“Answer fast, Logan,” I said.
He opened the door. “Astor,” he said.
I blinked at the sight of my uncle on the threshold. He wore his house slippers along with a ratty pair of trousers and an untucked, half-buttoned shirt. His mouth was turned downward but instead of unhappy, it made him look more distracted.
“Uncle Astor?” I said.
“Well, it ain’t the pope,” he said, shoving past Logan and waltzing inside. When he passed through the open doorway, the air cracked like thunder. I jumped.
“All finished. You can close the door,” he said, turning to look at Logan.
“He resealed the barrier, didn’t he?” I asked.
Logan shrugged.
“Ugh.”
Victoria gave me an acidic smile. “Remember when I told you to convince him to let me come alone? This is why.”
***
“We have to go back,” Victoria announced.
From across the circle, Wes glared at me. I threw up my hands in defense. “I didn’t say a word. This is all her.” I said.
“I’m serious, we have to,” she repeated, ignoring our interruption. “The hybrids are still in Virginia.”
“My whole pack? They’re still there?” I said.
“Definitely. There’s too many to miss,” she said.
We’d left Victoria alone for the better part of two hours, letting her eat and then nap on the couch. I suspected she’d mostly lain there with her eyes closed and listened to our conversation, but I’d given her enough time that she couldn’t complain when we roused her. Not that she didn’t complain, but she got up.
The tracking itself took no time at all. She’d barely closed her eyes, letting her hand rest on Emma’s shoulder to “ground herself,” as she put it. Then she’d taken a deep breath and almost immediately, her lids had opened again and she’d announced we had to leave.
“That’s a great idea, but we can’t,” George said. “We’re sealed in.”
We all looked pointedly at Astor, who ignored us in favor of whatever he was saying to Emma. He’d taken to her in a way that could only be described as scientific curiosity. He’d already questioned her extensively about her background before she’d been turned and how she felt now that she was … what she was. George, however, stood behind where they sat on the couch, arms folded, like a brooding bouncer. He didn’t like Astor’s fascination with what he now thought of as “his girl.”
“Astor,” I said. He didn’t turn. “Astor!”
He jumped. “Hmm? What?”
“How do we remove the barrier?” I asked.
“Oh, the bypass phrase, of course.”
“What is it?”
He looked at Logan who shook his head. “I’m not supposed to tell you,” Astor said before turning back to his conversation with Emma.
I glared at Logan. “And why is that?”
Victoria answered before Logan could. “Because Edie thinks you’ll do something stupid. Like leave.”
“Well, isn’t that what the bypass phrase is for?” I said. “So we can leave?”
“No,” Victoria said. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “If I recall Edie’s words correctly, the bypass phrase is to protect Tara from the danger of herself until we can figure out a plan that won’t get her killed.”
I blew out a breath and jumped to my feet. “This is stupid.”
“Where are you going?” Wes asked.
“I’m calling Grandma.”
No one argued as I stomped out.
Upstairs, I found the phone and dialed Grandma’s cell. Halfway through punching in the numbers, I changed my mind. I cleared the screen and dialed the number for Jack and Fee’s satellite phone.
“Hello?” said a deep male’s voice.
“Derek? Is that you?”
“Tara? Yeah, what’s up? Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” I decided against telling him about our newest guest. If word hadn’t reached him yet that they were coming, I didn’t want to give away my intentions. “How’s everything where you are?”
“Cord and I started a paper cut war to keep things interesting.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“You have no idea. My whole right arm burns like I’ve pissed off a mountain of fire ants. Can you die from blood loss due to paper cuts?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Damn.”
“That’s a disappointment?”
“It is when death is the only cure for this kind of boredom.”
“Your pain is noted. Is Cambria around?”
“Sure. She’s right here. Bugging me to watch this Vampire Diaries thing she found in the DVD collection here. But I’m staying strong.”
I laughed. “Good for you. Can I say hi?”
“Yeah. Hey, Wes told me about Janie. I’m sorry about that.”
“Thanks,” I said.
He paused and said, “Here’s Cambria.”
There was shuffling and then, “Hey, stranger.”
“Hey, Cam.”
“It’s been so long since I heard your voice I almost forgot what it sounds like.”
“And? How is the experience?”
“Fairy wings and leprechauns. Magical.”
I snorted. “It’s been like three days.”
“Like I said. To what do I owe the pleasure today?”
“Is Derek still there or can you talk privately?”
“Uh … Hey, babe, can you go get me more of those pistachio things we had earlier?”
Derek said something in the background followed by a pause and then, “Private convo is a go. What’s up?”
“Secret spy stuff,” I said. “I need a favor.”
“Double-oh-seven style?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a threat of death if we get caught?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m in.”
“I need you to compel Grandma to tell you the bypass phrase for the cabin.”
“Uh-uh. I’m out.”
“Cambria.”
“So, so out. Like, far out. Like outer space.”
“Come on. You said you were in.”
“That was before I knew you meant Edie. No way I am charming Edie. Do you know what she would do to me?”
“No.”
“Neither do I and that concept is way scarier than knowing.”
“Cam, Alex is awake.”
“I heard. And let me guess. You need to get there and hold his hand. It’s not a good idea, Tara. Don’t you think Steppe is watching him, hoping you’ll do that?”
“I’m not that stupid. I wouldn’t go to the hospital. Besides, it’s not just about seeing Alex. I think … I felt something from him when we talked.”
“You talked to him? When? Dumb, Tara, even for you.”
“It was on the secure line. Are you listening to me? I felt something. As in, possible bond.”
“What do you mean a … oh, because your blood and— Holy crap on a cracker.”
“Exactly.”
“Can you feel him right now?”
“No, it ended when we hung up. I think it has something to do with whatever Steppe did to my pack when he took them. If I can figure it out, I can get them back.”
“Uh-huh. How’s that, exactly? Are you going to wander around until Steppe finds you? Or worse, the human police find your boyfriend?”
“I wouldn’t wander. I would track them.”
“Track them how?”
“Um, Victoria is here.”
“Vic the Sick is there? With you? How? Explain.”
I told her about my phone call with Victoria, then Logan, leading up to and including the arrival of Astor.
“I can’t believe the mad scientist left his laboratory.”
“I know. It’s weird seeing him out of that house. This one is so normal and makes him look so … not normal.”
“Isn’t Astor the one who made the barrier? Make him tell you the bypass phrase.”
<
br /> “Uh, have you met my uncle? Remember, crazy?”
She sighed. “Touché.”
“So?”
She didn’t answer for a moment. “And Victoria is going to help you track them out of the kindness of her little heart?”
“That’s the idea.”
“Huh. Didn’t know she had a heart.”
“Cam.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll do it.”
“Really?”
“Really. And when Edie catches on to what I’ve done, you’ll be the one I drag off the edge of the cliff with me.”
“Deal. Thelma and Louise. All the way.”
“Sometimes, Tara Godfrey, you are way too willing to die.”
Chapter Thirteen
“In there.” Victoria pointed across the street.
I followed the track of her finger and stared. “Are you sure? The sign says it’s a meat factory.”
Victoria lifted a brow in answer.
“Makes sense to me,” George said.
“Ugh. Bad joke,” I said.
Wes punched him lightly in the shoulder.
They guys had been awfully chummy these last three days on the road. I’d tried more than once to get close and hear what sort of conversation needed to be hushed and private on a bus packed with five other people, but they always shut up when I came around. I’d even used George to eavesdrop unknowingly once when I sent him back to ask the boys what they wanted for dinner. But all I’d picked up was the word “metal” and “fatal” from Logan. I assumed Wes must be getting his advice on how best to kill whatever stood in our way upon arrival. Assuming that obstacle wasn’t someone from our own camp.
We’d yet to hear from Grandma. Or Jack and Fee. As far as I knew, they thought we were still in Colorado, locked up tight in an invisible house in the woods.
Cambria had called me with the bypass phrase: Vade Mecum. According to Logan, it meant “go with me” in Latin. The message of it—that Grandma never intended for me to leave that place without her—wasn’t lost on me.
Nor did it deter me.
We’d left that night. Logan, Victoria, and Astor all thought Grandma had been the one to supply the bypass phrase. George—and I suspected Wes though he hadn’t brought it up—knew the truth. Emma seemed like she didn’t care either way, as long as both George and I stayed close.
She was still jumpy, prone to periods of restlessness and pacing, although I wondered if that was her body’s way of coping with being human after holding onto her wolf form so long. She was quiet, and while she tolerated Astor’s questions, she lit up when George sought her out.
We’d taken shifts, alternating between sleeping and driving, and had only stopped for gas and food across five states. Despite the fact that we were all exhausted, we were happy to be here. And hoping like hell Victoria’s tracking skills were right.
I looked again at the building Victoria had pointed to. It was long and narrow with a flat roof. Nondescript except for the red-and-black sign that advertised it as headquarters to a packing and shipping plant for meat. I sniffed and let my wolf senses expand. Ugh. Raw cow to be exact.
And I knew one thing: if my pack was in there, I was getting them out.
“All right, let’s stash this thing somewhere and see if we can get closer,” I said.
Everyone stared at me.
“What?” I said.
Wes shook his head. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yeah …?”
“You want to what? Knock on the front door and ask to see your pack?”
“No, I …” I trailed off. Nothing I could’ve said would make me look anything other than reckless. “What’s your plan?”
Wes looked at Astor. “Him.”
“What about him?” I asked.
“He can knock on the front door and ask if the hybrids can play.”
I stared at him. “What? How does that help?”
“Because he can play crazy long enough to give us the time we need to get in.”
“He can play crazy longer than that,” George muttered.
“A distraction,” I said, deadpan. “You want Astor to be the distraction.”
“It beats dangling yourself out there where you know Steppe is watching.”
“Steppe knows Astor.”
“But he doesn’t know Astor knows you,” Georgepointed out.
“He knows we’re related,” I told him. “And that we’re on the run from him. He’s not an idiot.”
“I’m counting on that,” Wes interrupted. We both looked at him. “Steppe will know something’s up no matter what. At least with Astor, it takes a few minutes to sift through the crazy to get to the sane.”
I chewed my lip, hating the idea of putting my helpless, albeit crazy, uncle in harm’s way.
“He makes a point,” George said. I eyed him, realizing he hadn’t said it was a good point. “Why don’t we ask him? Astor,” he called before I could argue.
“What now?” Astor shuffled up to the front with a frown. “I’m in the middle of something.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Wes said. “But I have a favor to ask.”
“What sort of favor?”
“That building over there,” Wes said, pointing, “is where Steppe is keeping the hybrids. We need you to create a diversion at the front so we can get in.”
“A diversion,” Astor repeated.
“Yes. Can you do that?”
“How big of a diversion?” he asked.
“Big.”
“Hmm.” He rubbed his palms on the front of his pants and rolled his neck side to side.
I took a step back for reasons I couldn’t name.
“You mean like this?” Before any of us could answer, he shifted.
I’d never seen anything like it. It wasn’t a complete change—more of a halfway-there-Wolfman-Jack-thing.
His form shimmered but not just at the edges. He shivered and shook all over, going in and out of focus. When he solidified, he still stood on two legs but they’d become knobby and hairy. His clothes were still on, stretched to the limits over his bulging arms and thighs. All I saw was coarse fur and gnarled ankles where his pants had ridden up. His arms were shorter and his fingers longer; nothing but massive knuckles and claws.
His face was the worst. Somehow, it retained its human-like appearance, complete with a mop of white hair on top, but his cheeks and chin were covered in fine hairs that thickened into a full beard on the lower half.
He looked like he’d stepped out of an ’80s horror flick.
“Arghhhhhhh!” he yelled, bending low to growl in George’s face.
George’s expression remained deadpan. When Astor finally quieted, George looked from Wes to me to Logan. “He’s like Teen Wolf meets Doc Brown from Back to the Future.”
“But did I scare you?” Astor asked.
“Um.”
It was all I could do not to laugh.
“How do you … I mean, you look so …” Victoria gestured to him. I could only imagine what sort of insult she had ready.
“Different,” I finished. We couldn’t afford to offend Astor right now. We needed him. I shot Victoria a look that would hopefully shut her up. “How do you do it?” I added.
“Years’ worth of practice,” he said proudly.
George eyed him skeptically. “So, you did it on purpose?”
“Absolutely. It’s the best of both. Two legs. Opposable thumbs. Scares the mess out of those damned Jehovah’s Witness bastards.”
Wes chuckled.
“So. What do you think?” Astor asked, his eyes alight. “I can try it again if you want.”
Astor’s chest puffed up as he sucked in another deep breath.
“It’ll work,” Wes said quickly. He patted Astor on the arm. “It’ll work.”
***
The only way to get Astor to shift back while we waited for nightfall was to take him for a Slurpee. He said it was the one thing he missed about civilization. I thoug
ht he might also have missed the memo on not wearing socks with sandals but I didn’t say so. I had my own agenda for passing the time.
George held the door for us all to file into the convenience store. I went last. He caught my arm before I could get past him. “I know what you’re thinking and it’s a bad idea,” he said.
I met his stare and yanked my arm away. “Those are the only kind I have.”
I wandered along the first aisle I came to. I didn’t really want anything and my concentration was on how to approach Wes with what I wanted. I’d already thought about sneaking off but rejected the idea. Even I knew better than to wander off alone in the DC metro area. This was Steppe’s territory. I had to be careful. Didn’t mean I couldn’t get what I wanted, as long as I could convince my boyfriend.
“He’s not going to go for it,” George said in my ear.
I jumped and swatted him but he danced out of reach. “Get out of my head,” I hissed.
I glanced at where the others were gathered around the frozen drink machines. Wes was helping Astor fit a lid on his cup. Victoria and Logan stood shoulder to shoulder, trying to decide on flavors. Emma—
“Where’s Emma?” I asked.
“Bathroom.”
“Oh.” I relaxed. What a great alpha. I couldn’t even lead a pack of one.
Wes finished with Astor and joined George and me by the window. He inspected the merchandise displayed and gave me a strange look. “Why are you looking at skullcaps?”
I stared blankly at where he pointed until I realized I stood in front of a large display of bandannas and neckerchiefs with an array of designs ranging from flames to skull-and-crossbones.
“Are we starting a biker gang and no one told me?” When I failed to react, his smile dimmed. He came closer, his nose almost touching mine. “What’s wrong?”
I caught myself twisting my hands together and let them fall to my sides. “Um, okay, so you know how Astor’s one request was that he be allowed to have a Slurpee?”
“Yeah.”
“Since, you know, it’d been so long since he’d had one.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And he really missed it and needed that before he could move forward with the plan.”
“Is this going somewhere?”
“And really, if he hadn’t gotten the Slurpee, who knows if he would’ve been able to focus on the plan later so—”
Blood Rule (Book 4, Dirty Blood series) Page 19
