"Death Howls in the Night"
May. 21st, 2022 06:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"Death Howls In the Night"
11/28-11/30/1978
I.
After walking through the cold dark night from the municipal parking lot, the inside of Gallegher's Pub seemed like a bright overheated mass of people laughing and talking too loud. Bane winced visibly as he held the door for Katherine. He was solitary by nature and would be much happier roaming the freezing deserted streets by himself.
Stepping inside, Katherine Wheatley tried to keep from smiling at his discomfort. She herself had to turn down her telepathic perception to keep from being swamped by all the boisterous mental activity going on in this bar. This was something Kenneth Dred had taught her. In less than a year, he had shown her many useful techniques to keep her mind-reading under control. He himself was no telepath but he had known a few.
As she shrugged off her heavy tan coat, she was aware of a few admiring looks from men. At nineteen, Katherine was a slim, attractive girl with jet black hair that hung straight to her shoulders and her face was friendly-looking, accessible. Her pale blue eyes made a dramatic contrast with her hair. Under the coat, she was wearing snug jeans and a bright red sweater with white trim at collar and cuffs. The young telepath glanced over the crowd with a faint smile. Everyone was so rowdy, and it was barely midnight. The front part of Gallegher's was a U-shaped bar with swivel chairs ringing it and a few round wooden tables almost within reach. Further back, where the floor was a step lower, was a dining area with larger tables and comfortable chairs.
"Place is packed," the Dire Wolf said in her ear. Jeremy Bane was only a few years older than she was, he had just turned twenty-two, but he was so serious and intense that people reacted as if he were much older. As usual, he was dressed all in black, a long cloth coat over a turtleneck and slacks. Like Katherine, he had black hair and light-colored eyes but his irises were a cold unfriendly grey that startled even people that knew him.
She took hold of his arm and started tugging him behind her. "I see a table," she explained and rushed to claim it. It was against one wall, next to a heavily curtained window. The telepath seated herself, she had given up on trying to teach the Dire Wolf even basic courtesy and she would have a long wait if she expected him to pull out her chair for him. He took the chair facing her and frowned at not facing the door. Then he spotted a mirror on the wall ten feet behind Katherine and found he could keep an eye on the door that way.
Bane relaxed just a bit.
"I am ravenous," she announced as she picked up the menu. "They must be still serving, those people over there are just beginning to eat. Oh, a Reuben. That would suit me down the ground. What do you say, Jeremy?"
Bane forced himself to glance over the menu. "Yeah. A Reuben for me, too. Hashbrowns. And iced tea. You should order, I might have to look for our target."
"Very well," Katherine sighed as she caught a waitress' eye. The slim blonde with a dark red blouse and skirt smiled and raised her pad, "How are you folks this night?"
"Mostly good," answered Katherine. "I think we will each have a Reuben, with a salad with Thousand Island dressing for me and hash browns for my friend. Iced tea for both of us, please."
"Any desserts? The cherry cheesecake is astonishing."
"Not right now, thank you."
The waitress looked over at Bane, who was scanning the crowd. Katherine was good at reading expressions and she caught that the girl was slightly annoyed that Bane had not even noticed her, although she was trying not to show it. "I'll be right back," she said.
"Pretty girl," Katherine told Bane. "Great smile."
"What? Oh, sure. Look, you see that big guy at the bar. Blonde hair and red flannel shirt?"
"Yes. Our howler?"
"He matches the description the police chief gave us. Gordy Blair." The Dire Wolf started to get up, but Katherine again placed a hand on his arm.
"Jeremy, please. Wait until we've eaten. He just received his beer and his coat is draped over his chair, he's not going anywhere just yet. He's deep in debate with the old man with the sideburns."
Bane raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. "You are a good observer, Katherine. You take in that sort of detail all the time."
"It comes with the telepathy," she answered. "Even when I'm not using it, I pick up on things. I just heard your stomach rumble."
"I AM hungry," he admitted sheepishly. "But then, I'm always hungry. Mr Dred says it's an effect of my accelerated metabolism." He settled back in his chair. "What else can you tell about that guy without mind-reading?"
"Bad temper. Doesn't like to shown as wrong. Drinks too fast. Uses his size to intimidate. Doesn't plan well-- that jacket is much too thin for a night like this. What else? He's lost weight lately, his belt is pulled tight so three notches show. And I feel he's going to take a swing at somebody before the night is through."
Bane nodded. "Amazing. You're good. His eyebrows meet and his fingernails are long. Those are supposed to signs of werewolfism. There's something in his hip pocket that has an outline that looks to me like a lead sap. And his left ear is battered.. he HAS been in some serious fights." As their food arrived, Bane smiled politely and the waitress beamed as if he had proposed marriage. Katherine made a scoffing noise and started to eat.
Between bites, the Dire Wolf recapped the situation. They had been sent up to Woodstock from New York City, because their employer Kenneth Dred had received a call from assistance from the village police chief. Three bizarre deaths in three months in the area, all young women, all ripped up as if by wild animals but without any part of the body being eaten. Twice, neighbors reported a "dog" howling at the time of the deaths. The newspapers and local TV station had downplayed the deaths but they could not cover them up completely, and the citizens were furious over the lack of any progress.
"One detail in the reports caught Mr Dred's eye," Bane said after finishing the Reuben in record time. One woman was killed next to her car in front of her house up by Bearsville. The car door was still open and the keys in the ignition. One shoe was on the floor of the car, next to the gas pedal."
"So... that means?"
"Something powerful seized her and yanked her out of the car. I suppose it's possible a bear might do that, but animal experts think it unlikely and anyway, if she saw a local black bear in her yard, she wouldn't get out of the car anyway. Mr Dred thinks the killer leaped from the shadows and seized her."
"Oh that's lovely." Katherine had eaten half her Reuben and was toying with the limp salad. "Jeremy. After what I've seen this last year, I am not going to just dismiss anything as being impossible. But really. Werewolves?"
Bane was watching Gordy Blair. "Mr Dred says he has met a few over the years. In the arsenal downstairs, he had a dozen silver bullets already made up and packed in a leather case. They're for a Colt 45, so I brought that with me, too."
"And your silver daggers, of course?"
He looked back at her and then dug into the hashbrowns. "I never go anywhere without them. I think you need some silver on you, too. Tomorrow, maybe we can pick up some silver jewelry for you to wear for protection."
"I suppose that's the only way I'm getting silver jewelry from you."
"What? Never mind. Look, Blair is getting furious. There's going to be a fight in a second." He pushed back his chair and moved toward the bar with a quickness that was startling.
"Leaving me with the check?" sighed Katherine to herself, picking up the other half of her Reuben.
II.
Gordy Blair was in his late twenties, an imposing brute four inches over six feet tall, with wide shoulders and disproportionately large hands. He had bright yellow hair, parted in the middle and hanging straight to his collar. Right now, his face was turning red and one blunt forefinger was jabbing angrily at the older man he was talking with. "I'm not saying you're wrong, I think you're just arguing with me because you like to start trouble, pops."
"Facts are all I'm stating," answered the man. "But if you rile this easy, son, you're in for an unhappy life."
"Never mind my unhappy life," Blair said with his voice rising. "Right now, I'm-" He broke off as he saw a slim man all in black come up between them. Bane was several inches shorter and gaunt, but there was a quiet confidence about him that people felt immediately.
"And whadda YOU want?" snapped Blair just below a shout.
"Gordy Blair," said the Dire Wolf in a calm tone. "I need some answers from you."
"What? A f-- cop?! Listen. I come here for fun. Thrown down a few beers, dance with a hot girl or two. If it comes to it, I ain't afraid to fight. You get me? Mind your own business."
"Let's step outside," Bane continued. "You won't want everyone to see this."
"Oh, now you're begging for it!" Gordy Blair drew back his right fist to his ear and reached out with his left hand for this stranger. In that split-second, Jeremy Bane had set himself and blasted a two-inch punch that cracked against the blond man's sternum with a noise like a hammer breaking rock. No one watching even saw that punch, it was so short and quick, but they all saw Blair freeze in position and lower his fist as he gasped for breath with a painful wheeze.
The Dire Wolf got a handful of Blair's flannel shirt with one hand and seized the man's arm with the other. "I'm taking my friend outside for some air," he announced quietly. "He gets too excited." Half dragging the bigger man, Bane opened the door and stepped out in a night with a wind chill below freezing. Outside was a patio under an awning, with some wrought-iron tables and chairs. He dropped Blair into one of the chairs and stepped back.
"You'll able to breathe in a minute," Bane said. "I didn't hit you hard enough to break bone." From under his sleeve, he drew out a slim throwing dagger hilt-first and carefully pressed its blade to Blair's hands. There was no reaction. He touched the flat of the blade to the big man's neck, again saw nothing happen, and returned the knife to its sheath on his forearm.
Katherine had come outside too, yanking on her coat. "What's that all about?"
"He has no reaction to silver," Bane answered. "It's not conclusive, but it's a sign he may not be the howler." As Gordy Blair caught his breath and started to stand up, Bane pushed him back down hard. "Ready, Katherine?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Okay, Gordy. I think you know now not to try rough stuff with me. Next time it'll be your face. Listen. I need some answers from you. I'm not with the police. Got it so far?"
"Like hell. If you're not a cop, why should I even talk you? One lucky punch-"
Bane backhanded the bigger man across the face with a whiplash noise. Blair's head snapped to one side and he sagged back in the chair. "Let's get this over with and you can go back to your beer and I'll go away. Marisa Donnelly. Did you know her?"
"No. Not at all," came the grudging answer.
"She was found torn up the morning of October 16th up on Rock City Road. Where had you been that night?"
"None of your- all right. I was at my trailer. Two guys came over, we smoked some pot and watched a horror movie on TV. One of them slept on my couch."
"Names and addresses," Bane ordered and Blair complied. The Dire Wolf went on, asking about the previous victims. For one of them, the blond man had no alibi beyond the claim he had been driving around looking for a party, but for the other one he had been at the Benedictine Emergency Room, getting stitches for a gash on his right foot from stepping on broken glass. He had not been released for a few hours because it was a busy night and the doctor did not get back to him right away. So, during the hours determined for the first victim's death, he was in a hospital with a half dozen people remembering his presence.
"I guess you can go back inside, Gordy. Maybe we won't meet again." Bane stepped back and let the hulk stand up.
"You know those town clowns already asked me all this," Blair said. "What's your interest in those poor girls?"
"I'm a kind of hunter," Bane said. He turned to Katherine and she shook her head silently. Looking back at Blair, he continued, "You'll be black and blue tomorrow, but you like a good fight so that's nothing new for you." With Katherine beside him, Bane started walking briskly up the sidewalk as Blair slowly went back inside Gallegher's Pub.
They hurried up Tinker Street, turned right at the corner and went along Rock City Road. The center of town was one small shop after another. Boutiques, shoes, jewelry, gifts of every size. A pizza place had wide wooden steps where customers could sit and eat a slice. Ahead to their left was the short bridge over a creek, and they crossed it into the free municipal parking. Here was the big dark green Chevy Malibu that Kenneth Dred had just purchased for them to use as his agents. By now, Katherine had no hopes that Bane would open her door and she unlocked it and jumped in as he slid behind the wheel from the other side. As he started the powerful engine, she turned on the heat and put her hands back in her pockets.
"I read his mind," she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "He wasn't lying. He believed every word he said to you. But I have to stress something. If someone is crazy enough, they are delusional and believe their own fantasies. So it's still possible he is our werewolf but his conscious mind doesn't know it."
Bane backed the big car up and headed for the lot's exit, turning on the headlights. "Yes. I've read of that happening with some psychos. But if his alibis check out, I think he's low on a list of suspects. The silver daggers got no response from his skin. That's usually an indicator."
As they pulled out onto Rock City Road and turned right to go back to the main street, Katherine sighed with relief as hot air poured out of the vents. "That's better. It wasn't this cold last night. So what's the next move, Jeremy?"
"Cruise the area, looking for signs. I want you to keep your awareness open. If you pick up any unusual minds, let me know." He started slowly up Tinker Street, heading west past the Village Green.
"Animal or human?"
"You'll know if you contact one," he assured her.
Long boring hours went by without event. The sky began to lighten, and Katherine gave up trying not to yawn. "Honestly, my boy, I think tonight is a loss. I'm so tired I don't know if I could tell a howler brain from a nun."
"All right. The gas is getting low, too. We'll head back to the motel for some sleep." Leaving Woodstock behind, he pulled out onto Route 28 and sped along to stop at a Howard Johnson's near the Thruway Circle. They had managed to get adjoining rooms on the ground floor, not far from the restaurant section. As Bane jumped out and locked the car, he said, "Let me know when you're ready to get started again. I only need three or four hours sleep." He opened the door to his rooms and glanced over at her as she stood by the car. "You okay, Katherine?"
The young telepath hesitated, then said, "I'm fine. I was just thinking."
Bane shrugged. "All right. Get some sleep, I'll phone Mr Dred at seven to report. Good night." He went inside and an instant later the window of his room lit as he flicked the switch. Katherine watched him close the door on her in every way.
III.
At ten-thirty, Katherine awoke and groggily rubbed her eyes. She sat up on the double bed, realized she had simply kicked her shoes off and laid down fully dressed on top of the bed. Getting up and stretching, the young telepath reached out with her mind but couldn't pick up anything from Bane. She went over and pulled the curtains aside and blinked at the brilliant winter sunlight. There he was, walking across the parking lot toward the highway, just out of range of casual mental contact. Where was he going? Who knew? At least he wasn't taking the car and leaving her stranded here without explanation.
Making sure the door was locked and the curtains drawn, Katherine stripped down and put her clothes on the bed. Naked, she went into the bathroom and took a hot shower, then switched to cold water at the very end. Now she was awake. Drying off while still in the shower cabinet, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror over the sink and studied her reflection thoughtfully. She knew she was good-looking, not a cinema star but certainly attractive. Boys had started asking her out when she had been fourteen back in England. What was the problem with Bane? It wasn't that he was shy, God knows, nor did she think he liked boys. He just seemed oblivious to her as a woman, as if he were color-blind or deaf about her looks. Here she was, traveling with him with no chaperone, sleeping in a motel room next to him, and he just went about his business as if he were alone.
Maybe he IS alone, she thought. It's the way he is.
Wrapping a towel around her hair like a turban, she came back out and got a fresh bra and panties, pulled on the jeans from the day before and dug through her travel bag. Here was a dark blue blouse with two pockets and a white collar. She pulled it on and tucked it in, then sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what to do next. Drying and brushing her hair took another few minutes. Getting her wallet, she decided to go see if Bane had left a note on her door. No. Of course not. Starting to get annoyed at that boy, Katherine grabbed her coat and went outside. It was still bitter cold. She stood on the walkway of the motel, glanced over at Dred's car and finally decided to get something to eat.
Next to the manager's office was a snack bar, with bottles of juice and cans of soda. She picked a hard roll with sliced ham and cheese and some cranberry juice, paid the woman with her own money and went back to her room. As she unlocked her door, her mind picked up on Bane getting near and she glanced up to see him trotting across the parking lot toward her. "So there you are," she said as he drew closer.
"I don't need much sleep. I called Mr Dred and he had some more tips for us. There's a local expert on the Midnight War, some old guy named Silas. We're supposed to go see him. You ready?"
"Surely. I can eat my pathetic breakfast in the car."
Bane tilted his head quizzically. "Something wrong, Katherine?"
"No. Yes. Oh never mind," she said. She took a bite of the hard roll and started chewing. He never understood. The Dire Wolf. He would be better called the Lone Wolf. As Bane got in, he reached over and unlocked her door and she got in, slamming it a bit. Bane pulled out into traffic, and said, "Look. I know I don't have good manners. I'm an orphan, I grew up on the streets with a couple of so-called guardians using me as a thief until I was big enough to go on my own. Mr Dred tries to teach me how to act and talk right, but I'm never going to be a gentleman. Okay?"
Katherine suddenly relaxed. "It's okay, Jeremy. I knew all that but maybe it didn't register. I'm not mad at you."
"Good." Bane was heading away from Woodstock toward Saugerties. He turned onto a side road, watching the mailboxes until he saw one that said 2219 SILAS and turned up a gravel driveway. A small one-story house of dark wood, not much more than a bungalow, sat on a slight elevation. Parked in front of it was a red Firebird at least ten years old and a Harley-Davidson with a helmet hung from the handlebars. Bane pulled in and made a three-point turn so Dred's car was pointing out toward the road. He always parked this way.
"I hope this guy can help us," the Dire Wolf said. "Last night was a waste of time."
Katherine sudden sat stiffly upright. "Jeremy.. that man Blair is in the house. The man we talked to last night."
"Really?" he said. "Well, this is starting to get interesting." He got out of the car, reached behind him to adjust the 45 holster at his belt under the long coat and started toward the house. Katherine followed with a frown. Something was alarming her about this situation, but the impressions she picked up were confusing.
Bane knocked sharply on the front door and a second later it was opened by Gordy Blair. He was wearing a leather jacket and jeans worn at the knees. "Surprise," the Dire Wolf said. "We're here to see Jonah Silas."
"I know," Blair answered without obvious anger. He seemed to have gotten over the way he had been manhandled the night before. "He told me. Uncle Jonah, they're here!" The big man stepped aside to let Bane and Katherine in, closing the door behind them.
They entered a living room that was oppressively warm and stuffy. There was a couch, some chairs and a desk in one corner with a typewriter and disorganized stacks of paper on its surface. Bookcases lined the walls. Sitting in the middle of the room was an old man in a wheelchair.
Jonah Silas had to be in his mid-eighties, thought Bane, a withered man with thin arms and a blanket over his lap. He had a narrow face with a prominent nose and pale hazel eyes set within wrinkles. Like his nephew, his eyebrows met in an unbroken bar. Silas grinned, showing obvious dentures. "Jeremy, isn't it? And Katherine. Kenneth phoned me this morning to ask if I would help you youngsters out on your wolf hunt. Heh," he chuckled.
"We'll welcome any information you can give us," Bane said. "The police are clueless."
"I'm not surprised. Please, sit." He gestured at the couch and his visitors lowered themselves onto it. Katherine was seemingly distracted by something and kept glancing around the room.
"I'm convinced that the killer of those unfortunate women is indeed a werewolf," Silas told them. "And the worst kind, a voluntary shape-shifter who transforms because he likes it. No full moon, no pattern. I believe the killer can change at will. And he could be anyone, absolutely anyone. I must say, you've got a difficult problem before you."
Bane nodded in agreement. "I don't see any connection between the victims. No common element, other than that they were local women under thirty. Each murder took place in different months, but not at set intervals. I'm not sure where to start hunting."
"I wish I could be more help. Gordy here tells me you suspected him of being the killer."
"Yes," the Dire Wolf answered with no apology in his tone. "As far as I'm concerned, though, he's clear. How can we set a trap for this howler?"
"Howler? My, I haven't heard that term in years. To be honest, I don't see how you can snare this beast. He can strike whenever he wants but he doesn't seem compelled to follow a pattern. I believe he can wait for the perfect opportunity and stalk his victim until conditions are favorable."
Katherine had settled back and was studying Silas intensely. "Mr Silas," she said, speaking for the first time. "Why do you think this creature is doing this?"
"Oh, I feel he simply enjoys it. The thrill of the hunt. There are dark primitive instincts in all of us, you know, repressed and buried by so-called civilization. The werewolf simply accepts these instincts and acts on them." He smiled unpleasantly. "That's my theory, in any case."
"Why only women?" she asked.
"They are more satisfying victims. So I assume. Maybe the werewolf has a grudge against women. Perhaps he simply prefers them as prey, the way some hunters prefer deer over bears or moose. I'm just speculating, you understand."
Bane suddenly stood up. "Right. Well, thank you for your information. Katherine and I are staying at the Holiday Inn near the Thruway Circle. Rooms 16 and 17. You can leave a message there. We might come back if there are any developments but right now things don't seem promising." He held out his open hand. Jonah Silas grimaced and drew back in his wheelchair but finally gave Bane a brief handshake.
"Sorry," he said. "Arthritis, you know."
"Oh, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Bane said. He turned toward the door. "And Gordy, I have to apologize for treating you rough like that. This hunt is a serious business and I take it serious."
"Not a problem," Blair said as if he really was not resentful. He watched as the two visitors showed themselves out. Once outside, Bane and Katherine were silent until they were in the Chevy and easing down the driveway. Then Katherine blurted out, "Oh my God, are you thinking what I am?"
"You go first."
"All right. His mind is disciplined and hard to read, but he has a lot of anger just under the surface. And lust, even at his age. He was checking me out as if I were a hot meal on a plate. Did you hear him slip? A few times he was speaking from the werewolf's point of view and then caught himself. I'm convinced. If he's not the howler, he wishes he were." She glared at him as if daring him to contradict her.
"And one other thing," Bane told her. "I shook hands with him as a test. The silver dagger up my sleeve hurt him when it got too close. He almost wheeled back to avoid it."
Surprisingly, the young telepath smiled slightly. "We're on the right track. What next?"
The Dire Wolf was heading toward Woodstock again. "First, we get you some protection. We're onto him, and I bet he knows it. He may already be planning on adding a new prey to his list of victims."
"Me...." she said quietly.
IV.
The afternoon was spent wandering through the many gift shops. Katherine picked out a thin necklace, a bracelet carved with ornate swirls and a thick ring, all of silver. She started wearing them immediately. "I feel a little safer," she said.
"It's good protection but nothing's perfect. I could let you have the Colt with its silver bullets."
"Oh no. I've never held a gun in my life. I'd shoot my own foot off before I hit what I was aiming at."
"Suit yourself." He paused in front of a restaurant called JOSHUA'S, and glanced at the menu in the window. "Middle Eastern food. Feel like trying it?"
"Absolutely. Everything is on Mr Dred anyway."
After a meal of lamb, rice balls stuffed with peas and a thick lentil soup, they headed back to where the Chevy was parked. It was getting near dark. "So, Jeremy. When you told Silas where we are staying, you were setting that trap you wanted, right?"
"Sure. I even gave him the room numbers. Kind of obvious but I think he's so eager to get at you that he won't be careful." He got in the car, unlocked the passenger door for her from inside and started it up. As he headed out of town, Bane shook his head. "It's going to be a long night."
Back at the motel, he went into Katherine's room with her, which surprised her. Bane looked around at the identical layout and scowled. "My bet is that Silas will wait until the middle of the night to show up. If you can take a nap, it's not a bad idea. Otherwise, I guess you just watch TV and wait." He took off his coat and then the sport jacket, which surprised her even more. Tugging up his right sleeve, the young Dire Wolf unbuckled the sheath with obvious reluctance. He hesitated, then handed her the leather sheath. "Here. Put this on your left arm, hilt out. You can draw it quicker that way."
"One of your silver daggers? I never thought I'd see you let one out of your reach."
"I never have before," Bane said. "These aren't just silver. They were blessed by the Eldarin. Mr Dred says this makes them 'ensalir,' sacred silver. I haven't met a creature of the night that these blades couldn't carve."
Katherine slowly pulled up her own sleeve and Bane helped her tighten the straps so the hilt was just above the inside of her wrist. She slid the knife partly out and then replaced it. "I feel honored in a way, Jeremy. These mean a lot to you, I know."
"Mr Dred used them himself when he was young. He gave them to me when I first started working for him. Maybe you won't need it tonight but it's better to be prepared." He turned and put his jacket back on but hung the coat over one arm. As he went to the door, he glanced back and said, "Tonight that howler will pay for the women he killed. That's a promise."
"Jeremy. Listen, why don't you stay in here? With me?"
"Better I watch from outside. Don't worry. I'll be close."
"No, I mean... stay with me? You know?"
He didn't react. "There's work to do. We have to be alert." He went out, closing the door behind him and Katherine cursed with a word she seldom used.
V.
The hours crawled by. At a quarter past three, an old red Firebird slowly came into the lot with just its parking lights on and pulled up to the concrete curb by the walkway. Gordy Blair got out from behind the wheel, yanked off his leather jacket and pulled off his flannel shirt and tossed them both on the driver's seat despite the cold. In the front passenger seat, Jonah Silas watched silently. His wheelchair was nowhere to be seen. Blair stood in the freezing wind as if he didn't feel it. The lights were on in room 17, that was where the girl would be, but room 16 just showed the dim blue illumination of a TV left on. Blair studied the area, saw no one in sight and stepped up to the door to room 16. In an instant, his body shuddered and expanded, his torso filling out and dark fur bristling up from his skin. His face shifted to form a fanged snout and his ears grew pointed. The howler slammed his open paws on the door, snapping the lock, and lunged inside.
In the light of the TV, he saw a dim form under the blankets of the bed and he pounced on it with claws slashing wildly, then stopped. A low growl rumbled in his thick chest. It was just blankets rolled up. The monster swung around as Jeremy Bane stepped out of the bathroom with a big 45 automatic pointed right at him.
"Blair? I wasn't expecting this. You're a howler, too?" As the last word was spoken, the werewolf leaped across the room with a snarl. Quick as the howler himself, Bane sidestepped and smashed the gun to the back of the monster's head as it went past him. Blair was up and attacking again, slamming into the Dire Wolf and knocking the automatic away to clatter on the floor. The fangs gnashed within an inch of Bane's face and hot saliva sprayed. Then the werewolf made a strange gasping noise and stepped back. A dagger was in his chest up to the hilt, squarely over the heart. With a whimper, the brute fell to his knees and then onto his back. He was already reverting to normal. Bane knelt, tugged the dagger out and sliced it carefully across Gordy Blair's throat before cleaning it on the man's jeans. There was not much blood and none of it got on the floor as far as he could see.
Standing up, the Dire Wolf paused for only another second to be sure the howler was dead, then ran to the open door, weapon still in his hand.
The sound of the door being broken open in the room next to hers jolted Katherine Wheatley from an uneasy doze on the couch. She took a second to fully awaken and her mind caught snatches of a violent confrontation to her right. Jeremy's room! The young telepath was shaken by the raw animal rage at such close proximity. Without thinking, she hurried to open her own door and was slapped to the floor by a powerful paw. Her head rang and she was dazed. From the floor, Katherine stared up in paralyzed terror at a hair-covered brute with a grinning snout and yellow eyes. The monster closed the door behind it, and loomed up over her.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," the werewolf said clearly. "I have been thinking of starting a colony of pups. Our child will be cursed with the howler taint, and he will be just the first of many. You're coming with me. This will be a night you'll never forget." He reached down for her with both paws, laughing softly with the same unpleasant chuckle he had given earlier in his house. As he picked her easily off the floor, Jonah Silas unexpectedly groaned and dropped the girl. He stared down at the black hilt of a throwing dagger protruding from the middle of his chest. "Silver...?"
The monster dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Even as he fell, the door slammed open and Bane leaped into the room, stopping short with an almost comical expression on his face. He looked at the fur-covered body which was started to change back to human, then went to help Katherine to her feet. She was shaking visibly.
"Well, I guess you can take care of yourself," he said. "Nice work."
"I.. didn't know I was going to do it. It was instinct? He said he was going to take me to bear his werewolf children. Oh my God, I killed him!" She buried her head against Bane and he squeezed her clumsily.
"If it was ever self-defense, this was it," the Dire Wolf told her. "Listen. I need you to keep being brave. We have a lot to do yet. I know you don't have a license but you can drive. I'm going to throw this guy and his nephew in their car and drive it back to their house. I'm going to leave them there just like this. You're going to follow me in the Chevy. Got it?"
Katherine disengaged and took a deep breath. "I can do that. I'm all right. I'm fine."
"Then we come back here. There's blood on your blouse, we have to get rid of it along the way. In the morning, I'll tell the manager that I found my door was broken but I was here with you all night and we didn't hear anything. We go back to the city and report to Mr Dred. It's risky, but if we're not seen, we'll be safe. Nobody knows we ever met these two except Mr Dred. You sure you're okay?"
She stared him in the eye with an oddly calm look on her face. "I actually am all right. I don't know, maybe I'm getting hardened to this sort of thing after working with you this year. You're a bad influence, Jeremy Bane."
A rare smile just barely touched his face. "I'm glad."
5/25/2014
11/28-11/30/1978
I.
After walking through the cold dark night from the municipal parking lot, the inside of Gallegher's Pub seemed like a bright overheated mass of people laughing and talking too loud. Bane winced visibly as he held the door for Katherine. He was solitary by nature and would be much happier roaming the freezing deserted streets by himself.
Stepping inside, Katherine Wheatley tried to keep from smiling at his discomfort. She herself had to turn down her telepathic perception to keep from being swamped by all the boisterous mental activity going on in this bar. This was something Kenneth Dred had taught her. In less than a year, he had shown her many useful techniques to keep her mind-reading under control. He himself was no telepath but he had known a few.
As she shrugged off her heavy tan coat, she was aware of a few admiring looks from men. At nineteen, Katherine was a slim, attractive girl with jet black hair that hung straight to her shoulders and her face was friendly-looking, accessible. Her pale blue eyes made a dramatic contrast with her hair. Under the coat, she was wearing snug jeans and a bright red sweater with white trim at collar and cuffs. The young telepath glanced over the crowd with a faint smile. Everyone was so rowdy, and it was barely midnight. The front part of Gallegher's was a U-shaped bar with swivel chairs ringing it and a few round wooden tables almost within reach. Further back, where the floor was a step lower, was a dining area with larger tables and comfortable chairs.
"Place is packed," the Dire Wolf said in her ear. Jeremy Bane was only a few years older than she was, he had just turned twenty-two, but he was so serious and intense that people reacted as if he were much older. As usual, he was dressed all in black, a long cloth coat over a turtleneck and slacks. Like Katherine, he had black hair and light-colored eyes but his irises were a cold unfriendly grey that startled even people that knew him.
She took hold of his arm and started tugging him behind her. "I see a table," she explained and rushed to claim it. It was against one wall, next to a heavily curtained window. The telepath seated herself, she had given up on trying to teach the Dire Wolf even basic courtesy and she would have a long wait if she expected him to pull out her chair for him. He took the chair facing her and frowned at not facing the door. Then he spotted a mirror on the wall ten feet behind Katherine and found he could keep an eye on the door that way.
Bane relaxed just a bit.
"I am ravenous," she announced as she picked up the menu. "They must be still serving, those people over there are just beginning to eat. Oh, a Reuben. That would suit me down the ground. What do you say, Jeremy?"
Bane forced himself to glance over the menu. "Yeah. A Reuben for me, too. Hashbrowns. And iced tea. You should order, I might have to look for our target."
"Very well," Katherine sighed as she caught a waitress' eye. The slim blonde with a dark red blouse and skirt smiled and raised her pad, "How are you folks this night?"
"Mostly good," answered Katherine. "I think we will each have a Reuben, with a salad with Thousand Island dressing for me and hash browns for my friend. Iced tea for both of us, please."
"Any desserts? The cherry cheesecake is astonishing."
"Not right now, thank you."
The waitress looked over at Bane, who was scanning the crowd. Katherine was good at reading expressions and she caught that the girl was slightly annoyed that Bane had not even noticed her, although she was trying not to show it. "I'll be right back," she said.
"Pretty girl," Katherine told Bane. "Great smile."
"What? Oh, sure. Look, you see that big guy at the bar. Blonde hair and red flannel shirt?"
"Yes. Our howler?"
"He matches the description the police chief gave us. Gordy Blair." The Dire Wolf started to get up, but Katherine again placed a hand on his arm.
"Jeremy, please. Wait until we've eaten. He just received his beer and his coat is draped over his chair, he's not going anywhere just yet. He's deep in debate with the old man with the sideburns."
Bane raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. "You are a good observer, Katherine. You take in that sort of detail all the time."
"It comes with the telepathy," she answered. "Even when I'm not using it, I pick up on things. I just heard your stomach rumble."
"I AM hungry," he admitted sheepishly. "But then, I'm always hungry. Mr Dred says it's an effect of my accelerated metabolism." He settled back in his chair. "What else can you tell about that guy without mind-reading?"
"Bad temper. Doesn't like to shown as wrong. Drinks too fast. Uses his size to intimidate. Doesn't plan well-- that jacket is much too thin for a night like this. What else? He's lost weight lately, his belt is pulled tight so three notches show. And I feel he's going to take a swing at somebody before the night is through."
Bane nodded. "Amazing. You're good. His eyebrows meet and his fingernails are long. Those are supposed to signs of werewolfism. There's something in his hip pocket that has an outline that looks to me like a lead sap. And his left ear is battered.. he HAS been in some serious fights." As their food arrived, Bane smiled politely and the waitress beamed as if he had proposed marriage. Katherine made a scoffing noise and started to eat.
Between bites, the Dire Wolf recapped the situation. They had been sent up to Woodstock from New York City, because their employer Kenneth Dred had received a call from assistance from the village police chief. Three bizarre deaths in three months in the area, all young women, all ripped up as if by wild animals but without any part of the body being eaten. Twice, neighbors reported a "dog" howling at the time of the deaths. The newspapers and local TV station had downplayed the deaths but they could not cover them up completely, and the citizens were furious over the lack of any progress.
"One detail in the reports caught Mr Dred's eye," Bane said after finishing the Reuben in record time. One woman was killed next to her car in front of her house up by Bearsville. The car door was still open and the keys in the ignition. One shoe was on the floor of the car, next to the gas pedal."
"So... that means?"
"Something powerful seized her and yanked her out of the car. I suppose it's possible a bear might do that, but animal experts think it unlikely and anyway, if she saw a local black bear in her yard, she wouldn't get out of the car anyway. Mr Dred thinks the killer leaped from the shadows and seized her."
"Oh that's lovely." Katherine had eaten half her Reuben and was toying with the limp salad. "Jeremy. After what I've seen this last year, I am not going to just dismiss anything as being impossible. But really. Werewolves?"
Bane was watching Gordy Blair. "Mr Dred says he has met a few over the years. In the arsenal downstairs, he had a dozen silver bullets already made up and packed in a leather case. They're for a Colt 45, so I brought that with me, too."
"And your silver daggers, of course?"
He looked back at her and then dug into the hashbrowns. "I never go anywhere without them. I think you need some silver on you, too. Tomorrow, maybe we can pick up some silver jewelry for you to wear for protection."
"I suppose that's the only way I'm getting silver jewelry from you."
"What? Never mind. Look, Blair is getting furious. There's going to be a fight in a second." He pushed back his chair and moved toward the bar with a quickness that was startling.
"Leaving me with the check?" sighed Katherine to herself, picking up the other half of her Reuben.
II.
Gordy Blair was in his late twenties, an imposing brute four inches over six feet tall, with wide shoulders and disproportionately large hands. He had bright yellow hair, parted in the middle and hanging straight to his collar. Right now, his face was turning red and one blunt forefinger was jabbing angrily at the older man he was talking with. "I'm not saying you're wrong, I think you're just arguing with me because you like to start trouble, pops."
"Facts are all I'm stating," answered the man. "But if you rile this easy, son, you're in for an unhappy life."
"Never mind my unhappy life," Blair said with his voice rising. "Right now, I'm-" He broke off as he saw a slim man all in black come up between them. Bane was several inches shorter and gaunt, but there was a quiet confidence about him that people felt immediately.
"And whadda YOU want?" snapped Blair just below a shout.
"Gordy Blair," said the Dire Wolf in a calm tone. "I need some answers from you."
"What? A f-- cop?! Listen. I come here for fun. Thrown down a few beers, dance with a hot girl or two. If it comes to it, I ain't afraid to fight. You get me? Mind your own business."
"Let's step outside," Bane continued. "You won't want everyone to see this."
"Oh, now you're begging for it!" Gordy Blair drew back his right fist to his ear and reached out with his left hand for this stranger. In that split-second, Jeremy Bane had set himself and blasted a two-inch punch that cracked against the blond man's sternum with a noise like a hammer breaking rock. No one watching even saw that punch, it was so short and quick, but they all saw Blair freeze in position and lower his fist as he gasped for breath with a painful wheeze.
The Dire Wolf got a handful of Blair's flannel shirt with one hand and seized the man's arm with the other. "I'm taking my friend outside for some air," he announced quietly. "He gets too excited." Half dragging the bigger man, Bane opened the door and stepped out in a night with a wind chill below freezing. Outside was a patio under an awning, with some wrought-iron tables and chairs. He dropped Blair into one of the chairs and stepped back.
"You'll able to breathe in a minute," Bane said. "I didn't hit you hard enough to break bone." From under his sleeve, he drew out a slim throwing dagger hilt-first and carefully pressed its blade to Blair's hands. There was no reaction. He touched the flat of the blade to the big man's neck, again saw nothing happen, and returned the knife to its sheath on his forearm.
Katherine had come outside too, yanking on her coat. "What's that all about?"
"He has no reaction to silver," Bane answered. "It's not conclusive, but it's a sign he may not be the howler." As Gordy Blair caught his breath and started to stand up, Bane pushed him back down hard. "Ready, Katherine?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Okay, Gordy. I think you know now not to try rough stuff with me. Next time it'll be your face. Listen. I need some answers from you. I'm not with the police. Got it so far?"
"Like hell. If you're not a cop, why should I even talk you? One lucky punch-"
Bane backhanded the bigger man across the face with a whiplash noise. Blair's head snapped to one side and he sagged back in the chair. "Let's get this over with and you can go back to your beer and I'll go away. Marisa Donnelly. Did you know her?"
"No. Not at all," came the grudging answer.
"She was found torn up the morning of October 16th up on Rock City Road. Where had you been that night?"
"None of your- all right. I was at my trailer. Two guys came over, we smoked some pot and watched a horror movie on TV. One of them slept on my couch."
"Names and addresses," Bane ordered and Blair complied. The Dire Wolf went on, asking about the previous victims. For one of them, the blond man had no alibi beyond the claim he had been driving around looking for a party, but for the other one he had been at the Benedictine Emergency Room, getting stitches for a gash on his right foot from stepping on broken glass. He had not been released for a few hours because it was a busy night and the doctor did not get back to him right away. So, during the hours determined for the first victim's death, he was in a hospital with a half dozen people remembering his presence.
"I guess you can go back inside, Gordy. Maybe we won't meet again." Bane stepped back and let the hulk stand up.
"You know those town clowns already asked me all this," Blair said. "What's your interest in those poor girls?"
"I'm a kind of hunter," Bane said. He turned to Katherine and she shook her head silently. Looking back at Blair, he continued, "You'll be black and blue tomorrow, but you like a good fight so that's nothing new for you." With Katherine beside him, Bane started walking briskly up the sidewalk as Blair slowly went back inside Gallegher's Pub.
They hurried up Tinker Street, turned right at the corner and went along Rock City Road. The center of town was one small shop after another. Boutiques, shoes, jewelry, gifts of every size. A pizza place had wide wooden steps where customers could sit and eat a slice. Ahead to their left was the short bridge over a creek, and they crossed it into the free municipal parking. Here was the big dark green Chevy Malibu that Kenneth Dred had just purchased for them to use as his agents. By now, Katherine had no hopes that Bane would open her door and she unlocked it and jumped in as he slid behind the wheel from the other side. As he started the powerful engine, she turned on the heat and put her hands back in her pockets.
"I read his mind," she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "He wasn't lying. He believed every word he said to you. But I have to stress something. If someone is crazy enough, they are delusional and believe their own fantasies. So it's still possible he is our werewolf but his conscious mind doesn't know it."
Bane backed the big car up and headed for the lot's exit, turning on the headlights. "Yes. I've read of that happening with some psychos. But if his alibis check out, I think he's low on a list of suspects. The silver daggers got no response from his skin. That's usually an indicator."
As they pulled out onto Rock City Road and turned right to go back to the main street, Katherine sighed with relief as hot air poured out of the vents. "That's better. It wasn't this cold last night. So what's the next move, Jeremy?"
"Cruise the area, looking for signs. I want you to keep your awareness open. If you pick up any unusual minds, let me know." He started slowly up Tinker Street, heading west past the Village Green.
"Animal or human?"
"You'll know if you contact one," he assured her.
Long boring hours went by without event. The sky began to lighten, and Katherine gave up trying not to yawn. "Honestly, my boy, I think tonight is a loss. I'm so tired I don't know if I could tell a howler brain from a nun."
"All right. The gas is getting low, too. We'll head back to the motel for some sleep." Leaving Woodstock behind, he pulled out onto Route 28 and sped along to stop at a Howard Johnson's near the Thruway Circle. They had managed to get adjoining rooms on the ground floor, not far from the restaurant section. As Bane jumped out and locked the car, he said, "Let me know when you're ready to get started again. I only need three or four hours sleep." He opened the door to his rooms and glanced over at her as she stood by the car. "You okay, Katherine?"
The young telepath hesitated, then said, "I'm fine. I was just thinking."
Bane shrugged. "All right. Get some sleep, I'll phone Mr Dred at seven to report. Good night." He went inside and an instant later the window of his room lit as he flicked the switch. Katherine watched him close the door on her in every way.
III.
At ten-thirty, Katherine awoke and groggily rubbed her eyes. She sat up on the double bed, realized she had simply kicked her shoes off and laid down fully dressed on top of the bed. Getting up and stretching, the young telepath reached out with her mind but couldn't pick up anything from Bane. She went over and pulled the curtains aside and blinked at the brilliant winter sunlight. There he was, walking across the parking lot toward the highway, just out of range of casual mental contact. Where was he going? Who knew? At least he wasn't taking the car and leaving her stranded here without explanation.
Making sure the door was locked and the curtains drawn, Katherine stripped down and put her clothes on the bed. Naked, she went into the bathroom and took a hot shower, then switched to cold water at the very end. Now she was awake. Drying off while still in the shower cabinet, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror over the sink and studied her reflection thoughtfully. She knew she was good-looking, not a cinema star but certainly attractive. Boys had started asking her out when she had been fourteen back in England. What was the problem with Bane? It wasn't that he was shy, God knows, nor did she think he liked boys. He just seemed oblivious to her as a woman, as if he were color-blind or deaf about her looks. Here she was, traveling with him with no chaperone, sleeping in a motel room next to him, and he just went about his business as if he were alone.
Maybe he IS alone, she thought. It's the way he is.
Wrapping a towel around her hair like a turban, she came back out and got a fresh bra and panties, pulled on the jeans from the day before and dug through her travel bag. Here was a dark blue blouse with two pockets and a white collar. She pulled it on and tucked it in, then sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what to do next. Drying and brushing her hair took another few minutes. Getting her wallet, she decided to go see if Bane had left a note on her door. No. Of course not. Starting to get annoyed at that boy, Katherine grabbed her coat and went outside. It was still bitter cold. She stood on the walkway of the motel, glanced over at Dred's car and finally decided to get something to eat.
Next to the manager's office was a snack bar, with bottles of juice and cans of soda. She picked a hard roll with sliced ham and cheese and some cranberry juice, paid the woman with her own money and went back to her room. As she unlocked her door, her mind picked up on Bane getting near and she glanced up to see him trotting across the parking lot toward her. "So there you are," she said as he drew closer.
"I don't need much sleep. I called Mr Dred and he had some more tips for us. There's a local expert on the Midnight War, some old guy named Silas. We're supposed to go see him. You ready?"
"Surely. I can eat my pathetic breakfast in the car."
Bane tilted his head quizzically. "Something wrong, Katherine?"
"No. Yes. Oh never mind," she said. She took a bite of the hard roll and started chewing. He never understood. The Dire Wolf. He would be better called the Lone Wolf. As Bane got in, he reached over and unlocked her door and she got in, slamming it a bit. Bane pulled out into traffic, and said, "Look. I know I don't have good manners. I'm an orphan, I grew up on the streets with a couple of so-called guardians using me as a thief until I was big enough to go on my own. Mr Dred tries to teach me how to act and talk right, but I'm never going to be a gentleman. Okay?"
Katherine suddenly relaxed. "It's okay, Jeremy. I knew all that but maybe it didn't register. I'm not mad at you."
"Good." Bane was heading away from Woodstock toward Saugerties. He turned onto a side road, watching the mailboxes until he saw one that said 2219 SILAS and turned up a gravel driveway. A small one-story house of dark wood, not much more than a bungalow, sat on a slight elevation. Parked in front of it was a red Firebird at least ten years old and a Harley-Davidson with a helmet hung from the handlebars. Bane pulled in and made a three-point turn so Dred's car was pointing out toward the road. He always parked this way.
"I hope this guy can help us," the Dire Wolf said. "Last night was a waste of time."
Katherine sudden sat stiffly upright. "Jeremy.. that man Blair is in the house. The man we talked to last night."
"Really?" he said. "Well, this is starting to get interesting." He got out of the car, reached behind him to adjust the 45 holster at his belt under the long coat and started toward the house. Katherine followed with a frown. Something was alarming her about this situation, but the impressions she picked up were confusing.
Bane knocked sharply on the front door and a second later it was opened by Gordy Blair. He was wearing a leather jacket and jeans worn at the knees. "Surprise," the Dire Wolf said. "We're here to see Jonah Silas."
"I know," Blair answered without obvious anger. He seemed to have gotten over the way he had been manhandled the night before. "He told me. Uncle Jonah, they're here!" The big man stepped aside to let Bane and Katherine in, closing the door behind them.
They entered a living room that was oppressively warm and stuffy. There was a couch, some chairs and a desk in one corner with a typewriter and disorganized stacks of paper on its surface. Bookcases lined the walls. Sitting in the middle of the room was an old man in a wheelchair.
Jonah Silas had to be in his mid-eighties, thought Bane, a withered man with thin arms and a blanket over his lap. He had a narrow face with a prominent nose and pale hazel eyes set within wrinkles. Like his nephew, his eyebrows met in an unbroken bar. Silas grinned, showing obvious dentures. "Jeremy, isn't it? And Katherine. Kenneth phoned me this morning to ask if I would help you youngsters out on your wolf hunt. Heh," he chuckled.
"We'll welcome any information you can give us," Bane said. "The police are clueless."
"I'm not surprised. Please, sit." He gestured at the couch and his visitors lowered themselves onto it. Katherine was seemingly distracted by something and kept glancing around the room.
"I'm convinced that the killer of those unfortunate women is indeed a werewolf," Silas told them. "And the worst kind, a voluntary shape-shifter who transforms because he likes it. No full moon, no pattern. I believe the killer can change at will. And he could be anyone, absolutely anyone. I must say, you've got a difficult problem before you."
Bane nodded in agreement. "I don't see any connection between the victims. No common element, other than that they were local women under thirty. Each murder took place in different months, but not at set intervals. I'm not sure where to start hunting."
"I wish I could be more help. Gordy here tells me you suspected him of being the killer."
"Yes," the Dire Wolf answered with no apology in his tone. "As far as I'm concerned, though, he's clear. How can we set a trap for this howler?"
"Howler? My, I haven't heard that term in years. To be honest, I don't see how you can snare this beast. He can strike whenever he wants but he doesn't seem compelled to follow a pattern. I believe he can wait for the perfect opportunity and stalk his victim until conditions are favorable."
Katherine had settled back and was studying Silas intensely. "Mr Silas," she said, speaking for the first time. "Why do you think this creature is doing this?"
"Oh, I feel he simply enjoys it. The thrill of the hunt. There are dark primitive instincts in all of us, you know, repressed and buried by so-called civilization. The werewolf simply accepts these instincts and acts on them." He smiled unpleasantly. "That's my theory, in any case."
"Why only women?" she asked.
"They are more satisfying victims. So I assume. Maybe the werewolf has a grudge against women. Perhaps he simply prefers them as prey, the way some hunters prefer deer over bears or moose. I'm just speculating, you understand."
Bane suddenly stood up. "Right. Well, thank you for your information. Katherine and I are staying at the Holiday Inn near the Thruway Circle. Rooms 16 and 17. You can leave a message there. We might come back if there are any developments but right now things don't seem promising." He held out his open hand. Jonah Silas grimaced and drew back in his wheelchair but finally gave Bane a brief handshake.
"Sorry," he said. "Arthritis, you know."
"Oh, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Bane said. He turned toward the door. "And Gordy, I have to apologize for treating you rough like that. This hunt is a serious business and I take it serious."
"Not a problem," Blair said as if he really was not resentful. He watched as the two visitors showed themselves out. Once outside, Bane and Katherine were silent until they were in the Chevy and easing down the driveway. Then Katherine blurted out, "Oh my God, are you thinking what I am?"
"You go first."
"All right. His mind is disciplined and hard to read, but he has a lot of anger just under the surface. And lust, even at his age. He was checking me out as if I were a hot meal on a plate. Did you hear him slip? A few times he was speaking from the werewolf's point of view and then caught himself. I'm convinced. If he's not the howler, he wishes he were." She glared at him as if daring him to contradict her.
"And one other thing," Bane told her. "I shook hands with him as a test. The silver dagger up my sleeve hurt him when it got too close. He almost wheeled back to avoid it."
Surprisingly, the young telepath smiled slightly. "We're on the right track. What next?"
The Dire Wolf was heading toward Woodstock again. "First, we get you some protection. We're onto him, and I bet he knows it. He may already be planning on adding a new prey to his list of victims."
"Me...." she said quietly.
IV.
The afternoon was spent wandering through the many gift shops. Katherine picked out a thin necklace, a bracelet carved with ornate swirls and a thick ring, all of silver. She started wearing them immediately. "I feel a little safer," she said.
"It's good protection but nothing's perfect. I could let you have the Colt with its silver bullets."
"Oh no. I've never held a gun in my life. I'd shoot my own foot off before I hit what I was aiming at."
"Suit yourself." He paused in front of a restaurant called JOSHUA'S, and glanced at the menu in the window. "Middle Eastern food. Feel like trying it?"
"Absolutely. Everything is on Mr Dred anyway."
After a meal of lamb, rice balls stuffed with peas and a thick lentil soup, they headed back to where the Chevy was parked. It was getting near dark. "So, Jeremy. When you told Silas where we are staying, you were setting that trap you wanted, right?"
"Sure. I even gave him the room numbers. Kind of obvious but I think he's so eager to get at you that he won't be careful." He got in the car, unlocked the passenger door for her from inside and started it up. As he headed out of town, Bane shook his head. "It's going to be a long night."
Back at the motel, he went into Katherine's room with her, which surprised her. Bane looked around at the identical layout and scowled. "My bet is that Silas will wait until the middle of the night to show up. If you can take a nap, it's not a bad idea. Otherwise, I guess you just watch TV and wait." He took off his coat and then the sport jacket, which surprised her even more. Tugging up his right sleeve, the young Dire Wolf unbuckled the sheath with obvious reluctance. He hesitated, then handed her the leather sheath. "Here. Put this on your left arm, hilt out. You can draw it quicker that way."
"One of your silver daggers? I never thought I'd see you let one out of your reach."
"I never have before," Bane said. "These aren't just silver. They were blessed by the Eldarin. Mr Dred says this makes them 'ensalir,' sacred silver. I haven't met a creature of the night that these blades couldn't carve."
Katherine slowly pulled up her own sleeve and Bane helped her tighten the straps so the hilt was just above the inside of her wrist. She slid the knife partly out and then replaced it. "I feel honored in a way, Jeremy. These mean a lot to you, I know."
"Mr Dred used them himself when he was young. He gave them to me when I first started working for him. Maybe you won't need it tonight but it's better to be prepared." He turned and put his jacket back on but hung the coat over one arm. As he went to the door, he glanced back and said, "Tonight that howler will pay for the women he killed. That's a promise."
"Jeremy. Listen, why don't you stay in here? With me?"
"Better I watch from outside. Don't worry. I'll be close."
"No, I mean... stay with me? You know?"
He didn't react. "There's work to do. We have to be alert." He went out, closing the door behind him and Katherine cursed with a word she seldom used.
V.
The hours crawled by. At a quarter past three, an old red Firebird slowly came into the lot with just its parking lights on and pulled up to the concrete curb by the walkway. Gordy Blair got out from behind the wheel, yanked off his leather jacket and pulled off his flannel shirt and tossed them both on the driver's seat despite the cold. In the front passenger seat, Jonah Silas watched silently. His wheelchair was nowhere to be seen. Blair stood in the freezing wind as if he didn't feel it. The lights were on in room 17, that was where the girl would be, but room 16 just showed the dim blue illumination of a TV left on. Blair studied the area, saw no one in sight and stepped up to the door to room 16. In an instant, his body shuddered and expanded, his torso filling out and dark fur bristling up from his skin. His face shifted to form a fanged snout and his ears grew pointed. The howler slammed his open paws on the door, snapping the lock, and lunged inside.
In the light of the TV, he saw a dim form under the blankets of the bed and he pounced on it with claws slashing wildly, then stopped. A low growl rumbled in his thick chest. It was just blankets rolled up. The monster swung around as Jeremy Bane stepped out of the bathroom with a big 45 automatic pointed right at him.
"Blair? I wasn't expecting this. You're a howler, too?" As the last word was spoken, the werewolf leaped across the room with a snarl. Quick as the howler himself, Bane sidestepped and smashed the gun to the back of the monster's head as it went past him. Blair was up and attacking again, slamming into the Dire Wolf and knocking the automatic away to clatter on the floor. The fangs gnashed within an inch of Bane's face and hot saliva sprayed. Then the werewolf made a strange gasping noise and stepped back. A dagger was in his chest up to the hilt, squarely over the heart. With a whimper, the brute fell to his knees and then onto his back. He was already reverting to normal. Bane knelt, tugged the dagger out and sliced it carefully across Gordy Blair's throat before cleaning it on the man's jeans. There was not much blood and none of it got on the floor as far as he could see.
Standing up, the Dire Wolf paused for only another second to be sure the howler was dead, then ran to the open door, weapon still in his hand.
The sound of the door being broken open in the room next to hers jolted Katherine Wheatley from an uneasy doze on the couch. She took a second to fully awaken and her mind caught snatches of a violent confrontation to her right. Jeremy's room! The young telepath was shaken by the raw animal rage at such close proximity. Without thinking, she hurried to open her own door and was slapped to the floor by a powerful paw. Her head rang and she was dazed. From the floor, Katherine stared up in paralyzed terror at a hair-covered brute with a grinning snout and yellow eyes. The monster closed the door behind it, and loomed up over her.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," the werewolf said clearly. "I have been thinking of starting a colony of pups. Our child will be cursed with the howler taint, and he will be just the first of many. You're coming with me. This will be a night you'll never forget." He reached down for her with both paws, laughing softly with the same unpleasant chuckle he had given earlier in his house. As he picked her easily off the floor, Jonah Silas unexpectedly groaned and dropped the girl. He stared down at the black hilt of a throwing dagger protruding from the middle of his chest. "Silver...?"
The monster dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Even as he fell, the door slammed open and Bane leaped into the room, stopping short with an almost comical expression on his face. He looked at the fur-covered body which was started to change back to human, then went to help Katherine to her feet. She was shaking visibly.
"Well, I guess you can take care of yourself," he said. "Nice work."
"I.. didn't know I was going to do it. It was instinct? He said he was going to take me to bear his werewolf children. Oh my God, I killed him!" She buried her head against Bane and he squeezed her clumsily.
"If it was ever self-defense, this was it," the Dire Wolf told her. "Listen. I need you to keep being brave. We have a lot to do yet. I know you don't have a license but you can drive. I'm going to throw this guy and his nephew in their car and drive it back to their house. I'm going to leave them there just like this. You're going to follow me in the Chevy. Got it?"
Katherine disengaged and took a deep breath. "I can do that. I'm all right. I'm fine."
"Then we come back here. There's blood on your blouse, we have to get rid of it along the way. In the morning, I'll tell the manager that I found my door was broken but I was here with you all night and we didn't hear anything. We go back to the city and report to Mr Dred. It's risky, but if we're not seen, we'll be safe. Nobody knows we ever met these two except Mr Dred. You sure you're okay?"
She stared him in the eye with an oddly calm look on her face. "I actually am all right. I don't know, maybe I'm getting hardened to this sort of thing after working with you this year. You're a bad influence, Jeremy Bane."
A rare smile just barely touched his face. "I'm glad."
5/25/2014
