Laughing as he passed a green mileage sign, he said, “That ride’s almost over. Only about five more miles until we hit Janesville.”
“You’ve got to realize how important it is that you don’t talk about this where anyone else can hear,” Paige said as if she was alone in a quiet room with Cole instead of talking from the back of a speeding car with a dead werewolf across her lap. “The Nymar’s supposed infestation of the cities is what keeps the Full Bloods from making a move of their own.”
“I’ve seen one of those things,” Cole shot back. “You can’t tell me they’re afraid of Nymar.”
“Maybe not afraid, but a whole swarm of Nymar can bring a Full Blood down if they do it just right. It’s not pretty, but Nymar and werewolves are both supernatural and they can most definitely spill each other’s blood,” Paige said as she pulled a few of the Half Breed’s teeth. “The Full Bloods stay in the woods because it’s easier than trying to invade a city held by both humans and Nymar. Full Bloods may be damn near bullet-, fire-, and everything-else-proof, but Skinners and the Nymar are their only real threats. We figured out the Nymar’s bluff some time ago, but if the Full Bloods bothered to do the same thing, they might just decide to take a run at the more populated parts of the world.”
“I don’t know,” Cole said. “Sounds like a stretch to me.”
“All right. What do you think would happen if all of America’s enemies found out we’d made up three of the four branches of our military?”
Wincing, he muttered, “Point taken.”
“The Nymar also think their bullshit has been keeping Skinners in line. For years they’ve thought that the only reason we haven’t stormed in to clean them out is because we’re afraid of going against the big, dark overlords.” Paige spoke those last words with no small amount of sarcasm. “As long as they think they’ve got us snowed, they won’t look hard enough at us to know they outnumber us by at least twenty to one.”
“Same lie, different liars, huh?” Cole asked.
“It’s not a great system, but it’s been holding things together for a long time. If the Full Bloods and other shapeshifters aren’t buying it anymore, it may just explain why they’re getting so restless. Mongrels usually stick to their own packs, but now are prowling into your hotel room. Half Breeds don’t obey any rules, but Full Bloods sure never bothered sneaking as far into civilization as the one I saw outside of Shimmy’s.”
“You’re sure that was a Full Blood?”
“Yeah.”
“And what are we going to do about Henry? You plan on gagging him with all that fur you collected?”
Paige let out a breath and began stuffing the werewolf fur into a casing that resembled two plastic trays held together by nylon straps. Considering the weight on her lap at the moment, the simple movements weren’t easy. “I’ve got some ideas about him. Did you see any black markings on him anywhere?”
Even though it was difficult to focus, Cole had seen Henry enough times to have his face imprinted on his nightmares for a good long while. “Actually, no. Henry’s pretty messed up, but not like the Nymar.”
“And if there are a bunch of spores in him like you saw in that vision you snagged from Misonyk, then that would explain why Henry feeds off of other Nymar the way he does. If his own spores aren’t attached to his heart, they can’t feed on his blood. They must be leeching off of him for whatever food they can get.”
“And so,” Cole added as he swerved around a slow moving SUV with Iowa plates, “he’s got to eat healthy Nymar spores that are filled with all the stuff they’d get if he fed the way Nymar are supposed to?”
“Exactly! Kind of like when you crave peas even though you hate peas and it turns out your body just needs whatever is in peas. Does that make sense?”
“It actually does,” he replied. “And that scares me. Also, I’d really like some peas. But I don’t know if you should take what I saw in that vision too seriously. For all I know, I could’ve been seeing whatever crap Misonyk was thinking at the time.”
“Henry’s a mix of Nymar and shapeshifter, all right. I was close enough that I could feel it.” Paige had pulled apart the plastic plates and placed the Half Breed fur between them. Now that she was fastening the plates together, the whole thing looked like some sort of vest.
“Is that what I think it is?” Cole asked.
She grinned and nodded. Holding up the harness to show him, she said, “Standard level two body armor on either side, with a bit of goodness on the inside. Together, it’ll stop a few bullets, uncharmed blades, and even withstand a hell of a lot of punishment from claws and teeth of the supernatural variety. There’s a better way to put one of these together, but we don’t have time. This should hold up well enough to get me through the night. Since Henry is probably on his way to Misonyk, and Misonyk is probably trying to take over this area, it’s a safe bet that I’ll be wading into a whole lot of trouble.”
“I thought you said Nymar couldn’t take anyplace over,” Cole pointed out.
Paige shrugged and pulled the black plastic vest over her head. The two sets of black plates on front and back were sealed by a zipper, making it look like something worn by members of a SWAT team. She looked up and smiled at Cole in the rearview mirror. Even with all the layers of blood, sweat, and dirt coating her face, she still managed to look cute. “There’s always some crazy bastard who wants to make a play for the big time. It doesn’t mean they can actually pull it off. Chicago’s got a knack for attracting men like that.”
“Massacres and all,” Cole replied as he steered for the oncoming exit. “Why don’t the Nymar just take over the cities for real?” he asked. “I mean, they’re fast and strong.”
“Not fast and strong enough to go against the butt-load of guns that would be pointed at them by cops or the military if they made a move like that. Besides, there’s just not enough of them. If there’s one thing the Nymar know, it’s math. They need human blood to replace the blood their own spores burn up, so they need to keep humans around. They’re no better at internal power struggles than humans are, so the best solution is to keep their numbers limited.”
“Did you say ‘butt load’?” Cole asked
Paige shrugged and shared a laugh with him. “Technical term. You’d better get Walter on the phone.”
He slowed down while reaching over for the phone. After Walter picked up, Cole hit the button for the phone’s speaker and held it near the rearview mirror so everyone could have a nice little chat.
“Where the hell are you guys?” Walter asked.
“Almost there,” Cole replied.
“Has Henry showed up yet?” Paige asked.
Even though they were at opposite ends of the digital connection, Cole swore he could picture the expression on Walter’s face. “He’s supposed to be here and you’re not?” Walter snarled. “I’m not a fucking Skinner, remember? I’m doing this as a favor. I’m not about to hold off an army of vampires along with some freak job that rips through bodies like toilet paper! Have you checked your laptop lately? That diner’s on the news! There’s pictures on the Internet! They’re saying there was a grease fire, but I know dead Nymar when I see them. I should’ve known better than to put my ass on the line like this. Skinners attract this kind of gruesome crap like—”
“Take a breath,” Paige said. “We’re not going to leave you there on your own. In fact, we’re almost there! Will you at least be able to cover us from a distance? You still have that rifle, don’t you?”
After a pause, Walter said, “Yeah, but who’s gonna cover me?”
“I will,” Cole said. Noticing how Paige looked right back at him with genuine surprise on her face, he said to her, “Thought I’d save you the hassle of volunteering me.”