“You think this is all about you?” I said.
“I think someone may be taking advantage of an opportunity, yes. Your magician friend, for instance. He’s taking charge, isn’t he? He’s guiding the actions of the group now.”
I shook my head. “I know him. He doesn’t work like that.”
“Do you know him, really?”
And I couldn’t say that I did.
She turned to look at Gemma again and said, “If you could please leave us alone. We’ll be up at nightfall, as usual. There’s nothing I can do until then.” I turned to leave, when she called. “Kitty. Come nightfall, we’ll have to face the issue of sustenance.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“It doesn’t have to be difficult.”
I couldn’t think about it. We’d have to cross that bridge tonight. “Yeah. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
She was still sitting at the edge of the bed, unmoving, when I went back upstairs.
I got back to the living room the same time Grant and Jerome did.
“We checked on the generator and batteries,” Jerome said. “The fuel’s been drained and the wiring cut.”
“Someone should go for help. Didn’t someone say that?” Jeffrey said.
The sooner the better, in my opinion. I said, “Jerome and I can travel fast. We won’t have to stop.”
Jerome said, “If we shifted—”
I shook my head. “We need to be conscious and able to speak when we get there. This may be slower, but it’ll be fast enough. If we leave now, we can be there by dusk.”
“But it’s thirty miles!” Conrad said. “That’s impossible.”
“They’re werewolves,” Lee said. “It’s not impossible. I wish we were on the coast. I feel useless here.”
“Just keep your eyes open,” I said. “Use your nose
. You can be lookout.”
“We should get going,” Jerome said, already at the door. I went to join him. Hesitating a moment, I took off my shoes and socks. Jerome was already barefoot.
Grant studied me. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
I smiled thinly. “This is simple. We run to the next lodge and call for help. With any luck we’ll be back here by morning.”
“It’s a plan, then,” he said. “Be careful.”
“Likewise.”
We went outside. I could feel the others gathering by the window, watching us. The wreckage of the porch railing still lay scattered on the ground, along with the stain where Dorian’s blood had soaked into the ground. It smelled ripe and rotten in the morning sun, and a few flies buzzed over it. Apart from that, the area was still, quiet.
Jerome wasn’t close to shifting, but something wolfish looked out of his eyes. His breaths came slow and deep, and his attention turned outward, far outward, searching the farthest range of sight and hearing for danger. I knew how he felt—I wanted to get away from here, to run off some of this anxiety.
“You ready to do this?” I said.
“Yeah. You think you can keep up with me?”
“Probably not. But I don’t think anyone should be alone right now.”