Silver (Wicked Woods #3) (6 page)

“We snagged them on the edge of town,” Brian replied. “No problems.”

Briony couldn’t contain herself. “But-”

“If it helps,” Josh said, “they are some of the ones who help Pietre and his like.”

“No, it
doesn’t
help. What are you going to do? Just feed them to Jake. He’l
kill
them.”

Josh shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Briony couldn’t believe that he could be so cal ous.

She looked past him to Jake, in the hope that he at least would be sensible about this, but his eyes were red with the hunger, and they didn’t so much as flicker from the two humans he’d been brought.

“No,” Briony found herself saying. “I won’t let you do this. I’l -”

Josh nodded to his brother. “Brian.”

The werewolves were quick. Briony had to give them that. They grabbed one of her arms each and lifted her without effort, hauling her from the room. Brian held her pinned against the far wal as Josh let go.

“You wanted your brother wel . This,” a muffled cry came from the other room, “is how he gets wel . We don’t like doing this kind of thing, but those two are our enemies.

Now, you can stand there, or you can go outside, but do
not
try to tel me that this wasn’t the only option.”

Briony knew she couldn’t stand there. Knew she couldn’t stay thinking about what had to be happening just the other side of that door, so she hurried outside. Maybe she could find Kevin. Maybe he could help her stop this madness before…

She turned the corner of the house to see a scene of utter carnage. Wolves snarled and snapped at one another as they scrabbled over the remains of something.

Something large and red and bloody. For a moment, Briony’s heart leapt into her mouth. It wasn’t… it couldn’t be human.

It wasn’t. Another second’s scrutiny made it clear that it was just a deer, but even so, the scene was a terrible that it was just a deer, but even so, the scene was a terrible one. Was Kevin in there somewhere? Even if he wasn’t, other people she had met would be. Unable to take it anymore, Briony ran back around to the porch, huddling down on it as she tried to get the images out of her head.

She tried not to think about what her own brother had to be doing at that moment. She put her head in her hands, trying to drive the thoughts out, and stayed huddled in that position until the yipping of the wolves faded.

“Briony?” It was Kevin. Briony wasn’t sure that she could look at him right then. “Briony, what’s wrong?”

Briony shook her head. “Just… Did you want something, Kevin?”

Kevin walked over to Briony and folded her into his arms. “You look a little pale. Is there something…”

Briony forced herself not to say anything about what Josh had just done. Either Kevin would lash out on her behalf, and that would get them both kil ed, or he wouldn’t see the problem, and that would be far worse. Better to ignore it. Better to pretend it didn’t happen. Even if it did.

“I’m fine, Kevin. Real y I am. Maybe just shaken up a little from the battle, but I’m okay now.” She looked directly into Kevin’s eyes. “You wanted to tel me something?”

“Josh wants us.”

“What does he want?”

“He says that if you want to prove yourself, you might get the chance. It seems that Carol is alive.”

It wasn’t easy, going back in there after what Briony knew had happened. It wasn’t easy seeing Josh standing there like everything was normal. It certainly was not easy having to look Jake in the eye after what Briony suspected he had done. Yet she didn’t dare ask him outright. He was her brother, and she loved him, but she wasn’t about to ask if he was kil ing people now. It was a coward’s way out, and Briony knew it, but if it was the only way to be able to stay in the same room as her own brother, it was the one she was going to take.

Not that there would have been time to ask him anyway. No sooner had Briony arrived in the werewolves’

living room than Josh started to speak, addressing a rag tag crowd of his people who fil ed most of the space.

“One of us managed to creep close to the spot where we now know the vampires have their lair,” he said.

“They managed to get close enough to see a number of survivors of the battle being taken inside. My sister Carol was among them.”

That got no response beyond a ready silence.

Everyone in the room clearly knew what their king was going to say next.

“We cannot just leave them there. Any of them. We wil be leaving for their lair as soon as possible.”

“Why so soon?” Kevin asked.

Josh stared at him. “You think I am going to leave my sister in there one minute longer than necessary?”

“What I mean is shouldn’t we be coming up with a plan?”

“That is why you and the hunter are here.” Josh turned his gaze to Briony. “You have been inside the lair, correct?”

Briony nodded. She stil didn’t trust what she would say if she tried to speak to Josh right then.

“Then you wil guide us inside. Once there, we wil retrieve our people and escape.”

“What about the vampires?” It was Jake who asked.

“He’s right,” Briony said. “There wil be a lot of them inside, particularly if they have prisoners.”

Josh shrugged. “There aren’t enough of us for an al -

out battle now, so we’l try to avoid them. If we can’t… wel , we wil see how good with that silver blade of yours you are, won’t we?”

Briony nodded, and that seemed to settle it, though it al seemed to be moving far too quickly for her liking. So soon after losing a major battle, and they were already planning to attack the vampires’ home?

“You don’t have to go, you know,” Kevin said softly as the others rushed about, trying to get ready. “I know the way to their lair just as wel as you do. Better, probably.”

Briony shook her head. “Do you real y think Josh would leave me here on my own? Besides, Jake is rushing around with the rest of them, and I’m not going to let my little brother run into something when I won’t.”

“Your incredibly tough, half-vampire little brother.”

“Yes.”

Something of the tension Briony felt at being reminded of what Jake was again must have seeped through, because Kevin put a hand on her shoulder. “What is it?”

“I saw the wolves feeding outside.”

“Not much in the way of table manners, were there?”

Briony didn’t dare explain about what had happened inside, not at a time like this, so she forced a smile. “No, not real y. I suppose I’d better ask Josh for my sword back now, if we’re going to get going.”

The werewolf king gave it back to her without any problems. In fact, there wasn’t so much as a hint of what had gone before. He gave her the weapon, and then walked off casual y to talk to Jake. Even Brian seemed calm enough about the whole thing, though Briony noticed that he was quick to suggest that Briony should ride on his back to the vampires’ house.

Briony shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but Kevin wil take me.”

It seemed like the quickest way to make it clear where Brian stood. Besides, Briony already knew what Kevin would say if she suggested that someone else carry her.

It didn’t take long to get ready. In fact, within fifteen minutes, they were speeding back through the forest. The wolves ran as one coordinated pack, a furry wedge with Josh’s powerful form at the front. Jake rode one of the others, not daring to transform until he needed to. For her part, Briony just did her best to cling onto Kevin as the werewolf ate up ground with frightening speed. There was something exhilarating about being caught up in the moving flow of so many creatures like this, something primal. It was almost enough to make Briony forget about what she had seen of the pack’s other side.

Eventual y, they slowed, and a few of the werewolves changed back. Josh looked untroubled by the thought of what lay ahead, even in clothes that were ragged from the transformation. Kevin stayed as a wolf.

“They should just be on the other side of the trees,”

Josh said. “Jake, it’s time to do your stuff.”

“Stuff?” Briony wasn’t sure that she liked the sound of that. “What stuff?”

Josh moved so that he could peer between the trees. “Jake has offered to go in and fetch the captives for us. It seems like a better plan than al of us trying to sneak in.”

“A better plan?” Briony echoed. “They know who he is, Josh. They’l have seen him fighting on our side in the battle. He’l be torn to pieces the moment he sets foot in there.”

“Not if he’s quiet and lucky,” Josh countered.

“Besides, we don’t know that the vampires in there were in a position to see him. If they weren’t, then Jake has the best chance of any of us.”

“But-”

“I want to do this, Briony,” Jake said, slipping up to them in near silence. “If I can help, I want to. I won’t be long.”

He blurred away through the trees, cutting off any argument.

“If he gets hurt-” Briony began.

Josh cut her off. “Jake is one of us. If there is any trouble, the rest of us wil attack long enough to create a distraction.”

“Assuming that you’re in time. Assuming… ”

Josh raised a hand. “Are we real y going to argue until the vampires hear us? That won’t help Jake’s chances.”

“No, I guess not.” Briony moved back from him. “I’l wait with the others.”

For at least a minute, that was exactly what Briony did. She wanted to give it plenty of time before she started edging to the fringes of the pack. She checked that no one was looking and slipped into the trees. She wasn’t about to leave Jake on his own like that. Not for something this dangerous. Josh would probably notice that she was gone after a minute, but what could he do about it without making so much noise that it would spoil the whole plan?

Briony crept forward, hoping that she wasn’t making things worse, until she was in sight of the house. She could see Jake there, slipping in through a window. Briony crept closer, until she was at an angle where she could see inside.

Carol was there, wrapped in the same kind of silver chains that Kevin once had been. A few others were there too. They al looked like they had been beaten, and there weren’t nearly as many of them as Briony might have hoped. Stil , at least Jake was there. He would soon have the silver chain off them and…

Briony realized the problem with that reasoning just as her brother touched the chain. He jerked back, obviously unable to touch it. Briony saw him say something to the others there, and then start back out of the window. Of course. He was going to get the one person who could help with the chains. Her.

Briony moved forward, deciding to meet her brother half way. She had made it only some of the way across though when a figure stepped around the corner of the house and into view. A terrifyingly familiar figure. Pietre made it to the window in a blur, hauling Jake out of it and holding him aloft at arm’s length. Briony froze in place. The only thing that was keeping Pietre from seeing her too was the fact that his back was to her. Steeling herself, Briony crept closer.

“Ah, Sophie’s nephew the abomination. A pity that.

Were you not such a monster, you might be of some use in getting through to her. As it is…”

“Aunt Sophie loves me,” Jake countered. “She told me so herself.”

“Did she now? I find that hard to believe, young…

creature.”

“She hugged me.”

“Hmm…” Pietre’s voice went from taunting to thoughtful. Briony just kept edging closer. As she got nearer, she unhooked her cross from around her neck, opening the top, where the holy water vial was stored. She felt, more than heard, a presence beside her, and turned her head to see Kevin.

“You didn’t real y think I wouldn’t notice when you left?” he whispered.

Unfortunately, at that distance, even a whisper was enough. Pietre turned with a look of triumph, stil holding Jake by his throat.”

“Ah, the gang’s al here. I was wondering when big sister and the wolf would show up.”

Jake squirmed in his grip. “You don’t need them. If you just want a hostage for Aunt Sophie, I’l do.”

“Oh, but why settle for one? Now, girl put down that sil y sword or I’l have to hurt your brother.”

Briony shook her head. “You won’t hurt Jake.”

“I’m certain I wil .”

“No,” she said, and threw the holy water in the same moment. “You won’t.”

Pietre screamed and dropped Jake, just before Kevin surged past in his wolf form to knock the master vampire from his feet.

Jake pointed at the window. “Briony, the prisoners.

I’l help Kevin.”

Briony knew he was right. She hopped in through the open window, doing her best to avoid a few remnants of broken glass. Carol looked up as she came in, and actual y flinched away as Briony went to lift the chains from her.

“We don’t have time for this, Carol,” Briony snapped.

“Do you want to be rescued or not?”

The werewolf girl nodded mutely, and Briony lifted the silver from her.

“Thank you,” Carol said grudgingly, but Briony was already moving to the next of the werewolves. She had just removed the chains from the last of them when she heard a scream from outside. She ran to the window and saw Pietre’s hand on Kevin’s furry chest, his nails gouging into it like claws.

Briony didn’t hesitate. She hopped up onto the windowsil and then threw herself forward, her boot lashing out to connect with the vampire. It wouldn’t do permanent damage, but the sheer momentum of it was enough to knock Pietre away from Kevin. A smal er wolf leapt at the vampire, and Briony realized Jake had transformed.