Chapter 68: Wendigo

The museum turned out to be only a few blocks from their hotel, which they hadn't checked in to yet. So, they parked in the hotel lot and walked.

At the museum, they found the spot where Reese had been attacked. There was still blood spatter on the display, tucked back in a corner. It would be a while before people noticed it, and then they'd likely brush it off as a nosebleed.

The location made it easy to get down and sniff. Dawn did that while Savannah, Clay and Buffy stood guard.

"And?" Buffy asked when Dawn stood.

"It's the same scents from the woods, which I suppose is something of a relief—at least we aren't dealing with more mutts."

Clay nodded, but the Savannah and the sisters could tell he wasn't relieved. His gaze kept sweeping the room, never resting on any of the exhibits, which wasn't like him at all.

"You're worried about Dennis and Joey," Dawn said.

"I'm sure they're okay. I just…" He glanced around, shook it off, then headed out. They took another route through the exhibits, and were almost at the front when Clay stopped.

"Dennis was here."

"Dennis? I hope he didn't follow those mutts in." Buffy said.

"He wouldn't."

Buffy and Dawn inhaled as Savannah watched Clay head for a separate room.

Dawn looked to Buffy who shook her head. "Buffy and I don't smell anything," Dawn said..

"Uncle Clay isn't here, Aunt Dawn," Savannah said. "He went into the adjoining room."

Savannah led her mother and aunt into the room that held displays of Native artifacts. Clay was crouched in the middle. Luckily, the room was empty—not that the presence of others would have stopped him from dropping down and sniffing.

When the sisters moved into the room, they did smell Dennis—the same scent they'd picked up outside his apartment, and just as faint, meaning it was at least as old. As for how Clay had detected it from the lobby, it only proved that as hard as he was trying to keep his perspective on this, Dennis and Joey were front and center in his mind right now.

As he followed the trail, Savannah, Buffy and Dawn looked around. It seemed to be a temporary exhibit focusing on local mythology and legends. If they did have time for sightseeing later, this room would top Clay's destination list. Even now, he kept glancing at the artifacts, reading the cards.

"Was Dennis interested in this?" Dawn asked.

"Not that I knew."

Buffy motioned Savannah toward the door.

Savannah peeked out, making sure the coast was clear, then turned to Buffy and nodded.

Buffy bent and sniffed the carpet. "No sign of the other mutts' trails," Buffy said. "If Dennis ducked into the museum to hide from them, that would be incredibly coincidental, although I suppose he could have been following the same logic as Reese, thinking it's the last place a werewolf would follow. We're the exceptions."

"Well, if you don't count Karl, but his interest in artifacts is hardly academic," Dawn added as Buffy glared at her.

Karl Marsten was one person Buffy hated with a passion as he had indirectly caused her to be bitten. And as a result, she had been one of his strongest opponents for him joining the Pack. If it hadn't been for Jeremy, Dawn was sure that Buffy would have gone after Karl a long time ago and killed him in a fit of revenge.

Clay grumbled under his breath as he continued untangling Dennis's trail. Like Buffy, Clay didn't like Karl much and had his own objections with Karl joining the Pack.

"Can you tell what Dennis was looking at in here?" Buffy asked.

"Everything, it seems. His trail goes all through the room, several times. His scent's especially heavy right here, though."

Dawn looked at the collection of drawings and newspaper accounts. "Wendigo psychosis? You did a paper on that a couple of years ago, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Clay said.

Dawn nodded. "Maybe Jeremy mentioned it, and then Dennis was visiting the museum, noticed this and slowed down for a look."

"I'll ask Jeremy if he mentioned my article," Clay said. "If not, remember we've got three half-eaten human bodies in the woods. Dennis had to know about them and figured he and Joey were the only werewolves around. They sure as hell didn't do it."

"So, he could have been looking for another explanation," Buffy said. "Either way, Dennis was here at least a week ago, meaning his visit doesn't seem directly connected to those mutts."

Clay nodded.

"They may have had nothing to do with his disappearance," Savannah suggested.

Buffy nodded. "Or if they did, his disappearance probably means they pulled the same terror tactics they used on Reese. Dennis and Joey don't strike me as the type who'd stick around to defend their territory."

"They're not," Clay said as he waved for us to head out. "But they should have notified Jeremy. Sure, they're not Pack, so technically they can't hold territory. We'd still have helped, though."

"But would they have called?" Buffy asked. "Or would they slip off to avoid any kind of confrontation?"

"Dennis would leave. He's…" He trailed off, and the sisters knew he was trying to think of a milder word than coward. "Still, whether he likes confrontations or not, this was his home."

"Maybe he didn't run," Dawn said. "Maybe he's snowed in at his cabin, like the landlord said."

As they stepped outside, Dawn checked her cell phone for messages.

"He's not calling back," Clay said.

They turned the corner and picked their way past museum expansion construction.

"We should try to find Joey," Buffy said. "It won't be that hard if he's using his real name."

"Can we go to the hotel first, mom," Savannah said. "Nap on the plane aside, I'm getting a little tired."

"Alright, honey," Buffy said.

They grabbed their bags from the car. While Savannah, Buffy and Dawn checked in, Clay prowled, getting the layout of the hotel, which was even more important now when they knew there were mutts in town.

After they checked in, they found that the hotel had a cybercafé for guests. So, they started an Internet search for Joey. Not surprisingly, there wasn't a listing in the phone directory. Jeremy said Joey worked for an advertising agency, so Dawn angled their hunt that way. In a few minutes, they had a match—a Joseph Stillwell listed at Creative Marketing Solutions in Anchorage. They called.

Dawn was hanging up when Clay returned. "Good news. we found where Joey works. He's left for the day, but the receptionist confirmed he was in earlier, meaning he's alive and well."

Clay only nodded, but he was obviously relieved.

They took the bags up to their rooms. Jeremy had gotten them connecting rooms. Buffy had to wonder if Jeremy found it funny that Clay was watching her like a hawk.

It hadn't been five minutes when Savannah and Buffy heard Clay pounding on their door. Savannah went and and opened it. He motioned Dawn who was on the phone. "It's Dennis's landlord."

Charles had the GPS coordinates and directions ready to text to Dawn's cell. He apologized for taking so long. His wife had stopped at a friend's after shopping and, as he said, "You know how that goes."

He warned them not to head out to Dennis's cabin tonight—it was already dark. Dawn thanked him and promised to call back with any news.

When Dawn hung up, Clay was already at the door.

"Eager to be off?" Buffy said.

"Eager to be off before I decide it can wait five minutes, and five minutes wasn't what I had in mind."

"Me neither," Dawn said. "Let's get this trip over with, then we can call it a night."

Buffy thought for a moment as they looked at her and then nodded. "Let's go."

They'd gone about ten miles when Buffy said, "So… Tell me truthfully. Do you two really think I'm ready to be the next Alpha?"

Dawn looked over the seat at her sister and sighed. "Not yet," she said. "But some day, yes."

Clay nodded and looked in the rearview mirror at Buffy. "Yes, I do. Buffy I've known you would be the next Alpha from the moment you were bitten. Well maybe not the exact moment. But definitely since you woke up after being bitten. When I realized the Slayer was still residing in you. If you remember right, I have been on the wrong side of the Slayer." Buffy nodded as she remembered having more than one confrontation with Clay over Dawn.

"I don't feel ready," Buffy said. "I feel I'm not ready, because I feel I'm not Alpha material."

"But you're the best fighter. Everyone expects it will be you. Do you want to be Alpha?" Clay said.

"No." Buffy said as Clay looked in the rearview mirror again, meeting her gaze and holding it. "You have to remember Clay I've done the leadership thing. It didn't work out well. Dawn can tell you that. Dawn, did you tell him about the night I wanted go for the scythe?"

Clay looked at Dawn quizzically. "Scythe?"

Dawn sighed. "It's not one of my better days, Buffy. So, no I've told no one about that night." She looked to Clay. "Buffy had some insight after Caleb came to her at the high school. She knew he was hiding something from her. And wanted to go get it. A bunch of us tried to change her mind. When that didn't work, they wanted to make Faith the new leader of the group. During all of that I stayed quiet. I dropped the bombshell on that entire night. I told Buffy I didn't think she could do it. I said some harsh words and practically kicked her out of our own house."

Clay nodded in understanding as he looked in the rearview mirror again. "That's why you don't feel ready? Because of that betrayal?"

"Yes," Buffy said. "My best friends and my own sister turned their backs on me. Later we all patched things up. But the hole has never healed."

"Does Jeremy know?" Clay asked.

"Yes," Buffy said. "He's the only one I've told. I had to explain why I didn't want it. He keeps telling me I will have the support of everyone this time. The entire Pack."

"You do," Dawn said. "You have mine and Clay's support. You have Nick and Antonio's support. And lastly you have Jeremy's support. You have the Pack's support."

"And me," Savannah said.

"And you, honey," Dawn agreed.

"There is also the fact that you have no competition. We all know that no one would be able to win a challenge against you, which makes you the perfect Alpha. The Slayer part of you made sure of that. Add on top of that. Antonio is even older than Jeremy and he has a business to run. Karl is out of the question. I don't want the job," Clay said. "That leaves you, Dawn and Nick. Both Dawn and Nick agree that it should be you, Buffy. We all know you are the strongest. If it came down to a real challenge you could take Jeremy and not even break a sweat. Not that I expect Jeremy to fight you to the death or anything. But that's not what's really bothering you, is it, Buffy? Is it another worry about becoming Alpha? Or something else?"

Buffy looked at Dawn and then nodded. "There was one more reason."

"Rei," Dawn said as Buffy nodded. "You're afraid of when we return to our own time that …"

Buffy sighed and nodded. "Yes."

"Mom," Savannah said. "You've always told me that Mama Rei loves you. I don't believe for a second that will change because your Alpha."

"Savannah is right," Dawn agreed. "Rei loves you. She would be happy for you. Or have you forgotten she was the one person to side with you during that whole mess. All of that said, if you need more time to think about it. Take it, Jeremy will wait. And if you still feel you can't do it. You can't take on the leadership role again. Then Clay and I support you."

"I support you too, mom, regardless of the decision you make," Savannah said.

"Then Savannah, Clay and I, will persuade Jeremy that you are not the right person," Dawn said.

Buffy sighed and nodded. "Alright.

They soon understood why Charles had laughed when asked for an address for Dennis's cabin. This was no lakeside cottage in Muskoka, down a pleasant winding lane lined with signs welcoming you to "The Grangers' Getaway."

They turned onto the trail, then onto another, then another, each one getting successively narrower until branches scraped both sides of the SUV. Then the road ended.

They got out and peered into the night. After a couple of minutes, they found a trail. A dozen feet down it, there was a cinder-block shed with a wide door, massive padlock and Private sign. The area stank of mixed gas and oil. Boot marks led to the door, and snowmobile tracks led away.

"This must be where they leave their snowmobiles and ride in." Dawn said as she and Buffy bent and sniffed. "Human, but I think Buffy and I detect faint werewolf. An older trail."

Clay crouched and inhaled deeply. "Yeah, that's Dennis."

They followed the snowmobile tracks through knee-deep snow. The trail branched several times. The snowmobile tracks led down the second one, presumably to another cabin. Dawn kept an eye on the GPS and took the first branch leading in the right direction.

The snow was thicker here, with no signs that anyone had passed this way since the last snowfall. They'd gone about fifty feet before Dawn caught a smell that made her stop.

Clay and Buffy inhaled. "Wolf," he said.

"They're all over," Dawn said as they walked. "It's a big pack, at least eight or nine wolves, I bet. The tracks are recent, too."

"I don't smell any on the wind, though," Clay said.

"Me neither, which hopefully means they're far away," Buffy said.

"Didn't those cops say a pack lived where they found that guy this morning?" Clay asked.

Savannah rubbed her icy nose. "They said there'd been one, but it moved on."

"Maybe because of the mutts," Dawn suggested. "We should find out when the pack left. That might give us some idea when our mutts arrived."

They moved into a denser area of woods and the light all but disappeared. Buffy took the lead since her night vision was better that Clay and Dawn's. Behind her she heard Savannah stumbled over a branch under the snow. Clay caught her arm.

"I may have better eyesight then a normal human," Savannah said. "But I can't see what's under the snow."

"We're almost there, honey. I see a light," Buffy said.

Savannah, Clay and Dawn followed Buffy's gaze to see several bluish lights twinkling through the trees.

Dawn checked the GPS. "Either Charles got the coordinates wrong or that's another cabin. According to this, we have almost a quarter mile to go that way." She pointed.

"We'll check it out," Buffy said.

To head toward the lights, they had to leave the path. As they drew closer, the lights dimmed, but they could still see them, blue spots against the darkness just ahead.

They stepped from the trees.

"Huh," Clay said.

They stood at the edge of a clearing with no cabin… and no lights.

"Ghost lights?" Dawn asked. "We should have brought Jaime." She meant it lightly, but her voice wavered. As she looked around, every hair on her body rose. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah," Buffy and Clay said.

"Something's out there. Wolves?"

"Maybe," Buffy said. When they saw Savannah stiffen, they knew it wasn't wolves. "What is it you sense, honey?"

"I'm not sure," Savannah said.

"Let's find that trail again," Buffy said.

The moon appeared then, lighting their way back to the trail. Even through the trees, it cast enough of a glow for them to follow. The wolf tracks continued as they drew closer to their destination. When Buffy and Dawn caught another whiff of scent, they stopped.

"Werewolf. Probably Dennis," Buffy said.

"Is he out here?" Clay asked.

Dawn shook her head. "It's a trail."

Clay inhaled. "I'm not getting it."

They resumed walking. "It's faint," Buffy said. "But a trail means he's been here recently. And that looks like a cabin just ahead."

Clay squinted at the black shape through the trees. "No lights on."

"Out here, off the grid, you don't use any more than you need to," Dawn said.

The moon against the snow lit the clearing to twilight. They looked across the yard.

"Shit, is that…?" Clay blinked, as if seeing things. He wasn't. The snow was crisscrossed with wolf tracks. Not a square foot in the clearing had been left untouched.

Buffy and Dawn walked a few feet, then bent. "Definitely wolf," they said.

"That's…" Clay said.

Buffy nodded in agreement at the unfinished thought. "Weird."

He gave a distracted nod, but they all knew that wasn't the right word. Looking out at that paw-print-covered snow, so close to a werewolf's cabin, the word that came to mind was wrong. More than weird. Downright unnatural.

"Maybe it's sled dogs," Dawn said as Buffy and Clay looked over at her. "Dennis could have a neighbor with a team. He comes over, ties them up while he has a few drinks and they get bored, pace around."

"You smell dogs, darling?" Clay asked.

Dawn didn't answer as she climbed onto the front deck. She walked to the window to peek in, but the drapes were drawn. More prints dotted the sill, as if the wolves had been doing the same thing she was. As she turned, she caught a scent that made her breath catch. When she inhaled deeper, though, she couldn't find it again.

Dawn glanced at Savannah, Clay and Buffy, crouched by the door, Clay's fingers running down the lower panel, fingertips tracing rough grooves in the wood.

Claw marks. The deep scratches were ridged with splinters. Fresh claw marks.

Clay straightened and banged on the door. "Dennis? It's Clay." He paused, then added, "Clayton Danvers."

The cabin stayed silent. Dawn moved to the window again, just as Buffy joined her, looking for any sign of light around the drawn drapes. There was none.

"Dennis?" Clay called. "Jeremy sent me to check on you."

He pounded harder now. The wood buckled under his fist, the door parting from the frame just enough to let out a puff of what Dawn had smelled earlier.

"Open it," Dawn said.

"What?" Buffy asked.

Dawn grabbed Buffy and Clay's hands as she and Savannah disappeared with them in a flash of green. They reappeared inside the cabin. They instantly saw that Dennis Stillwell sat on a kitchen chair in the middle of the room, bound hand and foot with thick wire cables. It looked like he'd been tortured. How much was hard to tell. Despite the cold, he was starting to decompose. All they knew was that someone had tied him up, tried to get information from him, and then killed him.

Clay looked at Dennis, his face unreadable.

"I'm going to find them," he said.

"We know," Buffy said. "And Jeremy may kill me for not consulting him while he's still Alpha. But you have my permission to take whoever did this out."

Clay looked at Buffy and nodded his thanks.

They buried Dennis in the woods. When they finished, they stood at the gravesite, the bitter wind whipping through the trees, freezing every inch of exposed skin and making their eyes water. Those tears were the only ones they'd shed. Nor would they say any words over the grave. That was the human way. Theirs was quieter, more private, just a few minutes of silent respect and reflection.

Savannah looked around as something once again tripped her Slayer senses. "Mom," she said as she spotted dozen pairs of eyes staring at her.

Clay, Buffy and Dawn turned their heads and saw what Savannah saw.

"Oh, my Goddess," Dawn whispered.

They could make out gray shapes against the black forest. Wolves.

"We'll go back inside," Clay murmured. "Are there more behind me?"

"A few," Buffy said.

Savannah was about to suggest teleporting. But something stopped her. She wasn't sure what.

"Okay. Count to three," Clay said. "Then turn your backs to me. We'll walk in that way. Keep your gaze up over their heads."

"Don't look them in the eye," Dawn added.

"Right. If one charges, then meet its gaze. It might back down."

The sisters really hoped so. A dozen wolves against three werewolves and a teenage Slayer? Even Clay wasn't itching to meet this challenge.

Back-to-back-to-back they walked into the cabin. As Clay bolted the door, Dawn looked out. The wolves hadn't moved.

"Do you think they smelled the body?" Dawn asked.

"Long winter. Food's getting scarce," Clay said.

"That would explain the scratch marks on the door," Buffy said.

Clay nodded. "Yeah."

"Should we be thinking about teleporting?" Dawn asked.

"I can't," Savannah said as they looked at her. "I was going to suggest teleporting inside but something stopped me. I don't know what."

"Dawn and I are going to look for clues. Get scents. Savannah and Clay watch the door. If they or anything else tries to get in before were ready to leave. We'll see if Dawn can teleport straight back to the SUV."

They set to work. As the sisters soon discovered, finding scents under the stench of decomposition wasn't easy.

"I'm going to crack open the window," Dawn said.

"No," Buffy ordered as Dawn pulled the drape. Glowing green eyes peered in at her. Dawn fell back as Buffy caught her. "That's what I was afraid of. You okay, Dawnie?"

Clay moved beside Buffy and Dawn, squinting to see out. "Bold bastard, wasn't he?" Clay asked as he drew the drapes again.

Dawn walked as far as possible from the bloodstain in the middle of the cabin and got down on her hands and knees. A piercing wail sent her scrambling up.

"Wind in the chimney," Clay said.

Dawn gave a shaky laugh. "A little jumpy tonight, aren't I?"

"With good reason," Buffy said.

Clay moved up behind Dawn and rubbed her shoulders. When she tried to step away, he held her. "Take a minute," he murmured. "It's only me. Me, Savannah and Buffy."

Dawn took a deep breath. Neither she nor Buffy needed need to sniff around for long before Dawn said, "I've got werewolf. And not just Dennis."

Clay nodded. No surprise there.

Another few minutes of sniffing. "It's the same two from the museum—the ones who attacked Reese," Buffy said.

Again, he nodded.

"I'm getting a third scent," Dawn said.

"Werewolf?" Buffy asked having yet to catch the scent herself.

"Yep." Dawn followed it, untangling the trail from the others. "He's related to one of the others—father, son, brother. That's why I wasn't sure I detected an older third trail in that clearing. Similar scents."

"Makes sense."

Clay found a toolbox in the closet and was sanding the rough wooden floor. He couldn't buff out all the blood, but it would fade the stain, making it look like an old spill. As he did that, Buffy and Dawn walked to the dinette. The table was covered with papers and books.

"What did Dennis do for a living?" Buffy asked.

"Electrician, I think. I remember Jeremy had him fix up the old wiring at Stonehaven," Clay said.

Dawn looked at the handwritten notes and then at Buffy. They definitely weren't electrical diagrams. "Hobbies?" she asked.

Clay shrugged. "Couldn't say. Jeremy would know. Why?"

Buffy picked up a book in her gloved hand. "He seems to have been researching folklore and mythology. That must have been what he was doing at the museum." She handed the book to Dawn. Clay was more anthropology. Dawn was more mythology.

Clay brought a lantern over and picked up a notebook as Dawn thumbed through a sheaf of photocopied pages.

"Yeenaaldlooshii, Nagual, Wendigo…" Dawn said. "Shape-shifter myths, particularly Native American. I'm surprised he didn't contact you."

"Or you," Buffy said. "Assuming he had even learned about you that is. Mythology is up your alley, Dawnie."

"True," Dawn said as Clay took the papers from her hand, reading them more closely.

"Dawn, find a bag," Buffy said. "We'll take his work with us."

Clay nodded; his gaze still fixed on the papers. He didn't stop reading until Dawn plucked them from his hand and added them to a canvas bag she'd already filled with the rest.

"What do you think he was doing?" Buffy asked as Dawn shrugged.

"No idea," Clay said. "Maybe a new hobby. Getting older and looking for answers." He took the bag from Dawn. "We should get going."

Dawn nodded and pulled back the curtain. The nightscape was empty. Behind her, Buffy and Clay checked the other windows.

"All clear?" Dawn asked.

"Seems so," Clay said.

They stepped onto the porch; they were going to walk back. Yes, Dawn could have teleported them. But teleportation always used up quite a bit of her magical energies. And with the wolves around they didn't want to risk expending her magical energies just in case. For all they know, however unlikely since it wasn't what wolves did, that the wolves tracked their scent back to the SUV and were lying in wait. Teleporting in would be risky in such a circumstance.

Dawn and Buffy inhaled. They could still smell the wolves, their thick scent hanging in the air, but the forest was still. They walked around the perimeter of the clearing.

"Vanished into the night," Dawn murmured. "Just curious? They might be used to Dennis, so our scent doesn't spook them."

"Could be," Clay said as he surveyed the forest, but they heard only the whine of the wind.

"Let's go," Buffy said.