I aimed at a wolf and put the pedal down. It leaped out of the way.
    Kane released the dead animal and looked around for another one. They weren't hard to find, but they were spooked by the lights of the approaching car and skittered just out of reach for the moment.
    The wolf I had tried to run down jumped onto the hood of the car, slavering jaws snapping, thrusting forward to shatter the windshield. I flinched back and lost control of the car, and we slammed through the plywood-covered front window of the general store. The impact flung me forward, through the windshield and onto the floor inside. Also on top of the wolf. I screamed and hit it hard in the nose. The wolf yelped, half in pain, half in shock at being attacked by something my size.
    Two more wolves were attacking Adam; he batted one aside and grabbed the other in midair with a massive paw, let out a roar and pounded the wolf in his grip with his other massive fist. It flew some distance and landed with a thud. Another leaped at him and got a mouthful of fur and tailored suit. He wrapped his arms around it and squeezed until its spine snapped.
    Kane's suit was fairly well shredded by this time, and he himself had had better days. He battened onto another wolf, needing the blood by this point.
    In the distance came another howl from the great wolf. The two unwounded wolves turned and fled, followed by their limping comrades.
    So there we were, in the middle of Ambajejus, surrounded by silent and deserted houses, the snow in all directions trampled and blood-soaked.
    Kane suggested that we might want to be going. We lifted the car and moved it back out into the street—it was still running, thank goodness.
    "Thank you for the assistance. I was getting rather buried under wolves," the vampire said dryly.
    "Are you okay?" I looked uncertainly at all the blood on him, and in the street.
    "I'm fine."
    "Oh. Okay, then. I guess we should get back to town, then."
    "Sounds like a good idea." He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his face.
    We pulled the borrowed car back into the hotel's lot, sans windshield, sans headlights, somewhat crinkled in places where it hadn't been when we drove out. Jules was waiting, having loaned me the keys. He had offered to drive....
    "Maybe you should lend him your coat," I told Adam. "To cover some of the... mess."
    Yes. Excellent idea, he agreed.
    "We need a story, fast."
    "I was attacked by wolves," he shrugged. "Why bother lying?"
    "Okay."
    I'm sure it's not exactly a rare occurrence, Adam said, but you're alive—ish—to them—and they might find that somewhat confusing. They might find it disconcerting.
    "So I keep the jacket closed."
    They are simple people, Adam sighed.
    "On that at least we can all agree," I said, parking. Jules ran down to meet us.
    "What—my God, the windshield—are you—"
    "I think I'm going to take a bath," Kane announced, taking no notice of him as he went in.
    "You—your clothes have been torn up—"
    "I'm very sorry about the windshield," I told Jules, trying to get him onto a different topic. "We'll pay for it, of course." We do have some discretionary cash befitting the roles we were supposed to play.
    "Mrs. Roberts, is your husband okay?"
    "We'll pay for the car," my "husband" sighed.
    "Oh, he's fine," I assured the young man.
    "What happened?"
    I hesitated only a moment. "Bit of trouble with some wolves."
    "But how did you know?"
    It's that special sense between a husband and wife, Adam came to my, ah, rescue. They understand each other. For some the bonds of matrimony are more solid than others.
    "Oh," Jules said weakly.
    I suspect I was bright red as I made my way into the hotel. It had been a long night for all of us, and it was agreed without need for discussion that further investigation could wait for sleep. Unfortunately, someone knocked at the door to the suite.
    "Yes?" I called.
    Jules opened the door a bare crack. "Um, would you like us to bring breakfast up here or will you be joining us downstairs? I should have asked you this last night but I was, uh, distracted."
    "If you could bring it up, that would be delightful, thank you."
    "Okay." He closed the door again quickly.
    Young Jules seems on edge, Adam observed.
    "I can't imagine why," I sighed.
    We had an excellent breakfast, at least, as Jules brought up a large fruit plate for Adam. The town has no telephone, so Kane announced that he was going to the telegraph office to send a report. Soon Millinocket was shrouded in fog once more, and I "overheard" a bit of muttering about the necessity of relocating to the seacoast.
    Soon thereafter, another knock came at the door.
    "Hi. I understand there was some... trouble last night?" the owner asked.
    "Had a bit of an accident," I understated. "Terribly sorry about the car, Mr. Vanderberg."
    "Jules said something about... wolves? Your husband getting attacked by wolves?"
    "They're really very... shy, woodland creatures," I said with a fixed smile. "They ran off when the car appeared."
    "I see. What happened to the windshield?"
    "It was dark. A tree..." I gestured apologetically. "We will of course pay for it."
    "Well, uh. I'll just um, have it repaired and...."
    "Add it to our bill," I suggested.
    He nodded. "Where's your husband, by the way? Is he feeling better?"
    "Oh, he's fine. I think he ran down to the telegraph office."

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