To Walk the Night (11 page)
I let out the pent-up breath and looked Jonathan straight in the eye. “What do you have in mind?”
12
We went back upstairs, Jonathan in the lead, Nathan and Gregory at my back. I wasn’t too thrilled about having the two wolves behind me, but what could I do? If I would have objected, I was sure Nathan would have made something of it. The big guy was just itching for a reason to start a fight.
Besides, I wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation right then. My mind was whirling with what I had seen, what I had learned. I couldn’t let what happened to that creature in the basement happen to anyone else, even if it was a werewolf.
We settled back in our original places in the office. I was going to stand, but after Jonathan took his seat behind the desk and Nathan and Gregory resumed their places on the couch, I decided it might be prudent to go ahead and have a seat. I sat down on the edge of one of the leather chairs, back straight, shifting to try to make room for my sword. It’s pretty hard to sit comfortably when carrying so many weapons.
“The full moon begins in four night’s time,” Jonathan said once everyone was settled. “We are to meet with Count Tremaine three nights from now. I am allowed to bring up to ten Cultists with me, werewolves included, but no other weapons.”
I listened, though I could hardly believe I was doing it. Jonathan was a werewolf, after all. And since he had been part of a vampire House, I was sure he was guilty of hundreds of atrocities, even if he claimed he hadn’t taken part in destroying my life.
What was wrong with me? I should have killed him as soon as he revealed himself to me.
Maybe I was just getting soft. I never used to take it easy on anyone. Pablo would have been missing his head the moment he stood up to me. Nathan’s hateful glares might have earned him a gun in the face.
Then again, I knew what Jonathan’s reasons for taking me down into the basement had been. He was manipulating me. I knew it. He used my past, my love for my brother, to force my hand, to make me side with him. He knew I couldn’t let that sort of thing happen again.
Still, I might not be as broken as he might think. I knew what he was doing. Because of that, I knew I couldn’t trust him as much as he would like me to. Just knowing what I did gave me the advantage over him, even if he didn’t realize it.
“Tremaine is demanding our unconditional loyalty to their cause,” Jonathan went on. “They want us to turn over all the wolves and have them take the Oath. They want us to be the day watchers for the vampires of the House, to be their enforcers. In return, we get to keep our Den and work independently whenever we aren’t needed.”
“It doesn’t sound like that bad of a deal,” I said. “You get to keep your Den while gaining the protection of a Minor House. Some wolves would kill for that. Many have.”
I spoke without really thinking about what I was saying. I sure as hell didn’t want the Cult joining with House Tremaine. It just seemed odd that they wouldn’t take the deal, especially since it would give them a sort of protection. As it was, the Cult was in danger. Being taken in by a Minor House really wasn’t all that bad when the alternative was a slow, painful death.
Minor Houses were usually outside my reach. If Tremaine were to take in the Luna Cult, there was no way I could deal with them. If I had the Cult at my side, then perhaps something
could
be done about House Tremaine. It might just give me the edge I needed to combat their numbers.
could
be done about House Tremaine. It might just give me the edge I needed to combat their numbers.
What was I thinking? The Luna Cult at my side? Maybe I wasn’t just getting soft, maybe I was losing my mind.
“They have our Denmaster,” Jonathan said, shaking his head. “They tainted Byron. Why would we want to submit to slavery when we have a chance to wipe out the vampires who threaten us? We would be saving werewolf lives, possibly even bringing them to our side. We could free our people.”
“So you plan on recruiting from House Tremaine?” That made a lot more sense than just wanting to remain free. Freedom these days often meant a shorter life span.
“Of course.” Jonathan folded his hands on top of his desk. His half-face looked me up and down as if weighing my reaction. I did my best to keep my face blank. “What else would we do? The wolves of House Tremaine are only there because they know of no other life. If we can show them they can have their freedom, that they don’t have to be subservient to the vampires, perhaps even more will follow in our footsteps. We can end the rule of the vampire Houses. Without the werewolves doing their dirty work, they will have no powerbase left to stand on.”
“A rebellion.”
Jonathan smiled and sat back in his chair. “I wouldn’t go that far. Rebellion is such a harsh word. Perhaps we should call it an emancipation. We are just trying to free those of us who are being held as slaves, nothing more.”
A flurry of activity outside the door caught my attention. I could see shadows moving from beneath the door, but no one knocked or called out for help. Other than the scuffling of feet, there was little to the excitement. At least there wasn’t screaming. Whatever was going on out there was obviously being handled.
“It’s nothing,” Jonathan said. “Someone stumbled into our territory. They are being dealt with.”
I looked away from the door to study Jonathan’s face. He kept it carefully blank. “How do you know? Are you a telepath, as well as a sorcerer?”
He laughed. “Hardly.” He motioned for me to join him at his desk.
I rose and moved to stand opposite him. He pointed to the top of his desk. A small screen was embedded in the wood. I hadn’t noticed it before because of all the stuff on the desk. The screen was protected by a layer of glass that was scratched from all the work that had been done on top of it.
I leaned forward so I could get a better look at what was on the screen. I could see the campus green from what looked to be the perspective of the Den. A shaggy-looking man was being hauled away by Pablo and one of the other Cultists I had seen inside. The man was screaming soundlessly, shaking his head back and forth as if he knew what was going to happen to him.
It wasn’t hard to figure out. Even I knew werewolves had to eat sometime.
The thought made my stomach clench. It wasn’t in hunger, but in disgust. All the man had done was walk onto the green, probably just wandered there accidently, and now was likely to become wolf food.
“You didn’t think we didn’t have security precautions in place, now did you?” Jonathan said, almost solemnly.
I shrugged and returned to my chair. “Not so hi-tech, no. What will happen to him?”
“What would you do in our situation?” He stared at me with a knowing look. “We cannot let others know we are here. He saw someone come in. He had to be dealt with.”
I couldn’t help but think back on the Cultist who had delivered Jonathan’s message. He hadn’t really deserved to die, but I couldn’t take the chance he might tell someone else where to find me. Jonathan was only doing what he thought was best for the Cult.
That didn’t mean I had to like it.
“The monitor outside the Den isn’t the only one we have,” Jonathan went on. “There are a few more feeds from around the campus so we can keep an eye on what’s happening close to our territory. We do not use it for the hunt, if that is what you are thinking.”
“It crossed my mind.”
“We only want to protect ourselves.”
It did make sense, more sense than I would have liked. I wondered how far-reaching their security system really was. Did they plant a camera out by my house? I might have to walk the grounds some night to find out.
“So what exactly do you want with me? I just finished a run and I typically don’t get involved in anything until I’ve had time to recuperate.”
Jonathan glanced at his two associates. Gregory’s smile had returned. Nathan was as tense as ever, and I saw him shake his head with the slightest of motions when Jonathan’s gaze swept over him. If I hadn’t been looking right at him, I would have missed it.
“We want you to come with us,” Jonathan said, turning back to me. “We will get you in the mansion and once inside, we want your help to take it down. We want you to kill Count Tremaine and the other vampires.”
“Tall order.”
“With four of us, it’s possible.” Jonathan ran a hand through his hair. What was left of it anyway. “Our main priority is getting Simon out of there alive and untainted. We would like to get out without having to kill any of the other werewolves, though I realize that won’t be possible. I will do what I can to convince some of them to join our cause.”
“How do you even know Simon is still alive? Have you talked to him since his capture? I wouldn’t put it past a vampire Count to kill an enemy and lie about it until he gets what he wants.”
Jonathan took a deep breath. The thought obviously troubled him. “We have only Tremaine’s word at the moment. But as long as there is a chance, I can’t turn my back on Simon. I will demand to see him as soon as we are inside, of course. Once I see that the Denmaster is safe, we can make our move.”
He made it sound almost easy. I had to admit, it was intriguing. Even if the plan failed, I should be able to go in and kill a few vamps and wolves before slipping away. With any luck, the Cult and House Tremaine would kill each other off and I could just mop up whatever remained later.
“So how do you plan on doing this without weapons?” I asked. “Taking down an entire House like that won’t be easy with them. It’s damn near impossible without some sort of firepower.”
Jonathan glanced at his associates and frowned. “We were hoping you could help us with that part,” he admitted. “I am pretty sure they will check us over at the door. You don’t exactly look like a Cultist, nor do you smell like a wolf. Your scent is ... different. Their sniffers would pick you out immediately.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“There may be another way in, but we don’t know the layout of the mansion well enough to be sure. If we can get you past their sniffers, then perhaps there will be a way to get you armed.”
I rubbed my temples. Why was I here again? “I won’t go in without my weapons.”
“Then we must come up with a way to get them inside with you.”
“No.”
I was so surprised by the strange, deep voice, I actually jumped. Nathan rose to his feet. He turned on Jonathan with his hands balled into fists.
“Sit down,” Jonathan said, his voice tight.
“We can’t trust her,” Nathan said, jabbing his thumb at me. “She’s too dangerous. We can’t let her have her weapons while the rest of us go unarmed. She could turn on us at any moment. She
is
one of them.”
is
one of them.”
“She has her weapons now,” Jonathan pointed out. “She could have used them at any point during our talks and we couldn’t have stopped her.”
Nathan glared at me. His eyes were tinged yellow.
“He has a point,” I said, smiling. “I could have killed you ten times over if I had wanted.”
Nathan’s upper lip lifted in a sneer, but his eyes betrayed him. They had bled back to full human. He had regained at least some control of his emotions. “You could try it.”
I almost laughed. I had to give him credit, he was pretty confident despite the odds. I
was
the one with the weapons.
was
the one with the weapons.
“Sit down,” Jonathan repeated, his voice hard. He stood and leaned on his desk, his fists bunched. His face was red with anger, and I was afraid the side of his head might split open from the stress of controlling all that rage.
“If someone goes furry, they are losing their heads,” I said, looking from one wolf to the next.
Nathan’s jaw tightened so much I heard it pop. He sat back down on the couch so hard it bounced Gregory about an inch into the air. The big wolf sat stiff and refused to look anywhere but directly in front of him.
Jonathan glared at him a moment longer before easing back onto his chair. There was a beep from in front of him and he glanced down at the monitor built into his desk. The tension seemed to ooze out of him and his smile returned.
“Tell you what,” I said. I wanted to get out of there before someone’s control broke and I had to start killing people. “I’ll look the place over tomorrow night. I know where Tremaine’s mansion is. If I remember right, there is a hill covered by some trees behind it. I can scout from there.”
Jonathan nodded slowly. “If you can get in with your gear, we can find a way to have you meet up with the rest of us once we are all inside. We will need to make sure you are dressed for the occasion. You won’t be able to go in dressed like that.”
I didn’t like the idea of wearing anything else but my work attire. But right then, I wasn’t going to argue. I refused to go into a hostile situation without my weapons. It might mean House Tremaine will become the most powerful House in all the state, maybe even the country, but at least I knew who to kill to keep my secrets from getting out if it came to that.
“We could dress you as a new member, give you the tattoo ...” Jonathan was speaking more to himself than to me, but I wasn’t about to let that last comment slide.
“No way,” I said. “I’m not getting inked for this.”
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