This was the last time Lila would ever sleep in her bed. The last time, perhaps, that she'd ever get to sleep late. She might as well make the most of it.

She stretched luxuriously and looked around her room. She would never see it again, but she felt strangely unbothered by the thought.

206 * Children of the Night Her parents-should she feel sorry about leaving them? Try as she might, Lila couldn't manage to squeeze out much guilt. Anyway, life would go much more smoothly for them once she was out of their way.

I wonder if they 'II call the police again. Maybe they 'II just let it go.

Actually, there was almost no one she'd miss anymore. Except, possibly, Corey. Once in a while, maybe, she'd think fondly of him.

Thinking about Corey now, Lila frowned slightly. How much of the truth had he guessed-or seen? He might turn out to be dangerous if he knew too much. But of course there was no way to know that. She just hated leaving a loose end. . . .

Half an hour later, Lila, now dressed in a sweater and jeans, was brushing out her just-washed hair. When she finished, she put down the brush and stared at herself in the mirror for a long time.

Who knows what I'll look like the next time I see myself in a mirror?

She walked through the house quickly, saying good-bye to every room. She was relieved to see that nothing tugged at her emotions. None of her DARK DREAMS * 207.

possessions cried out to come along with her. Everything seemed perfectly content to stay where it was.

At the desk in the hallway, Lila paused for a minute.

"Should I write a note?" she murmured aloud.

She tapped her fingers across the top of the desk, thinking. No, she decided. What could she possibly say that would make sense to her parents? She didn't even know where she was going!

All right, no note. Then it was really time to go.

Lila let herself out of the house, locked the door, and put the key into the mailbox. Her parents would find it there.

What a beautiful fall day it was, just right for a trip.

Lila smiled up at the sky and headed down the street.

She had only gone a few steps when she heard the roar of a motorcycle behind her. When it caught up to her, she climbed aboard and put her arms around the driver's waist.

In seconds the two of them had disappeared from view.

EPILOGUE.

Two wolves race silently through the wintry dark and vanish on the horizon, their pace perfectly matched. They are miles from any human dwellings. No one is there to see them. It is the last night of the full moon.

Ann Hodgman has written over forty books. She lives in Washington, Connecticut, with her husband and two children.