Why do people always say that? Lila wondered. It only makes the clapping wind down instead of--But Mr. Dunkel was speaking again.

"I'd like to announce a short intermission before our Senior Choir performs," he said. "Choir, please meet me backstage in ten minutes."

Thank you, thank you, thought Lila gratefully, jumping to her feet. At least she'd be able to get out of this cramped auditorium seat for a while. She turned to her parents.

"I think I'll get up and stretch my legs," she told them politely. Before they explode, "Would either of you like anything? There's juice and stuff out in the lobby."

But both the Crawfords were already pulling out work from the briefcases they'd brought with them for just this kind of emergency. "No, thanks, dear," said Mrs. Crawford absently. "Maybe after the concert, though."

"Fine. See you later." Lila squirmed her way past a row of knees and coats and headed out to the front hall. It was a little less cramped there, but still DARK DREAMS.

163.

. . . Without conscious thought she walked to the front door and pushed it open.

Instant relief. Blessedly icy air streamed over her face, cooling her burning skin and bringing her back to herself. The moon was nowhere in sight yet, Lila saw. In maybe forty-five more minutes she'd be able to escape from all this turmoil and- "Hey! What're you trying to do, freeze us to death?" someone shouted from behind her. "Close that door!"

"Sorry," Lila called back over her shoulder, and stepped out onto the front steps alone.

Outside, the night was even better. The wind was so strong Lila could hardly stand upright against it. The bare silhouettes of trees were whipping back and forth against the sky, and hundreds of dead leaves were skittering along the sidewalk like tiny dried-out ghosts. This is perfect, Lila thought gratefully, holding her face up to the wind. This is exactly what I needed.

"Well, look at our nature girl communing with the heavens," came a drawling voice from around the corner of the school.

"Karin." Lila didn't have to turn around to know 164 * Children of the Night who was talking. She leaned against the wall of the school resignedly. Karin Engals strolled over, a lit cigarette in one hand.

"Want one?" she asked. "Oh, no. I forgot you're not-smoking for two."

"That whole routine is getting kind of boring, you knowI' said Lila as cheerfully as she could manage. "You're working it to death. You should get a little more variety into your act. Isn't there some other way you could pick on me? You know- rig my locker or steal my friends or something?"

"You don't really have many friends left, or haven't you noticed?" Karin blew an expressive plume of smoke straight into Lila's face. "And speaking of acts, you shouldn't try to steal mine. I mean, stop acting all casual with me. It doesn't work. You're not good at pretending you don't care about things. I'd believe you a lot more easily if you'd stamp your feet and cry."

"Why should I? I'm really not that upset," said Lila serenely. At least not tonight. At least now that I have something to look forward to.

"Really? Not with Mr. Motorcycle to keep you company, I guess. Your little imaginary friend."

DARK DRKAMS * 165.

Lila spun around to face the other girl. "Where did you hear about him?" she gasped before she could stop herself. Who betrayed me?

"Where do you think?" Karin exhaled another plume of smoke. "From Marci and Samantha."

" They told you? Not that there's anything to tell," Lila added hastily.

"I know there isn't. There certainly isn't When are you going to introduce us all to him?" Karin asked tauntingly. "When are you going to meet him yourself? Don't you think it's kind of pathetic to be fainting around after someone you've never even said hi to?"

The moon was rising. Lila could feel it. Its force was building up inside her like evil champagne.

"You'd better go back inside, Karin," she said in a low voice. "I mean it."

"Oooh! So dramatic!" said Karin with a giggle. "What happens if I stay? Do we have a catfight?"

Lila couldn't answer. The change was upon her, and it was happening too fast.

Her paims. Her nails. Her skin. Her jaw.

Her skeleton was mutating. A tail appeared.

166 * Children of the Night "What is your problem?" Karin asked. "You're looking really weird, I hate to tell you."

Lila opened her mouth to explain, but only a snarl came out. She felt her teeth growing, sharpening. She dropped to her knees. Swiftly her leg joints rearranged themselves.

"Oh, no," Karin whispered. "No. No. No. No."

With her last second of human sight, Lila saw fear burst into flower on Karin's face. With her last second of human consciousness, she felt an incredible rush of satisfaction. Now do you think I'm acting too casual?

Karin, too, dropped to her knees, but it was only to pray.

"Please, Lila. Whoever you are. Please go away," she begged insanely, "I-I never meant to-"

Now Lila's eyes had changed, too, and all she saw was the enemy standing in front of her.

Who is this tormenter? Why is it blocking my path like this? she asks herself. The human is a shaking, trembling blob on the ground before her, but the wolf doesn't waste any time on pity.

DARK DREAMS * 167.

She gathers her strength and lunges forward, aiming right for the throat.

What began as Karin's scream turns into a sickening gurgle. The wolf grabs her by the neck and shakes her hard.

Somewhere a door bursts open, dropping a long rectangle of light onto the lawn.

"Anybody out here? It's time to-Hey, what's happening?" a familiar voice shouts hoa.r.s.ely. "Oh, my G.o.d! Help! Somebody get help!"

People pour out the door in a jumble of noise.

In a flash the wolf vanishes. Karin-her eyes lolling whitely, her throat gaping, ripped open-rolls down the front steps and lies motionless at the bottom.

Two Wolves He is standing in the same place where he stood last night. Once again, he waits motionless as she approaches.

They do not use words to communicate. Somehow each knows what the other is thinking. They send a series of images and emotions back and forth in a silent language neither knew until they met.

Trouble? he asks when she is close enough for him to see the blood drenching the front half of her body.

Terrible trouble. Quickly the female sends him the image of what she has just done. As he absorbs the story, his body grows tense.

I'm sorry, she falters, sensing his unease.

Too late for that, he answers somewhat wearily. But I had hoped for more time. . . . The male thinks for a second. Follow me, he finally says.

He leads her to the stream and plunges in. After a second, she does the same. The icy water hits her like a knife, but after a second she's grateful to it. You can't feel any emotions when you 're fighting off such cold.

As the stream courses over her, rinsing away the blood, the female begins to care less and less about what DARK DRKAMS * 169.

she's just been through. It's over. She couldn't help it. And in the meantime, she's here. That troubled other world doesn't seem real now. Why not put it out of her mind?

Which is just what she does for the rest of the night. The forest is so beautiful, and so untainted.

Unfortunately, morning always comes, whether you want it to or not.

CHAPTER 14.

The sun was just slipping into view when Lila rernaterialized in her bedroom in human form. Immediately she noticed that the house seemed strangely busy for that hour of the morning. Already there was the smell of coffee brewing, and the sound of footsteps walking rapidly downstairs. Tiptoeing to her door, Li!a opened it a crack and heard a strange woman's voice talking on the phone downstairs. She walked softly to the window and peered outside. There was a police car parked in front of the house.

"What's that for?" Lila muttered distractedly. Why would there be police at her house? Could they know? How?

Then she realized what must be going on, and sat limply down on her bed in dismay. They were look- DARK DREAMS * 171.

ing for her. Not for the wolf-for her, Lila. She hadn't been home all night.

How am I going to explain this? For the second time?

Thank heaven she wasn't covered with blood this morning. It was going to be tough enough to explain everything else. Like, for example, how she had gotten upstairs to her room without anyone seeing her.

Oh, G.o.d, she was so tired. She would never be able to come up with a decent story, and yet she had no choice, really, because who would believe her if she told the truth?

She couldn't hide up here for much longer, anyway. It would only be putting off the inevitable. She had to think of something right now.

I'll bluff it, she thought grimly. I have nothing to lose.

Lila pushed her door open and walked resolutely into the hall. "Mom?" she called down the stairs. "Where are you?"

"Lila!" Her mother dashed up the stairs and gripped her daughter fiercely by the shoulders. "Where on earth have you been?" she asked furiously. "We've been looking for you all night!" She 172 Children of the Night called to someone over her shoulder. "It's all right. She's here."

In a second a police officer-a young woman with curly red hair-and Lila's father had joined Mrs. Crawford at the foot of the stairs. Here comes the bride, thought Lila idiotically as she stared down at their upturned faces. My one chance to make a big entrance, and I forget my lines.

"Well, young lady?" said her father sternly. "What's your explanation for putting us through this agony?"

"I'll tell you." Lila's voice was faint. "But Mom, please let go. You're hurting me."

"Let's all go into the kitchen," suggested the officer authoritatively. "I'll just call in to the station and let them know she's here, and then she can fill us in."

Once they were all in the kitchen, Lila collapsed into a chair. It wasn't an act. She could hardly stand. Her mother appeared unmoved, however. Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms and gave Lila her best I'm-waiting-for-this glare.

"I've already told Sergeant Gioia you pulled this DARK DRKAMS * 173.

stunt last month," she said crossly. "So don't act as though it's the first time."

"It's not like that, Mom." Obviously she was going to have to lie her way out of this. Still, she'd probably do best to stick as close to the truth as she could. "You heard about what happened to Karin Engals?"

"Of course we did. We were there," her father reminded her. "Why do you think we called the police?"

Lila leaned her head on her hands. "Mom, I saw what happened to her."

Sergeant Gioia leaned forward quickly. "You saw the attack?" she asked.

Lila shuddered. Again, it wasn't an act. "Yes, I did. I had just gone out to get some air. It was so stuffy in the school. I saw her walking around smoking a cigarette by herself." Her chin was trembling uncontrollably. Even the doctored version of the story was terrible to think about. "We started talking. And while we were standing there, this dog came out at us from around the side of the building. A big dog. Like a husky or something. I 174 * Children of the Night couldn't see it too well. I thought it was Karin's dog, maybe.

"But it obviously wasn't," she went on. "It kind of leaped on her. And Karin screamed, and fell, and . .. and there was so much blood all over the place. And the dog started shaking her by the neck."

Lila put her head in her hands. "And then it went for me," she said.

"The dog attacked you?" asked the officer.

"It wanted to, but it didn't touch me," Lila said quickly. This time around, she didn't want anyone asking why she wasn't b.l.o.o.d.y. "I ran away just in time. The dog kept on after me."

"Why didn't you scream?" asked the officer.

Lila's eyes widened. "I did! I screamed like crazy! But no one heard me, I guess. By then, I was way out on the football field."

"That's entirely possible, in all the crowd," her father said grudgingly. He turned to Mrs. Craw-ford. "You know how hard it was to find anyone what with all those hysterical types milling around outside. That's why we thought Lila must have gone home," he told Sergeant Gioia.

"I wanted to go home," Lila lied. "But the dog DARK DRKAMS * 175.

wouldn't stop chasing me. Finally I came to this tree I could climb."

"You were still on the football field?" asked the officer skeptically.

"Oh, no, no. I don't really know where I was by then. Coming into a neighborhood, I think. Like maybe over near Oakdale Drive?" Lila said tentatively.

"And you didn't see anyone?" the officer asked.

"Well, I wasn't ... I wasn't near any of the houses." Please don't let this story fall apart, Lila prayed. "I was sort of just coming up on their backyards. Anyway, so I climbed this tree as fast as I could." Lila held out her hands. "You can see where it scratched me. And the dog just stayed down there, waiting for me. I don't know how long it was. 1 couldn't see my watch. But finally it walked away.

"I didn't dare come down, though," Lila continued. "I stayed up there for maybe another hour. In case it was waiting for me somewhere nearby. And then when it finally started to get a little bit lighter, I climbed down and headed for home. . . . And here I am," she finished warily.

176 * Children of the Night Was it going to work? Lila realized with a pang that Sergeant Gioia was still looking doubtful. "But you came from upstairs," she said slowly.

Uh-oh. There was only one thing to say, and it was pretty feeble. "I climbed in through my bedroom window. I didn't want to worry my parents."

"Didn't want to worry us!" her mother exclaimed incredulously. "What are you talking about, Lila? Why, we were already worried sick! And why wouldn't it worry us to have you climb through the window, for heaven's sake?"

"I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly, Mom." Lila's voice cracked. "I really don't want to talk anymore. I'm awfully tired, and school will be starting soon. Can't I please just go take a shower and change my clothes?"