''I get it,'' he said, ''the sun so loved the moon...''
His voice trailed off. We both knew the story. We knew it all too well. He was looking at me thoughtfully. I, however, turned away.
''What if,'' I began, ''the sun didn't want to die for the m...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Where should I start on the evil bastards?"
I raised an eyebrow at Sophia's colorful language regarding werewolves. Tilly was already exasperated but stayed at the dinner table for my benefit.
"Why do you hate them?"
The old woman patted my sleeve. "Hate is a strong word, kopelia mou, let us say...detest."
Tilly and I shot each other looks, neither of us bothering to tell the old woman that they basically meant the same thing. Instead, Sophia continued undeterred
"You feel good energy here, yes?" I nodded, then realized she couldn't see well and murmured my assent. "What energy do you feel when you walk into a den of wolves?"
I thought for a moment of the Joy household. While I'd never felt unsafe in their home, there was a sort of powerful darkness that loomed over it. Sophia took my silence as answer enough.
"The lycanthropy disease is just that- a disease. Then these monsters spread their disease on anything they can sink their teeth into."
Sophia's words were becoming more and more vehement. I wondered, briefly, if she was speaking from personal experience. My friendly neighborhood werewolves were nothing like that.
I thought briefly of a set of lips that had been at my throat and the teeth that had grazed my neck. My fingertip traced the curve of my jugular thoughtfully.
"They can only turn someone if they give the bite in their wolf form," Tilly informed me quietly. She raised a knowing eyebrow and I quickly dropped my hand from my neck.
Sophia pointed firmly on the kitchen table, gesturing wildly with her shriveled hands.
"The energy here is good- natural. We draw power from what exists and no more than to upset the delicate balance. We are like you, dear, only less in tune with ley line energy. We are servants to nature," she explained, "but those hairy beasts are the result of a genetic disease. Their darkness is not balanced. You can not balance the power they have."
My eyes narrowed at her harsh explanation. I wanted to defend the Joys- my friends, but I could see that it would be no use. Even Tilly seemed to accept that her grandmother's mind wouldn't be changed.
"So if you're abilities are servants to nature and werewolf abilities are the results of a disease," I began, "then what are mine?"
The old woman clicked her tongue and raised her strange, unseeing eyes to my face. They softened slightly.
"A gift."
***
At some point, when I'd drifted off to sleep in Tilly's room, I'd emerged into a wasteland. Well, not a wasteland, but the high school hallway. Close enough.
I was alone in the hallway, carefully running my fingers down the line of lockers. The blue paint was chipping on one of them. I stopped at it.
