Vendetta (Legend of the Ir'Indicti #4) (28 page)

"Trajan, Trace, go!" Winkler jerked his head toward the fleeing Chad and Jeremy. Both werewolves took off at a run.

"Ashe, please," Wynn held onto Dori, who was still in ocelot form. Ashe placed his hands on Cori, looked up at Wynn with stars in his eyes and blinked.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Marcus demanded. Buck rounded up several patrons who'd seen Ashe disappear with Winkler and the others.

"That boy and the others just—vanished," Adele whispered.

"Adele, that boy is your son," Marcus snapped. "What the hell was he doing?"

"No idea," Buck said. "But we need somebody to tell these folks they didn't see anything."

"Get names and numbers; sunset isn't for another four hours," Marcus growled. "Tell them to go home and not discuss it until they're contacted by the authorities. All right?" Marcus pulled his cell out and dialed Winkler's number. Adele and Buck both listened when Winkler answered.

* * *

"Cori?" Cori stared around her. All was muted light. It felt comfortable, wherever she was. She was weightless. Happy. Had no desire to leave. She recognized the voice, though.
Ashe
.

"Cori, I neutralized the poison," Ashe said gently. "But you have to decide to come back. Come back with me now, all right?"

"But," Cori said. Something else was pulling on her.

"Cori, Marco is waiting. He'll be hurt and upset if you don't come back," Ashe coaxed. "Come on, Cori. We've been friends for a long time. Come back with me now so I won't have to tell Marco I lost you."

"But I'm not lost," Cori said.

"Cori, come on, pretty girl. Come home with me."

"Oh, all right," Cori turned away from the beckoning light. Somehow, without even being there with her, Ashe pulled her away.

"Hayes is dead," Jeff wept as Cori opened her eyes to stare up at Ashe. How had she gotten flat on her back on the hot sand? Confused, she blinked at Ashe, who seemed to have deep blue eyes with stars in them. Dori, wrapped in a beach towel, was hovering nearby, wiping tears away while Wynn held onto her. Jeff was crying for some reason and Sali stalked past, growling.

"Did he say Hayes is dead?" Cori attempted to sit up. Ashe, whose eyes went from darkest blue to normal in a blink, helped her.

"Cori, Jeremy shot both of you. I didn't have time to help Hayes." Ashe sounded upset about that. The afternoon sun blazed down on all of them and seagulls rode the breeze nearby. The drama playing out on the sand held no concern for them. Cori watched as William Winkler passed through her field of vision. He had a cell phone tucked against an ear, talking with someone.

"Ashe, we need help over here," Winkler jerked his head. Ashe stood on unsteady legs and gazed at the gathered crowd of humans.

"Yeah," Ashe muttered. "Wynn, get something for Cori to drink." Ashe walked toward the waiting crowd.

* * *

"Mr. President, take a look at these records," Matt Michaels handed an electronic tablet to the President. Matt Michaels had been in the oval office many times. Never with news such as this before, however.

"What is this?" The President tapped the tablet as he examined an image that appeared to be a map of GPS coordinates.

"We have a subject wearing a watch with a chip embedded, so we can track him," Matt said. "The first map shows the start point. The second map shows the destination. Elapsed time from start to finish is less than one second, sir."

"But the start point is in Texas and the destination is somewhere near, let's see—London? That can't be right. Am I operating this correctly?" The President turned the tablet around to show the Director of the Joint NSA/Homeland Security Department.

"You're operating it correctly, sir. This has been confirmed by firsthand witnesses. The kid relocated from Texas to England in less than a second."

"Kid?"

"Yes, sir. It's time you knew, sir, since I intend to recruit him the minute he turns eighteen."

* * *

"You'll sit there and behave or I'll come back there as my wolf and we'll have a chat," Trajan threatened Chad and Jeremy. The two boys sat in the back of Diane Booth's car while Trace drove. Winkler was driving Sali's car home with Hayes's body in the back seat—Ashe had already transported the others to Winkler's temporary home in Star Cove.

"Hayes is dead?" Jeremy sounded bewildered.

"You pulled the trigger; why act so surprised now?" Trajan growled. "If Ashe hadn't come, Cori would be dead, too."

"I was aiming for Sali," Jeremy still sounded confused.

"Even worse. You expect Packmaster DeLuca to have any mercy for you when you tell him that?" Jeremy huddled farther into his seat. Chad was sullen and refused to speak.

"Doesn't matter, bro," Trace said. "As soon as those vampires are up, we'll find out what these two were planning."

* * *

Ashe rubbed his forehead. He had the worst headache imaginable. Marco sat on the sofa nearby, his arms wrapped protectively around Cori, who huddled against him. Wynn was still shaking while Ace attempted to calm her. Dori and Sali stood together in the corner, wrapped in one another's arms. Jeff sat on the floor near Marco's feet, staring at his shoes. All of them waited for Mr. Winkler to arrive and for parents to come. Ashe knew Hayes had been Jeff's best friend since first grade. Now, Winkler was bringing Hayes's body back to his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Howard would be devastated; Hayes was their only child.

"What kind of poison was that?" Jeff looked up at Ashe. "Werewolves don't usually die from poisoning."

"Jeff, this was batrachotoxin, from those poison arrow frogs in South America," Ashe sighed. "That stuff can kill just about anything. I have no idea how those two got it. I don't think they even knew how dangerous it was. Stupid, stupid, stupid," Ashe pounded his forehead with a fist.

"Ashe, son, come with me for a minute," Winkler walked into the living room. Ashe felt weary as he followed Winkler into the kitchen. Marcus was standing there with Micah, his Second. Ashe wanted to snap at Marcus. Marcus was responsible for ruining his friendship with Sali.

"Kid, we've got Weldon's forensics team coming in to examine Hayes. We need to know what killed him," Marcus sighed, raking a hand through black hair in frustration.

"You can bring 'em in, but I already know what killed him. It's Batrachotoxin, from the poison arrow frog," Ashe said. Marcus cursed. Ashe figured Marcus knew what it was—he'd been Special Ops for the military.

"The kind that can kill a man in just a few seconds?" Winkler asked.

"Yeah. Only it took a little longer to kill Hayes. Almost killed Cori," Ashe muttered. "If she'd been human, I wouldn't have been able to save her, either. I didn't have time to save both, Winkler. I wish I did."

"I know, son. I just don't understand how you saved Cori to begin with."

"I don't want you to know." Ashe stared at Marcus when he said it. Marcus tossed a hand out helplessly and stalked off, muttering.

"Ashe, one of our Pack died today, and another member of our Pack is likely responsible. I don't think Jeremy would have any hand in this if Chad wasn't urging him on," Marcus turned back and leveled his gaze on Ashe.

"They're both guilty," Ashe said. "I'm sure those vampires can lay compulsion and get the truth. I suggest you have Jeremy's parents and Hayes's parents there when you question them."

"We'll do that," Micah said gently. "Ashe, you did a good thing—an impossible thing—today. I know we've persecuted you lately, and I want to apologize for that. Winkler says that Jeremy was aiming for Sali when Hayes stepped between them. If you hadn't arrived with Winkler and the others, the rest of them might have been killed as well. We found four more darts inside that case."

"Something to ask them about," Ashe nodded, settling on a barstool and staring at the kitchen wall. Whoever had lived in the house before had left a calendar hanging there. Winkler hadn't bothered to change it and it was still on July. Ashe recalled that a month ago, his life hadn't been so complicated and he still had parents. Now everything was different and he found himself navigating unfamiliar terrain. "Hayes was always the peacemaker," Ashe said softly. "He would joke around or do something to distract everybody and ease the tension. I know you don't think of your submissives as particularly brave, but Hayes may have been the bravest of all of us."

"I'm not going to argue with you on that," Marcus said. "He certainly proved it today—gave his life to do it, too. No Packmaster can ask for more than that."

"Somebody grilling one of mine?" Bear Wright walked into Winkler's kitchen.

"It's okay, Mr. Wright," Ashe sighed. "We were just talking about Hayes."

"Good. I don't like arguing with werewolves," Bear sat next to Ashe. "Has anyone informed Mrs. Evans?"

"She knows." Marcus said the words flatly. Bear Wright hunched his shoulders and didn't mention it again.

* * *

"Aedan, Casimir and I just finished placing compulsion on those restaurant guests," Nathan reported. He'd called his vampire sire as quickly as he could afterward. "Ashe, as I understand it, managed to save my oldest today. Nobody seems to understand how he did it—the same kind of poison dart killed Hayes Howard."

"Nathan, what are you saying?" Aedan was confused.

"We'll get the particulars, once we place compulsion on Jeremy Booth and Chad Daniels. They had tranquilizer guns, loaded with poison darts. Marcus says the poison was deadly—from those poison arrow frogs in South America. That will kill werewolves and just about anything else short of a vampire. Cori took a hit, as did Hayes after Salidar got into a fight with Chad Daniels. Chad started the fight but Sali was taking him down. Jeremy pulled the guns from the boot of his mother's car and shot Cori, who was protecting my youngest, and then Hayes, because Hayes stepped between Jeremy and Sali."

"And Ashe showed up immediately," Aedan sighed.

"Yes. Somehow, I'm not sure exactly, he managed to neutralize the poison in Cori's system. That's what she told me when I woke tonight—that Ashe told her that."

"Child, I'm alive because Ashe intervened. Those creatures had me hauled out into full sunlight when he showed up with Marco and Cori. We'd both be dead if not for my son."

"Aedan, he walks around in a daze. Adele called him
that boy
today. She doesn't recognize him any longer. Father, how could you do that?"

"I didn't intend for that to happen," Aedan said sadly. "He thinks we've both abandoned him."

"Father, you have abandoned him. There's no mistake, there. I might have thought otherwise, but to pull away all support? What would you have done if Winkler hadn't stepped in to support the boy?"

"I don't know. It was a rash decision, I should have left something with you," Aedan admitted.

"If he wasn't being cared for, he would be now. I owe him for both my daughters' lives, Aedan. And for mine. I owe him blood debt. As do you."

"I know. But this—I don't know how to deal with it, Nathan. Wlodek wants to turn him when he's eighteen—I'd bet my life on it. I don't want that for my boy."

"Aedan, if we don't make this right somehow, I have a feeling we'll all lose him. That he'll just walk away and we'll never get him back."

"I don't know what to do about that, child. In the meantime, I'll work on getting an assignment somewhere close. Perhaps if I can get to Adele, I can remove that portion of the compulsion. She needs to recognize our son at least. I know he's heartbroken over this, but the way things stand, I can't do anything about it at the moment."

"You could try to explain things," Nathan suggested quietly.

"I'm not sure I can. I don't think I'm strong enough," Aedan sighed.

* * *

"Kid, somebody else I know used to climb up on roofs and sit," Winkler settled beside Ashe. Ashe had misted through the ceiling to sit atop the roof of Winkler's temporary home. Ashe was high enough now to see the waxing moon over the gulf waters in the east. Winkler had been forced to climb onto the roof in a more conventional manner.

"How are Cori and the others?" Ashe asked.

"Shaky," Winkler said. "We questioned Jeremy and Chad under compulsion. They intended to kill both of us, kid."

"I know. Trajan, too," Ashe added. "But they got into a fight with Sali and the others, and since the guns were handy."

"Yeah. Boys sent to do a man's job, by somebody I'm hunting," Winkler agreed. "Jeremy's parents are devastated. It was a kindness to take Chad in, but he's done nothing except lead Jeremy astray. Now, since Jeremy was the one to pull the trigger, he won't live over it. Bear won't even defend him and the Grand Master has already passed sentence on Chad. We'll do the executions Sunday before the run."

"What happens to people, Mr. Winkler? What turns them in that direction?"

"I don't know, Ashe. As a Packmaster and Weldon's peacekeeper, I've seen more than my share. Some of them I've seen grow up from babies and they turn out like that. I figure Nathan and your father have seen the same. Some people, raised in the best of circumstances turn out bad, and some growing up in the worst of circumstances turn out good. I can't explain any of it."