"How did you?" I asked only for the woman to wave her hands in a gesture that meant, I had to follow her as she spoke, "Your Grams said that you had a habit of sneaking out whenever your family was so you could go to the Mall to either play or shop or ice skate?"
I went behind the counter where two chairs sat along with a tea pot and two cups on a small stool. She took her seat and waited for me to do the same. She poured me a cup and handed it over to me. When it was in my hand, what she said finally registered inside my head, "Gram? Wait, you know my Grams?"
Picking up her own cup, she nodded and answered, "Of course, Genevieve was always talking about you whenever we chatted."
I suddenly had a mental vision of this woman and Grams Skyping and telling each other old lady secrets. Shaking my head, I watched her sip her tea and nod at the cup as if agreeing with the taste, "How do you know my Grams? And who are you?"
"My name is Audrey, your Grams and I grew up together, I`d imagine that if she hadn`t left her hometown you and my grandchildren would be friends now," Audrey said as I blinked.
"You have grandkids?"
Audrey frowned at me," Of course I have, grandkids, what do you –"
I held my hand and shook my head," Sorry, sorry, I didn`t mean for it to sound like that. It just came out...like that." I then grimaced as it turns out that my attempted apology sounded even worse.
Audrey arched a brow at me, "Well, you definitely didn`t get that from your grandmother, she wasn`t always so clumsy with her words."
I reared back and winced," Sorry to disappoint."
"You can take what I said as either a compliment or an insult, you being you shouldn`t be problem," Audrey said and nodded at my cup," Try it, it`s Earl Grey, it`s good for the nerves."
Nodding at her, I lifted my cup up and caught a faint smell of lemon grass before sipping the tea. I then smiled as she was right. Earl Grey tea. Good for the nerves.
"So, are you excited for your ceremony, Genevieve told me that you were close to bursting yesterday, "Audrey revealed to me and I shook my head.
"It was just a bit overwhelming, I had initially thought that my Mansion would be chosen for me, not the other way around."
Audrey made a sound like she was agreeing when the sound of knocking made us both stand form our seats. I grimaced when I realized that it was Grams. She was shaking her head at me as Audrey moved to open the shop door. As soon as she entered, she and Audrey hugged before she approached me. I put down my tea cup and waited for the end of my social life.
"Grams?" I asked as I twisted my hands nervously but she held up her hand and that was my que to stop talking. She turned to Audrey who stood beside her," Thank you for calling me."
"No problem, we all do what we can to make sure the young ones don't get caught in anything bad."
"Unfortunately for me, this one is just yearning to grow up," Grams revealed and I resisted the urge to squirm.
"We all did at some point remember?" Audrey reminded Grams as she winked at me.
"Don`t remind me," Grams said before turning back to me," And as for you, young lady, let`s go before your parents find out about this."
I stepped forward, determined to explain myself, "I`m sorry, I just- "
"We will finish this at home, now let`s go. I`ve delayed your parents by sending them on a wild goose chase," Grams revealed and I desperately tried to stop the smile that was creeping onto my face. Even if I was in trouble, she`d somehow always help me. I was then told to hug Audrey good bye before we left. As Audrey released me from her hug, she frowned slightly and turned to my Grams.
"Gen? About her decision," Audrey began
Grams cut in, "I know, it`s a lot pressure but I`m sure it`ll be fine," She then reached out to caress my cheek and I smiled, "She'll make the right choice."
"No, it`s not that, "Audrey corrected her which made us both turn our attention back to her. Grams removed her hand and sighed, "What is it then?"
"I have a feeling that it`s a lot bigger than that," Audrey answered.
"What do you mean?"
Audrey hesitated as she scanned my face before asking Grams, "Do you have our neighbors' numbers?"
I then knew that it was sore subject as the air turned cold inside the shop. Grams face became guarded as she pursed her lips. She then replied, "They aren`t currently on my home book, why?"
Audrey shrugged despite the tense atmosphere she had created, "Ask your son in law. I have a feeling you might be needing their help soon."
Grams gave a sharp nod before she urged me to move. We left with one last goodbye before leaving the Mall. Once outside, we caught a cab and Grams gave our address with instructions to get there in record time. She added that the driver would receive a large tip if we got there in the next ten minutes. As we drove, I still couldn`t get over what Audrey had said. It almost felt like she was warning us about something. Finally, I could take it anymore and turned to my Grams, "Grandma, what did she mean by our neighbors?"
Grams stiffened before slowly turning to me with a smile, "It`s nothing, butterfly."
"It was something, you were stiff inside the shop as soon as she brought it up,"
"An old grudge, nothing worth revisiting, "Grams said as she leaned across to fix my cap and tapped my nose playfully," Let`s just focus on tomorrow night."
Sighing, I nodded," Okay."
When we got home, Grams tipped the driver as I ran up to the house. I then sat on the Porch and waited till Grams opened the door. She then muttered something about starting on dinner while I entered behind her and searched the hallway for Oracle. I took off my cap before throwing it on the drawer near the front door.
"Maybe she`s in the living room," I muttered as I ran a hand through my hair.
I put my bag pack down on the floor and called out for Oracle. In the living room, I leaned over the couch and frowned when I saw that she wasn`t there. Frowning, I stood up and turned to the stairs when the air inside the house felt heavy. Eye widening, I ran to the kitchen calling out for Grams
When I got there, I screamed when a huge black wolf stood in my way growling. Behind the counter stood Grams stood against the fridge with her hands held up as three wolves made growled at her. They weren`t normal wolves, they were the size of our couch.
"Grams?" I called out.
She turned to me as her eyes glowed blue, "Run! Thalia!"
A sudden burst of light lit up the kitchen area and I turned and ran down the hallway for the back door. Remembering a simple unlocking spell, I muttered it as I pushed the door open and ran out past the pool. Behind me, a glass window broke and I turned to see the wolf from before running after me. Fight or flight mode. Something I had heard about from my mum. Right now, my body was in flight mode. I couldn`t fight. I didn`t know if I could fight wolves the size of couches. Grams told me to run. So I had to run.
Crying, I pushed myself to jump over the wooden fence in our backyard and ran into the forest. A moment later, I heard a howl and tried not to scream as several more echoed form behind me. I must have a run for what file like forever when something hit me on the left, making yell as I fell on the forest floor and hot my heat on a tree root. Turning around, I screamed as pain like nothing I`ve ever felt flowed form my shoulder.
Teeth. There were teeth inside my shoulder. I could hear it growling as it continued to tighten its lock on my shoulder. I screamed again and finally a blue light threw the wolf away but not before it tore a chunk of my shoulder off. Snarling, it then took off as I cried.
My entire left side was on fire and the world was turning blurry.
"Thalia!"
"Mummy," I cried out softly before I felt her beside me.
"Oh my Goddess! Thalia! Baby!" Mum cried as she put her hands on my face and slowly turned my face towards her.
"Mummy, it hurts," I whimpered as tears rolled down my face.
"Thalia!" I heard dad call out for me.