by Lisa Ladew
He bowed at the waist like he was meeting royalty, and not bat-shit crazy. Cerise stayed still, praying Kaci would not move or sneeze or give herself away, but the blankets behind her moved. No!
Kaci pushed her way out, her small face twisted in anger. “Hey dickhead, fuck you!” she cried.
“Oh, Kaci,” Cerise breathed. She’d just seen the man behind Grey Deatherage. A short man, but with a mean face and a gun in his hand, pointed at her.
Grey backed up and the pendant swung below his fist. “Both of you, out here,” he said, his voice a pained snarl.
Cerise saw no point in resisting. She crawled out.
“Sit on the bed.”
They did, holding hands tightly, Cerise awash with fear, Kaci seeming only angry. Dimly, Cerise took in the surroundings. It was a large, long room, the only room at the top of the stairs. The walls were sloped, like the roof was directly outside. An attic bedroom.
The crazy cop only stared at her. So she spoke. That’s what they always did in the movies. Keep ’em talking. Till someone came to the rescue. Beckett? Please let him not be dead. Her heart twisted at the thought of it. She put it aside. “You’re the reason Myles and Sandra stole Kaci, aren’t you? You made them to do it. Why?”
Deatherage smiled, the pendant he was holding still glowing, but the light pulsing on and off now. As she watched, she realized it was in time with her heartbeat.
He turned dramatically and locked eyes with her. “And you, sweetheart. Don’t forget yourself in this crazy play.”
Cerise’s eyes narrowed. Did he mean he’d had them steal her, too? When was that? How old was she? Where did she come from and who were her parents? She couldn’t think about that right now. Couldn’t be distracted by it. She had to figure out a way to use her power, like Beckett had said. Get them both to jump right out the damn window.
Grey pressed his hands together, letting the pendant swing. “So, Cerise, is it?” he said, like he’d never met her before. “We have business, you and I. It’s simple, won’t take more than a minute or two of your time. If you do as I ask, I’ll leave the girl here. Let her reunite with her family, who will be back soon. They regret having to leave, but they are following a very credible sighting of her a state away. If you don’t…” He turned and nodded at the other man in the room, who swung the cannon-sized muzzle of the gun till it pointed at Kaci’s knee.
Cerise held up her hands, stark terror pulsing through her chest, her face going almost numb with it. “Ok! Don’t point it at her, please!” The gun moved slightly to the left. “I just-“ More talking. Keep him talking. “What happens to me if I do what you want?”
Grey’s eyes settled on her. “Nothing, m’dear. We’ll take a little trip. You may even enjoy it.”
She couldn’t think of anything else to say. What would he want of her? “And Beckett? What happens to him?”
Grey and the other man exchanged a smirking look. “Unfortunately, he’s going to have to go meet an old friend. That old friend will probably have some harsh words for him. You may not see him again. But no worries, there are hundreds of strapping young wolven just as eager as he was to make your acquaintance.”
Cerise frowned. What in the hell was he talking about?
Grey laughed, a surprisingly sane sound, but he didn’t look at his buddy this time. “Ah. You don’t even know what he is. What a surprise it will be for you when you see. If you see. Whatever did you two talk about on that long drive across the country?” His eyes narrowed, his voice growing mean. “Or were you too busy rutting? Got any pups in there yet?”
Cerise flushed as things began to fall into place for her. She didn’t know how any of this could be true, but somehow, it was the only thing that made sense. Beckett wasn’t human.
She bared her teeth at Grey, thinking how much she would like to see him jump off the roof. But she liked him better this way, seeing the real him, not as some fake, pretending he was not completely evil.
The pendant flashed, catching her attention. She locked eyes with the wolf, then the angel, then the wolf, as it turned, emitting a rainbow of light. She could feel its power, almost hear it speaking to her in a glut of feelings and images.
Grey snatched it behind his back, breaking the spell. “Listen to me, little girl. You’re going to do exactly as I tell you to, or you know what will happen. Are we clear?”
Cerise nodded.
“Good. I’m going to hold the pendant up. You are going to stay where you are and look at it only, not touch it. You’re going to repeat the words that I say and nothing else. Do you agree?”
Cerise nodded again, an eagerness stealing through her. She would get to look at it again? Talk to it? Suddenly, it was all she could think about.
“Perfect.” He brought it out slowly, and all of Cerise’s thoughts fell away. On some level, she heard Grey’s words move through her consciousness.
“Say exactly what I say: Oh great Matchitehew, I summon you to this time and space and implore to your calmest nature. I have a sacrifice for you, the booted wolf who is said to be the one to save the savior in the future. If you will come to me, and leave all else unharmed, I will give him to you, in good will.”
The pendant spoke to her, soothed her, opened her mouth and encouraged her to speak the words. She did, haltingly, tripping over the words sacrifice and booted wolf, but the pendant assured her all would be fine and well and she could continue.
As soon as the last word left her mouth, the air around them began to ripple as if it were water.
A wind picked up in the enclosed space.
Something was coming.
Chapter 35
Crew leaned back in his chair, frowning. He hadn’t been able to sleep, and he wasn’t sure why, but now he knew. Something was wrong with Beckett. He bore down on the feeling, sending his consciousness out, searching for exactly what was wrong, when Dahlia came down the stairs, wrapping a robe around her. She saw his face and stopped, then sank down on the stairs. He returned his concentration to Beckett.
What he saw made him shoot to his feet and run for the radio. It crackled in his hand, Trevor’s voice. “Everyone to the main house. Wade’s on his way, says Beckett could be in trouble and we need to brainstorm how to get to him quickly.”
Crew pressed the button on the side, already heading for the door and motioning for Dahlia to follow him. “Beckett is in trouble. Wade has to get someone to him now!”
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Dahlia outside in her slippers and they ran for Trevor’s. Behind them, he could hear Graeme and Heather coming fast. He pushed open the back door, leaving it ajar, counting heads. Trevor, Ella, Trent, Troy, Mac, Bruin, and Harlan were standing there, Trevor and Ella in sleep clothes, Trevor with his phone to his ear. Mac held a finger to his lips and Crew could hear Wade talking through the phone.
Trevor lifted his chin at Crew. “Wade says he got a text from Beckett but can’t reach him now. He wants to know what you know.”
Crew spoke up so Wade could hear him through the phone. “Beckett’s been shot four times, and drugged somehow. He’s in a basement, there are humans all around him. He’s digging bullets out of his legs and they’re just laughing at him, like they are saving him for something, but even if he gets the bullets out, he can’t shift. He’s losing blood fast. They’re saving him for something, not killing him outright, but he doesn’t expect to live through whatever they’re saving him for.”
Trevor listened to the phone as Wade spoke urgently. “Wade’s got Loma Linda PD on the way to an address Beckett gave him, but they are ten or more minutes out. They had an armed robbery on the other side of town an hour ago, officers and civilians shot.”
Mac snorted. “Nice coincidence.”
Crew leaned against a barstool. It didn’t look good for Beckett. His best friend…
Graeme grabbed his shoulder. “Crew, if you were there, in California, could you find him? Locate him like a beacon?”
Crew nodded. Graeme
squeezed his arm. “Give it to me. The location. The essence of it.”
Crew had never tried such a thing, but if Graeme thought it would work… He grabbed Graeme’s other arm and stared into his eyes, letting everything he’d seen in Beckett’s mind flow through him, out of him… into Graeme?
Graeme nodded sharply. “Got it. I can take two with me.”
Troy barked sharply and stepped forward, as did Trent. Mac held up his hand, his voice tight. “You know I’m going, sparky.”
Graeme only hesitated for a second, his eyes playing over everyone, then landing on Bruin, but he spoke to Mac. “Mac, you’re gonna get burnt. Maybe bad.”
Mac winced but didn’t back down. Graeme nodded. “I gotta take the bear, too. He’s got the least chance of being burnt.”
Bruin shot next to Mac, a look of disbelief on his face. “Fuck yeah, I’m in.”
“Shift, both of you.” Graeme turned to Crew, his face twisted. “Protect Heather and the bairn.”
Crew nodded tightly, knowing exactly what Graeme hadn’t said. If I don’t return. “With my life.”
Graeme pressed a kiss to Heather’s lips, then turned to Mac and Bruin. Everyone had scattered away from them. Heather uttered a little cry and openly gaped at Bruin, then backed away, out the door behind her.
Mac didn’t look any different than Trent and Troy, just white to their black, but Bruin, he was monstrous. His shoulders stood five feet high and his head was as big as a man’s entire chest. Bigger. He sat back on his haunches rather like a dog and lifted his paw, his curved claws jutting out like thick knives. He turned his head to the side and waved his massive paw back and forth, as if to say, are we going yet? The effect was almost comical, but still no less terrifying. He could tear Mac’s head from his shoulders if he wanted, without even exerting himself.
Graeme spoke to them. “I’m going to transform and wrap you in my wings. Bruin, I’m not sure how well you will fit, and both of you will still be burnt. It won’t last long. Don’t squirm, because if I lose you in-between, you’ll incinerate instantly.”
Troy retreated to the couch, looking almost glad not to be going, although he’d been outraged a moment before.
Graeme spoke to Trevor. “Warn local PD we will be there, human or beast, we won’t know till we get there.”
Bruin’s voice floated in Crew’s mind. Tell them to bring clothes.
Graeme gathered their clothes up from the floor. “No need.” He looked around. “Stand back.”
He waited till everyone was clear of him, then transformed. One minute a man, the next a dragon the size of a pony, the clothes he had been holding no longer visible.
Neat trick, Bruin said.
The dragon unfurled his wings, knocking two chairs across the room, and sliding the dining room table three feet to the left into the wall.
Come to me.
Bruin started forward first, then Mac. Graeme wrapped them in his wings, curling the leathery skin around Mac two or three times, but only once around Bruin.
And they were gone. Winked out of existence like a light turning off.
Chapter 36
Heat. Pressure. Nothingness. Searing pain.
Then Graeme was running, running fast on powerful dragon legs. A voice to his left screamed, then another called out, “It’s the dragon, he’s returned! Tell the King!”
Graeme sped up. Mac tried to yell at him, to tell him to let him out, that those god-damned wings were strangling him. He couldn’t breathe! Graeme stopped. Side-stepped. Then the darkness overtook them again.
Heat. Pressure. Void. Burning.
Mac gritted his teeth, his own fangs punching through his lips, the burning too much—
Until it was gone and he knew they were back home. He tumbled as the wing he’d been wrapped in unfurled to spill him into the snow. He rolled, putting his burning skin and fur out, the pain gone, numbness covering him. He’d been burnt so badly over his entire body he couldn’t even feel the burnt spots anymore. He relaxed, letting go, letting the snow soothe him, the darkness of the night take him-
“Mac!” Graeme whisper-shouted at him urgently and shook him. “Shift, you have to shift now to heal yourself.”
Mac looked down at his body. His legs were twisted and too short, all his hair gone. He didn’t want to see anymore. He clamped down on the animal in his mind, who for once went willingly. The shift hurt, took so much longer than normal, but when he pushed to his hands and knees, his skin was whole, his hands and feet back.
“What the fuck, sparky,” he gasped, almost retching in the snow. “Remind me not to sign up for your frequent flyer program.”
He looked up. Graeme and Bruin were already crouching next to a house as humans, Bruin showing more skin than Mac wanted to see, Graeme dressed in what he had been wearing at the house. Fucker. Mac envied him that ability, to keep his clothes somehow. They were peering in a basement window. Mac crawled over to them, ignoring the cold of the snow against his naked skin. It was better than burning, any day.
Inside, on the floor, he saw Beckett in a pool of his own blood, holes in each of his arms and legs, surrounded by six human males, all carrying assault rifles, most with another gun on their belt. Beckett’s fingers were in a messy red hole on his leg, his face screwed up in pain that had to be almost as bad as what Mac had just gone through. While Mac watched, he pulled a twisted piece of metal out of the hamburger that used to be his leg as the humans laughed, and one pointed his gun at him again.
“Fuck that noise,” Mac growled. “We’re going in, now.”
Graeme nodded. “Me and you in the window. Bruin, you’ll have to go around to the door, your bear won’t fit.”
Bruin nodded and changed, loping away mid-shift. Mac shifted, too, but his transformation took time, while Graeme’s was instant. The tinkling of glass breaking was the first thing Mac heard as a wolf, the yells, shouts, and screams of the men in the basement the second, as Graeme separated their heads from their necks with bites and swipes of his powerful wings. By the time Mac was in the room, all the men were twitching on the floor, dying or dead.
Mac shifted and crouched by Beckett, who looked right through him, no sign of recognition on his face. “Come on, tough guy, you got all your bullets out of you yet?”
Beckett rolled his eyes, looking half-crazed. Mac took his hand, tried to catch his eye. “Stay with me, wolf, all you gotta do is shift and it will be all better.”
Beckett nodded, his body shaking for a moment. He stared at Mac, his mouth drawn, cords standing out on his neck. “Grey’s here. Upstairs. He killed my father. He’s got Cerise and Kaci.”
Mac nodded, not knowing who Cerise and Kaci were. One of them had to be Beckett’s mate. “I don’t need the news, tough guy. Let’s meet your wolf and then we can go tear Deatherage’s fucking head off just on general principles.”
Beckett shook again, like he couldn’t quite manage the shift. Mac got down on his hands and knees and grabbed Beckett by the back of the head, putting their foreheads together, talking directly to Beckett’s animal. “Come out, fucker, you got your mate to save. If you don’t come out, right now, you’re going to die, and so will she!”
Beckett threw back his head and roared to the ceiling, as his animal took over, muzzle lengthening, hips twisting, holes mending, wiry white fur appearing, except for his feet and halfway up his legs, where the fur was black.
“Yeah, right on” Mac encouraged, stepping back, about to shift himself, when he caught a noseful of an acrid, fiery smell he knew all too well.
Graeme’s scaly head swung around from where he stood at the bottom of the steps, his eyes meeting Mac’s with surprisingly readable emotion.
Khain was in the house.
Chapter 37
Cerise clutched Kaci’s hand, knowing the girl would be terrified. She tried to pull Kaci to her, but she resisted with surprising strength. Cerise frowned and checked her expression. Her head was up, her nostrils flaring, a look of realization on h
er face, almost like something was happening that she’d expected for a long time.
Grey had hidden the pendant from her view again, breaking its hold on her, and now that Kaci didn’t seem to need her, her thoughts doubled over on themselves in fear. She had just doomed Beckett somehow, she knew it. He was the booted wolf, and she’d offered him as a sacrifice.
Her gaze travelled over everything in the room, the two men who stood in front of her, the human now looking terrified, his gun hand shaking, his eyes wide and rolling to the ceiling as he crouched and scanned the rippling air. She dismissed him. He was going to pee his pants or run any second. And when he did… Her gaze fell on Grey. His eyes were narrowed in excitement, no fear there. He had his head up like Kaci, his nostrils flaring also. She frowned. Were they smelling something she wasn’t? She thought maybe she smelled a bit of smoke from somewhere.
Behind them, there was one window. If she could touch Grey, she could push him to run at it, crash straight through it to the ground below. She tensed her muscles, ready to run, but before she could, whatever had been coming, came.
A set of nasty, onyx-black claws ripped through the air like a wall of fabric at the end of the long room, creating a sort of hole in reality that allowed… something to push its wrinkled snout through. Cerise’s senses went dim, as terror pushed to the forefront of her consciousness, making her shake. She’d seen a movie about Wendigos a year ago, an evil, cannibalistic monster that looked almost like a giant deer that stood on its hind legs with long fangs and arms, something Kaci had found in Sandra’s stash of DVDs. They’d only watched it once, and only for the first hour, when Cerise had finally snatched it out of the DVD player and cracked it in half, but the image had stayed with her, giving her nightmares for weeks.
This… thing looked a bit like that. Its beady animal eyes rolled over everyone in the room, then settled on her. Its oversized nostrils pulsed and she knew it was smelling her, appraising her. She pulled herself into a ball, and whimpered. This was bad.
