Page 7 of Brimstone Bound
‘Love you.’
‘Bye.’ I hastily ended the call and stuffed the phone into my pocket. ‘D’Artagnan?’ I said to Tony.
His brow furrowed, making the deep wrinkles in his face more pronounced. ‘I can’t possibly remember everyone’s names. You’re a trainee. I’ll remember D’Artagnan.’
‘And that makes you what?’ I inquired. ‘One of the Three Musketeers? You don’t seem the swashbuckling type.’
Tony wagged a finger at me. ‘Wait and see.’ He swung a shabby coat round his shoulders. ‘Come on. It’s time we headed out.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘To do our jobs, D’Artagnan. The public expect their taxes to be put to good use and I’d hate to disappoint them.’ He grinned at me. ‘Hop to it.’
Anything was better than staying within these depressing walls. I grabbed my suit jacket, shrugged it on and headed out of the door. ‘Don’t we get crossbows with silver-tipped arrows to carry with us when we’re out and about?’
Tony snorted. ‘If you think I’m letting the likes of you anywhere near a deadly weapon like that, you’re more naïve than I thought. Besides, those things haven’t been used for years. We don’t need them. I don’t even know where they’re kept any more.’
I looked him over. He certainly wasn’t carrying any sort of weapon. So much for that perk, then.
‘The vamps won’t start stirring until around teatime,’ he told me while we walked, ‘so we’ll start with the werewolves. Consider this Supernatural 101.’ He patted his stomach. ‘Plus, I’m getting a little peckish and there’s a great sandwich shop next to the Sullivans’ lair.’
‘The Sullivans are one of the werewolf clans?’
He nodded. ‘Currently aligned with the McGuigans. Or at least they were the last time I checked. With the wolves, anything is possible. They’re mercurial bastards.’
I took a notepad from my coat pocket. ‘How do you spell McGuigan?’ I asked, wanting to get it right.
Tony stopped in his tracks. ‘Are you taking notes?’
‘I don’t want to miss any details.’
He rolled his eyes and strode off again. ‘It’s not rocket science, D’Artagnan,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘Put that away before you embarrass us both.’
Tempted to refuse, I glared at his departing back. But scribbling notes while walking wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, so in the end I gave in to the path of least resistance and tucked it away.
‘Look, just relax,’ he said, with surprising kindness as I caught up with him. ‘I know you want to do well, and you want a glowing report so you can show off to Detective Superintendent Barnes and get the posting of your dreams after you qualify. Don’t worry about it. This is the easiest gig in the world. I’ll write whatever the hell you want when these two weeks are up. Whatever shit you pulled to end up here, I can tell that you’re not a bad sort. It’ll be fine. One for all, and all for one.’
I wasn’t sure if he was expecting me to thank him or not. ‘I actually do want to learn something while I’m here,’ I said. ‘I don’t want this to be a time-wasting exercise.’
‘Hence our little side trip. You’ll learn lots.’ Tony smirked. ‘Trust me.’
We crossed the street, before turning right and heading down a wide road. This was a famous part of the city; even though I’d never been here before, I recognised quite a few of the buildings and landmarks. We reached Swain Street and the gigantic arch that stretched from one side to the other. It was fashioned out of various sections of sculpted wood, forming a large wolf’s head at the apex. I couldn’t stop myself from gasping.
Tony sent me a sidelong look. ‘Impressive, huh?’
I nodded. ‘I’ve seen photos of it, but it’s so much bigger than I thought it would be.’ I stretched out my fingertips, brushing them against the warm wood.
‘Most people think that it’s purely decorative, or to entice in tourists.’ He gestured at a group of chattering sightseers who’d paused in front of the arch for selfies. ‘But the truth is far more complex. Although there are several different types of wood forming the arch, at its heart is a large section of hawthorn. Legend has it that hawthorn is a vampire repellent. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but you’ll certainly never see any vamps walking around here. Not at any time of night or day.’
‘They can come in daytime?’
‘Sure. They just don’t choose to do it much. Think of the vamps as students – partying all night, sleeping all day.’
‘And the wolves?’
Tony pursed his lips. ‘They’re dogs. They mark their territory and are food obsessed.’ He paused and his voice dropped slightly, as if he were afraid that he’d be overheard. ‘Don’t underestimate them, though. Any of them. No matter what anyone would have you believe, both groups are still predators. They’re at the top of the food chain. They keep us at bay through some nifty lawyer tricks, but if they wanted to rule this city they could do it in a heartbeat.’
We passed under the arch and into the werewolves’ quarter. I suppressed the shudder that ran down my spine and considered what Tony had said. ‘So,’ I said finally, ‘Supernatural Squad is essentially window dressing?’
