Gilly gave Viv a wary look. “Are you sure you’re telling us everything you saw? I mean, you’re not holding back anything to protect us, keep us from freaking out?”
Viv shook her head. “I swear. I’ve told you everything, as senseless as it sounds. That senselessness is why I’m suggesting we check on our broods.”
Without another word, the three sisters parted ways, each heading in a different direction.
When Viv made it to the ferry, she jumped aboard and pushed it to a speed that nearly tipped it starboard. As she flew across the water, Viv couldn’t help but remember the last time she’d ridden the ferry.
Nikoli had been with her. The memory caused her to feel his presence beside her, and it sent heat flashing through her body. It frustrated her that no matter how dire the situation, his face always sent a flush to her cheeks. Part of her wanted to meld to him, side by side, never leaving his presence—his scent. Yet the responsible part of her, the side that had a habit of raining on her and her sisters’ parade from time to time, knew it best to stay away. Emotionally especially. They couldn’t, shouldn’t be together.
The first thing Viv spotted when she made it to the front gates of the North compound was Aaron and Jaco arguing, circling each other as if ready to attack.
Viv pulled the old pickup as close as she dared to the Loups, then killed the engine and hopped out.
“What’s going on here?” she said to Jaco and Aaron. She had to yell over their arguing. Both were so absorbed in slinging curses at each other that neither of them noticed she’d arrived.
When the two Loups spotted her, they froze, their expressions like two kids who’d been caught with cigarettes behind a woodshed. Both wore jeans and were bare-chested. Their long hair gleamed with sweat, as did their faces and chests.
“We have a situation,” Jaco said.
“No, we don’t,” Aaron said. “They have to be somewhere around here. You didn’t check the East section of the North compound yet.” Aaron looked back at Viv. “The entire compound hasn’t been checked.” He jerked his chin at Jaco. “He’s too slow.”
“If you’re so smart and fast,” Jaco said to Aaron, “why can’t you come up with a clean count on your side of the compound?”
Aaron growled and Viv shouted, “Hold up! Hold up!” She waved her hands and shook her head. “What the hell are you two talking about?”
Jaco stepped toward Viv, his massive bulk towering over her. “We’ve been through a count twice,” he said. “It looks like we have at least fifty Loups missing. Twenty from Aaron’s pack and at least thirty of mine.”
Viv felt her blood run cold and her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by missing? Was there another attack?”
Jaco gave a small shrug. “We found no dead bodies, no blood. They’re simply missing. We’ve been calling out to them, trying to connect with them for at least the last three hours, but no response.”
Viv scrubbed her face with her hands. “How long did it take the two of you to get the fence repaired?”
“About an hour and a half,” Aaron said, stepping up alongside Jaco. “We worked as fast as we could.”
“Could they have escaped before the repairs were completed?” Viv asked.
“Not from my pack,” Aaron said. “I didn’t bring them over until the fence was secure.”
Viv looked at Jaco. He lowered his head.
“If mine did escape while we worked, I’m positive I would have sensed that,” Jaco said. “I don’t see how...or when.” He glanced at Aaron. “Maybe you lost your twenty while en route here. Did you consider that possibility?”
Aaron growled. “Shut your fucking mouth, dog bone. I watch over my pack. You might be able to use a broken fence as your excuse, but I watch over my own.”
“Then how the hell do you lose twenty of them?” Jaco snapped.
Viv clapped her hands together hard to get their attention. “Both of you, quit acting like infants. If we have fifty Loup Garous missing and there are no dead bodies or blood, that can only mean one thing. They have to be somewhere in the city.” She glared at Jaco. “Did you search every part of this compound?”
“The only section I’ve not covered yet is the far East side. I was about to head over there when smartass here decided to give me directions on how I should accomplish my search. I know this compound like the back of my hand.”
“Then finish searching it,” Viv demanded. She turned to Aaron. “I want you to go back into the compound and recount your pack, make certain the first count wasn’t an error.”
“I didn’t miscount,” Aaron insisted. “I have twenty missing.”
Viv glared at him and said through clenched teeth, “I said go back and recount. We have to get a true picture of what we’re dealing with here, and I don’t want to work with erroneous information.”
Both Loups gave her a quick nod, then made their way into the compound to do as they were ordered.
Feeling like she’d vomit at any moment, Viv got back in her truck and headed to the ranch house. Maybe Charlie, Kale or Bootstrap saw or heard something that would give her a clue as to her missing Loups’ whereabouts.
When Viv reached the ranch, she found Charlie hammering on a fence post in the cattle grazing pen. When he spotted Viv, he waved and a smile creased his weathered face. He tipped his cowboy hat up a notch when she drove up beside him and stopped the truck.
“How you doing, Miss Viv?” Charlie asked.
“Fine, Charlie, thanks for asking,” Viv lied. No way could she tell Charlie what was really going on. “Where are Bootstrap and Kale?”
“Oh, I sent them out to Abbeville to pick up a truckload of hay bales. Got ’em for a good price from a farmer I know out that way. Even though the boys are gone, I can surely tend to whatever you need help with, Miss Viv.”
Viv leaned through the driver’s-side window and swiped a hand over her face. “I know I asked you this last time I came out here, Charlie, but I need to ask again. Have you seen or heard anything unusual coming from the back five today?”
“You’re meanin’ the place you told us we need to stay out of?”
“Yes,” Viv said, feeling like a fool talking this way to someone nearly twice her age.
Charlie took off his hat, pulled a bandanna out of his back pocket, then wiped the sweat from his brow. His lips pursed. His brow furrowed. Then Charlie shook his head slowly as he stuck the bandanna back into his pocket and his hat back on his head.
“I ain’t seen nothing, but you know, now that you mention it, I heard what kinda sounded like a bunch of coyotes yelping earlier today. I thought it was just a pack of ’em moving through the woods. Didn’t see any though. Been keepin’ a close eye on the horses and livestock just in case. Better they’re out in the woods than here. Other than that, I haven’t seen a thing but this ol’ fence I’ve been workin’ on.”
Charlie tilted his head slightly and studied Viv’s face. “No disrespect meant, Miss Viv, but you sure look like you’re carrying a bucket full of worry. Are you sure there isn’t something I can help you with?”
Viv worked hard at giving Charlie a smile. She wished she had someone else to talk to about the Cartesians, about her Loups, about everything that was going on. And if anyone could keep a secret it was Charlie Zerangue. But she didn’t want to chance it. Knowing him, he would’ve stormed into the compound to help track her Loups, even if it meant risking his own life.
“Just a lot on my mind, Charlie. But thank you anyway.” She pulled the gearshift into Drive and held the brakes for a moment. “You take care. I’ll be talking to you again soon, I’m sure.”
With that, Viv drove back to the compound where she found Aaron standing by the gate, toeing dirt with his boot. She pulled up next to him.
Aaron looked at her, frowning. “Twenty missing for sure,�
�� he said. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where they went or how they got out.”
“And you brought your pack here after the fence was repaired, right?”
“Yes. No way I would’ve let my pack in here if it wasn’t secure.”
“There has to be a breach in the fence, somewhere,” Viv said. “Loups don’t simply vanish into thin air. They couldn’t have jumped the fence, even if they’d morphed. It’s too high. And, if by some freak act of nature one did make a jump that high, the silver tips on the barbs would’ve skewered the Loup. It would still be up there wailing for help.”
Aaron nodded, looking lost for words.
In that moment, Jaco jumped out of the brush and hurried over to Viv. “Entire area searched. My count’s the same. Thirty missing.”
“Great,” Viv said sardonically. “Not only do we have to watch over this compound, but we’ve got fifty MIA Loups. They could be running around the city for all we know. If we don’t find them before feeding time, the gods only know what or whom they’ll attack.”
Aaron and Jaco simply stared down at her.
“Watch over this territory. Don’t take your eyes off it. Stay inside the compound and walk its perimeter. Count and recount your packs to make sure we don’t lose more.”
They nodded in unison.
Viv slammed a foot on the accelerator and peeled out of the area, heading for the dock.
She had no clue as to how they were going to manage this mess. Although they’d narrowed the territory by putting the Chenilles in one cemetery, her Loups in one compound and the Nosferatu in the catacombs, the plan seemed futile. Now they had to worry about her Loups roaming the city, and the last thing they needed was a whirlwind of public attention. Up until now, she, her sisters and their broods had stayed under the human radar. She feared that luxury had just been shot to hell.
When Viv made it back home, she found Gilly and Evee pacing around the kitchen table. Gilly had obviously been running her hands through her hair because her pixie cut stuck out in little spikes, like antennae. Evee had dark circles under her eyes and they looked swollen, like she’d been crying. The sight of them twisted Viv’s stomach into knots.
“What’s wrong?” Viv asked.
“I have fifteen Chenilles missing,” Gilly said, her eyes suddenly brimming with tears, something uncommon for her.
“And I’ve got ten Nosferatu gone,” Evee said and leaned against the table as if needing the support.
Gilly and Evee looked at Viv.
“I have fifty Loups missing,” she said quietly, perplexed by the missing Originals.
“Sweet Mother Earth, no!” Evee said. “Viv, what are we going to do? All of those Originals could be out in the city. They’re going to miss feeding time. People will be in danger.”
Viv put a finger over each of her eyelids to keep a headache at bay. She shook her head. “I have no damn idea. This is way out of hand. All we can do is take one challenge at a time and deal with it.”
“Maybe we should go back and see the Elders. Let them know. Maybe they can help us find them,” Evee said, her voice lilting with hope.
“They can’t do shit,” Gilly said firmly. “We’re the only ones who can deal with the Originals. All the Elders would do is fret, talk over one another for an hour and serve us tea. I mean, really. Can you actually see Arabella, Taka and Vanessa running around the city looking for Originals? No. I don’t know why we have Elders anyway. They’re frigging useless.”
“Stop,” Viv said, her voice low with anger. “Those women took us under their wing when we had no one. They trained us, worried over us and still do. That’s called family. And I don’t want to hear you dissing family.”
Gilly huffed and looked away.
“Look,” Viv said, “the Benders will be here in about forty-five minutes. Maybe they’ll have some ideas on what to do.”
Evee tapped the table with a finger. “What if... What if we conjured up some kind of repellent spell? Something that would keep the Originals away from humans?”
Viv shrugged. “Might be worth a try. Let’s get to our Grimoires before the Benders get here. Maybe we can find something in our books that will allow us to at least manage the missing Originals while we deal with the Cartesians.”
Gilly and Evee agreed and the sisters took off for their respective bedrooms.
Viv trudged up the stairs, feeling angry, lonely and more afraid than she’d ever been in her life.
Chapter 15
By the time the Benders returned to the François home at 7:30 p.m., Viv felt wired with worry. The dark pressing up against the windows didn’t help.
They sat around an antique dining table that held eight people. An expansive, eighteenth-century crystal chandelier hung overhead. The cousins were dressed all in black, though the shirts were different styles.
Viv wore jeans and a royal blue pullover sweater. Gilly had dressed in white linen pants and a pink, long-sleeved T-shirt, and Evee had chosen jeans with an olive-green button-down blouse. Simple but stunning against her olive complexion and copper-colored eyes.
They’d spent the last five minutes attempting small talk, and it had been halting at best. Even so, just looking across the table at Nikoli made Viv feel like she could breathe for the first time in hours. Something about him calmed her mind and riled her up physically at the same time.
The triplets’ situation had worsened since the last time they’d been with the Benders and Viv was ready to push the small talk aside and get on to business. Oddly enough, as dire as things were, having Nikoli here gave her an uncanny sense of hope. No one else, except for her sisters, had ever made her feel that way.
“Things have changed since we parted this morning,” Viv said, looking around the table at the cousins. “And not for the better.”
“What changed?” Nikoli asked, his expression growing more solemn. “Did you have another attack?”
“It couldn’t have been that,” Gavril said. “We would’ve picked up on it.”
“Not another attack,” Gilly said. “I don’t think so anyway.”
“What happened?” Nikoli asked.
“I have fifteen Chenilles missing,” Gilly said, and her lower lip quivered.
“What?” Gavril said. “Missing from where?”
“They’re unaccounted for,” Gilly said. “I went to open Snaps this afternoon, told my managers I’d be tied up for the evening, then went to take count at the cemeteries. I’m fifteen short.”
“From one cemetery or all three?” Gavril asked.
“All three. Lafayette, St. Louis 1 and City.”
Evee leaned into the table. “And I have ten Nosferatu that have gone MIA.”
Viv saw the cousins eyeing each other and wondered what messages they were sending.
“I did a head count a few hours ago,” Evee said. “That’s when I found out they were gone. The two captains I have in charge at the cathedral had no idea they were missing, saw no one leave the catacombs.”
“What about you?” Nikoli asked Viv.
“Jaco and Aaron told me we’re at least fifty short. That’s from all the compounds. If you remember, I told you I had brought everyone into the North compound. My sisters and I have our own way of calling our groups to us, and we’ve been calling out to them, trying to connect with them for hours. No response.”
Nikoli sat back and folded his arms over his broad chest. “So now we have to add another challenge to the mix. Not only do we have to find a way to protect the Originals, we now have Nosferatu, Chenilles and Loup Garous on the loose. And they won’t respond to their mistresses’ calls. We have to assume they’re roaming free in the city. Definitely not an ideal situation.”
“You’re not telling us anything we don’t already know,” Viv said.
“Did you let your Elders know?” Gavil asked. “Any possible solution from them?”
“We haven’t told them anything,” Gilly said tersely. She glanced at Viv before looking back at Gavril. “There’s really nothing they could do. We’re the only ones who can handle the Originals. No need to worry them just yet.”
“And you can’t even feel where your factions might be?” Ronan asked.
“No,” Viv said, “which is odd. That’s never happened before.”
“If you can’t feel them,” Ronan said, “does that automatically mean they’re dead?”
“Not necessarily,” Viv said. “I’ve had a wayward Loup or two over the years that didn’t respond to my call just to be hardheaded. I don’t see fifty of them doing that, though.”
“All right,” Nikoli said. “We simply have to add this to our to-do list. My cousins and I came up with a game plan that we wanted to discuss with you. We think it’s pretty solid, but now that we have some Originals missing and we have to assume they’re milling around people, we may have to retool that plan.”
“What were you considering?” Gilly asked.
“We thought about each one of us pairing off with one of you,” Gavril said. “Now, because there are four of us and you’re three of you, one of you—well, actually, we decided it would be Evee—would have two Benders with her. For example, Gilly, you and I would take care of the Chenilles. Evee, Lucien and Ronan stand watch over the Nosferatu. And that leaves Viv and Nikoli to tend to the Loup Garou. We also discussed something regarding the Chenilles. If it’s possible, we’d like to see them all corralled in one cemetery, the way Viv has her Loups in one compound. That way we wouldn’t be running from cemetery to cemetery.”
Gilly tilted her head to one side, narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “We’re five steps ahead of you. We took care of that before you arrived. And we even discussed pairing up with you.”
Gavril shot her an admiring look. “That’s great. How did you manage to put the Chenilles in one cemetery and not have them kill each other over territory?”
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