A Shift in the Water by Patricia D. Eddy Read Free Book Online

out and back, until she was spent, but oddly energized. The water always did that to her. Through it all, the faint melody echoed in her ears.
    She treated herself to a steak dinner from the hotel’s restaurant that night and a bottle of their most expensive wine that she brought back to her room. What did she care that the meal cost more than two weeks’ worth of groceries? Her black wool pants hung loosely, two sizes too large now after all the weight she’d lost. The wine fuzzed her head, turning her melancholy.
    Out on the balcony, she wrapped herself in a blanket and watched the stars. The rain had come and gone hours ago and the forecast for tomorrow was cold, but clear. She’d have time for another long swim in the morning before heading back to Seattle. Thanksgiving was only a few days away. It was all happening too fast. Everything she did now she did for the last time. A few tears fell onto her lap. After her death, would there be anything left of her in this world? After her family scattered her ashes, would she fade from their memories? She thought of her sister. Katerina hadn’t crossed her mind in years. The woman was twelve years Mara’s senior and in the half an hour Mara had spent with her when she was nineteen, she’d decided that Katerina wasn’t anyone worth knowing. Perhaps she should reach out now. Tell her sister she was dying.
    A gust of wind brought the scent of the recent rains to her nose. It comforted her. No. She wouldn’t reach out to her sister. They shared blood. Nothing more. Now was a time for family. Her true family. Aunt Lil, Jen, Adam, Lisa, and the kids. They’d remember her.
    “Goddess,” she said. “I don’t know if you’re real. Mom believed. Aunt Lil believes.” Mara shook her head. “I want to have mattered. When I’m gone, please let someone, somewhere say that I mattered.”

Four
    The sun rose and painted the desolate yard in a pale sickly light. The wolf looked back at the house. He’d heard a car hours ago and thought the boy might have left. He’d dug harder and faster all through the night, desperate to clear enough of the hard, packed earth to wriggle his battered body under the fence. He thought he might be able to do it now. He pressed his side to the earth. It was hot against his pelt, aggravating his tortured flesh, but he didn’t care. Freedom was within his reach. His back feet scrambled for purchase. He twisted and inched forward, little by little. A piece of metal dug into his shoulder and he whined in pain. The coppery scent of his blood made him retch, but he pressed on. The metal scraped against his ribs, thudding over each one. But his head was outside of the fence. Then his chest. His back legs escaped and he struggled to his feet. He could barely stand, but he had to do more than that. He had to run.
    Ten feet separated the cage from the tall, stone fence. He raced around the property, searching for an exit. The stone was too high for him to jump over, even if he’d been at full strength, but there had to be a way out somewhere. His paws ached with every step. He kept close to the fence line, staying as low as possible. He found the front of the house, but the gate was made of thick metal bars that were too narrow for his body to squeeze through, even as thin as he was. A deep, frustrated growl rumbled through his chest. Maybe he could dig in the backyard. There were blackberry bushes in the southwest corner—some with old berries on them. He chomped down as much of the fruit as he could, grimacing when the thorns tore at his lips.  So hungry . He started to dig under the bushes. The dirt here was soft, uncharmed, and muddy from the rains that had soaked this forsaken place for days on end. He made quick work of it, looking over his shoulder constantly to check for the evil woman or the sneering boy. Deeper and deeper he went. More blood oozed from his paws. He even nosed the dirt with his muzzle to try to clear it. He panted: dizzy, and