Wolves and the River of Stone (18 page)

“That’s simple enough,” I said. “It’s a trap.”

F
oster was sitting on the dashboard by the time we left Manchester Road. The Pit was only a few minutes away. I pulled out my cell phone anyway.

“Wow, my phone survived,” I said. “It’s supposed to be ruggedized, but damn, I’m impressed.” I went to unlock it and the face of the phone fell off, dangling by a few wires, mocking me. “Son of a bitch.”

Carter and Foster exploded into laughter.

I laughed too and slipped the remains back in my pocket. Maybe the store would be able to transfer my contacts. “Can I borrow your phone, Carter?”

He tossed me his brick of a phone and said, “Get a better phone. Trust me, those cheap ones break way too often.”

I punched in Sam’s phone number and smiled when she answered. “Hey Sam.”

“Damian? I haven’t heard from you in
days,
so I’m just going to take a wild guess and say you need something. What do you want?”

“Hey sis, it’s good to hear your voice.”

“Cut the bullshit.”

I laughed. “Okay. Are you at the Pit?”

“Yeah, I’ve only been awake for an hour or so.”

“Is Frank with you?”

“No, he’s visiting his brother this weekend in Springfield.”

“Illinois or Missouri?” I said.

“Does it
matter?”

Carter pulled onto the outer road, separated from the highway by a chain-link fence on one side and a row of evergreens on the other, and cruised down to the Pit’s subdivision while Sam and I talked.

“No, I just don’t want him involved. The proverbial shit is about to hit a very big fan. Are any of the Pit’s enforcers in town?”

“Umm,” Sam said as she tapped the phone with her fingernail. “Maybe Dominic, but the others are on vacation with Mary and Jessica and the rest. Don’t you remember me telling you about that? You freaked out about me going to Chicago, for god’s sake. It’s
Chicago.”

“Oh,” I said. I did remember that, I was not a huge fan of Mary and Jessica, but I should have had more faith in Sam’s decision-making skills. “Sorry Sam, I shouldn’t have done that.” Especially since Mary was the vampire I’d done some very, ah, inappropriate things with. “Alright, see if Dominic’s home. And if Vik’s around, we could use his help too. FYI, I’m bringing some wolves, so make sure no one tries to kill them in the driveway.”

Sam snorted and said, “Demon, sometimes I could kill
you.”

“Well, tonight there are better people for killing. See you soon.”

Sam hung up and a minute later the Pit’s home loomed into the view through the windshield.

Carter put the SUV into park at the peak of the U-shaped drive. I picked my staff up from between the seats. Foster flew out ahead of me before Carter and I hopped out and walked to the front door. I rang the bell and Carter shifted back and forth on his feet.

“Nervous?” I said.

He pointed at the door. “It’s a Pit. I’m walking into a vampire Pit. What do you think?”

I waved my hand in a dismissive motion. “They’re good people.”

Carter laughed despite himself.

Foster flew up to the small window at the peak of the huge double doors. “Someone’s coming.”

I changed my grip on the staff as the deadbolts shifted and the right door swung into the entryway. I blinked a few times when I realized Zola had opened the door, a frown etched across her face. “Um, hi!” I said.

She stepped forward and belted me across the face with an open hand. The smack was loud enough to hurt my ears. I heard Carter and Foster curse at the same time. I rubbed my face and winced at the sting.

“Idiot, boy! Why didn’t you get me first? Zachariah? You faced one of Philip’s assassins without me?”

She smacked me again. “What manner of idiocy possessed you to do that?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “Tonight,” Zola said. “We have to go to Laumeier tonight. Together.”

“How did you know about Zachari ...” Hugh walked into my line of sight. “Oh, never mind. Sorry Zola.”

She glared at me and stepped inside as Hugh walked toward us. “Alan’s with Maggie,” he said. “She’s healing well, but Jimmy ... Jimmy’s dead, Carter.”

“Son of a bitch.” Carter kicked one of the nearby pillars.

My hand tightened around the raised silver inlays on my staff. I hadn’t liked Jimmy and his teenage smattering of acne, but I had never wanted the kid to die. “Sorry Carter.”

Carter nodded and took a deep breath. “We need to concentrate on tonight. If they know we’re coming ... it’s going to be bad.”

“Bad?” Zola said. “It’s going to be an unholy shit storm, wolf. Get inside. We need to talk.”

The Alpha bowed his head and walked past Zola in silence. I cocked an eyebrow as I walked by her and her stern glare slipped a little. She glanced at the Alpha’s back, shrugged, and ushered me forward. Foster darted in before Hugh closed the door behind us.

“The vampires are in the kitchen,” Hugh said.

“They’re not in the spiffy conference room downstairs?”

Zola cursed and shook her head. “No, Ah suppose they’re afraid of the wolves gathering intelligence.”

“Oh good god, let’s just go to the kitchen. Bloody vampires.” I shook my head as we walked off to the right through the entry hall. The grand staircase loomed above us to the left. We came to another hallway and followed it to the left, past the edge of the living room and into the kitchen. Sam, Dominic, and Vik were all camped out around the enormous walnut kitchen table. The wall behind the table was covered with a projected map of Laumeier Sculpture Park. Sam’s fingers were a blur over her laptop’s keyboard. She stopped typing and all three vampires looked up at the same time. It kind of creeped me out.

“Damian, I miss the days when the worst thing I had to worry about was you feeding my Barbie dolls to Jasper.” Sam glanced back at the computer screen, hit a few keys, and brought up a satellite overlay of the sculpture park. She hopped out of her chair and hugged me. “What the hell are you wearing?” Before I could answer, she said, “Hey Carter!”

“Samantha,” Carter said. “Thank you for letting us meet here.”

“Oh, don’t thank me, thank Dominic here. He’s the enforcer on, umm, on call?” She glanced at Dominic. “On duty?”

Dominic held his hand up and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Sam. It doesn’t matter. The necromancers are a threat, the wolves can help. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make.” Dominic stood up and extended his hand to Carter. I could see Carter fight his instincts to run as the vampire straightened his back. Dominic was a monster with an ultra-short blond crew cut and eyes such a dark brown they looked black in the kitchen’s light. He made Hugh look small and me look scrawny. Carter, well, he made Carter look like lunch. “Alpha, I am pleased to meet you in peace.”

“Please, call me Carter.”

Dominic’s expression softened and he looked the Alpha over again. “Very well, Carter. I believe you know Vik, yes?”

Carter nodded and Vik returned his nod. Dominic sat down again and some of the tension left Carter’s shoulders.

“Hey Vik,” I said.

He gave me a two finger salute off his eyebrow. “Damian, you know the most interesting villagers.”

“Villagers?” I asked as my eyes trailed down to the Renaissance outfit I was still wearing. “Oh, you’re funny.”

Vik’s face cracked a small smile as I sat down beside Sam, with Hugh and Carter between me and Zola.

“So, what do you have for us, Sam?”

“Zola’s research turned up the location for a soulstone. It’s in this exhibit.” She zoomed in on the screen and it showed a sculpture I recognized, even from above.

I knew what it would look like when we were standing beside it. The narrow stone steps crawled up the edge of the steep angled walls surrounding the outside of the earthwork amphitheater known as Cromlech Glen.

“Shit, that’s back in the nature trails,” I said.

“Far back,” Foster said. “It’s some pretty thick woods between the glen and the rest of the park. Hard to be quiet.”

Dominic nodded. “It’s a prime place to set up an ambush.”

“Come on, Dominic, you know we’re not the ones setting up an ambush. We’re the ones walking into it,” I said.

“Maybe we are,” Sam said. “But we know we’re probably walking into a trap. We can surprise them. There’s no way they’ll know you’re going to have three vampires with you.”

“Sam, this is Philip,” Zola said in a placating tone. “He knows about you and Damian. He may plan for vampires.”

“Even if he does, do you really think he’ll plan for three of us?”

“It is possible, but perhaps not,” Zola said. “Perhaps, even more than that, he will not expect the wolves and the vampires to be united.”

“We’ll come in from the forest to the east, just outside the park,” Vik said. “Zola, Aeros will help. Just ask him.” We all stared at Vik when he spoke.

Dominic looked back to the map on the wall. “You may be on to something.” He stepped up to the wall and pointed to the eastern woods. “If we come through here, the glen may have a lighter guard than the more obvious ways in. If Aeros can cover the southern trail ... I think we should try it.”

“Very well,” Zola said. “Ah will ask Aeros for his help.” She stared at me for a moment. “Talk to Happy. The bear may help too.”

Foster grinned as he sat down beside Sam’s keyboard. “Oh yeah.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes,” Zola said. “Ah’m concerned about what waits for us, especially since
we
will be the bait.”

I fought a shiver and nodded. “We’ll hit Forest Park, then come back out Highway 44 to Laumeier.”

“I like the vampires’ plan,” Hugh said.

Vik smiled.

Dominic shook his head. “I’m worried about the wolves.”

“For what reason?” Hugh said.

“Not you, or Carter,” Dominic said. “Adannaya told us you were attacked at home by these necromancers. What if this, all this,” he said as he gestured at the wall, “is a diversion to expose the pack?”

“Dammit,” Carter said. “It could be, but there’s no way to know.”

“We do know there’s a soulstone in Cromlech Glen. We have to go there,” Zola said. Foster flitted by the map, and then glided to the counter beside the stove.

“Yes, you are right,” Dominic said as he turned to Carter. “But you shouldn’t leave your wife unguarded. They could use her to get to you. It’s a strategy our own Pit has discussed in the past.”

“
What?!”
Sam said.

Carter laughed. “Sam, it’s fine. It’s fine. We haven’t always been friends, so to speak.”

Sam glared at Dominic long enough the large vampire started to fidget. “The hell is wrong with you people?”

Dominic slunk back to his chair and sat down.

“My baby sister can be a firecracker.” I grinned when Sam turned her glare on me. Zola failed to hide her laugh behind a cough.

“Mom and Aideen can help the wolves.” Dominic jumped when Foster spoke directly behind the vampire. “I bet Nixie will help too. They could be at your house in no time, Carter.”

Sam elbowed Dominic in the ribs. “Aw, did the wittle fairy scare the big bad vampire?”

Dominic’s sulky expression cracked into a rumbling laugh.

“I would appreciate that, Foster,” Carter said as he shook his head with a smile.

“Consider it done.”

“I will send Haka, as well, Alpha,” Hugh said.

Carter nodded his thanks. “Get Alan to join us at the park. We need him.”

Dominic glanced at the large watch on his left wrist. “The sun will be fully down in an hour. Let’s move on the park at nine o’clock. That gives you time to get to Forest Park and back out to Laumeier. Do any of you have a watch?”

“Pfff,” Foster said. “The day I need a watch, just toss me into a bug zapper.”

Carter laughed. “I don’t need a watch either. I have Hugh.”

The bigger wolf shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “With the sun and the stars, I haven’t felt the need for a timepiece.”

“What if it’s cloudy?” Dominic said.

“It won’t be,” Hugh said.

“But–”

“Good god man,” I said. “They’ll be fine, stop worrying.”

Dominic crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair as his face took on a distinct scowl.

“The vampires’ plan ...” Carter said, “it’s very good.” Dominic’s scowl softened a little as the Alpha spoke. “The vampires coming in from behind, with Aeros on the south, and everyone else to the northeast.” Carter stared at the map and nodded. “Without knowing what’s waiting for us, I think it’s a good place to start.”

Zola slapped the table. “Good, very good. Ah will go with the vampires. Ah want to be sure Philip hasn’t set traps for them.”

My gut tightened at the thought. Philip’s traps were merciless. Last year we’d been in Pilot Knob. Philip had killed everyone and turned it into a warded city. When the trap was sprung, it raised a zombie horde. I didn’t even want to think about what Philip could do to a vampire, especially Sam.