The Wolves of Midwinter (The Wolf Gift Chronicles 2)

“Well, Reuben, we will ask for his indulgence on that night when we go out into the forest. We’ll call it a European thing, you know. Something like that. I’ll speak with him about it. I’m sure he will gladly allow us our private Old World customs. He knows so much history, your father. He knows so much about the old pagan ways in Europe. He’s a reader of wide scholarship. And he has that Celtic gift.”

Reuben felt uneasy.

“Is it a powerful gift?” he asked.

“Well, I think it is,” said Felix, “but don’t you know?”

“We’ve never talked about it, me and Phil,” he said. “I do recall his saying his grandmother saw ghosts and that he’d seen them, but that was all there was to it. In our house, people weren’t very receptive to that kind of talk.”

“Well, there’s a great deal more, I’m sure. But the main thing is you needn’t be the least concerned. I’ll explain that on Christmas Eve we have our private customs.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Reuben. Lisa was filling his cup with hot chocolate again. “That’s how we’ll handle it, of course.

“Listen, there’s something I have to confess,” said Reuben. He waited until Lisa had left the library. “There was a little girl here tonight—.”

“I know, dear boy. I saw her. I recognized her from the papers. I greeted her and her friend when they came in. They didn’t expect to be admitted so easily. They asked to speak to you. I told them everyone was welcome. I insisted they join the party. I told them they’d find you in the main room. And I saw you later with them by the crèche. You had quite a good effect on the little girl’s spirits.”

“You know, I didn’t reveal anything to her, not deliberately in any event. I was just trying to assure her that yes, the Man Wolf was real, and what she’d seen was real—.”

“Don’t worry. I knew that’s what you would do. I trusted that you would handle it beautifully, and I saw that you did.”

“Felix, I think maybe she suspected … because I might have said something, just something offhand that made her recognize me, I mean, for a minute anyway. I’m not sure.”

“Don’t worry, Reuben. Do you realize how few people tonight even mentioned the Man Wolf, or asked about the scene here? Oh, there was a lot of whispering, but it was the party that mattered tonight. Let’s enjoy our pleasant memories of the party. And if the little girl is troubled, well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

There was a moment of silence and then Felix said, “I know you were quite mystified with Hockan Crost and a number of the others tonight,” he said. “Stuart’s no doubt puzzled by them as well.”

Reuben’s heart skipped a beat. “Morphenkinder, obviously.”

Felix sighed. “Oh, if you knew how little I care for their company.”

“I think I understand. They made me curious, that’s all. I guess it’s only natural.”

“They’ve never approved very much of me and my ways,” said Felix. “This house, my old family. And the village, they’ve never understood my love of the village. They don’t understand the things I do. And they blame me for some of my own misfortune.”

“So I gathered,” said Reuben.

“But at Midwinter Morphenkinder never turn away their own kind. And it’s never been my policy to turn away others at any time, really. There are ways to live this life, and my way has always been one of inclusion—of our own kind, of all humankind, of all spirits, of all things under the sun. It’s not a virtue with me. I don’t know any other way to move through the world.”

“But you didn’t actually invite them.”

“I did not invite them, no, but then all the world was invited. And they knew that. And I’m not surprised that they came, and it’s understood that they may join us for the Yule celebration. And if they come, we will of course include them. But frankly, I don’t think they will. They have their own ways of celebrating Yule.”

“That man, Hockan Crost, you seemed to like him,” Reuben ventured.

“Did you?”

“He’s very impressive,” said Reuben. “His voice is positively beautiful.”

“He’s always been something of a poet and an orator,” said Felix, “and he is magnetic, and I daresay immensely attractive. Those black eyebrows of his, those black eyes, and the white mane of hair; he’s quite unforgettable.”

“And is he old and experienced?” asked Reuben.

“Yes,” said Felix. “Oh, nothing as old as Margon. There is no one as old as Margon, and no one as widely respected as Margon. And Hockan is kin to us, I mean quite literally kin to us. We have our differences but I can’t dislike him. There are times when I’ve deeply appreciated Hockan. It’s Helena one has to be wary of, and Fiona.”

“I caught that, but why? What is it that so offends them?”

“Anything and everything I do,” he said. “They have a way of interfering in the business of others, but only when it suits them.” He seemed annoyed. “Helena’s hearty, proud of her age, of her experience. But the truth is she’s very young in our world, and so is Fiona—and certainly in our company.”

Reuben remembered Fiona’s unusually intrusive question as to whether Phil was coming to live at Nideck Point. He repeated the exchange to Felix. “I couldn’t imagine why this concerned her.”

“She’s concerned because he’s not one of us,” said Felix. “And she can damn well keep out of it. I have always lived among human beings, always. My descendants lived here for generations. And this is my home and this is your home. She can keep her bloody notions to herself.” He sighed.

Reuben’s head was swimming.

“I’m sorry,” said Felix. “I didn’t mean to become so very unpleasant. Fiona has a way of provoking me.” He extended his hand suddenly. “Reuben, don’t let me alarm you with all this. They’re not a particularly frightening bunch of kindred. They’re a little bit more, well, brutal than we are. It’s just that right now they share the Americas with us, so to speak. It could be worse. The Americas are enormous, aren’t they?” He laughed under his breath. “There could be a lot more of us.”

“Are they a pack, then, a pack with a leader in Hockan?”