“I’m telling the truth,” Desandra said.
“This is one of your schemes, isn’t it? Not this time.”
The three wolves escorting Jennifer and the wolf render next to me simultaneously decided to look everywhere except at the two women. Behind them, Derek also pretended that nothing was happening. Ascanio rolled his eyes.
“Not this bloody time, do you hear me?” Jennifer’s voice spiked, picking up notes of hysteria. “No more plots, Desandra. No more Desandra Show.”
And Jennifer had just lost it in public. Awesome. Because that was what we really needed, to have this pissing match right this second in front of witnesses.
“Table it,” I said. “Back to Mulradin’s body.”
“Desandra’s right,” Robert said, his voice cold and precise.
We all turned to the alpha of the rats. He’d been so quiet, I had forgotten he was there.
“It’s a wolf,” he said. “I didn’t get a scent because the odor of blood was too thick, but I was close enough to see the wounds in detail. Mulradin had fought back. He must’ve grabbed at his attacker, because I saw fur stuck to his bloody hands. Wolf fur.”
Jennifer glared at him. It was like flicking a match at a glacier. Robert remained unperturbed.
“We need to find the killer before the deadline is up,” I said before she could freak out again. If we had the killer in custody, there was still a chance to defuse the situation.
“If he or she still lives,” Jim said.
Good point. If I were Hugh, I’d kill this wolf to make sure we couldn’t turn him or her over.
“And should we find this person, what will happen?” Robert said.
The question was asked in a mild tone, but I got the feeling a lot rode on how I answered.
“If the killer is apprehended, an investigation will be conducted within the Pack,” I said.
“And if found guilty?” Robert persisted.
“Robert, what are you really asking?”
Robert paused. “I’m asking about custody.”
“I have no intention of giving the People one of our Pack members for their burn-a-shapeshifter-alive party,” I said. “We don’t roll over when they stomp their feet. But we need to find whoever is responsible. We can’t act until we know what happened.”
“We need to examine the crime scene,” Jim said. “The body didn’t smell of wolfsbane.”
Wolfsbane was used to obscure the scent trail. Once a shapeshifter smelled it, even the best tracker would dissolve into sneezing fits. No wolfsbane meant a slight possibility that somewhere an intact crime scene waited for us and shapeshifters could read its scents like an open book.
“We don’t even know a crime scene exists,” Robert said. “They could’ve set it on fire.”
“No, it exists,” Barabas said.
“D’Ambray likes games,” Derek said. “He wants us to play.”
If there was a crime scene, where could it be? The blood on Mulradin’s body was fresh. “Desandra? Did you get an idea of how long he’s been dead?”
“I’d say less than two hours,” she said.
Jim nodded. “That sounds about right, but it would put Mulradin in the Casino at the time of death.”
My nose had six million olfactory receptors. A wolf’s nose had two hundred and eighty million. If Desandra said he had been dead a couple of hours, I was inclined to believe her, but there was no way a shapeshifter had walked into the Casino, murdered Mulradin, and walked out. I turned to Jim. “Are you sure he was in the Casino?”
“Yes,” Jim said. “Ghastek and Mulradin switch off supervising, so that one of them is at the Casino at all times. Ghastek was at the Conclave, so Mulradin had the evening shift. He wouldn’t have left the Casino.”
“Not necessarily,” Robert said quietly.
Jim turned to him.
“Two weeks ago I got a report that one of my people saw him outside when he was supposed to be on call,” the wererat said.
“Where?” I asked.
“The Warren,” Robert said. “My scout saw Mulradin go into a building, but was unable to follow up because he had a different objective that night.”
“And were you planning on sharing that with the class?” Jim asked.
“There are a number of things the class chose not to share with us,” Robert said.
Clearly there was some tension there. “Which building in the Warren?” I asked.
“The scout didn’t specify.”
That narrowed it down about as much as pointing out which of the haystacks had the needle hidden in it. When magic wrecked Atlanta, it had stomped on the Warren, crushing entire streets. Anyone who could have moved, did. Now the Warren consisted of slums, populated by the destitute, criminals, and street kids, and it was huge.
“Can we ask the scout to narrow it down?” I asked.
Robert looked slightly uncomfortable. “Yes. But he’s at an observation post.”
“Where?” Please don’t say in the People’s territory.
“The People’s territory.”
This was not my night.
“Phone line?” I asked.
Robert shook his head.
Of course. The phone probably wouldn’t have worked with the magic up anyway. “I’ll need a small strike team to go in with me to find the observation post.”
“No,” Jim said. “You can’t go.”
“Overruled,” I told him.
“Kate!”
“Last time I checked I was in charge. Would you like to challenge me to settle this?”
Jim scowled at me.
“Very scary, but I’m still in charge. Robert, where is the observation post?”
“On Centennial Drive.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. “On Centennial Drive? Across from the Casino?”
Robert nodded.
Great. Sneak into the People’s territory, while Hugh has every vampire in Atlanta looking for anything with a tail or a saber, find a wererat who wanted to stay hidden, which was pretty much impossible, and then hightail it over to the Warren. Piece of cake. Let me just get my invisibility cloak and a teleportation device . . .
“With all due respect, Consort, you’ll never find the observation post,” Robert said. “And even if you did, my scout won’t speak to you.”
“Will you come with me?”
Robert nodded. “Yes.”
“We have enough people to get you there,” Barabas said. “We could go in force.”
“No. The idea is to sneak in and out. If we go in with a large group, we’ll fail. First, we’ll be more conspicuous. We might as well hook ourselves up with a neon sign that says ‘Target here. Bite to kill.’ Second, if we bring the numbers, they’ll view it as an invasion of their territory. Third, if we do encounter any vampires, the plan will be to run and hide to minimize any damage, not fight them off. No, we go in with a small group and whoever comes with us will keep their human skins on.”
“That bastard planned this whole thing,” Jim said. “He was gloating. There will be a trap at the crime scene.”
“Most likely. Which is why I have to go.” Of all of us, I had the best chances of surviving a meeting with Hugh and getting our people away alive.
“You seem very sure of that,” Jennifer said. “Maybe this whole thing was a coincidence. This d’Ambray came down to inspect the People, looked for the man in charge, couldn’t find him, and discovered the murder.”
Oh shut up. “Whatever his motivations are, we must get to the crime scene. This matter isn’t up for discussion.” I raised my foot and deliberately stomped on the bridge. “This is my foot. I put it down. Deal with it.”
They all looked at me.
“No more objections. Just help me get there and get out alive.”
“I’ll come,” Jim said.
“I need you to initiate the siege protocol.” Under siege protocol, every shapeshifter in the city would be pulled into the Keep. Those in the nearest towns would be a
dvised to evacuate to the Wood, a huge forest up north.
“Barabas can do it.”
Curran was gone, I was gone, and now Jim would be gone. How about no? How about for once in their lives, the Pack just did what I told it to do? “The Pack Council might need someone with direct knowledge of the incident and experience with running things.” And I didn’t want Jennifer to be the sole voice reporting what had happened.
Jim looked at me. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He would’ve loved nothing more than to drag me back to the Keep and surround me with rings of combat shapeshifters, but Hugh changed everything. I was the Pack’s best hope against Hugh. He was an enemy I was uniquely equipped to fight. Curran had put his life on the line for the Pack dozens of times. It was my turn. If I didn’t come back, someone had to hold the Pack together. Jim would be that someone, because he was the best man for the job and he was pissed as hell because of it.
“You’re taking Robert,” he said, his voice very calm. “Take Derek with you, too.”
I opened my mouth to say no and stopped. I had no clue where Robert’s loyalties lay, but Derek would die for me. He was almost twenty, he’d had combat training since he was sixteen, and he’d been through more shit than most people could handle in their lifetime. Objecting to him because I still thought of him as a kid and didn’t want to see him hurt would just humiliate both of us.
“Are you in?” I asked.
Derek looked mildly offended.
Right. How dare I ask? Teenage werewolves and their touchy feelings.
I turned to the rest of them. “We need one more.”
There was a reason why everyone from SWAT to the Marines and SEALs used four-man fire teams. They were fast, maneuverable, they let you cover all four sides, and in our case, having four people would make sneaking into the People’s territory much easier. We could break into pairs. A couple walking at night in Atlanta wouldn’t immediately attract attention. Three or four people together would draw the eye.
Myles, the wolf render, stepped forward. Perfect.
“No.” Jennifer narrowed her eyes. “Take Desandra with you.”
Seriously? She wasn’t even trying now. I was an amateur when it came to Pack politics, but this was just blatantly obvious. If I insisted on Myles, I’d insult Desandra. If Desandra backed out, she’d lose face.
Jim and Robert looked at each other.
“This is a dangerous mission and Clan Wolf wants to assist the Consort,” Jennifer said. “We’re still the largest in the Pack, and as the alpha present at the Conclave I feel our clan must do everything in its power to help. Desandra knows the scent and she’s an excellent fighter.”
“You’re sending her off hoping she’ll die and for what, so you can clutch onto power for a couple of extra days?” Jim said.
Jennifer raised her chin. “You have something to say, cat, say it.”
“I just did,” Jim told her.
If I didn’t cut this off right now, they would bicker all night. “Enough. Desandra, are you up to it?”
Desandra looked like she’d rather suck on some rotten lemons. “I’d be honored, Consort.”
“Great.” Now I had two wolves in my fun party. My wolf avoidance strategy had so far proved to be an epic fail. “We’ll take the northern evacuation route.”
We’d planned both north and south escape routes, but the northern one ran right past a stable. I’d need a horse to keep up with the shapeshifters. Good that I had already rented one.
“Remember the way d’Ambray was howling about killing anyone caught in the People’s territory?” Jim asked. “For this shit to happen, d’Ambray must’ve made arrangements with the cops. I don’t know if he bribed them, blackmailed them, or what, but he’s done something. Steer clear of the Paranormal Activity Division.”
“Will do,” I said.
“Who’s got the treasure chest?” Desandra asked.
Sage, the other render, went to the left Jeep and popped the hatchback. An assortment of weapons looked back at us: swords, knives, and batons. Nothing elaborate, just simple, functional tools to speed the journey to the afterlife. Derek looked at the smorgasbord for a long moment and fished out a tactical tomahawk. Solid black and about eighteen inches long, it had a six-inch blade on one side of the axe head and a sharp spike on the other. Desandra pulled out a two-foot-long solid metal mace. Its weighted head sported eight sharp flanges. I glanced at Robert.
He smiled. “I’m good. I retrieved my toys from my Jeep before we left.”
I turned to Barabas. “Can I have a word before we go?”
“Of course.” He walked off with me. I put a hundred yards between us and the rest of the shapeshifters, made sure my back was to them, and said, “Barabas, before you leave the city, I need you to stop at a courier and send a few messages. Call in every favor we have with the city and whatever goodwill we have with law enforcement. Use anything we’ve been saving for a rainy day, because the hurricane is here. Please call Evdokia or one of her kids. Tell her what happened.”
Evdokia was one of the prominent witches in the Atlanta Covens and one of the few people who knew my background. The Covens would fight Roland to the end, and letting them know Hugh was on the warpath would buy them time to prepare.
“Will do.”
“As soon as you get to the Keep, please put together a combat team and send it into North Carolina to find Curran. Keep it quiet. We don’t need a panic.”
Barabas nodded.
“Jim will want to send one, but I want you to oversee it. Use renders, use combat people, the best you can get without leaving us too vulnerable. I don’t care if they have to take the mountains apart rock by rock. They need to find the Beast Lord and they need to do it fast.”
“I understand. What about the Pack Council?”
“They are Jim’s problem. If you can, try to stall them. Delay any decision making until tomorrow. We should be back by morning. If I don’t check in by noon, I am dead and you’re on your own.”
“Understood.”
“Find him, Barabas.”
“Kate, I will. I promise you, I will.”
“Also, please tell Jezebel to take Julie out of the city. She’ll need backup, because Julie is good at escaping. If Hugh takes Atlanta, Julie can’t be here. He will use her and make her into something terrible.”
“He won’t take Atlanta,” Barabas said.
“I know. Please do this for me.”
“Of course. Good luck.”
“Thank you. We’ll need it.”
We went back to the cars. Jim’s face looked grim. “For the record, I’m sick of being left behind,” he said.
“For the record, I’m sick of Hugh being alive.”
The weremongoose was waving at our people. “We’re moving out.”
Jim paused. “Don’t get yourself killed and don’t make me come and rescue your ass.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love you, too.”
Jim growled under his breath and went to the Jeep.
“Jim!” I called, too loud.
He turned.
I waited a second to make sure I had everyone’s attention. “If I’m not back by tomorrow evening and the Beast Lord is still gone, you have my blessing.”
Jim blinked. His mouth opened. “Understood, Alpha.”
Someone would have to run the Pack. He had done it before and if I didn’t come back, he would do it again, and now I had a dozen witnesses who would support his right to do it.
Jennifer shook her head. She and her bodyguards got into their vehicle. The dark-haired man who had cut Desandra’s back open lingered. Desandra stepped close to him. “Go with our alpha. When you get to the Keep, send someone to Orhan and Fatima. And if Jennifer tries to do something stupid, delay her as much as you can. Get George to help you.”
So she had gone to see the retired alpha couple.
The man nodded and took off.
We turned and trotted down the bridge, hidden from the vampires’ view
by the cars. The shapeshifters began to chant, cajoling the Jeeps’ enchanted water engines into life.
“Orhan and Fatima?” Robert asked.
“Mm-hm,” Desandra said. “I have their blessing to take over the clan. Can you believe that bitch threw me under the bus?”
• • •
WE FINISHED CROSSING the bridge and jogged another quarter mile along the forested road, then turned off the barely visible trail to the left. Trees choked the path, their roots thrusting across the dirt, all but invisible in the night shadows. Perfect. Maybe I’d trip, break my neck, and save Hugh the trouble of hunting me down.
“It’s not that Jennifer shoved me off the cliff,” Desandra said. “I understand. It’s that she was so ham-fisted about it. The woman has been an alpha now for what, six months on her own? It’s fair to expect some subtlety.”
“When did you go to see Orhan and Fatima?” Robert asked.
“A few days ago,” Desandra said.
“They don’t want to be involved in the Pack’s operations,” Robert said. “They’ve made it abundantly clear. An alpha who steps down surrenders all right to meddle with their clan. You’ve put them into a difficult position.”
“They invited me to meet with them. I didn’t ask. You want to know why Orhan and Fatima sent for me?” Desandra pointed at me, then at Robert in turn. “Alpha, alpha . . .” She pointed at herself with her thumb. “Beta. One of these things is not like the other. Jennifer should be here instead of riding with her bodyguards in a comfy car. That’s why.”
“I’m not an alpha,” Derek said.
“You’re like Curran’s baby brother.” Desandra waved her hand. “You don’t count. So no, I didn’t break the rules and go and bother Orhan and Fatima on my own. Give me some credit.”
Robert tried his best to look quietly unapproachable. His best was pretty good, but it didn’t stop me.
“So, Robert, how does that foot taste?”
Robert looked at me, clearly unsure how to react.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Desandra said. “About Hugh having planned all this. You’re right.”
She shrugged the jacket off her shoulder and turned her back to us. A bright red bullet wound, still wet, marked the skin above her shoulder blade. The bullet must’ve penetrated from the front and torn straight through the top of her chest to the back. A dark gray stain bordered the wound. She’d been shot with a silver round. As the toxic bullet passed through the body, the Lyc-V in the surrounding tissues died. When the other wolf had cut her back, she must’ve bled gray.
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