Phase Eleven

Lupo's Segreto

Gray

One minute, I ask a simple question. The next, I get punched in the damn face. At least I would have if I hadn't managed to catch his fist.

"How do you know my name?" Kai's voice was little more than a growl as he said it, but it was his eyes that held my attention. They had turned, but this time, his pupils were slit more like a cat's than a wolf's. "Who told you my name?"

"No one's told me shit," I said, "and that's the same problem I've had since the beginning." To be honest, it was the first time I had ever seen him lose his temper, but I was too stubborn to really care. I could see his teeth begin to sharpen as his lip curled back into a snarl, and for whatever reason, some part of me told me to do the same. "That's enough."

He blinked, his eyes returning to normal, and took a step back. He looked confused for a moment, and then everything went to the way it was before. Almost as if nothing had happened at all. "Ah... mi spiace. I mean, I'm sorry." If it was strange to see him angry, it was even weirder for me to see Kai of all damn people being embarrassed. "It's just that no one's called me that for years. Centuries even..."

"So Marin is your real name then." He cringed when I said it, but he didn't deny it. I couldn't really blame him for changing it, though, since it wasn't something I would want to be called either. "Why'd you get so pissed about it? Did you hate them that much?"

"My family?" he asked. "Well, we don't exactly see 'eye to eye,' you know?"

"Yeah, I guess." It was a lame answer, but I knew I felt the same way about my own family. That was the only reason the why I tried to let it go. Even so, I couldn't help wanting to ask for more. "Doug has a letter for you," I said. "He showed it to me earlier, but I didn't understand any of it."

"Was it signed by anyone?" The way he asked was enough to pique my interest, but I kept quiet. I watched his eyes begin to turn, and as soon as he realized it, he calmed himself down again. "It was them. There were ten of them, weren't there?"

"Yeah, but Karen said that they were just horoscopes or whatever. Don't ask me what she's on about because I sure as hell don't have a fricking clue." I was trying to bait him, but he was too clever to fall for that. He knew something was up, and for once, he wasn't having any of it.

"Gray, I don't want to talk about it," Kai warned, his voice deepening again. "I know you want answers, but this isn't something you should be concerned with. It's my problem, not yours, and I'd like to keep it that way if you don't mind."

"Must be pretty important guys for you to be so angry about it."

"They are," he agreed, "but their business is with me. I don't want you getting yourself wrapped up in it... As it is, I don't have anything to do with them." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you start trying to look into these things, that just means I have to put up with them again."

Even though I wanted to keep him talking, I decided to end it there. The last thing I needed was for him to run off again, and I knew that was just what he was thinking of doing, too. "Don't get so riled up. They probably don't even know you're still here after two years."

"No, they know," he insisted. "If I ever leave, they'll just have someone pick it up and follow me wherever."

"But why here?" After all, Kai never stayed in any one place for long, so it didn't make sense for them to leave it in the middle of nowhere. Thinking about it, though, I guessed it made sense if only because Mineral Town was just about the only place he kept coming back to. "You're not leaving any time soon, are you?"

"I don't think so," he said with another sigh. "Like I said, if I did, they would just follow me. They're a stubborn bunch... even more than you are when I think about it."

We stood in silence then, neither of us sure of what to say at that point, but I finally decided it was time for me to go. There was nothing else to talk about, and I was sick of trying to deal with him. At least when it came to who and what he was. All it was doing was leading me around in circles.

"Gray." I stopped and looked behind me to see Kai staring back at me. He seemed more like himself, grinning like an idiot, but when I met his gaze, he looked confused again. He hid it well enough, though. "Just... be careful. Okay?"

I shrugged him off, not saying a word, but I still had to wonder just what it was I had to be careful of.

-/-

Mary

"This is all going a bit too far for my tastes."

I frowned to see the four books that were scattered about the desk. The library had only just closed, but as usual, Gray had left all of it for me to organize. In the beginning, I had thought it was refreshing to see him so passionate about educating himself, but it had since become somewhat of a bother.

He had moved away from wolves and werewolves and onto languages. It was a curious shift of interest, and yet at the same time I knew he always had a reason for what he did.

Perhaps that was why I was so keen to help him with his search. As frustrated as I was with the mess, I still sat down and began to pool over the books he had been browsing through. Every one was opened to a different language from French to Spanish and even Italian and Greek, but it was hard for me to find any common connection between any of them. Just what was he trying to do?

"Oh dear..." I quietly gasped as a small slip of paper fell onto the floor. I picked it up to find Gray's unusually neat handwriting on the other side, but what made me wonder all the more was what he had written. Nos of plures voco vos of unus in conveniens ut voco of universum ut theea totus res... "This is Latin!"

Having had such a revelation, I hurried back upstairs to find my mother's Latin texts. They were buried in the far back of the room in the reference section, but when I found it, I felt my heart swell with encouragement. I was just as quick to return downstairs after having found the book, and in my enthusiasm, I almost tore the first few pages. However, though I was sure to slow down, I still was rather excited when my own research began to bear fruit.

"'We of the many... summon you of the one... in accordance to the summoning of the universe... that envelops all things?' What an archaic manner of speech." I sat back in my seat, mulling over the words over and over again, but I eventually came to realize that I would not find peace until I had told the man of what I had found. "But first, these need to be put back."

By the time I had put everything away, evening was starting to fall. I knew it was a sign that autumn would soon be upon us. A stray thought reminded me that it also meant Kai would be leaving, and while I couldn't be absolutely sure, it was safe to assume things would most likely begin to calm down. Or so I could hope anyway.

I walked along in silence, the scrap of paper held tight in my hand, and while I waved to Harris when I passed by, no one else seemed to be about. I paid it little mind. Most people were home enjoying dinner as I should be, and while a few might wander down to the bar later on, they would be home by ten. Hardly a long night in the opinion of a girl who had grown up in the city.

When I came into the inn, I was surprised to see Kai sitting alone. The rest of the bar was empty, but although that was commonplace enough, I was still wary. After all, in all the times during which we had spoken, he had always been a bit off. Not that I was ready to believe he was a werewolf by any means as it was too far fetched for me just yet. There was no logic to it.

"Hello there, Mares," he said as he glanced back at me. "I'm going to guess you're here for Gray?"

"Yes," I agreed. "I am." I swallowed rather hard to meet his gaze, but he only smiled as usual. For some reason, though, it sent a cold shiver down my spine, and it frustrated me that I was unable to understand why. "You're here rather early."

"Not a lot of people going down to the beach these days," he replied. "I'm actually thinking of leaving earlier this year because of it... Probably after the festival or something."

"I see." There was very little else I could think to say to him, and so I slowly began to make my way up the stairs. However, I picked up speed when I saw out of sight, and even then, I felt like he was watching me. It was only after I reached the top of the stairs and looked back that I was absolutely sure he was no where to be seen. There's nothing to worry about, I assured myself. He's just like anyone else. Not strange at all.

I knocked on the guest room door and waited. I could hear Gray muttering to himself and the creek of the bed frame as he stood, and with that I was more than aware that I had woken him up. A troubling thought to be sure.

"What?" I flinched as the door slammed open, but he didn't apologize for it. Instead, he got all the more irritated. "Listen, I'm sorry about the damn books. Just... put 'em away for now, and I'll put them away from now on. Okay?"

Although I had come by to try and help him, I had trouble keeping my patience with him. "To be perfectly honest, Gray, I didn't come here about the books, but since you so kindly mentioned it, I would appreciate if you would please take better care of them," I replied. "I certainly don't come into your grandfather's business and take the tools off the wall and leave them for you to pick up."

"If you didn't want me to leave them there, you could've damn well have told me."

"Oh, yes, because you so often tell me what's on your mind."

"Even when I did, you didn't believe a damn word of it."

"How could I?" I demanded. "It doesn't make any logical sense, Gray. People don't just physically become something they're not. It's not possible."

"I know what I saw!" When he yelled at me, my whole body seemed to go ice cold. It was not as if he had never lost his temper in front of me before, but I was still startled by the veracity in his voice. A feeling that only grew as he took a hold of my shoulders and shook me. "And he's shown me himself that it's true. Go ask him. He'll show you."

"You're hurting me." I had tried to be firm, but my eyes still stung with tears. Gray hadn't really hurt me, but in saying so, I managed to get him to stop at least. He let go, his face having gone pale, and I knew he was upset by what he had done. I even heard him mutter an apology as he put his hand over his face to calm himself. "Are you all right?"

"What the hell do you think?"

I chose not to let him upset me again, but it was hard for me to bite my tongue. He pulled his hand away from his face, and once I took a look at him, I could see the heavy dark bags under his eyes. It was apparent he hadn't had any sleep for a very long time. So much so that I thought it might even explain what he had been experiencing- not that I would mention it to him after he had just gotten out of a rage.

"You left this," I offered, holding the slip of paper out to him. Gray snatched it away from me, but as soon as he saw what I had written, he looked surprised. "I translated it for you," I explained, "although I don't really understand why it's important to you."

"Thanks..."

It was then that he shut the door, and I found myself sighing just to try and break the silence that followed. I was upset, of course, which I guess was only natural. No one liked being talked to in that way, after all, and I certainly was no exception. I just had to hope that things between Gray and I would not become any worse because, honestly...

I wasn't so sure I could bring myself to see him any more.