32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The inn Torrance directed us to was clean but lacking in bells and whistles. Greg and I took one room and Torrance grabbed another. The werewolf who'd joined us, Langston, the ridiculously large one I'd seen in the hall, had said he would remain in the corridor.

Torrance glared at the hulking man before he stalked off. Langston watched him leave, his expression full of loathing. I wasn't sure if there was an issue between wolves and fire elementals in this day and age or whether the beef between them was personal, but my money was on the latter.

We'd grabbed my clothes from the judgemental maid before we left the Town Hall, and when we got to the inn Greg helped me get out of the monstrosity I'd been thoroughly tied into. Despite the relative comfort of the bed, I tossed and turned relentlessly and sleep remained annoyingly elusive, partly because of the terrible scratchy Victorian bedsheets and partly because of the gargantuan creature loitering at our door. Neither was I certain that Krieg wouldn't have us killed even when he found he could speak to his horse.

Greg cuddled me close. ‘I'm guarding you, Peaches,' he promised, giving my bare shoulder a kiss. ‘Sleep. I won't let anything happen to you.' He slipped out of the bed, shifted into his wolf form and sat pointedly facing the sole point of ingress and the huge enemy werewolf on the other side of the door.

With him guarding me, something in me eased and I tumbled into a restless sleep filled with dreams where I was constantly running late for a meeting for which I didn't know the time or place.

When I was dressed again in my Victorian clothes with a modern zip, we set out for the station. People around us were decidedly bleary eyed and hungover, their expressions rueful; they had celebrated New Year in style. My own constant yawns fit right in, though mine weren't from letting the good times roll. More's the pity.

Torrance and Langston were still eying each other with open hostility. I was certain that there was history there but I was too tired to unpick it. Torrance sorted out the tickets, and before long we were boarding a train bound for Staffordshire.

Contained in the train carriage as we were, Greg took the opportunity to have a light snooze. Torrance once again took to juggling fireballs whilst looking pointedly at Langston. The threat was obvious and the tension in the air increased.

Just once, I wanted to be stuck with people who didn't want to kill each other. With all my heart I wanted people to get along. Was it so much to ask? If we were all kind to each other and let conflicts slide, the world would be a far better place. Live and let live was my philosophy.

Kill and eat it is mine, Esme interjected.

Yeah, I sighed ruefully. I know. Esme and I were truly yin and yang.

The journey took longer than I'd anticipated. I was feeling edgy. What if the thief got there before we did? I'd taken for granted the sheer convenience of cars and although I had factored in ye olde travel time, I'd not allowed enough of it. If I'd gone back into time and missed the damned theft, I'd be beyond annoyed with myself.

Finally the train pulled to a stop. Langston looked out of the window and his broad shoulders relaxed when he spotted something. ‘The boss has arranged a carriage,' he said. ‘Follow me.'

We disembarked and followed him to a carriage with two horses, hooked up and ready to pull it. ‘We need to go to the Staffordshire Pack,' I told Langston. ‘But subtly. We mustn't be seen.'

‘You got it,' Langston snapped. ‘Get in.'

I climbed in with Greg and Torrance. Langston sat outside to drive us, giving us some privacy. ‘What's your problem with Langston?' I asked Torrance since we now had the luxury of time.

Torrance stared out of the window and for a moment I thought that he wasn't going to answer me. ‘We were friends once,' he said morosely. ‘Good friends, boyhood friends. It was Langston that pulled me into Timmy's sphere. Lang took to it like a violent duck to water – like a goose, I guess you could say. He didn't warn me beforehand that once you're in Timmy's gang, you can't get out.'

‘But you did get out,' I pointed out.

He grimaced. ‘I was bought out. The Alessandros paid a king's ransom to get me out from under Timmy's thumb. Apparently I was damaging the reputation of fire elementals.' He gave me a bitter smile.

That surprised me. Without the Connection ruling things, it was up to each faction to sort themselves out; I guessed that my relatives had got wind of a fire-elemental thug and decided to take matters into their own hands. Torrance was lucky they had bought him out rather than just killing him.

He read my thoughts by the expression on my face. ‘I have a powerful family,' he admitted. ‘They would have retaliated if the Alessandros had given me a cremation.'

‘Yet your own family didn't rescue you from Krieg's clutches?'

‘No,' he said bitterly, ‘they didn't.'

‘So you're mad at Langston for pulling you into Krieg's path? For not warning you there was no exit?'

‘Yes, but it's more complex than that.' He paused, visibly struggling with telling this part of the story. That's how I knew I needed to hear it: I'd poked Torrance's old wounds, so now I might as well rip the scab right off.

‘Tell me.'

Torrance grimaced and blew out a long breath. ‘Lang was mad that I left. He began courting a lady friend of mine, as a "screw you" to me.' His nose pinched, his jaw clenched and when he spoke it was through gritted teeth. ‘He took her honour and then refused to take her hand. She wasn't a wolf, you see. She was good enough to bed but not to wed.'

I reached out and touched his hand. ‘I'm sorry. That's horrible.' Not just for Torrance but for the poor girl too. I'd already seen first-hand from the maid that perceived loose morals weren't acceptable.

‘It was.' He licked his lips and stared out of the window so that we wouldn't see his tears, but the thickness of his voice gave them away. ‘She took her own life when she realised she was with child,' he said tightly. ‘His child.'

‘Oh shit. I'm so sorry.' I really was, though saying sorry really didn't cut the mustard. Still, my sympathy was all I had to offer. ‘You can stay here when we go to the Staffordshire pack, if you want. You don't have to carry on working with him.'

Torrance looked affronted. ‘You are an Alessandro. I will guard you until my final breath.' He shot me a distinctly wobbly grin. ‘Though if I could also kill Langston, I'd be grateful.'

‘Understandable,' Greg said. ‘I'd do the same. What a prick.'

Torrance looked moodily out of the window, no doubt thinking of his lost lady love. The carriage fell silent as we swayed on our way. I wondered if we would have the same fate as Torrance's lady when we reached the Staffordshire pack: fucked and dead. I couldn't help but feel like we were either riding to our salvation or to our doom. There was no middle ground for us today; it was do or die.

And I'd kill to keep that orb where it should be – with the wolves.