The Reckoning (12 page)

His head lowered, then flew back with a bone-cracking snap. He let out a yelp, ending in a snarl as he tried to be quiet, but the convulsions kept coming faster and a whimper escaped with each fresh spasm. When he finally stopped, everything around us stayed silent. But I knew Liam had heard.

I leaned over Derek, whispering encouragement, hoping to block any sound of Liam, keep him from panicking. Soon, though, Derek’s head shot up and I knew Liam was coming.

Derek was well into his Change now, his muzzle shortening, ears moving to the sides, hair growing as his fur retracted. I leaned down to his ear.

“Just keep going, okay? I’ll look after it.”

He stiffened and made a noise that I knew was a
no
. I rose. He tried to do the same, only to be hit with another convulsion.

“I’ll be okay,” I said, pulling out my knife. “I won’t do anything stupid. You’re almost finished. I’ll distract him until you are.”

“
No,
” his voice was garbled, guttural.

I turned to go. He grabbed for my leg, but his fingers were still knobby stubs and I easily pulled away. Without looking back, I ran from the thicket.

I
RAN
,
GETTING AS
far from Derek as I could. Finally I saw the figure of a tall, lean man with light hair, limping through the forest, cane in one hand. Liam. The limp explained why he wasn’t in wolf form. If Changing was as painful as it seemed, I could only imagine how bad it would be if you were injured. That injury also meant he had a grudge to settle. With me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my galloping heart. It didn’t work. Too bad. I couldn’t let him get close enough to see or hear Derek Changing.

I ran as close as I dared, then pulled up short in his path. He stopped and smiled.

“Hello there, cutie,” he drawled. “I thought I smelled you.”

“How’s the leg?”

His grin turned a little less friendly, more bared teeth than smile. “Hurts like a son of a bitch.”

“Sorry about that.”

“I bet you are.”

He stepped closer. I stepped back.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I forgive you for the leg. I like a little spirit in my fillies.” His look sent a shiver through me. “Makes them more fun to break. Now where’s that big ox of a boyfriend?” He raised his voice. “This is a coward’s ploy, pup, sending the girl out to distract me. About what I’d expect, though, considering how fast you ran away last time.”

He listened, seeing if the taunt would bring Derek out.

“He’s busy,” I said. “With Ramon. He figured I could handle you.”

Liam threw back his head and laughed. “You
do
have spunk. We’re gonna have fun, just as soon as I take care of your boyfriend.”

He moved toward me. I sidestepped, leading him away.

“You wanna play chase, cutie? I’m real good at it. How about we let your boyfriend and Ramon have their fun while we have ours and—?”

Something buzzed. Liam sighed, reached into his pocket, and flipped open a cell phone.

“Kinda busy,” he said. He paused, listening. I could hear a man’s voice on the other end and thought I caught Derek’s name. “Yeah, yeah. You keep calling, we’re never going to catch him for you.”

If Liam said “we,” then it wasn’t Ramon phoning. Someone from the Pack? Had Liam already promised them Derek and now had to deliver?

“Quit your moaning,” Liam said. “I told you we’ll have him by sunrise. We just hit a minor complication. There’s a reason he came out into the woods tonight—messing around with his girlfriend.”

Liam looked at me. “Cute little thing. Dyed black hair. Big blue eyes.” He paused. “Chloe? Yeah, she looks like a Chloe.”

The Edison Group? Had to be. Right now, though, all I cared about was that whoever it was, he was keeping Liam occupied, giving Derek time to Change.

“Well, see, that’s the problem,” Liam continued. “We can’t seem to separate the two. So, taking him in might mean taking her, too.” He paused, listening. “Of course, we’ll try to leave her alone, but…” Another pause. “I understand. Getting rid of the pup—one way or another—is your main concern. So you accept the risk of collateral damage?” As he listened to the answer, he smiled at me. “Absolutely. If we can’t separate them, you won’t need to worry about the girl again. I’ll make sure of that. Now, if you have anything else to say, how about texting me? I’m kinda busy.”

He hung up. “Seems some people consider you expendable, Chloe.”

“Who?”

He lowered his voice to a mock whisper. “Bad people. It’s a hard lesson, but the world is full of—”

A distant cry stopped him short. He turned in the direction of the thicket.

“Speaking of bad people, seems someone’s been telling me fibs. Your boyfriend’s not playing with Ramon, is he?”

I stepped in front of him.

He started to brush past me. “I know you’re eager to have some fun, but I need to get your boyfriend out of the way first. Don’t you worry, though. It sounds like he’s Changing, and, if so, this is going to be quick.”

I jumped in his way again.

His smile turned brittle. “Save that spunk for later. Right now, it’s only going to piss me off, and you don’t want to do that.”

I let him pass but stayed on his heels, struggling to think up a plan. I could hear Derek moaning. The Change might have come on fast, but it was taking time to finish.

Derek’s defenseless. If Liam finds him like that, he’ll kill him.

I know, I know.

Then do something.

I took out my switchblade, opened it, and crept forward, closing the gap between us, gaze fixed on Liam’s back. He glanced over his shoulder. I hid the knife. He stopped.

“How about you walk in front of me?” he said.

“I’m okay.”

His face hardened. “Get in front of me, where I can see you.”

As I passed him, my gaze went to his cane. Like Ramon, he was wounded.

Use that.

“Y-you said you’d take Derek to the P-Pack,” I fake-stammered. “That’s still the plan, right?”

He just waved me on, gaze locked on the distant spot where Derek was.

“P-please d-don’t—”

I lunged and grabbed for the cane, but he whisked it out of reach, then swung it around, hitting me in the back so hard it knocked the air from my lungs and the ground from under my feet.

I hit the dirt, gasping, injured arm burning. I lifted my head, struggling to focus as Liam continued bearing down on Derek’s thicket. Every breath felt like a white-hot knife stabbing my lungs.

Do something.

Like what? I was powerless. I—

No. I wasn’t powerless. There was something I could do. The thought of it made bile rise in my throat, but it was nothing compared to what I felt at the thought of Liam finding Derek before he finished his Change.

I had to buy him more time.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, pushing past the warning alarms. I poured everything I had into the summons…and nothing happened. All those genetically enhanced powers and, when I needed them, they failed.

Then you’re going to have to do this the old-fashioned way
.

I tried to rise. Pain ripped through me and the forest seem to tilt, my gorge rising again. I gritted my teeth and crawled to a nearby fallen branch. I wrapped my fingers around it, steeled myself against the pain, then pushed myself up. Once I was standing, I ran at Liam. He wheeled out of my path, but I managed to swing and hit his thigh in the same place I’d stabbed him three nights ago.

He howled and staggered. I hit him again. He went down. As he fell, he grabbed for me, but I danced back, stick raised. When he tried to get up, I swung again. This time, he caught the stick and whipped me off my feet. I let go of the branch, but I was already sailing through the air. I crashed down a few feet from him, then scrambled out of the way as he twisted to grab me.

I managed to get to my feet. He started pushing up, then stopped, staring at something behind me.

Please let it be Derek.

I turned to see a partially decomposed rabbit pulling its mangled body toward me. Its ears were shredded strips of leathery skin. Its nose was a crater, lips gone, big front teeth
protruding. Its eyes were shriveled raisins. The back half of its body was flattened and twisted, hind legs to one side as it dragged itself forward.

“Stop,” I said, my voice eerily calm.

The rabbit stopped. I turned to Liam. He looked at me, face screwed up. Slowly, he rose, still staring at me.

“Forward,” I said.

The rabbit lurched toward Liam. He stumbled back.

I got to my feet. The rabbit stood beside me, gnashing its teeth.

I mentally commanded it to advance on Liam. It hesitated, then it swung its head in his direction and started toward him.

He let out a string of curses, backing away slowly. Then a growl sounded behind him.

Liam turned. A dark shape moved between the trees, hidden in their shadows. I could see only the outline—the pointed ears, bushy tail, and long muzzle. Had Derek reverted to wolf? As the beast crept forward, though, I realized it was barely half Derek’s size.

It stopped under a tree, almost hidden there, only its teeth visible, lips pulled back, growl vibrating. When it stepped into the moonlight, I braced myself for a hideous undead beast. But it was only an ordinary, living dog, probably from a nearby home.

The dog advanced on Liam, still growling. Werewolves and dogs didn’t mix—I knew that from Derek.

Liam locked gazes with it and gave a growl of his own. The dog kept coming at him.

“Shoo, pooch.”

Liam drew back his foot to kick it. Then he caught sight of the rabbit drawing alongside him. He backed away. The undergrowth behind him erupted in a flurry of breaking twigs and squeals. I couldn’t see what it was, but Liam let out an oath, almost backing into the snarling dog.

The dog lunged. Liam kicked it. As it flew back, moonlight caught the dog’s flank, and I saw a hole the size of my fist, squirming with maggots.

Liam saw it, too, and he cursed and backed away. The dog threw itself at him. Liam swerved out of its path.

“Stop,” I said.

The dog did. It stood there, teeth bared, eyes blazing, every hair on end, growling at Liam.

The rabbit lurched toward him. He kicked it, and it flew into the undergrowth, only to come back out again. Something else came out with it, some kind of rodent, mostly skeleton, rattling and gnashing its tiny teeth.

“Stop,” I said.

They did. Liam looked at me.

“Yes, they’re dead,” I said. “Yes, I control them. And you can’t kill them. You can try, but you can’t.”

“Well, then, I guess I’m going to have to fight the one I
can
kill.”

He charged at me.

I commanded the dog to attack, but my brain stuttered, seeing Liam bearing down on me. I dove to the side. He grabbed my pajama leg and yanked. I fell onto my stomach, scrabbling to get up, fingers digging into the ground, nails tearing. I wrenched and his grip slid to my foot. I gave a tremendous heave and flung myself forward, leaving him with my sneaker.

As I scrambled to my feet, I heard a smack. I spun to see Derek—in human form—on Liam’s back. Liam bucked and threw him off. Derek grabbed him, and they went down fighting.

The dog raced toward the two. I commanded it to be still, and it slid to a stop, snarling and straining like a rabid dog on a chain. I closed my eyes and gave it another order—to leave its body.

I kept releasing it and the other spirits, desperately trying to ignore the grunts and gasps of the fight. When I opened my eyes, the animals had collapsed, their souls freed.

Liam and Derek rolled on the ground, locked in combat, Liam’s hands in Derek’s hair, trying to yank his head back, Derek’s hands around Liam’s neck, neither one able to get the grip they needed to throw the other off.

I yanked out my switchblade as I raced forward. I hit the button…and felt the blade sink into my palm. I let go. The knife fell into the undergrowth. I dropped to my knees, digging for it.

A crack like the snap of a tree branch. I shot up. Derek
lay on his back, Liam over him, Derek’s hands still around his neck. Both had gone still. Derek stared up, wide-eyed. Liam’s eyes were just as wide, but they saw nothing, fixed in an empty look of final shock.

“I
—I
DIDN’T
…” D
EREK BEGAN
.

He scrambled out from under Liam. The werewolf’s body fell, limp, to the side, his head twisted, neck broken.

Derek swallowed. The sound echoed in the silence.

“I didn’t—I just—I was trying to stop him.”

“You didn’t mean it,” I said softly. “But he did.”

He looked at me, eyes refusing to focus.

“He would have killed you,” I said. “Killed both of us, if it came down to it. You might not have meant to do it, but…”

I didn’t finish. I could have said the world was better off without Liam, but we both knew the point wasn’t whether Liam deserved to die, but whether Derek deserved the guilt of killing someone. He didn’t.

“

“It wasn’t a fight to the death for you. But it was for him.”

Derek nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, wincing as his fingers hit a scrape.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. Just a few cuts and bruises. I heal fast. Might need a stitch or two here—”

He glanced down at the blood-smeared cut on his side…and realized he wasn’t wearing any clothing. I’d be lying if I said
I
hadn’t realized it already. Kind of obvious. It wasn’t like he’d been going to take time out to find his clothing before stopping Liam.

Fortunately, under the circumstances, I hadn’t had time to dwell on the lack of clothing. With the fighting and, now, as he crouched, I hadn’t seen any more than I had when he was in his shorts. That didn’t keep him from turning bright red.

I peeled off my jacket and wordlessly handed it to him, and he tied it around his waist with a mumbled, “Thanks.” Then, “We should get going.”

Only we didn’t get going. We lapsed into silence, with Derek still crouched beside Liam’s body, his head down, hair hanging around his face, his back and arms covered in a sheen of sweat. He shivered.

“I’ll go get your clothes,” I said, pushing to my feet.

He caught my elbow. “Ramon.”

“Right.”

I blinked hard, feeling fuzzy—from shock, I guess. One of us had to kick-start their brain, and Derek seem stalled, unable to stop staring at the man he’d killed.

“We need to move him,” I said. “At least into the brush for now, to cover the body. Then we’ll have to come back tomorrow and bury him.”

I couldn’t believe what I was saying. Hiding a body? A
body
?

And what’s the alternative? Leave him lying in the path and hope none of the neighbors ever walks through here?

Body disposal might be something I never expected to do outside a screenplay, but this was my life now. Adjust or give up.

I stood and took Liam’s arm, giving it a tentative tug.

“I’ve got it.” Derek rose. “I’ll carry him. We can’t leave drag marks or anything, and we’ll need to bury him right away, so no dogs find him.”

“Bury who?” said a voice beside me.

I jumped so high, my heart rammed into my throat.

“Chloe?” Derek said.

I turned to see Liam walking toward us.

“Chloe?” Derek said again.

“It’s L-Liam. His ghost.”

Liam stopped. “Ghost?” He looked at me, then at his body, on the ground. He swore.

“You’re dead,” I said.

“So I see. That must make you one of those people who
can talk to the dead and”—he glanced at the bodies of the dog and rabbit, lips curling—“raise the dead.”

His gaze returned to his own corpse, and he swore again.

I cleared my throat. “As long as you’re here, I have some questions.”

He looked at me, brows lifting. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” I knelt beside his body and reached into his pocket.

“Chloe?” Derek moved closer, frowning.

I took out Liam’s cell phone. “Someone called him. Someone who seems to have set the whole thing up, someone who knew me, my name.” I looked at Liam’s ghost. “Who is it?”

He choked on a laugh. “Seriously? I just
died
. Your boyfriend there killed me. You really expect me to stick around and chat? Love to, but I’m a little traumatized right now. Maybe later.”

He turned to leave. I raced into his path.

“You’re about to go to the afterlife,” I said. “This is your last chance to do something good.”

“Huh, well, since you put it that way…” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested in second chances. I didn’t do a thing that I regret. If you want answers…”

He stepped up, towering over me. I resisted the urge to back away, but I must have stiffened, because Derek moved closer and whispered, “Don’t let him harass you.”

“Harass her?” Liam said. “She’s the one who can’t get
enough of my company.” He looked down at me again. “As I was saying, if you want answers, find them yourself. And try to have some fun while you’re at it, because I have a feeling I’m going to be seeing you again real soon…over on this side.”

Derek’s hand tightened on my arm. When I tried to pull away, he leaned down and whispered, “Let him go. It’s not worth it.”

“Listen to your boyfriend, cutie,” Liam called as he strode away.

I pulled myself up straight. “What did you think of my zombies?”

Liam stopped, turned slowly.

I waved at the dead dog. “Do you know how I did it?”

“Do I care?”

“You should. Necromancers raise the dead by sending a spirit—a ghost, like you—back into a corpse, where it’s under my control, as you saw. It works the same for animals and people. So either you answer my questions, or I’m shoving you back in there.” I pointed at his dead body.

He laughed. “I’d say you’ve got balls, but that’d be kinda inappropriate.”

“Do you think I’m kidding?”

He answered by turning his back and walking away. I closed my eyes and imagined tugging him toward his corpse, just a little pull.

“Hey,” he said. “
Hey
!”

I opened my eyes to see him straining against an unseen force.

“Did you think I was bluffing?”

I ramped it up a notch and he stumbled. I gave another tug. His ghost shot a few feet toward his body.

“Okay, fine,” he spat at me. “What do you want to know?”

“Who hired you?”

“You’ve got the phone. Figure it out.”

I told Derek what Liam said, then asked, “Was it the Edison Group?”

His face screwed up. “The electric company?”

“Was it a man named Marcel Davidoff?”

“Who?”

“Diane Enright?”

“He’s right,” Derek whispered. “You’ve got the phone. Ask something else.”

“When you found us the first time, in the playground, you said you’d pulled off the road and picked up Derek’s scent. That was a lie, wasn’t it?”

“Everyone lies, sweetheart. Get used to it.”

“Someone hired you to get rid of Derek.”

“You’ve figured it out. So you don’t need me—”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do they want him gone?” I asked.

“Because I’m a werewolf,” Derek said. “Like Andrew said, no one wants us around.”

“Bingo, pup. It’s a lesson best learned early. They’re all afraid of us.” He strolled over to Derek. “You’re trying to be a good kid, aren’t you? You think that’ll show them they’re wrong. So, how’s that working out for you? Guess what? They don’t care. To them, you’re a monster, and nothing you do—or don’t do—will change their minds. My advice? Give ’em what they want. It’s a short, brutal life.” He smiled. “Live it up.”

Derek stared straight ahead, patiently waiting.

“He can’t hear a word I’m saying, can he?” Liam said.

“Nope.”

He swore. “Here I try to impart some final pearls of wisdom to the next gener—”

Liam disappeared. I jumped, startled, then looked around.

“Chloe?”

“He’s gone.”

“Left?”

“No, he just—” I kept looking, but couldn’t see any ghostly shimmer. “He was talking and then he vanished, like someone yanked him over to the other side.”

“What did he say?” Derek asked.

“Nothing we didn’t already—”

Derek wheeled. A man appeared twenty feet down the path. Ramon. Derek stepped in front of me.

Ramon raised his hand, palm out, showing he wasn’t armed. His broken arm hung at his side. As he walked toward
us, I could see bruises on his jaw and blood soaking the side of his shirt. With every step, he winced.

“I’m not here to fight you, kid,” he said. “If you insist, I’ll give it my best, but I’d really rather call it a draw.”

Noticing Liam’s body, he stopped and shook his head.

“It was an accident,” I said.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure he had it coming.” Another head shake, but there was genuine grief in his eyes. After a moment, he tore his gaze from the body and looked up at Derek.

“So now what?” Ramon said.

“We call it a draw, like you said. But if you ever come after either of us again…”

Ramon gave a tight laugh. “Do I look like I’m in any shape to hunt you? Nah, this was Liam’s scheme. Crazy son of a—”

“Someone hired you two. Who was it?”

“Ask him.” He hooked his thumb at Liam. “He’s the man with the plan. Always was. I just go along for the ride.”

“So you have no idea who hired him?”

“Some supernatural. A healer guy.”

“Sorcerer?” I said. “Shaman?”

“No clue. I’m not into that stuff. Anyway, someone put Liam in touch with this guy who wanted a werewolf to track you down”—he nodded at Derek—“and hand you over to the Pack. Just so happened we were already in trouble with the Pack—on account of Liam, as usual.”

“And this was the perfect solution,” I said. “Give Derek to the Pack, blame him for the man-eating, and get paid for your trouble. If you couldn’t take him in alive, that was okay, too.”

“Not at first. The guy wanted you handed over to the Pack, seemed to think that would be okay. Or pretended to, anyway.”

“And if the Pack turned out to be killers, that wasn’t his fault,” Derek said.

“You got it. After we lost you the first time, he started getting antsy. Just wanted you gone one way or another. You want my advice?” He looked at Derek. “Take your girlfriend and start running. Whatever you’re trying to do here—live with other supernaturals, pretend you’re one of them—it won’t work. They’ll always be watching you, expecting you to lose control.” Ramon shook his head. “You know much about wolves, boy?”

“A bit.”

“There’s a reason they live as far from humans as they can. Centuries of experience. People don’t like other predators around. Makes them nervous. When they get nervous, they try to eliminate the threat. Now, I’m going to say good night and take my buddy there.”

“And give him a proper burial?” I said.

A sharp laugh. “We don’t get luxuries like that. I’m going to take the down payment on the job, then I’m going to take his body to the Pack, settle up with them. And, yes, it’s a
helluva thing to do to a friend, but out here, it’s survival of the fittest.” He met Derek’s gaze. “For us, it’s always survival of the fittest.”

With Derek’s help, Ramon managed to get Liam’s body over his shoulder, teeth gritted against the pain of the extra weight. Then he hobbled off into the night.