by Gina LaManna
“Just like that. You killed him. And the Goblin Girl?”
“She was his informant. Smart little hooker, that one. She hadn’t even had a client, you know that? On her first night out, she caught wind of PowerPax and skedaddled. Went squealing straight to the mayor, hoping he could take care of the problem. They decided to work on it together and thought they could do it all themselves.”
“Why wouldn’t they call the police?”
“Oh, they were ready to, but they wanted the credit. The votes. They’d done all the work, after all.” He gave a salacious smile. “So, they earned the reward. The dump site at the Motel Sixth? That was nothing more than a distraction—I figured it’d kick off a wild goose chase. Finding the mayor in a hotel room with a hooker? The media would be in a frenzy. The real problem would...” He made his fingers wriggle into the distance. “Disappear.”
“But what about—”
I lost track of my next question as Harry held up a finger, then raised the uncorked vial to his lips while holding the Stunner straight at my chest. “I’ve had enough of our chat and now I’m bored,” he said, and then let a small drop of solution land on his tongue. “Adios, Detective.”
Harry closed his eyes and swallowed the potion that had been created to turn him into a werewolf—or something. I knew in my mind that I wasn’t facing off against a true werewolf—just the illusion of one—but even that would be enough to kill me. I’d seen what he’d done to Matthew, and that man was nearly indestructible. If I let PowerPax combine with the Cloning Spell, I’d be a dead woman—and he wouldn’t stop with me.
I lunged, taking advantage of the momentary shudder in his body as the potion slithered through him. My knife plunged into his existing shoulder wound, and by the time Harry realized what had happened, he was blindsided by pain.
The cry that came from him was half human, half animal, and it was enough to raise the dead. There was a squeak of surprise from behind my shoulder, so I spared a glance back and found a ruffled-looking Willa standing in the doorway to my bedroom. Her hair extended from her head in all directions and a bedsheet was hanging from one hand. If she stuck her thumb in her mouth, she’d look like an oversized toddler.
“Dani?” she asked, her mouth parted in horror. “What’s going on?”
“Willa, close the door!” I shouted at her. “Get inside!”
Willa took a step forward and slammed the bedroom door shut behind her.
“No,” I said. “Get inside the bedroom. Lock the door! He’s going to come after you!”
“No way, I’m here to help.” She dropped the blanket and rushed toward the couch, her eye on the figure crumpled beneath my knife. “That’s horrific. What is he?”
I pulled my knife from Harry’s shoulder and backed away as he started to transform. He was bleeding badly on my floor, a pool of gleaming red. I dared not leap for him again as his body shivered, shuddered, and then sprouted fur from head to foot.
“Come on,” I yelled to her, “there’s a fire escape, but we’ll have to bust the window. We’ve got to get out of here—he’s transforming!”
“Into what? Is that Harry? He’s not a freaking werewolf—he can’t transform!”
“He will be for—oh, I’m guessing the next five minutes!” I grabbed Willa’s arm and dragged her toward the window. “If we don’t get out of here, we’re dead.”
I let the knife clatter to the floor since the tiny blade wouldn’t do us any good against the wolf. Our only hope was to escape. I pounded against the stuck window, struggling for the words of a magical spell that I’d lost in the fury of the moment.
“I know this, I know this,” Willa said, putting a finger to her lip as if she had time to think. “One second—my idiot cousin taught me some stupid charm that was supposed to fix a window, but instead it shattered it. I got in trouble; he got off scot free.”
“No time,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. “He’s almost changed.”
Harry had pulled onto all fours, his nose elongating, his teeth lengthening. He let out a test snarl that was an odd mix between a human whine and a doglike bark.
“Bippity boppity boom,” Willa said, pointing at the window. “You shouldn’t have gone kaboom. Mother sent us to our room, so fix yourself real soon!”
“That’s not a real spell,” I said. “Here, let me—”
I reached for the paperweight on my bookshelf, but even as I turned away, the tinkling sound of glass cracking filtered through the room. Then, with one giant crack, the window shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Half the glass landed inside my apartment, while the other half skidded down the exterior of my building.
“Wow,” I said. “I can’t believe that worked.”
She giggled. “He’s an idiot, but I love him.”
I ushered Willa out first, flinching as the first real sound of a growl began. “I don’t think he took enough potion to last longer than five minutes or so. Just long enough to get the job done.”
“The job done?” Willa asked, one leg out the window.
“Killing me,” I said. “Now, go!”
Willa began scrambling down as fast as she could move.
“Wake Jack,” I yelled after her, realizing I wouldn’t have time to climb out the window behind her. “He’s downstairs—he can help. Get Matthew.”
“But—”
“Go! I need help!”
She turned, her face pale. “Don’t die! I already know that you’re my best friend, Dani DeMarco,” she shouted as she began clattering down the flimsy fire escape. “Hang on, Detective!”
I turned away from the jagged, partial panes of glass, and circled the now full-sized wolf. He didn’t give me a moment to pause. As he leaped, I sidestepped him, hearing the sickening crunch of his body as it crashed into the wall below the window. He stood, shook himself off as the remaining shards of glass rained down on him in glittering spikes.
“Harry,” I said, crouching. “Stop it. This is insane—you’re going to get caught.”
As I suspected, there was no recognition in his eyes. This was equal parts terrifying and thrilling—terrifying because absolutely no logic would get through to him. Thrilling because any clever scheming was gone, and all that remained of Harry was brute force. He’d inherited the strength of a werewolf ten-fold, but it had dampened his strategic movements.
“Fine,” I said. “Have it your way.”
I retreated to the kitchen as the wolf’s claws clattered against the floor. I snatched the largest knife on the block; it was big, as long as my arm, and I hated having it in the house. It terrified me, but it’d come as part of a set my mother had given me for my birthday, and I hadn’t wanted to throw it away. Thanks, mother, I thought dryly. She’d be properly appalled.
I held it in front of my body as Harry crept closer. He continued to approach me, but less aggressively. The knife held the glint of universal danger.
His teeth bared, and a low growl came from his throat. As he lithely crept forward, I saw the couch—enchanted old Carl—inch back slightly, as if an attempt to block the wolf’s path. Good old Carl, I thought. I’d miss him.
I’d miss him dearly after the wolf’s claws ripped through my skin.
Hurry, Willa, I pleaded silently. I needed to stall for five minutes until Harry’s Cloning Spell wore off and he transformed back to human. That’s when I would be able to make my move. Until then, I needed to keep him occupied.
“Come on, Harry,” I coaxed. “Jump, you asshole.”
If he leapt, I could possibly aim the knife toward the softer part of his stomach. I hadn’t wanted to kill him, but I would. In a choice between my life or his, I’d always choose mine. Especially after seeing what he’d done to Lorraine.
We moved at the same time. I ducked around the kitchen table and went for Harry’s legs as he snapped at me. We both missed, recoiled, recovered, and launched again. This round, I hit fur.
The wound wasn’t deep, but it hit his injured shoulder and st
opped his attack. He licked at himself as I moved through the living room, keeping the couch between us as I inched backward toward the door to my apartment. If I could just make it to the door...
I turned as the wolf limped toward me and sprinted. I lunged for the doorknob, but the wolf sniffed out my escape route and leapt past me, skidding to a stop in front of the door. He snarled at me, teeth gnashing as his body covered the frame. My only option was to head for the window, and now was my opportunity. Harry was off-balanced and injured, if I could just make it to the fire escape, I might survive.
If I missed, I would die...
I had a split second to make my decision. As Harry pulled himself back to launch at me from the doorway, I tossed my knife onto Carl’s cushions. It was too big and unwieldy to move with, and once I fell from the window, I didn’t want to be landing anywhere near the blade.
I sprinted, my legs burning, lungs gasping as I propelled my body toward the fresh air. My fingers dug into the ragged glass around the edges as I pulled myself up and over the sill.
Behind me, Harry let out a howl. A bloodcurdling sound that drew the howl of wolves around the borough toward him.
I had a single leg inside the window when my pajamas caught on the ledge. Stupid flannel shorts. I was bleeding from my hands, from scrapes on my legs. My awful shorts held me back as a feverish wolf launched straight for me.
His teeth gnashed at my clothes, dragging me back from the window. I managed to dodge his bite, but the weight of him curled around and dragged me under. I collapsed on the floor, bleeding and injured, as the wolf hovered over me. Drool dripped from his lips. His bared teeth were ugly white, stuck into ugly pink and black gums.
I closed my eyes.
“Dani!” The sound was a woof of air. “Roll!”
I didn’t think, I just did. I rolled, opening my eyes as I ducked and fumbled toward the voice. Only as I moved did I realize it was Carl who had spoken. I looked up just in time to see my coat rack rock back and forth, tipping herself over toward the werewolf.
“Marla to the rescue,” she cried as she landed with a thunk on the werewolf’s bad shoulder. “Take that, you scoundrel!”
As he howled, Carl propped himself forward. I reached for the knife from his cushions then stood and gave the big old piece of furniture a push. My couch toppled forward, landing with a thud over the howling wolf and trapping the animal beneath its weight.
Suddenly, the howls stopped. They turned into desperate human pants. While Harry was still wedged under my couch, I realized that as he turned human, he’d no longer have the rapid healing abilities of a werewolf. He’d bleed, and he’d bleed quickly. I’d gotten a few pricks in with the knife, and though they’d healed somewhat, he hadn’t been transformed long enough for them to heal completely.
At that moment, a figure flew through my window, and I whirled around at the distraction. It was another wolf, but one so completely different than Harry’s version it might have been another species entirely. The newly arrived animal had a coat of pure white and eyes of the darkest sapphire blue. He howled, a short sound, more of a yip to get Harry’s attention.
There was a thump from behind me, and I whirled back to find Harry on his feet again. He looked terrifying, standing there, bleeding from his lip, his nose, his abdomen, but he stared down the wolf and flexed his fingers. Then, he turned his sights to me. “You’re dead, witch,” he said, and leapt for me with his bare hands outstretched.
I ducked off his attack, but I needn’t have moved. One leap from the huge, regal wolf knocked Harry flat to the ground.
The white wolf barked toward me, and I snapped to action. I rushed to the bedroom and grabbed the Immobilizer Incantation—an absolute blackout of poison—and returned, pouring it down Harry’s throat while the newest wolf stood guard.
Within seconds, Harry fell into a coma-like state. He’d be revived later, but not until he received the antidote in a holding cell.
“Thank you,” I whispered to the snowy wolf. I collapsed to my knees, leaned on him. It was only then that I realized I was bleeding from a plethora of wounds, and my bright red blood smeared on his coat.
The wolf nuzzled me, licked my cheek, and then ran his tongue along the worst of the wounds. I curled into the floor, dizziness pulling me from consciousness.
As I started to drift away, I pulled him closer. “Don’t leave me.”
The wolf whined. I wanted to ask his name, but I couldn’t summon the breath—and he couldn’t respond. My voice had gone, along with my energy. My vision went next, and just before my hearing faded, I heard the opening of the door and a collective gasp.
Chapter 27
“Jell-O?” Nurse Anita asked. “I have purple, blue, red, or this new multi-colored flavor.”
“Since when is multicolor a flavor?” I grinned at Anita. “That has me concerned.”
“Since when is Jell-O a food?” She shrugged. “How are you feeling, darling?”
“Better,” I said. “Still a little off, but much better.”
“That’ll be the Diagnostic Deep Dive,” she said. “The charm is working its way through your system now, so I expect you’ll be a little out of it. Checking for infection and whatnot. Let me see your scrapes.”
I offered my right arm first. It killed, burning from the goopy purple potion she’d slathered over the open wounds. Nurse Anita clucked over me, fussing and examining every inch of my skin before nodding and giving me a pat on the head.
“You’re lucky to have made it out alive, you know,” she said. “And thank goodness for that bubbly little thing running to get help. Did she put some salve on you? Your wounds are healing far quicker than they should be, frankly. I haven’t even applied the healing spells yet, and already, you’re sealing up quick.”
I thought of Willa, and of the mysterious white wolf. I remembered the feel of his rough tongue against my arm, and I had to wonder if there was something in him—some wolf magic that’d gone to work on my wounds from his care.
It was well known that werewolves, vampires, and many other paranormal species healed faster than normal humans—much quicker than witches and sorcerers and other spell-based supernaturals.
I shivered, thinking of how close everything had come in the end—if some old witch hadn’t enchanted my furniture; if I hadn’t gotten Willa fired from her job; if the white wolf hadn’t heard the howl from a wounded Harry...I likely wouldn’t have made it through the night.
As it was, Matthew, Willa, Nash—and a slew of other officers—had arrived at the scene of the crime shortly after I’d blacked out. Jack had been found downstairs, unconscious but healthy save for a deep sleeping potion. The officers had then climbed to my apartment and found me nearly dead. They’d brought me to the hospital where the nurses had put me into a deeper unconsciousness—a medical one—and set to work on sealing my wounds.
I’d awoken just a few minutes ago to see the sun well on its way to noon. A bit of grogginess lingered from the combination of pain medicine, aches, and pure exhaustion, but otherwise, I felt fine. Great, actually—seeing as I was alive, relieved, and curious to learn the details I’d missed in my sleep.
“Is there anyone else here?” I asked lightly. “I mean, I guess I have a few questions, and—”
Nurse Anita rested a hand on my forehead. “Matthew stayed through the night. I kicked him out when I started doing your bloodwork.”
“Matthew is controlled around the sight of blood, and he has been for a long time—”
“I know he’s controlled, but this was you, darling.”
I suspected I knew what she was getting at, but I equally suspected she was wrong. “We’re just friends.”
“Sure, honey. I’ll let him know you’re awake. Your friend has been dying to see you, too. She tried to climb into your bed and sleep next to you. Claimed she didn’t want you to feel lonely.”
“Oh, Willa.” I grinned. “Send her in too, please.”
Nurse Anita left, and se
conds later, a blond head whizzed into the room and shot straight toward me as if from a cannon. Willa collided hard against my chest, slowing just enough to exaggerate gentleness as she hugged me.
“You’re okay!” She gasped for air. “God, when I saw that huge wolf! You fought him?! How? You’re just a... I mean, no offense, but you have human skin. He was a huge old werewolf! I hated to leave you, I swear it. I would never have run if you didn’t tell me to go, and—”
“Willa.” She was still hugging me, and I pressed a hand to the back of her head and gave her one big squeeze before letting go. “Breathe. Relax. You saved my life. It’s me who should be thanking you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I was in there snoring up a storm, and out in the living room you’re dueling for your life!” She held a hand to her forehead and mock fainted onto the bed. “What a disaster. Do you see how I’m horrible at my job? Completely oblivious. What a mess. I’m a hot mess, Dani, and I’m sorry.”
I laughed, unable to help myself even as her eyes teared up with remorse. Even in utter despair, there was a bounciness to Willa’s voice, the very spirit of her. I wondered again why she’d chosen me to be her friend, and then pushed past the thought. I already loved her so easily I had no desire to question the magic of it.
A shadow in the doorway made me glance up, over her shoulder, where I found the captain leaning against the door. “Matthew,” I breathed, an involuntary sound.
His face was worn, drawn with worry and frustration, but as I murmured his name, he looked up, his eyes lighting as they landed on my face. “Detective. How are you feeling?”
“Is he always so formal?” Willa thumbed over her shoulder. “I really should call you detective too. I think it suits you.”
“Dani,” I said, resting a hand on her arm. “Willa, do you mind if we have a minute?”
“Fine, but I’ll be waiting outside...” Her voice trailed off as another woman stomped through the door. Willa’s eyes immediately shot up to study the woman’s hair, pants, and shoes—all dark, and the utter opposite of Willa’s brightness. “I take that back. If she’s staying, I’m staying.”