Page 74 of Fortune's Ashes
‘Lukas, she’s the only person who can rein Buffy in,’ I protested.
‘My vampires can hold back one werewolf.’
It wasn’t just one werewolf, though: it was Buffy. I met his eyes. ‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’
His gaze slid away from me, then he pulled a face and recited Lady Sullivan’s number. I jabbed in the numbers and waited, listening to the phone ring and ring and ring. Damn it. ‘She’s not picking up.’
‘It’s her personal number. Only a few people know it and it’s only ever used in an emergency. She always picks up this one.’
Maybe this time she knew who was calling and why. ‘Perhaps,’ I said, ‘Buffy is calling in the furry cavalry, and instead of one werewolf trying to get at Stubman there will be an entire clan.’ I paused. ‘Or four.’
Lukas didn’t hesitate. ‘Warn them,’ he snapped at the suited vampire. ‘I’ll go there right now.’
‘I’m coming too.’
He glared at me. ‘You need an X-ray.’
‘I’m fine.’ And I was; I was almost sure of it.
‘Emma…’
‘Instead of wasting time arguing about it, let’s just go,’ I said.
Lukas exhaled hard with frustration, but then we were both running down the corridor in the same direction that Buffy had gone.
* * *
Even at thattime of night, it took far longer than I liked to get back to Stubman’s building. Tallulah seemed to recognise the urgency but even her determination, coupled with Lukas’s foot pressed to the accelerator, didn’t help much.
As soon as we turned onto the main street which led to Stubman’s building, I knew we had problems. Werewolves were streaming in from all directions. Some remained in human form but plenty of them had already transformed into their animal bodies. I spotted members from all four clans and, up ahead, a large collection of grim-faced vampires ready to meet them. Yep. My worst fears were about to be realised.
Humans lived here as well as supes. All it would take was one frightened human to place one 999 call and we’d end up with armed police to contend with, too. None of this was going to help anyone, least of all me.
‘Your vampires need to back off,’ I said to Lukas urgently.
‘If they do, there will be nothing to prevent those werewolves storming the building and ripping Stubman to shreds before you can ask him a single question,’ he said reasonably,
I passed a hand over my face. For fuck’s sake. ‘The wolves have just as much self-control as the vampires – not to mention that we’re all on the same side, Lukas.’ I glanced at his face and caught a flash of guilt. He nodded.
‘Park here.’ I pointed to the side of the road. It was a double yellow line but getting to the tiny car park would waste time. ‘I’ll deal with this.’
‘I’m right with you, Emma,’ Lukas said quietly. ‘I’ll follow your lead.’
So at least I would have some back-up that I could count on. I patted his shoulder then jumped out of the car. I ran past several large clusters of approaching wolves until I reached Stubman’s building, where the showdown was about to take place.
Lukas took up position in front of the vampires to make sure that none of them did anything rash, and I jumped into the small space between them and the werewolves. All four clan alphas were there. I couldn’t see Buffy, but I had to assume she was there too. I sincerely hoped she hadn’t found a way into the building to confront Stubman on her own.
I pulled back my shoulders, raised my chin and cleared my throat. ‘Everyone needs to disperse immediately and go home.’ I amplified my voice so nobody could miss the order.
Lady Fairfax, who was dressed in a tight black dress, tottering stilettos and full-make-up as if she were out to party the night away, stepped forward. ‘My dear,’ she declared. ‘We are only here to back you up.’
By her side, Lord McGuigan nodded fervently. In contrast to Lady Fairfax, he appeared to be wearing pyjamas beneath his long coat, as if he’d been disturbed from his sleep. ‘Supe Squad is practically non-existent now. You need our support and we are happy to give it to you.’
‘Emma already has the vampires’ support,’ Lukas said. I shot him an annoyed look. That wasn’t helpful. ‘We are all on the same side here,’ he added. ‘We all want the same thing.’
I exhaled. Thank you, Lukas.
Lady Carr, the oldest werewolf alpha, sniffed. ‘That man in there is responsible for the murder of one of my people. I have every right to be here.’
