Whispers of the Wolf

Their Loss

What was going on?

Quite a few people were joined together in a group, huddled close, their heads bowed, small murmurs escaping their lips.

Frowning, I threw off my hood, not bothered by the fat raindrops falling on my head and rolling down my cheeks, and walked a little closer to the crowd.

A few sniffs. A couple of cries. Soft mutters. Craning my neck, I tried to see through the people, see what was going in the coffee shop.

I mean, something must be going on for all of these people to be here. Right?

I couldn't see through them though, couldn't even see through the large floor to ceiling window on the front of the shop.

So, what was going on?

A hand touched my shoulder and I turned around, coming face to face with Leo, Conri's friend. Or colleague. Or whatever he was.

"Radley." Leo's voice was soft, his eyes sad. He reached up to squeeze my shoulder, his touch a lot more gentle than Conri's. "Are you here to pay tribute?"

Huh?

What was he talking about?

Cocking my head to the side, I shrugged.

He sighed. "You haven't heard, have you?"

Heard what?

I shook my head, my teeth chattering, shivers running down my arms. A sinking feeling in my stomach told me that I wasn't going to like what Leo had to say.

I watched as he smiled sadly, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. He took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face, the hood of his coat sheltering him from the rain.

"Radley," he started. "Something happened last night." He heaved another sigh, and blinked. "There was an ... attack ... in the woods." His voice was shaky and he pulled his hand from my shoulder to run through his dark grey hair, pulling his hood off his head. "Tala ..." Trailing off, he lifted his eyes to the crowd behind me.

I turned my head to see Conri in the centre of the group of people, his eyes red rimmed and puffy, tear tracks on his cheeks. His dark hair was wet from the rain, and he was shaking hands with the others, hugging some of them, muttering soft words that I couldn't hear. He looked ... broken. Upset.

Bringing my eyes back to Leo, I noticed that he was watching me, a look of despair on his face.

"Tala was attacked last night," he murmured.

An icy cold shiver ran through my body, freezing my blood as cool prickles broke out all over my scalp.

"What?" I croaked, my whole body shivering. The wind blew past, teasing my hair. I shoved my hands deeper into the pockets of my coat, not really aware of the sting of the fabric against my sore skin.

Leo nodded as he sniffed, wiping at his eyes.

"Is ... uh ..." I swallowed. "Is she okay?"

Leo averted his gaze to the floor while he covered his face with his hands. His shoulders shook as he cried silent tears, but my mind was screaming as it threw up images of my dream.

Running through the woods.

Chasing a wolf.

The blood on my hands when I woke up.

Was that ... Tala's blood?

I watched as Leo tried to pull himself together, running his hands down his face, sniffing, wiping tears away, clearing his throat and running a hand across his damp hair.

He blew out a breath and looked straight at me.

"No. She isn't okay, Radley." He shook his head as more tears gathered in his eyes. "Tala was attacked last night ... and she died."

No.

That wasn't right.

It felt as though my breath was knocked out of me as an icy cold sensation washed over my body.

I stared as Leo rubbed his mouth. "Tala was killed last night." His voice shook and he looked away again.

Oh my god!

This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real.

I was still dreaming.

I had to be!

Tala was okay. She was ... Wasn't she?

Wasn't she?

I had wanted something to take my mind off its endless loop. And now I did.

Oh my god.

I really needed to be careful what I wished for.