"Well, eventually. They haven't quite learned it yet... so they're staying."
"They'restaying?"
.................
"Right. Look, I'm the head of the familyon the West Coast, aren't I? And I say they're staying."
"Ash............. "
"It's about time there was a Night World outpost in this area, don't you think? You see what's happened without one. You get families of outlaw werewolves wandering around. Somebody's got to stay here and hold down the fort."
"Ash ... you couldn't payNight People to strand themselves out here. Nothing but animals to feed on, nobody but humans to associate with ..."
"Yeah, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.Besides, wasn't it you who said it's not good living your whole life isolated on an island?"
Quinn stared at him, then said, "Well, I don't thinkthis is much better."
"Then it serves my sisters right. Maybe in a few years they'll appreciate the island more. Then theycan hand the job over to someone else."
"Ash ... no one else is going to comehere."
"Well." With the battle won, and Quinn simplylooking dazed and as if he wanted to get back to LosAngeles as fast as possible, Ash allowed himself a small measure of truth.
"I might come visit them someday," he said.
"He did a beautiful job," Rowan said that evening.
"We heard it all from the kitchen. You would have loved it."
Mary-Lynnette smiled.
"Quinn can't wait to get away," Jade said, in tertwining her fingers with Mark's.
Kestrel said to Ash, "I'd just like to be around when you explain all this to Dad."
"That's funny," Ash said. "I feel just the opposite." Everyone laughed-except Mary-Lynnette. The big farm kitchen was warm and bright, but the windowswere darkening. She couldn't see anything in the gathering darkness-in the last two days the effects of her blood exchange had faded. Her senses were ordinary human senses again.
"You're sure you won't get in trouble?" sheasked Ash.
"No. I'll tell our dad the truth-mostly. That anoutlaw werewolf killed Aunt Opal and that I killed the werewolf. And that the girls are better off here,hunting quietly and watching out for other rogues.
There's sure to be some record of the Lovett fam ily.... Dad can check out the history all he wants."
"A whole family of outlaw werewolves," Kestrel said musingly.
"Ofcrazy werewolves," Ash said. "They were as dangerous to the Night World as any vampire hunters could be. God knows how long they've beenhere-long enough for their land to get named Mad Dog Creek."
"And for people to mistake them for Sasquatch," Mark said.
Rowan's brown eyes were troubled. "And it wasmy fault that you didn't know," she said to MaryLynnette. "I told you-he couldn't be the killer. I'm sorry."
Mary-Lynnette captured her gaze and held it. "Rowan, you arenotgoing to feel guilty for this. You couldn't have realized. He wasn't killing for food like a normal werewolf. He was killing to protect his territory-and to scare us."
"And it might have worked," Mark said. "Exceptthat you guys didn't have anywhere else to go."
Ash looked at Mark, then at his sisters. "I have a question. Is the territory around here going to be enough foryou?"
"Of course," Rowan said, with gentle surprise.
"We don't always need tokill the animals," Jade said. "We're getting it down pat now. We can take a little here and a little there. Heck, we can even trythe goat. "
"I'd rather try Tiggy," Kestrel said, and for a moment her golden eyes glimmered. Mary-Lynnette didn't say it, but she wondered sometimes about Kestrel. If maybe, someday, Kestrel might need a bigger territory of her own. She was a lot like Jeremy in some ways.
Beautiful, ruthless, single-minded. A true Night Person.
"And what about you?" Ash said, looking at mark.
"Me? Uh... Well, when you get down to it, I'm kind of a hamburger guy...."
"I tried to take him hunting last night," Jade interpreted. "You know, just to show him. But he threw up."
"I didn't actually-"
"Yes, you did," Jade said calmly and cheerfully.
Mark looked away. Mary-Lynnette noticed they didn't stop holding hands.
"So I take it you're not going to become a vampire," Ash said to Mark.
"Uh, let's just say not any time soon."
Ash turned to Mary-Lynnette. "And what about the human end of things? Do we have that taken care of?"
"Well, I know everything that's going on intown-by which I mean that I talked with BunnyMarten this morning. I'm so glad she's not a vampire, incidentally Mark said, "I always knew it"
"Anyway, here's the quick version." MaryLynnette held up a finger. "One, everybody knowsthat Jeremy is gone-his boss at the gas stationmissed him yesterday and went up to check the trailer. They found a lot of weird stuff there. But all they know is that he's disappeared."
"Good," Rowan said.
Mary-Lynnette held up another finger. "Two,Dad is sorry but not surprised that the stationwagon blew up. Claudine has been predicting itwould for a year."
Another finger. "Three, Mr. Kimble doesn't have any ideawhatkilled his horse-but now he thinks it was an animal instead of a person. Vic Kimble thinks it was maybe Sasquatch. He and Todd are very spooked and want to get out of Briar Creek forgood "And let's have a moment of silence to show howwe'll miss them," Mark said solemnly, and blew a raspberry.
"Four," Mary-Lynnette said, holding up a fourthfinger, "you girls are eventually going to have to mention that your aunt hasn't come back from her 'vacation.' But I thinkyou can wait awhile. Nobody comes out here so nobody will notice she's gone. And I think we can bury her and Jeremy safely. Even if somebody finds them, what have they got? A mummy that looks about a thousand years old and a wolf.