by Sharon Green
"Excellent!" Rolfe exclaimed, clearly enjoying what I'd said. "Was Helms still yelling about how innocent he was?"
"Helms was too busy screaming about getting even with everyone involved to mention innocence," I said. "He hated the idea of being locked up without chance of bail, and he made no effort to disguise that hatred."
"Now, that's something I don't enjoy hearing," Rolfe said, the satisfaction gone from his voice. "Helms has too much money for things to stay the way they are, so I think I'll look for something to do as a just-in-case scenario. I'll let you know what I come up with, Taz, and thanks for what you did."
Rolfe ended the call then, and I considered calling him back to find out what he meant before changing my mind. If something was done to keep Helms from disrupting everyone's lives again, I couldn't consider the action anything but what the man deserved.
We all talked for a while before heading for bed, and the next day we just sat around and did nothing. That was just as well, since Eric and I knew we couldn't trust our reactions and responses so close to the full moon. We ate with the others and left chatting to them, but just after supper my phone rang.
"What's up, Allison?" I asked, working to sound normal rather than snarly after checking caller ID and turning the phone on.
"Taz, you won't believe what happened," Allison said, and I couldn't decide if she really was holding down heavy amusement. "From what we've put together, your friend Helms apparently offered a million dollars to the guards of the jail if one of them let him out."
Eric and Oldon made sounds of disbelief, then they began to tell everyone else what Allison had said. Feeling like an idiot I pushed the button that let the others hear the conversation at the same time I did.
"You can't mean that one of them took him up on the offer," I said, shaking my head. "No one could be stupid enough to think they'd get away with something like that."
"The one who accepted his offer had nothing to keep him here," Allison answered. "We're assuming he thought he'd take the money and disappear, but none of the plans made worked out the way the two men expected them to."
"They were stopped before they made it outside," I guessed, a logical idea given the circumstances. "Then they nailed Helms to the floor to keep him from trying to escape again after giving him a new cellmate."
"No, the two of them made it all the way out to the street," Allison said, still not sounding upset. "The other guards couldn't believe anyone would take Helms up on his offer, so they weren't even watching the man. Helms and his bought guard went outside and began to cross the street to where the guard's car was parked. That was when the truck hit them, killing them almost instantly. Witnesses said they never even looked around to see if there was traffic."
"Unbelievable," Freemont stated, clearly speaking for all of us. "But at least now we don't have to wonder what Helms will try against us next."
"Nope, no more worries about Mr. Helms," Allison said with a grin clear in her voice. "I thought you'd all enjoy knowing that."
We all thanked her for the update, and then I closed my phone. I sat thinking for a moment while everyone else talked about what had happened, then I went out to the entrance area and made another call.
"Hi, Rolfe," I said when he'd answered his own phone. "I thought I'd let you know that there's no longer a problem with Helms in any way at all. Seems he and the guard he bought to free him both had a fatal accident as soon as they were away from the jail."
"My goodness, imagine that," Rolfe answered, his voice smooth and completely unsurprised. "I guess that's what happens when someone breaks the law one time too many. They find themselves falling into an unseen pit."
"With no one mourning their passing," I agreed. "If someone I knew ever caused something like that, I'd have to tell them I thought they'd done good work. Since I don't happen to know someone like that, all I can do is hope I'll find that someone some day."
"As long as you don't find that some of your friends are dead because they did business with you," Rolfe said, and his voice had stopped sounding satisfied. "That kind of happening isn't pleasant at all, which I'm sure you know. I have to go now, Taz. Please do take care."
I assured him I would and then said good night, closing my phone when he closed his. So Helms had killed some of Rolfe's customers, which had led to Rolfe asking Fainis, his dark elf assistant, to arrange something in case Helms got out of jail. Since Fainis did really good work and didn't believe in leaving traces, chances were good that no one would ever find out what had been done.
I was about to head for the kitchen for another cup of coffee when someone knocked at the door. I'd had my brief phone call about two steps away from that door, so I went over and opened up. I must have looked surprised, since our caller smiled.
"Eric suggested that I spend the night here," Art said, moving forward and coming inside when I opened the outer door for him. "Since tomorrow night is the full moon, I decided to go along with the idea."
Art carried a small overnight bag, and as I closed the door behind him I also nodded.
"Yes, I like that idea too," I said. "Tomorrow we won't be up to doing much beyond breathing and waiting, so getting things set tonight makes sense. Will you be taking one of the empty apartments?"
"No, I've been invited to share Eric's apartment," Art said with something of a smile. "Eric isn't really my type, so he assured me my virtue would be safe."
"Yes, I think you can trust Eric on that score," I said with a chuckle. "Why don't you leave your bag here near the stairs, and then you can come and have coffee with us."
Art liked that idea, so I led him into the kitchen where we both got cups of coffee before joining the others in the sitting room. Most of the others chatted before we all decided to head for bed, but Art and I were more distracted than involved in the talk. Tomorrow was the full moon, and we were going to find out just how effective those silver headbands were…
Chapter Twenty-seven
The new snow was at least three feet deep, which means Regina and I had more fun jumping around in it than I can put into words. We'd shifted into wolf form, of course, so we raced around chasing each other until we were all but exhausted. At that point we went back to the barn, where we'd left our clothes and boots, shifted again, then began to dress. It was almost time for us to work with the horses and mules and cows, so we didn't take our time. We were all ready to go quickly, and that was when Jase walked into the barn.
"Hey, Mykel, Regina," Jase said with his now-usual faint smile as he stopped near us. "I had an idea I thought I'd mention to you, just to see what your reaction would be. It won't take more than a minute or so."
"What's your idea, Jase?" I asked, seeing the way Regina put her head to one side in curiosity. She wasn't put off by Jase the way so many of our people were, which came as a great relief to me.
"I've decided I'm curious about what would happen if I shifted to wolf form before the Silver Mother called to all of us," Jase said, now looking off into a distance the rest of us couldn't see. "What I mean is, if I'm already in wolf form, what would happen? Would I stay in wolf form, or would I be changed back to human? Or would something else entirely happen?"
"That's a good question," Regina said, but I quickly put a hand to each of their arms.
"Jase, the elders would probably be really upset with you if not downright furious," I warned him, an odd twisting in my middle. "There's only one way to greet the call of the Silver Mother, and that's the way we already do it."
"But if nobody's ever tried doing it another way, how do we know that another response isn't possible?" Jase put without upset or annoyance of his own. "The full moon isn't far off, and I've decided to try my idea then."
"Why don't you ask one of the elders before you try it?" I suggested, distantly knowing I was wasting my breath. "There could be some kind of danger in trying your idea, so asking first could save you pain."
"But if the elder I ask doesn't know the answer, he just might try
to stop me," Jase pointed out, sounding more reasonable than stubborn. "And you have to realize that if there was danger in doing what I intend to, we'd already have been warned against it. Thanks for listening, Mykel, Regina. I'll let you know what happens."
He nodded to both of us and then left the barn, and all I could do was take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"He could be right, Mykel," Regina said, putting a hand to my shoulder. "If no one already knows what will happen, he probably won't be harmed at all."
"And if what happens to someone who does that is so terrible no one can bring themselves to talk about it?" I asked, the words sounding almost dead in my own ears. "Jase won't change his mind no matter what anyone says, so even finding out that horror is waiting won't make a difference. He'll still have to find out for himself."
"He's a man now, Mykel, so he's entitled to decide how to spend his life," Regina pointed out gently. "If he makes the wrong decision he'll die, but doesn't that go for the rest of us as well?"
"You know, you're right," I said, some of the depression I'd been feeling falling away. "Jase may have turned really strange, but he's still a man and still entitled to do things in his own way. I just hope he doesn't find out he's wrong the hard way."
Regina agreed with that, and then we turned to our chores as we dropped the subject entirely…
* * *
I woke up slowly, already feeling the pull of the full moon even though it wasn't yet up. My mind moved only sluggishly, my body following, none of my usual reactions coming into play.
Sitting up in bed was something of a chore, and it took a couple of minutes to remember what I was supposed to do once I was sitting. That meant getting to my feet and heading toward the bathroom, an effort that turned into a slow almost-floating in the proper direction.
I was almost to the bathroom when something to my right caught my attention. What looked like a wrapped up circle stood on the table I usually left my keys on, and seeing the thing dragged out the memory that I'd put the circle on the table the night before. It took some effort to remember why I'd put the circle there, but finally I had that memory too. I'd wanted to try putting the circle on early, well before the time the full moon took me over…
Thinking about things was really hard, especially since I was thirsty, but I finally decided that doing the chore now would be easier than remembering about it when I left the bathroom. So I took the few steps over to the table, lifted the cloth-wrapped circle, put it on my head-
And suddenly I was back to normal again. Oh, there was something of a shadow between me and the world, a grayness that normally wasn't there, but my mind was clear and my usual feelings and thoughts were also present.
"So the headband isn't just for holding off the change," I muttered, thinking out loud. "It also brings you back to the point where you can do what has to be done. Which actually makes a lot of sense. Those wearing the headbands had to look after the small kids, and you can't do something like that if you're floating through the day."
And I wasn't floating any longer. Not only that, but I also wanted a cup of coffee instead of plain water. And I was hungry, something I'd never been before during the day of the full moon.
All of which meant I stopped floating and got on with doing what I usually did. Once I was dressed I started to take my clean coffee mug downstairs, but a thought stopped me. Instead of using the stairs I went to Eric's apartment and just walked in. Knocking probably would have been a waste of time, and what I saw confirmed that guess.
Eric was still in bed, not asleep but not really awake either. Art had made it to one of the chairs near the television set, but he sat there without even looking up to see who had come in. He wore a pair of boxer shorts, but other than that he was naked.
I couldn't see the silver headband he must have brought with him, but I did see the bag he'd brought in the night before. Going to the bag and opening it showed me the headband, so I took it, brought it over to Art, and put it on his head.
"What – what's going on?" Art asked as soon as the headband was in place. "Taz, what are you doing?"
"I'm bringing you back to the land of the living," I told him with a smile. "The landscape is kind of grayish, but behind the film it's very familiar."
"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Art exclaimed, now looking around. "I had no idea this would happen, but it looks like you did."
"Not really," I denied, feeling my smile turn rueful. "I just left the headband out last night, and when I saw it this morning I put it on to save myself from having to remember to do it later. Let's hear it for laziness."
"I'll say," he agreed, getting out of the chair before he glanced over at Eric. "Too bad I didn't get a third band made up, but that's number one on my list for next month."
"For sure," I agreed. "I'm heading downstairs for coffee and breakfast, so why don't you get dressed and join us for the meal."
"How about that," he said, now showing a smile of his own. "This will be the first breakfast I'll have eaten on the full moon since I was turned. See you in a few."
I nodded my agreement and went back to the door I'd left open, then closed it behind me before heading for the stairs. Art had used the term "turned" for the attack that changed him, making him sound like a vampire. But if vampires were allowed to use euphemisms, so were we.
Jack and Shell wished me a calm good morning when I walked into the kitchen, but that was only because they didn't know what kind of zombie I was supposed to be. They told me the rest of the team had already eaten, but Jack offered to make a quick breakfast for me anyway. I thanked him and said that our friend Art would be joining me in just a few minutes, so Jack included Art in his plans.
Walking into the kitchen might have been calm, but that's not the reaction I got when I walked into the sitting room where the rest of the team – minus Oldon – were talking. George was also there, and for a moment I got nothing but stares from my two partners.
"Taz, you're up and walking around!" Freemont exclaimed while George just kept staring. "And you've got coffee instead of water!"
"Thanks to this silly headband I'm wearing, I'm also looking forward to breakfast," I told my partners with a grin. "I got Art's headband on him, and he'll be down soon to do the same thing."
"But not Eric," George said through his own faint smile. "Eric is just the way you used to be, because he doesn't have a headband to wear."
"Next month should be different," I answered after taking a sip of my coffee. "And you guys might want to fill in our other associates while Art and I do our own filling up in the dining room."
Amiol and Bari were staring at the three of us, clearly having no idea what we were all talking about. I left the explanation to my partners and went to the dining room, where Art joined me only a few minutes later.
"I got a glass of water for Eric before I left him," Art said as he sat down near me with his own mug of coffee. "I've always had a couple of friends helping me out on the day of the full moon, but I had no idea what I looked like to people. I'm surprised now that my friends actually kept coming back to help."
"They have to be really good friends to have helped you," I said. "My partners were the ones who helped me, most of the work falling on Freemont's shoulders, of course. And before I forget, I had an interesting dream last night. Michael's friend Jase thought of asking about what would happen if one of us shifted before the full moon forced the change."
"I don't understand," Art said, now staring at me as if he'd forgotten about the coffee near him. "If you're already in wolf form, nothing would happen."
"Are you sure about that?" I countered. "The full moon forces us to shift, but if we're already in wolf form… Would we shift back to human, or would something else happen instead?"
"Something else like what?" Art asked, not nastily but more in confusion. "It's possible nothing at all would happen, but as far as there being something else… What else could happen?"
"I don't know, but I should be finding
out fairly soon," I told him. "Jase decided to try his idea at the next full moon, which isn't supposed to be too far away."
"I'm not up to handling ideas like that right now," Art said after letting out a deep breath. "And if you want the truth, I don't know when I will be up to handling it."
I knew what he meant, so all I did was nod before returning my attention to my coffee. Could something bad happen, and if so, then what? That point I had no idea about, and I was with Art; I'd be happier waiting to find out.
It wasn't long before Jack and Shell came in with our breakfast and more coffee, so Art and I dug in. I actually felt as if I were starving, but I also discovered that for once I wasn't happy with Jack's cooking. Everything tasted the least bit too well done, which my eyes told me it wasn't. So the problem was with my taste buds, a problem I had to ignore in order to stoke up on the food I needed so badly.
After we finished eating, Art and I went and joined the others in the sitting room. We chatted for a while before separating to go to our various apartments, but when lunchtime came around I was right back down to eat even more. Art was with me on that, and even Oldon came down to join the meal. Our vampire teammate had been napping against the time when he'd have to drive Art, Eric, and me to the preserve.
When late afternoon finally came, Art and I helped Eric down to the car. We all wore the same easy clothes, easy to get out of. Pull-on pants, zippered jackets, and slip-on shoes, no underwear to get in the way. I unlocked the garage door to let Oldon back out, then got into the back of the car where Art already sat. There was also something in the back of the vehicle, looking like an insulated picnic box, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
Oldon wore his day coat and hat since it wasn't yet dark, but that didn't keep him from driving to the preserve without any trouble. When our vampire teammate pulled over to the side of the road Eric got out fast, having already kicked off his shoes. A minute later his pants and jacket were thrown onto the seat he'd been using, the door was closed, and then Eric was heading for the trees.
