The Sound and the Furry

by Karen Ranney

  “I’ll get them. You stay here.”

  I shook my head. “Not in the attic,” I said. “We can’t see anything from here.”

  “Nor can Maddock see in,” he said.

  That was a reasonable remark and a point I hadn’t considered. Yet I felt blind in the attic. I wanted somewhere safe, but not where I felt trapped. There had to be a better spot in Graystone.

  “The Clan Hall,” I said. “First floor. The windows are reinforced.”

  The room was decorated like a medieval solarium with arched doors, window seats, and stone floors. It was also connected to the Armory and I had a feeling we were going to have to use everything at our disposal. If bashing in their brains stopped vampires, then we were well stocked.

  I felt like a Chihuahua with an attitude. Frankly, I’ve never met a Chihuahua without an attitude. Maybe it was the Napoleonic complex gone wild. They were small but occasionally terrifying. I say that as someone who’d been bitten by more Chihuahuas than any other breed.

  Grr.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Universe snickered in response

  I did a detour at the third floor, entering one of the bathrooms. I did my thing and noticed the dust on the tiled counters. I never came into this part of the house. Graystone was just too big for one person. Maybe I should open up the house as a hotel. There were fifty-three rooms, so I had enough space. Or maybe I should convert it to a Bed-and-Breakfast. It was an idea. If we Weres ever came out I could advertise a package: Sweet Dreams and Tea with a Furry. Or maybe I should get married and have a bunch of kids. Graystone would be a great place to play hide and seek and make believe.

  I washed my hands and glanced at my reflection in the mirror.

  My hair was standing up all around my head like I’d been given an electric shock. There were dark circles beneath my eyes and my complexion was vampire white. My lips looked almost bluish.

  I would like to take a few hours off, please, have a nap and maybe eat a few meals. Anything but have to fight off a rabid vampire.

  The Universe snickered in response.

  I made it down the stairs without falling, to my immense relief. Nor did I need Mark’s assistance which was a good thing since he was helping Marcie. Her condition bothered me. I wasn’t a doctor, but I knew enough about people medicine to know that her pallor wasn’t good. Plus, she was trembling. I couldn’t tell if it was terror or because of the transfusion.

  I only know that when I caught Mark’s eye, he and I exchanged a long and meaningful look.

  Is she all right?

  She needs some time to recuperate.

  We may not have any time left.

  Maddock, being a rabid vampire needed a special kind of name. A vamrab? A rapire? I decided to go with the latter because it seemed to roll off my tongue.

  Niccolo Maddock, Master Rapire.

  I heard the sound of a window shattering somewhere in the vicinity of the third floor. I stopped on the stairs, glanced up to my left, and bit my lip to keep myself from saying anything that would reveal my fear.

  I decided to be angry, instead.

  The insurance on Graystone was not cheap and I’ve never submitted a claim for anything to keep it that way. Graystone had dozens and dozens of windows and if Maddock intended to break them all he was damn well going to pay for them. Every single one.

  Once down on the ground floor I made my way to the screened in porch, opened the door, and stepped aside as the Brood raced into the kitchen.

  I spent a few minutes reassuring them, concerned when I felt Cherry Pip trembling. They weren’t acting like themselves. Even Dalton was whining in a way I’d never heard before. And Pepper? He was standing on my feet.

  I picked up Pepper and called for Dalton and Cherry Pip. I didn’t have any trouble getting them to follow me. In fact we were so close that we might as well be one creature, Pranic and three furry attachments.

  I met Marcie and Mark in the hall.

  We’re going to survive this.

  I sent Mark a smile and a nod of thanks for his mental pep talk, led the way to the Clan Hall, grateful that I’d kept the two rooms unlocked. Right now, I didn’t know where the keys were.

  I think I should get used to the fuzzy brain thing for a little while, at least until I could recuperate. I put Pepper down and he and the other two became Velcro dogs, clinging to me whenever I took a step.

  I stood in the doorway, hesitating before I turned on the light switch to my left. I couldn’t remember if I’d closed the curtains. The Clan Hall also came equipped with shutters, but I normally never used them.

  I didn’t want to turn on the light and immediately let Maddock know where we were. More than that, and call it cowardice if you want, I didn’t want to see the vampire. It was bad enough that he was striking Graystone on the upper floors with such force that we could feel it. That meant he could levitate or even worse, fly.

  “Torrance?” Mark said.

  Marcie and Mark stood behind me, waiting. I couldn’t explain away the sudden gut level fear I was feeling. Something evil lurked outside Graystone. Something more malevolent than I’d ever encountered. Even the Were in Kerrville paled in comparison. This was beyond my experience, but not beyond Marcie’s.

  My respect for her grew even more. I don’t know how she did it, but I told myself that if Marcie could face Maddock, I could. Besides, I was a twice transfused Were. A Pranic times two. It was time for me to see what I could do.

  I slapped the light switch hard enough to make a dent in the wall, but Graystone had been built for Weres so all that happened was the bright burst of light from the overhead chandeliers. Something flickered in the window and I had my answer. I’d left the curtains open.

  I stifled a scream before it could be born and forced myself to walk toward the closest window, the monstrous sight growing bigger as I approached.

  What an idiot I was. It was only my reflection.

  I reached for the cords for the curtains just as something slammed into the window. I jumped back.

  The bottom dropped out of my stomach, and then every other organ. I always thought it was hyperbole when people say their heart stopped when they saw something shocking. In my case, that's exactly what it felt like. Like I was standing there as cold and as undead as the guy who was plastered up against the glass.

  Pardon me while I break out in a cold sweat.

  Maybe once upon a time he’d been humanlike, but that ship had sailed. He was humanoid in shape in that he had two arms and two legs and a bulbous mass at the top that had probably once resembled a head. It was swollen and grotesque with bulging glowing eyes. Something in the middle reminded me, strangely enough, of a clown’s red rubber nose. It — and for the life of me I couldn’t call it a he — had an open mouth, its tongue lolling down past its chin and everything drooling and dripping and foamy.

  Marcie hadn’t killed him, but I’ll betcha she’d murdered his sex life. I couldn’t imagine any female of any species wanting to bed Maddock even if he paid her a fortune. For that matter, and this was totally wrong of me to admit, but I had a burst of curiosity about what the rabies virus had done to his other appendage. Did it foam, too?

  Eww.

  It slammed a claw like hand against the window, nails scraping against the glass.

  Let me in.

  Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.

  Its eyes changed color, going from a pretty shade of ruby red to a deep green. I took a step back, grabbing the cord and yanking the curtains shut.

  Holy crap, how were you supposed to survive seeing that?

  "What do we do?” I asked.

  To my relief, my voice didn’t reveal my terror. I was clasping my hands together tightly so nobody could see that I was shaking. I couldn't do anything about my weak knees, however, and hoped I didn’t fall down.

  I had the feeling as I backed up to the door that what we were preparing to do was nothing to what Marcie had faced for at least five years
. She’d known Maddock was coming and she’d done what she could to prepare for it. Ergo, people like Mark and me with Pranic blood.

  I’d sought out a profession where I could do something good. My patients were animals, but Mark and I shared the same desire to heal. Yet now, because we wanted to survive, we’d been forced into being warriors.

  I hadn’t the slightest idea if female Weres had once worn tartan and fought beside their men. Because of our paternalistic culture I guessed they didn’t. They were probably patted on the head and told not to worry their pretty little heads about the battle to come. However, it was the 21st century and we had evolved, if you could call it that. Whether I wanted to be a warrior or not, I’d been cast into that mold.

  Square peg round hole thing again.

  “My brother has a lot to answer for,” I said.

  “Why do you say that?” Mark asked.

  I ran through the chronology for him.

  “If he hadn’t decided that I should be a nice submissive female Were, I wouldn’t have begged for help from you and Marcie. Marcie wouldn’t be here now, away from the castle after dark, the perfect time for Maddock to attack.” I didn’t add that he wouldn’t be here, either, in danger thanks to me.

  Of course, I hadn’t known all of that earlier. Neither had Mark from the look on his face.

  “You called for me?”

  I really shouldn’t have admitted that, should I? What the hell, I might as well tell him the whole truth.

  “For hours, I think. I was hoping you would be near here, that you could hear me. Of course, it would have been easier if Austin had stopped draining me for just one minute so that I could use my phone, but a gal’s got to do what a gal’s got to do.”

  He surprised me by smiling. He had to stop doing that. His smile had the ability to strip me of my thoughts.

  He didn’t say anything else, just helped Marcie to one of the Victorian couches along the wall.

  I walked into the armory and he followed, moving to the center of the room, his eyes taking in all the shadowboxes, the ancient claymores, the dirks, and the swords. I waited until he was finished with his inventory.

  “Doesn’t look like much, does it?”

  His smile was back, but it was costing him something, I could tell.

  My smile was much more genuine.

  The wall separating the Clan Hall from the Armory was made of brick. Or at least it looked like brick. There was a keystone at the top of the archway. I went to the door to the hall and closed it, retrieving a long metal bracket attached to the hinges with a series of magnets. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d never see it.

  I moved to the arch and used the bracket to push a small button in the middle of the keystone, stepping back quickly. The first few times I’d released the secret panel, it had nearly squished me.

  “It uses electricity,” I said. “It wouldn’t work if the power was out. The emergency generator isn’t connected to this room.”

  Mark came and stood beside me. The panel was like a pocket door, taking up the archway and about four feet deep. A series of drawers at the bottom of the panel held ammunition. The shelves above, tilted to portray their contents, were filled with various kinds of guns, including a few that I knew were illegal. In addition, there were tasers, and an imposing looking mace that could be filled with poison. After you bashed someone’s brains in, you could administer some cyanide just for the hell of it.

  I think my grandmother had fun stocking everything. She’d shown me the collection as it accumulated, smiling with delight at the newest weapons.

  “Did you know that the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts have the same motto?” I asked. “Be prepared.”

  “Were you a Girl Scout?”

  “I was,” I said. “I was a damn good Girl Scout. I can build a fire in thirty seconds.”

  I wasn’t going to talk about my non-existent sewing badge, however. I’d gotten into trouble for paying someone to do my project and had to endure a lecture from my troop leader about integrity and honor. That hadn’t been as difficult as facing my mother’s disappointment. My grandmother had only laughed.

  “Okay,” Mark said, looking over the weapons. “I guess we’re ready for them.”

  I turned to look at Marcie. She wasn’t as pale as she’d been a few minutes earlier. Plus there was a look in her eyes that made me smile. Marcie and I were on the same wavelength. Like it or not we were going to war.

  We might as well win.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I was just trying to avoid fainting or having a meltdown

  “What about Austin and his companion?” I asked.

  "They’re safe enough where they are," Mark said, his voice flat.

  I felt split in two by that comment. Part of me felt vindicated. Someone else had seen Austin for who he was. Another, more decent part of me, was sad. I didn't want Austin to gain an enemy. After all, he was my brother. But I think Austin forgot that relationship way before I wanted to disavow it.

  I wasn't feeling all that up to snuff, but I thought that I could still do some damage with the mace. Mark had armed himself with a few guns, including one that looked like it could shoot a car in half.

  Marcie surprised me. She’d grabbed a chain, the links large and rusty, and placed it around her neck, letting the ends fall to the floor. I had the sudden image of a propeller and wondered if she was going to rotate each end of the chain and advance on Maddock like a buzz saw.

  In all honesty, I didn't want to be anywhere around the creature that was part vampire, part nightmare.

  I turned to Marcie. “Is it true that vampires have to be invited in? Is that why he hasn’t smashed in the windows by now?” And why he’d whispered to me?

  She nodded. “But Maddock has a retinue of humans working for him, Torrance. They don’t have any such restrictions. Once they’re inside, they can invite Maddock in.”

  Oh goody.

  The only thing I was grateful for was that it was in the middle of the night and Simon and Wilson were nowhere around. I didn’t want them involved in this. Their only sin had been working for me.

  The Brood huddled in the corner close to the door. I wanted to reassure them, but I didn’t know what would make them less terrified. Yes, yes, I know. Animals don’t really understand us, but I sometimes think they do. Especially the three dogs who’d come into my life and had been my companions for the last three months. They knew, just like I did, that something was happening. If nothing else, they heard something because all three sets of ears were on high alert.

  I stood in front of Marcie who’d taken her place on the couch again. Maybe when she was feeling stronger she could kick everybody’s ass, but right at the moment she was still recuperating from giving me a transfusion. I owed her my life. I was not going to let Maddock get to her.

  I looked at Mark and he looked right back at me. In that instant we decided not to change. We were armed with weapons that made us even more formidable than wolves.

  Something screamed. I jumped.

  “What is it, Torrance?”

  I glanced at Mark. “Didn’t you hear that?”

  He shook his head.

  I wished I knew where my phone was. I would have gone to the app for the camera I’d had mounted on the Brood’s side of the porch. But I didn’t have it so my only choice was to leave the Clan Hall, Mark at my side. I headed toward the back door, but he was there before me. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been on the track team in school. Although, to give me some credit, I’d been a little under the weather for the past few hours.

  Something screamed again, loud enough that the sound traveled down my spine.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “What?”

  The snarling was new. I glanced at Mark, wondering if Austin had gotten out of his chains and was adding to our problems right now.

  I saw the flash of headlights in the back, something I hadn’t anticipated. Evidently, Maddock’s frien
ds weren’t arriving by wing but by car.

  The growling made me skid to a stop. I put out my arm, just like my mother did when I was in the car with her. As if her arm could keep me from going through the windshield in an accident.

  Mark turned to look at me and I shook my head.

  “My father’s here,” I said, incredulous.

  I wouldn’t have put Hamish Boyd on the list of people I expected to show up at Graystone tonight.

  I reached the porch. A dozen cars, their headlights still on, were parked in a semi-circle facing the back of Graystone.

  The scene that met my eyes was something out of a movie, if the movie featured vampires with glowing eyes and Weres in various stages of transforming. Add in three barking dogs who’d suddenly found their courage and three very confused individuals armed to the teeth and looking out over the whole melee and you’ve got a rough approximation of what was happening.

  Maddock was nowhere to be found. Still, we didn't go outside. I sure as hell wasn’t saying, “Here, Maddock. Here, boy.”

  I was still standing in front of Marcie and would until she no longer needed help. Consider me her protector, despite the fact that she probably could out Pranic me and out witch me and definitely out vampire me on a good day. But she was weak and this was not the time to test her abilities.

  I was going to have to get the cars off my lawn soon. Otherwise I was going to have deep ruts when the ground dried. Not to mention somebody was going to have to turn off the engines so that we didn’t have dead batteries and AAA here in the morning.

  Not for the first time I was grateful that Graystone was isolated, in its own fiefdom. At least I didn’t have neighbors. Nobody could peer over the back fence and see a bunch of hirsute men growing claws and tails.

  When a Were transforms, it’s normally a very planned process. There’s a routine we go through. Just like in Kerrville, we seek out those organizations that cater to Weres. We have bathrobes, designated stripping areas, and we give ourselves privacy when necessary.