|
|
|
|
|
|
|
night, and from what Paula said, this witch doctor can come at us anywhere." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I don't know. An isolated hiking trail? I don't want to make it too easy for him." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Would you rather have an audience if you have to change?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"We'll have to dress warm. It gets awfully chilly up there this time of year." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Where is this place?" he asked. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Come on, let me show you." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She led him to a public parking lot behind the rows of abode shops and pointed. In the distance, the silhouette of Sandia Mountain shot up into the night sky like the jagged point of a knife. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"There. That's Sandia Mountain. The peak is over ten thousand feet above sea level. I've skied it in the winter and hiked it in the summer. It's rugged and pretty and has a breathtaking view of Albuquerque and Santa Fe." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As the peak's stark shape imprinted itself upon Cyrus's mind, the marrow in his bones slowly turned to ice. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Sandia Crest," he whispered. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It was the mountain in his dreams. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"What's the matter?" she asked. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
But the night no longer seemed friendly. The paper jacko'-lanterns and black cats, the ghostly sheets tied and hanging from the posts outside the shops, the straw witches in their peaked hats and all the other gay Halloween decorations that only moments before had seemed so charming, suddenly gave Cyrus a cold, sinking feeling in his gut. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kyna had long since given up trying to interpret Cyrus's sudden bouts of silence. She didn't know whether he had always been moody or if it had something to do with being a part-time wolf. All she knew for certain was that the wind had suddenly turned mean and that his body was vibrating like a supercharged voltaic cell. |
|
|
|
|
|