two feet before he grabbed me around the waist and dragged me to the ground.
“No flying! Where is it?”
“Get off,” I yelled, kicking up leaves as I thrashed in his grasp.
“No! That thing is dangerous, Caroline. Give it to me!”
“NO!”
He flipped me onto my stomach and sat down hard on top of me. A small part of my brain shouted, Ooh yay! before I shut it out. I swung my fists backward, but they were useless. I started kicking at him instead. He growled and grunted, managed to grab onto my ankle and tore at the sock until he found the necklace.
“No,” I shouted again. “Please don’t take it! We could use it. I could fly low. We could find Marianne faster that way. It’s all right, I’ve got it.”
“No, you do not.” The necklace chain broke free. “I don’t know why she gave this to you but you are not using it again.”
He climbed off of me. I was on my feet in a moment. Wolf backed away, eyeing me intensely. He tucked the necklace away in one of his inside jacket pockets. I pouted, but didn’t advance. He was a wolf; he could take me down in a second.
“Now we are going to go,” he said, his voice low and even, “and I am going to find someone or some way to dispose of this thing properly. It’s got magic in it, and it’s all over you.”
I blinked slowly for a few minutes before heaving a sigh. “You’re right. When I was in the tree, I kept wanting it to work. It’s just…it’s so good to fly. To fly and fly—”
“Forever?”
I paused again.
“Look my love, as much as I find being near you irresistible, if you touch me I’ll have to tie you up and carry you the entire way.”
After another moment I nodded and we headed out.
We didn’t talk at all as we traveled. Wolf kept sneaking glances at me, as if expecting me to go for his throat at any moment. All that paranoia was kind of nice, actually. A satisfying change after what I’d experienced so far in this place. But he had good reason to suspect me. I was conspiring to get the necklace away from him. I could feel it tugging at me. I silently tugged back. The old woman had said it would help keep me grounded. Hah. With that necklace I would grow wings again and sail away into the clouds. But first I had to figure out a way to make Wolf part with it. I was glad he didn’t want to wear it. The idea of him sprouting wings and flying off to leave me all alone was unbearable.
It didn’t take too long to reach the trail, and we hiked on it the rest of the day. Once the sun began to set Wolf said we should move off path, mumbling something about the full moon only three days away and a strange scent.
I dumped the pack, and within moments he had a good fire going. He sat with his back against a tree, occasionally glancing my way. I sighed and walked over to him, stopping a few feet away.
“I’m not going to try and take it,” I said, rolling my eyes.
He snorted.
“You’d kick my ass ten ways from Sunday. Besides,” I moved closer and leaned against the tree, “I’ve felt a lot better ever since you took that thing away from me.”
He looked up, eyes narrowed. “Really?”
I nodded. “I have no idea why she gave that thing to me. We ought to dump it in a lake or something.”
“Hmm. I guess maybe it is wearing off. She wasn’t a bad witch. That was easy to see. I just don’t know why she handed over something so dangerous.”
“Maybe she’s old and senile. I mean, I almost got eaten by harpies because of that stupid necklace.”
I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair. In a second he jerked away, glaring up at me with blazing eyes.
“Geez, will you chill out? I don’t want the damn thing anymore.”
He huffed and his nostrils flared, but eventually he sat back again. I resumed gently stroking his head. Strange—though his hair looked human enough, it felt almost exactly like a wolf’s fur. This time he didn’t stop me. Instead he let his head drop forward a little, clearly indulging in the sensation. I grinned. He began to make short, faint howling noises. I combed my fingers through his hair, slowly, and then