"Sam—I'd usually agree with you on that. But given his recent issues, if the whole pack attacks him, he might not be able to fend them off. And if he's wounded bad enough, I'm afraid he'll…transform. And then we'll have all kinds of trouble on our hands. Do you really want a war between the Witches and the Werewolves? This has got to stop—"
A howl broke her train of thought and mine. I felt them out there, the Aces as a pack. They were charging the shop, but the wolf's bane stopped them, prevented them from coming closer.
But how long would that hold? And when the sun finished rising and the tourists came out, what was going to protect them from a pack of angry Werewolves?
SIXTEEN
It took most of the night, in the middle of a quiet stretch of swamp, before he could cloak his wings. The spell shouldn't take so much energy, but it did. Another sign he was getting close to Sleep. Once he had them tucked away, he collapsed on the soft, loamy ground and slept deeply. When he awoke he was cold, wet, and covered in bugs. A spider had used his arm as an anchor for her web. He stumbled back to the highway and stood alongside the road. The storm clouds were still there, darker than the day before and moving. They just weren't moving away from the city. When he left Bell, Book and Candle his only thoughts were to get away from the smell of that damn dog, to hide his wings, and to calm down. But now that he could no longer fly, unless he wanted to release them and have to expend the energy to hide them again, he wondered how he would get back home.
His pocket buzzed, and he retrieved his phone. He had forgotten he had it. A quick look at the face and he sighed. "Hey, Levi."
"Man, where the hell are you?"
"In the swamp. I ah…I had a little problem last night."
"Are you coming in today? Todd said we got some results back on some of the stuff from Nadeen's house," Levi paused. "Wait…you're in the swamp?"
"Yeah."
"Give me the road name and stay there."
It took Levi half an hour to find him. His best friend didn't ask any questions, and Crwys didn't feel like volunteering any information. They drove in silence back to Levi's place where Crwys showered, shaved, and dressed. He'd half moved in with Levi after Arden and her coven cleaned out his warehouse, so he still kept a lot of his stuff there.
After chugging down an entire jug of orange juice, Crwys joined Levi in his car, a huge black Lincoln Navigator, and checked his spare piece, the Glock he kept in the dash.
You're getting dangerously close, Azazel, Ashur's voice wasn't helping his mood. Have you made arrangements?
"I told you that already," he barked and Levi glanced at him but didn't add to the conversation. "And it's safe."
In case she survived, she can't find you again?
He knew exactly whom Ashur asked about. Another Dragon. A female. One of Crwys's biggest mistakes. "She doesn't know about this one. It's buried under layers of dummy corporations, none of which have names or numbers she'll recognize. Besides…there's no way she survived."
Ashur didn't answer, but Levi did. "And what about Sam? Have you told her?"
"Can we not talk about this right now?" Crwys shoved the gun in his holster and put his badge around his neck. "Let's just concentrate on who killed Nadeen, okay?"
The two didn't speak again until Levi pulled up to the coroner's office. The morning temperature didn't rise as it normally did, not with the heavy layer of clouds blocking out the sun. The air inside the coroner's office felt thick compared to the cool outside. Crwys's attention focused on the woman in the suit coming toward them. "Detective Damali," Crwys said. "Why are you here?"
Tas offered her hand as a greeting to both of them. "Prescott said to observe. I'm observing."
"Did you inventory Nadeen's house?" Levi asked.
"Yes, I did." She handed him an orange flash drive. "I sectioned off each room to make searching easier. Hey"—she held out her hands—"do either of you know Cosgrove met with Todd yesterday?"
"No." Levi looked worried.
"Cosgrove?" Crwys frowned. "You mean Martin Cosgrove?"
"The only one in town. Since he took over as chief of detectives, as well as Grand High Master in Cromwell Dryden's place, he's taken quite an interest in what happens in the Quarter, gentlemen. He even paid a visit to your fiancée's shop yesterday, Detective Holliard."
Crwys froze. So did Levi. Crwys narrowed his eyes at Tas.
Tas gave them both an uneasy smile. "I knew it. She hasn't told either of you."
"Who the hell told you?" Crwys continued to glare at her. "How come you know so much? You're not a Witch."
"And you're not a Vampire." Levi said.
"You are correct on both accounts. What I am isn't important. Who told me this information is. Prescott did." Tas sighed as she shook her head. "So my question is why didn't she tell the two of you? I'm the newbie."
Levi held out his hand. "Did you just say Martin Cosgrove is the chief of detectives?"
"I'm afraid so."
"No, no." Crwys waved dismissively in the air. "How long has he been the Chief of Detectives?"
"A few months," Tas said. "I told Samantha yesterday and when she looked as shocked as the two of you do now, I figured Prescott and Cosgrove had kept all of you in the dark. But why?"
Crwys held up his hand. "When did you tell Sam?"
"I went by her shop yesterday, half-ass looking for the two of you. Figured if you were anywhere, it would be there. But it was just her and one of her employees." Tas looked at him. "She didn't tell you?"
Crwys knew he hadn't really given Sam any time to inform him of anything. He'd smelled Bastien, took off after him in an embarrassing territorial display, and then left. "No, I didn't really see Sam last night. You said Cosgrove talked to Todd last night?"
"How do you know this?" Levi held out his hands and kept his voice down. "How do you know all of this?"
Tas's smile was electrifying as she stuck her hands in her suit jacket pockets. "Because I'm a detective. I don't talk much, but I listen a lot. And Prescott called me into her office yesterday afternoon while she was on the phone with him. That's how I know she's trying to point the finger at Miss Hawthorne for the mambo's death."
Levi's eyes widened, but Crwys was the one to speak first. "Sam didn't murder anyone. She hadn't even been in Nadeen's house. I'm not even sure the two had ever met."
"I'm telling you—Prescott's got a vendetta against Hawthorne. And someone's feeding that vendetta. I don't know why she thinks this, but I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with whatever Todd found."
Crwys balled his hands into fists. "There's no way she can pin Nadeen's death on Sam."
"Then let's get in there and see what Todd has to say."
* * *
"We can't call anyone to help as long as your wards are up," I said in a less than civilized tone. I was not happy I had a bunch of wolves hanging around outside my shop, and by the Lady, if they tore anything up I was taking it out of their hides myself. "I need my phone."
"Who do you think you're going to call?" Arden said as she pumped more energy into the wards with her makeshift altar. For someone who tended to talk down Hedge Witchery, she was doing a pretty damn good job of using it.
"Anyone at this point," I snapped. But I figured Crwys would have to do. Or Levi. A Vampire was pretty good against Werewolves, except once the sun was up, even Levi's powers would be at their lowest.
"Look, can't you just think danger and Crwys will appear?" Arden's comment, though silly, had been proven factual a time or two.
I didn't want to tell her that he and I'd had a slight…misunderstanding, and when that happened it was really, really hard for me to contact him through our bond. Sometimes I got the feeling it was a much stronger bond for him that it was for me. "Grey, you stay down here with Arden. Help her keep those wards up. I'll be back."
"Sam!" Arden called out.
But I was already opening up the door to the other basement rooms. I slammed it shut and then ran up the
stairs to the break room, then up to my apartment. The last place I had the phone was on the sofa, where I'd been stalking it. So…
I stopped at the top of the stairs and spotted it on the coffee table. But as I took a step inside, all of my remaining Elementals appeared, ready for battle. That could only mean one thing.
I wasn't alone.
What is it?
-There is a wolf in the apartment.-
How did it get through the wards?
-It was already here before she started.-
Seriously?
I had the Elementals fan out as I summoned the Arcane Power. I didn't let it take over, but I merged with her and made her a part of me. As I did this, as I felt her warmth and smelled the brimstone and foul odor that came with her presence, I understood what she'd meant about me bonding with the Elementals. I didn't have this kind of connection with any of them, except…
Spirit! Yes…I'd bonded like this with Spirit.
My hands sparkled with red, glittering power as I made my way to the phone. But just as I reached for it, the sofa I'd been sitting on earlier exploded out as a half-wolf, half-human creature launched itself at me. I was able to deflect it by shooting Arcane at it. The red power forced it up and away from me as it slammed the beast into the wall next to the stairs heading down. Just a few more inches and I would have sent it tumbling down the steps. Sounded like a good idea, but then the bastard would've been in my way to escape.
I grabbed the phone just as the wolf righted itself, still in mid-transition. This was a perigee, able to shift on command, which also meant it was strong, and if it got a hold of me, it was going to kill me. My Gnome blocked it and landed a good hack of her axe into its side. My Salamander hurled balls of flame at it, igniting its fur, and my Undine slid water under its feet and turned it to ice. It slipped and fell toward me.
I jumped back and stumbled over the chair as I tried to get to the veranda. I needed a second to find Crwys's number and call him. Why couldn't he just sense there was danger? Wasn't there a bond or something before when my Sylph…was taken? Or had I damaged that bond beyond repair?
The stumble made me smack my head on the table and that short-circuited a few things as I staggered to all fours. The half-wolf roared and smacked the Gnome out of the way, then the Salamander. I could feel their power waning as I pulled and drew energy from the Arcane. They were missing their brother, and I could feel it. I told them to stay back as I made my way to the veranda.
The thing finished shifting as it stalked me, fangs dripping slobber all over my hardwood floor. Its eyes were red and it was looking right at me.
-May I?-
What will you do?
-Kill it. There is no other way. I do not want to die, Samantha.-
Neither do I! But I also didn't want to kill this wolf. No matter how mad it was at me, or misguided, it was smart. Smart enough to get up here and powerful enough to best Elementals.
But I also wanted to live.
-Do it!- I said as I released control.
Something crashed through one of the windows. It sailed over me, and I pulled the Arcane back in as I recognized the red fur and the size of it.
Bastien.
He lunged at the other wolf and clamped his jaws over the wolf's neck and then twisted it twice. He tossed it over the sofa and then turned to face that direction, roaring the entire time. The other wolf came around the opposite side and roared back. But Bastien didn't back down, he growled and stared down the attacking wolf. The two of them growled and advanced until eventually the other wolf bent his head and finally went down on all fours. And then, to my surprise, turned on its back and held its paws in the air.
Snapping bone, growls, and finally a soft panting preceded Bastien's shift back to human form. He stood bare-ass and magnificent in the middle of my living room as he still glared at the wolf that remained in wolf form.
"Go," was all Bastien said. The wolf rolled over, half crawled, and half drug itself on its belly to the veranda where it hurled itself off the side.
"Wait!" I said and tried to get up, only to stumble over my own feet. Something else cracked and I realized it was my own bone as a sharp pain shot up my left ankle to my knee then to my thigh. I fell forward as warm, soft skin over hard, toned muscles caught me under my arms.
"Chérie!" Bastien's voice soothed the pain but…Lady Darksome that hurt!
He lifted me up and took me into my bedroom as I heard noises down stairs. Growls, howls, and then nothing else, except the step of someone coming up the stairs.
Bastien was examining my ankle as Grey came into the room, followed by Arden, and about seven other human-shaped wolves. My ears popped as my part of the link was reestablished, and I pushed myself up on my elbows.
<…Took off with Harriet, Thomas, Po, and Mark…>
"A Dragon set me on fire," Bastien said as he put his hands over my ankles. He looked at me with his golden eyes and focused as his fingers found the damaged area. I hissed and tried to jerk my ankle away, but he held it still. "Arden…it's broken here. You can fix, no?"
Arden blushed a bright red as she approached the very broad and very naked man. He guided her hand over my ankle, and she closed her eyes. "I could do this a lot better if you'd put some clothes on, Bastien."
"Oui. We will be downstairs." He looked at me, gave me a sad smile on his handsome face, and then left the room. I heard him in other room opening and closing drawers, looking for clothing.
Arden's hands grew warm, and I closed my eyes as she healed the broken bone. I knew it wouldn't be as good as new, but it was good enough. It would take time for the bone to completely heal, and I was pretty sure I would have a limp.
Once she was done, Grey jumped on the bed and sat next to me as Arden stepped back and looked through the door. "They're downstairs."
"I know. I can hear them down there." I put my hand on my face. "What the hell's going on? I heard them talking in the link. That guy—the one that came up here? He thought I set Bastien on fire."
"Really?" Arden crossed her arms over her chest. "Bastien said a Dragon did it. You care to fill me in on what happened…after I left last night?"
I really didn't want to.
"I will," Bastien said as he stepped back into the bedroom. He wore a pair of Crwys's pants, but they were tight. The two men were similar in build, but not exactly. Crwys was much slimmer. Bastien was bulkier. "But first I would like to speak to mon chérie alone, s'il vous plaît?"
Arden actually blushed and said, "I'll be in the break room, making tea. I'm good at tea." She left the bedroom.
Bastien sat on the edge of the bed, and I reached out for him. I gave him the biggest hug I could. "I'm so glad you're okay. When you left last night…I wasn't even sure you were alive."
"I was…beaten"—he pulled back and gave me that quirky half-smile of his—"but not dead. Not yet. The Dragon is formidable, but he is also in love, chérie. With you."
"I don't know. He was pretty mad last night."
"It is because he is…insecure. I think he has not trusted love often. But Crwys is not why I wish to speak to you." He gently pushed me back but kept his hand on mine. "The pack is still divided. About you. There are older wolves that don't trust Witches, or Vampires, or anything else. They see my bond with you as a liability, and this attack on my adopted pup, Jack, as merely an excuse to do away with the Witch. Reese is the wolf that attacked you. He told the others you were the one that hurt me last night."
"I see."
"No. You do not." He sighed, and I watched his muscled shoulders flex. "I have tried in these months to move on. To maybe…bond with someone else. But there is no one. I even tried to end this torment, this love I have." He smiled. "But it didn't work. Ben is trying to hold the Aces together during
my absence, but it's not working. I think it would be best if I left New Orleans soon."
"Leave?" I did not like the sound of that! "No, Bastien, you can't leave." I pulled his hand closer. "I have hated not talking to you these past months."
"Why do you say this? Because you love me? Because there is a chance, chérie? There is not. You and the Dragon are meant to be. I thought I could stay and watch…to protect you, in case he hurt you. But to do that would give me only a half-life." He reached out with his other hand to smooth my hair back. "There is a war coming within my pack if I don't make things right. A new Alpha must be chosen. And that Alpha must adhere to the rules and laws I set up with the others to maintain peace. Now," he said as he stood up, "we have to talk with the others, and with Arden. Because if we don't tame Reese and his followers, he'll try to start a new pack and that…" He shook his head. "Would mean danger to the Witches in the Quarter."
SEVENTEEN
Eventually everyone still at the shop met around the table in the break room. There were twelve in all, not including Arden, Grey, or myself. Ben was there and reassured me this was not what was left of the pack.
"We're still over twenty strong," he said as he set a cup of tea in front of me. He looked tired. "There were five others that followed Reese. But we'll manage."
I put my fingers around the cup. "How's Jack?"
"He's doing well. He's still unconscious and our healers are keeping vigil. I'm sure he'll pull through." Ben sat down beside me as Bastien directed the others to gather around. "A lot of his injuries were internal, and we had to induce three shifts so he could heal. The shift itself actually accelerates the healing process, but it hurts like a son of a bitch."
"Doesn't it always hurt?"
"Not so much under a full moon for apogees like he and I. But outside of that, the induced kind where Bastien has to force the shift…" He glanced over at the pack leader. "Jack's gonna be out of commission for a while. Have you heard anything about Kyle?"
"No," Arden said. "He was already gone before your morning party showed up."
Elemental Storm (The Eldritch Files Book 6) Page 14
