Marcus Pelegrimas - The Breaking

Unfortunately, Paige knew that she truly didn’t know about those things, so she slid right into the next topic. “The Nymar communicate through a site on ChatterPages.com run by someone named Cobb38. I got some stuff from their computers but haven’t had a chance to look through it yet. The computer was barely guarded by a bunch of Stripes like the ones we found at the warehouse. You know. The Nymar with those black markings?”

“We know,” Milosh said. “We’ve been trying to find a simpler way to kill them since that day.”

“And?”

“And we would not tell you shit even if we found it.”

“So you didn’t come up with anything either,” Paige said. “Seems like we’re all the same kind of worthless.”

Even though Milosh looked as if he was ready to use the knife in his hands, Gunari and Nadya shared a quick sideways glance before laughing. Their camaraderie struck a nerve with Paige. It hadn’t been so long ago that she had the same sort of connection to a partner, but it had been a while since things were easy enough for her and Cole to relax and enjoy a moment together. Thinking back to one moment in particular brought a fraction of a smile to her face. Before it was noticed, she asked, “Any chance of you telling me where we’re going?”

“Oklahoma,” Gunari replied.

“Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.” When she didn’t get a reaction from that, Paige added, “Wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet?”

Surprisingly enough, it was Milosh who said, “And the wind comes right behind the rain. Rodgers and Hammerstein. Geniuses.”

“I don’t know if I’d push them into genius territory, but you’re in the right ballpark. I knew we’d find some common ground before too long. So what’s in Oklahoma besides wheat, wind, and rain?”

“Werewolves,” Nadya said. “The same one that was in Kansas City and at least one other.”

All of the humor in Paige’s voice dried up when she heard that. “How can you be sure? Did someone see them?”

“We got a sample of its fur.”

“Nadya!”

“Hush, Milosh!” she snapped as if scolding a dog. And, much like a pup that had just sniffed the wrong piece of carpeting, he backed down. Nadya drew one of her blades and removed a sharpening stone from a kit strapped to the back of the seat in front of her. “We can take you to Denver, but not until this other matter is settled.”

“Cole’s in a lot of trouble,” Paige said. “He needs help now.”

“And so does Tobar,” Gunari snapped. “Yet we let him stay where he is because we know he can fend for himself. If not, then he is surely already dead. I’ve seen enough of Cole to know he should be given that same sort of respect. Since we thought you might not want to share your information right away, we expect a favor in return for picking you up on such short notice.”

Paige reached into her pocket to remove the little plastic flash drive. “If you’ve got a laptop or something, you can download a copy right now.”

Although all three of the Amriany sat up and took notice of what was in her hand, none of them made a move to take it. “Can you guarantee what’s on there will be enough to make up for dragging us into the legal troubles with your police that will follow anyone helping such a group of wanted criminals like yourselves?” Gunari asked.

“If they were my police, they wouldn’t want to drag me over the coals so badly,” Paige said frankly. “But this information is all I’ve got. You’re right, though that if there are Full Bloods gathering somewhere, we need to see what they’re doing.”

Rather than take the flash drive from her, Gunari reached into one of the overhead compartments for a computer. He handed the notebook device to Nadya and said, “Download a copy.” To Paige, he added, “You’re welcome to watch if you want to make sure it is done properly.”

“Cole’s the one who’d know if you were trying to put one over on me. If it takes too long, I’ll just rip it out of there and smash that computer to bits.”

Gunari grinned at her and nodded. “And if you prove to be someone we can work with this easily, we may be able to extend our hand to you in the future.”

“And I don’t mind lending a hand with you guys for whatever you need, especially since we seem to be working toward the same thing. Your partner is in the same tight spot as mine. He may even be locked up by the same group.”

“They are both in prison,” Gunari said. “Isn’t that what you mean?”

“They are both in buildings called prisons, but they’re not in the system.”

Milosh leaned forward in his seat as if to mirror Paige’s confidence. “What do you know of Tobar?”

“Have you seen any videos of him online or on the news?”

“No,” Nadya replied.

“Have you been able to contact him?”

“No.”

“Which means he’s disappeared just like Cole. I’m trying to find out something about where he wound up after he was pulled out of Denver. At the very least,” Paige added as she shifted to look at each of the Amriany in turn, “I should be able to check if both of them are alive, dead, or presumed something else.”

Gunari pointed a critical stare at Paige and asked, “How do you know this?”

“I’ve got contacts. Isn’t that what you like about me?”

“Americans,” Milosh grunted. “Always talk in circles, but never saying anything.”

Looking out her window, Paige said, “Prophet told me about what you guys did in Denver, so I don’t have any problem with doing what I can to find your partner. In the meantime, you can tell me how you’re so sure about that Full Blood in Oklahoma.”

The speakers mounted in the cabin over their heads crackled, and a feminine voice with a sharp, eastern European accent was transmitted through them. “Is that Drina?” Paige asked, pointing up to the closest speaker.

“We’ll be landing in five minutes,” Nadya said. “Buckle up.”

Paige tugged on the strap of her seat belt to show that she’d never unbuckled it.

“How quickly can you find out about Tobar?” Gunari asked.

“Depends on how long it takes to finish up this Oklahoma business. By the way,” Paige said, cocking her head to one side, “what was this business again?”

Nadya fixed her eyes on Paige, but before she could say anything, Milosh snarled something at her in their native tongue. After tersely responding to him, she looked back to Paige and said, “We need to be more trusting of each other. There is no cause for bad feelings between you and I, other than the rivalry that has existed between Skinners and Amriany for generations.”

As the plane dipped into a landing pattern, Paige felt something in her gut that came from more than just a change of altitude. The Amriany all stared at her expectantly before casting their eyes at each other as if they didn’t know whether to open up to her or gang up to make certain she never got up from her seat.

“We have Dikh Chakano,” Nadya declared. “Far Seers. All they need is a piece of a shapeshifter and they can find them.”

“They need more than that,” Milosh was quick to say.

“Really?” Paige scoffed. “Because I was about to piece together and steal an entire Gypsy ritual with just that last sentence.”

Milosh wagged a blade at her and asked, “You know what my people call an ignorant savage? ‘Skinner.’ See how that word rolls off my tongue like a kernel of shit someone slipped into my soup? When your people speak of us as superstitious fortune-tellers and thieves, ‘Gypsy’ sounds much the same way. If we are to start respecting each other, we can stop spitting these words at each other this way.”

“Fair enough. So what’s the Gypsy method for spotting Full Bloods?”