Shifters Rule (Rule Series) (5 page)

Ian’s deep voice rumbled above the sound of the engine.
 
“When we first met, I had trouble looking at you without hating every fiber of your being.
 
Do you know why that is?”

Jack reluctantly pulled his head back inside the car.
 
“I have no idea.”

“You remind me of my father.”
 
Ian sneered.
 
“I loathed everything about the man from the second I was born.
 
If I had the power, I would kill him without hesitation.”

Jack’s eyes widened.
 
He couldn’t remember hearing anyone talk about killing a person with such vehemence, especially not their own father.
 
And what did Ian mean about not having enough power?
 
How much worse could his father be?

“My father is a right nasty piece of work, Jack.”
 
Ian answered the silent question.
 
Could he read minds, too?
 
Jack hoped not.
 
Ian continued, “He is the most powerful warlock in this world.
 
If I told you his name, you would know exactly who I was speaking of.
 
He’s that infamous.
 
However, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to say it.
 
Silly superstition I know, but there are people who think my father can zoom in on anyone who speaks his name, and maybe they’re right.”

A name came to Jack’s mind, someone he’d heard of, a horrible man with terrible powers.
 
Stunned, he said, “I thought he was a myth.”

Ian laughed, the low rumble burdened with rage.
 
“Everything you heard is true.
 
He is without compassion, without mercy, without a single positive trait of any kind.
 
Although I’ve tried not to become him, tried hard not to develop my powers, I still have them.
 
I’ve refused to study magic.
 
I have never used a spell in my life.
 
All the same, I can kill werewolves with a touch.
 
It’s a gift and a curse.”

“Why did you bring a bag of weapons when you were just going to burn the werewolves with your hand?”

“Those weapons weren’t for me,” Ian said.
 
“They were for you.
 
I’m a cautious man.
 
If they got past me, you would have needed those weapons.”

Was he planning on using the power on Billy?

“I won’t let you kill my brother.”

“You do have a one track mind, don’t you?”

Ian dragged his gaze from the dark road to look at Jack for a second.
 
There seemed to be a silent apology in his eyes.
 
“There’s nothing you can do to stop me from putting him down.
 
You have to understand your brother is gone.
 
Billy Creed no longer exists.
 
He’s a monster now, like the werewolf who stabbed you, like my father.”

“No!”
 
Jack remembered the first conversation he’d had with Billy after his own return to mortality.
 
They’d discussed his life with fangs over a ton of food.
 
He remembered the way Billy had looked at him.
 
“That’s the same thing people thought about me when I was a vampire, but I was still me on the inside.
 
Hunters wanted to kill me, hunters like Billy and like you.
 
I wasn’t a bad guy though.
 
I didn’t kill anyone.
 
When I needed blood, I used animals or stole from blood banks or took on willing donors.”

“I am more happy than I can say that you returned to a human state, but you were a monster when you were a vampire, and if I’d come across you back then, I would have killed you on the spot.”

It was finally out in the open.
 
Ian Carver wanted every creature of the night to die.
 
It didn’t matter to him if they were related or if they were pure of heart.
 
Couldn’t he see things weren’t always black and white?

“There are good and bad people in this world,” Jack said.
 
“Do you accept that?”

Ian sighed.
 
“Yes.”

“Well, there are good and bad vampires.
 
There are good and bad werewolves.
 
Why can’t you accept that?”

“Because werewolves are controlled by a burning rage they cannot handle.
 
I realize some of them don’t mean to kill, but their victims are dead all the same.
 
You should feel the way that I do about those bloody beasts.
 
They killed your mother and father.
 
Did they show mercy?”
 
Ian half-turned in his seat and blinked a few times as if trying not to lose the tenuous grasp he had on his emotions.
 
Finally he added, “Now, when I find your brother, I will try to be as humane as possible.”

“Yeah right.
 
You burn them to death.
 
How is that humane?
 
I swear if you even try to set my brother on fire, I will torch your butt myself.”

“If you feel so strongly about it, then you put him down.
 
Have Silver sing him to sleep for all I care, as long as he’s dealt with.”

They parked in front of the house, and Jack jumped out first.
 
He was so mad he could have gone inside, grabbed a gun, and cheerfully pulled the trigger, blowing his uncle away.
 
Lucky for his uncle, he didn’t believe in violence unless it was the only way.
 
He also didn’t kill humans.
 
Somehow he’d find a way to save Billy before Ian could get to him.

Ian had locked the front door before leaving the house.
 
Without thinking, Jack waved his hand over the knob.
 
It clicked.
 
The door swung open.
 
He looked over his shoulder to find Ian watching him with a tight grimace on his face.
 
They both stood there, neither entering.

“Sometimes you still remind me of my father,” Ian said.
 
“He can do that little trick, too.
 
These powers you have are not normal.
 
If you persist in using them, you may turn into something akin to your grandfather.
 
Or you may become a vampire again.”

Jack shrugged.
 
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“I suppose we will.”

“Does your burning touch work on vampires or just werewolves?”

Jack held his breath while Ian shouldered his way past him to cross the threshold.
 
His uncle smiled grimly and said, “It works on anything and everything.”

The message was clear.
 
Watch your back
.
 
He would kill Jack without hesitation if he thought he was a danger to another human being.
 
As a matter of fact, Ian was probably already considering doing the deed whether Jack returned to a vampire state or not.
 
The man seemed the type to nip problems before they got out of hand.

Ian stopped abruptly, and Jack walked straight into him.

“What the bloody hell!”
 
Ian moved fast, cutting through the center of the house to the secret room which was wide open.
 
He continued to curse as he ducked inside.

Someone ransacked the house.
 
Jack’s heart dropped to his stomach when he saw the mess.
 
Family photographs had been smashed against the wall.
 
There were shards of glass, torn pictures, and broken frames everywhere.
 
There was a gaping hole in the television, trash on the floor, and ripped curtains barely hanging on the rods.
 
Everything in the room with the exception of the furniture was destroyed.

Ian emerged from the secret room, a grim set to his mouth.
 
“The weapons are gone.”

“All of them?”

“Every last bloody piece gone.
 
The only weapons we have now are the ones we took with us on the hunt.”
 
Ian lifted a finger and jabbed the air with it.
 
His face turned red.
 
“I told you your brother couldn’t be trusted!
 
That’s why we need to rid the planet of all werewolves and vamps, every single last one.
 
Billy is stepping up the stakes, getting ready for an attack.
 
Hell, he’s probably working for your friend Clifford.”

Jack shook his head in denial.
 
“No way.”

“Please do not tell me you have the slightest doubt Billy was responsible for this.”

“It could have been any werewolf.
 
In case you haven’t noticed, this place is a tourist stop for them.
 
Hardly a week goes by without at least one dropping in to kill me.”

Ian lowered his voice to a menacing level and said, “Your brother did this, and I’m going to stop him before he goes onto the next step of his plan.
 
The first thing I’m going to do is borrow Andrew’s special writing tools, and I am going to write spells on every entry point, effectively making this house a werewolf-free zone.
 
Andrew did it at his house and it seems to be working.
 
If Billy comes again, he won’t be able to get inside.”

“I thought you didn’t use spells because of your father.”

It was the wrong thing to say.
 

Ian crossed over to stand directly in front of Jack, his face a twisted mask of rage.
 
“I am going to make an exception for your brother, and I’m warning you… don’t get in my way.”

Ian grabbed his cell phone and headed into the kitchen while Jack stared after him in silence.
 
Somehow he had to get to his brother and protect him from their maniac uncle.
 
He had no idea how he was going to do it.
 
Maybe Silver could come up with an idea.

Jack went upstairs to his bedroom, relieved to find it in one piece.
 
Whoever had broken into the house had stayed in the living room.
 
Or at least that’s how things first appeared to Jack.

Then he noticed the small yellow square on his window.

Slowly he crossed the room.
 
The yellow scrap of paper was a memo, the kind that came with a sticky edge so you could put it anywhere.
 
He recognized it.
 
The intruder had taken one from the stack Billy kept near the house phone in the kitchen.
 
Billy’s handwriting stood out in bold, black letters.

Behind you
.

Jack turned.

The closet door burst open, and Billy charged him.
 
Before Jack could even think, Billy grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
 
With a growl Billy spun around in a circle, taking Jack with him.
 
He let go abruptly.
 
Jack hit the window hard.
 
His body instantly shattered the glass, and he fell through it.

An old friend called déjà vu reminded him of the time
Jersey
threw him off the roof of a tall building when he had been Tobias.
 
It was a horrible feeling sailing through the air, knowing he was going to hit the ground and die.
 
Now it was happening again.

He landed on his back, arms and legs twisted at awkward angles.
 
Pain radiated throughout his body.
 
Blood filled his mouth, coating his teeth.
 
Internal injuries.
 
Broken bones.
 
No doubt he had them all.
 
At least he wasn’t dead.
 
That meant he could heal, given enough time.
 
He could already feel his body trying to right what had gone wrong.

Ian raced outside and knelt next to him.
 
“What happened?”

“Don’t touch me!
 
Don’t touch me.
 
Don’t touch me.”

“I’m not touching you.
 
What do I do?
 
Can you heal yourself?”

Panic accelerated Jack’s heartbeat.
 
He had to keep Ian busy, keep him outside long enough for Billy to get away.
 
No matter what his brother did to him, he couldn’t let Ian kill him.

“Straighten… my arms… and legs,” Jack said between short gasps.
 
“My bones won’t… heal right… if you don’t help me.”

He wasn’t sure this was true, but it sounded good.

“You told me not to touch you.”

Jack sighed in frustration and pain.
 
“Well, now I’m asking you to touch me.
 
Do it before… it’s too late.”

Ian tried not to wince in horror when he looked at Jack’s broken body.
 
His expression altered slightly, just enough for Jack to know he was in horrible shape.
 
Ian wasn’t as good as he thought he was at keeping his face neutral.
 
He tried to be careful, gentle with Jack’s legs, but every slight movement felt like Ian was tearing Jack apart.
 
Sliding a hand under the calf, Ian pulled on it.

A cry of agony burst from Jack’s lips.
 
He couldn’t hold it in.
 
Throwing aside the teachings of his father, he cried out every time Ian moved him.
 
Tears flooded his eyes.
 
Every time he thought he’d experienced the worst pain possible, Ian would move him again and he’d learn the truth.
 
Things could always get worse.

“I’m going to kill Billy for this,” Ian said.