The three men stood, waiting for the werewolves to make their decision. The creatures bobbed with uncertainty, snarling and waving their clawed hands. Then they turned and raced away into the forest.
Malcolm glanced at the dead werewolf on the gravel and up at the bloody Simon. “You needn’t have risked yourself.”
Simon shook his head in annoyed bemusement and put a hand on Nick’s shoulder for support. “But I like Penny.”
“Well then, come on,” Malcolm said, peering all around for safety. “She brought a few things that might be helpful.”
“Good. I hoped she needed that steam horse for more than just to ferry you out here.” Simon and Nick hurried back to the house, leaving the Scotsman to follow slowly.
Chapter Twenty-three
“She’s coming,” Simon said.
“She’s already here.” Malcolm stood to his left, staring through the glass into the wild woods beyond the well-tended garden. “I can see them moving. They’ll attack soon.”
Dusk had fallen, but outside the windows of Hartley Hall it appeared as bright as a milky day thanks to the moon rising in the east. Its radiance illuminated the lines in Simon’s face as he looked out the French windows in the Blue Room. The scattered clouds glowed with the eerie light, while the high, manicured hedges stretching off to the dark forest looked almost otherworldly in the moonshine.
Simon placed a hand on the wall and closed his eyes, seeking out the power of the runes he had scripted throughout the house and across the grounds. To his relief, they were all as he had placed them, waiting. So he reached out, touching them all, and took control of their power. He could feel the connections through the aether as if he now had a series of outposts along a frontier, but in the face of the threat lurking in the forest, his magic seemed distant and weak. Simon’s jaw tightened as Kate entered the parlor in close conversation with Penny. Nick was on their heels.
Kate wore her bandolier of vials, carried a sword in her hand, and sported a pistol in her belt. Simon studied the martial figure with appreciation. Her face showed no fear, only the resolve to protect those in the house. She took a position at his shoulder, peering through the glass. He took strength from her tenacity.
“There’s not much time, I assume?” she asked.
“No. They’re scurrying around. Is everything prepared?”
“As best we could.” She smiled back at Penny. “Miss Carter is a wonder. She prepared a number of swords with silver nitrate and managed to provide some of the men with silver loads for their firearms.”
Penny hefted her thunderous stovepipe weapon. “Have you seen the workshop her father has here? If I had a few days, we could hold off an army.”
“No doubt,” replied Simon. “I wish we had those days, but I’m sure you’ve worked miracles in the time you had. And I’ll remind you, Miss Carter, that this isn’t your fight. I would rather you place yourself out of harm’s way.”
Penny regarded him with a hand on her cocked hip. “Just give us a rousing St. Crispin’s Day speech, will you?”
Simon nodded to her and looked around the room from under a downturned brow. His face remained a mask of effort as he gripped the doorframe. His air of authority was all the more powerful as the tattoos on his bare forearms shone with eldritch energy. His voice deepened. “The way to win this battle is to stand together. They will concentrate their attack on the house, most likely at this place because the hedges provide good cover nearly to the door. So Malcolm and I will hold the line here in the Blue Room. Kate, you and Penny take the library in the east wing to cover the entrance to the wine cellar.”
Kate gave Penny a glance over her shoulder, and the engineer shot her a lopsided grin.
Simon continued, “Nick, your task is to cover the rear entrance in the west wing to ensure no beasts threaten the servants in the scullery.”
“Where’s the dog?” Nick huffed a disgusted breath. “I’ll stand near him. He always turns out well.”
“Good idea,” Simon nodded at his friend. “Kate, if you and Penny find your position in the library untenable, fall back to the wine cellar. We can give ground but not people. Those creatures out there have no goal but to kill all of us. We won’t let that happen. Our duty is to destroy them. Destroy them utterly. Every one of them you kill is one that can’t hurt us in the future.”
“Hear hear,” Malcolm muttered.
“Very well.” Simon stared into Kate’s bold green eyes. Part of him was apprehensive for her, but the other part was struck hard by her unabashed fire and valor. “Off you go. Good luck, everyone.”
“I’ll see you when it’s over.” Kate hefted her long sword and laid a hand on her pistol. She gave Nick a sharp whistle and jerked her head toward the door. He looked annoyed but followed her and Penny.
“She’s quite impressive.” Malcolm’s eyes lingered on the door.
“She’s an Anstruther,” Simon said, annoyed by the Scotsman’s ill-timed observation.