The Night Beat

mother in a total girl fight. Happily, Sexy Cindy still had enough street in her to really have the upper hand.
    I got the Adversary’s neck and chomped down hard. He did the shake and bake thing, but if Slimy hadn’t been able to shake me off, Daddy Dearest wasn’t going to manage it.
    However, Apollyon and Abaddon decided to get involved. One grabbed me and one grabbed Ralph -- both pulled hard. This was almost helpful, in that we both had our jaws locked and they were essentially helping us take chunks out of the Adversary. However, it wasn’t good for either one of us to be held by a major minion -- I could feel my skin and insides starting to get hot. Soon they’d be boiling, and it was hard to make that stop once started.
    Ralph and I let go at the same time, which sent the Adversary flying backwards. I changed to full wolf, bit and clawed, and managed to get Apollyon to loosen his hold enough that I could scrabble away. I slammed into Abaddon which gave Ralph the opportunity to escape as well.
    We fell back, side-by-side, both in full snarling mode. There was plenty of other activity, including what I was pretty sure were some of our witches and warlocks casting counter-spells that seemed to be working, if some of the darkness falling away from the glass ceiling was any indication. So our side wasn’t down and out yet. Good.
    Hitler wasn’t around. Neither were any other minions, other than the Three A’s. This was unsettling. I had no idea where they’d gone or what they were doing, but before I could ask anyone for a fast debrief, Abaddon pointed his Hellfired crossbow at me.
    “If you will not join us as decreed,” Abaddon intoned in that reverberating way the major minions loved to do for any group of beings larger than two, “then you will perish.”
    I readied myself to jump. I had to time it right, because I didn’t want to leap into Apollyon’s sword, the Adversary’s arms, or into the path of the arrow, and Abaddon had top minion reflexes, meaning he could follow me if I leaped too soon. I also didn’t want Ralph or anyone else to get the arrow instead of me.
    Of course, what I wanted wasn’t always on the menu. As Abaddon twitched, indicating to my canine senses that he was about to fire, and as I readied myself to leap, I heard the last thing I wanted to.
    “Vic, look out!” Jack flung himself in front of me, as Abaddon pulled the trigger and Ralph leaped for Abaddon’s throat.
    Ralph hit and the crossbow went flying. I shifted to human and caught Jack as he went down. The arrow was in his chest.
    “Jack, no. You weren’t supposed to get in the way.” I tried not to cry, but didn’t manage it too well.
    He gave me a half-smile. “Sorry. Had to protect…my girl,” he gasped out. “Guess forever wasn’t very long, huh?”
    He was dying, I didn’t need werewolf senses to tell me that. But for some reason, all my senses were hyper-aware. I could tell the minions had left for whatever reason. The building wasn’t a cage any more -- light was coming in and I could hear beings going in and out, carrying wounded, doing cleansing spell, shouting orders here and there. Ralph, Sexy Cindy and the others were gathering around us, but no one was speaking.
    “I can make it longer,” I whispered. Then I shifted to werewolf form and bit his throat.

Chapter 55
     
    As I watched Jack’s face go from pain to shock to the pasty-white I knew meant he was dying and being reborn undead, I heard Ken’s voice, shouting something.
    “It’s okay,” I murmured to Jack as I pulled the arrow out of his chest. “Just tell me when you’re hungry.”
    Someone’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Vic, what did you do?” Ken sounded freaked out beyond belief.
    “He was dying. I bit him.” That sounded lame, but it was the truth.
    “You shouldn’t have done that,” Ken said. “No one was here to check, to make sure --”
    “To make sure the man who sacrificed himself to save me isn’t evil?” I snarled. As I looked up at Ken’s face I remembered that we had a mole, and there was no guarantee Ken wasn’t said turncoat. Maybe he didn’t want me turning Jack into a werewolf because that wasn’t in the bad guy’s plans.
    Ken shook his head. “No, Vic. You know better than that.”
    “Do I?” I clutched Jack to me. “How do I know you’re really on the side of good?”
    Ken stared at me. “What are you talking about?”
    “We have a mole. Someone knew what we were doing and