by L. A. Banks
Hunter doubled over, puked, and came up enraged, his wolf taking over his human so fast that his clothes hadn’t hit the ground when he went airborne. Both wolves tackled the slime to the ground, decimating it, savaging it, until a piercing, shrill scream echoed in the glen.
The stench of sulfur made Sasha, Bear, and Crow cover their faces with their forearms. As soon as she saw the green pieces twitching like a severed worm on the ground, Sasha took a handful of silver dust and flung it toward the head; then she dusted both Silver Shadow and Hunter for good measure. Both men in the middle of the circle began chanting and walking around the slowly dying thing as it took on a dark, tar-like consistency and began to burn.
“Well done, daughter,” Silver Hawk said, seeming much improved. “I will make you a shaman yet.”
CHAPTER 19
Although she had a million questions swirling around in her mind, she only had time for a few before they left North Country by way of the shadow lands. At least now she knew how wicked both predators she was tracking could be. Silver Hawk had gotten a case of the nasties by going on a spirit walk without his amulet and tangling with the thing directly in his vision. Anybody else probably wouldn’t have made it, so she was very glad that Silver Hawk decided to come back to New Orleans with her and Hunter, along with Bear and Crow. For this mission, they needed excellent trackers and a serious shaman. Bradley had his brick dust, but silver shavings, ground turquoise, bits of ancestor wolf bones, and white sage herbs was like C-4 next to a cherry bomb.
She and Hunter had also learned a very valuable lesson about how to supercharge their amulets before going into a demon battle, and just the fact that they were wearing them had everything to do with why the thing had only coated them and not penetrated as deeply as it could have.
Now the task was to create a lure. There were four sets of murders to be concerned about, and the killers each had their own signature and agendas, even if those weren’t fully clear to her yet.
First, they were pretty damned sure Lady Jung Suk had taken out the two students, Tanya Mays and Jim Baton—plus she’d hijacked poor Amy Chen’s body, and injured Esmeralda just for trying to look at her. Then the second set of murders came when something really wicked went after four marines as well as four members of Ghost Finders, Inc., out at the Bayou House, leaving an eyewitness each time, possibly for shock value.
The third murder set came by way of an unknown assailant who went after the students’ Vampire mentor, Ariel Beauchamp, and a few of his lair kittens. Why was anybody’s guess, but with it being so close in degrees of separation to the other murders, it had to be a related hit. Death by daylight was something done by someone who knew what they were doing, because Vamps generally didn’t just lie there and play dead while one broke into their mausoleums and tried to fry them with the sun.
Then, last but not least, someone or something had killed poor Lawrence DeWitt—who’d arguably deserved it, but the murder still didn’t sit right with Sasha. Doc said the green goo wasn’t the same demon goo that had popped out of the cooler like a jack-in-the-box . . . it was more like some type of cold-water, slow-moving protoplasm, almost like cold algae. She couldn’t even wrap her brain around that at the moment.
All of this notwithstanding, they were now stuck with solving four groups of murders when they’d only come down here to clear the wolf Federations of acting against the Vampires prematurely. These horrible events had nothing to do with wolves but everything to do with them. Regardless of politics, the wolf Federations had been thrust into the role of policing a supernatural community obviously gone wild.
Sasha stood in the bayou with the others waiting for Sir Rodney’s archers to collect them. Frustration over the situation was clear in the group’s body language and hard-set expressions. The familiar whistle in the trees couldn’t come fast enough. As soon as the lithe archers appeared on high tree limbs, her group gave them a disgruntled greeting and trudged through the swamp.
It took a bit to get everyone settled in the war room. Sir Rodney was the last to appear.
“How is she?” Sasha said, monitoring the strain in Sir Rodney’s expression.
He shook his head. “She will live, but she will never have her beautiful eyes again. It was a travesty . . . no one as good of heart as she should have to suffer so.”
“I’m sorry,” Hunter said, holding Sir Rodney’s gaze. “I think I can speak for the group when I say that we were all deeply saddened to hear of her tragic injury.”
“Yes . . .,” Sasha said. “What can we do? Is there anything we can do to make her more comfortable?”
“Thank you all, but no. She has been bespelled, healed as best we can, and the rest is just a matter of time. She is sleeping peacefully now.”
Everyone looked down at their clasped hands. It was Shogun who spoke first.
“The only way to give this any meaning is to not allow Lady Jung Suk to take another life. I sat with the parents of Amy Chen . . .” Shogun’s voice trailed off as he shook his head. “For the first time in my life, I had no words. I did not know how to help those people or to comfort them.”
Sir Rodney’s most senior magic advisor stepped forward and drew his wand from his billowing sleeve. “We have conferred on the matter of grave consequence,” the elderly Gnome said in a wheezing rasp. “Now that we know the life force of the young girl, as well as the energy pattern of Lady Jung Suk’s coven, we can find her.”
“But you saw what happened to Esmeralda,” Sir Rodney said, quickly. “Garth, you may be my advisor, but you are also my eldest friend . . . since my father’s rule.”
“Unfortunately, Esmeralda is a young witch . . . impulsive and trusting. She was not aware of how dangerous this being was because she had seen her inside the body of the young girl. But we are not so naive.” He swept his arm out to indicate the group of old wizards who would work with him. “We are formidable, and have set the crystal miasma to track her within a mirrored globe. This time she will blind herself. But we must work quickly.”
“What do we need to do to assist you?” Shogun asked. “This case is a matter of principle. This abomination is of my distant family line, but Lady Jung Suk is of my blood, nonetheless. As much as I want to, I cannot deny the affiliation. Therefore, after having met the Chens and felt their pain enter my spirit, I must be at the forefront of this battle.”
“And I will stand with you on this, brother,” Hunter said, returning Shogun’s slight bow.
Murmurs of agreement from the others followed Hunter’s declaration. Garth, seeming satisfied, signaled to the four Gnomes standing at the perimeter of the room, and they extracted their wands in one synchronized move. They then lifted gnarled hands to catch what dropped down from thin air and brought forward a thick silver mesh the length and width of a king-size bedsheet that looked like silver chain mail. Immediately Shogun stood and went to the far side of the room.
“This is why it is good that your brother and the Shadow Wolves present will be there for your aid. Her body must be captured by this. We can glamour a camouflage in the bayou for it, and our archers can also help drive her into it. But that is where the delicate extraction must occur.”
“Yes,” another advisor warned. “We must hold the spirit that flees the body in a magic charge, while strong wolves drag the girl away. Someone with healing power must tend to the girl and speak to her frightened spirit, keeping her in the silver mail so as to disallow the soul predator from trying to reenter her.”
“Hunter and I are healers, as is Silver Hawk,” Sasha said.
“Then let your most seasoned healer work on the girl, while your most fierce spiritual warrior undertakes perhaps the most difficult aspect of this separation.” Garth let out a weary breath. “As you know, true immortals have no souls . . . we have a different spirit being inside. But a human soul can call the angel Lights. That is what must happen. We can hold her as long as we can, but her disembodied spirit must be sent to the ultimate Light.”
Hunter looked at Sasha and then at his brother. “If there needs to be one to pull the girl away from Lady Jung Suk’s claws, I have that strength, and my grandfather is the most seasoned healer of our clan . . . He will be able to comfort the girl and to keep her weakened spirit light from going out.”
“Then what of me?” Shogun said. “I cannot go near the mesh. How can I contribute?”
“Lure her, taunt her, and speak to her through the mirrored miasma that will track her. Tell her you want to have it out once and for all . . . use the years of family hatred to bring her to the trap.” Garth looked around and pointed a crooked finger. “But beware. She will not come alone. There will be plenty of battle to be had by all. She will come with her constituents, we are so sure.”
“I do have backup, you know,” Sasha said. “If she comes with Vampires, it would be within the human military’s right to make a retaliatory strike . . . They lost four marines, and by human standards also lost four students and four civilian adults.”
“They’ll have to be thoroughly briefed, then, Sasha,” Hunter said carefully. “Not just for their safety, but for ours. If they freak out in a firefight when they see multiple entities or freeze at the trigger . . . I don’t know. We really need to weigh that option.”
“Okay, you make a valid point . . . but let’s keep it on the table as a backup option. I have to brief Colonel Madison, anyway. I don’t want anybody, human or supernatural, getting hurt who doesn’t have to.”
“All right,” Hunter said, his tone still noncommittal. “As a plan B.”
“When you send Lady Jung Suk to the Light, you will lose your evidence trail,” Garth said, his tone measured and cautious.
“I don’t care,” Shogun said. “It is the right thing to do, and we know the truth of what happened before.”
“Again, I stand with my brother in this,” Hunter said.
“And I,” Sasha said.
“And I,” Bear Shadow chimed in with both Crow Shadow and Silver Hawk.
“Your honor is moving,” Sir Rodney said, “but the alliance will crumble. They will still win, even if your honor is indisputable.”
“They cannot stand up under the pen strike of the high court,” Sasha said. “When we answer the charges and the book of truths opens to our testimony, our blood will not sizzle and burn, but will take to the book.”
“Let us hope that you are correct,” Sir Rodney said, seeming unsure. “It is a delicate game we play, with chess pieces not well placed on the board.”
“Don’t worry,” Sasha said, holding his gaze. “Some things are just right.”
“But there is also another predator that we must flush out of hiding,” Hunter said, sending his gaze around the table. “That one may prove harder to track and trap than Lady Jung Suk. The possession demon that is feeding on humans and making it look as though it was wolf attacks.”
“I have an idea,” Sasha said. “But for this one I really am going to need Colonel Madison’s help.”
* * *
As insane as it was, Colonel Madison had her standing in front of a small classroom on the base, speaking to special forces guys. It was both an honor and one of the crazier things she’d decided to do in her life. But while Fisher and Woods were on a military flight to join her at the base, the two hours to give a small unit a heads-up that could possibly save their lives was the very least she could do.
“When Lieutenant Woods and Lieutenant Fisher arrive, they will be your point,” Sasha said, holding a dry-erase marker. “They know the difference between a friendly supernatural and a deadly one. If you kill a friendly in a firefight, you significantly degrade your cover, understood? One friendly wolf can cover about ten human men, so the loss of one—especially if there’s another Were on your ass—makes you dog meat. Literally.”
Sasha turned to the whiteboard and began sketching a loose diagram of the Bayou House area and incoming gravel roads.
“I don’t have to tell you, we lost four good Marines out there, four civilians, and it might have been the kill site for two or three missing students—two of whom were later found half eaten. Your task for this mission is to remain in a backup position only. There will be supernaturals deep in that bayou scrapping it out at velocities you cannot fathom. But they do fatigue and could get overrun by hostile forces. If you hear the howl, you come a-knockin’ and let your weapon start a-rockin’. We clear?”
“The howl, sir?” one confused lieutenant asked, glancing around the classroom.
When others smirked at him, Sasha set down her dry-erase marker calmly. “It was a good question, Lieutenant Campbell. Under other circumstances, you wouldn’t be able to trust the howl, because it could be coming from a demon-infected Were . . . that’s why I’m bringing in Woods and Fisher. They have superior hearing, know the calls, and know all our voices.” She threw her head back and howled, and then smiled as the stunned group of Marines simply stared at her. “Kinda cool, ain’t it? Yeah . . . well, wolves can hear that for miles.”
Another hand raised, and she motioned with her chin for the soldier to ask his question.
“Uh, Captain . . . you said to shoot by the color of the glow of their eyes. Red or shiny black for Vampires, and never go for the gold—your wolf company . . . but there’s a hostile out there who might have green glowers . . . I mean, these are actual eye colors we’re supposed to be looking for?”
“Yes, Lieutenant,” Sasha said, looking at Colonel Madison for a moment. “Sir, it’s going to be necessary for me to show these gentlemen what you saw, in order that they don’t get jumpy and either freeze in a firefight or just frag one of us.”
“That is exactly why I had everyone disarm before coming in to class,” Colonel Madison said calmly, folding his arms. “Carry on . . . this is gonna be good.”
Sasha chuckled. “All right, Lieutenant Peterson, this is what you are looking for.” She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and summoned a little of her inner wolf to the fore.
Instantly the front row of the class was out of their seats, having knocked into the rows behind them. Soldiers scrambled. She heard “Oh, shit” so many times that she almost laughed out loud.
“Now do you understand why it is vital that you get used to seeing this? I am a friendly. I’m your instructor. I’ll be the one to save your ass from something really horrible that will eat you alive and make you wish you were never born.” She turned to the colonel. “Sir, can you turn off the lights and have one of the men pull the shades. You think this is scary with the lights on, wait till you see it in the dark.”
“Uh, Sasha—I mean, Captain . . . we don’t have an EMT squad at the ready . . . one of these men will have a heart attack. Do you think this is wise?”
“I do, sir—because there’ll be no ambulance out there in the bayou, that’s for sure.”
“Agreed,” he said and nodded to a very nervous soldier who stood by the window seeming as though he was ready to leap out of it.
“Colonel, sir!” a squad commander from the back yelled. “This, this stuff really exists? All this stuff she was telling us about and what we were taught about in the unit . . . it’s, it’s not hypothetical, sir?”
“She can show you better than I can tell you,” Colonel Madison said with his hand on the light switch as the shades lowered. “I lost four good men out there in the bayou because I thought this was some sort of joke . . . that the researchers were talking about the potential of supernatural activity, and my job was just to go out there and debunk it. Not so. Whatever you’ve heard in the general media press conferences is to keep the civilian public from mass panic.” He hit the light.
An audible gasp cut through the room.
“This is what a wolf’s eyes look like under the moonlight. This room is only partially darkened, just like a forest would be—you still have some visibility coming in from the sides of the shades, just like moonlight comes through the tre
e line. But if my eyes were red, that is not a good thing.”
She walked back and forth in the front of the room. “If I have four protruding teeth—upper and lower canines—you can bet I’m a wolf or a Were from the big-cat family. If I only have two fangs, unnatural eye-teeth, I’d be a Vamp. Wave your hand in the back of the room if you can see light glinting off my teeth in a flash.”
“Holy Christ!” a man shouted in the far back as half the room retreated again.
“Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll take that as an affirmative.”
Sasha blew out a long breath. “Now, gentlemen. I’m about to show you something that may put you down on the ground or make you need to hit the barracks to change your fatigues.” She turned to Colonel Madison. “With your permission, sir, only for training purposes.”
He nodded slowly, but then stepped back, not seeming sure himself about her altered state. And then she shape-shifted.
It was a beautiful transformation, if she did say so herself . . . elegantly done with finesse. No angry lunging to strike terror in the hearts of men. She just strode across the room a few paces and transformed into her wolf, leaving her clothing to float down into a pool of fabric on the floor. Then she did give them a little theater, preening and taking a stance like a championship show dog before she threw back her head and howled. It felt so good to finally let the people she worked with see who she was and what she was—the fact that two guys passed out and one was hyperventilating while the rest were up on chairs in the back of the class was not her fault. This somehow felt even better than when she first let her small unit know what she was; this was a milestone in awareness, if not acceptance.