Blood Blade

Chapter 24

Upon driving into Janesville, Cole followed Walter’s directions and stopped along the side of the road within sight of the interstate. Palmer Park was directly ahead of them, lit by moonlight that fell onto the treetops like dusty snow. Leaning against the Cavalier’s trunk, Cole surveyed the area. Even though Janesville seemed like a nice enough place, something about it struck him as odd. It took a few moments for him to put his finger on the cause of that feeling, but he eventually did. “It’s so quiet,” he said.

Paige sat on the ground with her back against the bumper, Cole’s weapon across her lap. The werewolf carcass was still in the backseat, but had been covered with an old wool Army surplus blanket. Having retrieved something she’d cooked up back at the Lancroft estate, she was now adding another ingredient and swirling the mixture in a Tupperware bowl. She looked around and replied, “We’re in dairy country. Did you expect Mardi Gras?”

“No, but it’s not that late. So far, I’ve only seen a few cars and nobody out walking around. I don’t care where you are, there’s always someone out doing something.”

“It always gets like this when too many of them get together.”

“Them? You mean Nymar?”

“Nymar, shapeshifters, especially werewolves. People may not know about all of those things. They may not even believe in them. But when too many predators get too close, there’s something in the back of every animal’s head that tells them to stay where it’s safe.”

Looking into the bowl in Paige’s hand, he asked, “Is that blood?”

“Yep.”

“Blood from that Half Breed?”

She nodded. “Hand me a towel.”

The trunk was ajar, and Cole turned so he could reach into the gym bag at the top of the pile. The first towel he could find was a familiar white bundle of starched cotton.

“Not that one,” she said. “That’s got the invisible Mongrel stuff in it. Try one of the blue ones.”

There would have been a time, not too long ago, when hearing someone refer to an invisible anything would have raised his eyebrows. Now he simply dug around until he found the blue towel. Once he handed it over, he watched Paige dip it into the mixture and apply it to the thorns on his weapon as if the stuff was just another kind of dark red varnish.

“Is that what makes your weapons change shape?” he asked.

Without looking up from what she was doing, Paige said, “That’s right, but don’t get excited. It takes a lot more than one coat before you’ll see so much as a twitch.”

“Shouldn’t I be watching how you do that?”

“I’ll show you when we have more time. You’ll be doing this a lot. What you need to do, though, is hold this weapon so these thorns actually break those soft little computer boy hands of yours. You’ll need to get used to it. Don’t worry,” she added, gently rubbing his arm before handing over his weapon. “This is one of the oldest Skinner rituals there is. The kinks have been worked out over the last couple hundred years or so.”

Cole flipped the weapon around a few times. It seemed lighter and more balanced. He placed his hands over the thorns and thought about trying to drive them into his palms right then and there, just to get it over with. The first time had been an accident, but the thought of doing the deed on purpose hit a block in his head that prevented him from following through.

It was simple. All he needed to do was grab hold of that weapon and tighten his grip enough to drive sharp pieces of wood through his flesh.

Nothing to it.

The longer he kept his hands on top of those thorns, the sharper they felt. Before he could force himself to kick down that mental roadblock, another vehicle rolled up alongside Paige’s Cavalier. It was Walter’s van.

Walter pushed open his door, hopped out and walked over to them. Pointing toward the park, he announced, “There’s a bunch of Nymar gathering at an old parking garage off Palmer Drive. A few of them headed up north toward Ruger Avenue, but most of them are staying in the park. Misonyk and his bodyguards went inside the garage a while ago and haven’t come out yet. Some big freak that looked like a messed-up Full Blood jumped in all the way from the interstate. I’m guessing that’s your Henry.”

“Sounds like it. How do you know he’s part Full Blood?” Paige asked.

“I’ve tracked a few in my day,” Walter said. “This thing’s got the same build and the same power in his stride. Whatever he is, he sure as hell doesn’t have the smarts of a Full Blood.”

Nodding quickly to what Walter told her, Paige asked, “And you’re sure about the rest?”

“As sure as I could be, considering how much time I had to do the job. Janesville is a nice town, but not a very big one. Even if those pale kids move, it shouldn’t take long for you to pick up on them. So what’s the plan?”

“Real simple,” she replied. “We’re going in to pay Misonyk a visit before he can set Henry loose on the Nymar in this town as well as any humans who don’t clear Henry’s path. Misonyk seems to be controlling Henry through some sort of mental link, so killing Misonyk should cut that link.”

“What then?” Cole asked.

“If I can find a way to stuff enough antidote down Henry’s throat to kill anything Nymar inside of him, I should be able to take him down like any other shapeshifter.”

“Should?” Cole asked. “Have you ever fought a Full Blood without another experienced Skinner helping you out?”

Paige tightened the straps holding her body armor in place and then proceeded to check the rest of her equipment. “No, but unless you’ve got a better idea, that’s all I’ve got.” When the armor was situated, she removed a revolver from the trunk and handed it to Cole along with plenty of spare ammo. “These bullets were treated with Nymar antidote,” she said. “It’ll hurt them, but it won’t kill them unless you get a direct hit in the spot where the spore’s attached to their heart. You have the right ammunition for that rifle of yours, Prophet?”

Walter nodded.

“Good. These things look tough, Cole, but it all boils down to bringing the right tool for the job. We’ve got the right tools, now we just need to do the job.”

“Are you sure that vest will hold up?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” she said as she knocked her fist against the reinforced section of the harness. “This is where we honor the spirit of the person who was killed when they were turned into a Half Breed. This is where we take the power from one monster and shove it right down the throat of another.”

Just when Cole thought he’d seen the extent of how twisted his world had become, another layer had been stripped away.

“Crazy but effective,” Walter said with a shake of his head. “That’s a Skinner for ya.”