The Vegan and the Wolf by Julie Steimle (list of e readers .txt) đ
- Author: Julie Steimle
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Huffing, Silvia said a little too sharply, âThe only one of Howieâs friends from Middleton Village that I know who was intending to become a cop was Jessica Mason, his best friendâs girlfriend.â
Audry recalled the lady copâthe cadetâtalking with Matthew, but decided not to mention that. âHe was an Italian guy. I wonât tell you his name. I donât want you to bother him.â
But Silvia stared as if she knew exactly whom Audry was talking about and she had no desire to mess with the guy at all. But Silvia said to clarify, âAverage height. Blue eyes. Brown hair. Has a friend with platinum blonde hair and weird eyes?â
Spot on. Silvia knew him. Audry cringed. And the blonde was someone she could never forget.
Silvia nodded. âI seeâŠ. And did he say anything to you in the dream?â
How did she know? Audry winced and closed her eyes as she said, âHe said, âRick told us to keep his vegan safe.ââ
Silvia laughed, but not mockingly. She looked surprised. Yet she said, âThose are his New York friends. You were bound to bump into them sooner or later, especially if Howie is around. I met the one you are talking about once. But once was enough.â
What a strange thing to say. Frankly, Audry didnât mind Matthew. He was rather nice. Just⊠a little unnerving, because he also gave the impression that he could read her thoughts.
âSo do you have an interpretation, Little Miss I-can-interpret-dreams?â Tricia bitingly asked, arms crossed in a tight fold.
Outright ignoring her, Silvia said to Audry. âIs there anything else you are not telling me about the dream? The details could be important.â
Audry shook her head, deciding to leave about the part about the witches in go-go boots. âNo. I woke up soon after. The dream replayed a lot during the night with slightly different variations.â
Nodding to herself, Silvia thought over things. She then said, heading to the door again. âI can tell you one thing, and take heart from thisâHarlin is not going to win. Three groups are watching out for you, so you will be ok. I think you can name them yourself.â
And she went out. Silviaâs eyes tracked Audryâs roommates, though, giving Audry the impression that those three were hindering her from doing and saying what she really had come to the apartment for. Thing was, Silviaâs words actually did help calm her down.
âWhat do you think she meant by that?â Laura muttered, frowning.
Reflecting a moment, Audry replied, âI think she means what she said. I have three groups actively watching out for my safety. Her, for some crazy reason. My family. And now the police.â
âBut why were they carrying swords?â Wendy murmured, mostly annoyed as she really didnât believe in anything that wasnât scientifically provenâsoftie or not. She was a Chemistry major after all.
Audry shrugged, thinking on it. She had a lot to think about. The part of the dream that had disturbed her the most was the part where Harlin had been hiding under her bed and was about to murder and rape her.
âBut, why was that guy in your dream saying Rick told them to keep his vegan safe? This is that Howard Deacon the Third weâre talking about, right?â Tricia asked, irritated by the entire thing. âWhen did you become that rich boyâs vegan? As if he owned youâŠ.â
Audry blushed. That had been troubling her also. It was why she had been so distracted. Rick Deacon, after all, was an irritating, yet good-looking rich boy who had teased her about her veganism. He deserved to be swatted. And yet Audry remembered the last time she had encountered him at the lodge. He had ordered his staff to take care of her car and help her with her equipment as a thanks for rescuing the wolf. It had been surreal. Were there in fact four groups watching out for her? After all, if Harlin did try to mess with Rick, and if Rick found out Harlin was her ex, he might actually send someone to protect herâif he truly were a consummate gentleman as some people claimed.
After finishing breakfast and getting dressed, Audry prepared to go to work. She had a part time job waitressing in a cafe not far from Central Park, one that fit with her schedule. She also earned money for school in other ways online, selling nature-oriented tee shirts and post cardsâas her parents paid only for part of her tuition, and her scholarship only paid for a small portion of it. And she wanted to graduate debt free. Student loans were killer and made people slaves to debt.
While going out to her car, Silvia approached her.
Audry stepped back automatically.
âWhoa,â Silvia said, raising her hands defensively. âIâm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.â
Groaning, Audry kept walking. âI have to get to work.â
âIâll ride with you then,â Silvia said. âI need to go to Columbus Circle anyway.â
Audry cringed. âWhy are you bothering me? What do you want from me?â
Gazing at her more plaintively, Silviaâs expression softened. âIt is just the tiniest of favors.â
Audry doubted any favor Silvia asked for was tiny. Everything that woman did had weight and felt sharp-edged. She hurried on to her car.
âJust hear me out,â Silvia said, following. âThere is something you can get for me that nobody else can. Something that I really need.â
Pausing at her car door, Audry gazed hard at her. âI wonât do anything illegal.â
âOk.â Silvia nodded. âI am not asking anything illegal. I just need one hair from Howieâs head.â
Audry stared at her over the top of her car. Silvia was standing like she was expecting to be let in the passenger side. She apparently was serious about riding with her.
âWhat?â Audry frowned. âFor voodoo or something?â
Silvia snorted, though her eyes revealed a strong respect for Audryâs way of adding things up. âYou donât believe in that kind of thing. So what does it matter? It is just a hair.â
Audry rolled her eyes, unlocking her car door. She didnât unlock the passenger side.
âI know it sounds ridiculously stupid to you, but I really donât need it for me. And it wonât be used in any voodoo stuff,â Silvia said, now sounding a mite desperate. She tugged on the car door handle on her side begging to be let in. âI donât do voodoo anyway.â
âHow refreshing,â Audry said then climbed into her car. She pulled the door closed then tugged on her seat belt, hooking it in. Immediately she began to check her mirrors then start her car.
Silvia rapped on the glass. âPlease. I am not trying to cause Howie trouble. Please let me in and let me explain my reason.â
Audry paused. It occurred to her that she actually was reluctant because of Rick. Regardless of how stupid and nonsensical the idea of witchcraft was, it chilled her to think someone who did believe in that sort of thing was seeking what seemed like âpotion itemsâ. But Audry rolled down the window to talk to her.
âLook, I donât even care if you just intend to do a DNA test on that hair,â Audry said. âI am not going to seek out Rick Deacon just to pluck a hair off his head for you.â
Painfully, Silvia chuckled and nodded. âYeah⊠Yeah. I know. I am not asking that.â
âThen what are you asking?â Audry peered hard at her.
âIf you let me in and drive me to Columbus Circle, I can explain on the way. I donât want you to be late for your work.â Silviaâs gaze was in earnest.
Cringing, and against her better inclinations, Audry unlocked the passenger side door.
Grateful, Silvia climbed in.
They pulled smoothly out of the parking lot and into the road.
âOk, hereâs the thing,â Silvia explained as they went along. âI know you donât exactly like or trust me. Iâm fine with that. But I am in a pickle. I canât explain the details. But to make a long story short, my coven is really angry with me for going to NYU instead of at the university in Boston they wanted me to attend. Remember the story I told you about Michael Tomâs mother? I know they murdered her and made it look like an accident. And they did it all because she wanted to leave the coven. That may happen to me if I donât appease them.â
Audry felt a creepy crawly sensation all over her shoulders and back. But it wasnât so much what Silvia was doing to her as what Silvia was in the middle of and could not escape. In fact, the more Audry listened, the more she felt like Silvia was actually like a trapped animal desperately seeking to chew its own leg off to get out. Such animals were dangerous, of course. But what was Silvia really asking her to do? Was it a good idea to play along, even if it was superstitious nonsense?
âThe thing is, a hair from someone in the Deacon family has been coveted by the coven for agesâespecially Howieâs hair. Heâs special. Unique,â Silvia said. âAll I need for you to do is whenever you ever bump into Howie againâbe it tomorrow or in two yearsâjust get one or a few hairs from Howieâs head and tape it to a piece of paper. Then if you could put it in this envelope,â Silvia pulled out a stamped and addressed envelope from her purse, âand mail it, I would be forever grateful.â
Glancing at her, Audry turned a corner and continued on, that nasty dread remaining as she also peeked at the envelope.
âItâs all I ask,â Silvia said.
Frowning, Audry drew in a breath as she thought over it. As another thought occurred to her, Audry asked, âWhy is the hair from a Deacon so important to those people?â
Painfully chuckling, Silvia shook her head. âItâs complicated. But I can reassure you that it isnât for voodoo or some weird mind control or DNA thing. You could say it is an âingredientâ for certain, um, spells.â
âTheir hair?â Audry almost took her eyes off the road too long. âWhy that family though? Is it just ârich manâs hairââlike âdead manâs toesâ?â
Silvia laughed, shaking her head, definitely amused. âSimilar reasonâbut it isnât because they are rich. They actually have unique DNA, if you want a better explanation.â
Audry slowed to a stop at a light. She looked to Silvia. âUnique DNA? Isnât he just a guy? Thatâs what he always says.â
Laughing more, Silvia shook her head. âHe wishes. No. Howie will never be just a guy. I mean, if you have spent time with him in close quarters as you claim to have, then you must know about his allergies.â
Audry nodded.
Someone honked their horn to urge her on.
She started forward again, trying not to get distracted from the road. But she said, âYeah. He canât eat honey.â
âHeâs allergic to garlic, honey, and sliver,â Silvia said.
âAnd some kind of purple flower, I heard,â Audry added, thinking about the convention two years back.
Chuckling, Silvia nodded. âAh. Aconite. Also known as monkshood⊠or wolfâs bane.â
âWhat?â Audry almost slammed on the brakes. She swerved a little then kept on track.
Shrugging, though with a wry peek to Audryâs face, Silvia nodded, hardly rattled by Audryâs distracted drivingâmost likely expecting it. âYep.â
âYouâre kidding me!â Audry was getting severely creepy chills again. And though she didnât believe in all that werewolf nonsense that had been rumored about the Deacons on the internet, this one fact was a mindbender.
âNope.â And Silvia continued to chuckle.
âIs that all the werewolf rumors come from?â Audry asked.
Raising her eyebrows, Silvia silently regarded Audry for a moment then shook her head. âNot really.â
âThen what?â Audry asked with irritation. âThat he is allergic to silver? Or that they focus on wolf preservation?â
Silvia shook her head more forcefully. âNo.â
âThen what?â Audry insisted this time.
Sighing like she was weary or knew Audry would not believe her, Silvia remained silent for a while, possibly weighing her words. She finally said, âIt is a town rumor,
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