Lois shook her head sadly. “I tried a few spells. There aren’t many that can be done just with words. Most need some type of gesture or special herbs or artifacts. There are a few though, and I tried every one I know. Nothing happened. I’m guessing the ropes they used on me are enchanted.”
“So we’re stuck,” Dallas muttered in frustration. “Fan-frickin-tastic.”
“What do you think they’ll do, Dallas? I mean, they wouldn’t just kill us right here, would they?”
Dallas levelled a look at Lois that conveyed his utter helplessness. “I think that’s exactly what they’ll do. And lucky us, we won’t have to wait around long for the fun. I can hear Colton’s truck.”
Dallas’s sensitive ears had picked up the tell-tale rumble of the old pickup truck. Soon, it was loud enough for Lois to hear, and they both looked anxiously toward the cabin’s door. When the truck arrived, Dallas’s ears picked up another noise, the sound of Stanley’s scared and stuttering voice. A moment later, Colton shoved Stanley roughly into the cabin. Kicking out his legs, he dumped Stanley down next to Lois.
“The gang’s all here,” Colton announced. “Come on in, Tia. Let’s get this sorted out.”
Dallas turned to watch Aletia walk through the door. Every muscle was tensed, and the look she gave him could’ve set ice water to an instant boil.
“Si, Dallas,” she said, voice brittle with barely contained anger. “Let’s talk. Where to start? With you lying to me? Or with you having your bruja girlfriend cast a sleeping spell on me?”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” Dallas protested. “I told you, she’s my buddy Herb’s girlfriend. There’s nothing going on with me and Lois!”
If he hadn’t been naked, tied up, pissed off, and scared stupid, he might’ve thought Lois and Aletia rolling their eyes in unison was a bit funny. Instead, it just tipped his scared-to-pissed ratio a little further toward pissed.
“What? It’s true. Lois, tell her. You and Herb are a thing. We’re just friends.”
“Herb? El vampiro muerto?” Aletia asked in shock. “Girl, you’ve got some serious issues if you still consider yourself romantically involved with a pile of ash.”
Before Lois could say anything back, Colton cleared his throat.
“Let’s all just take it down a notch, and Stanley, please stop. Your crying is one of the weirdest sounds I’ve ever heard. You sound like a baby seal with a nasty head cold.”
Stanley choked back his sobs and managed to get them down to scared whimpers. Nodding with satisfaction, Colton continued.
“Thanks, Stanley. Much appreciated. Now, Dallas. There seems to be a bit of a conflict of interests here. You’re a member of the Society. Ancient order of monster hunters, if you recall. You also, by my reckoning, aided and abetted a Sasquatch, are actively consorting with a witch, and murdered one of your sworn brethren. On top of all that, you’re a werewolf.”
“We’re not consorting! Tits on a tortoise, what do I have to do to convince you guys me and Lois ain’t a thing. Tia, you’re the only girl I want, believe me.”
Aletia looked away, and Colton laughed a sharp, mirthless laugh.
“Of all the things I just said… Okay, Dallas. Let me spell it out in crayon for you. Consorting means associating with. As in, you’re hanging out with a witch, not tying-to-a-stake-and-burning a witch. A definite no-no by most human standards. That really gets us to the heart of the problem though. You aren’t human.”
Dallas glowered. “What tipped you off? Did I forget to hide the flea powder?”
A bullet appeared in Colton’s hand as if by magic. Stepping forward, he pressed it into Dallas’s bare shoulder. Dallas cried out in pain and twisted to try and get away from the burning metal.
“Well, there’s a nice bit of proof. Although honestly, Randall told me. Well, not directly. Aletia said she told you how the Society has a system for leaving messages for other hunters. Randall was many things, but first and foremost he was a damn good hunter. It didn’t take long to find his trail and turn up some interesting tidbits about you.”
Pulling the lump of silver away from Dallas’s shoulder, Colton squatted down on his heels and searched Dallas’s face.
“I’m guessing you killed him, otherwise he’d be here instead of you. Really wish you hadn’t, but that’ll happen. No one said being a hunter was the safest way to spend your time. I also know you two weren’t exactly sweet on each other. What I can’t wrap my mind around is why you were planning to kill Aletia. If you’d shifted, I’d get it. One can’t expect a monster to behave humanely. But for you and the witch to lure her in like you did today and knock her out so you could have her as a late night snack after the moon rose…” Colton looked up at Aletia and back to Dallas, genuine amazement plain in his face.
“Dammit, Dallas,” he snapped, voice thick with sudden emotion. “That girl thinks the world of you.”
“Thought,” Aletia corrected. “Won’t make that mistake again.”
Dallas’s eyes went wide. “What the hell? You think I planned this? Aletia, I would never hurt you. I wanted to tell you what I was. I was going to tell you, and the spell wasn’t my idea,” he added with a dark glance at Lois. “But you gotta believe me. I thought that if I told you I was a werewolf, maybe… I don’t know. Maybe you’d understand, and we could, you know. Figure something out because I think the world of you, too,” he finished.
For a long moment, Aletia and Dallas looked into each other’s eyes. For a long moment, Dallas knew that everything would be okay. The moment abruptly ended when Aletia turned back to Colton and said, “How long ‘til moonrise so I can cut his head off?”
Chapter 40
Let me out. I need to be out. Let me out.
Dallas fidgeted, shifted, squirmed. He could feel the moon coming. He felt it in his molars, in his toes, in each and every follicle on each and every square inch of skin. The sun was a fading orange light pushing shadows down the walls and across the floor. Every second, the shadows lengthened, deepened, and took back what was rightfully theirs inch by slow inch.
The impending full moon filled his brain. It was a strange thought, one that Dallas had to work his mind around more than a few times. Since forever, the full moon was just a thing. Nothing special, nothing worth getting all excited about. Not once in his life had he ever stopped to consider the coming of the moon. The opening kickoff for a big game, sure. Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve, sure. The Trappersville Men’s Bowling Tournament, abso-frickin-lutely. But the full moon? Who cared? Who would upend their entire life in preparation for that?
Werewolves, Dallas thought woefully. Lucky us.
Sitting on the cabin floor, he took small solace in the fact that it wasn’t a worry he’d have after tonight. Aletia had produced something that could either be pegged as a short sword or really long knife. It was slender, double-edged, and reeked of silver. As the final seconds of his life ticked away, he knew with a cold certainty that the moon would rise, he’d turn, Aletia would separate his big, wolfy head from his thick, wolfy neck, and it’d be so-long Dallas.
Strangely, he wasn’t worried about dying. What worried him were the distinctive smells coming from outside the cabin. Fresh-cut wood, saw dust, gasoline. He knew that the obstacles and fake monsters he’d trained with were being converted into kindling for a nice, toasty bonfire. Colton and Aletia hadn’t been shy about their plans. After he turned and was put down, Lois would be burned at the stake.
When Colton had articulated the simple plan, Dallas had gone into a rage. The burning strands of silver woven in with his ropes kept his rage contained, but only exhaustion had finally brought it to a seething end. Panting, he managed to ask about Stanley.
“We’ll have to see,” Colton had said without a hint of rancor. “Honestly, he doesn’t really have a lot of value as a member of the Society. Sorry, Stanley.”
In response, Stanley had erupted into a fresh round of sobs. Shaking his head, Colton continued.
“Th
e trouble is, he’s human. We’re not murderers, so we’re not going to kill him, but he is mixed up with the wrong crowd. We’ll have to figure out some way to set him back on the right path.”
“Lois is human,” Dallas had grunted.
Colton clicked his tongue and wagged a finger in response.
“No, Lois is a witch. That’s different. Speaking of, I’d best get the fire pit ready.”
Out. I need to be out. Let me out.
The shadows won. Every scrap of sunlight wiped away, the newborn night filled the small cabin. Heart racing, muscles tensed, Dallas felt the change coming, felt it crawling and carving its way through the dark straight for him.
“Colton!” Aletia called out. “It’s starting.”
As if given permission by her words, Dallas felt the now-familiar pain in his gut. A pitchfork twisting his intestines like spaghetti noodles, a jackhammer in his stomach, a wolf clawing its way from the inside out. Dallas writhed in agony as the change shoved its way through him. As he stretched and contorted and swelled, the ropes that bound him creaked, and the silver chain burned hard against his skin.
Wracked with waved after wave of agony, his convulsions grew more violent. Flailing and slamming his way around the floor, he bucked and kicked and banged his head against the wooden boards. Muzzle stretched unnaturally wide and lengthening teeth bared, he screamed and spat, cursed and howled.
Out! Let me out!
“Colton!” he heard Aletia yell again.
“Got it,” Colton yelled back as he burst in through the cabin door. “We’ll wait until he’s fully turned, then I’ll hold him down.”
Aletia. No! Please, no! You don’t have to do this!
Dallas tried to speak, but even if his altered mouth could still make human words, the pain of the change and the burning silver would only allow sounds of anguish and torment. When the change finished, the number of separate agonies quickly dwindled until the only suffering left was the burning silver twined with a deep sadness. Dallas ceased his thrashing and lay still. His eyes roamed and finally found Aletia. A soft moan escaped his lips, and his yellowed claws scratched feebly at the floor.
Please. Please don’t, a small, frightened part of him whimpered. I love you. I love you.
Colton stepped in front of Aletia. He held a long pole with a metal semi-circle at the end that reeked of silver. When he jabbed it down across Dallas’s neck, it burned with such ferocity that Dallas couldn’t even draw a breath. Every muscle went rigid, and he tasted blood where his jaws clamped down on his tongue. Eyes wide, he saw Aletia step closer and raise the long knife.
I’m sorry, he thought. For all of it. Herb, Lois, Dan, Randall, Aletia. I’m sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry.
When the bowling ball hit Colton in the chest, it knocked him back with such force that he flew a good ten feet across the cabin.
“Strike!” Herb cried.
Suddenly free of the silver collar, Dallas twisted on impulse and felt the silver blade’s tip score a deep cut across the back of his shoulders. Aletia had time to swear and pull the blade free from the wooden floorboard before a blurred shadow knocked her aside.
Dallas was still trying to figure out just what the hell was happening when Herb materialized at his side.
“Sorry to cut it so close,” Herb said, “I knew Lois was in trouble, but I couldn’t leave the house until sundown. Also, I lost a little time trying to decide if I should drive here or run.”
Dallas grunted.
“Well, I couldn’t find Lois’s keys, so I ran.”
Another grunt, this one edged with frustration.
“Right. One sec, fuzzy buddy,” Herb replied while grasping the ropes that bound Dallas tight. Stretching them taut, the ropes split. Next, Herb snapped the padlock and carefully unwound the silver chain.
“Okey doke. That oughta do it,” Herb proclaimed with satisfaction.
Dallas rose up to his full height and howled. Stretching his limbs and craning his neck, he reveled in his newfound freedom. Heavy, lumbering steps carried him to where the roof had caved in. Looking up at the newly risen moon, he opened his muzzle to howl again.
“I understand, but now’s not really the best time for moonlight serenades,” Herb advised. “Can you hold them off while I get Lois and Stanley?”
Turning, Dallas looked at his unexpected savior. Vampire Herb practically glowed in his altered vision. Shocks of red hair jutted in every direction, eyes shone with an inner radiance, and long, pearlescent fangs glowed in the moonlight. His bowling jersey billowed dramatically like a red-trimmed cloak in the wind. Seeing him made Dallas’s heart swell. Nodding his massive head, he stomped over to where Colton lay massaging his chest and trying to regain his breath.
Squatting down, he brought his bared teeth to within inches of Colton’s face. Nostrils snuffed as a deep growl rumbled up from inside, and saliva dripped from his muzzle onto the front of the man’s shirt.
You’re meat. Nothing but meat, and I’m hungry, Dallas said, words coming out as menacing chuffs.
The shot split the air, leaving a painful ringing in Dallas’s ears and a burning hole in his gut. Staggering back, he saw Colton raise the pistol and ready a second shot. Dallas batted the gun aside and leaned in to bite off the man’s arm when a fresh pain erupted in his shoulder.
With a roar, he twisted to pull the knife free and turned to confront the new threat. Aletia crouched a few feet behind him, a second knife in her hand. Her calculating eyes shifted restlessly from Dallas to Colton to the silver short sword a few yards away. He saw the decision in her eyes, grabbed Colton, and pulled him in a quick arc just as the knife flew from Aletia’s hand. This time, it was Colton screaming in pain as the knife buried itself in the back of his shoulder.
“Dammit, Aletia!” he cursed.
“What?” she shot back. “He’s faster than I expected.”
Dallas shoved Colton aside, and the three combatants squared off. Colton grunted and strained as he reached for the knife while Aletia took slow, deliberate steps toward the silver sword. Dallas watched them both carefully, trying to quell the maelstrom raging inside.
Kill, the beast demanded.
No, he shoved back.
Colton pulled the knife free and dropped into a half-crouch. Still, Dallas watched, his inner struggle freezing his muscles with indecision.
“I got ‘em, Dallas!” Herb yelled, triumphant. “C’mon. Let’s go!”
He cocked his head and saw Herb standing protectively in front of Lois and Stanley, the trio inching their way toward the door.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Colton growled back. “You’re dead. You’re all dead.”
Dallas stepped sideways and placed himself squarely between Aletia and the silver sword.
No, he woofed with finality. This ends here, now.
“Dallas says it’s over,” Herb translated. “We don’t want any trouble. We just want to live our lives. Why can’t you people understand that?”
Aletia glared at Herb. “So you’re the vampiro boyfriend, huh? Everyone said you were toast. Another lie from your werewolf pal. Where’ve you been hiding all this time?”
“Dallas didn’t lie to you. He killed me. I was dead,” Herb explained. “But Lois brought me back.”
“Why?” Aletia questioned, aghast. “What possible reason could you have to bring back a vampiro?”
Love, Dallas grunted.
“Love,” Herb translated.
“Love,” Lois agreed. “And despite all of Dallas’s not inconsiderable faults, he really does love you, Aletia. That has to be worth something, right?”
Aletia looked at the hairy, hulking monster Dallas had become with the rising of the full moon. Dropping to his haunches, he offered a soft whine and playful bark. Despite Colton’s curses and objections, Aletia reached out a hand, fingers trembling, and Dallas accepted the invitation. Snuffling her palm with his wide nose, he dipped his head and positioned an ear directly beneath her fingers.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she whispered, fingers twitching in a hesitant scratch. “Are you really in there, Dallas?”
I’m here, he woofed.
“He’s here,” Herb said. “It’s Dallas. I mean, not like the old Dallas, but you know, people change.”
“You aren’t people!” Colton screamed, brandishing a crucifix and lunging at Herb. As the vampire hissed and recoiled, Colton dove, rolled, and came up with the silver sword. He pivoted and brought his arm down in a wide, desperate arc.
Dallas felt the blade sink deep into his hairy shoulder, cutting through skin, muscle, and the thin shred of control he had on the wolf inside. A clawed hand shot out and Colton’s neck erupted in a spray of red. Heavy jaws clamped down on the man’s head and crushed his skull. Colton’s body convulsed, its spasms turning the spurts of blood into geysers.
“Colton!” Aletia cried. “Dallas! No!”
Her voice cut deeper than the silver blade, all the way to Dallas’s heart. Dropping the very dead Colton, he turned his gore-soaked face to look at Aletia.
“He was right, he was right.” Aletia’s eyes brimmed with terror and fury, and her voice trembled. “You aren’t people. You’re monsters. Damn monsters.”
Giving Dallas a final, long look, she turned and sprinted for the door.
Herb moved to chase her, but Dallas pulled him back and shook his head.
It was over.
The Final Chapter
Where do werewolves go when they don’t want to cause any more pain?
Dallas climbed a small rise and looked down on the trees below. Northern Michigan’s Huron Mountains were a rugged change from Wisconsin’s gentle hills and temperate forests. The oaks, hickories, maples, and beech he was more accustomed to had given way to pines and spruces. The hardwood trees were still there, remaining leaves burning gold, orange, and red in the setting sun, but more and more the rocky landscape was covered in blue and green firs. It was breathtaking in its loneliness.
Aletia had been right, and so he had run. Herb, Lois, and Stanley had called after him, begging him to stop. Herb even gave chase, but Dallas was a creature of the woods. Long lopes sped him through the trees at a speed even Herb couldn’t match. Soon, their cries no longer reached his sensitive ears. Still Dallas ran, each bounding stride carrying him further and further away from his friends and his home.
Monsters in the Midwest (Book 2): Northwoods Wolfman Page 24
