The spray of alcohol sent the fire raging up in a hungry gout, and the stranger shouted, not so much in surprise as dismay. He snagged the bottle and pulled it to his chest, before giving them a furious glare. Loco lobos. Go way. He brandished the bottle, which might have been more menacing if he hadnt seemed so anxious not to spill any.
Beck recognized the upper-shelf brand only the Sun-Down carried. It seemed unlikely the stranger had brought his own. He drew back his lips in silent threat.
I tried to save you. The loner rubbed his forehead. Who leads here?
Beck growled deep in his chest, but Merrilee barked once, just a little louder.
The loners gaze shuttled between them. Awkward.
Merrilee took a step toward him, rearing up and shifting in the same move, making the stranger sidle back with a muttered curse.
She stood in all her naked glory, bathed in firelight that tricked hints of red from her thick sable hair and highlighted the flush of their long run.
Of course she was bold in her own skin; she was a wereling and Alpha. Still, Beck kept growling that the loner was seeing her. He took a few stiff-legged steps, half circling the man.
The loner quickly averted his gaze, clutching the whiskey as if that were entirely enough companionship for him.
The upper valley you passed through is mine, Merrilee said, then she tilted her head toward Beck so her hair slid forward over her breasts. The lower valley and the bar where you took that bottle are his.
The stranger mutely held out the whiskey in his hands.
She shook her head. I dont want a drink. I want answers. You can start with your name and why you are here.
Her tone was milder than Beck thought necessary for interrogating a thief and a trespasser, but he knew she was a good leader. And, he admitted wryly, she probably wasnt suffering from this lust to slash the mans eyes out.
My names Eldon. Doctor Eldon Nally. The loner spoke to the whiskey. From Portland. I came...I just needed to get away for a while.
When Beck took another prowling step closer, the man raised one hand in an appeasing gesture. His pale palm was bruised and laced with scratches.
Beck circled the camp but found no scent of others, wereling, imp or otherwise. He nosed a wereling-styled satchel, rigged to stay on during the shift that allowed wolf-kind to carry a few belongings. The pack held only a handful of energy bars and a pair of loafers that wouldnt fit Nallys swollen feet.
If this was a holiday, hed come woefully underprepared, and from the dismal expression on his face, he wasnt enjoying his stay.
Merrilee watched Becks exploration then returned her attention to Nally. City wolf you might be, but certainly you havent forgotten pack courtesy. You should have introduced yourself when you crossed into our territory.
Beck paused. Did she realize shed spoken of their territory as one? He angled closer to her.
Nally nodded, his mouth downturned. Sorry, yes. I was...distracted.
By the imp following you?
He glanced up sharply, and Beck caught a glimpse of something hard and cold in the mans otherwise unremarkable brown eyes: a mix of fear and fortitude. A look of desperation, the sort that drove menand wolf-kindto strange acts.
Beck moved closer to Merrilee. If Nally made one wrong twitch... He breathed out a low sound, a subliminal warning that the other male would feel in his skull.
Nally ducked his head. I dont know what you mean. Imp?
A kind of phae, Merrilee said. Not something Im sure I wouldve believed in if I hadnt smelled it myself, dead by an iron stake. So Ill ask again in a slightly different way, and please dont pretend that the words themselves make any difference, because Im wanting the truth here. Why were you being followed by the phae?
Nally swiped his lips nervously. I didnt know it had a name. I just knew it was bad. He took a hit off the whiskey. And I needed to get away from it.
Nally swiped his lips nervously. I didnt know it had a name. I just knew it was bad. He took a hit off the whiskey. And I needed to get away from it.
So you thought you could scrape it off on us.
No! Well...I hoped it might lose my track. And I thought maybe youd kill it.
He did. Merrilee put her hand on Becks neck. He couldnt help but puff up a bit.
Nally let out a long breath that collapsed his chest within his tattered coat. I cant even kill a squirrel.
That explained the energy bars.
Implacably, Merrilee continued, And why was it following you?
Because the phae want this. Nally fumbled in his pocket.
Beck stepped forward with a snarl.
Merrilee trailed her hand down his spine, soothing his hackles. Slowly, Doctor Nally.
With a wary look, Nally displayed a small vial clutched in his fingers. The glass looked too thin to be out amidst tree roots and rocks. This is what they want.
Merrilee tilted her head, following the angle of the purplish powder that sifted within the glass. This and they? Rather vague.
The phae Queen sent emissaries to my lab to offer me riches in exchange for my discovery, a unique subspecies of psilocybe spore with the undifferentiated potential to... He tilted the vial the other direction, and tiny sparkles flashed inside the purple powder. Well, to take us anywhere we want to go.
Magic mushrooms, Merrilee said flatly. It sounds like youve been sampling your own wares, Doctor.
Another glint of that dire light flared in his eyes. My doctorates are in psychiatry and mycology, not liberal arts. I sought a cure for some of the worst disorders plaguing our times: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, violence.
She crossed her arms suspiciously. You can cure those by getting people high?
Getting high is an excuse to avoid ones problems. I created a therapy to take us deeper, through our problems and out the other side.
Beck let out a huff.
Nally gave him an arch, professorial look. Havent you wondered why werelings are almost pathologically healthy, happy and whole?
Merrilee shook her head. Pathologically?
Nally started to pace, revving up to lecture mode. How can werelings, who should by rights suffer the worst sort of existential alienation, be so together all the time?
Beck slanted a glance at Merrilee, who lifted her brow. They were both thinking of one wereling who wasnt all together.
Nally didnt seem to notice the silent exchange. Because he continued on the same breath as he wheeled to face them again they are perfectly in tune with the magic inside them.
Beck shook his head in a human gesture of denial, while Merrilee said, Its not magic.
Nally waved his hand again, more vigorously. Please dont pretend that the words themselves make any difference, he said, repeating her. The verita lunaour Second Truthgives us a unique access to a deeper reality to open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts.
His animation faltered. There are somedisconnected humans, werelings who cant find their verita luna, and otherswho might be saved by my discovery.
Beck sensed the wave of sadness that gave the lone wolf-kinds scent a minor note. Merrilee must have felt it too because she let her disbelieving stance soften. So you produced a psychedelic mushroom to imitate the sensation of being a wereling?
Nally shook his head. Not just imitate. Become.
Her hands clenched into fists. What do you mean, become?
The spore therapy can trigger the verita luna in werelings troubled by shifting. He shuffled his bare feet in the loam. And it seems to initiate a similar effect in humans.
Becks surprised whine was half lost in Merrilees incredulous, What?
Nally hastened on. The spores shouldnt affect the phae. Except they can apparently hijack the journey facet, as I call it, and open portals on a whim between their realm and ours. Which is how I accidentally summoned them to my lab. It seems the phae Queen wants my discovery as part of her scheme to take over the sunlit world.
Merrilee sputtered. Take over?
Nodding, Nally pocketed the vial again. Her emissary offered me everything my heart desires. Except... His plain brown eyes darkened. Except they couldnt give me what I really wanted. He lifted his chin. And I know better than to make midnight deals with fairies. I gathered the spores, pretending I was willing to trade, but instead I flung a handful of iron fillings Id been using for some electromagnetic experiments at the phae. I grabbed the spores and I ran. And now Im here.
The story seemed to deflate him, and he sank back to the stump.
Merrilee looked at Beck, who flattened his ears to echo the worry in her eyes.
Reaching for the whiskey bottle, Nally said, The emissary mentionedjust an angry asidethat phae traitors had taken up residence in a valley out this way. I thought if I could find Vailes Valley, I might find a haven.
Beck exchanged another glance with Merrilee, and she shook her head slightly. Doesnt ring a bell with either of us. But our people will start sniffing around.
Nally glanced up. Youll help?
Phae traitors in our world? Thats a change, and I want to know what it means. She paused, head cocked.
Beck lifted his head, matching her tension. Then he heard it too.
A howl, drifting on the wind. Faint, far away.
And afraid.
Chapter 7
Merrilee knew Beck and Nally were close behind, but she didnt glance back, not even when she smelled blood from the doctors tender paws. Her pack cried out for her, and she would not slow.
Still, despite the impulse hauling her homeward, she sensed Becks powerful presence behind her like the bow of a shockwave giving her fresh energy when the nights miles wore at her.
They crested the ridge above the valleyshe and Beck side by side, with Nally a short way behind. She scanned the village. All the house lights blazed, and an unfamiliar line of lightscoldly waveringspiraled through the darkness near the lake.
They raced down the hill toward the back of her cottage, shifting as they hit the edge of the trees.
Peter was waiting with an armful of clothing, glancing at the other two males without comment. The phae are down by the lake. They want...I dont know what the hell they want. Theyll only speak to you. Keisha is stalling them. He swallowed, fear for his wife echoing in his human voice just as it had suffused his howl.
Merrilee took the clothes from him. It was a summer tank dress, inappropriate for the cool of night, but she could rip out of it in a heartbeat if she shifted. How are we doing on weapons? I hope we have more than sketches. She strode for the back door, yanking the red silk over her head.