Authors: Tammy Blackwell
Liam stood up. My heart
clenched, certain he was going to go Change, but instead, he
repositioned himself on the bed. At first I thought it was another
rejection, but then he lifted his head and stared at my pillow to
say,
“What are you waiting for?”
Knowing I wasn’t getting anything else from him, I
crawled onto the bed, eschewing the covers for his
warmth.
Chapter 28
“
They’re
coming.”
I landed in a heap at Talley’s feet, thanks
to Joshua the Freakishly Strong Immortal.
“
They who?” I panted out. I
held onto my ribs as I leaned to the right, and…
Yep. Some of them were definitely broken. It
was a good thing I was becoming an old pro at Changing whenever I
wanted, since everyone was using training as an excuse to play the
Beat the Crap Out of Scout game. In forty-eight hours, I had to
heal a sprained ankle, two broken fingers, and a dislocated
shoulder.
“
The Alphas,” Talley said.
“Mischa just sent me a text.”
While Jase was sucking up to Sarvarna,
Talley had been getting closer to the Seers of the Alpha Pack. In
many ways, it was the riskier endeavor. No one knew for sure what
Sarvarna Saw - the most popular rumors pegged it as either
opportunity or what a person desires most - but everyone in our
camp agreed it was something which allowed her to manipulate those
around her. Works pretty well when you’re playing politics, but it
doesn’t really help you identify a spy. On the other hand, Talley
was dealing with Seers able to pull thoughts from her head. One
misstep and it would have been game over. Fortunately, she soon
discovered two of the more powerful Alpha Pack Seers - Mischa and
Lizzie - were already on Team Scout. Apparently Mischa Saw
something very convincing when she touched me last summer, so over
the winter they began passing along helpful information to Talley
when they could.
“
And by ‘coming’ you
mean…?”
Talley twirled a piece of hair around her
finger. “Here. They’re coming here.”
“
Do we know
when?”
Talley shook her head as Charlie swore from
the corner where he and Jase had been lifting weights.
“
It was Makya,” Toby said.
“Damn it, how could he do that? What the hell was he
thinking?”
I bit my tongue to keep from commenting on
Makya’s ability to think. His slimy weaselness was hitting Toby
hard. The Pack Leader felt as if he had failed us both. I’m not
exactly sure what it was he thought he could have done for Makya,
other than possibly removing his vocal cords.
Liam appeared in the door of the
sitting-room-turned-training-room as if summoned. “He’ll have to be
dealt with eventually.”
“
I’ll take care of it.” It
was a statement, but one seeking permission. Liam gave it to Toby
with a manly slap to the shoulder.
While the Makya the Backstabber issue
certainly needed addressing, I felt we had more pressing matters to
discuss. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, careful not to
jar my ribs. “What is she up to, Jase? What will her game plan be
once she gets here?”
Jase snagged a water bottle
and dropped down beside me. “Why are you asking me? You’re the
brains of the operation. I’m mostly here as eye candy and the
occasional witty retort, much like Thor in
The Avengers
.”
“
First, Thor is a
god--”
“
You’re the one who said
I’m Jesus.”
“
--Secondly, if you’re
Thor, then I’m Loki. I don’t really approve of this
comparison.”
“
Nah. You’re not Loki. Your
horns are too small. I’m thinking that role goes to Angel. Can’t
you see her trying to take over the world just because she
can?”
“
The difference between
Loki and Angel is Angel would succeed, and probably have three
quarters of the world happy she did.” I could already see her
sitting on a giant pink throne, issuing out orders. Most of them
would have to do with making the world as pretty as possible. As
far as absolute rulers go, the world could do a lot worse. “And
third, you’re the one who has been getting all buddy-buddy with her
over the past nine months. Surely you’ve got a better idea of how
her brain works than any of the rest of us.”
“
Scout, I’ve known you
since I was eight weeks old, and I have no idea how your brain
works. What makes you think I figured out Sarvarna’s
already?”
I started to put my head on my knees, but
then my ribs reminded me why that was a bad idea.
“
You know,” Jase said, “I
could just call her and ask.”
“
That’s quite possibly the
worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Charlie said, saving me the
trouble.
“
No, think about it.” Jase
tilted forward with excitement. “We can do like those cop shows.
Set up a tap. Let the smart people analyze everything she says and
the background noise. Trace the call.”
“
We don’t have phone
tapping equipment, or a team of analysts,” Toby pointed
out.
“
We’re Shifters, and the
full moon is tomorrow night. We don’t need actual phone taps. And
Joshua can handle the phone trace, right?”
“
I could do it in my
sleep.”
“
Toby’s a cop,” Talley
noted. “He could probably pick up something from a
conversation.”
“
Hey, I’m not
a--”
“
And don’t forget about you
and Scout and your complete nerdiness.” Jase was literally rubbing
his hands together.
“
This idea sucks.” I looked
to Liam for support. “Tell him he’s being stupid. He never actually
listens to me.”
Liam, the traitorous jerk, just shrugged. “I
don’t know. I think it’s worth a try.”
I kept up a running argument against what
Jase was calling Operation: Phone Call until the moment we were
sitting around the dining room table, a phone in Jase’s hand.
Even knowing Sarvarna possessed normal human
hearing, I was afraid to so much as swallow.
“
Good afternoon, your
majesty.” Jase leaned back in his chair, his posture reflecting the
same casual ease as his voice. Beside him, Talley sat stiffly, her
hand in his. It was a condition he insisted on, wanting to make
certain Talley always knew which part was a show for Sarvarna, and
which part was real.
“
Jase, dear, I’ve been
trying to call you for days. I was starting to think you were
avoiding me.”
I fought to control my breathing. It was bad
enough everyone in the room could hear the way my heart kicked up
at the sound of her voice. I relaxed my face, hoping they would
interpret the increased heart rate as excitement instead of the
fear creeping up my spine.
“
How have you been, Sari?
How is the renovation of The Den going? Got my room done
yet?”
I listened intently to the background
noises. She wasn’t alone, although those around her were taking as
much care as we were to be quiet. I tried to count how many hearts
I could hear, but it was impossible over a loud droning noise.
“
The noise in the
background, what is it?”
I mouthed to
Liam.
He cocked his head,
listening. Then a hint of panic shot through me.
“
Airplane
,”
he mouthed back.
“
Your room is very near
finished. It makes me sad you will never see it.”
So she wasn’t playing dumb. Good.
“
Yeah, well, I guess my
priorities have shifted.”
And neither was Jase. Thank goodness. I can
only handle so much lying and subterfuge before my head starts
hurting.
“
I don’t understand,”
Sarvarna said. “You could have had so much, yet you align yourself
with those who want to destroy our entire society. Why would you do
that?”
Toby, who was sitting on the opposite side
of the table, held up six fingers. Liam shook his head and jerked
his thumb up. More than six people on the plane. It was the general
impression I was getting, too. Eight was my conservative estimate,
though there could have been more, too far away from the phone to
be heard.
“
The system is broken,
Sari. We’ve got to fix it.”
“
By declaring war on your
race?”
Joshua spun a laptop
around. The page looked like some sort of official Homeland
Security type thing I did
not
want to know how he accessed. On it, there was a
list of flights. He pointed to two, both of which were private
planes taking off from Romania with final destination in the
northern part of the United States. One landed in two hours, the
other in six. He highlighted the one landing in two hours and wrote
“80% probability” on a piece of paper.
“
We’re not declaring war.
We’re simply seeking a regime change. You could end this all by
stepping down and handing over the leadership to someone who
deserves it.”
“
And whatever makes you
think I don’t deserve it?”
You’re an evil, hateful witch?
“
You tried to kill my
sister.”
Oh, yeah. There’s that, too.
“
You know this will end
badly for you all, don't you, Jase?”
“
I don’t know about that.”
Jase met my eyes and smiled. “I’ve got Lilith and Wolf on my side.
Something tells me, you’re the one looking at a
not-so-happily-ever-after.” And with that, he disconnected the
call.
***
“
They’ve got eight or more
on the plane,” I said as soon as Jase sat the phone on the
table.
“
And if the Immortal is
right…”
“
I generally
am.”
“…
She’s landing in Odom
Pack Territory. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Liam
said.
Toby looked at the map Joshua pulled up on
the laptop. “The Miller Pack isn’t too far from there, either. And
don’t discount the Bowens. They might be all the way over in Utah,
but they’re the biggest and most Dominant Pack in America.”
Talley’s gaze flicked from one face to
another. “I don’t understand…”
“
She’s building an army,” I
said. “She’s going to try to take us out before I can issue a
Challenge.” I closed my eyes, an attempt to focus through the
panic. “Someone give me a number.”
“
Twenty-five,
conservatively,” Liam’s voice answered.
“
Talley,” I
said.
“
Scout,” she
answered.
“
I want you on the next
plane out of here.” I turned to Joshua. “Can you handle that? Get
her back to Kentucky, but not to Timber. Send her to the Matthews
Pack. If they decide to go after her, they won’t immediately look
there.”
“
No, I’m staying
here.”
“
Tal…”
“
I’m staying.”
“
You’re going.”
“
No.”
“
Talley, you’re not a
fighter. You’re a Seer. This is could get painful and messy. You
don’t need to be here.”
Instead of arguing, Talley stood up, pulled
a Baby Glock from underneath her bulky cardigan, and aimed it at my
head. I dove as she squeezed off two shots.
The guys in the room uttered a chorus of
profanities as I came out from under the table in a rage. “What the
heck is wrong with you? Are you crazy? Were you trying to kill
me?”
Charlie pointed to the window beside me,
which Talley had shattered. “You’re not the only one who has been
keeping up with training,” he said. “Talley goes to the range
almost every single day. She’s become quite the legend.”
Rachel was one of those old ladies with a
penchant for ugly yard decorations. There were metal owls nailed to
trees, a variety of wind chimes making a racket, and ceramic
creatures littering the lawn. Now there were two less, since Talley
killed a ceramic squirrel and stained glass frog.
“
You’re like Samuel L.
Jackson! What the crap?”
Talley slipped the gun back in its holster.
“I need to stand up for what I believe in. I won’t be in the direct
line of combat, but if I need to, I can protect myself and those I
love. Wasn’t that the whole point of making me learn self defense?
I mean, it was your idea, Scout.”
Fine, if I couldn’t talk Talley into
leaving, maybe I could make our injured list see logic.
“
I don’t suppose there is
any way I could talk you into leaving,” I said to
Charlie.
“
Not a chance.” I started
to make my argument, but he cut me off. “I’m not planning on
fighting, but I’m not leaving either.”
Not a complete victory, but it was better
than nothing.
“
You’ll stay with
Talley?”
“
And protect her with my
life.”
Of course he would. Protecting his friends,
no matter what it cost him personally, is what Charlie does.
Within minutes the dining room became a war
room. The guys talked defenses and perimeters, most of their plans
sounding like video game strategies. While they talked, I Googled
bloodless coups. The results weren’t what I would call optimistic,
but I still held on to hope.
The next night was the full moon. At Toby’s
request, Marie and Michelle moved into the Safe House. The Hagans
were keeping watch over them while Liam and I went to guard over
Rachel, who refused to be “bullied by a little girl with delusions
of grandeur.” Luckily, her apartment complex was on the edge of
town, which meant there was a nice big field less than half a mile
away where Liam and I could stand sentury.