The Night Beat

call it, it’s still worse than butt-ugly.”
    “It’s also incredibly dangerous,” Benny said. He shook his head. “I told Cotton to lock this away.”
    “Shocker alert, he didn’t. However, at least it’s in our possession now.”
    “It needs to be destroyed,” Ralph snapped.
    “No, no, no!” Benny seemed freaked by the idea. “You want to destroy all your race?”
    “No, but you yourself said that thing could do it.” Ralph growled. “What do you suggest we do with it?”
    “It needs to be contained,” Benny said, with forced patience clearly showing. “If you destroy it, it’ll pull out all the were in the wolf, so to speak. You’ll all lose your abilities to switch forms and be stuck in whatever form you happen to be in when the idol is destroyed.”
    Ralph and I exchanged another look. “You always stay in wolf, I’m usually in human.”
    He nodded. “No way to mate, ever.” He growled again. “I loathe these beings.”
    “It gets better,” Benny said. “Without the power from this idol, werewolves as a race would start weakening. Oh, not immediately, but over time.”
    “I thought it was evil.”
    “It is.” Benny sighed. “Think about it.”
    “I mean, I thought whatshisname was contained and all that, and that he was the evil one.”
    “Adlet,” Ralph said shortly. “I told you, what, five minutes ago?”
    “Longer than that, but whatever.”
    “He is contained,” Benny said. “However, this was a being who wanted all the werewolves under his control or dead. Legend has it that as he was overthrown he passed a curse, that if he was fully destroyed, he’d take the rest of the werewolves with him.”
    “That must be why Black Wolf chose a totem instead of complete annihilation.”
    “Most likely.” Benny sighed. “We need to get this thing locked away where no minion can ever touch it. Same with most of these items. Singly they’re horrific enough. Put together they could end everything tonight.”
    “What’s with the bag of marbles?”
    “Representation of every inhabited world in the known planes of existence. Destroy the marble --”
    “Destroy the world. Got it.”
    “Right. Miss Wolfe, we need to get to someplace safe.”
    “There is no place safe, really. And call me Victoria or whatever nickname from that you like.” I thought about this. There really wasn’t a safe haven. It was going to come down to us protecting a big bag full of life-as-we-know-it ending items in whatever way we could. “They blocked us in here, but didn’t follow. Why?”
    “Who?” Benny asked.
    “The minions trailing us,” Ralph answered. “And I’d guess because they either knew where we were going and planned to meet us there, or there’s something worse up here waiting for us.”
    I hit my wrist-com. “Monty, where’s Dirt Corps, exactly?”
    “Waiting for your signal to attack. No idea what they should be attacking, by the way.”
    “Me either. Makes it more fun. I’d like Dirt Corps to swarm randomly all over the Estates, then head to the convergence chasm, preferably leading as many minions away from the Estates as possible.”
    “Why?” This was asked by all three males within my hearing.
    “Because I’d like us to be as alone as possible for a while.”
    “Is now really the time for you and Ralph to make that relationship commitment?”
    “I hope not,” Benny interjected. “Because I’m not in the mood to watch and I don’t know who could be in the mood to actively participate at this precise time.”
    “You have company?” Monty asked.
    “Benny the Fence. You okay with that?”
    “Yes, always checked out as clean.”
    “I should hope so!” Benny sounded offended.
    “Benny, I think we mentioned that we’ve had an eventful few days, filled with chaos, complicity and betrayal?”
    “Fine, fine,” he huffed. “But I still want to know why you’re trying to send what sounded like protection and backup away from us.”
    “Because I want to get up close and personal with my God. Or at least, some of his representatives.”

Chapter 67
     
    Dirt Corps did as requested. As a variety of undeads swarmed all over the Estates, I had Benny open Nero’s garage door so I could store our car. Then the three of us and our bag of evil goodies went into the house.
    Ralph and I did a fast check for Nero or any other unsavory beings. We found nothing, literally.
    “I think you’re going to have to find another transient tenant,” I said to Benny as