by Jane Godman
Madden felt like someone had punched right through the wall of his chest and gripped his heart. Tight. “Why did you do it?”
When Ivan did turn his head to look at him, there was a smile in his eyes. “Because of you.”
That smile, and the emptiness behind it, sent Madden’s emotions reeling. He realized he wasn’t looking at Ivan Joseph. This was a shell. The man he knew had left this body a long time ago.
“Me? What do you mean, Ivan?” Madden’s eyes dropped to the gun. He couldn’t smell silver. Ivan could hurt him with a normal bullet, but he couldn’t do him any lasting harm.
Ivan’s gaze returned to the mountains. “Do you know how it feels to find out a cub you raised is really a werewolf? An abomination? I could have left you to die out there that day, but I took care of you. I reared you by hand, I taught you how to hunt and kill. Then, hundreds of years later, I found out you were part of a pack of foul, disgusting creatures.” His eyes went back to Madden again and the smile was gone. “Satan’s hounds.”
So this was all about me. All this time. All the analysis, all the profiling, the searching for links between the victims, the searching for a motive. It was me. I was the reason this happened. Without me, those twelve people would still be alive. Without me, Maria would be going about her daily routine in her pretty little gallery. Without me, Hendrik would be safe in his office, taking calls and righting wrongs.
The grip on his heart tightened and guilt punched him in the gut at the same time.
“How have you lived this long?” Madden asked. “You are human.”
Ivan’s expression was bitter. “I am human. I have no special powers. But, back in my boyhood home in the Caucus mountain range in Russia, after a longstanding feud over a piece of land, my family were condemned to death by the evil witch known as Baba Yaga. My mother pleaded for mercy for me, her youngest son. Baba Yaga agreed to reduce my sentence. I was to be forever deathless, but I must leave Russia and never return. That was when I made the journey here and settled in this land.”
“How did you find out I was a werewolf?”
“I have made my home here in this place where I found you. Because it is so remote, no one knows how long I’ve been here. Over the years, I’ve lived off the land, hunting and foraging. In recent years, I’ve begun to work with my hands.” Madden thought of those iron cages. “It’s become harder in this modern world to exist without money. I even spent time in Anchorage in that commune in Piedmont House. Now and then, I’ve traveled into Fairbanks and done odd jobs in the big houses on the Heights. About two years ago, I did some work for your friend, Senator Rickard.” Ivan’s lips curled in disgust as he said the name. “I was painting his fence and you turned up there one day. I’d fallen asleep in the shade and I guess you thought I’d gone, so you did that thing you do. What do you call it? When you change from a man to a wolf?”
“Shifting.” Madden remembered that day. He had been working nonstop for weeks and had stopped by at Hendrik’s place. Hendrik had noticed his exhaustion and had encouraged him to go out back into his extensive garden and shift. To unwind in the fresh air and stretch his wolf muscles. Just a simple act that had led to murder and tragedy.
Ivan nodded. “That’s it. Anyway, I recognized you from the blaze on your forehead.” He touched a finger to his own head. For the first time, Madden saw a glimmer of emotion in his eyes. “Can you imagine how I felt?”
“You should have spoken to me, Ivan. I could have explained that not all werewolves are bad. I’m not bad.” Madden kept his voice calm. The way he did when he negotiated with criminals, or soothed victims. “I’m a police officer.”
“I know you’re a police officer. That doesn’t make you a good guy. You think I did this for fun? I did it rid the world of your kind. I went looking for anyone who might be a werewolf like you. I knew they had to have the same coloring as you and Senator Rickard. But that wasn’t the only reason I did it. I also did it to pay you back for duping me, Detective Madden.” A chill ran down Madden’s spine as Ivan slipped into the Cage Killer’s voice. “It was harder than I thought. Twelve of them, and not one of them could do that shifting thing that you did. Then I remembered Maria.”
Madden clenched his fists at his sides, keeping his anger under tight control. “Maria didn’t know she was a werewolf.”
“That was he said.” Ivan smiled again. “Your friend, Chastel.”
“How did you find him?” Madden tried to ignore the rage Chastel’s name provoked.
“I didn’t need to. I was always one of his followers.”
“You were a Hellhound?” Madden was stunned. “I don’t understand.”
“I came from a part of Russia that was cursed by werewolves. Night after night our villages were torn apart by feral packs. No one was safe. Man, woman, or child. Anyone who was found alone by the werewolves was killed. They would tear them limb from limb and throw down the still-breathing remains in the town square, taunting us with their actions.” Ivan’s face was haunted with the memory. “The hounds of Satan destroyed our small community.”
Madden frowned. “Did you witness these attacks for yourself?”
“No. We were told by the town elders to lock ourselves indoors and stay there.”
“What you are describing doesn’t sound like a werewolf attack.” Madden tried to explain gently, without inflaming the situation further. “Even feral werewolves don’t behave in the way you have just described. Feral werewolves act alone. They have been cast out by their pack. And werewolves would not rip their victim limb from limb. A wolf attacks by going for the soft, vulnerable parts of the body. The throat is preferred. The belly is next. And a feral wolf would never leave the victim alive in order to taunt you. He or she would have no such concept.” Madden watched Ivan’s face. Was that a flicker of doubt he saw crossing the other man’s features? “What happened to the victims?”
“What do you mean?” Ivan’s voice was a bitter croak. “You think they survived? Lived happily ever after? They died, of course. We buried them.”
“But they were the victims of a werewolf attack. Bitten by feral werewolves,” Madden said gently. “They should have risen again as werewolves.”
Ivan’s hand on the gun made a convulsive movement. His skin took on a paler hue and his breathing became ragged. Watching him, it was clear to Madden that this aspect had never occurred to him. How would he react now that he was confronted with the evidence that he had based his beliefs on a lie? This murder spree had begun with a false image of werewolves.
Madden didn’t know what had happened all those centuries ago in Russia, didn’t know who was really responsible for the attacks on that village. It wouldn’t be the first time someone, or something, had set out to discredit werewolves by committing atrocities and blaming it on them. It probably wouldn’t be the last. It could even have been another of the many games Chastel had played over the centuries. What mattered now was Ivan’s reaction.
Ivan’s drew a sharp, steadying breath. “He said you were good. The master told me your lies were polished. Satan has taught you well.”
Madden sighed. He should have known Chastel would always stay one step ahead of him. “How did you find Chastel to ask for his help? He’s not exactly mainstream.”
“I didn’t need to. He found me. He said I was exactly what he’d been looking for. A man after his own heart. Anyone who wanted to kill Arctic werewolves was okay by him. He offered to help me out. Said he’d watch how I did things with Maria and give a few tips on how to improve. And it was his idea to go after Senator Rickard.” Ivan’s smile became a grin. This time it was a feral one. “He said it would have more impact on you and your friends.”
Madden forced down all the feelings of rage, guilt, and sadness that were threatening to overwhelm him and focused on the only thing that mattered right now. Everything else could wait. “Where is Hendrik Rickard?”
“Dead. I’m not going to fight you, werewolf. I won’t risk a bite from your
foul teeth that would turn me into one of your kind.” As he said the words, Ivan raised the gun to his own temple and pulled the trigger.
* * *
Even though Madden had hoped Ivan had been lying, they found Hendrik’s brutalized body in a disused well at the rear of the house.
“To hell with protocol and forensics.” Madden’s voice was thick with tears as he fetched a blanket from the house and wrapped his friend in it. He looked around at the brotherhood members. “You know what we have to do?”
Each of them nodded solemnly in return.
Maria raised her eyes to his face. “I don’t understand.”
“Hendrik’s human body has been killed, but his werewolf will not die with it. His wolf body is broken beyond repair. If we leave him like this, he will remain alive, but he will be a shadow of the man he was. He will be unable to return to the human world and unable to enjoy the freedom of the werewolf world. We have to perform the final kindness for him.” Madden’s eyes were shadowed with pain. “We have to decapitate him and burn his remains. That way, we will also make sure there is no trace of his werewolf DNA for the human forensics to find.”
Maria placed her arms around his waist. Since they had found him on the porch, standing over the remains of what had once been Ivan Joseph, Madden had been detached, almost as though his emotions had remained untouched by what he had discovered. Now, as she held him, she felt a tremor run through him as though her touch had released his pent-up feelings.
“This was about Ivan Joseph, not you.” Her voice was fierce. “It was his madness that caused this.”
Madden gave a shaky laugh. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
Tilting her head up, she saw him looking down at her with a question in his eyes. Was there a right or wrong time to say it? Maybe just saying it out loud was what was needed. Now and always. “Because I love you.”
He let out a shaky breath. “I wanted to say it properly the first time. With moonlight—or midnight sun—and roses.”
“You can do that as well. Another time.”
His arms tightened painfully around her. “I love you so much it hurts, and I’m never letting you go again.”
“You might have to if we’re going to leave here before nightfall.” Wilder, ever practical, handed him an ax, so they could start chopping wood for a fire.
It was an uncomfortable reminder that they had a long way to go before they got to the moonlight and roses. In solemn silence, they performed the ritual they needed for their friend, standing in a circle around the funeral pyre as they watched his body burn.
“Why do you think the Cage Killer murdered Hendrik so soon?” Jenny’s cheeks were streaked with ash and tears as she spoke. “Why didn’t he keep him as long as the others?”
“Because Chastel was watching us,” Maria said. “I could feel his eyes upon us the whole time we were in the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage. He must have gotten here ahead of us to warn Ivan we were coming.”
“It was Chastel’s final act of evil before Ivan’s killing spree ended.” Madden kept his eyes fastened on the brilliant flames. “He knew this would be the end of the Cage Killer, so he wanted to make sure he did as much damage as he could to the brotherhood before it was over. He knew how much killing Hendrik was going to hurt us.”
“But Chastel won’t give up.” Sebastian’s jaw was clenched so tight the words were hard to understand. “He’ll be back.”
Madden placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “And, as always, we will be ready for him.”
* * *
“Caspar died five years ago.”
A week had passed since that awful day out at Ivan Joseph’s place. Madden had been biding his time, trying to judge when it would be right to tell Maria what they had discovered about her brother.
Now, they were seated in the little gazebo in Lowell’s garden. For the first time, it felt like she was safe. The horrors were starting to recede. It would take a long time, and now the nightmare of what had happened to Hendrik was there to scar the whole brotherhood. But the fear of the Cage Killer was gone.
“How did he die?” Her head was on Madden’s shoulder, so she murmured the words into his neck.
“He had a lot of mental health problems. Following your parents’ deaths, his condition deteriorated. Drug and alcohol addiction played a big part in Caspar’s life. He died of an accidental overdose.”
Maria cried for a long time. “I wish I could have done something. I knew he wasn’t a happy person. If only he’d let me into his life to help him.”
Madden slid a finger beneath her chin. “You can feel sad for him, but you can’t feel remorse. Caspar made his own path in life and what he did was nothing to do with you.”
She smiled through her tears. “I’ll make you a deal.”
His expression was bemused. “What’s that?”
“It works the same way for you. You can feel bad about what Ivan Joseph did to other people, but you can’t blame yourself over it. It was his choice. Nothing to do with you.”
He drew her back into his arms. “So the deal is we keep each other from wallowing?”
Her cheek rubbed against his chest as she nodded. “That’s the deal.”
“I can live with that.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Madden spoke again. “I have a deal of my own.”
He moved away from her and knelt on the tiled floor. Her eyes sparkled with a combination of a smile and tears. “Oh, Madden . . .”
“No. This is my time to speak.” His voice came out as a croak and he cleared his throat before continuing. “I’ve done some stupid things in my life, Maria. But none of them came close to the time when I thought I might be able to live without you. Because I couldn’t.” He bowed his head, forcing himself onward even though his emotions threatened to get the better of him. “Every time I think you can’t take my breath away again with how strong, brave, and perfect you are, you do it. You amaze me, Maria. And I want to go on being amazed by you forever.”
He withdrew a small, black velvet box from the pocket of his jeans. When he opened it, the single, square-cut diamond lit up the shaded interior of the gazebo.
Maria held up her left hand with a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “I don’t have a ring finger.”
“I hope that’s not an excuse to say no.”
She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I have other fingers. I love you. I’m never letting you go.”
Some time later, she sat with her head on his shoulder again, admiring the ring, which was on the third finger of her right hand. “Where will we live?”
“Don’t you want to go back to the gallery?”
She bit her lip, sitting up a little straighter. “Your home is here in Fairbanks.”
Madden studied her profile. “Maria, what is this?”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “I can’t go back there. It’s not just about the fear and the memories. Those things matter, but it’s more than that. I don’t want the gallery to become some sort of gruesome tourist exhibition. I can’t bear the thought that people will stop by to see the woman who survived. And, when we went back there, it didn’t feel like home any more. Anchorage didn’t feel like home.”
“I’ve been thinking about leaving the police.” There. He’d said it.
“I’m glad.”
“You are?”
“I’ve seen how much it hurts you, how hard it drives you. You give it so much of yourself,” Maria said. “Maybe it’s time for us.”
Madden nodded. “That means we can pack up and live anywhere. We don’t need other people. We can be alone and shut out the rest of the world.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Somewhere cold. With ice and snow and mountains. Where the midnight sun shines most of the time. My inner wolf has never had a chance to know those things. It’s time to set her free.”
* * *
Three months later
The memo
rial service was so well attended that the meeting hall wasn’t large enough to hold everyone. The park outside was crowded and the service was shown on giant screens. During his time in Alaskan politics, Hendrik had helped many people and was loved and respected. He was also well known for his dedication to the protection of the Alaskan environment.
The police had still been unable to find any trace of Hendrik’s body. They had, however, found forensic evidence in Ivan Joseph’s car that proved Hendrik had been in the vehicle. They had also found the knife in Ivan’s house that had been used to cut off Hendrik’s finger. Together with Madden’s statement that, just before he killed himself, Ivan had admitted that Hendrik was dead, it was deemed by the coroner to be the final proof that Hendrik was indeed the thirteenth victim of the Cage Killer.
During the service, the members of the brotherhood stood with Valetta, Samson, and Cindy at the front of the hall. Lowell and Odessa—her figure enviably slim after recently giving birth—stood next to Wilder and Jenny. Sebastian and Vigo were just behind them with Madden and Maria.
Madden, like his fellow brotherhood members, wore a suit. Maria wore a high-necked dress that covered the dressing on her shoulder. The first of a series of operations to remove the brand on her shoulder had been a success. Soon she would be free of the mark of the hellhound. Her hair was growing and clustered like a white-gold halo in curls around her head. Madden was still blown away by her beauty every time he looked at her.
Their wedding had taken place a few weeks earlier. It had been a low-key ceremony at the Lowell mansion, celebrated with just the members of the brotherhood, Odessa, Valetta, and Cindy. They had just returned from their honeymoon, which they had spent in Helsinki. Since Madden had made the decision to leave the police, they were in the process of buying a house in the northernmost city in the world. Longyearbyen on the Svalbard Archipelago was to be their home.
When the service was over, they stood in a group, supporting Cindy as she received the comments of those in attendance.
Sebastian moved to stand next to Madden, while Maria spoke to Jenny and Odessa. Madden watched the direction of his friend’s gaze and realized with a jolt of surprise that Sebastian was in love with Cindy. He wondered if Sebastian knew.