Hot Blooded

see where she was going, and yet something pulled her on. Some sixth
sense, tugging her the way magnetic North tugs a compass needle. She ran, barely
able to see her feet hitting the ground ahead of her. She ran, heedless of the
branches smacking her face and raking her arms. She ran, and then she saw him.
    The wolf lay very still, so still she was nearly upon it before she realized
what it was. She fell to her knees, her hands sinking into the thick, soft fur.
"Samuel," she whispered. "God, no." She felt warm, thick moisture and lowered
her face to the fur, hugging the animal gently. "Samuel, please?"
    A soft whimper sounded in response.
    Panting, Mamma Louisa caught up, fell to her knees and tore open her bag. She
took out flashlight and pointed it at the animal.
    "He's still alive," Jenny said softly.
    "Mmm, but Hinkle-man got what he wanted, though. Look there." She moved the
light, revealing a strip of flesh, red and bleeding, on the wolf's side.
    "My God, what did he do? What did he do to you?"
    The wolf whined again, a plaintive, pain-racked sound that made her heart
twist and her stomach convulse.
    "We have to help him, Mamma Louisa."
    She nodded, handing the light to Jenny, and taking more items from her bag.
Herbs, rattles. She worked over the animal, chanting softly. As she did, Jenny
used the light to find the bullet hole, high on the front shoulder. She tore a
strip from her own blouse and wrapped the wound. "He'll live," she whispered. "I
think it's too high to have hit the heart. I don't think there's internal
bleeding." The animal's strong pulse told her as much.
    "My God, what's going on out here?"
    At the male voice, Jenny looked up, only to see Carrie and the twins standing
in the path staring down at the suffering animal in horror. "You followed me?"
Jenny asked.
    "Of course we did," Carrie said. "You said it was a matter of life and death.
She stared at the animal with wide eyes."
    "Is that—is that a werewolf?"
    "No." Mamma Louisa answered firmly. "This is an ordinary wolf."
    Jenny's hands stilled in the deep fur. She looked closer. "My God, you're
right. This is Mojo!" She hugged the wolf gently, then lifted her eyes to Mamma
Louisa's. "Dr. Hinkle shot the wrong wolf!"
    "Dr. Hinkle shot this poor animal?" Mike asked.
    "The moon hasn't yet risen," Mamma Louisa explained. "The wolf Hinkle sought
is still in human form." She closed her eyes, tipped her head back, rocked
slowly on her feet. "Hinkle-man, he realized that even as he tried to skin the
poor creature. But the man came. The man came—only moments ago, when the gunshot
rang out and the wolf pet cried. The man came, and Hinkle-man hid and waited.
When the man bent over the wolf, Hinkle hit him hard, on the head. Knock him
out. Took him away."
    She took the light from Jenny and shone it on the ground. "Look there. One
man, dragging another."
    "Hinkle's taken him."
    "Mm. He'll hold the man until the moon comes. Until the change comes. And
then—"
    "Then he'll kill him, and perform his sick ritual." Jenny turned her gaze to
the three young people. "Dr. Hinkle plans to turn himself into a werewolf
tonight. It's all here, in his journal. Unfortunately, he has to murder an
innocent man to do it."
    The twins exchanged glances. Toby took the journal from her. "I'm sorry,
Professor Rose. We—we trusted him. We had no idea."
    "Neither did I."
    "What can we do?" Carrie asked. "How can we help?"
    Jenny looked down at the suffering animal. "Can you get Mojo to the town
vet?"
    "Mojo?"
    She nodded toward the wolf. "He's a pet. A beautiful animal. Please help
him."
    "We'll take care of it." The two boys knelt beside Mojo, gently picking him
up, one on each end. Mamma Louisa had removed her white bandana and torn it
apart to make bandages for the animal's skinned flank. Poor creature. It
whimpered as the boys carried it away, but they moved as carefully and gently as
they could.
    Alone with Mamma Louisa, Jenny faced her. "Where did Hinkle take Samuel?" she
asked. "How can we find them?"
    The older woman dug in her bag and took out a beautiful, glittering crystal
suspended from a string. She let it dangle until it was still, then watched as
it began to swing. The motion was barely detectable at first, but grew steadily.
Finally, she gave the string a snap, caught the crystal in her hand and said,
"This way."
    Â 
    IT seemed to Jenny as if it took forever, before she smelled the smoke. Then,