Liam appeared in the door of the sitting-room-turned-training-room as if summoned. “He’ll have to be dealt with eventually.”
“I’ll take care of it.” It was a statement, but one seeking permission. Liam gave it to Toby with a manly slap to the shoulder.
While the Makya the Backstabber issue certainly needed addressing, I felt we had more pressing matters to discuss. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, careful not to jar my ribs. “What is she up to, Jase? What will her game plan be once she gets here?”
Jase snagged a water bottle and dropped down beside me. “Why are you asking me? You’re the brains of the operation. I’m mostly here as eye candy and the occasional witty retort, much like Thor in The Avengers.”
“First, Thor is a god--”
“You’re the one who said I’m Jesus.”
“--Secondly, if you’re Thor, then I’m Loki. I don’t really approve of this comparison.”
“Nah. You’re not Loki. Your horns are too small. I’m thinking that role goes to Angel. Can’t you see her trying to take over the world just because she can?”
“The difference between Loki and Angel is Angel would succeed, and probably have three quarters of the world happy she did.” I could already see her sitting on a giant pink throne, issuing out orders. Most of them would have to do with making the world as pretty as possible. As far as absolute rulers go, the world could do a lot worse. “And third, you’re the one who has been getting all buddy-buddy with her over the past nine months. Surely you’ve got a better idea of how her brain works than any of the rest of us.”
“Scout, I’ve known you since I was eight weeks old, and I have no idea how your brain works. What makes you think I figured out Sarvarna’s already?”
I started to put my head on my knees, but then my ribs reminded me why that was a bad idea.
“You know,” Jase said, “I could just call her and ask.”
“That’s quite possibly the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Charlie said, saving me the trouble.
“No, think about it.” Jase tilted forward with excitement. “We can do like those cop shows. Set up a tap. Let the smart people analyze everything she says and the background noise. Trace the call.”
“We don’t have phone tapping equipment, or a team of analysts,” Toby pointed out.
“We’re Shifters, and the full moon is tomorrow night. We don’t need actual phone taps. And Joshua can handle the phone trace, right?”
“I could do it in my sleep.”
“Toby’s a cop,” Talley noted. “He could probably pick up something from a conversation.”
“Hey, I’m not a--”
“And don’t forget about you and Scout and your complete nerdiness.” Jase was literally rubbing his hands together.
“This idea sucks.” I looked to Liam for support. “Tell him he’s being stupid. He never actually listens to me.”
Liam, the traitorous jerk, just shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s worth a try.”
I kept up a running argument against what Jase was calling Operation: Phone Call until the moment we were sitting around the dining room table, a phone in Jase’s hand.
Even knowing Sarvarna possessed normal human hearing, I was afraid to so much as swallow.
“Good afternoon, your majesty.” Jase leaned back in his chair, his posture reflecting the same casual ease as his voice. Beside him, Talley sat stiffly, her hand in his. It was a condition he insisted on, wanting to make certain Talley always knew which part was a show for Sarvarna, and which part was real.
“Jase, dear, I’ve been trying to call you for days. I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”
I fought to control my breathing. It was bad enough everyone in the room could hear the way my heart kicked up at the sound of her voice. I relaxed my face, hoping they would interpret the increased heart rate as excitement instead of the fear creeping up my spine.
“How have you been, Sari? How is the renovation of The Den going? Got my room done yet?”
I listened intently to the background noises. She wasn’t alone, although those around her were taking as much care as we were to be quiet. I tried to count how many hearts I could hear, but it was impossible over a loud droning noise.
“The noise in the background, what is it?” I mouthed to Liam.
He cocked his head, listening. Then a hint of panic shot through me. “Airplane,” he mouthed back.
“Your room is very near finished. It makes me sad you will never see it.”
So she wasn’t playing dumb. Good.
“Yeah, well, I guess my priorities have shifted.”
And neither was Jase. Thank goodness. I can only handle so much lying and subterfuge before my head starts hurting.
“I don’t understand,” Sarvarna said. “You could have had so much, yet you align yourself with those who want to destroy our entire society. Why would you do that?”
Toby, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table, held up six fingers. Liam shook his head and jerked his thumb up. More than six people on the plane. It was the general impression I was getting, too. Eight was my conservative estimate, though there could have been more, too far away from the phone to be heard.
“The system is broken, Sari. We’ve got to fix it.”
“By declaring war on your race?”
Joshua spun a laptop around. The page looked like some sort of official Homeland Security type thing I did not want to know how he accessed. On it, there was a list of flights. He pointed to two, both of which were private planes taking off from Romania with final destination in the northern part of the United States. One landed in two hours, the other in six. He highlighted the one landing in two hours and wrote “80% probability” on a piece of paper.
“We’re not declaring war. We’re simply seeking a regime change. You could end this all by stepping down and handing over the leadership to someone who deserves it.”
“And whatever makes you think I don’t deserve it?”
You’re an evil, hateful witch?
“You tried to kill my sister.”
Oh, yeah. There’s that, too.
“You know this will end badly for you all, don't you, Jase?”
“I don’t know about that.” Jase met my eyes and smiled. “I’ve got Lilith and Wolf on my side. Something tells me, you’re the one looking at a not-so-happily-ever-after.” And with that, he disconnected the call.
***
“They’ve got eight or more on the plane,” I said as soon as Jase sat the phone on the table.
“And if the Immortal is right…”
“I generally am.”
“…She’s landing in Odom Pack Territory. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Liam said.
Toby looked at the map Joshua pulled up on the laptop. “The Miller Pack isn’t too far from there, either. And don’t discount the Bowens. They might be all the way over in Utah, but they’re the biggest and most Dominant Pack in America.”
Talley’s gaze flicked from one face to another. “I don’t understand…”
“She’s building an army,” I said. “She’s going to try to take us out before I can issue a Challenge.” I closed my eyes, an attempt to focus through the panic. “Someone give me a number.”
“Twenty-five, conservatively,” Liam’s voice answered.
“Talley,” I said.
“Scout,” she answered.
“I want you on the next plane out of here.” I turned to Joshua. “Can you handle that? Get her back to Kentucky, but not to Timber. Send her to the Matthews Pack. If they decide to go after her, they won’t immediately look there.”
“No, I’m staying here.”
“Tal…”
“I’m staying.”
“You’re going.”
“No.”
“Talley, you’re not a fighter. You’re a Seer. This is could get painful and messy. You don’t need to be here.”
Instead of arguing, Talley s
tood up, pulled a Baby Glock from underneath her bulky cardigan, and aimed it at my head. I dove as she squeezed off two shots.
The guys in the room uttered a chorus of profanities as I came out from under the table in a rage. “What the heck is wrong with you? Are you crazy? Were you trying to kill me?”
Charlie pointed to the window beside me, which Talley had shattered. “You’re not the only one who has been keeping up with training,” he said. “Talley goes to the range almost every single day. She’s become quite the legend.”
Rachel was one of those old ladies with a penchant for ugly yard decorations. There were metal owls nailed to trees, a variety of wind chimes making a racket, and ceramic creatures littering the lawn. Now there were two less, since Talley killed a ceramic squirrel and stained glass frog.
“You’re like Samuel L. Jackson! What the crap?”
Talley slipped the gun back in its holster. “I need to stand up for what I believe in. I won’t be in the direct line of combat, but if I need to, I can protect myself and those I love. Wasn’t that the whole point of making me learn self defense? I mean, it was your idea, Scout.”
Fine, if I couldn’t talk Talley into leaving, maybe I could make our injured list see logic.
“I don’t suppose there is any way I could talk you into leaving,” I said to Charlie.
“Not a chance.” I started to make my argument, but he cut me off. “I’m not planning on fighting, but I’m not leaving either.”
Not a complete victory, but it was better than nothing.
“You’ll stay with Talley?”
“And protect her with my life.”
Of course he would. Protecting his friends, no matter what it cost him personally, is what Charlie does.
Within minutes the dining room became a war room. The guys talked defenses and perimeters, most of their plans sounding like video game strategies. While they talked, I Googled bloodless coups. The results weren’t what I would call optimistic, but I still held on to hope.
The next night was the full moon. At Toby’s request, Marie and Michelle moved into the Safe House. The Hagans were keeping watch over them while Liam and I went to guard over Rachel, who refused to be “bullied by a little girl with delusions of grandeur.” Luckily, her apartment complex was on the edge of town, which meant there was a nice big field less than half a mile away where Liam and I could stand sentury.
“One of these days, I would like to wander up on a spot where I know something fantastically wonderful is going to happen,” I said. “Like, ‘Oh, look at this dirt path. This is where someone is going to give me a new car and a lifetime supply of ice cream.’”
Liam dropped his bag. “Talley’s vision?”
“Talley’s vision,” I confirmed. “If you want a front row seat, I think the big showdown is going to happen right over there.” I pointed back towards the little stream cutting through the field.
Liam turned in a slow circle, finally stopping once he faced the direction of the town. “We’ll go that direction once we Change instead of sticking around here.”
“No. We’ll stay. No use in trying to run away from it.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in fate.”
I dropped my bag beside his, then knelt down to dig out our food. “I don't, but I do believe in Talley.”
We continued to get our things in order in silence. I was heading towards a patch of trees where I could Change in privacy, when Liam said, “It was when they were holding you captive.” I stopped walking, but didn’t turn around. “It was perfect. They were cautious the first few days, but once the Hagans started falling in line, they let up, thinking they were free of threats. I had everything I needed. I could have rigged it up and gotten Jase, Talley, and Charlie out of the way before it actually blew, but I knew there was no way to save you. I told myself it was because of Alex, that I couldn’t let you die because he would never forgive me, but it was a lie. It had nothing to do with Alex, and everything to do with me.” He was behind me then. I turned to meet his gaze. “Sometime, and I don’t know when it was, you ceased to be Alex’s obsession and became mine. The way you reacted to everything happening around you… It was strange and unsettling. But the stranger and more unsettling you got, the more intrigued I was. I wanted to know why you were like that. What made you so… Scout. And I knew if I did what I was supposed to do, if I blew up that cabin with you inside it, I would never get to know you.” His hand trailed over my cheek, resting at the crook of my neck. “That was when I chose you, Scout. And even knowing what’s to come, I would have done it again.” And then, he kissed me.
There is something to be said for being kissed on purpose. Sure, out-of-control passionate kisses are all sorts of breathtakingly sexy, but knowing someone has actively made a decision to put their lips against yours is even better, especially when that person is as focused and thorough about the whole matter as Liam. He didn’t pull back until my knees were weak from it.
“We’re going to win,” I said, hands clenched in his t-shirt so I wouldn't slide onto the ground into a puddle of properly kissed goo.
“Damn straight.”
“And then, we’re going to figure this out.”
A slight lifting of the corners of his mouth in a classic Liam smile. “I look forward to it.”
This time, I kissed him on purpose.
Chapter 29
“Surrender now, and I will let the others live.” It was nearing daylight when I heard Sarvarna’s voice echo through my head.
“I haven’t issued a formal Challenge yet, your majesty. Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun a little bit?”
“You’ve gathered a group of Shifters together with the express purpose of overthrowing the Alpha Pack. Your brother has already admitted to it. As per our laws and customs, you are guilty of treason and subject to death.”
I finally caught her scent, and not just hers. Liam was right, there had to be at least twenty of them, and they were close. Too close. They stayed downwind, which was the only reason we hadn’t noticed them before.
“I thought I was supposed to die because I was a Thaumaturgic and an abomination. Come on. Make up your mind.”
“There are many reasons I will kill you, but now you won’t have to die alone. For your cowardice, your friends will now die alongside you.”
Liam slinked through the grass in the general direction of the Alpha Pack.
“Cowardice is sending in a legion of Shifters to fight your battles, Sarvarna. Call them off, and we’ll do this. Just you and me.” I trailed behind Liam, veering off slightly to the left.
“A leader doesn’t deal with such petty skirmishes. She delegates.”
And then they were upon us. It was like a wave of wolves bursting from the tree line. The acidic taste of fear flooded my mouth, but I didn’t let my terror control me. I sprinted across the grass and lunged at the first wolf I came to. The power he radiated marked him as a true member of the Alpha Pack, so I didn’t hesitate as I sank my teeth into the soft part of his neck and yanked. I moved on to the next in line before he even hit the ground.
Or maybe I should say the next two in line, since I was tag-teamed. While one distracted me from the front, the other sunk his teeth into my right hip. The pain was excruciating, but not debilitating. I slung the wolf in front of me into a red wolf who was charging towards Liam, and then spun around to face the coward who had my blood staining his muzzle. My teeth ripped into his front leg. The injury wouldn’t kill him, but he wouldn’t be walking again until the sun rose either.
Liam and I were good, and even better as a team, but no one can expect to win when the odds are two against twenty. The fight would have been over before it started if a second wave of Shifters hadn’t burst from the tree line, my brother’s small body in the lead. I barely processed there were more than a handful of Hagans when a black wolf landed in front of me.
I was confused, unsure if this was a friend or enemy until his smell registered. Warm ba
ked cookies and Miriam’s favorite laundry detergent.
Hank. I wasn’t surprised. He said he would always come when Liam needed him.
One of the Alpha Pack lunged, and Hank ducked low before coming up in a fury of teeth and claws. Convinced he could take care of himself, I turned to face my next attacker.
“Excellent timing, Tal.” Just a few minutes more, and the army we had scraped together at the last minute would have been avenging our death instead of fighting by our sides.
“Most of them just got in before the sun set, and then we had to get all the way across town in animal form,” came her reply. “You honestly didn’t think to inspect the field you would be Changing in before you got there? If you would have told me yesterday where the battle was going down, this would have gone much more smoothly.”
I would have defended myself, but I was too busy fighting for my life. I don’t know what human war is like. I’ve never been crouched down in some Middle Eastern hole in the wall while gunfire and explosions echo around me, but I can’t imagine the sound is any more horrifying than what I heard throughout our battle. Snarls and howls. Whimpers and whines. I constantly sought out the voices I knew, listening for sounds of triumph or harm.
Liam and I focused our initial energies on the the Stratego and Taxiarho. I tried to exert Dominance with them, to force them into submission, but it wasn’t happening. I knew it wouldn’t, but I still tried. I didn’t keep up with how many I killed, although I knew their individual faces would come back to haunt me in my dreams. The others, the ones who had simply come to defend their Queen, were easier. Some of them would actually submit to me, which meant I could let them live. It didn’t always happen, but it did happen. Maybe it was only the allies I had mistaken for the enemy, but I like to think otherwise.
Occasionally I would catch a glimpse of the others. Liam was, as always, magnificent. Like me, he was trying to force submission or merely injure as many as possible, but when there was no other choice, he killed quickly and without hesitation. Jase was paired up with Joshua, who was swinging a sword around like a gladiator. Once I even saw a coyote I was certain was Makya. He wasn’t in the middle of the fray, but instead another Hagan purposefully kept him corralled to the sideline.
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