Her Perilous Wolf, Julie Steimle [howl and other poems TXT] 📗

to try for the whole shebang and make banana splits?”

Just smiling inside, thinking of that strange new man with Vincent, the one with the name of an archangel, Vicky felt like agreeing to anything. “You decide.”

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Chapter Fifteen

 

 

Darth slobbered Audry awake with his tongue. His nose pressed against her nose. He gave a small whimper, but the moment he saw her eyes open, he leapt up and jumped around the bed excitedly. He was ready for a morning walk.

Rubbing her eyes, Audry sat up and checked her cell phone. She had hundreds of missed calls, most from her mother, and a couple each from her father, Doug, and Vincent. But then Doug had also left her a text. This was why he was the brains in the family. She looked at it.

*Where are you? You’ve freaked out Mom. What’s up?*

And that was Doug. She texted back: ~Nothing is up except that Mom was freaking me out. I had to get away. Don’t wait up for me. I’m fine.~

As she was getting dressed she got another message from Doug.

*They said you had yellow fever.*

Audry moaned, texting back: ~Had. Past tense. I am fine now.~

His text came again.

*Mom said you were talking in your sleep.*

~Blame the medication~ she texted back.

She had a feeling he was laughing. He sent one more text.

*Whatever you are doing, hurry home soon. Text Mom at least. I know you don’t want an earful, but contact her before she reports you as a missing person.*

That text made her cringe. Her mother was not a worrier usually. Or at least whenever she worried, Audry never saw it. She was sure her mother had her worries. Her mother never really liked her going to Africa, but she had never been able to stop her. It occurred to Audry that perhaps this summer had been a bit too much for her mother. Her mother had, after all, just barely learned about her roommate Silvia being a witch—something her mother was more likely to believe than her father. And the story about the attempted murder by that other witch could possibly have rattled her brain. That, and Maris had been bitten by a cougar. It was most likely her mother started to see how dangerous Audry’s work really was.

But now was not the time to call home. Audry did leave a brief text for her mother, though, which said: ~I am fine. Stop panicking. I am just visiting friends before I go back to Idaho.~

I was a lie, but it was the lie her mother needed to hear. There was no way she could tell her mother the truth about what she was really facing.

Quickly showering and then getting dressed, Audry packed up her bag, got Darth’s leash on, loaded her bags into the trunk of her rent-a-car and then took Darth for a walk. She walked him as she searched for somewhere to get breakfast. She mostly found were cafés and indoor places that did not take well to hyper, large dogs, forcing her to buy something from a walk-up window. She munched while Darth did his business near a curbside tree. She made sure to clean it up.

There was a slight chill on the back of her neck as she walked. It was a feeling like that same sensation in the jungle back in Kenya—like she was being watched. She wondered by what. Human? Mugger? Or the equivalent of an amazimu?

Or maybe a death angel? Did they make the hairs stand up on their victims? Did Rick always get chills?

Trying not to look nervous, Audry walked Darth back to the hotel and her car, loading him in before climbing in herself.

Then she got a text from Vincent.

*The world is panicking because you climbed out your window again. Can you please call your mom?*

Moaning, Audry leaned back in her seat, Darth licking her ear. “Fine.”

She dialed. Her mother picked up after one ring.

<< Where have you been! You’ve worried me sick! >>

“I’m sorry, but I’m not a kid anymore and I felt trapped.” Audry closed her eyes. “I knew you would not let me out, and you were acting funny.”

<< I was acting funny? You were saying strange things in your sleep! >>

“I was dreaming! Dreams are weird!” Audry protested.

<< That’s not an excuse! >>

“It’s the truth!” Audry groaned. “This is why I did not want to call! You’re losing it!”

<< I’m not the one losing it. Come home now. >>

“No. I’m going to see my friend Silvia,” Audry said. “Then I’m going to NYU. I need to rework my plan for my doctorate. I have to do research.”

Her mother groaned. << I’m worried about you, Audry. >>

“Stop worrying,” Audry said. “It’s gonna give you ulcers. I. Am. Fine.”

<< You had yellow fever. >>

“Past tense,” Audry snapped. “I don’t have it anymore. I survived. And locking me up is not going to make me any more healthy.”

<< I just want what’s best for you. >>

“What’s best for me is for me to move on.” Audry heaved a sigh. “Mom, I love you, but stop it. Stop having everyone calling me. I’m ok.”

<< I’m just concerned. >>

“Take a deep breath, Mom. Let it out.” She shook her head. “Do some yoga. I’ll be back in a couple days to pick up my stuff. I just need to figure things out right now.”

<< You promise you’ll be here in a couple days? >>

Internally groaning, Audry said, “If you mean exactly two, relax a bit. It is a guesstimate.”

Sighing, her mother sounded resigned to this. << Alright. See you in something like two days. I love you. >>

“I love you too Mom, just calm down.” Audry then ended the call.

She started the engine then looked to Darth who immediately licked the side of her face. Rubbing off the slobber, Audry said while patting his head, “Hold on tight, Darth. It is going to be a curvy bendy trip, and not everybody likes dogs.”

The curvy bendy trip was into one of the boroughs in New York City.  Silvia and Randon had an apartment in a walk-up above a shop not far from a metro stop, the entrance in an alley. It was their new place, one which gave them roof access which allowed Silva space to set up a garden to grow all sorts of plants. She had a few potted trees—cherry and other stone fruit—but mostly she grew exotic herbs, the kind often used in witchcraft. Despite the fact that Silvia had given up her coven, she had never quite given up the craft.

Audry looked to park the car, which ended up being at a curbside meter a block away. She put in as many coins as she could before going up to the apartment, leading Darth along.

The dog barked at nearly everything. A couple people told the dog to shut up. One threatened her about it until Darth bared his teeth with a fierce growl.

“He’s protective,” Audry said coolly. But then called to him to hush. Darth mostly did, but was just too happy to be out again.

When they finally walked up to the apartment door, a wreath of herbs hanging on the front in the shape Audry recognized as a ‘ward’ against enemies, she knocked.

Silvia opened it after a few minutes. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel, though she was dressed. Setting her eyes on Audry before taking in the dog, a grin cracked wide across her face. “Audry! They said you might come!”

“They, as in who?” Audry asked as Silvia quickly beckoned her inside.

“Ah… I think Vincent—but he was with a group of people,” Silvia said, shutting the door. She walked past to the kitchen to get something for them to drink. “They called last night.”

Nodding, it quickly turned into a head shake. “I see. Mom really freaked out, didn’t she?”

“What did you do? Climb out the window?” Silvia smirked at her. She came back with two bottles of juice—the very type they used to drink all the time when they were roommates. Her favorite. This one was a berry mix.

“Yes.” Audry took the bottle.

Silvia laughed, screwing off the bottle top. She took a sip. But then looking at the dog, she went back into the kitchen for some water to give him. In all truth, Silvia was a thoughtful person, which was the main reason Audry still saw her as a friend. The whole witch thing had freaked her out initially. But once she got over that, she had found Silvia to be an excellent cook, a great listener, and a loyal friend. Silvia returned with a bowlful of fresh filtered water which she set on the ground in front of Darth.

“So…” Silvia gazed Audry up and down while petting Darth’s head as he lapped up the water. “I heard from Randon that you found the truth about Howie Deacon.”

Audry nodded, twisting off the lid from her bottle. “Yep.” She looked to the ceiling, her mind going back to that evening. Rick taking off his shirt. All those scars—the scars she knew well in the wolf.

Silvia tilted her head a little, examining her. “How are you handling it?”

Audry shrugged then took a sip. It still tasted good. It was exactly what she needed in that moment.

But Silvia waited for a verbal response, sitting down next to Audry on the sofa.

Sighing, Audry shook her head. “I think… I think I’ve always known, subconsciously.”

Silvia nodded, suppressing a smile.

“But, when I saw it. When…” Audry shook her head. “When he showed me—I…” She could not say anymore.

“Your world shifted,” Silvia said after a time.

Audry nodded in silence, sighing. “The funny thing is, after he showed me what he was, my eyes seemed to open to everything. I started seeing things, creepy things. We’re surrounded by supernatural things, aren’t we?”

Silvia leaned back with a short nod. “Have you spoken with Jessica yet?”

“Yesterday.” Audry nodded, looking to her drink. She peeked at the bottle label, double checking to make sure it still contained all natural ingredients. Some of her favorite companies had done that bait-and-switch for more profits, giving poorer quality ingredients.

“Did she give you one of their fancy Egyptian key fobs?”

Whipping her keys from her pocket, Audry held hers up. The shiny ankh dangled from it.

Silvia nodded. “Ok… That’s good.”

“But what do I do?” Audry asked, looking to her pointedly.

“What have you seen?” Silvia countered. And she braced herself.

So Audry told her the entire trip to Africa. This recitation was a little different than the versions she had told her mother and Jessica, as she was mostly listing all the creepy things she had seen. She also talked a bit more about the African witch and the witchdoctor. She left out most of the rivalry between Mercy and herself, as the last thing she wanted was Silvia shocked about Juma crushing on her. The last time she had talked to Silvia about Juma, Silvia had been a bit rude. Silvia had assumed Juma just wanted an American passport and had been hitting on Audry to convince her of marrying him so he could get one. It was stupid.

When Audry vocally recalled how she had been bitten by a demon Chinese snake man, Silvia demanded to see the bite-marks. Audry extended her hand to show her. As