Collected (4 page)

Miles was about to make his move. A growing
distance spread between us.

“So what would you do?” I asked him.

“Not sure. But I got a friend who lives an
hour from here, and he works there. I bet he’s got an ID or
something.”

Oh, does he now…
I slid toward
him.

“I can handle two,” Alex whispered. “You get
the uglier one who’s left.”

“Bullshit,” Miles replied.

“You still got things to learn, son.”

Here we go.
I’d heard this speech
before. Alex loved to give it.

“Women, like those gals up there, haven’t had
an experience with a man like me. And they’re all different, too.
Some want you housebroken. Others want you feral. You just need to
know which kind of wolf they need.”

I rolled my eyes.

What they needed was a man who would love
them unconditionally and not cast them aside.
And I should
know…
But saying that wouldn’t help me get what I needed.
Besides, if I got the guys to come with me and do what I wanted,
those women would be better off.

“What if I told you guys I could get them to
go out with you—later tonight—with just a few words?”

Alex laughed.

“Nat, you must’ve heard about my history,”
Miles said with a wry grin.

“You mean the story where you’re barely a
wingman?”

“You look much better than they do. You sure
you wouldn’t want to hang out with me tonight?”

“We could hang out. On the way to the
factory, that is.” As much as I didn’t want to manipulate him, I
scooted close enough for our legs to touch. Like any attractive
werewolf, Miles was decent enough to look at. His dark brown eyes
glowed faintly, and his scent reflected one of desire. Whether it
was for the women at the bar or me, I’d rather not speculate.

Alex observed our exchange with a smile. “I
gotta see this. So you’re saying if we’ll help, you’ll get those
ladies to spend some time with us.”

My gaze never left Miles’. “Exactly.”

“You’ve never picked up women for me before,
so you got a deal.” Alex slapped the table. “We got ourselves some
real fun tonight. Especially if they need someone to tuck them
in.”

I left the booth and headed to my target. The
women continued to chat among themselves, only glancing my
brother’s way once in a while. The crowd around the bar was loud,
and the increased scents of perfume and cologne made my eyes water.
Some folks had doused themselves a bit too much tonight. I
swallowed my rising nervousness. If I leaned in enough, I could
talk to them. Seemed like an easy enough task if I focused.

One of the girls, a leggy blonde with cutoff
shorts, saw me first. She got out of the way, assuming I needed
something from the bar. I spoke to her first.

“I have a message from the guys over
there.”

“Really?” Up close, I noticed her shirt
barely covered as much as her shorts. It wasn’t summertime yet
outside, so she must’ve been cold. I had a feeling she didn’t care
though.

She whispered in her friend’s ear. Quite
clear to a werewolf like me. “Those hot guys over there want to
talk to us.”

“What did they say?” The second blonde had my
attention now. At least she had a dress on that left things to the
imagination.

“They said they’d like to hook up with you
ladies later tonight. The blond one’s willing to buy all your
drinks for the rest of the night, too. They have to leave for a
bit, but they’ll be back. Around midnight.”

“No way! We’d love to!”

Bingo.
“Tell the bartender to use Alex
Stravinsky’s tab.”

I walked back over to the men with my victory
in hand. My wide smile had to have said it all. “Come back at
midnight so you can pick up the ladies.”

And be sure to bring your wallet
, I
thought with a grin.

* * * * *

Chapter Three

The open road to Philadelphia loomed. I sat
between Miles and Alex, hoping Miles didn’t put his arm around me
again. He’d tried to be slick before we’d stopped at his friend
Stan’s house for the ID badge, but I pushed his arm away.

“Well, where do I put it?” he asked with
innocence.

“Somewhere safe. You might find it broken
otherwise.”

He leaned against the passenger door—still
too close for my comfort.

The ride was quiet for the rest of the trip.
Until we reached the house.

“Is this the place?” Alex asked.

It wasn’t much of a place. Just a trailer
that seemed like a perfect projectile if a tornado came by. We
parked under a tree and walked up the dirt path to the house.

Miles had told us in the car that Stan, a
fellow werewolf, would give up the badge for a smile and case of
beer. Based on the sad state of the trailer, he probably was a
loner like myself. All Stan had in the living room was a futon,
coffee table, and an entertainment center. There were no pictures
of family. Nothing personal on the walls. Other than his scent, no
other werewolves had been in here. He must’ve worked day-to-day and
came home to spend his money on video games.

While we stood there chatting, I managed to
keep a straight face when Miles said, “My girlfriend here wants to
see the factory. She takes one peek at those tall chimneys and gets
all excited. Enough to streak across the parking lot naked.”

Instead of handing over the badge, naturally,
the guy was quite eager to take in the sights. “You sure you don’t
need help? Lemme go get the badge.”

Thanks a lot, Miles!

But when Stan emerged from his bedroom with a
frown, I knew something was up.

“My badge is gone. The window is open,
too.”

Alex and Miles stood and headed into his
bedroom. I trailed behind, not touching anything.

Stan started to look around his living room
before heading outside.

The hallway to the bedroom was covered in
scattered clothing and abandoned beer cans. Just another man cave.
But then the sounds of our shoes making squishy noises on the
carpet raised the alarm. It accompanied a new scent. One I hadn’t
encountered before. It was wet and putrid—almost like moldy bread
mixed with raw sewage. Something supernatural had been here.

The scent trail led into Stan’s bedroom.
There weren’t many clean places to stand, so I waited at the
doorway while Miles and Alex inspected the place.

Alex touched the windowsill, and his hand
came away damp.

What the hell had been here?

“Do any of you recognize the scent?” I
asked.

“No, but I don’t like it either,” Alex
said.

Stan came up behind me with the silence of a
wraith. His once jovial face appeared drained of color.

“There’s something outside, in the front.” He
shifted from one foot to the other. “It asked for Natalya.”

A chill from the open window flowed through
the bedroom and raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

“What is it?” I asked. My voice had grown
quiet.

My brother appeared in front of me. “I don’t
like this. We should leave. Now.”

“You can’t,” Stan said. “Whatever it is, it’s
sitting on the hood of your truck.”

Stan backed out of the way so we could pass.
He added, “I’m smart enough to keep my nose clean. I sure as fuck
got no plans to ask that thing to give me back my badge.”

Alex took the lead down the hallway.

“You sure we shouldn’t make a run for it?”
Miles asked him.

“It wants my sister. I want to know what it
is.” With shoulders back and gaze focused on the path ahead, my
brother led us out the front door and down the rickety metal
steps.

His truck was where we’d left it, parked
under the shelter of a nearby weeping willow. At first, the tall
tree obstructed our view of who was waiting for me, but as the
scent grew in intensity, I knew I’d see the person sooner or later.
With each step, my footing wasn’t as bold. Stan was short and
rather pudgy, but he had enough meat on him to make me wonder what
could have frightened him.

My chest began to tighten. The truck came
into view, but whatever sat on the hood wasn’t clear. Its form
flowed like a jellyfish through water, undulating and pulsating.
Then the murkiness coalesced into blackened skin that eventually
turned humanoid. A set of eyes opened, revealing white eyes with no
pupils. A black beard sprouted from its chin. Its mouth opened wide
with a hiss.

“You took your time coming out here, Wolf.”
It was male, and his voice was damp and thick. Like someone with a
chest cold. It had a heavy, Old World accent that was familiar to
my ears.

His form liquefied in an instant, snapping at
us like a sharp whip, before he slithered back to his perch.

Alex pushed me back and growled in
response.

“Answer me when I speak to you!” the creature
snapped in Russian.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

“What the hell are you?” my brother replied
in Russian. “And what do you want with her?”

Miles backed up a few steps and tugged me
with him. Instead of grass, we sloshed through water up to our
ankles. Miles tried to take another step back and couldn’t move.
Something had locked around our ankles like steel manacles. It was
cold to the touch but also burning.

“Wolf, I am the scourge of the river. The
damnation of the deep that is the
vodyanoy
of the
Tannersville Cranberry Bog.” The creature laughed, a wet coughing
sound, then stroked his beard. “I did have business to settle with
the
zmee
, but I can see there is even more interesting prey
to be had with the female alone.”

“
Zmee
? What the fuck is he talking
about, Nat?” Angry heat radiated off Alex’s back.

I cringed and then revealed my bargain with
the
zmee
. At my side, Miles grunted in pain. The burning
sensation at our ankles increased.

Alex said, “Damn it, Natalya. Why didn’t you
call me before you got into this mess?”

Shame heated my face. I wanted to speak, but
what could I say?

“The
zmee
is a conniving thief who’ll
do anything foolish for his precious codes—including desecrating my
waters. He owes me for his treachery, and I’ll ensure he doesn’t
get what he desires. You’ll bring
me
the dragon’s camera
with the pictures.”

The
vodyanoy
put me in a poor
position. Now I had to not only get the pictures, but I also had to
betray the dragon as well. But then again, hadn’t he treated me
treacherously? Should I sink as low as him to get what I wanted?
“And if I fail to do what you want?”

“Normally, I prefer to keep to myself. If
anyone is curious enough to enter my domain and violate my land, I
pull them into my waters to die.” A smile slowly stretched across
his face, revealing small white teeth. “But I could always use a
pretty pet. You’d fit that role nicely.”

Heading out into the forest was stressful
enough. I’d pop my top if I was forced to live in a bog with a
sinister water spirit.

Alex advanced on the
vodyanoy
, but
stopped at my sharp command. “Don’t!”

“You’re not touching her. Period,” my brother
barked.

The
vodyanoy
’s body twitched like a
snake ready to strike. “I want a deal. Your word, in blood.”

“Unacceptable!” Alex roared. I grabbed his
arm to hold him back. If he managed to attack this monster, there
would be nothing I could do to help him.

Behind us, Miles’ fought to free himself. His
painful growls made it hard to think. I tried to move my legs, but
I couldn’t budge. No place to go. Even if I did want to fight my
foe, I couldn’t. If I turned the
vodyanoy
down, it would
kill us. A win-win for the water spirit since the dragon would
never get its pictures.

The
vodyanoy
stared me down. “You’ve
never met anything like me before. Are you sure you want to see
what I really can do?”

Without further thought, I bit into my hand
and presented the blooded palm. With a flick of my fingers, the
blood spilled on the water around us—thereby sealing my fate. My
hand hurt, but at least Miles and my brother would be okay.

The
vodyanoy
wasn’t done yet. “Since
you’ve agreed to our deal, I’m willing to share some information
with you. For your…pain.”

I waved my hand as if to say,
“No
need.”
I was afraid to know what he’d offer me at this
point.

“Trouble is coming to where you live. From
the east. I’ve heard whispers from the fairy folk in New York. They
said there are wolves making plans to head west. Their scouts will
be looking for someone who fits your description.” His smile was
sinister. “Naturally, they’ve made me curious. Why would they want
someone like you?”

The creature’s words were so vague, so I
brushed them aside. So many people fit my appearance: brunette,
medium build, in a skirt. Most of the gals here in Jersey looked
like me. Add in a crazy hair style with plenty of firm-hold spray.
Then take away a few inches on my skirt. Yep, Jersey girls were a
dime a dozen.

I had bigger concerns than some obtuse
threat, though. Like the deal I’d just sealed in blood.

* * *

As we drove toward the plant, my mind drifted
to thinking about my ex-boyfriend, Thorn. What would he think if he
saw me like this? Manipulating my brother and two other guys to get
some new antiques for my collection? Teetering on the edge of
eternal slavery with a
vodyanoy
?

Pain sliced across my forehead. A tension
headache threatened to overwhelm me.

Had I fallen so far that I needed these
things, these trinkets? That I was willing to risk myself and my
friends to add to my collection? But there was no backing out now
with the malevolent water spirit’s threat. And I hated to deny it,
but the very thought of holding that nutcracker made my palms warm
and placed a happy grin on my face. I’d waited years for something
like this. I could buy another figurine online, but the same one
wouldn’t be as old and in such pristine condition. People didn’t
take good care of their valuables anymore. I was doing a service
for collectors everywhere by taking good care of the antiques I
found.