Maikoda: Power of the Moon (Blue Moon Trilogy Book 2) (18 page)

              At least she would have Brett; she thought, then took a deep breath and froze as a scent washed over her. She took another deep breath, uncertain what she was scenting. The smell was gone. For a moment, she thought she had smelled another Were.

              Splashing water on her face, she walked out the restroom and spied Brett sitting near their bags, his long legs spread in front of him. They were the only two still left in the terminal. She looked around. 

              “Where’s Martin?”

              Brett shrugged, “still getting the car, I guess.”

              Layla frowned. “It sure is taking him a long time.” She pulled out her cellphone. “I’ll call him, just in case.” 

              She called Martin’s phone, dismayed when it kept ringing. “No answer.” 

              He looked at her and then at the snow outside. “Now that’s odd.”  He walked over to the door in the direction of the car rental agency. The area was shrouded in darkness with no sign of movement from within. “They look closed.” 

              Brett was right, she thought as she walked over. The area looked as if no one had been there in a while, if so, where was Martin? She frowned and dialed Martin’s number again, her gut starting to churn.

              This time as it rang, she heard the double timbre of the phone. She shook her head, certain of a crossed line or some other technical issue, but could not help the uneasy feeling she was getting. She listened carefully as the phone continued to ring.  No, no crossed line; she was hearing both phones, hers and Martin’s. The call went to voicemail again and she slipped on her mittens and cap. Something was very wrong. 

              “Call him again,” she said to Brett as they both stepped outside.

              The swirling snow made the way difficult, but Layla couldn’t focus on the Winter Wonderland. Martin’s phone was ringing in the distance. They turned the corner near the car rental kiosk and a car stood empty; lights on, door open to the elements. Brett gripped Layla’s hands as they tripped over to the car. 

              On the seat sat the rental papers and Martin’s cellphone, but the older Were was nowhere to be found.

*

              Layla sat in the dark of the car with her head in her hand. The engine was running and warmth flooded her limbs as she tried hard not to panic. She had smelled a Were when she was in the bathroom. But how did the scent appear and then disappear so completely? And what kind of Were could get the drop on Martin? He was a hunter! He knew all the tricks and then some. 

              At a complete loss, she contemplated the situation. She should be able to track Martin, but first she had to clear her head, she thought, as she remembered Martin’s trainings. Clear head, focus and breathe.

              Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to relax as Brett walked back to her. They had already collected their luggage and tossed it into the trunk. Now, Brett was depending on her to be able to take him to where someone had stashed Martin. 

              She closed her eyes, intent on finding Martin’s trail, then stopped, her eyes blinking open. She couldn’t see a scent trail. That was impossible. She should be able to see Martin’s at least, if not the other Were’s.

              Shaking her head, she took another deep breath before closing her eyes again, breathing evenly to allow her subconscious to take over, giving in to her wolf and not straining the bonds that connected her to her gift. She focused on the monochrome black and white of the landscape and allowed her nose to lead.

              Instantly, she was bombarded with a kaleidoscope of colors. The patterns flowed over and around themselves against the stark landscape. She had never seen so many Were colors before. Magenta, mauve, fuchsia, teal. All vibrant and alive. The hues were astounding. She gasped, her eyes opening and Brett touched her arm, alarm on his face. 

              “Martin?”

              She had been so overwhelmed, she had forgotten to focus on his but dutifully looked back into the mish-mash of colors that spread over the landscape. Anchorage, Alaska either had a huge werewolf problem, or someone’s Were gift was making it hard for her to track him. She took a fresh breath and patiently sorted through the colors, following the intricate weaving in and out and up and down. 

              Some of the patterns were not easily discernible and she had to backtrack several times to unravel it. Brett’s tension next to her was palpable, but he remained patient and she welcomed his support. She would not be able to concentrate if he hounded her. Several minutes passed as she whittled down the pattern and the ball of energy, the scent trails growing smaller and smaller. 

              Time continued to pass and her body was starting to sweat from her intense mental activities. Suddenly she was done. There were only four trails now. Hers, Brett’s red and gray and orange weave, Martin’s gray and green weave and the mysterious Were whose scent trail she had sensed earlier. It was like the rainbow, switching colors and moving from one end of the spectrum to the next.

              She opened her eyes. “Got it.” 

              Brett put the car in gear as Layla closed her eyes, giving him instructions, following the scent trail over the rough terrain. They left the city and moved along the interstate towards the wooded outskirts.

              “Do you know where it ends?” Brett asked in hushed tones, his face tense with concentration and worry. 

              She shook her head. “I can’t see that far. I can only see about a few hundred feet in front of me.” She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

              Brett patted her leg and laughed ruefully. “Don’t be. You are much better than I am.  Trust me. If I were alone up here I would be pulling my hair out right now.”  He flashed a quick smile.

              The drive through the snow was slower than she would have liked, but she understood the need for caution even in their haste. Although outfitted with the snow tires, the rented Saab could only go so fast without the drive becoming hazardous. It was maddeningly frustrating as the scent trail glared bright against the darkened Alaskan sky. 

              Tall trees loomed over them, the tops puncturing the night.  The air was peppered with white that swirled around them and even in the warmth of the car, the overwhelming cold was still there. They were taking too long to get where they needed to be.  The scent trails were too long.

              She wondered if she would be able to push her gift and go beyond what was in front of her; to see what was at the end of the yellow brick road. The scent trails were clearly marked and Martin had told her that she could train and enhance her Were powers just by practicing. Perhaps this would be a good time to put it to the test. 

              Could she concentrate enough to see farther and follow the trail all the way to the end? Would she be able to sense the Were who took Martin? Would she be able to sense Martin? She closed her eyes to challenge herself and focused her energy, imagining her body as a separate entity, able to move ahead, to move faster and farther than she ever could. Her brows furrowed as she let her subconscious mind take control.               

              Martin was a seasoned Hunter. If she could escape Kuruk’s goons, Martin had all the resources to be able to handle himself in this kind of situation, but a little bit of help never hurt. She took a deep breath. Her energy seemed to intensify and in the stillness of the snowy Alaskan night, she seemed to draw energy from the elements around her. Even the moon overhead seemed to brighten and Layla’s eyes popped open; in one moment of clarity, she had seen the end of the energy trail.

              “I know where he is!”

              Brett jerked around to face her, his hand jerking the wheel before he righted himself. “Martin? What do you mean you know where he is?”

              Excitement radiated from her every pore. “I saw where the trail ends. I actually saw the end of the scent trail. It’s a village about three hours from here. In the woods.”

              “I thought you couldn’t see the end of the trail. How do you know that’s really where he is?”

              Layla shrugged. “I don’t know. We have to trust it, I guess. I just tried something Martin had suggested and I…pushed myself. Guess it worked.” 

              “How do you know that it’s not another Were who can project or something? They could be giving you wrong directions to throw us off.” He glanced at her. “You know I trust your gifts, baby, but we don’t know what the Weres up here can do. They could be crazy and have all kinds of twisted ideas. For us as well as Martin.”

              “Brett, come on. I know how my gift works. This was all me.”

              He sighed. “Okay. Okay. Well, let’s find him then. But,” he held up a warning finger,“we are not going in unprepared. We need to get some supplies. There has to be an all-night convenience store somewhere around here and we need to make sure we have everything, if we are going to do this right.” 

              His hand thumped the steering wheel. “Something about this still stinks.  No one should have known we were coming.”

              Layla swallowed and groaned. Kuruk. He had given her the Alaska clue. He knew she would come here. It made sense that he would have known this was where she was probably headed if she was no longer in Tampa Bay. And knowing Kuruk, he would’ve looked all over Tampa Bay for her by now.

              Brett looked at her quickly. “What is it?”

              “Kuruk knew we would be here. He told me about Alaska, remember?”

              “Shit!” Brett swore as realization dawned. “You’re right. He did. And he has the resources and the manpower to put together something this huge in such a short amount of time. But it doesn’t make sense.” 

              Brett drummed his fingers on the steering wheel again. “Why would he take Martin? Why not take you? If you’re the only one who can find the blade and use it? Or kidnap all of us to force you to comply?”

              Layla agreed silently with Brett. She too wondered why Kuruk would kidnap the one Were who had shown time and again that he was quite capable of going through all of the Weres on Kuruk’s payroll. So, who did Kuruk contract that had the kind of strength to overpower Martin? And why was a Were that powerful allowing Kuruk to control them? 

              It didn’t sit right with her, but Kuruk was the only logical answer. He was the only Were who knew she would be in Alaska and that she was a possible link to the Hania. Nonetheless, the Were who left the trail seemed too…sophisticated for the likes of Kuruk. He was too rough, regardless of how polished he tried to pretend to be. 

              The trail weaver was graceful, lithe. It made no sense why they would want an alliance with Kuruk. She sighed again. They would have to figure of the why later. Right now they had a possible location for Martin and they had to get there as soon as possible.

*

              Martin scanned the area around him. It was silent. Too silent. Even the wind had disappeared and the snow fell like noiseless rain. It was unnerving. He tested the bonds holding him captive. The thin fibers were misleading, the seemingly fragile threads containing a strength that even he could not break. 

              He focused on transforming, curious when even his claws could not break the threads. Magic. It would explain the bonds and it would explain how one of the most decorated hunters in Were history had been taken captive.

              His eyes penetrated the darkness as he continued to look around; using his gift to look for a weakness in his prison. He could spot the weak link a mile away, but so far, there was none that he could see. Footsteps sounded a few yards away and he paused to quickly take stock of his prison; he was in a warehouse of some sort, the dark, dank walls and echoing hallways confirmed that it was not a house. 

              Perhaps he was being held in an industrial building no longer in use, he thought, thinking back to the compound used by the Werewolf Council in Florida. If he were able to somehow contact the Werewolf Council here, he could use his rank to plead amnesty until he could get away. His thoughts halted as the footsteps grew closer and he straightened his shoulders.

              A woman floated in, her scent masked. More magic. He could not tell if she was a Were or a hunter or some other creature. She walked towards him, her hair a graceful sheet of white around her thin body and stared at him with hazel eyes filled with green flecks; intelligence and humor shining from them. 

              “Who are you?”

              She raised a brow as he spoke. “You do not know me?”

              He shook his head, his brows furrowed. Try as he might, he could not recall seeing the woman before and did not know why she would be interested in him. No one here even knew that he was a Were. He had not used any Were connections when booking the flights and had purchased everything under the radar to make sure of their anonymity. The mere fact that they had grabbed him at the airport scared him. It meant that whoever was responsible had contacts that far exceeded his.

              The woman smiled at him again. “You will discover who I am in due time. Just understand that I am like you. We share similar…gifts. Until such time, do not think of this place as a prison or think of yourself as a prisoner. You are our guest. Unfortunately, we cannot allow you to leave just yet.”