The Twilight Circus by Di Toft Page A

sort of amnesty—you know, like when people break a law they won’t get punished….”
    â€œWe didn’t
break
any law,” pointed out Woody. “We didn’t do anything wrong at all. It was Gruber and Scale; they were
killers
.”
    Nat stared at Woody’s sorrowful face. “Crone knows that,” he said. “He promised to get rid of any stuff on the Internet about us. I didn’t even
know
we were on World’s Most Wanted. Iona never told me.”
    Woody looked stricken with guilt. “I’m sorry,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
    â€œ
What
?” cried Nat. “And miss all this? Anyway, if it hadn’t been for you, I’d be dead.”
    â€œYou’d be normal,” pointed out Woody.
    â€œYeah, normal but dead!” Nat laughed.
    â€œYou can do the two-way thing—Crescent can’t,” said Woody, brightening.
    â€œSometimes,” agreed Nat, “although it looks as though we’re limited by distance.”
    â€œCan you read my mind?” asked Woody.
    â€œNo,” admitted Nat, “not as much as you can read mine. And it’s like … when other voices butt in, I sometimes miss stuff that’s more important.”
    Woody nodded. “That happens to me sometimes. Still got a lot of practicing to do, I s’pose. But I still haven’t met anyone else who can do it yet, apart from you.”
    â€œMe and —” began Nat.
    â€œLucas Scale,” whispered Woody.
    They were silent for a few moments as they remembered the hideous creature that still haunted their nightmares. For a split second Nat wondered if he should tell Woody what Quentin Crone had told him. That Scale’s body hadnever been found. He decided not to tell; after all, it didn’t really mean anything. Or did it? He glanced at Woody’s face and tried to block his fears by thinking of something else. He didn’t want Woody to read his thoughts.
    â€œWhat about you?” asked Nat, changing the subject well away from Scale. “How’s the shifting?”
    â€œCoolio.” Woody grinned. “Doesn’t hurt at all—seems like I got the knack most of the time. I tried shifting specially today, in case the two-way thing didn’t work, but the shifting worked first time!”
    â€œStill prefer to be Wolven shape, then?” asked Nat curiously.
    Woody hesitated. “I dunno … yeah … I guess. It’s a lot easier—
simpler—
being Wolven. It’s like putting on baggy pajamas when you’ve been wearing tight an’ itchy pants.”
    Nat nodded. He thought he could understand that feeling.
    â€œIt’s like … a rest,” continued Woody. “It’s hard work being human.”
    Nat smiled. “What about your ears?”
    â€œStill got a mind of their own,” admitted Woody. “Iwant to be able to do it properly for when I meet the rest of my clan.”
    â€œ
If you
meet them, you mean,” pointed out Nat.
    â€œ
When
I meet them,” said Woody firmly.
    â€œLet’s hope,” Nat said, and the pair were quiet for a bit, lost in their own thoughts.
    The place where the professor and Iona had first found Woody’s Wolven clan was close to where the circus would make their winter quarters. But no one knew for sure whether there were any of them left now, or whether Woody was the last of the King’s Wolven. While Nat was eager for Woody to find his clan, he had to admit to himself that it was bound to change things between them as friends. Worse still, it was all Woody had thought about since they met. Nat didn’t like to think what would happen if they weren’t successful.
    â€œAnyway, seems like while I’ve been holed up with Iona and the prof at Meade Lodge, you’ve been having a great time,” said Nat after a while.
    â€œYeah,” said Woody,