the bed. “Gran, if you don’t remember Avelar, we might need another healer to come and look at you.”
Tala snorted derisively. “Don’t need a healer. Just need my beloved granddaughter.”
Lucy stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t you know you’ve always been my favorite granddaughter?” Tala asked. “Ever since you and Eden were born, you’ve been the apple of my eye. Even if you are def—” Her sentence turned into a grunt and then a hacking cough.
Lucy took a tremulous step closer. Now, she could just barely see her grandmother, but something about her looked wrong. She reached out to her grandmother with her free hand and stroked the furry ear. “Granny…what big ears you have.”
“The better to hear you with, my dear,” the old lady crooned. “And you shouldn’t comment on people’s personal appearances. It’s rude, you know.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, I won’t comment on them,” Lucy muttered.
Something was definitely wrong if Tala had the time to criticize her manners but didn’t complain about the nickname that made her sound ‘like a dotty old lady.’ She cocked her head as she squinted, trying to see the furry face in front of her.
“I didn’t realize you liked to wear your nightie when you’re in wolf form, Gran.
” She wrinkled her nose when she noticed the nightcap Yuna had made for her birthday several years before, the one the older werewolf had loathed.
“And the cap makes you look positively dreadful.”
“I thought I already told you, darling, don’t make personal comments on people’s appearances,” Tala snarled. “And I happen to like the cap.”
Lucy stepped away from the werewolf. “I see. Well, I suppose you can’t argue with people’s tastes.” She slowly backed away from the bed.
“Where are you going, Red?” Tala demanded.
“Just to get a candle,” Lucy soothed. “It’s so dreadfully dark in here and I really can’t see my favorite grandmother’s face.”
“No need for a candle,” Tala said. There was a slight edge of fear in her voice. “I really don’t look well enough for company. I have been sick, you know.”
Lucy ignored her grandmother’s statement.
“It really won’t take very long.” Her foot bumped into something large and warm.
It made a soft grunt. She bent to the ground, trying to figure out what she’d stumbled over.
She ran her fingers over a furry ear, a cold wet nose, a sharp tooth…
another werewolf, she realized with a start.
“What are you doing, Lucy?” Tala’s voice had turned menacing. In fact, she realized with a start, it didn’t sound like Tala’s voice at all. “I told you, we don’t need a candle.”
Trembling, Lucy got to her feet and turned back to the bed. “Granny,” she said, fighting to keep her voice even. “What enormous eyes you have. All the better to see the poor soul that’s lying on your kitchen floor.”
“Watch yourself, my dear,” the werewolf on the bed said. “I don’t want to repeat myself again.”
Lucy glared at the figure. “And what a big mouth you have. All the better to lie to your supposed favorite granddaughter.”
“Shut up, Lucy lo-lu,” the figure growled, throwing back the covers. “You don’t want to get on my bad side.” The werewolf stalked toward Lucy, a menacing gleam in their yellow eyes—familiar yellow eyes, she realized. The only eyes she’d ever seen like them were Thaddeus’s.
Lucy backed away, trying to remember her way to the door as the hulking wolf got closer. “And what big teeth you have,” she whispered, as she saw the bright white teeth shining in the darkness.
“All the better to eat you with,” Thaddeus growled as he loomed closer. “But I won’t if you’ll answer me one question, Lucy lo-lu.”
“And what question would that be?” Lucy whispered.
Thaddeus brought his snout close to her neck. “Where is the vial of poison?” he snarled.
Feeling the smooth ridges of the vial against her palm, Lucy could only clutch it tighter as she gambled for time. “What vial?” she asked.
“You know what vial!” Thaddeus shouted. “The vial you took from Tom and Emil two nights ago. The one you brought to that stupid little man who was treating your miserable grandmother. I’ve looked in your studio at the palace and searched the whole blasted cottage.
So, if you don’t want me to eat your dear grandmother and you whole, then you’ll tell me where it is right now. ”
Lucy forced herself to shrug. “I really do not know. I gave it back to Sebastian. He’ll probably have put it somewhere in our quarters, where it would be safe.”
Thaddeus threw his head back in a mirthless laugh. “He probably would do that. He’s a bit of a pain in the neck, isn’t he?” When Lucy wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer, he took a step closer. “I’ll tell you what else he is, Lucy lo. Not here. How tragic for him.”
“Tragic?” Lucy repeated. “Why tragic?”
“Well, because when you disappear, he’ll have no idea where you went.
Perhaps he’ll think you abandoned him again, just like you did when you both left that stupid school for rich brats.
” A sneer spread across Thaddeus’s face.
“Do you think it’ll hurt more this time?
Do you think he’ll be heartbroken when you vanish without a word?
Or do you think he’s expecting it by this point? ”
Lucy’s stomach dropped. He’d be expecting it, she realized. She’d already all but told him she was planning to leave.
Thaddeus watched her face. “Yeah, he’ll be heartbroken,” he gloated. “It almost makes me want to take you with me when I go back to Coleur in all my glory. Almost.” His smile disappeared. “But you’re becoming too much trouble, Lucy. So I think it’s best if we don’t continue our relationship.”
“What relationship?” Lucy spat. “You’re a stalker, with delusions of us having a relationship.”
Thaddeus curled his lip, baring his teeth. “You talk too much, Lo-lu.” His huge maw hovered over her neck. “Pity, really. You could have been happy as my wife.”
“I think I’d be much happier being my own person.” With those words, Lucy head-butted him hard in the jaw, and she heard a sickening crunch. She didn’t look back to see what damage she’d done. She fled to where she thought the door was.
She hadn’t taken more than two steps before a shaggy hand grabbed her ankle. She yelped, startled as it drew her backwards, pulling her back into the darkness. Lucy thrashed against it, but the hand tightening its grasp on her.
“You will not escape, Lucy.” Thaddeus’s voice was thick with rage. “Stop fighting me.” Sharp claws dug into her leg, cutting her through the fabric of her breeches.
Lucy could only think of one way out. She put the vial of poison in her mouth, careful not to break the seal.
Then she closed her eyes and let the transformation come over her.
Even her fox form, however, couldn’t slip out of Thaddeus’s iron grasp.
Instead, he clenched her in his fist, his grip painful against her already-bruised ribs.
“I already told you; you aren’t getting away this time,” he growled.
She fought against his hold on her, but it made no difference.
He brought her close to his maw and swallowed her down, whole.