by E. S. Moore
Jonathan closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay,” he said. “You can come, but no one else. I will not sacrifice any more of my own for this.”
A look of defiant pride came into Jeremy’s eyes as he stepped farther into the room. I imagine he had been waiting for the day he could be included in the inner circle. He wasn’t just another Cultist. He was a werewolf, which meant the Purebloods here worshipped him. It was a wonder he wasn’t already lording over them.
“So, where will we find them?” Jonathan asked. “You said the other night that Thomas has gone home, but that means little to me.”
“When the time comes, I’ll show you,” I said.
Nathan frowned, his eyes flickering my way.
“As much as I might want to, I still don’t trust you,” I said. “If I tell the wrong person the wrong thing, it will invariably come back and bite me on the ass. If I keep this to myself until we get there, then no one can betray me to Adrian. Once was enough.”
That got to them. Gregory Hillis had been one of Jonathan’s wolves. He had betrayed the Cult to Adrian and Count Tremaine, nearly getting us all killed. Bringing it up now was a bitchy thing to do, but hey, I never said I fought fair.
“All right,” Jonathan said, resigned. “We’ll follow you in my car. Don’t go too fast. I don’t want to stand out and risk having someone follow us.”
“I don’t like this,” Nathan said. “We shouldn’t be going in blind.”
“There’s no help for that,” I said. “Even if I told you where we were going, you wouldn’t really be prepared. You don’t know the place. I’m just protecting my interests here. You’d do the same.”
Nathan’s jaw tensed, but he lapsed into silence. Jeremy stood a few feet away, rocking back and forth as if he couldn’t control his excitement. I had to admit, the kid had balls. I just hoped someone wouldn’t rip them off and feed them to him if everything fell apart.
“Can we stop arguing and start worrying about how we are going to survive this?” Jonathan said. “We have no weapons here, other than what you brought with you. I for one do not wish to use them even if you were to offer. How do we go about this without getting killed?”
“Very carefully,” I said. It wasn’t much of a joke, but the tension in the room eased a little.
“Look,” I said, “I’ve gone into some pretty bad situations where I didn’t know all the facts beforehand. It’s risky, sure, but we should be able to do this. We have the element of surprise.”
All eyes were on me and I felt like a moron. I didn’t like lecturing a bunch of werewolves. They knew what was at stake. Every time one of them went outside, it was a risk. Was this really any different?
“I think I know where Thomas is.” I hated admitting I wasn’t totally sure. “And if he is there, we won’t have to worry about accidently killing any Purebloods. There might be werewolves, but they will probably stay clear since Thomas is what he is. This should be easy enough.”
Jonathan nodded as I spoke. His gaze traveled past me as if he were lost in thought. Nathan continued to glower, but he no longer had that aggressive stance of his.
“Once we get to the location, I will point out the house we are looking for. We shouldn’t linger. Once we stop, we need to move fast, hit them hard. Don’t kill anyone unless I say it’s okay. I don’t want Thomas getting killed by mistake.” I looked at Nathan when I said the last.
“You make it sound so easy,” Jonathan said.
“Plans like this always sound simple. They never work out that way.”
Jeremy paled a little bit, but it did nothing to lower his excitement level.
“Is there anything else?” Jonathan asked, standing.
“Nope, that’s everything I know.”
“Then let’s get this over with.”
I started to rise, but just then, my back chose to give out. I hissed in pain as I fell back in the chair. Jonathan rose as if I had been shot and came to my side. He reached out toward me and I cringed away.
“I’m fine,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. Fresh blood oozed from beneath my bandage and trailed down my back. I was glad no one could see it. “Let’s just do this.”
Jonathan gave me a concerned look but didn’t object. He turned and led the way out of the room, our little procession following after.
I had no idea how the wolves were going to survive this. I had been armed when I faced Thomas and his Tainted the last time and I had lost. Badly. And here they were, willing to waltz in with nothing but their claws and good intentions. I had a bad feeling they wouldn’t all be coming out of this alive.
Anger broiled somewhere in my gut. I shouldn’t be concerned about what happens to a few werewolves. They weren’t what was important here. If I could get Thomas out of there alive, that was all that mattered.
I knew I was fooling myself. I did care. I was terrified something would happen to Jonathan, to Nathan, or even Jeremy. I wasn’t so sure I wanted their deaths on my conscience.
We walked out of the Den without talking to anyone. The Cultists watched us go. I think they knew we were getting into something dangerous. They looked scared for all of us.
We kept silent as we headed for the Luna Cult garage and went our separate ways once inside. I waited by the entrance, sitting atop my Honda, until Jonathan pulled up behind me in his car. He flashed his lights to tell me he was ready and we were on our way, heading for the house I still thought of as home.
23
The closer we came to our destination, the worse I felt. This wasn’t physical pain. I had my share of that, of course. Every bump in the road sent slivers of pain lancing through my back and arm.
No, this was the kind of pain that comes when old memories, better left forgotten, get dredged back up and are not only forced to the fore of your mind, but are thrust into your face and waved about. This kind of pain was harder to ignore.
About a thousand different emotions vied for dominance within me. I fought them all, trying hard to just focus on the job so I could get to what really mattered: saving Thomas. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t stop the emotions from flooding me.
And that scared me.
I was never one to show much in the way of emotion. Sure, anger was common, but that had a little to do with what I was. The vampire taint made my aggressiveness that much more pronounced. It was the same for werewolves. It was why I never could trust any of them.
And yet now, I was stuck feeling things I really didn’t want to feel. I was scared we would fail. I was worried what would happen if we succeeded. Could I really keep doing what I did if Thomas was cured? I couldn’t let him go out and risk himself again, not after this. Could I really stop all the killing and settle down and live a normal life?
I wasn’t sure. And that was what scared me the most.
We approached the old neighborhood and I was able to forget my worries. It was nothing like I remembered. The houses here were still standing, but it was clear no one was really taking care of them. Rogue werewolves and perhaps a few vamps had moved in soon after my family and friends were killed at Count Valentino’s word. Coming here would have been a death sentence before.
But now there was no one on the streets, despite the late hour. No wolves prowled the shadows; no eyes peered at me through parted curtains. It was as if everyone had up and moved away, deciding something far worse than a few rogue wolves had moved in and there was no sense in sticking around.
Those who hadn’t moved were surely dead. I kind of expected it, really. If Thomas was out hunting again, then the wolves around his base of operation would surely have been the first to go.
I stopped in the middle of the street about a mile from the house where I’d grown up. I could see the curve in the road that was just this side of too sharp. More cars had crashed there than I could count. Even the barricade the city had placed at the side of the road couldn’t stop people from slamming into the large tree that stood a few feet off the road. The spot had be
en a deathtrap.
I stared at the curve, afraid to go on. Once I took that turn, we would be heading straight for my old home. It would come into view, and there was nothing that could stop the flood of emotions I knew would come. I wasn’t sure I could hold it together.
A car door opened behind me and I started forward again. Fuck them. I could do this. I didn’t need Jonathan, or God forbid, Nathan, prodding me onward. If one of them came up to me and asked if I was okay, I would blow a fucking hole in his head.
I took the curve slowly, easing my way around it like I had done hundreds, if not thousands, of times before. I had to blink tears out of my eyes and was even more pissed for having to do so. This wasn’t a time for weakness.
The old house came into view and the sight hit me like a brick. I swerved around a branch I almost didn’t see and stopped a few houses down. The lights were off, but I didn’t need them to tell me that someone was inside. The place felt occupied, even from here.
Jonathan pulled up behind me and shut off the engine. I dismounted from my bike, never taking my eyes off my old house.
Thomas was in there. I was sure of it.
“I don’t like this,” Nathan said, coming up beside me. “It smells wrong.”
“It smells like death,” Jonathan said, coming up on my other side.
I nodded. They were right. Even though my sense of smell wasn’t as good as theirs, I could smell it too. It smelled wrong here. It was as if I could smell the old blood on the air.
And somehow, it made me feel better. If it had felt like home, I really would have lost it.
“Someone is living in the houses on either side,” I said. “We would be best served to keep an eye on them on our approach. As long as no one spots us, we can get this over with quickly. We get inside, find Thomas, and get the fuck out of there. Kill everyone else.”
Jeremy gulped behind me and I glanced back at him. “You can stay behind if you don’t think you can handle it,” I said. “I won’t hold it against you.”
“No,” he said. “I’m coming.”
I turned back to the house and gave it a long, hard look. It was much as I remembered it despite its rundown state. The shutters had fallen off and a few of the windows were broken, but the door was closed and looked solid. The tree out front looked as strong as the day it was planted.
I tried to imagine where inside Thomas could be. Both our bedrooms had been on the second floor, though I wasn’t so sure he would have claimed that room for his own now. Like me, he didn’t need to sleep. And from where I stood, it was obvious the windows weren’t blackened against the sun.
Of course, I wasn’t sure he needed that. I didn’t know if the Tainted could go out in sunlight or not. They were part vampire, but how much of a vampire were they really? I had never asked before.
Then again, it didn’t matter either way. We were going to get this done tonight. If we were still there when the sun rose, we were probably already dead.
“I’m going straight for the basement,” I said after a moment. “Nathan, guard the stairs leading to the second floor. Don’t let anyone come down and get behind us. Jonathan, you come with me.”
“And me?” Jeremy asked. His voice shook, betraying his terror. At least he hadn’t pissed his pants yet.
“Watch the front door. Warn us if anyone tries to come through.”
Now that the plan was fully in place and the time to fight had arrived, my gut was doing flips. This was it. Either we left with Thomas in tow or we wouldn’t leave at all.
A nagging doubt eased into my mind. What made me so sure Thomas had come here? It had only been a hunch. He could very well have chosen a new location for his base. Hell, he might indeed have been taken in by some vamp Count who figured out how to control the mindless Tainted. I almost wished it was true. Then I wouldn’t have to face him.
I pushed the doubt away. This had to be where Thomas was. It was the only thing that made sense. The place felt like him.
“Let’s do this,” I said, drawing my sword and gun and starting forward.
We moved fast. The yard was torn up as if a bunch of dogs had taken to burying their treasures in it. I zigzagged around the holes, not looking down in case I saw what was really buried there.
Nathan hit the front door first. He barreled in, taking the door right off its hinges. Instantly, a broken howl came from inside. It was quickly silenced.
I came in next, stepping over Nathan’s torn clothing. He had shifted and the body of the Tainted lay beneath him. The beast was still twitching, though his head was barely hanging on to his neck. Nathan’s claws had just about ripped it clean off.
Jeremy snarled as he shifted behind me. He spun to face the door, panting as if excited over the opportunity for violence.
I frowned at Nathan but didn’t say anything. I had wanted to be able to close the door. Now we had to hope no one came charging in behind us, because I seriously doubted Jeremy would stop them, even as a wolf.
I quickly checked the other rooms before heading for the stairs leading to the basement. Nathan took up his position by the stairs, saliva dripping from his maw. Jonathan and I stopped at the closed basement door, listening.
No sounds came from below. Hell, the whole house was silent. I didn’t like it. Everyone within a mile radius had to have heard the door crashing in.
I tested the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. I pulled open the door and trained my gun into the darkness below. Nothing moved.
With a quick nod to Jonathan, we started down the stairs, me in the lead. It was nearly pitch-black in the basement, but neither Jonathan nor I needed light to see by. His vision was better, but I could see well enough. Hell, I doubted the lights even worked these days.
I stepped down onto the basement floor, gun moving from side to side. My parents had sectioned off the large basement into three parts. The first part, the one we were in, was empty of life. There were a few old boxes, things I had been forced to leave behind, but nothing else. The other two sections were blocked off by closed doors.
Something was whimpering behind one of the doors. I eased forward, ready to fire the moment something moved. I didn’t trust my senses here. I wasn’t stupid. Nostalgia was hitting me hard, and it was a fight to keep myself from stopping to check the boxes to see what they held. I was surprised they were still even here.
There were so many memories in the house, things I wished I had been able to take with me. I doubted my old clothes were still upstairs in my bedroom. The rogue who had taken over probably had thrown them all away.
Then again, he could have kept my things and used them. It wasn’t as if a rogue wolf had much time to take everything from his previous life with him, especially if he was forced to run and hide. If there were still a few boxes down here, it stood to reason there might be more of my old things elsewhere in the house.
I took a deep breath, pushing the thought away. I couldn’t be thinking about that stuff now.
I paused at the door and listened. There was more than one creature inside whimpering in pain. I raised my hand and held up three fingers to Jonathan, who nodded.
I started dropping my fingers one by one. I tensed as the last finger fell; then I jerked open the door.
There were four of them lying on cots on the floor. They were all Tainted, stuck between shifting into a wolf, a vamp, and remaining human. Their eyes swiveled my way as I entered, but none of them made a move for me.
The smell of blood was heavy in the confined space. These creatures weren’t in any condition to fight. One was missing both his legs at the knees. Another didn’t have an arm. All were bleeding, all were dying.
I glanced around the room quickly to make sure there was no one hiding in the shadows. This room had been our ready room back when Thomas and I had hunted together. The tables were pushed back against the wall and old weapons were lying on top of them. The cots were new, however, so it was clear that Thomas had done a little redecorating.
Just that knowledge alone told me there was something of Thomas left in there. A mindless beast wouldn’t have thought to bring cots for the wounded. Someone who couldn’t think wouldn’t have brought their wounded back with them either.
I considered just closing the door and leaving the injured beasts lying there. They were no threat. If left untended like that, they would eventually die on their own.
I stepped back, ready to close the door and check the next room, when one of the Tainted screamed. It was a tortured half wail, half howl that resounded throughout the entire house.
I shot him out of reflex. I didn’t want his howl to warn the others, which was stupid in itself, considering the gunshot would alert anyone with ears. The beast fell limp as the bullet took him in the brain.
The door we had yet to check burst open and three more Tainted burst out. They were all naked, and all male, and they carried no weapons. They didn’t need them. Their gaping maws and razor-sharp claws were weapons enough.
They charged and I shot the first one before he was much more than two steps from the doorway. Jonathan shifted beside me, his clothing tearing and falling away as his body contorted. Bones snapped and re-formed, his skin stretched. He screamed as his face elongated, turned into a wolfish snout.
It took only a few seconds for the shift to be complete. The Tainted had hesitated, eyes turning on him as he changed. The glamour fell from Jonathan’s features and his mangled wolf-face looked all the more frightening.
He leaped into the midst of the two Tainted, taking one down. They rolled across the floor, jaws snapping at one another.
The other beast was distracted for an instant and I took advantage. I took two quick steps forward and took his head off with my sword. He didn’t even have time to scream as his body crumpled to the ground.
Jonathan was holding his own against the other beast, so I took a moment to glance into the room the three had come from. There were more cots on the floor, as well as a broken television and couch that had been shredded. No one else was in the room.
