Page 1 of Threads of Fate

Prologue

Nix

Prologue (Nix)

Looking back, Phoenix Rena can recall three moments when his life changed forever.

The first was when Nix was four years old and he met a wolf.

His parents and older sister Ivy had visited his mother’s family in Gatlinburg. They had driven the ten hours by car away from his beloved Florida beach, and to Nix, it had been too long locked up in his car seat and not enough time running around at car stops and gas station convenience stores looking for ice-cold treats.

Nix’s MeeMaw, a sassy Southern woman with big hair and an even bigger personality, had insisted they visit all the local touristy museums and historical sites becausethey needed to learn something, or what was the point?His sister Ivy, at the ripe old age of seven, had been bored out of her mind, but Nix had always found it easy to find adventure anywhere, marveling at the weird severed heads in jars or the cool pioneer cabin.

After a long two weeks in bland motels and overcrowded swimming pools, nothing thrilled Nix more than the prospect of being in the wild at one of the National parks. Nix loved the outdoors; always tanned and freckled with perpetually scabbed-over knees and dirt embedded under his fingernails that his mother could never get out, no matter how hard she scrubbed.

The hike turned out to be a casual stroll from sign to sign reading about the wildlife theymightsee, while his MeeMaw drank “grown-up juice” from a cooler cup and gossiped with his Mama about the couple in the trailer next to hers. The trail ran along the actual forest where the large groves of white pine grew so tall that Nix hadn’t been able to see the tops.

But he’d wanted to.

There’d been a picnic lunch with watermelon and PB and J. It hadn’t taken long before the food, combined with the last of the summer heatwave, had his father falling into a rumbling snooze atop their checkered blanket while the “girls” went to the gift shop. Nix hadn’t intended to wander off, but the flash of a gray tail in his periphery had him following before he could think about all his Dad’s warnings about scary people and dangerous places.

He imagined it might have been a Bigfoot? But did Bigfeet (Bigfoots?) have tails? Nix hadn’t known but he was going to find out. It turned out that the tail belonged to a gray wolf and while it was not a Bigfoot, it was stillverybig and stopped to make sure Nix was following at every twist and turn. When he finally stumbled into a clearing, it was to find the wolf was already sitting on a flat rock near a person who looked a lot like Mrs.Claus. She was short and soft-looking, with long white hair and a smile. But her dress wasn’t red with fake fur, it was long and white and shimmered in the sunlight.

Hello, Austin.

Ew. No. No one called him Austin unless he was in trouble.Was he in trouble?

“Am I in trouble?” Nix whispered, edging backward the way he’d come, just in case he wasn’t supposed to be near this cool waterfall with its clear turquoise water. Nix could even see a multitude of brightly colored fish swimming in circles.

Of course not. Come sit for a minute.

Now, Nix knew about stranger danger. Knew not to accept candy or get into white vans, but she was Mrs. Claus and even if it wasn’t the North Pole, she seemed nice. Maybe she would put a good word in with Santa if he was a good boy, so he’d sat at the edge of the water and dropped a hand in, expecting to feel frigid water, but instead, it was silky-smooth and warm. The small fish skimmed excitedly over his hands kissing him with small nibbles, and brushed up against his fingers with their shiny bodies.

“It tickles!” He exclaimed and Mrs. Claus smiled right back. A large fish bumped Nix’s hand particularly hard, and it startled him enough that he’d dropped a single shoe-clad foot into the warm water to gain his balance. “Crap!” Eyes wide, he checked to see if he really was in trouble this time. Mama didn’t tolerate swearing, and maybetheydidn’t either.

That’s alright, Austin. You’re not in trouble. Mind the water now.She moved closer to pet the wolf still lying on the rock; settled, but still keeping its eyes on him. Nix wasn’t afraid though, not one bit; which he was sure Ivy would tell him was totally cray-cray.

Animal people were nice people, right? Even Nix knew that. “I’m Phoenix or Nix. If you wanted, ma’am.”

You are? What lovely manners. Alright, Phoenix it is.

For the first time since he’d left the beach at home, Nix hadn’t felt like he’d wanted to run. The nice lady and Nix sat by the waterfall while she’d petted the wolf and Nix had petted the fishes. It was nice. She didn’t pinch his arm or pull his ear like MeeMaw, and she didn’t bug him with questions like Mama. She just let himbe. The sun was warm but not too hot, and there was a breeze that ruffled his hair like gentle fingers.

After a bit, the wolf moved to the edge of the clearing, while the sun hid behind an enormous cloud. The clearing smelled like rain, the trees, and cookies, and it made his tummy growl.

“I should go, I guess,” he’d said. “My Mama will be looking for me. But, um…thank you for sharing your pond and your fishies.” He’d known instinctively that they werehers. That everything in the grove was hers. Maybe even him.

She seemed to float as she inched toward him and again, Nix thought he should be scared, but he totally was not. Even if she moved like a ghost from one of the scary movies his parents liked to watch.

Goodbye, Phoenix. Thank you for visiting with me.

And with that, she kissed him high on his cheek. She hadn’t asked and Mama always said you should ask, but it hadn’t bothered him. Maybe she just hadn’t known?

“You ought to ask before you kiss a person, ma’am. Okay? Maybe you didn’t know, so this time I’ll let it be okay. But next time, you should,” he’d said, as respectfully as he could.

The glade filled with her tinkling laughter and it seemed to light up everything in a silver light. It was pretty, and he really wanted to stay because this place made him feel calm and happy, but also like something big might happen. Like the feeling he got before the drop of a rollercoaster.

Oh, my darling boy. Yes, you are so right. I will certainly ask next time. Thank you.Her voice was so melodic, and it was then he realized that her mouth wasn’t moving. Huh.

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