Cold Moon Rising (12 page)

She paused to consider that and looked again at Lucas like she couldn’t quite believe it. I saw the rope of magic increase just a bit and then her hand rose to the top of her head of its own accord, while she stared at it in panic. She even grabbed the arm with her other hand to tug it down, but it stayed firmly in place.

I shrugged. “Any more questions?”

Heather leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Like I said . . . these guys are scary. My cousin has told me stories that would curl your hair about one of the female big cats. She’s French and gets a kick out of pain.”

I heard a sigh and turned my head. So did the girls. Paul had been watching Lucas the whole time, apparently. Probably trying not to watch his daughter get her lessons. That can’t be fun for a dad.

“Wolven specializes in tracking down shape-shifters who break the law, Lizzie. Sometimes they have to get rough. Just like our own police.”

“But we don’t get a kick out of pain.” Lucas stood up and walked over to the girls, releasing Liz’s arm as he did. He put a fatherly hand on Heather’s shoulder and looked at her with real concern. “I’m sorry that the only stories you’ve heard of us are bad ones, Heather. While it is a difficult life to lead and the secret of our existence is a heavy burden, our only real goal is to live in harmony with the rest of the world. People don’t know we exist because we can live in harmony that way. It’s the reason for everything—

the Sazi council, where we set down laws so we don’t impact humanity, to Wolven and even individual groups that are ruled by leaders we select. It’s the promise we’ve made to our people and we’ve stood by it since the dawn of civilization.”

Liz had her head cocked and was listening closely. I could also see her nostrils flare as her animal took the measure of him. Whether or not she realized it. “You’re not kidding. That really is what you want.”

Then she shook her head. “But you’re only one man. Who’s to say that’s what all your people want?”

Spunky . . . and sharp. Good combination. He ought to snap her up before someone else does. “Lucas here is the head of Wolven, the law-enforcement branch. But until he took over the post, he was the councilman for the wolves—the top dog, so to speak. He may not be able to tell you what every person in every species wants, but he’s fully capable of making them keep the promise. The kind of power he’s got is legendary. He says jump, we ask how high—snakes, cats, bears, birds. And wolves, of course. All of us.” Well, most of us do, and even I know it’s not a very bright idea to flat refuse him something. She looked at me curiously, not quite sure what to make of what I said. “Think of your having even met him in your lifetime as being sort of like meeting J. Edgar Hoover while investigating a local crime scene back in the fifties. It could happen, but it’s damned rare.”

He shrugged it off modestly, even though I knew why he came. Still, his scent didn’t betray anything other than the baking-bread scent of concern. “I was in the neighborhood. Joe’s right, though. What I say, goes, so long as it’s within the rules the council has set down. And one of the rules is that we keep new turns, and those around them, safe. The storm kept you occupied last month on your first turn, Liz. But what about this month? Are you willing to risk your family, or your friend here, if something went wrong? It’s high stakes. You’re gambling with their lives until you’re better equipped to handle the change.”

I didn’t get a chance to hear her answer because all of a sudden the vault door in my mind slammed open, throwing me to my knees with either a grunt or a scream. Hard to say which, but with my luck, I was probably screaming like a little girl. I can’t remember if I grabbed my head and pressed or if it was the magic that made it feel like it was locked in an ever-tightening vise. I must be locked in Sue’s head, rather than Ahmad’s, because everything was dark and there was an incessant beeping in the background, along with whispered conversation I couldn’t make out. My throat hurt, but I couldn’t seem to move my mouth to swallow, so I was betting they had in a breathing tube now. It’s not a good thing when they have to do that. Means the body is shutting down, unable to breathe by itself.

To hell with Kansas and the new turn. I focused inward, trying to find Sue’s mind while I still could. You’d think that was an oxymoron. After all, I was in her mind, so how could I not find it? But not so. I was in her body. Brains are big places when you’re looking blindly for where a person in a coma might have hidden themselves to escape the situation. Was she lost in her memories, or trapped in her own pain center, too hurt to focus? It was sort of like searching for a black cat in a dark room. You’re looking for small and furry, and near the floor is the likely spot. But not the only one. I tried the likely spots first, near the vault door I was visualizing and near where I could hear voices.

I found a tiny, bright thread huddled near the door—like she’d used everything she had to get it open to find me. Sue?

Knew . . . you’d come. Not too . . . much time now. They’re arguing . . . not . . . sure it’ll happen in time.

I’ll give you whatever time you need, Sue. I’m tough. I’ll keep you going as long as you need.

A tiny bit of golden sunrise filled my head and it made me smile. You’re . . . sweet. And I know . . . you too well. No good to . . . argue.

Damned straight.

Maybe it would help to get her mind off it. How’s the remodel of the apartment going? I’d left it totally up to her, since she’d never really gotten to decorate before without having to please someone. I could live with just about anything, so long as she kept my recliner as is. But it was tan, so it would blend.

She knew what I was doing. I could tell, but she played along. Sometimes it takes two to ignore reality in a crisis. Frustrating. The accent wall they painted . . . with the red I showed you . . . mixed wrong. It’s . . . a weird mauve-y burgundy, instead of the lipstick color that matches . . . the flowers in the . . . drapes. She was starting to wear out, so I threw some more of my own power into the thread of her mind. Yeah, I knew it was going to probably speed up the process, but it was all I had to keep her mind with me. Lose that, and the body doesn’t much matter.

It’s okay. We’ll just paint over it.

Do . . . favor. ‘Kay? Finish it . . . for me. Lelya has design. Even . . . if something—

I let out a small growl. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it.

Now a small laugh. Nobody . . . to shoot . . . this time, Tony.

The thread started to fade away and I panicked. I grabbed it before she could react. Fine. If magic wouldn’t work, what about life force instead? I’d had to do this once before—pull from my own body to give to her. It wasn’t magic, per se. I just used magic to deliver it. Of course, if I gave her too much, I’d die. But them’s the breaks.

The thread brightened just a little but before I could speak, a whispering started. It was faint at first, but then it began to echo and peal like bells in our collective mind. Krhlow plihep . . . krhlow plihep . . . Krhlow plihep! They weren’t words in any language I’d ever heard, but they had an immediate effect. The sound wrapped around our collective head, pulling, tugging. Demanding we rise up to meet them.

More noises, but they still weren’t words. Rghnl olpnst nbwiq! Hoplez requay. Now I could hear more voices and I could make a few of them out. Amber’s soft alto and Ahmad’s smooth, but angry baritone. A third female voice was mixed in, but I didn’t recognize it.

Blue-tinged fire, the color of an oven pilot light, started to crackle at the edge of my vision as the words were repeated over and over. A chant. Was this the ritual Sue had mentioned?

Her voice was filled with relief. Yes. They’ve decided. I’d . . . hoped to keep . . . you separate, in case . . . goes wrong. But . . . too late now.

No big deal. We’d deal with it as it came. Sorry. You’re stuck with me.

A light laugh that warmed me. I can . . . live with that.

The fire danced and crackled, higher and higher until the blue filled the landscape of our mind, covering it in light and shadow like mist over a moonlit English moor. Now more colors joined the blue in tiny pinpoints, blinking, sparkling, twirling. It was a Hubble photo, or the Aurora Borealis.

I’ve never seen the Aurora. Have you been to Alaska?

Sue’s voice was stronger, drowning out the voices in the background. The abrupt change startled me. She sounded almost normal and the lift it gave me was astounding. Go ritual! Yeah. When I was eleven. My dad took me on a cruise up there. Said I could still be amazed, and it would be too soon that nothing would, so he wanted to let me have a few memories of awe. It was a pretty amazing year. We did the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, and Mount Rushmore and then to Alaska before we set sail for China and a grand tour of Europe. Missed a whole year of school for it, and had to make it up the next summer. But it was worth it. We bonded at a time when I was still angry I was an orphan. Mom had only died a couple of years before and I’d just found out that Dad wasn’t my real father. It was a rough time. Later I realized getting tight with him was more the plan than being awed. He was a pretty bright guy.

Long diatribe, and pretty useless information. But it was keeping her entertained. Her smile added a bright glow of orange and yellow to the landscape. He sounds like a good dad. I wish I could meet him sometime. I had a good dad too. I miss him.

Yeah, it’d be good to see him again. Except we’re both dead.

I immediately winced, considering the circumstances. It wasn’t how I meant it to come out, even though it was the truth. To the rest of the world, Tony Giodone and Suzi Quentin were dead—killed in a rival mob massacre at an airport a year ago.

Right now I feel alive! Like I could do anything.

It was the truth. Energy seemed to be swirling all around us in a heady rush that was like the adrenaline high of winning a race. We could probably figure out a way with Carmine’s help.

Ooo! And we could see Linda and Babs again. I haven’t talked to them in forever. I don’t even know if Babs had the baby. It’s been so busy and then . . . well, this happened and I sort of withdrew.

I’d noticed. She’d always struggled with depression, which is why I suggested the decorating. It worked for a while, but I didn’t realize there was an underlying cause of her anxiety. Stupid. I know better than that. I should have dug when I’d first realized it.

“What in the hell is going on up there? Tony’s had some sort of collapse. He’s mumbling Sue’s name and he’s bleeding from his mouth.” It was Lucas’s voice I heard and for a brief moment, I could see the inside of the living room, from the bottom up, and in black-and-white. Lucas had a cell phone to his ear, while the girls were helping Paul from the room. Apparently, I’d gone wolf at some point. I always see in monotones after I’ve shifted. I didn’t like that I was bleeding, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I didn’t really feel any pain, so I couldn’t imagine it was too serious. Or, it was really serious and I’d completely left my body and was trapped inside Sue’s head.

The living room faded to black and the beeping started again. I could hear a reply from Sue’s right, so he must have called the clinic. But I didn’t recognize the voice. It was female, though. It must be one of the nurses. “This is Sarah. They’ve started a ritual, Alpha. One of the ones from the book of Dr. Wingate’s sister, Aspen Monier. The human woman was dying, and—”

Lucas growled, low and deep, and his voice held not only anger, but fear. “Who authorized that? There aren’t enough people there to approve such a risky venture. We don’t have any idea what could happen.”

The woman’s voice turned tremulous. “I . . . I’m sorry, Alpha. I don’t know anything other than what I was told. Dr. Wingate, Councilman al-Narmer and Holly Sanchez are in there now. The door’s locked, so I can’t ask.”

“What in the hell is Holly Sanchez doing there? She’s just a child.”

Now the woman’s voice turned from afraid to matter-of-fact. “She’s twenty-seven and she’s turning into a really good healer. She’s all we’ve have since June, when we lost all our doctors here. I had to take two children to the emergency room in Boulder in May to set broken limbs because we didn’t have anyone to treat them. All I could do was pray that nobody did blood work or called Social Services.” She paused when Lucas started to growl again. “They didn’t. Between their parents and me, we convinced them the kids were playing in a tree and fell. It explained the scratches and bruises from their dominance fight. I’m sorry, Alpha, but I’m doing the best I can.” The tremors were back in her voice again, but they were from anger, not fear. “We’ve called and called, but nobody’s listened. The clinic has gone from a staff of six to me in a year and nobody has bothered to check on us. And I’m only an R.N. with no healing magic. What did you expect to happen?”

His reply was interrupted by an angry hissing sound, so I couldn’t make it out. Something was happening and it didn’t sound good. The noise finally drowned Lucas out entirely and I could sense Sue’s fear. It was hard not to, since I was sharing it. I didn’t have any warm fuzzies about the situation either.

Tony?

I hear it too. Ignore it and talk to me. No sense in getting worried. Might be a normal part of the ritual. Tell me about the Chicago pack. How are Yurgi and Pam?

They’re—She paused and I could tell she was listening to the noise, which was getting louder, seeming to come from above. It wasn’t the sound of a snake. I’ve heard them. This sounded like bacon sizzling in oil. Hot enough to burn. They’re good. She seemed to get her feet under her, so to speak, and was able to continue on like the hissing wasn’t growing like an approaching storm. They finally found a house they both like. It wasn’t easy. Pam wanted a big kitchen and two bathrooms for when they have kids, and Yurgi insisted on a real backyard, with a patio big enough to hold barbeques. He’s seen them on television and has always wanted to have one. Those are hard to come by in the price range they could afford.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Yurgi Kroutikhin was a Russian immigrant, exiled from his former wolf pack in Siberia and sent to live in America with our pack leader, Nikoli, as the omega—lowest wolf. Yurgi wound up saving the pack leader’s life and Nikoli decided to reward his sacrifice by helping him buy a house—the second biggest thing to Yurgi you could imagine. The first biggest thing is having kids. Apparently, in the Siberia pack, he wouldn’t be allowed to breed. Nikoli doesn’t care and, in fact, thinks kids keep the pack strong.