Wolves among men by penelope sweet Page B

Tonight at sunset you will come back
here.” He added as though we had no choice. “It’ll be fun, I
promise.” It was starting to become unnerving how he seemed to be
able to tell just what I was thinking.
     
    “ Food?” Cordillia asked
with a smile.
     
    “ I plan on roasting a
deer.” She shot back happily and grinned.
     
    “ Never had it.” She shook
her head with a smile.
     
    “ Then you’re in for a
treat young lady.” It wasn’t until I listened to the two of them
that I realized just how hungry I was.
     
    We passed the rest of the time getting
to know our new friend. Cordillia asked most of the questions and I
just listened happily as he spilled the details of his life story
at her feet. He told us that he came from a long line of medicine
men and that his family had lived on this stretch of land for over
a hundred years.
     
    “ Have you seen anything
like this before?” I asked, motioning toward Cordillia. Solemnly he
nodded and leaned back into his chair.
     
    “ Once when I was a child.”
He began with a deep breath. “A boy named Mason, he was about
sixteen and one afternoon he and his father went hunting in the
woods when they were attacked by a large creature, at least that’s
how he told it.”
     
    “ What happened to him?”
Cordillia asked quietly.
     
    “ He walked back into town
and my father found him crawling up the front steps of this cabin.”
He motioned toward the door. “My father brought him in and fixed
him up with the same salve I used to cure you.” He smiled at
Cordillia.
     
    “ So he lived.”
     
    “ In a way.” Robert nodded.
“His body healed but his mind was never the same.”
     
    “ What do you mean? He went
crazy?”
     
    “ Even the strongest of
minds can have a hard time accepting dark truths.” He nodded. “He
spent the rest of his short life paranoid and almost never left his
home. He grew dependent on his sister and his mother to take care
of him until one day he put an end to it.”
     
    “ He killed himself.”
Robert nodded. “But why?” Cordillia sat at the edge of her seat as
Robert shrugged slightly.
     
    “ He didn’t leave a note or
tell anyone why but in a way I think his family was relived. In
some small way death was a release for him.” A shared sense of
understanding filled the room as the deep rumble of my truck’s
engine shook the floor and brought a smile to my lips. We helped
Cordillia off of the couch and she leaned against me as we followed
Robert outside to greet his son.
     
    It was a short visit as Marcus jotted
down some instructions on a piece of paper and handed them to
me.
     
    “ There is a small casino
in the heart of town, they have a hotel so you can clean up and get
some rest there if you need to.” I nodded gratefully. “I’d take you
there myself but I’m on my lunch break.” He smiled.
     
    “ No problem.” I turned
toward Robert and offered him my hand as Marcus helped Cordillia
into the truck. “Thanks man.” He took my hand in his and smiled
sweetly.
     
    “ I’m glad I could help,
you think about what I told you.”
     
    “ I will.” His face
darkened and became serious as he pulled me closer to
him.
     
    “ When the time comes for
you to make a choice remember who you are not who they want you to
be.” I pulled away and looked up at him in confusion.
     
    “ What does that
mean?”
     
    “ Just the ramblings of an
old man.” He smiled as if nothing had happened. I said my goodbyes
and climbed into my truck, my thoughts dancing wildly as I started
the engine and pulled out of the driveway.
     
    “ What did he say to you?”
Cordillia asked as I made my way down the narrow dusty
road.
     
    “ He just told me to look
out for you,” I lied. She nodded slightly and rested her head
against the window, closing her eyes as we pulled out of the woods
and onto the deserted main street of town.

Chapter Eight
     
     
     
    As we drove through the nearly
deserted main streets of town one