The Aftermath ✔

8 ONE FOR THE ROAD

Eli's wolf snapped at Manny, missing his throat by fractions. Slade had to use both hands to hold him by his collar and drag him back.

Unable to speak, Eli shifted part way and growled. "You fucking mutt. You absolute fucking mutt."

Trixie kept Manny safely tucked behind her as she blocked Eli's path each time he darted after the bastard vampire.

Slade tried to drag him with little success.

"Boss, he's coming loose," Trixie warned. "You're wasting up the last of your runes."

"Evelyn Monroe, sit!"

A force slammed Eli into the ground so hard his face stung. Huffing and puffing, Eli tried to rise but the force still held him.

Slade's body trembled as she finally backed away. Face creased into a frown, she leaned down to stroke his muzzle. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's either I use your rune or mine and I've got none left. I'm sorry."

Teeth still bare, Eli growled.

Behind Trixie, Manny giggled. "Evelyn? His name is Evelyn? Mother Monroe wanted a girl that badly?"

Eli darted for him again but that same force stomped him. Until Slade reversed the command, he wasn't going anywhere.

Slade brushed Trixie aside and slapped him. "You swine."

Manny held his face with both hands. When he stood to his full height, black hair hanging past his shoulders, he no longer hunched or snickered. This wasn't 'Manny' the village simpleton. It was Manos, the former sovereign of Dresden.

"I dare you, with everything in me, to touch me again."

Visibly shaken, Slade tore her eyes off him and focused on the glass cage.

"Boss, he ain't dead," Trixie insisted. "It's hell drinking cold blood but it's hot now—"

"I won't." Slade glanced down at Eli then back to Manny again, brokenhearted.

Trixie pleaded, "Boss. You—"

"Shut it, harpy." Manny didn't look back at her to see the woman's shock. Instead, he kept his focus locked on his little sister, his smooth cadence contrasting greatly with the harsh words uttered. "That blood is not for you. You even think of drinking a drop and I will snap your spine, too."

Slade regarded him in anger and loathing. "I'd never be like you. So don't flatter yourself." When she stepped toward the cage, however, Manny met her. "I'm going to put it out of its misery," she insisted.

"Let me not take your word for it." Manny narrowed his eyes. "I am saving that last drop for something important. If I cared about its suffering, I would not have cracked its back...twice."

The gravel in Slade's voice meant she wasn't having it. "Move aside."

Manny met her face to face. He had to lean in which had a dwarfing effect. The sing-song lilt faded. "Fucking make me."

A tentative hand held out, Trixie tried to sooth him. "Sir, if—"

"Get your fucking hand off me, bitch."

Trixie shrunk away. When she took a step back, Eli finally calmed.

"It's suffering," Slade explained. "I'm going to help it."

"And I am telling you, the only way you are helping it is if you are lying down there dying beside it. You step one foot, even a glance in that direction and I am taking your god. Damn. Eye."

For a long minute, nothing—no one moved.

"Rise up, Evelyn Monroe," Slade said, wise enough to realize she needed the back up.