The youths were still piling into the van when the black pick-up truck hit the barn door and shoved it open.
The flaming bales immediately toppled...some of them pushing the door back towards the pickup, others falling on its bonnet. In less than five seconds the whole of that end of the barn was in flames, and the pickup truck blocked the doorway.
"That went well," Broken Nose said sarcastically as he climbed into the cab beside me.
We hadn't gambled on the pickup getting stuck in the doorway. However, it had at least given us time to get everyone into the van. And I felt safer in the cab than I had outside.
The bales around the pickup burned. One of the doors of the vehicle opened, then shut again fast. Fists bashed at the windshield, then the door was tried again, and again. The occupant screamed, loud enough to be heard above the fire. He kicked once more at the door, but a burning bale blocked his escape. The figure looked like a man at first, but as the fire took, the wolf emerged, howling and screaming, thrashing over and over until it left bloody streaks on the windshield.
It was all to no avail.
The pickup exploded in a ball of fire and the whole far end of the barn collapsed in on itself.
"Floor it!" Broken Nose shouted.
CHAPTER 11
Double or Nothing
"Yes sir," I replied, and hit the accelerator.
We didn't have enough room to get up speed. We hit the blazing pile of straw and what was left of the pickup and almost came to a halt. Flames rose around us. It got hot, then very hot. Metal squealed against metal as we slowly pushed the pickup aside.
"Get a fucking move on!" Broken Nose shouted.
It was as if the van heard him. We pushed aside the last piece of flaming metal, and suddenly we broke free and out into the night.
A wolf threw itself at the door on my side of the cab, but it bounced off. We careened across the rough ground towards the ranch and I almost lost control, but managed to turn just before we were about to smash into the big picture window. I got us on a straight line, and we found a driveway at the side of the ranch house. We were doing fifty as we hit the main road ten seconds later.
We're clear.
*****
I could hear howls of elation from the back of the van, and Broken Nose punched me on the upper arm. "We did it!" he shouted. "We fucking did it!"
I wasn't ready to start celebrating yet.
"Okay, hot shot," I said. "Where now?"
"The nearest town," he replied. "Or, even better, the fucking airport."
"I hate to bust your bubble, son, but that's more than two hundred miles away. That's a lot of road to cover before I'll start to relax."
"Oh," he said softly. "So what's the plan?"
I looked at the road ahead. I had no idea whether I was heading up or down the peninsula, nor where the nearest town or settlement might be.
"All we can do is keep driving," I said. "And see where it gets us."
"Fucking A," he replied. "Got any tabs left?"
*****
I still had most of the packet of cigarettes in my pocket.
We lit up, and smoked in silence as the road sped beneath us.
"So, where are we?" Broken Nose asked.
Far ahead the moon glinted on a stretch of sea in the distance. On either side of the road all I could see was conifers and rock. We hadn't yet passed a road sign.
"I don't know. I never got my Navigating by the Stars badge. How about you?"
"In Glesca? Naw. I can find my way by pubs, though," he said, smiling.
"You and me both, kid. If we get out of this and make it back, we'll do a bit of navigating some Saturday night."
"You've got a deal," he replied.
At that same moment I caught a glimpse of something in my rearview mirror. Two vehicles, close together, rounded a bend and topped the last hill we'd come down. They were still a fair way behind us, but looked to be catching fast.
"We're still in the shit, son," I said, and pushed the accelerator hard to the floor. "Hold on."
The van protested at first, but slowly picked up speed. We hit a pothole and bounced nearly six inches in the air, coming down hard. Something gave in the suspension and developed a grinding, tearing noise that sounded terminal.
"Come on, baby," I whispered. "Don't give up yet."
Luckily, we were travelling down a long hill, and I had little to do but keep her in a straight line and let gravity take over. As we reached a flat stretch at the foot of the hill the two vehicles came over the top behind us...much closer now.
Broken Nose saw them coming in his mirror. He looked up. "Come on, big man," he said. "Give us a fucking break here."
"Are you religious?" I asked.
"Naw. But it cannae hurt to try."
*****
Thirty seconds later I came near to converting.
"Stop!" he shouted. "Turn right. Here."
I didn't have time to think. I threw the van into a hard turn. The undercarriage squealed, and the grinding noise got much louder.
"Why did I do that?" I asked once we'd straightened out.
"There," he pointed to my right.
It was a road-sign.
Welcome to Melrose.
"The big man was listening," Broken Nose said, smiling. "A town with a Scottish name."
"A town with a Scottish name in Canada," I said sarcastically. "Who would have thought it possible?"
"Just wait," Broken Nose said, smiling. "I knew God was a Scotsman. He'll not let us down. We'll get help here somewhere."
But he was wrong on that.
Melrose was shut down tight for the night...what little there was of it. We went through the whole place in less than a minute, passing two rows of pretty white wooden houses, but no shops or gas stations. Soon all we had was a cliff on one side of us, and the sea on the other, white surf glistening in the moonlight.
The road came to an end in a turning circle on the shore. I got the van turned round, just in time to see the two vehicles coming along the narrow road towards us.
We were trapped.
*****
We only had time to get out of the cab before the vehicles stopped. The red jeep and a large 4 X 4 now blocked the road ahead of us. Five people got out...McBarnette and Arcand from the 4 X 4, and three ranch hands from the jeep.
At the same time, the youths piled out of the van, brandishing whatever weapons they'd managed to hold onto. I had two flares in my right hand. Broken Nose carried the other two, brandishing them in each hand like knives.
"Come on, then!" he shouted. "Who's first?"
Arcand laughed. "I would be, if we were here for you all," he said. "But we have an easier way of settling this."
He looked at me, and suddenly I felt a lot colder. "We have a proposition," he said. "Actually, Karl has a proposition."
It was only then that I noticed that McBarnette looked gray and gaunt, trembling all over. As he saw me looking he pushed himself upright.
He wore only a thin shirt and jogging pants. Blood soaked the shirt at his left shoulder where the Elf had gotten in his blow, and I could see his leg shake through the material of the pants. His eyes still held their fire, though, and he directed it at me. "Just you and me," he said, his voice dry and husky. "Neither of us wants to lose any more of our pack tonight. We'll settle this the old way."
"Man to man?" I said, and laughed bitterly.
"You have your advantages," he said, nodding towards the flares. "And I have mine." He raised his hand and let the talons slither out.
"Don't," Broken Nose said. "We can take them. End it right here, right now."
I looked around at the gang of youths. They didn't look ready for a fight to me. They looked lost and frightened. When I looked in their eyes, I saw Mark Turner looking back at me.
I turned back to McBarnette. "Just the two of us? And what happens afterwards?"
It was Arcand who answered. He stood just to the right of McBarnette, but there wa
s none of the diffidence I'd seen in him before. There was a new swagger there, as if he knew that any outcome would be in his favor.
"You win, you get the choice of what happens next," he said. "The same choice we were going to give the Elf."
"And if McBarnette wins?"
Arcand laughed. "What do you care? You'll be history anyway."
"I care," I said softly.
Arcand looked at the gang of youths, then back at me. "They'll get their choice. You have my word."
I nodded. "Do I get a last cigarette?"
*****
Arcand and I lit up together like two gentlemen before a duel.
I doubted whether McBarnette was going to be gentle...or a man.
"This is a no-lose situation for you," I said.
Arcand smiled. "Karl's time is over. The wounds he took tonight means that I can take him anytime. He knows it, and I know it. He just wants one last fight, to take down the one who did so much damage to the pack."
"Me? I was only trying to survive."
I got the thin smile again. "So are we all."
I looked out over the sea, taking my time over the cigarette. It wasn't a bad place for a last stand. Moonlight glistened on the water. Just offshore, several huge rocks protected the small harbor, and conifers ran down from the cliffs on each side to the water's edge.
If it wasn't for the werewolves it might even have been peaceful.
*****
"Are you two about finished holding hands?" McBarnette said. "I'd like to get this over with."
I ground out the remains of the cigarette and turned towards him. If anything, he looked worse than he had only minutes before. His eyes were sunk in deep shadows that even the moon couldn't penetrate. Talons slid bloodily from fingers that trembled and shook like a drunk faced with a bottle. When he smiled, yellow canines showed in bloody gums.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather be seeing a vet?" I said.
"Very funny," he replied. "Let's see if..."
I had already stepped forward. I launched into a left hook that caught him squarely in the jaw and sent him tumbling. I followed it up with a kick into his ribs, and had the satisfaction of hearing a grunt of pain. I aimed another kick, but he rolled away and my foot met empty air.
That was the sum total of my attacking moves in the fight. From then on, I was on the defensive, fighting for my life.
When McBarnette stood, the change was upon him. But whether it was the wound, or tiredness, it did not come full on. It was a half-creature that came at me, on two legs, but with talons for hands and a face that was already stretching into an elongated snout. It snarled, then howled, and rushed me.
*****
I retreated fast, until I felt something at my back...I was hard up against the van. To my left, Broken Nose stepped forward, as if to help me, but Arcand caught him with one hand and held him at arm's length, around the neck.
"Sit!" one of the Goth youths shouted.
"Stay," another called.
But there was no laughter in response, and McBarnette hadn't been to obedience classes. He threw himself at me. I was lucky. His left leg buckled slightly underneath him. His teeth, which had been heading for my neck, closed instead on the wool of the heavy jumper. I smacked the top of his head hard with my right fist...before I realized I was still holding the flares.
But there was no way to get my left hand round to pull the drawstring...not while all his weight still leaned on me. And if I pushed him away, he'd be at my neck again, too fast for me to stop. I could already feel him trying to squirm, to get enough room to bring his talons into play. He turned me slightly to my left. Something dug into me through the trousers...and that's when I remembered.
The belt clasps. The silver belt clasps.
I pushed his head off me. It gave him an opening. His left hand came up. There was searing heat in my right shoulder. The air was suddenly full of the smell of blood.
McBarnette howled again, and came back fast.
But I'd bought myself enough time to get my hand in my pocket and reach one of the clasps. I had it stuck between index and forefinger, an old con's trick for doing damage with a key. I threw another left, and raised a long fiery scar across his right cheek, drawing flesh away from bone. It hung, still burning, in a loose flap.
McBarnette threw himself forward in a fury. I pulled the drawstring on both the flares. The beast's momentum threw it onto them, just as they ignited.
I had to jump to one side to avoid the sudden blast of heat and light. Talons raked at my shin. I kicked out, and felt something soft give beneath my foot. I rolled away, stood, and turned back, hands up, expecting an attack.
There wouldn't be one.
*****
McBarnette rolled on the ground, clawing at the flares that were partly embedded in the wound in his shoulder. Small fires burned up and down his arms, and the sun-bright flare seared flesh and bone. I smelled burning meat, and almost threw up as I tasted saliva in my mouth.
The beast screamed and howled. Along the coast, lights came on in the houses, but any help was going to be much too late.
We stood in a circle around him. Nobody spoke.
Finally, the flares sputtered and died. The beast was gone. McBarnette lay there, barely recognizable, his upper-body a burnt and smoking ruin.
I knelt beside him.
"Careful!" Broken Nose shouted. "They've always got one last trick."
"Not this time," McBarnette whispered from black lips. He grabbed at my arm and I felt the heat that still burned in his hand. "Have you got any of that silver left?"
I knew what he was asking.
I handed him the clasp. It started to burn in his hand straight away, but he was past caring. He put the clasp to his mouth, and swallowed.
A wisp of smoke came from between his teeth.
He grabbed my arm, tight...then he was gone.
I had to stand and step back as searing hot blue flame burst from his chest. The skin on my face tightened, and again I smelled burnt hair in my nostrils. I moved back further as the flames grew higher and hotter.
It was over in less than a minute.
McBarnette was gone. Only a charred, black lump of ash and bone remained.
*****
Arcand stepped forward.
I put my hand in my pocket and took out the remaining clasp. I showed it to him. "Would you like to throw yourself on a sword as well?"
He laughed, long and loud. "Pointless displays of courage and sacrifice were Karl's thing. Not mine." He kicked at the ash. It scattered in the wind. "Besides," he continued. "You win."
He pointed to the horizon, where the sky was just beginning to turn pink. "So what's it to be?" Arcand said softly.
"The same deal you offered the Elf?" I asked.
"One and the same."
"What the fuck's he on about?" Broken Nose said. He was still rubbing his throat from where he'd been grabbed by Arcand.
I laid it out for the youths.
They all went silent.
"So," Broken Nose said when I was done. "We get to join the pack? And there's no strings attached? No comeback later?"
"No strings," Arcand said. "You'll do as I say, and you'll hunt with us.
"Son," I said softly. "You're not actually considering this, are you?"
His eyes took on a far away stare. "Aren't you? That minute, back in the barn, when we changed...that was the best fucking minute of my life."
"Me, too," another said.
"And me," replied a third.
Broken Nose looked straight at me. "What about you?"
Truthfully, I was tempted, remembering.
*****
My world went silver-gray.
I'd lost my connection to the Elf, but I was past caring. I smelled blood in the air, blood and sweat and urine. Above that, the fresh odor of pine trees.
My joints cracked and swelled, wiry hair forcing its way out all over my body in a fiery tingle like an electric shock.
<
br /> My nose felt too big for my face, my teeth too big for my mouth.
But overall, what I felt was free.
*****
I felt at my injured shoulder, and my fingers came away bloody.
"What about this?" I said to Arcand. "Am I going to change now? Or at the next full moon?"
He laughed. "No. That's just a fairy story to keep people from asking too many questions."
"Then how is it done?"
He tapped at the side of his nose. "There's only one way to find out."
"Come on, big man," Broken Nose said. "You cannae tell me you prefer Glesca to this?" He waved his arms expansively. "What is there to think about? A life of wild freedom, or more of doing the same fucking shitty things every shitty day?"
"Well, if you put it like that," I said, smiling. "Where do I sign up?"
But I couldn't.
Yes, I was tempted. But I still had Mark Turner's face in my head, could still hear his piteous cries back in the cellar.
I owed him too much to let my decision be the easy one.
"I'll need my passport," I said to Arcand.
He nodded. "Your things are back at the ranch. I'll have someone bring them here."
He put out a hand.
As I shook it, I felt the tender skin where I'd burned him.
"The offer's a lifetime deal," he said. "Come back anytime you want to redeem it."
"I wish you hadn't said that," I replied.
I was only half joking.
*****
The youths, every one of them, decided to take Arcand up on the offer.
Broken Nose came over and shook my hand before leaving. "Thanks, big man," he said. "Because of you, we're going to be free."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Surer than anything else I've ever done."
"Can I take a message back to Glesca for you?"
He didn't even think about it. "No. I'm finished wi' that shithole." He raised his head and howled at the sky. The other youths joined in.
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