The head next to Cole’s face moved up and down. “He did.”
“Let him go.”
The limbs and claws that had kept Cole’s back against the wall now pushed him forward. As soon as he landed, he reached for his only hope for salvation. After a quick search, he realized the pocket where he’d kept his phone had been completely ripped away. “Who are you?” he asked in the toughest voice he could manage.
“I’m Kayla,” the woman said. “And that is Ben.”
Feeling movement behind his back, Cole scooted away to see a long, scaly body wriggle through the wall before slipping farther into it like a crocodile swimming through a tank of dirty water. Some dirt came loose as an elongated head poked out, but it was tough for Cole to say if the beak capping Ben’s mouth was smiling or frowning. Once he locked eyes with Cole, Ben nodded once and blinked with eyelids that flipped open sideways instead of up and down.
“What’s your name, Skinner?” Kayla asked.
“Cole. My name’s Cole. Where the hell am I?”
Kayla settled back into her cross-legged sitting position. “You’d be surprised how many little spaces there are underground. Forgotten cellars, old septic tanks, sometimes a bomb shelter or an actual cave. And before you ask, no. We’re not in a septic tank.”
“All right. That’s good, I guess.”
“What did you want to talk about?”
Cole had spent plenty of time during his last few car rides thinking about that. Of course, planning a speech while listening to the radio was a lot different than forming a complete sentence after being dragged through an agoraphobic’s personal hell. “There’s a big problem just a few hours from here.”
“You mean the werewolves attacking Kansas City?” Ben asked from his spot halfway wedged in the wall, showing an elbow and part of a shoulder just below his face.
“Yeah,” Cole said as he turned to get a look at him. “How do you know about that?”
Appearing at another spot in a different wall, Ben snapped, “Oh, just because we live in a hole under someone’s lawn, you don’t think we can keep up on current affairs?”
Chuckling at the look of supreme confusion etched upon Cole’s face, Kayla said, “Our scouts are very effective. If we are to survive, we must keep track of the Full Bloods. We also spend more time up top than you probably know.”
“My partner and I…we’ve killed a bunch of Half Breeds,” Cole explained.
Kayla shrugged. “Half Breeds are often left in the Full Bloods’ wake.”
“It’s more than that. The Half Breeds are being made on purpose. A Full Blood is planting them.”
“Planting them?” Ben asked.
Cole turned to look Ben in the eye, but didn’t find the Mongrel where he’d last left him. Instead, Ben had moved to a spot somewhere between the wall and the ceiling, like a gravity-challenged house cat getting comfortable in the wrong corner. “That’s right.”
“So they’ve heard the voice of the Mind Singer.”
“You mean Henry?” Cole asked.
Kayla nodded. “Visions of blood-spattered walls and cells with holes looking up to the heavens have been drifting through every shapeshifter’s head. Before that there were rantings about the Nymar being scattered and disorganized. I believe Jackie already told you about this.”
“So you do know Jackie,” Cole said. “Is she here?”
“Here and gone,” Ben replied from yet another spot over Cole’s head. “Some time ago.”
Excited that he was actually gaining ground, Cole said, “If you saw her, she must have told you about the Blood Blade. She brought it to me and my partner in Chicago!”
Ben’s eyes scraped within their sockets. Kayla looked up at him and said, “She did mention something about that.”
“Then you must know we didn’t try to kill her.” Cole prayed Mongrels weren’t psychic, because he and Jackie had one hell of a wrestling match when she first tracked him down, and it wasn’t the social kind. Judging by the look on Kayla’s face, the report hadn’t been too bad.
“So the Full Bloods are attacking Kansas City,” she said. “Something like this was bound to happen. Maybe now the humans will join us in putting those monsters out of everyone’s misery.”
“So far, the cops are blaming the deaths on dog attacks or gang fights,” Cole said. “By the time they realize what they’re up against, a lot more people are going to die.”
“That’s what Full Bloods do,” Kayla said, with disgust tainting every syllable. “They kill. Perhaps it is good for the humans’ blissful ignorance to come to an end.”
“Sounds to me like you’re not a fan.” Raising his eyebrows, Cole asked, “How’d you like to help us take this Full Blood down?”
“Our kind have been fighting them for centuries,” Ben said.
Cole stretched his neck to look up, but only found a few grooves in the dirt where the Mongrel had been. Looking around until he spotted one side of Ben’s face emerging from the soil behind Kayla’s shoulder, he asked, “But have you ever had help from Skinners? We’ve got a few aces up our sleeves, you know.”
Kayla smirked. Even though her face was a bit too round, small, and furry to be human, the gesture was still attractive. “If you had any aces, you wouldn’t have come here looking for us. Or was I correct the first time in thinking you came to strip us for parts?”
“We can take the Half Breeds,” Cole said with a confidence that he didn’t have to fake. “We can hold our own against a Full Blood now that we have the Blood Blade.” That wasn’t quite a lie, but drifted into that territory. “We need you guys to help us find all the dens that are hidden throughout KC. Until we find them all, we can’t put an end to what’s going on there.”
Studying Cole through beautiful, unnatural eyes, Kayla asked, “That’s all you need?”
“We know you guys have a problem with Full Bloods, so—”
“A ‘problem’?” Kayla sneered. “Is that what you heard?”
Cole quickly added, “And you may just have a problem with the Skinners if I’m not returned. If I’d wanted to start any trouble, I would have done more than allow myself to be sucked down here for this little chat.”
Despite the fact that neither of the Mongrels were buying into his act completely, his words did make a dent. “What can you offer us?” Kayla asked.
“We’re giving you the chance to attack your enemies when they won’t be expecting you,” Cole replied. “Do you need more than that?”
Speaking from a spot in the floor beside Cole’s foot, Ben replied, “Yes.”
“Then I’ll need to talk to my partner.”
The face in the floor disappeared, and Ben’s beak emerged from the wall behind Cole’s shoulder to look at Kayla. “Should we let him make a call?”
Kayla nodded.
Ben stuck out his hand, which was comprised of the bony fingers and curved claws that had showed up on the thermal camera’s monitor. He opened his fist and dropped Cole’s phone along with the ripped square of denim that had once been his pocket.
“Thanks,” Cole said. “I’ll let you slide on tearing up my jeans.”
“Gee,” Ben said as he lifted his chin so Cole couldn’t miss the sharp point of his beak. “Thanks.”
They must not have been too far underground because Cole actually had a bar’s worth of signal strength. He dialed Paige’s number and got an answer in less than half a ring.
“Cole, where the hell are you?” she asked.
“I found some Mongrels.”
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Tell me where you are!”
“I’m underground somewhere. They didn’t hurt me. Actually,” Cole added, “I’ve already mentioned the deal we came to make.”
Paige was silent for a few seconds. When she spoke again, he could easily picture the dazed expression that must have been on her face when she asked, “Seriously? If you’re tied up or a hostage, just say yes.”
“I’m serious.”
“Are they there with you?”
