Page 6 of Triumph of the Wolf
“Apparently, he’s here on business.”
I waited for Duncan to expound. He looked thoughtfully, or maybe pensively, toward the woods. My earlier concern that Abrams had sent the boy for nefarious reasons came to mind. Maybe I didn’t want more details.
“Does Lykos speak to you?” I asked.
“He’s on the laconic side, but yes.”
“Has he admitted he finds you charming and affable and that he wants to spend time with you?”
“Actually, he said he’s here to kill me.”
“I guess the affability isn’t genetic.”
Duncan’s smile was bleak, but he couldn’t be worried about Lykos succeeding at killing him. Both as a man and as a wolf, Duncan was twice the kid’s size. At least. I presumed that would hold true if they turned into the bipedfuris too, though I seemedto remember hearing that even the werewolves with that ability didn’t gain it until puberty.
“Abrams sent him,” Duncan said.
“To kill you?”
“To study me, learn my weaknesses, find a way to exploit them, andthenkill me.”
“Are you… concerned that he could do that?”
In a fair fight, Duncan could fend off Lykos, but was it possible the kid was smart enough to do what Abrams suggested?
I growled. If the old bastard wanted Duncan out of the picture, he ought to be man enough to take on the task himself.
“Not too concerned. While Lykos admitted these things to me, he was eating your salami and watching me pull a fender out of a pond.” Duncan tapped a pocket in his jacket, the outline of what had to be a rope wrapped around a large cylindrical magnet visible. “He looked intrigued.”
“Fenders are pretty fascinating.”
“Ithink so. I believe this one was off a 1970s Volkswagen beetle. Such a fun little car. That fender must have been down there for decades.” Duncan touched his chest and took a moment to gaze into the distance as he cherished the find.
Less moved to cherishment, I asked, “So, you don’t think Lykos is a real threat?”
Duncan lowered his hand. “I’m not that worried about him, but I do believe he’ll divulge anything he learns about us to Abrams, who, it sounds like, is feeling vengeful.”
As I’d feared.
“We’re going to have to deal with him at some point,” I said.
“I know. I?—”
My phone rang, and Duncan paused.
Worried that Chad might be calling again, I grimaced and almost didn’t take it out of my pocket. But my youngest son’sname popped up on the screen, and I tapped the answer button without hesitation. Austin hadn’t called since he’d sent that letter, admitting he hadn’t known what to do or say since seeing me turn into a werewolf. Respecting his need for time, I also hadn’t called him, but I’d written a letter back and said I would be here to answer questions whenever he was ready.
“Hi, Austin.” I strove for a casual tone, though I desperately wanted him to say he was ready to talk. After so many years of withholding that secret from my sons, I longed to come clean and also explain why I’d made the choices that I had.
Duncan backed away to give me privacy for the call.
“Hey, Mom. I’ve only got a minute before I need to take my turn as duty officer, but, uhm, I wanted to warn you about something.”
“What’s up?”
“I, uhm, think I told you that I talked to my brother about… that night.”
“You mentioned it in your letter, yes.”
