The Night Beat

didn’t necessarily have all the smarts in the world. But their lack of intelligence was overcompensated for by their innate, total viciousness. Still, were they really this stupid?
    He kicked at me. So maybe yes. I could bite his legs, but that was going to move me into a more precarious position than I was already in and I’d have a better chance of success in wolf form -- and I needed to stay in werewolf in order to ensure I didn’t lose hold of Jack. I went back for his throat.
    “Let go of me, or I’ll take you to Hell with me right now.”
    It seemed an idle threat, considering we were still flying in the air and not heading towards much other than maybe the moon. It was getting chilly, but werewolves don’t feel the cold all that much. Fur’s a great insulator.
    However, I was still a cop, and I wanted some answers. I switched back to human and flipped around onto his back, arm locked around his throat again. “I wonder how you could actually do that.”
    “You promised yourself to me, on sanctified ground.”
    “And you’re about the most unsanctified thing on any plane of existence, so how would that affect me?”
    “Your promise ties you to me -- forever.”
    “Right. If you’re really all that I think you are, you’re also my biological father. Can we just say that the gross-out factor is beyond high and then follow that up with a ‘no way, José’ comeback?”
    “You love me.”
    “No. I was in love with Jack Wagner. I don’t know what you’ve done to him, if you were always a part of him or not, but he’s not there any more. Looking like him and being him aren’t the same thing.”
    His body started jerking around, like it was fighting something other than me. The body changed, too, going back and forth into a variety of forms. It was creepy to watch and worse to hold on to, but I didn’t let go. It also looked like it was healing itself, which was a real disappointment on a variety of levels.
    Jack’s face was back, but the body was that of the Adversary’s favorite monster from Hell form. The head turned around, so it was facing me. Considering I was on its back, this was nauseating and vile.
    Jack’s eyes were wide. “Vic -- help me!”
    “You’re not Jack.”
    “Yes, I am! What’s going on? Why are you doing this to me?”
    “I’m not doing anything to you that you don’t deserve.”
    The body was still jerking and writhing, giving all the indications an internal fight of some kind was going on. I felt the claw of doubt run over my spine.
    Jack looked more like he always had, albeit terrified. “Help me,” he whispered. “Please, help me.”
    “Tell me how long you’ve been a part of the Adversary.”
    “I…I don’t know.” He closed his eyes as he winced in what sure looked like pain. “Vic, you have to believe me.” He opened his eyes and they were really Jack’s eyes. “I love you. I always have.”
    My throat felt tight. “But…you’re evil.”
    “Help me. You’re the only one who can save me, I know it.”
    He looked sincere, and if I didn’t look lower than his neck, just like the Jack I’d been partnered with for a year. The guy who was so male that he made everyone else look wimpy by comparison. Maybe he was telling me the truth -- maybe Jack was taken over by the Adversary when I bit him. Maybe he was still in there, and I could save him.
    Jack’s face disappeared and Little Harp’s made the scene. “Come home, you hellion child! Your mother cries for you every night. You belong with us, on the dais with the Prince himself. I, your father, order it.”
    “Wow, I guess it’s because you killed every sibling of mine before they could walk so you’ve never dealt with a teenager or anyone older. But, seriously, that ‘because I said so’ thing doesn’t work, pretty much ever.”
    His eyes narrowed. Didn’t look a thing like Jack’s. The claw of doubt tapped my shoulder. “We will give you the being you want, separate from us, if you return. You shall have him, as his own entity, as yours, for eternity.”
    “How could you possibly do that?” I tried not to wonder if it would really be Jack, but I couldn’t help it. Wolves were monogamous, and I’d given myself to him well before we’d actually acknowledged the relationship.
    “As we did it before,” Little Harp answered, almost kindly. The body moved to match the head, and his arms were around me, but he wasn’t trying to hurt me. “We will be father to you, and he will