Meet Amber, a teenage girl struggling with the death of her father, an overstressed mother- and lycanthropy. All she wants is for her life to go back to normal, but a magical corporation has lost a valuable test subject and they believe Amber will b...
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Chapter Thirteen
A cool breeze came through the doorway, carrying the scent of hot, greasy burgers. My stomach rumbled, but I forced the thought of food out of my head. I had more important things to think about now- much more important.
Dex led the way, casually sauntering into the parking lot. I went next, with Edgar behind me, who closed the door as soon as he was thought it. I looked around to see if anybody had seen us come out, but there was nobody in sight. I could smell the cigarette the fry cook had sneaked away to smoke behind the dumpster, but everybody else was either inside the restaurant or at the front end of the parking lot.
"Come on," Dex said, waving for us to follow him as he turned left, towards the funeral home.
"If you have doors to everywhere on earth," I said as we crossed the grassy area that separated the buildings, "why didn't we just go straight into the funeral home?"
"Because..."
"Because we don't know where anybody is in there," Edgar interrupted him, quickening his pace so he was walking beside me. "We could go into the wrong room, where somebody might have been waiting for us."
"Thank you, Ed," Dex said, giving the boy a sharp look.
"Waiting for us?" I repeated. "Do you think Hendricks is already in there?"
Dex shrugged. "He could be, but I think it's more likely that we'd run into some of his henchmen."
"Like the Octopus?" I asked, and shuddered.
"Yep," he answered without a hint of anxiety. "But I think Ed was talking more along the lines of the people who work there."
The funeral home was dark, lit only by a bright light in the entryway to discourage burglars- like us. Dex and Edgar made their way confidently across the parking lot, as if they didn't have a thing to worry about, but the hunter in me wouldn't allow me to do likewise. I instinctively stuck to the darker parts of the lot, where the streetlights didn't shine so brightly. It felt like there were eyes following me from every shadow, but, surprisingly, this didn't frighten me like it would have a couple of days ago. Now, it angered me. Or, I should say, it angered my wolf. I was the dominant predator around here. How dare they spy on me? I should run out there into the darkness and tear them all to pieces right now...
"Amber!" Dex's voice cut sharply into my thoughts. "Focus!"
With a jolt, I realized that I was no longer looking at the funeral home, but into the grove of trees at the edge of the parking lot. I spun around towards him, my face turning red with embarrassment.
"Sorry," I said. "I thought something was watching us."
This gave Dex pause. "Do you still feel it?"
I shook my head. "No, it's gone. Sorry, I'm just a little nervous."
Dex nodded, and then pulled out his gold scepter, spinning it between his fingers. "No harm in being careful. You should try to listen to your feelings more in the future. Your wolf side can pick up on things like that better than most people."
