Mace stared into the dark pits of Janus’s eyes. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell what I know?”
Janus grunted an animal sound. “I’m counting on it. I want all the publicity I can get. Not that it’s done much good so far.”
Mace focused on his .38. “Do I get my gun?”
“Do we have a deal?”
“If I get my gun.”
Janus opened his right hand, allowing the revolver’s butt to swing toward Mace, upside down. “Here.”
Mace reached out, grasped the gun, and took it from Janus.
Man and Wolf stared at each other.
“Well?” Janus said.
Mace aimed the .38 at Janus’s head.
“What are you waiting for?”
He squeezed the trigger.
Patty’s .38 made a sharp pop that reverberated as the first round tore into Janus’s left cheek, blowing it off his face in a mist of blood. Janus’s head snapped back and then forward, the smile never leaving his face.
Mace took a step back and fired again, this time into Janus’s throat, exposing his esophagus as blood poured out over his naked chest. Lowering his aim, he used the running blood like a targeting laser and fired twice into Janus’s chest. Twin bullet holes appeared in the bloodytorso, but Mace barely heard the reports. Stepping back again, he lowered his aim more and fired two rounds into Janus’s stomach, dropping the creature to his knees.
Janus stared at him with disbelieving eyes, blood gurgling from his throat, and fell back against the wall, penis draped over one thigh. His eyes closed.
Deafened by the gunfire and transfixed at the bloody mess on the floor, Mace dropped his gun hand to his side. For the first time in his life, he had killed a man.
It had to be done, he thought. Then he considered his next move. Should he leave Janus’s corpse where it lay and call Angela, remove it for disposal himself, or set the building on fire? Each scenario posed its share of benefits and problems. He only knew that he did not intend to go to prison for slaying an inhuman monster that his bosses denied even existed.
He didn’t realize that Janus’s eyes had opened until a flash of lightning outside the bathroom window illuminated the dead man’s features. Janus raised his head, a sinister smile on his lips.
It’s not possible!
But he knew better. He had come to accept many impossibilities.
With obvious pain distorting his features, Janus got up on all fours, muscles straining as sweat mixed with blood. He snarled at Mace, who heard nothing but got the point, through human lips. Then he flexed muscles all over his body: they throbbed and stretched beneath his flesh, altering his shape. Bones snapped and reformed. His feet elongated, becoming canine leg extensions. His fingers, digging into the rotting rug, extended the length of an extra joint, black claws bursting through their tips. And the bullet hole in his cheek closed. The monster roared, its body quivering as its skull expanded, the snout of a wolf pushing forward as fangs burst through its gums, pointed ears pulling back.
Mace staggered away in awe as the creature rose on its hind legs, towering seven feet tall as jet-black fur sprouted from its rippling muscles. No wonder the ancient Indians had worshipped the great Wolves; the creature resembled a demon as much as it did a man or a wolf. Mace squeezed the .38’s trigger again, knowing he had already fired all of its ammunition. He resisted the urge to hurl the empty gun at the monster.
Peeling back its lips so that its fangs jutted out at a ferocious angle, the werewolf’s head trembled with rage. As the volume in Mace’s ears increased, the malicious rasping sound that issued from the creature’s throat filled him with terror: Janus cackled at him, a most human sound.
Mace spun and fled for his life. In that instant, he appreciated all the running he had done in his free time. The floor shook as the beast pursued him, and he hurdled over the step in the middle of the hall and landed on the upper floor. It took him only a dozen paces to reach the stairway, where he glanced over his shoulder. Janus charged after him on all fours, somehow graceful despite the length of his arms and legs compared to his trunk.
Then the monster launched itself through the air at him.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Reaching out for the banister so that his momentum wouldn’t send him flying over the stairs, Mace crouched as close to the floor as he could and tucked his head forward. He saw the werewolf’s shadow enlarging on the wall ahead of him and sensed its body soaring overhead. Then he felt its front claws rip into the back of his coat, tearing his flesh with the fabric, and jerk him forward.
In midair, Janus flipped Mace over his body, hurling the detective into the space above the stairs. Flailing his arms, Mace struck the stairs at their halfway point. He tumbled along the curved wall, with Janus right behind him, and sprawled out facedown on the floor. He managed to roll onto his back just as Janus leapt off the bottom stair. As the beast’s outstretched claws reached for his neck, Mace kicked it in the groin with all his strength, sending Janus flying over him. He sat upright just in time to see Janus roll across the floor and come up in a fighting stance, eyes blazing with fury.
It has to be now, Mace thought, reaching inside his coat. I won’t get another chance. His right fingers closed over the Blade’s hilt, and he drew the broken sword from its hiding place. He swung his arm back, poised to swing the weapon, left hand still clutching the empty revolver.
Janus roared at Mace, saliva slobbering from his powerful jaws as his eyes locked on the Blade in Mace’s hand. He opened and closed his claws, settled on his haunches, and leapt forward.
Mace sprang into the air at the same time, and man and beast collided in the middle of the room. Mace swung the Blade, but Janus seized his wrist with his left claw and forced him to the floor. Lying on his back, Mace saw Janus’s lupine head bearing down on his throat—saw those awful fangs—and felt hot, wet breath on his face. Unable to move his right arm, which Janus had pinned to the floor, Mace used his left hand to jam his .38 into the Wolf’s mouth.
Janus’s jaws snapped shut over the weapon, several of his fangs shattering against the blue steel. He howled in pain, then shook his head and threw the gun and several broken teeth aside. Mace struggled to rise, but Janus snapped his jaws at his face. Mace raised his left arm for protection, and Janus closed his jagged teeth over his forearm. Pain ripped Mace’s arm and he screamed. Janus shook Mace’s arm, working his teeth deeper into the flesh.
I’m holding the fucking Blade, and I can’t even use it!
In one sudden motion, Janus released Mace’s forearm and buried his snout into Mace’s left shoulder. Mace felt the beast’s fangs penetrate his flesh, and he arched his back as Janus tore muscle from his shoulder. Janus tossed the meat into the air and snatched it with his jaws. Mace heard his own agonized scream loud and clear and watched in horror as Janus gobbled his flesh.
So close, Mace thought as he felt the fight draining from his body. I almost did it …
At first he assumed the booming sound overhead was thunder. Then shards of stained glass rained down around them, and he thought lightning had struck the building. A small suitcase landed on the floor with such force that its latches popped open as it bounced into the air and flipped over, spilling clothing.
Janus’s body buckled on top of him, as if someone had dropped a piano on his back. Mace recoiled as he saw a second Wolf staring over Janus’s shoulder into his eyes. The newcomer sank its fangs deep into Janus’s right shoulder, spattering Mace’s face with dark blood, and Janus howled in pain, a high-pitched sound that echoed up the spacious stairway. Both Wolves rolled off Mace and into the living room.
Angela! Mace tried to sit up, but white-hot pain seared his shoulder. Examining the wound, the amount of glistening blood that he witnessed his coat absorbing startled him. He had no choice but to roll toward his right shoulder, with his back to the werewolves, to rise to his knees. Placing the broken edge of the Blade against the floor, he leaned on its hilt for leverage and brought his
left leg up. Then he put his weight onto his right leg and stumbled around.
The Wolves circled each other on their hind legs, baring their fangs and snarling. Angela stood a foot shorter than Janus even with her hind legs extended. Her body was slender in comparison, and Mace saw streaks of brown and white mixed in with her black fur. Janus’s coarse fur bristled at the sight of his fellow creature.
“I’ve got the Blade!” Mace said, squinting in pain.
The Wolves leapt at each other, snapping their jaws, ducking and weaving, blurs of furious motion. They raked each other with teeth and claws. Angela locked her jaws on Janus’s right bicep, and Janus bit into her collarbone. Mace saw crimson spatter the floor around them. They danced in a circle, shaking their heads and snarling as they traded slashing blows. Mace staggered forward with the Blade, which grew heavier by the second.
Janus lashed out at Mace with a sideways kick, his black claws digging into Mace’s face. The blow sent Mace flying backward, and when he struck the floor he felt the Blade slip from his grip. He heard the silver weapon slide across the floor as he wiped hot blood from his eyes.
Damn it! He didn’t know if he could get up again. But he had to try.
Janus released his hold on Angela’s collarbone and went for herthroat. She twisted her head away, and his fangs sank into the side of her neck. Refusing to release her, he opened and closed his jaws, chewing through her fur and flesh. Howling in pain, she tried to break free, but he forced her head to the floor.
Rising once more, Mace struggled to retrieve the Blade, his left arm dangling uselessly at his side, his entire coat sleeve dark with blood. He sank down on one knee just to grasp the Blade, then swung his weight onto his right leg to stand again.
Straddling Angela, Janus managed to work his jaws over her throat. In a desperate attempt to save herself, Angela dug into Janus’s torso with her hind legs, kicking them with such speed that Mace barely saw them. Janus released her bloody throat to snap at her face as she shredded his chest like grated cheese.
Janus seized Angela’s ankles in his upper claws, ending her counterattack. He rotated her legs, rolling her facedown, then sank his fangs into the back of her neck and rubbed his penis against her vagina. He drove his erection inside Angela, who unleashed an agonized howl that sent chills through Mace.
“Janus!”
Janus twisted his trunk as Mace dived at him. Mace’s right shoulder made soggy contact with Janus’s chest, and Man and Wolf rolled to the floor, dripping blood from multiple wounds. Mace came out on top, straddling the Wolf’s stomach, and raised the Blade high above his head. Seeing the Blade in Mace’s hand, Janus’s ferocious expression turned to one of fear.
Even as Mace brought the Blade down, Janus sat up and seized Mace’s neck in his claws. Feeling Janus’s thumbs digging into his throat, Mace drove the Blade straight into the monster’s heart. Janus howled in pain, defeat, and outrage all at once. Falling to the floor, he managed to pull Mace down with him. Then he rolled on top of the cop, still squeezing Mace’s throat in his claws, and snapped his jaws at Mace’s bloody face. Mace caught the beast’s snout in his lefthand. Fiery pain consumed his shoulder as he forced the Wolf’s head back and drove the Blade into his heart again and again, producing wet sucking sounds. Dark blood splashed his shirt and face, and he felt the strength ebbing from the beast, which suddenly collapsed over him. A ragged death rattle escaped Janus’s throat; then his body shuddered and stilled.
Shoving the carcass off him with the Blade still protruding from its chest, Mace climbed to his feet. We did it! We killed him!
Angela lay convulsing on the floor in her human form, naked from head to toe. She had Changed during Mace’s final struggle with Janus.
Staggering over to her, Mace gaped at her blood-soaked body. Her wounds are gone, he thought.
Sweat glistened on her face as she trembled.
“How can I help you?”
Looking into his eyes, she said, “You can’t.” Then she took a deep breath and relaxed. “Thank you for saving my life.”
He fought to regain his breath. “You saved mine too. Thanks for coming.”
Sitting up with great effort, she wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at Janus’s corpse. “Look.”
Mace faced the black shape on the floor. It too had Changed, its proportions becoming those of an immense black wolf.
“His true form,” Angela said. “And mine.”
“I still don’t believe it,” he said. Then his eyeballs tingled, his jaw slackened, and his brain turned numb. He tried to steady himself as his vision turned dark. But he stopped caring.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Mace awoke on his back a short time later. Angela, still naked, had removed his coat and shirt and had bandaged his shoulder and forearm.
“You’re lucky your arm didn’t fall off,” she said with a trace of a smile, kneeling beside him. He avoided staring at her breasts. “You definitely need stitches. Your face too. You’ll have scars either way.”
He touched his face with tentative fingers. Janus had left deep, burning furrows diagonally across it from his forehead to his jaw. “There go my good looks. I wish I had your metabolism. I could use a magic cure for this pain.”
Angela helped him sit up. “What you call magic, we call biology.” She held up an Ace bandage. “I found this upstairs in the bathroom. God knows what he used bandages for. He certainly didn’t need them.”
“He’s got a torture dungeon in the basement. He probably kept his victims alive for as long as possible.”
She showed him a black turtleneck. “I found this in his closet.” Then she pointed at a half-full garbage bag on the floor. “I tried soaking your clothes, but they’re too stained.”
He tried to pull the turtleneck on but couldn’t even raise his left arm, so she had to help him get dressed.
“I need to get you to an ER. I’d rather not call an ambulance.”
“I have a rental car across the street. Do you drive?”
“Yes.”
He nodded at the dead Wolf. “What about that?”
“Do you have a cell phone?”
“Yeah. In the next room underneath a bunch of human skulls.”
Angela went into the room, and Mace heard her dislodge some of the skulls. Returning with the cell phone, she keyed in a number.
After a moment she said, “Gabriel? It’s me.”
Mace heard a loud voice on the other end.
“I’m fine. We all are. The Berserker’s dead.” The voice squawked some more, and Angela looked at Mace. “I killed him. It was a matter of self-preservation.” The voice on the other end grew louder. “I need you to come collect the body.” She told him Janus’s address. “Bring a full team and three or four vans. Bleach, a wet vac, garbage bags, the works. This place is a mountain of evidence we don’t want to get out.” She allowed him to speak, then said, “I’m going away. I’ll let you know where when I get there.” Closing the cell phone, she handed it to Mace.
“I take it you just saved my life again?”
She helped him up. “You’re a good detective.”
“Where will you go?”
“We have a retreat in the Adirondacks.” She stepped over to the suitcase she had chucked through the upstairs window and turned it over. “That’s where I met John.” Removing a pair of black panties from the suitcase, she pulled them on. “I need to relax for a while, get away from all this … civilization. Your society and mine. After that, who knows? Maybe I’ll move to Canada.”
“Are there Wolves there?”
She offered him a mysterious smile. “It doesn’t matter. Wolves are monogamous. We mate for life, and I had John.”
Picturing Cheryl, Mace said, “Some humans mate for life too.
Why did you come to my rescue?”
Angela put on a pair of jeans and a black knit shirt. “That was always my plan. John used me for bait and I used you. The difference is, John believed his faith wou
ld protect him, and I left my faith out of the equation. Instead, I used Janus’s faith as a weapon against him. Neither you nor I could have destroyed him alone, but through you, I knew I could bring the Blade into play.”
Mace grunted. “How did you know he wouldn’t kill you … or me?”
“I didn’t. I was willing to sacrifice my life—and yours. I’m glad we both survived, though. It’s a shame: you’re a hero and no one in this city will ever know it. No one can ever know it.”
“Glory is overrated.” He nodded at Janus’s corpse. “I need to return the Blade to my headquarters. Without it, I’m facing jail time, and cops don’t do well in prison.”
Stooping beside the dead Wolf, she withdrew the Blade, blood dripping from its jagged end. “This is a great symbol to our enemies in Europe. They’ve nearly wiped out my kind over there. If I allow you to take this back into custody, they’re bound to reclaim it.”
Mace blew air from his cheeks. “Unfortunately, we collected the rest of the Blade last night.”
“The priest and the Dominican who were killed in the park? I thought as much. They must have been followers of Torquemada. Others in their Brotherhood will join the sword halves, making it whole again.” She studied the Blade. “And if you return it to your superiors?”
“I expect to lose my job either way. But at least I’ll be a free man.”
She offered him the Blade, hilt first. “Then it’s yours.”
Smiling, he accepted it. “Thank you.”
“We should all be free.”
Mace slipped the Blade into the garbage bag. “I have to tell you something else.”
She waited.
“The FBI knows more than you might think about your kind.
They’ve been collecting Janus’s blood samples for more than a year, and they have some stray hairs.”
“That’s not good,” Angela said. “But it’s not a disaster, either. The DNA will ultimately tell them nothing. We have scientists among us too. The hair samples and DNA will only go into their ‘unexplained’ files. Thank you for telling me, though. We have to be careful.”
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