They talked for a few minutes about corsages and the restaurant and Emily's after party, which absolutely everyone was going to. By the time they hung up, Claire was feeling a little bit better. More grounded. The agony and weirdness of the night before began to fade, and Claire started to relax. In spite of being stressed about the naming, she did have some things to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. First the full moon gathering and then the ball.
As long as she could keep everything balanced, it would be the best of both worlds.
Chapter Thirteen
HALLOWEEN ARRIVED IN a rush of icy air. Winter was forcing its way into Hanover Falls, stripping the leaves off the trees with its frozen fingers and painting the ground with frost. The first snow would be falling any day, and as Lisbeth opened the door for yet another round of trick-or-treaters, Claire shivered in the cold breeze.
The kids in their masks and capes and dirty sneakers shouted their thanks as they bolted back down toward the street, clutching the prized full-size candy bars that Lisbeth handed out every year. It was the only reason anyone made the trek up the long and imposing Benoit driveway. Claire knew it made her mom uncomfortable, especially on a full moon night, when they needed all the privacy they could get. But even Marie couldn't manage to tell Lisbeth not to do it. Lisbeth looked almost as happy as the kids, beaming underneath the construction-paper circles she'd taped in a rainbow-hued vertical line to her all-white yoga clothes.
"What are you supposed to be, anyway?" Claire asked, looking up from her Spanish vocab sheet.
"I'm the chakras." Lisbeth held out her arms and looked down at herself. "You know—the energy centers of the body? It's a yoga thing."
Claire stared at her blankly. She loved Lisbeth, but she was totally weird sometimes.
"I know, you think I'm being bizarre." Lisbeth put her hands on her hips. "But this is a major holiday! Someone in this house needs to celebrate tonight." She peered into the candy bowl. "I'd better get some more chocolate bars out. It isn't even close to dark yet and we're already running low."
Lisbeth headed for the pantry, humming to herself. Claire followed her into the kitchen and looked out the window at the backyard, her gaze going to the edge of the property, where the woods met the lawn behind the border of the ivy-covered brick. The forest beyond looked starker, more serious, without the lush green of it's summer foliage or the party-dress reds and yellows of the autumn leaves. It matched Claire's mood, and she tingled with the anticipation of the full moon gathering. Things had been tense between Claire and Emily since Saturday, and though everything seemed normal between Claire and Matthew, something didn't quite fit anymore. Like a teacup that had been broken and then glued back together. Still functional, but not as perfect as it had been before.
Tonight more than ever, Claire needed the forest and her fur and a hunt under the round, pale moon. Lisbeth might be having fun passing out her chocolate bars, but she was far from the only one in the Benoits' house who would be celebrating Halloween.
By the time she and her mother slipped out the back door, the candy was gone and the trick-or-treaters had long since gone to bed. The wintry air made Claire catch her breath— next time, she needed to wear warmer clothes. She'd be plenty warm once she transformed, but getting to the clearing was another matter. Her ears were already stinging with cold.
The two of them tiptoed into the forest without speaking, all their focus spent listening for a footfall that didn't belong. Watching for an out-of-place shadow. As they worked their way deeper into the trees, Claire's shoulders loosened. The likelihood of anyone coming this far into the forest for a Halloween thrill was pretty slim. And besides, with the rich, green scent of the plants gone, a human scent would be obvious a mile away. Claire sniffed at the breeze, catching whiffs of rabbit and deer and something intensely musky.
"What is that?" she whispered to her mother, sniffing at the air.
Marie lifted her nose briefly. "Badger," she announced.
The word tingled in Claire's ears. She'd never seen a badger before, but she'd bet they were fun to hunt.
"They're smarter than you think, and mean beyond belief," Marie said, catching wind of Claire's enthusiasm. "We may hunt it, since it is so close, but you'd be wrong to underestimate them. And we need something tonight that is easily caught. Perhaps even a rabbit, though that is an awfully poor sacrifice. . . ." Her voice trailed off as they arrived in the firelit clearing. Victoria was already there, sitting on the trunk of a recently fallen tree that lay just outside their usual circle. Her slumped shoulders and pointed-in toes told Claire instantly that Victoria didn't want to be here. That she was dreading the transformation.
"Claire, Marie. I greet you both." Her voice was flat, her eyes dull.
"I greet you, Victoria." Claire hesitated, not sure what else to say. She edged closer to the warmth of the fire.
"And I also greet you, Victoria," Marie added, walking over to place a hand on the mountain of Victoria's belly. "I know this is going to be a difficult evening for you. We will make it as easy as possible—I am planning a very simple version of the ceremonies, anyway, as a precaution."