"I hope it's closer to a city," Sali said.
"You just want to drive around and impress girls," Ashe teased.
"I'm impressive already," Sali lifted his arms and flexed his muscles. Ashe's mother laughed.
The doorbell rang so Aedan rose to answer it. Marcus and Denise DeLuca walked into the kitchen. "Feel like buying a boat?" Marcus clapped Aedan on the back and grinned.
Chapter 2
"Star Cove, Texas?" Ashe was surfing on his computer as quickly as he could. Sali, leaning over Ashe's shoulder, blinked as Ashe checked the maps he'd pulled up. "Here it is." Tapping the screen, Ashe pointed out the small Texas community, just north of Corpus Christi.
"Did Winkler know we'd need a new place?" Sali asked, trying to learn more about their new home by peering at a tiny dot on the map. "Dad said Winkler had a whole development ready to go."
"I'm not sure that was his original intention; it was just convenient, with new housing already built. I think it was an investment," Ashe said. "Dang, I can't get updated information." The online map service didn't have the new addition on satellite imaging, yet.
"But it's near the water," Sali grinned.
"It'll certainly be different from dry, western Oklahoma."
"And your dad will only have to build his bunker," Sali said. "I can't wait. Mr. Winkler says he's sending Dallas wolves driving rented trucks. They'll have us out of here in one night."
"But Dad and Nathan will have to wait and leave when the sun is down. Mr. Winkler says if they hurry, they can drive it in one night. If not, he has a place set up in San Antonio for them to spend the day." Ashe's frown wrinkled his forehead. He always worried if his dad had to stay somewhere strange. Vampires were vulnerable in the daytime. Any sunlight hitting his father might kill him.
"Come on, they'll be okay," Sali nudged Ashe's shoulder. "See what else you can find out."
"Ashe?" Dori and Wynn walked into Ashe's bedroom, offered Sali a halfhearted glare and stared at the computer screen. "This is where we'll be?" Dori's voice held a hint of awe. "It's right next to the gulf."
"Should be just north of this street," Ashe pointed out Friendly Lane in Star Cove. "Looks to be a good spot to park your boat if you’re a fisherman. But the addition is too new to be on the map or satellite yet."
"Wynn and I are going to be next door to each other," Dori poked Sali in the chest.
"Nah, I'll be right in the middle," Sali teased in an effort to stir something up.
"You will not separate us," Wynn poked Sali harder in the chest.
"Help!" Sali flopped onto Ashe's bed in mock fear as two angry female shapeshifters wrestled with him. Ashe worked to hide his snicker as Sali struggled to escape both girls without hurting either.
"Salidar, if you hurt someone," Denise DeLuca warned. Sali's mother stood in Ashe's doorway, hands on her hips while she surveyed the wrestling match. Wynn and Dori stopped trying to hold Sali down and stood back. Sali pointed to himself and proclaimed his innocence, attempting to explain how he was getting the worst of the battle. Ashe worked harder to stifle the laugh.
"Girls, we'll drop you off on our way home," Denise offered, after telling Sali it was time to leave. "Sali still has packing to do."
Wynn flashed Sali a superior smile, flipped her nearly white ponytail in his face and followed Denise DeLuca up the stairs, Dori right behind her. "See ya later, dude. This is gonna be great." Sali waved and walked out of Ashe's bedroom.
"Yeah. Great," Ashe breathed a sigh. A boy had died, an alien race still hunted him and it was likely there were a few Cloud Chief residents who weren't excited about moving. Ashe got up, unfolded another box and went to work on his dresser.
Ashe's fears were brought home the following day. Saturday, June fourteenth had arrived and his mother left him at home to continue packing while she went to Cordell to open Cordell Feed and Seed. Principal Billings and Larry Garnett, the werewolf English teacher, parked in the driveway and rang the doorbell. Ashe, pulling the kitchen window curtain aside, grumbled to himself when he saw who it was. He also considered pretending not to be at home. Instead, he squared his shoulders and went to lift the garage door.
"Principal Billings, Mr. Garnett, I can make coffee if you want some," Ashe offered respectfully, leading the two men inside the house. Paul Harris, the former English teacher, had blown up the Evans and Anderson homes three years earlier. He'd led the Elemaiya to Ashe to begin with, but he’d been caught with his Elemaiya conspirators after several murders. The Pack had delivered justice. Ashe never knew exactly what that was; all he'd known was that Mr. Harris disappeared shortly after he'd been captured and the two Elemaiya had been destroyed by Nathan Anderson, Mr. Winkler and his father.
"We wanted to get the phone number for William Winkler," Principal Billings turned his best frown on Ashe after refusing coffee. Mr. Garnett looked as if he'd like coffee but followed Billings' lead.
"It's on the Internet," Ashe said as respectfully as he could. Winkler Security had a huge website.
"That's the company number. I've left three messages and he hasn't called back."
"He might be busy," Ashe suggested, thinking that if Principal Billings left a message for Winkler, the Dallas Packmaster might put off calling back as long as possible.
"I know he has a private number that will get me right to him. Marcus is away so I can't get it from him, and Lavonna Anderson said that Aedan might have it."
Ashe didn't like lying. Preferred not to do it if possible. He did it now, facing Principal Billings. "Then Dad may have it. You'll have to ask him." Ashe did have Winkler's private cell number—he'd had it for three years. "Call if there's trouble," Winkler said, handing a business card to Ashe before leaving Cloud Chief. "Don't give it to anyone else," Winkler grinned and slid into the company van he'd driven from Dallas. Ashe wasn't about to give the number to Billings now. Winkler's private cell number was a secret he'd kept for three years and he'd never had to use it.
"Then tell your father we'll be by after sundown. This is your fault, you know. I don't appreciate being forced to move. Again." Billings and Mr. Garnett stalked out of Ashe's house; Ashe followed to lower the garage door after them. Mr. Garnett gave a half-wave to Ashe while Principal Billings wasn't looking. Ashe lifted his hand in silent reply.
"I got everything in the living room packed up; the bathrooms too, except for what we can pack in suitcases," Ashe told his mother when she came home from work carrying bags of takeout. Ashe recognized the smell immediately; he was going to miss the chicken and dumplings from Betsy's Diner.
"The movers will be here Monday night," Adele sighed. "We'll do the kitchen tonight. We'll have sandwiches or takeout until they get here."
"Mom, Principal Billings came by today with Mr. Garnett. He wanted Mr. Winkler's phone number. Mrs. Anderson told him that Dad might have it, since Marcus was away from home."
"What did he say to you, honey?" Adele, now almost a foot shorter than Ashe, looked up into her son's face.
"He said it was my fault that we have to move. But it's something I knew already," Ashe held up a hand when his mother protested. "I offered him coffee and told him he'd have to talk to Dad about the phone number. He didn't want coffee and left." Ashe didn't say what he really thought; that Billings had come by just to upset him.
"I'll have Aedan call when he wakes. Maybe we can prevent another visit from Principal narrow-minded." Ashe blinked. He'd never heard his mother speak in disrespectful terms about any of his teachers or school administrators. Cloud Chief was too small to have an official school board, but there were three administrators— Marcus DeLuca, Jonas O'Neill and Nathan Anderson. They represented all three types of paranormals in Cloud Chief: werewolf, shapeshifter and vampire. One of their jobs was to approve expenses as proposed by the Principal and teaching staff. Mr. Garnett had asked for—and gotten—new computers for the classrooms. Students could now write essays or research information for homework assignments in the new computer lab. It had made things much simpler for the school. Now, all of it would have to be moved.
"Mom, who's packing up the school?"
"They're sending a special truck and a crew just for that," Adele slipped an arm around Ashe's shoulders. "They're going to pack everything and haul it down. Marcus says that the community center Mr. Winkler built for residents in the new addition will be redesigned and used as our school."
"This sounds like a really big expense for Mr. Winkler."
"He'll have this land and all the houses and buildings deeded over to him," Adele said. "It probably won't cover a fraction of the cost, but it'll be something. Besides, he's a very wealthy man. If he couldn't afford it, he wouldn't have offered."
"All right." Ashe pulled the container of chicken and dumplings from the bag his mother had brought, grabbed a fork and started eating.
"Looks like things are under control," Aedan glanced around the kitchen later when he came upstairs. Ashe and his mother had started packing the moment they finished eating dinner. Now, half the kitchen was in boxes and labeled. "I'll get the things down from the attic before dawn," he added.
"Dad, Principal Billings came by earlier," Ashe said.
"I know. Marcus called," Aedan held up his cell. "Stop worrying about it, Son. Marcus has already spoken with Billings." Ashe watched while his father kissed his mother lightly before heading out the kitchen door. He knew what his father, Nathan Anderson, Mr. Thompson and many of Cloud Chief's werewolves were doing; they were patrolling the perimeter, watching for another attack from the Elemaiya. His father had his cell phone and a walkie-talkie strapped to his belt; everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the Elemaiya to return.