Shadowed (12 page)

"Kid, you scare me sometimes," Marcus muttered.

* * *

Director Bill Jennings watched the entire scene play out before him. He'd asked Agent Lawford to attach a button camera to his shirt and he'd seen everything Nick witnessed and experienced, even while Ashe had everyone turned to mist. Going right through the front door of the latest victim's house had been disorienting but more than impressive. Vince, Bill's assistant, had watched with the Director during the course of the evening, shocked that a thirteen-year-old could accomplish such amazing feats.

"You know to keep your mouth shut," Bill reminded Vince before Vince went back to his duties.

"Of course I do, Director," Vince replied and walked out of Bill's office, closing the door softly behind him.

* * *

"I don't recognize him, but the image is so blurry," Jerry Southard, owner and manager of Jerry's Super Saver muttered as Agent Derik North pointed out the image of the man in the checkout line.

"You should upgrade your system and clean the lenses on your cameras," Derik grumbled. He could see—barely—the images of two teens behind the man in question, but it would have been difficult to use those images to identify Ashe and Salidar.

"And you say the two boys saw the man's leather jacket, decorated with studs?" Jerry asked. Jerry, a bit overweight with thinning brown hair, had owned his business for twenty years, taking the supermarket over when the previous owner had retired and put it up for sale.

"That's what they say. I can sort of see the black jacket, but I can't make out any details," Derik squinted at the screen.

"I'm sorry. If I'd known that this could have led to the arrest of Amy's killer," Jerry sighed regretfully, pointing to the images on the small monitor. Amy was a popular cashier at his store. Everybody knew and liked her and now she was dead.

"We don't know that; he's just a suspect at this point. But if he comes in again," Derik said.

"I'll call right away. I'll have the staff on the lookout as well."

"Tell them not to give themselves away—this is a murder suspect," Derik pointed out.

"Then I'll only tell my assistant manager; he's here if I'm not," Jerry said.

* * *

"Grounded," Aedan said as soon as Marcus and the others left. "You will come straight home every day and study, read or do homework. For two weeks." Ashe hung his head as his father pronounced doom. "Salidar and the others may not visit and you may not call them. And they may not call you." Aedan was so angry his eyes were blood red. Ashe was glad his father was tight-lipped when he spoke—the fangs were likely showing.

"Sorry, dad," Ashe muttered regretfully, lowering his eyes.

"Son, we can't protect you if you leave the confines of Cloud Chief without an adult. You know that," Aedan snapped and left the room so swiftly Ashe almost didn't see it.

"The older ones get to go all the time," Ashe mumbled.

"Ashe, don't force me to add another week to your grounding," Adele stood nearby, staring angrily at her son. "Those creatures aren't hunting the other children from Cloud Chief. They're hunting
you
."

"Mom?"

"What, son?" Adele's voice was clipped.

"Ask Sali if that man smelled human or not."

* * *

Marcus called Sali into the kitchen so Aedan could question him about the scent. "I was talking to Ashe when we were in the checkout line, but I think I'd notice if somebody didn't smell human," Sali muttered. He'd gotten the same treatment from his parents that Ashe had received; he was grounded for two weeks. Aedan listened carefully to Sali's words—he'd gone to the DeLuca home after getting a call from Adele on his cell phone. Ashe had thought to ask a good question.

Marcus sent Sali back to his room immediately and then followed Aedan as he walked out of the house. "I don't know, Aedan," Marcus sighed. "The boy was likely distracted, so I can't say for sure that he remembers with any certainty. It was a good thought, though. I hope those two agents can track this one down and prove he had nothing to do with any of this." Thunder rumbled overhead and a few drops fell on both their heads as Marcus gazed up at a heavily overcast sky. Lightning briefly lit heavy clouds to the west.

"Rain moving in," Aedan observed, sniffing the air. The community was still shy around thunderstorms since the tornado the previous year. He and Nathan would be patrolling Cloud Chief in a storm.

"I've got an extra slicker if you need it," Marcus offered.

"I can get home for mine before it gets too wet," Aedan replied. "Thank you for the offer, though."

"No trouble. Call if you need any help—I think I can send out a wolf or two."

"Shouldn't need it, but we'll let you know." Aedan nodded at the Cloud Chief Packmaster and disappeared in a blur.

"Wish I could move that fast," Marcus sighed and walked inside his home.

* * *

"Dad, do you think we might see a tornado?" Edward stood at the front door of their mobile home, watching as the rain began to fall amid thunder and lightning.

"Son, I hope we don't; this house will fold up like a wet cardboard box," Steven Pendley replied. "And we'd better be in a storm shelter if that happens."

"Can we go look at the storm shelter? We haven't seen it yet," Edward bounced on his toes in excitement.

"How heavy is the rain?" Steven asked.

"It's making puddles in the field outside."

"Then let's wait. I hope we won't need to get in it tonight. Come away from the door, son. That lightning is getting closer."

"Dad, I know that Director Jennings said we'd probably move away at the end of summer, but what do you think our chances would be of staying here?" Edward closed the front door reluctantly—he'd enjoyed watching the lightning and the rain, unobstructed by rows of houses or city blocks filled with tall buildings. The Oklahoma prairie was a new and welcome experience for him. He had no care for shopping or the need to be surrounded by crowds of people. The quiet appealed to him very much.

He also wanted to get to know Ashe and Sali better—they shared a friendship that he envied. If he could become good friends with them, who knew what the future might hold? In all his life, Edward had no close friendships. He knew his father was trying to protect him, but pointed ears didn't seem to be a concern to the citizens of Cloud Chief. In fact, Luanne had told him that one of the residents became a white buffalo. Edward wanted to see someone who could turn into a buffalo. And Sali's wolf? That was amazing.

"I don't know that they'd allow it—this is a hidden refuge for these people," Steven replied. "Want cocoa?" Edward's father pulled a box of instant out of the pantry.

* * *

"My Queen, I would not have offered this to our previous monarch," Diamond lifted the sleeve of his silk shirt, revealing the single, square gold talisman beneath. It shone brightly in the torchlight surrounding Friesianna, marked with runes denoting power in an ancient language none remembered.

Friesianna's crown was grasped in her left hand as she reached out for Diamond's talisman with her right. The Bright crown held power over the talismans and all four medallions could be called forth if there was great need. Diamond failed to see six children as great need, but his Queen asked, therefore he answered. His brothers Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby waited behind him, ready to offer up their talismans as well. Hilbah stood nearby, a triumphant gleam in his eyes as he watched the first of four gold power charms peel away from Diamond's flesh and float toward Friesianna's hand. The Call would go out within days.

* * *

"Wildrif is worth his weight in gold," Obediah Tanner chuckled, causing the scar running from the old werewolf's left eye down to his chin to pucker. Gray peppered Obediah's thick brown hair and he sported a rather large and bushy moustache that hid most of his mouth. Smoking a cigar and having a glass of whiskey, Obediah grinned at Lester, his second-in-command.

Obediah wasn't an officially recognized Packmaster, so Lester had to settle for being an unofficial Second. The Grand Master considered Obediah an outlaw; he just hadn't been able to pin any wrongdoing on the old wolf. All thanks to Wildrif, who was something of a clairvoyant. Wildrif always knew when someone was coming for a surprise inspection of
Tanner's Wild Game Preserve
, located near Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle. Obediah was able to hide any contraband and the rare, endangered or exotic animals used to lure wealthy hunters to his land; Wildrif warned him days in advance in order to give his employer plenty of time to conceal everything.

"How much this time?" Lester raised a glass of whiskey to his boss.

"Three hundred thousand. I think we could get more if we turn those kids over," Obediah grinned. "A lot more."

"Are we still getting information regularly?"

"Yeah. Josiah won't say who his spy is, and I really don't care as long as we keep getting what we need on that community. Wildrif has trouble seeing past their boundary, but he sure knows what the Bright Ones are up to. No idea where the Dark Ones get the money to pay, but we don't care about that, do we?" Obediah sipped his whiskey.

"Nope. Boss, that's the easiest money we've ever made. No animals or contraband to smuggle, no politicians to pay to keep quiet—it's all information and simple to get."

"I thought about giving Wildrif a raise, but that might get his hopes up," Obediah continued, rattling ice cubes in his glass.

"Boss, I wouldn't have taken him on, looking the way he does," Lester pointed out. "Wildrif scares some of the others, what with two different colored eyes and all."

"He refuses to get haircuts, and that makes him look even wilder," Obediah agreed. "But he knows what he's talking about. Every time."

"At least he keeps himself clean—when you first got him, he smelled terrible."

"Kept in a cage somewhere down south," Obediah blew smoke rings in the air. "Don't know how he managed to get himself locked up like that. Unless he knew he'd end up here."

"Could be. You treat him good, boss."

"Yeah. Go offer to bring him a steak—he's earned it."

* * *

Ashe could hear rain drumming on the roof from two floors down. He'd checked the weather reports—just a thunderstorm with no tornadic activity reported. Blowing out a relieved sigh, Ashe sent an instant message to Sali. His father hadn't forbidden email or instant messaging, after all. Likely hadn't thought about it—Aedan refused to use it, preferring his old cell phone. Ashe had only attempted to persuade his father to buy one of the newer, smart phones once.

Dude, I got two weeks, too
. Sali's reply came swiftly—Marcus hadn't cut off Sali's electronic communication, either.
Man, this sucks
, Sali added.

Yeah
, Ashe dutifully replied. They'd gone off the reservation; now they paid the price.
I'll send an email to Wynn and ask her to let Edward and the others know we can't see them for two weeks
.

Better you than me, dude
. Sali never spoke civilly with Wynn or Dori, in any form of communication. Attempts at such met with cold and calculated insults and unmerciful teasing.

Can't we all just get along?
Ashe mused through his keystrokes. It was an oft-moaned response to Sali's war with both girls.

Dude, Armageddon will happen before that does
, Sali sniped back.

You may eat those words someday.

Not likely.

You eat everything else.

Hey, that's just mean. And not true. I don't eat beets.

I stand corrected.

Then stop implying that I eat everything.

I wasn't implying, I was inferring. I was arriving at a conclusion based on the evidence at hand.

I owe you a kick.

In two weeks, dude. Unless you want Billings to catch us.

Detention on top of grounding? No, thanks.

* * *

"The Call will go out in a few days. I want you to track those children when they leave the protected area to seek out the Bright race," Baltis instructed his Destroyers. Rend, Slash, Grind and Crush bowed before their King.

"What is your will in this?" Rend, eldest of the four asked.

"Kill them. We have no use for them—I hear they have not developed any talent as yet." Baltis examined his nails. Perhaps he would have a servant take care of them—they looked a bit ragged.

"We will have to drain power from our talismans to relocate—it will take four jumps from here," Rend informed Baltis.

"Then go tomorrow. That will give them time to recharge." The Destroyers wore the gold duplicates of the Bright talismans—all bearing the ancient text that none now recalled or were able to read. It gave the Destroyers extra power to relocate, hopping from one place to another. Four hundred miles was the maximum any Destroyer could jump at one time. The talismans enabled them to make additional, difficult relocations. Most Elemaiya capable of the feat could only perform one or two relocations before taking a rest. Baltis' crown helped him relocate farther and faster, but he used it only if his life were in danger.