Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

I’d learned a lot there, more than I’d expected—and nothing that would help me find Littleton. I’d no idea where the other vampire menageries were, and even if I did, I doubted that the sorcerer would be living with his master—assuming Littleton’s maker was one of Marsilia’s vampires.
    There were any number of vampires who might have made the sorcerer to cause trouble for Marsilia. Or a vampire from another seethe might have noticed the trouble she was in, and sent the sorcerer to soften the seethe up in preparation for a hostile takeover.
    All of that was Marsilia’s problem and not mine. I needed to find out where the sorcerer was.
    I was fully engaged in fruitless speculation and it wasn’t until I was guiding the Rabbit down the twisty drop from the hills back down into the alluvial plain of east Kennewick that I realized I’d driven halfway home.
    Maybe Warren knew what had sent Adam and Samuel after Littleton. I headed for Adam’s house. It had only been a few hours but werewolves heal very fast once they’re able to change.
    The werewolf I’d had to argue with last night was back on door duty, but he dropped his eyes and opened the front door without arguing. There were a few of the pack draped over the couches in the living room, but no one I was particularly friendly with.
    â€œMercy?”
    Jesse was in the kitchen, a cup of hot chocolate clutched in her hands.
    â€œHas your father or Samuel called?” I asked, though the answer was obvious from her face.
    She shook her head. “Darryl said you were looking for them.” Her tone asked me a whole slew of questions. What kind of danger was her father in? Why was it me looking for him and not the whole pack?
    â€œHow is Warren?” I asked because I didn’t have any answers I wanted to tell Adam’s daughter.
    â€œStill bad,” she told me. “Darryl is worried he’s not going to make it because he’s not healing like he should be, and he won’t eat.
    â€œI need to see if I can talk with him.”
    I left Jesse to her cocoa and her worries.
    The door to the basement was shut, but I opened it without knocking. Anyone likely to be in the room, with the possible exception of Kyle, would have heard me talking to Jesse. Darryl’s dark eyes met mine from the rocking chair he sat in. I stood in the doorway and stared into his eyes.
    â€œMercy?” Kyle’s voice was strained and he sounded almost as tired as I felt.
    â€œJust a moment,” I murmured without taking my eyes off of Darryl. I don’t know why he felt he had to challenge me right now—but I didn’t want to be taking orders from him today.
    Finally Darryl looked down. It wasn’t submissive as much as it was dismissive, but it was good enough for me. I turned away from him without a word and walked over to the barred wall that Kyle was still leaning against.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Kyle asked.
    â€œStupid werewolf games.” I crouched in front of the cage door. Warren had changed back into human form. He was curled up with his back to us. Someone had thrown a blanket over him. “Darryl’s just a little confused right now.”
    Darryl snorted.
    I didn’t look at him but I felt my lips curl in sympathy. “Following a coyote would stick in any wolf ’s craw,” I said. “Sitting around when there’s things that need doing is worse. If Darryl were a lesser wolf, he’d have killed me when I walked into the room.”
    Darryl’s snort evolved into an honest laugh. “You’re not in any danger from me, Mercy. Confused though I might be.”
    I risked a glance and relaxed because Darryl’d lost the look of lazy readiness and appeared merely exhausted.
    I smiled at him. “Can Warren talk?”
    Darryl shook his head. “Samuel said he thought it would be a few days. Apparently there was some damage to his throat. I don’t know what effect changing had on his prognosis. He won’t eat.”
    â€œHe talked in his sleep,” Kyle told me.
    He was watching Darryl without bothering to conceal his dislike. Darryl had always had a problem with Warren, even before he’d found out Warren wasn’t subservient to him. Dominant wolves were always prickly around each other, unless one of them was the Alpha. It meant that Darryl tended to be nastily autocratic when Warren was around.
    â€œWhat did he