by Lia Silver
Laura noted that. If Gregor could only stay immaterial for as long as he could hold his breath, then all anyone had to do to kill him was either take him completely by surprise or stay within range until his oxygen ran out. She felt confident that Roy could manage either of those tasks, assuming he could catch Gregor away from electric lights.
“And then she shot herself in the head,” Keisha concluded, applying a butterfly dressing to the deepest cut on Laura’s arm. “So no. We can’t run away, we can’t kill him, and we can’t call the cops.”
Laura wondered if the room was really soundproofed, then decided that it didn’t matter. Gregor had obviously passed Laura over to Keisha in the full knowledge that Keisha had given up and would convince Laura that escape was impossible.
“When is Gregor planning to bite me?” Laura asked.
The distant, haunted look returned to Keisha’s face. “When you and I are finished talking, we’ll all have lunch. If you don’t think it’ll make you nauseated, you should try to eat.”
“So Russell was lying about the James Beard Award?” Laura asked, hoping to get a smile out of Keisha.
Keisha didn’t even come close to looking amused. “It’s not the food. After I gave Jesse the talk I’m giving you now, he walked out and vomited from anxiety. On Donnie’s Italian leather shoes, too. Donnie was pissed.”
“Why did Gregor want Jesse, anyway? The news said he was a college student.”
“He was also a 50 meter pistol champion, nearly Olympic caliber. But being good at shooting a target doesn’t mean you’ll be willing to shoot to kill. Gregor mostly ended up using him for reconnaissance, because he could see through walls.” Keisha’s eyes brightened with tears. “Jesse was a former foster kid, and he said it was almost worth being bitten to have a pack. Gregor makes sure everyone he bites doesn’t have anyone who’ll kick up a fuss if they drop off the map.”
Laura wished she hadn’t asked. She felt incredibly guilty, though she hadn’t killed Jesse and hadn’t even known he was a hostage too. “What happens after lunch?”
Keisha’s expression mirrored Laura’s feelings. “Gregor bites you.”
Adrenaline rushed through Laura’s body. Roy wouldn’t even know she was missing for another day, and then it would be too late. She had to stall.
Letting her real fear show, Laura said, “Tell him to wait. Tell him I’m sick or I lost too much blood or—”
Keisha was shaking her head, sending her twists bobbing. “I can’t lie to him. Nicolette would know.”
“Nicolette might play along. She obviously hates him too.”
“She won’t,” Keisha said grimly. “Jesse claimed he had a heart condition and the stress of being bitten would kill him. Nicolette felt sorry for him, so she said he was telling the truth. His heart was in perfect condition, but since Nicolette had already committed herself, I backed her up. Gregor had Donnie break into Jesse’s doctor’s office and check his medical records. Did you notice Miguel’s scars?”
“They’re hard to miss.” Laura could already tell this was a story that she was going to wish she’d never heard.
“Nicolette and Miguel are close, even for pack. It’s not romantic—Miguel’s gay and Nicolette mostly likes girls—it’s a buddy thing. They’re both giant geeks. You should hear them argue over whether Wolverine could beat up Batman.”
“Nicolette looks like she could beat up Batman,” Laura remarked.
Keisha didn’t smile. Laura was beginning to wonder if she was even capable of it. Maybe she had been before Gregor had gotten to her.
“Did Gregor show you his power?” Keisha asked.
“Yes, he walked through a door.”
“He can’t carry anything but his own clothes through a wall or door and out the other side. But he can push objects part-way in. Gregor took Miguel outside, and made us all come out to watch. He held his breath and pushed Miguel’s face into a tree. Then he let go. I had to cut him out with a scalpel. Gregor made everyone watch that, too.”
Laura nearly told Keisha she’d heard enough, but Keisha’s voice rose, angry and loud. “You want to know how horrible it was? Donnie closed his eyes because it was making him sick to watch. Donnie’s a hit man! He shoots people in the head and dissolves their bodies in acid!”
“Okay!” Laura said hastily, trying not to visualize either Keisha cutting Miguel out of a tree or corpses dissolving in acid. “Okay, forget it. Just tell me how it works to become a werewolf. Is there anything I can do to make myself more likely to change and less likely to drop dead?”
As Laura had hoped, asking a medical question made Keisha return to her calm, analytical doctor mode. “First, don’t panic. Your odds are good. I’ll be with you the entire time, and I’ll do everything I can to help you. Second, it requires a lot of determination and will-power. It’s a painful, exhausting process. It will be very tempting to give up, stop trying, and let yourself pass out. Don’t do that. Keep reminding yourself that once you change, the pain will stop and then you can sleep.”
“How long do you have to change, once you’re bitten?” Laura asked uneasily.
“It varies. Unfortunately, Gregor didn’t keep records of anyone’s experience before me, and I didn’t have the presence of mind to track my own. But from what I’ve seen—and keep in mind the very small sample size, I’m talking about seven people here—symptoms can begin almost immediately or be delayed for up to an hour.
“The fastest I’ve seen anyone change was Nicolette. She complained of pain and dizziness within three minutes, and she became a wolf nineteen minutes later. Since she did so well, I kept everything I did with her as my standard protocols for treatment. But she’s also an extremely determined person, and I’m sure that helped.
“The longest I’ve seen anyone take to successfully change was Miguel. He became symptomatic after sixteen minutes, but it took him eight hours and forty minutes to change. His heart stopped three times. From what I’ve seen, if you haven’t changed within five hours of showing symptoms, you won’t survive without medical assistance.”
Laura spoke, breaking off Keisha’s professorial lecture. “Keisha, I have to tell you, I’m amazed at how you’ve managed to keep your head and do scientific research under what have to be the worst conditions ever.”
Keisha shrugged. “We all do what we have to do. Besides… it’s probably why I haven’t lost my mind or killed myself.”
“And from what I’ve heard, I respect that too,” Laura added.
“I’ve got patients to look out for. Not just patients—pack. Gregor and Donnie are sociopaths, obviously, but Nicolette and Miguel and Russell are great people. I’d do anything for them. And I can’t help them if I’m dead or catatonic.”
Keisha tilted her head, observing Laura closely. “You seem like a good person, too. I’d let you go if I could, but… look, I’ll be straight with you. Nicolette’s security and Miguel’s an engineer, but Russell is nothing but a bank account, as far as Gregor’s concerned. And Gregor’s got other sources of funds now. Russell’s expendable. Gregor informed me that if I help anyone escape, he’ll kick Russell out of the pack. Russell’s not a hard case like Nicolette. He wouldn’t last three weeks.”
“I understand,” Laura said, and meant it.
Laura had been deliberately trying to befriend Keisha when she’d praised her, but she’d been sincere, too. Keisha was a victim, not a villain, forced into choices no one should ever have to make. She and Laura would probably never even have met under normal circumstances—a brilliant ER doctor would hardly pal around with a con artist who hadn’t even gone to college—but if Laura was the sort of person who knew how to make real friends, Keisha was the sort of woman she’d have wanted as one.
“I’ve told you everything now,” Keisha said, her beautiful eyes gone dull. “There’s nothing more to say.”
“Just give me a few minutes. Please?”
“Of course,” Keisha said, looking embarrassed. “Take your time. Honestly, a
s much as you like. Gregor won’t start knocking on the door for at least an hour. I’ll just… leave you to your thoughts.”
Keisha turned her back and started sorting pill bottles. Or, more likely, pretended to sort pill bottles.
Laura reached inside herself for that clear bright place beyond fear, where she could find exactly the right words to con Keisha into letting her go.
That perfect calm evaded her. She sat on the cold metal table with her arms and face stinging, her feet dangling, and her thoughts spinning round and round in useless circles.
Laura could probably stall Gregor for a couple hours, but not for two days. Keisha wouldn’t help her for fear of getting Russell killed. By the time Roy came, Laura would be irrevocably bound to Gregor…
…or not.
There had to be some crucial piece of information Laura was missing that would explain why DJ thought Roy could recover in America without him. If she could only figure it out, it might allow Gregor’s pack of traumatized hostages to escape. If they could, she was sure, they’d turn on him. But she had no idea what that clue might be.
On the other hand, Laura was with a woman who seemed ideally suited to figuring out a logical-scientific-medical puzzle involving werewolves.
Laura began concocting a story that was similar to Roy’s, but didn’t involve him. Then she stopped, biting her lip. She didn’t know much about science, but she did know that seemingly unimportant pieces of information could be crucial. If she lied about anything at all, she could prevent Keisha from reaching the right conclusion.
Laura’s only chance was to not con her: to tell the unvarnished truth and trust a woman who had every reason to betray her.
Hoping she wasn’t making the worst mistake of her life, Laura cleared her throat. When Keisha turned, Laura beckoned her close.
“Is this room really sound-proofed?” Laura whispered in her ear.
“Yes. I swear.”
“All right.” Laura kept her voice low anyway. “First, let me ask you a question: has anyone in the pack ever met any werewolves other than Gregor and the people he personally changed?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so,” said Laura. “So everything you know, you heard from Gregor.”
“Yes, and I realize that he could be saying anything to keep us in line. But I’ve also personally seen proof of a lot of what he’s told us.”
“Well, I’ve met another werewolf,” Laura said. “Let me tell you what I know…”
Praying that she wasn’t going to get Roy killed by revealing his weaknesses, Laura recapped how she’d met Roy, what was wrong with him, and how he’d been changed. She told Keisha what had really happened to Roy on the drive, and how she’d tricked Nicolette. She even told Keisha that she was a con artist, since so much of Laura’s story made no sense without that knowledge and Gregor had obviously already told the pack what a good liar she was.
Keisha listened intently, nodding, occasionally asking a question. At the end, she held up her trembling hands. “Look at that. My hands never shake.”
“Fear can do that.”
Keisha shook her head. “It’s not fear. It’s hope.”
Laura’s heart lifted. “Do you have any ideas?”
“Yes, of course.” Keisha sounded mildly surprised that anyone might think she could ever not have ideas. Ticking her ideas off her fingers, she began, “One. DJ is a born wolf, but Gregor is a made wolf. Werewolves created by made wolves may need their sires more than werewolves created by born wolves.”
“But Roy’s having huge problems,” Laura objected.
“That could be because he was critically wounded at the time of his change. Also, we have no idea what was done to him at the lab. His condition may be the result, whether intended or accidental, of some procedure that was performed there.”
“I’m glad I asked you. Neither of those even occurred to me. But if Gregor’s a made wolf, where’s his sire?”
“Excellent question,” said Keisha. Laura felt absurdly pleased at her approval, as if she was back in high school and had gotten an A+. “I’m only guessing Gregor is a made wolf, based on his power. Of course, he could have been lying about all that, too. If he was telling the truth, I assume becoming a sire yourself replaces your own need for one.”
“Ugh. I assume that’s not an option.”
“Certainly not.” Keisha looked appalled, then held up a second finger. “Two. DJ had decided that if Roy didn’t come back soon enough, he’d join up with him somehow, but it didn’t work out because Roy was kidnapped.”
“That sounds awfully chancy,” Laura said.
“True, but Roy was dying. Maybe DJ thought some chance was better than no chance. Three. DJ meant to have Roy join his family’s pack. Maybe you don’t need your sire, you only need someone related to your sire.”
Laura turned that over in her mind. “Does Gregor have family?”
“Who knows?” Keisha said with a shrug. “He’s a complete mystery to all of us. Four. DJ meant to have Roy join his family’s pack. Gregor lied to us, and we don’t need our sire at all. We just need a pack.”
“I like four,” Laura said. “Have any of you ever tried running off together?”
“No. I’ve only seen Nicolette and Amy run away, and both of them did it right after they were made, a year apart from each other. Neither of them knew anyone else well at that point.”
“So maybe you could all get away, so long as you left together.”
“Maybe.” Keisha frowned. “I haven’t finished my scenarios. Five. The sire controls whether or not you need him. Gregor is making sure we do need him, but DJ tried to make it so Roy could survive without him. Roy isn’t doing that well due to the complicating factors I mentioned earlier.”
Laura rubbed her forehead. She’d had a stress headache since she’d gotten in the car, and it was only getting worse. “If that’s true, then if Gregor was dead, you wouldn’t need him.”
“Or if Gregor was dead, his previous intentions would continue to be operative, and we’d all end up committing suicide,” Keisha replied. “I’ve presented you with some possibilities, but trying to directly test them would be extremely high-risk. To say the least. I’d prefer to gather more information before I try anything.”
“I have a source of information. Not Roy: DJ’s family. If I could get out of here, I could drive down right now and ask them.”
“Yes…” Keisha said thoughtfully. “I wish I could consult with Russell, but I’m sure he’d tell me it’s a risk worth taking, if it would set him free. Set all of us free.”
“If you help me go, I’ll do everything I can to get all of you out of this hellhole,” Laura vowed. “I’m sure once I tell Roy what’s going on, he’ll feel the same way. And he’s much more useful than me. I’m only a con artist. Roy’s a werewolf Marine.”
“That’s true,” Keisha replied. For the first time, she looked amused. “But don’t sell yourself short. You can drive a car and turn on the lights.”
“I’m serious,” Laura said, irritated.
“So am I. Let me think about it.”
Laura waited, not for Keisha to take the bait, but for her to make a free, informed decision. It was a very strange feeling, under the circumstances. Laura would have felt more confident if she had conned Keisha.
“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Keisha said at last. “You were honest with me, so I’ll be honest with you. You never asked me what my power is.”
Laura, unused to the whole idea of powers, had forgotten about them. “What is it?”
“Precognitive impulses,” Keisha said. “I get the feeling that it would be a good idea to do something, and I find out why later.”
“And you guys all have powers? What are they?”
“Russell can light fires. Miguel can find things. Anything. Lost car keys. People. And Donnie can inflict pain.”
“Not by breaking your arm, I take it.”
“He looks at you, an
d you drop to the ground in agony. It feels like your entire body is on fire.” Keisha spoke without fear or horror or any emotion at all, like someone who had screamed until they lost their voice. “Anyway, the reason Gregor built his lair in Yosemite is because I had a feeling that it would be crucial for him and his pack to do so. When he asked Miguel where you were and Miguel told him you were on your way to Yosemite, Gregor assumed that my precognition was because you were destined to be his mate and the pack’s alpha female.”
“Seriously?” Laura was repulsed.
“Gregor seriously believes it. But that feeling was slightly more specific than usual. I had a feeling that if we all moved to Yosemite, the pack would be freed and he’d go down. How, I had no idea.” Keisha’s full lips curved into a distinctly evil smile, incongruous on her lovely face. “But that certainly would be crucial for him and his pack. You’re not the only one who’s figured out how Nicolette’s power works.”
“So if you let me go, I might be the reason you all get your lives back.”
“I hope so. He’ll have Nicolette question me, but under the circumstances, I think she’ll risk lying.” Apologetically, Keisha added, “Also, I owe you one. I had a feeling he ought to set up a road block this morning.”
Laura chuckled. “I forgive you. But how do I get out of here? Is there a secret passage? Or will we both have to charge Donnie?”
“Neither. In a way, it’s good that Gregor’s so creepily smitten with you. He’ll believe you can do anything. He told us all about what you did at the—”
“What’s the idea?” Laura asked hastily.
Keisha fished in a drawer, then produced a small pinkish square, like a nicotine patch. “Stick this on Donnie’s skin without him noticing, then stall for all you’re worth. It’ll knock him out, but it’ll take a few minutes. The closer you can get it to his head, the faster it’ll work. I’ll tell Gregor you must have stolen it while my back was turned.”
Laura took it. “Thanks. Any idea how could I get it on Donnie?”
