"Come on," Ashe was somehow inside the cage, helping Lewis up without opening the door. Lewis, thinking he was hallucinating—people didn't walk through barred cages, after all—allowed the tall youth to pull him off the concrete floor. Ashe slipped a shoulder beneath Lewis' arm and disappeared with his burden.
"You have to be quiet here," Ashe told Lewis as he set a glass of water on the kitchen island for the former prisoner. Lewis blinked dark eyes at Ashe before gulping the water thirstily, his hand shaking as he held the glass.
"Slow down, you don't need to choke, there's plenty more," Ashe did his best to calm Lewis. "I'm Ashe, by the way. Ashe Evans. I have canned and packaged food in the pantry, here," Ashe pointed to the small pantry in question. He'd taken Lewis to the hidden room beneath Winkler's new beach house. "So, what will it be? Canned soup, spaghetti or chili?"
"Kid, who are you?" Lewis rasped, coming to his senses. His reddish-brown hair was shaggy and needed washing, as did the rest of him. Ashe was glad he didn't have a werewolf's sensitive nose; Lewis needed a shower in the worst way. He required food and water first, however, and Ashe wasn't about to call the man to task about his hygiene. It wasn't his fault, after all. When Winkler and the others questioned Chad and Jeremy, they hadn't asked about potential prisoners. Ashe had picked up remnants of extreme sadness emanating from Lewis, who'd determined that he'd been left to die in his cage.
"I'm just a not so average kid," Ashe replied. "Tell me who you are. I promise to get you home by Monday."
"What day is it?" Lewis asked. "And I'm Lewis. Lewis Sharpe, from Russellville, Arkansas."
"It's Friday, August eighth," Ashe replied. "Full moon is," Lewis finished Ashe's sentence for him.
"Sunday," Lewis muttered hopelessly.
"It's all right," Ashe reassured the shapeshifter. "My mom shifts into a peregrine falcon on full moons."
"Your mother's a shifter?" Lewis asked, blinking at Ashe in confusion. Ashe emptied a can of spaghetti into a bowl and shoved it into the microwave while the man continued to stare at Ashe.
"Yeah. But things are a little strained at the moment. Don't worry, you're as safe as you can be for now, and as soon as you finish eating, there's a washer and dryer behind those doors in the center of the room, a bathroom and shower past that plus that bed over there so you can rest. I'm sorry there's no door in or out of this place, but if you're quiet, nobody else will know you're here until I come back."
"If there's no door," Lewis lifted the fork Ashe placed before him and dipped into the bowl of microwaved spaghetti, "How did you get in here to begin with?"
"The same way I'm getting out," Ashe replied. "You'll hear noise above your head all day—people will be moving in. There's nothing to worry about as long as you stay quiet, all right? At least until I can explain things to the owner."
"Kid, you just hauled me away from certain death. I think I can stay quiet for a little while. Especially since that cabinet is filled with food and there's plenty of water." Lewis nodded toward the kitchen sink where Ashe stood.
"There's probably soda and juice in the fridge, but you needed water first," Ashe said. "I have to go before people start looking for me." Lewis' fork dropped from numb fingers when Ashe disappeared before his eyes.
Chapter 2
"I'm getting my computer unhooked," Ashe called out when Winkler half-shouted his name.
"Son," Winkler stood in the doorway to Ashe's room that doubled as an office and bedroom, "as soon as you get that stuff carried out to the van, we'll go on. I've got movers coming for the rest."
"All right, Mr. Winkler. It'll only take a few more minutes." Ashe knew Winkler was feeling the approaching full moon, just like the other wolves. Andy had growled at somebody earlier, and that wasn't like Winkler's trusted assistant. Ashe placed the computer and monitor in a box, the power cords, battery backup and surge protectors in another.
The files he was working went into a third box. Andy wanted those to go with them on the first trip. Ashe knew now he was working on investigations Matt Michaels had turned over to Winkler. Ashe misted the first box out, followed quickly by the second and third while Winkler watched from the doorway, a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Does this mean you're done now?" Winkler asked dryly when Ashe showed up again after the last box.
"Yeah. Let's get the hell out of Dodge," Ashe quipped, walking toward the door this time. Winkler grinned and tousled Ashe's hair before following him out.
"The Grand Master and Thomas Williams will be here tomorrow afternoon," Winkler said as they walked to the van parked in the driveway. "Kids will fly down from Dallas tonight," he added.
"The Grand Master wants to talk to the prisoners?" Ashe asked.
"Yep. Thomas will likely come with him. He's a good friend of Weldon's, as was his dad. Thomas, Sr. gave his life to protect the Grand Master around thirty years ago. Weldon won't ever forget that."
* * *
"Mr. Winkler, how much control do you have right now?" Ashe asked. They stood inside Winkler's suite of rooms, watching while new furniture was delivered and placed. Winkler's new cook and house staff had arrived already to supervise.
"As good as can be expected," Winkler said softly.
"How good would you be around, let's say, a shapeshifter who becomes a deer?" Winkler, who'd been watching while a massive bed frame was put together, jerked around to face Ashe.
"Kid, is this gonna give me a headache?" Winkler asked.
"Probably." Ashe hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. "He says his name is Lewis Sharpe, from Russellville, Arkansas. Chad and Jeremy kidnapped him to throw a wrench into the works come Sunday night. He's down in the hidden room in the basement."
"Things can't help but happen around you, can they?" Winkler pulled out his cell and called Alvin "Bear" Wright.
"Principal Wright here," Bear answered.
"Bear, we have one of yours over here; perhaps you should intercede on his behalf since he was kidnapped by a werewolf and a shapeshifter."
"I'll come get you, Mr. Wright," Ashe offered, knowing the shapeshifting Principal would hear.
"Good," Bear said and hung up.
"I'll go out in the hall," Ashe said. "Meet me downstairs?"
"I'll bring Trajan," Winkler nodded.
"No more than that—I'm not sure a deer feels that comfortable around wolves," Ashe muttered.
"Not sure I would, either," Winkler acknowledged dryly. "We'll be there waiting." Ashe made sure nobody was there to see before he relocated to Bear Wright's front door and rang the doorbell.
"What have you been up to, young one?" Bear asked when he answered the door, hauling a freshly laundered knit shirt over his head. Ashe found himself liking the bear shapeshifter more and more as time went by. There wasn't anything formal or stiff about Bear Wright.
"Mr. Wright, Chad and Jeremy kidnapped a shapeshifter from Russellville, Arkansas," Ashe explained when Bear's head popped into the neck of the shirt and the fabric settled over his muscled torso. "And I may need your help come Sunday night."
"Kid, I'll do what I can," Bear nodded. "Let's go talk to this shifter."
"Ready?" Ashe asked the moment he landed Bear in Winkler's basement.
"Waitin' on you—what took so long?" Trajan teased.
"I'll remember you said that the next time you want to go somewhere," Ashe said. "We'll try not to freak out Mr. Sharpe."
Mr. Sharpe did freak anyway, jumping when Ashe reappeared with three others. Lewis had a bath towel wrapped around himself while the dryer hummed in the background. He was sipping a soda and watching television when he was startled by visitors.
"Son, these are friends," Bear Wright said immediately, nodding toward Winkler and Trajan. "We've got those two miscreants who took you locked up; we just didn't think to ask them if there was any other criminal activity committed beyond the murder of a young werewolf here in Texas."
"They killed somebody? I'm not surprised," Lewis reached out a hand to shake w
ith Bear. He could tell by scent that the Star Cove Principal was a shapeshifter, just as he knew that Winkler and Trajan were werewolves.
"This is William Winkler and his Second, Trajan Gibson," Bear finished the introductions.
"As in Winkler Security William Winkler?" Lewis held out his hand. "Damn. Never figured you were a wolf. I'm a deputy for the Russellville Sheriff's department. At least I was, till those two shot me with a tranquilizer gun and locked me in a cage, somewhere."
"About six miles from here, in Shirley Walker's cotton fields," Ashe nodded in the proper direction. "I figure they hauled him here on one of their trips and left him in that bomb shelter. He was about to starve when I found him."
"What were they planning to do with you?" Bear asked.
"They said a distraction on the full moon. That's all I know," Lewis replied with a shrug. "Is there any chance I can borrow a phone? I have people to call."
"Hold on a little," Winkler raised a hand while he pulled his cell out of a pocket with the other. In seconds, he had Matt Michaels on the line. "Matt, we need to run a little interference for a missing deputy from Russellville, Arkansas," Winkler said when Matt answered.
"I heard about that," Matt said, tapping on his laptop. "You have him?"
"We do, now. The kid found him in an old bunker not far from here. Tranquilized and kidnapped by those two we have locked up."
"I'll call the Arkansas Bureau. We'll take care of it," Matt said. "He'll have his job back and no questions asked."
"Tell them he'll be in touch come Monday," Winkler said. "Trajan, get Trace on the phone and have him pick up some clothes for Deputy Sharpe."
"Dude, isn't Arkansas one of the worst places to be a deer shapeshifter?" Ashe asked softly. Lewis Sharpe barked a laugh.
* * *
"Mr. Tanner, we have to do it on the full moon. Our target is moving into the fortress today—two weeks ahead of schedule, according to my informant."
"Then I hope your informant is prepared to help," Zeke Tanner growled. Josiah hadn't wanted to make the call; he knew Zeke would be more out of sorts than usual this close to the full moon. He just didn't want his head snapped off by the rogue werewolf.
"My informant will most certainly be ready to go," Josiah did a bit of growling himself.
"Good. I want a call, first thing Monday," Zeke said and hung up. Josiah ended the call with a sigh; he had last minute plans to make.
* * *
Ashe eyed his new bedroom furniture critically, trying to decide if he liked everything where it was. "I want the bed here," he said, gesturing with his hands. "So I can see the water when I wake up in the morning."
The set was moved before the mattress and box spring were placed. Ashe gave a thumbs-up to the furniture delivery crew. The mattress was settled on the bed and Ashe pulled the new comforter and sheets from his closet to make it up. His clothes and other belongings had arrived an hour earlier. Lewis had gone home with Bear Wright to talk over his kidnapping with the Star Cove Principal. Ashe knew Bear also wanted to discuss organizing the shapeshifter community with the Arkansas deputy.
Ashe pulled his cell out the moment it rang. "Randy?"
"Ashe, meet us at Pasquale's," Randy said. "About fifteen minutes. Can you make that?"
"Sure," Ashe replied.
* * *
"Mr. Winkler, Trajan, I'm meeting Randy at Pasquale's," Ashe announced as he walked into the spacious kitchen. Winkler's new cook, a werewolf named Craig, was busy preparing a meal for the others while familiarizing himself with the new kitchen. He looked up from his work when Ashe entered.
"Be home by eleven," Winkler said, sipping a mixed drink Craig handed to the Dallas Packmaster.
"Will do, boss," Ashe nodded and walked out, disappearing before he reached the front door.
* * *
"What's up with the kid?" Craig asked as he handed a plate of appetizers to Trajan and Winkler.
"Don't upset him; his parents have pretty much abandoned him," Winkler said. "I'm his legal guardian, so treat him just like one of my kids."
"He's a talented shapeshifter," Trajan added, pulling two crab cakes onto a plate. "I wouldn't get on his bad side, if I were you."
"Why? What can a shapeshifter do to a werewolf?" Craig asked, snorting derisively.
"Fry you, to start with," Trajan said.
"You're such a kidder," Craig said and went back to his cooking.
* * *
"Ashe, this is Sara." Randy couldn't stop the helpless grin from spreading across his face. Sara, perky and smiling, with short, red hair curling riotously due to the beach humidity, took Ashe's hand when he held it out. Ashe stiffened and went completely still.
"Ashe? Ashe, what's wrong?" It took Randy nearly a minute to get Ashe's attention again. Sara had stared at Ashe, her smile disappearing the moment Ashe had taken her hand. Ashe blinked and let Sara's hand go.
"I'm sorry about your dad," Ashe said. "Really sorry. Please, sit down. I'll be all right in a minute." Randy watched, concerned, as both Sara and Ashe sat at the table, Ashe rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. Sara appeared frightened.
"Sara, it's nothing to worry about," Ashe's blue eyes studied her face. "I just see things, now and then. It's what I am. Randy, if you take her to your mother after this, you need to tell Sara that she's a werewolf first."
"Ashe," Randy hissed. That was information he wasn't prepared to give. Sara need never know.
"Dude, Sara's a shifter. A small one. I've already dealt with one shifter today who might make a meal for the Pack. Sara's another one of those."
Sara was now staring at Randy in shock. "Your mother's a werewolf?" she squeaked. "You're not a wolf, Randy, your scent is human. How did you know about my dad?" She turned to Ashe, her eyes troubled. "And we shouldn't be talking about this in a public place!"
"I have us shielded, nobody will hear," Ashe muttered, knowing Sara was upset and Randy angry.
"Ashe, how in the name of hell?" Randy stared at Ashe.
"Dude, we'll have a talk soon. You don't remember a lot of things because the vampires don't want it."
"There are vampires?" Sara hissed.
"My dad is a vampire," Ashe sighed. "At least the one I think of as my dad. I really don't know who my real father is. Or my mother. The waiter's coming," he added. Randy drew in a breath—the waiter was approaching from behind Ashe. How could he know?
"But," Sara began. She couldn't decide whether to stay or get up and walk out. How did this sixteen-year-old know anything about her? How?
"Baby, don't," Randy reached out a hand and covered hers with his. Sara sat back with a sigh, still trying to get her heart to beat normally again.
Don't worry, I'm just different, Ashe sent mindspeech to Sara, who jerked in her seat while the waiter poured water into glasses and prepared to take drink orders.
* * *
"I've got eight coming in next weekend," Bear informed Lewis, passing a soft drink to the shifter. They sat in Bear's makeshift office inside his Star Cove home. "Some of them are Old Ones."
"You managed to get them to agree to a meeting?" Lewis popped the tab on the soda can to drink.
"I know a couple of them really well. They convinced a third one to come with them," Bear nodded. "I'd like a representative from every faction, if I can get it."
"How old are the two that you know?" Lewis asked.
"One is nearly four hundred," Bear said. "The other is around three hundred, I think."
"My dad told me stories about the Old Ones when I was little," Lewis said. "He told me that a shapeshifter married a wizard and that's where the Old Ones came from."
"I don't know what happened, truthfully, and they won't talk about it," Bear said. "But something happened to give them longer lives. What I do know in each case was they had shifters for mothers. No information at all on the fathers."
"And no way to find out," Lewis muttered. "I wish I could make it back for that meeting, though, but I've been a
way from work too long as it is. If Mr. Winkler hadn't gotten Matt Michaels on the phone, I might have some tall explaining to do over this without letting anything slip."
"Those two boys are scheduled for termination and rightly so," Bear nodded. "And there's something else going on, I just don't know what it is."
"That Ashe kid is something else."
"To put it mildly. I'll get you back to Winkler's tonight; you don't need to be anywhere near Star Cove when the vampires rise." Lewis stared in shock at Bear's words.
* * *
"Sara, you're safe, I promise," Randy had dragged Ashe along to his mother's home, just in case. Ashe made no comment as Randy reassured his girlfriend. He'd watched Sali as he drove past with Dori in his car as Ashe had ridden into Star Cove in Randy's back seat. Sali was likely taking Dori to a movie, with pizza planned afterward. Ashe sighed. Those things didn't seem to be in the cards for him. Marco, too, was out on a date with Cori.
Randy used a key to get in the front door of Dawn Smith's Star Cove home, calling out to her as he walked inside, followed by Sara, who walked timidly as if she were stepping on eggshells. Ashe patted her shoulder reassuringly as she looked around, sniffing the werewolf scent, most likely.
"So," Dawn met them in the media room, her eyes going straight to Sara while her nostrils flared at Sara's scent. "What's your animal, girl?"
* * *
"Wildrif, you will stop this incessant weeping and inform me as to which installation will be easiest to breach? And you will also use your contacts to find human explosives. I have no care what kind. My soldiers will relocate inside this base thing, plant the explosives and then leave immediately. We will see how they accept retaliation from the Dark Elemaiya." Baltis hissed the last words while Wildrif sniffled and wiped his nose on a sleeve. Baltis exercised his last bit of patience as the quarter-blood then wiped his mismatched eyes and stared up at the Dark King.
"I must consider this," Wildrif dropped his gaze, staring at his shoes instead. The Dark King had not taken thought for Wildrif's comfort or mode of dress—Wildrif's shoes were nearly worn out, as was his clothing. The quarter-blood seer could only think of his time with Obediah Tanner, who was now deceased. Obediah hadn't treated him respectfully either, but at least Wildrif had been dressed better and had gotten regular meals. Now he was forced to beg for his dinner from the cooks in the Dark King's camp.
Legend of the Ir'Indicti 5 - Destroyer Page 2