Werewolves Rule (The Rule Series) (16 page)

“I wish I could walk away, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it might be my destiny to kill him.”

Isobel slapped him hard across the face.

******

Chapter Twelve:

USE IT OR LOSE IT

Isobel slapped him again and shouted, “Wake up, Jack!”

His eyes snapped open.
 
The first thing he saw was a blanket of stars stretched across the heavens above.
 
It took a moment for him to realize he was flat on his back.
 
Beckoned into the past again, he’d received another glimpse of his former life as Tobias.
 
This event must have taken place before Tobias had run away with Isobel, fleeing the creatures that wanted him dead.
 
It had definitely taken place before Jersey had thrown him off the roof.
 
A wave of nausea rolled over him.
 
He sat up slow and easy.
 
Why did he feel like he’d been flattened by a steamroller?
 
Every muscle in his body ached as if a personal trainer had put him through a ten hour workout.
 

“What happened?” he asked.

“You scared the hell out of me, that’s what happened.
 
One second we’re battling over souls, and the next you’re gone.
 
You disappeared.
 
In all my soul-sucking fights I have never had an opponent just vanish like that.”

He had to know something.
 
“When I was Tobias, did we ever talk about using a magic rock to kill Jersey?”

Her face seemed to pale beneath the tan.
 
“You remember that?”

“You were sitting on my lap, and I gave Jersey a book of poems.
 
I guess I must have started him on the whole poetry thing.
 
Very weird.”

Isobel snorted.
 
“Yeah, and thanks for that.
 
He was already an arrogant windbag.
 
Then you had to add poetry to the mix.
 
You have no idea how many times I wanted to blow my own brains out because he wouldn’t stop with the quotes.”

“Sorry.”

She grinned.
 
“I forgive you.”

“Did we ever try to use the magic rock on him?”

“No.
 
Jersey killed you before you even got your hands on it.
 
I tried to warn you.
 
Somehow he always finds out that someone is about to kill him.
 
No one can touch him.
 
He’ll live forever.”

“That’s not what the diary says.”

“Forget about the stupid diary.
 
It got you killed before.
 
Be smart this time.
 
Forget about the diary and the rock and killing Jersey.
 
Come away with me.”

“What?”

“You heard me.
 
I’m only hanging around here because of you, because I’m hoping you’ll make a different decision this time.
 
We need to leave this town, disappear somewhere where Jersey can never find us.”

Jack changed the subject to a safer one.
 
“I don’t think I want to practice anymore tonight.”

“Duh.”
 
Isobel rolled her eyes.

Jack stood and gestured to the road leading to his house.
 
“I’m going home.”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“Don’t bother.
 
I can get there faster on foot.
 
Vampire-speed, remember?”

Her mouth tightened.
 
“You sound almost proud of it.
 
Tobias hated being a vampire.
 
Did you actually enjoy it this time around?”

He had enjoyed parts of it.
 
There were times when he sat around and relived those days.
 
He missed his old vampire friends.
 
He missed Lily, her frantic way of talking when she was excited, her love of everything spiritual, and her crazy new-age ideas.
 
He missed Cowboy, the thrill-seeking vampire who had introduced him to car surfing.
 
He even missed
Summer
and her none-too-subtle way of getting what she wanted.

Isobel waited for an answer with her arms folded.
 
She had no idea he was still a vampire deep down inside.
 
It wasn’t a physical thing anymore.
 
There was no way she could understand that being a vampire was a state of mind.
 
He couldn’t shake off the decade of vampire habits he’d learned.
 
They were too deeply ingrained.

“I need to go,” he said.

Before she could open her mouth to protest or to ask another question, he was gone.
 
He ran as fast as he could and didn’t stop until he reached home.
 
In the blink of an eye, he was standing on the front porch.
 
Mosquitoes and moths fluttered around the overhead light.
 
Billy’s car was parked next to his.
 
His brother was at home for once.
 
That was a good sign.

Jack’s facial muscles relaxed as he entered the house.
 
The weight of his building problems had become too heavy for him to shoulder alone.
 
He needed a friendly and strong back to dump them on.
 
His brother would have to do.
 
Hopefully he would catch Billy in a rare good mood.

He found Billy in the living room, sitting in the center of the floor with weapons scattered around him.
 
Some had been dismantled.
 
There were several rounds of ammunition lying around too.
 
Billy had an M-16 in his hands, and it had been completely stripped.
 
He pushed a long wire with a tiny brush into the barrel, cleaning it.
 

“Did Rambo have a garage sale?” Jack asked.

“You’re a funny guy.
 
Did you ever think of taking your act on the road?
 
And by that I mean now.
 
I’m kind of busy.”

Jack collapsed on the couch.
 
His aching muscles sighed in relief.
 
Leaning back, he put his sneaker-clad feet on the table.
 
“Can we talk for a minute?”

Billy continued to clean the rifle as if Jack hadn’t spoken.
 
His hands moved on the parts, sliding them back together in expert fashion.
 
He barely looked at the rifle as he rebuilt it.
 
There was no doubt he could take the weapon apart and put it back together with his eyes closed.
 
Their father would have been proud.

“Well?”
 
Jack gestured with his hands.
 
“Can I talk to you or not?”

“Go ahead.”

Truth be told, Jack didn’t know exactly where to begin.
 
Between his anxiety over Silver and the new power he had discovered, he was overwhelmed.
 
He didn’t want to pile everything on his brother at once.
 
Billy could usually only handle a single problem at a time, so he had to choose.
 
What did he need the most help with?

“Have I told you about the new girl yet?
 
Her name is Isobel, and she’s one of Silver’s old friends.
 
She’s a hunter.
 
Problem is she’s also a werewolf.”

That got Billy’s attention.
 
His head snapped up, and his eyes widened.
 
“Are you kidding me?
 
I think I met that chick once.
 
I know I heard stories about her taking out several vamps in one swoop.
 
I guess we know how she did it.”

“Yeah, well, she gave me some interesting information tonight.
 
I can suck souls out… with practice.”

“How is that possible?”

Jack shrugged.
 
He laced his fingers on his stomach and rested his head against the back cushion, feeling relaxed now that it was out in the open.
 
“How is any of this possible?
 
I should have died when that werewolf attacked me, but I’m here, and I’m human.”

“Are you sure you can suck souls out?”

“I haven’t done it yet, if that’s what you’re getting at.
 
Isobel and I practiced on each other for a while.”
 
Feet off the coffee table, he leaned forward, getting excited at the very memory of it.
 
“We were in a different world, a different dimension.
 
It was crazy, man.
 
I could feel her soul.
 
I just couldn’t get a good grip on it.”

Billy stared at him for a long time as if he’d lost his mind.
 
Nodding once, Billy returned his attention to the rifle.
 
“Souls are slippery things, I guess.”

“She says with a little practice I’ll be able to suck Jersey’s soul right out of him.
 
Silver won’t have to take him on.
 
She won’t even have to be there when I do it.”

“I thought you were supposed to use the rock Silver gave you.”

Jack pictured the rock he kept hidden between his mattress and the box springs.
 
No one other than Silver knew where he had it.
 
Not even Billy.
 
She was the only one he trusted with the information.
 
He told his brother, “If for some reason the rock fails or I can’t use it, then I’ll take his soul.
 
It’s good to have a backup plan.”

Billy continued to work on the rifle, jaw
tight,
giving no indication he’d heard Jack’s last statement.
 
They sat in silence for several minutes.
 
Jack waited on the edge of his seat, literally.
 
Once he realized his brother wasn’t going to respond, he asked, “What do you think I should do?
 
Should I develop this new ability or leave it to Silver?”

“You’re asking me?”
 
Billy’s dark brows drew closer.
 
“I just figured you were going to do whatever the hell you wanted to do, but since you asked...”
 
He set the weapon aside and stood.
 
Using the finger closest to his thumb, he jabbed the air between him and Jack and yelled, “If you work with a werewolf on this, put your life in the hands of a werewolf, then you are dumber than I ever thought possible!”

Jack’s mouth dropped open.

Billy continued on his rant, picking up speed and volume with each complete sentence.
 
“You’ve done some pretty stupid things, but this tears it.
 
Does Silver know about your new friend?
 
Does she know you’re trying to learn how to suck Jersey Clifford’s soul from his body?”

Jack shook his head slowly.

“Of course she doesn’t.
 
You didn’t tell her.
 
Do you know why you didn’t tell her?”
 
Billy began to pace the length of the living room floor, from window to secret room and back again, yelling at the top of his lungs now.
 
“Because you know she would hit the freaking roof!
 
Then she’ll tell her parents, and you’ll have them to deal with.”

Jack opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, but Billy wasn’t finished yelling at him.

“Oh Andrew and Vanessa are going to love this.
 
The next thing we know, you’ll be bringing werewolves home for dinner.
 
Excellent.
 
Can’t wait for that.”

Billy plunked himself back down on the floor, grabbed his restored rifle, and wiped it off with a clean rag.
 
Mind closed, unable to see anyone else’s side, he would have made their father proud if only the eldest Creed hadn’t died.
 
Jack understood where his brother was coming from.
 
Their parents had been killed by a werewolf.
 
Billy saw all werewolves as evil scum.

Jack used to think that way too.

“Are you going hunting tonight?” Jack asked.

“No.”

“Do you want some help with those?”

Billy looked up at Jack with doubt in his eyes.
 
“Do you know how to clean a weapon properly?”

“I’m probably not as good as you, but another set of hands will make the job go faster.
 
We’ll be done by midnight.”

Billy smirked.
 
“Don’t count on it.”
 
He tossed an unloaded .9 millimeter to Jack.
 
“Start with that, and we’ll see how you do.”

They worked in silence for a while, a comfortable silence this time.
 
Jack worked diligently, determined to make his little brother proud.
 
It was funny how he’d come to rely on Billy being in his life.
 
If anything ever happened to him, Jack didn’t think he could survive it.

Billy looked up, caught Jack smiling at him, and asked, “What?”

“I was just thinking it’s good to be home.”

******

The phone woke him early the next morning.

Jack squinted at the sunlight spilling through the partially opened blinds.
 
He didn’t have school today, so he’d wanted to sleep late.
 
Billy had been right about the time it would take to clean each weapon thoroughly.
 
They hadn’t crawled into bed until three in the morning.

Jack tried to check the Caller ID, but his vision blurred.
 
He couldn’t read it.
 
With a sigh, he answered the phone.

Silver’s animated voice filled his ear.
 
“Where were you last night?
 
I waited and waited for you to come over.
 
I thought we were going to set a trap for Isobel.”