Right outside my shop.
Alucard told me it was all over the news, and he had been forced to close shop rather than speaking to every reporter within a dozen feet. And, since he was a vampire, he couldn’t really just walk out into daylight to do so. And religious protestors flooded the street.
Fucking useless. I needed someone there to deflect any poor portrayal of my store, now that it was my primary source of income.
I parked the car, and Alucard glided to the backseat, opening the door to pick up Tory with his inhuman strength. The smell of sunblock struck my nose. He was liberally doused in it, as a matter of precaution. His face grimaced a bit at picking up an injured human, still starving for some fresh blood. But then his face changed to a look of disgust and he glanced down at her in surprise. His eyes turned to meet mine, watching him cautiously over the top of the car. I had been ready to throttle him into the fountain if his monster took over and decided it wanted just a nibble.
“What…” he began, glancing back down at her. “What happened, Nate?”
“Yes, Nate. What happened?” A new voice murmured from directly behind me.
I flinched, spun, and found myself facing the armed assassin, Van Helsing. I studied him up and down. He wore camo cargo pants, pockets bulging with additional bullets or weapons of some nature, tapering down to heavy combat boots polished to a dull shine. His torso was enshrouded in a bulletproof vest with all sorts of tactical straps holding weapons, knives, and clips of ammo. Twin pistols hung low on his hips, true monsters the likes of which I had never before seen. Two more hung across his chest in twin shoulder straps. A sword hung over his back, and a crossbow pointed at my nose, the metal tip black as night.
He winked and blew me a kiss. “From Van, with love.”
“Very brave…” I rolled my eyes, waving a hand at his arsenal.
He smiled back, and hooked the crossbow behind his back, holding out his hands in invitation. “Let’s dance, Maker. Been a while since I’ve had a good wrestle.” He said wrestle with an exaggerated redneck accent so that it sounded more like rasstle.
I Shadow Walked directly behind him, grasped the crossbow, and Shadow Walked back as his body began to turn. I pointed it directly at his face, halting his turn. Then I noticed that one of his hands held that deadly pistol pointed straight at my heart and his other hand held a pistol pointed at where I had been a millisecond ago behind him. Both were cocked and his finger was applying pressure to the trigger.
“Quick, boy. Just not quick enough. I know the sound of my weapons. If I notice the telltale creak of you pulling the trigger on that crossbow, my reflexes on this trigger will tighten and we will both die. Well, not me. I’m immortal,” he winked, slowly turning his head back to me. Not an ounce of concern showed on his face.
My phone began to ring.
I arched an eyebrow at him. He glanced down at my crossbow and his gun. “Truce.”
I nodded, slowly lowering the crossbow, finger still on the overlarge trigger. He lowered the pistols at exactly the same pace, watching me for any deceit. As the crossbow lowered parallel to my body and my finger released the trigger, he holstered both pistols and placed both hands on his hips, glancing down at my pocket where my phone was still ringing.
Did I dare risk answering it? Something about the sparkle in his eyes led me to believe that he would abide by his truce. It wouldn’t be fun otherwise. As if reading my gaze, his smile stretched wider and he nodded.
I sighed, withdrawing my phone and answering the call.
“Hello?” I didn’t even glance down at the screen to see who it was.
“Mind telling me what the hell is going on?” Gunnar roared. I could hear shouting and screaming in the background, punctuated by dozens of howls of outrage.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“There’s a rabid… Gruffalo pursued by a dozen tiny fairies, destroying anything it can get a hold of. It’s already taken out two of my wolves, and there is a familiar cackle off in the woods that reminds me of that Huntress bitch we ran into yesterday.” He muffled the phone as he bellowed commands to someone in the background.
“Shit.”
“Shit doesn’t fix the problem, Nate. What did you do?” He snarled. Before I could answer, he roared one last line. “Get over here and fix this!” and the sounds of battle erupted in the background after a sound similar to a phone striking the ground ended the call.
“Gunnar? Gunnar!” There was no response. I looked up in time to see a thoughtful look on Van’s face, and then he was simply gone.
“Where the hell did he go?” Alucard hissed.
“If we’re lucky, he went to join the party at Gunnar’s compound.” My mind raced. Whatever Tory had done had sent the Gruffalo off on a rampage, and either he had coincidentally ended up at Gunnar’s pack headquarters, or the Huntress had been able to influence events enough to point the berserk monster directly at my friend. Judging her, it seemed the most likely.
Dean opened the door, peering out cautiously. He held a sniper rifle in one hand. “I had him in my sights the entire time, Master Temple.” His eyes roved to Alucard, and then Tory. They tightened as he rested the gun against the doorframe, rushing to take her into his arms. Alucard did so with a sigh of relief that he was now free to act.
“Dean, take care of her… and…” I sighed to myself, “stop calling me Master-”
The door shut with a solid thud and deadbolts instantly began clicking into place.
“Bastard,” I grumbled.
“Why would he call you Master Bastard?” Alucard asked, deadpan.
I shot him a deadly glare only to find him grinning. “Let’s go join the party,” he amended, fangs glistening into existence as his eyes flashed a crimson red. Fainter than usual, but still there. If he had been stocked up on human blood, the color would have been much more vibrant, but at least he still had some reserves. The blood bags had been helping him. Staving him over. I just hoped it would be enough to help Gunnar.
“Let’s go save some flea-ridden dogs,” I muttered, holding out my hand. Alucard chuckled, his cool hand grasping my outstretched palm. The world folded in on itself as I Shadow Walked us to Silver Gardens Apartments, the home of the local werewolf pack.
Chapter 38
We appeared in the center of the parking lot of the apartment complex.
Except it had been updated a tad since I had last been here. The property had been bought in recent weeks, and I had presumed it to be some new investor, but I hadn’t blinked an eye, because after having shut down Temple Industries I could use the cash. None of the other partial owners had disagreed either, being as they were heavy investors in anything I touched.
They had spruced up the place. Extravagant trees now surrounded the apartment grounds, and the paint, siding, parking lot, had all been refinished, giving the place a pristine feeling only a new home could provide. And the stink of werewolf dominated, whereas before it had been a majority of werewolves living here with some non-magical people thrown in for good measure.
Now it was a werewolf complex.
Only.
And almost every car in the parking lot was new and higher priced than most low income apartment complexes typically sported.
Alucard glanced at me sideways. “Do you buy swanky digs for all your friends?”
I shook my head, quickly losing interest in the locale as the result of several nearby screams and howls. “This wasn’t me. Some real estate group bought it and must have polished it up. Let’s go find Gunnar.”
We began jogging towards the sounds of violence, bloodcurdling howls and roars from an otherworldly creature, urged on by the constant commands of the Huntress. I heard clanging sounds, and only had to assume the worst. Van was here having fun too. I growled under my breath, Alucard agreeing with his own snarl as he also recognized the sound.
The fighting was taking place just beyond the last building, and as we rounded the corner we skidded to a halt short of a
world gone mad. Wolves the size of Great Danes howled and ranged in small packs of two or three, harrying the monstrosity that was the Gruffalo, who sported a half dozen very noticeable wounds on his hide and flanks.
No sooner had the beast lunged to attack one group as it fled, another would swipe in from the opposite direction to quickly attack and injure before also darting out. Typical wolf tactics. Not to instantly kill, but to slowly bleed their prey to death in a coordinated combined attack from all directions. Wolves worked as packs, silently communicating with each other on a level that was profound, and gut-wrenchingly beautiful to behold.
But different than in most wolf hunts, two lone wolves were not taking a break to disappear after their attacks. Unlike how the other wolves darted in as pairs and then quickly dashed off to safety, awaiting their next turn. But two of the wolves constantly, persistently, undoubtingly continued attack after attack after attack.
One giant arctic white wolf, the other a smaller black wolf stood on opposing sides of the beast, appearing almost to grin, muzzles dripping with blood and saliva as their lips curled back into hungry snarls. The white wolf sported a single eye, and was almost twice the size of the other wolves when his fur was puffed out like it was now. Still, even without that he made the other wolves look small, especially the smaller black wolf partnered with him, who was smaller than the other wolves in the pack.
Gunnar and Ashley.
As if harboring a death wish, Ashley darted directly in front of the Gruffalo, taunting him with pointed yips. The Gruffalo snarled, one of his massive tusks a broken, jagged mess as he swung a gargantuan fist straight down at the midnight black tiny werewolf.
I took a quick step forward, already flinging my hand up to smoke the monster with whips of fire, but I hesitated as I saw Ashley react.
She darted back a few paces in a single, twisting leap. She landed in a crouch as the fist hammered into the earth where she had just stood. She instantly exploded from her crouch, launching herself up onto the Gruffalo’s now lowered arm, using it as a freaking ramp to suddenly perch on the Gruffalo’s shoulders. She lunged in with hungry teeth and tore out his eye, then used his cheek to kick herself off back to solid ground.
The Gruffalo let out a cry that threatened to set off car alarms, both in rage and exquisite pain.
Then there was Gunnar. As the Gruffalo threw up his hands to his ruined eye, Gunnar suddenly pummeled into the Gruffalo’s stomach, tearing open a wide patch and continuing on so that he freaking tore the skin away like a boiled tomato. He shook his head, the flap of skin tearing free of the Gruffalo with a disgusting sound and the creature practically howled, swinging wildly to try and prevent any further attacks.
And Gunnar gobbled it up.
Two arrows suddenly sailed out of the playground area, impaling two wolves standing on the edge of the garden. As one, the other wolves hunched low, and after Gunnar’s howl, tore off toward the playground, but I knew her too well. Alucard made as if to follow, a furious gleam in his eyes, but I latched onto his shirt, yanking him back. He turned feral crimson eyes on me, snarling, and I pointed him behind us to find the Huntress standing there, bow in one hand, other hand on her hip. She was smiling, but not happily. In anticipation.
“Don’t have your creature here to save you now. Or your Lightbringer. Did you think your ruse could make a real difference? Turning my creatures against each other? They are wild. Of course, they can turn on each other. I bet you thought she had real power.” Her eyes danced with hunger at mention of Tory, but the look quickly flashed away. “I’ll deal with her later. But now look what I’ve done. I’ve turned their rage against your own pet wolves, and now I’ll even have a few new skins for my winter coat,” her smile dripped venom. “I’ve turned the hunted into hunters. Just took a little redirection, and to get rid of those fickle fairies. Now my beast is back under proper control.” She quickly nocked an arrow and pointed it at me. “No tiny girls here to save you this time.”
“Nope, but it looks like my puppies are doing just fine against the big bad Gruffalo,” I smiled.
She stretched the bowstring back further. “Hand over the book and I’ll make sure my arrow severs your spinal cord before you feel a single moment of pain.”
I swallowed, already holding my power ready to deflect her attack in case she twitched accidentally. “Well, that’s very generous of you, Pocahontas. Especially since I’m helpless without my tiny girls here to protect me…” Her eyes tightened at my insolent tone. “But you seem to have a few chipmunks up your ears, or you’re dead…” I leaned forward as if to whisper a secret. “I. Don’t. Have. It.” Then I leaned back, assessing her with an imploring look. “Did you hear me that time?”
“Your arrogance will get you killed one of these days.” She smiled wickedly. “Most dislike it. I, however, find it… interesting. Much as I do that tiny girl who so cleverly dismantled my trap.” Her eyes grew distant and thoughtful, but that arrow kept right on pointing at my throat. Alucard was entirely still, but I knew he would be ready to move in a heartbeat.
I waited, sure she was about to kill me. “So…”
“Yes,” her gaze snapped back to me. “I hear your words, but I sense its presence regardless. Every time I am near you, in fact. I’m really a simple girl, Temple. If something makes me uneasy, I hunt it down, kill it, skin it, and admire the skin as a trophy on my wall.” Her bow dipped slightly as if to point at me. “Right now, you are making me uneasy.”
“Imagine how I feel…” I muttered.
“Speak, or forever be silenced.”
I threw up my hands. “I don’t know! Check with Van or Baba,” and I unleashed the power I had been holding this entire time. I simultaneously froze her hands still, and latched out with a whip of fire as I brought my hands down. The arrow loosed as her eyes widened in surprise, but my whip of fire latched on to the bow, igniting it in flame hot enough to burn it to ash almost instantly. I felt a rush of air from my left as something sailed just past my face.
And the craziest thing happened.
A second arrow struck the Huntress’ arrow in midflight, altering the trajectory so that it went straight over my head and off into the sky. But the second arrow continued on straight ahead, and thunked into a large tree… about two inches above a massive white werewolf’s head, who was silently staring at the altercation between the Huntress and I. The wolf didn’t flinch, growl, or make any move whatsoever. It merely lifted its single eye to stare at the newest person on the dance floor.
I still held my whip of fire, now coiled in a pool beside my foot, flickering between black, red, and yellow, just like the coals of a fire pit – the hottest section of a fire. I glanced over lazily to see Van studying us.
“He might just be telling the truth. What I sense is faint, as if he may have touched it, but now it’s gone.”
The Huntress scowled at the man who had ruined her hunt, but finally nodded. “Perhaps. But you shall pay for disturbing my kill,” she promised. Van rolled his eyes as if hearing a toddler threaten his life against ever stealing his toy truck again.
“And look who is missing from our reunion…” I offered.
They exchanged glances with me, then each other. “Baba,” they grumbled in unison.
“Then if you guys are finished here, I’ll politely ask you to fuck off now. Bye.”
They slowly swiveled their heads my way, and I noticed Alucard tensing, prepared to fight. My peripheral gaze caught Gunnar crouching down in anticipation. “Nate…” Alucard warned in a frustrated whisper.
“Why do you guys want this thing so badly? I mean, suddenly all four of us want this book at exactly the same time. At least I can claim ignorance. I don’t even know what it is. I’m just a hired gun looking to buy it for a client. But you three… you guys know what it is and suddenly you all just have to have it. Something like that would make me mighty curious. Perhaps if we knew each other’s motivations we would find some common thread… or common threat if th
ere is indeed an unknown person in the background pulling the puppet’s strings.” Their eyes darted here and there – at each other, at me, at Gunnar, Alucard, and their surroundings in general, as if waiting for Baba to appear.
“I’m just here for fun,” Van commented. “Aren’t we all having fun?”
The Huntress didn’t seem fazed by this, and instead turned to face me. “I need it to repay a debt.” Van flinched at this answer, but quickly hid his response from all but me. The Huntress was too busy watching me to notice.
“You made a deal with someone?” She didn’t respond, merely staring at me, seeming surprised that she had even shared as much as she had.
“Okay. Thanks for being honest.” I turned to Van. “Nice bullshit answer, Van. Why do you really want it? You wouldn’t be throwing yourself into this without a very beneficial reason, am I right?”
He finally nodded stubbornly, forcefully keeping his eye contact from the Huntress.
“It’s…” he exchanged another look with the Huntress, who finally nodded with a resigned sigh. “It’s lucky.”
“Lucky,” I repeated in disbelief. “You three are out trying to kill each other, and me, because you want a glorified rabbit’s foot.” They merely scowled at me. Then I began to laugh, finally resorting to resting my hands on my thighs as the laughter completely began to consume me.
“What’s so funny, boy…?” Van warned dangerously.
I shook my head and straightened, gathering my laughter back under control with a few deep breaths. “It’s just that…” another breath, “you guys are assuming I have it…” I stared at them to find them nodding. “…but I’m about the unluckiest son of a bitch in the world. What could possibly make you think I have it?” They didn’t look pleased, so I decided to dump some gasoline on the fire. “Baba mentioned it grants wishes…” I casually threw it out there, and their response was glorious.
Silver Tongue: A Novel in The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 4) Page 20