Page 52 of Wicked Hungry

“Stanley,” he says. “Enrique.”

I just stare at him. Enrique nudges me. But I don’t get it. Who is this person?

“Frumberg,” says Enrique.

“I figured I’d find you two together. Safety in numbers, right?”

We just stand there. I can’t believe this is Gary Frumberg. He looks so different. It’s not just the spiked hair and the black eye shadow and the piercings. It’s not just that he seems to have gained another thirty pounds. He seems less innocent, somehow. Did I do this to him? Enrique is tensing up next to me, and the smell of cat fills my nostrils.

“Long time no see, Gary,” I say, trying to act tough. “Watch out or I might growl at you.”

Gary shakes his head. “You still think it’s funny. It’s not funny. I know what you are, Stanley. Probably better than you do. And I’m not afraid of you anymore. There are plenty of other things to be afraid of.”

He looks back behind him.

“What are you talking about?” I ask him.

“Vampires. Werewolves. And worse. A lot worse. Maybe it’s the pills. But who’s behind the pills? We’re all in danger until it’s sorted out. Until then, I’ve got friends. And Bane here. And I’ve got a plan. You and your kind aren’t going to mess with me anymore.”

Then he does something peculiar. He pulls something out of his pocket. It’s a knife. But there’s something about it that makes my skin crawl.

“You can feel it, can’t you? I took this from my mother’s flatware set. It’s sterling—you understand?”

I shake my head.

“Silver, you idiot. That’s what you feel now, and what you’ll feel, if you try to hurt me. If Bane doesn’t get you first.”

“Are you threatening my friend?” Enrique asks, one hand in his pocket. He must have his hand on the figurine.

“I’m just warning him. If I were him, I would feel threatened—you’d be crazy not to, with what’s going on. And soon it will be so much worse.”

It’s not what he’s saying but the silver that makes me shiver, the silver knife still in his hand. The hair on my neck stands up and my fingers clench. There’s this pain in my mouth, and a little growl comes out.

Suddenly the pit bull is barking, in a frenzy, pulling against Gary’s chain, and Gary pulls back, but the dog keeps growling and snapping at my face. I growl and nip at its neck, but pull back at the last moment. There’s something wrong.

Gary regains control, and I fight to control myself. Why didn’t I bite? What’s different about this dog, how is this animal from other pit pulls? No, I realize, it’s not the dog. It’s not Bane.

“His collar,” I say. “There’s something about it.”

“Silver spikes,” Gary says, nodding. “Keeps him safe from the lot of you.”

“Not from me, though,” says Enrique.

But now it’s my turn to reach out and grab Enrique, holding him back.

“Hold on,” I say. “What’s this about things getting worse? Who’s been telling you stuff?”

But Gary Frumberg just crosses the street with a laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he says. Then he lumbers off. I realize I’m still holding Enrique, and when I turn to look at him, his eyes are different, again. Cat-like.

“You okay?” I ask.

He nods. “But we need to find out what’s going on. I need that board. Let’s go find that shop.”

Chapter 21: NATURAL MAGIC

Is it my imagination, or is it even colder? It’s certainly darker. It’s too early for sunset, even in New England, but the clouds have rolled in and there’s that smell of wet earth all around us, over the muskiness from Enrique and me.

“I love that smell,” Enrique says. “It makes me want to go run in the forest.”