Chapter 2
1343 Words
2
Duncan nodded. “Then we’re all going.”
Bonnie scowled at him. “The more people who go the more likely they’ll be to get caught by Ethan.”
Duncan clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned. “Come on, Bon-Bon. We’re trained professionals at following people.”
One of Bonnie’s eyes twitched. “Bon-Bon?”
He sheepishly grinned at her. “Honey? Sweety? Matey?”
She cast another look of death at him before she returned her attention to Chris and me. “You two should stay here. Me and this” She jerked her thumb at Duncan, “will follow Ethan.”
I smiled and nodded. “Fine, and we’ll follow you.”
Duncan cast a mischievous look at Bonnie. She grinned and nodded. The pair dashed over to the open door and out into the foggy night. As they did, they transformed into werewolves, and by the time they disappeared into the mist they were fully formed.
Chris pursed his lips before he turned back to my smiling face. “It won’t be easy following behind that act.”
I tapped the side of my nose and smiled. “Nothing tricks this nose, and besides” I took a deep breath and wrinkled my schnoz, “I don’t think Duncan has bathed in the last couple of days.”
The corner of Chris’ lips twitched upward as he grabbed my hand. “Good to know, but maybe a little too informative. Now let’s go.”
We swept out the door after our wolfy companions. Chris and I kept our human forms out of lack of experience, but I almost regretted it as we entered the fog. The misty air settled on us like a damp blanket and made me shiver. My nose, fortunately ice-free, led us down the sandy shores of the still lake and to the side opposite the manor. A path greeted us, and our comrades had left their paw prints in the damp earth.
Chris paused at the mouth of the trail and frowned down at the tell-tale marks. “Where are Ethan’s prints?”
I swept my eyes over the area and finally shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t see footprints or paws.” I took in a deep breath through my nose and frowned. “I don’t smell him, either.”
Chris pursed his lips as he studied what little of the trial we could see through the mist. “He must not have wanted us to track him.”
A thought struck me that made me furrow my brow. “But if that’s true then how are Duncan and Bonnie following him?”
Chris took my hand and shook his head. “I don’t know, but we’d better get to following them.”
We hurried forward at a jog that took us deep into the woods. Chris and I had been in the woods many times now, but this time something felt off. The air was heavy with tension and the soil thick with rot. The trees that rose were larger and more ancient than we’d seen before. Old vines hung from the thick branches and tickled our faces.
Chris’ whispered words floated over to me. “This is a very old part of the woods.”
“We could bottle the air as old spice,” I quipped as I ducked under a low vine. “You think that spook Silva knows we’re in here?”
“Undoubtedly.”
“And think we can handle him?”
“Probably not. However-” He grinned as he used his free hand to pat a pocket. “I do have a trick up my sleeve.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I hope it’s some breadcrumbs in case we need to find our way back.”
He chuckled. “Something almost as good, but I won’t say it aloud.” He swept his eyes over the canopy above us and some of his good humor fled. “I have a feeling the vines have ears.”
We ventured onward and the scent from our two friends were more powerful. The trail curved around a gentle bend and widened to present us with a small clearing. On the opposite side from where we stood was the beginning of a rugged mountain complete with loose fallen stones and a steep climb. The entrance to a cave sat in the middle of the sheer wall.
Chris and I slowed down and crept over to the mouth of the cave. The ground dove down at a forty-five-degree angle and disappeared into darkness so black even my werewolf eyes could hardly see more than twenty feet ahead of us.
A hand reached around from behind and clapped over my mouth, stifling my scream that followed. Another hand reached for Chris, but he grabbed the arm and swung the person over his shoulder and slammed them onto the ground.
Duncan let out a wheeze as the air was knocked out of him. Chris paused over him and frowned. “What are you doing?”
Duncan gave him a sheepish smile. “Just thought I’d take a nap.”
The hand was removed from my mouth and Bonnie came into view. “Sorry about that. We didn’t want you to cry out.”
Something about her words made me shudder. “What were you afraid would hear us?”
Duncan propped himself up with his arms and nodded at the opening. “Anything that might be in there.”
Chris walked up to the mouth and set a hand on the wall to lean in. “What’s in there?”
Bonnie shook her head. “We don’t know. We’ve never seen it before.”
Duncan tilted his head back to study the old trees and hanging vines. “Heck, I’ve never even seen trees this old before.”
“So, magic?” Chris guessed.
Bonnie shrugged. “Probably, but we can’t exactly smell magic.”
I studied the ground. There were still no signs of Greylock. “Speaking of smelling, how have you been following Ethan?”
Duncan climbed to his feet and brushed himself off before he grinned up at me. “That’s easy. Ethan has a ‘tell.’ He always leaves a little bit of his scent about ten feet off the trail in case he loses his way in this crazy maze.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “What kind of scent?”
Duncan coughed into his fist. “Well, that involves the story of the birds and the bees-”
Bonnie jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “Will you shut up about that? You know he only rubs his cheek scent sacs against the bushes.”
“Why ten feet?” Chris wondered.
Bonnie cast another look of warning at Duncan before she turned her attention to Chris and me. “It’s a sort of edge of the magic that moves the paths, a red line where they blend. The magic won’t move anything on it, so if you leave an indicator there you can find your way back along the same route. The trick is not to get lost in those ten feet.”
Duncan folded his arms and nodded. “And Ethan has the ten feet down pat. He could follow his trail back blind.”
Chris looked down the hole that was the cave. “If the scent is fresh then we can’t be too far behind him.”
Bonnie pursed her lips. “No, but I don’t think we should go down there.”
Duncan clapped a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Bon-Bon” He received another look that promised death, but ignored it, “where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Behind my sense of self-preservation,” she retorted as her gaze settled on the gaping maw. “And it’s telling me there’s something not right about that cave.”
I couldn’t have agreed with her more. The ancient air of the forest swamped us, but the air that floated out of the cave beat that back with no problem. The scent was not putrid but was more like old rot mixed with something that tingled my nose. “What is that smell?”
“Magic,” Duncan told me as he wagged his eyebrows and a smile stretched across his face. “The kind of stuff so powerful you can smell it.”
I turned to the cave entrance and stiffened my jaw. “I’m still going after him.”
Chris stepped up to my side and gave me a smile. “Not alone.”
Duncan puffed out his chest. “I’m going, too!”
His air was deflated by another well-aimed jab of Bonnie’s elbow. While he clutched his gut she frowned at Chris and me. “This could be more dangerous than anything we’ve ever faced. Are you sure you want to risk it?”
I nodded. “To make sure Ethan is safe, definitely.”
Bonnie smiled at me. “That sounds just like him. Let’s go.”
- Writer
