“Let’s just say he stole something from a friend of mine.”
Mrs. Kronin frowned. “Is he in some sort of trouble?”
I shrugged. “That depends on what he intends to do with what he stole. If I can get it back with an apology then it would be no harm, no foul,” I lied. Besides, I couldn’t see that happening in the immediate future.
Her eyes stayed fixed on me, studying me with an open mouth. It looked as though she didn’t know whether to help me or toss me out on my ass. But when she went to the door and pushed it closed, her body language shifted. More helpful; less hostile. “Is this about the magicard?”
Whoa. So Victor had divulged his true identity. Who knew that a thief could be so honest? “It is. How much do you know about it?”
“Hmm.” Mrs. Kronin folded her arms and leaned against the wall, her eyes distant as if lost in a memory. “My husband always had something of a hunger for magic – a greed, I suppose you could call it. Recently he’d been rambling on about the power of Chaos, whatever that means. I began to see him a lot less, and sometimes days would go by without him returning home. For a while, I thought he’d rekindled the love affair with that Saunders woman, but things soon became… stranger.”
I buttoned my mouth. This poor woman didn’t need to know that I’d met Karen Saunders only last night, and I wasn’t about to cut her off mid-flow.
“At one point, he’d been gone for over a week. When he came home, he had a card clutched in his hand and an evil grin on his face. I guessed at the time that it was a magicard – I’d never seen one before so I had no idea. I could only imagine where he’d gotten it from.”
My heart pounded as I took all of this in. “When was this?”
Mrs. Kronin shrugged. “I suppose around six months ago.”
That couldn’t be the chaos card. So then, where did he get it? I began to suspect that he had taken it from a Cardkeeper. I knew for a fact that two other Illinois Cardkeepers had mysteriously disappeared some months ago. Was it possible that this was connected? “Mrs. Kronin, did he ever explain his plan to you?”
The woman’s eyes began to moisten, glistening under the dim bulb above us. “Not at all. I mean, this obsession of his was driving me insane. There was no getting through to him and it got so bad I thought of leaving him. When I finally summoned the courage to storm home and give him an ultimatum – me, or the magic – he’d left. I haven’t seen him since. That was,” Her eyes rolled back in calculation, “Six or eight weeks ago. I… don’t think he’s coming back. Anyway, good riddance.”
As bad as I felt for her, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d gotten off easy. Whether she knew it or not, Victor Kronin was a horrible man; violent, selfish, sociopathic. While he retained possession of the Chaos card, the bigger the distance between him and his wife, the better. “He didn’t say anything about his intentions? Other than what he wanted from the Vault?”
Mrs. Kronin shook her head, biting her lip. “I’m not sure. He kept mumbling something about an assault on the vampires, but I didn’t understand it. Other than the obvious.”
I felt Link stir in my pocket. The poor guy was petrified of vampires. Hell, so was I. Now that those nightmarish creatures were involved, things were going to get a lot more dangerous. The hate triangle with the werewolves could only be stronger now, and here I was, caught in the middle. “Thank you so much for your time, but I have to go.”
“I understand.” Mrs. Kronin opened the door and held it for me. “If you see Victor…”
“I’ll tell him.”
The door closed behind me, shutting me outside in the cold air. Clouds had swept over the sky, hiding the sun. The gloom reflected my mood. As great as it was that Victor hadn’t been home so I didn’t have to fight him, learning of his obsessive plan and the assault on the vampires only increased my anxiety.
And what did that mean, anyway? Was it an assault that had already been carried out? Was there a war in the making? Was it even Victor who would be leading the attack? As always, that son of a bitch was an enigma of trouble, and I was caught dead in the center of it.
Chapter 10
How is it that you always know when you’re being followed? Your gut screams that you’re not alone, and before you know it you’re second-guessing yourself. Of course, I had Link, but even he groped at the inside of my pocket as if he felt it too. Something, somehow, wasn’t quite right.
I stormed off in the general direction of the bus stop, taking the back alleys and secluded areas. If someone – or something – was out there, I would rather face my demons than be stalked all the way home. Anyway, I had my magicard with me, and as long as it wasn’t a creature that was immune to fire, I could at least put up a good fight.
Shielded from the dim sunlight by two large apartment blocks, the path I took led to a park. A swing set flailed around in the distance, each swing propelled by the steady wind. The miniature merry go round followed suit, rotating slowly as if ridden by a ghost. A shiver crept over me as I stopped and watched, wary. Terrified.
“So,” snarled a voice from behind me, “you’re consorting with the enemy.”
I spun around quickly, feeling around for my card while summoning an ember into my palm. It only seemed to get halfway, reaching up my forearm stubbornly as I clocked the beast coming my way.
My instincts kicked in and I dropped to my knee, hurling the werewolf over me as I met with the dusty concrete. After all I had gone through today, I wasn’t about to be mauled by an angry dog with a short fuse.
Fuming, I pushed myself to my feet and dashed at my enemy, catching it off-guard with its thick neck in my scalding palm. Its eyes widened and its legs kicked, the extreme temperatures burning its fur and skin.
“I’m just doing my job,” I said through gritted teeth, chest heaving. I scanned the beast up and down. Could this have been Jason? Should I have shown mercy? Screw that. At the end of the day I was under attack, and I didn’t know whether it was me or the soul of the magicard retaliating, but I’d had enough of being a target. “Stay out of my way, or I will end you right here and now.”
The wolf snarled, large breaths blowing from its wide nostrils as it struggled against my immortal strength. It must not have known that I meant business. And if I were to be totally honest, neither had I… but I liked it.
Wheezing, trembling, and letting out a soft whimper, the wolf began to shrink in my hand. Its fur withdrew as its bone structure softened, weakened, its muscles shrinking until its neck slid from my grasp. Before I knew it, I’d released a half-naked and pissed-off Jason. And if looks could kill…
“What business did you have with Victor Kronin?” he asked, spitting.
“What’s it to you?”
“It’s everything to me.”
I looked deep into his dark, brown eyes, but could only find anger. “Listen, I ran your little errand and now I’m tracking Victor. If you think you can stand in my way, you’ve got another think coming.”
Jason stood right in front of my face, hands flailing through the air. Then, he pointed a finger at me and I reared back under his insult. “You say that, but I just saw you coming out of his house.”
“And he wasn’t there!”
We each took a breath as Jason stepped away and turned his back on me. I let the heat from my hand die out, the skin cooling rapidly in the cold Chicago air. Maybe I would need it again, but for now, I could let it rest.
“Wait,” I said, “If you knew Kronin was the killer, why didn’t you just tell me?”
Jason turned, looking me dead in the eye. “I didn’t know. Saunders didn’t tell me that.”
I frowned. “Then how did you know to come here?”
“Victor killed my brother. You didn’t think I would investigate, too? It’s not like I could have counted on a Cardkeeper to solve a mystery now, could I?”
“You followed me?”
“Of course.”
Another rage built up inside me, threatening to seize my
control. When I noticed I was clenching my fist, I took slow, steady breaths and tried to calm my monkey brain. I sighed. “We’re both after the same person here. And although stopping these bullshit attacks would be enough for me, don’t you just think it would make sense to work together?”
Jason crooked an eyebrow. “Me? You? A mage?”
I nodded.
“And a werewolf?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I wanted to do that, what makes you think I won’t be punished for it? My kind don’t work with mages, much less Keepers. Doing that would end up with either my exile or my execution.”
“It’s a price I’m willing to pay,” I said, eyes widening at Jason’s snicker. It only lasted a second, but that was more than I could have ever hoped for. He was handsome, too – a perfect row of white teeth, the fangs receded out of sight.
We locked eyes. Jason held my gaze while I anticipated some kind of response. Finally, he grunted, stepped over to a nearby tree and took his coat – my coat, rather – from a low branch. “There is one thing we can do,” he said, slipping the coat around his perfectly toned body. “But…”
I tried to look away. “But what?”
“Hmm… Follow me.” Jason turned, walking away in long strides before I could get a word in. Wherever he planned on taking me, I didn’t imagine it would be a safe place. But how much time did I have to argue with him? None. Not a single moment.
I saw no other option as I felt around my pockets for Link. My heart skipped a beat when my hand came up empty. I felt around the rest of my clothes, wondering if he had climbed onto my back to use me as a shield. No luck.
“Are you coming or not?” Jason called from a street corner in the distance, and shook his head with disapproval before he disappeared from sight.
I hoped that Link had jumped ship and run home. It wouldn’t be the first time, but he hadn’t done it in a while. I couldn’t help but worry about him as I zipped up my jacket and gently jogged to catch up to Jason. Our destination remained a mystery.
Chapter 11
If I had known beforehand that I was headed there, I would have stayed well away.
“You ready for this?” Jason asked, but walked on before I got a chance to answer.
While hiding my trembling knees, I looked up at the exterior of the sewage plant. It didn’t look like much; two huge towers just outside the city, including a small, square building that looked like a bunker of some kind. Only I knew that it extended far, far deeper. A raincloud hovered above it. How fitting.
I breathed deeply and made my way toward the front gate, trudging through dirt. I wished that a little sludge on my boots would be the most I had to worry about. Truth was, I knew what was inside. I just didn’t know if I would make it back out.
“This way.”
I followed Jason through the gate and inside the main building. Darkness cloaked us both, but with a flick of my wrist a faint light glowed from my hand. I could see the narrow stairwell, and the stench of wet dog hair assailed my nostrils.
“Where are we going, exactly?” I asked, keeping as close to Jason as I could.
“I’m taking you to see the alpha.”
My heart could have stopped right there. My feet sure did. “The alpha? As in…”
“As in the alpha wolf. The oldest of the old.” Jason stopped a few steps down from me, turned and gave me a condescending look. “What, you’re not scared, are you?”
Scared? Yes! I was the second biggest enemy of the werewolves, and this smug bastard was leading me right into the heart of wolf city. If I wasn’t scared then I needed my head checked. “Why are you doing this?”
“You wanted to work together, right?”
I studied him, wondering if that was a trick question. “Right…”
“I’m not going to do that without the alpha’s permission. You’re the one who suggested a partnership, so you can be the one to explain the situation.” Jason took a step back up, looking into my eyes as if he had just met the real me. “She’s not that bad. Just be straight with your intentions, maintain eye contact, and don’t make any sudden movements.”
She. For some reason, it surprised me that the alpha was female. It shouldn’t have, really, but whenever I thought of werewolves, I thought of men. I guess Hollywood was to blame for that. Thanks a lot, Twilight. “Okay… anything else?”
Jason nodded at my fiery arm. “Put that out. She’ll see it as a threat.”
I withdrew the fire and we were enveloped in darkness once again. I began to think that I could handle this, now that I’d had a little glimpse into the future. But I’m not going to lie; if I had known I would be heading into the depths of a sewage plant to meet the alpha wolf, I would have passed up on the offer.
We walked to a small, well-lit room at the bottom of the stairs. The faded yellow wall tiles were cracked and crumbling. Dust floated through the thin, stale-scented air. In the lone desk, a thin Asian man sat looking at a stack of paperwork, and a small doorway loomed at the far end. I shivered. It seemed that the only exit was behind me.
“Hey, Li.” Jason approached the desk with authority. “We’re looking for Lena.”
While I wondered if Lena was the alpha, the Asian man scanned up and down the length of my body. He bit his lower lip, turned back to Jason and nodded his head. “You know where she is,” he said, and returned to his paperwork, chewing on the end of his pen.
Jason led me through the far door. The moment he opened it, the sound of rushing water deafened me. The smell wasn’t much better either, but the combination of both those things made it instantly unbearable.
Trying to keep up, I tailed behind him and onto a dark, metal walkway. Water gushed from pipes on either side of us, falling into a large vat far below. Until then, I thought I had known Chicago, but I guess I only knew the more… attractive side of it.
“Ignore them,” Jason said, pointing up at the rafters.
I wished he hadn’t opened his damn mouth. I hadn’t noticed them at all until he’d said it, but when I looked up and saw a large pack of wolves hung upside-down from beams, I recoiled. “Holy shit.” There must have been around fifteen of them, each one stirring, drooling and growling. Every one of their glowing eyes trained on me.
“They won’t hurt you if you stay close,” Jason said.
Even doing as I’d been told, it seemed to take forever until we passed another door and through a maze of corridors. A few nerve-wracking moments later, we stopped inside a long, dark room with glowing water tanks on each side, and a ceiling hanging way too low to be safe. At the back, a middle-aged woman with auburn hair sat at a table, with a steak dinner in front of her. I didn’t dare consider what type of meat she had on that plate.
Jason approached her, and I stood quivering behind him.
“My dear boy,” the woman said, gesturing him to take a seat. The British accent rolled off her tongue in a smooth and well-spoken fashion. It reminded me of Link, and I began to miss him. “What have you brought me?”
Slowly, almost humbly, Jason took a seat beside her. “Lady Lena,” he said, placing a hand on hers, “behold, the latest Cardkeeper of Chicago, Keira Poe.” He smiled devilishly as he said it, and I suddenly began to fear for my life.
Lena set down her cutlery and studied me with wide eyes, dabbing a napkin at her lush red lips. When she threw it onto the plate, she sat up straight and interlaced her fingers, holding them under her large, semi-exposed breasts.
Perhaps it wasn’t the correct reaction to my introduction, but I did my best curtsey. Jason had told me to be humble, and I was damn sure going to take that advice. “Ma’am,” I began, choosing my words very carefully, “Thank you for seeing me without notice. I come asking–”
Lena slammed an open palm on the table. Her knife and fork rattled under the incredible force, and I jumped back as she screamed at Jason. “You dare bring her kind into our home? Have you forgotten that she killed one of our own? Your own brother, no less! Did tha
t slip your mind?”
Even Jason was shaking, although he didn’t hide it well. “It wasn’t her that–”
In the blink of an eye, Lena transformed from a beautiful woman to a killing machine. Her muzzle shot out in sync with her hand, as it became a claw and sent Jason hurling toward a nearby wall. Her roar echoed through the room, and the table beside her broke in two as she spun round to face me.
My reaction – as dumb as it seemed at the time – was to drop to one knee and bow my head. “My lady, I humbly request that you hear what I have to say.” I spoke in fast, unbroken sentences, and tried to keep the waver out of my voice. “After that, you can do with me what you like. I simply ask the chance to be heard.”
The snarling beast stomped toward me, the nails of her paws grinding the cobblestone floor as she began a half-transformation back into a woman. A thick line of drool slithered to the ground, landing beside her in a mucky blob. “Look to me, child,” she said, but her voice was deep, authoritative. She was still a monster.
I tilted my head back, glaring up at a furious woman. Her long neck trailed down to her enormous, perfectly shaped breasts. At her navel, the fur began to thicken and covered her down to her wolf-like legs. Lena jolted forward, holding my chin in a tight grip, her nails grazing the skin of my cheek like razors. “Why, pray tell, should I grant a mage such a request?”
My mouth hung open as I struggled for words. My next sentence could either be my savior, or my death. “I…” My eyes went to Jason, who stood in the corner and watched, his eyes unmoving. I suddenly remembered what he’d said about eye contact, and shifted my gaze back to Lena. “I have information that could help avenge your loss.”
Lena stared down at me, her eyebrows contorted as if she were confused.
It seemed to take forever, but she finally let go. My body sagged to the floor, but I struggled to my feet as fast as I could. By the time I could stand up straight, Lena was taking a robe from the nearby wall, and slipping it around her naked body.
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