Edmund Gulley, Jr., is a lean young man with dark brown hair and a quiet voice. He spends most of his time in silent communion with his wolf.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is hard not to eat people,\u201d confides Edmund, to the wolf.<\/p>\n
The wolf licks Edmund\u2019s shoulder softly.<\/p>\n
It agrees.<\/p>\n
Edmund goes to a nearby school. He attends intermittently. He spends a lot of time at the hospital, dealing with complications from his heartlessness or at home, just doing nothing much at all.<\/p>\n
Eventually he receives a transfer to a different school.<\/p>\n
Edmund leans his head to one side. He stares keenly at his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally,\u201d he says. \u201cThe \u2018Lethal Magnet School for Wayward Youth.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been accused of being evil,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cOr smelly. But rarely wayward. Even vicar Helmsley calls me a mannerly child, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she thinks I\u2019m going to grow up and murder and eat her, too!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why loose lips sink ships, son. But I doubt she really does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren should be seen and not heard,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cI\u2019ve tried to live by that principle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d admits Edmund, \u201cI\u2019m talking now; but a son may reproach his father, you know, if his father is mistaken. Elsewise, now that you\u2019ve decided that I\u2019m wayward, what option would I have left?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Gulley\u2019s lips twitch. He almost smiles.<\/p>\n
\u201cSon,\u201d he says, \u201cyou had a bit of a fright, with that nanny shooting you; and it\u2019s rough to grow up always wanting to eat your friends. But it\u2019s been a few years now, and if you just stay here sulking, you\u2019ll grow up and you\u2019ll have a kid and the wolf\u2019ll eat you, and nothing in the world will ever change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund\u2019s thoughts flicker.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is that wolf-killing school of yours,\u201d he realizes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Mr. Gulley concedes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sending me to a \u2014 no. No, father. I won\u2019t do it. I won\u2019t conspire against Fenris.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWon\u2019t you?\u201d says Mr. Gulley.<\/p>\n
Edmund clicks his teeth together. He hesitates. Then he nods. \u201cI thought you\u2019d understood this,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought you knew. I don\u2019t want him to get free and ravage around eating everything, but \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s Fenris,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cHe\u2019s my second heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see,\u201d says Mr. Gulley. He stares off into the distance for a while. Then he smiles whitely at Edmund. His teeth are like a set of fangs. \u201cThen I shan\u2019t expect you to. Perhaps you can just learn\u00a0 ballet, or prophesy, then. Or maths.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFather,\u201d pleads Edmund.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr wolf-killing,\u201d says Mr. Gulley. \u201cBut not to kill Fenris. Just, you know, to get you a solid wolf-killing A-level, or in case you\u2019re ever fighting the wolf-demons of the nightmare realm, or whatnot. Best program in the world, son, for wolf-killing, but that doesn\u2019t mean you have to do anything, you know, that you don\u2019t want.\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile fades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to make you,\u201d he says softly. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t. That\u2019s on me, son. You know that. I\u2019d love it if you killed him, but it\u2019s not on you. Not while my heart\u2019s still beating and my lungs are still drawing breath. I just want you \u2014 I just want you to know how. In case I don\u2019t make it. In case he eats me, and you\u2019re all that\u2019s left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d says Edmund. He is looking at nothing in particular. \u201cI spoke out of my own selfish desires.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Son . . .\u201d says Mr. Gulley.<\/p>\n
\u201cBest I be about it,\u201d says Edmund. \u201cThen.\u201d<\/p>\n
He goes to his room. He packs. He puts on a backpack. He descends the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be today,\u201d says Mr. Gulley.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you reserved me a spot?\u201d says Edmund.<\/p>\n
Mr. Gulley nods.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd told the school and hospital that I\u2019ll be leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Gulley nods again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we still employ a driver?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can be here in ten,\u201d agrees Mr. Gulley. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure he hasn\u2019t been eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund sticks out his hand for his father to shake it. He grins. He can\u2019t even feel his own heart breaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019ll best go be Lethal,\u201d he says, almost as awkwardly as his grammar, and he turns away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be a nithrid,\u201d says Mr. Gulley.<\/p>\n
\u201cPardon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you need anything,\u201d says Mr. Gulley. \u201cIf you need \u2014 I mean, I\u2019ve sent people. And a nithrid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow extraordinary,\u201d says Edmund, and he goes out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Edmund Gulley, Jr., is a lean young man with dark brown hair and a quiet voice. He spends most of his time in silent communion with his wolf. \u201cIt is hard not to eat people,\u201d confides Edmund, to the wolf. The wolf licks Edmund\u2019s shoulder softly. It agrees. Edmund goes to a nearby school. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"series":[47],"class_list":["post-4940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-1","series-the-storm-that-saw-itself"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Hat_4_nobg.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4940"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6189,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4940\/revisions\/6189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4940"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/books.hitherby.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fseries&post=4940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}