Dead as a Doornail
grass.
It didn’t seem right to knock at a business door, so I slipped inside. Two people were ahead of me, having crossed the now-empty reception area. They passed through plain gray double doors. I followed them, wondering what I was getting into.
We entered what had been the manufacturing area, I suppose; the huge presses were long gone. Or maybe this cavern of a room had been full of desks manned by clerks taking orders or doing accounting work. Skylights in the roof let in some illumination. There was a cluster of people close to the middle of the space.
Well, I hadn’t gotten the clothes thing right. The women were mostly wearing nicer pants outfits, and I glimpsed adress here and there. I shrugged. Who could have known?
There were a few people in the crowd I hadn’t seen at the funeral. I nodded at a red-haired Were named Amanda (I knew her from the Witch War), and she nodded back. I was surprised to spot Claudine and Claude. The twins looked marvelous, as always. Claudine was wearing a deep green sweater and black pants, and Claude was wearing a black sweater and deep green pants. The effect was striking. Since the two fairies were the only obvious non-Weres in attendance, I went to stand with them.
Claudine bent and kissed me on the cheek, and so did Claude. Their kisses felt exactly the same.
“What’s going to happen?” I whispered the question because the group was abnormally quiet. I could see things hanging from the ceiling, but in the poor light I couldn’t imagine what they were.
“There will be several tests,” Claudine murmured. “You’re not much of a screamer, right?”
I never had been, but I wondered if I’d break new ground today.
A door opened on the far side of the room, and Jackson Herveaux and Patrick Furnan came in. They were naked. Having seen very few men naked, I didn’t have much basis for comparison, but I have to say that these two Weres weren’t my ideal. Jackson, though certainly fit, was an older man with skinny legs, and Patrick (though he, too, looked strong and muscular) was barrel-like in form.
After I’d adjusted to the nakedness of the men, I noticed that each was accompanied by another Were. Alcide followed his father, and a young blond man trailed Patrick. Alcide and the blond Were remained fully clothed. “It would’ve been nice if they’d been naked, huh?” Claudine whispered, nodding at the younger men. “They’re the seconds.”
Like in a duel. I looked to see if they carried pistols or swords, but their hands were empty.
I noticed Christine only when she went to the front of the crowd. She reached above her head and clapped her hands one time. There hadn’t been much chatter before this, but now the huge space fell completely silent. The delicate woman with her silver hair commanded all attention.
She consulted a booklet before she began. “We meet to discern the next leader of the Shreveport pack, also called the Long Tooth pack. To be the leader of the pack, these Weres must compete in three tests.” Christine paused to look down at the book.
Three was a good mystical number. I would have expected three.
I hoped none of these tests involved blood. Fat chance.
“The first test is the test of agility.” Christine gestured behind her at a roped-off area. It looked like a giant playground in the dim light. “Then the test of endurance.” She pointed at a carpeted area to her left. “Then the test of might in battle.” She waved a hand at a structure behind her.
So much for no blood.
“Then the winner must mate with another Were, to ensure the survival of the pack.”
I sure hoped part four would be symbolic. After all, Patrick Furnan had a wife, who was standing apart with a group that was definitely pro-Patrick.
That seemed like four tests to me, not three, unless the mating part was kind of like the winner’s trophy.
Claude and Claudine took my hands and gave them a simultaneous squeeze. “This is gonna be bad,” I whispered, and they nodded in unison.
I saw two uniformed paramedics standing toward the back of the crowd. They were both shifters of some kind,their brain patterns told me. With them was a person—well, maybe a creature—I hadn’t seen for months: Dr. Ludwig. She caught my eye and bowed to me. Since she was around three feet tall, she didn’t have far to lean. I bowed back. Dr. Ludwig had a large nose, olive skin, and thick wavy brown hair. I was glad she was there. I had no idea what Dr. Ludwig
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