by Mac Flynn
She smiled and shook her head. "Wait your turn, my love." Red and I passed her, but paused two feet away. She stepped backwards with the gun still pointed at my friends and Fox. "We'll be back for you. If I remember."
Red threw me to the ground and lunged at Variel. She spun around and shot him in the chest, but his momentum forced him onto her. They fell to the floor and tussled for the gun. Vincent joined the fray, and in a moment the werewolves had her pinned on her back. She snarled and squirmed, but she couldn't break their hold on her arms and legs.
I sat up and stared at Red. "You heard me?"
He smiled and nodded at Bram. "Yeah, but that kid already fixed the problem."
Bram grinned and held up the remains of Red's watch. "I knew all that practice would come in handy."
Quill laughed and patted Bram on the shoulder. "I take it back, Pipsqueak. You should steal the silver."
Vincent glanced at Red. "Are you okay?"
Red cringed, but nodded. "Nothing a little rest and relaxation won't fix."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that." We turned to Fox. In one hand was a gun.
Bram threw up his arms. "Seriously?"
Fox slipped around our group so his back was to the stairs. "I'm quite serious, now if you would all follow me there's a few people I'd like for you to meet."
Variel lifted her head and glared at him. "I'll never be one of your experiments."
Variel threw Red off her arm and reached into her pocket. She removed a black cylinder with a cover which she flipped open. A button was revealed. She pressed the button and smirked at Vincent. "A little parting gift from me to you, my love."
Vincent's eyes widened. He whipped his head to us. "She's activated the explosives around the house!"
Quill's mouth dropped open. "Explosives? Why the hell are there explosives?"
Vincent stood and tossed me over his shoulder. "For an emergency, now run!"
The ground and walls shook as a loud boom echoed down the stairwell. Dust rained down from the ceiling and covered everything in a fine gray layer. Another explosion followed the first, and parts of ceiling cracked. One of the cracks appeared above Fox's head.
Vincent leapt forward and shoved him out of the way. The ceiling collapsed, sending ground-floor beams and flooring into the basement. The lights from the entrance hall streamed into the dark chamber.
"Climb!" Quill yelled.
Bram led the way up the debris as another blast shook the house. Vincent paused and looked around.
I tapped on his shoulder. "We need to leave!"
"Where's Variel?" he asked me.
I squinted into the growing gloom of wreckage. Something shifted in the far back corner. I pointed at the darkness. "There!"
Vincent followed my gaze. "Variel!"
Variel climbed halfway up the stairs before she turned and smiled at us. "Until next time, my love."
She disappeared up the passage. Vincent moved to follow, but the house shook with a powerful blast.
Quill leaned over the hole above us and cupped his hand over his mouth. "You two coming or staying forever?"
"Coming!" Vincent yelled.
He carried me up the mountain of debris and onto the ground floor. Support beams, paintings, and chunks of plaster littered the area. The clock had toppled and lay face-first on the floor.
Fox and Red threw aside the debris in front of the doors, and Fox himself opened one of them. "This way!"
We rushed outside just as a tremendous blast shook the entire foundation. The walls blew outward, and what remained caved in on themselves. We were thrown twenty feet from the door and landed on the manicured lawn. Vincent set me down and I rolled over onto my back to watch the house crumble into a pile of timber and plaster.
All six of us climbed to our feet and watched the wreckage catch fire. All the chemicals in the basement mixed with the electrical to start a blaze that stretched into the sky. The clouds parted and revealed a half moon.
Vincent sighed. "It's finally over."
CHAPTER 10
"Not yet," Quill spoke up as he jabbed a thumb in Fox's direction.
We turned to our foe. He held up his hands. "You have nothing more to fear from me."
Vincent and Red surrounded Fox. Both flexed their clawed hands, and Red sneered at him. "Why should we trust you? You just tried to enlist us as experiments."
Fox closed his eyes and shook his head. "You saved my life. I'm not about to repay you by destroying yours."
Vincent arched one of his eyebrows. "Then you'll let us go? All of us?"
Fox nodded. "Yes. You and your friends are free to go." A sly smile slipped onto his lips. "But if you happen to return to the city, feel free to look me up. I'll always have a position open for all of you."
Quill raised his hand. "While we're tossing out invitations could I get a promotion?"
Fox raised an eyebrow. "Do you work for me?"
Quill snorted. "Doesn't everybody?"
Fox stepped out of the circle and backed away from our group. "I'll consider it."
A noise caught my attention. I looked up in time to see a helicopter swoop over the tops of the trees. A rope ladder was dropped from the body close beside Fox. He clasped a rung and stepped onto another one.
Fox smiled and saluted us. "Until next time."
The helicopter flew higher and raised him off the ground. The man and machine disappeared over the tops of the trees.
Quill watched the exit and shook his head. "I've got to get me one of those."
"I could buy you one if you like," Vincent spoke up.
Quill glanced at him and grinned. "I bet. Living for a couple thousand years can give you that perk, but do you remember your bank accounts?"
Vincent chuckled. "Yes, and several lock boxes with very precious valuables."
Bram slid up to him and lowered his voice. "We talking good loot or just that fancy crap ya can only sell at auctions?"
Vincent smiled. "Both."
Bram grinned. "Then I'm in for the good loot."
Vincent glanced at the ruins. His face fell. He broke from us and walked up to the perimeter of the flaming ruins.
I joined him by his side and studied his sorrow-filled face. "Do you think she made it?"
He nodded without looking at me. "Yes."
I pursed my lips. "So she'll come back?"
He sighed. "Perhaps."
I followed his gaze. Together we watched the fire engulf the wreckage of his old home. A sudden thought struck me, and I glanced up at him. "Why did you hate the clock chime?"
His eyes hardened. "Variel was very punctual. She used that clock to keep time with my hourly experiments."
I winced. "I'm sorry I asked."
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. Some things are better to be remembered than forgotten, even memories as terrible as those." He looked to me and smiled. "And there are others I would not part with for all the world."
"I don't mean to interrupt your lovely moment-" Quill called out. We turned to see him pointing at the flames. "-but that fire and the helicopter are probably going to bring questions we don't want to answer."
I arched an eyebrow. "What about your story?"
He grinned and shrugged. "I'd rather write a fiction book outside of prison than a newspaper article inside."
"So let's beat it before the cops come," Bram chimed in.
I looked to Vincent and slipped my hand into his partial-claw. His eyes widened and he met my gaze. I smiled. "You ready to go?"
He returned my smile with one of his own and nodded. "With you, anywhere."
We turned away from the flames and retreated into the woods by way of the path. Sirens along the driveway alerted us to the authorities, but by that time we were near the river and far from their grasp.
I reflect back on those harrowing adventures with fondness. They were not the last I would have with my werewolf companions, but they were the first, and the first adventure, like a first kiss, has a
way of staying with you, much like Vincent and I stayed together.
In sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, we stayed together.
For all books by Mac Flynn visit her author's page or visit Mac Flynn's website.
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