The cast-iron wolf head glared out at me from the bloodred door, and I stayed frozen on the porch outside of the Brawley mansion. A warm breeze blew by, ruffling my dress and making the long branches of the willows dance and groan.
When I reached Gabe’s house, my grandma Basima had returned to scream inside my head, idhhabee min honaa. Her voice sent an ice-cold chill all the way through me. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I didn’t want her yelling at me or scaring me or freezing me out anymore.
“It’s okay, Grandma Basima,” I whispered. “I know Gabe’s a werewolf, and I can handle it.”
No, Mara, idhhabee min honaa. Her voice sounded like it was right in my ear.
I closed my eyes, trying to will her away, but I saw enough from my mom dealing with spirits to know that they didn’t just go away because you wanted them to.
“Please, Grandma,” I said quietly. “You have to let me handle this on my own.”
He is more dangerous than you know! Basima shouted in English this time, and the words echoed painfully through my skull.
The front door creaked open, and I rushed to compose myself so I didn’t look like a crazy person. But based on the confused look Gabe was giving me, it hadn’t worked.
“Were you just talking to someone?” he asked, glancing around the empty porch.
I shook my head. “Nope. It’s just me.”
He cocked his head when he looked back at me. “You know I have super hearing, right? It’s a werewolf thing.” He motioned to his ears. “So I heard you saying something.”
I took a deep breath and decided it was time for us to get all the secrets out in the open. He’d told me he was a werewolf, so he couldn’t react that badly if he found out that I was a necromancer.
“I was just talking to my grandma,” I explained, causing Gabe to look around again. “She’s dead.” His head snapped back toward me and his eyes widened. “I’m a necromancer, and so is my mom.”
For a moment, he said nothing. He just stared at me with his jaw slightly open.
“My parents are out having brunch with the mayor and the sheriff, so why don’t you come inside and we can talk about this all before they get home?” He stepped back and opened the door wider.
He led me into his living room, where we sat together on the bright red sofa, and I proceeded to tell him everything I knew about necromancy, and although my abilities were only just manifesting, I had a sense of what they would be because of my mom’s experiences.
Gabe took it all well, nodding and asking a few questions. So I decided to plunge on ahead and tell him that I wasn’t the only one who had special powers, and that really got his eyes to widen.
“This is all so crazy.” He leaned back on the sofa and stared off into space. “I’ve always suspected that we couldn’t be the only ones. I mean, if werewolves are real, then that means that there’s probably all kinds of other things out there. But I’ve just never met any.”
“It’s hard to bring up in conversation,” I agreed. “People don’t always react well to things they don’t understand, and you never know who to trust.”
“Yeah, exactly.” Gabe nodded. “My mom used to tell me horror stories about our ancestors being hunted and murdered.”
“It’s hard to find people that accept you when you’re like us,” I agreed.
Gabe had been staring off, but he looked at me then. He moved closer so his knee pressed against mine, and took my hand in his. His eyes met mine, burning with something more powerful than lust.
“I don’t want you to go tomorrow,” he said, with the earnestness in his words verging on pleading.
“Gabe—”
“I’ve never met anyone like you or had a connection with anyone the way I do with you,” he said, interrupting my protests. “I don’t want to lose you.”
I shook my head, forcing myself to ignore the pain in my heart. “It’s not just that my family, my friends, my whole life is leaving tomorrow. But there’s a monster here trying to kill me. I can’t stay.”
“What if the monster goes away?” Gabe asked.
“How?” I asked. “We don’t even know what it is or what it wants, let alone how to stop it or make it go away.”
“When I was a wolf, I was able to chase it off,” Gabe said hurriedly. “Maybe my mom and Selena can help, or maybe they’ll know something that I don’t. I don’t know. But we can’t live here with that monster either.”
I hesitated before saying, “Even if that’s true, even if you can stop it—and that’s a really big ‘if’—I don’t know.”
“I don’t want to force you or anything,” he said. “I just want you to consider staying with me longer.”
“I’ll consider it but … I can’t make any promises. You’re asking me to give up the only life I’ve known, you know?”
“I do.” Gabe lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be pressuring you like this. There’s too much going on, and who knows what the night will bring.”