Fatal (28 page)

"Let's go," I said.

I knew that we didn't really have to rush. Vick sounded certain they wouldn't kill Adam without him around to do it.
But that still left Adam God knew where, probably miserable and suffering.

Vick pulled his coat on and opened the door for me, waving me through. Out in the hall, he dumped the tray full of trash into a garbage bin near the door to the stairs.

A few of the office doors were open, and I thought I heard echoed footsteps from the stairwell. The campus was waking up. Classes would be starting soon. Out here, I could see the sunlight coming in through the windows at the end of the hall.

The storm blew itself out, apparently.

"Why'd you do it?" Vick said as we started down the stairs.

"What do you mean?"

"Why'd you come here?"

It was a fair question. Last night, sitting in my dorm room, I'd just felt so damn powerless. It had seemed like a good idea, a good risk, at the time.

We walked through the concourse. A few other tired-looking students lugging backpacks or messenger bags shuffled through, and the lights were on in the bookstore.

Sunlight came in through the windows there, too. The entire world had turned white overnight, apparently. Big drifts of snow rested against the student center, coming right up to the glass. Something rumbled by outside. A snow plow, I figured.

"I couldn't sit there and do nothing, anymore. I felt helpless. So I decided to call the cops on Eric, and I didn't want to use my cell. So I came here. It was stupid of me, I admit."

Vick was silent for a while.

We passed into the main lobby, walking by the bank of phones.

"Don't beat yourself up. Look, if you hadn't come here last night and called me,
we wouldn't be on the way to save Adam. So your plan worked... sort of."

"Yeah," I said, feeling a bit better.

It really was amazing how getting a little outside perspective on a matter could make you see it differently.

We stepped outside. The warm sunlight streaming in through the windows had me thinking it wasn't going to be that cold out.

I was wrong.

I zipped my coat up as the cold air clawed at me. The snow had to be two feet deep or more. Snow plows and shovels had carved out paths through it.

And it was so bright. I came from California, where it was sunny out most of the year, and I could hardly believe the brightness. The sun reflected off the white sheets of snow covering the ground, almost blinding me. I threw my hand up over my eyes as my pupils constricted, trying to compensate.

"A winter wonderland," Vick said, chuckling at my discomfort.

When I looked at him, he had a pair of reflective sunglasses on.

"Whatever. Let's get to your truck. Lead the way."

Vick started down the path and I followed him. The snow crunched beneath my boots. It was powdery stuff, with an awful texture to it. No good for snowmen, or snowball fights, or snow angels. Any of those fun things you might do with the cold stuff.

The janitors and plows had also thrown down a lot of dirt on the paths they'd cleared, leaving my boots caked in brown sludge when we turned off the walkway to the student center.

Vick led me down the way a bit, both of us stepping to the side as other students came down the path.

We stopped at the curve of the road. On our right was a big brown residence building, across the street on our left a broad, empty field covered in pristine snow. I shielded my eyes and looked around. I hoped we got to his truck soon. The air was so dry, and the bit of wind was already making my lips start to crack.

"Why are we stopped?" I said.

"My truck's gone," Vick replied. He spun in a slow circle, frowning as he examined the area.

Chapter 42

"You had it parked here?" I said.

Just up the sidewalk was a "No Parking" sign, its steel pole buried about halfway up in snow, with little black arrows on both sides to tell any drivers you couldn't park anywhere along here at any time.

"Yeah... I didn't want to waste time finding a lot. I wanted to find you right away."

"And now you got your truck towed," I said. I wasn't going to let him blame this on me. Even though, technically, I guess it was. I got angry.

I mean, come on! He couldn't have gone down the road to one of the visitor lots around the student center? Men could be so shortsighted, sometimes.

I calmed myself down with the reminder that they couldn't continue the ceremony without him. We just wouldn't be getting there, wherever they had him, as soon as I'd thought.

"What now?" I said.

"I don't suppose you know where the impound lot is?"

I shook my head and he sighed. He took off his glasses and squeezed at the bridge of his nose, squinted around in the brightness.

Neither of us really knowing what to do, we went back to the student center. Foot traffic was picking up pretty steadily, now. The monotony of white snow was now broken by the variety of winter coats and boots people wore, adding splashes of color.

I sighed, trying to ignore the scratch in my throat as my breath plumed out in front of me.

"I'll figure something out..." Vick said.

A maroon pickup truck with a big plow attached to the front pulled up by the side of the road, "Jim's Snow Removal,"
stenciled across the door in white letters.

A guy, Jim I guessed, got out of the truck, pushing the brim of his baseball cap up. He rushed past us, muttering something about having to take the piss of his life.

In his haste, he'd left the truck running. Its engine growled under the hood as its tailpipe spewed a constant stream of steamy white exhaust. It was a pungent smell.

I watched as Jim speed-walked awkwardly to the front doors of the student center, his legs oddly stiff. He went inside.

"Vick..." I said, nudging him as he rubbed his chin.

"Yeah?"

I nodded at the truck. He caught my drift right away.

"We'll just borrow it," he said.

"Get in," I said.

I'd never stolen anything before in my life. Early in high school, it was all the rage to go into
Wal-Mart, Target, places like that, or really any store at the Galleria, and shoplift. The girls all said it was an incredible rush. But I'd refused. I wanted my record, and my conscience, clean.

My body flashed with excitement as I looked over my shoulder to make sure Jim wasn't on his way back out and then pulled the passenger door open.

It really was a rush. Something wrong shouldn't feel so good. Though, I told myself, we were doing it for a good reason. Vick hopped into the driver's seat, adjusting the rear view mirror to his preference before giving the engine a touch of gas, making it purr. A big cloud of exhaust shot out of the back.

My heart raced as I buckled the seatbelt.

"Come on, let's go!" I said, my eyes glued to the front door, waiting for Jim the snow removal specialist to emerge just to see us make off with the truck. Though, I felt like I might just climb out and apologize if he did see.

Vick obliged, putting the big vehicle in gear and pull away from the curb. The plow on the front obstructed out view of the road somewhat, but the heater worked.

I turned it on and put my hands over the vents, smiling as my frozen fingers began thawing.

It wasn't long before we were out off the campus and in
Hazelglen proper.

"Where is it happening?" I said, unzipping my coat as more and more hot air blasted into the cabin. It was still dry air, but at least it wasn't freezing me anymore.

"Adam's house."

It took me a second to really absorb what he said.

"What?"

It seemed so ironically cruel. Kill the werewolf in his own home.

Vick shrugged as though the words just rolled off his back. Yet, he concentrated on the road a little too hard, unwilling to even glance over at me.

"It was convenient. His place is far enough away to avoid nosy neighbors. No family around to interrupt.
Very convenient."

It made my insides clench up just thinking about it. These so-called monster hunters seemed pretty monstrous themselves.

"Go faster," I said, leaning forward against my seatbelt. I looked out my window, watching the houses drift by. I didn't want to look at Vick right then.

"They won't start..." he began.

"Just go faster!"

I got pushed back against the bench seat as he gave the truck more gas.

We got about halfway up the hill leading up to Adam's house when Vick pulled over, set the parking brake, and killed the engine.

"Why are we stopping?"

"We can't just pull into the driveway. They'll see us coming. Our best chance is to sneak into the house, get Adam, and take him out before anyone notices."

Chapter 43

I unbuckled my belt and grabbed the door latch. Before pulling it to open the door, I looked at him.

"How many people are here for this little ceremony of yours, anyway?"

It felt like he was hiding a lot of information from me. I mean, I doubt he even would have told me we were going to Adam's house without prompting from me, first.

"Ten, counting me.
My family."

Nine people.
It was a pretty big house, but that sounded like enough to keep a watch around the whole place.

Vick seemed to sense my worry. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed his door open with one foot. Cold air spilled into the cabin, so sharp it took my breath away.

"Don't worry. They are my family, after all. I know how they operate. I can get us in and out."

"Good," I said, eyeing the thick, untamed brush and trees just a few feet away. Anxiety welled up in my stomach at the thought of having to get through all that. But it was the best way, apparently.
Or, at least the way to avoid notice.

"Let's get going," Vick said, pocketing the keys to the truck.

I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the shoulder.

It took us nearly forty minutes to make our way through the trees up the final half of the hill. I followed Vick the whole way, trying to put my feet where he put his, grabbing the branches he used for support. I didn't have any gloves on. By time we made it to the tree line around the yard to Adam's house, I couldn't feel my fingers.

I'd also put my foot into a gopher hole or something. Vick had to double back and help me out. My ankle ached, but I didn't think I sprained it.

I stuck my hands in my armpits, praying I didn't get frostbite, as I came up and
knelt beside Vick. He was kneeling beside a tree, looking through some dead branches at the house.

I'd almost forgotten just how big it was. Surrounded by all these dead trees, sight of
Hazelglen blocked, the place looked so lonely. And creepy. Cold fingers walked their way up my spine and I shivered.

It would be nice and warm inside. And Adam was there, just waiting for me to come in and rescue him.

"Let's get inside," I said, getting up.

Vick grabbed my wrist. "Wait."

We waited, kneeling there, until my knees ached. Vick seemed focused on the windows. I tried to see if anyone was there, watching for us, but there was no one.

Finally, he let me go.

"Stay low," he said.

We raced across the lawn. Well, tried to. We both kept sinking into the snow, and by the time we got to the side we were both huffing and red in the face. Sweat rolled down my torso under my coat and shirt. At least I wasn't cold anymore.

Vick peered up into a ground floor window. When he was satisfied, broke the pane with his elbow. The sound of shattering glass was painfully loud, and I flinched.

He took more time clearing some of the large, triangular shards out of the way. Then he reached in and unlocked it.

The next thing I knew, he helped me pull myself up and through.

We were in a wing of the house I hadn't really visited before. We both crouched low instinctively, sticking to the shadows. It didn't seem like anyone was in this... library I guess it was. I could make out tall bookcases along the walls, almost buried in shadow.

"Where is he?" I said. Even though I whispered, it sounded far too loud in the silence of the house.

"That room in the basement. The one he locks himself in when he changes."

I shot him a look. This was just getting better and better. The room he used to keep himself and others safe was the one they were going to kill him in.

He had the good sense to look away from my stare sheepishly.

We stuck to the walls and the shadows as we moved. My body was wound tight like a compressed spring, all my senses sharpened by fear and adrenaline. I could hear the curtains rustling in the library as we left it, feel the air as our passage stirred it.