Dreamwalkers by Kate Spofford Page A

dreams, but he isn’t sleeping. He’s just
running. I get these glimpses, but he can’t hear me, I can tell. I
scream at him to stop running. He can’t hear me.
    “Kayla?”
    “Daniel’s gone, okay? I don’t want to talk
about him.”
    There goes any hope of this being a fun
trip.
     
     

 
     
-15-
     
    The awkward silence stretches over the miles.
Remy never made a move toward the radio so I put it on, tuning it
to my favorite station.
    By the time we stop to get the rental car,
I’m starving. I wait outside the dealership, staring over rows and
rows of shiny cars. I imagine it’s better to be outside. People
might get suspicious of a young teenage girl alone on a school day
with some random guy in his twenties.
    It makes me feel like a total freak that my
two choices of romantic partners are
    my first cousin
    a distant relative who others might think is
a pedophile.
    Oh Alex Lo, what are you up to now?
Seriously, there has to be someone better out there for me. Someone
approximately my age who is not part of my family tree.
    It takes a while for the paperwork and all.
By the time we’re back on the road I’ve had an opportunity to come
up with some conversation topics to fill the three hours or so we
still have to drive.
    “If you were stranded on a deserted island,
what three things would you bring with you?”
    Remy gives me a long, concerned look.
    “You might want to keep your eyes on the
road.”
    When it becomes clear that Remy is not going
to answer my hypothetical question, I give my own answer. “If I
were stranded on a deserted island, I would bring a good sharp
knife. I wouldn’t need anything else.”
    “Really.”
    “Yes. Really. I can use a knife to start a
fire, to cut wood and build a shelter, and to protect myself.”
    “Not even your favorite teddy bear? A photo
album?”
    “Nope.”
    “Not the sentimental type, then?”
    “You gonna answer my question or just
criticize my answer?”
    Remy thinks for a moment, then says, “I
wouldn’t bother bringing anything.”
    “Nothing?”
    “I’ve got my wolf for hunting for food, and
I’m sure I could find some natural shelter.”
    My jaw clenches because he’s right. Wolves
will survive. They don’t need warmth or shelter. Especially not on
a tropical island.
    “What both of us should bring is a life raft.
So we could get off the island.”
    “Okay, Mr. Smartypants. If you could have one
extra hour in the day to do only one thing, what would that one
thing be?”
    “Seriously? What’s with the icebreaker
questions?”
    I cross my arms over my chest. “I think it’s
a good way to get to know someone.”
    “You don’t feel like you know me?” He flashes
me a most untrustworthy smile.
    “No, I don’t. You’re a total mystery. I never
knew you existed until a couple weeks ago, and now you’re around
every day. But I don’t know you.”
    “I bet you say that about everyone who isn’t
in your pack.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    He’s quiet for a moment. I’m interested to
learn his answer to my question. I know what I’m going to say: I’d
spend that hour learning archery. I’ve been wanting to learn
archery every since I read The Hunger Games last year.
    “I don’t think you can ever really know a
person.”
    Not the answer I was expecting.
    “Really? Never?”
    “Spoken like someone who’s never been
betrayed,” Remy says.
    “I’ve been betrayed.” Daniel definitely
betrayed me by running away. But it wasn’t like I didn’t see that
coming. He was always on the border of being ready to crack under
the pressure. Which is why I had to follow him around in wolf form
for three months before I thought he could handle the fact that he
was a werewolf.
    “By who?”
    I twist in my seat so I’m staring directly at
the side of Remy’s face. “I asked you a question. Stop turning it
around on me. I’m never going to trust you if you never answer any
questions about yourself.”
    “You’re not really asking