“There’s still a little bit of time to get things prepared. Remember that stuff I was working on at the paint shop? I’ll need a lot more of that.”
“How long will that take?”
“The Breaking Moon won’t be at full strength until around three in the morning. At least, that’s what our sources say.”
“You mean MEG?” Waggoner asked.
“Yeah. You’ve heard about them?”
“Bill told us about MEG. Kinda had to. After hearing him mention that name a few times, we thought he was cheatin’ on his wife with some girl who he called all the time.”
Two of the women from one of the families huddled in the back of the room perked up. Judging by the similarity of their features and age difference, they were most likely mother and daughter. “You mean those ghost guys on TV?” the daughter asked, having overheard the whispered conversation. “We love them! They really know their stuff.”
Paige rolled her eyes and in a normal voice said, “The MEG guys are the rock stars now? Dark days indeed.”
“What?” the mother asked, since she didn’t know the history between Skinners and the paranormal research group. “They’re really smart?”
“They sure are,” Waggoner said. “Let’s just hope they’re more on the ball about this than the Bigfoot that was supposed to be stomping around northern Indiana.”
After pulling in a deep breath and letting it out, Paige stood up and checked to make sure her Beretta was loaded. “I should get going.”
“What you should do is get an hour’s sleep,” Waggoner said. “How long’s it been since you rested?”
“I caught a few hours on the plane over here. Feels like a week ago.”
“Then take an hour. What can it hurt?”
“If my partner’s plan is going to work, we’ll need to move those Full Bloods and any other shapeshifters away from town in a matter of a few seconds,” she explained. “Have you ever herded werewolves, cowboy?”
“No, ma’am. But it might not be a bad idea to sit tight and pick a better spot for a fight,” Waggoner offered.
Paige flexed the arm that required constant movement to keep from petrifying into a stump. “Believe me, I know all about rushing in. The problem here is that we already let the Full Bloods get too far. They can turn people into Half Breeds without biting them. Isn’t that right?” she asked the families huddled against the walls. Some nodded back and others were too frightened to move a muscle.
“I saw people drop to their knees in the parking lot of a gas station,” the bearded man said. “They were fine one minute, and the next, their bones were snapping until they became monsters. Werewolves,” he said, as if the whole situation was just sinking in. “Jesus Christ.”
Paige was all too familiar with the look on his face. “Since there are humans still left in this town, that must mean the Full Bloods have some sort of range or limit to this thing they can do. If they make it all the way through the Breaking Moon, that could change for the worse, and we can’t allow that to happen. I won’t let that happen. Stay in here until someone comes for you. That goes for everybody.”
“What if nobody comes for us?” the bearded man asked.
“Then you might as well get comfortable inside this room because there won’t be much of an outside waiting for you.”
That sent a wave of frightened sobs through the little space, but also served to push the families back against the walls with no sign of moving. Paige resisted the urge to reassure the youngest children and turned her back to the group. At certain times, a dose of justified fear served a good purpose, and if her words kept those people locked away for the next few hours, that was just fine.
“When I’m feeling better, I’ll come help you,” Waggoner said.
“No. Stay here and protect these people.”
“There are others locked up in other houses that need help too, you know,” he said.
“Yeah, and there’s only so much we can do. We either protect a few or lose them all.”
He grunted. “Now there’s one of the shittiest choices I’ve ever heard.”
“You obviously haven’t been around Skinners for very long,” she told him.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Finding the Full Bloods wasn’t difficult. Even a blind man would have been able to follow the growing crescendo of howls drifting from the east end of town. Paige met Al and Jesse outside a convenience store that had been all but gutted by shapeshifters or looters. While filling the tanks of both pickups at a set of pumps, she slapped the window behind Al’s head until Jesse slid it open. “Any word from Milosh or Nadya?”
“We don’t need them Gypsies,” the Skinner replied.
“We need everyone we can get. We’ll swing by to pick them up.”
“For all we know, that poor bastard’s dead.”
“Then we’ll pick Nadya up. Besides, we need to check in with the Mongrels too.”
“They’ve been getting their asses handed to them since we got here,” Bill said. “I don’t know what you Chicago guys do, but we don’t work with animals.”
“Fine. I’ll let them know to pass you by if you need any help. In case you’re blind, though, I should remind you that these Mongrels have been fighting the Full Bloods just like we have. Since I’m not quite ready for the ol’ blaze of glory, let’s just work with whoever we can.”
“I’m with her,” Al said.
Bill’s narrow face twisted into a disapproving sneer, but he kept the rest of his comments to himself. The group piled into their vehicles, and Paige checked in one more time with Cole as she drove north into a residential area.
By the time they got to the house where the Amriany had been taken after leaving the autobody shop, the sky was dark enough for the stars to shine brightly overhead. The sight was even more breathtaking thanks to the pale glow of a mostly full moon and no competition from the darkened town. Al pulled up to a two-car garage and Paige parked the green truck directly behind him. The garage door was already on its way up, so she hunched over and walked beneath the door. When she stood up straight again, Nadya was staring at her over the top of her FAMAS.
“How’s Milosh?” Paige asked.
“He won’t turn into a Vitsaruuv, but some of the others in these houses weren’t so lucky. I could hear their screams. The Breaking Moon must be allowing Full Bloods—”
“I know. Ready to do something about it?”
“Yes!”
But it wasn’t Nadya who answered her question. Hobbling down two wooden steps that connected the garage to the house with the remains of his left arm bound in bandages and towels, Milosh gritted his teeth and shuffled across the cracked, oil-stained garage floor.
“You’re barely conscious,” Nadya scolded. “What do you think you’ll do in this fight?”
“He made it this far,” Paige pointed out. “Can he fire a gun?”
“You’re damn right he can,” Milosh replied. “And if I fall over or bleed out, go on without me. I’d rather get picked off out in the thick of it instead of hiding and waiting for the fucking axe to fall.”
“Has Quinn been here?”
“She has been gone for a while, but another Kushtime remains in the basement to watch us.” Picking up steam with every step he took, Milosh continued his arduous journey to the driveway. “Get me to the plane. We’ve got some more weapons that might help us.”
“No time for that. Unless you’ve got another Blood Blade stashed in that wreck, we have to make do with what we’ve got.” Raising her eyebrows, Paige asked, “You don’t have another Blood Blade stashed in that wreck, do you?”
