Wolves in the Shadows (The Wolf Clan Chronicles) (18 page)

“I hate how one minute, Chase and I are acting like old friends, and then the next it’s super weird and awkward.” 

Romulus trotted across the room and laid his head on her knee.  Elizabeth smiled fondly down at him and started to scratch behind his ears. 

“I know you don’t like Chase, but I really do,” she said.  “But it’s so confusing and complicated, especially now.” 

Romulus grunted in assent. 

They sat quietly, each deep in their own thoughts.  After a few minutes, Elizabeth stood and walked to the phone by the nightstand between the beds. 

Chapter 4

Chase drummed the steering wheel impatiently as he drove away from the hotel.  He was conflicted.  Should he ju
st drive away and not come back?  Surely Elizabeth would be fine without him.  Maybe even safer.  He shook his head and gnawed on his lower lip.  He had made a promise to protect her, but at what cost to himself? 

He remembered his father looking down at him after his first kill.  She had been young, still in her early teens, maybe a year or two younger than he had been.  A freckled red haired girl with eyes to big for her face.  She had been too small for the shot
gun that she had pointed at him as he tried to defend her master.  He hadn’t even hesitated.  He had killed her before she could kill him.  He could still remember the acrid smell of gun smoke and the vision of her tiny body crumpling to the ground. 

H
e had watched in fascination as the blood had spread across the girl’s chest, staining her pale blue dress.  One minute she had been alive and vibrant and the next she had been dead.  Because of him. 

He had felt a strange sort of emptiness as he looked at her.  The same emptiness he felt at the sight of Elaine’s death.  He shuddered. 
How had he come to be so heartless? 

His father told him more times that he could count that anyone who allies themselves with a vampire should be hunted down without mercy.  He would have s
aid without a doubt that Elaine deserved to die.  But so did Elizabeth.  And so did he. 

Chase almost laughed aloud at the bitter irony.  Who would have imagined that the famous William Brennan
’s widow and only son would both end up serving master vampires?  It was almost too dreadful to think about. 

He sighed and shook hi
s head; he needed a good strong drink.  

Chapter 5

Elizabeth picked up the phone and dialed with trembling fingers. 

“’Ello!” a cheery voice answered after one ring. 

“Michie, it’s Lizzy.”  She winced as her roommate started a loud gush. 

“Oh my god!  Lizzy!  Where the hell have you been?  I’ve been totally worried!  Are you okay?  Shit!  I sound like you now.  That Chase
guy was looking for you yesterday and today there were these other random guys that came over and were asking for you.  It was really weird!  What’s going on?  Where are you?  And whose phone are you calling from?  When I told you that you need to get out more, I didn’t mean-” 

“Calm down, Michelle,” Elizabeth cut her off.  The speech that she had planned out only minutes before vanished from her memory.  “Listen Michie, I’m going to be going away for awhile.” 

“Lizzy, what’s happened?”  Michelle’s voice was filled with concern. 

Elizabeth could picture her slouching at her desk.  She sighed and frowned into the phone. 

“Are you in some sort of trouble?” 

“No,” Elizabeth said as reassuringly as she could manage.  “I’m fine.  I can’t explain it right now.  I just need some time to figure things out.” 

“What things?”  Michelle’s voice bordered on hysteria.  “Please tell me what’s going on!  Those guys were saying some pretty weird things.  Please come home.  You can’t just leave like this!  I need you here.” 

Elizabeth realized for the first time in two years how much her roommate had come to depend on her.  Memories of the many hours that they had spent together came flooding into her mind.  At the same time, her head was spinning at the thought that some random strangers were looking for her.  She wondered what they had said to Michelle, but at the same time, she cou
ld not bring herself to ask.  Were there more hunters around?  Or maybe the police? 

“I’m sorry, Michelle,” she said at last, pulling herself out of her thoughts.  All this time, she had thought that she had been the one who needed Michelle.  Hadn’t she always defined herself to a certain extent as Michelle’s friend and roommate rather than as her own person?  Her voice began to shake as she continued.  “Remember how I used to say that I felt like I didn’t belong at this school?” 

She could picture Michelle nodding into the phone as she had often seen her do. 

“I think I finally figured out where I belong.”  It was a blatant lie.  She had no idea where she was going to go or what she was going to do.  All she knew was that she had to get as far away as she could. 

Michelle sniffed before she replied, “But Lizzy-” She trailed off into silence. 

“I’m sorry, Michie.  Maybe someday I’ll be able to explain it to you.” 

Michelle did not respond. 

“I just wanted you to know that I won’t be coming back.”  Elizabeth was relieved that she could at least tell her one thing that was true.  “You can give any of my stuff that you don’t want to charity.” 

“Okay,” Michelle’s voice sounded flat. 

“I’ll miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you too.” 

Elizabeth sighed and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.  She could feel her roommate’s
misery and frustration pulsing in the silence between them.  “You’ll be okay without me.” 

“I know, Lizzy.  Take care of yourself.” 

“You too.”  Elizabeth nodded even though she knew that Michelle couldn’t see her.  “Oh, and Michie?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Will you burn my journal?  It should be in the outer pocket of my backpack.” 

Michelle sighed into the phone.  “Alright,” she said. 

“Thanks.”  Elizabeth’s eyes burned with tears as she hung up without a word.  There was too much that she couldn’t say. 

Romulus stood suddenly and growled. 

“What is it, Romy?”  Elizabeth asked wiping her eyes. 

The fur on the back of Romulus neck stood on end as something crashed against the door. 

Chapter 6

The Walmart cashier gave Chase a funny look but didn’t say anything.  Chase figured that it was
n’t every day that a guy came in to buy ladies clothing, bandages, and fifth of Jameson.  He shrugged it off.  It was the least of his worries. 

He had decided that he wasn’t going to run.  She was still Elizabeth, that same sweet wide eyed girl that he had been drawn to the day they met
.  He was worried though.  The Council would never accept her.  They would see an abomination that needed to be destroyed immediately.  Or far worse, they would take her alive. 

The thought of what they might do to her, made him feel sick to his stomach
.  Anyone with any connection to a master vampire was considered fair game for imprisonment and torture.  It wouldn’t matter that she didn’t have any information.  It wouldn’t matter that she had only killed Elaine in self-defense.  All they would care about was that she had vampire blood in her veins. 

Chase realized with a start as he drove back to the hotel, that Elizabeth must also have hunter blood in her.  H
e could not stifle a laugh as he imagined her as a hunter with a sword in one hand and a stake in the other.  It was a strange sight indeed.  But then again, he couldn’t help reflect, hadn’t she already helped him kill a master vampire?  And he did need a new hunting partner.  He tried to think how that conversation would go. 

“Oh, Lizzy, so I was thinking that technically you’re a Slayer, so maybe some time we could go hunting together,” he would say.  He laughed again. 

Her eyes would widen innocently and she would say…

Chase stopped laughing.  What would she say?  She clearly could see that not all vampires were as good and honorable as the Wolf Clan.  The fact that he thought of them as honorable worried him a little, but he shook it off.  Surely Elizabeth would want to learn how to fight and defend herself.  It was clear that she would never want to be taken prisoner ever again.  Maybe she actually would want to learn from him and would take him up on his offer
.  Maybe someday they might hunt together. 

It was a pleasant thought, followed immediately by the terrible thought that if he did teach her, she might turn her abilities against the Council.  But then again, the Council was so corrupt, that maybe it was time for someone to take them down.  He felt a pang of shame.  Was he really contemplating the idea of undermining the Council?  He tried to shake the thought away, but it clung to the inside of his head like a leech.  He was so deep in thought that he almost drove past the hotel. 

As he turned into the parking lot, a searing pain shot through his temples.  The pain faded quickly, but it was enough to pull Chase out of his thoughts and make him alert enough to notice the sleek black car parked near the door of his room.  It had not been there when he left.  He drove slowly past the car and saw that the license plates had been removed.  For an instant, he considered just driving on, but he knew that he couldn’t.  He could not let Elizabeth fall into the Council’s hands.  He parked behind the building, took a deep breath and prepared himself for an unpleasant confrontation. 

Chase hugged the wall as he rounded the corner and walked cautiously towards his room.  The wood around the lock hand been splintered, and the door hung crookedly on its hinges, like someone had
kicked it open and then let it swing closed of its own accord. 

The pistol that he had brought from the car felt unnatural in his hand, but the idea of going in unarmed was not i
n the least bit appealing, and his swords would draw far too much attention in broad daylight.  If it came to it, he would easily be outgunned.  He pushed the door open with his foot, half expecting to be greeted by a barrage of bullets.  Part of him would have welcomed it. 

He held the gun in both hands, with his arms straight and stepped into the room. 

What he saw shattered all of his expectations. 

Chapter 7

It was as if a tornado had ripped through the small room.  Bits of bedding and mattress stuffing were still falling onto the overturned furniture like snow.  The window at the back of the room and the mirror on the wall had been shattered.  Elizabeth and Romulus were gone, but there were two strange men clad in cheap black suits sprawled motionless on the floor.  Chase checked their pulses and breathed a sigh of relief.  They were only unconscious. 

He wondered how they had found Elizabeth so quickly, and how she had been able to knock out two such big competent looking hunters.  Were they hunters?  That was what it looked like, but he couldn’t be sure.  There wasn’t time to dwell on it.
 

He looked around the room for any clue the Elizabeth might have left.  She had taken Demetrius’
knife from the nightstand but had left her bloodied shirt and jeans crumpled on the floor in the bathroom.  Had circumstances been different, Chase would have been amused by the thought of her running around in her underwear.  He folded her clothes and packed them in the large duffel bag that he had left in the closet.  Years of travelling taught him to never unpack more that he had to in case he had to leave somewhere in a hurry.  His trench coat was missing, so at least Elizabeth had something to cover herself.  He found the collar that he had bought for Romulus in a neat circle beneath the window.  He had a feeling that it meant something, but he wasn’t sure what.  Whenever he found Elizabeth, they would have to have a conversation about what to do if they got separated again. 

He tucked his gun into the waistband of
his jeans and slung his bag over his shoulder.  After a quick look through the room to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, he decided to go out the back window.  It was already broken anyways, and it would save him from having to walk around the building again.  His instincts warned him to put as much distance as possible between him and these men.  Hopefully Elizabeth wouldn’t have gotten too far yet.  He had to find her soon. 

Chapter 8

Chase tossed the duffel bag into the trunk and got into the car.  He tucked his gun and Romulus’ collar into the glove box and glanced into the rearview mirror. 

Two sets of blazing blue eyes were staring back at him. 

He yelled in surprise and turned to see Elizabeth and Romulus sitting quietly in the back seat. 

Elizabeth looked especially tiny in Chase’s huge coat with her legs curled to the side.  She was leaning against Romulus with her arm around her neck.  They both blinked, and their eyes turned back to
their normal soft brown and bright yellow. 

“Sorry,” Elizabeth said.  She ran her fingers through her damp hair.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”