Chapter 36

The sight of the dead witch in front ofmy house strikes Greer dumb. I would enjoy the silence and capitalize on hisdeer-in-the-headlights look, but I’d rather be upstairs with Az than withDetective Dumbass. I haven’t had a chance to see her since Greta and Josewhisked her off for a bath. The need to reassure myself that she’s alive makesme itch.

“This is not good.” Greer swipes a handacross his forehead. He looks like he’s about to boot all over the body. “Thisis some serious shit, Rick.”

“We didn’t kill her!”

Greer’s mouth falls open again. Histhroat works furiously but all he can do is sputter. I swear he’s going tofaint like a sissy.

“Half of her skull is missing,” he says,trembling finger aimed at the gaping hole in the back of the witch’s head.

“Ike shot her someone fried her brain.” This is the third time I’ve had toexplain the timeline to him, but it’s not sinking in. Between Daniel’skidnapping, the Dowager Matriarch’s murder, and the shootout with the witches,I think Greer’s reached the limit of how much magical shit he can handle. Pansy.

“Why would he shoot her if she wasalready dead?”

I gesture toward the second corpse. “Ihave a strict one draugr a month limit.”

“I have to call the Mages’ Council. They’renot going to be pleased that the wife of a Mage was killed in front of aShifter pack house.”

Fury rolls down my spine. I have toclench my fists to keep from sprouting claws. “I’m not too fucking pleased thatthe wife of a Mage attacked my pack house.”

“With the witch and the draugr dead,it’ll be your word against the evidence, Rick.”

“She was killed with magic.”

Greer pauses to consider the body again. Inthat brief moment of quiet, I expect Az to start chattering about how anautopsy will reveal that the witch’s brain was fried with a modifiedliquefaction spell or the Rite of Telepathically Killing People. Maybe thespell left a residue or turned her innards blue. I turn to my right, butthere’s no one there.

Of course not.

Greer seems to realize that something’smissing, too. “Where’s your Reader?”

“Indisposed.”

At least, I hope she’s still justindisposed and not dead. Greta or Jose surely would have said something if herconditioned changed. If they value their lives, they’ll tell me half aheartbeat after something changes.

“She’s sick? She looked fine thismorning. Did she get hurt when the witches attacked? She wouldn’t let theparamedics examine her.” Greer glares at me as if it’s my fault Az wasnon-responsive after the ambush.

There is no way in hell I am tellingGreer that Az fell into a magic-induced coma after draining all the power fromOlivet while we were rescuing Daniel. “She’s resting. It’s been a long day witha lot of magic.”

I don’t know if it’s my tone or theeasily-believable excuse that prompts Greer to nod like a bobble head, but atthis point I just don’t care. “What I don’t get,” Greer starts, “is why thewife of the Mage of St. Louis would attack you.”

I shrug. “Witches are crazy bitches.”

Greer continues nodding. “I put in a callto Mage Shica’s house. His assistant says that he’s been at a retreat inBudapest all week. They’re not allowed to use cell phones, but she gave me anumber to call to leave a message for him.”

It’s my turn to be stunned. If Shica’sbeen incommunicado in Budapest, who has Az been calling? She hadn’t said thatthe voice sounded off or given any indication that she was speaking with animposter. Is Shica’s assistant lying or has someone managed to impersonate theMage of St. Louis?

“Call Leo Vardan, the Mage of NewOrleans. He and Shica are close.”

Greer eyes me like he wants to ask how Iknow that, but he calls his office and gets patched through to the Mage of NewOrleans. He paces the length of thedriveway while he wants for someone to pick up. The conversation he has with asoft-spoken, matronly-sounding woman is surprisingly short.

“Vardan’s at the same retreat,” Greersays as he pockets his phone. “I’ll check with the department to see who Ishould contact next.”

Surrounded by Mages in Hungary, I doubtthat Shica or Vardan have been able to sneak out long enough to pull Olivet’sstrings and mastermind the overtaking of my city. Then again, if either of themis in charge, they have a hell of an alibi. I’m starting to understand why Azsaid the math wasn’t adding up.

“So how’d you find the kid?” Greer asks.

“Az found him.” I don’t have time tosatisfy his curiosity. I need to figure out who is doing their damndest to takeout my pack. “You’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.”

If she wakes up.

She has to wake up.

She’d better wake up.

The map. She found Daniel using themagical map with the snake and the twig. What had she said about the knot ofknowledge? I leave Greer standing in the driveway and race back into the study.If he wanders inside, someone will make sure he stays in the public areas ofthe house.

The map is still on the desk. The blobover Homewood Park must be one of the two knots Az spotted. I stare at the maptrying to find a second blob, but it doesn’t come easy. Just when I think myeyes are about to cross, the dots coalesce into a circle-ish shape.

Bear Creek Park in west Harris County. Rightover Bear Creek.

I drop the map and flip through the pageso’crazy Az had tried to translate. Her spidery handwriting is a bitch to tryand decipher, but one words stands out: Ursidae. Where the Ursidae meet theriver. Bear Creek Park.

At least we won’t have to deal withactual bears.

IfAz is right, and that’s a pretty damn big if, Olivet’s command central is inBear Creek Park. Some of the largest spikes on the map are in that area. Isthat where the puppet master will be going? Is he or she already in town? Isthat where the not-Shifters are kenneled?

The one person I need to ask is, ofcourse, not taking questions at the moment.

The stairs rattle under my feet as Istomp up to my bedroom. Princess ispropped up by every pillow I own. Jose is finishing up the second of Az’sbraided pigtails. Complete with big white bows at the end. How very Heidi. Ihope Az strangles him with them when she wakes up.

Greta massages Az’s legs while Hankhovers over his IV pole. All in all, there are too many people surrounding myvoid. I open my mouth intending to tell them to get the hell out, though it’lllikely just be a growl, but then I get a good look at Az’s outfit.

Red plaid pajama bottoms, a white t-shirtwith a large gray wolf screen-printed across the front, and a red fleecejacket.

Talk about mixed messages.

“She was getting cold,” Jose says, lowerlip puffing out, when I arch an eyebrow at him. He straightens the braidclosest to him before pressing his lips to the side of Az’s head.

“And the pajamas?”

“Ike had planned on giving them to her asa gag gift,” Greta says. “You should have seen the ones I had to talk him outof.”

Given Ike’s often-twisted sense of humor,I really, really don’t want to know. “Howis she?”

“The same.” Greta abandons Az’s legs sothat I can sit beside the unconscious void. “Hank started her on fluids. He’sbeen monitoring her vitals.”

“There doesn’t appear to be any physicalreason for her to remain in this state,” Hank says, shoving his hands in hispockets. “Then again, I don’t know the ins and outs of magic absorption, so Idon’t know what’s going on inside her head.”

“Does anyone?” I pull her left foot ontomy lap. The skin across the top of her foot is cool and her toes are downrighticy. Does this mean that she’s processing what she can of the magic and slowlyreleasing the rest of it?

Sunlight momentarily blinds me when Gretapulls back the curtains to peer outside. “Greer’s car is still parked in frontof the house.” Greta lets the curtains swing shut. “How much trouble is hegiving you over the witch?”

“Enough. He’s having difficultycontacting Shica. It seems that most of the Mages are at a retreat in Budapestand have limited access to outside communication.”

Greta’s eyebrows disappear beneath hershort, spiky bangs. “Didn’t Az talk to her uncle on the phone?”

“That’s what we thought.” Once Az’s leftfoot is sufficiently warm, I trade it for the right foot. “There’s a lot offreaky shit going on here.”

Greta rolls her shoulders and flashes atoothy, feral grin. “Got any idea where it’s centered? You and Ike got to haveall the fun with the bitch and her pet draugr. Really not fair, Rick.”

“Bear Creek Park.” My fingers dig intoAz’s heel. “But we don’t know that the puppet master is there or how manynot-Shifters are hanging about.”

“I’m up for a little recon.”

“They’ll have a Shifter’s sense of smell.You go in for a looksie and you’re liable to end up with a fight on yourhands.”

“I have no problem with that.”

“I do. I don’t want another skirmish. Idon’t want to give them another chance to see what we’re capable of. We have toshut them down.”

“So we go in hard without knowing whatwe’re facing.” Greta crosses her arms and leans against the wall. “Reminds meof the time that clan of jackals tried to set up shop in Baytown. Friggin’ methheads.”

Greta and I share bloodthirsty, wistfulsmiles. Those were the good ol’ days when the pack was tiny, and I didn’t givea damn about the rest of the Paranormal Community. Greta, Ike, and I barelymade it out of that fight with all our limbs attached. Ike still gripes aboutthe chunk they took out of his rear flank.

“It’ll be all hands on deck for thisone,” I say, battle plans racing through my brain. A few of the younger packmembers haven’t been in serious battle, so they’ll have to pair up with theveterans. Greta and Ike fight so well together that it’ll be a shame to have tobreak them apart. I don’t trust anyone but Greta to watch over Uriah and Quinn.

“Everyone’s healed up,” Hank says,joining Greta by the window. “The downtime really helped. My kit’s stocked, andI can get Willie to sit on the sidelines with the ambulance.”

“Call him.”

Hank nods and steps into the hallway tocall his half-incubus partner. Greta’s eyes have glazed over. Knowing my secondas well as I do, I know she’s picturing Bear Creek Park and trying to determinethe best plan of attack.

“We should all go in Shifted wearingthose scent-neutralizing charms we picked up last month.” Her gaze stays fixedto the landscape on my wall. “Break into teams of three, I think. Spread outenough to cause confusion but not enough to be cut off from help. If they’reclose to the creek, we can take advantage of ground cover.”

“What about Az?” Jose asks. “We can’tleave her here unprotected.”

No, we can’t. And I can’t spare anyone. Asit is we’re taking a risk by going in with so few people.

This isn’t just our fight, though. Thenot-Shifters have killed Centaurs. If the pack fails, then the entireParanormal Community will be at risk.

Time for a little of that unity Az waspreaching.

I don’t want to rely on anyone else toprotect Az. For all I know, whatever we face at Bear Creek will be adistraction so that the puppet master can swoop in and steal my void. Even ifthe fight is legitimate, how protected is she really going to be if I take thebest warriors with me? The pacifists in the Land Faery Association or the ogrestoo stupid to know which end of a spear goes up? Neither option inspires muchconfidence.

I am going to make her life a living hellwhen she wakes up.

If we’re lucky, we can get to thenot-Shifters before the puppet master shows up. We take them out, it’ll take along time to find a new patsy and rebuild the army. That will give us the timewe need to take down the puppet master. Hopefully with Az’s help.

Now that the Centaurs know they’re beingtargeted, they’ll be vigilant and under the pack’s protection. The entire PCwill be vigilant and under my protection. Houston is my city, and it’s time Istart reminding people of that fact.

“Greta, get everyone downstairs. I’ll bealong shortly to explain things.”

She offers up a saucy salute on her wayout of my bedroom. Jose stops petting Az’s head when my eyes fall on him. Iknow he wants to stay with Princess, but I need him on the battlefield.

“Get Az ready for transport. Pack a bagwith clothes for when she wakes up. She needs socks and shoes, too. I’ll haveHank take care of the medical stuff.”

Pernice Sutherland picks up after thesecond ring. I know he’s still at the ‘dome because the Patriarch only recentlywoke up and that’s where all the centaurs have congregated. The six-centaursquadron that picked up Daniel made it clear that the centaurs are taking thisthreat seriously. I hope that means I can count on their help.

“Pernice,” I say, cutting off the youngerman’s profuse outpouring of gratitude. “Gather everyone in the main conferenceroom. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Do you have news, Rick? Has there beenanother attack?”

“No. We’re going to war.”