A look of surprised dismay widened Darius’s dark eyes. “Why not? He knows I’d never disagree with him.”
“You just can’t help some people,” Keller said as he patted Seva’s shoulder. “You tried, but it isn’t your job to save the minions from the evil masterminds.”
“Step farther apart,” Darius said, gesturing at them with his gun. “You Americans might be soft on homosexuals, but not here. Here we have laws.”
Keller held up a hand with forefinger extended, as though making a point in court. “Actually I’m bisexual. Well, pansexual, really. I’m open to anything, nondiscriminating, accepting all kinds. Like the Girl Scouts. Not that they’re pansexual; they’re kids. I’m not into kids. Ew!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Darius said impatiently. “If you’re having sex with a man, I call you a homosexual, and I can arrest you for being a homosexual.”
“I guess we’ll be marking Romania off our honeymoon list,” Keller said to Seva.
“Don’t worry,” Seva answered. “It isn’t illegal anymore to be gay in Romania.”
“No more gay talk,” Darius said, raising the pistol as he heard the faint sound of an engine. In another moment, an all-terrain vehicle carrying three armed men drove out of the trees. Darius waved them over.
Without speaking, the three soldiers fastened zip ties around the agents’ already roughed-up wrists and loaded them on the back of the ATV. No one said a word until Darius climbed aboard.
“The boss wants you to go back to town,” the driver said in Romanian.
“I need to talk with him.”
“Then make an appointment. We have orders to take these men into the mountain. You have orders to go home and make sure everything is quiet there. Now get off.”
Stiffly Darius dismounted the vehicle. “Tell the boss—” he managed to say before the driver gunned the engine and drowned him out. His face set like concrete as the soldiers drove away and left him behind. They would pay for their disrespect. He would see to it.
Chapter Fourteen
Thursday, noonish, chatting up the guys with the guns in the ATV
“SO are you guys domestics or imports?” Keller asked conversationally.
The man next to Keller smashed an elbow into his face. Quick as a striking snake, Seva headbutted the soldier. The mercenary’s gun was jarred from his hands and bounced out onto the pine needles. The other soldier in the back hollered at the driver to stop, jumped down, and retrieved the rifle. As he handed it to his colleague, he said a few terse words in a language Keller wasn’t familiar with but Seva knew well.
“They’re from Georgia,” Seva said softly and then helpfully clarified, “The one on the Black Sea.”
“I didn’t think they were from Savannah,” Keller said somewhat huffily.
“Be quiet,” said the man who’d fetched the rifle. This time he spoke in heavily accented English.
“Or what?” Keller asked. “You’ll hit me in the face again?”
The soldier patted his weapon.
“Oh, right,” Keller said. “I forgot you had a gun.”
“Why do people with guns always think they can make you do what they want?” Seva mused.
“Because I can shoot you,” the soldier said.
“Obviously, and then I’d be dead, but I still wouldn’t be doing what you told me to.”
“Shut up,” the soldier on the other side of the ATV said.
Keller smiled at the guards and nodded at Seva. “Really gets under your skin, doesn’t he?”
The driver sped up, and conversation ended as they bounced over the forest floor. Everyone held on to avoid being thrown out of the vehicle. Not until they were parked and standing on the concrete apron outside the tunnel did anyone speak.
“In there.” One of the soldiers gestured toward the mouth of the tunnel. He opened the first door they came to, and the agents recognized the same cavernous room from their last visit. It had been cleaned very thoroughly since the massacre the day before. Seva looked but could find no obvious traces of blood.
A few minutes later, the door opened again and a familiar portly man walked in. Though he wore a pin-striped suit rather than his usual blousy peasant shirt and wool trousers, Radu’s fluffy white hair and salt-and-pepper mustache were unmistakable.
“You may free their hands,” he said. “I don’t fear them.”
The zip ties were cut, and the soldiers moved back to take up sentry positions. Keller rubbed his wrists as he stared at Radu.
“You’re the boss?” Keller asked, disappointed.
Radu smiled gently. “Some call me that. Others call me a savior and a saint.”
“Not to mention a sellout,” Keller challenged.
“Ah, that brash American wit.” Radu smiled coldly. “I will not miss it at all.”
“I’m having déjà vu,” Seva said. “You know what I mean? I really feel like I’ve been here before.”
“Unfortunately Atanase tried to handle you himself,” Radu said. “I told him to stay away, but he was not a man of good judgment.”
“I fail to see how good judgment could have saved him,” Seva disagreed. “The thing that killed him wasn’t the type you can reason with.”
Radu scoffed. “Oh goodness, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for this foolish talk of werewolves?”
“We saw it, a giant wolfman!” Keller insisted. “Didn’t you see what it did to your men?”
“I saw digital photos before they were erased. It looks as though someone is trying to go me one better at my own game.” Radu’s dark eyes twinkled as he gazed at them. “I wonder who that might be.”
“Wait,” Keller said, voice tinged with disbelief. “You think we’re running a game on you?”
Radu stroked a finger across his mustache. “Who else could it be? Now….” He took a step closer to Keller and Seva. “First, you will tell me who you work for.”
“GLEN,” Keller said promptly.
Radu looked surprised. “You’re environmentalists?”
“That’s just a cover. We’re global law enforcement agents.”
“Very amusing, but I don’t have time for amusements just now.”
“It’s the truth,” Seva said. “GLEN is secretly an international law enforcement agency and he’s GLEN’s top agent.”
“Now I’m sure you’re joking with me. For most of my life, I have moved in the world behind the world, in the organizations that actually run the so-called real world. It takes a long time to rise to the top level, and neither of you has yet seen thirty.”
“Well, to be fair, in our game physical dexterity plays a big role,” Keller said.
“And good aim,” Seva added.
“Thank you,” Keller said, nodding to Seva before he turned back to Radu. “Good aim is very important too. I think a certain amount of charm is also—”
“Enough,” Radu said, all sense of grandfatherly amusement gone. “Who do you work for? Bessarian? Gelashvili? Zakirjan? Is it that Uzbek bastard?” He spat. “If he thinks he can scare me into letting him invest, he’s crazy.”
“I don’t know those names,” Keller said honestly.
“Someone sent you here to stop us. Who was it?”
Keller shook his head. “We didn’t know about the construction until we stumbled across your staging ground while we were following the late great Bela Lugosi impersonator.”
“We came here to find out what happened to Gwillym Cynwrig,” Seva said. “Why would GLEN care if you build a resort hotel?” He paused. “Is this about TWISM?”
“Where did you hear that name?” Radu glared at the agents. “It was Atanase, wasn’t it? He never could keep his mouth shut. Always playing the big man. He was becoming a liability. You did me a favor by killing him.”
“Actually, we were tied up at the time,” Keller pointed out.
“I tire of this,” Radu said. “Tell me who sent you, or I’ll put one of you in with the wolves.”
“We are agents of
GLEN, and we came here to investigate Mr. Cynwrig’s death because he sent a cryptic letter to his friend—our boss—just before he died. It was a warning about a white dragon that would destroy a castle,” Seva said calmly.
Radu’s face went slack with disbelief and his eyes bulged. “You’re lying.”
“No, it’s true,” Keller chimed in. “It was written in some ancient language.” He looked a question at Seva.
“Dacian,” Seva supplied.
Radu frowned. “No. Not possible.”
“Yes, possible.” Seva cocked his head to the side. “Obviously this means something to you.”
Radu composed himself. “Superstition,” he said dismissively. “Now it is time for one of you to meet my pets.”
“Me,” Keller said. He glanced over at Seva. “You’ve had all the wolf action up until now. It’s my turn. I like dogs.”
“It’s not your decision.” Radu signaled to the guards, and they herded the agents from the chamber at gunpoint. On the other side of the tunnel, a door opened into another large space blasted into the rock. One end was penned off with chain-link fence. The floor was covered with pallet blankets, and a long trough along one wall held water.
Radu pushed a button beside the door. For several minutes nothing happened, and then they heard claws clicking on stone. A flap in the opposite wall flipped up, and a wolf came through, followed by five others. The pack collected at the fence and stared at the people.
“A small tunnel to the outside lets them come and go as they like,” Radu said. “The button triggers a high-frequency signal that’s relayed through small receivers scattered through the forest. The animals are amazingly well trained.” He gestured to one of the soldiers. “Bring that one,” he said as he pointed to Seva.
To get him moving, the guard poked Seva in the back with a rifle and steered him over to the pen. Keller trembled with the effort of holding back and maintaining his cocky, relaxed image. Every muscle in his body quivered as Radu walked to the gate. His instincts urged him to attack and punish those who would harm his mate, but for once, he thought before he acted. If he made the slightest untoward movement, he had no doubt the soldier would shoot Seva in the back. Keller couldn’t risk it.
“Oh shit!” Keller said loudly, and everyone turned to look at him. “I finally understand the whole superhero/secret identity thing.”
With sheer astonishment Radu replied, “It’s obvious they use a secret identity so the villain cannot use a loved one as leverage against them.”
“Well, yeah,” Keller said. “But I just now understood it.” He looked over at Seva. “I can’t lose you. Not now.”
“You’re not going to.” Seva smiled, charmed. “Five tamed wolves? Child’s play for a Ukrainian.”
Radu ignored him and nodded to the guard, then opened the gate just far enough for a man to fit through. The soldier shoved Seva in. Seva went into a crouch so as not to tower over the wolves and projected as much confidence as he could muster. The wolves formed a semicircle facing Seva and stared at him.
Keller was ready to jump out of his skin. “Domnul Popescu,” he said, “stop this. We’ve told you the truth; we’re from GLEN.”
“Americans,” Radu said. “Only when you want something from someone do you pretend to show respect. You may plead with me if you like, but it won’t stop the wolves from tearing your lover apart. I can see in your eyes that you would kill me if you had the chance, and with your bare hands if it came to it. I can admire you for that, but you are still a homosexual, and I am not afraid.”
“Okay, fine, I’m a homosexual, but why kill anyone, especially in such a gruesome way?” Keller glanced over and saw that the wolves hadn’t moved. He talked faster. “We’re not at all interested in what you do with this mountain. We’ll do everything in our power to make sure it comes into your possession. Build as many resorts as you want, we don’t care. Just don’t kill Seva.”
Radu frowned, noticing the lack of growls, snarls, screams, or the rending of flesh. “What is wrong with these wolves?” he asked the guards.
“Maybe they aren’t hungry,” one of the men offered.
“They were given the command to attack,” Radu said. “Why aren’t they attacking him?” He walked back to the entrance and pressed a button. “Ataca!” he shouted.
The wolves didn’t twitch an ear. They continued to regard Seva as though waiting for him to speak.
“Attack him, you worthless dogs!” Radu slammed his hand against the gate with a loud bang.
“Easy,” Seva said in a calm, soothing voice as one of the wolves lifted its lip in an imminent snarl. “None of us wants to be in here, so why don’t we share the space?” He glanced at the flap of the glorified dog door. “Or better yet, why don’t we go for a walk?” Without rising from his crouch, he moved smoothly over to the wall. The wolves watched in rapt fascination.
“La naiba!” Radu shouted. “Shoot him and shoot those worthless dogs!”
The soldiers raised their rifles as Seva dove for the flap. His momentum carried him through to the tunnel outside, and he kept going on his hands and knees. Behind him he heard gunfire and then the sound of the wolves running. To his amazement, the wolves didn’t try to squeeze by him but followed two abreast with the odd one out bringing up the rear.
“I guess you didn’t expect that,” Keller said, grinning at Radu.
Radu grabbed a rifle from the guard nearest him and pointed it at Keller. “Move,” he said and jerked the barrel of the gun toward the door. “Let’s go outside and give your partner a reason to come back.”
A guard opened the door and Keller walked through. He immediately noticed the lack of lights in the tunnel. As Radu emerged behind him, a bass growl reverberated against the rock. Radu opened the door wide and made room for the guards and the light from the chamber to enter the tunnel. A patch of shadow detached from the greater darkness and loomed over the five men. The soldiers fired into it with no discernible effect. Keller spun around and ran back through the door. He had reached the other end of the room when the shooting stopped. In the sudden silence, Keller froze with his hand on the enclosure gate and listened. He heard soft footsteps and turned to see Cosmina walking toward him.
Keller sighed with disappointment. “Don’t tell me you’re in on this too. Radu was bad enough. If you’re a bad guy, you’ll make me lose my faith in humanity.”
“What about Darius?” Cosmina smiled.
“I expected him to be an asshole. So what are you doing here?”
“For my own reasons, I’ve had suspicions about Radu for some time. He seemed like a jolly, softhearted innkeeper, but I had a feeling there was something else beneath the surface. When he came back to the inn today, I told him where you were going and he suddenly had another very pressing errand. He behaved so oddly, and after he left, I followed him.”
“You were right about him.” Keller paused. “Did you happen to see a very big wolf in here a moment ago?”
A smile pulled at the corners of Cosmina’s lips. “No, but I did see evidence that something large and fierce was here recently. Radu and his soldiers are much the worse for wear.” She paused. “Actually, they are all dead.”
Keller nodded. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
She nodded back. “Shall we go and find Seva?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Keller followed her to the door. “Hey, Cosmina? You got a little something on your face.” He reached out and wiped a smear of blood from her chin. “Got it.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Keller stuck his head out and looked around. He didn’t see anything but the five bodies in the wedge of light from the door. “Let’s go,” he said as he took Cosmina’s hand.
She gave him an indulgent smile and let him lead her into the tunnel. They made it outside without running into any trouble, and Keller was surprised to see it was still daylight.
“I feel like it was hours ago that Darius picked us up,” he said.
>
“The sun will go down soon, though. We should hurry.”
“My only plan is to walk through the woods and yell Seva’s name.”
“Oh, I think we can do a little better than that.” Cosmina smiled as she tugged on Keller’s hand. “This way.”
Chapter Fifteen
Same day, same time, communing with the wolves
SEVA shot out the end of the wolves’ tunnel and ran to the nearest tree. He intended to climb it, but a tug on his trouser cuff brought him back down. It wasn’t far to fall, but the landing still jarred him. He lay staring up at the circle of wolves that surrounded him.
“What?” he asked them.
The largest wolf took a step forward and nudged Seva with his snout.
“You want me to get up? Fine.” Seva rose to his feet. “Now what?”
The leader of the pack turned and walked down the slope. After a few feet, he looked over his shoulder at Seva. All the wolves looked at Seva.
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Seva said. “You want me to go with you, but I need to go back and get my friend.”
The big wolf growled, and the wolf closest to Seva nipped his left buttock. Seva jumped and yelped in pain. The leader trotted a few more feet away and looked at Seva again. The rest of the pack crowded behind him, pushing at his legs.
“I have to go back,” Seva said more forcefully.
Two of the wolves whined, and the pack milled in agitation. The leader snarled a warning at them, and Seva felt the odd calm that always came over him when his life was threatened. He gathered himself to spring for a tree, but before he could take action, his eye was drawn to movement in the forest to his right.
“Stay calm,” someone called out. “The wolves don’t want to hurt you, but the prey instinct is a strong one.”
Seva’s jaw dropped in disbelief. He recognized the young man approaching him, but his appearance had changed radically since Seva had last seen him. Gone was the thick gel that had tamed a riot of silky, Byronesque curls. Gone were the thick-lensed black-framed glasses that had dampened the impact of a pair of melting brown eyes. Instead of stooping and rounding his shoulders, he stood tall and moved with animal grace.
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