Page 88 of The Lone Wolf Café
“Believe it or not, every morning, this is the first place in the entire country where you can see the sunrise.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that amazing? Hey, look, it’s happening!”
I lifted my head, and my eyes widened.
The sky was onfire. The whole horizon line, sprawling along the edge of the sea, was illuminated in hues of orange and red. The shrubby trees and rocks below us were mere black silhouettes against the blazing intensity of the sky. It was mesmerizing.
Then it appeared. A tiny yellow sliver, pure liquid and wobbling in my vision, was spread on the horizon like melted butter. It continued to lift, rounding as it grew, until my eyes stung from the burning light.
But my favorite part wasn’t the sun itself. It was the land below – the carpet of forest that sprawled out to the sea, the way the first rays of morning light caressed it like a warm blanket. It reminded me just how important the sun was. Like a cozy fire on a cold winter’s day, it was what allowed us to survive. It was what gave the whole world life.
As a werewolf, I’d grown up in a world of magic. It coursed through my veins as smoothly as water through a raging river.But no amount of element-wielding witches, immortal vampires, or sparkling, mysterious faeries could compare to this. The purest wonders of the world lay in the subtlest of places.
This sunrise, viewed atop a mountain while the rest of the world was asleep, was the most magical thing I had ever seen.
“Hey Rowena?”
“Yes?”
“Speaking of elementals… have you ever brought Fritzi and Mavro up here?”
Rowena looked confused for a second, then she snorted out a brief laugh. “No. Fritzi doesn’t like any terrain that isn’t covered in snow, and Mavro is, well, a bit lazy. I don’t think any amount of bribing with charcoal would convince that little weasel to scale a mountain.”
“Well…” I paused, rubbing the side of my neck. I knew my fingers were right over the bonding mark – could feel the slight difference in skin texture. “Maybe we should summon them? I bet they’d love this.”
Rowena shrugged. “Mavro probably would. But Fritzi… I don’t know. She’s very particular. Prefers her terrain to be covered in snow.”
“I mean, itispretty cold up here,” I noted, huddling into my flowy dress and hugging my knees to my chest for emphasis.
Rowena paused for a moment, deep in thought, and then nodded. “Alright. Let’s summon them. Fritzi can poof away if she doesn’t like it.”
I grinned. We both tapped our necks, pressing down on the skin like a button, feeling the subtle sting of magic trickle up our pointer fingers. Fritzi, Mavro, and Aria all appeared; in a puff of snow, smoke, and air respectively.
“Hi guys!” I greeted cheerily, offering a hand for Aria to crawl onto. She practically flew onto my open palm, all whirlwinds and tornadoes, and gave my thumb a happy nuzzle.
Fritzi and Mavro looked considerably less excited. Mavro let out a long, wide yawn, his fiery fangs illuminated by the sunrise, while Fritzi tapped her toes in place like a skittish horse, as if to sayhey, there’s no snow here.
She looked unhappy. And it made me feel guilty.
“Hey Rowena? Can, uh, ice elementals melt?”
Rowena laughed and shook her head. “No, they can’t.” She peered over at Fritzi, raising a thin eyebrow like a pet owner scolding a puppy. “Come on, Fritz. It’s fifty degrees up here. You’re being a bit dramatic.”
Fritzi continued to stomp in place. Prickly ice crystals appeared at her feet, spreading across the rocks like creeping vines.
“Fritzi!” Rowena sighed. “Alright, fine. You can go back home. But first…” She pointed behind the ice elemental. “You should at least check out that sunrise.”
Fritzi turned around, the ice crystals around her feet receding like melting snow, and her whole body perked up at the sight of the fiery morning sky.
Suddenly, she was no longer a mere ice elemental. The shining rays of the early morning sun beamed right through her crystalline body, turning her into an iridescent, shimmering rainbow. Her foxy form sparkled like cut crystal, reflecting the multicolored light onto the rocky surface of the mountain.
Mavro squeaked, first in alarm, then in joy. He tapped his paws on the rainbow reflections like a stalking cat, and as Fritzi moved away in annoyance, Mavro eagerly followed her.
The two of them ran in circles around the side of the mountain, with Mavro eager to catch the uncatchable rainbow beams and Fritzi annoyed by her fiery little brother.
But despite Fritzi’s exasperation, I could tell she was happy. I’d never seen her sparkle this much back on Mount Katahdin.
