by Laura Taylor
“You’re not going anywhere with us,” the woman snarled at her.
Lee considered that for a moment. “Okay,” she said. “Then let me rephrase that: I am going to be there. I am going to attempt to defend the property against the Noturatii. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t shoot me in the process.”
“What makes you think we’re not going to shoot you now?” the assassin asked.
Li Khuli paused, tilted her head to the side. Assessed the assassin with a cold, calculating glare. “If you want to kill me,” she said, holding her arms wide, “then here is your chance.” She stood there, in the middle of the forest, watching the four shifters watching her, fully aware that each breath could be her last. The seconds ticked by, slow and dragging, and no one moved. Finally, she lowered her arms, taking a smooth step backwards. “Very well, then. I will see you in the morning.” Without the slightest fear of retaliation, she turned her back on the shifters and walked in slow, measured steps back to where her motorbike was waiting by the road.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The silence in the foyer was thick and oppressive. After an anxious wait, everyone had breathed a sigh of relief when Caroline returned from her mission to meet the Khuli. But tensions had quickly mounted again when she delivered her report to Baron. The entire Den listened with rapt attention, the slow boredom of the afternoon replaced with an eager restlessness, until Caroline finished her announcement and summed up their situation with one simple, yet profound question: “So what do we do now?”
Now, in the wake of that question, the silence lengthened. The senior members of the Den were trying to digest the news and make some sort of rational decision in light of it, while the more junior members weighed the pros and cons in their own minds and tried not to fidget.
Sitting in the corner with Dee, Mark held Luke in his lap and slowly rubbed his ears. Quite honestly, he was surprised that neither Andre nor Caroline had attempted to kill the Khuli. Any threat to their Den was treated with the utmost seriousness, and to let her simply walk away like that...
“In all my years,” Heron said finally, pacing the foyer not far from Baron, “I have never heard of a Khuli just wanting to talk the way she did. Under normal circumstances I would say no, of course we can’t trust her. But...” She glanced at John, then at Alistair, who was still looking rather pale. The entire Den had heard his low confession that he’d slept with her, and the shock was likely to linger for a while. “Given her recent actions and the way she’s treated individual members of this Den, I’m honestly coming around to the idea that this one is different. We’ve somehow found the one Khuli in the world who doesn’t want to kill anyone.”
Another prolonged silence followed. “Could we look at this from another angle?” Raniesha suggested, when no one else seemed to have anything to offer. “If we can assume, just for argument’s sake, that the Khuli is telling the truth… if that was the case, then what would be our next course of action?”
“We would go and defend the civilian estate,” Mark answered easily from his seat on the floor. Every eye in the room turned to look at him, and he swung gracefully to his feet, cradling Luke in the process. The pup yawned and waved an idle paw, then when Mark rubbed his ears again in slow, soothing circles, he snuggled back down to sleep. “Strategically speaking,” he said, stepping forward, “this is the best chance we’re ever likely to get to blow a hole in the Noturatii’s forces. They’re going to be showing up in large numbers, we know when, we know where, it’s not on our own property, so if we need to call a retreat at some point, we can, and we have a solid opportunity to plan our own strategy. We can send our weaker members offsite, so that even if someone does attack the estate here, we’re only losing bricks and mortar, not people’s lives. And if this Khuli truly is going to fight the Noturatii with us, that’s way too good an opportunity to turn down.”
“So she’s given us an offer we can’t refuse,” Baron said darkly. “Why does that not reassure me?”
Ignoring his comment, Mark went right on. “We’ve told ourselves time and time again that we’re better than the Noturatii. We don’t torture our prisoners. As far as it’s possible, we let our new recruits know what they’re signing up for and give them the chance to back out if they want to. But there is also more blood on our hands than we could ever wash off, not just from the Noturatii, but from the lives of civilians who get caught in the crossfire. So assuming that the Khuli is telling the truth, are we going to stand by and let yet another household of innocent people burn? Or are we going to step in and do what’s right, not because it will help us defeat the Noturatii, but because our very way of life dictates that we do so?”
“That’s quite the rallying speech,” Silas said drily, not looking the slightest bit impressed. “The tricky bit is that we haven’t yet worked out whether she is telling the truth or not.”
Not at all intimidated, Mark sent him an unconcerned smile. “And how are you going to figure that one out?”
“She’s not lying,” Alistair spoke up finally. He wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the pronouncement, but his words carried conviction. “She had plenty of opportunities to kill me, both before and after she found out what I was. Andre, I know you don’t trust the Khuli, but you know them better than any of us. Could she have killed us when we went out to meet her?”
“Yes,” Andre replied without hesitation.
“Could she have killed us here in the manor without ever luring us outside?”
“Yes.”
“Could she have arranged for the Noturatii to drop a bomb on this house without us ever knowing she even existed?”
“Yes.”
“So what are we waiting for? She’s not going to kill us. But the Noturatii are going to kill a bunch of innocent people because they believe they’ve found us. Mark’s right; everyone here knows that we can’t just stand around and allow that to happen.”
Baron flung the wide sheet of paper onto the table, the fourth one that had just flowed like smooth silk out of the printer. The four of them together depicted a detailed birds-eye view of the estate that was to be attacked, and Skip quickly taped the sheets together, then backed away.
The three assassins they’d sent for had arrived not long ago, hasty security checks being carried out before Baron had opened the front door, unwilling to take the slightest chance that their rescuers might, in fact, be their enemies instead. If the change of plans had shocked the assassins, they’d given no indication of it. One of them, the older of the two women, had asked in a soft, serious voice whether they were certain they could trust the word of a Khuli, but when Baron had answered with a firm yes, there had been no further discussion on the topic. That was one thing to be said for Baron, Alistair thought from where he stood off to the side; once he made a decision, he followed through with it.
“The Khuli will most likely station herself here,” the male assassin speculated, a tall, lanky man with a goatee. He pointed to the south-east corner of the manor’s roof. “It has a clear view of the front gate and the southern boundary fence, and allows her to provide covering fire over the front door.”
“They could have drones,” Simon warned, the man up to speed with all manner of technological options. “There’s not much chance of staying hidden on a rooftop if there’s a drone above you.”
“True,” the youngest assassin said, a woman with an unexpectedly slight build, though the fire in her eyes more than made up for her short stature. “But it also provides the chance for a clean shot to take out said drone.”
“Should we do that?” Baron asked, eager to take part in putting this most daring plan together, while also recognising the need to defer to those more qualified. “We could station someone for the express purpose of shooting them down. How likely is it that they’ll be using them?”
The assassin shrugged. “I’d say there’s an eighty per cent chance they will. In recent years they haven’t been shy about adopting whatever technology help
s them achieve their ends.”
“I wouldn’t recommend taking up one of the assassins for that,” Andre said. “They can do far more good elsewhere. But Caroline’s an excellent shot with a rifle. How would you feel about that?” he asked her.
“Done,” she replied succinctly. “Where do you want me?”
“Here,” the male assassin told her, pointing to the north-west corner of the roof. “There’s potential shelter to be had beside the window peak, and you’ll stay clear of the Khuli that way. I’ll be here,” he added, pointing to the south-west corner. “Though I may not stay there, depending on how the battle plays out.”
“We’ll station ourselves here, and here,” the female assassin said, indicating an area on the ground near the main gate, and another protected alcove to the west of the house. “The stone walls will provide cover and give us the chance to cut a fair few of them down before they get too far into the property.”
“That’s assuming they come in via the ground,” Caroline pointed out. “But they could bring in choppers, both to drop troops in and to shoot at us from.”
“Not so likely,” Andre told them. “Unless they’ve recently changed their tactics in a big way. Even though the British division has been rather public about their attempts to find us, they still have an overriding directive to keep the Endless War a secret from the public. Gun-fire can be passed off with various placating stories about the police just doing their job. You get helicopters involved and people start asking questions about military exercises or acts of war. My guess is they’d have to get a fair bit more desperate before they start employing those kinds of tactics.”
“I think Andre’s right; drones are more stealthy than helicopters,” the older female assassin said. “Or if not, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. So for now, we’ll assume we’ll be dealing with ground troops. The easiest access is via the front gate or across the fields from the roadway that runs to the north of the property. We’re going to want a small group of skilled fighters inside the estate to defend the civilians, but everyone else should be on the outside. Once the Noturatii enter the property, we can cut off their retreat and attack them on two fronts.”
“On that note, when will the Grey Watch be arriving?” the younger woman asked. “We’ll need time to assess their proficiency in battle in order to plan where it would be best to locate them, and then give them a full briefing.”
“They said they’d be here by about eight o’clock,” Silas replied. “They’re sending ten of their members for the battle itself, and the rest of them will park themselves halfway between Lancaster and Kendal. If we end up needing serious medical help or we need to pull a fast evacuation, they’ll be our backup.”
“Tank and Kajus are thoroughly battle-hardened,” Caroline added. “You can put them anywhere and they’ll get the job done. The rest of them are capable at both shooting and fighting, but not as experienced. They’d do better with a team leader who can give them some direction.”
The decision to call on the Grey Watch had been a tough one. Though they’d sworn to aid the Den should they be attacked, Baron had made a firm point that their own estate wasn’t currently at risk, and as such, there was no legal basis for dragging the Watch into this mess. Aside from that, with a Khuli on the scene, there was always the possibility she’d end up betraying them, and losing both British packs on the same day was something no one was willing to risk.
But in the end, Caroline had made a point that was impossible to ignore. “Just imagine for a moment,” she’d said, “that the Grey Watch were going up against the Noturatii and they didn’t tell us about it. We would be massively pissed off about not even getting the choice about whether to help them or not.” The point had been well made, and Baron had reluctantly made the call.
“We’re going to need four team leaders,” the male assassin said, glancing around the room to assess their numbers, “and a handful more to defend the civilians. With luck, they’ll hear the shooting and just stay inside the house. Keeping the Noturatii from gaining entry will be a priority.”
“Caroline’s going to be on the roof,” Baron replied. “I’d prefer to be front and centre protecting the civilians. I’d recommend Tank to lead one of the teams.” He looked around the room, assessing the rest of his pack.
“Raniesha can take the manor,” Caroline suggested. “Her skills with explosives might come in handy.”
“I’ll lead a team,” Silas volunteered, and no one argued with him. “And I think we’d do well to have John at the manor.”
“John’s not going anywhere near the battle,” Baron snarled. “He betrayed this Den, and I will not -”
“I betrayed this Den,” Mark spoke up loudly, “in a far more deliberate way than John did. And you allowed me to join the fight to get Tank back before you started considering what my sentence would be,” he reminded them. “This is no different. John’s one of the strongest fighters we have, with more than enough motivation to get the job done. He made it clear he gave the Khuli no real information about this estate or about the shifters in general. I agree, he’ll have to answer for what he’s done,” he added hastily, when it looked like Baron was set to start an argument about it, “but after we tackle the Noturatii.”
“For what it’s worth,” one of the assassins spoke up, “I agree. If John’s a strong fighter, we’re going to need him.”
“Fine,” Baron conceded, though he clearly wasn’t happy about it. “And since we’re on the subject, Mark, I’d like you to lead another team.” The announcement was a shock, not least of all to Mark, but Baron was once again willing to prove himself an insightful leader. “Before you were demoted,” he said firmly, “you were on course for becoming alpha one day. And regardless of your current rank, you have a good eye for strategy.” He glanced around the room with a stern glare. “I hope everyone here is capable of putting personal grudges aside for long enough to focus on the bigger picture.” Various murmurs of agreement came back at him, and it seemed that that part of the plan was settled.
“Now, I know this is not going to be a popular topic,” he went on, “but there are certain people who won’t be coming with us. George,” he said, nodding to the ageing man, and George merely nodded, no doubt having anticipated that one. “Heron,” he went on, and she sighed, but made no further comment. “Skip, you’ll be sitting this one out as well.” Skip nodded, and she actually seemed to be rather relieved about it. “And Dee,” Baron finished, looking her in the eye, no doubt expecting an argument.
And Dee didn’t fail to deliver. “What? I’m perfectly capable of fighting! I’m a terrific shot with a pistol, and I can -”
“Your skill in battle is not in question,” Baron interrupted softly. “But there are two children who are now depending on you for their every need, and Council regulations forbid you and Mark going into battle at the same time. It’s part of the reason why children have to have two parents. If one of you dies, the other has to be able to care for your family.”
That stopped Dee in her tracks, and she looked from Mark, who was currently holding a human Luke in his arms, to Taya, who was fidgeting on Skip’s lap and trying to chew her sleeve with her puppy teeth, and then back to Baron, a slightly stunned look on her face.
“Oh,” she said finally. “I see.”
“What about shifting?” Alistair asked, when it seemed there would be no further comment on the current issue. Their wolf halves were one major topic that had yet to be covered. “If there are civilians, we can’t let them know about us, but at the same time, our wolves aren’t just about taking advantage of battle style. If one of us is injured, shifting is sometimes the only thing that will stop us bleeding to death.”
The three assassins looked at each other awkwardly, before one of them gave a vague sort of shrug. “I’ll have to defer to your alphas on that one,” he said.
“Bloody hell,” Baron muttered. “Always the difficult questions.” He sighed and ran a hand over his
face. Caroline met his gaze, then looked around the room.
“This is a fine opportunity to deliver a blow to the Noturatii,” she said. “But our main purpose here has to be defending the civilians. This is not their war. As such, all normal rules apply regarding shifting in view of the public. But because that increases our chances of dying,” she went on, not embellishing the truth in the slightest, “that also means that this mission is on a voluntary basis only. Anyone who wants to sit this one out, you are absolutely within your rights to do so.”
Watching her with grim, silent expressions, not a single person moved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
At three o’clock in the morning, the air was cool and misty. There was no wind to disturb the leaves and the sky was dark as six inky shadows slunk through a hedgerow and over a low stone wall. Two of the assassins had already broken off from the group, but the third, along with Caroline and the team that would be protecting the manor, had chosen an entrance on the east side of the property, one that afforded them plenty of cover on the way to the manor and would give the occupants of the house little chance to spot them, even if they happened to be awake. Little more than liquid patches of darkness, they slid closer to the manor, one breaking off to hide between large garden pots, another disappearing into a wood shed.
Off in the distance, the four assault teams, headed by Tank, Andre, Silas and Mark were spreading out, making sure they were far enough back to be able to surround the Noturatii when they arrived.
Once they reached the manor, the male assassin paused and assessed the climb up to the roof. Fortunately for them, there were several low roofs, one on the first storey over what appeared to be a sunroom, another on the second level jutting out before the third floor rose upwards a metre or so back. Giving Caroline a nod, he held out his hands, and she placed her foot lightly in his grip. He boosted her upwards, waiting until she had her feet firmly planted on the tiles before he used a doorknob and a windowsill as hand and foot holds and launched himself up beside her.