The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1) (24 page)

"Shit,
what is that? Chinese? What the hell? He can talk up a storm," Xochitl
said, flabbergasted.

"What
in the...?" Lucy's mind raced. "They told us the outbreak was
confined to North America. Mac said this Hound came from Hong Kong."

The
Hound perked up when he heard her say Hong Kong.

He
nodded fiercely. "Xiāng Găng. Xiāng Găng."

"Must
be his name." Lucy pointed to him. "You, Shiang Gan. Shiang Gan?"
She turned to Xochitl. "Am I saying that right?" Xochitl shook her
head.

The
Hound shook his head too. He pointed to himself in a panic and repeated, "Kai-an,
Kai-an, Kai-an, Kai-an, Kai-an, Kai-an!"

Lucy
pointed to the boy. "Kyon!"

The
boy nodded furiously and went on, "Kai-an, Kai-an, Kai-an, Kai-an!"

Lucy
looked to Xochitl. "Yeah, we get it, little buddy. You've got KV."

The
boy stopped and tilted his head, perplexed.

"Enough
of this," Xochitl said. "Let's just call him Kai."

Lucy
shrugged her shoulders. "Why not?"

Kai
inched to the side, ready to run off again.

Lucy
stepped in his path.

"Only
obedient when watched," Lucy said. "I got your number, Kai."

"Hey,
Xoch, give me something to feed him. Establishes a bond." She held out her
hand but kept her eyes on Kai.

Xochitl
dug the bag of pepitas from the gas station out of her pocket and tossed it to
Lucy.

Lucy
made a face. "Pepitas? You're nuts." Xochitl barked a short laugh at
Lucy's bad joke.

"Pumpkin
seeds, buddy. Pepitas. Yummy." Using her high-pitched coo, she lured him
closer.

Kai
stuck out his nose and sniffed at the bag.

Lucy
dumped a small portion onto her hand and offered that to him.

Kai
snuffled at the pepitas, then snatched the bag from Lucy's grip. He emptied its
contents into his mouth and chewed ecstatically.

"See,
he likes pepitas," Xochitl pointed out primly.

"They
eat sticks and mud. Not a big stretch." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

Before
Xochitl could reply, the quick burst of a siren approaching startled them.

"The
Catcher van," Xochitl said. "It's coming from the water."

"Let's
beat it, you two." Lucy stepped very close to Kai, getting right in his
space; their eyes locked.

"Kai,
with me!" she commanded firmly, hoping the Hound would understand. "Side!"
She pointed to the right and slightly behind her.

Kai
trotted to her side and followed without a sound when Lucy and Xochitl headed
for the hole in the fence and toward the street.

"We
can try to avoid the Catchers by going over the train tracks, which will take
longer. Or we can just head straight for the car," Lucy said, looking for
input.

"Car."
Xochitl sounded ready to pass out. She wiped her nose on her sleeve. The
bleeding had stopped, but Lucy could tell by the lights on the street that
Xochi would have a massive black eye in the morning.

"Choteros
talk big, but when it comes right down to it, they're still cops," Xochitl
reasoned. "The Werewolf Whisperer rubs them the wrong way, sure. But they
don't totally hate you. They won't fuck with us, especially since I'll be
recording our next powwow and posting it simultaneously." She shook her
smartphone back and forth.

"Huh?"
Lucy didn't follow.

"On
my phone. When they pull up, I'll have my phone out, recording everything. And
I'll tell them that I'll be posting it instantly."

"You
can do that, Xoch? Really?"

"Easy
as one, two, three. Don't worry your little turn-of-the-century head about it,
Luce."

Picking
up the pace, they crossed to Ferry Street. The road stretched before them,
leading to the far lot where El Gallo was hidden under the illuminated bridge.
The drizzle had turned into a misty rain, and the light reflecting on the wet
asphalt shimmered as if the road had been sprinkled with diamonds.

Kai
didn't even glance at the puny grove of trees when they walked by. Lucy
wondered how long he'd been holed up there. She wondered where he'd come from
exactly. She wondered about his unusual verbal skill. He didn't speak English,
but he was obviously fluent in Mandarin. This Chinese Hound was a mystery. One
she was too bone-weary to solve right now. Xochitl was uncommonly quiet, making
Lucy believe she too was worn out and bewildered.

When
they passed the large corner employee lot, Mac's young colleague Aaron bumbled
down the slick stairs of the guard shack and ran toward them. They walked
faster, trying not to be too obvious about avoiding him.

Aaron
stopped at the vacant kiosk at the entrance of the parking lot, keeping a
cautious distance.

"You
caught him. You caught him!" His pink cheeks puffed in and out as if the
short run had been a major strain on his system. He put his hands on his
thighs, bending at the waist for a moment. Lucy thought he might keel over.

"Remind
me to never use this security company," Xochitl said under her breath.

Kai
took a step toward Aaron, and the young man sprang upright so fast, the navy
baseball cap with
SECURITY
stitched on the front fell off his head. He
left it where it lay, not taking his eyes off Kai.

"Stay,
Kai." Lucy reached out and put her hand in front of Kai's chest.

"Aren't
you going to chain him up?" Aaron shouted unnecessarily from where he
stood. "I can call the Catchers back, if you need help."

"We're
fine." Lucy held both of her hands up, palms facing out. Unlike Mac, Aaron
was not squeamish about guns. Lucy saw his hand twitch toward the thigh holster
carrying his Glock.

"We'll
put him in the cage in our car over there. No worries." Lucy tried to
sound casual, gauging his overzealousness.

"You're
in luck," Aaron called out as if they were all deaf, not reading the
situation in front of him, but apparently playing out a bizarre scenario in his
head. "There's the Catchers now!"

And
with that, the Catcher van bounced up on the sidewalk behind them. Fluorescent
high beams suddenly flooded the driveway, causing Aaron to shield his eyes with
his hand.

Lucy
stepped to the side and turned in time to see Micah lean way out of the driver's
window.

"Well,
I'll be goddamned! You found your Hound," he slurred, sounding high, but
then cut the engine, shutting off the painful light. "You win, Lucy
Lowell. You win. You lucky, lucky dog!"

He
leaned on the horn, making Lucy jump and throw her hands to her ears. Xochitl
pulled out her cell phone.

"Deal's
a deal, Micah!" Lucy shouted. "Deal's a deal."

She
heard Ann's disappointed whine from inside the van. "C'mon Mikey. Light 'em
up anywaaaaaay."

He
seemed to consider. "Naw, Ann! Jammy bitches got their Hound. Aight?"
He leaned so far out of the window trying to look at Kai, Lucy thought he might
fall out of the car.

"Deal's
a deal. My motherfuckin' word's my bond." Micah cackled like a hyena. "Yo,
rent-a-pig! You owe us drinks. Was no goddamn Werebeast like you said, pussy.
Deal's a deal."

Aaron
picked his cap up from the ground, pushed it down onto his wheat blond buzz cut
and scurried past Lucy toward the open driver's side window.

"Side
door, moron!" Micah said, swatting at Aaron. "Good snitches are hard
to find," he added as if trying to explain.

Lucy's
eyes cut to Kai, who followed Aaron's shuffle around the front of the van with
interest. "Hold, Kai," she said quietly but firmly. He blew out a
sigh when Aaron climbed in the van and shut the door.

"So
have a nice night, yo!" Micah shouted and started the engine. "Say 'hi'
to the Vigi Boys!" He burned rubber past them, fishtailed on the slick
road and almost careened the van into a nearby telephone pole. Loud laughter
rang out as the Catchers screamed around the corner, and flew down the long
road parallel to the bridge at a ridiculous speed.

"Don't
know if they'll live through that ride," Lucy said and put her hand on Kai's
shoulder.

"Good,
Kai. That was very good. Good listening."

The
boy seemed to understand the praise because he smiled and straightened up
proudly.

"He's
got a great temperament," Lucy said. "Very even."

"So,
who the hell are the Vigi Boys?" Xochitl asked, sounding beleaguered and
disinterested in discussing Kai's emerging talents.

Chapter 16

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject:
Loose ends

T
—

The remaining five have been taken care of,
but Dr. K fled the country.

— O

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject:
Loose ends

O
—

Not acceptable! How could you let Dr. K get
away? This will not sit well with the others.

—
T

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject:
Loose ends

T
—

Then you hunt Dr. K. WE have BIGGER PROBLEMS!
He hired a bioengineer, Dr. Ajay Dhawan.
Damn human called 911. He could expose us! Almost had him, but he got away. Out
of the country by now. So you might want to take care of that one too.

—
O

23 months ago

"Biscuits
sleeps so much." Little Lucy kisses her dog's greying muzzle.

"He's
getting old, my sweet," Mama says and sits down on the porch beside them. "These
days Biscuits prefers sleeping to running. It's the way of dogs."

"I
liked it better when he wanted to play all the time." Little Lucy takes
Biscuits' paw in her small hands and traces her fingers along the hard pads. The
golden retriever lazily chews the air with an open mouth but doesn't wake up.

"You
know, one day soon Biscuits will have to leave us and go where all good dogs go
in the end." Mama gently runs her hand down the dog's golden blond
shoulder.

"What
about the bad dogs?" Little Lucy worries out loud.

"There
are no bad dogs, my little one." Mama smiles her happy smile.

"Mama?"
Little Lucy isn't sure she should ask, but the words tumble out before she can
stop them. "Will you have to leave me one day?"

Mama
takes Lucy's face in her hands. "Don't worry about that, Lucy. Mama will
always be with you." She kisses Lucy's forehead.

A
harsh, piercing cry ricocheted through Lucy's throbbing skull. Loud voices
assaulted her ears as she pulled away from the sweetness of the dream, feeling
sluggish and stupefied.

What's
wrong with me? I didn't even have a beer last night.

Lucy
finally woke to the strange sound of her mother and Hanna fighting. The windows
still shut, her room was stifling and hot. The low-level panic Ignacio's
warning had sparked seeped through her haze and left her jittery —
Go
home. Not your apartment but home.

She
vaguely recalled leaving her clothes in a pile on the floor at night before
falling into bed.

All
five dogs had taken refuge from the fight and had jumped into Lucy's bed,
though Lucy had no memory of their invasion. The giant Chasselas pressed his
full weight down on her, while little Poppy wiggled under the pillows. Like
Lucy, the dogs had never heard Ellie and Hanna raise their voices to one another
before, let alone engage in a screaming fight.

"You
said it wouldn't happen..." The rest of Ellie's shouting was drowned out
by a loud crash.

Is
Mama throwing things?

Lucy
felt groggy and too weak to brush the blanket of cowering dogs off the bed.
Exhausted, she closed her eyes and just listened. All five dogs whined softly
in different pitches.

"I
never said that. That's what you wanted to hear." Hanna's voice sounded
hoarse.

Lucy
flashed on a long forgotten memory. She'd heard Hanna holler like that once
before, decades ago. Lucy had been a small child, but the other voice hadn't
been Ellie's. It had been deep and had yelled back in a language little Lucy
didn't understand. She'd hidden under her covers, frightened, and willed
herself to go back to sleep so she'd have to hear no more.

Fighting
the weird fatigue, Lucy only sunk deeper into her pillow. The labs Brisco and
Maggie, who had her flanked, snuggled closer.

The
voices rose abruptly and overlapped with the television as if in an echo
chamber:

UNPRECEDENTED
VIOLENCE IN THE STREETS OF ALL MAJOR CALIFORNIA CITIES. "Lucy stays out of
this." "A little late, Ellie." POLICE AND NATIONAL GUARD
MOBILIZED. "She's my daughter." CITIZENS ASKED TO STAY CLOSE TO HOME.
"I don't want her involved." SHELTER IN PLACE ORDERS IN EFFECT IN SAN
FRANCISCO AND LOS ANGELES. "You really have no clue what is going on."
FIVE USC GRAD STUDENTS FOUND SLAUGHTERED. "Please, Hanna."

Mama
and Hanna were fighting about her. Lucy's thoughts came sluggishly as she
squeezed out from under the dog pack. Chasselas put out his big furry paw to
hold her back.

"Shh,
Chass. Let me leave, boy. The mamas are fighting about me. About me going back
to L.A. and helping."

Lucy
stumbled but steadied herself on the bedpost. She bent down to pick up her
discarded T-shirt and cargo shorts from the floor. Another crash came from the
front of the house.

Sounds
like someone slammed the front door
.

Curiosity
drove her forward, and Lucy padded out of her room, leaving the dog pack hiding
under her sheets.

Chickens.

She
snuck down the hall toward the living room, pulling her hair back with a
ponytail holder she'd snagged from her dresser. She shook off the last of her
haze and stepped into the living room. The yelling had stopped, but as she
peeked through the plantation shutters she could see Hanna and Ellie facing
each other outside.

Behind
them down the driveway, Gerri and Ronna hustled a young couple and an Akita
from their white pickup truck to the kennels.

Lucy
headed toward the front door to help Gerri and Ronna with the potential
boarders and ease the horrible impression Ellie and Hanna must have made on
them. Remembering she was still braless, she retreated back through the kitchen
to the small laundry room instead.

Lucy
quickly noted the breakfast dishes piled up on the counter. Ellie failing to
load the dishwasher was a first, though the kitchen table was wiped clean and
Lucy's keys, wallet and gun were neatly piled on a placemat. The kitchen TV was
still on, but breaking news had given way to hyper commercial jingles.

The
laundry room smelled like clean linen and lavender, and as expected, Ellie had
washed and folded the clothes from Lucy's duffel bag.

Lucy
had barely clasped the bra hooks in place when a hideous roar resounded from
outside. The resident canines responded with fearful clamoring. Howls and
whines sharply burst from the kennels. The warning yap of an unfamiliar dog,
the Akita Lucy guessed, rang like machine gun fire. A woman screamed for help.

Gerri?

Lucy
shot to the front door, grabbing her Beretta from the kitchen table on the way.

She
threw open the heavy door and leaped onto the porch, gun ready.

"OFF!"
Lucy shouted. The sun blinded her, and she almost tripped down the porch steps.
Her hand tightened around the Beretta.

A
tall, thin lupine beast stood on the grass below, its back to Lucy, facing the
white pickup truck. Torn jeans and a burnout
R'n'R
T-shirt hung off the
creature's body in strips.

Defined
lean muscles gave its body the chiseled appearance of ideal human proportions,
but Lucy noticed right away that the long legs were animal-like, not human.

Lucy
fought against rising panic.

She
caught a glimpse of Ronna trying to keep cover behind the pickup while hauling
the frantic Akita back by its leash.

The
Werebeast ripped the already shredded clothes from its body, exposing patches
of sandy blond fur. It howled in frustration and faced the white pickup truck
where Hanna stood tall, shielding the group of visitors.

Hanna's
eyes shot to Lucy.

As
if the look had sparked something, the creature dropped its long arms, claws
retracting into long, furred fingers, and turned deliberately.

Lucy
felt her heart drop into her stomach.

The
creature's face was delicate, beautiful even. Its coat was mostly sandy blond,
but denser platinum fur ticked from the inner edge of the eyes to the top of
the head and from the outer edge of the eyes to the ears. A long silken muzzle
tapered down to dark pink nose leather. Chin, lips, and nostrils were covered
in the same sandy fur.

Fear
gripped Lucy by the throat.

"Down."
Lucy's command came out in a hoarse whisper.

The
Beast cocked its head and took a step toward Lucy. She stepped back and raised
her Beretta. The creature's eyes glowed a startling emerald green. The color of
her mother's eyes.

"Mama."
Lucy choked on the word. She felt like her head was about to split open.

Without
warning, the creature sharply turned away from Lucy and bore down on Hanna at a
dead run.

"Do
it!" Hanna's voice had a cold, hard edge.

Lucy's
finger squeezed the trigger. A single shot rang out. The creature dropped. It
was over.

Hanna
and Lucy both ran toward the crumpled form. Lucy dropped to the ground and
turned the creature over. The transformation reversed blindingly fast. Where a
Beast had been, Ellie's delicate body lay in Lucy's arms. Her emerald eyes open
and glassy, Ellie was gone.

Unbearable
pain gripped Lucy's mind and didn't let go. She screamed and screamed until her
throat could produce no more sound. Then silent sobs rocked her as she clutched
her mother close. Mama's warm blood oozed onto Lucy's bare skin. Time had no
meaning.

When
rough hands yanked her to her feet, she didn't know if it had been a second or
a day since that single, horrible gunshot. She recognized the sheriff, heard
the words, felt the hard plastic of the backseat of the police cruiser, but
nothing was real. As if floating in a sea of darkness, she noticed nothing,
cared about nothing, said nothing. All she wanted was to be one with the
nothing. Nothing. Nothing.