Water's Reflection or Hero's Guilt

Chapter Seventeen

          The following morning, something had changed; June noticed it during breakfast in the cold, empty taproom of their inn. Something had changed in Terrance. He kept a wary eye on Adam, instead of ignoring him for most of the time. He also kept Maya nearby, as if he was expecting trouble. He tried to be inconspicuous about it though, and smiled at June when he noticed her watching. She barely managed to smile back.

          She hadn't slept well. She had dreamt of Sarah again: her reflection moving on its own. They were in a forest this time—at Mirror's Lake. The masked vampires had attacked. She'd woken up just as she got skewered by a knife. Although that wasn't the only reason her mood was so bad.

          She was dressed in layers of clothes, with her Cloak of Flight covering and concealing all. Even in the chilly, sun-devoid room, she was warm. But she feared that if she did not wear all of the clothes, Terrance might notice when he brushed up against her. He might feel the fur...

          As she reached out over the table to get the jug of water Lahr had left with them along with some bread and eggs, she cringed; she felt the fur on her arms move against the fabric of her shirt. She hated it. She felt ashamed of it.

          Why? The thought barely left her mind. Why did these dark fox hairs cover her arms? She'd woken up with it, the fur spread further over her body—but to make matters worse: when she'd applied her ring, not all of it had disappeared! Her legs, those fox paws she was unable to balance on, had gone, just as her tail. But her thighs, hips, waist and arms... the ring couldn't hide everything anymore! And so, she could barely smile, and sat quietly at the breakfast table, hoping no one noticed.

          “What?” she asked Terrance when she caught him looking at her.

          “Nothing,” he said. “It's just... You smell like fox.”

          “I know I do. I don't like it any more than you,” she snarled. “If you'd just lift that damn spell on me, at least I'll smell like wolf.”

          But he shook his head. “We shouldn't. We don't know what is happening to you yet. Doing anything magical—even removing a spell—might upset the energy and make matters worse. I'm sorry. But you don't smell too bad,” he said and offered her a friendly smile.

          “I smell like Joanne,” she muttered. She glanced at him, not comforted, but only maddened by his smile. “Are you worried?”

          “Of course I'm worried.”

          “Then don't act like you're not! You said you wouldn't lie to me anymore, Terrance, so don't do it. Okay?!”

          His smile turned into a frown immediately—and so did Maya's. The little girl inched closer to Terrance, afraid of June's bad mood. On his side of the table, Adam said nothing, but slowly shook his head in dismay.

          “Okay,” Terrance said calmly. “I am sorry.”

          “Anything else you've been lying to me about?” she snarled crankily.

          His eyes flashed to Adam, though too fast for June to notice. He shook his head fought the urge to smile. “No,” he said. “Of course not. Though Adam and I have been talking last night, and we think that it's best if we visit this Madame Lyss today. We know where to find her, thanks to Lahr, and we know she wants to see us. Perhaps it's best not to let her wait...”

          June shrugged. She didn't know what to say; she did not think it was such a good idea to go running towards this Madame Lyss—from the looks of Lahr when he told them about her, she was a scary woman. She'd rather stay away from her. But she knew arguing with Terrance would result in little. She went with them, though saying very, very little.