You said this ghoul was intact, other than the…bite.” She seemed to have a hard time getting the word out.
“What did you do with the body?” Stan asked, looking at his brother-in-law.
“What I always do,” Roland said in his usual gruff tone. “It’s just dust in a fire pit now.”
Colt breathed a sigh of relief. That was one problem he didn’t have to worry about.
“There’s something else I’ve been wondering,” said Colt. “Ronnie shouldn’t be able to heal the way he did before his awakening, and he shouldn’t have been able to inherit Vaughn’s power.”
“Yeah, we’ve covered that, Einstein,” Roland muttered.
“What I’m trying to say is this isn’t the first time the impossible has happened,” Colt said. “Peter shouldn’t have been able to do half the shit he did before he awakened, either.”
“Peter is a changeling,” said Stan. “The rules are different.”
“My point exactly,” said Colt.
He could see the wheels turning behind the doctor's eyes, but Susan and Roland seemed clueless, so he added, “Maybe Ronnie is a variant. If changelings can awaken early, maybe whatever he is can, too.”
“He’s not a monster,” Susan hissed.
“Of course he’s not,” said Colt, gentling his tone. “And he hasn’t done anything wrong. If he did kill that ghoul, it was in self-defense however he did it. He killed Vaughn to save my life. This isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about the fact that we have no idea how to actually help him.”
“He’s right,” Roland said grudgingly. “Unfortunately, the only people who know shit about the Plague Doctors are on the Council.”
“That’s not entirely true,” said Colt. “Evelyn makes it her business to know all kinds of shit she shouldn’t.”
Roland and Stan’s faces immediately echoed the disdain Colt had initially felt toward the idea.
“We can’t trust Evelyn,” said Roland. “The less she knows about all this, the better.”
“Normally, I’d agree,” Colt began. He ignored the doubtful looks they were giving him. “Unfortunately, she already knows about Peter. And Christopher.”
She knew about the remainder of the West family, too, but Colt wasn’t eager to impart that information to Stan and Susan. It was bad enough Roland knew the depths he’d stooped to.
“She what?” Roland snarled.
“Before you get up my ass about it, you’re as much to blame as I am,” Colt shot back. “She got into the warehouse under your nose, and it’s a damn good thing she did. If it wasn’t for her covering it up, we’d all be fucked.”
“Warehouse?” Susan frowned, looking between them.
Neither Colt nor Roland answered her, and while Colt was sure that wouldn’t be the end of it, he was relieved the sheriff changed the subject. “She works for the Council. Why wouldn’t she run straight to them as soon as she realized who killed Christopher? Not to mention that fucking changeling.”
“Probably for the same reason she served me Vincent Moreau’s head on a platter,” said Colt. “If there’s one thing I trust about Evelyn, it’s that she’s always looking out for Evelyn. She knows if she goes to the Council, they’ll blame her for letting it happen. She has as much of an interest in hiding all this as we do.”
Roland seemed to be considering his words. Colt’s personal feelings toward Evelyn aside, she was a powerful ally and an enemy they couldn’t afford to make. They both knew it.
“I’m still not willing to go to her with this yet,” said Colt. “Not if we have a choice. I’m just trying to lay all the cards out on the table."
“About damn time,” Roland snarked.
Colt’s eyes narrowed, and he was unable to stop the irritation that had been building up all night. It wasn’t about Roland. He was angry with himself mostly, but he needed an outlet. “You’re one to talk. The three of you keep more secrets than the KGB.”
“Only because we’ve got a brickhead who was raised among humans for an Alpha,” said Roland.
Before Colt could respond, Stan interrupted. “That’s enough. We’ve all screwed up lately, that much is apparent. Ripping each other’s throats out isn’t going to do anything, and it certainly isn’t going to help Ronnie. What we need now is a solution.”
He was right. Colt knew he was. He wasn’t used to feeling powerless, but when it came to protecting Ronnie from whatever was going on inside him, he was at a loss.
“I might have an idea,” Roland finally said. Colt looked over and saw his arms folded, a look of consternation on his face. It was obvious that whatever he’d come up with,