Starshine, Sky, and the Power of Rock

Secret Meetup

Gossamer's asleep. She'd went down without a single snide comment about me, which is insane. She'd looked like something was on her mind. I didn't feel like looking into it.

My own body's begging me to get some shut-eye but my mind won't let it. Boris's note in my pocket burns into my side. I can't imagine what it might say. Or maybe I just don't want to. Every time I try working up the nerve to read it I'm stopped by the memory of last time we met. But who knows what he could do if I don't read it?

Alright. I can do this. Trembling, my hand leaves Wilbur and slides into my pocket. I tense up when my fingertips hit the crumpled slip of paper.

..."Traitor," he'd called me. Then he'd grabbed my hair. I've had my hair pulled plenty - tonight, even - but feeling his hand there makes me want to spew charred marshmallow all over our sleeping bags...

No. Snap out of it.

Come on. Come on.

My fingers curl around the note. I pull it out. Pop in my contacts so I can read the thing. Bring it real close so the glow from my eyes acts like a reading light. Before I register the words I notice he's written them in big letters that I can actually read. How helpful. Alright, what does this say?

I'm waiting for you. Meet me when you can.

"I'm waiting for you"? What the hell does that mean? Does he want to talk? Fight? Finish the job? Whatever's going on, it's crystal clear he knows exactly where I am in this forest. I can only guess what he'll do if I don't play along. I turn to Gossamer, her living body rising and falling. Annoying as she is, she really has nothing to do with this. It wouldn't be right getting her mixed up in my mess. I'd better clean it up on my own. Or at least try.

I take a second or two to calm my nerves. It doesn't work. I'm wasting time. I attach my Soul Player to my belt and shimmy out of the sleeping bag as quietly as I can. I'm halfway out the tent-

"Skylar?" Gossamer croaks, her eyes half-closed.

"Bathroom," I say.

Gossamer blinks, then goes back down.

The tent closes behind me. I'm standing in endless black. He said for me to meet him, but how does he expect me to know where he is?

The wolf howls in the distance again. Oh. I guess he's there.

I feel my way through the inky sea for some time. At one point I consider turning into a bat and using echolocation but that might draw attention that I don't need. Plus, I don't plan on meeting him in such an easily crushable form. Or... More crushable than I already am for him.

He howls every now and then to make sure I'm heading in the right direction. Guiding me through the dark, just how he's done all these years. There'd been plenty of times I didn't know where he was leading me but I'd never been bothered by it. But it's different this time. Way different.

Finally, I'm met with a pair of gold eyes that burn through the dark. The beginnings of dawn let me make out the shape of a certain wolf. Or werewolf, I should say.

"Hey, kid," he says like I just came to his dad's shop for another lesson.

"Don't 'hey kid' me," I say.

Boris chuckles. The sound sends nostalgia and dread shooting through my gut, colliding at light speed. "I guess I should stop calling you that, huh? I mean, I can hardly call you a kid anymore, can I?"

I want to step back, but I can't show him I'm scared.

"No I can't," he says, gently amused. "Not when you're running around committing treason. That's not something a kid does." He pads toward me. "How'd you do it?" He circles me, fluffy tail brushing my legs.