Wolf's Tale (Necon Modern Horror Book 25)

by Dan Foley

  “That’s enough,” she told it, and it returned to the table beside her. Then she turned her attention back to Skeeter. “Stand up and drop your pants.”

  “What?”

  “I said, stand up and drop your pants.”

  Skeeter swallowed nervously and then did as he was told. He was actually embarrassed that the old bitch was going to see he wasn’t wearing underwear. She was so intent on the two small red marks and the spreading black patch on his inner thigh that she didn’t seem to notice.

  “Fool! How, exactly did this happen?”

  “I went into the Seven-Eleven to see if she worked there. Before I could do anything, the rat attacked me. I got out of there as fast as I could. I swear I didn’t know it bit me.”

  “Did you get a good look at her, at least?”

  “Yeah, she’s hot. I mean ...”

  “I know what you mean, but she’s hot, doesn’t help me. Describe her.”

  “She’s tall, taller than me.”

  “That’s not saying much”

  Skeeter bristled at that. He was sensitive about his height. “I’d say she’s at least five-eight. She has dark, shoulder-length hair. She looks Cajun. What’s going to happen now? Am I going to end up like Bubba? Can you help me?”

  “No, you’re not going to end up like Bubba. I couldn’t allow that because then you would be Lobo’s pawn. No, I couldn’t have that at all.”

  Skeeter breathed a sigh of relief until Bubba, dead Bubba, wrapped him in a bear hug from behind. Skeeter’s heart leapt into his throat, and then he was kicking and screaming, clawing at Bubba’s dead flesh. Bits of rotten skin tore off under his nails and the smell of decay filled his nose. None of it did any good. Bubba moved slowly but steadily toward the bayou. Then he was wading into the waiting water. Skeeter’s screaming stopped when he was fully submerged. When they both disappeared from sight, the water swirled over them as Skeeter frantically fought for his life. His struggling stopped when swamp water filled his lungs. When it was done, Bubba came back covered with mud and slime. Then he resumed his place at the back of Stella’s shack.

  5 – Stella’s

  Wolf was waiting in the car when Charlotte got off shift. “Something really weird happened today. A man came into the store and Little Wolf went wild. He attacked the guy before I could stop him.”

  Wolf didn’t like the sound of that. “What did he look like?” he asked, but he was pretty sure he already knew.

  “He was young ... early twenties, short, and thin. He had long dark hair and his face was all scratched up. I think he was wearing jeans and a tight T-shirt.”

  It was enough. Wolf knew exactly who it was — asshole number two, the one Little Wolf had torn into the other day. But why was he outside Grandmere’s cabin earlier in the day, and why did Little Wolf go after him? He didn’t know, but he was going to find out. Tomorrow, when Charlotte was working, he was going back to Stella’s.

  “You still working the day shift tomorrow?”

  “No, Jenna asked me to trade with her. I couldn’t say no since she traded with me when I asked.”

  “Oh, okay,” he answered and couldn’t keep a hint of disappointment out of his voice. It meant he was going to have to put off driving down to Stella’s until the afternoon.

  Charlotte picked up on his disappointment. “Is that a problem?”

  “No,” Wolf replied.

  “Are you sure? It doesn’t sound like it’s all right.”

  “No, it’s fine. I just thought we could go out and celebrate my victory over Old Ben. That ghost has been haunting me since I was seventeen — and now he’s gone.”

  “Oh, Melvin, I’m sorry. If you had said something I would have told her I couldn’t do it. I can’t take it back now.”

  “No, it’s okay, really. Maybe we can just go for a ride and have a nice lunch out somewhere.”

  “That sounds lovely. We can get up early and just go exploring. I can’t remember the last time I did that. Where would you like to go?”

  “I have no idea. We can just head north and see what we find.” Anywhere except south and Stella’s. That will have to wait until you’re at work.

  “Okay, it’s a date,” Charlotte told him when they arrived at her house. “Now, what do you say we go in and start celebrating a little early?”

  And they did ... twice.

  “So, where to?” Charlotte asked the next morning when they were in the Torino.

  “North. We’ll just drive and take any road that looks interesting.”

  “There’s not much until we get to New Orleans.”

  “So we’ll go into the city. We can’t go wrong there. Maybe we’ll even see Mose.”

  “Okay, but I have to be back in time for work.”

  “No problem. We’ll make it in plenty of time. And if it looks like we’re not going to make it, we’ll just turn around and come back.”

  They’d driven for a little over a half an hour when Charlotte pointed to a sign for Jack’s BBQ “Hey, that looks interesting. Why don’t we try that?”

  “Done,” Wolf agreed, and took the turn indicated on the sign.

  Jack’s turned out to be a find. It was in an old open-air structure filled with wooden tables scarred by decades of carved initials. Benches, not chairs, provided seating. It was definitely a place for locals, not tourists.

  Jack himself took their orders. Wolf had a full side of baby back ribs while Charlotte opted for pulled pork. Their meals came with tangy coleslaw, rattlesnake beans and Texas Toast. Wolf settled for iced tea and Charlotte ordered the same.

  “You can have a beer or wine if you want. Just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean you can’t,” he told her after their drinks arrived.

  “I know. But iced tea sounds right. I’m not much of a beer girl anyway and wine is a nighttime drink.

  “So, how does it feel to be rid of Old Ben?”

  “It felt great, until you told me about this Renee La Pierre. It seems all I did is trade one Boogey man for another one. Now I have to deal with her. And I have no idea how to do it.”

  “That should be obvious — go talk to Mose.”

  “Right, I’ll go tomorrow. Can you come?”

  “I’ll try, but I can’t promise.”

  “I’ll pick you up at eleven,” Wolf told Charlotte when he dropped her off at three. As soon as she was inside, he pulled out of the lot and headed south.

  The picnic table where the two assholes had been sitting the last time he had been there was empty. He didn’t care about asshole one, it was asshole two he was interested in. Maybe the woman inside would know something.

  When Wolf walked into the shack, Stella was sitting behind the counter just as she had been the last time he was here. This time her head was bent over a magazine. When she looked up and saw Wolf, she recoiled in fear before getting control of herself. “Get out. I don’t want you here.” Her reaction surprised him.

  “Why not?”

  “You’re trouble, that’s why. Now get out.”

  “Not until you tell me how to find those two guys I had the fight with the last time I was here.”

  Stella glanced nervously over her shoulder at the back of the shack before blurting out, “I don’t know where they are. They come and go. I haven’t seen them since you were here.”

  Wolf could see the woman was terrified, and that she was lying, but he had no idea why.

  “I’ll leave when you tell me how I can find them.”

  “I can’t. She’ll …” Stella said, and then clamped her hand over her mouth.

  “She? Who — Renee La Pierre?”

  Stella blanched when she heard the name. “Get out! Get out now or I’ll call the police,” she threatened.

  Wolf doubted she would make the call, but her reaction told him it was indeed Renee La Pierre the woman was worried about.

  “Fine, I’ll leave, but I’ll be back if I can’t find them.” />
  Wolf was about to start the Torino and drive back to Bayou La Pointe when he remembered how the woman had glanced toward the back of the shack when he had asked about the men. What was she worried about? Maybe I better check it out.

  The smell hit him just before he got to the back of the shack. Something’s dead back there, he thought, and then he turned the corner. What the hell? It’s a man.

  The corpse sat with its back to the shack. He had been a big man, as big as Bubba. But this one was black, so it couldn’t be him. I need a closer look. As he approached the corpse, he stopped in his tracks when he realized it was Bubba. “God damn,” he swore. “What the hell happened to him?”

  When the corpse turned its head and glared at him, Wolf knew why the woman inside was terrified of La Pierre. She had done this. He definitely had to talk to Mose — without Charlotte. She didn’t need to know about this.

  6 – Real Power

  The part of her consciousness that she had left in Bubba niggled at the back of her mind. Something was happening at Stella’s. She had to shift more of her attention into him. When she did, the world around her shrank, while the one around Bubba expanded to fill her vision. The bayou, usually alive with color, appeared in washed out shades of gray. It was like looking at a bad old time movie. Everything about the impressions received from the dead came through muted. Sounds were muffled; scents were mere suggestions of what they should have been. But still, so much could be learned from the dead. And they could do things the living couldn’t — like dragging a man into the swamp and staying with him underwater until he drowned.

  Bubba wouldn’t be of use much longer, he was rotting out here in the sun and heat, but for now she could still use him. It was the mention of her name that had triggered her attention. Now she heard, “God damn, what the hell happened to him?” and knew someone had found Bubba’s body. Exerting her control over the corpse, she turned its head in the direction the voice had come from. She was not surprised to see Lobo, but was pleased to see the shock on his face when he saw the corpse move. Yes boy, this is real power. Power you don’t have yet, power you will never have. I’ll see to that.

  7 – Watching

  Charlotte could tell something was wrong as soon as she got in the car. “What happened?”

  Wolf started to tell her that nothing had happened, and then he remembered his promise never to lie to her. “I went looking for that guy who came into the store. The one Little Wolf attacked.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because he was outside Grandmere’s while I was looking for Old Ben and Little Wolf went nuts when he saw him. And then he showed up where you work and he attacked him. I wanted to know why.”

  “Did you find him?”

  “No, but I found his friend. He was dead ... and he wasn’t. I think Renee La Pierre killed him.”

  “What do you mean he was dead and he wasn’t? How could he be dead and not dead?”

  “He was propped up behind the shack where I had the fight with them. His skin had turned black and he smelled awful. There were open cuts on him and the skin under them was black too. I knew he was dead, and then he ... then he turned his head and looked at me.”

  “How could a dead man ... “

  “Remember what Mose told us? If her familiar bites someone she can control him after he dies. That’s how. I really have to see Mose. Did you get the time off? Can you come with me?”

  “Not if I want to keep my job. I’ve been a little too unreliable since you got back. My manager talked to me about it today. I’m working the day shift tomorrow from seven to three.”

  “Then I’ll wait until you can come with me. We can leave right after you get off. I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  Charlotte started to argue with him. “You don’t have …” but he cut her off. “Until I find out how to deal with La Pierre, you, me, and Little Wolf should stick together.”

  “How are you going to do that while I’m working?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way.”

  The way turned out to be Wolf sitting outside the Seven-Eleven while Charlotte worked inside. He was ready to die of boredom after an hour of sitting in the Torino counting cars that drove by. He was surprised to see just how out of place the Torino was down here. It was new, red and a fastback. Most of the cars here were older and dust covered. Not only that, the pickups outnumbered the cars by at least three to one. He was going to have to start using his pickup if he wanted to blend in. It was a good thing he had decided to keep it out behind Busters.

  Charlotte looked up and grinned at him when he came into the store. “How’s it going out there?”

  “I’m dying. It’s like being on watch back on the sub. I need something to read. Have you got any books in here?”

  “A few, but we have magazines. Books aren’t a big seller here.”

  I’ll say, he thought when he found the book rack. The only thing that looking interesting was a copy of The Godfather. How long has this been sitting here. He looked on the copyright page and found that it had been published in 1969. No shit books aren’t big around here. This things been on this rack for years.

  Wolf brought the book and a quart bottle of Doctor Pepper to the counter. “Geeze, this thing’s been around here forever,” she said as she picked up the book. “I wonder if it’s any good.”

  “It is. I read it back on the boat, but it looked better than anything else I could find.”

  Charlotte laughed when she picked up the Doctor Pepper. “What’s so funny?” Wolf asked.

  “This ... and that,” she told him, pointing at the “For Employee Use Only” sign on the rest room door.

  “That’s okay, I can just take a leak out back if I have to.”

  “Ugh, don’t you dare. Come in and I’ll let you use that one. You just have to promise not to leave the seat up.”

  “Nope. If you’re going to put conditions on it, I’ll go outside.”

  “Don’t you dare,” she called to him as he left the store.

  Two hours later, he was back. Charlotte gave him a self-satisfied smirk. “Go ahead, you can use it.”

  “Nope, I already went outside. I just came in to get something to eat.” Before she could respond, he slipped into the rest room.

  “Smart ass,” she told him when he came to the counter with a pre-made tuna salad sub and a bag of chips. “Next time you can just hold it.”

  When Charlotte came out at three, Wolf had already been back inside twice to use the rest room. “You sure you don’t have to go before we leave?” she asked when she got into the car.

  “No, we can stop at home. I want to take a shower and change. I’ve been sweating like a pig all day. It’s hot in the car, even in the shade with the windows open.”

  “Good idea, maybe I’ll join you,” she said as she opened her purse to let Little Wolf climb out.

  “Bad idea. If you do that we’ll never get on the road.”

  As soon as he was out of the purse, Little Wolf climbed up onto Charlotte’s shoulder. Once he was settled, she reached up to stroke his head. “He really doesn’t like it in there. I need to find a better way to carry him.”

  “Mose keeps his in a coat pocket. Have you got something like that?”

  “Not for this weather. Maybe we can pick something up in the city. Have you got some cash with you? I don’t think they’ll take a check.”

  “Not to worry, they will if Mose tells them to.”

  Renee La Pierre wasn’t ready to face the boy yet, but she was ready to check out his woman. And, thanks to Skeeter, she knew where to find her. I need to be careful. If he gave her his familiar, it will know when mine gets close.

  “I think you’ll have to stay here, my darling. I need to do something without you.”

  The familiar chittered its disappointment. “Don’t worry, your time will come soon. When we’re ready I’ll let you feed on Lobo’s familiar. You’d like
that, wouldn’t you?”

  This time her creature chittered its agreement.

  I’ll just stop at the Seven-Eleven and see if the woman is there.

  She almost pulled into the Seven-Eleven’s lot when a flash of red caught her eye. It was Lobo’s car and he was sitting in it. Instead of pulling in, she drove past. If they were both here, no one should be at the house. She decided to check that out instead.

  Second right past the Seven-Eleven, he had better be right. Then she laughed, because she couldn’t do anything to him if he wasn’t. She made the right, and there it was, a hundred yards down the oyster shell road. A pickup was parked next to it. It must be hers. If he’s parked outside the Seven-Eleven, I doubt she’s inside. But, if she’s here, all the better.

  La Pierre parked, got out, and walked to the front door. Might as well give it a try, she thought and reached out and turned the handle. It was locked. Well, maybe they left a window open. She made a complete circuit around the house, tried every window and the back door, but they were all locked. She considered breaking one to get in, but then they would know that she knew where they lived. Best to keep that bit of knowledge to myself for a while.

  8 – Back to Mose

  As usual, Wolf found a spot to park on Decatur. “No beignets and coffee, I want a real meal,” Charlotte said when she saw him heading toward Café Du Monde.

  “Of course not,” he agreed, but made a quick turn onto St. Peter Street. He led them to the same place he had eaten with Mose several times. As soon as they arrived they were shown to a table with a “Reserved” sign on it.

  Charlotte seemed a bit embarrassed as people waiting in line for a table stared at her. “Did you really call ahead for reservations?”

  “No, they save this table for special guests. They know me here.”

  “They know you here?”

  “Yeah, but only because Mose and I ate here quite a lot while I was staying with him.”