The drive lasted about fifteen minutes, including a detour to the left onto a winding dirt road. The branches of the trees scraped against the sides of the car as we bounced up a gentle slope. The road ended at a small clearing, and in the center of that clearing stood a decrepit log cabin. The pane-glass windows were filmy with time and neglect. The huge logs were split and the gaps between them were chinked. A couple of rotten steps led up to a rotten porch. The faint glow of lights floated through flimsy, ragged curtains.
Surrounding the cabin was a mud pit that forced the cars to stop near the opening to the clearing. Our captors stepped out and stood beside our doors.
Darnell stepped out and walked onto the porch to the door. She gingerly knocked and stepped back.
* * *
The door swung open and a haggish head stuck of the cabin. The long, matted hair framed a wizened old face of a woman. Her clothes were tattered robes in worse condition than the clothes Darnell wore.
The old woman curled her lips back to sneer at the mayor and revealed her rotten teeth. "Whatta ya doing waking the dead with a knock like that?"
Darnell pursed her lips. I could barely hear her voice as she spoke. "You didn't hear the first, so I-" The old woman waved her hand.
"Never mind the excuses. Whadda ya want from ol' Black?"
Darnell spoke a few words I couldn't catch, but I heard Jasmine suck in her breath. "What'd she say?" I whispered.
Jasmine whipped her head to me and showed off a pair of wide eyes. "They're going to erase our memories!"
I blinked at her. "They're going to do what?"
Jasmine nodded at the old woman. "She's going to-"
"Get them out of the cars!" Darnell called to her men. Our doors opened and Jasmine and I were dragged out of the vehicle through separate sides. Only Orion was taken from the other car.
I squirmed and thrashed in the hold of my captor. "Smoky would be very ashamed of you!" I quipped.
The old woman slipped out of her home and shuffled down the steps with Darnell behind her. She jerked her head toward the left-hand corner of the cabin. "Follow me."
Jasmine and I were dragged to the rear, and Orion was hefted over one shoulder. In the back was the usual assortment of woods-living items: a block of wood and chopped kindling, a bucket of water beside a hand pump, four stockades in front of a board with a pentagram drawn on the surface, and a small tool shed that leaned to one side. While the tool shed was interesting, my attention was invariably drawn to the stockades.
The old woman stopped ten feet from the stockades and nodded at the wooden contraptions. "Put 'em in there, and mind the latches. It won't be my fault if they move and ruin the spell."
Jasmine and I were dragged over to the right ones, and Orion was carried to the far left one. The top of the stocks were lifted, but Orion's handler needed to set down his load to lift the last stock.
The moment Orion touched the ground he spun in a circle like a break-dancer. His feet kicked the legs out from beneath the were-bear and the man crashed to the ground.
The momentary excitement allowed me to reach into my pocket and pulled out the hot peppers. I flung them into the faces of Jasmine and my captor. The stinging spiciness soiled their eyes with pain. They screamed and clawed at their faces as the hot poison sank into their skin.
I grabbed Jasmine's hand and yanked her toward the front of the house. The old woman yelped and skittered back to her hovel. Darnell stepped in our path and narrowed her eyes.
"I can't let you leave," she told us.
I pushed Jasmine behind me. A bulge in my pocket told me I had one last spicy trick up my leave. "Sorry, but we're returning your invitation. This party's no fun." I grabbed the pepper and lodged my last hot grenade at her.
She stepped aside. The pepper flopped harmlessly to the ground behind her. Her eyes shone with a preternatural glow. I sheepishly grinned and stepped back as she stepped toward us. "No hard feelings."
She curled her lips back in a snarl before she leapt at us. I shoved Jasmine away and caught the wrists of her clawed hands. The force of her leap pushed me onto the ground. Darnell stuck her transforming face into mine and snapped her long teeth at me. I flipped my head left and right as we struggled to gain the upper hand.
In my life-and-death struggle I hardly noticed as my own hands took on a more primal look. My clothes stretched and tore open as my instinct to survive called forth the beast inside me. The world, once darkened with night shades, was illuminated by my fresh wolf vision.
Darnell snarled at me. I growled back. I tucked my legs against my chest and pressed my feet against her chest. A good kick and she flew across the barren property. She tumbled a couple of times before she slammed her clawed hands into the ground and stopped herself.
Darnell whipped her head up. Her yellow eyes glared daggers at me and her elongated face was full of sharp teeth that dripped with drool. I climbed onto my thickened legs and beckoned her with my finger.
She howled and lunged at me. I pushed off the ground in a forward direction. We slammed into each other. Claws and fangs bit and slashed. Hair was pulled. Lots of it. What finished her was a head butt into the gut. It knocked the air out of her. Her eyes widened before they rolled back. She dropped to her knees before she face-planted into the mud at my feet.
A clapping noise caught my attention, as did the noticeable silence in the clearing. I glanced around and saw that all four were-bears were unconscious. Three of them hung in the stocks. Orion and Jasmine stood ten feet from me beside the wooden contraptions.
Orion was the one clapping his clawed hands. "Not a bad fighting style for a reporter," he commented.
My eyes narrowed. "How long were you standing there?"
He grinned and shrugged. "Long enough to see I need to stay on your good side." I growled. He held up his hands. "Easy there. The fight's over."
My shoulders slumped and my adrenaline slipped away. I felt my body shrink back to its regularly scheduled human form. My clothes hung off me like rags. The jeans were ruined.
I looked down at myself. "Has anyone invented an outfit werewolves can wear that won't fall apart like a dry cookie?"
Orion chuckled and shook his head. "Not yet, but come on." He held his hand out to me. "Let's go call for some backup before these guys wake up and start Round Two."
22
The police cars with their police radios were a handy way to get a hold of backup. Orion seated himself in the open door to one of the vehicles, and clutched the speaker for the radio in one hand.
He flipped a switch on the box and cleared his throat. "Attention all cars, be on the lookout for a suspect driving a fast fridge." He paused and grinned at us. "I've always wanted to say that."
I slapped my hand over my face and dragged it down. "Seriously?"
A crackling noise warned us of an impending reply. "Who the hell is this?"
Orion's humor slipped from his face. "This is Orion. I need you guys to get up here and arrest the mayor and a couple of your buddies."
"Orion? What the hell are you doing with one of our radios?" the operator questioned him.
Orion glanced over the car and brushed his hand over the dashboard. "I've got the rest of the car here, too, but you guys have to get up here and take it."
The operator growled. "You've gone too far this time, Orion. Get one of our men on the radio ASAP."
Orion smiled and shook his head. "No-can-do. Just get up here before your buddies decide to wake up."
"Orion, what the-" Orion flipped the switch and replaced the speaker in its rightful place.
Orion stood and shut the door. "Now we wait."
A few minutes later the sounds of sirens filled the air. Four police cars, the entire rest of the squad, arrived on the scene. The passenger side of the front car opened, and out stepped Chief Orso. He held a cane in one hand and limped over to us.
His stern eyes swept over each of us and stopped on Orion. "So you know?"
Orion
pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah."
"How much?"
Orion studied his old friend. "Everything except how much you knew."
The chief's face fell. "More than I should have for as little as I did, but first, where are they?"
Orion jerked his head toward the corner of the house. "Back there."
Orso glanced over his shoulder at his men. "Go to the back and put everyone you find in the cars. All of them." They nodded and hurried around back. He returned his attention to us and pursed his lips. "The mayor told me she wanted to keep this hushed up to prevent a panic, but I suspected there was something deeper than that, so I dug deeper." He grasped the cane in both hands and sighed. "Turns out the guy that was infected was her brother."
Our little group started back. "Her brother?" I repeated.
Orso nodded. "Yeah, her big brother. He caught the Sickness in some city in the east and instinct brought him this way to find his sister. That's why the mayor was the first one to catch it."
"And the mayor found out you knew," Orion guessed.
Orso pursed his lips. "Yeah. I met her in the woods near where Barrett likes to go hunting. I told her what I knew. The conversation got pretty heated. Then her brother came out of the woods and attacked me." He ran a hand through his hair. "Probably thought I was attacking her or something."
"What about the wolf's bane on your hand when you shook hands with Orion?" I spoke up.
The chief dropped his hand and shook his head. "That wasn't there for Orion. I put it on my hands to ward off the Sickness. I've been fooling with the stuff for so long I guess I worked up an immunity stronger than Orion's."
Orion smiled. "I guess I'll have to work on getting better at that stuff."
The chief sighed and hung his head. "Anyway, that probably makes you caught up with everything I know."
Orion nodded. "Yeah, and it puts you in the middle of a big mess."
A small smile slid onto the chief's lips. "It's something I deserve, and I'll let the Council decide what to do with me."
At that moment the officers came around the corner. Between them were their mostly-naked human coworkers and the mayor. They pulled them into the cars and shut the door.
One of the deputies came up to the chief. "What do we charge them with?"
The chief's eyes flickered to Orion. "The same thing you have to charge me with. Public endangerment, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy."
The deputy tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow. "Chief?"
Orso held out his hands with his wrists pressed close together. "You heard me, deputy. Cuff me and I'll give you my testimony at the station."
His deputy frowned, but placed handcuffs on the chief. He led Orso toward the car. Orion stepped forward. "Orso." Orso paused in front of one of the doors to a police car and glanced over his shoulder. Orion smiled. "Remember all those times I got you into trouble?"
A crooked smile slipped onto Orso's lips and he nodded. "Yeah, and I got you out."
"We'll switch places this time," Orion told him. "So that means don't get comfortable in that cell."
Orso chuckled. "Damn. I hear those beds are pretty nice, too." He turned away and slipped into the car.
The officer closed the door and turned to us. "Looks like you'll need a lift. Where to?"
Jasmine looked from Orion to me. "My dad-" Orion smiled and patted her shoulder.
"We'll go take him to the hospital now," he assured her.
We borrowed one of the unused police vehicles and drove back to the junkyard. Jerry still lay where Darnell had dropped him.
"Dad!" Jasmine yelled as she leapt out of the car and rushed over to him. She knelt by his side and shook him. "Dad, wake up!"
A soft groan escaped his lips and his eyes flickered open. "Jasmine, please do not be so loud. You will never find a husband if you are so noisy."
She laughed and hugged him. Orion and I walked up behind them. My mate knelt beside her. "He's got some bad bruises. Let's get him up and to the hospital."
Orion helped Jerry to the car and we drove to the hospital. We were met by the same doctor who tried to keep us quarantined.
I glared at him. "Don't try it again. I know were-fu now."
He shook his head.. "I've just been informed that the mayor's orders have been revoked."
"Could you help my dad?" Jasmine spoke up. "He caught the Sickness."
The doctor smiled at her and nodded. "It looks like someone administered the antidote to him, but I'd be glad to help." The doctor led father and daughter away.
I glanced at Orion as we left the hospital. "So are you going to tell me?"
He arched an eyebrow. "About what?"
"About that crazy old woman at the cabin," I reminded him. "She said something about casting a spell, and Jazz made it sound like serious stuff."
We paused on either side of the car. Orion set his arms on the top and grinned at me. "Do you really want to know?"
I mimicked his movements. "Am I a reporter?"
He chuckled. "You must be. I don't know of anyone else who can get into this much trouble this fast." He ducked into the car and I followed. We shut the doors and he turned to me. "Did you ever believe in any paranormal stuff before you came here?"
I snorted. "Not anything I wasn't willing to attach my byline to." Orion stared ahead at the hospital and furrowed his brow. I leaned forward to catch his attention. "There's not just were-people here, is there?"
He shook his head. "No. We've got quite a few different-um, people here."
"Namely witches?" I guessed.
He nodded. "Yeah, and a lot of them."
I arched an eyebrow. "So why are they here?"
He smiled and glanced at me. "The same reason you are. The tree."
I leaned back into my seat and folded my arms. "That's one strange tree."
He chuckled and started the car. "You have no idea."
I sighed and slid down my seat. "Witches. Were-people. Politics. What next? A mole-man running for mayor?"
Orion smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Don't tempt them."
I shook my head. "For once I don't want to know." I glanced out the window at the dark world of god-awful-early morning. "So now what?"
He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I don't know, but I could really go for a midnight snack."
I glanced at my watch. "I don't think anybody's going to be open at one in the morning."
He grinned. "You'd be surprised."
23
I wasn't too surprised when he drove me to Mab's place. I stepped out of the car and looked down at my tattered clothes. "Should we go in looking like this?"
Orion looped his arm threw mine and led me to the door. "There might not be much left of them, but we've still got shirts and jeans on."
The lights were on and somebody was home, namely the black cat. It sat on the counter as we walked through the front door.
Orion walked up and patted its head. "Why don't you go fetch us a couple of glasses of water?"
The black creature hissed and leapt down. It scurried its dark rear into the kitchen as we slipped onto a couple of stools at the counter.
I wagged my finger at Orion. "You shouldn't piss off the business mascot. It might come back to bite you in the ass."
He leaned his elbows on the counter and chuckled. "It has before, but here comes our water."
Mab walked through the doorway from the kitchen. In each hand was a tall glass of chocolate milkshake, and on her face was a sly smile. Two straws stuck out of the brown mixture. She set them down in front of us.
Orion straightened and leaned back. He arched an eyebrow and glanced from glass to waitress. "What are these for?"
She chuckled. "A celebration for the victors."
I blinked at her. "Victors?
Orion frowned. "You know I don't like sweet things."
Her eyes flickered to me. "I thought perhaps you had changed your mind." She returned her att
ention to Orion and pushed the glass closer to him. "But why not give it a try? It's been a few years since you had one."
He pushed it away. "Maybe another time."
She shrugged and pulled out her pad and pencil. "Suit yourself. What kind of fries would you like with your hamburgers?"
"Plain," Orion replied.
I raised my hand. "I'd like an explanation."
Mab scribbled her pencil across the pad. "One plain, and one curly. Your orders will be ready in a few minutes." She turned away from us and strode into the kitchen.
I stretched out my hand to her. "Hey, wait-" She disappeared. I turned to my companion.
He hunched down and studied the contents of the milkshake. "I wouldn't put it past her to put a sour gumball in one of these. . ."
I leaned forward and caught Orion's attention. I pointed a finger at where Mab had gone. "Mind telling me what that was about?"
A smile teased the corners of his lips and he shrugged. "It's a small town. News travels fast." He leaned forward and took a dainty sip of the drink. His nose wrinkled and he pushed the milkshake away. "Nope, still bad."
I took a sip of mine and frowned at him. "It tastes fine."
He shook his head. "Nope, bad."
"Fine."
"Bad."
"Fine."
Orion leaned toward me and caught my lips in a searing kiss. He pulled away, leaving me breathless and flushed. My mischievous mate grinned. "Bad."
I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth, but Mab came from the kitchen. In her hands was a tray with burgers and fries. She set down the food between us and smiled. "Enjoy your supper before your fight gets cold."
"It was a friendly disagreement," Orion argued as he picked up a fry and chewed on it.
Mab smiled and turned away. "No doubt."
She left us to our food which was scarfed down at a new land-speed record. A few minutes later I leaned back and patted my stomach. Our tray was devoid of all but the paper wrappings and some grease.
Orion tipped his head back and downed the rest of his water. He smacked his lips and sighed. "Mab sure does know how to serve a good meal."
"We should compliment the cook," I pointed out.
He grinned. "Maybe another time. For now, what do you say about a walk beneath the moonlight? Just to get our minds cleared."
I snorted. "I don't think that'd be a good idea."