Page 43 of Protection of the Pack

‘I don’t rightly know, my dove. I don’t rightly know.’ He gave me a toothy grin. ‘It’s been lovely gabbing with you, but the path is clear and I must skedaddle to my destination before the sun starts its twatting rise again. I’ll see you anon, deary.’

‘Wait! I still have questions. Did you see anyone else besides the vampyrs?’

‘Aye, there was a wolf that stepped along. She didn’t hide though, just kept going in a right old hurry.’

‘You’re sure it was a she?’

‘I said she, didn’t I?’ He glared at me; he was a sensitive little chap.

‘Right. Which way was she headed?’

He shrugged. ‘I didn’t see. It was about then that the vampyrs arrived and I made myself scarce for survival reasons.’

‘Sure. Thanks for all your help, Mr…’

He laughed. ‘It takes more than a flash of boobs to earn my name. Take care of yourselves, my mamtams.’ He nodded and lumbered out.

He was right: he wasn’t fast, but he was determined. His little legs hurried, though his wings stretched behind him were undoubtedly making the whole thing a lot more difficult. He cursed and swore, like he couldn’t help but blister the air with all the words that he’d managed to hold back from our conversation. I winced at some of the particularly colourful phrases. Frankly, I wasn’t sure they were anatomically possible.

What on earth was all that about? How come he could hear you? Can he pipe?

Esme was oddly silent.

I didn’t feel any magic directed at me.

It would have been directed at me,Esme pointed out.

Well, did you feel anything?

No.

What do you know about gargoyles?

They’re called the dark ones, but we don’t need to fear them,she said finally.

Why?

It’s not talked about.It was the first time I could recall her admitting to not knowing something. For some reason that made me feel better. She wasn’tallknowing.

She snorted into my mind.Of course I’m not, Lucy.

It feels like you are sometimes.

I’m of the Other, I know the Other. You are of the Common, you know the Common. Let’s go home. The trail has gone cold,she admitted grumpily.

She didn’t like admitting defeat any more than I did. Mum raised me with a can-do attitude and not-doing pissed me off. I like achieving. I’m told I was inseparable from my sticker star-chart when I was a kid.

We shifted into four legs and trotted home, keeping a wary eye out for straggling vampyrs. When we returned to the mansion, we headed straight for the scene of the crime. Esme let out a bark of dismay when we arrived; Ace and Lauren were near the balcony, along with Tristan and Noah. Any tracks and traces were long gone, blasted to oblivion by thoughtless idiots.

I shifted so I could yell. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I shouted. ‘Get back inside. You’ve destroyed the bloody crime scene.’

‘We’re checking for clues,’ Noah explained.

‘You’re obliterating them!’ I snarled. ‘Inside, now. All of you.’ I directed my glare at the council members, too. They might have investigatory powers, but they weren’t here for Archie, they were here for me. This was not their ambit.

Ace threw me an easy smile. ‘Sorry, Lucy. I thought I’d help out. Noah and Tristan were here first, so the damage was already done by the time we arrived.’

‘That’s very gracious of you,’ I said through clenched teeth. ‘But you’re not here to investigate Archie.’

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