Free Silver by Cheree Alsop Page B

toward her with his nightstick raised. I didn't think he meant
to hit her with it, but adrenaline rushed through my veins just the
same and I finished tying my skates with a growl.
    Nikki just laughed and skated backwards out
of his reach. “Just wanted to say hi,” she said sweetly.
    “ You know there’s a
curfew!” he huffed as he fought to keep up with her.
    “ Is it to keep us safe, or
you?” she asked, her eyes glittering as she teased him. She let him
get closer and he waved his nightstick menacingly.
    “ To keep us from the
werewolves,” the guard growled. He swiped the stick at her
sword-like and she jumped back just in time, her eyes widening
slightly.
    I crouched to increase my speed and my
wheels hummed like angry hornets over the pavement. I reached out
and grabbed the nightstick before he could make another attempt to
catch her. He let go in surprise and I spun to a halt a few steps
away.
    “ What do you mean, to keep
us from the werewolves?” I pressed, my heart racing.
    He held out his hand and glared at me, his
chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath. He looked mad, but
there was a light in his eyes like he secretly enjoyed a bit of a
tussle after all the lonely nights on the job.
    I shook my head. “Uh-uh. Not until you talk
to us.” I twirled the nightstick experimentally. It was weighted
well and moved smoothly in my hands.
    He shrugged and bent over with his hands on
his knees. “You kids shouldn’t be out here. It’s dangerous. Why do
you think I patrol?”
    “ You’re bored?” Nikki put
in helpfully.
    “ You like adventure?” I
added, glancing around pointedly at the very empty lot.
    “ You’re afraid someone will
steal the light bulbs?” Nikki looked up at the lamp closest to us,
a baleful gray pole with a missing light. “You’re not doing a very
good job.”
    The security guard cracked a smile. “Nice
try. I do it because the curfew’s set for a reason. Things happen
here that you don’t want to know about.”
    “ We do want to know,” I
pressed. I glanced at Nikki, hoping this could lead us into a
conversation later about her dangerous werewolf
boyfriend.
    The guard held out his hand again. I
hesitated, then handed him the nightstick with a flourish. “Your
sword, sir knight,” Nikki supplied. I bowed and she giggled when
the guard took the stick back.
    “ Yes, well, hmph,” he
muttered, shoving it back into his belt. Then he glanced back at
us. “I shouldn’t be telling you these things. It’s really against
the rules.”
    I shrugged. “Well, we’re breaking the rules
anyway, so we might as well know why they're there in the first
place.”
    Nikki nodded, her long black hair swaying.
“We might be more inclined to follow them if we knew what they were
for.”
    The guard regarded us silently for a moment,
then sighed. “Very well.” He glanced around as though afraid
someone might be spying in the middle of the huge empty parking
lot. He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “There’re werewolves
in this town, and I suspect more than the city knows how to deal
with.”
    “ Werewolves?” I forced a
skeptical tone.
    He nodded. “I’ve seen ‘em.”
    Nikki and I glanced at each other. Her eyes
were wide.
    The guard continued. “No normal wolf is that
big. These werewolves are bigger than Great Danes and have bright
golden eyes that reflect the moon.” He warmed up to the telling,
his voice lifting. “They run in packs, huge packs, and howl the
likes of which makes my blood run ice cold in my veins. They came
right through here, and the lamps went out as they ran by.” He
leaned closer to Nikki, his expression dramatically horrified. “One
of ‘em stopped and looked me straight in the eyes. He licked his
big chops and grinned like he was laughing at me, then he turned
and ran off with the rest of ‘em.”
    I fought back a smile at his scare tactics.
“Then we’d better get outta here, huh?”
    He nodded. “I’d recommend it. That