chapter twenty-five

We'll find the bastards."

"Or they'll find you." I had no idea how many insects Victor had made. I imagined metal hives hidden in the trees, a cloud of magical bugs descending upon the werewolves.

"Let 'em."

"You don't even know what you're hunting."

"What in God's name am I supposed to tell Hunter's family, Isaac? Not only are we burying one of our own, now you want us to lock the doors and sit around with our thumbs up our asses, hoping nobody else gets killed while we wait for you Porters to do your thing? All your magic has done so far is show us a shitty snuff film and knock you on your ass."

I hated werewolf-style negotiation. "First of all, bite me," I said. "Second, this is my investigation. One of your pack is dead, and that gives you the right to be involved, but you work with me. Be here tomorrow at nine A.M. We're driving down to Ohio to investigate a lead."

"What lead?" Jeff snarled.

"Do we have a deal?" When he hesitated, I added, "If these things are half as dangerous as I think they are, you do not want them coming after Tamarack. I'm going to find whoever did this, Jeff. Either be here tomorrow morning, or else stay the hell out of my way."

When Jeff finally spoke again, he sounded almost cheerful. "Nine o'clock, you said?"

"See you tomorrow."

As long as I was worked up, I went ahead and called Deb to arrange a deal with the vampires. By the time I got off the phone, it was almost two in the morning. I shut down the laptop and bundled it and the books into a plastic garbage bag for protection, crawled into the sleeping bag, and settled against the base of the oak.

Lena retained some awareness of what happened outside her tree, though I wasn't sure how much. But she would know I was here, and that was enough.

I awoke with a stiff neck, sore back, and Lena looking down at me with a crooked smile. She showed no sign of pain or weariness from yesterday. Lucky dryad.

"I need a shower and a change of clothes," she announced, grabbing my hand and hauling me to my feet. "And so do you."

The shower took a bit longer than usual, but it was certainly rejuvenating. By the time we emerged and dressed, I felt almost human again. I filled her in on the call from Jeff, then checked my messages to make sure everything was set for today.

In exchange for helping us talk to Victor, the vampires wanted either a Shipstone—a battery from Heinlein's work that would power their underground

lighting needs for a century—or an official apology from Gutenberg for the incident in Detroit. A message from Nicola Pallas confirmed that the Shipstone was the more feasible choice, and authorized me to take care of it when we finished in Ohio.

My biggest concern was that the vampires would try to turn the Shipstone into some kind of weapon, but if they were foolish enough to try, they would most likely just blow themselves up. I had stressed that fact repeatedly to Deb on the phone. Even if they succeeded, Gutenberg's automatons should be able to deal with any magic-fueled weapon.

Both Jeff and Nidhi arrived as I was restocking my books. In addition to my book bag, I had retrieved a brown leather duster from the hall closet. I had lost my old jacket during the troubles earlier this year, but in at least one respect, the new one was even better. This one was fireproof.

"How's Jeneta doing this morning?" I asked as I shoved books into the various pockets sewn into the lining, trying to plan out the tools and toys I might need.

"Frightened and trying not to let it show. She spent the first hour curled up on the couch, teasing Akha with her braids."

"Sounds like she was in good company." If anyone could help Jeneta to relax, it was Nidhi's cat. Akha was, in Lena's words, a total attention-slut. She would curl up in your lap and purr until she drooled.

"Will she be safe at that camp?"

"Safer than she'd be with us. Her ereader was destroyed, and as long as she doesn't do any more magic, there's nothing to attract attention." I tucked my microrecorder into a front pocket to make sure we could review everything we learned. It wouldn't be a bad idea to bring along a few potential weapons that would work against the undead, just in case. "She has Nicola's number as well as mine."

Nidhi watched me prepare. "Jeneta was exhausted, but she looked better than you do."

"Sleeping outside isn't as much fun as it used to be." I double-checked the safety on the shock-gun, switched it to setting four, and slid it into an outside pocket. I also grabbed books that would allow us to avoid attention and persuade any bystanders to cooperate. The final pocket got a box of Red Hots for Smudge. Nidhi stepped away to greet Lena, leaving me with Jeff. An old-style Bowie knife was strapped to his belt, and he had holstered a revolver on his opposite hip. I doubted either was legal. Werewolves tended not to worry overmuch about

things like laws or permits.

"Nidhi filled me in on those metal bugs," he said bluntly. "She also tells me

we're going to talk to the ghost of the guy who made them." "That doesn't mean one of us is behind this."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it was your man who put the weapon in their hands."

I transferred Smudge into his traveling cage, a thin rectangular box with steel mesh walls, which I clipped to a loop on the outside of my jacket. "If someone kills you, takes your knife, and stabs the first person they see, who's responsible?"

Jeff tightened a fist, deliberately cracking several knuckles. "A man chooses to carry a weapon, he'd damn well better be strong enough to stop anyone from taking it away from him."