"Not kidding. I don't know what they are, but they're here to stay." Ashe pulled his arm away. The medallions were beginning to itch and burn with all the handling. He felt immediate relief when people stopped touching them. Now more than ever, he wished that the Vampire Council had given him more information on the Elemaiya. The three pages they'd offered weren't nearly enough.
"I have to make a phone call," Winkler unbuckled his seat belt and walked to the front of the jet where Buck and Andy were seated. Ashe watched as the Dallas Packmaster pulled out a cell phone and made a call. With the noise of the jet and Trajan suddenly asking more questions about what happened in Star Cove, Ashe couldn't make out Winkler's words.
* * *
"He has eight square medallions circling his upper arm, like a tattoo," Winkler said. "He doesn't know where they came from and it upsets him if anybody touches them. He said he tried to pick at them and it made him nauseous. Is there anything in the information you have that explains this?" Winkler had dialed the Head of the Vampire Council immediately. Night still lay over England—perhaps one or two hours remained before dawn arrived. Winkler wanted to insist that all information be given to Ashe, but knew better than to demand anything from the vampires. It was tricky dealing with them. At the moment, Winkler was playing his hand carefully with Wlodek. At least Wlodek was answering his calls. For now.
"Give us time to do research," Wlodek replied smoothly, making Winkler want to curse. Wlodek, like most vampires, had a very good memory and likely knew much already. For whatever reason, he wasn't willing to give information to Winkler.
"Thank you for your assistance, Honored One," Winkler said respectfully. Wlodek ended the call.
* * *
"Charles," Wlodek leveled a glance at his assistant, "Go through the records and learn what the precedents and adverse effects are regarding underage turning." Charles stood in shock for seconds before going to do as the Honored One requested.
* * *
"Mr. Winkler will bring him here; he has transportation waiting at the airport," Marcus reminded a restless Sali. The young werewolf stalked a path through the kitchen, media room and then through the patio doors to the deck. Marco shook his head at Sali's impatience. Sali wanted to drive to the airport and meet Ashe there, but Marcus held him back. Nathan and Lavonna were doing the same—keeping Dori and Cori inside the house. Dori was also upset, for many reasons. Marco's cell buzzed.
"It's Winkler," Marco whispered and answered the call.
"We're on the ground. Probably be there in forty-five." Winkler hung up. Marcus heard Winkler's voice clearly on the other end.
"Come on, they'll go to Adele and Aedan's," Marcus jerked his head toward the door. Denise, Marco and Sali followed him as he left the house.
* * *
"Aedan, please stay calm. He thought to protect us," Adele's hands shook as she attempted to calm her husband. Aedan was pacing, much as Sali had been. When the doorbell rang, Adele went to answer it, ushering the DeLucas and the Andersons inside. Marco had called Cori quickly as he followed his father out the door, and she'd shared the information with Dori and her parents. Now they were all gathering inside the Evans home to wait. Adele offered drinks, but there were no takers. All of them were waiting for Ashe to arrive.
* * *
"Winkler, I think the boy's about to be sick," Trajan warned. Sam Sheridan, Winkler's brother-in-law, had come to pick them up at the airport. He jerked the van over and Winkler shoved the door open just in time for Ashe to lean out and heave. Winkler accepted a bottle of water from Trace and handed it to Ashe when the bout of nausea looked to be over. Ashe rinsed out his mouth, embarrassed that this had happened in front of a van loaded with werewolves, including Winkler, Trajan and Trace.
"It's understandable," Winkler offered a wad of tissues so Ashe could clean himself up. Feeling shaky, Ashe climbed back in the van and the journey continued. Twenty minutes later and feeling sick again, Ashe arrived at his home in Star Cove.
"Here he is, a little shaky and nauseous," Winkler said quietly as he and Trajan brought Ashe inside the Evans home. Ashe was grateful for Trajan's arm around his shoulders. He wasn't sure he could walk into the house on his own without it.
Adele ran straight to Ashe and hugged him while Winkler and Trajan stepped out of the way. She was weeping, just as Ashe feared she would. His father stood nearby, a stricken look on his face. Nathan, Marcus and both families were in the background. Sali was growling; Ashe heard it over his mother's crying. Adele finally stepped away. Ashe was about to apologize for worrying everyone when Dori rushed forward, slapped him as hard as she could and ran out the door.
* * *
"Son, we're all upset. We thought the worst," Aedan handed an ice pack to Ashe, who held it to his throbbing jaw. Who knew Dori could hit that hard? It stood to reason, though—she was an ocelot shapeshifter with a lioness mother and a vampire father. Ashe figured there was more of Nathan in Dori than anyone knew. Adele hovered nearby—Nathan and Lavonna had hurried out the door after Dori. Cori, Marco, Sali, Marcus and Denise were still there, and Wynn had come in with her parents. Now, Sali was holding onto Wynn while they watched Ashe curiously. Winkler and his small group of werewolves were doing their best to stay out of the way.
"Dad, I didn't mean to hurt anybody. You have to believe that." Ashe's queasiness hadn't gone away—in fact, it was worse. He worried that he might have to mist to the bathroom.
"Honey, I know you were trying to protect all of us. But we're stronger than you think," Adele soothed. "We lost a few, but they lost a lot. Ask Mr. Winkler. That Tanner jerk brought at least fifty wolves with him, and he had Elemaiya there, too. Only three werewolves got away, and they were swimming. There's a good chance they didn't make it. Mr. Michaels had his agents send out boats, but we haven't heard anything."
"He found Congressman Jack Howard floating unconscious in a raft, but that's it so far," Winkler said. "The esteemed Congressman is now in an Austin jail, waiting to be sent to D.C." He didn't add that the Grand Master had passed information to Matt Michaels on Tanner's compound outside Juarez—only time would tell if that information paid off. He also didn't add that Jack Howard admitted to Matt's agents that Ezekiel Tanner was still alive. That fact was one of several reasons Winkler was back in Corpus Christi—Weldon Harper asked him to stay in the area in case help was needed to track Tanner.
"They need to lock that creep up forever," Ashe muttered, meaning Jack Howard.