Black Dog(46)

Alejandro hesitated.

Miguel said, calmly, “Malvern Vonhausel allied with a blood kin clique. He allied with the blood kin to get access to vampire magic. Papá tried to stop him and then tried to kill him, only he couldn’t, and Papá tried to tell Thos Korte, but Thos wouldn’t listen, and finally Papá ran south, and met Mamá, and Mamá hid us all. But Vonhausel’s making common cause with the blood kin, that was the first move in the war, twenty years before anybody realized it had even started, Papá said.”

Everyone, including Alejandro, stared at Miguel. He shrugged apologetically, ducking his head. “Papá used to talk to me about it. But if he stole something from Vonhausel first, I don’t know about that.”

“And then the war came,” said Grayson. “And Vonhausel came after your father. I think we may surmise that was more than a casual or personal enmity.”

“Oh, well… Actually, he came after Mamá, not Papá,” Miguel said. He could not keep his tone level, though Natividad knew how hard he tried. “He took her sister, first, our Tía Maria…” He stopped.

“He did not come alone,” Alejandro said. His voice was harsh with anger and grief. “Without Dimilioc to stop him, Vonhausel found a lot of black dogs to follow him. They came. I wasn’t… I wasn’t there. Natividad and Miguel hid. I found them there… later. Afterward.”

“They killed everybody,” Natividad said. Her voice sounded small and shaky, even to her. She fixed her eyes on the smooth grain of the table between her hands and tried not to see or think about anything else. “Even the goats and the… the chickens. So, we had to go… we had to go somewhere.”

“I said we should come here,” Alejandro said, with considerable force, not looking at Miguel. “Vonhausel had already killed our father and mother. I did not think he would follow us. There seemed no reason for him to follow us.”

“He wants Natividad,” Miguel said apologetically. “Because she’s Mamá’s daughter, and I think there’s something about Mamá’s magic. Something she passed on to Natividad.”

Natividad stared at him.

“I kind of think so,” Miguel said to her, even more apologetically.

“Well,” said Zachariah when Natividad did not say anything further, “And how excited he must be, now that he has not only found Natividad but also discovered Dimilioc’s weakness. The vampire blood kin lost the war, but I imagine Vonhausel still hopes to win it.” He looked at Grayson. “You were very right about our need to recruit. Unfortunately, this trouble is worse than I think even you expected.”

“It seems we’ve joined Dimilioc precisely in time to watch it destroyed utterly,” Keziah said smoothly. “How delightful.”

Grayson gave her a look. He said to the other Dimilioc wolves, “I think we must indeed recruit in greater numbers than I had anticipated. And with a little more alacrity. James, you had better go to Boston this afternoon. Ezekiel, you will fly to Chicago tomorrow morning.”

James looked disconcerted, but Ezekiel nodded casually, as though he’d expected this order. Miguel asked, “Sir? Who are we recruiting?”

Grayson deliberately spread fig preserves on a biscuit. Then he leaned an elbow on the table and looked at Miguel, his expression unreadable. “There is a pair of black dogs in Boston that may do well for Dimilioc. Brothers. They have never caused difficulty enough there to provoke us into killing them; now we may be glad of it. They also have two human sisters who might prove useful. I believe they will be glad to receive my invitation, which is why James will deliver it, using,” he glanced at Natividad, “the famous Mallory charm.”

Miguel nodded. “And in Chicago, sir?”

“Yes. There we have a black dog named Thaddeus Williams. I knew his father slightly: a very strong black dog with more sense and less temper than one would expect of a stray. I believe Thaddeus takes after his father. For example, he has taken a Pure wife. That’s against Dimilioc law, of course, but now it only increases his value to us. I want both Thaddeus and his wife, but I suspect they will not be inclined to cooperate. Ezekiel will bring them here for me.”

Yes, Natividad understood that. If Grayson sent the Dimilioc executioner, it was not to deliver a suggestion, but a command. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of… forcible recruitment.

Miguel didn’t seem worried at all. He asked, just as though it was a matter of academic curiosity, “How many other black dogs will you ask to join Dimilioc, sir?”