The Curse of Oberon (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 3) (20 page)

**Two Months Later**

The place was coming along nicely. I figured another month or so and the Howl at the Moon would become the favorite spot for lost travelers to grab a bite at.  Since I took ownership, everyday five or six cars pulled in looking for directions.  I could already hear the register making money.

It was a Tuesday, so Bernard and dad weren’t able to come out and help.  Something about real jobs they claimed.  I got the impression they weren’t about all the hard work I’d been giving them.  You could count on one thing though; they’d be lining up for free meals as soon as I was open.

The sun was starting to wear on me.  Even in just a tank top and cargo shorts, the unrelenting desert heat took it out of a man.  Funny, making it a bit more tolerable was the cool energy from the pale blue stone around my neck.  I half wondered if anyone even cared I still had the gem.

I was hammering the last nail into the new exterior paneling when another car came rolling in.  This was a fancy one, possibly a Porsche by first glance.  I jumped down from the scaffold and walked over to greet my newest lost soul.

Then I stopped dead in my tracks.  Dressed to kill in a skirt and blouse, there was something oddly familiar about this visitor.  She was wearing a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses.  It was only when she took off the eyewear did I realize who this was.  “Isa?”

She smiled at me and walked over.  I’d never seen her like this, wearing fancy clothes and all.  “This is one hard place to find.  Are you sure your customers will be able to?”

“People won’t be looking for my place, my place will find them.”

“I’m not used to this desert heat.  Mind if we go inside to talk?”

A little overeagerly, I opened the doors to my new place and we came in.  I got the a/c working last week which was nice.  I’m sure Isa appreciated it.  “Pardon my gawking, but you look at hot as the heat outside.”

She smiled and brushed her hand against my exposed shoulder.  “I’d rather be back in jeans, but sometimes business calls for these things.”

“Business?  What business do you have here?”

She sat down at one of the newly built booths.  “I’m here on behalf of a group of werewolves who need help.”

“Werewolves?”  This was coming out of left field.  “Do I want to know how this came about?”

“Well if you accept my request, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up.”  She pulled a piece of paper out of her purse.  “You can read all about it for yourself.”

The letter, which was very short, begged for help for a pack in Ukraine.  They claimed vampires were harassing them, killing them for sport.  They begged for someone to come to them and help before it was too late.  “Vampires attacking werewolves?  This seems quite strange.  Why didn’t you take this to Cristof or someone?”

She put the note back in her purse.  “I came to the one person I trusted above all else.  Besides are you that trusting of vampires right now?”

In the two months since I got this place, my faith in my friends had been shaken.  Each time Liz came to check up on me, she wanted Rosette to try and lift the Warg from me.  Eventually I got frustrated and told her that I wasn’t broken and she needed to stop trying to fix me.

Then I saw the same scared looked she had when she saw me again at the tower.  I walked away, angry that she treated me in such a way and in my own stubborn pride, hadn’t called since.  “I guess you can say things haven’t been quite the way they used to be.”

“That’s why I’m here, because you’re a good man.  These wolves need our help.”

I couldn’t say no to such a request.  “I guess I can put off my opening for a little.  I mean it’s like you said, it’s not like I have a line of customers already.”

She smiled and her hand took mine.  “There is one last thing you need to know about this job.”

That’s never good.  “I’ve been in some shit.  How bad are we looking?”

“These wolves are a bit shy to strangers and for good reason.”  She gave my hand a soft reassuring squeeze.  “This pack lives in the fallout zone of Chernobyl.  Most of them are a bit scarred, if not worse.”

You’d have to be from another planet to not know about Chernobyl.  “Is it safe for us to go there?”

“There’s still radiation in the area, but with the right equipment, we’ll be safe.”

Honestly, I’d like to say that was reassuring but I’d probably be lying.  “Well, I need to go home and get some stuff if we’re going on a job.”

She dangled her keys in front of me.  “Why don’t you leave your car here?  This rental I have is a lot of fun to drive.”

Grabbing them from her, “Now this is how to properly start an adventure!”

**Somewhere in the Irish Sea**

Clinging to the great stupid lizard, my strength was starting to fade.  I’d been stuck at sea for way too long, with no blood to keep me going.  It’d been a miracle I’d survived this long.  I didn’t know if I could starve to death, but it was getting to the point where the will to live was leaving.

I must’ve dozed off because I was awoken to the sounds of men yelling.  “I don’t know what he’s stuck to, but the boy’s in trouble!”

British accents?  Had English fishermen found me?  I looked over and sure enough a boat was beside the crocodile’s corpse, just meters away from me.  Oh, a fresh meal would soon be coming my way.

One of the fishermen reached down and I took his arm.  I was too weak to fight yet, but the warmth the boat provided would change that soon.  He brought me into the wheel house and put a blanket around my shoulders.  “I won’t ask you many questions, but are you coherent?  What’s your name?”

I nodded, already feeling my temperature rising.  Soon I would be able to feed.  “My name’s Peter.”

**To be continued**

Ragnarok on Ice Series:

Power Play: Act 1 Svartalfheim

Penalty Kill: Act 2 Midgard

Game Over: Act 3 Yggdrasil

The Inglewood Chronicles:

The Cactus Killer (Volume 1)

The Wrath of Pan (Volume 2)

The Cascade Snowman – Gregory’s Tale

The Curse of Oberon – (Volume 3)

Pacific Station Vigilante:

The Negative Man: City of Chaos

The Negative Man: Stormfall (Winter 2016)

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Jeremy Croston

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**Istanbul, Turkey – Two Months Prior**

It was a shame I had to kill the witch once the enchantment was broken, but loose ends and all.  Besides, witches were untrustworthy creatures and would turn on you in an instant.

The fire finally ended, Kai’s charred remains joining Lemoyne’s.  The Asian vampire recognized me when I saved Victor’s brother, so her death was inevitable.  The fire just happened to do the job before I had a chance.

I opened the door to Cain’s chamber, unsure of what to expect.  The sight before me was pathetic; millennia without blood had left just a shell of the man.  He was alive, but I had no use for this weakened creature.  I walked right up to him and put a silver dagger into his chest, releasing him from his physical prison.  What a pathetic end to the legend of Cain.

However, that was not what I was here for.  Regardless of what crazed notions Jonathan had, the real treasure was the vile of life force that sat on the pedestal behind the withered corpse.  Caesar Alexis talked of a day he would drink it and bring the humans to their knees.  Oh to see the look on his face that I accomplished this rather than him!

Poor Jonathan though, being chased and killed by the Warg.  I can’t say I was disappointed he wouldn’t be around.  He had become insufferable and his reliance of Pan was downright reckless.  With a new companion presenting himself to me on Neverland, his usefulness to me was at an end.

And Victor, the guardian of my desired Gem!  How fate brought us together, almost as if my deceased husband chose him for me.  The old curse from Drakel’s sword lived on in his body.  And stealing him from Elizabeth only brought me more joy. 

I picked up the vile, looking on in awe at how over time it still radiated power.  “Drakel, I will finish what we started.  That I promise you!”  Opening the bottle, I drained its contents.