Interrogation

After taking one look at the motel’s breakfast of burnt eggs and undercooked pancakes, Felix, Arisa, and Mason resorted to buying snacks from the vending machine outside the building.

As Felix slid the last of his quarters into the machine, he glanced at Arisa. “Hey, you know how you animated the net last night?”

Arisa broke off a piece of her chocolate bar. “Yeah?”

“Do you think you could animate a rug and turn it into a flying carpet?”

“Why would I do that?”

“To help me fulfill a childhood dream?” Felix punched in the code for a bag of chips.

“Hm. It would take a lot of energy. Might be too much for the counterbalance.” She popped the piece of chocolate into her mouth.

The door to Sebastian’s room opened. He leaned against the door frame and folded his arms. “Ready to talk to the wolf?” he called to them.

“Hang on!” Felix turned back to the vending machine. “My chips are stuck.”

“Just buy another bag,” Mason said.

Felix slid a hand into his pocket. “I’m out of money.”

“Hold on.” Sebastian walked over to them, pulling out his wallet. He slid a bill into the machine and typed in the code for the chips. The four of them watched as a second bag slid forward and failed to knock down the first.

“It’s fine. I’ll just starve,” Felix said.

Sebastian pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and grabbed the sides of the machine. “Not on my watch.”

“Be careful,” Arisa said. “Vending machines kill more people than sharks.”

“I think you’re thinking of coconuts,” Felix told her.

“No, I’m definitely thinking of vending machines.”

“Pretty sure you’re both right,” Mason muttered.

Sebastian rocked the vending machine back and forth a couple of times. When that failed to dislodge the chips, he took a step back and slammed his foot into the front of the machine. A crack ran up the front of the glass. Bags of food and bottled drinks rained down inside the machine.

“Yeah!” Arisa cheered and pumped a fist in the air. Felix eagerly dove forward to collect his chips. Mason pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his face and backed away from them.

Sebastian grabbed everything else that had fallen, somehow managing to balance it all with one arm.

“We don’t need all of that,” Mason said.

“Never leave evidence at a crime scene.” Sebastian held up a bag and shook it. “You sure you don’t want any of this?”

Mason reluctantly moved closer. After eyeing his options for a few moments, he snatched a few bags of candy and a bottle of soda.

Arisa lifted an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of sugar.”

“It’s one of the few things that still tastes really good,” Mason said. Claws extended from the tips of his fingers as he tore open a bag of caramels. “In fact, I think it might taste even better than when I was human.”

“Well, we should get started.” Sebastian turned around. “I think we’ve kept our wolf waiting long enough.”

The four filed into the motel room. The werewolf was still wrapped up in the silver net, but he’d transformed into a tall, muscled man with messy dark hair hanging around his face. Welts cut across his pale skin where the net had touched it.

“All right.” Sebastian pulled a chair over from the desk and sat down. “Let’s start with your name.” He leaned back and crossed his legs. Felix, Arisa, and Mason lined up behind him.

“So, we’re finally talking.” The man glared up at Sebastian. “Torture me all you want. I’m not giving you anything.”

“Unfortunately, there won’t be any torture. Either you talk, or I kill you.” Sebastian grabbed a dagger off the desk next to him. “And then we hunt down your pack and kill them, too.”

The man barked out a cold laugh. “What, that’s it? You haven’t seen me kill anyone. Hardly seems fair to give me a death sentence without evidence.”

“You want a trial? That could be arranged. But the King’s Council is far crueler to monsters than I am. You won’t find any friends there.” Sebastian leaned forward. “Besides, I tracked down last month’s victims at the cemetery. There was still magical energy lingering around their graves, and you’re giving off the same energy.”

“The whole pack has the same energy. You can’t prove I specifically killed anyone.”

“Your whole pack has similar energy signatures. There’s a subtle difference you can detect if you’re as smart and talented as I am.” Sebastian gestured with his dagger. “And even if your signature weren’t on any of the bodies—which it was—that would still mean someone in your pack was killing people. If you associate with them, you’re supporting monsters.”

Felix took a bite of one of his chips. A crunching sound filled the room. The man in the net shot him a death glare.

“What?” Felix asked through a mouth full of chip.

“These are future Guardians?” The man snorted. “The Moonlit Army is going to destroy your precious Brightlands.”

A dark expression flickered across Sebastian’s face. “Why do you know that name?” he asked.

“Whispers of the Moonlit Army are spreading among us monsters ,” the man said with a sneer, heavily emphasizing that last word. “It’s not just your old Guardian friends that you’ll have to face when the time comes.” He sniffed and lifted his chin. “You killed some of my pack. I can smell their blood on you.”

“Rude. I did shower,” Sebastian said. “But yes, I killed all the wolves that I pulled off the group of dumbass teenagers who thought camping last night was a good idea.”

The man’s face twisted in pain, but he pushed it away after a moment. “Did they survive?”

“The teenagers? They’re in the hospital, but I think they’ll pull through.” Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. “I do have to give your pack credit. You’re a smart little group.”

“Little?” The man chuckled.

Sebastian continued. “Smarter than any other pack I’ve dealt with. And bigger. Faster. Stronger.” His hand tightened around the dagger’s handle as he pointed it at the man. “Except you. You suck.”

“The rest of them will rip you and those pathetic children to shreds,” the man spat.

Felix winced.

Sebastian lowered the dagger. “Oh, no, don’t be fooled by my praise. Your pack of monsters is no match for me.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Killing your kind is in a werewolf’s blood. Lions kill zebras, snakes kill mice, spiders kill flies. You want to stand in the way of nature?”

“And yet most werewolves stick to hunting animals. I’ve even met a few who don’t hunt at all while they’re transformed. Hell of an appetite after, though. Have you ever seen someone eat ten burgers in one sitting?”

“You’re annoying.”

“Yes, I’ve been told that,” Sebastian said. “But don’t act as if you’re something entirely unhuman. Werewolves are still capable of sympathy for innocent lives.”

“What if wolves could only survive off human flesh?” the man asked. “Would you still call us monsters for doing what we needed to survive?”

“That’s not the world we live in, and I’m not a fan of hypotheticals. I’ll leave that one to philosophers.” After a moment, Sebastian let out a cold laugh. “You’re stalling, aren’t you?”

“Am not.”

“You think your pack’s going to come rescue you?”

The man was quiet for a few seconds. Then, he lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “Maybe they won’t find me before you kill me. But they will find you eventually.” He chuckled. “They’ve been waiting for you.”

Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. “Waiting for me? I’m flattered, really, but I can’t imagine what a pack of werewolves would want with me. How did you even know I’d be assigned to deal with you?”

“I believe the plan was to just keep killing Bright Guardians until you showed up,” the man said. “As to what we want with you, well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

After a moment of silence, Sebastian rose to his feet. “Kids, let’s go outside.”

A light drizzle had started in the parking lot. Sebastian’s gaze flickered up to the gray clouds overhead. “Hopefully, this clears up by tonight.” He turned his attention back to Felix, Arisa, and Mason. “It’s not easy to kill a monster with a human face. You three aren’t ready for that.”

Felix expected the others to protest, but their only response was to nod.

“With some of their pack members missing, the rest of the wolves are going to be ready for a big fight,” Sebastian continued. “I’ll deal with this guy. You kids relax until tonight.”

The three left Sebastian and headed to Felix and Mason’s room. As they entered, Mason spoke. “That werewolf said their plan was to ‘keep killing Guardians’ until Sebastian showed up.”

Felix nodded. “Sounds like they’ve already killed some.”

“Exactly,” Mason said. “Maybe they’re the same wolves that killed the Guardians on Ernest Abernathy’s mission, after all.”

“But Ernest said he and his team killed all of them.”

Arisa sat down at the desk and rested her chin on her hand. “Maybe he was wrong, and there were more wolves than he thought. But…” She trailed off and glanced at Mason.

“We already know he’s bad news,” Mason said with a nod. “It’s not a stretch to assume he lied.”

“You think he was lucky and got away while everyone else was killed?” Felix asked.

“Maybe,” Mason muttered. “Or…”

“Or what?”

“I don’t know. Never mind.”

They played board games until Mason got tired of losing, flipped through TV channels until they were hungry, and grabbed food at a taco place across the street. The afternoon dragged by even slower than the morning. Mason flipped back and forth through his books. Arisa taught Felix a few card games and kicked his ass at all of them.

Finally, Felix won a round of rummy. He cheered loud enough to startle Mason, who jumped and knocked one of Felix’s empty water bottles off the desk.

Arisa scowled. “I’m hungry. Let’s go bug Sebastian for dinner.”

Felix was disappointed to cut his potential winning streak short, but he followed Arisa and Mason out of the room and to Sebastian’s door. Arisa knocked.

No response.

“Hello?” Felix called. “Sebastian?” Still, no reply came.

“Wait, I have an idea.” Arisa rested a hand on the door. “Alright, buddy, could you open up for me?”

The door handle twisted itself, and the door swung open. The three entered Sebastian’s room and found it empty. No Sebastian, no wolf. Arisa moved to his desk, where a folder holding a stack of papers lay open.

“What are you doing?” Felix asked.

Arisa picked up a sheet of paper. “Just taking a look.”

“I don’t know if going through his stuff is a good idea.” Felix glanced at Mason, who shrugged.

“Why would I care?” Mason asked.

Arisa picked up a second paper. Her eyes widened. “Hey, this is stuff on Ernest!” She held it up. “It’s the same mission report we found.” Mason hurried over to take a look for himself.

“Sebastian is looking into Ernest,” Felix said as he joined them. “That’s good. Maybe that’s why we’re really here.”

“Why not tell us then?” Mason asked as he took the paper from Arisa.

“Tell you what?” Sebastian stepped through the open doorway. The door smacked into him, sending him stumbling forward. “What the—Did you bring my door to life?”

“Oops.” Arisa held up a hand. “I forgot to un-animate it.”

“What are you all doing in here?” Sebastian asked.

“Uh, looking for food?” Felix tried.

It was no use. Mason held up the mission report. “Have you found more information on Ernest Abernathy?”

Sebastian shrugged off his jacket as he walked to the desk. “I don’t have anything concrete, yet. Just a few theories.” Specks of blood stained his shirt, and there was a tear in his right sleeve.

“Do you think Ernest lied about what happened on his werewolf mission?” Mason asked.

“It’s certainly a possibility.” Sebastian draped his jacket over the back of the desk chair.

Mason flung his hands in the air. “We should just steal the wand back already!” he exclaimed. “Ernest won’t be able to do anything about it without admitting he stole it in the first place.”

“It’s not that simple,” Sebastian said. “Even if we get in and out fast enough to avoid getting caught, he’ll pick up on our magical energy. Especially mine, given the amount of power I have.”

“Then just tell me where he lives and let me go by myself! I know I can do it,” Mason insisted. “I’ve been trying to figure out that energy masking spell that was used at the office building, and I think I can replicate it—”

“I have considered it, believe me,” Sebastian cut him off. “But if you were caught, the council would consider you an enemy. And for a demon, that means certain death.”

“I’ll run,” Mason said. “I can get far away fast. I’m good at it.”

“And go on your own again?” Felix asked. Mason didn’t answer.

“At the very least, you should give me a chance to study his house more at the next party,” Sebastian said. “Let me get a better idea of his security. He’s bound to have wards in place. You won’t be able to get through those.”

“I guess,” Mason muttered. He set the page from the mission report back on the desk, and Felix noticed that his claws had emerged during the argument.

Sebastian folded his arms. “Now, we still have a pack of werewolves to kill.”

“What about dinner?” Arisa asked.

Sebastian paused. “Good point. Okay, dinner, then wolves.”