Anna stood up near Helen"s sinking form. The tear in her neck was wider now; Anna had worked her hands inside. The edges still tried to heal, but Anna kept the center from meeting. Helen howled her frustration, lashing her neck from side to side-and a nearby howl answered her.
Jorgen began shoving his way through the circle of bears, howling again.
"Is it a team match now? I can hardly guard Master Grey and also play," Dren asked of no one.
"Enough!"
Anna, Helen, and Jorgen were all forced backward, like they"d been shoved by a wall.
"I will not allow this insolence to continue!" Meaty"s voice didn"t sound like Meaty-it resonated with something older and more wild.
Meaty reached down and s.n.a.t.c.hed a piece of the shadow of the tree we were near, as though pulling fabric free, and cast it up into the sky above us, saying, "The only magic mine." We would have all been in the dark had not Meaty began to cast an eerie light. Gina and Rachel stepped away quickly. "No moon now. Time to answer for your crimes." Meaty pointed at Helen, and her wolf form slipped away, shedding off her, leaving her naked. Jorgen"s form changed too, lessening, the beast flowing out of him, leaving only human behind. "But before that-"
"Who are you?" Anna asked.
"This body is quite old. It suits me well." Meaty inspected both thick arms, as if seeing them for the first time. It didn"t look like Meaty anymore. The physical s.p.a.ce my charge nurse held was overlapped with light, and that light had a slightly different shape. It was like a sheet of disembodied power draped down, turning Meaty into a glowing Halloween ghost. "In answer to your question, bloodslave-I am an avatar of the Consortium. This body was the only thing nearby large enough to hold me that wasn"t wearing fur." Meaty cast about on the ground. I wasn"t about to ask what they were looking for.
"You. There." Meaty turned over a rock with a toe. "Get up here and explain yourselves."
Had I seen anyone else talk to the ground, I"d have deemed them profoundly insane. But I had a hunch who we were ringing up now.
More shadows oozed away from the base of the tree, thickening like oil, folding in on themselves till they made a creature waist-high.
"Your Grace, honorable Dr. Swieten-" the tar-like creature said. Despite the fact that the Shadows were amorphous, I got the feeling they were groveling.
"Do not say my name like you know me, dark things." The phosph.o.r.escence around Meaty glowed brighter.
"Never again, Doctor, never again. Please, take pity on us." The Shadows thinned, dropping lower into the ground in the face of this brightness.
"You know how valuable this territory is. What possible reason could you have for leaving your post?"
"Santa Muerte escaped. We had to go and find her."
One of Meaty"s eyebrows rose, both the glowing and nonglowing one. "And did you?"
"No!" A hundred different tones of wailing combined in that one word. "Should she gather-"
Meaty"s avatar cut a glowing hand down. "Your foolishness is no excuse for this. Abort your search, and fix this mess you"ve made."
I was pleased to see there was something in this world that the Shadows were frightened of-and then realized that if they were frightened, than I almost certainly should be too. The howling behind us had ended, and the surrounding weres were still. I didn"t think they were waiting-it was like they"d been frozen in time. I scanned for Jake in vain.
Meaty gestured behind our group, toward the hospital. "Those poisoned people were not meant to become were, Shadows. Heal them or kill them off." The glowing began to fade, and the sense of having another presence there receded.
"Wait!" I called out. Gideon put a hand on my arm to stop me. "What about everything else?"
The light returned, and the Consortium"s avatar looked at me through Meaty"s face, condescendingly. "Several unexplained fires have been set in the city, to help explain the chaos. The rest, I"m sure you"ll deal with." Meaty looked from Anna to Helen. And then the light drained away-although the shadow overhead remained. Abandoned, Meaty stumbled, and Gina caught our head nurse.
Anna walked over to Helen. Her b.e.s.t.i.a.l half was gone now, but Sike"s blood was still on her hands. Jorgen clutched her to him.
"She fought well, but-" Helen said, the words apologetic, the tone not.
"I loved her."
"Then you are broken. Vampires do not love," Jorgen said. Muscles rippled under Jorgen"s skin-furless or not, he was a force to be reckoned with. He held Helen protectively.
Ominous howls began again.
"What did her blood buy?" I asked aloud, because I needed to know that I hadn"t sold it too cheaply.
"House Grey said that if we stole the blood from here for them, they would give us their blood in return. As they had once given it to Winter, prolonging his life." Helen"s eyes looked over to the emissary from House Grey. "Their devil"s pact with my father cost me my husband"s life. How I loved my husband and hated my father for killing him." She freed herself from Jorgen"s arms and threw herself at Anna"s feet. "Show us mercy. We repent."
The House Grey vampire coughed. "Your sentimentality is unbecoming."
"Dren, please kill him," Anna said.
The Husker hesitated. "To kill him will make you a large number of enemies, Sanguine. Enemies you might not want yet, in your ill.u.s.trious five-hour-old career."
"I don"t think I care."
Dren shrugged and set his sickle to the Grey"s throat. "Don"t you want to know about Santa-" the Grey began. Anna didn"t look up. Dren finished his move and the vampire dusted like a cloud.
The distant howling came nearer. Anna looked down to Helen now. "Such a meal I have not had before. No wonder we used to keep your kind as pets. Perhaps that can be your punishment. I"ll chain you to the end of my bed and drain you every night."
Lucas the wolf crouched at the edge of the circle, then bounded in. His wolf left him as fluidly as I knew it had arrived. He landed softly, on one knee, both hands touching down. Two other weres leapt in beside him.
"Their punishments are ours." He stood and turned to look at Helen. "What were you thinking? How could you shame us so?"
"My father killed my husband to hide his secret, to buy his extra years of life. Fenris-my Fenris-died for my father"s secret use of vampire blood, so that no one else would know." Helen picked up a handful of the slush beside her and threw it at Lucas"s feet. "Fenris Jr. was too young to lead, and the pack would never pick a woman. I had to let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d live until my son"s position was secure-then he went and got you to rule us!" Her face curdled in anger. "That was when I made my pact and told House Grey I"d raise an army to get the blood from here. They denied him vampire blood and Jorgen tried to kill him, but the b.a.s.t.a.r.d wouldn"t die. All of it was going to be ruined. All my waiting, all my patience, and for what?"
Lucas"s face held pity for her mixed with horror. "I told you I was only going to be pack leader for the interim. Why didn"t you believe me?"
"Have you ever known a man to step away from a throne?"
Lucas clenched his fists at his sides. "I am not like him, Helen."
"That"s what all men say."
Anna moved to stand in front of Lucas. "I demand her life. A life for a life-it is the old way."
"We will punish her in our own manner. Take Jorgen instead." The weres beside Lucas moved to grab Jorgen, and he fought back.
"No!" Helen screamed, reaching for him as they dragged him off.
"Is that the one who attacked you, Edie?" Anna asked. I nodded. "We"ll accept him then. His death shall be as you prefer."
I took two steps back. "What ... if I don"t prefer it?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Sike did not die so that this one could live."
I waited, unable to speak.
I could use needles on patients; I could debride painful wounds; I could hold a crying child down to push a feeding tube up its nose-and I could bleed a vampire. But could I, with my voice, give the command to kill a man?
"If I may make a suggestion, ladies," Dren said, stepping in. "I"ve always wanted a were for a Hound."
Anna looked at me, then back to Dren. "Do it."
It was better than death. Right? I didn"t fight when Dren took Jorgen in hand. I knew then I would always regret it. Dren pulled him outside the circle, and it was dark, so I couldn"t see, but I could hear Jorgen cry out.
"No-" Helen whispered. "Samson, Lars, Nichola-when they questioned how Winter was living so long, he bought some of them off with blood. Take one of them instead!" she pleaded. At the back of the pack, in the shadows, some weres peeled away and ran off.
Lucas snapped his fingers, and other wolves ran off after their traitors. "Who else?"
"No one!" she said.
"All right. Then we decide."
A high-pitched snarl began from inside the pack"s group. Helen blanched. "Fenris, no-"
Fenris Jr. ran in, on four legs, then two, crouching in front of his mom. "Don"t hurt her!"
Lucas swooped down and scruffed the boy, just like he was a puppy, holding him up by his neck.
"No, Lucas-no," Helen whispered.
"Pack honor demands that your bloodline be punished. That means both of you." Creatures with teeth and paws reached forward into the circle, grabbing hold of Helen, pulling her back into the dark. Lucas tossed Fenris Jr. to the ground.
Fenris landed poorly, a tangle of arms and legs. I ran out to stand in front of him.
"You can"t, Lucas. He"s just a child."
"Edie-get out of the way."
"I can"t let you do this, Lucas." I looked to Anna for help, but she raised her hands as if they were tied. "You"ll regret it forever if you kill him!"
"I"ll regret it forever if I let him live. I"ll be the pack leader who was dishonored."
"So? Who cares? No one cares about that! No one has to care!" I reached around behind myself to press Fenris Jr. tight.
A phalanx of new wolves and wolfmen arrived, and one of them pressed through. It was deep black, with white splotches. When it reached the circle"s edge, the wolf skin fell away. Viktor stood there, finally without his hat. "I care. None of your bloodline deserves to lead this pack, not anymore." Viktor moved into the center of the circle, shouting loud enough for all. "I figured it all out. All of it. Only none of you would have listened to me. I brought one of the drug dealers here-I interrogated him. Found out he got his drug-his Lobos Luna-straight from Jorgen." The wolfmen shoved forward a man, who hit the pavement on his knees.
The dealer was Jake. My heart stopped. How come Jake wasn"t out there with the rest of the crazed new weres? I couldn"t look behind me now to see how the Shadows were "taking care" of things. And Jake was looking down-soon he had to look up and see me.
Viktor continued. "You"re not fit to lead, Lucas. Look at all this chaos in your pack. So many traitors. Kill the boy-and then fight me for your pack."
Lucas watched Viktor as the newcomer walked proudly around. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" Lucas asked.
"I"ve watched all of your fights. I know where all your weaknesses are. To the Viktor will go the spoils!" Viktor said, thumping his chest, stepping aside.
Lucas took three steps toward me, as though he were coming for Fenris. Fenris scrabbled behind me, reaching the edge of the circle at last. I heard the snarls as he changed into a wolf, and frightened yips as he ran away. Lucas made like he"d give chase, then whirled and took two low steps back at Viktor, punching out to shove his human hand into Viktor"s stomach, carrying Viktor upward with the force of the blow. Standing, he drew the other were onto his toes, his arm embedded in Viktor"s chest. "It seems I have your heart."
Viktor couldn"t say anything. His face went red, his rib cage straining the confines of his chest, gasping for air. Lucas went on.
"No one tells me how to lead my pack." He flung Viktor outside the circle, and the black wolf form enveloped him as he left it. "Heal-and heel. Don"t offer me counsel ever again."
Lucas looked out at the rest of his pack, held his arms wide. "Is this settled? Is there anyone else?" His pack gave no response. "Good. No one harms a hair on Junior"s head. Bring him home safe, to me."
He turned toward me, sitting in the circle with him, and offered me a gore-covered hand. Since I"d already had one were-shot that evening, I took it. "You were born the wrong species."
I sagged with relief and exhaustion. "I don"t think so."
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO.
Lucas left with his pack. I couldn"t imagine how Fenris Jr. would deal with things tomorrow morning. I had no doubt what the punishment for Helen would be. And what exactly had I condemned Jorgen to, giving him over to Dren? I didn"t want to know.
Jake still hadn"t looked up. I wondered if the weres had hurt him or if he was fighting the Luna Lobos. "Jake?"
He held his hand up, in a stop. "I"m fine. Just do what you need to do, Edie." Normally, I would have fought him on that, only Anna interrupted us.
"Is there anything else that needs doing tonight?" She put her hands on her hips and stood tall.
I remembered what I"d been doing right before Sike died. "There is one more thing for me to confess to."
"Hmmm?"
"I ... destroyed a lot of blood. All of it, in fact. I didn"t think I could risk them getting it."
Behind her, Gina heard me and pumped her fist in the air.
"Well, that was unexpected." Anna said and looked around, calling out, "Shadows-"
As the moon sank, the shadows of the trees were growing. The nearest Shadow answered her. "We can return the hospital to the way it was, and also many of these people. But we cannot find individual blood cells and return them to their original state. If they were here, perhaps. But they were washed away an hour ago, and denatured before that."
"Denatured by what?"
"Chemical solvents."
Anna"s shoulders slumped. From behind, and the side, she must have looked dismayed. But when she spoke next, her eyes were lit up by power. "When the other Houses find out-" She shook her head, mystified at the future she was seeing, with an avaricious smile. "They will all be indebted to me. I will, of course, have to be gracious, and give them pint upon pint of replacement blood. For a nominal fee."
"You have it in you, after all," I said.
"That I do." She gave me a private nod. "So be it, Shadows," she said louder. "Hurry this process. Dawn comes."