“He made it this far,” Paige pointed out. “Can he fire a gun?”
“You’re damn right he can,” Milosh replied. “And if I fall over or bleed out, go on without me. I’d rather get picked off out in the thick of it instead of hiding and waiting for the fucking axe to fall.”
“Has Quinn been here?”
“She has been gone for a while, but another Kushtime remains in the basement to watch us.” Picking up steam with every step he took, Milosh continued his arduous journey to the driveway. “Get me to the plane. We’ve got some more weapons that might help us.”
“No time for that. Unless you’ve got another Blood Blade stashed in that wreck, we have to make do with what we’ve got.” Raising her eyebrows, Paige asked, “You don’t have another Blood Blade stashed in that wreck, do you?”
“We won’t have any more of those for at least another month, but there’s guns and some blades that were charmed to do some damage.”
“Forget it,” Paige sighed. “We need to stick together if we’re going to cover as much of this town as possible.”
Someone else walked up from the basement. Because of all the dirt caked into his fur, it was impossible to make out Burke’s features until the Mongrel shook some of the grit from his coat. “I can cover a lot more ground than you. What do you need?”
“Can you tell me about any Mongrels working with the Full Bloods?” Paige asked.
After a pause, Burke said, “There are some of us who have decided that joining the Full Bloods is the best way to end our troubles. Most of those have been tempted by the Full Bloods’ twisted promise that they can change us into their kind. Even the thought that some of the Full Blood longevity can be passed on has been enough to draw entire packs to their banner. What’s happened recently only sped the process along.”
“So why should we trust that you would want to fight on our side?” Paige asked.
“My pack and I are not under any Full Blood control because we haven’t allowed ourselves to be tainted by their bite. If you don’t believe that, then you can go to hell. Just know that we’ve been in contact with Kayla and Ben from Kansas City and they say you’re good for your word. You fight against the Full Bloods and so do we. If we survive this war, we think we can trust you to work out an amicable arrangement.”
“War?” Nadya asked. “Has it come to that?”
“Better here than in our country,” Milosh grunted.
“Yes it has come to that,” Burke said. He shifted his slitted eyes to Milosh. “And it has only started in this country because this is where the biggest source of Torva’ox is to be found. The Full Bloods will not stay put once they have gathered their power. They will either return to their territories or try to acquire new ones. Either way, no place is safe.”
“I’ve heard some news myself from New Mexico,” Paige said. “The Full Bloods are fighting among themselves.”
“If they whittle their numbers down far enough, the survivor will be the most powerful creature on the planet and will be able to shift all humans into Half Breeds or possibly something worse. Our legends are filled with these warnings, which is why we fight when we could just as easily hide to let the storm pass us by.”
“There’s more than legends and old grudges on the table,” Paige said. “Now that the military is involved, there’s little things like air strikes and nukes to worry about.”
“Nukes?” Milosh said. “It would come to that?”
“I’ve spoken with men who represent the military, even if it may be on a sketchy basis. They’re willing to work with Skinners, but only because they want to get rid of the things that are tearing apart our cities. If we don’t step up and do our job, they’ll fall back to the best way they know to kill big things as quickly as possible. I’m doing my best to keep them in line, but if things keep escalating like they have been, I wouldn’t be surprised if the fingers over those big red buttons start getting twitchy.”
The unearthly howls outside were becoming more musical and jubilant, as opposed to the wild, hungry sounds earlier. Ironically, that strangely beautiful sound sparked genuine fear inside all of those gathered in the garage.