muzzle under his chin. “I warned you.”
No. Wait. If you kill us now, you’ll never have your revenge. Remember Harbinger. Remember what he did to her.
The muzzle of the Val was freezing cold against his throat. “You will be silent.” He was not bluffing. He’d had enough. He would not live as an animal again. She would not have liked that. Lila would be disappointed. Nikolai’s finger found the trigger.
You win for now, coward.
The bleeding claws slowly retracted as the ache in his jaw subsided. Nikolai let the rifle rest against the shed as he sagged, exhausted, into the snow. Bitter, the Tvar retreated from the front of his mind. For the first time since he’d found Lila’s body, his head was clear. He was alone.
Lila had been torn to pieces. The smells had told a story of terrible violence. He’d found Harbinger’s patch, he’d found Harbinger’s message, and the place had reeked with Harbinger’s scent. Enraged, he had broken his sacred promise to his beloved, freed the Tvar, and set out on the hunt.
Lying there in the snow, weakened, freezing, Nikolai thought back to that day. When not distracted by the roiling anger of his other half, Nikolai was a very analytical man, and now he forced himself to remember the details. Every time he’d tried to do that before, the Tvar had interrupted and steered his thoughts back toward revenge. The Tvar had hated his sweet Lila. It had begged him daily to be rid of her so that they could return to their old ways.
This was Harbinger’s fault. Nikolai did not believe in God, and even if he did, he knew there could never be forgiveness for the things he’d done, but for the first time in his long life, Nikolai had found simple happiness. Then the Hunter had forced his hand.
Yet the bastard Harbinger had seemed confused before they had fought. Surely he would have known why Nikolai had come here. Harbinger had unearthed the probable location of Koschei’s amulet and murdered the only person Nikolai loved. Why should he be confused? The purpose of Nikolai’s presence should have been obvious. Perhaps it had been an act to enrage Nikolai before the fight, to distract him from his righteous purpose.
But Harbinger was no actor. Their war had taught him that Harbinger was straightforward, direct. If he’d killed Lila, he wouldn’t have denied it: he would have bragged about it. Harbinger was not devious enough to try to confuse the issue. And despite all of their battles, Harbinger had always avoided harming the innocent. He had a strange respect for humanity that even Nikolai’s human side could not fully comprehend.
The scent was there. The patch. The message. It was obvious. Nikolai shook his head, unsure again who was doing their thinking. Lila had been slaughtered, but Harbinger had not reveled in the slaughter during the war. Even Harbinger’s beastial side had been direct, killing swiftly, without mercy, but then moving on. Perhaps he’d changed, but men like Harbinger didn’t change. Their course was set in stone, and then seen through to their inevitable conclusion.
Why would Harbinger even want the amulet? He never cared for the traditions or the challenges. Harbinger was a king who’d abdicated his throne to live as a man. It made no sense.
The Tvar returned quietly, padding back into his thoughts, sniffing nervously at Nikolai’s suspicions. Enough of this, Nikolai. Please.
It was not like the Tvar to ask. Normally, it only demanded. What did it not want him to know?
There is no time for weakness. There is only time for revenge. For killing. Doubt makes you weak.
“Doubt makes me human.”
Another truck turned onto the road below. The wolfsbane in Nikolai’s pocket threw off his sense of smell, but somehow he knew who had just arrived. Harbinger was here. Nikolai would have his suspicions confirmed, one way or the other. Rising, he took up his rifle and staggered through the snow.
“There,” Heather said, pointing. Earl had to squint hard to even make out the tail lights. “That’s Aino Haapasalo’s bunch. His family immigrated when he was a teenager. He should be able to translate.”
“Grumpy fella, used to be a miner?” Earl asked. “Met him. Nice guy.”
There were a few men bundled up against the cold, huddled in the back of each truck, rifles at the ready, watching. “I volunteered him. He’s a tough old cuss. Used to be Grandpa’s hunting buddy. He’s a good shot, at least when he’s not liquored up.”
Earl smiled. “Is that often?”
“Only at deer camp. Those old timers all loved Grandpa’s homemade booze. It tasted like paint thinner and rusty nails, but it sure did clean out the sinuses.”
She sounded a little better. Earl reasoned that eating your own dog could be rather traumatic. “How’re you holding up?”
“I’m not a quitter, if that’s what you’re wondering. I took an oath to protect this town, and I’m going to keep it.” The words came out with steely determination.
“I’m focused on stopping these monsters, getting that amulet and getting cured. That’s it. Let’s go.”
It appeared the locals were doing as Earl had instructed: using multiple vehicles, keeping them in the center of the road as a kind of mobile fire base, providing cover as another group went door to door, knocking. The trucks had spotlights, but they weren’t using them right now. They could actually see farther without the falling snow reflecting the light back into their eyes. The key to fighting something fast and stealthy was by not putting yourself somewhere it could get a line on you. There were at least two guns pointed at them as they parked. These people were scared, but they were ready to fight. Earl was impressed, and he didn’t impress easily. MHI was going to be able to do a lot of good recruiting in this town, provided anybody survived the night. Copper Lake was keeping it together, but he also knew that if these men came up against the Alpha, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
This street was on the outskirts of town. There were only a few big houses, and behind them was nothing but trees. The squads had probably covered the rest of the town by now. Earl got out, dragging along his Thompson and tugging his coat tight against the freezing cold.
A young man hopped over the tailgate of the nearest truck and headed toward them. “Deputy,” the kid shouted to be heard over the wind. He seemed excited. “We found something! You’ve got to see this. Come on.” Heather looked at Earl, shrugged, and followed. “This was the last house, but man, you won’t believe what’s inside.”
Several sets of boots had crushed a path through an iron gate and up to a large dwelling. It was difficult to tell in the weather, but it seemed like one of the nicer homes Earl had seen in Copper Lake. If it wasn’t considered a mansion, then it was real close. Their guide slipped his way up the path to where two other armed men were waiting at the bottom of the steps. They seemed nervous. The kid pointed them onward before settling in with the others. For whatever reason, he didn’t want to enter the shelter of the home.
The door was open. There was one figure waiting in the shadows at the top of the stairs. Earl barely recognized Aino under his giant wool hat and the scarf that was covering the lower part of his face. The old man seemed huge under all the layers. “Happy to see nothin’s ate ya yet, Heather.” He gave Earl a curt nod. “And, Mr. Earl, glad to see you jump in. I guess this is more fun than huntin’ bears, eh?”
Earl returned the nod. “What did you find?”
“Something odd.” Aino leaned to the side and spit over the railing. “It’s inside.” He stomped his feet on the mat out of habit before entering, leading the way with the beam of his flashlight.
Earl started in, then realized that Heather was standing, frozen. Her eyes were wide, darting back and forth. Something had spooked her.“Werewolves?”
She looked around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear. “Not now, but there was. One of them is strong. He lives here.”
“Who lives here?” Earl asked, already suspecting the answer.
“I don’t know. This is his…” Heather paused, smelling the air. “It’s making my head swim. I can’t believe you can’t smell that. Musky. It’s like really strong cologne.”
Earl cursed his pathetic homo-sapiens senses. Conover’s informant had said that Nikolai had just arrived in the country, so this had to be the Alpha’s territory. Their mystery man was a local.
“Come on,” Aino shouted from inside. “Sooner we’re out of here, the better.”
Earl entered, shining his Streamlight along the walls. The place was nice, but unadorned. No pictures, no decorations. It was too clean. Heather followed a moment later, her manner subconsciously meek. Earl recognized the behavior. An Alpha was incredibly intimidating to lesser werewolves, and they were entering his den without
