Until then, I'd have to make do. I raised my hand and raced toward them at a half run, hand held out in front of my body and a smile broad on my face. "Hey! Scotty! Louis! How you guys doing? Haven't seen you in forever!"

Airports are the place to meet up with people, so n.o.body even noticed another bunch of guys being surprised by an arriving pa.s.senger.

Scotty turned and his jaw dropped. The Louis-clone's eyes narrowed and I could tell he was thinking frantically, trying to figure out who I was and how he should respond. It took a couple of stammers before the kid responded. "Mr. Giodone. Um, sir. It's a . . . well, it's a real surprise to see you here."

He'd cut his hair short, keeping to the dress code Carmine insists on. He looked older than his fourteen .

. . or, no, he must be nearly fifteen now. He'd started young, taking his first life at six. But he still smelled of fresh yellow mustard, so at least I knew it was him. I grabbed him and wrapped him in a bear hug, rasping my fist against his hair in a big brotherly noogie that flat left him speechless.

Then it was the Louis-clone's turn. He did smell like Louis, sort of dry and dusty, but so did most of the snakes I'd met. He tried to back away from me, but I wouldn't have any of it. I threw open my arms, and twitched my fingers for him to come closer. "Aw, c'mon, you old reprobate. We go through this every time. Gimme a hug."

The light came on in his eyes, figuring that if it was what we always did, he should do it. When he smiled and threw his arms around me with a laugh, I saw the first glimmer of suspicion in Scotty's eyes. He wasn't sure who he was suspicious about yet, but there was a definite c.h.i.n.k in the armor.

Louis doesn't hug. Anyone, even girlfriends. He's that paranoid.

I backed away quick, so it didn't seem icky and clapped Scotty on the shoulder. "So, how's everything back home? Everybody good?"

He nodded, confused again. "Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess. Everybody's fine." Then he amended, probably figuring I hadn't heard. "Except, well, Carmine's a little under the weather. You might want to call and cheer him up."

A little under the weather. Now, there's an understatement. "Really?" I asked, completely innocently, all the while waiting for Sue to get me bubbly again. I'm not really good at it for very long. "Well, he's tough. He'll be better soon, I'm sure."

A moment later, I felt her in my head again. She might be late to the party, but when she came through, it was in spades. Geez! I almost forgot! Ask Louis about Carol. They're getting married, and he's thrilled. Can't talk about anything else lately, according to Linda.

I nodded a couple of times and then looked at the Louis-clone again. "So how's Caroline? You two still fighting? She move out yet?"

He paused for a moment, probably trying to remember if that was the right name. He decided to fake it, and that was his downfall. He shrugged. "Eh. You know. Some nights are worse than others."

Scotty's eyes narrowed and he glanced at me when the Louis-clone checked his watch. He was probably hoping to end this fast and get Scotty out the door. I nodded once, the smile off my face completely for that split second, and the deal was done.

Now the kid smiled too and I had to fight the laughter that tried to sneak out at what he said. "Gosh, Mr. Giodone. It was great to see you! We're headed out to the shuttles to get to my car. Want to come along and talk about old times?"

The Louis-clone didn't like that much. "We really don't have time, Scotty. We've got to pick up that package so I can get home."

I walked behind them and put an arm around each of their shoulders. "No time wasted. We're going in the same direction. I'm heading to the shuttles too."

Call my cell phone. Liz has it. Tell her not to follow me. I'll be back in thirty minutes, tops. If I don't show up, go to Plan B. We already discussed the details.

I didn't wait for a response. I shut down the connection with Sue and turned on my smile again. As we walked away, chatting like the old buddies we were all pretending to be, I saw Liz answer the call and nod, then put her thumb up in the air where I could see. Good girl.

I SAT NEXT to Scotty with Louis on the other side of him. My jacket was off now, both because it was too warm, and I would need it later. The shuttle was full, so looking squished together wasn't tough. About halfway to the lot, I nudged his thigh with a thumb and then made slapping motions with several fingers. He started sneezing all of a sudden and reached into his front pocket. The kid had a real handkerchief . .

. embroidered. I was betting it was a gift from Linda, but maybe a girlfriend. Either way, after he blew his nose lightly and started to tuck it in his pocket with an apology, I felt a pocket knife fall onto my hand. Yeah, I figured he had more than one blade. I cautiously slid it into my back pocket, all without the Louisclone realizing it.

When we reached the lot, Scotty called out, "J-ten, please."

It was probably the farthest lot from the building, and the farthest drop in the lot. That's what I'd do, anyway. The Louis-clone's eyes lit up, probably excited that they were going to be alone. I waited, talking fast until we were about six stops in and then said, "Shoot! That was my stop, back at A-eight. Oh, well. I'll just ride with you guys and then walk back. No big deal."

"You could get out at the next stop and not have to walk so far." The Louis-clone was sounding surly now, so Scotty had to jump in.

"No way! I'll give you a ride back, Mr. Giodone. There's no reason he can't tag along, is there, Mr. Perricone?"

Now, the Louis-clone wasn't stupid enough to not know what Scotty did for a living, so he probably expected a little paranoia. He changed his tune almost immediately. "Oh, you're right. Why not chat?

What's a few more minutes?"

So we chatted, and chatted, and chatted some more, until the whole bus was empty and the end of the lot was near. We talked sports and weather and even, ick, men's fashion. Finally we were at the stop. We got off together and stayed together until the bus left. Scotty pulled a set of car keys from his pocket. I was a little surprised he had a license. I was betting Carmine took care of that little problem for him with a fake ID.

"Okay," the Louis-clone said, clapping his hands once and rubbing them together with a smile. "Let's just get that box and I'll be on my way." I was thinking that he was either planning to kill us both, or just take the item and go, rather than risk not getting it at all.

"It's over on the next line." He raised his hand like he was going to beep the doors, but then shrugged when there was no answering tone. Hey, wait. I'd seen that key chain before, now that I looked at it closer. It was something Carmine had given to Linda years ago. The "door opener" was actually a switchblade. It opened straight out and locked like a push knife. Linda wound up hitting the b.u.t.ton by mistake once and sliced right through her favorite purse. She told Carmine thanks, but no thanks. No big surprise that it had found its way to the kid. Like Carmine said, he likes pointy things. In fact, his trademark as an a.s.sa.s.sin was to use a blade. As a kid, he could get close pretty easily and the little sicko likes to see the lights go out in a person's eyes.

We didn't have a signal, but like I say, he'd watched me for a long time when I was freelancing. I didn't realize it at first, but then I was sort of flattered, so I didn't care. I knew he wouldn't turn me in, because he had more strikes than I did.

I figured the only sign I needed to give him was to drop the persona, and I was right. My face went blank when the Louis-clone turned to walk toward the car and a second later, so did Scotty's. I opened the blade and then flipped the coat over the Louis-clone's head. Scotty dove low and knocked his legs out from under him. As a team, we weren't half bad. He didn't know about the head and heart thing, but when he drove his push blade upward between the guy's ribs, I slammed mine into his temple with enough force to get through the skull into the brain. It not only went to the hilt, I pushed the whole d.a.m.n thing inside the hole. If Scotty wanted it back, he'd have to dig it out.

There just flat wasn't time for the guy to respond with his magic, which I considered a plus. He might have kicked our collective a.s.s. His thrashing went suddenly still and Scotty tore off the coat down to his neck so he could watch that rare, beautiful sight. Except it wasn't Louis anymore and he smelled distinctly of snake . . . viper to be precise. The eyes with the light going out weren't green anymore, they were brown. It was the man Liz had described. The light had faded quickly with the application of the dual blades, silver or not, so Scotty didn't get to see much. My nice new jacket was soaking up the blood, and unless we dumped him over on the ground, n.o.body would ever know there'd been a murder here.

But Scotty's face was confused and I wasn't sure how I was going to explain that the guy we killed wasn't the guy he thought we were killing.

I could only think of one thing that he might buy. I'd used the coat over his head so I wouldn't touch his skin directly and get sucked inside a hindsight, but maybe there could be another reason. "That's why I covered his face, kid. He'd swallowed some sort of new drug so that every time he breathed, he was making everyone hallucinate. I heard you call him Mr. Perricone from up on the escalator, but I knew this wasn't him. I was just playing along with what you saw. Carmine told me about this new s.h.i.t. Said he was afraid the guy was part of that gang from Jersey, wanting revenge, and it looks like he was right."

He looked up at me, not really certain, so I slammed the ball out of the park. "Because, c'mon. Would the Louis you know ever miss a poker game? It's this weekend. I'll bet he's planning to bring a table into the hospital!"

That made him laugh and suddenly whatever I said was okay. He'd buy it. He'd buy it even more when it turned out I was right about the table in the room. He looked at me with something approaching awe as we picked the guy up and started to carry him to Scotty's car. "So this was a hitter from Jersey, looking for me? And Mr. Leone sent you to save my life? He's not mad at me?"

"Oh, no," I said honestly and with a stern face. "He's very mad at you. You f.u.c.ked up big time, kid. You never take a trophy from a job without his express order. This is what happens. I was told to beat the c.r.a.p out of you if I didn't think you had the proper respect. But-" I added with a generous air once we'd relieved the guy of the garrote in his pocket and had the body stashed in the trunk, "I think you just got your respect back. Near-death will do that to you. So we'll leave you with kneecaps. Carmine's willing to forgive and forget. Provided you give me the trophy to take to him." He hesitated and I shrugged. "Call him if you want to confirm it. I don't care. You have Mike's number, don't you? He'll hand Carmine the phone. I got my orders straight from his mouth this morning."

That was all she wrote. He knew full well I wouldn't bluff. Not using Carmine's name. He shook his head and opened the back door. "I'll be glad to get rid of it. It's been nothin' but trouble."

"Why'd you take it, anyway? Planning to p.a.w.n it?"

He handed me a plain cardboard shoe box, wrapped to look like a present. He could use lessons in gift wrapping. "Nah. It's probably not worth any money. It was gonna be a gift. For my girl."

Oh-ho! I'd forgotten he had a girlfriend. Must be some gold jewelry. Maybe a ring. "The one from last year? The hooker?"

He shook his head forcefully and there was a certain amount of pride that drifted over the mustard scent. "Yeah, but she don't do that any more. I sort of knocked her up." I let out a noise of disapproval, because even at his age, he should know better. But he added quickly, "It's okay. It was on purpose. We wanna start a family. We planned it this way. It was the only way her pimp would dump her. She's staying with her brother here in Jersey until she has the kid. Then we'll skip town and move in together. Her family don't like me much, but I'll be good to her and the kid. Mr. Leone will keep me working and said I could have that little apartment out by the pool."

I didn't doubt it. Family takes care of their own, even when it's a weird situation.

"Mrs. Leone said I should get her something pretty, to let her know I was serious. When I saw this, I decided it was perfect." He glanced at the trunk again. "But it wasn't worth it. Not by half. I'll find her something else. Maybe this guy has a few bucks in his wallet. I'll go to a real store and have them wrap it nice."

I opened the wrapping and then took off the lid. I was sort of expecting something fancy and gold, so this just sort of floored me. "A knife. You got your girl a knife? Not a ring or necklace?"

He turned serious as death. "Oh, Sally loves knives. Probably more than me. She's not a girly-girl who wears gold and silver and c.r.a.p. And you have to admit, it's really pretty."

It was, in a weird sort of way. The black obsidian blade was wide and probably six inches long. It had been chipped to a razor's edge and the patterns of the chips sort of resembled scales. The handle was bone, decorated with inset turquoise and what might be rubies or garnets.

I started to reach for it to take it from the box for a better look, but changed my mind when it started to glow. Another tentative finger toward it said this wasn't an ordinary knife. I could actually watch as my aura was pulled into the black blade while I sucked in my breath. It hurt. That couldn't be good.

Yeah, I might use a knife to kill the guys who cut Carmine, but it wouldn't be this knife. I didn't want it anywhere close to me. Plus, Scotty didn't need to know I'd been given the job, and especially with a blade. "Okay, then. I'll take this back, and you head back yourself. I give my word that n.o.body has a contract on you, except maybe for these goons and I'll see what I can do about that. Consider it a wedding gift."

"Man," he said, walking around to open his door. "You are something else, Mr. Giodone."

Another gift. "Call me Tony."

He beamed, and stayed that way until he dropped me off at the shuttle stop at the terminal.

Chapter Seventeen.

I SETTLED A paw into the cool water slowly, not making even a tiny splash. Birds of all descriptions were at the water's edge and I could see them gleam with near phosph.o.r.escence under the bright full moon.

Liz was somewhere over the ocean about now, being held in form by her grandfather. He was a right old grouch and I felt sort of sorry for her. His picture would be beside curmudgeon in the dictionary. Still, he had greeted Liz politely and commented that she looked very much like his late wife. His black hair had streaks of white that matched her animal form. She noticed it too and raised her brows at me in a How weird is that? sort of way when he wasn't looking. I thanked her for her help, not mentioning what help she gave in front of gramps and, on impulse, gave her a quick hug.

I got a hindsight flash that only lasted moments, but confirmed what her father had suspected. I whispered in her ear before I let her go. "You really did take down the tower. It's good you're doing this."

She smiled, shaky. It told me she remembered too, which often happens after a hindsight. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I'll get this under control. I promise." She turned to go, but then stopped. "Will I see you again?"

I winked. "You never know, kiddo. There's a whole new life out there for you. Almost anyone could show up in it."

Nigel had growled lightly and I decided to take that as a message. I raised my hand and smiled. "Sure. No problem. I'll send Lucas and Charles your regards, your Lordship."

He managed a really excellent harrumph but dipped his head in a brief nod after Liz preceded him into the skyway. He said more words then than he had the entire previous ten minutes. He stared after her for a long moment and I thought I might have seen a slip in his grumpy persona. Was that a twinge of affection? But then it was gone. "Thank you for delivering her safely. Having a young lady in my home will take some getting used to after so many years. But tell Charles I'll do my best."

I'd gotten a surprise after I watched the London-bound jet take off. Sue called to say she was also on board a plane, headed my way. When I asked why, she said it was a secret, and I couldn't even drag it out of her in my head.

And speaking of my head, I hadn't yet heard from Ahmad. It might be he couldn't find the cave, but I really needed to get some meat in me before anything weird happened. I didn't need to wake up in a cage somewhere because I pa.s.sed out in full view of the interstate.

Another slow step into the mud. There were both ducks and geese along the sh.o.r.e, heads tucked under their wings for the night. I don't really like the taste of Canada goose. Too greasy. But these were their smaller cousins-snow geese, and I was wondering if flying over that ocean on the way to their winter grounds wouldn't make them taste pretty good. A likely suspect was just on the other side of the reeds and cattails where I was chest deep in water. The cattails had exploded along ago, so with each movement I made through the tall stalks, fluffy seeds rained down on me and tried to go up my nose. I tried not to breathe, so I wouldn't sneeze.

The thick, succulent scent of bird shut down my higher brain functions and I felt my head go down, ready to pounce. With a sudden burst outward, I threw myself into the nesting birds and grabbed the wing of one goose before it could get away. It honked and squawked, but I soon silenced that. Then I was padding back to the hole under the tree root I'd found to use as a den to feast.

Sweet and warm and the feathers felt soft going down my throat.

Feathers? No, the rat had soft fur, not feathers. But it was soft and smooth as it slid down to my stomach. It wasn't enough for the night, but it was a start. The undergrowth down here was made for snakes. I was a little surprised I'd never visited before. There were a thousand places to lie in wait for small burrowing creatures, or I could hunt for a larger animal in the trees. Most cobras couldn't climb trees, but I'd always been able to.

I needed to find the cave to talk to the wolf, but eating had to come first. I wondered where Tuli had gone. She'd disappeared shortly after the incident in the shower.

She'd been talking to Nasil when I arrived back from the temple. I confirmed that the inner chamber was indeed empty and speculated that perhaps someone in their group had betrayed them, believing they could raise Marduc without their help.

They'd answered simultaneously, and anger rose from them in a cloud of choking sweetness. "Paolo."

Nasil started to storm around the camp, looking for any doc.u.ments he could find that might say where they'd gone. He suggested that we go to hunt and he'd find gasoline and supplies so we could take off before morning. He just had to find out where the traitors had gone.

I'd still, as Tuli had less-than-affectionately referred to it, stank of challenge, as well as smoke from the brakes and from the village. While the roofs had burned and the buildings were open to the air, the plumbing still functioned. I decided to avail myself of the shower before the hunt.

I found myself enjoying the feeling of the warm water under the night sky, which was how Tuli managed to watch me for so long without my realizing it. I turned with the unscented soap my father favored still in my hair and saw her there, eyes gleaming and body naked under the moon. I let the water run until my hair was clean and then spoke. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like."

She didn't speak, just shook her head. But she didn't leave either. It was difficult not to respond to the scent and sight of her, so I didn't bother to try to hide it when my body reacted to her presence. I glanced down at the erection jutting out and gave her a small smile. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to relieve this before I change forms. You might wish to leave if you don't want to partic.i.p.ate."

Still she didn't move. Her eyes glowed even brighter until it seemed her body would disappear inside them. There was something extremely erotic about the thought of her watching me take pleasure, so I closed my eyes and began to stroke my length. The soap was slick in my hand and as I let out a small hiss of pleasure, she returned it, only louder. It sent my heart racing and I stroked myself with abandon, back pressed against the wall while water rained down on me. It wasn't long before a shudder overtook me and I climaxed onto the water-soaked floor. When my breathing slowed after a moment, I opened my eyes. She was gone, the towel she'd been holding discarded on the ground. But the taste of her arousal was heavy on the air, which made it all the more curious that she continued to deny her pa.s.sion. Yet, it was oddly satisfying, the effect I was having on her.

And she on me.

I slithered through the leaves again, feeling each rock and twig against my belly. Another mouse fell prey to my fangs when I struck out into a hole where I'd seen movement. It was small, not at all like the rat, but added to the meat in my stomach. But now I sought larger prey, so I went on the hunt.

An odd sound found my ears so I went to investigate. It was like a strangled cough, which often means easy food. But when I tasted the air, I found Tuli's sweet honey and nuts, the exact flavor of baklava on the wind. But it was blended with panic, and that hurried my movements.

She'd found dinner-a large rodent of some sort, with russet fur and a short stubby tail. But something had gone wrong and the beast was upside down in her wide open jaw. She'd also been too anxious to feed and hadn't waited until it was dead. The prey was still alive, and was kicking frantically upward, trying to free itself from her pulling muscles. One leg was already impaled on her fang, but was continuing to kick. It was going to break off the tooth if she wasn't careful. But she couldn't even bite down again to still the frantic motions. I slithered out and her eyes saw the movement. That's when I noticed the other problem. The animal must have front teeth and it was trying to chew its way out of her from the inside. It could damage her lungs or even worse. She would eventually manage to free herself and feed, but she would be too injured tomorrow to travel.

"Remain still," I whispered and slithered up alongside her. She needed to roll over so I could bite through her skin to paralyze the rodent. But the beast was wide and fat and she couldn't turn. The only hope I had was to wrap around her and physically force her over. "Close your eyes and try to relax."

She did and the scent of both fear and relief blended on my tongue. I worked my way around her tail, then slowly began to travel upward. Around and around I coiled, letting myself enjoy the sensation of her scales on mine. There was no reason this had to be a painful process. When I reached the thinnest part of her throat, the membrane just behind her jaw, I paused. "I'm going to kill it now. Do you want it out of you after, or want to feed?"

Out. The word was clear to my ears, but I couldn't fathom how she'd said it with her mouth full. Still, if that was her choice, it was easy enough. I slowly pierced her skin with my fangs and felt a little shiver run over her as I did. I pressed forward farther and felt another pierce, followed by thick meat. It was a good meal and would probably have been the only one she'd needed tonight. But some things aren't meant to be.

I struck forward hard, felt the venom pump into the furred body. The death was sudden, taking no more than a few seconds. Such is Sazi poison. Then I started to convulse my muscles, pushing upward from her stomach to her mouth. I felt her relax under me, so that her jaw teeth that held the animal and firmly pulled it inch by inch to her stomach would release the prey as I pushed. Since it wasn't very far down, it only took a few slow stroking motions to move the animal up out of her mouth once I'd pulled the leg loose from her fang. After it was disgorged, she could breathe properly again. Somehow her windpipe hadn't moved forward like it should so she could breathe. A series of misfortunes.

"Are you all right?" I relaxed my coils, but left myself wrapped around her until the trembling of her muscles ceased.

She moved her jaw up and down and flicked her tongue against her fang. "I will be in a moment. That wasn't the way I'd planned the meal."

I let out a hissing chuckle. "It never is. That's why they call it hunting, and not catching."

We remained like that for long moments, until I felt the warmth of her body start to heat mine too. I'm fully capable of s.e.x in either form, but she'd already said no twice. I nuzzled my mouth against hers, enjoying the slick feel of her scales. "Shall I leave you to your dinner now, or are you enjoying this as much as I?"

She didn't answer with words. Instead, she just slipped her tail around mine and tightened the coil. I hadn't realized quite where my coil was, but my erection was abruptly inside her. The same muscles that pulled her dinner in worked on me and I couldn't resist the contractions that dragged me in. There were no words, just our bodies twisting and turning around each other on the soft leaves. At some unspoken signal, we shifted forms simultaneously and then my mouth was on hers and my hands were caressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s while her fingers dug into my back. She moved against me hungrily and it was difficult to imagine that I'd only relieved this need an hour ago.

"I've never gotten over the desire to feel you under me." The whispered words came out of me unbidden, but they were the truth. Every other lover had been compared to Tuli, and all had been found lacking.

She bit my neck as I felt her muscles start to contract around me. Another venom-filled bite punctured my skin and then a word filled my ears. "Ahmad." It was a whisper and a hiss and I let her revel in her climax while I flooded her body with tickling, stinging magic and traced my tongue down her frantic pulse.

I followed her into the abyss moments later and then collapsed on top of her while she laughed lightly.

I stroked my fingers through her long hair, removing some of the leaves clinging to the strands. "There. Was that so terrible?"

She sighed. "It probably will be later. But let's not think about that now. Just hold me for a few more minutes. Then I'll need to find a new dinner." She glanced down at the rodent that had caused her so much trouble. "This one has lost its appeal."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

WOLF. CAN YOU hear me, wolf?