I was almost certain Talbot wasn’t the one Jude had tried to warn me about. It just didn’t make sense. But the longer I was away from him, the more I questioned his methods. Yes, he’d shown me how to tap into my powers, but only by using my anger and fear to do it—the things that made the wolf stronger. Now it felt like I didn’t know how to use my powers at all without giving the wolf too much control. And why had he wanted me to take off my moonstone? I wore it twenty-four hours now, even showered with it on, afraid to ever take it off after what I’d done to Daniel.

How had Talbot lasted so long without falling to the wolf while using his methods? Especially without a moonstone of his own?

Was Talbot really that much stronger than I was?

Or had Daniel been right about him—that he wasn’t who he claimed to be?

As much as I didn’t care for Gabriel’s company, I have to admit that I looked forward to our tai chi sessions together. It was one of the few quiet moments in my day, when I could let go of my moonstone and not battle the wolf for free rein over my thoughts. Part of me wished I’d swallowed my pride and let him teach me sooner.

By our Thursday session, I finally broke my vow of silence concerning Gabriel and asked if he knew anything about Daniel’s absence. He stood in a T-stance, his arms parallel in front of him. Then he slid into a parting-the-horse’s-mane position and said that Daniel was “looking for answers.”

“Answers to what?” I asked.

“You know very well to what,” Gabriel stated, and then wouldn’t say any more. His voice was laced with so much disappointment it made me feel like I was at the bottom of a pit, staring up at an impossible climb.

I turned away, fighting the sudden urge to sweep Gabriel’s legs out from under him and send him sprawling across the social hall floor.

I guess he and I weren’t going to be friends anytime soon.

By Friday afternoon, Daniel still hadn’t shown up for school, and I learned he apparently wasn’t at his apartment, either, when Sheriff Ford and Deputy Marsh showed up on our doorstep asking if I knew where he was.

I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him since Monday.”

“Do you know where he was Sunday night?” Marsh asked.

“Why?”

“We’re looking into possible leads in the Peter Bradshaw attack. We think it’s connected to what happened to Tyler, so we’re requestioning people.”

“I talked to him on the phone that night. He was definitely home,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Hell, for all I knew these days, I could have been the one who attacked Pete. I could have done it under the influence of the wolf and not even remembered it. Like how Jude had attacked Maryanne’s body and didn’t even know he was the one who did it.

“Are you sure?” the sheriff asked.

“Yes.”

Sheriff Ford asked me a few more questions and then left me with a business card in case I thought of anything else.

But all I could think of was that I wanted Daniel to come home. Gabriel said Daniel was looking for answers, but what if he’d left because of me?

And what if he didn’t plan on coming back?

HALLOWEEN

The rest of Friday passed with no word from Daniel, and I would have spent all of Saturday curled up in my bed if it hadn’t been for the Halloween festival that evening. It was the last thing in the world I felt like going to, but Mom didn’t even blink when I told her I wasn’t feeling well.

“Grab that basket of caramel apples and put it in the Corolla,” she said. “I’m going over now to supervise the decorating committee. Find a costume, and then I need you to bring over the refreshments for the booth.”

“A costume? Seriously, I have to wear a costume?”

“Everybody is dressing up. You’ll look silly if you don’t.” Mom was in a kimono that Grandpa Kramer had brought back from their trip to Japan two summers ago. She even had her hair swept up in a perfect Japanese-style bun. She picked up Baby James, who was already dressed in his Max’s wolf-suit costume from the Where the Wild Things Are book. It was made of white fleece with a bushy brown tail and a hood with long pointed ears. He clapped his hands and crooned, “Wet the Wild Wumpus stawt!”

I laughed, feeling a hint of happiness for the first time in days. It was pretty much the cutest thing I’d ever seen.

“I taught him that,” Charity said as she passed me with a box of orange-and-black tablecloths. She wore an angel costume with glittery wings and a white toga. The whole family dressing up for Halloween had always been kind of a Divine family tradition. One I had apparently been left out of the loop on this year.

“But I don’t have a costume,” I said as they walked out the door.

“Find something,” Mom said. “And don’t be late with those refreshments.”

After she was gone, I tried to find our costumes, but then I remembered that all of the Halloween boxes had been sent to Katie Summers for the festival. After about twenty minutes of digging through the storage room, I gave up and called April for help.

“I am so glad you called,” April said when she walked into my bedroom a little while later, with her makeup bag, a small duffel, and a jewelry box. “This is exactly why you need me.”

My dad was down in his study working on who knew what, and I figured he couldn’t protest my having a friend over if it was technically to help Mom out with the festival.

“I’m at a loss,” I said. “I’m thinking of just safety pinning a couple pairs of socks to my sweats and going as ‘static cling.’ ”

April rolled her eyes. She put one hand on her vinyl-clad hip. Her sequined tank sparkled under the light in my room, and her blonde locks were twisted into some weird sort of hair sculpture à la Lady Gaga. I couldn’t imagine how many cans of hairspray she’d used to make it stay that way. “Halloween is about releasing your inner she-wolf,” she pronounced.

I cringed at her terrible word choice. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“Then at least a little bit of a sex kitten.” She unzipped her duffel. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.” She pulled out a bundle of red-and-blue fabric. “I’ve been working on this design for the last few days, but when you said you weren’t going to do the superhero thing anymore, I thought I’d never get a chance to see you wear it.” She handed me the bundle and then went to her bag for something else.