No one spoke for at least a minute. Laddin was busy finding a stretch of ground to park on. The others, presumably, were noticing how the road stretched ahead for maybe a half mile, then ended in a gray haze, like thick smoke. Only it had flashes of color that fuzzed out his brain. Whatever was ahead, it was too chaotic for him to make sense of. And he wasn’t alone. He caught a glimpse of a pair of confused-looking reporters stumbling down the road toward them. One carried a mic, the other gripped a camera, but neither seemed able to function. They rambled forward, wearing shell-shocked expressions. A moment later, others followed—some in National Guard uniforms; some wore lab coats and carried laptops. No one spoke, and they all looked like they were escaping the apocalypse.
That was when Bruce started cursing. It was soft and low, but the sound filled the inside of the car with frustration.
“What?” Laddin pressed. “What do you see?”
Bruce didn’t seem to want to answer, but Laddin wasn’t going to let him get away with it. They needed information and they needed it now.
“We’re going in there,” Laddin said clearly. “And we need to know what you see.”
Bruce shot him a heavy stare filled with dread. “Fireworks.”
Laddin was so horrified, he couldn’t speak. But neither Stratos nor Wiz knew anything about what had happened.
Wiz spoke first, his voice commanding. “Is that a joke?”
Stratos answered. “They don’t look like they’re joking, but I can’t see anything but smoke.”
Laddin shook his head. “We’re not. He’s not.” He squinted as he looked forward. “I can hear some booms and see the smoke, but nothing else.”
Then Bruce jerked his arm forward to point into the haze. “I see people down. I count six, but there could be a lot more.” His expression tightened as his gaze kept moving, looking everywhere at once but never landing anywhere. “I think they’re tied down like I was.”
“So how do we get them out?”
Bruce put his hand on the car door even though Laddin was still easing the car forward, trying to get as close to the smoke as possible. “One at a time, that’s how.”
“Wait!” Wiz exclaimed. “Fairies are unpredictable, and they’re dangerous. We need a plan.”
Like they didn’t know that already. Meanwhile, Bruce started issuing orders. “You three get the people out. I’ll handle the fairies.”
“Hell no!” Laddin snapped.
“Why you?” Wiz asked, his voice sharp.
“Because I’ve got experience with them.”
Wiz reared back. “Since when? You’re a puppy.”
Laddin slammed the car into Park. “Since earlier today, when he offered up his firstborn child!”
Stratos’s voice hitched slightly as she opened her door; then she looked at Wiz. “I don’t think we’ve been getting the full action reports.”
“We’re werewolves,” Wiz returned. “Nobody does the paperwork.”
Laddin did the paperwork, but now wasn’t the time to point that out, because Bruce was already heading for the haze. The firework booms were there, but not nearly as loud as they should have been, given the amount of smoke.
Bruce shot him a concerned look. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Just because he was walking into a repeat of last night’s nightmare, that didn’t mean a thing. But then he happened to look up. Or maybe it didn’t just happen, because something was pulling at him. Something strong.
The moon.
But it wasn’t the regular moon. There was a second one. A fairy moon that seemed to illuminate the smoke in a mesmerizing white glow. And deep inside him, his werewolf howled in hunger.
“Laddin?” Bruce asked, his voice heavy with worry.
“I’m good,” Laddin lied. Except it wasn’t a lie, because he had it under control, right? It was just a moon. Or two moons. And though his werewolf itched to be free, Laddin was in control. “I’m fine,” he repeated.
“Then let’s get it done,” Wiz said, his voice hard.
