HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 4 Read online

  His blue eyes narrowed as he approached. It made him a little concerned that she was unafraid. People who think they are in complete control can be the most dangerous. He knew to proceed with caution. “I am always in control, Omah.”

  She gave a low, uncaring chuckle. “You have no idea what I can do, Wolf. No idea.” She tilted her head to one side as she scrutinized him as if he was a bug under a glass. “You have this air about you. Tell me something, Wolf. What is your real name?”

  That wasn’t a question he expected. His pace slowed as he watched her. She made no move to get away or showed any anxiety that he was almost upon her. “That isn’t important. This must end, Omah. You will not scare and threaten the children again.”

  Arms folded across her chest, she ignored his warning. “Tell me your name. Or shall I guess?”

  “It doesn’t matter what you do.”

  The words were hissed. “Sumanitu Taka? Is that right, Wolf?”

  That stopped him in his tracks. No one outside of his closest friends knew his Lakota name. “So you are clever and figured out my heritage. So what? That doesn’t change what will happen here.”

  “You have no authority over me, Wolf.”

  Her superior attitude finally got the better of him. “You will not be allowed to just walk away.”

  “Are you not even a little curious about my name? Omah is just part of it. Would you like to hear the rest?”

  “I don’t care what your name is.” He was within a couple of feet from her. If they had both extended their hands they could have touched.

  “My, how angry you are. I can feel your hands around my throat, squeezing.”

  “I haven’t touched you!”

  “Ah, but you would like to, wouldn’t you? Are you that violent, Wolf? Is that what you have planned?”

  She was attempting to goad him into action. He knew it, could feel it, but stood where he was, assessing his options.

  She smiled at his silence. “Since you asked so nicely, I shall tell you.” Sarcasm dripped from her words. “My name is Omahkapi’si.”

  It took a full minute for the word to register with him. His breath came more rapidly as he stared at her. “That’s a Blackfoot word. It means…wolf.”

  Her eyes glared at him and the hidden knife dropped from her sleeve into her waiting hand. “Yes, it does. What are you going to do about it, Wolf?”

  In a split second he saw the knife come straight at him. With the agility of his namesake, he jumped aside. When it was heard hitting the dock with a metallic clang, he gave a roar and leaped at the woman.

  Eyes flashing in anger, she snarled at him, “So, you want to play rough, do you? I’ll show you rough!”

  With his arms around her slender frame, the adversaries fell over the protective blue railing of the dock. Wolf closed his eyes and held his breath, expecting to hit the water at any moment.

  There was no water beneath them as they hit hard ground and rolled over and over with the momentum.

  With the awareness that came from centuries of travel, Wolf could feel the change come over him. It was the frantic, unwanted realization of the moment and then his transformation into a wolf was complete. Powerful legs still entwined around Omah, he refused to let go.

  Wolf’s eyes flew open when he heard an angry growl and felt hot breath on his face.

  He was no longer wrapped around the body of a woman.

  He stared into the eyes of a large, snapping red wolf.

  Disneyland

  Their mouths slightly open, all of them equally stunned, Kimberly, Beth, Peter, and Catie stood in the middle of the small room above Main Street in Disneyland. The only movement came from the lacy curtains in the open window as they blew in the evening breeze. They had just witnessed Omah, the woman who had followed and threatened the kids since they found the mermaid hidden in the Haunted Mansion, jump out of that window. That frantic escape had been triggered by Wolf who had arrived just as she pulled a knife on Peter. The angry security guard had then disappeared down the ladder of the secret apartment to give chase. It had all happened in a matter of minutes, scarcely enough time for them to process the events that led to those dramatic exits, let alone react to them.

  With the speed of youth, Peter Brentwood, age thirteen, and Cate Michaels, age eleven, recovered first.

  “Whoa! Did you see that? That was so cool! She dove right out the window and had to have done a flip on the awning!”

  “Peter, she pulled a knife on you again! What would we have done without Wolf?”

  “Wish I could have seen her land! Wow, I’ll bet Wolf didn’t even use the stairs, Catie! I’ll bet he just jumped straight down to Main Street!”

  “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

  “Wolf? Ha! Nobody can hurt Wolf! I’ll bet he already caught her and….uh….” A confused look briefly passed over Peter’s face, his enthusiasm clouded. His gaze drifted toward the window. He wasn’t sure what Wolf would do to the woman once he did catch her. Now curious, he hurried over to the open window, hoping he could spot them somewhere on Main Street and see the end of the drama.

  Seeing his movement and coming to her senses, Kimberly quickly pulled him back, while resisting the urge to look down the Street herself. “Peter, you need to get away from the window. This apartment is supposed to be a secret.” With slightly shaking hands, the window was closed and the lacy curtains pulled back into place. She wasn’t sure what made her more nervous—that crazy woman’s knife or Peter possibly following her out the window. With Peter’s impetuousness, it was a possibility. “I didn’t see anyone looking up at us. They still seemed to be focused on wherever it was that Wolf and that woman went. Let’s just hope they think it’s a new show or something.” She looked over and noticed Beth had drawn her daughter into a tight, protective embrace. With a silent sigh, Kimberly knew Peter wouldn’t appreciate the same public display of affection. Why do they have to grow up so fast? Putting her hand out, she lightly punched him on his arm. That should be safe enough. “You okay, honey?”

  Not focused on what was going on inside the apartment, Peter still tried to peer through the lace. “What? Yeah, sure, Mom. Hey, at least she didn’t stab me again!” A glance over his shoulder showed him that his mom’s face had gone pale and he knew he needed to talk fast. “I mean, hey, she only nicked me with that fingernail file at Grandma Margaret’s.” As he rambled on, Peter’s face turned thoughtful. “But, you know? I really don’t think she meant to hurt me.” Knowing his mom and Beth would instantly object, he held up a hand and kept talking. “I know she had a knife, but I…I don’t think that was her plan. When she had me before, I think her mind was, like, somewhere else, you know? She got all soft and mushy-like when she had me on the Motor Boat Dock. She just wanted the mermaid. I don’t think she wanted to hurt anyone.” He could see the doubt written all over their faces. But, they hadn’t heard her talk. He had. “Well,” he amended with a half grin, “except for Uncle Wolf. I don’t think she likes him very much.”

  With no desire to go through the same debate about Omah’s intentions again, Kimberly conceded his point. “Well, you’re right about that. She definitely does not like Wolf.” She shot a look over to Beth and gave a slight tilt of her head toward the door.

  Beth understood her silent question and finally released her death-grip on Catie. “Well, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day. How about we head home and let your dads know about this super apartment?”

  The expected chorus of no’s came immediately.

  “Home? How can we go home? It’s still early!”

  “But, mom, we haven’t explored the whole apartment yet.”

  “Mom, can we spend the night?” Peter turned his green eyes on Kimberly and tried to pour on the charm. “Please? It was a gift from Walt! He said he wanted us to have a special place of our own!”

  After years of being on the receiving end of that same imploring look coming from her husband Lance, Kimberly was quite immune
to it. Still, it vastly amused her to see the identical look now used by their son. My word, if he bats his eyelashes, I’ll probably start laughing. “Listen, you, we already went through this earlier. It’s a school night. Maybe later.” Much, much later when I know for sure that Omah is gone from the picture for good. The silent thought caused Kimberly to clutch her hands into fists. After she forced herself to relax, a calm smile was pasted on her face. “We need to let Lance and Adam know what happened.” And we need to get in touch with Wolf to find out exactly what happened out there….

  “And, I’m hungry,” Beth added as she started shooing the kids toward the door. The promise of food usually did the job of distracting Brentwood men.

  “Blue Bayou?”

  Beth had to chuckle at the hopeful tone of his voice. “Nice try, Peter, but we’re going home. Why don’t you go down the ladder to ground level first and make sure Catie gets down all right. But don’t open the outer door yet. We should all go out at the same time. Hopefully no one will question why a door that’s always locked and apparently goes nowhere suddenly has four people coming out of it.”

  “I think there’s a parade soon, so it might be getting crowded out there.”

  That reminder earned a groan. “I forgot about that. We’ll see what we see.”

  “You first.”

  Beth hid her grin. Kimberly hated ladders.

  Jostling for the best position on Main Street to view the parade, the former excitement of seeing someone jump out of an open window had been forgotten. No one seemed to give them a second look as the rusty-brown door of 106 Main Street clicked shut and locked.

  No one, that is, except one woman who had drawn back from the crowd, hidden in the shadows beneath the brightly lit marquee of the Crystal Arcade. Directly across the crowded street from the secret apartment, the woman—like everyone else in the vicinity—had just seen someone fling herself out of a second-story window and swing down from the awning. A shocked look of recognition crossed her face as that person lightly landed on her feet and gave a contemptuous sneer at the people around her before running toward Fantasyland. “You!” The woman in the shadows sucked in a breath as her hand went to the reassuring green pendant that hung from her neck. “You! I…I got rid of you years ago. How did.…” Her muttered tirade stopped short when a security guard suddenly burst out of the doorway, looked in both directions, and, aided by helpful guests, ran after the fleeing woman. “No! Not you, too. How could this have happened?”

  As she stared after the rapidly-moving Wolf, another movement caught her sharp eyes. Her head swung back to the open window when a boy appeared, apparently to follow the action below. He was immediately pulled back by a blonde woman and the window was closed. “So, now, I see there are others involved in this little drama. How intriguing. And just how are all of you related?” The sharp cheekbones were pulled upward by what might have been called a smile. It was a cold, heartless smile, completely devoid of humor. “My, my, this has turned out to be an interesting day. It just might make the long journey worthwhile.”

  With patience borne out by eons of necessity, the woman waited and watched. She was rewarded when the door reopened and four people, including that boy and the blonde, emerged. Unlike the previous two, this group headed the opposite direction, possibly toward the exit. With the secure knowledge that she would be undetected in the crowd, she fell in step behind the small procession. Just before the entrance to the ornate Opera House, they were all stopped when a pretty brunette girl called out to them.

  “Peter! Peter! Is that you? Oh, wow, hi! Imagine seeing you here!”

  His mind on Wolf and the discovery of the apartment, Peter didn’t see or hear the girl until he physically ran into her. “Oh, gosh, sorry…. Lisa? Uh, hi.”

  Lisa giggled at his discomfort and pushed her bangs behind her ears. “I guess you didn’t see me.” With eyes only for Peter, the girl ignored everyone else around him. “So, have you been having fun today? Wish I’d known you were here. We could have met up and had some fun together. You come here often? I have an annual pass. You want to go on Big Thunder with me?”

  “Who’s your friend, Peter?”

  Barely able to keep up with Lisa’s barrage, Peter gratefully looked back at his mom. “Oh, sorry. This is Lisa….” He couldn’t recall her last name. “Uhm, we go to school together.”

  “OMG, we are, like, in just about every class together! We’ve been best friends forever! Is this your mom?” Lisa looked up at Kimberly and ignored Catie who hovered at Peter’s elbow.

  “Yeah, this is my mom, and this is Catie and her mom Beth who….”

  “I’m so glad to meet you! I’ve known Peter, like, forever.”

  Three more girls came up and nodded hello to Peter. “Hey, Lisa, we’ve got to find a place to sit for the parade. You coming?”

  Lisa looked back at Peter with a coy look. “You coming? My dad can drive you home later.”

  “Uhm, no, we’re going home. We just found….” He broke off when Kimberly subtly jabbed him in the back. “Uhm, no, we’re going home.”

  Lisa’s mouth went into a small, well-practiced pout. “Oh, okay. I’ll… I mean, we’ll see you at school tomorrow. Then maybe we can make plans to come back and spend the day together.” She gave him a quick hug before she ran off with her giggling friends.

  “Yeah, sure. Tomorrow. Bye.” Peter raised a hand as they walked off, slightly confused by the girl’s actions, a dopey smile on his face.

  “Just like his dad,” Kimberly muttered to Beth, who nodded, as a big grin spread over her face.

  The only one who wasn’t smiling was Catie.

  Just inside the door of the Mad Hatter shop, the silent woman looked back at the four girls as they headed into the crush of people on Main Street. Her eyes narrowed onto Lisa and she had her own secret grin as her attention returned to the retreating form of Peter. Long, graceful fingers mindlessly stroked the green pendant as she thought. She had been drawn to this Park to find something that was lost. She knew it was here, but just couldn’t hone in on its exact location. It was…close, she knew that much. The boy—Peter he was called—had mentioned “Uncle Wolf” as they walked. So, he knows Wolf. Apparently well enough to call him Uncle. This boy might be worth keeping an eye on. He might be just what she needed.

  Wolf… and Omah, too? She had to shake her head in disbelief. How could they both be here? How was that possible? One thing at a time. Well, they could wait. She had something more important to do first.

  The pendant seemed to glow in the evening light as her fingers worked over and over it. It was a sharp, harsh green compared to the soft white glow of the hundreds of light bulbs that started to light up all the way down Main Street. Even the trees twinkled in the warm summer air. The woman didn’t notice this enchanting sight any more than she had noticed the enticing aroma of vanilla that had been piped out of the vents of the Candy Palace.

  Still worn out from the long journey from her ancient time period and a recent battle, she could focus on one thing and one thing only. At her bidding, two unseen bolts of green energy flew in different directions. As they snaked their way over the heads of the people, each unerringly found their mark.

  One lightly settled on the girl Lisa, still wound up over seeing Peter. And the other twirled around Peter’s face as it tickled his nose, causing him to swipe at the unseen disturbance.

  Satisfied, she made an abrupt turn and stalked back to the locked door from which the families had emerged a short time ago. The light bulb, for some reason shaped like an acorn, flickered when she looked up at it and obligingly went out. The dark purple outfit she wore blended into the shadows as she mounted the steps at 106 Main Street. Her hand hovered over the brass door knob for just a moment before she turned it and stepped into the darkness within.

  The Great Northern Plains

  Wolf’s eyes flew open when he heard an angry growl and felt hot breath on his face.

  He was no longer wrapped
around the body of a woman.

  He stared into the eyes of a large, snapping red wolf.

  The agility of his quick reflexes was all that prevented her fangs from clamping down on his muzzle. The surprise that they didn’t hit the water, along with the shock of Omah turning into a wolf, plus the unsettling knowledge that they were no longer in Disneyland, was instantly pushed aside as his survival instincts kicked in.

  Omah’s agile body twisted out of his grasp when her lunge at his nose failed. Her sides heaved with anger and anxiety as the two wolves circled each other, eyes unblinking, fangs bared. He turned into a wolf! I don’t believe it. How? How could this have happened?I…I just thought that was his name…some macho attempt at vanity. Her mind continued to spin with unanswerable questions as she instinctively jumped aside to avoid his leap at her neck. The intense blue eyes narrowed as she studied him and looked for any opening to attack. Having no way of knowing that he, too, would turn into a wolf, she immediately realized it wouldn’t be as easy to subdue him as she originally thought. The element of surprise had been lost. Plus, his actions so far revealed he obviously knew his way around a fight. Another detriment was that he outweighed her by at least fifty pounds. He’s just like me….

  Alert to every movement, Wolf saw her eyes go from being furious to being confused and knew he had an opportunity. He feinted to the left and rushed Omah’s unprotected side. The momentary distraction was forgotten as her blinding rage set in again. The roars of the two opponents filled the dusty air as they twisted and turned, fangs dripping and snapping.

  Omah sank her teeth into his hind leg and felt satisfaction when she tasted blood. Her tail whipped to the side, the wrong side as Wolf retaliated by catching it in his jaws. Before he could clamp down, she managed to jerk it free as she leaped away from him. To gain an advantage over his superior strength, Omah took off at a dead run toward a rise of wooded ground off to the west. Her face pulled into a wolf’s version of a grin as she ran. Her den was there.