I nodded, and he handed Jenks his amulet back. 'Watch the ferries coming in to Mackinac Island. Especially the ones that hydroplane. They come in fast. There's a second warmth amulet in my gear for your boyfriend. I have it for emergencies.' He winced, his hairless eyebrows rising. 'This sounds like one.'
I didn't know what to say. From beside me, Jenks peeled the sticker from his amulet and fed it to one of the gulls ringing us. It flew squawking away, three more in hot pursuit. 'Marshal,' I stammered. 'You might lose your license.' Best-case scenario.
'No, I won't. I trust you. You aren't a professional diver, but you're a professional something, and you need a little help. If you have any problem, just dump the gear and swim at the surface. I'd, uh, rather you didn't, though.' His brown eyes seemed to flit among the trees. 'Something weird has been going on over here, and I don't like it.' He smiled, though he still looked worried. 'I hope you get your boyfriend back okay.'
Relief slipped into me. God, what a nice guy. 'Thank you, Marshal,' I said, leaning forward and pulling myself up to give him a kiss on the cheek. 'Can you reach your boat okay?'
He nodded, discomfited. 'I do a lot of free swimming. Piece of cake.'
I remembered my stint of swimming in the frozen Ohio River, hoping he would be okay. 'Soon as I can, I'll call you to let you know we made it okay and where your stuff is.'
'Thanks,' he said, head swinging back up to me. 'I'd appreciate that. Someday I'm going to track you down, and you're going to tell me what this was all about.'
I felt a sloppy smile come over me. 'It's a date. But then I'll have to kill you.'
Laughing, he turned to go, then hesitated, the sun glinting on his suit. 'Burn your card?'
Brushing my wet hair back, I nodded.
'Okay.' This time he didn't stop. As I watched, he waded into the surf, diving into a wave and starting for his boat with clean, smooth strokes.
'Now I feel like James Bond,' I said, and Jenks laughed.
'Into the woods,' Jenks said, and with a last backward look at Marshal, I headed for the scrub. The smooth rocks were hard to walk on, and I felt like an idiot wobbling after him. It was warmer without the wind, and after only a few steps the beach turned into a thick brush.
The first of the spring-green leaves closed over us, and as I picked my way through the vegetation, Jenks asked, 'Do you like him?'
'No,' I said immediately, feeling the tension of a lie. How could I not? He was risking his livelihood, and maybe his life.
'He's a witch,' Jenks offered, as if that was all it took.
Toying with the idea of letting the stick I was holding fling back to slap him, I said, 'Jenks, stop being my mother.'
The brush thinned as we forced our way into the interior and the trees grew larger.
'I think you like him,' Jenks persisted. 'He's got a nice body.'
My breath came quick. 'Okay, I like him,' I admitted. 'But it takes more than a nice body, Jenks. Jeez, I do have a little depth. You've got a great body, and you don't see me trying to get into your Fruit of the Looms.'
He reddened at that, and finally breaking through into a clearing, I stopped, trying to find my sense of direction. 'Which way do you think the compound is, anyway?'
Jenks was better than a compass, and he pointed. 'Want to run until we get close?'
I nodded. Jenks was wearing Marshal's warmth amulet and looked toasty, but it was too much for me. Without it I felt sluggish, and I hoped I didn't hurt myself until I warmed up. Between Jax and the old plot map in the local museum, we had a good layout of the island.
Jenks ran a finger between his heel and his shoe before taking a deep breath and breaking into a slow lope that wouldn't stress us too much and would give us time to dodge obstacles instead of running into them. Jax had said most of the buildings in use were by the island's lakes; that's where we were headed. I thought of Marshal swimming for his boat and hoped he was okay.
As usual, Jenks took point, leaping over decaying logs and dodging boulders the size of a small car, which had been dumped by the last glacier. He looked good running ahead of me, and I wondered if he would run a few laps with me at the zoo before I switched him back. I could use the morale boost of being seen with him. It was quiet, with only birds and animals disturbing the morning. A jay saw us, screaming as it followed until losing interest. A plane droned overhead, and the wind kept the tops of the trees moving. I could smell spring everywhere, and I felt as if we had slipped back in time with the clear air, the bright sun, and the spooked deer.
The island had been privately owned since forever, never developed from its original temperate-zone mix of softwood forest and meadow. Officially it was now a private hunters' retreat, patterned after Isle Royale farther north, but instead of real wolves tracking down moose, it was Weres sporting with white-tailed deer.
During a careful questioning, Jenks and I had found that the locals didn't think highly of either the year-round residents or the visitors who passed through their town on the way to the island, never taking the time for a meal or to fill up their gas tank. One man told Jenks they had to restock the deer every year since the animals could and did swim for the mainland—which made me all warm and fuzzy inside.
According to the records and what little Jax told us, a primitive road circled the island. I was breathing hard but moving well when we found it, and Jenks cut a hard right as soon as we crossed it. He slowed too, but we still ran right into the deer carcass.
Jenks jerked to a stop, and I plowed into him, pinwheeling to keep from falling into the hollowed-out body, its head flung over its back and its eyes cloudy.
'Holy crap,' he swore, panting as he backed up, white-faced. 'It's a deer, isn't it?'
I nodded, transfixed and breathing heavily. There was surprisingly little smell since the temperatures had been keeping the decomposition slow. But what worried me was that it had been gutted, the entrails eaten first and the rest remaining as a slow smorgasbord.
'Let's get out of here,' I said, thinking that even though the Weres were on a private island, they were doing their entire species a great disservice. Remembering and honoring your heritage was one thing. Going wild was another.
We backed away, the low growl rumbling up from behind us pulling me to a heart-pounding halt. Damn. From the other side came a high yip. Double damn. Adrenaline pulsed through me, making my head hurt and my hand drop to the reassuring feel of my splat gun. Jenks turned, putting his back to mine. Shit. Why couldn't anything be easy?
'Where are they?' I whispered, bewildered. The clearing looked empty.
'Rache?' Jenks said. 'My size recognition might be off, but I think it's a real wolf.'
I followed his gaze, but I didn't see anything until it moved. My first flush of fear redoubled. A Were, I could reason with, shouting things like I.S. investigations, paperwork, and news crews, but what could you say to a wolf whose kill you ran into? And what in hell were they doing with real wolves? God, I didn't want to know.
'Get your ass up a tree,' I said, fixed on the yellow orbs watching me. My gun was in my hand, arms extended and stiff.
'They're too thin,' he whispered. 'And I've got your back.'
My gut clenched. Three more wolves came skulking out from the brush, snarling at each other as they closed the distance. It was a clear indication that we should leave, but there was nowhere to go. 'How good are you with that slingshot?' I said loudly, hoping the sound of our voices would chase them off. Ri-i-i-ight.
I heard a low thrum of vibrating rubber, and the closest wolf yipped, shying before it snapped at its pack mate. 'It didn't break against the fur,' Jenks said. 'Maybe if they're closer.'
I licked my lips, my grip on my gun tightening. Crap, I didn't want to waste my spells on wolves, but I didn't want to end up like that deer either. They weren't afraid of people. And what that likely meant gave me an unsettled feeling. They'd been running with Weres.
My pulse jackhammered when the nearest wolf started an unnerving pace to me. The memory of Karen pinning me to the floor and choking me into unconsciousness raced through me. Oh God, these wolves wouldn't pull their punches. I couldn't make a protective circle.
'Use 'em, Rache!' Jenks exclaimed, his back to mine. 'We've got three more coming from my side!'
Adrenaline burned, tripping me into an unreal high of the calm-of-battle. I exhaled and squeezed the trigger, aiming for the nose. The nearest wolf yelped, then dropped in its tracks. The rest charged. I gasped, praying the compressed air would hold out as I continued to shoot.
