Okay.
I let myself take a breath. My left arm wouldn’t stop itching, so I shoved the sleeve up on my shirt to see if I’d gotten bit by a bug or something. What I saw made me frown. There was a red, raised ridge on my forearm that followed the lines of my new double spiral tattoo, as if I were having some kind of allergic reaction to the ink. But that didn’t seem likely. The skin had completely healed already. Besides, I’d never had an allergic reaction to any of my tattoos or piercings.
I rubbed my finger over the irritated area and watched as the black ink turned an angry red.
What. The. Hell? This wasn’t the time for my own body to start creating problems. I had to keep my shit together. I shoved my sleeve back down and ignored the irritation. I’d figure out what was happening to my tat when I had Etta safely away from William. The monster of a man wouldn’t be able to sacrifice her if she wasn’t around.
I took a few deep breaths to settle my nerves. My plan wasn’t a good one, but at least it gave Etta a chance to survive. William couldn’t kill what he couldn’t catch.
* * *
Etta – The universe can suck it.
Jo Jo had disappearedinto the bedroom after we returned to the cabin. I still didn’t understand why Bette had lured me to Wolf Creek. I mean, I got it. Moonstone made it hard, if not impossible, to wolf out. Even so, she’d sacrificed her entire life, including giving up her only child, to get away from her husband. Why was she suddenly being reckless by inviting me here to draw out William? It felt…convenient.
“Can you ask Brother Wolf what the hell is going on?” I asked Chavvah. “Because all this feels avoidable.”
She held out her arms. “Brother Wolf has gone radio silent.”
“Maybe it’s blocking signals to Brother Wolf,” I suggested. “The moonstone, I mean.”
Doc shook his head. “He has spoken to Bette.”
“Oh, yeah,” I muttered. “So, then, why is he ignoring you guys?”
“Because he’s decided this needs to play out,” Chavvah guessed. “We can’t count on him for an easy solution.”
“Bette said whatever I do, wherever I go, William finds me.” The burger and fries I’d eaten earlier were like lead in my stomach. I’d known for a while that William was a truly terrible person, but my grandmother’s story had sickened me to the core. He was worse than a monster, and I, more than anyone, understood how relentless he could be when he wanted something.
There was only one way to stop my grandfather. Give him what he wanted or take him out. The little girl in me who always wanted his approval, his love, flinched. I sent her away. William had to die. It was the only way I’d ever find freedom. It was either him or me. I prayed to Brother Wolf it wouldn’t be me.
“Fighting him here, now,” I told them as I scratched my shoulder. It had started itching on the walk back to the cabin, but the intensity was getting worse. I glanced at my father. “Being here might be the best-case scenario. What if Bette’s right?”
“Or,” Doc suggested. “My mother is lying.”
I nodded as I reached back and dug my fingernails into my shoulder. “I got the feeling she wasn’t being entirely truthful, but not about wanting me to have the best chance at survival. She believes this is the only way to stop William.”
“I don’t doubt she believes it.” His lips thinned into a grim line. “Why are you scratching your back?”
“Because I have an itch.” I tried to keep the “duh” out of my voice.
“Let me have a look,” he said.
My first impulse was to shut him down, but Doc wasn’t William, and he was an actual doctor, and the itch was getting pretty intense. I walked over to him and tugged the collar of my shirt over my shoulder. “I think it’s my new tattoo.”
“Day-yam.” Chav gave a low whistle. “That thing looks nasty.”
I craned my neck to look, and I could only see the top lines. They were red and raised as if I’d been branded. “What the hell is that?”
“A double spiral,” Doc stated.
This time I didn’t bother hiding the “duh.” “No, shit,” I told him. “I got it put on there last month. But it was a simple line tattoo, black ink, nothing fancy. Why is it puffing up like a keloid scar now?”
“This has to be part of the magic of this place, right?” Chav asked, then shrugged. “That’s stupid. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Why this?” Doc asked. “What made you get this tattoo?”
“I don’t know. I…I saw it in a dream.” Lots of dreams. In every one of them, I was running, but not away. I was running toward something. “Do you know what it is?”
