“Come again?” I said.
“Maybe we should come back another time,” Gail said.
“Nonsense, dear, Greg wouldn’t hear of missing a chance to greet you in person. He’ll be here in just a few minutes. Besides, you wanted to see his new ring, didn’t you?” Spangler said.
“Are we going to do this with the Professors here?” Gail asked.
“Do what? I thought you needed the ring to stop the spirit,” Robbins said.
“Yes, Gail. I certainly don’t want to go through another night like last night,” Nichols added as he took another sip of whiskey.
“Nichols and Robbins won’t say anything, Gail. We can always invite them into the family,” Spangler said.
“Or have them stay for dinner?” Gail asked. She took another step backwards and her hand moved toward her concealed Colt.
“That would be an option,” Spangler said with another wide smile. She took a step toward Gail.
I moved left and back, keeping one of the wing chairs between Spangler and myself. I was getting a bad vibe from Gail’s reaction to the woman. The woman was definitely related to the female werewolf I’d killed in Huntsville. Could that explain Gail’s reaction? Was Spangler another were? I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. What had we walked into?
The library door opened with a soft click of metal and our host, Mr. Montgomery stepped into the room. He was middle-aged man with long graying hair interspersed with coarse black hair. His neatly trimmed beard was solid gray. Beneath the custom-tailored suit, he was at least six foot two and massed more than two hundred and twenty pounds.
It was the man from the sex shop. The storeowner. The werewolf who had bitten Gail.
The man smiled broadly, as he took in the library’s occupants. He walked toward us and I felt the hairs on my nape stiffen. I wanted to go for my Colt, but I was waiting on Gail to reach for hers. I hated this kind of situation. Were we supposed to play nice in front of the Professors? If she wanted the ring, couldn’t we just shoot Montgomery and Robbins and take it? That’d probably mean security interrupting us before we could complete the exorcism rite. I stayed behind and to one side of her as Gail stepped almost within arm’s reach of Montgomery.
Gail turned so that she could keep an eye on Spangler and Montgomery both. I had to move again to keep them both in a clear line of fire. I glanced toward Montgomery’s hand and noticed a thick gold ring on his right hand. The same ring I saw in the spirit’s vision.
Gail nodded once toward the older man. “It’s not long until dark. The spirit will be coming again unless we can exorcise it. Produce the ring and we’ll get started.”
Montgomery looked sad. He shook his head. “Ms. Drexler, there’s plenty of time; the rite won’t take but a few minutes and we have much to discuss.”
“What’s there to discuss?”
Montgomery smiled broadly. “We four know what you’re after and I commend your efforts. What concerns me is whether you’re determined to finish what your partner tried the other night or …”
“Or what?” Gail asked after it became obvious that Montgomery wasn’t going to finish his statement.
“Or you’ve changed your mind, whether you realize it or not. So, did you come here to kill us or join us?”
“Excuse me, what are you talking about, Greg?” Robbins asked.
Montgomery gave Robbins a cold glare and said, “This is between us and the hunters, John. Please remain quiet until our negotiations are concluded.”
Robbins shut up and sat down. Nichols started to object and then he raised his glass to his lips and took a strong drink.
Gail moved slightly to the right, putting one of the massive chairs between her and Montgomery. I mirrored her movement to the left.
“We just came to save the two professors,” Gail said. “Give us the ring, let us complete the exorcism, and we’ll leave you alone, for now.”
Montgomery held up a finger and wiggled it to the left and right. “Ah, there is that ‘for now’ that hangs over our relationship. Come, girl, you can feel it in your blood. You want to join us. Let’s not fight; we’re two of a kind, you and I.”
“I believe you know my answer on that subject,” Gail said. She pulled her shirttail back, exposing her Colt.
“Ah, sweet thing, you don’t understand the power of this ring,” Montgomery said as he held up his right hand.
I pulled my own shirttail back and rested my hand on my pistol. I could see Gail’s hand descending toward her Colt and then she froze. She gasped once and then dropped to all fours.
“What the hell,” I said as drew my pistol.
I heard a footstep behind me on the hardwood floor and something large and hard impacted the back of my head.
Chapter 22 – The Change
I came to, face down on the rug, wondering how I’d let someone get behind me. I was also wondering why my hands were fastened behind me and why something warm was in my hair. I wasn’t wondering why my head felt like I’d been on a bender for three days. I lifted my head, got immediately nauseous and my vision swirled. Forcing my head up against the pain, I could see Gail was still down on all fours. Something was wrong with her face.
The man who’d escorted us in and another man in a suit stood behind her, each carried pump shotguns. The nearer man’s stock had blood on it and I knew which one had gotten behind me.
Montgomery was talking, but his voice was distant and muted. Gradually his words took on meanings.
“You see, my dear Gail, this ring is more than some focal point for a native spirit. It is special beyond belief. I found tales of it in Norway more than forty years ago. Supposedly, it was created by
