The Wolf of Cape Fen
4/5
()
About this ebook
Beyond the Bright Sea meets Echo in this story of a young girl who must break a magical bargain before an enchanted wolf steals her sister away.
First Frost has touched Cape Fen, and that means Baron Dire has returned. For as long as anyone can remember, Baron Dire has haunted the town come winter, striking magical bargains and demanding unjust payment in return. The Serling sisters know better than to bargain, lest they find themselves hunted by the Baron's companion, the Wolf.
And then the Wolf attacks Eliza's sister Winnie. They manage to escape, but they know the Wolf will be back. Because Winnie would never bargain, so that must mean that someone has struck a deal with Winnie as the price.
Eliza refuses to lose her sister and embarks on a journey to save her. If Eliza can learn the truth, she might be able to protect her sister, but the truth behind the bargain could put her own life in danger.
Wolf of Cape Fen is the perfect…
- fantasy book for girls 9-12
- middle school chapter book for fans of the supernatural
- tween book for girls age 9-12
- preteen gift for girls
"Brandt's striking debut is eerie and intriguing, set in a deftly built world that feels both cozily familiar and unsettlingly odd. A stunning seaside fairy tale that will absorb readers until the very end."—Booklist
"Unfolding gradually as Eliza relentlessly pieces the past together, this intriguing mystery culminates in a startling, literally transforming climax."—Kirkus Reviews
"Atmospheric…this fabulist middle grade effectively employs a dream-fueled magic system that reckons with consequences."—Publishers Weekly
Juliana Brandt
Juliana Brandt is an author and kindergarten teacher with a passion for storytelling that guides her in both of her jobs. She lives in her home state of Minnesota, and her writing is heavily influenced by travels around the country and a decade living in the south. When not working, she is usually exploring the great outdoors. Her middle grade novels include The Wolf of Cape Fen, A Wilder Magic, Monsters in the Mist, and Exit Nowhere.
Read more from Juliana Brandt
Monsters in the Mist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Wilder Magic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Wolf of Cape Fen
Related ebooks
Greta Zargo and the Amoeba Monsters from the Middle of the Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLintang and the Pirate Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder at the Estate Sale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlora's Fury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alchemy and Meggy Swann Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the Mermaid's Tale: The Before Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArrow of the Mist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story Seeker: A New York Public Library Book Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Flora's Dare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Matt's Story: A Night We Said Yes Novella Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Secret Life of Kitty Granger Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWheel of Fate Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Of Light and Darkness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHooked Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Wand & the Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Slip in Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bite Risk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Night Parade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuper Max and the Mystery of Thornwood's Revenge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCity of Loons: The Walls of Orion duology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhoul School: The Harvest Moon Dance Disaster: Ghoul School Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPretty Crooked Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Dreaming Land: Complete Omnibus Edition: The Zemnian Omnibus Series, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKat and Meg Conquer the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Touch and Tell: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirst Quiver: The Cupid's Fall Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVicious Little Darlings Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Siren Sisters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Children's Animals For You
Sideways Stories from Wayside School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Horse and His Boy: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bridge to Terabithia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Popper's Penguins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Graveyard Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brave Like a Bee: Bedtime Stories for Children, Bedtime Stories for Kids, Children’s Books Ages 3 - 5, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silver Chair: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Wild: Warriors #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn's Missing Colors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Goodnight, Good Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Garden: The 100th Anniversary Edition with Tasha Tudor Art and Bonus Materials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chicken Big Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Battle: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stuart Little Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah, Plain and Tall: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jealous Lion: Bedtime Stories for Children, Bedtime Stories for Kids, Children’s Books Ages 3 - 5, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pout-Pout Fish Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The One and Only Bob Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julie of the Wolves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shiloh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winnie the Pooh: The Classic Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Wolf of Cape Fen
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The Wolf of Cape Fen - Juliana Brandt
Thank you for downloading this Sourcebooks eBook!
You are just one click away from…
• Being the first to hear about author happenings
• VIP deals and steals
• Exclusive giveaways
• Free bonus content
• Early access to interactive activities
• Sneak peeks at our newest titles
Happy reading!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Books. Change. Lives.
Copyright © 2020 by Juliana Brandt
Cover and internal design © 2020 by Sourcebooks
Cover design by Nicole Hower/Sourcebooks
Cover and internal illustrations by Jana Heidersdorf
Internal design by Danielle McNaughton/Sourcebooks
Internal images © Shutterstock
Map design and illustration by Travis Hasenour/Sourcebooks
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by Sourcebooks Young Readers, an imprint of Sourcebooks Kids
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
(630) 961-3900
sourcebookskids.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Brandt, Juliana, author.
Title: Wolf of Cape Fen / Juliana Brandt.
Description: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Young Readers, [2020] |
Audience: Ages 8-12. | Audience: Grades 4-6. | Summary: Baron Dire
haunts Cape Fen, striking magical bargains, demanding unjust payment,
and sending the Wolf to hunt those who do not pay, but Eliza and Winnie
Serling are determined to stop him.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019034956 | (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: Magic--Fiction. | Wolves--Fiction. | Fantasy.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B75152 Wol 2020 | DDC [Fic]--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019034956
Contents
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Part I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Part II
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Part III
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Acknowledgments
Excerpt from A Wilder Magic
Chapter One
About the Author
Back Cover
To Katie: You helped shape the world into a place in which I knew how to live.
And to those who bury deep their dreams: May you find the strength to dream as loudly as you deserve.
Part I
IN WHICH THERE IS A DEATH
One
The moon dreamed. Far below it, a ship sailed toward Cape Fen, magic and moonlight illuminating a path across the ocean.
The midnight storm laying siege to Cape Fen’s shores seemed determined to ruin Eliza Serling’s little sister’s birthday. Earlier that day the Cape’s weather forecaster had watched birds flying inland, racing away from rain clouds that shadowed the ocean. She passed around word that everyone living along the coast should travel to the mainland to wait out the storm. But of course, that was nothing but a cruel joke. No one born on the Cape could leave.
The only fluorescent lamp left on in the Serling home darkened by the force of the storm’s winds. The yellow-speckled stars on the stained-glass lampshade dimmed as electricity stuttered inside the Fen Jester Restaurant. It was the only thing of Ma’s that had survived Pa’s purge after she’d left four years before. Eliza scowled at it now and vowed to use only plain oil lamps in the future. They, at least, didn’t stop working when stiff winds blew through their drafty living space in the back of the restaurant.
Eliza climbed out of the makeshift fort she’d built for Winnie and clicked off the lamp, leaving the potbelly stove in their kitchen with its licks of blue and gold flame as their only source of light. Returning to their cotton castle, she sat crisscross behind Winnie and took up the knot she was trying to free from her eight-year-old sister’s cloudy hair.
Have you figured it out yet?
Eliza asked.
Ostrich?
Win asked.
No.
Owl. Octopus. Osprey.
No. No and no.
Eliza tugged hard at the tight cluster of strands. "I give up. I don’t know any other O animals."
Eliza grinned. Opossum.
"Liar! Possum starts with a P."
"No, it only sounds like it does. It starts with an O."
You tricked me.
Does that mean you’d like me to go again, this time without a trick?
No, it’s my turn.
Winnie closed her eyes and felt around on the floor, grabbing up the wooden owl Pa had carved for her birthday. They’d celebrated earlier that night with butter cookies and presents—a Wright brothers tin airplane toy from Eliza and the wooden owl from Pa. She lifted the palm-sized bird in the air and flew it above her head. In the dim glow of the fire, light glimmered against fine details: tiny feathers ran down outstretched wings, massive eyes peered out from a heart-shaped face, and elongated claws clenched over an unseen branch.
Eliza picked at the tricky knot while she waited, guilt slithering through her. When was the last time she’d brushed Win’s hair? The tangled mess was Eliza’s fault, really. Sometimes, she didn’t know what it meant to be an older sister without a mother. For Winnie, she tried to be both, though it made her feel as if she were neither. I’m thinking of an animal, and it starts with—
I’m thinking of an animal,
Winnie glared up at her, "and it starts with an S."
Salmon,
she guessed. Starfish. Skunk. Sna—
Light flared outside their fort, and a half second later, a boom sent tremors through the walls of the restaurant. Winnie folded into Eliza, burying the owl against her neck, breathing fast with fear as rain lashed the windows and the roof.
Snake. Sloth.
Eliza rubbed the back of Winnie’s head. Snowy owl. Sea lion. Seal. Sparrow. Spider. Squirrel. Stork. Swan?
No, no, no.
"I’m running out of S animals here, Win."
It’s something little.
Winnie’s voice was muffled from where she hid her face against Eliza’s knees.
Little like a mouse?
Littler.
I already said spider. A…stick insect?
No.
I give up. Tell me.
A centipede!
Eliza dropped her head into her hands. "Centipede starts with a C."
"And possum starts with a P."
Eliza laughed. Her sister was too clever for her own good.
Winnie turned back over and eyed the fort’s ceiling, as if trying to peer through to the rain outside. Do you think it’s a First Frost storm?
Old fury ran through Eliza, and she pulled too hard on Winnie’s hair, making her sister wince. First Frost arrived at the very start of winter, bringing with it Baron Dire, who was more devil than man, and with him came his strange Wolf. This was why no one in Fen could leave; they supplied the baron with a steady source of magic. In the last century of the Cape’s imprisonment, only two people had managed to bargain in the right way to gain freedom from the Cape, one of them being Eliza’s mother.
It was Baron Dire who’d made it possible for her to leave, and Eliza hated him for it.
It doesn’t matter if it is First Frost,
Eliza said, forcing her hands to loosen their hold on Winnie’s hair. First Frost can come and go. We’re safe. We’ve never bargained. Without one of his bargains in place, Baron Dire and his Wolf can’t hurt us. Besides, it sounds like plain old rain outside, no frost or snow included… This snarl is refusing to unknot.
You could cut it out.
"No! Eliza wouldn’t give up as easily as that.
You’d have a bald spot at the back of your head. I’ll try using soap to loosen it tomorrow."
Another bolt of lightning sheared through the storm, lighting up the Jester with white heat. Eliza lifted the sheet of their fort just as a second bolt lit the earth, illuminating the edges of the window where the shutters didn’t quite reach. Thunder cracked close behind.
She dropped the sheet. Try to sleep. You need to rest for school tomorrow.
Do not. I’m noctractal.
Nocturnal,
Eliza corrected. And no, you aren’t. Sleep.
You’re being bossy.
If I’m not bossy, you won’t sleep, and then you’ll be grumpy tomorrow.
Grumpy is better than bossy.
Winnie reached for the moon-patterned quilt that covered her feet, drawing it under her chin. You should sleep and dream too, Liza.
Words stuck inside Eliza, gumming up against her anger at Baron Dire. It had been their Ma’s dreams that had taken her from Cape Fen, too, right alongside Dire’s magic. She tucked the owl beneath the covers with Winnie and pressed her palm against her sister’s forehead. Winnie’s fine white hair and pale skin framed her black eyes, the only part of her that resembled Eliza. Neither of them looked much like Pa, and neither of them remembered Ma well enough to know. They had two photographs of her. The first was from when she and Pa had gotten hitched, and the muted black-and-white colors smudged the features of their faces. In the second, Pa stood behind the three Serling girls. Ma sat in the middle, a wide-brimmed hat trimmed in lace positioned carefully atop her head. Eliza stood to her left and Winnie to her right. Everyone smiled.
Eliza didn’t do much smiling these days. Not since her own eighth birthday, when Ma nabbed a boat and left their family, deciding that Pa and Winnie and Eliza weren’t enough. That her dreams of freedom from Cape Fen and its prisonlike winters mattered more than her family.
I’m too old for dreams,
Eliza whispered, not loud enough for Winnie to hear.
Unlike Ma, Eliza’s family mattered more than anything else to her. She needed them, needed Win. Even needed Pa who right now worked through the storm in the tin-roofed shed behind the restaurant. She curled beneath her covers, vowing no matter what turns her life took, she would never bargain for use of Baron Dire’s magic and disappear, leaving Winnie all alone.
* * *
Come morning, heavy, gray clouds stuck to the skeletal oak trees and misted chimney tops lining Old Queen Mae Street. They looked as sleepless as she felt, worn out from the sky’s fit of rage the night before.
Winnie walked ahead of Eliza. Her hand-me-down galoshes slipped off and popped back on with each step. Step-step-HOP. She jumped into a deep pool, drenching the hem of her jumper and the wool coat that hung past her knees.
Eliza trailed behind her as they walked to school. The sun would rise soon, not that they’d know it if the clouds refused to pass. This time of the year, when days sucked in their girth and nights billowed out, they left the Fen Jester Restaurant early enough that Winnie could play hide-and-seek in the pools of light cast by newly installed streetlamps. Last night though, the winds had blown a transformer, knocking out power running east on Old Queen Mae Street. The turn of the century saw an update to the town center, but electricity still wasn’t as reliable as gas lamps. Because it wasn’t, they’d dressed in thick, long-sleeve dresses with rounded Peter Pan collars by the light of a coal-oil lantern. After eating the back-end of a loaf of bread for breakfast, they’d stepped out of the Jester onto a road cloaked in early morning darkness.
Tiredness weighed heavy in Eliza. She’d only managed to trick herself into sleeping after she’d pushed hard at the wound of her mother’s leaving, making her angry all over again at Baron Dire and the way he’d left her life a mess.
Eliza dragged her feet down the road.
One, two, three. She counted as she filled up her lungs with air.
Seven, eight, nine. She held her breath.
Eleven, twelve, thirteen. Her pulse slowed. Her thoughts drifted away, and along with them—
Eliza! I can fly!
Winnie?
She broke into a jog, her small sack of school supplies bumping against her spine. Old Queen Mae took a turn, following the curved shape of Fen Bay to the north. Shops closed throughout winter loomed over her, throwing angled shadows across the already dark street. Winnie? Win!
See me, Liza?
Winnie stood atop a three-foot-high stone wall that separated street from woods. With her head tossed back and her arms outstretched, it did indeed appear as if she could fly, if only her bones were hollow and her skin lined with feathers.
Eliza pressed one hand against her chest where her heart beat an unsteady rhythm.
See me?
Winnie grinned, not knowing that Eliza had nearly died of fear.
I see you.
One, two, three. She held her breath and counted again to settle.
Winnie leapt off the wall and headed down the path that would take them through the woods and along Fen Bay. Shadows scurried overhead, tree branches crisscrossing to block out what little light existed. The forest was too still, even for the start of winter. There should have been a few chickadees out, at least, or a titmouse or two. Their songs should call the sun to wake. But, except for the crunch of Eliza and Winnie’s steps, the world was absent of sound. It was as if they’d stepped into a charcoal drawing, she and Win the only pieces shaded in full color.
They crested a small rise and the trees opened on the north side of the path, and at last, sound reached them. Whoosh-whoosh-crash! Winnie climbed on top of a large rock. She stood and held one hand above her brow.
Come on, Winnie. We need to go. Not much time before school starts,
Eliza said.
Winnie rose to her tiptoes and leaned out over the rock.
Winnie!
Eliza closed the gap between them. Get down from there.
I’m looking for pirates.
Winnie licked her finger, then held it up to the overcast sky. Sky pirates in air balloons.
They’d be in an aeroplane, not a balloon.
A giant balloon filled with butterflies.
Winnie spread her arms above her, as if a balloon floated above her head.
"Stop."
You’re no fun!
Winnie launched from the rock into a muddy puddle and climbed onto a fallen tree.
Eliza rubbed her face. She hadn’t had enough sleep to stomach her sister’s wild dreamings.
A low growl cut through the quiet, the waves having already faded into background noise.
Winnie squeaked.
Eliza turned, fingers stretching toward Win.
There, to their left at the edge of the tree’s opening, stood a monstrous animal.
Hello, Wolf,
Winnie said.
A crown of white tipped its ears and ran down the matted fur across its back. Tufts of grey stuck out from between its claws. It was bigger than the sheep dogs kept at the base of the Cape and bigger than the mini pony one of the summer vacationers liked to keep on a leash.
Winter’s First Frost hadn’t yet arrived, so how was the Wolf standing here?
Back away, Winnie,
Eliza said, low.
The Wolf’s snout extended. It snuffled, testing the air. Its yellow eyes tracked her movement as she inched closer to Winnie.
Hello, you,
Winnie said to the beast. She held out her hands, wrists bent and palms up, as if to welcome the Wolf.
Its head cocked at an unearthly angle, just a tad too far.
We haven’t bargained with Baron Dire,
Eliza said. You can’t hurt us. You’re not allowed. I know the rules.
The Wolf shifted, tail standing on end, ears tilting up and steam spiraling from between finger-length canine teeth.
"Winnie." Eliza’s voice trembled.
Winnie grinned and leaned forward, the knot at the back of her head poofing up her hair, looking for all the world as if she were a wild animal herself. The Wolf lowered, head dropping so its shoulder blades jutted into the air.
Please, don’t kill us,
Eliza whispered, grasping with both hands for her sister. "Please. We haven’t bargained."
The Wolf leaped. Flesh and blood and muscle launched at Winnie. Eliza shouldered into her, knocking her off her perch. The Wolf sailed through air. Its jaws came unhinged, baring each fang at Eliza, who now stood where Winnie had been.
"Look!" Winnie cried.
Eliza couldn’t look, but she felt it all the same: the clouds opened above, dawn light streaming down to save them.
And the Wolf passed straight through Eliza’s body.
Two
The Wolf of Cape Fen dreamed. It waded belly-high in water that glittered with moonlight. The night smelled of footprints left behind by frightened creatures. The Wolf sang to the sky. It was time to hunt.
Eliza staggered. She patted her chest, but she was whole, unharmed, and unbelievably, alive. She looked behind her. The woods stood empty.
She turned to Winnie, arms outstretched to snatch her up