Page 69 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

“I thought you said they didn’t mess with your memory?”

“They didn’t. But it was something I saw as a wolf. When I was a mindless animal. I didn’t understand it then, but what you said brought it back.”

The atmosphere changed into something charged with anticipation and the tiniest flicker of hope.

Leo leaned forward. “What?”

“I know the demon they swore fealty to. I can’t believe I forgot it! When I was trapped as a wolf, one of Chadwicke’s brothers came in, fuming that a succubus and incubus pair had rebuffed him. He tried cursing them on his own, but their combined magic was just too strong. Chadwicke stopped torturing me long enough to say they would have to call upon their patron. It was just noises at the time, but now...” A jubilant grin spread across Ricky’s gaunt features. “Now, I know that patron’s name.”

“Well, what is it?” Leo asked, equally enthused. “Come on, out with it.”

“Mammon,” Ricky said, sitting back and seeming to relish both syllables. “Their patron is Mammon.”

“That’s brilliant.”

Leo jumped out of his seat and rounded the table, embracing his friend probably a bit harder than he should.

I didn’t interrupt. This was something wonderful to celebrate after they’d been separated for so long.

Something was niggling at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

“Have you ever heard of that before?” Ricky asked.

“Not at all,” Leo replied. “But it’s an excellent jumping off point.”

“I...” I got up and began to pace.

“You okay, Ven?” Leo asked.

“I’m fine. Just thinking.” I walked a bit more, back and forth, back and forth as I chewed my lip. Then it finally hit me. Gasping, I rushed over to my laptop and turned it one, then pulled up one of the articles I’d found in my research. I swore I recognized that name.

Leo and Ricky came over to join me, Ricky moving much slower than Leo. I paid them no mind. No, I was completely locked in on scanning through the several articles I’d bookmarked.

It was on the third one that I found what I was looking for: a short exposé on a medical testing facility Chadwicke had been linked to. The company had conducted illegal research on animals. Considering what I knew about the brothers, I shuddered to think what was actually going on there.

“What is it, Ven?”

I pushed away from the computer and showed them the logo of the company. “MMI. Mammon Medical Industries. This is their company. I bet if the members of your pack are anywhere, some of them will be here.”

Man, if my aunt could only see me now. She always said my head was stuck in the clouds, and I never had enough of a grip on reality. But my grip was secure enough to remember a single mention of a company from something I read well over a week ago. Maybe I did have a knack for investigation after all.

Suddenly, I was swept up in a hug, Leo’s impressive biceps creating a nearly crushing force around me.

“Ven, you’reincredible,” Leo practically crowed as he swung me around. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. There’s gotta be at least some of us there.”

“Maybe Atticus?” Ricky suggested hopefully.

Leo paused his twirling and set me down, sending a more sober look to his best friend. “Who’s Atticus?”

Several emotions flashed across Ricky’s face before he finally settled on a sad smile. “One of our best scouts. He and I used to go on a lot of missions together. He was with me when we originally found our first clues about the brothers.”

Leo closed his eyes, and it was almost like I could see his brain flooding with those memories. I hated how much pain it caused him. While I wanted him to have his old life back, to be able to recall those wonderful memories on a whim, I despised the journey.

“Yes, I remember now. If he’s there, we’ll find him.”

I appreciated their determination, and I hated having to rain on their parade, but I had to make sure that something was absolutely clear.

“Just so you know, I will have absolutely no part of this if either of you thinks it’s okay for it to turn into another massacre. I understand that war calls for certain things, and there aren’t likely to be children at a medical testing facility, but if we go in there and fight like we did at the compound, there’s no telling how many innocent subjects might die because of that. If anything, we have to be even more careful. I will not have the blood of prisoners who have been dreaming of escape on my hands. Am I clear?”

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