Target

by Connie Suttle

  "Honey, you need to eat something."

  Ashe wished he were six again and could climb into his parents' laps and let them handle his difficulties for a while. He couldn't. He was an adult or nearly so, but this had dealt a blow to him. The community had been forced to move from New Mexico when he was five because information was inadvertently shared with humans regarding their existence. Now, the community was being uprooted again, and it was because he was hunted. If the Elemaiya found him, he'd either be killed or enslaved, depending on which side found him.

  "Dude?" Sali peeked over Adele's shoulder. Sali had gotten his growth spurt, standing at five-eleven. Ashe, though, was now six-three and likely to pass his father's six-four in another year.

  "I thought you'd be packing," Ashe sighed helplessly.

  "Almost done," Sali grinned. "I have to start on what Marco left behind next."

  Ashe envied Sali's older brother at times. William Winkler, the Dallas Packmaster, offered to pay Marco's tuition to the University of Texas, in Austin. Now, Marco was a year away from graduation and worked for Winkler during the summer. Much to Marcus DeLuca's chagrin, Marco had become an official member of the Dallas Pack the year before. Cori Anderson still dated Marco, but didn't want to go farther than that until she graduated from the University of Oklahoma. Ashe talked to her occasionally; Cori called him for advice and information now and then.

  "Got all the books packed, I see," Sali remarked, surveying the empty shelves. "Dad says the Grand Master called Mr. Winkler. I think they've found a good spot for us," he grinned.

  "You're excited about this?" Ashe stared at his friend.

  "Yeah, dude. Mom wants a bigger house. Think about it, Ashe. Maybe we'll move somewhere nearer to a city or something."

  "How does everybody else feel about this?" Ashe watched Sali's face; his best friend truly was excited about the move.

  "Are you kidding? Dori and Wynn are already planning theoretical shopping trips."

  Ashe chuckled despite himself. Dori and Wynn still feuded with Sali, but it was turning into a dance of sorts. Ashe never said it, but he wondered which one Sali would end up asking out. Sali stole their pens and they chased him. He jerked books out of their arms and they chased him. He flipped ears and they chased him, throwing pens and pencils at Sali's retreating back while he ducked in an overly dramatic fashion. Principal Billings had Sali sitting inside his office every other week for tormenting Dori and Wynn.

  Ashe's relationship with Principal Billings hadn't improved over the years, either. Billings knew Ashe had tapped into his office computer during sixth grade and Billings had never forgiven him. Ashe was viewed with constant suspicion, although he hadn't touched Billings' computer for more than three years. The Principal had almost gotten rid of Ashe at one point, thinking to send him to a human school because he hadn't shifted in Transformational Arts class.

  Saved by the bumblebee bat at almost the last moment, Principal Billings hadn't appreciated the image he'd presented to the community, flapping arms wildly to fend off Ashe's alter ego at graduation that year. All of Cloud Chief still chuckled about the incident. Principal Billings growled angrily if anyone brought it up. Nowadays, Ashe worked to stay below the Billings Radar, as he liked to call it.

  "What's your mom gonna do about the store?" Sali asked.

  "I think Jason and Marcie are coming up to run it while a realtor tries to sell it," Ashe was back to depression. He and Sali had good memories of working at Cordell Feed and Seed.

  "You think they'll come before we leave?" Sali looked interested. His Aunt Marcie, much to everyone's surprise, had taken to Jason. They'd gotten married and moved to Denton, Texas, a year and a half after Marcie had come to Cloud Chief. Jason still worked for Winkler, but Winkler was giving him time to help Adele with the store.

  "Ask Mom, she talked to him," Ashe said. "Come on; help me get this stuff out of the closet."

  "Sali, want a burger?" Adele was back, offering food again. Ashe was dragged upstairs to the kitchen by a ravenous Sali.

  "Everything is cleared away," Aedan walked into the kitchen and sat at the table, smiling in amusement as Sali devoured a second hamburger. "Marcus says the final details are being worked out on our next location; the Grand Master has to clear the way with another Packmaster. We won't be in their area, just nearby, I hear," Aedan explained.

  "I hope it's closer to a city," Sali said.

  "You just want to drive around and impress girls," Ashe teased.

  "I'm impressive already," Sali lifted his arms and flexed his muscles. Ashe's mother laughed.

  The doorbell rang so Aedan rose to answer it. Marcus and Denise DeLuca walked into the kitchen. "Feel like buying a boat?" Marcus clapped Aedan on the back and grinned.

  Chapter 2

  "Star Cove, Texas?" Ashe was surfing on his computer as quickly as he could. Sali, leaning over Ashe's shoulder, blinked as Ashe checked the maps he'd pulled up. "Here it is." Tapping the screen, Ashe pointed out the small Texas community, just north of Corpus Christi.

  "Did Winkler know we'd need a new place?" Sali asked, trying to learn more about their new home by peering at a tiny dot on the map. "Dad said Winkler had a whole development ready to go."

  "I'm not sure that was his original intention; it was just convenient, with new housing already built. I think it was an investment," Ashe said. "Dang, I can't get updated information." The online map service didn't have the new addition on satellite imaging, yet.

  "But it's near the water," Sali grinned.

  "It'll certainly be different from dry, western Oklahoma."

  "And your dad will only have to build his bunker," Sali said. "I can't wait. Mr. Winkler says he's sending Dallas wolves driving rented trucks. They'll have us out of here in one night."

  "But Dad and Nathan will have to wait and leave when the sun is down. Mr. Winkler says if they hurry, they can drive it in one night. If not, he has a place set up in San Antonio for them to spend the day." Ashe's frown wrinkled his forehead. He always worried if his dad had to stay somewhere strange. Vampires were vulnerable in the daytime. Any sunlight hitting his father might kill him.

  "Come on, they'll be okay," Sali nudged Ashe's shoulder. "See what else you can find out."

  "Ashe?" Dori and Wynn walked into Ashe's bedroom, offered Sali a halfhearted glare and stared at the computer screen. "This is where we'll be?" Dori's voice held a hint of awe. "It's right next to the gulf."

  "Should be just north of this street," Ashe pointed out Friendly Lane in Star Cove. "Looks to be a good spot to park your boat if you’re a fisherman. But the addition is too new to be on the map or satellite yet."

  "Wynn and I are going to be next door to each other," Dori poked Sali in the chest.

  "Nah, I'll be right in the middle," Sali teased in an effort to stir something up.

  "You will not separate us," Wynn poked Sali harder in the chest.

  "Help!" Sali flopped onto Ashe's bed in mock fear as two angry female shapeshifters wrestled with him. Ashe worked to hide his snicker as Sali struggled to escape both girls without hurting either.

  "Salidar, if you hurt someone," Denise DeLuca warned. Sali's mother stood in Ashe's doorway, hands on her hips while she surveyed the wrestling match. Wynn and Dori stopped trying to hold Sali down and stood back. Sali pointed to himself and proclaimed his innocence, attempting to explain how he was getting the worst of the battle. Ashe worked harder to stifle the laugh.

  "Girls, we'll drop you off on our way home," Denise offered, after telling Sali it was time to leave. "Sali still has packing to do."

  Wynn flashed Sali a superior smile, flipped her nearly white ponytail in his face and followed Denise DeLuca up the stairs, Dori right behind her. "See ya later, dude. This is gonna be great." Sali waved and walked out of Ashe's bedroom.

  "Yeah. Great," Ashe breathed a sigh. A boy had died, an alien race still hunted him and it was likely there were a few Cloud Chief residents who weren't excited about moving. Ashe got up
, unfolded another box and went to work on his dresser.

  * * *

  Ashe's fears were brought home the following day. Saturday, June fourteenth had arrived and his mother left him at home to continue packing while she went to Cordell to open Cordell Feed and Seed. Principal Billings and Larry Garnett, the werewolf English teacher, parked in the driveway and rang the doorbell. Ashe, pulling the kitchen window curtain aside, grumbled to himself when he saw who it was. He also considered pretending not to be at home. Instead, he squared his shoulders and went to lift the garage door.

  "Principal Billings, Mr. Garnett, I can make coffee if you want some," Ashe offered respectfully, leading the two men inside the house. Paul Harris, the former English teacher, had blown up the Evans and Anderson homes three years earlier. He'd led the Elemaiya to Ashe to begin with, but he’d been caught with his Elemaiya conspirators after several murders. The Pack had delivered justice. Ashe never knew exactly what that was; all he'd known was that Mr. Harris disappeared shortly after he'd been captured and the two Elemaiya had been destroyed by Nathan Anderson, Mr. Winkler and his father.

  "We wanted to get the phone number for William Winkler," Principal Billings turned his best frown on Ashe after refusing coffee. Mr. Garnett looked as if he'd like coffee but followed Billings' lead.

  "It's on the Internet," Ashe said as respectfully as he could. Winkler Security had a huge website.

  "That's the company number. I've left three messages and he hasn't called back."

  "He might be busy," Ashe suggested, thinking that if Principal Billings left a message for Winkler, the Dallas Packmaster might put off calling back as long as possible.

  "I know he has a private number that will get me right to him. Marcus is away so I can't get it from him, and Lavonna Anderson said that Aedan might have it."

  Ashe didn't like lying. Preferred not to do it if possible. He did it now, facing Principal Billings. "Then Dad may have it. You'll have to ask him." Ashe did have Winkler's private cell number—he'd had it for three years. "Call if there's trouble," Winkler said, handing a business card to Ashe before leaving Cloud Chief. "Don't give it to anyone else," Winkler grinned and slid into the company van he'd driven from Dallas. Ashe wasn't about to give the number to Billings now. Winkler's private cell number was a secret he'd kept for three years and he'd never had to use it.

  "Then tell your father we'll be by after sundown. This is your fault, you know. I don't appreciate being forced to move. Again." Billings and Mr. Garnett stalked out of Ashe's house; Ashe followed to lower the garage door after them. Mr. Garnett gave a half-wave to Ashe while Principal Billings wasn't looking. Ashe lifted his hand in silent reply.

  * * *

  "I got everything in the living room packed up; the bathrooms too, except for what we can pack in suitcases," Ashe told his mother when she came home from work carrying bags of takeout. Ashe recognized the smell immediately; he was going to miss the chicken and dumplings from Betsy's Diner.

  "The movers will be here Monday night," Adele sighed. "We'll do the kitchen tonight. We'll have sandwiches or takeout until they get here."

  "Mom, Principal Billings came by today with Mr. Garnett. He wanted Mr. Winkler's phone number. Mrs. Anderson told him that Dad might have it, since Marcus was away from home."

  "What did he say to you, honey?" Adele, now almost a foot shorter than Ashe, looked up into her son's face.

  "He said it was my fault that we have to move. But it's something I knew already," Ashe held up a hand when his mother protested. "I offered him coffee and told him he'd have to talk to Dad about the phone number. He didn't want coffee and left." Ashe didn't say what he really thought; that Billings had come by just to upset him.

  "I'll have Aedan call when he wakes. Maybe we can prevent another visit from Principal narrow-minded." Ashe blinked. He'd never heard his mother speak in disrespectful terms about any of his teachers or school administrators. Cloud Chief was too small to have an official school board, but there were three administrators— Marcus DeLuca, Jonas O'Neill and Nathan Anderson. They represented all three types of paranormals in Cloud Chief: werewolf, shapeshifter and vampire. One of their jobs was to approve expenses as proposed by the Principal and teaching staff. Mr. Garnett had asked for—and gotten—new computers for the classrooms. Students could now write essays or research information for homework assignments in the new computer lab. It had made things much simpler for the school. Now, all of it would have to be moved.

  "Mom, who's packing up the school?"

  "They're sending a special truck and a crew just for that," Adele slipped an arm around Ashe's shoulders. "They're going to pack everything and haul it down. Marcus says that the community center Mr. Winkler built for residents in the new addition will be redesigned and used as our school."

  "This sounds like a really big expense for Mr. Winkler."

  "He'll have this land and all the houses and buildings deeded over to him," Adele said. "It probably won't cover a fraction of the cost, but it'll be something. Besides, he's a very wealthy man. If he couldn't afford it, he wouldn't have offered."

  "All right." Ashe pulled the container of chicken and dumplings from the bag his mother had brought, grabbed a fork and started eating.

  * * *

  "Looks like things are under control," Aedan glanced around the kitchen later when he came upstairs. Ashe and his mother had started packing the moment they finished eating dinner. Now, half the kitchen was in boxes and labeled. "I'll get the things down from the attic before dawn," he added.

  "Dad, Principal Billings came by earlier," Ashe said.

  "I know. Marcus called," Aedan held up his cell. "Stop worrying about it, Son. Marcus has already spoken with Billings." Ashe watched while his father kissed his mother lightly before heading out the kitchen door. He knew what his father, Nathan Anderson, Mr. Thompson and many of Cloud Chief's werewolves were doing; they were patrolling the perimeter, watching for another attack from the Elemaiya. His father had his cell phone and a walkie-talkie strapped to his belt; everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the Elemaiya to return.

  * * *

  "We followed the mutation, my Queen, but we did not have to eliminate him. Someone from the community did so. We were unable to prevent the human death beforehand, however." Emerald bowed low before his Bright Queen.

  "Humans are of no consequence. The boy still lives?"

  "Yes, my Queen. And he is approaching age." Their spy had informed them only recently that there was one remaining child born of their donated eggs. Friesianna was worried, as Hilbah hadn't handed the mother's token to her before he'd died. The Bright Queen had no information on this one, but she pretended that she did—it wouldn't do to appear weak in front of her subjects.

  "Good. We know of his shapeshifting ability and that will be most useful when spying on the others. We will wait a bit, to allow things to settle. Our Dark cousins will not send another assassin until the community becomes complacent again. We will wait as well. Until the next full moon. Security will be lowest at that point and we will take him. He will learn what it is to serve me."

  "Of course, my Queen." Emerald bowed low.

  * * *

  "They're going to separate, once the trucks reach I-40, just to make sure nobody follows," Winkler said. The Dallas Packmaster had arrived, bringing several others with him. Ashe stared at the man Winkler identified as the Director for the Joint NSA and Homeland Security Department. This was the man who'd taken Director Jennings' place. Winkler called him Matt, as if he knew him well. Winkler had known the previous Director very well, too, Ashe knew. He wasn't about to bring that up—too many secrets surrounded that information and lives depended upon his silence.

  Guards were provided by Winkler Security, and most of those were werewolves, with only a few humans involved. Sali, standing beside Ashe in the Evans' kitchen, told Ashe which ones were actually humans.

  "Man, I wish I had your nose," Ashe muttered, thinking how nice it wou
ld be to tell by scent exactly who or what might be standing before him. Sali grinned at the compliment.

  "Now, as soon as we determine that we're not being followed, we'll head toward the Gulf Coast. Some will go through Houston, some through San Antonio and the smaller trucks will break off at Waco and go through Victoria. They'll come into Winkler Estates on three different days. Take what you need to rough it until your belongings arrive in the trucks." Winkler was addressing at least one representative from each family inside the Evans' kitchen.

  "Is everyone ready?" Marcus asked. "Are your bags packed into vehicles? Remember the assigned route and what to watch for?" He gazed around the room at the nodding heads and verbal assents. "Good. Get in contact with Mr. Winkler's team or me if you run into problems."

  "I know some of you are stopping in Dallas or Amarillo before going on," Winkler nodded to the DeLucas, who were staying in Dallas and at the O'Neills, who had family in Amarillo. "Make sure you're aware of your surroundings at all times and don't take unnecessary risks."

  "Are we ready?" Marcus stood and pulled the keys to his van from a pocket. Everyone nodded at Marcus' question. "Good. Let's load up and drive."

  "Ashe, your father will call the moment he rises and gets on the road," Adele said. As a security precaution, Mr. Winkler had advised the community to move things up, so everyone was leaving early Monday morning. He'd informed Marcus and the two vampires the night before, creating a flurry of last minute packing. Now, everything had been loaded into huge vans, doors had been closed and locked and werewolf drivers were waiting.

  Ashe still worried about his father and Nathan. Aedan's SUV was left in the garage for the two vampires to drive; everyone else was leaving. "Come on, honey." Adele slipped her hand in the crook of Ashe's arm—the others were already outside. Sali was waiting on Ashe, since the DeLucas planned to spend two days in the Dallas area before driving on to Star Cove.