Guardian Witch: Burning Both Ends Part 9

"What are you going to do next?" he inquired.

"Interrogate the delegates. Um, I mean, have a little chat."

Thirty minutes later, Ari swung by Lilith's condo to pick her up, and they were on their way.

"Don't you have a car of your own?" Lilith asked. "A cute little Mini Cooper. I thought you were really fond of it."

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Just curious why you're still driving Andreas's Lexus."

Ari resisted squirming in her seat. She wasn't about to admit the weird attachment she'd developed for his things. She kept her focus on the road. "You wouldn't want to be a pa.s.senger in the Mini. Too cramped for long drives."

Lilith snickered. "Good answer. I'm sure it wouldn't have anything to do with feeling closer to its owner."

"That would be juvenile." She shot a sideways look at the lioness. "Concentrate on Steffan. Use that vivid imagination to come up with a plan to keep him alive." That wiped the grin from Lilith's face. Ari was sorry she'd been so abrupt, but she couldn't allow either of them to be distracted. That meant Lilith had to stop talking about Andreas.

Galena was normally a forty-five minute drive, depending on traffic, but they had a stop to make first. For that, she needed Lilith focused on the job. Ari pulled the car over on the gravel road, stopping next to the woods where the wolves had made their Hunter's Moon run.

"This is it. Steffan left these woods by some route. Maybe we can pick up his trail. You want to give it a try?"

"Sure. Why not?"

It was a long shot. The pack had already been there, but Ari couldn't afford to skip any potential lead. As an experienced tracker, Lilith would handle most of the job, but Ari wasn't so bad, especially with her recent training.

"Where would you like to start?" Ari had parked in the exact spot marked on the map: next to the gate and directly opposite two maple trees. Gilbert had given her precise directions, including where the wolves had entered and exited the woods. Any scents or trails veering from those paths would be potential intruders.

"Let's walk along the road," Lilith said as she opened her door and got out. "It would help if we knew whether Steffan left on his own or was carried away."

Ari grabbed Steffan's red jacket from the back seat and tossed it to Lilith. Not being as familiar with the wolf as Ari was, Lilith needed a scent sample, and Ari had brought an article of clothing from his house. They covered at least a mile in each direction, dead-ending at a creek on one end and a busy highway on the other. Lilith found plenty of wolf smell, but nothing matched the exact scent on Steffan's jacket.

"You take the creek. I'll drive the highway and look for access points. We'll meet on the other side and walk it." Ari climbed in the car as Lilith nosed around the creek bed.

It took another hour of time they didn't have, but when they drove away Ari was positive nothing had been overlooked. Steffan must have been carried from the woods, probably unconscious. Sorry she'd wasted the time, but knowing she'd have worried otherwise, Ari finally turned onto the highway that led north to Galena.

They drove into the resort area only minutes before noon. Their destination, the Mountain Top Inn, was composed of a large, rustic-looking main lodge and numerous log cabins scattered throughout the grounds. a.s.suming the delegation would be far away from other guests, she drove well beyond the main lodge before stopping and getting out. It didn't take long to locate the wolves in the largest and most remote cabins. Ari's witch senses clamored, telling her an enormous amount of Otherworld power was present. She scanned the four cabins ahead of them.

"Which one?" Lilith asked.

"I guess we pick a door and knock." Ari marched up to the nearest lodge. The smell of wolf was strong. "Here goes." She knocked.

At first nothing happened, then the door opened and a young male wolf in jeans and sweatshirt stepped outside, closing the door behind him. "Are you the Guardian?" he asked.

"Yes." She held up her credentials. When he looked at the lioness, Ari simply said, "She's with me."

He nodded. "They're waiting in cabin 57." He pointed. "Over there."

As Ari and Lilith approached the designated building, the door swung open, and a brown haired she-wolf stepped out. Forties, fit, suspicion written across her face. The aura of power that shimmered around her said she was one of the leaders. As soon as Ari introduced herself, the wolf beckoned them inside.

Ari counted eight adult wolves. The leaders were easily identified, branded by their confident stances, a we'll-do-it-my-way look in their eyes-and the power auras, of course. The other four proved to be bodyguards and quickly retired to the back of the room.

Ari and the four leaders took their measure of each other.

On second look, the brown-haired she-wolf appeared more worried than suspicious. In fact, all four negotiators showed signs of stress-somber faces, tired and edgy att.i.tudes. The other three returned her scrutiny-the thin, sinewy man with long dark hair and hawk features; a younger man in his mid-thirties with a slightly ruddy complexion; and an even younger woman with silver-blonde hair and bright blue, wary eyes. A rare silver wolf. And with two auras. Interesting.

Ari tightened her sensory blocking. Wolves tended to be careless about power leaks, but the current high levels in the room were deliberate. Marking their territory. She screened it out to avoid the distraction. Feeling the extent of energy in the air, Lilith moved up to stand beside Ari.

The thin man smiled. "Your arrival is a welcome improvement. I'm feeling d.a.m.ned uneasy about Steffan. We're also away from the safety of our own packs." He waved a hand toward the back of the cabin. "The guards are only for show, not real trouble. Do you have any news?"

"Robert, you might at least introduce yourself." The silver-blonde woman regarded him with mild reproof. "Perhaps we could sit down?" She motioned toward a lopsided circle of stuffed chairs in the middle of the room. "I'm Vita, this is Robert, and the others are Warren and Jena."

Ari introduced herself and Lilith, who then moved away to lean against the front wall. Ari looked at Robert. "I'm just getting started and don't know much. I hoped you could help me."

Sighs and groans of frustration greeted her words.

"I don't see how," Robert said. "We don't know anything. Steffan never reached the resort that night."

"Go on," Ari encouraged. "Tell me what was supposed to happen that night."

"We were meeting at 3:00 a.m. to take the final vote. It was the full moon, the middle of the night, and we figured we'd have total privacy. Everyone had already talked it out, and we each knew how we were going to vote." He paused, frowning at the floor. Ari waited for him to continue, but he seemed lost in thought. Thinking about what? Was he filtering his words? Or reviewing the past days or weeks for clues to their current dilemma?

"Can I ask how the vote was going? For or against?"

No one said anything.

"I realize this is a sensitive matter, but if you expect me to help, I need to know what was going on." Perhaps coming here had been a waste of time. If they wouldn't talk to her...

Finally, Jena, the brown-haired she-wolf, spoke. "I believe the four of us are split two to two. Steffan was the swing vote."

"Was he in favor of the alliance?" Ari asked, wanting to see what they'd tell her.

"Yes, I think he was," Jena said.

Vita, the silver wolf, shifted her feet. "We don't know for sure. Everybody indicated he or she had decided, but no one had declared a choice. It wasn't final. Not for sure."

Before Ari could follow up, her cell phone rang. She glanced at caller ID: Claris. Probably calling to chat. An instant pang of guilt reminded her she hadn't talked with her best friend since returning to town. Claris didn't know about Steffan's disappearance or the events in Toronto, and this wasn't the time to explain. Ari switched the phone to vibrate and put it back in her pocket. She'd call her later.

"Sorry about the interruption. Who might want Steffan out of the negotiations?"

"If you're looking at us as suspects, I guess Robert and I would be first in line," said Warren, "except we were here all night in plain sight of the others." He was a soft-spoken man, but tension vibrated in his voice.

"Good to know, but all that really means is that none of you partic.i.p.ated directly in the kidnapping. It doesn't mean you didn't order it." She watched as Robert's face darkened. Jena and Warren seemed taken aback. Only Vita remained composed. "I don't mean to offend you," Ari added to soften her statement, "but I have to consider every possibility. I need answers to a lot of questions, and because we're short of time, I'd like to do this as a group. If anybody prefers privacy, just tell me. Any objections?"

Robert waved an indifferent hand, and no one said anything.

"OK. Warren, you said the leaders were together that night, but what about the bodyguards? Were they with you all that time, from say midnight to dawn?"

Warren nodded, but it was Robert, the obvious spokesman, who answered. "Yes, and our other wolves, too. No one left camp. It was the first thing we checked when we realized something had gone wrong. We needed to be sure there wasn't an enemy among us." He stopped, a frown marring his face. "I think you have the wrong impression of our negotiations. We weren't having a heated dispute over the vote. Major differences were worked out weeks ago."

Ari studied his face. Why was he glossing over the disputes? Steffan hadn't been that stressed over nothing.

"The only remaining issue is one of timing," Robert continued. "Warren and I feared we were rushing into an arrangement that needed months or perhaps years of thought and planning. And, I believe the others were motivated by a sense of urgency. I understood their position. I didn't think it outweighed the necessity for caution." He stopped and studied his hands. "All four of us agreed to support the results of the vote. Regardless of the outcome."

"That's easy to say now, but would that have been your position two nights ago?"

Robert's face clouded over, then he gave a short laugh. "You're wasting time on us, Ms. Calin. No one here wanted to harm Steffan."

Yeah, like she was going to take his word for it. He might believe it, like he thought the fight on the issues was over, but how well did these four leaders know each other? A guilty person wasn't likely to step forward and say, "Hey, look at me. I'm the one that wasn't happy about this. I'm the one who would do anything to stop it." Every wolf in the room might have a reason to lie to her, and they might lie for each other. She didn't intend to trust any of them.

"If not one of you, who would want to stop the coalition badly enough to kidnap Steffan?"

"We were discussing that when you arrived," Vita said. She dug in her pocket. "I made a list for you. It's short." Her eyes dropped to the slip of note paper. "Uh, I guess the categories are somewhat broad." She looked apologetic, as she held out the paper.

Ari looked at the two penciled columns, ent.i.tled "Packs Opposed" and "Others." Under "Packs Opposed" was a list of three: Chicago; Toronto; and Unknowns. She did a double take at the inclusion of Toronto. Had Sebastian had his dirty mitts in this, too? Of course, Unknowns was a given-meaningless.

Under "Others," they had let their imaginations run: terrorists, hate groups, foreign governments, US covert operations, domestic militias. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she figured neither would go over well.

"OK," she said, keeping a bland face. "Tell me about the Chicago and Toronto packs. Exactly why do you suspect them?"

"Chicago has made no secret of their opposition," Robert said. "They're organized rather like the old mobsters from their city, and control is power. They don't want to see a coalition unless Chicago has direct control. The rest of the North American leaders have told them that won't happen, but I could see them testing our resolve." He clasped his hands and relaxed into the chair's cushiony back. "And Toronto? The way I hear it, you would know more about the pack than we do. The vampire prince runs that wolf pack, and he doesn't want to see any kind of organization. Last week Steffan said he thought some of that pack was in Riverdale, so I'd take a look at them."

"They were here," Ari admitted, "but it had nothing to do with the coalition, and the pack is no longer under the control of Sebastian. Nor are the vampires."

"Why?" Vita broke in, her eyes going wide. "What has happened?"

"There is a new prince. Sebastian is dead."

Chapter Nine.

"I can't believe it! Who?" The wolves broke into a barrage of questions. Ari waited for the first rush of surprise to pa.s.s, then summarized events.

"Andreas has taken control?" Robert asked.

"For the moment. They're working it out, but that situation doesn't involve the coalition or Steffan's kidnappers."

"That's twice you've mentioned kidnapping. You think that's what happened?" Jena asked.

Puzzled, Ari searched their faces. She saw nothing except questions. "You haven't been told about the demands?"

"What demands?" Robert roared.

"From a phone call early this morning." She told them the basics of the conversation and the kidnapper's demands. She didn't mention the president's intention to send in another representative. Nor did she bring up her noon deadline.

"Holding Steffan won't stop the coalition," Warren growled, his soft voice turned gruff. "Robert and I talked this morning. This whole mess has convinced us the need for such an organization is more urgent than we first thought. We're both changing our votes to yes."

Vita's mouth dropped open; Jena smiled, showing no surprise.

"If this is how you feel, do we even need to wait for Steffan before we vote?" Jena asked. "Let's do it now, so they don't have any reason to hold him."

"Wait. Let's think about this," Ari cautioned. "The longer you delay, the more time you give me to find and rescue Steffan. The minute you vote-"

"They'll kill him," Vita completed.

Robert rose and strode across the room to peer out the window. "Then we must wait, of course. But I don't see how we can extend the time beyond the current deadline of 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. The kidnappers would realize something was wrong. Besides, the longer we stay here, the more likely it is these terrorists or criminals will take further action, like attack the rest of us." He turned around, angry lines creasing his face. "Where's the government while all this is happening? They're so hot for this coalition. Why aren't they taking care of this?"

"What do you want them to do?" Ari countered. "Bring in an army equipped with big guns and silver bullets? I'm sure they'd be happy to do that, because that's how humans think. But the kidnappers are Otherworlders. I'd bet on it. We'll have to outsmart them, convince them their plan won't work. Otherworlders are practical. They don't play if they can't win. Right now, they think they have the upper hand. We need to show them they don't."

"How? They are in control." Vita said, skepticism dripping from her words. She gave a negative shake of her head.

"I'm not sure about how," Warren said, once again calm and reasonable, "but I understand what Ari's saying. If holding or killing Steffan would achieve nothing, the sensible thing would be to abandon the plan. We need to make the right move that would force them into the open or force them to contact us again. Every contact increases their risk, not ours."

"Exactly," Ari said, reminded by his clear thinking that a very smart wolf leader hid behind Warren's laid-back demeanor. The quiet ones get you every time. "We need our own plan to lure them out of hiding, while not placing any of you at further risk."

They put their heads together and held a vigorous debate for the next hour. Even the guards and Lilith had suggestions and pointed out obvious flaws as the plan unfolded. The discussion became heated once they decided they needed to leak certain information to the kidnappers. That raised the biggest and most sensitive obstacle: identifying the source of the original leak that had allowed the kidnappers to know about the pending vote, then to find and s.n.a.t.c.h Steffan. As Ari expected, each of the leaders denied the leak came from their packs.

A plan finally came together over a dozen combo pizzas and a case of beer. Not enough beer, but the wolves had already scoped out the nearest convenience store and were prepared to make as many runs as necessary. All in support of making a better decision. Since wolves metabolized beer as if it was water, Ari didn't care how much they drank as long as it produced a workable solution.

By four o'clock, they had the elements of what they wanted to do: a couple pieces of misinformation, a little misdirection and false trails, maintaining absolute secrecy, and a whole lot of luck. They were setting two possible traps-one physical, one electronic-hoping the kidnapper could be captured or at least lead them back to Steffan. It wasn't a perfect plan, and there were lots of ways it could go wrong, but it was the best they could do within their limited time frame. Now came the execution-and the waiting.

The first phase involved convincing the kidnapper that negotiations had been moved to a secret location. The leaders were preparing to make some very important phone calls to set the plan in action, when loud, angry voices erupted outside in the campground. Two bodyguards rushed to the front door, two covered the back. "There's new wolves out there," a guard said, peering out the window. "Big guy in charge. They're armed."

Robert and Vita pushed their way past the two bodyguards. "Out of the way," Robert growled. "I want to see what's going on. Oh, h.e.l.l, this isn't good," he said, after taking a look outside. He strode to the door and yanked it open. "Tobias, what are you doing here?" he shouted.

Ari wiggled around the guards and reached Robert's side. A heavily built man with a short, red beard, pinstripe suit, and Gucci loafers was flanked by a tough-looking group of ten or twelve wolves, some in human form, others not. Many were carrying rifles. The wolves belonging to the delegation were blocking their way.

"Robert, tell these men to let me pa.s.s," the stranger bellowed.

"Who is it?" Ari demanded.

"Trouble. Tobias is the head honcho of the Chicago pack. He'll ruin everything." Robert's shoulders slumped as he called out the door, "I don't suppose you'd leave if I ask, so you might as well come inside."

"Bet your last dollar I'm not leaving. You've made a mess of everything, just like I knew you would. I warned you this coalition thing was a bad idea, and you see what's happened." While he talked, Tobias strode forward, shoved the delegation's pack aside, and climbed the steps. He halted at the door and glared at Robert and Ari standing in the doorway. "Are you going to get out of the way and let me in or not?"

Robert huffed but stepped aside. Ari made room for the big man to pa.s.s and waited to see what developed. Tobias's presence seemed to suck all the air from the cabin. Even the walls appeared to shrink inward a couple of steps. Or maybe it just seemed that way. Tobias was a large man, but it was his over-blown personality that smothered everything else.

Robert turned to Ari. "Let me introduce Tobias. He's the alpha of the Chicago wolf pack." Robert rolled his eyes when only Ari could see. "Tobias, Arianna Calin, the Guardian from Riverdale, who came to update us on the search for Steffan."

"What progress have you made?" Tobias looked down his nose at her.