Daniel nodded quickly. “Remember when the mummies said Edward asked them if they would help manufacture the Elixir? That’s why he was concerned about what they might have said: because it might have led us to the truth.”
“That’s why Edward had to launch his war against the Clans,” said Tina. “He had to destroy them before they found out how weak he really is.”
“It was never about waiting for the right person, after all,” said Daniel. “He had to go with me because I was all he had.”
“So,” said Nigel, raising his voice to draw their attention back to him. “You have to take care of Edward, to stop him building a new power base from the criminal underworld . . . and save the humans and the wolves from the last real monster in the world.”
Daniel’s gaze was still fixed on Tina. “There’s no way we could persuade Edward to step down, or change his plans.”
“He’d fight us to the death,” said Tina. “But can we take him? You saw what he did to the tiger.”
“I’m starting to think he arranged that deliberately,” said Daniel. “To warn us not to mess with him.”
“We could always visit the armory and load up with really big guns,” said Tina.
“You think Miss Montague would just hand them over? She’d be bound to suspect something, and get word to Edward. Our only real chance is to hit him without warning.”
“You’re ready to do that?” said Tina.
“Why not?” said Daniel.
Tina grinned brightly. “You know how to show a girl a good time!”
“But could you kill him?” said Daniel. “After everything he did for you?”
“He saved you too,” said Tina.
“But at heart, I’m still a copper,” said Daniel. “I didn’t go through all of this just to see the monster Clans replaced by something worse. If you’d known what he was planning, would you have gone through with it?”
“Probably,” said Tina. “I spent a lot of time learning how to kill monsters; and I wasn’t about to be cheated out of the experience. But . . . he could have trusted me with the truth and he didn’t. So to hell with him. What about you, mister policeman? Could you kill Edward?”
Daniel smiled suddenly. “I signed on to kill monsters. All of them.”
“I never liked the man,” said Tina.
“Does this mean you’ll do it?” said Nigel, breaking in impatiently.
“Yes,” said Daniel. And then he turned slowly, and fixed his old friend with a thoughtful stare. “But what about you?”
“What about me?” said Nigel.
“Paul knew he’d gone too far,” said Daniel. “That he’d become something his old self would have hated. So I have to ask: Have you killed people?”
Nigel met his gaze steadily. There was no guilt in his face, nothing to suggest Daniel’s question meant anything to him.
“When the moonlight fills my head I run with the pack, and kill whatever they chase. We’re predators—and everything else that lives is our prey.”
“It must have driven the wolves crazy,” said Daniel. “To be forced into a subservient role all these years, only allowed to kill on the Clans’ orders.”
“You have no idea,” said Nigel.
“That’s why they can’t wait to get back to the old ways, and hunt like they used to.”
“This is their time, come round again,” said Nigel.
“But even when you’re a wolf, you still have human intelligence,” said Daniel. “You could choose not to kill.”
Nigel shook his head impatiently. “When I’m a wolf, I do as a wolf does. The hunt and the kill are in the blood.”
“You told me you hated what you’d become,” said Daniel. “Losing all the rarefied tastes that defined the man you used to be. But while your human self might regret what it’s lost, he’s not in the driving seat—is he? The wolf has taken over.”
“None of this matters,” said Nigel. “Edward is the real threat.”
“But he’s not here, and you are,” said Daniel. “And I have to deal with what’s in front of me.”
Nigel’s smile looked suddenly more like a snarl. “Are you threatening me, old friend?”
“You said it yourself, Nigeclass="underline" You’re not the man I used to know. The wolf has eaten him. At least Paul had the courage to ask me to kill him.”
“Paul always was weak.”
Daniel met his gaze steadily. “I really wanted to believe you, when you said the werewolves intended to leave civilization and go away from Humanity. That they just wanted to run free. But there really isn’t anywhere for you to go, is there? I don’t doubt that Edward is everything you say he is, but that’s not why you want us to kill him. The werewolves want him dead because he and his organization are all that’s left to protect Humanity from the wolf pack.”
“You can’t stop us, Daniel,” said Nigel.
“Why did they send you?” said Daniel. “Did the alpha wolves think I would believe everything you said, just because you and I used to be friends?”
“Something like that,” said Nigel. “I volunteered for this because I always could talk you into anything.”
“You’re a wolf now,” said Daniel. “And you love it.”
“What does it matter?” said Nigel. “You have to stop Edward and his plans, or everything you’ve endured will have been for nothing. And without Edward and what’s left of his organization . . . you can’t stop us.”
“There’s more to Jekyll & Hyde Inc. than just Edward,” said Daniel. “There’s Tina, and there’s me.”
“You think his people will follow you, after you’ve killed their leader?”
“Why not?” said Tina. “Nobody likes Edward Hyde. And if we can take him, we can take care of the werewolf clan. Just like we did the Frankensteins, the vampires, and the mummies. Because we’re smarter than you and we fight dirty.”
“Because we’re Hydes,” said Daniel.
“You only beat the others because they didn’t see you coming,” said Nigel. “Thanks to Edward, we’ve been preparing for an attack. You come at us and we’ll eat you alive.”
“Good thing that’s not the plan,” said Daniel.
For the first time Nigel looked at him uncertainly, and then he shook his head as though dismissing Daniel’s words.
“Don’t think you can make me choose between you and the pack. All I can offer you is the chance to walk away.”
Daniel looked at him steadily. “I’m sorry, Nigel. I can’t do that. I have to kill you, here and now. Because I owe it to the man you used to be.”
Nigel disappeared, replaced in a moment by a huge humanoid wolf. The massive gray-furred figure towered over the Hydes—a lean and powerful killer with a barrel chest and a narrow waist, built for the hunt and the kill. The large hands ended in vicious claws, the long muzzle was crammed full of teeth, and the burning yellow eyes were smart and crafty. The rank smell of the beast was almost overpowering. It stank of hate and hunger and sudden death. The werewolf smiled slowly, savoring the carnage to come. And Daniel smiled right back at it.
“Very impressive, Nigel. But unfortunately you’re just a wolf. While Tina and I are so much more.”
The werewolf surged forward, its great teeth straining for Daniel’s throat. But he saw the attack forming in the werewolf’s muscles, and by the time it launched itself he was already somewhere else. The great beast shot through the space where Daniel had been, and he slammed a fist into its side as it passed. Ribs shattered as his fist sank into the gray hide, all the way up to the wrist. The wolf howled loudly, in shock as much as pain, and Daniel jerked his hand out. The werewolf spun round with dizzying speed, and the broken ribs repaired themselves in a series of low popping noises.
The werewolf went to leap again, but while its attention was fixed on Daniel, Tina jumped high into the air and brought her fist slamming down on the werewolf’s head. The skull caved in, and Tina’s hand sank in so far she was able to grab a handful of brains and rip them out. The werewolf howled miserably, and lurched back and forth in the narrow alley, clutching at its head with both hands. Tina studied the pulpy pink-and-gray mass in her hand, took a mouthful, and chewed thoughtfully.