When my head quit feeling quite so breakable, I looked upand Asil handed me a glass of water from the bathroom. I drank the whole thing and felt better.
Dont worry, he told me when I handed him the empty glass. I expect the effect is temporary. Itll probably go away once the silver is out of your system entirely. He touched my lips, a light, quick touch that didnt allow me time to react.
He showed me his fingertipswhich were red, as if hed put his fingers in a flame. I touched my lips, too, remembering how black they were.
They used to use colloidal silver in nose drops for people with asthma or bad allergies, he told me. People who used them regularly sometimes had their skin turn bluethere is a man who ran for the Montana Senate who is blue-skinned. I thought your lips were from lipstickthough you are a little older than most of the young ladies wearing black makeup.
I stared at him in horror.It wont go away, I told him. Im not a werewolf, my body wont reject silver the same way yours does. Gabriels little sister, Rosa, had done a report in school about a girl whose skin had turned gray when she was a teenager back in the fifties and nothing anyone had tried had made any improvement. Id proofread it for her.
I scrambled to my feet and went into the bathroom to look at the mirror again. I took a washcloth and scrubbed at my lips, but they stayed black.
Asil didnt follow me into the bathroom, but he stood at the door.
You told Armstrong that you think this was aimed at the werewolves.
Dont you? I asked.
Asil shook his head.It doesnt matter what I think. Lets look at the world through their eyes a moment. If Adam did exactly as they asked him to, what would be the result?
They kill the pack anywaycant have witnesses. Theyd kill Adam, so he doesnt kill them. The senators dead or wounded by werewolves. The people who think the only good werewolf is a dead werewolf would have more power. I ticked them off on my fingers, then said, Kyle and I, Adam and I, and just I have gone through this a hundred times.
Okay, Asil said. The rogue Cantrip agents like the last part, the one that lets them go hunting werewolves. Maybe they like the dead senator part, too. Campbell has been standing between them and their kill-em-all hunting license for a long time. But who is after Adam or the pack? You think they are the ones this is aimed atso who benefits?
Shouldnt we do this part downstairs? I asked, my throat tight. I didnt want to go over and over how much danger Adam and the pack were inI knew. We were discussing this with Armstrong.
Asil shook his head.What happens if Adam and the pack are gone?
I bared my teeth at him.I go out for revengeI dont do peanut butter much anymore. But if they arent afraid of the pack, they arent going to be afraid of me. Bran is scarierbut they probably dont know about Bran.
Maybe they do, said Asil. Maybe theyre after Bran.
They knew about Gerry Wallaces silver/DMSO/ketamine cocktail, I conceded. They knew every wolf in the pack. Maybe they do know about Bran.
Mercy? Kyle called up from the floor below. Are you through telling the werewolf all the things we mere mortals shouldnt know, yet? Im making breakfast, and the suns coming up.
What were you planning on doing next before Agent Armstrong and I arrived? asked Asil.
I was going to go to get Adams people, the ones who work for his company, to see if they can figure out where the money is coming from. See if they can tell if it is government money or private. I was going to the vampires to see if they knew anything about where someone might be holding a pack of werewolvesthey run this towns supernaturals like the mob ran Chicago back in the day. There was something else. Something I was supposed to be remembering. Damn it, I said, diving for my dirty, bloody jeans. Tad. Damn it.
I pulled out Gabriels sisters phone and saw that Id missed callsand had twenty new text messages. There were fifteen calls exactly one half hour apart from a number I didnt know. I didnt bother to read the text messages, just dialed the strange number. Tad answered.
So, he said grumpily without waiting for me to say anything. I take it youre dead? Because, otherwise, there is no excuse for guilting me into sitting outside in winter watching the most boring family on earth for more than a whole day. They started sending out the kids with cocoa yesterday about two in the afternoon. Dinner was homemade burritos with Spanish rice and refried beansand almost good enough to forgive you for making me think you might be dead.
How did they know you were there? I asked.
I knocked on the door to use the bathroom. Figured it was safer than leaving them to be slaughtered by enemy government agents while I went out to find the nearest gas station. There was a pause. You all right?
No, I told him honestly, closing my eyes. Not at all. Adams still gone. They had a few men here at Kyles
Thats Warrens boyfriend, right?
Right. Anyway Ben, I, and Stefanmostly Stefangot Kyle out of their clutches but spent the day at the police department answering questions.
Good for Stefan.
I rubbed my eyes and thought.I think the best thing to do might be to grab Gabriel and Jesse and bring them back here. There are police keeping an eye out on Kyles house, and Adams team is running security. I looked at Asil, and askedAre you planning on staying here with us?
He nodded.Until Adam is found, yes.
Okay, did you hear that, Tad? I have one of Brans wolves here to help out, too.
I dont have a car, Tad told me. I hiked over. Youll have to come get them yourself.
No worries. Ill be over in about fifteen minutes. I opened my mouth to ask if he would consider helping us further but closed it again because hed been standing guard all day.
If Kyle has an extra bed in his mansion, Tad said, Ill catch a few winks of sleep there, and Ill help you until this is finished. He paused, too. Im sorry Ive been a jerk. Life hasnt been a bed of roses lately, but I dont have to take it out on you.
Sure you do, I told him. Who else would listen to it? Ill be over as soon as I can.
I clicked the phone off.
Ill come with you, Asil said. They know where you arewhich makes you the shiniest target.
Fine, I said. If we leave Ben here, there will be room in Marsilias car.
Asil looked at me.Your vampire friend is Marsilia? Mistress of the TriCities seethe?
I snorted.Dont be silly. Marsilia hates me and would love to see me rot in Hell. I stole her car so that the bad guys couldnt find meand because I wrecked my car. Bens already bled all over her Mercedes, though, so a few more miles on the odometer wont make her any madder. I caught sightof Ben. He was watching me intently and told me as clearly as he could without words that he didnt intend to be left behind.
You need to change back, I told him. Youve been shot and dragged all over the place, and youve been wolf for nearly two days. Time to change back and rest up. All Im doing is picking up Jesse and Gabriel and coming back here. Bran sent Asil over to be useful, so he will be and, unless Im much mistaken, well also have an escort of Adams finest trained professionals to make sure I make it back safely.
Ill keep her safe, Asil told Ben solemnly.
Besides, I said, Id like to leave Kyle with some real backup in case something happens.
It was the truthand that one worked. Ben liked Kyleand Ben didnt like very many people.
6
ADAM
Fear was a familiar friend. Adam sometimes thought that hed been afraid since hed stepped on the bus that took him to basic training all those years ago. And the older he got, the more he had to fear. Right now, he was afraid for Mercy, who didnt have the sense to be afraid for herself.