Wolf and Raven

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Suddenly a light from above and behind a chair flashed on. It illuminated the snarling face of a mounted bear’s head. “I have an inquiry,” a man with a deep, wheezy voice called out.

  “Yes, Brother Bear?” Selene said, bowing her head. When she spoke a light flashed on behind an empty chair. It illuminated a huge, translucent snake that I thought just might have been a Central American moon python.

  “I believe, Sister Snake, you have already hunted a street ape this month.”

  “Valid point, Brother Bear, but this one is special. He is a threat to us, but he is likely the greatest challenge any of us have known. Also, because of the chance of discovery the other night, I was unable to obtain a bloodlock. Because of the rules, I do not really have a kill credited to me.”

  Another light flashed on, revealing the head of a sable unicorn with an ivory spire twisting up and out of its skull. It was located at the keystone position in the semicircle. “Sister Snake is correct. This one is hers to hunt.”

  “Thank you, Grandmaster.” Selene dropped to one knee and gave me a second jolt of juice by pressing the stunner to my chest. I defibrillated up into the air and back down, then lay there like a gumby-chiphead.

  She kissed me hard on the lips. “Nothing personal, Wolf, but it’s the hunt. I know you’ll be leagues better than Albion.”

  She stood and took a step back. I heard a click and the floor dropped away from under me. I started sliding downward headfirst, something that did not make me very happy because I still couldn’t control my limbs. As the slide cut into a downward spiral, my dinner started to come up on me, with the oysters leading the break for freedom. The champagne, being stirred up in my stomach, started gathering for a belch that increased my desire to vomit.

  Suddenly the slide ended. When my shoulders hit the canvas padding I did an involuntary somersault and landed flat on my stomach. I bounced once and abandoned the fight against my stomach. When I landed again I puked up everything I’d eaten, from dessert to the peanuts I’d had at the bar, the night before.

  I tried to fight the dry heaves, but they had an ally working from inside my head. Yes, Longtooth, purge yourself of the poisons. Let me fill you, let me help you. We will find this bitch who is hunting you and we will slay her. Visions of flashing fangs and bright blood filled my mind as the Old One encouraged me.

  “No,” I wheezed. Kicking weakly I managed to push myself away from my liquid diet. Then I somehow pulled myself far enough from the puddle to put my right hand down and lever myself over to the wall of the small room into which I’d been dumped.

  I dragged my body toward the wall and sat with my back to it, wiping my mouth on the back of my sleeve. I spat several times, trying to cleanse my mouth, but I only diluted the acidic taste. I let my head rest against the wall and I closed my eyes for a moment. So, this is what it’s like to be a deboned chicken.

  As much danger as I had faced in my time with Raven, this had to be absolutely the worst. The alcohol had worked wonders with my think-box, though throwing up would help curb further damage. The stunner had reduced my muscles to rubber, though they were coming back. That left me in a dark box while somewhere out there a woman with a fancy rifle was preparing to turn me into an endangered species. Hell, if she had her way, I’d be extinct.

  Under similar circumstances on other occasions I’d at least had a few advantages. There was my belt buckle with a homing device I could activate in an emergency, but tonight I’d worn the new belt I bought to go with my suit. I’d also left off my usual kevlar vest for the evening. Ditto for my gun, which I hadn’t figured I’d be needing.

  Those are artificial, Longtooth. You do not need them when you have me.

  “I need them when someone is shooting at us. For all you’ve done for me, the only thing you’re not good at is dodging bullets.” I heard him howl in protest, but we each knew the other was right in some ways. His speed and extrasensory abilities would help me enormously if I was going to survive. He wanted me to attack, but I wanted his skills to let me do only one thing right now—run for the Fenris. With his speed, Selene had no chance of keeping up with me.

  “Give it to me, Old One. Your speed, your eyes, your ears, and your nose.”

  As you wish, Longtooth, but outside. This place stinks with the fear of others.

  That came as no surprise. As the Old One strengthened my body, I found my muscles responding more or less properly to conscious commands. I wasn’t in any condition to perform microsurgery, but walking and chewing gum at the same time weren’t beyond me.

  With the Old One’s eyes I saw the faint outline of a square on the wall away from where the slide entered the room. I crawled over to it and pushed it open. It locked up in place and showed me a three-meter drop to an alley. Great. Get outside, get my bearings and make a run for the Fenris.

  I went out through the hole feet first and dropped into a crouch as I hit the ground. The cool night air helped clear my head. I loosened my tie and undid the top button of my shirt so I could breathe easier. The Old One’s olfactory prowess kicked in and I couldn’t get Selene’s perfume, which made me feel better. I turned my back to the wind and saw the lights on top of the Fuchi tower.

  I knew where I was.

  So did Selene.

  The bullet nailed me in the chest about ten centimeters below my left nipple. It spun me around, smacking me against the club wall, then threw me into a pair of overflowing garbage cans. I landed on my left side, doubling the grinding agony I felt in my ribs. I heard a hissing sound and felt like something inside my lungs was doing everything it could to claw its way out.

  Scrambling to my feet, I sprinted down the alley and ducked out into the street. I headed away from the Fenris for a block before I realized what I was doing. At that point I ducked into another alley and kept a dumpster downwind.

  I reached around my back and could feel that the bullet had not exited my chest. I pulled off my tie, fighting the pain that came with each breath, and looped it around my chest. Then I dug out my wallet from my back pocket and tore from it a small plastic sleeve used to protect holopics. This one just happened to be filled with one of Lynn. I smiled, slipped it inside my shirt, and pressed it over the hole in my chest. I tightened the tie to hold it in place and the hissing sound stopped.

  That turned out to be fortunate because that allowed me to hear the distant sound of an animal loping after me. Cybercur! Imagining a beast that could carry an armored car off in its augmented jaws, I panicked.

  Adrenaline coursed through me and my heart pounded like the pistons in an over-revving engine.

  The Old One took over with a calm rationality that mocked my fear. He instantly assessed the situation and knew that I could not fight. I could barely run. He knew the shredded and collapsed lung in my chest would not help me and that if I sought to evade the creature tracking me, my wound would kill me.

  For once we agreed and he sent me out into the night. Though I was there on the run and I remember it, I remained detached. I remember leaving that second alley and vaulting a speeding Ford Americar. I landed on both feet in the middle of the street, took a half-step back to avoid the leading bumper on a Mercedes 920 XL, then spun around and hopped on the running board of a Pierce Arrow landau reconstruction.

  After a block of free ride the Arrow’s driver started going for an Uzi, but the Old One snarled at him. He kept his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road for another block, then I jumped off and sprinted down an alley. Out on the far street, I cut toward the Fuchi tower and into the alley that hid my Fenris.

  The Old One headed me straight for it, but I reexerted control and stopped. I pulled the remote control from my pocket and disarmed the anti-theft device. Smiling, I took one step forward, then staggered and leaned heavily against the car as pain lanced from the wound through my chest. The world began to go dark at the edges.

  Keep a clear head!

  I can master this beast, Longtooth. I have watched you do it enoug
h, the Old One said.

  No chance. The Old One considers Vehicular Manslaughter a recreational activity. Just rest for a second, then I’ll. . .

  I heard a growl and it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t from the Old One. I looked over and saw a huge animal at the mouth of the alley. The glow of street lamps traced the silvery claws mounted to the tops of its paws. Twin pistons hissed as the monster opened its jaw. I saw that its teeth had been replaced top and bottom with a razor-steel strip that included spikes where its canines had once been. And instead of eyes I saw two red starbursts that went nova as the thing looked at me.

  Slowly I turned around and worked my away back around the edge of the Fenris. Looking at the chromed dog over the top of the car, I kind of wished I’d been driving a car big enough to wall off the alley. No, I had to go for fast and flashy. Val always said this car would get me killed.

  The dog lowered its head and sniffed the ground. He took a step forward and the black fur on its spine came up. A shiver rippled through its muscles and shook it right down to its stubby tail.

  The Old One growled a challenge and I couldn’t stop him. I voiced the howl and the dog’s head came up. I hoped, for a second, that canis chromus would run off, but it didn’t.

  It can smell Death on you, Longtooth. I am sorry.

  The dog loped forward, then came straight for me.

  I pushed myself back off the Fenris and hit the remote control. As the Hitachi hound leaped over the car’s nose and landed on the roof, four chirps sounded. Before their echoes died, I hit the ground on my back and the Fenris’ defense system kicked into overdrive.

  I saw the dog in silhouette for a second before all its fur spontaneously combusted. It flashed over, blackening the chrome as the putrid gray cloud drifted up. Then I noticed that the red dots in the eyes had dilated to different sizes as the dog’s muscles convulsed. Spraying battery juice and chips against the alley wall, the left side of its head suddenly exploded outward, spinning the cybermutt around and toppling it off by the passenger side of the car.

  I lay back for a moment as a cough punched pain through my chest. Hitting the remote control again, I disarmed the Fenris and crawled toward it. I reached up for a door handle, but the trim burned me. I sank my right hand into the sleeve of my jacket and tried again, this time successfully prying the door open.

  I started to pull myself into the Fenris and was far enough gone that I didn’t even consider what I was doing to the interior. I did know I couldn’t drive, but the cel phone would let me call Raven or Val or Stealth and get me some help. Bracing myself with my left arm against the floor, I straightened my legs and grabbed for the phone.

  Selene’s kick to the back of my knees dropped me to the ground. I twisted around and sat half-upright against the car. I hugged my left arm against the aching hole in my chest and looked up at her. I tried to say something smart, but a cough cut in and hijacked my throat.

  “You did well, Mr. Kies. You should have died long before this.” She looked over the hood toward the steaming mound of dog flesh and metal over by the alley wall. “And you cost me Cerberus. That wasn’t nice.”

  I half-smiled despite the rifle tucked under her arm. “I suppose you know this means I probably won’t be having dinner with you again.”

  “That was a consideration,” she said and her smile made me remember why I’d wanted to have dinner with her in the first place. “Had you been anyone else, I might have not decided to hunt you.” She licked her lips. “Pursue, yes, but not hunt.”

  My vision began to tunnel slowly. “Lone Star has a file on your activities, you know.”

  “No it doesn’t, Mr. Kies. One of our board members is a major Lone Star stockholder.” Her rifle swung into line with my heart. I didn’t care what Stealth thought, it didn’t look much like a toy from my vantage point. “The game is over.”

  Selene crouched down and brushed hair away from my forehead. She dug her left hand into her jacket pocket, then brought out something that briefly flashed silver. Her hand returned to my head and I heard a click.

  Through the shadows I saw her draw away holding a lock of my hair. “You make me glad I didn’t get my bloodlock from Albion.”

  The cel phone started to ring. “Mind if I get that?”

  “Go ahead, if you can,” she said as the world went dark. “Even if help were on the way, you’d be dead before they found you.”

  The sound of another bullet being jacket into the chamber of her rifle was the last thing I heard.

  V

  I discovered, upon wakening, that reincarnation had to be true.

  I felt like a retread.

  Fearing the worst, I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the bed I used at Raven’s headquarters. I tried to take a normal breath but something tight was constricting my chest. Lifting the blankets I saw bandages wrapped around me. I also noticed an oxygen tube held tightly beneath my nose and a plasma bag running fluid in through the needle stuck into my right arm.

  “It was clean, Wolf.”

  I dropped the blankets and saw Raven standing in the doorway. He’s taller than me, and broader, but not in a steroid mutant kind of way. He just looks tall and muscular, an Amerindian Hercules from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He has the copper skin, long black hair, and high cheekbones to make the image stick, too.

  In fact, only two things ruin it. The tips of his elven ears poke up through his hair, which is the only clue to his race. An elf built like Raven is decidedly rare, and Raven is rarer still. His eyes bear that out.

  They always manage to look straight through me. They’re dark, like chips of obsidian, but they have these funny lights in them. The best way to describe it is that he’s got a bit of the aurora borealis trapped in there. The lights are blue and red and I like to think they flash in time with Raven’s thoughts, which means they’re always moving very fast.

  I nodded and gave him a smile. “Did you do your stuff to my ribs?”

  He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door jamb. “The bullet had pulverized approximately twelve centimeters of rib and microperforated your lung. You were in shock and were not stable, so I decided not to crack your chest. I was left no choice. I used magic to reinflate your lung and knit the bone shards back together. The IV is to get fluids back into you.” Color rioted through Raven’s dark eyes. “Your natural healing process is fast. You should feel better in a couple of days.”

  Raven is the only other living person who knows all about the Old One, and the reference to my natural healing process told me the Old One had been at work. I will have you healthy soon, Longtooth. I did not need his help.

  I threw the blankets off, then pulled the sheet around me and sat up. The room swam, but I steadied myself against the footboard before I could collapse. “I have to get up, Doc. I know who killed Albion. I know why. Can’t wait. More people will die.”

  I felt his hands on my shoulders. “Valerie traced your location after the Fenris sent a call out to inform us about the attempted theft. While I was trying to call you she learned you were dining with Selene Reece. The club tried to erase the record of the date, but she caught it. Reece has dropped off the edge of the earth. She’ll lay low. We’ve got time to get you healthy.”

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not just her. It’s all of them. They’ve been taking turns.” I looked up into his eyes. “They own a chunk of Lone Star. I need your help.”

  I swear Raven looked back through my eyes and reached some sort of communion with the Old One. I felt the Wolf spirit’s vitality surge through me. Doc took my right arm and eased the needle out of it. “Whatever you need, my friend.”

  “Good. First clothes, then back-up.” I smiled as I heard the Old One howl in my mind. “Then it’s our turn to hunt.”

  * * *

  Raven put the call out for help. Tark and Kid Stealth didn’t answer, but Tom Electric and Zig and Zag did. Sporting some body armor and my MP-9[30], I was sure the
lot of us could have taken on the world and gone the distance. Tom ended up driving Raven’s Rolls, with Iron Mike Morrissey in the navigator’s seat. His partner, Tiger Jackson, rode in the back with Raven and me, starting sullen and getting more so every time I referred to his partner and him as Zig and Zag.

  Raven agreed to the plan I laid out as we rode through the night. “I concur, Wolf. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Morrissey will hold the top of the stairs while Tom secures the front door. You and I will deal with the club’s Board of Directors.” Doc nodded solemnly as I jacked a round into the MP-9’s chamber. “And I’ll let you do the talking.”

  “Good.” I looked at the big black gillette across from me. “Any questions?”

  Zag nodded. “This hunting club has lots of wheels. If things get ballistic, are we clear to spray up the place?” I was set to nod yes, but Raven shook his head. “I’m hoping we don’t have to end up shooting. As Wolf has aptly pointed out, we only have confirmation of one member actually murdering anyone. We need to let the Directors know that their new prey is never in season here in Seattle.” He looked at me. “Right, Wolf?”

  I frowned, which brought a smile to Zag’s face, then nodded. I agreed only because wanton murder wasn’t really my style. I’d shoot Selene without a second thought, but I didn’t know who else in the club had been cap-bustin’ on society’s ciphers. Purging their membership would only bring heat down on us and it wouldn’t hurt them at all. What would hurt, and what Valerie was doing from her haunt in the Matrix, was deducting a healthy “consulting fee” from their club account—including the cost of burning and burying my suit.

  Tom double-parked us, and Iron Mike covered the doorman. I winked at him as I went by. Wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots, I wasn’t really dressed for the club. The MP-9 was stylish, which is why I gave the maitre’d a good look at it. “I’m here to see the Board. Are they still here?”