were sealed by a zipper, making it look like something worn by members of a SWAT team. She looked up and smiled at Cole in the rearview mirror. Even with all the layers of blood, sweat, and dirt coating her face, she still managed to look cute. “There’s always some crazy bastard who wants to make a play for the big time. It doesn’t mean they can actually pull it off. Chicago’s got a knack for attracting men like that.”
“Massacres and all,” Cole replied as he steered for the oncoming exit. “Why don’t the Nymar just take over the cities for real?” he asked. “I mean, they’re fast and strong.”
“Not fast and strong enough to go against the butt-load of guns that would be pointed at them by cops or the military if they made a move like that. Besides, there’s just not enough of them. If there’s one thing the Nymar know, it’s math. They need human blood to replace the blood their own spores burn up, so they need to keep humans around. They’re no better at internal power struggles than humans are, so the best solution is to keep their numbers limited.”
“Did you say ‘butt load’?” Cole asked
Paige shrugged and shared a laugh with him. “Technical term. You’d better get Walter on the phone.”
He slowed down while reaching over for the phone. After Walter picked up, Cole hit the button for the phone’s speaker and held it near the rearview mirror so everyone could have a nice little chat.
“Where the hell are you guys?” Walter asked.
“Almost there,” Cole replied.
“Has Henry showed up yet?” Paige asked.
Even though they were at opposite ends of the digital connection, Cole swore he could picture the expression on Walter’s face. “He’s supposed to be here and you’re not?” Walter snarled. “I’m not a fucking Skinner, remember? I’m doing this as a favor. I’m not about to hold off an army of vampires along with some freak job that rips through bodies like toilet paper! Have you checked your laptop lately? That diner’s on the news! There’s pictures on the Internet! They’re saying there was a grease fire, but I know dead Nymar when I see them. I should’ve known better than to put my ass on the line like this. Skinners attract this kind of gruesome crap like—”
“Take a breath,” Paige said. “We’re not going to leave you there on your own. In fact, we’re almost there! Will you at least be able to cover us from a distance? You still have that rifle, don’t you?”
After a pause, Walter said, “Yeah, but who’s gonna cover me?”
“I will,” Cole said. Noticing how Paige looked right back at him with genuine surprise on her face, he said to her, “Thought I’d save you the hassle of volunteering me.”
She smiled and rubbed his shoulder. “We won’t forget this, Prophet,” she said to the phone.
“Just don’t forget about my cut of that bounty money. In fact, I should get a bigger cut! And you’ll still owe me for this no matter how much cash you throw my way.”
“You got it,” Paige replied without hesitation. “What’s the situation there right now?”
For a moment, Cole thought Walter might have hung up. Then a heavy sigh crackled over the speaker and Walter said, “The pale kids are still drifting in to some sort of meeting. You should have a little time before anything happens, but that might all change once Henry gets here. I’ll show you where to make your entrance and then hang back to cover you. If things get too hot, I’m out of there. You two can have your blaze of glory.”
After Walter rattled off a quick set of directions, the connection was cut and Cole snapped the phone shut. Now he just needed to refrain from thinking about what was left to be done, and he might just make it to Janesville without getting sick.
Chapter 24
Upon driving into Janesville, Cole followed Walter’s directions and stopped along the side of the road within sight of the interstate. Palmer Park was directly ahead of them, lit by moonlight that fell onto the treetops like dusty snow. Leaning against the Cavalier’s trunk, Cole surveyed the area. Even though Janesville seemed like a nice enough place, something about it struck him as odd. It took a few moments for him to put his finger on the cause of that feeling, but he eventually did. “It’s so quiet,” he said.
Paige sat on the ground with her back against the bumper, Cole’s weapon across her lap. The werewolf carcass was still in the backseat, but had been covered with an old wool Army surplus blanket. Having retrieved something she’d cooked up back at the Lancroft estate, she was now adding another ingredient and swirling the mixture in a Tupperware bowl. She looked around and replied, “We’re in dairy country. Did you expect Mardi Gras?”
“No, but it’s not that late. So far, I’ve only seen a few cars and nobody out walking around. I don’t care where you are, there’s always
“It always gets like this when too many of them get together.”
“Them? You mean Nymar?”
“Nymar, shapeshifters, especially werewolves. People may not know about all of those things. They may not even believe in them. But when too many predators get too close, there’s something in the back of every animal’s head that tells them to stay where it’s safe.”
Looking into the bowl in Paige’s hand, he asked, “Is that blood?”
“Yep.”
“Blood from that Half Breed?”
She nodded. “Hand me a towel.”
The trunk was ajar, and Cole turned so he could reach into the gym bag at the top of the pile. The first towel he could find was a familiar white bundle of starched cotton.
“Not that one,” she said. “That’s got the invisible Mongrel stuff in it. Try one of the blue ones.”
There would have been a time, not too long ago, when hearing someone refer to an invisible anything would have raised his eyebrows. Now he simply dug around until he found the blue towel. Once he handed it over, he watched Paige dip it into the mixture and apply it to the thorns on his weapon as if the stuff was just another kind of dark red varnish.
“Is that what makes your weapons change shape?” he asked.
Without looking up from what she was doing, Paige said, “That’s right, but don’t get excited. It takes a lot more than one coat before you’ll see so much as a twitch.”
“Shouldn’t I be watching how you do that?”
“I’ll show you when we have more time. You’ll be doing this a lot. What you need to do, though, is hold this weapon so these thorns actually break those soft little computer boy hands of yours. You’ll need to get used to it. Don’t worry,” she added, gently rubbing his arm before handing over his weapon. “This is one of the oldest Skinner rituals there is. The kinks have been worked out over the last couple hundred years or so.”
Cole flipped the weapon around a few times. It seemed lighter and more balanced. He placed his hands over the thorns and thought about trying to drive them into his palms right then and there, just to get it over with. The first time had been an accident, but the thought of doing the deed on purpose hit a block in his head that prevented him from following through.
It was simple. All he needed to do was grab hold of that weapon and tighten his grip enough to drive sharp pieces of wood through his flesh.
Nothing to it.
The longer he kept his hands on top of those thorns, the sharper they felt. Before he could force himself to kick down that mental roadblock, another vehicle rolled up alongside Paige’s Cavalier. It was Walter’s van.
Walter pushed open his door, hopped out and walked over to them. Pointing toward the park, he announced, “There’s a bunch of Nymar gathering at an old parking garage off Palmer Drive. A few of them headed up north toward Ruger Avenue, but most of them are staying in the park. Misonyk and his bodyguards went inside the garage a while ago and haven’t come out yet. Some big freak that looked like a messed-up Full Blood jumped in all the way from the interstate. I’m guessing that’s your Henry.”
“Sounds like it. How do you know he’s part Full Blood?” Paige asked.
“I’ve tracked a few in my day,” Walter said. “This thing’s got the same build and the same power in his stride. Whatever he is, he sure as hell doesn’t have the smarts of a Full Blood.”
Nodding quickly to what Walter told her, Paige asked, “And you’re sure about the rest?”
