by Sharon Green
We found Dan the easy way. Going down one flight of stairs let us out into the level the shapeshifters used, and no more than seconds later the door opened on one of the elevators. Inside were Dan and half a dozen of his people, all of them coming out of the car in a bunch. In the middle of them was Trent Maddox, and he wasn't moving on his own. Two of the shapeshifters were dragging Maddox along, and the man was screeching and yelling as if he were being torn apart. None of them seemed to notice Eric and me, and they dragged Maddox half way to the mess on the floor.
"Be quiet!" Dan shouted then at Maddox, glaring at the man who was still being held. "You know perfectly well why we brought you here, so stop pretending that you don't know."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Maddox snarled, glaring at Dan. "You dragged me away from what I was doing, and when I report your actions you'll all be in a great deal of trouble. You – "
"What you were doing isn't what you were supposed to be doing," Dan interrupted, his expression hard and cold. "You were supposed to be doing the inventory, not supervising other people while they did the work. I'm sure you intend lying again if someone reports you instead, but lying won't help you. Tellia is no longer in charge of what goes on around here."
"That's ridiculous," Maddox returned with a snort. "Who do you imagine can order Tellia not to do the job she adores?"
"Mio did the ordering, and there's no imagining about it," Dan stated, which stopped Maddox from continuing with the struggling he'd been doing. Maddox stood so still, in fact, it was clear he stopped doubting what he was being told.
"And not only that," Dan continued, "but Mio asked me to take over the job. Which means things didn't work out quite the way you expected them to, did they?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Maddox snarled, and I could see that he was deliberately not looking at the mess he'd made. "You had no right to drag me down here, and I demand that you tell these … bullies to let me go immediately."
"I had every right to drag you down here, since you're the one who made this mess," Dan stated. "No, don't bother trying to deny it, not when you left your scent when you spread all that blood around. I brought you here to give you a choice, and here it is: either you clean up all that mess with your own two little hands, or I call the Mexican police and hand you over to them for attempting to cause a riot. Which will it be?"
"That's utterly absurd," Maddox returned, but his voice wasn't quite as steady as it had been. "I had nothing to do with this and you can't prove otherwise."
"But the security cameras can prove otherwise," Dan countered smoothly. "You didn't know about the cameras, so you made no effort to disguise yourself. Do you have any idea what a Mexican court will sentence you to for trying to cause a riot among shapeshifters?"
Maddox seemed to be trying to say something, but his mouth moved without any words coming out. He'd also paled enough to be noticed even under his stylish tan, and I exchanged a silent grin with Eric. If there had been cameras set up on this level, Dan wouldn't have had to ask our team to help find out who had made the mess.
"You … can't give me to them," Maddox finally got out, a definite tremor in his voice. "They won't understand that I had a perfectly good reason for doing as I did, so you just can't give me to them. If it's an apology you want, I'll certainly –"
"I said clean up the mess, not use words to smooth things over," Dan interrupted to state. "First step is to use a sponge and a bucket, and then a mop and soapy water. Tell me right now what your choice is, and then we can get straight to it. Clean up or the police."
Maddox actually began to cry then, but none of the men around him were stupid enough to be moved. One of the men left for a minute and came back with a bucket and a large sponge. The items were offered to Maddox in a bottom-line kind of way, and Maddox wasn't able to refuse them. He took his equipment and crept slowly toward the mess, then bent down and started the job.
"Work faster," Dan told him, still speaking flatly. "If the rest of my people get down here to find what you did, some of them might not be able to control themselves. If that happens I pity any humans who might be around, I really do."
Maddox seemed to shudder when he heard that, but right after the shudder he got down on his knees in order to work faster. Blotting up the spilled blood was still somewhat possible, but in a little while it would have to be scrubbed hard to be gotten rid of. Dan and his people moved back away from the area and the blood, probably suffering even more than Eric and I were because they'd been closer. It might be possible now to be near spilled blood without losing control, but it still wasn't pleasant. I looked at Eric and nodded to the stairs, and he lost no time in joining me on the way out of there.
"Now that was a sight I wouldn't have wanted to miss," Eric said softly as we slowly climbed the stairs. "That fool Maddox needed to be taken down a few pegs."
"I think he needs more than just that," I answered, having considered the matter. "Dan said Maddox was 'supervising' the inventory rather than do it himself the way he was supposed to, and after the trouble he had with Tellia he shouldn't have done that. Even a petty tyrant like him should have been on his best behavior, just to prove how valuable he still is."
"Are you saying the man isn't able to behave in a normal way?" Eric asked, studying my face. "I can see your point, but I don't know what can be done about it."
"I don't either, which makes it a lucky thing it isn't our job to do something with him," I said. "But Maddox is a loose end it won't be smart to leave lying around. Let's see if we can find Mio again."
Eric nodded his agreement, which let us start to look around as soon as we reached the vampires' floor. Mio appeared at the other end of the hall before we tried going into the gathering room, so we moved a few steps in his direction while he moved in ours.
"How are things going?" Mio asked as he stopped a couple of feet away. "Has Dan located Trent Maddox?"
"Yes, Dan found him and now Maddox is cleaning up the mess he made," I answered. "The only problem is… How long has Maddox been working for vampires? Was Tellia his first and only superior?"
"As a matter of fact, I don't think Tellia was his first superior," Mio answered slowly, all friendliness draining out of his expression. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm asking because I think Maddox needs professional help as much as Tellia does," I told him, deliberately ignoring the chill now coming from the being. "If you simply kick him out once he finishes his current chore, I have the feeling he'll get into trouble somewhere almost at once. At that point people will find out that he's used to working for vampires, and then…"
"And then whatever he's done will become our fault," Mio finished when I didn't, actually nodding instead of staring motionlessly. "I'll admit I should have thought of that myself, but happily you thought of it. Which means, of course, that I'll also make arrangements for Trent to be sent to the same place Tellia is going. The people there will know whether or not the man can be helped."
Mio nodded to us and then turned and went back the way he'd come, probably going to his suite. Eric and I exchanged a glance and then turned ourselves, heading for the elevators. It was time we rejoined the rest of our team, and neither of us said a word. It was pretty much a given that if Maddox couldn't be helped he would join Tellia in not ever returning to the world.
It didn't take long going up to our suite, and when we walked inside we headed for the coffee. It was hotel coffee in a pitcher instead of our own supply, but it was still coffee and more than worth drinking.
"How did it go?" George asked from the couch he sat on. "Is Dan's problem all taken care of?"
"It's in the process of being all taken care of," I answered as I filled my cup. "Maddox is cleaning up the mess he made, probably for the first time in his life."
"Yes, some people are good at making messes, not so good at cleaning them up afterward," Freemont said with a shake of his head. "But George, Amiol, and I have been discussing the matter of asking Old
on to go with us tomorrow night, and George remembered something."
"What I remembered was that Elaine and Todd mentioned in passing that they'd be interested in meeting Oldon," George explained. "With that in mind, unless you or Eric have a reason for refusing, we're leaning toward making the invitation official."
"I have no objections," Eric said with a casual shrug where he stood behind me near the coffee. "Now all we need to do is hear from Taz."
"Taz also seems to have no objections," I said, paying more attention to fixing my coffee. "I still have a feeling we were asked the favor for a reason, but that doesn't really matter. If Oldon doesn't mention the reason himself, I'll wait until we get back and then I'll ask."
There wasn't quite a calm acceptance of what I'd said, but none of my teammates came up with a comment. Which was a lucky thing, because I didn't understand myself where that feeling was coming from. Well, we'd find out tomorrow if I happened to be imagining things.
We sat around relaxing for the rest of the afternoon, then went down for dinner. The Hunters, Inc. people were leaving just as we walked into the dining room, so we exchanged nods and smiles with Todd and Elaine. Tomorrow would be soon enough to meet the rest of their team. We enjoyed our meal, lingered over last cups of coffee, then went back to our suite. I showered before getting into bed, and it didn't take long before I fell asleep…
Chapter Three
Tom and I were in the middle of sword practice when the arrival of a stranger ended the practice. A large wagon pulled by four mules stopped a distance from our practice place, but close enough for Tom and me to see it. A large man got out of the wagon and walked slowly toward our village, and in return some of our people headed for the man just as slowly. The newcomer was a stranger, which was odd enough; most strangers avoided our village, especially if they were like those who lived elsewhere. Which the stranger was. Tom and I drifted closer, so we had no trouble hearing the exchange once Elder Raf stopped and smiled at the man.
"Welcome to our village, stranger," Elder Raf told the man, his smile very gentle. "Can we help you in some way?"
"I'm hopin' you can," the man responded, and it was clear how hard he worked to keep his nervousness under control. "The name's Calder, and I heard that you folks were … different from the rest of us. But I also heard you was good people, so I thought I'd see if you can help someone other than me."
"You know of someone who needs our help?" Elder Raf asked, still speaking calmly and gently. "If it's possible for us to do something, we'll be glad to, Mr. Calder. You can call me Raf."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Raf," the stranger said, now breathing a little easier. "I have a small delivery business that takes me all over this part of the country, and a few weeks ago I came across a place that had … a lot of trouble. Seems a bunch of drifters had attacked the place, and whole families ended up dead. The drifters was … not like the rest of us."
"I think you're trying to say they were like us," Elder Raf said, and it wasn't possible to miss how desolate and horrified he was. "We can't understand why those people act like that, not when they would have been welcomed if they'd come here to join us. We don't believe in harming innocents, you see, and you can take our heartfelt apology and sympathy back to – "
"No, no, I know you folks don't do that kind of stuff," the man interrupted, holding up one hand with an odd expression on his face. "That's why I come, 'cause a lot of folks say you're decent and carin'. Back where the attack was, most of those attacked died, but one didn't. No one there would take her in, so I thought maybe you folks would do more than just turn your backs…"
The man was asking more than just speaking, and Elder Raf understood that immediately.
"A woman survived the attack?" Elder Raf said, his brows high. "Of course we'll take her in, but how do you know she wants to live here? If she's still horribly hurt in her mind over being attacked, this might be the last place she'd want to be taken to."
"She is hurt on the inside, but she's not a woman," the stranger said, a sigh behind his words. "She's just a little girl, but all the people there were too afraid to take her in. I've been … feedin' her every day, but she won't talk to me and won't even do much movin' around. I know I'm askin' a lot, but –"
"No, you're not asking a lot," another voice interrupted to say, and then Elder Joe was standing with the two other men. "What you're doing is an incredibly good deed, helping a girl child you're not really responsible for. My wife and I will be delighted to give a home to the girl, and hopefully we'll be able to bring her back to being part of the world. Is she in the back of your wagon?"
The stranger nodded, then he said he'd get the girl and turned back to his wagon. Tom and I exchanged a glance, one that most of those standing around exchanged as well. We all knew that Elder Joe's daughter hadn't survived transition the year before, and he and his wife had been grieving for the girl ever since. They had sons, but had had only the one daughter.
It took a couple of minutes, but then the man Calder reappeared and climbed down from the wagon. Once he stood on the ground he lifted his arms to help someone else out of the wagon. The girl he helped down seemed to be floating rather than alive and alert, and she wasn't quite as young as I'd been expecting. She was somewhere around the age of puberty, with dark red hair and what looked like light eyes. She also wore an old, patched dress but was barefoot.
"This is Regina," Calder said softly as he carried the girl closer to the elders. "She's a really good girl, so she deserves to have a really good home."
"Hello, Regina," Elder Joe said just as softly with a smile, taking the girl from Calder. "My name is Joe, and my wife and I would love to have you live with us. Will you try doing that, living with us, I mean? Things will be strange for you at first, but once you settle in you'll find that you have no trouble…"
Elder Joe's voice faded away as he got further away from where we stood. I knew he was on the way to his house, and he couldn't wait to show his wife their new family member.
"We'll all try to make things work out right for them," Elder Raf said to Calder, certainly aware of Calder's smile. "It was extremely good of you to bring the girl here, and we'd like to thank you with more than just words. "Your delivery service… Would you be willing to buy things for us and deliver them to us? We pay in silver, and we're willing to pay for the goods in advance."
"Well, now, that sounds fine," Calder agreed, his smile warming once he saw that he wasn't being offered a payment for having brought the girl. "What kind a goods are we talkin' about?"
"Mostly we need meat, but it has to be already slaughtered," Elder Raf answered. "I'm sure you know that we can't keep herds ourselves, so we'd want beef and pork."
"I shouldn't have any trouble bringin' the meat, and anythin' else you might want," Calder said, nodding thoughtfully. "Some a my customers don't live all that far from here, and they'd be glad to sell for silver. Let's you and me sit down and make a list, and then we can get to the price."
"I have a question," another voice interrupted, stopping Elder Raf and Calder from moving away. Jase had appeared out of nowhere, and now he smiled at the stranger. "Your mules don't seem all that afraid of us, and I'd like to know why."
"Raised them mules myself from foals," Calder answered before Elder Raf could tell Jase that he was out of line. "I figured I'd be best off if my mules knew the scent of just about everythin', so they wouldn't go wild when I needed 'em most. Seems like my idea worked."
Everyone around us agreed in surprise, obviously never having considered the point before. The one mule we had we'd gotten already grown up, but if we worked with foals we might have a chance to have mounts we didn't frighten. A number of people commented on what we'd just learned as Calder and Elder Raf moved off, but I had a different question. My father's friend Carl Moore was in the crowd, so I walked over to him.
"Mr. Moore, I wonder if you can explain something for me," I said, trying to put a feeling into words. "That girl Regina… I got
her scent pretty clearly, but there was something odd about it. She didn't smell only like wolf."
"I think that's because the girl isn't only wolf the way we are," Mr. Moore said after taking a deep breath. "I have a feeling she was savaged by more than one attacker, and now she has more than wolf in her."
"But how can that be?" I protested. "And what will she be like when the Silver Mother calls us all? Will she be … rejected by the Silver Mother in some way?"
"She'll certainly be different, but I don't know in what way," Mr. Moore said with another sigh. "I guess we'll just have to wait to find out."
I nodded and thanked the man before moving back toward Tom, mentioning nothing of my feeling that I'd need to have my questions answered as soon as possible. There was some kind of … connection I'd felt from the girl, and I also didn't know what that meant…
* * *
When my eyes opened I lay still for a couple of minutes, wondering about my latest dream. The girl who had been brought to the village was the victim of a mixed attack, just as I was. The people in the village didn't seem to know anything more about her, but chances were good that they'd find out things that no one today knew about. If they found out enough, it was just possible that the information would do me some good. I had no idea how that would work, but there was still the chance…
A chance. As I got up, put on my nightshirt, then headed for the bathroom, I couldn't keep from sneering at myself. I had no idea what kind of chance I might be looking forward to, but I still considered it a chance of some kind. Talk about wishful thinking…
It didn't take long to wash and dress, and when I walked out into the living room Freemont smiled at me.
"Good morning, Taz," he said with his usual beautiful smile. "Breakfast won't be here for a while yet, so you might as well get your coffee. Our teammates slept even later than you did."
"Being able to sleep late without missing anything is a true treat," I said with my own smile as I headed for the coffeepot. "Once we get back to the States we ought to be ready for anything that comes at us."
