Darkness Divides (Sensor #3) (11 page)

“I think,” Hunter began, turning a little pink when Emily and I focused our attention on him, “that you can’t go through life avoiding everything that might cause you pain. Ms. Sanders is right…”

“Melena. You can call me Melena,” I interrupted.

Hunter was eighteen. I was twenty-seven. The age gap wasn’t big enough for me to tolerate him referring to me that formally in my own home. Plus I hated being called “Ms.” Maybe in another thousand years—if I lived that long.

He gave me a respectful nod. “Melena…is right. If you meet someone, and you feel like that connection’s there, then you just have to take a chance. Better to be happy for a little while than never happy at all. My dad only got a few years with my mom, but he still says she was the love of his life.”

I set Sable on the floor and stood up, looking down at Hunter.

“You just raised my opinion of werewolves by a couple of notches.” Not that the bar had been all that high, except for the alpha, Derrick. “How about you watch Emily for a couple of minutes and make sure she doesn’t do anything strenuous?”

That was meant in two ways. One, he really should make sure she didn’t do anything to set back her healing. Two, that he shouldn’t try to do anything “strenuous” with her.

He nodded. “You can trust me.”

I had to give him more credit. He really meant it.

“Are you going to meet with Nik?” Emily asked.

There she went giving her abilities away already. I’d have to lecture her later.

“Yes,” I said, slipping on my shoes. “He wouldn’t be hovering outside unless he wanted to talk to me alone.”

I left the two teens and went outside, hoping Hunter stuck to his promise. Just because he believed it when he said it didn’t mean he couldn’t change his mind. Truth couldn’t predict the future or teenage hormones.

Nik was leaning against a tree about a hundred meters from the house. He must have seen Hunter’s beat-up Dodge Charger and chosen to wait far enough away that the werewolf wouldn’t be able to overhear us. Between his black jeans and shirt and his dark hair, he blended well into the night. Only his pale face showed under the weak moonlight.

“What’s going on?” I asked once I reached him.

He looked up at the trees. There was a heavy weight about him. I had a feeling whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be something I wanted to hear.

“Just spit it out. I can take it.” Maybe.

After another long moment of silence, he answered. “We’ve been summoned.”

“Summoned? I thought that only happened to demons.”

He snorted. “Not that kind of summoning, but you could consider this every bit as serious. The fae want us and Derrick at their city as soon as possible.”

My blood ran cold. “Why?”

“They are no closer to discovering who attacked them and after hearing about your activities in Juneau they believe you might be trustworthy enough to help with the investigation. There is also one other…” He broke eye contact. “…new problem.”

I took a step closer to him. “What is it?”

“Micah is missing. They don’t believe he left of his own free will.”

Chapter Eleven

The Casa-212 we rode in had just crossed the border into Canada. It wasn’t the largest of planes, but it had enough room for me, Derrick, and Nik to sprawl out on the cargo seats with our gear and be comfortable—with room to spare. I hadn’t realized I’d missed flying until now. In the military it seemed like I was in a plane for one reason or another all the time.

I dug my satellite phone out my pack and stared at the backlit screen. This would be my last chance to call to Emily. Nik had warned me that once we reached the fae city I wouldn’t be able to talk to her again for awhile. They had ways of preventing technology from working there and he didn’t want me tampering with them. I had to be a good little sensor and not nullify any magic.

Emily had less than a day to get used to the idea of me leaving before I’d had to go. I wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Since the surgery her emotions had been rather erratic and difficult to understand. At least she’d healed enough physically that I felt safe to go. Not that I’d had much choice. Matters were escalating and I had to help stop it.

Aniya was staying with her for the night and our other friend from high school, Lisette, would be flying in from California tomorrow. She was a pixie and, unlike Aniya, could be up during the day. I was really depending on her to keep an eye on both girls. Aniya still wasn’t in the best of shape after losing her mother. She’d pulled herself together enough that I trusted her to take care of Emily alone for one evening, but getting someone there who wasn’t in emotional turmoil would make me feel better. Charlie, the local shaman, would also be dropping by to make sure everything went okay during my absence.

She’d be safe while I was gone. I had to have faith in that and concentrate on the investigation. Finding out who attacked the fae city and abducted Micah had just moved to top priority. The fact that they hadn’t discovered any clues yet bothered me. Someone was behind this and they were covering their tracks well. I was willing to bet they hadn’t counted on the fae calling in a sensor to help, though. That thought had me smiling as I dialed Emily’s cell phone number.

“Hey, Mel,” she answered.

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m
fine
. It hasn’t been that long since you left, you know. We just got back from eating.” It wouldn’t have surprised me if she was rolling her eyes. I might have gone overboard with my warnings and lectures while she rode with me to the airport. It was the first time we’d been away from each other for over a year and I couldn’t help myself.

I gripped the phone. “Okay, well, we just got into Canada. It’ll be awhile before I can call again.”

“I’ll be fine, Mel. Don’t worry so much.”

Nik looked at me and tapped his watch. I nodded at him.

“You take care and I’ll talk to you soon.” We gave our goodbyes and hung up.

“It’s time to get ready,” Nik said.

I leaned down to put the sat phone back into my pack. Everything I needed for the next week or so was stuffed in it. After I straightened, Nik handed me my parachute with a grim smile. I stood up to put it on and caught a glimpse of the sky outside.

“What is that?” I asked, kneeling down to get a closer look through the window.

“Their way of keeping the city off satellite imagery until they can raise the protection spells and barriers again.”

That was one crazy looking storm. Every time lightning flashed, it lit up the ominous clouds stretching across the sky. No wonder we couldn’t fly any closer and had to hike our way to the city. The human pilot thought we were crazy when we first gave our instructions to him. Nik had to compel him to do as we asked and not worry about it. It would have been nice if we could have gotten a sup to fly us, but the only one with a plane still had damage to fix on his from the quake/blast.

After getting my parachute strapped on tight, I attached my travel pack to my front. It had rigging on it for that purpose. It was similar to what paratroopers used so they could haul their rucksacks with them when they jumped out of planes. It had been almost five years since the last time I’d done it, but the motions came back to me easily enough.

I even looked forward to the chance to jump again. Maybe I missed it, or maybe it was because I was immortal now so even if the chute didn’t open I wouldn’t die. It would just hurt like hell. Better not to think about that, though.

Across the plane, Derrick worked to attach his own gear. His face was white as a sheet and fear rolled off of him in waves. He hadn’t said anything, but I got the distinct impression he didn’t want to do this. A werewolf could possibly die if their parachute failed and they landed in a rough spot.

I shuffled up closer to him.

“Don’t worry,” I said, leaning into his ear. “Nik will catch you if anything goes wrong.”

He grunted. “That’s the only reason I agreed to this.”

The master vampire didn’t need a parachute. He could fly at low-level altitudes and we were only jumping at fifteen hundred feet. The chutes we were using were of the military variety, acquired from Ft. Wainwright. They weren’t all that steerable, but they were easy enough to handle for newbies. Derrick and I didn’t have the training for sky diving and no time to learn before we left.

I’d been the one to suggest using the static line method instead since I’d had plenty of experience with that. As long as our parachutes were hooked to the line on the plane, they would open automatically after we jumped out—barring any unforeseen circumstances. There was nothing to pull like with sky diving chutes, unless you needed your reserve, which we didn’t bother to bring. Nik was our reserve.

I patted Derrick on the arm. “You’ll be alright.”

He didn’t look at me as he checked over his straps. I’d made him practice putting the chute on half a dozen times before we left. He’d been a lot calmer when he’d done it standing on the ground.

Nik came up closer to us.

“Time to hook up,” he announced.

Grabbing my static line, I attached it into the anchor line cable we’d had installed on the plane before taking off. It ran most of the length of the aircraft. The co-pilot, a pack mate of Derrick’s, would pull our static lines off of it after we left. We’d needed someone with experience to handle things after we left and he was an ex-paratrooper too, so at least he knew what he was doing.

I maneuvered Derrick in front of me and hooked him up. Better he go out first. We weren’t doing things quite by army procedure, but I didn’t have time to do everything by the book. As long as we followed the basic safety rules, we’d be fine. Derrick and I even wore helmets to protect our heads. I wasn’t quite ready to test my immortality yet.

The roar of the wind grew louder as the tailgate dropped down. That didn’t prevent me from hearing the rise of Derrick’s heartbeat as looked out the back. His hands were clenching and unclenching as he fought to keep control of himself.

“I’m not sure that parachute and bag will fit on you if you turn wolf,” I yelled into his ear.

He turned his head and shot me a dirty look. “That’s not funny.”

“Oh, yes it is. The big, bad alpha is scared of jumping from a little old plane. Who would have guessed?”

I normally wouldn’t taunt someone like this. I’m not quite that mean, but I had to do something to prick his pride. My senses were picking up the magic he was drawing to himself. At any moment, he could start transitioning to his wolf form. We did not need that right now.

He took in several deep breaths. “I’m going to strangle your scrawny little neck if we survive this.”

I squeezed his arm. “We
will
survive this. I’ll even buy you a beer from whatever passes for a fae tavern after we get there.”

“Oh, you’ll buy me more than one beer,” he huffed.

Nik came up and guided Derrick toward the tailgate. “Let’s go, big boy.”

The werewolf stopped a few feet from the edge. Beyond that, the terrain passed beneath the plane, dark and gloomy. At least we didn’t have to face the thunderstorm as we jumped out. That would have been intimidating even for me. Nik had arranged for the fae to keep the wind calmer on this side of the city so we could make it out safely, but it was still breezier than what was ideal for the type of parachutes we used. The swaying trees below tipped me off.

I peered out the window and saw the clearing below. We needed to get out of the plane now if we wanted to land on open terrain. Derrick still stood frozen, looking down.

“If you don’t go out on your own,” I yelled at him, “I’ll kick you out. Just keep your body tight and chin tucked into your chest like I told you before. You’ll be fine.”

A few more seconds passed before he took the next step. Then another. He finally reached the edge. I moved up behind him until I reached the end of the anchor line cable and beginning of the tailgate. Derrick put the next foot out and then he stepped off, disappearing into the night.

My turn. If we didn’t want to land too far apart, I needed to get out fast. I let go of the static line and moved down the ramp. After one last glance at Nik, I took the plunge.

The wind roared past my ears as I held my body tight. Within a few seconds, the parachute opened, jerking me hard. I looked up to make sure the round canopy had fully opened and that there were no twists in the suspension lines. Usually, I had at least one or two and this time was no exception. I grabbed the risers above my shoulders and bicycled my legs until they straightened out. Next, I grabbed the toggles to begin steering the parachute to where I needed it to go.

There were mountains everywhere, but we’d chosen a small valley to use that had mostly flat land. Thanks to Derrick’s delay, though, we’d come out over trees. I used the wind to help guide my chute toward the clearing we’d passed. There was just enough altitude left that I was fairly certain I could make it.

The seconds ticked by as I slowly descended. My attention was diverted when I caught sight of the werewolf below me. He was headed straight for the trees and couldn’t seem to figure out how to steer away to avoid them. His hands were jerking on the toggles, causing the parachute to oscillate badly. I cringed as he closed in on a tall spruce and slammed right into it. The canopy of his chute caught in the top and bowed over a bit before he was left to hang. He’d never let me hear the end of this.

After a few more seconds I neared my own landing point. A nice area free of the local flora. It would have been perfect were it not for the high winds sending me barreling toward the ground. As soon as my feet touched down, I twisted to my side and let the force of the landing run through my body. I hit hard, but it could have been worse.

I unhooked myself from the harness and rolled up the parachute into a kit bag I’d brought with me. We wouldn’t be hauling the chutes with us—we didn’t need them anymore—but we didn’t want to leave them out in the open for people to find either. Nik was going to have one of the fae pick them up later. They’d probably find some kind of use for them.