Nula scoffed and took a big bite. Her eyes widened. “This is good,” she said in a muffled voice, through the sandwich.
Mack wiggled his eyebrows.
“So … can you change into other things … besides a mouse, snake, spider … and bird?” Poppy asked, needing to turn her thoughts away from Jute.
Nula dropped down to sit on the other side of Mack. “Sure. I can turn into pretty much anything,” she said around another bite of sandwich. “Till I’m old enough to decide what my permanent form will be.”
“Huh,” Poppy said. “So, the mouse, and the snake … and the spider are regulars or…”
Nula smiled tightly. “Small things are easiest, and I like them—except for moths.” She shuddered. “The lynx is the biggest creature I’ve done so far.”
“Really?” Poppy smiled. “If I could change into animals, I’d change into … I don’t know … a lion, or something huge and scary like that.”
Another flicker crossed Nula’s face. “Yeah, well. Small things can move fast,” she explained. “And they can hide almost anywhere.”
Poppy cocked her head at the pooka. “Makes sense.”
“Anyway,” Nula added, “you don’t need to turn into anything. You’re already scary enough.”
Mack choked on his sandwich.
“What does that mean?” Poppy snapped.
Nula’s eyes widened. “Oh! Sorry. I wasn’t … I didn’t … You just have, you know…” She halfway pointed at Poppy’s face. “Resting witch face.”
Poppy’s mouth fell open as Mack barked a laugh. Nula flushed and turned to pick up Dog’s bone with two fingers. She dropped it into Poppy’s backpack. “How old are they anyway?” she asked, patting Two.
“Changing the subject.” Mack grinned at her. “Good idea.”
“About three,” Poppy answered and gave Nula one last glare before she turned her attention to stroking Eta’s face. Eta’s eyes closed.
Nula looked at Dog sadly. “They’re really special, Poppy. I … I wish—”
“Yeah. They were the best present ever. Well,” she added, rising to brush herself off. “We should get going.” She paused and met Nula’s eyes. “Thanks.” She held out her hand. “It was good to meet you.”
Nula’s face fell. “Oh. Oh … sure. Um … I’m really sorry if I insulted you earlier.”
Poppy shook her head. “No problem. I’m sure you’ve got other stuff to do, and now that the banshee thing is over, we don’t want to keep you. I think we’re good from here.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t like the pooka. She seemed okay. It was just that part of her wanted to explore the forest with Mack—just the two of them against all obstacles—like she’d always imagined. Besides, she was sure Nula needed to get back to her friends and family.
Nula looked away. “Um, okay, then. Good … Good to meet you.”
Poppy and Mack waved and turned to keep following the river. The pooka stood under the oak, her pockets full of acorns, and watched them go.
Now that it was just them again, Mack’s shoulders seemed to ease a little and he sent her a small nod of acknowledgment. The scent of pine and something darker wafted up from the forest floor as they moved past patches of trillium and around huckleberry hedges. Poppy forced herself to take a deep breath. She had an elf and a cerberus by her side. She was going to find the Soul Jar before her parents and show them once and for all that she was ready to be a family—to hunt maledictions by their side.
Despite her excitement, she had to admit that nothing here was really how she had imagined it. She hadn’t expected it to be so quiet, for one thing. She hadn’t expected to see so many thorn trees … or be attacked by a banshee … or to be followed by a pooka. Doubt chewed at the edges of her confidence, like a mouse nibbling a pea. What if she was wrong about the tree? What if the Holly Oak didn’t know anything? What if she got her parents in trouble somehow, for going after maledictions? What if the tree laughed at her and told her she was acting like a child? Worse, what if she was—acting like a child?
Mack’s steady footfalls fell beside her. A surge of warmth rolled over Poppy. The truth was that if Mack was there, she couldn’t be doing the wrong thing. Her best friend would never have gone along with her—he wouldn’t have stood for it.
Her ideas might not be the exact right thing … doubtless Mack would say staying home and listening to the grown-ups was the right thing … but at least it wasn’t wrong. As long as her best friend was still at her side, things would be okay.
She shook off her doubts. They had a plan, and with a plan, and friends like Mack and Dog, she didn’t need anything else. Nothing could go wrong.
CHAPTER SIX
The Holly Oak was at the very center of the forest. There was no way for them to get there in one day … at least, not on foot. A ripple of excitement fizzed along Poppy’s spine. She was going to meet the Holly Oak, for real—not just in her imagination. Not just in some dream. She wanted to know everything there was to know about the tree, and then … she wanted to know more.
She pulled her journal out and checked the notes she’d copied from her parents one more time. “It should be right up here,” she muttered.
Mack didn’t ask questions, but he let out a long sigh, and Poppy sent him an apologetic smirk. Of course he wanted to know what she was planning—what it was—but she wasn’t quite ready to share yet. She just had to make sure she was on the right track first.
Mack knew her scraps of knowledge about the Grimwood had never added up to enough. Not even close. Knowledge is the enemy of fear, her father liked to say, but to Poppy, knowledge meant more than the power to fight her fears. It meant belonging.
Two’s head tipped sideways as Poppy stroked his ear. Mack stood patiently next to her, patting Eta’s head, and then Brutus’s. His mouth twitched
