“You’re better at getting into places than I am. Why don’t I pretend to be you and while I’m talking to the kidnappers, you sneak in and make sure Rob’s okay, untie him and off you go.” Having already downed her first doughnut, Ali bit into the next one without ceremony.
Jen wondered if some of Ali’s erratic and somewhat impulsive behavior might be traced to a bit of white powder...the drug acceptable to society. Ali did love doughnuts and brownies, cookies, cakes, crème brulee, eclairs, and fudge. Jen nodded. “I’ll turn mouse once we get onto the road. You should wear that baseball hat and a pony-tail. We look more alike that way.”
Ali laughed, her eyes full of mischief. “I will be able to torment Rob for years if we pull this off.”
Jen’s worried frown faded for a moment. “Do you think he'll be okay?”
“Jen, he's fine. Wolves are tough. So, you never really told me what happened. You turned human at Rob's house, and you both like each other...so...did anything happen?” Ali's smirk filled in the question with a whole lot of imagination.
Feeling her face heat up, Jen said, “No. We're just two coworkers.”
“You're still in love with him, aren't you?”
“Ali!” Jen pushed up from the table. “Enough with the questions. Let's just make sure he's safe.”
“I'll take that as a yes.” Tossing the last bite of maple bar into her mouth, Ali sighed, “We're going to have to do a lot of running about today to work this off.”
Running about had never been a problem for Ali.
The address on the letter was a house on Grady Way down the road from the very house where Ali had stolen the amulet. The instructions were vague. The letter said that Rob was being held in ransom and instructed Jen to bring the amulet before the end of the day. Jen thought back to the witch who gave her protection against the amulet. “We have until the end of the day, is that how I'm reading the letter?”
Ali nodded, “That's how I read it, too.”
“Why don't we call the witch and see if she can help.”
“Umm...because last I noticed, we don't trust her? You could have stayed wolf forever with that hex bag. No. We need to take care of this ourselves.” Ali wiped her hands on a napkin and grabbed her purse.
Jen hesitated, “But if we don't bring it with us...”
“Jen, if we bring it, they will have the amulet and Rob and us. What's to keep them from killing Rob? We can negotiate better if it's not on our person waiting to be taken.”
The thought of Rob hurt or worse spurred Jen to action. “Okay, let's go.”
* * *
Ali and Jen passed the turnoff to the house, parking off the road a few miles further along. The woods were quiet. Jen felt a deep foreboding, “This is a great place to disappear.”
Smiling brightly, Ali said, “I'll do some reconnaissance.”
Jen watched Ali scamper off in raccoon form. She envied Ali's ability to see the world with joyful exuberance, no matter what the situation. Ali's eternal optimism wouldn't allow for the thought that Rob might be injured—or dead.
Sitting under a tree, Jen waited. Jen had exchanged her power suit for a pair of jeans and sweatshirt, the quintessential spy gear of weres everywhere. Not that any other were engaged in this kind of activity. As far as Jen knew, she and Ali were the only ones to get into mischief.
After an hour of waiting, Ali appeared. She waved her paw. Jen nodded and went to the car, carefully removing her clothes and placing them on the back seat. At least there were no cameras in the woods. The new digital age and video surveillance everywhere made it hard to keep ones privates private, at least as a weremouse.
“Here goes.”
As a mouse, Jen felt incredibly tiny. Even bugs were scary at that size. Ali waited for Jen to climb up piggyback using the backpack as a saddle before rushing through the trees. For a moment, Jen could forget her troubles. There was something immensely freeing about rushing headlong into deep woods, fur flying.
As they approached the house, Jen's nose twitched. Vampires. Rob. A Cat. Damn. Jen hopped off Ali's back and stood on her hind legs and looked around. The problem with cats is that they were so sneaky. The cat scent was buried under the other scents, older. But it didn't do to ignore it.
Ali pointed with her paw to a partially open window. She stood on her hind legs and stretched to become a bridge for Jen. Jen climbed up Ali's shoulder and hopped to the ledge squeezing under the window pane.
Closing her eyes, Jen listened. In the kitchen, the faucet dripped in a steady rhythm. An airplane flew overhead. Birds chirped outside. Nothing scary in the room. Yet. Creeping forward, Jen crawled to the edge of the ledge, hopping to the back of an arm chair and scurrying down to the floor. Turning back, she saw Ali's face at the window. She raised her paw in the closest thing to a thumbs up signal that she had and proceeded forward.
Sniffing the air, she tried to find Rob. His scent lingered heavily in the kitchen and near a closed door, likely the basement. Jen knew a few things about getting through houses. The human way sometimes worked for a mouse, but today Jen would use a mouse way.
Coming out of a hole in the wall, Jen could see Rob across the corner and to the right. His eyes were closed and his head down. She felt shock at the splatters of blood on his shirt, but she saw his chest rise with a breath. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was alive.
There was a small hole in the plaster above his head. She thought she could force herself through it. Backing away, Jen used her mental image of the room to get to the hole.
Wouldn't Rob be surprised when she came to the rescue?
Chapter 7
Having spent most of the night struggling to get out, Rob found himself dozing the next day, despite his fear that the creepy boy-vampire might hurt Jen. The tingling in his arms had given way to numbness. Garan's bite hurt enough that Rob knew it was there, but it was the way he was chained up that caused the most pain.
His body cramped from being stuck in one place. Even when he did fall asleep for a few minutes, he jerked awake suddenly, feeling cramped and uncomfortable. Francis was less than helpful with a litany of endless complaints.
Heat poured through his shirt in waves, and then his sweat cooled and he shook with chills. His head felt hot and three sizes too big. He felt like he was catching the flu—at the worst possible moment.
Time seemed to lose meaning. Rob’s eyes had just closed again when something fell on his shoulder. Rob jumped, his chains scraping against the wall. A damn mouse.
“Don’t hurt it!” Francis shouted.
The mouse scrambled down Rob’s arm and onto the concrete before Rob could squash it against the wall. Had he been in wolf form, a single bite would have sufficed.
“Are you an animal lover now? Those things carry the hanta virus.” Irritated and exhausted, sharp pains seem to shoot from the back of Rob's brain to his eyes. His throat felt thick. He just wanted to be free. To take some aspirin and fall asleep.
The mouse started chittering and Rob’s next breath pulled in a familiar scent. Before Francis could even explain, Rob frowned. Rob was still in a state of half-awareness when he realized the new scent was Jen's. All this time, that undercurrent of smell was mouse. Jen’s lingering were-scent definitely smelled like the mouse. A mouse?!!!
“Jen?” Rob stared down at the tiny form, emotions changing like a disco globe from annoyed to relieved to angry to worried and back to annoyed again. He was in love with a mouse. The idea was a shock on so many levels.
The mouse stopped its angry rant and nodded.
“Huh.” The signs were there, if Rob had cared to pay attention. Giselle had actually called Jen “mouse” right while he was sitting next to her. He just never put it all together.
Rob stared at the little mouse looking up at him with eyes that expressed so much. He'd hurt her feelings. He got that now. Then Rob found himself wondering if Jen had used the amulet again. He hoped she would have an easier time changing out of mouse form.
>
And as he looked at the little mouse, he knew he would rather die than have anything happen to her. He certainly hadn't felt that way about any of his moon trysts. Is this what love felt like? He couldn't think straight with the pounding headache.
“Jen, coming here was a really bad idea.”
The mouse shrugged as much as a mouse could.
“What if you can't get back to human? I might have killed you. It's not safe.”
Clearly he wasn't getting anywhere. Jen ignored him, chittering away, probably telling him off for getting himself into trouble or for his reaction. Before he could apologize, Francis was telling her what to do, and then she was gone.
He was really beginning to dislike that vampire.
* * *
One truth amidst all of the myths stuffed with inaccuracies was that vampires lived a long time. Francis had lived long enough to know that the were-communities typically disliked the smaller forms of shapeshifters. Francis decided not to let Rob and Jen have time to think about the repercussions.
Francis spoke to the mouse. “How about going upstairs and getting the key out of the desk? Garan stores it in his office on the second floor at the end of the hall. The key is in the top drawer to the right of the monitor. There are some software disks on top of it.”
The mouse nodded in clear understanding before scampering across the floor, looking so much like a non-human rodent that Rob’s gut twisted. As wolves, he’d chased down more than one small beast in a hunt which generally climaxed in a horrific bone-crunching death for the animal. They all smelled like animals at the time. Not people. He only reacted to Jen that way because he was injured and half-conscious. That's what he told himself.
It’s not like he would ever kill another were. But then, his first impulse was to throw Jen across the room. Had he ever cannibalized one of his own? The thought made him sick. He whispered hoarsely, “Jen! Be careful.”
The mouse slipped through a crack under the door with only a quick look over her shoulder to acknowledge his call. With his back to the stairway, Rob missed that glance, so full of longing and love.
Rob closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, wishing for a bed or even just a big recliner to sit in.
Francis took the silence as an invitation to speak. “Well, your friend is certainly brave. And I saw the look in your eyes when you brushed her off your shoulder. Bet she didn’t miss it either. Pure disgust. And that girl loves you. I saw that, too. You two should see a counselor after this.”
“Francis?”
“What?”
“Now would be a good time to stop talking.”
Silence filled the room for a bare minute until Francis started up again. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. I mean, she stole the amulet in the first place, so she should have no trouble getting by Garan again.”
“What?” Rob straightened up, his voice thundering.
“Whoa. Down boy.” Francis lifted an eyebrow, the effect ruined by the plasticity of his face. It looked downright creepy.
“Jen didn’t steal anything.” Rob let his head rest back against the wall, wishing Francis was on the other side of the continent.
“She and her friend stole it right out from under a wizard’s nose. And Garan depends on him for dinner since he’s too much of a corpse to go out anymore. I feel sorry for her, but she brought it on herself. Probably why he fed on you.”
“Not Jen.” Rob knew Jen enough to know that. Ali, definitely. And Ali might have somehow involved Jen enough to make trouble. Rob knew Jen's character. He trusted her.
Francis stared at the ceiling, looking bored and frustrated. Careless with his words, he said, “Doesn't really matter. If Garan finds her in mouse form, he won't bother draining her, he'll just eat her whole.”
Rob closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the concrete wall. He said, “Don't.”
“Well somebody stole the amulet. And believe me, there are some people in this world that shouldn't be crossed.”
Rob thought back to Ali. The girl could talk her way through a hundred circles until everyone around her was dizzy. And Jen was the sun to her shadow.
But it was Jen who became a wolf and then a mouse. The were community only had one form. So Jen was involved in more of the trouble than he gave her credit for. The whole story made sense now. How could he be so stupid? “Jen lied to me?” His heart hurt more than his legs or the bruises on his wrists. Maybe not his head. He felt sick and demoralized. “I’m such an idiot.”
Francis figured he’d pushed the social mores already what with betraying Rob and all. Still, he wanted very much to agree loudly. He bit his tongue. Not literally. Fangs poke holes. He decided to be diplomatic, so instead he said, “Well, the girl seems to like you well enough to attempt a rescue. That should count for something.”
Rob yanked at a chain, scraping his wrist against the iron. He had to find a way out before Jen got herself killed. Mouse, wolf, or human, he cared for her, maybe even loved her. And she came back for him. That had to count for something. And he could forgive her for the amulet. He had to find a way out of this mess and keep her safe.
Chapter 8
In the upper floor of the house Jen poked her head into a long hallway. Her nose twitched and an icy fear struck her. Heart pounding, Jen itched all along her back, the kind of muscle tightening that warned of danger. The cat.
From the moment she stepped into the hallway, the smell of cat overwhelmed the house. This was its lair. Francis didn't bother to mention that the key was guarded. In mouse form, the smell was unbearable. With her heart racing, Jen changed to human form. She couldn't say what precipitated the change. The sense of urgency was so strong.
In human form, the strongly unpleasant and caustic smell of cat litter needing to be changed along with a general disregard of cleanliness assaulted her senses. As her body solidified around her, a sharp pain shot up her leg.
She looked down with a feeling of horror. The cat, thinking it had caught the mouse, bit deeply into the back of her foot. Shocked, Jen froze, her mind stuck on the idea that she had been a millisecond away from dying. Just that tiniest hesitation and she'd be crunched and swallowed.
The cat seemed to realize that Jen was not longer a mouse and let go. Angry, Jen picked up the orange striped Tom cat and limped down the hallway. Blood streamed down the back of her foot, dripping on the ground. She followed the stench of cat litter to the upstairs bathroom. Sure enough, the litter box was full and litter sprayed across the bathroom floor. Shoving the cat in the room, she shut and locked the door, pulling tightly on the knob to make sure the door was latched.
She hated walking down that hallway in human form. Without her clothes, she felt exposed in more ways than one. If Rob's kidnappers came up here, she'd have nowhere to hide. But if the cat escaped, the decision to change back to a mouse might cost her her life.
Jen took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The threat of the cat was contained. She knew where it was trapped. She knew how to avoid it. She hadn't seen Ali since the window. Getting the key was up to Jen and it looked like she'd better hurry. Changing back to her mouse shape, Jen smiled. This was a much better form for snooping.
Chapter 9
Jen hesitated at the doorway, a musty smell coated with death, rot, and decay drifting out from under the door of the room. She froze, her nose twitching at the scent and her legs itching to run in the opposite direction. Rob is chained and hurt. Get yourself together.
Jen felt a shiver of fear work it’s way to her tail as she slipped under the door. Crossing that threshold was the hardest thing Jen had ever done. Every sense told her something foul waited on the other side. And following instincts was something a small were know better than anyone.
An old oak desk in the center of the room towered over Jen, and she paused for a moment. With a sigh, Jen let nature’s magical energy flow into her body, until she stood, a young woman once more. Jen carefully slid open the drawer, finding the key just where
Francis had said it would be.
Human, Jen no longer smelled as much of the acrid decay. Her relief was so great that she wanted nothing more than to walk downstairs in human form, naked or not. Slipping out into the hall, Jen decided to keep her human form until she reached the basement door.
Her plan was foiled when she heard the front door open and yelling in the background.
Jen dropped the key onto the floor and reclaimed her mouse-self. She picked the key up in her mouth. It tasted metallic and some of the death scent faded in the taste of copper.
Although Jen was large as mice went, the key fit awkwardly in her mouth and was too big for her to easily carry. Pushing under the door to a second bedroom, the key resisted, catching on the floor and banging her mouth. Her jaw ached and tears came to her eyes.
With a twitch of her whiskers, Jen righted herself and dashed across a room soaked in the smell of decay and darkness. Jen found herself in what can only be described as a teenager’s bedroom, complete with worn socks and candy wrappers on the floor. She no longer heard noises from downstairs, but still wedged herself underneath a television cabinet which yielded the smallest of spaces.
For once Jen was grateful for being a rodent and the flattening capacity it granted. Jen thought of her Grandma and Todd and the many subtle insults endured. Maybe I can let her know that I found a benefit to being a mouse. Not that she’ll believe me.
* * *
After Jen gave the all-is-well signal, Ali scampered back into the forest. Now that she'd cleared the house for entry, her job was look out. But it was boring. She really wanted to be inside with Jen. Climbing up a tree, Ali chased a squirrel just because she could. When she heard a car on the road, Ali realized she'd gotten further away from the house than she should have.
Jen and Rob were still in there. They would be discovered.
Vampires Bite: Book 2 (When, Were, & Howl Series) Page 3