Wolf Island

but not to the city where Juni had arranged to meet them.”

“Dervish?” I mutter, dreading the response.

“Alive,” Timas says. “In bad shape—all three of them are—but breathing.”

“Three?” Meera echoes.

“Dervish, Bec and a Disciple called Kirilli Kovacs. You know him?” Meera shakes her head. “Apparently he was on board when they went to the ship.”

“What about Sharmila?” Meera asks.

“Dead,” Timas says simply. “Along with Beranabus. Maybe Kernel too, but they weren’t sure about that. A few thousand passengers and crew were murdered also.”

“A good day’s work,” Meera snaps at Antoine.

“You can’t blame me for what happened on the ship,” he huffs. “I had nothing to do with that.” He smiles thinly at me. “Those on board the helicopter have orders to release the hostages only in my presence. A little insurance policy.”

I stare at Antoine without blinking. “Dervish is safe?” I ask Timas.

“Yes.”

“Then we’re finished here.”

I still haven’t blinked. Antoine’s fidgeting now.

“You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?” he laughs, trying but failing to sound light-hearted.

I shake my head slowly. And grin wolfishly.

“I assume you’re a man of your word?” Antoine says stiffly.

“I’m not a man,” I answer quietly. “But yes,” I add as he turns an even paler shade of white beneath his tan. “I said I wouldn’t kill you, and I won’t.”

Antoine breaks into a smile. All his confidence and arrogance come flooding back. He takes a step forward, eager to establish control of the situation. I raise a gnarled, semi-human hand to stop him.

“I said I wouldn’t kill you,” I repeat slowly. “But I said nothing about them.” I gesture at the five werewolves.

Antoine laughs feebly. He thinks I’m joking. Then he looks deeper into my eyes and realises I’m as serious as death.

“No!” he croaks. “You can’t. Your uncle—they’ll kill him if I’m not there.”

“I’ll take that chance,” I chuckle, then click my tongue. Five pairs of wolfen ears prick to attention and the room fills with growls of grisly delight.

“Please,” Antoine sobs, backing up. “I did what you asked. I cooperated.”

I turn my back on him and nod at Meera, Timas and Prae.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” Meera asks as the werewolves advance and Antoine whimpers and begs for mercy.

“Yes,” I say flatly.

“It’s a callous act,” she warns. “This will stain your soul forever. You might regret it when—”

“When what?” I snap. “When I turn back into a human? When we defeat the Demonata and skip off into the sunset, holding hands? That isn’t going to happen. This is what I am. Get used to it.”

I step out of the room, feeling nothing but a dim sense of pleasure that Dervish is alive. “I don’t think I have a soul any longer, if I ever had to begin with,” I tell Meera softly. “And my only regret is that there aren’t more like Antoine to kill.”

Then the air fills with Antoine’s screams. I march ahead without looking back, smiling savagely as the scent of the traitor’s blood reaches my nostrils. I lift my nose and breathe in deep. My eyes narrow. My mouth waters. My stomach growls.

Delicious.

LAST MAN STANDING

I want to leave the island immediately, take a boat and sail for civilisation, to be reunited with Dervish. But there are details to sort out first. As anxious as I am to press on, I don’t want to leave a job half-done.

First, with Timas leading the way, we sweep the compound in search of any survivors. I’m not sure if I’d take them captive or kill them, but there aren’t any, so that’s a question which ultimately doesn’t require answering. Werewolves howl gratefully as I pass. Their previous leader never treated them to anything like this. They think it’s going to be like this all the time, dozens of soldiers to feast on every day. I’m sorry that I’ll have to disappoint them. Maybe I can round up more of Antoine’s collaborators and send them over—home delivery, Grubbs Grady style!

Once we’re sure the compound’s clean, Prae asks if I can move the werewolves out, so that she can reestablish the perimeter.

“Everything’s changed,” she sighs, running a hand through her grey hair. “We can’t take them back—I won’t subject them to slavery and experimentation again, not after this—but we can’t just leave them here. They’d starve.”

“I’m taking some with me,” I tell her and all three of them stare at me. “The attacks won’t stop. Juni will send others against us. We’ll have to fight again. And again. I’d rather do that with my pack than without them.”

“But how will you control them?” Meera asks. “Off this island… in a city… you can’t keep them like hounds.”

“Yes, I can,” I growl. “I’ll have to treat them to a kill every so often, but that shouldn’t be a problem, not with the sort of action I’m anticipating. I won’t take them all, just the more advanced. Thirty, forty… no more than fifty.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Meera says.

“Too bad,” I grunt. “Demons can’t be killed by normal humans, but these have been tainted by the blood of the Demonata. They’re creatures of magic. They can kill just about anything Lord Loss sends against us. So they’re coming with me.”

“What about the rest?” Prae asks before Meera can force an argument. “Will you move them out of the compound, so that I can restore the wall? I’ll remain here and order supplies, do what I can to make their lives as pleasant as possible. This will be my new mission, putting right some of the many things I did wrong.”

“You really think you can?” I frown. “Antoine wasn’t working alone. The Lambs betrayed you. Are you sure you can make demands of them now?”

“I know most of those who sided with Antoine,” Prae says, cheeks flushing with anger. “I’m sure I can expose the rest. I’ll knock the Lambs back into shape. Remind everyone of our original mandate—to help those afflicted with the curse. We’ll still search for a cure, but we won’t breed or lie anymore. We won’t even need to execute. We can offer an alternative now—this island.”

“A holiday resort for werewolves?” I chuckle.

Prae smiles. “It sounds crazy, but why not? We couldn’t do it before—they’d have ripped each other to pieces. But they’ve been altered. The modified creatures can control the others. We’ll do the rest, feed them, guard them from the outside world, introduce new members into the fold as we reap them over the years.”

I like the idea of a werewolf sanctuary. “OK. I’ll give the order to retreat. You get to work on the walls. But Prae,” I stop her as she turns. “If you don’t treat them right, I’ll come back. Understand?”

“My daughter’s one of them,” Prae says tightly. “I’ll treat them right.” Then she leaves, Timas in close attendance to help her with the computers, while I howl and direct my pack towards the exits.

As the werewolves depart, I scan them for the strongest and smartest. I grunt at those I like the look of and hold them back. They willingly group behind me. They don’t know what I want, but they trust me and wait as patiently as they can.

I gather thirty-seven in total. Large, muscular, spectacularly ugly beasts. The weirdest personal army in history, but they won’t let me down. We’ll kill demons together, as many as Lord Loss and the Shadow pit against