CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

TO GRANDMA’S HOUSE

Filomena walks deeper into the forest with slow, timid footsteps. She steps on a twig and startles, almost dropping her basket. Jack and Gretel are following behind, but she can’t see or hear them, so she might as well be all alone in this dark and scary place.

Her only comfort is that she’s somewhat prepared—wearing the dragonhide armor and the Dragon’s Tooth sword in her sheath. At least she can defend herself against anything she might come across. Jack told her not to hesitate and to stab hard if she’s attacked.

The forest grows darker with every step, the trees casting eerie shadows, and the rustling of woodland creatures is ominous rather than soothing. Filomena feels many unseen eyes watching her. But Jack told her this is the only way to catch the wolves’ attention; they hardly ever leave the forest.

She pushes down her fear and swings the basket over her arm cheerfully, putting on a brave face and forcing a smile. Then she calls out innocently, “Here I am alone, walking to Grandma’s house.”

Gretel says it’s the code to call out the wolves and ask them for help. But in the fairy-tale version Filomena knows, a wolf ate the little girl and her grandmother. Yet here she is, out in a dark, scary forest alone at night, in search of wolves.

If my parents could see me now, she thinks.

She waits a few beats for any sign of movement, any rustle among the bushes. But nothing happens. No sounds come, no howling of any sort. No gigantic paws running straight for her. No response at all.

She frowns and starts traipsing through the woods, almost in a skip. “I hope Grandma is expecting me!” she yells, trying to sound as sweet and naive as possible.

When there is no reply, Filomena starts to question her acting skills. She also begins to wonder if the wolves are even out here. Shouldn’t they have found me by now? How slow are these things?

She stops walking forward and turns around. Enough is enough. She’s done with the whole charade. She walks back in the direction from which she came, peering around in the darkness for a glimpse of Jack or Gretel. But it’s so dark, she can hardly see a thing aside from what’s directly in front of her.

Mumbling to herself, she stumbles over a rock and swipes her knee against a tree trunk. When she bends to brush off her knee, the basket tumbles, spilling items onto the ground. With an irritated huff, she squats and starts picking them up. Gretel will be annoyed if she’s lost any of her sewing supplies. Finding tiny needles and buttons and bobbins in the dark is harder than it seems, and Filomena feels for anything she may have missed. Once she’s gathered everything, she stands up and looks around.

Okay, guys, you can come out now. This is getting old. You could have helped me pick up all that stuff …

She crosses her arms and taps her foot, waiting for her friends to emerge from somewhere, anywhere, in the black.

Just as she’s about to yell that they should quit playing around, a deep and bloodcurdling voice cuts into the silence.

“Are you lost, little girl?” someone asks just behind her.

The hair on the back of her neck stands at attention. Then, after a shudder, she realizes she’s being silly and quickly recovers. There’s nothing to be scared of. The wolves are the most noble creatures of Never After. Jack said so. The wolves are good.

Plus, she’s grateful not to be alone anymore. At last they’ve found what they’re looking for. She starts to smile, but the smile dies on her lips the moment she turns around.

Because standing there, towering above her with huge fangs and hungry eyes, is not a wolf.

It’s a hunter.