Qaletaqa by DelSheree Gladden Read Free Book Online Page A

marry. For Harvey, a
missing wife and two complete strangers standing in his living room
had definitely tipped him off to the fact that he would never view
life in the same way. Still, regardless of how much our lives had
been disrupted, Harvey and I both wanted the same thing, a future
with the person we loved more than anything.
    “But what about Claire? You’re taking her
with you. Won’t she be in the same danger I would be in?” Harvey
asked.
    “Claire is with me right now,” Uriah said,
“but when I go to meet the Matwau, she will stay behind.” Uriah’s
quick glance in my direction asked me not to contradict him in
front of Harvey. The warning was unnecessary. I kept my lips
tightly sealed.
    “Then why can’t I do the same?” Harvey
asked.
    Uriah’s fingers inched up to his palms,
scrunching into frustrated fists. My reasons for not wanting Harvey
with us with were no doubt shamelessly selfish, but knowing Uriah
so well, I had the feeling his reservations had more to do with
endangering any more people than he believed he already had. He was
so out of his element lying to Harvey, and I feared he had run out
of believable answers.
    “Harvey, we don’t have all the answers, but
we do know how dangerous it is to get involved with the Matwau. The
prophecies concerning Uriah and Melody are very specific.
Attempting to alter them in any way, could change the rules
drastically. If the Matwau becomes aware of your presence, it could
jeopardize Melody’s safety. He could kill her,” I said. “Are you
really willing to take that risk?”
    Harvey’s eyes widened in fear. I felt bad
scaring him, but he seemed to be so overwhelmed that he was ready
to believe almost anything we said to him if it meant his wife
would return unharmed. I knew Melody was truly in danger of dying,
even if not for the reasons I had just stated, but I also knew that
the more people became involved, the more uncertain the outcome
would be. As I held his gaze, I began to wonder if what I said to
Harvey held any truth. The Matwau was incredibly dangerous and the
prophecy had been very specific. What if my refusing to let Uriah
face the Matwau alone tipped the balance away from Uriah? Was that
a risk I was willing to take?
    Slowly, the doubt and fear dripped from
Harvey’s features as he considered my words, and were replaced by
determination. “What do you want me to do?”
    Uriah breathed a deep sigh of relief. “The
most important thing is to pretend Melody is still here. Tell
anyone who asks that she’s sick, with the flu or strep throat,
something contagious. If she’s supposed to be at work, call her
boss and tell him she won’t be in for a few days.”
    “Melody took the whole week off so she could
get the house settled.”
    “Good. Now for your part, I need you to stay
inside the house as much as possible and be very vigilant. The
other creatures I mentioned, they’re still looking for me. I think
they might even come back to check and see if I stopped here,”
Uriah said. “The Matwau led me here on purpose. I don’t know why
for sure, but he’ll have someone watching.”
    Harvey’s eyes narrowed at the thought of one
of the Matwau’s creatures walking around on his property.
    “Call me right away if you see anything
strange lurking around in the woods. They look like wolves, but
bigger and much scarier. You’ll know one if you see it,” Uriah
said. “Now the other thing I need from you is information.”
    “I doubt I’ll have any of that. I’m still
trying to process what you’ve already told me,” Harvey said.
    “This is different. I know where the Matwau
will take her. Well, I know what the place looks like at least,”
Uriah said. “It is in the desert, absolutely barren, but somewhat
near a very heavily forested area. I’m not familiar with, really,
anything outside of New Mexico, but if we can figure out where he’s
taking her maybe I can get there first and get Melody away from him
before he’s