“Well, they’d be half right,” I answered.
No breaking news flashed across the television, no intrusions of sudden, horrific, and puzzling violence.
The next thing I heard was a very loud, angry buzz. I managed to trace it back down to my ringing cell phone.
I picked it up quickly, without checking the caller ID. Every fiber in my body was prepared to turn down an invitation to a night out, no matter how hard my friends ragged on me. A dozen excuses ran through my mind as I thumbed the answer button. I’m sick. I’m studying. I accidentally microwaved a spoon and the whole thing blew up.
“Hello?”
“Veronica? Hi, it’s me.”
I paused. The voice on the other end of the line was not one I would have expected to hear at this hour. Not least because she and I were currently separated by about two thousand miles. And at least one time zone.
“Uh, hey.” I leaned back in the chair and ran my fingers through the tangled nest of my hair. “What’s up, Lian? Is everything okay?”
“Sorry for calling so late.” Lian stifled a yawn. “We’ve had a really busy day, but I didn’t think this could wait until morning.” She paused. “Wait, let me back up and explain.”
“I’d appreciate it.” Despite the remnants of sleep still fogging up my brain, I was suddenly determined to stay awake. Under normal circumstances, Lian Zhao was much too polite to call anyone after midnight, including me. Even though she’d been my closest friend for the last decade of our lives. I knew something serious was up.
“Okay, listen.” She paused to take a sip of something. I could see her as clearly in my mind’s eye as if we were sitting across from each other: cross-legged on her bed or sofa, the phone tucked neatly between her shoulder and her ear. She was almost certainly keeping her hands busy somehow; she had to whenever she talked for longer than two minutes.
“I’m listening,” I said.
“I think there’s a new tribe in town.” Lian had never been one to mince her words. It was one of the characteristics I loved most about her.
Now I sat up a little straighter. “What do you mean by ‘tribe’?”
“Well…all right, so they’ve been here a while. They’re bears, V. Bear shifters.”
“Oh, shit.” I stared absently at the channel numbers on the scanner. “How’d you find that out?”
She took a moment to reply. “Because they work for my parents. A lot of them, anyway. Let’s just say I happened to witness an event one night and have kept it a secret until now.”
“You saw one of them change.” I chewed on my lip.
“I saw one of them change,” she confirmed. “Totally didn’t mean to; kind of wish I hadn’t, to be honest with you. Those guys are incredibly hairy.”
I chuckled. “Did he see you too?”
“Mm-mm. I don’t think so.” Again, she hesitated. “God, I hope not. That’d be embarrassing at best.”
“I don’t see the problem, then,” I admitted. “Unless you just wanted to burden me with your awful confession so I’d also be haunted by the mental image of a man who looks like he’s been glued to a carpet.”
“No!” But I heard her grinning in spite of herself. “Shut up for a second. Look, they’re working on a lot of our boats, and my dad says they really know how to haul ass. He likes them, apparently. I think they’ve worked out some sort of bargain.”
“Uh huh. So, he knows what they are?”
“If he doesn’t know directly, I think he’s got to suspect they’re weird in some way. All they do is hang around the boats, get smashed at the bars, and sleep. They could be cult members. But he just cares about the work ethic. You know him.”
I did. Mr. Zhao was a man whose love for efficiency bordered on the fanatical. He wasn’t so strict about the rules themselves, as long as things got done correctly. The fact that he wasn’t bothered by a horde of extremely productive bear shifters did not surprise me at all.
“Right…” She was warming up to the point. I felt it approaching.
“The problem is, they’re not very popular with anyone else. Especially not the vamp clan.” Lian sighed. “There’s been a huge uptick in violent crime recently. That’s what I’m worried about.”
I tensed. “Do you think your parents are in danger?” The notion made my blood run cold. The Zhaos were like my second family. Before losing my parents, I spent nearly every weekend at her place. We were inseparable. I couldn’t live with the idea that vamps might be out to hurt them. “Are you in danger?”
“The shifters are super territorial and aggressive. Since their arrival, a couple of girls were found assaulted and dead locally too,” Lian replied. “Then there are the vamps in the same area pissed at the bears’ presence. I don’t know.” She shifted position, her voice waxing and waning as she moved. “It seems like they hate each other. Like, a lot. And right now, the vampires are winning.” In the background, a keyboard clicked away. “Two bear shifter bodies have been found so far. The first one was like, last month, but the last one was two days ago.”
“You can tell they’re shifters?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen enough to recognize them by now. They’re pretty obvious around the docks and in town. Not as good at blending in as the vamps tend to be.” Lian let out her breath. “I’m worried, V. About a lot of things, but especially about what will happen if things keep escalating. I remember what you’ve told me about everything happening in Seattle, and I always thought Anchorage would be safe from that.”
“I’m sorry.” It was the only thing I could think to say in the moment. “What can I do to help? Name it.” If she had asked me to reposition the sun, I would’ve died trying. That was how much this family meant to me.
“It’s a lot to ask.” Lian sounded sheepish. “And I’m kind of ashamed for even bringing it up, but…you’re the best slayer I know.”
“The only slayer you know,” I corrected, smiling.
“That’s not the point, smartass,” she shot back. “We’re like, leagues out of your jurisdiction, but I wanted to see if you could maybe come up north for a while and try to sort this out. Someone has to nip this in the bud before it spins out of control, and if anyone’s going to, it’ll probably be you.”
I was already typing Anchorage, Alaska into the GPS on my phone. It was not a good time to take a trip, academically speaking, but I couldn’t have cared less at the moment. For once in our lives, Lian needed me instead of the other way around. I was determined to be there and find out what was going on.
“This thing says it will take me forty-two hours to drive.” Two days in the car wouldn’t be much of a party, but again, those details were inconsequential. “Do we have that much time?”
“I mean, I hope so, but that’s a hell of a drive. Let me send you a plane ticket instead.”
“Come on, I can’t ask you to do that,” I protested.
“Oh, whatever. Mom and Dad are rich, and I’m the one asking the enormous favor of you. How soon can you leave?”