face.
Natividad was saying, “We only got out of it by luck! And maybe a little because I don’t think they really expected me to use Pure magic the way I did.”
Ezekiel gave her a small nod. “We shall keep you clear of traps in the future, I hope. And now that we know about these harpoon guns, I promise you, I shall be cautious. We shall think of a useful counter. We may well depend on you for that, in fact.” He glanced back at Grayson Lanning. “And Thaddeus? I hope he’s been having a less adventurous time?”
Another name, when he’d already had more than enough to remember. Justin half shut his eyes and repeated all these new names to himself, setting them firmly in his memory.
Grayson inclined his head. “Fortunately, we have had an ordinary report from Thaddeus. He and his team have come across nothing unusual in the Chicago region. An ambitious black dog, yes, with the nascent beginnings of a pack. But that pack has been broken back into scattered strays. We will deal with them when we find ourselves at leisure.”
Ezekiel made a wordless, satisfied sound. “Andrew and Russell?”
“Thaddeus reports no difficulties. They perform well. Their control appears adequate. Of course, DeAnn is with them.”
Ezekiel nodded.
“The master of the little pack was taken alive,” Grayson added. “I am informed that DeAnn performed the Beschwichtigand on him. We may find him a useful asset for Dimilioc, as he was able to hold the beginnings of a pack.”
“More likely he’ll eventually prove a problem for Dimilioc, Beschwichtigand or not,” said Ezekiel, his tone indifferent. “They aren’t all going to be like Thaddeus.”
Grayson shrugged. “You can always kill him, if he proves difficult. Or I will do it, if you are not here.”
This was murder they were talking about—deliberate murder. Bringing a powerful werewolf here and deciding whether or not to kill him. Justin had known they were talking about killing other werewolves, all that stuff about that pack has been broken , but he hadn’t really felt the truth of it until Grayson Lanning said in that same indifferent tone, You can always kill him if he proves difficult .
Or was it really murder when werewolves killed each other? Justin rubbed his hands along his arms, his skin prickling. He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything about werewolves or anything . He felt his own ignorance as though it were a burden he’d carried all his life, never noticing its weight until he suddenly found it pressing him down.
Ezekiel had started to nod with the same indifference, but he paused, his cool blue eyes narrowing. “Where would I be, if not here?”
Grayson gave him a heavy-lidded look. “We have also heard from Étienne. I would not say he has come across anything excessively unusual. However, he is nevertheless encountering some difficulty in re-establishing our outpost in Denver. I had hoped to reclaim our gateway to the west before the end of the year. At Étienne’s current rate of progress, that will not be possible.”
“He didn’t take enough wolves with him,” Ezekiel said, his tone matter-of-fact.
“He took whom we could spare,” Grayson said flatly. “He is strong and experienced, and perhaps one or another of his Lumondiere cousins survived, and will hear he is there and go to join him.”
“In which case, he will establish an outpost of Lumondiere, rather than Dimilioc.”
“Dimilioc, Lumondiere.” Grayson brushed aside this distinction, whatever it comprised, with a flick of one powerful hand. “I actually do not care. I would like to send him one or two more black wolves. But I have none I can spare. I intended to send you —for ten days, two weeks, a month. However long proved sufficient to let Étienne establish firm control over that entire region. But now I do not know. This problem in Boston concerns me. We shall discuss this. We shall discuss all these matters.”
Ezekiel met Grayson’s eyes, then inclined
Natividad was saying, “We only got out of it by luck! And maybe a little because I don’t think they really expected me to use Pure magic the way I did.”
Ezekiel gave her a small nod. “We shall keep you clear of traps in the future, I hope. And now that we know about these harpoon guns, I promise you, I shall be cautious. We shall think of a useful counter. We may well depend on you for that, in fact.” He glanced back at Grayson Lanning. “And Thaddeus? I hope he’s been having a less adventurous time?”
Another name, when he’d already had more than enough to remember. Justin half shut his eyes and repeated all these new names to himself, setting them firmly in his memory.
Grayson inclined his head. “Fortunately, we have had an ordinary report from Thaddeus. He and his team have come across nothing unusual in the Chicago region. An ambitious black dog, yes, with the nascent beginnings of a pack. But that pack has been broken back into scattered strays. We will deal with them when we find ourselves at leisure.”
Ezekiel made a wordless, satisfied sound. “Andrew and Russell?”
“Thaddeus reports no difficulties. They perform well. Their control appears adequate. Of course, DeAnn is with them.”
Ezekiel nodded.
“The master of the little pack was taken alive,” Grayson added. “I am informed that DeAnn performed the Beschwichtigand on him. We may find him a useful asset for Dimilioc, as he was able to hold the beginnings of a pack.”
“More likely he’ll eventually prove a problem for Dimilioc, Beschwichtigand or not,” said Ezekiel, his tone indifferent. “They aren’t all going to be like Thaddeus.”
Grayson shrugged. “You can always kill him, if he proves difficult. Or I will do it, if you are not here.”
This was murder they were talking about—deliberate murder. Bringing a powerful werewolf here and deciding whether or not to kill him. Justin had known they were talking about killing other werewolves, all that stuff about that pack has been broken , but he hadn’t really felt the truth of it until Grayson Lanning said in that same indifferent tone, You can always kill him if he proves difficult .
Or was it really murder when werewolves killed each other? Justin rubbed his hands along his arms, his skin prickling. He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything about werewolves or anything . He felt his own ignorance as though it were a burden he’d carried all his life, never noticing its weight until he suddenly found it pressing him down.
Ezekiel had started to nod with the same indifference, but he paused, his cool blue eyes narrowing. “Where would I be, if not here?”
Grayson gave him a heavy-lidded look. “We have also heard from Étienne. I would not say he has come across anything excessively unusual. However, he is nevertheless encountering some difficulty in re-establishing our outpost in Denver. I had hoped to reclaim our gateway to the west before the end of the year. At Étienne’s current rate of progress, that will not be possible.”
“He didn’t take enough wolves with him,” Ezekiel said, his tone matter-of-fact.
“He took whom we could spare,” Grayson said flatly. “He is strong and experienced, and perhaps one or another of his Lumondiere cousins survived, and will hear he is there and go to join him.”
“In which case, he will establish an outpost of Lumondiere, rather than Dimilioc.”
“Dimilioc, Lumondiere.” Grayson brushed aside this distinction, whatever it comprised, with a flick of one powerful hand. “I actually do not care. I would like to send him one or two more black wolves. But I have none I can spare. I intended to send you —for ten days, two weeks, a month. However long proved sufficient to let Étienne establish firm control over that entire region. But now I do not know. This problem in Boston concerns me. We shall discuss this. We shall discuss all these matters.”
Ezekiel met Grayson’s eyes, then inclined
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