Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Faron drove. As we headed deeper into the Grimwold, I realized I hadn’t brought any weapons of any sort.
“What do we do for weapons?” I asked. “I don’t have any of my spell components.”
“I always carry a few spares in the trunk,” Faron said.
“So there are two McFarland brothers?” Bree asked. “And you said they probably have some hired help?”
Faron nodded. “Yeah, two brothers. Jag and Kimmell. They’re actually fraternal twins.
One has blonde hair and one has black, at least they did the last time I saw them.
Make no mistake: They care nothing for others.
They don’t care if they skewer children, animals, or your aunt.
Don’t hesitate if you have the chance to take one out, because they’re never going to regret a single thing they’ve done. ”
“I’m surprised they got out of town alive,” I said.
“Trust me, there were a few vigilantes who hunted them, but none of them returned home alive. The only people they’re loyal to are each other.
They were loyal to their family too, but that ended when someone wiped out their mother and father.
The whole family was bad to the core, but Jag and Kimmell happen to be out of town when a bear shifter destroyed the rest of the family. ”
“How did they do it? If the McFarland’s are so dangerous, how did someone manage to kill off the family?”
“Ethan Klawpaw was smart. Jag and Kimmell attacked Klawpaw’s daughter, assaulting her and leaving her for dead.
Klawpaw found out who did it, and he went after the entire family.
Because at that time, nobody wanted to arrest the McFarland’s.
The former sheriff had a decent heart, but he was a coward.
Anyway, Ethan didn’t know that the brothers were out of town but he waited until night and then he set their house on fire with an accelerant.
The place exploded like a bomb, and nobody made it out alive.
When he found out that the brothers weren’t at home, it kind of drove him nuts and he shot himself.
His wife moved away after that, taking their ten-year-old son with her.
I never heard about them again, but I still think about them now and then. ”
Bree and I stared at each other — we were both sitting in the backseat now — and I reached out and took her hand.
The story was so horrible it was hard to imagine, and I couldn’t begin to imagine how hard it must have been to be Ethan’s wife.
She lost her daughter, and then her husband. And had to uproot her entire life.
“If they’re that bad, we have to get Fancypants back,” I said. “I can’t leave him with monsters like that.”
“We won’t,” Bran said. “I’m going to pull up information about the warehouse to see what were getting into.”
As he searched on his phone, we entered the darkest part of the Grimwold. These were the streets that nobody walked alone, not unless they had several kills under their belt. Even then, they were betting on their lives.
Here, was the old industrial district within the town. There hadn’t been much industry, it was such a small town, but at one time there was a booming logging industry. And along with the loggers came the miners, and they had congregated in this area of Starlight Hollow.
There were several abandoned warehouses, and abandoned lumber mill, and at least three taverns that had been shut down.
One had been a brothel. The entire area felt like a wasteland, but nature encroached and now ivy and vines had grown up over the buildings.
Trees had sprouted up, cracking up the concrete, and the entire area had turned into a ghost town.
“Which warehouse was Josh talking about?” Bree asked.
“I believe he was talking about Western Sumac Warehouse. It belonged to one of the logging companies. It’s about five minutes ahead and to the right.” Faron hesitated, then said, “We should let Grams and May know what we’re doing. And did anybody call Daisy yet?”
“I thought you did,” I said.
“I thought Bran did,” Faron answered.
“It seems nobody did,” Bree said. “I’ll do so now.”
She punched in Daisy’s number, and we all quieted down so she could talk to the sheriff.
“I’m putting you on speaker,” Bree said when Daisy came on the line.
“Hey, Daisy, we have a good lead on the men who kidnapped Fancypants —”
Faron interrupted me. “Daisy? The McFarland brothers are back in town, and we’re headed for the Western Sumac Warehouse. You better get several units down here now. It would be nice to go in with some backup.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for just a second, then Daisy sputtered.
“The McFarland brothers? Oh hell. I’m sending units down now. Don’t go in without us — you don’t want to take on that trouble.”
“We have to,” I said. “I can’t chance them killing Fancypants if we’re onto them. And you can bet they’re listening to a police scanner. The minute you send out units, they’re going to know about it.”
“They don’t have to,” Daisy said. “Trust me, please.” She paused briefly to talk to someone near her, then returned to the phone.
“I’ve just sent three units out and I’m on my way.
I’m also dispatching the EMTs in case anyone’s hurt.
Nothing went over the scanner, and I warned my men not to talk about it until I get there. ”
As she hung up, I turned the others. “I’m not sure what to do. Daisy seems positive that she can get here in time, but what if they can’t? I need to rescue Fancypants. Surely we can creep up around the side of the warehouse and take a look through the windows? It’s dark, so they shouldn’t see us.”
Faron and Bran glanced at each other, then looked back at me.
“We have no idea what kind of security system they have,” Faron said. “Chances are they’ve been through town before and used the same building.”
“Unless they own it, there probably isn’t a security system,” I argued. It was foolish, but the impetus to run in and rescue Fancypants clouded out my reason.
Bree put a hand on my arm, shaking her head.
“You need to use common sense. We aren’t armed except for whatever Faron might have in the trunk.
We have no idea what kind of muscle they have inside.
The MacFarland brothers won’t give a damn if we end up dead on the floor.
And the only thing they care about their kidnapped victims is how much money they can get off of them. ”
“Cover your phones!” Bran said. “Look — coming down the street.”
We all covered up the glare of our phones, dampening any light coming from within the car.
I followed the direction in which Bran was pointing, only to see an olive green van passed by the streetlights, heading for the warehouse.
I couldn’t see from where I was, but at that moment the spell that May cast on me broke.
The full force of Fancypants’s fear hit me in the gut, and I bent over, holding my stomach as I tried to keep from shouting out.
“What’s wrong?” Bree asked, immediately scooting closer to me.
I tried to speak, but the force of his fear had been so hard that it knocked the wind out of me.
“Something’s wrong with Elphyra,” Bree said, reaching forward to shake Faron’s shoulder.
I struggled to catch my breath and finally managed to contain my shock. I forced myself to sit up, still aching from where the connection had reattached.
“Fancypants — he’s in the van. Whatever May did, it wore off. I can feel him. He’s terrified. He needs me!”
By now, the van had almost reached the warehouse and was pulling into the open chain-link gateway.
Faron said nothing, simply started the car.
Revving it up, he screeched forward towards the gates.
Bree scooted forward and turned around, then pushed over, squeezing into my side of the seat.
She turned and opened the back of her seat, folding it down.
She thrust her phone inside the trunk, turning on the flashlight app.
Without a word, she began handing me all the weapons she could grab from the trunk.
There were three daggers, a short sword, and a stun gun.
I took the stun gun, and handed Bran the sword and two of the daggers. By then, we were through the chain-link fence. Faron stomped on the gas again, yelling, “brace yourselves!”
I dropped the stun gun in my lap and put my hands against the back of Bran’s seat. The next second, we plowed into the back of the van, causing it to lurch forward and skid on the ice. As the van skated into the fence on our right, we tumbled out of the car and raced forward.
Bran and Faron made for the front doors, and, as they yanked them open, the MacFarland brothers stumbled out, looking confused.
Thinking there might be hired help in the back, I grabbed Bree and we raced for the back doors of the van.
As she turned the handle, opening the right side, I held up my stun gun and jumped into the van.
But there was no one there except a cage, containing Fancypants.
Immediately, I jumped out into the snow and ice again, racing around the van with my stun gun held out.
I had raced around to Bran’s side, because while he was strong, Faron was stronger and better at fighting.
Bran was struggling with a man, I assumed one of the MacFarland boys, and they went down the moment I saw them, wrestling in the snow.
Bran had a bloody nose and his opponent had him pinned down.
Without hesitation, I flipped the switch on the stun gun and raced forward jamming it into the guys side.
The stun gun crackled, startling me so much that I almost dropped it.
But I pressed the charge button again and — as the MacFarland brother shouted and flipped around I managed to come in with an underhand job and pressed the stun gun right against his crotch.
This time, he shrieked and dropped to his knees, crouching into the fetal position as he fell over on a side.