Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1 (9 page)

"Sure thing." The man walked away.

"Cheek's up more than half a million," I said, taking the chair next to Joey's slot machine. "Placed compulsion on the gambler who walked out. He says the casino will probably let Cheek play for another four hours before forcing him to stop. He also says he thinks Cheek is cheating, but didn't know how he was doing it."

"I know you're already thinking this, but this is really weird. Anna isn't telling us everything, either. I really like her, Adam. I don't want to see her get hurt. What do you think the Council is going to do when this is over?"

"I'm worried about what they might do before this is over."

"You're not very reassuring, you know that?"

"You don't know Xavier as I do. Or Wlodek, for that matter."

"True. What do you think might happen?" Joey sounded worried.

"I don't want to tell you because frankly, I don't want to even consider what might come of this."

"I've never seen you this concerned about any human."

"I've never been this concerned about any human."

"Daylight in two hours," Joey said as his watched chimed softly.

"I know. I don't like this. I like it less that Anna won't have enough sleep when she rises to take watch."

Adam
, Joey sent.
There's a werewolf over there. Just walked in.

I see him. He's walking this way. He has our scent.

I'm ready
, Joey responded, pulling his hands away from the slot machine and allowing his claws to slide out about an inch.

"Hello," the werewolf nodded to both of us. "I'm Daniel Carey. William Winkler, the Dallas Packmaster, asked me to meet with you."

Chapter 5
 

"I doubt he's going anywhere, at least for an hour or two," Daniel said after a quick survey of the poker room. "Winkler was contacted by the Grand Master, after he was informed of the attack by rogue members of the Corpus Christi Pack."

"They killed their Packmaster first," I said. "Should this conversation be more private? Joey can keep watch until daybreak."

"We can go to my room—if you want," Daniel offered.

"Joey," I nodded to him. Joey nodded back. I followed Daniel out of the casino.

Once the door was closed on Daniel's room, I rounded on him. "How the hell did you know where we were?" I snapped.

"I believe Wlodek offered that information to the Grand Master."

"Fucking credit cards," I muttered. I wanted to curse Xavier, too, who'd likely traced my charges for the Head of the Council, but I kept that to myself. There wasn't any need to let this wolf know of disagreements with my own kind.

"I want to know what information you have," Daniel said. "So the Dallas Packmaster and the Grand Master can be fully informed."

"It was no vampire," I said, raking fingers through my hair in frustration. "The fangs were too far apart for it to be a vampire."

"Then what was it?"

"I don't have an answer for that. Anna may, but you'll walk carefully around her or you'll regret it."

"Is that a threat?"

"Look, I'm trying to solve this, Anna has answers and we may not get them if we use force, all right?"

"I've never believed in psychics. Especially psychic detectives," Daniel growled.

"She says she's not psychic. I don't know what she is, but she knows things that I can't begin to explain."

"Then I want to meet her."

"She's sleeping right now."

"She'll be up come daylight, unless I miss my guess. We can wake her now and I can talk to her with you present, or I can wait for sunrise and ask questions by myself. You should know not to place compulsion. I have assurances from the Grand Master, through Wlodek."

"Who are you?" I countered, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Naval Intelligence," he replied. "That's my day job."

"Please tell me the U.S. Government isn't involved."

"They're not. I'm doing this as a favor to the Grand Master and the Dallas Packmaster, who runs his own investigations through Winkler Security."

"I'm familiar with Winkler Security."

"Then I don't need to explain that to you. Let's go speak with Anna Madden."

* * *

"I'm up," Anna said when Daniel and I walked through the door. Not only was she up, she was showered and dressed.

"Anna, this is," I began.

"Daniel Carey. Works for Naval Intelligence. Also a werewolf. How's that work out on full moons, Mr. Carey?" Anna frowned at him.

"Damn," Daniel muttered. "How did you know that?"

"I know plenty," Anna said, crossing arms tightly over her chest. "What killed your werewolf compatriot, Sam Greene, is known as a kapirus. They're not local. They're water demons, which are amphibians that prefer fresh water, but they'll swim in saltwater if they have to. They drink the blood of mammals. To them, the blood of a humanoid is a delicacy. I imagine a werewolf's blood is quite rich and tasty, too. Is there anything else you'd like to know?" She rounded on both of us.

"What does Roy Cheek have to do with this?" Daniel asked.

"Well, the kapirus is just a distraction," Anna said, walking to the window and peering out. Thankfully, it was still dark. That wouldn't remain true for much longer, however.

"A distraction? I don't understand," Daniel said.

"A distraction from the real enemy," Anna sighed. "Spawn. And their maker. For now, they're our real enemy."

"Spawn?" I asked the question, as Daniel registered disbelief at Anna's statement.

"Enemy spawn. I can't say the name of the enemy," She added. "Some people call spawn demons, because they choose not to say spawn or just don't know any better. Spawn are not demons. Only demons are demons. Adam, daylight is coming."

"I know."
Joey, get up here
.

On my way,
he returned.

* * *

My eyes snapped open just before sunset. I wake early, nowadays, but usually my mind isn't racing at five hundred miles per hour when I wake. I barely recalled climbing into bed the night before, fully dressed because I couldn't wait any longer. I'd left Anna in the room with a werewolf, too, and I didn't like that at all.

Joey?
I sent.

Huh?
His reply was sleepy. I always woke first.

I'll be there in a minute.
At least we were safe. Sitting up, I pushed hair off my forehead and looked around, hoping Anna had left a note for me. I found nothing. Dragging my cell from a pocket, I dialed her number. There was no reply—it went straight to voicemail. Muttering obscenities, I stood, examined my clothing, changed in the time it takes to blink twice and went to haul Joey out of bed.

* * *

"If he's harmed her, I guarantee the Grand Master will get an earful," I fumed as we walked to the front desk. "Do you have any messages for me?" I asked and gave the desk clerk my name.

"This," I was handed an envelope. Ripping it open, I read the following.

Cell phone dead—sorry. Daniel on trail of rogues seen in town earlier. Cheek got thrown out of hotel for being greedy and trying to stay too long. Is up at least 1 mil. Moved to Mine Town. I have rental.

Anna
.

Muttering further obscenities under my breath, I hauled Joey out of the hotel to find a taxi.

"He's been here all day. I think they're about to send him packing, too. He never bothered to move into a room here," Anna said the moment Joey and I arrived. Like us, she'd sat at a slot machine, playing it now and then.

"Anna, I really want to yell at you right now," I hissed, sitting beside her.

"I know. Adam, how fast can you run?"

"What?" I was in the middle of a rant, and she wanted to know how fast I might run?

"Daniel's in trouble," she said and stood abruptly. "Cheek's not going anywhere we can't find him. I'm going. You can stay if you want." She walked swiftly away from me.

"Joey, stay," I commanded before following Anna. "I'll show you how fast I run," I grabbed Anna's arm when I caught up with her. "Where are we going?"

She named an old train bridge across from one of the casinos. The bridge was constructed of rusty iron and covered in kudzu. Once we were outside and covered by darkness, I lifted her and ran as fast as I could.

Daniel was already wolf when we arrived, and he was bleeding after fighting off four other werewolves. He was effective as a fighter, I could see that clearly, but he'd started with seven opponents. Three were dead around him as he faced the others, all of whom were in better shape.

"Well, well," I set Anna down and walked toward Daniel. "I've seen these tactics before."

Four wolves turned toward me and growled. Yes, they recognized my scent. "Aren't you operating against the Grand Master's wishes?" I asked. In my peripheral vision, I watched Anna change. I felt Daniel and I might take down this horde, but it never hurt to have backup.

"Look, either turn yourselves in or join your dead friends," I said, holding my hands away from my body and letting my claws slide out. Daniel growled at my side when the first creature stepped from the river.

Adam, watch out
, Joey shouted in my mind. Somehow, he'd known to join the fight, although I hadn't told him where we were. At least fifty creatures, some of them resembling the humans they'd once been, others only bearing the faintest resemblance to anything human, fought us on the banks of the Red River. The nearby road was deserted, and we were far enough down a steep embankment that it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

This was no fight for humans, after all. The creatures only fell after we took their heads. Daniel ended up fighting off werewolves while Joey, Anna and I fought spawn. Now I knew what she was talking about. What Manuelo was turning into. What Roy Cheek had allied himself with. I needed more information, however, and I'd have to call Xavier.

If we survived.

Slicing off another head, I ducked as the creature exploded in a rain of forceful, black dust. Nothing I'd ever encountered died in such a way. Usually it was messy—a death brought about by beheading. Only a vampire left ash behind, and it didn't explode when it died.

Anna—I barely had time to glance in her direction from time to time. I didn't understand how she was doing it, but if anything got close to her, it was either kicked away or exploded. Eventually, I determined that spawn near her hind legs got kicked. Anything near her head exploded. I had no idea why, and no time at the moment to figure out the mystery.

More coming
, Joey shouted mentally as another wave rolled onto the bank. Some of these—yes—they resembled trolls. Seven and eight-foot trolls. They stomped onto the wet, slippery bank, their clawed feet sinking into the mire beneath their weight and giving them traction. How the hell were we supposed to fight them?

Joey, get away
, I sent.
Get to safety and let Charles and Wlodek know what we're dealing with
. With four large trolls attacking, in addition to the spawn rolling out of the river, I had no idea how any of us might survive unless we could get away.

Not leaving
, Joey returned, slicing off another head.  I recognized the one he'd killed—Ray Wilson's image flashed through my mind as his body exploded in a rain of black sand. Two more took his place, forcing Joey to back up. If the cavalry hadn't shown up, we'd have died, I imagine.

I almost died anyway when the giant black lion joined the fray, followed by a tall, Asian man with a long, black braid down his back and a steel blade in each hand. Yes, I stared for a moment as the lion snapped off heads with claws and jaws, while the Asian man's blades flew so fast they blurred in my vision.

The trolls? Anna took care of them. Their explosions when they died were more forceful than the smaller versions. Joey screamed when one of the explosions knocked him down. Several spawn leapt at him. I shouldn't have worried, although if my heart still worked it would have stopped then. The lion leapt to Joey's aid, grasping attacking spawn in his jaws and flinging them toward the Asian, who cut them neatly in midair, relieving them of their heads as deftly as any sushi chef cutting shrimp.

The battle took about an hour. Or perhaps it was only a few minutes, it happened so swift and furiously. Daniel's wolf, bleeding profusely, stood and panted as I surveyed the wreckage about me.

"We'll have to get rid of the werewolf bodies," Anna muttered as she walked toward me.

"Or the pieces," Joey said, gingerly toeing the head of a werewolf and watching it roll down the bank a short distance. We couldn't dump them in the river like that—they'd be found and human suspicions would be raised.

"Hold on," Daniel sighed, coming back to himself. He was naked and bleeding as he walked toward a nearby tree. Lifting a pair of jeans from a pile of clothing, he pulled a cell phone from a pocket and dialed a number. I heard clearly when William Winkler answered the phone.

"Got into a scrape with seven rogues and a shit-load of something else," Daniel reported. "Need body disposal."

"I have triangulation on your phone. I'll have somebody there in a few." The call was ended.

"Anna?" I turned to her. She was back to herself and decidedly not naked. I only thought to wonder at that then. The black lion? Like Anna, he became himself. No wonder he was called Lion. That's exactly what he was.

"Adam, you already know Lion," Anna nodded to the tall, muscular black man. "This is Dragon." She introduced the Asian man.

Does that mean?
Joey asked, his sending almost breathless.

I don't have the slightest idea
, I replied as I held out my hand to the man with two blades strapped to his back. What I did know is this—he only wore a black leather vest over black leather pants, and his chest and arms were covered in tattoos. Those tattoos were all red dragons.

"I brought your blade with me, just in case," Dragon nodded to Anna.

"I hope I don't need it," Anna said. "Look, I'll see to Daniel, if you want to report to Pheligar."

"Done," Dragon said. He and Lion began walking up the embankment. I might not have admitted it to anyone right then, but those two were perhaps the most dangerous men I'd ever met in my life. At least one of them was a shapeshifter. The other? I was content to wait to learn about him.

Joey was already attempting to help with Daniel's wounds. Anna went to assist. Together, they helped Daniel dress. As a werewolf, he'd heal fast enough, and I'll admit I stared when he lifted a pistol off the ground and stuffed it into the back of his jeans.

"Didn't want to call attention to the fight with gunshots," he admitted as he walked stiffly in my direction. "Got information yesterday from the human wife of one of the rogues you killed in Corpus, Chessman," he nodded wearily at me.