Those Wonderful Toys: Preternatural Chronicles Book 7 (The Preternatural Chronicles) Page 20

  Sniffing the air, Depweg oriented on a nearby plot of land where a home used to be. Only a few small sections of wall closest to the edge of the house remained atop the foundation. Water spewed freely from where a kitchen used to be. Hayley was in there.

  Depweg smelled other things in the air, and heard the chatter of the police in front of a nearby house. The sirens of additional units were blaring in the distance, growing closer to the war zone.

  “Goddamn it, John,” Depweg cursed under his breath before hustling to where Hayley’s scent was the strongest. The metallic aroma of blood was heavier in the air the closer he got, making his heart skip a beat.

  Stepping into the house, Depweg froze as he saw two people huddled over where he assumed Hayley was. They smelled...off.

  The pair—a man and a woman who looked strikingly similar—pivoted to stare at Depweg.

  “Get away from her,” Depweg growled, taking several menacing steps forward with clenched fists.

  The lightly tanned woman took a cautious step backward while the male puffed his chest and squared his shoulders.

  “Believe me,” Depweg growled with a commanding voice that was becoming more beast than man, “you do not want to come between me and my friends.”

  The male aggressively sniffed the air, sensing something new that he clearly didn’t like, and hissed.

  “Ben, please,” the woman pleaded, placing both hands over her heart and taking another step backward.

  It was then that Depweg decided on what the two humans actually were.

  Orange hair began to grow over the man’s body, with black spots littered all over. Joints began to lengthen as his face elongated into a snout, but not one as long as a typical wolf’s. The ears that sprouted each had a longer length of black fur that went past the ear’s tip.

  As the were burst from its clothes, Depweg could see it didn’t have a tail. Rather, it was barely a nub.

  “Werecat...”

  The bobcat-looking creature wasn’t particularly large compared to a werewolf, but Depweg knew cats to be more graceful and fast.

  “You asked for it, bud,” Depweg grumbled before instantly transforming into the twelve-foot-tall feral wolf, his black tank top and pants falling to the ground.

  The large bobcat hissed before leaping through the air in the flash of an eye, catching Depweg off guard.

  Two large paws smashed into the wolf’s chest as a formidable jaw tried to latch onto Depweg’s throat. However, the muscle and tissue that made up the wolf’s neck was simply too large an obstacle for the bobcat to get its mouth around.

  Depweg swiped upward at the creature, who sensed the attack coming and sprang off the wolf’s chest to gracefully land on the ground, hissing again.

  The wolf growled its own challenge, but stood its ground rather than charging. The man inside the beast was hoping the creature before him would come to its senses and cease attacking a fellow were, even if they were a different subspecies.

  With insanely fast movements, the bobcat lashed out, raking surgically sharp claws across Depweg’s calf. Before blood began to slide from the gashes, the wolf understood that his opponent had gone low enough to be out of easy range of his long arms and viselike jaws.

  Warm liquid matted the wolf’s fur before pattering on the floor. The bobcat seemed to grin.

  “My turn,” Depweg rumbled as he telegraphed swiping to one side of the cat. Going solely on instinct at how fast the werecat could move, Depweg kicked out with the opposite foot from the hand he had used, and broadsided the dense bobcat with a clawed foot.

  Depweg’s opponent shrieked in rage as it flew in a circle, like a top, coming to rest with claws that easily sank into the concrete foundation.

  The giant wolf smiled at the cat before straightening his stance once more.

  The bobcat hissed before blurring forward, low to the ground.

  Depweg sprang upward, hanging in midair as if he were asleep on an invisible bed, and swiped his hand where he thought the creature was going to be.

  The werecat had other ideas in mind as it leaped into the air, turning upside down, and began raking its claws across the wolf’s body as if it were running on flat land.

  A knee came up and smashed into the werecat’s head, knocking it silly.

  Both weres dropped to the floor, the wolf bleeding from several cuts, and the dizzy cat unable to stand on its own four feet for the time being.

  Depweg effortlessly got to his feet before turning to the dazed cat. The game was over, and the killing blow would not be contested.

  The wolf simply stared at the bobcat, watching with intelligent eyes as its several wounds ceased bleeding in a remarkable display of healing factor.

  Catching its senses, the cat hissed again in apparent indignation before preparing to lunge again.

  “Ben!” the woman cried out. “He said she is his friend. And he’s not attacking first. You are! Let’s just go!”

  Depweg looked at the young woman before glancing back at the bobcat that stood in a defensive stance before him.

  The cat looked at his companion, and she pleaded, “Ben, please.”

  To show she was right, Depweg took one step backward and softened his glowering expression.

  The bobcat stopped hissing and mirrored the wolf’s movement by taking a step backward. Then it took the show of placation further by choosing to sit, though it didn’t remove its narrowed eyes off the impossibly large wolf.

  Several sirens began to draw ever nearer in the distance, the heightened senses of the weres accurately suggesting the mortal authorities were coming toward them.

  Understanding the fight was over, Depweg looked at the girl and asked, “Who are you?”

  The girl recoiled at the animalistic tone of Depweg’s voice, but couldn’t hide her intrigue at the were’s words. Depweg had to remind himself it was uncommon for shifters to speak. He had worked hard to make his voice remain as close to human as possible in an effort to not frighten those he spoke with, but he sometimes let it slip.

  All three heads snapped toward the end of the road as the lights began to grow in the distance.

  “Gabriel sent us,” the girl admitted, looking nervously between Depweg, her companion, and the growing lights.

  “We need to leave,” Depweg advised as he stepped to Hayley’s unconscious form and scooped her up. Turning, he quickly returned to where he’d dropped his clothes during the transformation and picked them up in his other hand, easily holding the warden with one arm.

  The werecat padded to his companion, and the small female climbed onto his back, securing herself by gripping the fur around his neck.

  Without a word, they were off, moving at incredible speeds. Depweg took the hint and leaped hard enough to crack the concrete beneath his feet, landing in a full sprint.

  The blare of the police sirens, which had finally reached the house, diminished within seconds.

  The werecat leaped over fences, skirted under shrubbery, and disappeared into a nearby wooded area. Depweg smashed through the fences, ripped through the shrubbery, and disappeared into the nearby wooded area.

  24

  John - Germany

  I shifted to where I had last been, landing smack-dab in the backyard of the house we had rented...only to be met with several uniformed officials who all looked terribly excited to see me.

  Did I say excited? I might have been mistaken. Perhaps alarmed would be a more apropos term?

  “Um...I’m a jelly doughnut?” I asked aloud in English.

  Pistols were unholstered and pointed at the ground in my general direction.

  “I don’t get it. You guys went apeshit when JFK said it!”

  “Who are you? What are you doing here? Answer me!” one of the police officers cried out, unsure of what to do. I guess they didn’t cover sexy dudes appearing from thin air in their training.

  Mjolnir tugged at my waist in the direction of a wooded area in the distance.

  “Would you
look at the time?” I asked the growing group of officials as I looked down at the bare wrist of my right hand. “Smoke bomb!” I cried out as I first withdrew from my pocket, and then threw a small, cracked glass orb on the ground. A trivial, pathetic puff of smoke came up a few inches before a gentle, almost pleasant breeze carried it away. “How the hell does Batman carry those and not break them all the time?”

  A gun barked as something pinged off my shoulder and dropped to the grass at my feet. It was a mushroomed round that had failed to pierce either my armor or my coat. Heck, my skin could have done the job just as well, but the fact that this mortal had shot at me all because I had thrown an epic smoke bomb to mask my escape...I forgot where I was going with this. Ah, right. Escaping.

  “Okay, bye. Have a wonderful time!” I called out as I ran at a fast yet controlled speed. I didn’t want to give these mortals any more reason to start asking difficult questions once they got back to their headquarters.

  After I was around a house and out of sight, I put on the NOS and blurred through broken fences and uprooted shrubbery (heh, shrubbery...like in that one movie?) until I was balls deep in the local woods.

  Pretending to bring up some fancy gadget from my nonexistent utility belt up to my face, I flipped on my preter-eyes and scanned my surroundings.

  I quickly found the enormous paw prints of a bipedal wolf that weighed as much as a truck, as well as four smaller prints of what appeared to be some sort of kitty. I mean, I say smaller, but any print would be dwarfed by Depweg’s.

  I wanted to be surprised that Depweg was in Germany, but I also knew Taylor had a part in his perfect timing and the precise location of his arrival. Instead, I let myself get tentatively excited to see my friend again after two years apart.

  Returning my invisible tracking gadget to my utility belt (with accompanying sound effects, which I provided), I followed the prints, intrigued at the implications. Was Depweg hunting a really big cat? That might explain the line of chaos through the neighborhood and into the woods.

  “Silly Depweg.” Shifting to a dramatic detective voice, I said, “Cats and squirrels, his only weaknesses...and...and silver...and fire...and decapitation...and being sucked into a black ho—OKAY! He has plenty of weaknesses.”

  Following the trail, I eventually came upon an impressive handmade shelter that blended with the surroundings perfectly.

  It was built into a hill, giving it protection and insulation on three of the walls, the roof, and the floor. The front of the modest structure was constructed of logs and treated with mud, leaves, and moss. White smoke drifted from a modest gathering of rocks at the top. A small collection of leaves looked denser than the others, and I knew I was looking at the door.

  Crouching, I looked back down at the ground and saw where Depweg’s unmistakable prints reverted back to human size, as did the big cat’s.

  “Werecat?” I mouthed to myself as I focused on the hideout. Muffled voices were coming from inside.

  A man and a woman were talking in a hushed tone. The sweet smell of human blood wafted from the hut, making my fangs elongate as I narrowed my eyes.

  “You’re cooking them too long,” the woman complained. “You’re going to burn the meat!”

  I gasped, fearing the worst, and blurred through the leaf-covered door, fangs bared and gladius at the ready.

  The woman shrieked while the skinny man pivoted to swipe at my throat with a knife. It smashed into my neck, shattering the steel blade.

  The skinny man’s eyes went wide as a growl rumbled from deep inside his chest. I didn’t need to inspect their auras to know they were some sort of weres.

  “Where’re my friends?!” I demanded, letting my eyes blaze a fierce crimson.

  “John!” Depweg called out from behind, startling me. And I mean startled. You know, lightly scared. Definitely did not make me shriek in a pitch only dogs could hear.

  “Depweg?” I breathed out, letting my vampiric markers revert to normal while my blade vanished from sight. I saw my best friend start to go in for a massive hug but then stop himself as if walking directly into an invisible wall, his eyes regarding me tentatively. “What’s going on?”

  “Was taking a crap.”

  “Well, that solves the old riddle,” I said in an attempt to cut through the awkwardness of not giving my hetero life mate a giant bear hug after two years apart.

  Three pairs of eyes regarded me as I looked between them.

  “You know, does a werewolf shit in the woods? No? Alrighty then. Moving on. Why do I smell blood?”

  “Hayley was hurt when I...” he stopped for a moment to look at the two strangers, “we...found her.”

  “Yeah,” I let out, pulling my beanie off and running a hand through my hair. “Ulric got the drop on us, man. He went all Hellraiser on Hayley. It...it was bad. I honestly don’t know how she’s still alive.”

  “’Cause I’m tougher than you, pussy,” Hayley croaked out from a sleeping bag in the corner. I could see an empty canteen next to red towels that had probably started off as white.

  Hayley pushed herself up on her elbows, looking first at Depweg, then me, followed by the strangers, whom she stared at for several seconds. Her eyes roamed around the enclosure as her brow furrowed.

  “Where the hell am I? What happened?” Her eyes went wide before frantically looking around the hut. “Where’s Ludvig?!”

  My heart dropped and throat went dry as I attempted to find the best angle of approach. How do you tell someone that the person they love is dead?

  “He...uh...he...” I started, trying to put the words flying around in my head in the right order.

  “He’s gone, Hayley,” Depweg stated in a somber, yet professional tone.

  “He...I...I...I-I-I,” Hayley stammered as bubbles of water pooled over her eyes. She blinked, and the collection of tears streamed down her face. I couldn’t help but notice how fast they moved.

  “He saved us. And he beat the shit outta Ulric,” I said gently but with a dash of pride.

  Hayley’s expression changed on a microscopic level, and I knew what she was asking without having to say a word.

  “Samael stabbed him in the back when...when he picked up the hammer again.”

  I could see she was repeating my words over and over in her mind, then the last part of what I’d said sunk in. Hayley’s features smoothed slightly.

  “You knew?” I asked, wanting to get angry but quickly putting that campfire of incredulity out by dropping an entire iceberg of understanding on it before it could get out of hand.

  She nodded once, furiously wiping at the tears coating her cheeks while sniffling in an attempt to regain control. When it seemed like she had almost done it, she locked eyes with me, and I watched her false, stoic demeanor melt like a wax sculpture positioned behind a jet engine.

  Tears flowed, her brow crinkled, and her lips quivered as clear snot ran down them. Then she threw herself back into a lying position, pulled the sleeping bag above her face, and screamed in a sorrow so intense, even Depweg teared up a little.

  I, of course, was bawling like a baby by this point, feeling the weight of everything come crashing down. Hayley didn’t deserve this pain, and it hurt me to be so completely helpless. Plus, I freaking liked Ludvig...a lot! He was my buddy, damn it, and it hurt not to have him here any longer.

  Depweg touched my shoulder, and I looked over to see him nodding toward the door.

  I made an “ah” expression, replaced my beanie, and silently moved to the outside. I noticed the two strangers coming with.

  When the four of us were outside and far enough from the hut to speak freely, Depweg asked, “What happened?”

  “Ulric showed up, and froze me in some sort of time thingy. But I think my armor was able to help me see and hear things in real time or something. It was weird, man.”

  “John, focus.”

  “Right. Um...Ulric came in, subdued Ludvig after putting me in the time prison from Superman, and then
he went after Hayley. He made sure to torture her...like a lot. Like a lot a lot.”

  “Why didn’t he just kill the lot of you when he had the chance?” Depweg asked, crossing his arms as one hand went up to stroke his chin.

  “I, ah...I think it had something to do with giving him a reason to pick up this,” I admitted as I willed Mjolnir into my hand.

  “Whoa,” the skinny man let out. The smaller woman just stared in awe.

  “And who the heck are you two?” I asked, letting my hammer fly back to my waist and out of sight.

  “Not now. Stay on track. You said Ulric tricked Ludvig into picking up Mjolnir? Is it because he was Thor?”

  Throwing my hands up and rolling my eyes, I cried out, “Okay, seriously! Did everyone know this but me?”

  “Taylor told me before he sent me here.”

  “Taylor, huh? Why am I not surprised,” I said just above a whisper as I grabbed both sides of my hips and kicked at the dirt.

  Depweg was deep in thought, walking away from the group a few paces.

  “So,” I began, looking at the strangers, “who is your daddy, and what does he do?”

  The pair looked at one another before shifting confused gazes my way once more.

  “Oh, right. Forgot to add the Arnold dialect. My bad,” I said with an embarrassed chuckle. “So, who are you?”

  “He’s Ben, and I’m Meli,” the smaller female said.

  “You two a couple or something?” I asked, crossing my arms and lifting my chin.

  “Ew, gross. He’s my brother, dipshit,” the smaller, snarky female said.

  “You and Hayley are gonna get along juuuuust fine,” I let out, letting my arms drop to my sides. “You’re werekitties? That’s kinda neat. Haven’t seen those before.”

  “We are the last of our kind,” Ben said with a degree of regret somewhere in his tone.

  “I’ve been there, brother,” I admitted, nodding up and down as I thought. “Well...technically, I, ah, haven’t been there. See, I thought I was the last of my kind for like, um, four hundred years or so. But...hehe...I kinda wasn’t because of a long story. Come to think of it, it would probably make an epic series of books, followed by a TV show on Hu-Flix, as long as they didn’t ruin it. You know, like, give the wizard a freaking hockey stick for a staff and shit like that.”