Vormus’s long face brightened. “Ah, so you’ve been told. A good thing. The sooner you both deal with it, the better. As a matter of fact, that is another reason why I am here, to tell you of your value. The shifters are not so many. We don’t need many to survive, but the more the merrier. There is strength in numbers, and that is why you are being recruited. Tested. A pair such as you could be an asset, and that is what they want.”
“Who is ‘they’?” Sid asked. “The Drake?”
“Yes and no,” Vormus said. “You see, the Drake thinks they are in charge of shifters, and the shifters think they are in charge of the Drake.”
“Aren’t they one and the same?’ Smoke asked.
“Yes, but the mortals of the Drake are very manipulating, while the shifters are overconfident. It’s very difficult to tell who is using who. You see, when you have a short life, you tend to fight very hard for what you want out of it. We have long lives. Hence the fight is not hard, it is entertainment. Do I think the madness will ever end? No. At least not until the end of the age. I don’t think any person can withstand the self-devouring circle, but perhaps I can feel what it is like to live again. Even for a day. And your sister Allison? I know you, Sidney. Perhaps you can give her a reason to not give up her life as well. Though it will be hard to change her mind.”
Vormus being a fountain of information was odd, and his comments were vague, leading to more questions in Smoke’s mind. It wouldn’t be easy to accept Vormus as an ally again, but Smoke wanted to know everything he could. Every bit of information he had about the Drake and the shifters would give him an edge, and he needed every bit of it. He was about to speak when Sid spoke up first. It was as if she had read his mind.
“What is the Drake’s end game?” she asked.
“The same as it always is. Take over the leadership of all the nations. Use it to destroy any enemies that are a threat to them. If it’s not the Drake, then it’s always some other organization. A rival government or business. The Drake has its competition too, but it uses people like me to take it out. Nothing new is under the sun, but we are all caught up in the middle of it.
“As for the pair of you, I think you’ve pissed on Kane and his minions enough. To be truthful, if they can’t break you—which I’m pretty sure they have realized they can’t—then they will kill you. Because you’re always a threat to them. People like you keep coming. I’ve seen it before in my time. You’re bloodhounds. And that little visit from your sister on your wedding day? Well, I think that was a last-ditch effort to turn you to their side. You don’t have long. It will be war after that.” Vormus snorted something like a laugh. “They can’t even blackmail you with your families. Believe me, I was there when they talked about it, but they realized you’d keep coming anyway. They don’t understand it and I don’t understand it, but I want it. They think you both are crazy.”
“As long as people like us stick together, we’ll always land on top,” Smoke said.
“I know that is a true statement. It wasn’t so long ago that there were a lot more of you, but now your packs have thinned. People like us have worn you down.” Vormus rose to his feet. “But I’ve never been surprised at what a couple of people can do. Particularly people such as you. Not to press, but I must ask, are you willing to help me as I am willing to help you?”
“We still have a lot more questions.” Sid picked a box up off the floor and handed it to Vormus. “You want to be mortal again, then help us with our moving. It’s a real character builder.”
“Oh, the laborious tasks of the mortals,” he whined. “It’s been at least a century since I did anything called work. How exhilarating.”
Smoke loaded another box on top of Sid’s, which concealed Vormus’s face. He stuffed the shifter’s top hat on the shifter too and said, “Time to find out how that centuries old back of yours is doing.” He hefted another box on to his shoulder and headed toward the door. “Follow me.”
After three trips up and down the steps to load the van, Vormus said, “I’m starting to regret my decision entirely.” He ran his thumb over his brow and eyed it. “Perspiration. Blecht.”
Sid tossed a duffle bag into the van and said, “So where do you start this adventure?”
“All of my sources lead me to Fort Carroll,” Vormus said. “We’ll get more answers there. We might get all of the answers there.”
“What’s so special about Fort Carroll?” Smoke asked.
“Remember, I’m an outsider, a part of Guermo. But as I understand it, the minions that fail Kane are taken there for punishment and rehabilitation. We’re going to need their help.”
Aghast, Sid said, “So you want to rescue them?”
“Just the ones that are helpful.”
Holy Smoke: Book 8
CHAPTER 1
Fort Carroll sat in the middle of the Patapsco River like a ghost city. Smoke and Sid were at the docks where the FBI had dropped off Titus Tolliver days earlier. Beside the phantom black Dodge Hellcat, Sid squeezed into the sweetheart suit. Her skin tingled. A coppery taste filled her mouth. She fought the urge to spit.
“You okay?” Smoke’s sweetheart suit only covered him above the waist. The refined sinew coating his muscular frame rippled with every movement. He blew into a small inflatable raft they were going to stow their weapons and gear in. “You look a little nervous.” He gazed at the river. “It’s not the easiest swim.”
Sid loosened up her arms by doing small windmills. She cracked her neck from side to side. “I was feeling a little tight, but I’m feeling better with the suit on. I bet I can beat you over there.”
“Hey, I’m hauling all the gear.” Smiling, he shoved a pair of guns into the floating sack. He stood up with a knife and belt in his hand, wrapped it around Sid’s waist, and fastened it with a snap. Backing up, he said with an approving nod, “You’ve got that Bond girl thing going on. I like it.”
“Bond girls aren’t half the woman I am. They’re scrawny.”
Smoke put his arms around her waist. “And not half as sexy.”
“Why don’t I take a picture?” Sam, Smoke’s sister, was dressed in black, grey, and white camouflage. Her hair was pulled back in a long ponytail. Guppy stood beside her, dressed the same, with a grin on his face. His black truck was parked behind them. Sam pulled out her phone. “You two look so adorable together. No one would ever suspect you’re a couple of lunatics.”
“I’d rather you didn’t. This isn’t the best place for a flash,” Sid said.
“OK, fine.” Sam put her phone away. Looking around, she said, “So what about this Vormus guy? Isn’t he supposed to be here?”
“He said he’d meet us on the island,” Smoke said.
“And doesn’t that seem a little suspicious, coming from a guy who tried to kill us all?” Sam replied.
Smoke shrugged.
“Are you okay with this, Sid?” Sam asked.
Adjusting her knife belt, she said, “I have to find out where my niece and sister are.”
“I don’t like it,” Sam said, “but if you don’t make it back, I promise to take care of the Hellcat. The keys are in it, right?”
Sid laughed. “You’re more than welcome, Sis.”
“Aw, come here.” Sam clomped over on her high heels and gave Sid a firm hug. “You’d better make it back. That place is creepy out there. I can just imagine all those monsters spilling outside.”
“And I can’t imagine you running from them in those high heels.”
“Oh, I won’t be running. I’ll be driving the Hellcat.” Sam made a cat sound.
“Boy, you really do want my car, don’t you!” Sid said.
“I’m sorry, I have to say funny things when I’m nervous.” Sam shouted at Guppy, “You make sure they’ve got everything Mal gave you?”
“I did,” Guppy replied.
“Well, double check it.”
“I did.”
“Triple—”
“Done!”
�
��You’re a good friend and sister, Sam. We’ll make it back.”
Sam swatted at a mosquito buzzing near her face. “I hate mosquitos.” Stepping away from Sid, she said, “Guppy, I’ve got a mosquito.”
Sam’s burly husband sauntered over with an aerosol can. He sprayed mist around Sam. “Don’t get it in my mouth,” she said, adding a little cough.
Smoke slung the inflatable pack over his shoulder. “I guess it’s time.” He and Sid walked toward the boat ramp at Hawkins Point. There wasn’t anyone else around. He said to Sam, “We’ll be back before dawn.”
“You’d better be.”
Sid and Smoke waded into the cold waters of the river, sending shivers up from her bare feet.
Smoke handed her a pair of flippers. “These will make the swim a lot easier.”
“You know, I didn’t even think of that. I guess I should have expected this from a former frogman.”
He snapped his green-lensed goggles over his head. “What can I say. I love the water. So are you ready?”
As the waters splashed against the rocks from the wake of a barge passing by, she waded in deeper. With a nod, she eyed Fort Carroll. Her heart pounded. Even though the sweetheart suit sent steady energy into her body, there was quavering inside. It was a long swim. Even longer thinking about the unknown that waited for them on the island. She slipped on her goggles. “See if you can keep up.”
“Hah!” Smoke submerged himself to the neck. With the floating sack tethered to his waist, he swam alongside her. His strokes were long and steady. He cut through the water like a great fish.
Sidney pushed off on a rock. The sweetheart suit gave a little extra buoyancy, and the flippers helped a lot. It didn’t take long for her freestyle stroke to get into rhythm.
Boy, I wish I could have swum with these on swim team.
Smoke edged out in front, glancing back from time to time. Before long, they were halfway to the fort. With her competitive instinct kicking in, she swam faster. Her long fingers chopped and pushed through the water, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch Smoke.
Good Lord, he’s fast.
A spotlight hit the waters nearby. It came from Fort Carroll.
CHAPTER 2
Smoke stopped. They both treaded water. The spotlight brushed over the waves. Its beam came from just over the fort’s fortification wall. The bright lens moved from side to side, just west of them.
“Get behind me,” Smoke said. “When I say duck, go under.”
“Okay.”
The beam cruised right toward them.
“Duck.”
After taking a small breath, Sid half swam, half sank into the water. Smoke did the same. The two hovered just below the black water’s surface. The light cruised over their location. The illumination wavered above. The light searching for them was the only hopeful sight in the blackness.
The beam moved on.
Smoke took her hand and led them up. Resurfacing, she gasped for air. Smoke’s head panned left and right. Her head was on a swivel. The searchlight was gone.
“What do you think?” she whispered.
“I don’t see anything.” Smoke’s stare was fixed on the wall where the light had come from. “Nothing at all. Even with the goggles.”
Treading water and taking a breath, she said, “We need to keep moving. This water’s choppier than I figured.”
Smoke’s eyes lit up. “Are you getting tired?”
She nodded.
He pushed the sack over to Sid. “Use this. Besides, we need to take our time if eyes are watching.”
“Fair enough.” She took a breath. “I didn’t think I’d get so winded. At least not with the suit on.”
“We’re fighting a current. Most of the time, when you fight the water, it wins. Let’s go.”
They swam at half the speed they had been. Before long, Sid got a second wind. She pushed it again, legs kicking faster just under the water. Ten more minutes’ hard swimming and they both hit the stony base of the old fort’s rim. She climbed up on the ledge and sat. Chest heaving, she caught her breath.
“It’s not the asthma, is it?” Smoke asked.
“Maybe a little.” She rolled her shoulder. “Man, that was a swim.”
“Going back will be easier.” Smoke remained in the water, staring up at the fort’s stone walls. The large cut stones, stacked eight high, made a wall much higher than expected. “We’ll need to ease around the rim and find a spot to squeeze into.”
Sid remembered the long gaps between the stones. She stared at Hawkins Point, where they had started out. It looked far away. She eased back into the water. “After you, John.”
Hugging the fort’s base, they moved hand over hand, eyeing the top of the wall. Sid read a marker: PRIVATE. KEEP OFF. GUARD DOG.
Eyeing the same thing, Smoke said, “And I thought we only had to worry about shifters.”
“You worry about shifters? I don’t.”
He kept working his way around the wall. “And that’s why you wear the pants in this family.”
They came to a stop at a lower section of the outer wall, where there was a big break between the stones. Smoke helped Sid up into it. He climbed up after her. With the water splashing against the walls, he looked around. “Creepy.”
“Just like the magazine. Sometimes I feel like I’m on the cover.” She slipped through the gap, climbing up the broken wall, and made it to ground level. The eerie island was covered in dry trees and brown bushes run amok. None looked like anything she’d seen before. “Strange place for things to grow.”
“Life finds a way everywhere.” Smoke found a spot where the bushy ground gave way to a clearing on the old pavement. Still huddled behind the brush, he opened the waterproof sack. He and Sid strapped on their guns. They’d loaded the magazines earlier. Red tips at the top. Blue and green tips in the bottom. Smoke was smiling.
“Getting a little excited, are you?”
“Sometimes I feel a little giddy among the uncanny.” He holstered both his weapons. From inside the sack, he pulled out a small bottle. He rattled the pills inside.
Sid couldn’t hide her surprise. “More supervitamins in stock?”
“I think Mal likes to pretend he’s low. He thinks we’ll hoard them all.”
“Did he say that?”
“No, but I can tell.” Something buzzed inside the sack. Smoke produced a phone. “It’s for you.”
It was a message from Sam: “Status?” followed by several concerned emojis.
Sid texted her back. “Doing great.” She tossed the phone in the sack. “Better leave it.”
Smoke swallowed a vitamin.
“Isn’t this a little premature?”
Rolling his finger in front of his face he said, “It’s got a special coating, and I can do my regurgitation thing. I’d love to teach you.”
Sid’s face crinkled. “I know you’re my husband and I need to accept you as you are, but that doesn’t mean I have to like everything you do.” She opened her hand. “The old-fashioned way will be just fine.”
He gave her two pills. “It doesn’t bother you too much, does it?”
“I’ll say this: better hope nothing I ever feed you comes up again at the dinner table.”
“Ha ha. I’m pretty sure that won’t happen. You’re an excellent cook.” He sniffed. “Do I smell lasagna?”
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”
Even though they were wearing the sweetheart suits and armed to the teeth, her belly had still quavered until a minute ago. Smoke had a way of easing the tension. The rugged man was fearless in the eye of anything he faced. She had no doubt there was something special about him.
They picked their way through the fort, staying hidden in the trees and brush. The center of the compound was cleared off. Someone had used the spotlight, but there weren’t any other signs or sounds of people. A chilling thought came to mind. Perhaps there was a shifter on guard, skulking in the brush, waiting to pounce
.
And then Sid went to step over a heap on the ground and froze. It was a body. Sid squatted down and gasped. The man’s head was twisted past his shoulder, and his dead hands gripped a spotlight.
CHAPTER 3
Sid couldn’t fight the shivers that made her hairs stand on end. The man’s head brought back thoughts of Adam Vaughn, the wolf man. He’d killed her supervisor, Jack Dydeck, and many other agents in the same horrific fashion. This time, there wasn’t all that blood.
She looked back for Smoke. He was gone. She whipped out her weapon. The Glock quelled her earlier fears. Her dark eyes searched the night. A scuffle in the brush caught her ear. She turned and took aim.
Two men approached.
“Don’t take another step,” she commanded.
“Which is it?” said the man in front with his hands up. “He says march and you say halt.” It was Vormus. The vampire shifter’s white hair was tied back in a ponytail. He wore large sunglasses and grey slacks, and his lavender sweater stood out against his alabaster skin. “Well?”
Keeping her gun on him, Sid said, “Did you kill this guy?”
“No, one of those raccoons did,” Vormus said in his formal and condescending manner.
Smoke shoved his gun into Vormus’s back. “Answer the lady.”
“Of course I did.”
“If you’re going to work with us, you need to stop killing people.” Sid stood up. “We aren’t murderers.”
“Pfft. If you’re going to take that attitude, then you’ve lost. These guards, they know what side of the fence they are on. They have it coming as much as anyone else. Nobility.” Vormus lifted a brow. “I was raised with nobility. Neither of you have any idea what that is. No one in this heap of a country does. Here, everyone thinks they’re so special.”
Vormus made a good point. It was something Sid had contemplated more than once. Some of the people they fought were just doing a job. It made it tough when she had to deal with them. Sometimes if you left a man alive, you might lose your own. How do you fight a secret war that is off the books? But they had to know what was going on. They had made a choice.
The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files: Special Edition Fantasy Bundle, Books 6 thru 10 (Smoke Special Edition Book 2) Page 26