04 Silence (11 page)

The growling intensified, becoming a rumble that carried through the trees as a wolf stepped out in front of
Fallon
. It was large and black, with yel
low
eyes that shone with reflected light.
Fallon
tensed, knowing that the werewolf would attack.

He saw its muscles bunch, ready to leap, but it didn’t get a chance. A second werewolf form leapt out from the bushes, placing itself in the way and snapping at the first one. The black wolf clearly didn’t like that, because it snapped back at the newcomer, their jaws locking against one another’s for a moment.

Yet it seemed that the black wolf wasn’t strong enough to win, because after a second it backed away, and the new werewolf transformed.

It was Kevin, who stood there with his arms folded as the first wolf also changed, becoming a blond-haired man
Fallon
didn’t know. He was in his mid to late twenties, and he clearly wasn’t happy.

“What do you think you are doing stopping me from
killing
a vampire, Kevin?”

“Josh, this isn’t just any vampire. This is
Fallon
. My brother.”

“You
still
shouldn’t have moved to stop me like that. I’m the King here. Not you.”

Kevin bowed his head slightly. “I’m not disputing that, Josh. It was just the only way to stop you
killing
him.” Kevin turned to
Fallon
. “Hi. You surprised us. We thought you were one of them.”

“Them?”
Fallon
asked. “Have Pietre’s vampires come out this far?”

Kevin shook his head. “No, something worse. A new group from the West.”

Fallon
’s chest tightened then. He knew some of the vampires Kevin meant. After
all,
hadn’t he just spent enough time around them?

It seemed that the first wolf, Josh, wasn’t happy at being snubbed like that. He approached
Fallon
, looking at Kevin
all
the while. Josh sniffed the air, and looked menacing for a moment. “We do not tolerate vampires, Kevin.”

“He’s my brother,” Kevin said. “I don’t like what he is any more than you do, but he hates Pietre, Josh.”

The other werewolf hesitated.
Fallon
thought for a moment that he might say
Fallon
should be
killed
anyway, but he fina
lly
nodded, with another glance at Kevin. This Josh had
called
himself a king, but he didn’t act like he was in charge here. He acted like he was taking his cue from
Fallon
’s brother.

“Is that true?” Josh demanded of
Fallon
.

“Do you hate Pietre so much that we should ignore what you are? Would you help werewolves against your own kind?”

“Yes,”
Fallon
said. “I would.”

Josh looked at
Fallon
with scrutinizing eyes.

“And why should I believe what you say to me, vampire?”

“Pietre has done horrendous things,”
Fallon
said. “Especia
lly
to the ones I love. He destroyed Briony’s parents, who were the only good vampires I knew of, and has tried to destroy her, too. Why wouldn’t I hate him for
all
that? Why wouldn’t I do everything that was necessary to protect Briony?”

Josh looked from
Fallon
to Kevin and back again. He seemed pleased. “And so it gets complicated. Hmm… Briony does have an interesting effect on the young men around her, doesn’t she?”

“Josh.” Kevin’s voice held a warning note, which earned him an unpleasant look from the werewolf king. Then though, Josh smiled.

“The effect that Briony has on people isn’t enough for me to risk everyone, Kevin.
I
’ll
need your word. No,
I
’ll
need more than that.
You
’ll
stand surety for him.
You
’ll
vouch for
Fallon
before he goes anywhere near the others.”

“Why would Kevin have to do that?”
Fallon
demanded.

“You said it yourself, vampire. Pietre and his ilk have done evil things. Our kind has lost so much at their hands, including my brother Channing. Even now, my sister Carol is recovering from both that loss and the torture she suffered at the hands of vampires. And our kinds have never been inclined to trust one another. Do you rea
lly
think that a vampire could walk into our camp unprotected right now without being ripped to shreds?”

Fallon
could feel the truth of that in his sudden urge to argue, or better yet, to fight outright and teach this werewolf a lesson in manners. He only control
led
himself with difficulty, clenching his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles whitened even beyond their usual pal or.

Josh the werewolf king continued as if nothing had happened. “Whereas if Kevin vouches for you, I
will
place you under my protection and the others
will
leave you alone so long as you behave yourself. After
all,
” he glanced at Kevin again then, “who would dare to cross the King of
all
the werewolves?”

Fallon
didn’t know what there was between his brother and this man, but he wasn’t sure he liked it.

Even so, he nodded. “Yes, of course, Werewolf King, I
will
behave myself in your presence.”

“Good,” Josh said. “Kevin?”

“Yes,
I
’ll
vouch for him.”

Josh nodded, seeming satisfied. “Then he has my protection. We need to get back to the others now,” Josh explained to
Fallon
. “A few of us are out looking for some of the new vampires we have heard about in the area. Carol, Brian and I obviously want to stop the threat they represent.”

“So do Jake and I,” Kevin said, and
Fallon
got the feeling that he was walking in on an argument there. “We just want to see if they know anything about Palisor too.”

Josh shrugged. “I guess we could
all
do to learn more about it.”

“
Fallon
will
make things easier,” Kevin said.

“He can act as a scout for us, and can sense another vampire easier than we can.”

“Good,” Josh said. “Let’s head back to the camp. We should be around the others.”

Josh led the way as the three of them made their way through the woods, until they came to a
small
clearing where Jake was waiting along with another couple of werewolves. One was a young woman, while the other was male and around
Fallon
’s age. They were similar enough that they were obviously related.

Presumably they were Carol and Brian, Josh’s siblings.

Carol looked up as
Fallon
approached, and her transformation into a wolf was almost instantaneous.

Her growl wasn’t as deep as Josh’s had been, but it was every bit as menacing.

“Stop!” Josh said, stepping closer to
Fallon
.

“That’s an order, Carol!
Fallon
here is under my protection.”

The wolf looked at her brother quizzica
lly
.

“This vampire is Kevin’s brother,” Josh explained. “He is apparently as against Pietre as any of us, and wishes to help find Briony.”

At Briony’s name, Carol growled louder.

“He and Briony are close friends,” Josh said in a tone
Fallon
didn’t entirely understand. “Very close.”

That was enough to get the werewolf girl to change back, her hair wild from the transformation.

She walked over to Kevin as though she hadn’t just threatened his brother.

“He’s not as handsome as you,” she said, putting a hand on Kevin’s chest. “But if he’s handsome enough to give me a clear run at you…” Kevin just shook his head and Carol let her hand fal
l.

The male werewolf, Brian, stood then, looking
Fallon
up and down. Apparently, the same words that had just defused a little of his sister’s hostility had only served to increase his. At least he didn’t seem to be about to attack though.

“Close?” His tone said that he couldn’t believe it. “Before you became a vampire or after?”

“After.”

The werewolf snorted. “What would a girl like Briony see in a vampire?”

“As opposed to you, for example?”
Fallon
asked, taunting the young man just a little.

Jake chose that moment to speak up. “
Fallon
’s okay,” he said. “He and Briony might be kind of…
complicated, but he’s never let us down. He even helped Aunt Sophie escape from Pietre.”

“He’s
still
a vampire,” Brian said. “Are you rea
lly
asking us to leave him alone, Josh?”

The werewolf king shook his head. “I’m not asking. Kevin has vouched for him, and
Fallon
is under my protection. You
will
not harm him.”

Brian nodded, obviously reluctantly. “
I
’ll
abide by your decision. You know I
wi
ll.
”

“Carol?” Josh asked. “How about you?”

“I hate
all
vampires, but I figure, if he’s going to be the one taking Briony away from us werewolves, then I can hold back.”

Fallon
let out a breath. “Good. Then there’s something I need to
tell you
. I saw something.”

“What?” Jake and Kevin asked it together.

“Something that might help us find Briony and get her back. A dragon. A dragon came through the gate from Palisor. At least, I guess it did. I saw it flying overhead and I tried to fol
low,
but it was just too quick.”

“I wonder why it was there,” Josh said. “From the notes my ancestors have left, dragon-shifters genera
lly
only appear in our world for a very good reason. There isn’t enough magic here to make it comfortable for them long term. If this dragon is like the last one, the golden one, then he
will
be here to open the gates and bring someone back through into Palisor. Perhaps if we could work out whom, we could find it more easily.”

“Perhaps it
will
find us,” Brian suggested. “The golden one was drawn to us as
fe
llow
shifters, wasn’t he?”

“It’s possible,” Josh said, “though we can’t know for certain.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case,” Kevin said.
Fallon
noted that he moved a little away from Carol. “But we can’t risk it not happening. We should track the dragon. It’s our best shot at getting Briony back. People
will
be missing her by now. People at school. People at the diner.”

“People like you, you mean,” Carol added, obviously not happy at the sudden distance between her and Kevin. She smiled and looked between Kevin and
Fallon
. “
Tell
me, when she gets back, which one of you gets her?”

“Stop trying to cause trouble, Carol.” Josh’s tone was firm.

Carol mimed locking her lips closed and throwing away the key before stalking off.

Josh sighed and looked after his sister.

“Brian, make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid. Kevin, I’m sorry, but we can’t just go chasing around looking for dragons. You’ve heard the rumors about the new vampires coming in from the west. We need to focus our efforts on them, or who knows what
will
happen?”

Jake spoke up then. “If the dragon’s here, and the vampires are coming here, maybe the vampires are here because they know something about why the dragon’s here. Maybe they
’ll
lead us to the dragon.”

“Maybe,” Josh said. “Though it would help if we had some idea of what they were here for.”

Fallon
’s eyes widened then as he realized that he had forgotten
all
about the warning he was supposed to deliver. How could he have been that foolish? No, the answer to that was obvious. He’d been too caught up in the possibility of getting Briony back. Yet now, he knew he had to say something.