Burning Both Ends

  “Let’s walk. I’m not eager to go back inside.” Ari hunched her shoulders against a chill that was more mental than physical. She had to get away from the overwhelming anxiety in the Magic Hall.

  “Do you mind if I ask why you’re really here?” Lilith asked, looking at Ryan. “The anonymous call didn’t work for me.”

  “Andreas asked him to come,” Ari said, with an instant frown. “But let’s not talk about Andreas or what’s going on in Toronto. Not right now.”

  Lilith accepted the brush off on that topic but came back with a new one. “OK, then who’s working with the kidnapper? It’s one of the wolf leaders, isn’t it?”

  Ari elbowed the lioness. “You’ve been itching to ask that, haven’t you? But it sure looks that way. I don’t know which. Every one of them has done something suspicious but nothing decisive.”

  “I didn’t like Robert’s attitude,” Ryan said.

  “Vita was really pissed about the phones,” Lilith offered. “And Warren seemed worried about what we might find on his. Didn’t you think that was odd?”

  "I don't suppose we could take just a quick peek?" Ari suggested, glancing at Ryan.

  He gave her his cop look. "That's why they're going in my trunk."

  Ari sighed and silently scuffed her boot against the sidewalk. They were going over the same facts and speculation, getting nowhere. She looked up at the cloudless sky of a crisp, fall morning. It was close to eight o’clock. Even if the Council president brought in a new negotiator at noon or took over the negotiations himself, the kidnapper wouldn’t know since she’d taken the phones. That should give her nine hours—until the 5:00 p.m. phone call. So far he’d been prompt.

  Her cell rang, and Ari sworn under her breath when she looked at caller ID.

  “Is it too early to call?” asked a familiar voice. “He still isn’t here. I went outside and looked all around. What do I do now?”

  “Claris.” Ari grimaced. Ryan gave her a sympathetic shake of the head and took off for his car, which was only a dozen yards up the street.

  Ari covered the phone with her hand. “Hey, Ryan! Don’t get lost. OK?” With all the men in her life missing—first Steffan, now Andreas, even the damned cat, she thought a little caution was called for.

  He looked startled, then grinned and waved.

  She turned her attention back to the phone. “Have you called the shelters yet?”

  When Claris admitted she hadn’t, Ari bit her lip to stop herself from snapping at her friend. “Then try them first. Have you asked Brando to help you look?” If he wasn’t helping her, he should be. That’s what boyfriends were for. Then Ari wouldn’t keep getting these calls.

  “He’s out of town at one of his wizard conventions. Oh, Ari, when will you be home? I’m really worried. What would Yana think if she knew I’d lost her cat?”

  So that’s what was making Claris crazy. Guilt that she’d let down a dead friend. A sense of responsibility. Ari understood the responsibility part, and she heard the misery in her friend’s voice, but she couldn’t abandon the men to go looking for a cat. Even Hernando. She had to tell Claris the truth.

  “You know Yana would understand. Cats wander off. Don’t make yourself sick over this.” She took a deep breath and kept her voice matter of fact. “Actually, Claris, I didn’t want to worry you, but I’ve been back in town since yesterday looking for Steffan. I can’t go into all the details, but he’s been kidnapped by a rival wolf pack.” Close enough to the truth. She didn’t mention Andreas or that he was also missing. She didn’t want Claris frantic with worry over so many things she couldn’t do anything about. On the other hand, she didn’t want her best friend to feel she was being ignored.

  “Kidnapped? Oh God, Ari, you should have told me. I keep bothering you about Hernando. You must think I’m a heartless ninny.”

  In spite of the really bad timing, her terminology made Ari smile. “Never heartless, and far from a ninny. You had no way of knowing about Steffan. As soon as he’s found, I’ll call you, and we’ll look for Hernando together. In the meantime, keep checking around, and don’t give up hope. He’ll turn up. Hernando knows how to take care of himself.”

  Not a bad pep talk, Ari thought, as she ended the call. She should remember it when she started obsessing about Andreas. He, too, knew how to take care of himself. Of course he did, didn’t he?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Having successfully dealt with Claris and refusing to dwell on her fears for Andreas, Ari switched gears back to Steffan. She called Gilbert for an update. “Any word from our trackers?”

  “The van went back to the farm house to meet the other van. A big argument took place, then they got back in the vans and left. Steffan seems to be in a van with five wolves, including the guy in the robe. For now the vans are staying together, and my guys are following them in two Jeeps. If the vans split up, we’ll try to follow both.”

  “If you’re forced to choose vans, follow Steffan.”

  “That order is already given,” Gilbert said. “Steffan is our main interest.”

  “What about the tigers tracking the third group on foot? Did they ever go to Steffan’s place?”

  “No, and we don’t know where they are. In order for the tigers to call us one would have to stop and shift into human form. I don’t figure they’ve had a chance, so that group of wolves must still be on the move.”

  “I guess they figured out Steffan’s house was a decoy.”

  “Or maybe someone told them, like Fagan. We still don’t know where he is or if he’s working with them.” She heard Gilbert shuffling his feet on the other end of the line. “I don’t like the guy, but I never figured he’d get involved in something like this.”

  “We don’t know that he is. No one’s seen him with any of the groups of kidnappers. Gilbert, these guys act really disorganized, as if they’re making it up as they go along. The only thing I’m sure of, is that part, if not all, of our plan was compromised. If they’re aware we’re watching them, what looks like erratic behavior may be false trails.”

  The shuffling feet stopped. “But which ones?”

  “I don’t know, and that’s exactly what they intended.” Ari pursed her lips. “They’re hoping we’ll chase the wrong group. We have to stay focused on Steffan’s van, and be careful they don’t pull a switch on us.”

  Gilbert suddenly sucked in his breath. “Unless they want us to follow Steffan. Could they have a bigger plan in mind? If they know everything, including where the leaders are staying, would they attack the Magic Hall?”

  Holy crap! Watching Steffan’s van might not be enough!

  “We’ll warn the tiger leader at the Hall. Just in case.” Ari glanced at Lilith, who was already thumbing her phone. “Lilith’s doing it now. I hope this guy isn’t a step ahead of us again. Could that be where your buddy Fagan fits in? He’d be familiar with the Magic Hall.” If the Council was attacked and the occupants harmed or captured, the consequences would be shattering to the entire Otherworld community.

  While Lilith was on the phone issuing the warning, Ari and Gilbert talked it over.

  “Got an extra team itching for action.” Gilbert’s voice was harsh. “We’re leaving for the Magic Hall now, and will meet you there. If it’s Fagan, I have first dibs on his traitorous hide.”

  “If it’s all the same to you,” Ari said, “I hope we don’t get that kind of action today.”

  Lilith and Ari covered the block and a half toward the Hall at a ground-eating lope. Ari’s breathing and her legs settled into a regular rhythm, and for the first time in hours, she was in tune with her body again. She stretched her muscles to increase the speed and sensed a responsive steadying of her witch blood. Like Gilbert’s team, she was itching for action.

  As they reached the hall doors, her cell rang, and her plans changed again.

  “The vans have separated,” Gilbert reported. “The one carrying Steffan is headed north taking the back roads, and one of the Jeeps is in
pursuit. The other van seems to be driving around aimlessly but the other Jeep is right behind. And I just heard from the tigers. Their group transferred to a pickup truck and is also headed north in a hurry. They took the interstate, and that’s where the tigers lost them. But, Ari, it seemed timed and coordinated.”

  “Not so erratic after all. North. Where are they going?” she muttered to herself. The second van could be trying to shake their trackers, but Steffan’s van and the pickup were driving north.

  Obviously the wolves knew the farmhouse was compromised and had abandoned it. So where would they take Steffan? Not too far, in case they had to produce him again, but somewhere the kidnapper thought she wouldn’t look—somewhere north.

  Yes, that could be the answer! She wouldn’t be expected to look where she’d already been. The resort at Galena. The cabins were empty, remote—and paid for. It was worth a look.

  “Gilbert, keep two men with you and send the rest of your team to the Magic Hall. Right now I can’t see that anyone is headed there, but until we know what van two is doing and where Fagan is, I’d rather play it safe. Lilith and I will pick you up in a few minutes. Watch for a silver Lexus. I think I know where we can find Steffan.”

  They arranged to meet at an exit on the highway. Ari was risking a lot on a gut feeling, but it was more than that, her witch senses were humming. The magic was never wrong.

  About the time the Lexus and its five occupants reached the interstate, Ari’s cell rang yet again. Zoe, the Guardian from Toronto, this time. Ari stifled a spark of irritation. By the Goddess, now what?

  “I know you’re busy,” Zoe started, “but Russell insisted I call.”

  Great. Couldn’t anyone wait today?

  “I think I know where Andreas and Gabriel are or rather what they’ve been doing. It would explain why he failed to attend an emergency meeting of our Magic Council, even after he promised me he’d to be there.” Zoe expelled an impatient huff. “Sorry, I should start at the beginning. Early last night I told Andreas about two murders from the night before. Humans. They’d been drained by vampires. The kind of thing we haven’t seen in years. He agreed to discuss it with the Council, but when I called the compound two hours later with the time and place of the meeting, I learned he’d gone out. I left a message; he never showed. He must have gone after the rogue vampires. If there was a fight…maybe something happened to him.”

  “He’s not dead, Zoe.” If Ari said it enough, she might rid herself of that niggling doubt. She paid little attention to the rest of the conversation, trying to keep her head and her heart from jumping to wild conclusions. She clung to that tiny spark of magic she could still feel.

  * * *

  The sun was high overhead and the Lexus was thirty minutes from the resort, when Gilbert’s cell rang. The caller’s news brought an immediate scowl.

  “Is anyone hurt?” Gilbert demanded. “We’ll be right there.” He disconnected. “They lost Steffan’s van. A black truck deliberately broadsided them, but it sounds like everyone’s OK.”

  “The other wolves,” she said.

  “Yep, looks that way.”

  With Gilbert providing directions, Ari followed the country roads until they found his wolf pack pulling the Jeep out of a ditch. The vehicle had been hit at the driver’s side front wheel, spinning it out of control. Now the engine refused to turn over, and the Jeep would have to be towed. Considering the amount of damage, it was surprising the pickup had been able to drive away.

  Once Gilbert was assured no one was seriously injured, the wolves pointed out the direction where the van had gone, and Ari’s car took up the chase. The only bright spot in her morning came a few minutes later when they passed the disabled pickup truck about five miles north. From the looks of the fluids pooling under the engine, the wolves sitting on the side of the ditch were out of the fight. Ari debated whether to stop and try to question them, but her decision was made when the wolves began to haul rifles out of the truck. Lilith gave them a one-fingered salute; Ari swung the car wide around them and tromped on the gas.

  Her momentary satisfaction over the wolves' plight vanished when she realized Steffan’s fate now rested solely on her hunch. The truck had done its job. The van with Steffan inside had gotten away clean, and if Ari was wrong, there wouldn’t be enough time to correct the error. The leaders would be forced to bow to the kidnappers’ demands or let Steffan die. And he might die anyway.

  Ari’s heart was pounding in her ears. She pulled over and rested her hands and head on the steering wheel. “I need a moment,” she whispered.

  Lilith gave her a sympathetic look, but the three wolves in the back seemed mystified by her behavior. Ari didn’t care. She needed to get in touch with her inner witch, to be confident in what her senses were telling her.

  Entering the trance she’d been performing since childhood, she found the light, the center of her witch magic, and absorbed the calm, drawing from deep inside.

  * * *

  Forty minutes later, Ari and her companions approached the log cabins by hiking through the surrounding woods. The dry leaves underfoot and the roll of chains they'd purchased at a local hardware store made stealth difficult. When they spotted two wolf guards, Ari's group froze, and she smothered a gasp of satisfaction. She’d counted on them being here. Still.

  She motioned Gilbert toward one of the sentries, waited until he was in position, then hit the first guard with two rapid stuns of witch fire. He keeled over without a sound. The other guard was simultaneously subdued by Gilbert, and both were securely chained.

  Ari, Lilith, and Gilbert crept quietly toward the five cabins, leaving the other wolves behind. Gilbert pointed to the familiar van parked behind one of the cabins. Steffan was here. Since it was the only vehicle in sight, the number of kidnappers would be small. Four wolves had entered the van with Steffan along with their leader; two were now in custody. Three against three. Good odds.

  Gilbert slipped inside the nearest cabin and exited promptly, shaking his head. He moved toward the next, when a window shattered on cabin four. The barrel of a shotgun appeared.

  Ari and the lycanthropes scrambled for cover.

  “Is that you, Guardian?" the wolf leader called through the broken window. "Damn persistent, aren’t you? Take your people and clear out. You can’t shoot your way in here without risking Steffan’s life.”

  “It’s over for you,” she responded. “We have your guards in chains, and the cabin is surrounded.”

  He laughed. “Surrounded by three? I have the advantage—I have Steffan.” He was unruffled. The man had a cool head, not easily rattled. If he wasn’t a kidnapper, she might have liked him.

  “What’s your point?” Ari asked. “You’re not going anywhere, and we can wait all day.”

  He made no immediate response. Was he assessing, adapting again? It’s what he’d done every step of the way. A full minute passed, then two. Maybe he was through talking. The idea of a prolonged standoff was not appealing.

  “Guardian? Are my wolves alive?”

  “I told you they were.”

  “If I send Steffan out, will you let them go?”

  “I don’t see that you’re in any position to bargain,” she countered. She and Lilith exchanged looks. What was he up to? Was he actually agreeing to a peaceful resolution?

  “I’m trying to save lives here,” the kidnapper said. “You said it yourself in the park. No one else needs to die.”

  “Then we agree on something. So you’re willing to surrender and return Steffan unharmed if we let the others go? Is that the deal?”

  He laughed, a deep roar of genuine amusement. “I don’t believe I said anything about surrendering. You’ll have to come and get me, Guardian. But only after the others, including Steffan, are safely out of the way. Do we have a deal or not?”

  She frowned. Did he really think he could get away? Or was this an honor thing, a suicide by cop? Her first thought was to ensure the safety of her friend and worry ab
out the bad guy later. To hell with it. She didn’t need a second thought.

  “Deal,” she said. “When we’re both ready, you send Steffan out first.”

  “Bring up the prisoners and unchain them,” Ari told Gilbert. He motioned to his pack mates, and the two chained wolves shuffled forward until they stood sullenly beside her. While Gilbert unlocked the chains, Lilith drew her guns to cover the prisoners.

  “We’re ready,” Ari called.

  The cabin door opened, and Steffan stepped out. He was in human form, his face set in tired lines, his red hair rumpled. He looked unharmed. A black wolf stood on either side.

  “Stop right there,” the kidnapper shouted. “OK, Guardian, send my wolves over.”

  Lilith guns stayed trained on them as they started walking toward the cabin.

  “Now, my men are going to shift into wolf form,” the voice continued, “and the four of them will leave unharmed. Steffan will join you.”

  “Works for me.”

  By the time she finished talking, the enemy wolves were already trotting into the woods, and Steffan was half-way across the clearing. As he drew close, Gilbert pulled him to safety behind a tree. Ari looked over and gave Steffan a big thumbs-up. He grinned back.

  The crash of breaking glass jerked her attention to the cabin, and she charged forward, dashing around the back corner of the building in time to see a large grey wolf, his fur tipped with white, disappear into the brush. Ari sent a blue stunner arcing after him, but it thudded harmlessly against a maple tree. Gilbert and his wolves ran past her, racing toward the woods. They spread out in a v-shaped chase pattern, but Ari doubted they’d find anything. The four guard wolves had too much of a head start, and the leader had timed his departure to the instant Steffan reached them, giving him a second or two of advantage. It would be enough. Did a tiny part of her think that would be OK? Not really, but he’d revealed a strong, pragmatic side that made her think he would no longer be a danger to Steffan or the coalition. He’d lost the war of wills. A bitter punishment for such a man.