"What?" Winkler exploded, just as Gavin answered the call.
"Gavin, have you captured your quarry?" Winkler asked.
"Yes. He has already been dispatched. Why do you ask?"
"Crap," Ashe dropped to his knees and covered his face with both hands.
"The kid wanted you to ask if your target had turned anybody."
"Too late," Tony's voice could be heard in the background. "Is that a possibility?"
"Yeah," Ashe mumbled. "A terrible possibility."
* * *
"What happened? Did you get your ability back?" Winkler pulled Ashe into the kitchen and offered him a soda while he asked questions.
"Not yet, no," Ashe said. "But I have these." He pulled back his sleeve. "Apparently, if I ask the right questions, I can get answers in the form of images." He tapped one of the medallions.
"What did you see?" Winkler asked.
"A lot of it was a blur, but what I did see was a vampire, and well, it looked like he was," Ashe slumped. It wasn't pretty, what he'd seen.
"Making a turn? Who, kid?"
"Wildrif," Ashe muttered. "Mr. Winkler, he's a seer. He knows stuff. How bad do you think that might be if he becomes vampire?"
"This isn't good," Winkler raked fingers through his hair.
"Do we need to call Gavin back?" Trajan pulled a soda from the fridge and settled on a barstool next to Ashe.
"Yeah. I guess we do." Winkler pulled out his cell again.
"Montegue here," Gavin answered promptly.
"Gavin, do you have information on that prisoner who got away from the maximum security facility in Colorado?" Winkler asked.
"Yes." Gavin only hesitated for a moment.
"The kid seems to think Wildrif may be on his way to becoming vampire."
"This is terrible news. If you are correct, I must contact the Honored One quickly. That one is Dark Elemaiya, and you know what trouble that might be, especially with the talents that one supposedly has."
"Yes, I remember clearly what kind of trouble that might be," Winkler's voice was grim. "I recall the misting, the mindspeech, the shapeshifting, the murderous tendencies—all of it. And as this one has foresight, he could be the worst of all."
"Decidedly."
"What can we do? Weldon can lend some wolves to the cause, if you need to go hunting."
"I will let you know." Gavin abruptly hung up.
"He didn't like that information," Winkler shoved his cell in a pocket.
* * *
"I'll agree to leave things as they are for now, but that's still my son," Aedan said. "I feel I have much to atone for, where Ashe is concerned."
"He did mention getting a car, but I've already made arrangements to get it for him. The Council paid for his services before he was given the drug."
"What car?" Aedan's interest was immediate.
"A classic car, actually," Winkler admitted. "Said he wanted it mostly for show. I had Loren make the purchase this morning while Ashe was studying. It'll be delivered this weekend."
"I will reimburse you."
"Aedan, I paid seventy thousand for it."
"I don't care. I should have bought one for his birthday. I know how disappointed he was over that."
"We can split it."
"I will pay."
"All right. I'll forward a copy of the invoice."
"Thank you."
* * *
"Do you think he's trying to buy his son's affection back?" Trajan asked after Winkler ended the call.
"Maybe. I'm not sure how Ashe will react."
"The kid needed his parents, and they weren't there for him. All Aedan's fault, seems to me."
"Yeah. Look, what are we going to do if the kid is right about Wildrif?"
"That sounds plain scary, boss."
"I thought Wildrif was crazy as hell before. What do you think he might do as a vampire?"
"I don't want to think about it. And if he's making the turn, what's he gonna do if he wakes up hungry and there's no sire to feed him?"
"People will probably die."
"Yeah."
* * *
It had taken a bribe, but Dawn finally managed to get a room at a motel. The walls were cracking, the bed sagged in the middle and the hot water was barely warm. The desk clerk had accepted a one-hundred-dollar bribe in addition to the cost of the room, but it was a room in the barest sense of the word.
"At least there aren't any bugs," Dawn growled as she hefted her bag onto the creaking bed. Her phone needed charging, but as soon as that was accomplished, Dawn intended to find Sara's address. In a day or so, the timid shapeshifter would be dead and Dawn would be on her way to Canada in wolf form.
* * *
"How are the classes?" Trace sat beside Ashe the following morning as Ashe read his English Comp assignment at breakfast. "You get to lift weights this morning, since the bullet wound looks like it's healed." Trace grinned as Flossie put a plate of food in front of him.
"Some of it's boring. Stuff I've already read or researched for papers," Ashe said. "History, especially."
"Then passing tests will be a piece of cake."
"Got two tests on Friday. I have until Monday to turn everything in for the week."
"Too bad they didn't have an online option when I was in school," Trace said.
"You being such an old man and all," Ashe teased.
"That just earned you extra time on the weight bench," Trace's grin widened.
"Bring it on, dude."
* * *
"Dr. Dillon will be here until six, if you want to bring your cat in," the receptionist replied to Dawn's question. "It would be better if you can get here earlier, though, so you both won't be here so late."
"Will she be there alone if I don't get there before six?"
"No, her assistant will be here, too."
"Thanks. I'll try to come early, then." Dawn hung up and cursed Sara's assistant, who seemed to be just as conscientious as Sara Dillon, DVM. Dawn would have to wait for Sara to leave work and follow her home.
* * *
"How did you know about Wildrif, if you don't have your mojo back?" Trace asked as Ashe lifted weights.
"Had a visit from Griffin the other day," Ashe grunted as he bench-pressed two hundred pounds. "Told me he couldn't interfere with the drug in my system, but that the answer to my problem was around my arm. Winkler didn't tell you?"