Black Dog(86)

“Those girls,” Thaddeus said slowly.

“You wondered about them, didn’t you? They’re Dimilioc now, and we’re glad to have ‘em on board, because there’s going to be a big fight. Like, today. Looks like we’ve got these big bad stray dogs messing around Dimilioc territory, you know that? They want to tear down Dimilioc and grab any Pure women handy, and it looks like they’re going to start by ripping into a town full of humans–”

“Shit, kid, stop before I cry big tears…” Thaddeus began... but then he halted. Not because his wife stopped him. He stopped himself, his aggressive air becoming edged with speculation.

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Miguel, watching him carefully. “Too bad, so sad! But not for you. For you, it’s opportunity knocking good and loud. You get that, right? Stick around, join the fight, be loyal to Dimilioc – not just as a pretense but for real – and next year you’ll be on the inside looking out instead of the other way ‘round and your son will carry a real true Dimilioc bloodline because that’s exactly what yours will be. If you want that. Which you should, if you’re not willfully obtuse.”

Thaddeus glared at him. “Lookin’ for Pure women, you say, and here you’ve brought ‘em one, haven’t you?”

“Well, if Grayson lets you go, you could take her back to Chicago,” Alejandro said, nodding toward DeAnn. “How long do you think it’ll be before a big stray pack shows up, drawn to her like mariposas to flame? Only these moths hate the Pure fire that draws them.”

There was a pause. Thaddeus drew breath to speak.

“Thad,” his wife said, her voice low, “I’d do anything to protect Conway. But I don’t want any man but you. You get that, right?”

Thaddeus stared at her, took a step, moved a hand to rest on her face. He touched his son’s hair with his other hand. “It’s not what I promised you…”

The sound of the door opening stopped him, brought him around again to face this new threat.

“It’ll do fine,” DeAnn said, still quietly but with a good deal more urgency.

Alejandro gripped on Miguel’s shoulder, moved him firmly aside, stepped between his brother and the stairs and realized only then how similar his reaction had been to Thaddeus’ protection of his wife. He found himself glancing over, meeting the big black dog’s eyes, not in challenge, but in a moment of mutual understanding.

Grayson Lanning came down the stairs. Alejandro hadn’t realized he could recognize the Dimilioc Master solely by the sound of his tread, but he could. Or maybe he had simply recognized the dense power of his shadow as it preceded the Master into the prison room.

He waited for Grayson to demand, What are you doing down here? But Grayson glanced at the plate of sandwiches – more crumbs than sandwiches now – and gave Alejandro a brief nod. Then he said to Thaddeus, “Interesting family you have here, Williams. A Pure wife. That’s unusual, for a stray. You’ve had the Beschwichtigend, clearly. Did she do it for you? Did you ask her to?”

Thaddeus scowled. “A Pure woman can work the Calming magic on any black dog – it’s not against your law…”

“No. But it’s unusual for a stray black dog to voluntarily take the Beschwichtigend.” Grayson paused, studying the big black dog. “You found a Pure woman and instead of killing her, you let her do the Beschwichtigend for you. Maybe that was just strategy: a precaution against drawing Dimilioc attention. Then you stayed with her, got her to marry you – that was not a way to keep clear of Dimilioc attention. Then you gave her a black dog son. A son you’re willing to die to protect. Every step on that path more unusual than the one before.”

Thaddeus had lowered his gaze, though his growled, “Well?” held very little sincere submission.

Grayson stared at him, his eyes fiery with temper. But his anger was not directed at Thaddeus, and obviously the black dog knew it because he did not even bow his head, much less drop to his knees.

“Dimilioc has enemies,” Grayson stated.

“Shit, imagine that,” said Thaddeus. “I bet they looked forward to the vampires and Dimilioc wiping each other out, like happened every place else. Must have disappointed ‘em something fierce when they looked around after all the hellfire died down and Dimilioc was still there. Figured they might do something about that, did they?”

“You’ve got strength and control,” said Grayson. “And a Pure wife. Only Dimilioc wolves are allowed to take Pure women.”

“So, you’re thinkin’, if I was Dimilioc, there wouldn’t be a problem with that,” Thaddeus said. He was silent a moment. Then he said, “It’s not what I expected.”