The Alpha - Joel Abernathy Page 0,49
weapons in his hand, though Colt knew that was probably because he didn’t need them. If even half of what he’d heard about a Plague Doctor’s powers was true, he could drop a man without touching him. A ghoul, at any rate. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“Is that so?” Colt asked doubtfully.
“You’re Colt Jager, the new Alpha of the Providence Kinship,” the man answered. “Allow me to introduce myself. Harrison Vaughn, and I believe you are looking for me.”
Colt stared at him in disbelief. “Seems you’re pretty up on current affairs.”
Vaughn gave him an unassuming smile. “I have my sources. Come, let’s have this discussion inside. The pollen is awful this time of year.”
Colt and Andrew exchanged a look.
“Is this guy for real?” Andrew asked in disbelief.
Colt shrugged. “If he wants to play civil, it’s best to just play along. The second he stops, you run.”
He could tell Andrew didn’t like the idea, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, they both followed Vaughn down the path toward a little farmhouse that looked even more like a painting than the rest of its surroundings.
There was an old truck in the driveway that seemed to have been stationary for a while. There were some animals out back--goats, if the yodeling exclamations were any indication. Colt could smell them before he saw them, and sure enough, there were a few kids frolicking behind the fence.
Once they reached the front porch, Colt put on the brakes. Vaughn turned back expectantly.
“If it’s all the same, I’d rather talk out here,” said Colt.
“Of course,” the other ghoul said with a sigh. “But if you’ve come looking for me, I trust you know what I am. And if you know what I am, I trust you know that inside or out, you’re really in the same position.”
“That’s the politest threat I’ve ever heard,” said Andrew.
Vaughn smiled. “Not at all. Just being a realist. I have no intention of hurting you, and am I correct in assuming you’re human?"
Andrew hesitated before answering, “Yeah.”
“In that case, you have nothing to fear at all. My powers only work on ghouls.”
“Comforting,” Colt said, folding his arms. “Why are you being so hospitable?”
“If you’re here, I believe that means we share a common interest,” said Vaughn, giving Colt a knowing look. “A common foe.”
Colt frowned, wondering if he already knew about the changeling. He wasn’t going to show his hand, just in case he didn’t. “Is that so?”
“And here I heard you don’t have discretion,” Vaughn said with a hint of amusement in his eyes. He took a seat in the weathered wooden rocking chair across the porch. There were a few others, and he motioned for them to sit.
Andrew looked at Colt before shrugging and taking the one nearest to Vaughn. Colt followed suit, taking the one next to him in case he needed to intervene.
“I’ve seen that the changeling is back in the region,” said Vaughn. He must have seen the shock on Colt’s face, too, because he added, “Figuratively, of course. Destruction isn’t the only facet to my power. I have something of a limited foresight. Unfortunately, too limited to know what would come of my act of mercy all those… How old are you now? Twenty-five, twenty-six?”
“Thereabouts,” said Colt. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “So it really is you. You’re the one the Council sent to kill me and my brother.”
“I am,” Vaughn answered without hesitation. There was something about his demeanor that made it impossible for Colt to see him as what he was, even though he had just admitted it outright.
This was the monster who had killed his mother. The monster who had come to kill him and Peter when they were just infants, and yet, he seemed… Peaceful. Colt still would have killed him without a second thought, if Jason’s life didn’t hang in the balance. “So, why the pacifist routine?”
Vaughn sighed. “I’ve never taken any pleasure in my duty, and in fact, my only true regret is allowing my disdain for the task to lead to the death of so many innocents.”
“You mean Peter,” Colt muttered. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, and there was so little time, but he knew he was never going to forgive himself if he let this chance pass him by. “How did you find out about him?”
“Your mother’s deception was quite clever,” said Vaughn. He leaned back in his chair, rocking slightly. A hint of curiosity came into his flat blue eyes.