Chapter 7
They Came in the Night
A further fortnight had passed since the full moon, and Wolf and Virginia had once again settled into their typical routine of working, eating, making love and (at least for Wolf's part) eating again. They were in love, it was summer and they needed nothing else. They even had Mrs Murray to clean up afterwards, though Virginia found it slightly suspicious that the old lady now refused to clean the oven. Wolf had professed complete ignorance, of course.
They were on their way home this evening when Virginia remembered that they needed more meat in the fridge. It was a good thing Wolf recieved such generous tips, she thought. His weekly meat intake sometimes required two or three fridge loads, and he couldn't be trusted to carry the stuff home either. They were Martin the butchers most valued customers, she was sure of it. Bidding him wait outside, Virginia entered the small butchery, expecting to see the energetic little man jump up from his seat to serve her his best produce. Not that "best produce" meant anything special to a hungry Wolf. He would exist just as happily chewing on great limps of gristle and fat if she let him. Martin wasn't there at all, instead a new man she had seen only yesterday looked up expectantly.
"How can I help you, miss?" he intoned
"Oh, I was expecting Martin to be here. Is he ill?" Virginia enquired politely.
"Not at all, just having a well deserved day off" he replied. "But, he did ask me to look out for you specifically, miss Lewis, as he has put aside a nice lamb roast"
"Oh, that's so sweet of him" said Virginia, although secretly she was getting mightily sick of lamb. But she knew it was Wolf's best ever favourite, so she acquiesed, accepting the large wrapped package and paying the man. She got something of a shock as she was leaving though. She pulled back the door and caught sight of the man looking at her in the glass reflection. He looked, almost...disgusted. Shivering slightly she let the door fall closed as she left the store. Ever attentive to her moods and body language, Wolf immediately sensed her discomfort.
"What has happened, princess? You are troubled by something" he queried, one brow raised.
"Oh, just nothing, only a strange look by someone. I'm sure I just imagined it"
"Ah ha. So what have you got for dinner?" although his nose told him precisely what was in the package.
"Lamb, lovely lamb" she sighed.
Later at home she unwrapped the bundle, seeing that it was indeed a good quality leg. She shoved Wolf out of the way to stop him from drooling on it whilst she lit the oven. The sight of his delectable mate leaning seductively over the oven whilst holding a chunk of raw meat was almost too much for Wolf to bear, so he bounded off to the lounge room lest he get in further trouble. Neither of them noticed the tiny pin pricks that covered every square inch of the meat.
Wolf pushed himself back from the table, patting his bulging stomach fondly, tempted to gnaw on the bare bone but deciding to leave it as a possible midnight snack. Virginia had cooked it rare, taking the well done pieces from the outer for herself and leaving him the dripping red remainder. She had made a salad as well, but it held no Wolf interest, except for the bacon bits. Virginia moved to start cleaning and stacking dishes, but he drew her away into his arms and thus onto the sofa, intending to take advantage of the mood she had unwittingly (or not, he guessed) put him in earlier in the kitchen.
They lay close, Wolf lying on top of her, content just to gaze at her for a while. Gradually he became aware of a strange sensation, of floating almost. It reminded him vaguely of the few times he'd tried Troll Dust. Virginia was talking to him, but her eyes had gone all unfocussed and he was struggling to hear her. He didn't like this feeling, no sirree! He found himself on the floor, wondering how he had gotten there yet unable to figure out what to do about it. His mouth felt numbed, his tongue thick and not responding to his voice. The room spun.
Virginia was in about the same state, for athough she had eaten less, her small framed body coursed with the drugs from the tainted meat. She tried to think what to do. Get help. Where from? She slipped off the sofa and crawled over the prone body of Wolf who was twitching and growling as if in a dream. In her confused state she headed towards the bedroom and away from the phone on the wall.
Wolf was in something of a dream state, but it was nightmares his brain plunged into. He had violent flashbacks, things his memory had stored safely away were restored suddenly. He was a child again, smelling the smoke of his parents bonfires, hearing the cheers of the crowd, his own screams. Running, running through the night, in terror, the pusuit gaining on him, he was too young to go through this, somebody help me! Wolf convulsed on the floor, the movement jerking him awake enough to sniff out Virginia and stumble towards their room. He collapsed weakly on the bed where he mercifully passed right out.
They came in the night, to spring their trap. Half a dozen men dressed in black but none with the tell tale white dog collar to give their identities away. Quietly they snuck through the darkened hallways to the doorway. Listening carefully, they gained entry, spreading out to find their quarry. Connor was beyond fear, and beyond exilaration. He had never done anything remotely so dangerous as this night raid. It didn't take long to find the demon and a quick investigation determined that it was completely incapacitated. The woman was also found, but they weren't interested in her just now. After cursory inspection to see if she still breathed, they rolled her into a safe position and left her against the bedroom wall.
They focussed now on securing the demon. They had brought with them various devices. Using strong handcuff like binders they approached cautiously. One of the brothers, Clement, reached out to grasp the wrists but he made nearly a fatal error in bringing his own arm so close to the demons' mouth. It lunged suddenly and Connor saw the huge teeth bared as they sunk in Clement's forearm. Instantly the five other men jumped full weight on the struggling creature as Clement desperately tried to rip the teeth free. It seemed a last ditch effort on the monsters' part though, as within a few seconds the stuggling stopped and it once more settled into a drug induced sleep. Clement sunk to the floor, clutching his bleeding arm, gasping in shock and pain. Soon the others had the demon securely trussed and they wrapped the it up in the bedsheets, carrying the dead weight out the front door and out to the street. They crossed to a waiting black van and bundled their catch in the back. There were still a few folk about at that time of night, but this was New York, and no one saw anything.
They inspected their captive to ensure he was not in a life threatening position. They did not want him to die after all the trouble they had gone to. The van door slid shut and they sped off into the night.