Page 35 of Hellhounds Never Lie

“And Hayden? He said last night there wasn’t a Willow Lake Pack anymore. What happened there? Surely not everyone left with Rob.” These were things I needed to know if I was thinking of staying here. I eyed Van as I picked up a slice of banana pepper that’d fallen out of my burger and popped it into my mouth.

Van grimaced before finishing off his pint. “Hayden stepped down as alpha. Said he’d destroyed the pack and he couldn’t be trusted to lead. He refused to listen to anyone who said otherwise. Then he sold the packhouse and distributed the money evenly among the people who’d stayed.”

“But everyone still treats him like he’s their alpha.”

“Of course,” Van snapped. “He needs to pull his head out of his ass to realize the truth. He’s the alpha all right, and his pack is made up of every supe in this town, wolf or not. He’s a stubborn asshole, though.”

Paws, who’d been quietly cleaning his fur this whole time, looked up then. “If we’re done with the history lesson, we need to talk about this attack the bastard has planned.”

“Dillon said the attack was scheduled for the new moon, but there is no way to tell if Robbie will change his mind or not,” Van said.

“What about the other stuff they’ve stolen?” I asked.

The cat’s ears twitched as his gaze jumped to me. “What other stuff?”

“Rob said they’d done a trial run to test things out.”

Paws growled low and menacing. His tail whipped across the table and knocked over Van’s empty pint glass. The hellhound grabbed it before it rolled off the table.

“Do you think that’s where they got the amulet?” Ash slipped his hand in mine again and squeezed, and I knew he was remembering last night’s attack.

“What amulet?” Paws glared at Van. “I should have been told about this.”

“The amulet made it so we couldn’t hear, taste or smell anything.”

“That sounds like something from Ulric’s collection.” Paws growled again, then he leapt off the table. He glanced over his shoulder as he toddled away from us. “Well, come on. Don’t dawdle.”

Luckily we’d all finished eating. We downed our drinks. As we passed by the bar, I tossed some bills on the counter for Jake. “Thanks.”

Paws led us back to the inn, through the foyer and up the stairs. The scent of wolves was stronger here. When this building was still a pack house, these rooms had probably been used as the wolves’ private quarters. The hallway was clean, but the paint and fittings were showing their age. The whole place could use a refresh. The light overhead hummed and cast a yellow glow over us as we followed the cat.

Paws stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor and looked at Van expectantly. The hellhound stepped forward and opened the door to reveal a room that looked like it could be used as a movie set about a crazy wizard. The large space was in the shape of an octagon with windows facing both the lake to the south and the woods to the west and northwest. The furnishings were arranged in small clusters, presumably to encourage intimate conversations. Tucked against the wall were cabinets of every shape and size, filled with curious-looking artifacts. I stepped inside to get a closer look. Magical energy enveloped me and made me freeze. Why was all this magic just lying out here for anyone to grab?

“Why wasn’t the door locked?” I asked.

Ash stepped in behind me. I knew he felt the magic too when he shivered.

“When Ulric was alive, he used a theft-deterrent magic on the cabinets. Jake doesn’t know how to do that. Hell, the kid probably doesn’t even know wards exist or what they do.” Paws hopped up on a worn, old fashioned looking loveseat with faded black and white stripes. “We really gotta educate him… I’m open this coming Tuesday.”

“No way.” Ash scoffed. “That’s your day on the pool.”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I could tell they weren’t being serious.

“He might have a point, though,” I said as I looked at the collection inside the nearest case. I didn’t see obvious gaps in the arrangement, and I didn’t think the people Rob sent would be smart enough to rearrange the display to hide if they’d taken anything from it. “Jake needs to be aware of what’s going on, so he can implement better protection.”

Van scrubbed his hand over his face. “We’ve tried. It’s like the kid’s eyes go blank and he can’t hear us anytime we try talking to him about the Eternal Magic.”

“Is anything missing? It feels like the wards are still active,” Ash said as he brushed his finger over one of the locks, the only barrier between us and what appeared to be freaky toys inspired by nightmares. I leaned in for a better look.

No. These weren’t macabre toys, they were small mascots. The longer I stared at the creepy little dolls, the more they seemed familiar, unlocking long forgotten memories. Right. That was it. Some people in the old countries used them to ward off evil. So, even though the things looked sinister, they had a non-threatening feeling about them. The magic was meant to protect, not harm.

“Come over here, kid,” Paws said.

Showing more trust in the powerful creature than what I was comfortable with, Ash crossed the room to Paws.

“Come closer…”

Ash bent over and Paws leapt onto his shoulder. Ash cried out in surprise, and I bolted to his side. I scented blood in the air. The bastard cat had scratched my witch. I growled and reached for the furry little menace, ready to fling him off my mage’s body. Paws hit my hand with his paw, claws out, and hissed at me.