"What about me, Uncle Billy?" Cully asked, raising his hand as if he was in class. "I ain't et nobody, neither!"
"I'm sorry, Cully," Uncle Billy said, smiling indulgently at the young ogre. "I didn't mean to leave you out."
Cully smiled broadly, pleased with being acknowledged by one of the elders.
"You can put your hand down, now, Cully," Nascha said gently.
"Yes, ma'am," Cully replied, lowering his arm.
"Uncle Billy is right," Cissy said. "Not
all
vampires are bad. Before Cully and I found our way here, the only person who
ever
showed us
any
kindness at all was a vampire. At least I
think
that's what she was. She had fangs, and my stepmother called her by that same word you used. She saved me from Fiona, my father's wife, and she was going to kill Cully, but I begged her not to. Would a vampire do something like that?"
"Both Uncle Billy and Cissy have a point, mother," Rosie said evenly. "Maybe you're jumping the gun. We don't
know
what this vampire wants. Maybe it's just passing through.
Maybe it's looking for a place to start over, just like everyone else here. It's not fair for us to judge him beforehand."
"This is utter foolishness!" Changing Woman snapped, getting to her feet, her eyes flashing with anger. "The
enkidu
are diametrically opposed to
everything
we're trying to do here! They have no interest in humans and Pretenders living together in open accord!
The
vargr's
attempts at infiltrating human political and religious organizations are child's play compared to what
they
have done over the millennia! They
thrive
on secrecy and manipulation. We
have
to bring the humans in from the perimeter and keep them under lock and key for the next few days, until we can hunt down and eradicate this danger."
"You want to do
what?
Nascha said in stunned disbelief. "You talk about us as if we were sheep!"
"And that's
exactly
how the
enkidu
sees your kind. You're no more than livestock in his eyes."
"It sounds like he's not the only one who sees us that way!" the schoolteacher retorted.
"Nascha's right," Cade agreed. "The humans aren't going to take kindly to being rounded up, even if it is for their own good."
"Why us?" asked Cissy. "Why not everyone within the perimeter, if this thing is so dangerous?"
"This is madness!" Changing Woman snarled. "We sit here chewing the fat when we should be out securing the town and trying to hunt down this monster!"
Rosie turned to address the elder Coyotero. "Mother, you more than anyone else knows that Nonesuch was created as a safe haven for nonhumans weary of the predator lifestyle.
Is it so hard for you to imagine a vampire who has decided to exist in harmony with the living?
"For all your experience, you are naive in the ways of the Real World, child," Changing Woman told her daughter. "The
enkidu
exist to feed on the living and perpetuate their
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Everything
they do is designed to either put them in the proximity of their next meal or insure their continuance. Any other emotion or desire they might display is merely a pretense, designed to help them pass for human." The shamaness got to her feet, glaring at the others seated about the table. "If you are not willing to bring the humans into town for protection, then at least warn them as to what is out there."
"Do you think that's wise?" Uncle Billy asked. "It could make people jumpier than they already are. The last thing we need is panicked farmers blowing the heads off everything that moves."
"This is a question that can only be answered by the humans on the council," Rosie said
"Cissy? Nascha? What do you think should be done?
The women exchanged uneasy glances.
"The idea of a vampire being on the loose is.. .disturbing," Nascha admitted. "But Uncle Billy is right—we have to be careful with this information. I mean, we don't
really
know if there
is
a vampire out there, do we? I mean, no one has seen or heard it. And even if there is one, we don't know what its intentions are towards us."
"Yes," Cissy said, nodding her head in agreement. "Until we know more about what he wants from us, we should keep quiet for the time being."
Changing Woman shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. "It is
impossible
for
enkidu
not to bring death and devastation with them! Wherever they go, there is pain and suffering in their wake. Once this thing establishes a foothold, we will see how interested it is in maintaining Nonesuch's ideals of inclusion and openness! The most ancient of battles—that of the weres and the
enkidu
for control of the human race—is about to be fought once again, here in Nonesuch. I will not lend my voice to such madness."
Changing Woman stalked to the door of the general store, turning to fix the council with one final, withering stare. "Fools! You are endangering not only yourselves, but your children as well! That is the problem with the young ones today: too much thinking, not enough instinct."
Wiley Simms' definition of a good day and a bad day were extremely basic. A good day was when he found something that could be converted into supplies and feed for Sookie.
A bad day was where he hurt himself, like when he fell through the rotten floor of the outhouse. Using that as a yardstick, today had been a very good day, indeed.
He had been tempted to say something to Sheriff Cade when he came by earlier, but managed to hold his tongue. He didn't want to jinx his good luck by talking about it too early. Besides, he could very well be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened.
Wiley couldn't really remember the time before he came to live in Nonesuch. Some of that had to do with the relentless New Mexico sun parboiling his brain for a decade or two, but a good deal of it was because the life he had known before Nonesuch had been a hollow one. Oh, it had been full of material possessions, deadline pressures and expectations from
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) everyone from his parents to his school to society in general; but at its core it had proven an empty, unfulfilling existence which, in the end, made it easy to throw away that part of his life without looking back.
Living rough in the high country wasn't easy, but it was a hell of a lot better than being a corporate wage-slave. In the brave, new world Wiley had chosen for himself, success wasn't measured in promotions or salaries, but in keeping his belly full and his bedroll dry.
When all was said and done, his temperament was such that it didn't bother him that he was surrounded by werewolves.
Although Wiley didn't have much use for people, he did like the newcomers who had moved into the old ghost town. Maybe that was because most of them weren't really people. The newcomers pretty much minded their own business and allowed him to do whatever he pleased. Every so often he would catch sight of one of them in their fur skins, running down rabbits or antelope, but he wasn't any more scared of them than any man should be of his neighbors. After all, they had an understanding: he wouldn't go shooting at them, and they wouldn't prey on Sookie.
One of the distinct benefits of the newcomers' arrival was that Wiley no longer had to worry about mountain lions any more, despite all the sheep and cattle in the area. The big cats cleared off the minute they caught wind of what had taken up residence in Nonesuch.
Now he could leave Sookie stabled in the mine with a bale of hay and not have to worry about her all night.
Like most who live without electricity, the rising and setting of the sun proscribed his activities. As the light began to fade, Wiley prepared a humble meal of black beans, flour tortillas, and jerked beef, washed down with cold coffee. After checking on Sookie one final time to make sure she had plenty of feed and water for the evening, he retired to his cabin to enjoy a shot of whiskey and a pipe of tobacco before turning in for the night.
As he was finishing his pipe, a horrible shriek shattered the quiet. He instantly recognized the cry as coming from Sookie, although he had never heard the burro cry out in such distress before. He grabbed the Coleman lantern from the table and his double-barreled shotgun from its resting place behind the front door and hurried toward the mine.
"I'm comin', girl!" he shouted, holding the lantern aloft.
The burro was lying on her side just outside the mine. She had run as far as her tether allowed. She wasn't breathing and there was foam smeared about her muzzle.
"Sookie!" Wiley's knees gave out at the sight of his beloved burro stretched cold and unmoving on the hard ground. He dropped beside the felled beast, heart-stricken. "What happened, girl?" he moaned as he stroked her stiff mane, as if she could somehow answer him. He and Sookie went back a long way; he found her as a foal, wandering the hills after being orphaned by a mountain cat. As he touched the burro's throat, he felt something warm and wet. He pulled his hand away and stared at the blood smearing his fingers and palm. He lifted the lantern and saw twin punctures in her neck.
There was a sound from inside the mine, like a footstep on loose rock. Wiley raised his shotgun in the direction of the noise.
"Who's there? I
know
somebody's there!" he shouted. "You either answer me or I'll open fire!"
There was movement from deep within the shadows, and a pale figure emerged from the darkness within the mine. He was tall and thin, dressed in expensive dark clothes smeared
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) with blood and dirt. Wiley noticed that the stranger's hands had very long, narrow fingers that ended in hooked nails, and that while the stranger's face was as pale as milk, his mouth was red as crushed berries.
"Who are you, mister? Speak up, before I blow you full of holes!"
The stranger smiled as if something the prospector said was amusing.
"Where you headed, Skin?" Uncle Billy asked as he gassed up Cade's Wrangler.
"I'm going on perimeter check again. Until we know what that vampire's intentions are, I'll rest easier knowing I've kept tabs on everybody."
"Not a bad idea," the older man said, nodding his head.
Cade retrieved an Army Surplus issue walkie-talkie from the back of the Jeep and tossed it at Uncle Billy. "I want you keep this on you for the time being. I gave one to Cissy, too.
In case something goes down out there, I want to be able to bring in back-up as soon as possible."
"I read you loud and clear, my boy," Billy said with a crooked smile. "Just give a shout and I'll come a'runnin' like a dawg to the hunt."
Cade scratched his head as he looked around the abandoned mining camp. Wiley wasn't in his cabin and Sookie was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they had gone off into the hills to look for turquoise. Or, more likely, the prospector had taken the burro with him into the mine.
Cade walked over to the entrance, sniffing cautiously. He could smell the distinct reek of burro dung and piss, but there was another odor underneath it. While he could not identify the scent, there was no mistaking it as being that of a predator. Cade's hackles came up instinctively. The last time that happened a mountain cat jumped him.
''Skin! Skinner, do you readme? Over!'
Cade blinked, distracted by the squawk of the walkie-talkie. "This is Skinner. I read you loud and clear, Uncle Billy. What's wrong? Over."
"Nate Ferguson's boy just rode into town, fit to bust. Says his pappy needs you out at the
farm. Says there's something hidin out in his barn. Over.
"
"I'm on my way! Billy, I need you to get ahold of Cully and bring him to the Ferguson place. Do you copy? Over."
"Roger, I copy.
"
"Good. I'll meet you at Nate's. Over and out." Cade returned the walkie-talkie to its canvas sling. He eyed the yawning mouth of the mine for long moment, then turned and headed back to the Jeep.
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) Nate Ferguson emerged from his geodesic dome homestead when Cade's Jeep pulled up into the yard. He held a rifle close to his chest, like a soldier on parade.
"Thank God you're here, Skinner!"
"What's this about there being an intruder on your property, Nate?"
"My boy Jimmy went out to milk the cow, as usual," Ferguson said, pointing at the barn that stood a hundred yards from the house. "He comes runnin' back, fit to be tied, sayin' he heard someone movin' round in the hayloft. So I went out to check it out, and I'll be damned if the first thing I see when I climb up into the loft is a pair of boots sticking out from behind a bale of hay! That's when I sent Jimmy into town to fetch you, sheriff."
"I see," Cade said. He removed his gun from its holster, flipping the chamber open for a quick spot-check. "You been back out to the barn since then?"
"No, sir!"
"Good," Cade said, re-holstering his gun. "I'm gonna go have a look-see. I want you to wait here for Uncle Billy."
"Will do, sheriff!" Ferguson called after him.
The interior of Nate Ferguson's barn was dark and smelled of fresh hay, old straw and cow shit. Yet there was another, stranger scent mixed in with the manure and cattle-feed, one that was unfamiliar to him. But whatever it was, it definitely smelled dangerous.
He paused as his head cleared the edge of the loft and looked around. There were several bales of hay stacked to his right, from behind which poked a pair of scuffed black boots, toes pointed towards the ceiling. Cade quietly stood up and maneuvered himself so he could get a clear view of what inhabited the boots.
Stretched out on a bed of clean hay was a young woman dressed in a battered black leather motorcycle jacket, filthy black jeans, a torn T-shirt, and a pair of mirrored sunglasses. Her hair was blacker than a King James Bible, and shorn in such a fashion that suggested she had cut it herself without the benefit of a mirror. Her skin was as pale as a shut-in's and her hands were folded over her breast like that of the dead in repose. She did not seem to be breathing.