Prologue It started with a look into his eyes. Was it the love or hatred; or both that she saw? Either way,

the hypnotic violet of his eyes burst out in color against his pale porcelain skin, and it made him

even more strikingly beautiful, dangerously beautiful. It hurt to look, but now she couldn’t seem

to tear her gaze away, and he met it, unflinching. Then he yelled, causing her to stumble

backwards in alarm.

“You shouldn’t be here!”

He shoved her, hard. She went flying into the wall behind her, and the air left her lungs. Now he

stood over her, the beauty had become evil, and she knew what was next as he closed in on her.

She sucked in air to scream-

Chapter 1Sicily woke with the scream trapped in her throat. Her hands were flying in the air to

protect herself; she was tangled in the sheets, and soaked in sweat. Gasping, she looked around,

lowering her arms. ‘The same dream, again’, she thought, ‘sooner or later I’m not going to wake

up in time’. Shaking her head, she tore the twisted covers off of her, and threw on an old t-shirt.

Sicily got up and headed downstairs wondering if her mother had even bothered to get out of bed

this morning.

Ever since her father had left almost two months ago, Sicily had been the only audience

to her mother’s desperate downward spiral. At first she hadn’t noticed, then came the phone calls

from her boss asking where she was, and Sicily not knowing, lying saying she had the flu. Then,

some days later her mother was fired. And that’s when the drinking came out of hiding. There

were bottles here and there when Sicily had come home from school and the unmistakable stench

on her mother. Nothing she said or did got through to the former Mrs. Donaldson. Her mother

had given up with the absence of her father, and that meant it was up to Sicily to keep them both

going. She had gotten a job down at Mark’s Market, which paid minimum wage, but it meant

some of the bills got paid. But lately the bills had gotten bigger, and the amount of money they

had, well, it was dwindling. Sicily was terrified of what would happen if anyone found out about

the shape her mother was in, but she knew better than to ask for help. Nobody knew, and if Sicily

had it her way, nobody ever would.

As she suspected, nobody was in the kitchen. There was also no bread, no milk, and

absolutely nothing to have for breakfast. ‘Great! Now I need to worry about stocking up on food

this week too…could this get any worse?’ As if answering her question, the lights flickered, and

went out. Sicily shook her head, ‘Gee, thanks. Glad that was rhetorical’. Now she had to call the

power company, pay the late bill, and worry about food, and wake her mom up, and get to

school, and ace her midterms, and not be late to work, again.

“My life sucks.” This time Sicily said it aloud. With the venom she shared for moments

when she was alone, she struck the wall, yowling in pain along with the crack her hand made.

She cradled her throbbing hand and made her way back upstairs to get dressed for school. She

decided not to do anything about the lights, when her mom woke up she could deal with it. Sicily

didn’t have time.

Some people thought that Sicily was weird. Not the emo, self-mutilating, death-obsessed

weird, no. She was just, a different weird. She dressed in black a lot, but not enough to seem

gothic, or whatever people were calling it these days. Sicily just liked the way the black looked

on her. She did wear other colors, but, they didn’t fit her like these did. And, maybe another

reason people thought she was weird, was because she had a connection with nature, and it

showed. Birds flew up to her, dogs never barked at her, and almost every animal she came into

contact with loved her. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t care. These animals trusted her, and

in turn, she trusted them. She trudged along to school, watching the neighborhood dogs on their

walks, thinking of all this, while hoping desperately she wasn’t late. That had become a habit,

being late, and she didn’t like it. Not one bit. ‘McGruthers will fry me alive if I’m late again, he’s

been waiting for me to slip up, I know it’. McGruthers, the school attendance secretary had it out

for Sicily, ever since her mom had blown him off a few weeks back. Now the sad, bitter old man

stuck as a secretary, was milking every chance he got to make Sicily miserable. She ran into the

building and dashed up to her classroom, sliding through the door on the left just as the bell rang.

She breathed a sigh of relief and took her usual seat in the back.

“Cutting it a bit close, aren’t we?” the faceless voice coming from in front of her

murmured.

“Uhh, yeah well, we can’t all be perfectly punctual.” Sicily had no idea who was talking

to her, or why, she rarely made it through her English class awake, let alone observant of who

else might be in there. The boy in front of her turned around and Sicily’s breath caught. Those

eyes…they were so familiar…such a deep violet. He had started at Sicily’s sharp intake of

breath, and now looked cautious, even wary.

“Hi, I’m new. My name is Bryan. And I’m guessing you’re shocked because I am

actually so handsome, I just took your breath away.” The boy, Bryan, he said it with a lopsided

smirk that made you grin back, just because.

“Uhm, yeah, hi Bryan, I’m Sicily. And you look so familiar, I didn’t mean to be so rude,

it’s just I can’t shake the feeling I know you from somewhere.” Sicily babbled, practically

incoherent, and watched his violet eyes get larger, as he digested what she said. ‘Great, a cute

guy moves here, I stutter like an idiot, make a complete fool out of myself, and now he thinks I

am a weirdo. Which I am. Good going girl, this one’s going to stick around real long. And Jesus!

Stop grinning like that; he’s going to think you’re mental or something!’ She shook the grin

from her face as Bryan stared at her, and she, unable to look away, stared back. Déjà vu much?

“Hey, no it’s cool. That happens to me a lot, I see people who I think I know on a regular

basis. It isn’t until I start talking to them that I realize they have no idea who I am, and they are

definitely not the person I thought they were.” He said it smoothly, trying to cover up an

extremely awkward moment.

A loud voice interrupted their conversation, thankfully saving Sicily any further embarrassment.

“Now, if you two back there are done, thank you. I’d like to introduce our newest student, Bryan

Thomas. Bryan has just moved here from Whitefish, Montana, so he may need to spend some

time getting used to this Austin heat.” Mr. Adams, the English 101 professor motioned for Bryan

to stand, which he did, hesitantly and grudgingly; Sicily noticed. ‘Whitefish, Montana? I

definitely did not hear a twang in there…sounded almost English, to match his name. Poor kid

looks so uncomfortable. Maybe I should do something…I don't know why I feel so obligated to

help out a complete stranger. But hey, why not? Here goes nothing.’

“Mr. Adams? Can I ask a question about the Industrial Revolution in Russia? What year did it

truly begin?” I knew he would forget all about Bryan, and launch into a torturous lecture about

his favorite topic. And as promised, he did, and Bryan sank back into his seat with a grateful look

on his face and at his smile, my heart soared. ‘WHOA. My heart soared? I don’t think so. I don’t

do relationships, I had learned my lesson. Relationships were just another source of pain I didn’t

need. And besides, who was this kid? He comes in here and totally throws my whole morning off

kilter in about 25 minutes?’ Sicily was determined not to let this Bryan kid get to her. She kept

her head down for the rest of the class and hurried out the door before he had even gotten up.

Thankfully he wasn't in any of her other classes, so the rest of the day passed on pretty

normally; she got through her exams in AP Calc, French, and Euro. Now all she had to do was

grab some lunch and go to work. Sicily walked in to the large cafeteria and up to the lunch line,

and almost did a double take. ‘There was a new girl as well? Now this ought to be interesting’.

She wasn't as wary of the girl so she stepped on up and got her lunch without even looking her

way.

“Hey, you're Sicily, right? Like, Sicily, Italy?” the light and sweet voice could only have come

from the sweet blonde haired, violet eyed girl standing about two inches away.

“Yeah, that’s me, Sicily like from Italy,” Sicily hoped her voice didn’t sound as forced as it felt.

“You must be Bryan's sister.”

“Yeah!” The girl broke into a grin, “My name is Cynthia. Nice to meet you, glad someone in this

place is friendly.”

Sicily chortled, thinking of how the Pep Squad had probably reacted to the arrival of a new and

pretty girl. Most likely with their tails between their legs and their noses in the air.

“Sorry, I wish I could say this place was great but, honestly, I don't talk to a lot of people here.

They kind of just snub everyone who isn't them,” Sicily glanced over at the table filled with the

sport junkies, and the girls who gave the rest of them a bad name. “It's nice to meet you too. But

I really have got to get going, I have work and if I'm late again, I'll get fired. And I might go

insane if that happens.” Cynthia laughed and said goodbye, and Sicily took off to get to work.

Her mind reeling. ‘Cynthia has the same violet eyes, not that it’s a shocker, I mean, they're

siblings, but still, how often do you see violet eyes? And she had the same old English accent; I

can't believe they are from Montana. Well, at least it wasn’t Bryan that I ran into.’

It took less than five minutes to walk around the corner. Sicily walked into the employee

entrance in the back of Mark’s Market and slipped on her employee attire. Fumbling through her

bag looking for her name tag, she noticed a bag on the table in front of her. It was black and had

a strange metallic design on it, sort of like a rose. ‘Now what is that?’ She hadn’t seen it around

the break room before. Maybe Josh, the only other stocker working tonight, had left it. Though it

was a rather feminine bag, well, it could always be his girlfriends. Shaking her head at her own

stupid suspiciousness, she found her ID, put it on, clocked in and walked into the storage room.

She felt like jumping back in the break room as she noticed the two other figures in the

storage room. ‘Wait, who was Josh talking too’? Suddenly it was like all the air in the room had

been sucked out. She stared at the guy talking to Josh, his blonde hair, flipped to the side, he was

tall, and lean, and it looked like he could even be built. But that wasn’t what made her stop, what

made her stop were his eyes. They were deep, and shockingly violet. Nobody else had those eyes

except Bryan and Cynthia. And that certainly wasn’t Cynthia.

“Ehem.” Sicily cleared her throat to announce her arrival. Then, with as much grace and dignity

she could muster walked right past them to the shelf that contained her clipboard, pen, and

inventory lists. Meanwhile, she tried desperately not to notice Bryan giving her a look. It wasn’t

a look Sicily understood. ‘WHAT THE HELL?’ She thought to herself. This kid had known her a

day and already he made her feel so uncomfortable and out of her own skin, it was incredible.

“Sicily. Hey, I didn’t realize you worked here.” Bryan interrupted her thoughts smoothly, sliding

that lopsided smile onto his face with ease.

“Yeah, for the past month or so, um, are you applying?” She tried not to let her voice shake,

hoping he would say no, that he was just talking or something.

“You know each other? Good. Well, no, Bryan isn’t applying. He starts today, and you two are

officially storeroom buddies.” Josh interjected with a grin, which showed how much he enjoyed

putting Sicily on the spot. And that was about the same time the heat rushed to her face, and she

began to sway, feeling like she could go crashing to the ground at any moment.

“Are you okay Sicily?” His eyes showed nothing but concern as he reached out a hand to steady

her. The second he touched her she felt darkness close in on her.

When she came to, she was lying on a couch in a room that she had definitely never seen

before. Sicily shot up, and the dizziness hit. Feeling defeated she laid back onto the couch, and

preceded to simply look at her surroundings. Then a flash of movement caught her eye, and

through the doorway she could see Bryan fussing around the kitchen arguing with someone on

the phone. She stayed still, trying to catch the conversation but she only knew he was very

agitated, and then he hung up. Slowly Sicily sat up, and tried to stand. On shaky legs she

attempted to walk towards the door, when Bryan came through. He stopped short with a look of

surprise on his face, holding some drinks.

“I didn’t realize you were awake, how do you feel? You know, you should really sit down. I

brought out some drinks, it’s important to stay hydrated.” He sounded stubborn, concerned, and

kind of like he was rambling. Sicily couldn’t help it. She smiled, and sat back down on the

couch. Picking up a glass of lemonade, which was her favorite, she looked at his face. Once

again she was stunned at his beauty. It seemed to make her lose her mind, a little more every

time she saw him.

“Thank you; I don’t really know what happened. One second I was fine then all of a sudden

everything went black. I’m still a bit woozy; I should probably splash some water on my face.”

Sicily was surprised at how easily she let him in. After all, he was practically a stranger. Bryan

nodded, looking sympathetic.

“Yeah, it was kind of scary on my end too. I thought you were a goner for a second. I brought

you home with me because Josh said you were scared of hospitals, lucky for you I live about 30

seconds away. I was really surprised, you were out cold. You didn’t even wake up when I carried

you home, oh, and the bathroom is right there to the left.” He pointed and Sicily rose and walked

into the brightly lit sky blue bathroom. She had to stifle a laugh, a girl had definitely decorated.

There were dolphins everywhere, and well, the colors didn’t seem very masculine. Turning to the

sink, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was crazy, as always. It always just did its own

thing. She hated the color most of all though. The creamy auburn reminded her so much of her

friend from middle school. Fourteen year old Abigail had died in a car accident about four years

ago. Abigail had been almost an exact replica of Sicily. They had the same silver eyes that, when

in the sun, looked almost metallic. Abigail had been Sicily’s only real friend. And sometimes

they joked, saying they were separated at birth. But for Sicily, it was true. They were sisters to

her. If you looked real hard though, there were differences. Sicily was taller, Abigail had more

freckles. Sicily had perfect vision, Abigail wore glasses. Abigail was skinny, and Sicily had an

athletic build. But deep down, they were practically the same person.

A loud knock on the door startled Sicily out of her memories, and she jumped, and was surprised

to see tears running down her cheeks.

“Sicily, you okay?” Bryan sounded worried. Sicily splashed some water on her face and opened

the door.

“Yeah, sorry I don’t really feel too well; I think I'm going to head on home.” She wasn’t trying to

be rude but this was too much, she couldn’t take anything else. Thinking about Abigail had been

the last straw. Bryan opened his mouth to object and reached for her arm to hold her there, and

when he touched her Sicily stopped dead.

It felt like fire, running through her veins, she could barely breathe, but it felt so good.

Time seemed to stop, and looking up at Bryan, she saw her shock mirrored on his face, but he

still didn’t let go. Then it happened again, she couldn’t look away, his grip tightened and he

pulled her closer. Her heart pounded so loud she knew he could probably hear it. It’s not that

loud. It was Bryan’s voice. But his lips weren’t moving. And she heard his voice, in her head.

Sicily, can you hear me? The thought was surprised, and a guilty look flashed across his face.

How is this possible? Sicily demanded through her own thoughts. Knowing if she could hear

his, he could hear hers. And that scared her. I'm sorry Sicily, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I

wasn’t even aware it could happen. I've heard rumors…but I thought that’s all they were;

rumors. Sicily’s head was reeling, What are you talking about Bryan? I can hear you in my

head! Which, might I add, is IMPOSSIBLE! None of this is making sense, what rumors?

Before he could answer Sicily broke away and all but ran for the door. She couldn’t handle this,

not on top of everything else. It was too much. She heard Bryan calling her, but she threw open

the door anyway and headed for home.

Sinking deep into the warm, rose-scented bubble bath, Sicily finally took a deep breath

and relaxed. After a hike home (the sheer exhaustion seemed to drag it on for ages), she had

gotten home; exhausted, and slightly angry. Her fear had dissolved about a half hour into her

walk. Now she was angry, but not at Bryan. All he had done was attempt to care for her, but

Sicily had let that care go farther than she should have. She knew better! After all this time she

knew nothing good came of caring for another person. They always ended up getting ripped out

of her life. But still, that fire, she couldn’t get it out of her head. The feeling she got when Bryan

had grabbed her arm and pulled her close…that had never happened to her. Forget the fact that

she could hear his thoughts and vice versa, that feeling was pure magic. ‘MAGIC!’ She bolted

upright, and with a triumphant grin on her face, laughed out loud. ‘That explains it. He must be

some sort of…witch, or something. Or maybe he’s like, a vampire…can’t they read minds?’

Sicily wasn’t superstitious, but she wasn’t stupid either. IF there were magical unseen forces out

there somewhere, far be it from her to deny it. Either way she was elated to finally have some

solid theories. She decided to get out of the bath before the water became cold, and after slipping

on a t-shirt and an old pair of jeans; she threw her hair up into a slightly respectable ponytail and

went downstairs.

Her mom still had yet to make an appearance, Sicily had eaten alone, and now she

scribbled a short note on a napkin explaining she was going into town and she would be home

later. She knew her mom wouldn’t even get the note, let alone care, but it was one of those things

Sicily had grown accustomed to doing. Leaving the note on the table Sicily went around back

and grabbed her bike from the shed, and headed into town, with a certain destination in mind.

Chapter 2The town library looked like something out of a storybook, with its ancient Victorian

style, the Iron Gate out front, and the rose gardens to either side. The woman who ran it, Ms.

Jacobs, was pretty ancient herself; but she was sweet and kind, and knew probably everything

about anything. And that was just what Sicily needed.

She parked her bike out front and walked up the creaky, rotting steps, thinking about how

badly this place needed a paint job. She opened the door and stepped inside, inhaling the sweet

musky smell of the old library.

“Ms. Jacobs? Are you here?” Sicily glanced around wondering why no one was at the circulation

desk, normally if Ms. Jacobs wasn’t a volunteer was. Today though; it was like a ghost town.

Peering around the wall towards the back room where Ms. Jacobs tended to disappear to, Sicily

started at the sound of someone dropping a book behind her. Whirling around, she was shocked

to see Cynthia Thomas staring at her.

‘Jesus! I just can’t get away from these two today!’ Putting on a smile, Sicily said “Hey

there Cynthia, you nearly put me into cardiac arrest sneaking up on me like that!” For a second

Cynthia just stared at her, and then she collected herself and slid a grin like her brother’s onto her

pale face.

“Sorry Sicily, I just wasn’t expecting anyone, Ms. Jacobs told me that no one really stops by on

Thursday nights. So you can imagine my surprise seeing someone appear out of nowhere in a

creepy old place like this.” Her smile looked a bit forced and Sicily wondered if she knew what

had happened early today. ‘How am I supposed to look up information on Bryan with Cynthia

standing over me?’ Inwardly she groaned, but still with a smile on her face, she nodded as if it

were the most common explanation.

“Yeah I know, I was just hoping to talk to Ms. Jacobs about something, will she be back anytime

tonight?” She hoped she didn’t sound suspicious. And judging by look in Cynthia’s eyes, Cynthia

was more afraid of Sicily than Sicily was of her.

“No, she went home, she wasn’t feeling too well, so I told her I would watch the library for

her…I love books, and I guess she saw that, so Ms. Jacobs left and told me to lock up at nine,

like usual.” Cynthia said this all very matter-of-factly. Sicily was instantly put on guard, knowing

Ms. Jacobs didn’t let anyone lock up for her. Yeah, she had people watch the library, but she

always said she needed to lock up herself, just to ease her mind.

“Oh, okay. Yeah I guess I’ll just stop by tomorrow then…it can wait until then I suppose.” Sicily

smiled and turned to leave, “Oh, have a nice night, and don’t forget to put the key back where

she leaves it, she absolutely anal about her key.”

Cynthia nodded, “I know, she told me, good night Sicily, see you in school tomorrow.” She bent

to pick up the book she had previously dropped and waved, turning back to the stacks of books.

“See you.” Sicily walked out and got her bike, all the while complete caught up in her own

thoughts. ‘Ms. Jacobs never has anyone lock up, and was it just me or was Cynthia just a tad bit

nervous around me? Where was Miss Cool and Comfort from before? There is something off

about that girl….I don’t like her.’ All of a sudden her front tire twisted to the side, Sicily lost her

balance and went flying off…into an embankment that led to the swamp. As she rolled down the

embankment her head hit a rather sharp rock and pain blossomed in her head, and for the second

time that day, her world went dark.

This time when she awoke, Sicily wasn’t on a comfortable couch, but rather she was

lying in a rather questionable muck, that stank like garbage. She moaned, clutching her head and

did a quick assessment. Her ankle hurt, a lot. Other than that it seemed to only be her head;

which throbbed, and made it extremely difficult to stand, or do anything really. That’s when she

noticed something else. It was dark. Not just dusky, but dark. ‘It must be like 10 o’clock.’ She

thought in a panic. Not only was she stuck in a swamp, but it was night, and there was no way

she would be able to find her way home, on foot- with a twisted ankle. ‘Well, this is Fantastic

what else could possibly happen? And yes, that is a rhetorical question.’ Sicily tentatively stood,

putting most of her weight on her un-twisted ankle, grabbing a tree branch for support. Looking

around she began to feel really pessimistic. ‘How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?!?!?!’

She began to limp down the make-shift path someone had made with a quad. A few minutes later

there was a loud crack behind her, and she froze. Turning slowly, she came face to face with

what looked like a wolf. She almost laughed out loud, almost. The wolf lifted his muzzle and

howled, making Sicily flinch. Then cocking its head it made a sound, almost like a whine, but a

bit more demanding. “What?” Sicily surprised herself by speaking out loud. The wolf then

daintily stepped around her and began walking down the path. Sicily stood there, shocked that a

wild wolf had just come within touching distance. Then she noticed it was standing still on the

path, looking at her…waiting. “Am I supposed to follow you?” She felt a bit foolish asking the

animal, but then the strangest thing happened. The wolf nodded. Yes, that was definitely a nod. It

started to walk, and then looked back again. Sicily took a moment, ‘Well, honestly, what could

possibly happen?’ And then she began to limp after the wolf.

As they kept a steady pace, Sicily looked at the wolf more closely. In the moonlight its

gray fur looked silver, and the brown that dusted its coat looked so out of place. It had sharp ears

that kept twisting back and forth whenever a sound was made. Every time the wolf looked back

Sicily noticed how green the wolf eyes were. ‘I thought their eyes were yellow…I guess I should

brush up on my wildlife knowledge, because apparently wolves also double as travel guides for

lost people.’ The wolf stopped suddenly, raising its hackles and growling. The hair on the back

of Sicily’s neck rose, and her stomach began to hurt. Whatever was out there was scaring a wolf,

which was not a good thing. The wolf glanced back at her, and seemed to gesture with its head to

stay back. She nodded and took a step back, forgetting she was taking orders from a wild animal.

“You stupid animal, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be guarding the house!” A female

voice cut through the night. The wolf growled even louder, and took a step forward, warning the

girl.

“What are you doing? It’s me, Cynthia! Get back to the house. Now! I have to find the girl’s

body before she wakes up… If she ever wakes up, which I honestly hope she’s dead, you know

how I hate killing humans.” Cynthia’s voice trailed off into a mumble.

Sicily froze. ‘Cynthia? What the hell is going on?’ She held her breath and prayed Cynthia

wouldn’t see her around the tree. The wolf continued to growl and snap, taking another step,

threatening Cynthia.

“You dumb dog, what do you think you are doing?!?” Cynthia sounded angry, even a little

frightened. The wolf however, was undaunted. It took another step forward, snapping its teeth

angrily, almost arguing with her.

“I had to do it. She can’t have Bryan. Not this time. I saw them at the house! He got stupid. I

can’t have her jeopardizing my plans.” Cynthia sounded almost apologetic, but strangely cold at

the same time. Thankfully, that little speech hadn’t distracted the wolf, which lunged at the violet

eyed beauty.

Chapter 3Sicily couldn’t tell who screamed, her or Cynthia. It all seemed so horrific. ‘How could a

girl like Cynthia, petite and thin hold her own against a hundred pound wolf?’ Sicily could

hardly believe her eyes; Cynthia was actually putting up a fight. The wolf got its jaws so close to

her throat, Sicily almost stopped breathing. There was blood on the two of them, yet she

couldn’t even see a mark to figure out whose it was. The two of them broke apart and began

circling each other, snarling like animals…well; Cynthia was snarling like an animal, the wolf

was growling like a wolf. Sicily was frozen in fear, she was scared to stay, but terrified to move

from her hiding spot.

After what seemed like ages Cynthia let out a frustrated growl. “You dumb mutt, you

know we are an even match, are you really going to fight me?” The wolf stopped dead. It had its

hackles raised and it howled, loudly. Then it curled its lips back, and let out a growl that sounded

like a threat. Cynthia’s eyebrows shot up.

“Really? Well. Fine, go run along to Bry, tattle, I don’t care. I will find her. And I will make sure

she isn’t around to ruin the solstice.” Cynthia sounded young for a moment, and then her features

turned deadly. “Oh, and I would live the life you have, now. When I come back, I’m thinking I

might have company.” With that she turned and fled through the woods, almost silently.

Sicily stood behind the tree, shaking. ‘To move or not to move, the answer could save my

life.’ Sicily took a tentative step from around the tree, and the wolf’s head snapped up, green

eyes glowing.

“Is it…safe?” She knew the wolf could understand her, Might as well make use of it.

The wolf tilted its head, “Yes. She won’t be coming back here…tonight.” Sicily fell back against

the tree.

“You, you just talked. Like a human. You talked like a human!” The words rushed through her

lips, so it sounded like she was stuttering.

“Yes,” the wolf, which sounded feminine, chuckled, “I can talk. Like a human. Mostly because I

used to be human, but hey, I can see how this could be slightly…”

“Insane? Weird? Impossible?” Sicily forced out the words. She was in shock. ‘Well, on the

upside, I’ve had a day I can NEVER forget.’ Then the wolf laughed.

“Yeah, I guess so. My name is Elmira. We should probably get you home, and then we can talk;

where it’s safe.” Elmira was determined; almost sounding like it was her job to protect her. Sicily

looked at the wolf, and thought about the possible dangers of following the advice of a random

talking wolf that had just beat the crap out of a superhuman chic with purple eyes.

“Sure, why not? You could have killed me by now, so I am pretty sure I’m safe” She shrugged

and waited for Elmira to lead the way.

The wolf was actually giggling. Like a little girl. She was actually… giggling. Sicily had

to wonder a moment if there was a slight possibility that she was insane, like, institutional

insane.

“I’m your protector! Killing you would be slightly…well, it would defeat my purpose. Why on

earth would I kill you?” Elmira was panting she had laughed so hard.

“I...” Sicily stared. “I have no idea.”

“Let’s go.” Elmira shook her head and turned to trot down the beaten path; hopefully towards

home.

After trudging through the disgusting, cold, wet, and painful woods, they finally emerged

on the main road right next to Sicily’s home. Sicily was in pain, her ankle made it difficult to

even stand. But she shut her eyes, imagined the pain disappearing, and kept going, finally

reaching her front door. Elmira delicately wiped her paws, as Sicily struggled with the door.

“Since when is this door locked?” She asked out loud, while digging in the potted plant for the

spare key.

“Since…your mom started locking it after your dad left?” Elmira said it like a question, but it

was obvious it wasn’t. Sicily whirled around, grimacing in the pain it caused in her ankle.

“How did you know?” Sicily demanded, “About my dad? About my mom locking the door?

How do you know?” Elmira lowered her muzzle in shame, and her tail dropped.

“I'm sorry Sicily, but I am your protector. It’s kind of my job to know these things.” She sounded

contrite, and Sicily felt bad for snapping at her.

“Okay, what is a protector anyway?” She turned and put the key in the lock and stepped inside.

It had sounded like Elmira was about to answer, but the words were cut off by a growl that

rumbled from deep inside her. Sicily stopped and stared. Her mother was sitting at the table, with

her head on her arms, looking like she was asleep. Sicily’s note was by her one hand, and a cup

of coffee by the other; almost as if she had been waiting up. Sicily made a motion at Elmira, who

looked up and stopped mid-growl.

“Mom?” Sicily asked quietly. Her mom groaned and lifted her head, awaking.

“Sicily!” She jumped up and grabbed her daughter, who cried out. “Sweetie, where have you

been? I have been worried sick!” Sicily just stared at her mom, who looked so concerned, and

simply began to cry. All the stress that had been building up since her dad left came crashing out

in the torrents of tears. Her mom held her, and whispered in her ear that it would be okay, and

Sicily cried on.

“Martha, I don’t mean to be rude, but she really needs to get off that ankle, like, pronto.”

Elmira’s voice broke through.

Her mom gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.

“Mom, um, this is Elmira…she’s my…protector. Well, I'm not so sure what that is, but I know if

it weren’t for her…well, I wouldn’t be standing here.” Sicily had forgotten about the wolf for a

moment, and now in between sniffles, she tried to explain to her mom. “She, she used to be

human, but now she’s a wolf. A wolf who - oh!” Her ankle twisted as she had turned to address

the wolf, and she crashed to the floor as the wave of pain smacked into her. Her eyes once again

clouded with tears as she bit back the scream that threatened to tear out of her. Elmira jumped up

and ran over to Sicily, concern brightening her green eyes.

“Sicily, are you okay?” Her mom asked softly, crouching over her, with a look of tenderness only

a mom could produce.

“She messed up her ankle back in the swamp, and after walking on it for so long, this is exactly

why I wanted her to rest it immediately. It could end up breaking, and not a clean break either,

it’ll be nasty. We don’t want her to have to go through a re-break.” Elmira’s soft voice broke

through and Sicily looked up at her mom, trying so hard to fight the tears.

“Right. Off it. Now. Let’s get you over to the couch.” Her mom sternly assumed the role of her

mother and with relief Sicily let her help her onto the couch. She sank into the comfort of the

couch and she could have passed out right there, except she couldn’t exactly get comfortable

with a talking wolf standing right by her side, and a mother who had been MIA for the past two

months suddenly being exactly what Sicily needed. Elmira turned to her, and after simply

looking at her for a few moments, spoke quietly.

“I want you to know, I didn’t intrude on your privacy. I learned what I had to, to keep you safe.”

She sounded so apologetic, Sicily couldn’t possibly be mad.

“How could I be mad at you? You saved my life, a few times tonight. It’s okay, I just…can you

please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Sicily closed her eyes as another wave of pain

passed through her.

“Are you sure? You really need some rest, maybe we should wait until morning.” Sicily’s mom,

who until this point had been silent, spoke up.

“I think that would be best, if we waited until morning.” She turned to Sicily, and brushed a

piece of hair out of her eyes, “Sweetie, I want to know as badly as you do, but we could all use

some sleep, think we could wait?” Sicily sighed; she knew there was no way she would win now.

Chapter 4The sun blinded her when she opened her eyes the following morning. Groaning, she

rolled over- and got a face full of fur. Jolting awake she found a wolf lying next to her, and that,

coupled with the pain in her ankle, brought everything that had happened, rushing back. Elmira

stretched and lifted her muzzle to…well, Sicily assumed it was a wolf-version of a yawn. Then,

blinked a few times and turned her head to look at Sicily.

“Good Morning, how are you feeling?” The wolf turned and looked at Sicily’s ankle, propped up

with pillows. Sicily laughed, and shook her head.

“Well, it hurts, but I’m fine, considering I’m having a conversation with a wolf that was once

human, and who saved my life…yeah, it’s all good.” She couldn’t bring herself to stop smiling.

It was all pretty funny…minus the almost dying part. Elmira shook her head.

“I find myself being confused by your laughter, shouldn’t you be in pain? Or at the very least

you were very bewildered last night.”

“Elmira, my mom is back to being my mom. I have a ‘Protector’, which just happens to be a

wolf. I figure I just have to grab the bull by the horns, suck up the pain and simply wait for you

to tell me what’s going on; because I know you will.” A sound on the stairs caught both of their

attentions as her mom descended the steps leading up to the second floor, where the bedrooms

were. Raising her arms to stretch she looked over and froze mid-yawn.

“I was sort of hoping it was all an insane dream, you know, talking wolves, my daughter having

near-death experiences…” She trailed off and then walked over, scratched Elmira behind the ears

and kissed Sicily’s forehead. “How are you doing sweetheart? That ankle okay? I made and

appointment with Dr. Jaki for later this afternoon, we want it taken care of as quickly as

possible.” Sicily couldn’t help but smile; this was the mom she remembered. Though, to be

honest there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder what

had caused this sudden reformation. However, she liked it, so she pushed the thought out of her

mind and attempted to stand.

The pain shot through her and if it hadn’t been for her mother’s protective hand holding

her, she would have collapsed right back onto the couch.

“Yeah, I think maybe a doctor is a good idea.” Sicily smiled weakly and turned to try to hobble

into the kitchen.

“Sweetie, you need to stay off of that thing, here, sit down and I will make you something to

eat.” Her mom helped her sit and walked into the kitchen. Sicily turned to Elmira who was

staring quite intently.

“What?” Sicily felt way too uncomfortable under her gaze, even if she was a good guy. Elmira

cocked her head to one side and sighed.

“I was just thinking that you remind me of someone. You look like her, and even have similar

personalities…but then again, she was your Great-Great-Great Grandmother.” Sicily’s mouth

dropped open.

“My Great-Great Grandmother?”

“Great-Great-Great Grandmother, actually. And her name was Lidia. She was my best friend,”

Elmira hesitated seeing the shocked look on Sicily’s face. “Yes, I know, you have so many

questions, so- where shall we begin?” At that moment Sicily’s mother walked back into the

room holding a plate with toast and a glass of orange juice.

“Here, you need to eat; you need all the vitamins and protein you can get to heal that ankle.” She

sat in the loveseat to Sicily’s right, next to Elmira. Then as if she had just noticed the change in

the atmosphere she looked from Elmira to Sicily. “Did I miss something?”

Sicily took a tentative bit of the toast, not at all hungry, before answering. “Yeah, Elmira was

about to explain everything, including how she was best friends with my Great-Great-Great

Grandmother Lidia.” Martha’s eyes widened slightly after the second great, and by the third they

were saucers.

“Your Great-Great-Great Grandmother?”

“Yup, pretty much my reaction as well, though honestly, I don’t doubt it.” Sicily shrugged and

took a long drink of her orange juice. “Okay Elmira, let’s start with the whole ‘Protector’ thing. I

think honestly that’s probably the one thing I want to understand most.” Elmira dipped her

muzzle and looked at the ground for a few moments before answering.

“Have you ever heard of Valhalla?” Elmira was now looking directly into her eyes, her intensity

overwhelming.

“Yeah, we studied it during our Greek Mythology Unit in World History last year. Why?”

“Valhalla is no more a myth than you or I. It is truly the Island of Slain Warriors. Legend has it

that Artemis, the Goddess of Hunting and Athena, the Goddess of War once ruled, side by side

over this Island. And now it is ruled by those they have chosen. The rulers are those possessed

with gifts. Gifts, as it is told, that the Goddesses themselves bestowed up those destined to rule

Valhalla. Only those who are worthy, and only those who have the fighting spirit of Athena and

Artemis, may rule.” Elmira had turned to stare into space as she had been speaking and now she

again looked up at Sicily.

“Okay, so let me get this straight; Valhalla is real, and has existed undetected for centuries and is

ruled by magical people blessed by the Greek Goddesses?” Sicily tried very hard to keep her

tone light and humorous, though she thought the whole thing ridiculous. Elmira shook her head.

“I know it is a little hard to accept but, yes; and there is more. Those who are destined to rule do

not necessarily live on Valhalla.” She stopped, and let this last bit sink in. Sicily was gaping at

Elmira, at her innuendo that was like an Atomic Bomb; when her phone rang scaring the three of

them. Flustered, Sicily fumbled to get it out of the bag next to the couch. She flipped it open.

“Hello?”

“Sicily?” It was a male voice, but not one she recognized.

“Yeah, who’s this?” She kept her tone light and friendly, but she was utterly overwhelmed by

what she had just heard Elmira say.

“It’s Brian, uh, Brian Thomas, from school?” He said it more like a question than a statement and

for a minute Sicily woke up.

“Brian? Yeah, um…Hi. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, listen- I feel bad about yesterday.” Yesterday. Sicily remembered all too well what had

happened while he was playing nurse after her blackout.

“No, it’s fine. Listen I have to go,” Sicily was hoping he’d get the hint if she rushed him off the

phone. “Really, so see you in school or something. Bye.” Without giving him a chance to say

anything else she closed her phone. Brian Thomas was the very last thing she wanted to deal

with right now. Especially with Cynthia apparently having a hit out on her. She dropped her

phone back into her bag and met the inquiring gazes if her mother and Elmira. Her cheeks

flushed and she dropped her eyes.

“It’s nothing.” She looked up to see Elmira staring again. “Okay. So, are you trying to tell me

that I am destined to rule Valhalla?” Praying she would say no, she was dismayed to see Elmira

nod.

“Yes, Sicily, which is why you are in need of a protector. You are next in line for the throne of

Valhalla. I suppose your next questions are why I am your protector, and how did I become a

wolf, correct?” Sicily nodded; then stopped.

“No.” Elmira started, and confusion clouded her bright green eyes.

“No? I thought you wanted to know that most of all?” Elmira asked, and Sicily shook her head.

“Not anymore. Now I want to know why. Why is Valhalla needed? Why me? Why did Cynthia

want me dead? Did she know all of this?” Sicily had so many questions and it was taking far too

long to get all the answers she needed. Elmira sighed, and shook her head.

“Too many questions to answer right now. I must go, but I will be back later. I promise you.”

Elmira padded towards the door only to stop when Sicily yelled for her.

“HEY! No, you can’t just leave like that! You have to finish telling me everything.” Sicily was

not one to admit when she was scared, but talking wolves and mystical islands kind of take a toll

on a girl. Elmira shook her head again.

“I am sorry Sicily, I will be back.” And then she was gone, out the doggie door. Sicily sighed and

sank back against the couch. Her mom put her arms around her daughter and stroked her hair.

“It will be okay, we’ll figure this out. Meanwhile we have a doctor’s appointment.” Sicily smiled

up at her mom, and took her hand.

“Fine, but you have got to help me up those stairs so I can change, and shower. Geez, I just

realized how bad I must smell.” Her mom laughed and pulled Sicily up. Slowly but surely the

two of them made their way upstairs.

After the painful tasks of showering and changing were done, Sicily managed to get into

the car without crying. They were about to pull out of the drive when another car pulled up

behind them.

“Who’s that?” Her mother glanced in the rearview and asked Sicily.

“No idea- but I’m not getting out.” She laughed as her mom grimaced and shot her a look that

clearly said it was her fault they hadn’t left already. Then she got out of the car and walked over

to the car which had just pulled in. Sicily watched as the driver’s side window slowly rolled

down and her mom leaned over to talk to whoever was in the car. It looked like a girl, but the

windows were tinted so it was hard to tell. After a few moments of her mom talking and

laughing, it seemed to be someone she knew, the driver pulled away, waved, and left. Her mom

got back in the car, still smiling.

“That was your friend, um, Cynthia? She was coming over to see why you weren’t at school

today, I told her…” Her mom trailed off at the look on Sicily’s face. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?

Are you okay?” Sicily didn’t know what to say; in fact she was stunned into silence. ‘Cynthia,

Cynthia who tried to kill me. Cynthia who wanted me dead. Cynthia was Bryan’s sister. Cynthia

attacked Elmira, the only person keeping me safe. And now Cynthia was on good terms with my

mother. My mother had just be-friended my only enemy.’

“Mom. Listen to me. Cynthia…she’s not my friend. She tried to kill me! Tell me you didn’t

invite her over!” Sicily looked at her mom and saw the dismay and the guilt washing over her

face and groaned. “Mom, she is like, I don’t know, Elmira hasn’t really explained that part yet,

but…SHE TRIED TO KILL ME. She said, point blank; she wants me dead. And you just, you

invited her over. Fantastic.” Sicily was shaking as she thought about the fact that Cynthia knew

where she lived, and knew her mom.

“Honey, I am so sorry, I didn’t know…I just thought, I mean you never have friends over, I

thought with all that’s going on…” Her voice caught and immediately Sicily felt guilty for

flipping out.

“Its fine, how could you have known?” She patted her mom’s hand. “Let’s just go to the doctor’s

appointment, okay?” Her mom nodded and then they were on their way.

Chapter 5The appointment went rather well, all things considered. Her ankle had a minor sprain,

and thankfully, after about a month or two all things should be back to normal. Thankfully there

was only about a week left of classes before the year’s end. On the way home Sicily remembered

school.

“Crap!” She smacked her head with her hand and started the dig for her phone in her rather large

purse.

“Sweetie?” Her mom glanced over, sounding worried. “Everything okay?” Sicily shook her

head, still searching for her phone. Shaking her purse upside-down, she emptied its contents onto

her lap.

“Why is it I can never find my phone when I need it? Does it hide or something?” Frustration

seeped into her voice. “Great, now not only am I on crutches, but I am going to flunk my English

Final, fantastic.” Her mom frowned and pulled over.

“Why are you going to fail, Sicily?”

“Mom! Today was my final, could you please keep driving?” Sicily was beyond exasperated and

here her mom was taking even more time away from her. “I am going to call the office and ask

them to get a copy so I can take it when we get there.” Finally her phone showed itself and with

a hoot of triumph, she plugged in her school’s number and hit send. It wasn’t until a male voice

answered when Sicily realized who she was asking the favor from.

“Berkman High, how can I help you?” McGruthers’ monotone voice crept through to Sicily’s ear.

“Yes, I would like to be transferred to Principal Vick,” Sicily thought fast, “Please, it is an urgent

matter concerning my daughter.” McGruthers sighed.

“Alright, one moment please.” There was a click and a few moments later Principal Vick’s

cheerful voice came through.

“Hello, this is Principal Vick.”

“Principal Vick? This is Sicily Donaldson.”

“Sicily? Is everything okay? I heard you weren’t in school today.” Sicily closed her eyes and

leaned her head against the window, wishing she could just fix everything and be done with it.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry, I was at the Doctor’s, I have a sprained ankle- but I am on my way in. The only

thing is I missed my English Final, is there any way you could possibly get ahold of a copy so I

can take it when I get in?” Sicily held her breath and prayed he would understand.

“Of course, Sicily I will go talk to your professor right now, just come straight to my office when

you get in. Okay?” Sicily breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

“Yes, thank you so much Principal Vick, I should be there soon.”

“See you in a little while Sicily.” Sicily shut her phone and leaned back against the seat and

closed her eyes. She didn’t open them again until she felt the car stop.