Dead and Kicking Read online

  “Harry! You’re okay! That’s a relief.” She dropped her gym bag inside the doorway and then ran to give me a hug. “I was so worried when I got your text and I couldn’t get away from the class I was teaching. That’s why I called Nash.”

  I stiffened in her arms. “Yeah, you seem to have no problem blabbing everything about me to him.”

  “What?! I…Harry!” Ignoring Tess completely, I brushed past Nash and hurried upstairs to my room.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming here tonight.” I frowned at Holly. At her insistence I was keeping my meeting with the Triad even though I was in no mood for werewolf politics. We stood outside The Lodge, the pack’s meeting place, a.k.a. party headquarters. Even growing up in an isolated community outside of the city, we had heard about The Lodge and the infamous parties that occurred there. Werewolves were notorious party animals, pun intended.

  Tess stood quietly on the other side of Holly. We hadn’t spoken since my little outburst and I was really in no mood to party even if I was dressed for it in a cute little Sherri Hill dress. Looking at The Lodge, I began to think the whole night would be a bust. It certainly didn’t look anything like I expected pack party central to look like. It was a dive bar and we were seriously over-dressed.

  Located out near the airport in an industrial park, The Lodge appeared to be housed in an old country roadhouse, complete with wooden shingle siding and a decaying wood-spoke wagon wheel hanging forlornly on the wall. It was wedged between two other apparently vacant buildings.

  “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” I looked at Holly who shrugged. I wasn’t expecting a big neon sign proclaiming “PARTY HERE” or anything, but I hadn’t been expecting a derelict building either. There weren’t even any vehicles parked nearby and despite the empty street, Holly had made us park around the corner. For all intents and purposes, it looked like an abandoned building.

  Tess pushed forward, striding towards the entrance. “Not everything is what is seems you know,” she muttered.

  With a shrug, Holly followed her. I didn’t really want to be left standing alone in that neighbourhood, so I hustled in on Holly’s heels.

  The inside pretty much matched the outside in terms of décor, the tacky western saloon theme unfortunately continued, although it appeared to be a great deal cleaner and the lighting wasn’t as dim as I expected. Despite its dated theme, you could tell that someone put an effort into maintaining the place, the wooden bar gleaming with polish. Maybe Tess was right, there was more to this place than what it seemed.

  There were several booths hugging the perimeter of the room but the main seating was either at the bar itself or at one of the checkered-cloth tables, scattered in no discernable pattern across the space. The room was about half full and the low buzz of conversation came to a halt when Holly and I walked in the door.

  I scanned the room. The faces didn’t look threatening, but they didn’t look all that friendly either. One in particular stared back at me, eyebrows raised in surprise. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Nash was stalking me; although I guess technically, he had arrived first this time. He grumbled something and an attractive woman behind the bar swatted him on the arm. Someone called out, “Hey look, fresh meat,” and his buddies guffawed along with him.

  Holly, always happy to be the centre of attention, and how could she not be when wearing a leopard print halter top and a very short leather mini skirt, beamed and pranced up to the bar, “That’s right boys, look out.” She winked at a grizzled old man in a worn jean jacket sitting near the bar.

  Tess rolled her eyes at me and I laughed, forgetting for a moment I was still supposed to be mad at her. She nodded to the woman drying glasses behind the bar. The tall brunette nodded back and said, “You’re late.” This seemed to be the cue to the rest of the room that we were accepted, because the tension eased and the buzz of conversation started up again.

  “I’m sorry,” Holly said, climbing onto a bar stool, “totally my fault. I couldn’t decide what to wear.” She held out her hand, “I’m Holly.”

  The striking woman behind the bar smiled and shook Holly’s hand. “Eileen, Eileen Nash.”

  Surprised, I looked over to the where Nash sat at the opposite end of the bar. He was married? I wasn’t sure why that bit of information should bother me, but it did.

  Just then, another slightly older, attractive brunette came out through the swinging saloon doors behind the bar, carrying a steaming bowl in each hand. A delicious scent followed her as she weaved her way through the tables and set the bowls down in front of an older couple, reminding me that I hadn’t really eaten much that evening. She wiped her hands on her apron and said, “Eat up. More where that came from,” and then headed back towards the bar.

  Eileen flagged her down and gestured to Holly. “Holly, this is my sister Christina. Christina, this is Holly and,” she paused, looking at me.

  “Harry. Harry Russo,” I sputtered.

  “Harry,” Eileen smiled like I had said something amusing, “and of course, you remember Tess.”

  “Tess! About time you came to visit. It’s been ages.” Christina pulled Tess into a quick hug. Tess smiled sheepishly at her and shrugged. Smiling, Christina turned her attention to Holly and me. The resemblance to her younger sister, despite the age difference, was uncanny. “Holly,” she nodded at Holly then turned to look at me appraisingly, “and Harry, a pleasure to finally meet you. My brother can’t stop talking about you.”

  “Your brother?” I stole another look towards the end of the bar where Nash sat scowling into his beer. “I’m sure whatever he had to say was less than flattering.” The sisters laughed and my stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.

  “Gracious!” Christina put a hand to her cheek in mock surprise. “You sound as hungry as a wolf.” She laughed at her own joke, then squeezed my hand. “Let’s get you some stew. It’s the house specialty. Don’t want you drinking on an empty stomach.” She turned and then disappeared through the tacky saloon doors.

  “Speaking of drinking,” Eileen pulled out a cloth and polished the already spotless bar in front of us, “what can I get you?”

  We all settled on beers which Eileen expertly poured from the tap and placed in front of us. As was usual any time we went out with Holly, it wasn’t long before she had gathered a little following of men around us. She was in her element, laughing and flirting, setting everyone at ease with her light banter.

  When a cute blonde extended his hand and introduced himself to me as Joe, I couldn’t help but notice the dark scowl on Nash’s face. He had been watching us, looking stormier by the minute. I was sure he thought I shouldn’t be there at all, seeing as how he seemed to believe that I was incapable of looking after myself. I began to take perverse pleasure in flirting with Joe, my hand resting on his arm after he made a particular witty remark, just to see Nash’s face get darker.

  During a lull in conversation, I looked around the bar. Something about the place was odd. Despite the fact that I’d noticed several more groups of people arrive since we sat down, the room never seemed to get any more crowded.

  I said as much to Joe who laughed and replied, “Since it’s your first time here, I guess you’ve never heard of the Ice House?”

  “The what?”

  “The Ice House. That’s where the real fun happens. The bar here is just the front, where the oldsters hang out and where you get some of Christina’s famous stew. But the real party is just getting started out back.” He gestured to the back of the room to a door I hadn’t noticed before. Werewolves were going through it in packs of two or three under the watchful eye of one of the biggest men I had ever seen. He was built like a tank, and now that I was paying attention, obviously acting as some sort of bouncer.

  Joe leaned in close and ran his
hand up my bare arm. “Do you like to dance?” he asked, his mouth close to my ear.

  Before I could reply, there was a loud crash as Nash pushed himself away from the bar. His fallen stool had narrowly missed tripping Christina, who was just walking past with three bowls of hot stew balanced precariously.

  Nash growled something then grabbed one of the bowls from Christina. He strode across the bar and the crowd around us parted. He clunked the bowl down in front of me and gruffly said, “Eat.” Christina paused for a moment with a look of surprise on her face then set the other two bowls down in front of Tess and Holly.

  “Mmmmm, smells delicious,” Holly exclaimed.

  Tess frowned, looking from the bowl in front of me to Nash and back again. She started to say something, but the look on Nash’s face made her bite her lip and quickly look away.

  “Oh for Pete’s sake!” I had no clue what was going on, but the stew smelled delicious and I was starving. I picked up my spoon and dug in. Nash stomped away and the crowd, which a moment ago had seemed to be collectively holding their breath, resumed its activity.

  ***

  The arrival of our food provided the cue to disperse Holly’s admirers. Even Joe had melted away with the crowd.

  “Oooo, did you see that hot guy with the beard?” Holly was talking a mile-a-minute and had barely touched her stew. “I can’t wait to check out his moves.” She gave me a little nudge and a wink. “And what about that Joe? He’s a hottie. I bet he can shake it on the dance floor.”

  On the other side of Holly, Tess muttered something that sounded like ‘ten-foot pole’.

  “What?” Holly turned on her stool to look at Tess.

  “Nothing.” Tess slid down from her seat. “I’m going to run to the Ladies’ while you finish up.”

  Something was definitely up with Tess. If I wasn’t already angry with her, I probably would have been worried and tried to find out what was wrong, but I was angry, so I didn’t.

  Holly on the other hand, shot me an exasperated look and hopped off her stool to follow Tess. “Tess, wait up. I’ll come with you.” She shot another glare my way and then hurried off after a quickly retreating Tess.

  “Good friends. They are a treasure.”

  The unfamiliar voice startled me and I turned to find a new face behind the bar, new, but somehow familiar. I looked around but neither Christina nor Eileen were anywhere to be seen. In fact, the area around us was suddenly deserted.

  “I…yes, they are. I’m sorry, do I know you?”

  The older woman laughed, her green eyes crinkling up at the corners. “We’ve met, but you were very young. I don’t think you would remember.” She extended her hand. “I’m Eleanor Nash. I knew your grandmother.”

  Another Nash! Now that she said it, I could see the family resemblance. Both Eileen and Christina had their mother’s elegant beauty. And those green eyes - I could see where her son had gotten his.

  “You knew Gran?”

  “Yes, we were friends for many years.” A look of sadness passed over her features. “I was very sorry to hear of her death,” she raised an eyebrow and looked at me, “if not her passing.”

  I frowned, thinking of Tess and the secrets she had betrayed.

  “Now, don’t be too hard on young Tess.” Her thoughts following mine, Eleanor reached out and squeezed my hand. “There isn’t much a young wolf can keep from her elders.” I felt a wave of power flow from her hand and the spidey-sense that allowed me to know such things started clanging loudly. Eleanor Nash was an extremely powerful werewolf. If she wasn’t the pack’s alpha, she was probably the next thing to it.

  Anger made me reckless, despite the show of power I just witnessed, and I replied, “So you made Tess spy on me?”

  “Spy? Nonsense. I prefer to think of it as helping me keep a promise to your grandmother.” She patted my hand again and I pulled it away warily. “Your grandmother and I grew up together much like you and Tess.”

  I snorted. Gran was over ninety when she died, that would make Eleanor much older than she appeared. Frowning, I looked at her more closely. Sure her hair was streaked with grey and she had the wrinkles time brought with middle age, but ninety?

  Eleanor laughed, her smile making her appear even younger. “It’s not polite to ask a lady her age, but surely you know we wolves are long-lived?”

  Determined not to be distracted from my anger, I huffed, “That doesn’t give you the right to meddle in other people’s lives. Why did Tess come to live with Gran and me? Was it so she could be your spy one day?” The more I thought about it, the more incensed I became.

  “I’ve already told you, Tess is not my spy.” Eleanor’s eyes became steely, but I was no wolf; I didn’t have to bow in subordination to her alpha. “Like you, Tess was an orphan; she needed a loving home. Yes, she could have been raised within the pack, but your grandmother was my friend and she was already raising another young girl. When she offered to take Tess out of friendship, I accepted.” She fixed me with a knowing stare. “Would you rather I had not?”

  “What?! No, of course not. Tess is my friend, more than my friend. She’s my sister.” I felt worse by the minute, thinking about how I had treated Tess earlier. I turned my anger outward to the real source of the recent trouble between Tess and me and glared at Eleanor. Damn wolf politics. Tess was no match for Eleanor’s alpha wolf status. She would have had no choice but to answer any questions Eleanor asked about me. “Why do you even care about me anyway? You, the Magister…suddenly I’m Miss Popularity.”

  Eleanor frowned. “I didn’t disagree with your grandmother about many things, but some decisions she made…” She paused and shook her head. “Ah well, a promise must be kept.” She patted my hand again in a motherly fashion. “I think deep down you know. Perhaps you aren’t yet ready to admit it even to yourself.”

  Now it was my turn to frown. Eleanor’s comments had come a little too close to the mark, but I pushed those thoughts aside, focusing on my anger instead. My life was my business and nobody else’s. And, I wasn’t going to stand by while Tess was forced to use our friendship to glean information for the pack.

  “No one uses my friends against me.” I said vehemently. “If you think you need to know something about me, do me the courtesy of asking me.”

  Eleanor arched an eyebrow. “You remind me of your grandmother. She was fiercely loyal to her friends and always stood up for herself too. I can see why my son is so interested in you.”

  Say what? Nash, interested in me? The only interest he had was in making my life difficult. I looked at Eleanor in surprise, speechless.

  “But here are your friends.” Eleanor gestured to where Holly and Tess stood unsure whether or not to approach. “You should go have fun.” Eleanor shooed me off.

  “I can’t. I’m supposed to meet with the Triad.”

  “You just did, dear.” Eleanor chuckled. “Well, at least one of them.”

  “You’re…but…” I looked at Eleanor in surprise.

  “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? Surely not as frightening as meeting the Magister.”

  I looked at Eleanor, remembering the wave of power I felt from her earlier, and replied, “I think you can be just as scary as the Magister when you want to.”

  “Yes, of course dear. It’s nice to know your grandmother didn’t raise a fool.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The party at the Ice House was in full force when we arrived. We didn’t have to go far to get there, just pass inspection by the bouncer appropriately named Tank, and walk through the door at the back of the bar. The door led to a small storage room that served as the entrance to the Ice House; an old, formerly refrigerated warehouse behind the building that housed The Lodge.

  The space itself was about the size of a hockey rink and could easily hold a couple hundred people. It was set up with a
large dance floor in the middle and a bar running down either side. At the far end of the dance floor there was a DJ booth and a few tables for those wanting to sit. At the opposite end, near where we entered, a pool hall of sorts had been set up with four big green-felted tables, a couple of dart boards and overhead lighting.

  Music blasted through the entire space, the throbbing beat so loud you could feel it pulse. No thrasher rock here; instead, it sounded like all the top 40 dance tunes were on the playlist.

  The crowd was almost completely made up of werewolves of indiscriminate age. Unlike vampires, werewolves tended to be insular, socializing amongst themselves, although I could sense a few fellow witches in the crowd. The one thing I was sure I wouldn’t find was a vampire. There were always some wolves wanting to push the envelope and party at Dante’s or one of the other vampire clubs downtown, but you would never find a vampire wanting to ‘slum it’ at a werewolf club, not that they would be allowed to in any case.

  The energy in the place was palpable and I shivered and took a deep breath, feeling it radiate over me in waves. I slammed my personal shields down against the onslaught, but even protected as I was, I could feel the energy taking hold, amping me up. It was seductive.

  “Let’s party!” I shouted over the music.

  “Woo eee!” Holly replied, as she grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd towards the bar. “Let’s fuel up. Then we dance our asses off!” She ordered three shots of tequila. We raised our shot glasses and I caught Tess’s eye.

  “To great friends who love you even when you act like a complete bitch.”

  Tess clinked her glass with mine and replied, “I’ll drink to that as long as you’re the bitch in the scenario.”

  “Yay! To friends!” shouted Holly. “Kiss and make up you two.”

  We tossed back our drinks and Tess and I threw our arms around each other, relieved that the rift between us was mended.