Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
W e returned to the MacTire hellhole; it wasn’t my preferred choice of venue but it was convenient. When we arrived, there were far more werewolves inside the building than before; Samantha must have called in the troops.
Despite his supposed status as a prisoner, Thane had been making himself at home and was regaling a large group of muscly MacTire werewolves with tales of his time as a lone wolf. Samantha was watching him darkly from the corner but she needn’t have worried that he was trying to persuade them they’d be better off on their own. From what I heard, he was being both self-deprecating and self-mocking, making no attempt to glamourise his lifestyle.
‘And that was when the vampire threw a stick,’ he said to his fascinated audience. ‘I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t have back-up or anyone to tell me to keep focused. My instincts kicked in.’
‘And?’ A particularly burly wolf leaned in. ‘What happened?’
‘What do you think happened?’ Thane said. ‘I chased after the damned stick. ’
Everyone in the room burst out laughing and even Samantha cracked a smile. Thane grinned easily, happy to be the butt of the joke. Good for him; it is a hell of a lot harder to torture and kill someone whom you’ve had a laugh with. He was definitely a canny ginger bastard.
His eyes fell on me and his grin vanished as he raised his eyebrows in question. I nodded. Yes, Trilby had confirmed the theory about Nick’s blood being harvested to raise a demon. No, we still didn’t know where Nick or Umbra were.
Alexander MacTire strode to the centre of the room; although he didn’t clear his throat or ask for silence, silence was what he received. The power he held over his pack was obvious. ‘Clear the room,’ he said quietly.
Within ten seconds everyone had gone and only Samantha, Thane, MacTire and I remained. He repeated what we’d learned in short, clipped syllables that didn’t do very much to disguise his rage.
‘So they might have already drained his blood,’ Samantha said when he’d finished. ‘Nicholas might already be dead.’
I didn’t think so. ‘Umbra need thirteen pints to invoke a demon. Even if they took every single drop from Nick’s body, they wouldn’t have enough. Plus,’ I added, ‘the book said that the blood has to be fresh. I reckon they’ve probably taken some from him but they have to allow him time to recover. They’ll be waiting until the last minute before they drain him dry.’
‘We can’t wait until the last minute,’ Thane objected. ‘His life is still in the balance.’
MacTire frowned. ‘Exactly. Our priority is finding Umbra. We don’t know how many of them there are or where they are hiding, but we have to find them.’
‘And how will we manage that?’ I asked.
Samantha smiled grimly. ‘This is one of those many times when it pays to be part of a pack.’ She gave Thane a pointed look. ‘Most of the MacTire wolves who are not in this building are already out searching. While you were gone and Thane was courting his fans, I also called in favours from several of our allies. The Stewarts, the Fergusons and the MacGregors have agreed to help. And thanks to you, we have a scent marker to search for.’
‘The assassin,’ I breathed.
She nodded. ‘We couldn’t catch his trail from where Rebecca was killed – there was more than one reason why he was using the rooftops to get around. The higher up you go, the fresher the air is.’
‘And the stronger the wind,’ Thane agreed. ‘That’s why I didn’t waste time searching for his scent trail at the time. There’d have been little left to follow and too much chance of his scent getting mixed with others.’
Samantha went on. ‘With hundreds of us searching and a scent anchor to seek, we can cover every street in Coldstream. The Fergusons in particular are known for their good noses. If any hint of the assassin lingers anywhere in this city, it will be found. If he sat in a pub or ate dinner in a restaurant, passed a few minutes on a park bench or blew his nose and dropped the tissue in a public bin, the trail will be found.’
Alexander MacTire shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘But will it be found in time?’ He wasn’t expressing doubt about what Samantha had said or the other werewolves’ skills; his question reflected his anxiety for Nick.
There was a sharp knock at the door and Samantha answered it. When she returned, there was a scrap of paper in her hand and a wide, unpleasant smile on her face. ‘I can categorically state that it will be found in time.’ She held up the piece of paper. ‘The Fergusons have come through – they are certain they’ve located Umbra.’
Barely an hour later, I was standing across the street from a nondescript building with more werewolves than I’d ever seen assembled in one place. It wasn’t only the Ferguson, Stewart and MacGregor packs who’d come to help, there were other werewolves, too. It was genuinely astonishing.
‘I didn’t realise the MacTires were so popular,’ I murmured to Thane, who was next to me and managing to appear relaxed despite the frank stares he was garnering from the other werewolves.
‘They’re not,’ he told me. ‘It’s purely political.’
That made more sense. ‘You mean nobody wants to risk suggesting that their pack was involved in Nick’s abduction? Nobody wants to risk conflict with the MacTires?’
Thane nodded. ‘If Nick is dead, the MacTires will be out for blood. They’ll attack first and ask questions later.’ He waved a hand. ‘By being here, these werewolves are asserting their innocence even though some will secretly be celebrating the MacTires’ weakness in losing one of their own.’
‘Nick isn’t theirs.’
‘He is to all intents and purposes. You know that.’
I did, though I merely grunted in response. ‘Some won’t be celebrating. They’ll be terrified that if this could happen to Nick it could happen to them.’
‘Everyone has a weak point,’ he agreed. ‘Even old Bruce MacTire had one when he collapsed and died of a heart attack.’
I felt Thane’s eyes on me and wondered if he’d picked up on an atmosphere between Alexander and me that suggested that I’d induced Bruce MacTire’s coronary. I would never confirm it, not to anyone.
Fortunately Thane moved on to a more immediate matter. ‘What the fuck are we waiting for?’ he muttered. ‘Whoever is in that building knows we’re here and the jig is up.’ He glanced around with undisguised impatience. ‘The longer we wait, the more chance there is that the demon-worshipping bastards will kill Nick. We should get in there before that happens.’
I was inclined to agree. This scenario was exactly why I’d wanted to keep Alexander MacTire out of it: too many people were involved, and too many people meant too many variables. I hated situations that I couldn’t control.
‘There is a reason why we haven’t made a move yet,’ Samantha said from directly behind us.
I jumped; I hadn’t realised she was there although Thane obviously had, and had probably voiced his complaint so that she would hear it.
She pointed to the building. ‘I’d have thought that you’d already have noticed, Barrow. Why don’t you go closer and see for yourself?’
Thane frowned then walked stiffly across the road. Since we’d arrived, nobody had attempted to get that close to the grey concrete building. I suspected I knew why, but I wanted to see if Thane’s approach encouraged any sign of life at the eight windows that looked out from the two-storey facade.
There was nothing. ‘You’re sure this is where Umbra is holed up?’ I asked Samantha in an undertone.
‘Oh, yes.’ She was gazing at Thane with glee. ‘It absolutely reeks of that bastard assassin. His scent is all over this place.’
Thane jerked to a halt and started choking, then his knees gave way and he collapsed. ‘Plus,’ she said, with an arch grin, ‘it’s ringed with concentrated wolfsbane. I can’t think of any reason why anyone would go to that sort of expense unless they were expecting an army of werewolves to show up at their door.’
Well, shit. I darted forward to Thane, hooked him beneath his armpits and dragged him back across the road with his feet trailing behind him. There was a chorus of snide laughs from the watching werewolves. I wasn’t surprised that a lot of them were inclined to take against Thane – a lone wolf went against everything they stood for – but they didn’t need to be so obvious about it.
‘How does it feel to be rescued by a cat lady, Barrow?’ somebody shouted.
My eyes narrowed. Clearly my reputation had preceded me. Usually I’d have been quite happy about that – after all, it was the persona I cultivated – but I was annoyed on Thane’s behalf. None of those other werewolves had dared to get close to the damned wolfsbane.
Thane coughed and wheezed, his eyes red and streaming with tears. ‘Fuck!’ he spat. ‘That’s strong stuff.’
‘You must have known what it was before you got close to it,’ I told him. ‘Why did you keep going?’
‘I wanted to see how potent it was.’ In other words, he’d wanted to see if he could play hero in front of the schoolyard bullies and push past the barrier. Idiot.
‘I guess that now you know.’
‘I guess I do.’ He coughed again.
My eyes landed on Alexander MacTire, who didn’t appear even faintly amused. His arms were folded and his expression was tight. I assumed he had a plan; doubtless he was waiting for a group of expensive – albeit highly trained – witches to cast a web of spells to nullify the wolfsbane. That would take hours, and I wasn’t sure he was seeing the bigger picture.
I dropped Thane, leaving him to recover, and stalked towards the MacTire alpha. Before I got close, two of his minions stepped in my path. ‘He’s not talking to you,’ one of them growled.
I rolled my eyes but MacTire was already beckoning me forward. ‘Your boyfriend is a fool for getting so close,’ he said .
I didn’t bother to rise to the bait. ‘If Umbra are prepared to scatter that amount of wolfsbane around that house, they’ll be prepared for you to eventually break through. They’ll be armed with silver – I can almost guarantee it.’
He scratched his chin. ‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take.’
I sighed. I didn’t need to tell Alexander MacTire that silver in its purest form was lethal to every werewolf on the planet. ‘How many lives are you willing to risk?’ I countered. ‘How many other lives is one teenager worth?’
MacTire bared his teeth and two patches of fur appeared on his cheekbones. There was a shocked murmur amongst the werewolves from the other packs; I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t known just how powerful the MacTire alpha was. ‘You’re giving yourself away,’ I said.
He dipped his head and raised his hands, not to threaten me but to show everyone what he was capable of. When his fingers twisted and sharp claws emerged, there was another collective gasp. ‘Nicholas is my nephew,’ he said. ‘He is one of mine. I would do the same for anyone in my pack.’
I held my ground. ‘Nick isn’t in your pack.’
MacTire snarled and the musclebound goons made another move towards me. This time I was the one to move away. MacTire would happily turn this entire street into a bloodbath if it meant he would win, and there was still a chance that Umbra would slit Nick’s throat the second a werewolf crossed that threshold.
I knew from the alpha’s expression that he wasn’t willing to listen to reason, and he certainly wouldn’t listen to me. I moved further away, grabbed Thane’s elbow and half-dragged him to the edge of the crowd.
His eyes were still red but his fervour hadn’t diminished. ‘We can’t stand here and do nothing, Kit. They could be draining the rest of Nick’s blood as we speak. We can’t keep delaying.’
‘I know,’ I said.
‘Wolfsbane won’t affect you.’ His desperate gaze roved my face.
I smiled. ‘I know that, too.’
He swallowed, aware of what he was suggesting. ‘They’ll probably kill you the moment you go in there.’
‘They’ll certainly try,’ I agreed.
‘We don’t know how many of them are in there, but we know they’re wealthy and well-prepared.’
‘I thought you wanted me to go in,’ I said calmly.
‘I do.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t.’ He cursed. ‘I don’t know.’
‘It’s okay, Thane.’ Much like MacTire, I was prepared to risk a lot to save Nick – but I wouldn’t need to worry about anyone’s safety, not if I played my cards right.
Samantha marched towards us. ‘I hope you’re not thinking of doing anything stupid, Ms McCafferty.’
‘ Moi ?’ I splayed my fingers. ‘I’m just a cat lady. What on earth could I do?’ I looked at the imposing building. ‘I can assure you that I won’t do anything stupid. In fact…’ I stopped mid-sentence.
Samantha tapped her foot. ‘In fact what?’
‘In fact,’ a broad smile spread across my face, ‘there’s a lovely cat over there that I know. I’m going over to say hello.’ Before she could stop me, I turned, crossed the road, stepped over the unbroken line of wolfsbane and crouched down beside She Who Hisses.
‘Hey there,’ I said to the glaring black cat. ‘Fancy seeing you again.’
‘McCafferty!’ Alexander MacTire roared. ‘Get your arse back over here!’
I grinned and waved at him. ‘Just saying hello to the cat,’ I called, then leaned down and looked at She Who Hisses’ body. ‘It’s healing nicely,’ I observed. ‘Your fur will grow back in no time.’
Her yellow eyes stared at me balefully but she didn’t run away. She didn’t even hiss.
‘You saw what was happening, didn’t you? You thought you’d have a little nosy.’ Her tail flicked. ‘You’ll help me?’ I breathed. I hadn’t expected her to, but goodness knows I was grateful. ‘Thank you.’
Her ears twitched. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘After this we’re even, though I didn’t need repayment.’
She Who Hisses blinked once then stood up, twisted around and padded down the side street that led to the western side of Umbra’s hideout.
I pulled myself upright and followed her without looking back.