The Taint of Wolves

Curiosity.

Chapter 18:  Curiosity.

The tutor arrived the next day, clasping a mountain of books in reedy arms. He was older than I had taught, with salt-grey hair and kind eyes. I set us up in the music room.

I skirted around him nervously as Easton made him a welcoming cup of tea. It made me nervous to have him here–as if I was back in school again.

"Hello there," the man's voice was crackly–old and worn. He held out a hand to me, his fingers trembling slightly. "My name is Thomas."

The mug seemed heavy for his wrists, so I went back and forth, helping him to bring things into the music-room where a study desk had been set out.

"Nova." Easton called to me softly. "I have something for you."

Thomas just trundled back to the music-room, humming gently under his breath. Easton led me down to his office and I stepped inside, scanning over the neatly kept room. Not a page lay out of place on the desk and a set of photos lining the wall of Easton in varying stages of his life. I was drawn to a picture sitting on top of a filing cabinet – of Easton and a young girl with eyes that were just as golden. He grinned shyly at the camera, while the girl slung her arm over his narrow shoulders.

"I was eight there." He glanced over. "That's my cousin, Wendy."

"You're cute." The pictures showed Easton as a big child – someone who bloomed up and out. "Where's your cousin?"

"She's a school-teacher back in Lidvarn."

"Oh."

He pulled a box out from his desk and slid it across to me. It was just a small, coloured box made of plastic. Inside, neatly lain, were note-pads and copies and sets of glittering pens, pencils and rubbers. All of them had some kind of design on them and I grinned, reaching for a lady-bug pen. When I shook it, the bug at the top wiggled. "Are these all for me?"

"If you want them."

"You know me too well." I took them gratefully, casting him a look. "Do you have a file on me?"

He motioned to one of the filing cabinets against the right wall. "Bottom drawer."

"Can I..?" Why was I asking. I set down the box, pulling the drawer open. It was only half-full, with files neatly stacked together. I eased them out, flipping open the first one.

A missing poster.

Nova Blue Linden. Age 16. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Approximately five foot ten. Last seen wearing a navy school uniform, pleated tartan skirt and black loafers.

I continued to rifle through. There were school photos – of my teenage face, grinning wide and bold. In one, I wore a woven band of daisies. In some ways, I was still the same. "You have my school reports too?"

Easton sat on the edge of his desk, watching me. "I do."

"You have a lot on me." It was un-nerving to see the depth of detail in the files. He had immaculately kept notes of what seemed to be searches for me, for my body. There were even post-mortem notes from the bodies of unknown woman found, marking that they definitely were not Nova Linden. "Some people might be creeped out by that. This is very stalker-like."

He braced his thick arms on the desk. "I was going to find you. One way or the other, I would find where you had gone."

"And if they found eventually me, dead and rotted?"

"Then I would dismantle the Ravi. Just like I had taken down the monarchy." Easton vowed.

"And because I'm alive?"