"I'm Leslie Baker," the girl told me. She nodded down at her brother. "And his name's Simon."
"Simon and Leslie. Some good names," I complimented. My efforts at calming them down were quashed when I heard a noise from the road behind us.
I swung around and saw a shadow lope across the ground toward us. It was a werewolf, and judging from the burning eyes and snarling fangs they weren't here to give us piggyback rides. The kids screamed and ducked behind me. I stretched out my arms to cover them as the stranger stopped five yards from where we stood. It stretched up into a human form and covered its nakedness with a coat strung around its neck. The human was male, tall and well-built with a sneer not unlike his snarling fangs. I also didn't get a scent from him. "Well, hello there," he greeted.
"And goodbye," I quipped.
I picked up the kids under each arm and raced toward the safety of the lit house. The man had other plans and took off after me. He caught us at the lawn and tackled me to the ground. My head knocked into the hard earth and I was left dazed. The kids shrieked and rolled away. They tried to flee, but the man raced after them and caught them a few yards from me. He dragged them back kicking and screaming, and tossed them to the ground beside me. I struggled to sit up and felt a thick line of blood slide down my forehead from a large cut.
The werewolf stood over us with a sneer on his lips. "Yer a lot more trouble than yer worth," he growled.
"And close up you're a lot uglier than you look," I quipped.
The man leaned down and punched me in the cheek. My head jerked to one side with a horrible cracking noise and I fell on my side to the ground. The kids screeched and gathered around me with their trembling hands on my shoulder and head. I sat back up and glared at the man. "Do that again and I'll do the same to the kids," he warned. I wrapped my arms around the kids and glared at him, but there wasn't much else I could do. He took a gun out of his jacket and jerked his head toward the barn. "Start marching to that barn, and don't try any escape tricks."
I wish I could have, but I left my magician tricks in my other clothes. He pulled me to my feet and pushed me along toward the barn. I placed the kids in front of me in case the man got an itchy trigger finger. Simon sniffled and Leslie tried to comfort him with whispers full of hope. "Papa's still out here," she reminded her younger brother.
I hoped that, too, until a breeze blew by and I smelled a whiff of blood waft from the barn. That was Luke's scent, and if Luke was there then there was a good chance Alistair and Baker were also taken. The man shoved us along and we stumbled through the door into the west wing. It was a narrow tool shed with a tool bench along the entire left-hand wall. On the right was a wall that separated the shed from the main part of the barn, and in the far back was a doorway that led to a concrete floor. Beyond that was a wall, and through the cracks I could see there was a room even past that one.
What I also saw was Luke, Alistair and Baker lined up along the right-hand wall with three other men in front of them, and all holding a gun. They were dressed much like our captor, and there wasn't a scent from them, either. One of the men in front of the three, a tall guy with hard eyes, turned to us and scowled. "Did you have to bring the brats?"
"Didn't have a choice. They were all together," our captor replied. He led us up to the men and pushed me into Baker, who stood at the end of the lineup. Baker cast worried eyes on his kids, and I made sure to put them between us. They latched onto their father and buried themselves behind him.
"What do you want from us?" Luke asked the men.
Tall Man, who I guessed was the leader, smirked. "Nothing much. Just some good, old-fashioned framing. You three were good enough to walk right into our trap, even if it was earlier than we expected."
Luke frowned. "What are you talking about?"
The man chuckled. "Don't remember that message from your old girlfriend?" My eyes widened. He referred to Stacy's letter.
Luke's fists trembled at his sides. "What did you do to Stacy?" he growled.
"Nothing yet, but we can't guarantee her safety if you don't come with us," the leader threatened. He nodded the barrel of his gun towards the back room, and the silent companion moved down the room in that direction. "You three get back there."
"What about these three?" my captor wondered.
Tall Man glanced at us and shrugged. "We don't need 'em, so do what you want." He paused, and a hideous smile slid onto his lips. "On second thought, why don't you take care of them? We can frame these guys for their murders, too." Baker and Luke stiffened, and the kids let out tiny, frightened cries.
"But he said not to kill the girl," our stranger reminded his leader.
The other man shrugged. "He's not the one dealing with all these guys, so who cares? Now you three move. We have some evidence to plant," the leader ordered the three.
"What are you going to do to them?" I asked our captors.
"Nothing you need to worry your pretty head about, at least not when Sam here is done with you," the leader laughed, and he was joined by his two stooges. The leader then turned to Sam, our captor. "However you take care of them, do it quick. We have to get out of there before the Prots come."
"Right, boss," Sam replied.
Simon and Leslie clutched onto their father, and the leader growled and pulled them off Baker. "Get with the woman, brats," he ordered them.
"Do as he says," Baker told his kids.
I grabbed them and pulled them against me, and looked to Luke. His face was a tense mask except for a twinge at the corner of his eyes that left me with a feeling that he was up to something. Then the three of them were marched off to the back room, and I was left with only a feeling to give me hope.
The moment the others were gone, Sam turned to me with a leer on his face. He took a step toward us, but his lecherous plans were interrupted when there came a cry from the back room. I took that as my signal and threw my weight on his gun arm. He fired a harmless shot into the floor and I bit into his hand before he could fire another. The pain forced him to drop his gun, but he still had his strength and used it to wrap his arms around me. His bear hug crushed my stomach and forced the air from my lungs so I was left breathless, but not for long.
The kids were as brave as their father, and they both dove at Sam. The cute little monsters lived up to their title when they transformed into werewolves, and used claws and teeth to tear into the man. He screamed and released me so he could wildly grab at the little beasts. I turned in time to notice a plastic bottle fall from his jacket and roll beneath the workbench, but I had more important things to worry about than a lost prescription. I grabbed the fallen gun and shot a bullet into the ceiling. All three of them paused, and I pointed the barrel at Sam. Leslie and Simon scurried off him and to the safest place they could think of; behind me.
He held up his hands in forfeit and I grinned. "You're a lot more trouble than you're worth," I quipped.
7
During our scuffle the noises in the back room had quieted, and I was relieved to see Luke dash out to our part of the barn. His hair was wild and so were his eyes until they fell on me, ruffled but unharmed. He smiled and his eyes twinkled with pride as he surveyed my capture. "And here I was worrying about you," he commented.
I nodded down at the still-transformed kids behind me. "You might have still been worrying about me if these guys hadn't been with me," I told him. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my captive inch toward the exit and swung my head to glare at him. "No disappearing acts,," I warned him.
Baker rushed into the room, and the kids abandoned me for their father. They scurried into his open arms as he knelt down and scooped them up. "Are you two okay?" he asked them.
"We're fine, Papa," Leslie replied.
"We got to wrestle a bad guy, Papa!" Simon excitedly told him.
Luke strode past the happy family and up to my captive. He grabbed the man's shoulder and pushed him to his knees. "Your buddies can't tell us anything until they wake up, so you can t
ell us who did this and why," Luke ordered the man.
The gunman sneered at us and bit down hard on his teeth. I noticed a bit of white liquid dribble over his lips and his body shuddered. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell on his back onto the ground. Luke hurriedly knelt down and looked him over, then checked his pulse. He pulled his hand away and growled. "He's dead," he told us.
The kids cringed and their father led them back away from the body further back into the room. We heard yelling and glanced at the doorway leading to the back room. Alistair walked through it with a grim expression on his face. "I'm afraid we have a problem, sir," he told Luke.
Luke frowned and gestured down to our former captive and now corpse. "They committed suicide?" he guessed.
Alistair nodded. "I'm afraid so. Cyanide, judging by the quick deaths. The moment they woke up they bit down on a capsule in their teeth."
Luke shook his head and ran a hand through his wild hair, tussled about by the struggle in the back room. "I never would have guessed Lance had such loyal minions that they would commit suicide rather than talk with us."
"It's his message about werewolves needing to protect each other," Baker spoke up. He held his kids in his hands and gave a nod toward the body. "Those idiots probably thought they were doing the right thing by killing us. That it would save our race from the humans and make them heroes."
Luke raised an eyebrow. "You know a lot about their inner thoughts. How?" he asked him.
"Lance and his men approached me a year back spouting off that stuff. I thought they were nuts to be going against the entire human race, so I told them to dig a hole and bury themselves," Baker explained to us.
"And that's why he didn't want you invited to the last High Lord meeting?" Luke guessed.
"Exactly. He knows I'm not on friendly terms with his insane ideas," Baker replied.
"Guys?" I spoke up. I pointed at the dead man. "Some of us aren't used to being around dead people, so could we leave the barn, or at least move this guy?" I pleaded.
"I'll go to the house and call the police. You can come along if you want," Baker offered. He glanced at me, and managed a small smile. "And for what it's worth, thank you for saving my kids."
I shrugged and sheepishly smiled. "That's all right, they kind of saved me, too."
"I don't think calling the police would be the best idea," Luke spoke up.
Baker raised an eyebrow. "What do you expect me to do? Leave them here?"
"We'll think of that later, but having four bodies in your barn won't help your defense if you're accused of killing a Protector," he pointed out.
"But what if that message wasn't real?" I argued.
"Until we find out for sure then caution is the best policy," he insisted.
Baker frowned, but nodded. "All right, I'll hold off on calling the police, but only for tonight."
We followed the family to the old farmhouse, and I was delighted to see the rooms were clean and cozy. Baker showed us into an old-fashioned parlor complete with horse-hair furniture and pictures of dead presidents on the walls. Baker left us to take his shaken kids to their rooms. Luke sat himself down in a high-back chair and frowned. I took a seat on a couch and noticed his displeasure. "You don't look happy to be alive," I quipped.
"It's not them I'm worried about so much as what they said about Stacy. She must be in a great deal of trouble for them to fake a message from her, and one so perfect even I couldn't tell it was a fake," he replied.
"But she can't get into too much trouble, can she? Her dad's a lord and all," I pointed out.
Luke shook his head. "Baker and my being lords didn't stop those gunmen from attacking us. Her being a daughter to a lord, even a former High Lord, won't stop their ambitions," he countered.
"And what are their ambitions? What Baker said about them being for werewolves and against humans, like their red armband party motto?" I guessed.
"Ruling the world would be Lance's ambition, or at least wiping out any threat created by humans," Luke replied.
I furrowed my brow and thought about the purpose of the Alpha party headed by Lance. "It's almost honorable what he's trying to do. That is, if he wasn't going about it by trying to kill everyone opposed to him," I mused. Luke looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and I shrugged. "What? It's just like Baker wanting to protect his kids, only Lance wants to treat all werewolves like his kids," I argued.
"And punish us with death if we misbehave," Luke added.
I smirked. "He's a tough parent."
Luke shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't even agree with his intentions because exposing ourselves to the humans would kill us all," he argued.
"But how long are werewolves going to stay hidden? The world's a small place now," I countered.
"As long as we can."
"Pardon me, sir, but what are we going to do about the other body?" Alistair spoke up.
I blinked and glanced between them. "What other body?" I asked the pair.
Luke sighed and his face was grim. "There's another body in the room beyond the tool area. Whoever it is, they're wearing a Protector's uniform."
The blood drained from my face. "That's the Protector the message said was murdered?" I guessed.
"And what they wanted to frame us for, and we walked right into their trap." Luke growled and slammed his hand hard against the arm of the chair.
"I've had a bad enough night without you wrecking my house," Baker quipped as he rejoined us with a long, burdened face. He sat down on the edge of a chair close beside Luke and held his head in his hands. "I never thought they'd go after my kids," he muttered through his fingers. I noticed they shook.
"They'll kill us all if that means achieving their goals," Luke replied.
Baker's hands fell to his sides and he leaned back in his seat. The fright with his kids aged him ten years. "That's what their goals will get at if they tell all the humans about us," Baker commented. "Those people are nothing but animals when it comes to our kind and won't stop until we're all wiped out."
I frowned. "We're not all that bad," I protested.
Baker glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. "You're werewolf," he reminded me.
"Just because I can change into a wolf person doesn't mean I'm not still human. After all, it's not what's outside that counts, it's what's inside," I argued.
"And inside us is the Beast, and there's nothing human about that," Baker countered.
Luke straightened and held up his hands. "Our enemies are Lance and his men, not each other," he reminded us.
"Or the humans," I added. Luke gave me a warning glare, and I descended into sullen silence.
Luke then turned to Alistair. "With our enemies dead, now's a good chance for you to scout the area. They may have slunk around on foot, but they must have a car somewhere to get them to and from where they were staying. See if you can find it." Alistair bowed and went out in search of the vehicle.
"You're still worrying about dead men, but I don't like that body in the back of my barn," Baker spoke up. "That's going to cause the most trouble here if somebody finds it."
"The problem with the body is we have no idea who it is, or even if they're really a Protector. They could be wearing a costume," Luke pointed out.
"Why don't we ask Brier?" I suggested.
Baker scoffed at the idea. "How? With Simpling in charge the mail's probably being watched in and out of Sanctuary."
Luke shook his head. "Not quite. Brier gets first look at the daily mail delivery. If we send him a letter it'll reach him."
"And if he does manage to reply where's he going to send it? We can't stay here," Baker pointed out.
Luke furrowed his brow and I heard the cogs working in his mind. "Our next destination is Manutia, but we can't trust any mail to arrive at Stacy's home without it being intercepted. Not when we're receiving fake messages from it."
"So we're going to Stacy's place next?" I surmised.
"If she isn't in danger yet she soon wi
ll be," Luke replied. In the depressing silence of the room we heard a train whistle float over the flat miles to town. His eyes lit up and he smiled. "That's it! We'll have the message delivered to the train station!"
I thought about the idea for a moment and nodded my head. "That'd be a place we could pick it up, but can't it still be intercepted?" I wondered.
"Not if it's addressed to an assumed name," he replied.
"Any ideas?" I asked him.
A slow grin slipped onto his face. "I was thinking of Clint Eastwood."
I rolled my eyes. "A little too flashy," I pointed out.
"Then we'll go with your last name. Nobody seems to know it," Luke suggested.
"You just want to use it because you want to know what it is," I teased.
Baker interrupted our fun by standing to his feet and glaring at us. "You two are both fools sitting there laughing about your plans and worrying about your friends when we've got more important things to deal with."
"We need every ally we can keep, and Stacy is no exception. Besides, she has a lot of contacts that we'll no doubt find useful," Luke replied.
"What about these guys who don't have any scents? Forget about them already?" he asked us.
Luke stood and scowled at Baker. "What do you suggest we do? We don't have any leads to solve that mystery, and staying here would be suicide when those men don't report in to Lance."
"How about you try looking for some leads? Abilities like disappearing scents don't just arise naturally from us. There's got to be some sort of a chemical at work," Baker shot back.
"Chemical. . ." I repeated. A faint memory floated into my mind, and I snapped my fingers when it clicked. "The cleaning chemical!" The men turned to me as though I'd lost my mind. "The cleaning chemical Stacy and I used to wipe off the scent of Alistair's blood at Sanctuary. She said it wasn't safe for us to touch, but what if somebody made it safe? Like the stuff they gave me and Abby when they tried to kidnap us?"
Their eyes widened when they got my point, but Luke's face changed to anger. "That means Mullen's doing more than just throwing his vote to Lance," he pointed out.
I frowned. Mullen was a werewolf lord of another region. "What about Mullen?"