Night’s Master (Children of The Night #3)(32)
Author: Amanda Ashley

“I’m afraid so,” Clive replied. “I followed his scent for several miles, and then it disappeared.”

“How is that possible?” Brenna asked.

Clive shook his head. “I don’t know. I have several of my people out scouting the area.”

“Even if he transformed, wouldn’t he still smell the same?” Rafe asked.

“Yes,” Clive said. “That’s what troubles me.”

“What are you thinking?” Mara asked.

“I don’t know how he did it, but I’m thinking he’s either found a way to mask his scent or change it altogether.”

“Are we sure Littlejohn was killed by a Were-creature?” Roshan asked.

Mara turned to look at him, her green eyes glittering like polished jade. “Who else could it be?”

“One of us, perhaps?” Roshan said quietly.

“I’ve never known a Vampire to rip his victim to shreds,” Mara remarked. She looked at Rafe. “Was the body drained of blood?”

Rafe shook his head. “I don’t think so, but it was hard to tell from what was left.”

“Are we sure the woman and Littlejohn were both attacked by the same person?” Brenna asked. “Maybe there’s no connection. After all, it could just be coincidence that both of the humans were taken on the same night.”

“And in the same place?” Clive said. “I don’t think so.”

“Did you pick up any Vampire scent at either scene?” Mara asked.

“No.” Rafe glanced at Clive. “It smelled like dyed-in-the-wool Werewolf to me.”

“Maybe it was a blood sucker,” Cagin said, his yellow eyes narrowing as he looked at Rafe. “Maybe it was a Vamp smart enough to mask his own scent. Maybe he mutilated Littlejohn to make it look like one of us did it.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a Vampire or a Werewolf,” Roshan suggested.

Clive snorted. “Who else would have done it?”

“A mortal,” Roshan replied. “Maybe a group of mortals who don’t want the war to end.”

“I’m the one who found Littlejohn,” Rafe said flatly. “He smelled of Werewolf. As for the girl, I know for a fact that she was bitten by a Werewolf, since she transformed when the moon was full.”

“All right,” Mara said. “Until we learn otherwise, we’re going on the assumption that there’s a Werewolf in town who has deliberately disobeyed Clive’s command to cease any and all killing within the city. Our first order of business is to find him before he kills again, or before he bites anyone else. Clive, I want you to determine the whereabouts of all your people on the night the McGee girl and Littlejohn were taken. Once you’re convinced that none of your people is responsible, I want you to send them all away.

“Roshan, when the girl gets out of the hospital, I want you and Brenna to keep an eye on her. I want you to watch her house day and night, and follow her if she leaves.”

“Any particular reason why?” Roshan asked.

“I don’t want any more human casualties in Oak Hollow. There have been too many already. Rafe, I want you to get in touch with our people and tell them all to go home.”

“Hold on a minute,” Clive said. “Including you, that leaves four Vamps in town and only two of us.”

Mara lifted one brow. “And your point is?”

“I want an equal number of my people in town.”

“We’re not going to war,” Mara said impatiently, “we’re trying to stop this one from escalating.”

Clive shrugged. “If you don’t like it, then send two of your people away.”

“That’s how this whole war between us started,” Mara reminded him. “The thirst for power has brought us to the brink of war with the humans. At one time, I thought it was a battle we might win, but I see now that the old way was better for all of us.”

“You mean when we tucked our tails between our legs and hid out in the woods?” Clive asked disdainfully.

“The humans outnumber the Supernatural community ten thousand to one,” Mara said impatiently. “Even we can’t beat those odds.”

“Sure we can,” Clive retorted. “All we have to do to lower the odds is kill them, one at a time.”

“And how will you survive when the prey is gone?” Roshan asked.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Mara said, rising to her feet. “It’s time to end the feud between us now, once and for all, before the humans do it for us.”

“They’ll never defeat us,” Clive said with a sneer. “They’re too weak.”

“But they’re not stupid,” Mara said. “They have found cures for almost every disease known to mankind. They have conquered space and harvested the oceans. They have found a way to overcome any and all obstacles that they have encountered. Do you doubt that they can find a way to destroy your kind, as well?”

Apparently, Clive had no argument for that. Rising, he motioned to Cagin, and the two Weres left the room.

“He’s a fool,” Mara said. “Even now, I’ve heard rumors that human scientists are working on a drug that will cure lycanthropy. If they can come up with a viable concoction that won’t harm the humans, all they’ll have to do is add the drug to the water supply. The Werewolves will be cured whether they want to be or not. Perhaps the shape-shifters, as well.”

Rafe grunted softly. “And how will that affect us?”

Mara shook her head. “Since we are not truly alive, I have no idea.”

On that troubling note, Rafe bid Mara and his grandparents farewell, dissolved into mist, and floated out the window of the hotel.

Materializing inside his car, he pulled away from the curb. What Mara had said about ending the war before the humans ended it for them made good sense; he just hoped Clive and his Weres were smart enough to see that. The Vampires and the Werewolves had been waging open war among themselves for less than a year with heavy casualties on both sides. Rafe had no idea which side was winning. As far as he knew, no one had ever taken a census among the Werewolves. It was rumored that a Vampire hunter had a record of many of the known Vampires, but as far as Rafe knew, it was only a myth. Still, it was unusual for Supernatural creatures to disappear without their kind being aware of it.

As for some miracle drug that would cure the Werewolf community…Rafe shook his head, wondering again what kind of effect such a concoction would have on the Vampires and the shape-shifters, if any. That thought was followed by another, far more troubling one. Before the humans could drug the water supply, they would have to test it, not only on humans to make sure it was safe, but on Werewolves to make sure it worked. Would they think to test it on Vampires, as well? Maybe they were testing it already. Maybe that accounted for the missing Werewolves and Vampires.