Crossing the room, she dropped gently to her knees and slid the slate out from under the bed where she’d left it this morning. She smiled mischievously as she gathered the slate into her arms, placed her shoes on top, and snuck back down the steps. She peeked down the hall and noted that Celia was sitting with her back toward the barns.
Being as quiet as possible, she opened the door again, slipped out, and shut it silently behind her. On the front porch she paused long enough to put on her shoes, then she walked the long way around the house so Celia couldn’t see her through the window. She jogged across the backyard to the cornfield and toward the barns … then she slipped into the rows of stalks.
Following the other directions that had been given to her that morning, she walked until she arrived at the trees. She pushed through the bare branches and into the leaf-strewn open center of the grove. She turned in a complete circle, deciding which of the inner trees was the best.
One in particular caught her eye. It was a thick tree, tall and strong-looking. Its roots were bumpy, but spread out wide and high almost like the arms of a chair. Beverley sat, leaning against this tree, her legs stretched before her, slightly bent. She propped the slate on her angled lap.
With her hands poised over the letters, she whispered, “Are you still there, Mommy?” and touched the surface.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Johnny was surprised when the limousine slowed and stopped at a small parking area at the corner of Detroit Avenue and West 25th Street. Jacques exited the vehicle and walked directly toward the big brown door beside the old plaque declaring it the subway entrance. They were going to the underside of the Detroit-Superior Bridge.
Of course they were meeting on a bridge. They were dealing with ODOT. People from the Department of Transportation would know this structure inside and out. The lower level was only opened on special occasions, and apparently a negotiation with wærewolves qualified as special.
The dry scent of cold concrete mingled with the dank stench of the Cuyahoga River, which snaked under them. This bridge connects the West Side with the East Side, and today the stink of both are collecting here.
Inside, the transportation department reps had taken a position with their backs to the route that the subway cars once traveled. Anything could be hidden in the depths of that darkness behind them.
Breathing deep to sort through all the scents as nonchalantly as possible, Johnny detected more humans than were visible, and a lot of gunpowder and gun oil. Johnny glanced around. This would have to be a position ODOT felt they could defend, one that gave them an advantage. Question was, what advantage did it give them and how could the wæres overcome it if necessary? He shot a glance at Gregor, who nodded.
“Diviza Plympton … ” Gregor whispered.
“I smell them, all right, boy,” he whispered back.
“Mediation usually doesn’t include bullying tactics like coming in with an arsenal,” Aurelia said softly.
Plympton chittered a laugh. “We a-walked in with more strength and power in our veins than they will ever know. They have merely made an attempt to even the odds, Mizz Romochka.”
That made Johnny think back to being a new wære, when he first joined this pack. He’d been taught many things, including how to respond when mundane humans became aggressive.
“The general population thinks guns will protect them from us. When they make a show of force, it is because they fear us and are trying to keep us at bay. We should be flattered that they go to such effort,” he recalled the former pack leader Ignatius telling him. A father figure to Johnny, Ig had bestowed him with wisdom he hadn’t had much use for until recently. “It makes them feel powerful to have that steel in their hands. But you, John, you have something far more potent inside of you.”
Ahead, there were five men, front and center. They stood like mob bosses in a police lineup: shoulder to shoulder, hands clasped before them, wearing nice black suits. Scattered around in flanking positions were over a dozen men in fatigues, grouped in threes. Posed for intimidation, these men wore their guns unhidden and their hands were poised, ready to draw.
“These are not the same guys that have been at the other meetings,” Todd said quietly.
Something had changed drastically for ODOT to be taking it this far. They didn’t intend to lose this negotiation.
The diviza continued. “Let’s walk, people. Walk like we own the place. Don’t hold back. Let their human senses feel what we are, what we can do. Domn Lup, now would be a good time to let some of your sovereignty shine through.” He started forward.
The wærewolves crossed the distance, letting that “other” about them radiate forth like the cool breeze before a bad storm.
Being outnumbered four to one against a mostly hidden, well-armed enemy, Johnny’s initial reaction was to get angry and offended, but he knew that was surely part of what they wanted. He let that emotion flow into his aura and dared to reach inward and stroke his beast, just one brief, light touch… .
The instant he did, it lurched within him like a vicious junkyard dog leaping to the end of its chain.
He felt a wave of heat explode out from him. It drew low growls from those walking with him, and as it hit the humans, they were noticeably affected, responding with either a quick step backward or a head-to-toe shiver.
Johnny focused on maintaining his stride, not faltering in step, and on controlling the wolf inside him.
Off to his left was another man, but this tan-suited fellow was not trying for intimidation. Stout, with thin gray hair, he would not have been able to be convincing as a tough guy anyway. He had already mopped his sweaty forehead a dozen times with a handkerchief, shifted his weight frequently, and twice had switched the briefcase from one hand to the other. “What in Hell was that?” he muttered softly.
While the four male wærewolves formed a line of their own with Johnny and the diviza in the middle, Aurelia stepped to the forefront. “Hello, gentlemen. I’m Aurelia, assistant to the Domn Lup. May I introduce the diviza, Mr. Plympton.” She gestured toward the bearded man, who nodded once. “And you are?” she asked sweetly.
“Our names aren’t important,” the man in the center said. He wore a bright blue tie.
Johnny took that as a bad sign. They might be legitimate representatives of ODOT, or they might be, literally, hired guns.
“Very well. Are you the mediator?” she asked the nervous man with the briefcase.
“I am.” He inched forward.
She closed the distance to him and shook his hand. “Aurelia.”
“Baker,” he said, soaking in her beauty and kindness. “Scott Baker.”
“Nice to meet you, Scott,” she said warmly. “Usually this kind of thing takes place in an office, around a table. Since we have neither of those here, how do you want to proceed?”
Johnny knew she was charming the man to put him at ease and gain some of his favor for their side. But Scott was obviously not a fool. Caught between wærewolves and armed “government officials” in a last-minute meeting at a secret locale, he recognized the danger he was in. Johnny wondered if ODOT had bribed him.
“As I understand it,” Scott said, pointing at ODOT’s line of suits, “ODOT wants the Cleveland Cold Storage building and has made an offer which has been declined. You’re here to make a new offer.”
“Correct,” Blue Tie said.
“And you,” Scott gestured at Johnny, “simply want to keep the building.”
“The location in question,” Mr. Plympton said in his lilting Cajun accent, “is a mostly windowless structure that is perfect for the specific needs of our people.” His hands flitted this way and that as he spoke. “We’ve modified the interior extensively over the years and to move the den to any other building would require starting over on those modifications. The purchase price ODOT has previously offered does not come close to allowing us to purchase a new structure in the area and then modify it similarly in order to ensure the safety of our people
… and yours.”
“There are other areas,” Blue Tie said softly.
Aha. They want us out of their downtown.
A few tense seconds passed, then Scott asked Plympton, “You are open to considering the new offer they have prepared, though, right?”
“Of course we will consider the new offer.”
Scott faced the ODOT reps. “You have the paperwork?”
The man to Blue Tie’s right opened his jacket. From an inside pocket he removed a mass of papers stapled together and folded once lengthwise. He handed it to Scott, who in turn handed it to Plympton.
Plympton perused the document, not bothering to remove his sunglasses. “There’s nothing new in this offer. In fact, these pages are identical to the last offer.”
“That’s correct,” Blue Tie said.
Johnny let his internal struggle for dominance deepen his voice as he asked, “If you’re not offering anything new, why are we here?”
“Oh, we’re offering something new.” Blue Tie nodded to the man on his left and he pulled out more papers from the opposite side of his jacket. “It’s something that is … out of the public eye, for now.”
When these papers were handed to him, Plympton quickly scanned through the pages.
Johnny tried to see what was written on them, but the smugness in Blue Tie’s voice made him look up.
“You see, we’ve had reports coming in about this pack,” Blue Tie said. “It seems some dubious activities are going on in Cleveland, activities that—according to our investigation—lead back to this den. As the paperwork trail you’re now looking at shows, this includes burglary, grand theft auto, receiving stolen goods, trafficking, money laundering, racketeering, tax evasion, embezzlement … ”
“That’s not true,” Todd growled.
Blue Tie hesitated only briefly at the outburst. “ … We even have evidence of insurance fraud, where the widow of one Ignatius Tierney is concerned.”
Johnny’s hands clenched. They’d made this up. All of it. They’d falsified documents to blackmail them. He could not let them mess with the pack, and would not let them harass Moira. His beast slavered and snarled, feasting on his hate. Fur sprouted on the backs of his hands—
Calmly, Plympton reached out and touched Johnny’s wrist.
Soothing coolness swirled around his skin. The wolf within him howled in pain and retreated.
“We’re prepared,” Blue Tie continued, “to deliver all of this documentation to our local and national news organizations. I’m sure they will be happy to write headlines about the new Domn Lup and his pack being sordid criminals. If you don’t want to start his rule with an uphill battle to overcome those kinds of black marks—which we will put front and center for the world to see—then you really should agree to our terms now.”
Plympton laughed. It started out small and quiet, but it grew. As it lifted in volume, the tone became menacing.
“You think this is funny?” Blue Tie asked.
Plympton kept laughing. Johnny joined in, then Gregor, then Todd. They all laughed together as if there was some fantastic joke when they were in fact simply following the lead of the diviza. It was not so different from a pack lifting their voices in unison because their alpha howled.
“What?” Blue Tie asked again. The men around him shifted, uncomfortable with the evil, echoing sound. “What!”
Only when Blue Tie had clearly shown his anger did Plympton let his mirth fade. “All right, boy. If you want your road so bad, we will give you the Cleveland Cold Storage … in exchange for Grays Armory.” His voice continued to convey humor.
Blue Tie’s suspicion was evident. “No deal.”
Plympton shrugged. “You are forcing us out. If we have no den to kennel in, it is your public that is at risk. You don’t want us telling the media you’re willing to endanger your citizens for your road. Do you?”
“The Armory is a public historical icon and a museum.”
“Wærewolves require a fortified structure to keep the beasts inside. Our team has already appraised every building in the city. No other building will protect your city’s inhabitants from us like the Grays Armory will.”
“Go somewhere else.”
“Not happening,” Johnny growled.
“We don’t have the authority to give you—”
“Then get it.” Plympton waved the papers at him. “With your obvious skill for fraud, I’m sure you can come up with something that will appease the people.”
“Mr. Plympton—” Blue Tie began.
“To you, this has always been about the building, but not to us. It’s about having a secure location for our people and safety for all. You’re clearly desperate to get your big road built, so you can have the building.”
He pulled his sunglasses off, revealing the wrongness on his silvered eye. The ODOT reps reacted as Johnny had.
“Trade us the Armory and the Zvonul will forget you tried to blackmail us. Don’t and … well, we’ll make sure the first casualties stemming from us not having a safe place to kennel will be those nearest and dearest to you.” He pointed at the reps individually, calling them each by name. They shifted uncomfortably. “Shall I name the men hidden in the darkness as well?”
Blue Tie swallowed hard.
“We’ll be ready to start our move this weekend, boys. You’d better be, too.” Plympton turned and walked away, giggling like a Cajun fool.
CHAPTER NINE
Sundown was fast approaching when the cab for which I was paying an immense fare neared my farmhouse. I spied Celia’s CX-7 in the driveway and smiled. It would be good to see her and Beverley.
I glanced into the backyard, hoping to see the girl riding around on a prancing Errol, but instead I saw Celia, hands in her hair like she was extremely frustrated. She turned and saw the cab. She started running toward the front.
Something’s wrong.
It took long seconds before the cabbie made the turn. “Stop, stop,” I cried, threw money at him, and I jumped out to run up the driveway.
“What’s wrong?” I called, seeing Celia round the back corner.
“It’s Beverley.”
“What?” We stopped before each other, both of us panting. I heard voices yelling the kiddo’s name in the distance.
“I was working on contracts and she came out to see Errol.” Her eyes were red and she started tearing up. “I heard the door open and close as she went out. Then, ten minutes ago, Mountain comes by and asks where Beverley is, since he didn’t see her outside. Errol’s in his stall, Seph. She never got to the barn.”
My stomach felt like it dropped into my feet.
“We don’t know where she is. We can’t find her. Mountain and Zhan set out in opposite directions around the cornfield.”
Mountain was a Beholder and Zhan an Offerling; both served Menessos. They were both very capable, but I couldn’t stand idly by. I hurried past Celia. After a few steps, I was jogging, then sprinting. I raced into the first barn where the unicorns and griffons were housed. “Thunderbird!”
From the back, I heard hay rustling and then the majestic tiger-raven stepped into view, his head turned slightly, his one eye squarely on me. He’d lost the other in battle.
“Beverley’s missing. Take to the air and find her!”
He loped past me. Five other griffons swiftly trailed him, some eagle and puma, some hawk and panther. I returned to the edge of the barn as they all took flight. In contrast to the dire moment, watching them gave me a sense of awe. They were beautiful creatures, these griffons. They fell into a pattern, crisscrossing the property from above.
Behind me, clip-clopping sounded as the unicorns backed from their stalls and walked out of the barn around me. They lifted their heads to watch the griffons circling. Except for one. Errol nickered low and touched my arm with the side of his mouth as if to ask, “Is she okay?”
Facing him, I’d have sworn he looked worried.
I was. The day was fading fast and thinkin
g of Beverley lost was awful, but thinking of her lost and alone in the cold dark was so much worse.
My only consolation lay in the fact my property had wards to keep the nasties out. If something was able to cross the ley line–empowered barrier, a psychic alarm would alert me, even if I wasn’t home. I’d felt no such warning of a breach.
Reaching out with a sliver of power, I tried to detect the flow of energy from the obelisk-shaped piece of jet that Xerxadrea had given me. It rested in my bedroom and was keyed to empower the iron spikes at each corner of my property. I fed it from the ley line, but I hadn’t exactly been home to monitor it lately.
Nothing. I felt nothing from the ward.
My breath caught. Had I let the power fade from my ward? If something snuck in and—
One of the griffons cried out.
It was the one Mountain called Eagle Eye, a lion-and-eagle male. He gave his cry again and angled his wings to circle back. Errol burst forward and galloped away into the cornfield. Celia and I shared a look and charged after him. I was a dozen steps into the cornfield when true sunset occurred.
I felt Menessos awaken.
His screaming torment ripped through me and my steps faltered.
I fell hard to the ground. It knocked the wind out of me, then Celia stumbled, trying not to step on me.
“Seph, are you okay?”
I wasn’t. I could barely breathe and it hurt like hell. I nodded at her.
“Seph?”
She wasn’t looking at me, but at her foot. Her shoe had come off, and she was assessing a broken ankle strap. The low heels she was wearing certainly weren’t meant for dashing through a cornfield.
“It’s Menessos,” I croaked. “Go on. I’ll catch up in a minute.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Go.” Beverley needed a person to get to her. If she was hurt, neither the unicorn nor the griffon could do much.
Shattered Circle (Persephone Alcmedi) Page 5
