Then someone stood and it was Lucas, his familiar face popping out of the crowd. He held his hand out for me. I willed my feet to move toward him and then somehow I was holding his hand. He lowered me into a chair and sat down next to me, dragging my chair closer to him. He put his arm over my shoulder in a comforting and somewhat possessive gesture.
I didn’t mind.
He leaned in. “You forget the waffles?” I could hear the humor in his voice.
I choked a laugh out, watching as Nora sat down next to a man with a long braid and freckles just like Julian’s.
“Hello, Faith,” said a voice to my right. I looked over, and a man sitting in front of the fire was smiling at me. Really, he looked more like a bear. He was hulking and hairy and I swear I saw claws where his hands should’ve been. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Lucas when he’d been infected, but there was something about him that alluded to his ancient age. The eyes, intense and focused. His vibe, too, was raging with power and I knew in an instant who this massive beast was. He was the pack master.
I swallowed and said, “Hi.” My voice sounded strangled and small. Lucas’s arm tightened around me.
“I am Rolf,” he said pleasantly. “And I have a great favor to ask of you.”
19
STRATEGY
I felt my stomach drop. I glanced at Lucas and saw a muscle in his jaw vibrating. I took a deep breath.
“I’ll help if I can,” I said, trying to sound brave.
This seemed to please Rolf. He leaned back in his armchair and smiled. His eyes flicked to Lucas and then back to me.
“I’m sure you have heard of the murders in Denver, and now in Fort Collins as well,” Rolf said. He had a bombastic voice and perfect enunciation. It made me feel slightly inadequate.
I nodded in answer to his question. So this was about the murders, after all. I wished knowing that made me feel better, but it had the opposite effect. What did these people think I could do to help them? Wasn’t staving off vampires their deal?
Rolf gazed at me intently with eyes like hot coals. “Then I am sure that you have realized that they are vampire killings.”
More nodding on my part.
“The killings are out of character for a vampire of Vincent Stone’s age and experience. However, we had a stroke of luck at the full moon. We were able to catch his scent and match it to the one at the crime scene of the last murder.” He dipped his head in a little bow. “We have you to thank for that, Faith.”
I frowned. “Why are you thanking me? I did everything wrong. I fell for his trick.”
“Yes, you did. But if you had not lured Vincent into the open, we would not have been able to match his scent to the one at the crime scene. Now we can be sure that he has killed at least one girl, and I believe it is a safe assumption to say that he is responsible for the ones in Denver as well.”
I heard mumbles of agreement from around the room.
“But why he is doing this, is beyond us,” Rolf continued.
“Doesn’t matter why!” shouted a voice from the back.
“Yeah,” said another, a girl this time. “Any dead vamp is one less to worry about!”
“Let’s bring him down!” a man roared. Shouts and whoops erupted around the room, but Lucas didn’t make a move. His eyes remained fixed on the far wall.
“Enough,” Rolf said, and the shouting died down. “We are all anxious to have this matter settled. Since the killings are out of character for someone Vincent’s age, I would venture to think that he has orders from a higher up.” He sighed a little, as if exasperated. “However, Lucas thinks that is unlikely.”
“Why?” I asked, turning to Lucas.
“Vincent doesn’t take orders,” Lucas grunted. “Not the Vincent I knew, anyway.”
“Well, you said that the Vincent you knew was lost,” I said. “Maybe the newer, more evil Vincent found a way to get to you by murdering these girls, so he did it because it’d hurt you.”
“How would that hurt me?” Lucas asked arrogantly.
“Well . . . I mean, this is your territory right? It’s your responsibility to keep the vampires from killing humans, so if you guys fail to do that, wouldn’t that piss you off? Make you angry?”
Lucas just clenched his jaw.
“And then if you’re angrier,” I said eagerly, “it’d make you change more ... make you more impulsive and more likely to make a mistake. It’d make it easier for him to kill you.”
Lucas made no reaction, so I looked around to Rolf, who was nodding.
“Very good,” he said to me. “But regardless of Vincent’s motives, he cannot be allowed to continue his killing spree.” His voice became hard. “We cannot have a vampire on our territory, killing on a whim with no consequences, especially when he does it with no concern for subterfuge. His boldness has drawn the attention of the human authorities. He is putting all of us in danger now.”
He looked to Lucas. “I am sorry, son, but this feud has gone on long enough. It is time we stepped in.”
Lucas’s eyes glared with silver fury. “This is my fight,” he said loudly.
Rolf’s eyes burned red instead of silver. “Not any longer. He has involved all of us now—our land, our reputations, our families are in jeopardy! We’ve stood by and watched the two of you torture each other for years. You cannot defeat him alone.”
Lucas leaped out of his seat. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. I’m strong enough to kill that leech without any of you!”
Rolf’s tone was gentler, but still firm. “Lucas, there is no shame in accepting help. We are your family, your pack. Let us help you end the suffering.”
Lucas’s body heaved with deep breaths.
“I have a plan,” Rolf said firmly. “Sit down and be calm.”
Lucas obeyed begrudgingly. “I don’t know what you think is so different about this time. I don’t care how many of us are out there—you’re not gonna catch him if he runs. And he will run.”
Rolf nodded slowly. “It is different now because we know what he wants.” His eyes flickered to me.
Lucas vaulted out of his seat again.
“She’s not bait!” he roared, his body trembling. Several people around us rose out of their seats, looking anxiously from Rolf to Lucas. I saw a few of the bodies in the back shiver.
My heart pounded. I prayed the room wouldn’t erupt into a mess of angry werewolves. I definitely wouldn’t fare well in that scenario. I gripped the edges of my seat, staring up at Lucas’s shaking form.
But Rolf stayed calm. “Everybody sit.” His voice took on this sonorous yet somehow hollow nature, and everybody sat immediately—even Lucas, though he didn’t look happy about it.
“Lucas,” Rolf said calmly. “Think about it, son. We wait until the full moon, when we are at our strongest, and then we place Faith in a given position.”
I heard Lucas let out a low, guttural noise.
“Stop that,” Rolf said, his voice creepy and hollow again. Lucas stopped, looking slightly choked. “We place her in a spot where she will be safe and then we wait for him. We can ambush the vampire and find out if he serves a master, as I suspect. Once we find out what we need, we will dispose of him.”
“You’ve lost your mind if you think I’m letting you do this,” Lucas said in a low voice. “There’s no way.”
Rolf looked unconcerned. “You know I do not have to ask your permission, Lucas.” His tone was pointed.
Lucas’s eyes flashed. “You do that and I leave the pack!”
Several people winced and gasped.
Rolf narrowed his eyes at Lucas. “How else do you expect to finish this? How long can you keep her safe from him? You already put her in danger once.”
Lucas cringed, his face breaking with torment. I put my hand over his, glaring at Rolf.
“That wasn’t his fault,” I said. “He told me what to do, and I ignored him. Don’t blame Lucas for something I did to myself.”
“I don’t care about the stupid territory!” Lucas yelled. “I care about Faith. I’m not letting you put her in danger.”
“Lucas,” Rolf warned. “Do not make me do this. Do not make me force you.”
“Go ahead and force me,” Lucas said between his teeth.
They glared at each other for a long moment, eyes burning. I felt their furious energy rebounding against each other, commanding and unrelenting. I watched Lucas’s livid profile in slight amazement; he would give up his pack just to keep me safe. As touched as I was, I couldn’t let him sacrifice that for me. His pack was the only family he had, and I of all people knew what it meant to have a family that wasn’t a wreck. I had the power to help Lucas end this war that tortured him so.
“I’ll do it,” I said. I stood and turned to Rolf. “You don’t have to force Lucas to do anything. I’ll help you kill Vincent.”
Lucas rounded on me. “Like hell you will! I don’t need your help!”
“Yes, you do. It’s okay to need people.” I put my hand on his cheek. “You taught me that. I want to do this, Lucas. I want to help you get rid of your demons, just like you’re helping me get rid of mine.”
Lucas shook his head, his jaw set with stubbornness and his metallic eyes desperate, yet fierce.
“You don’t understand,” he growled. “I’ll die before I let this happen.”
I could see that he meant it and no amount of convincing on my part was going to sway him. I turned to Rolf for help, but he, too, seemed to realize this wasn’t going to work. If Lucas wouldn’t cooperate, it threw too many obstacles into an already problematic plan.
“Fine,” Rolf rumbled. “But we must act. This cannot continue.”
Lucas leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest, expression closed. I sat too, watching him. I’d never seen him so angry. Well, except maybe on Halloween, when Vincent had shown his true colors and attacked me in the woods outside the barn. The tumultuous energy he was emitting now was very similar to then.
Oblivious, or perhaps merely unaffected by Lucas’s fury, Rolf scratched his bearded chin. “What we need is an advantage. If we could only locate his lair . . .”
“Can’t you?” I asked. “You said you caught his scent, so can’t you just follow it to his ... ah . . . lair?”
Rolf’s bushy eyebrows drew together. “Under normal circumstances we could, however it has proved difficult with all the snowfall. We lose the scent somewhere on the outskirts of Fort Collins.”
“Is there anything around there?” I was grasping at straws, trying to make something click in my head.
“Only some residential buildings, a few warehouses, an abandoned barn. Nothing likely to attract a vampire. They prefer to live underground.”
But then, something did click.
The barn.
“Lucas,” I said suddenly. “Vincent threw his Halloween party at a barn. Maybe it’s the same one.”
Lucas gave me a patronizing look. “It is the same one, but we’ve checked it, Faith. All of the buildings have been checked.”
“Maybe you missed something,” I said stubbornly. “I mean, you said the snow covered the scent.”
“It’s highly unlikely that we would have missed him,” Rolf said. “He is hiding someplace else. Perhaps in Denver. I know there is a brood there, and quite a large one at that.”
I fell silent. I was so sure that was where Vincent would be. It seemed like the perfect vampire hideout. . . . But then, maybe that was just because it had been decked out to look like a haunted house at the time. There had been creepy beasts “attacking” guests, detached limbs on the floor, and blood and—
“I saw someone drinking blood that night,” I said at once.
Everyone stared at me.
“What?” Lucas asked cautiously, as though he thought I’d lost it.
“I saw a woman bite this guy. They were hiding in a corner of the party, but the strobe lights came on and I could see them. She bit him. There was blood everywhere. I thought it was a prop for the party, but now . . .” I looked hopefully up at Lucas.
He was staring at me like he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Turning to Rolf, he said, “We need to check again. If there was more than one vampire there, it might be a lair.”
“You would have smelled them,” Rolf argued.
But Lucas shook his head. “There were too many humans that night. They obscured everything.” Rolf still looked skeptical, so Lucas cut his hand through the air and said, “Look, it might not be Vincent’s lair specifically, but he still might stay there sometimes and we just missed him with all the snow. C’mon, Dad, it’s all we’ve got. It’s worth a try.”
At last, Rolf seemed to agree. He pointed at two werewolves to his right and motioned for them to leave. In a blink they were gone. “They will look again. You are released for now.”
The pack members began to stand and murmur to each other, but the energy I felt emanating from Lucas was so tumultuous, I felt it was best to be silent. Then Lucas stood in a motion so quick it startled me.
“Come with me,” he growled and strode out of the door. I followed in his wake. He stopped in the hall leading to the kitchen and rounded on me. “What in the hell is wrong with you?”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“How could you volunteer to do something like that? Be bait for a vampire? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? How many humans get killed doing exactly that?”
“I was just trying to help. You don’t have to get so mad at me.”
For a moment, Lucas seemed to struggle with himself and then he yelled, “I’m mad at myself! I’m mad that I dragged you into my screwed-up life. I’m mad that I finally found someone I love more than I love anything and now I have to put her life in jeopardy because of what I am. I’m mad that it’s just the same thing, over and over, no matter how hard I try to stop it. I’m always hurting you. Always putting you in danger. And I’m mad that I can’t keep you safe. That I have this vulnerable time when I can’t be with you. And yes, I’m mad at you, too!”
“How is any of that my fault?”
I saw his eye twitch. “It’s not. I’m mad that I had to pick the most stubborn and willful person in the world to love. I need someone who’ll be this damsel in distress, someone I can lock up somewhere and guard the door. I can’t keep you safe because I never know what you’re gonna do! Any normal person would have told Rolf to stick it. But no. I pick the girl who charges in headfirst with no concern for herself!”
“Well, sorry I care about you!” I yelled back.
“Don’t be sorry, just—just, damn it!” He turned away and slammed his fist against the wall—not hard enough to break it but enough to make me flinch. He inhaled deeply, shaking. “I can’t handle you getting hurt because of me, all right?” He looked sideways at me. “That’s the truth. So no matter what happens when we go back in there, I don’t want you putting yourself at risk for me. Is that clear?”
I bristled at his tone, but I was touched by his words. So I nodded. He seemed to calm down after that, and he leaned against the wall, glowering toward the basement we’d soon be returning to. I leaned against the opposite wall and folded my arms over my chest.
“Do you think they’ll find anything at the barn?” I asked.
“It’s possible. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve missed a vampire’s scent—they’re very elusive. It makes a difference when you find their individual fragrance, but they alter it every so often so that we have a harder time tracking them. But we might get lucky. Vincent might not have altered his yet. And we never rechecked the barn once we found it because Rolf thought it was an unlikely place for a lair. They might find something now.”
I could only hope.
An hour later the door down t
he hall popped open and Nora called us back into the basement.
“Already?” I asked Lucas.
“They’re our fastest runners,” he grumbled.
Once inside the basement, we resumed our seats along with the rest of the pack, and I watched Rolf hang up a cell phone. Silence fell as Rolf contemplated whatever he just heard.
“They were able to detect traces of Vincent’s scent at the barn,” he said at last.
My heart leaped. Excited murmurs fluttered around the room.
“It may have been remnants from the party Faith spoke of,” Rolf went on, “but it’s the most promising lead we have.”
“So what’s the plan?” asked the man with the braid sitting next to Nora. He looked important, and I was willing to bet he was on the Council Katie had mentioned earlier.
“We will take some pack members and raid his lair on the next full moon.”
Malicious smiles appeared among many of the werewolves around me, but not Lucas. His face was somber.
“Who will volunteer?” Rolf questioned.
Immediately several people stood. Nora and the man sitting next to her rose together. Julian stood as well, as did ten or so others I didn’t know.
And, of course, Lucas stood.
“Excellent,” Rolf said, looking around from under his eyelids. “We reconvene here on the next full moon.” Rolf started to leave, but Lucas wasn’t satisfied.
“We do this on one condition,” he said darkly. “You can all come and help me get the jump on Vincent, but I’m going to be the one to finish it. Nobody else.” He glared around the room, his energy imposing and his eyes narrowed in intensity. “I’m the one who kills Vincent Stone.”
20
AMBUSHED
The details were hashed out afterward. I wasn’t allowed in the room, but Lucas filled me in on the way back to CSU.
Blood on the Moon Page 25