"It's a damned important job," Phineas muttered. He selected a sword.
Phil picked one that felt good in his hand.
"Angus sent Ian to scout the campground," Dougal whispered.
"Ian's back from his honeymoon?" Phil asked.
Dougal nodded. "He and Toni came back when they heard about Robby. In fact, about every MacKay employee I've ever met is here."
"Come on." Phineas led Phil to a nearby clearing where the Vamps had gathered.
It was true. Every male Vamp Phil had ever met was here, plus others whom he'd never met. Even Laszlo was here, nervously fidgeting with a sword. Emma was sticking close to him like a protective mother hen. Colbert GrandPied had come with four men. Phil recalled he'd had six men in New Orleans. Two must have died in the battle there.
Phil stopped next to the other shifters.
"If things get bad, I'm going to shift," Carlos said. "I'll be a lot more effective as a panther."
Phil nodded. He would stay in human form as long as possible, but draw on the power of the wolf for super strength and speed.
"Ian's back," Howard whispered.
Ian, dressed entirely in black, slipped noiselessly into the clearing. With his sword, he drew in the dirt. "The campground has a central open area with a fire that's been lit in the middle. The buildings surround the area like a square. The main lodge is on one side, and there are nine cabins on the other three sides."
"How many Malcontents did ye see?" Angus asked.
"I spotted fifteen Malcontents in the lodge," Ian continued. "They're holding a group of mortals prisoner - the original campers, I assume. Each cabin was occupied with another three or four Malcontents."
"So there are about fifty of them," Jean-Luc concluded.
"And we have seventy-four," Angus said. "Any sign of Robby?"
"Nay, but I did see three Malcontents leaving the campground, going east, so I followed them." Ian drew a line in the dirt. "They went into a cave. I think Robby could be in there."
"They probably use the cave for their death-sleep," Jean-Luc said.
Angus frowned. "There could be more Malcontents in there. We could still be outnumbered." He looked at everyone in the clearing. "I canna guarantee how safe this will be."
Jack waved a hand in dismissal. "Battles are never safe. I came here to rescue Robby. I'm not leaving without him."
The others nodded in agreement.
"Verra well, then," Angus said. "We'll divide into five groups, captained by Jean-Luc, Connor, Jack, Colbert, and myself. My group will attack the lodge. Jean-Luc, Connor, and Jack - your groups will take the other three sides of the square. Colbert, you'll take the fifth group and station yourself here." Angus marked an X in the dirt. "Halfway between the camp and the cave, so you can kill anyone coming or going. Let's go."
There was some quick shuffling while the five captains selected their groups. Jean-Luc asked Roman, Phil, Ian, and two other Vamps from Texas to join him.
All five groups moved stealthily through the woods and into position. Phil crouched behind some bushes between Roman and Ian. He heard Roman murmur a prayer, and he added a silent amen.
When Angus bellowed a war cry, they charged.
Phil rushed through the back door of a cabin. Four Malcontents jumped up from a card table. He skewered one. The other three were quick to grab their swords. Phil and Roman each engaged a Malcontent in battle. The other one ran out the front door, into the central open area.
Phil killed his second opponent. Roman's opponent, realizing he was alone with two swordsmen, teleported away.
"God's blood," Roman muttered.
Phil ran out the front door. Several Malcontents from each of the nine cabins had escaped out the front door when the Vamps had invaded through the back. The Malcontents formed a huddle close to the bonfire. More Malcontents dashed from the lodge, narrowly missing execution by Angus and his group.
Phil estimated about twenty-five Malcontents were left in the open area. They'd lost perhaps half their original number. As far as he could tell, all of the Vamps had survived the initial assault. Seventy-four to twenty-five. Victory was within their grasp.
The Vamps surrounded the Malcontents and closed in.
"En garde!" Colbert ran toward the open area with his three men. He was bleeding from a chest wound. "They're coming from the cave. There must be a hundred of them!"
Phil swallowed hard. He and his friends were in deep shit.
Vanda paced about the cabin. She had a bad feeling about this battle. If the Vamps fell, the war would be over. The Malcontents would win.
And how could she do nothing while Phil fought for his life? How could she live with herself if he died?
She stopped at the table and looked through the weapons he'd bought for her. In an instant she knew what she had to do. She rolled up a leg of her jeans, strapped on the sheath, and inserted the knife.
"Are you going?" Brynley asked.
Vanda nodded. "I have a bad feeling about it."
"Then I'm going, too. You can teleport me, right?"
The door swung open and all the boys barged in.
"We want to fight," Davy announced.
"No," Brynley said. "You're too young."
"But we can shift," Griffin insisted. "We can really tear into them as wolves."
"You can shift?" Vanda asked. "I thought that was last night."
"The full moon cycle affects us for three nights," Brynley explained. "On the first night we shift involuntarily for the whole night. On the next two nights we can choose whether or not to shift."
"And we want to shift!" Davy looked at Vanda. "If you can get us there, we'll fight."
"Please," Gavin pleaded. "Mr. Jones believes in us. We want to show him we're worthy."
Brynley sighed. "Okay. But if any of you gets wounded, you pull out. You stay safe." She turned to Vanda. "How many can you teleport at once?"
Vanda winced. "Just one."
The boys groaned.
"Wait a minute." Vanda grabbed her new cell phone. Relief swept through her when she saw a long list of contacts. Thank God Phil had planned ahead. She called Maggie. "Maggie, this is Vanda. I need you and Pierce to come here right away. Bring some weapons."
"Are you in danger?" Maggie asked. "We'll be right there."
Within seconds Maggie and her husband appeared in the cabin. Maggie was holding a cell phone and a revolver, while Pierce was toting a shotgun. They both had knives stuffed in their belts.
Vanda quickly explained the situation. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to, but we need you to help transport."
"Not a problem." Pierce looked at the group of boys. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"Yeah, let's go," Davy insisted.
"Where exactly are we going?" Maggie asked.
"Phineas said it was a campground south of Mount Rushmore. I thought we'd call some of them and teleport straight there."
Pierce frowned. "If they're fighting, they're not going to answer their phones."
"We've got to try." Vanda studied the list of contacts on her cell.
Brynley whipped out her own cell. "There's got to be a wolf pack living around there. I'll try to find them."
Vanda's eye caught on the name Kyo. The Japanese tourist and his friends had offered to fight before. She punched in his number.
"Kyo, this is Vanda. I don't know if you remember - "
"Ah, Vanda, the famous celebrity. I am honored."
"Kyo, could you and your friends teleport to me? And if you have any weapons, could you bring them?"
"You in trouble? We be right there." Kyo, Yuki, and Yoshi appeared, all with samurai swords.
Vanda explained the situation once again and introduced everyone.
The Japanese gaped at Pierce.
"You Don Orlando de Corazon!" Yuki shouted. "You very famous."
"We are honored to fight with you." Kyo bowed.
Brynley covered her phone with one hand. "I called my sister, Glynis. She's looking up the phone number for the nearest wolf pack to Mount Rushmore."
"Mount Rushmore?" Yoshi asked. "Big mountain, big heads?"
"We were there," Kyo said. "We have very nice photos. You want to see?"
"We want to go there." Vanda wrapped her whip around her waist and shoved the handgun under the waistband of her jeans. "Do you know the way?"