A Werewolf's Moon (The Council) (24 page)

The kid was made of tougher stuff than he probably even realized. I sniffed around. The scent was there, in the air.
Demon.
The stench of rotting meat that went along with him.
Plus the human…
“Three days, tops.”

Henry
pulled out his phone and made a quick call. “Davy will be here with a team in five minutes. Let’s get to the first cave and deliver the news to my parents.”

We left the door open. The rain was even heavier, the wind whistling through the trees with heavy gusts. I was infinitely glad
Pepper
didn’t come. It was hard. I felt bad for that human. He didn’t deserve to die. If I could help it, I never wanted
Pepper
to see anything that grisly.

By the time we reached the first cave we were soaked through. I shook the water off once we were inside, and earned eye rolls from
Henry
and Zane.

I smiled. “Woof.”

“Ah, perfect.” James,
Henry
’s father, came striding out of the cave with his mate Irena. “How was the ranger’s station?”

Henry
shook his head, “Compromised. The ranger is dead.”

His father cursed. “So much for hoping they wouldn’t draw attention to themselves.”

“You find anything here?” I asked.

“Nothing, a few dead animals…but they could be from a predator.”
Henry
’s mother said. “Can you smell anything?”

I walked deeper into the cave and decided he was right. “No demons. This one is clear.”

So we went to the next cave and met up with Dmitri’s parents, Vladislav and Helene, who hadn’t found much. More dead animals, but this time, the smell clinging to them was from a demon.

I knew we were getting close when I found the remnants of a deer in a bush. The body count, at least for the animals, was stacking up. It was sickening.

By the time we made it to the old bomb shelter, we were certain we’d find the demon’s hunkered down for the night.

“Well,” my father nodded as we approached from the south.
“Nice to finally have you all with us.”

My mother slicked her sopping blonde hair back and gestured to a green hatch surrounded by weeds. “That’s the entrance. I’m afraid only one can go in at a time.”

“We should draw them out,” Vladislav said. “I don’t think any of us should drop down into that hole. We have no idea what we are up against.”

Zane raised his hand. “I have a suggestion…”

James nodded, “Let’s have it, son.”

“Mara—my foster mother—has a friend who bombs houses for bugs. What if
we
borrowed some of his equipment and gassed them out?”

I figured our parents would have a better idea to flush out some demons, but I could tell they wanted to give Zane his time in the lime light. He was trying to help, and he’d come up with a reasonably good idea.

Henry
phased
Zane to Capeside. They were gone for about five minutes. In that time, I was sure the demons were right under out feet. I could hear snoring, and smell them.
Rotting meat.
Disgusting.

Henry
and Zane appeared, but without a bug bomber.

“Couldn’t find it,”
Henry
smiled. “I’m sure we’ll think of something else.”

“I found something.” Zane held up, what I realized, was a hand grenade.

“Where did you get that?” Irena gasped.

Zane smirked. “Mr. Murphy, crazy old man. He likes to take things that aren’t his and keep them in his shed.”

“He keeps live hand grenades?” Vladislav asked, stepping in front Helene.

“You should see his missiles. He’s got one from Vietnam…” Zane trailed off. “What?”

Henry
’s glare was harsh enough to make the kid step back. “You told me weren’t going to his garage.”

“I couldn’t find the bug bomb stuff.”

“Zane,” my father held out his hand. “Why don’t you give it to me?”

He handed it over, reluctantly. “Sorry,”

“No need, you had a very good idea.
M
aybe it’s best you let someone with explosives
experience take
it from here?”

“You mean you’re going to bomb them?” my mother eyed the hatch, appalled.

“Why not?”
James asked. “They’ll never know what hit them.
Though once this is over Zane, if you wouldn’t mind showing me to Mr. Murphy’s house, I think we should relive him of his weapons for
Capeside’s
safety.”

“What will you do with them?” Zane asked.

“Set them off in a secure location so they can’t be used.”

My dad ran to the hatch while the rest of us spread out in a circle at a safe distance. He lifted the lid, pulled the pin from the grenade, and dropped it in the opening. The lid slammed shut and he phased back to where my mother was hidden.

The ground rocked with the explosion. Agonized howls cut through the sound of the rain, and the demon’s burst through the ground.

But we only counted three.

Chapter 24

Pepper

“Try again,” Kylie urged as I flicked my hand and gritted my teeth. “It’s okay, you’ll get it.”

I stared at my hands, and then I remembered how calm Quinn had been when he changed. So I put my chin to my chest, took a deep breath, and imagined my hands doing exactly what Kylie’s did. They grew warm and tingly. I felt my eyes heat, like when they got hot from
crying,
only I wasn’t upset. It felt powerful, as if I buzzed with energy.

“Wow, you did it!” Kylie patted my back. “Open your eyes
Pepper
,
look!”

I glanced down at my pointed, pinkish nails. They could slice th
rough steel and rock with ease.

“Your turn,” I said, handing Flora the dice, showing off my new nails.

She tossed them onto the board and frowned. “How much do I owe you Kylie?”

“Three hundred, please.”
Kylie took the fake bills from her and smiled. “Thanks for staying, hope you enjoyed it.”

Venna came into the living room carrying Claire,
Henry
s little sister. She was only four. Her long brown hair was in braided pigtails and she wore her favorite pink princess dress and glittery stockings. The kid had style and she was totally adorable, with the biggest round ey
es and a face like a little ang
e
l
. She was also full of her own opinions and ideas. “Is it my turn yet?”

Garret
shook his head, “Nope, mine. Then it will be yours.”

Claire crossed her arms and pouted.
“Fine.”

“You should be in bed,” Venna said to her, but was promptly ignored. The parents were away, and the little girl wanted to play. So she asked to be set down and went chasing after a big blue bouncy ball.

I was out of the game after a while, and it ended with Flora winning. Kyle had her worried for a bit though.

We put on a late night talk show, and Kylie and
Garret
fell asleep together on the sofa with Clair squished between them. Flora had gone to her room. But Venna and I were still up, pacing the floors.

“I wish I could sleep.” She put away the game and turned off the TV with a glance like
Henry
did. When witches and warlocks bound together, they shared powers. So not only could she heal someone, she could move things with her mind like
Henry
. It came in handy.

“I should probably try to sleep a little,” I said, eyeing
Garret
and Kylie. “I’ll take them with me.”

Venna got Claire into bed, and I managed to pull
Garret
and Kylie off the sofa. They trudged sleepily behind me as we walked to the Brighton’s wing, and went right to their room in the back of the house. I found myself at a loss, and wasn’t sure what to do. It was the middle of the night, and I hadn’t really been shown around the Brighton’s home yet. The only place I felt comfortable
in,
was Quinn’s room.

I wasn’t going to sleep, that was for sure. Being surrounded by his smell helped, though, and I was able to relax. I found the smell of plastic to be quite the tip off and
sniffed out some movies in his room. He had everything action and horror. I chose one of the tamer flicks and popped it into a DVD player on his dresser.

It was a good movie, but I was in Quinn’s room, which was an experience all in its own. I didn’t think he’d mind if I poked around, just to get to know him a little better. He didn’t have a lot of stuff, wasn’t into colleting things.
Though I did find a case of knives in his closet.

His closet was packed with rugged wear. Hiking boots, cargo pants…I think I found two pairs of jeans, a few pairs of sneakers and running shoes. Mostly it looked like he was getting ready to go on a trek through the Amazon or on a safari.

He wasn’t exactly clothes challenged, not like Dmitri. Yikes.

In the back of his
closet I found his
b
l
ack Council outfit, and one,
one
nice button up shirt.

I might have to work on him, just a little. I mean, he was going to be king one day. He had to have a little style, and mountain wolf man was not what he needed to aim for.

I found a stash of video games, and other than that, he didn’t keep much else around. A few books that were of the horror
genera,
and the only other thing in the room that took up any amount of space were a bunch of weights stacked in the corner.

I tried to pick one of the larger ones up.

Nope, not happening.

I guess I didn’t get super strength.

Once I’d explored everything, I climbed into his bed
and  hunkered
under the covers. It wasn’t easy. I tossed and turned and shoved my head under a pillow. I wanted to scream.

I looked at the clock on the TV.
Four.
Four freaking a.m.

I was thinking about popping in another movie to watch until he got back, when someone knocked on the door. I sniffed.
Sugar cookies.
It was Kylie.

“Hey,” I found her in pink striped pajamas. “What’s wrong?”

“
Garret
’s sensing something.” She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me into living room. Good thing I’d kept my jeans on.

Quinn’s brother was sleepy eyed. His shirt was on backwards, but he was acting as cagey as I felt. “The atmosphere is off. It’s not right.”

Kylie pulled at her blonde ponytail and nodded. “I’m feeling it too.”

I waited, listening, breathing deep. The air was thick. I felt unsettled. But Quinn wasn’t here, so that’s probably why I felt funny. “Why don’t you guys go back to bed? I’ll call Quinn and see what’s up.”

“No,”
Garret
strode across the room and threw open the door, heading out of our wing. He was like a less grumpy version of his brother, right down to the shaggy brown hair. “Let’s find Flora and see what she says.”

“What about Venna?” I asked.

“She’s new like you,” Kylie said as we walked. “No offence.”

I nodded, “
It’s
okay. I’m still figuring things out. It’s only day two.”

We reached the Langley wing and went into the front room to find Venna holding Claire, who was sobbing for her mummy. Flora was up, hovering around them and trying to soothe the little girl.

Garret
braced his hands on his hips with a firm nod. “There’s proof something is really wrong.”

I eyed Claire. “Why?”

Venna rocked her, rubbing her back. “She’s very sensitive. Like a barometer for emotions.”

Flora stopped hovering around them and twirled in a circle, eyeing different parts of the room. “Does anyone else feel that?”

Prickles ran up the backs of my arms and I got the urge to run away. “Yeah, does it mean something?”

Garret
’s eyes glowed gold like Quinn’s. “Yeah, trouble. Your
spidey
senses are tingling. Better get those new claws out.”

“Nothing can get inside,” Kylie grabbed onto
Garret
. “Cool it. You’ll only freak us out.”

“I’m going to call
Henry
and see where they are.” Venna pushed to her feet, picking Claire up with her.

A rattling sound drew our attention to the far doors in the living room, leading out to a balcony overlooking the queen’s garden. “What is that?”

“Something bad.”
Flora said from behind me. “I think we should run, or phase. Phasing is good.”