Shadowed

by Connie Suttle

"Let's look," Winkler shoved the van into reverse and backed up to turn down the road.

  * * *

  Pierce was hiding in brush behind a barbed wire fence. His motorcycle was parked and well hidden farther down. He heard the van before the two teens did; both were now quite drunk and laughing. Pierce ducked lower so he wouldn't be seen as the van slowly pulled near before turning its headlights on full, bathing both boys in a bright light.

  * * *

  "Both of them stinking drunk," Winkler muttered as Marcus hauled Chad from the back of the van, narrowly avoiding Chad's vomit as the boy threw up. Jeremy, still inside the van, began to vomit as well. Winkler cursed. He'd have to get the van cleaned before he could drive it again—a smell like that offended any werewolf's nose. Aedan and Nathan watched as Chad and Jeremy were pulled from Winkler's van. They'd appeared after hearing the van pull through the gate into the community. Winkler had driven Diane Booth's car back, after helping Marcus shove both teens into the van. The smell of beer had been everywhere when they'd picked the boys up—Chad and Jeremy weren't used to drinking and they hadn't been neat about it, either.

  "Why are we here?" Chad had finished vomiting and only now noticed his surroundings. The van was parked outside Pat Roberts' old house, where Marcie Pruitt now lived.

  "Your house burned to the ground while you were out drinking," Marcus growled. "Know anything about that, or the fireworks that were set off as a distraction?"

  "Marcus, they're too drunk," Aedan muttered. "We'll have to question them tomorrow, after they sober up." Aedan turned and zipped away. Nathan shook his head over the entire state of affairs before following Aedan.

  * * *

  Pierce let his motorcycle idle as he sat outside a barbed wire fence, searching for the opening. He'd seen the van and car drive through, but the entrance had disappeared before he could reach it. He'd kept his headlight off and stayed far enough behind that his quarry hadn't seen him, and they'd managed to escape somehow. Now, he couldn't detect an opening anywhere. While he was searching, his cell phone rang. That shouldn't be—it was a disposable phone and only one other person had the number. That one wasn't scheduled to call until the following day. Several seconds passed before Pierce decided to answer.

  "Hello?" he said.

  "I was hoping you'd answer, Pierce," Wildrif had a smile in his voice. "If you'll give me a week or two and agree to meet with my representative, I think we can arrange to get what you want."

  "Who the hell are you?" Pierce growled into the phone.

  "A friend," Wildrif replied. "And if you want to get your boy away from the ones that look human but aren't, then you'll do what I tell you."

  * * *

  "There's no cure for stupid," Sali muttered as he and Ashe sat down to breakfast. Sali and Ashe had checked their email earlier, learning from Cori that Chad and Jeremy had sneaked away the night before, convinced somebody to buy beer for them and then proceeded to get as drunk as possible before throwing up in Winkler's van. Cori also informed Ashe through email that Chad and Jeremy had been too drunk to answer questions about the fire. Marcus was waiting until they slept it off before questioning them.

  "Nathan and your father will be assisting Marcus tonight," Adele set a glass of milk down for Ashe. "That means Toby and Roger will be patrolling Cloud Chief until they're finished."

  "Mom, I don't get that Chad and Jeremy," Ashe began (he'd almost said Chump and Wormy, but held back), "would set their house on fire. All their stuff was in there. Jeremy always talked about his video games, so I don't think they had anything to do with it."

  "Are you defending them?" Sali stared at Ashe.

  "I'm just saying that's not like them," Ashe spread blackberry jelly on his toast and crunched into it. "Jeremy liked his stuff too much. Chad, too. The fireworks, though, sound exactly like them."

  "Your father says they found evidence that a mountain lion may be in the area," Adele interrupted. "Sali, if you find any evidence of a mountain lion, you need to tell your father. A real predator like that could kill lambs, calves or the Thompson's poultry. Marcus says he'll arrange a hunt if the mountain lion comes back."

  "I won't get to go on a hunt for another year," Sali muttered glumly. Ashe judiciously remained silent and barely blinked when Elizabeth Frasier's ghost slipped through the kitchen window and stood near the sink, staring at him.

  "Salidar, your time will come," Adele smiled at the young werewolf.

  "Mom says the same thing," Sali grumped.

  "A mountain lion could be dangerous, Sal," Ashe pointed out, and then lifted an eyebrow in surprise when Elizabeth's ghost nodded in agreement.

  * * *

  "But what will I get out of this?" Vince grumbled. He stood in line outside a deli in Silver Spring, Maryland, waiting to get inside and grab a sandwich for lunch. Wildrif had promised a lot of money after Director Jennings retired. After all, everyone was aware that a new Director meant a new staff, and Vince had worked for Director Jennings for nearly fifteen years. He was resentful that he might lose his job or receive a demotion when a new Director took over.

  "I'll arrange payment. A half million if you keep funneling information in the same direction," Wildrif replied. "I told you there would be substantial money involved."

  "A million would be better," Vince pointed out.

  "You'll have to do more than you're doing for that kind of cash," Wildrif laughed and hung up.

  * * *

  Diamond was ready to strangle Hilbah. The seer was worthless and Diamond had no idea why Friesianna kept him at her side, dispensing information. Hilbah couldn't find his own shoes on a good day.

  "You should be able to see the Destroyers, as close as they are," Diamond growled. "My medallion is groaning from being within a hundred clicks." Diamond grasped Hilbah's silk robe in his fist, bringing the seer's face on a level with his own.

  "But something is interfering," Hilbah squeaked.

  "Bah." Diamond shoved Hilbah away. They'd been forced to inhabit an abandoned cellar outside the small town of Cordell and the shelter was ancient, the walls cracked, steps broken, and with spiders and crickets inhabiting it before Diamond sent them scurrying with a blast of power. Ruby, Diamond's brother, stared distastefully at the brackish water standing in a corner of their claustrophobic, darkened refuge, expecting a snake to emerge at any moment.

  "Brother, we both know the only talent Hilbah has is flattering the Queen," Ruby said, keeping his eyes on the small pool of water.

  "I'll keep looking for them," Hilbah backed away from Diamond a second time. Both he and Diamond jumped as Ruby leveled a blast at the water moccasin snake that crawled from the standing water.

  Chapter 16

  Ashe and Sali watched from a distance as Director Jennings' arson investigators moved through the burned rubble of the Booth home. Cori and Marco walked up beside them and Cori offered a soda to each of the boys. Ashe gave Cori a grin before turning the cap on the orange soda she'd given him and drinking.

  "Have they found anything yet?" Marco wore cargo shorts, sunglasses and no shirt. Winkler's Second, Trajan, was forcing Marco to work out and run every morning, so Marco was more muscular than he'd ever been.

  "Nah. Not yet, anyway," Sali replied. Jonas O'Neill and Frank Dodd had come to help, but their assistance hadn't been needed. Now, both men stood beneath a shade tree nearby, watching the two investigators sift through burned remains of household items.

  "Heard from Hayes that Chump and Wormy may be up and around," Marco grinned. Cori slipped an arm around Marco's waist and he bent his head to drop a kiss on her hair.

  "Hey, no PDA," Sali grumped. "I'm blinded by syrupy affection, now."

  "You wouldn't know syrupy affection if it jumped up and kissed your butt," Marco flipped Sali's ear.

  "Marco, if you're going to wrestle your brother, I want to stand over here," Cori moved away to stand beside Ashe.

  "We're not wrestling; the tapeworm would lose," Marco tried to flip Sali's ear a s
econd time, but Sali jumped aside too quickly for Marco to land a second hit.

  "I wish we could find out what's going on with Chad and Jeremy," Cori whispered beside Ashe. She knew that Ashe's exceptional hearing would pick up her words. Ashe stared at Cori for a moment.

  "There might be," he mumbled, loud enough for Cori to hear.

  "Marco, stop fooling around with Sali and let's take a walk," Cori moved to link an arm with Marco's. Ashe pulled Sali along, and soon all four were walking toward Cori's home, a quarter mile away.

  "They're not looking," Marco turned to peer over his shoulder. Ashe took the opportunity to turn his three companions to mist before blazing toward Pat Roberts' old house.

  * * *

  "Mom, we only meant to go into Cordell. We didn't burn down the house," Jeremy growled over a large bowl of breakfast cereal. Chad, seated across the small kitchen table, was eating his own bowl of flakes and not talking. "It's that kid's fault—Philip or whatever. We just asked him to set off the fireworks. We had nothing to do with the fire. Why would we burn all our stuff?"

  "Jeremy Alan Booth, you'd better be telling us the truth," Diane Booth was as angry as Ashe had ever seen her. He and his companions hovered in a nearby corner as mist, watching the exchange between Jeremy and his mother. Neil Booth sat at one end of the table, listening and watching both boys carefully.

  "Do you think he was retaliating after that family's mobile home burned?" Neil finally spoke, his words thoughtful and deliberate. Ashe found himself wondering why Jeremy couldn't be more like his dad, even as he mentally nodded.

  It made sense—all those kids liked Luanne. A lot. And Philip had asked to ride with her on the trip from Dallas. They all relaxed around Luanne. She had something the others didn't. And for Chad and Jeremy to be responsible for her house burning down, well, the others were likely still angry about that, only Philip's anger might be more volatile. Arson, after all, was a serious crime in the human world and had Chad and Jeremy been judged by human authorities, likely jail time would have been handed out instead of house arrest.

  We've heard enough, Ashe sent to his passengers and sped through the roof of Pat Roberts' old house. He didn't stop until they all stood on the back deck outside his home.

  "You think this was retaliation?" Cori flopped into a lawn chair. Marco sat on the deck beside her chair to listen while Cori absently ran fingers through his dark hair. Ashe ignored the affection and hoped Sali would, too.

  "It makes sense." Ashe flopped on the deck, too, allowing Sali to have the other lawn chair.

  "I don't know how you turn everything to mist and still hold onto your soda," Cori toed Ashe's knee with a sandal.

  "I'm talented," Ashe grinned. "But you can't tell Mom or Dad what we did. I'll get grounded again."

  "My lips are sealed," Cori grinned back.

  * * *

  "How much?" The warlock schooled his face. He'd dabbled in the less than white arts, now and then. And for the right price, he'd go farther than that.

  "Fifty thousand," Obediah Tanner said, pouring out a drink for his guest. "Seventy-five, if you bring your friends." Obediah trusted Wildrif's judgment in this, deciding that Wildrif would only contact the willing and talented enough, who would also settle for the money offered. "And no questions asked," Obediah added, handing the glass of whiskey over.

  "And it's to take down a boundary and pick up a few kids?" the warlock asked his second question.

  "Yep. Think you can do that?"

  "Absolutely. Half up front," the warlock said, sipping his drink.

  "A third up front and my guards stay at a designated location outside. Bring the kids to them and the rest of the money is yours. We have business to do with other clients after that," Obediah countered. "When you get the money, you vanish. Is that clear?"

  "Completely," the warlock agreed dryly.

  * * *

  "You know what he looks like?" Wildrif spoke over the phone.

  "Yeah. I know what he looks like. I've tailed him twice and he doesn't even realize he's being followed," Trina Lucas, a werewolf and a nurse for a clinic in the Washington, D.C. area, replied. She was a friend of Josiah's, and Josiah had given her name to Wildrif as someone who might be able to take Vince down as soon as all necessary information had been gleaned from Director Jennings' assistant.

  "Make it look like an accident, or maybe mauled by an animal," Wildrif said. "Josiah will make it up to you."

  "He'd better," Trina said and ended the call.

  * * *

  "So, you asked Philip Raymond to set off fireworks?" Nathan placed compulsion while Marcus, Winkler, Aedan and Director Jennings looked on. The arson investigators had pinpointed the cause of the fire earlier, and identified the accelerant. Neither Chad nor Jeremy knew anything about the house fire. Both agreed in their story regarding Philip Raymond and the box of fireworks, however.

  "How did you get the fireworks to him?" Nathan asked. Marcus leaned against a kitchen wall in Pat Roberts' old house, growling softly as Chad explained that he and Jeremy had sneaked out when Diane Booth had left the house to run errands in Cordell. They'd left the box of fireworks in tall weeds behind the O'Neill's tool shed.

  "The Raymond kid must have been keeping tabs on all the guards," Winkler whispered to Aedan as Nathan continued questioning Chad and Jeremy. Aedan nodded at Winkler's observation. If the kid was smart enough, there were gaps in even the best of guarding jobs he, Nathan and the werewolves could do. After all, there were only two guards on duty most of the time. Aedan and Nathan had the entire community to guard at night. Granted they were fast and could run from one end of the community to the other in very little time, but they were at opposite ends at times, leaving a window of time for Philip to escape his home and sneak away if he were so minded.

  "You don't think that kid can mist, like Ashe and Elizabeth, do you?" Winkler went on softly.

  "No idea," Aedan returned. "But we'll find out later tonight."

  "Yeah," Winkler agreed with a slight nod. Philip Raymond's house was now their next destination, after Marcus was satisfied with Nathan's questioning of Chad and Jeremy. Marcus would likely be in contact with the Grand Master quickly, to learn what additional punishment should be levied against both boys since they'd violated house arrest.

  * * *

  "Luanne, I think you need to be with Philip in the next few minutes," Ashe appeared in Luanne's bedroom, sounding out of breath. Ren, invisible to all except Ashe, appeared immediately after.

  "Why? What happened?" Luanne dropped the book she'd been reading and stared at Ashe.

  "Well, uh, I just came from Chad and Jeremy's questioning. Both say they asked Philip to set off fireworks. Now, everybody thinks Philip burned down the Booth's house and my dad and the others will be coming to question him in just a few minutes. I think you need to be there, Luanne."

  "Yeah, I probably do," Luanne stared at the earnest expression on Ashe's face. "But how do we get past the werewolves that are guarding the community? And do we need to tell Mom and Dad?"

  "Yeah, your mom and dad can come, too. I'll take all of you over and the werewolves won't know." Ashe almost jumped when Elizabeth Frasier's ghost walked through Luanne's bedroom wall and sat on the edge of Luanne's bed.

  "I wish she wouldn't just show up like that," Luanne muttered to herself. Ashe, with his sharp hearing, heard Luanne perfectly.

  "You can see her too?" Ashe stared at Luanne.

  "She's been here for days," Luanne grumbled. "And she keeps doing this," Luanne held out her arms in a wide sweep, lifting them upward until they were straight over her head. "I don't know what that means, but she keeps doing it. None of the others see her," Luanne added, as she and Ashe both watched Elizabeth echo the motions Luanne had just made.

  "Well, that's the first time I've seen her do it," Ashe chewed his lip in consternation. "But we need to get to Philip, I think. You might be able to calm things down a little when they come to question him."

  "
All right. Let's go tell Mom and Dad, and then we'll go."

  As it turned out, Linda and Peter Jansen insisted on walking to the Raymond's house. Ashe, giving Luanne a nod, misted home after floating overhead until the Jansens arrived at Philip's house. Roger and Toby, the werewolves, didn't like it when Peter Jansen explained that they wanted to visit with Jackie and Philip Raymond, but finally agreed, watching as the small family walked from one mobile home to the other. Jackie Raymond answered the door and allowed the Jansens inside.

  * * *

  "Dang. I wanted to be there when they did the questioning, but I took a chance, being with Chad and Jeremy," Ashe fumed as he paced inside his bedroom. His mother had already checked on him once, shortly after he'd gotten home. Ren, sitting on the bed, calmly watched as Ashe scuffled first one way and then another across his bedroom carpet.

  "You're building up a generous amount of static electricity," Ren pointed out eventually, staring at Ashe's socks.

  "Yeah?" Ashe reached over and touched Ren's shoulder, hearing a satisfying pop as the energy released.

  "Thank you," Ren smiled widely. "Static is good for a quick snack."

  "You're kidding? You ate that?" Ashe stopped worrying about Philip's questioning for a moment to gape at Ren.

  "In a manner of speaking. Although such a weak charge will not sustain me for more than a few of your Earth seconds," Ren chuckled.

  "Dude, that is seriously cool," Ashe breathed.

  "I told you when we first met that I absorbed energy as a food source," Ren said.

  "Yeah, but you said sunlight, with everything else being," Ashe didn't finish, Ren beat him to it.

  "Broccoli," Ren smiled.

  "Yeah. So, static is broccoli?"

  "I enjoy static. It may be the equivalent of one of your fizzy drinks."

  "Dude, that is messed up and cool at the same time."

  * * *

  "Marcus," Aedan held the Cloud Chief Packmaster back. Philip had just confessed under Nathan's compulsion, admitting that he'd deliberately burned down the Booth home in retribution for the Jansen's house fire. He, Marcus, Nathan, Winkler and Director Jennings had come to question Philip Raymond regarding the Booth's house fire.