Dirty Blood (6 page)

At the sound of hushed voices, I turned. Wes and Jack
stood huddled just inside the door, heads together and voices
lowered. I caught only pieces of what they said.

“…confirmed it. She was working for the other side,”
Jack was saying.

“I know. I heard you earlier,” said Wes. “I knew
there was something going on with her.” He glanced over at me. I
shifted but it was too late; they both realized I’d become aware of
them.

Jack stepped away and strode into the room, his
expression transforming to friendly and blank. “Have a seat and
then you can tell me what this is all about.”

I sank down into one of the over sized chairs
opposite the sofa and shrugged out of my jacket. Partly because the
room was overly warm and partly so I could reach my plunger handles
easier if it came to that. What had Wes meant when he said he’d
heard Jack earlier? I would’ve assumed it meant a phone call or
maybe he’d been here before me, but something about the way he’d
said it made me feel like I’d missed something. Kind of like the
way Wes had almost answered my thoughts, out on the porch. And who
was working for the other side?

I was still on edge and the weird tingling feeling
had intensified since we’d walked inside. It was starting to make
me itch; I rubbed absently at my arms. Wes took a spot on the sofa
and leaned forward, looking tense and distracted. He wouldn’t meet
my eyes.

Jack took the other chair, his massive body filling
every inch of cushion. “So, what’s this all about?”

“It’s about Tara,” Wes told him, nodding at me.
“She’s the one I told you about last night. I think she could use
your help. She’s a Hunter,” he said, though the last part came out
more like a question.

Jack looked over at me with open interest and a gleam
in his eye. “So she’s the one that killed Liliana?” His voice
lowered and became thoughtful. I could practically see the wheels
turning in his mind. I just wished I had some idea of what he was
thinking.

“Knocked her head in with a piece of piping from the
garbage,” Wes said.

Darn it, I thought. Could he be any more blunt? I
glared at him and prayed Jack and Liliana were not BFF’s, because
if the gleam in his eye was any indication, Jack was definitely
interested in this piece of information. I noticed he didn’t look
very sad or put out over the news, though he did shoot a hard look
at Wes, who shook his head almost imperceptibly, before turning
back to me.

“Metal?” asked Jack. Wes nodded. “Impressive.
Especially for her age. Where did you train?” Jack asked me.

“I didn’t.”

Jack blinked at me in confusion. “You’ve never
trained?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know what I was until last
night, or I guess this morning. It just sort of happened.”

Jack sent Wes a look that I couldn’t read. “Without
training, she’s pretty inexperienced to be able to help The
Cause.”

“No,” Wes hissed. “I didn’t bring her here for that.
She needs help, someone to explain it to her, and I thought-” He
broke off, looking uncertain.

I was itching to know what ‘cause’ Jack had meant,
but I didn’t interrupt.

Jack’s brows knitted together. “What answers can I
give her that you can’t?”

“Let me ask you something. How did you know she was a
Hunter when we walked in?”

“I felt it, of course.”

“Huh.” Wes leaned back on the couch, staring at a
spot on the floorboard.

“Why do you ask?” Jack pressed.

Wes shook himself from his thoughts and looked back
at Jack. “Because I can’t sense her, at least not as a Hunter.”

Jack sat back. “At all?”

“There’s something… but it’s like nothing I’ve ever
felt.”

“Describe it.”

Wes paused, obviously concentrating on pinpointing
what he wanted to convey. “Well, scientifically speaking, instead
of repelling, it sort of attracts, like a magnet.”

“Really.” Jack rubbed his beard, his eyes glinting
with fascination as he looked back and forth between us.

At Wes’ description, my heart made a couple extra
hard thuds in my chest, but I ignored it and told myself that in no
way did he mean anything resembling a physical attraction. Still,
something about his explanation seemed to fit how I’d felt about
him that first moment I’d seen him in my room, and part of it – at
least for me - was definitely physical attraction. I noticed the
two of them had fallen back into some sort of silent eye
communication. I thought only girls could do that. “Hello. You guys
are talking about me like I’m not even here. Can somebody please
fill me in?”

Both of them glanced at me but Jack was the one who
spoke. “Tara, how do you feel right now?”

“Uh, fine, I guess. Confused.”

Jack smiled. “I meant physically. Do you feel
anything … different happening to your body?”

“Just a little cold,” I said.

“Nothing else?”

“Goose bumps.”

“Tell me about that.”

I raised my eyebrows as if to say, ‘are you sure’ and
‘this is weird’ all at once. He just nodded for me to answer. “Um.
My skin sort of tingles and itches all at the same time. Like I
have ants crawling on me or something.” I shrugged. “It happens
sometimes.”

Jack looked back at Wes who was watching me with
narrowed eyes. Then he faced me again. “And when did that start,
exactly. When you saw Wes? In the car? At my house?”

“When we came inside, I think.”

Jack rubbed his beard. “Have you felt this way any
other time?”

I thought about it. “Yes. Last night with… Liliana.”
I had to struggle to say her name out loud. Mostly, I didn’t want
to remind Jack of it until I knew for sure that he wasn’t going to
try to take a bite out of me in revenge. “And maybe other times.
Like I said, I get goose bumps a lot.” I watched him and Wes
exchange another cryptic look. “Why? What does it mean?” I glanced
at Wes again who was looking less angry and more perplexed by the
moment. Jack cleared his throat.

“The feeling you have right now is something every
Hunter feels when a Werewolf is nearby. Sort of an alarm system
built into your body. It lets you know when we’re nearby so you
aren’t caught off guard,” Jack explained. “Werewolves have the same
thing.”

“So, you’re saying the goose bumps are like an alarm
system for Werewolves?” It was an anomaly that I’d always dismissed
as a weird personal tic or something. Now Jack was telling me that
every time I’d ever felt chilled, there’d been a Werewolf
nearby?

“Yep.” Jack sat back in his chair and propped his
feet on the coffee table, completely at ease. He looked like he’d
just accomplished a full day’s work, and was happy to be done now.
But I had even more questions now, than when I got here.

I looked at Wes, the wheels slowly turning, putting
things together. “And it’s a big deal to you, because you can’t
sense me.”

“And apparently you can’t sense me, either.” He
watched me, and I knew he was waiting for me to disagree, or at
least admit I felt the magnet thing with him, too, but I kept my
mouth shut. No way was I admitting, out loud, to this boy that I
was attracted to him, even if he did think it was scientific. When
I didn’t respond, he turned back to Jack. “Have you ever heard of
this?”

“No, I haven’t,” Jack admitted. “Interesting,
though…” He hooked his hands behind his head, and then leaned back,
staring up at the ceiling. “Especially considering you.”

We all fell silent after that. A thousand thoughts
and questions and unbelievable answers flitted through my mind. It
seemed the more I learned, the more questions it raised. By now I
figured it was safe to assume I was definitely a Hunter. And that a
Hunter was someone who could kill a Werewolf. Basically with their
bare hands. I looked down at my own hands in wonder. It amazed me
that inside my tiny, and, shall we say less than athletic, body lay
superhuman strength. And what was this deal with Wes and me not
sensing each other? Or at least not in the ‘normal’ way, as he put
it. It didn’t seem that big a deal to me until Jack had said he’d
never heard of it before. And apparently I was sensing Jack just
fine. I rubbed my arms, trying to lessen the tingles.

I turned my attention back to Jack and Wes. They were
locked in quiet conversation. Wes had scooted over to the far side
of the couch and both of them were leaning forward, so their heads
were only inches apart. They were whispering pretty low but every
once in a while, Wes’ response would turn to more of a hiss. I
strained to hear without being obvious that I was paying
attention.

“I could train her,” said Jack. When Wes nodded, he
continued, “You know we could use another Hunter, a young one, for
our side.”

“No!” Wes hissed. “I don’t want her dragged into all
of our politics. She’s too young and inexperienced. And it’s too
dangerous.”

Jack put a hand up. “Alright, calm down, it’ll just
be training.” His expression looked thoughtful. “You know as well
as I do that once this door is opened, you can’t close it again.
More will come for her.”

“I know.”

Wes’ whispered reply was grim and his expression
matched. Something about it gave me a sinking feeling in my chest,
though yet again, I had no idea what half of it had meant.

The parts I did know were the ones that worried me.
Like the fact that both of them were convinced my run in with
Liliana – a Werewolf - would not be an isolated incident. Despite
the fact that it had been seventeen years in the making. With all
of the explanations and half answers I’d been given, it felt like I
was coming up on the edge of something. I just couldn’t figure out
what it was.

Their conversation seemed to be over, so I averted my
gaze like I hadn’t noticed them. I could feel their eyes on me, so
I kept my face down and absently played with a lock of my hair,
twirling the brown strands into endless loops. A nervous habit.

“Tara?” Wes called.

I glanced up, keeping my expression blank.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

Wes sighed. “Don’t pretend you didn’t hear us. About
training. It would be a good idea to learn how to defend
yourself.”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, you need to be prepared for what happened last
night to happen again. It will. It’s just a matter of time. So
knowing how to properly defend yourself is a good idea. Jack can
help you.”

Before I could answer, the tingling under my skin
suddenly intensified. I shivered and looked down. Goosebumps had
appeared and the hair on my arms stood on end. Footsteps approached
behind me. I twisted in my chair, knowing what this feeling meant.
Another Werewolf was coming. I thought about grabbing for the
plunger handles still lodged in my back pockets. My heart pounded
with sudden adrenaline and I braced for the threat.

When the ‘threat’ appeared, I felt my jaw swing open
in surprise. A beautiful blond woman stood in the doorway. She
carried a pitcher and four glasses on a tray and her hair swung
softly around her face as she moved. She was dressed comfortably in
jeans and a white sweater, but more than the relaxed look she wore,
it was something about
her
that made me feel instantly at
ease.

“Tara, this is my wife, Fee,” said Jack.

“Hello, Tara, it’s nice to meet you,” she said,
smiling in a way that reached her pale eyes and let you know that
she meant it.

“You too.” I could feel the adrenaline draining out
of me. I was really glad I hadn’t gone for the plunger handle.
Though the tingling remained, the sense of anxiety and danger had
passed as soon as Fee had spoken. She obviously wasn’t a threat and
I actually felt guilty over what I’d been about to do.

I watched as she perched on the edge of the couch and
poured liquid into each cup. Her movements were fluid and graceful,
and something told me she made a beautiful wolf. “Tea?” She asked,
offering one to Jack. He took a cup and downed it in one long gulp.
“Wes.” She handed him a cup. “Nice to see you, as always.” She
leaned over and kissed his cheek when he reached for the glass. He
smiled at her, affectionately. Then she turned to me. “Any friend
of Wes’ is a friend of ours. Tea?” she asked, holding it out.

I accepted the offered glass. “Yes. Thank you.”

Jack set his empty glass on the table and smacked his
lips together, appreciatively. “Tara’s that Hunter, Fee. The one
Wes found last night. We were just talking about the possibility of
training her. What do you think? Are you up for it?”

“It’s been awhile since we took on a new student,”
mused Fee. She turned to me. “Jack’s known for being kind of a hard
teacher but I think we balance each other out. Besides, it’s all
just an act with him anyway. He’s really a big softie,” she said,
with a chuckle. “Oh, and it would be so much fun to have another
girl around.”

Jack stroked his beard again, either ignoring or not
disagreeing with her description of him. “It would be a lot of
work, of course, but from what I’m hearing, you’ve got enough raw
talent that I think we could make up for lost time.”

“Okay, wait.” I set my glass down and put my hand up.
“Slow down. I never agreed to any training.”

Jack looked surprised. “I assumed this is why Wes
brought you here.”

“It may have been. But I didn’t get a vote in that
plan,” I said, throwing a warning look at Wes. “Mainly, I just
wanted answers. Which I still don’t feel like I’ve gotten.”

Fee gave Jack a scolding look and then turned back to
me. “Let me guess, he made you tell him everything he wanted to
know, and hasn’t offered anything in return.”

“I was about to,” Jack said, defensively.

Fee rolled her eyes at him and then turned to me.
“Come with me,” she said. She stood up and strode away without
waiting for an answer. I glanced at Wes and then got up and hurried
after her.