I ate a bite of salad. It smelled like Christy because shed washed the romaine herself. Swallowing it was an effort. Trying not to look like I was choking was an even bigger effort.
Auriele opened her mouth, but Darryl put his hand on top of hers, and she closed her lips without speaking, but not without giving him
a hurt look.
Adams hand touched my shoulder and suddenly I could swallow again. I had allies here, and Adam had my back.
The important thing, he said, is that we are careful. I dont want any wolf to go out running alone until we know what made those kills.
Darryl nodded. Ill see that word gets around.
Good, Adam said. Ive got people out looking for Gary Laughingdog. Hopefully, well find him before the police door hell find you, Mercy.
Im pretty sure he wanted to talk to me, I told him. If so, hell find me before anyone finds him. I wouldnt worry too much about the police finding him since hes running around as a coyote.
Did you check if Bran had any insights into what it was that killed all those people? Darryl asked.
Adam ate another bite of lasagna, paused to enjoy it, then gave me a slightly guilty look. I decided not to tell him it was okay if he liked Christys food. It was entirely understandable, but it was not okay, and I wouldnt lie to him. I looked away.
To Darryl, Adam said, I called Bran. Without checking out the site himself, Bran wasnt able to pinpoint what could have done it. Taking the fae out of the picture leaves us with not much. Might even be a native creature. Bran said he once encountered a wendigo, and he believes that it was physically capable of killing this way. They smell oddly of magic, the way Mercy described them. But he didnt think that it would have left canid paw printsor left anything except bare bones. Their curse is that they hunger in a way that cannot ever be satisfied. Also, they tend to haunt the mountain passes, not the open shrub steppe. Hes having Charles do a little more research for us.
Charles who? asked Christy.
Brans son, I told her, trying very hard not to be condescending and not succeeding. Maybe because I didnt try that hard. Shed been Adams wife for over a decade, and she hadnt bothered to learn anything if she didnt know about the Marrok and his sons. Hes halfIndianSalishand he has some people who will talk to him about things that are culturally sensitivesacred things or stories they dont want prettied up with all the original flavor lost so that it can be more effectively marketed as a genuine Native American story.
Have you asked Ariana? Darryl was getting good at ignoring the almost battle between Christy and me and, at the same time, reducing the tension by changing the subject. I would never have thought Darryl would be such an adroit politician.
No, said Adam. Not until weve looked at everything else. Ill call Marsilia as soon as were done here, but I dont expect her to have much for us. She might owe Mercy and need the pack to keep her seethe safe until she gets some more vampires with power here, but she doesnt like us very much.
Ben snorted. You can say that again.
Why not ask this Ariana? asked Christy.
Because her father tortured her with his fae hounds until she went mad, Adam told her before I could say something spiteful or petty. It would probably be a good idea if I refrained from answering Christys questions.
She is Samuels mate, Auriele said. When Christy looked blank, Auriele added, Samuel is Brans other son. Samuel is a werewolf, but shes coping okay with that. However, it is still an effort for her to be around any of the rest of us. Asking her about a giant dog killing people might just knock her right back off her applecart. Not only would that be unkind to do when we dont even know if she would have useful information, but shes a power in her own right. If she goes nuts, I dont want to be anywhere in the vicinity.
Ben took a second helping of lasagna, and said in a contemplative voice, I keep having nightmares about that night when she alternated between doctoring my wounds and wanting to kill me.
Tad said hed see if he can get a message to Zee, I said. If it is fae, Zee will know what it is.
I thought you said it wasnt fae. Aurieles voice was neutral.
It didnt smell fae, I said. But some of the halfbreeds dont smell fae to me, for whatever reason. And Zee is old. He might have some idea even if it isnt fae at all.
Did you tell that to the police? Christy looked at me brightly. That you wouldnt have been able to tell if it had been a half fae?
No, I said.
Why not?
Because, I said gently, there are a number of halfblood fae around here because of the local reservation. Most of them dont have enough magic to light a candle. Humans dont have a habit of treating the people we are scared of very gently. No sense getting people killed unless they are actually guilty of something.
Mercy did the right thing. George was the
fourth werewolf on duty. He was also a Pasco police officer, which lent validity to his opinion even if the kill had been out of his jurisdiction. He had that whole I was a Marine thing going that stiffened his posture and made even his casual movements have a certain purpose to them. Police need the real information, not something that will send manpower off chasing rabbits when they should be hunting bigger prey.