Page 48 of Quest of the Wolf

16

Before dinner,I had another sword-fighting lesson with Yuto. With so much going on, I had been tempted to skip it, but who knew what expertise I would need to steal the control device?

I was back home now, packing for the attempt, and had a pile of weapons and tools on the dining table. They included the two remaining grenades from the glovebox, the magnet on a rope, and the magical sword.

What else would be useful? Aside from locating Radomir and Abrams? Too bad I didn’t have an Elixir of Locus for one of them. Though I didn’t know if I could stomach swallowing another of those concoctions. Nobody’s esophagus deserved that kind of torture.

“I’d need to pack Pepto Bismol.”

To think I’d made fun of the werewolf bartender, Francisco, for serving his paranormal customers a drink made with the stuff. Maybemostpotions upset one’s stomach.

A knock sounded at the door. Before I could answer, Jasmine strolled into my apartment with a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“I heard you’re storming another castle and need help.”

“Where’d you hear that? My mother?”

“You were chatting with her next to a porch full of werewolves.”

“There were logs in between us.”

“You know our kind have good hearing.”

“Emilio was probably hoping to learn where I get my farm-sourced salamis.”

“Oh, no doubt.”

“Is your truck still drivable?” Jasmine waved in the direction of the parking lot.

“Yes.” The back end now lacked a fender, and the tailgate was so mangled that it wouldn’t open, but the truck had made it up to visit Mom. “Some parts have just fallen off.”

“Comforting. We can take my car if you want.”

“Don’t you have a twenty-year-old hatchback?”

I’d seen it before. The tiny car looked like it would crumple in a stiff wind.

“It gets good gas mileage,” Jasmine said.

“I’m sure, but you can’t storm a castle in a hatchback. You need something badass. Like whatever that vehicle was that tried to run us off the mountain.”

“A Rezvani tank. I looked it up. It was pretty dope.”

“It’s an actual car that you can buy?” I’d assumed it had been custom-made and that only evil overlords could afford it.

“Yup. I bet they had the military edition. It’s got ballistics armor, a ram bumper, electrified door handles, and night vision.”

“We felt that bumper firsthand.”

“I’m a little sad we didn’t get to see the electromagnetic-pulse protection and smoke screen.”

“How much does all that cost?”

“It’s a steal at three hundred thousand.”

“Is that all? I’ll put one on my grocery list.”

“I would.” Jasmine waved toward the window. “Oh, I forgot to ask. Did you know there’s a police car in your parking lot?”

---