Wolf Hills (20 page)

“That’s amazing.” Sally, who’d never known a blood relative before, was touched by the genuine affection she saw in the older woman’s gaze.

“You say you live in San Francisco? Are you here only for a visit?”

“Just two weeks. I came to visit Carly but then I found out about her new nocturnal schedule and Jason has been kind enough to take me places during the day. It’s hard to believe I only got here the day before yesterday. So I still have the better part of two weeks vacation ahead of me.”

“I hope you will find some time to spend with me,” Leonora invited. “It has been far too long since I had contact with my family. You’ll also want some instruction on how to best utilize your magic. From what I can see, you’ve done well for a city dweller, but there are certain facets to your abilities that can only be discovered in true woodland, like we have here. I’d be happy to teach you. In fact, it is my duty to both you and the forest. We are its stewards, its caretakers and companions. We act on its behalf and carry out its wishes. We also do for it what it cannot always do for itself.” Sally didn’t fully understand the nymph’s words, but she wanted to learn. She could sense a whole other world out there waiting for her and she wanted a chance to delve into it.

“I’ll want to be sure those hunters move on and that the two who fired at me and Colleen are brought to justice, but otherwise, my days are pretty much free and I’d really enjoy spending some time with you. Thank you for the offer.”

“Jason, you are welcome too, of course.” Leonora winked at him. Sally wasn’t quite sure why, but she got the sense that there was something unspoken between them. Jason bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Sally, you need to know that our kind of magic doesn’t get passed down genetically. Your mother may not have had an affinity for the forest at all, and then you were born with the natural ability to make things grow and hear the gossip of the trees. The power passes to whomever it wishes—to whomever it thinks will best utilize it for the good of the forest. You were born to a human world but judging by your abilities, you’ve inherited many of the gifts of my bloodline. It is important to learn how to use that power—especially in this world so dominated by concrete jungles. We are the guardians of the forest. Mankind has begun to wake up and realize that the wild places need to be preserved. There is a desperate need for our kind of magic in this world that is struggling to protect what’s left and regrow at least part of what was chopped down in mankind’s haste for expansion.”

That was a heady thought. All Sally had ever really been able to do was make things grow in her little corner of a neighborhood. She did small gardens. Never anything on a grander scale. If what Leonora said was correct, she might be able to do more. Much more.

“I’d like to learn,” Sally affirmed. “We’ll have some time over the next two weeks and there’s no reason I can’t come back. I have a lot of vacation time stacked up that I’ve never used. I never really had anyone to visit before.”

“Well, now you do. You have me, and your friend the Mistress, and Jason here. Something tells me, he’ll have something to say about where you spend your time.” Leonora winked at her again, a knowing smile on her face.

“How about I bring her by after lunch for the next few days? You two can commune with the trees—or whatever it is you do—while I patrol. I’ll come back and pick her up before dinner. You’re always more than welcome to join the Pack for dinner, Leonora. You know that.”

“I do,” she answered graciously. “And I thank you for the reminder. I may take you up on that. I’ll let you know. For now, the afternoons would be perfect, if that’s all right with you, Sally.”

“Sounds great,” Sally agreed. “I only need my evenings free to hang out with Carly. She’s the one I came to visit in the first place, after all.”

“This will work out fine,” Leonora assured her. “But now, I think you have to go.” Leonora stood quickly, confusing Sally for a moment until she heard it too. The trees spoke of danger. Of horror.

“What is it?” Jason asked, already on his feet.

“A child. A pup,” Sally said, not sure how to interpret the song on the wind. “He wandered away from his parents and the four hunters are closing in on him.”

“I will ask the trees to intervene but there is only so much they can do,” Leonora offered, a frown of worry on her timeless face.

“Where are they?” Jason demanded, all business now as he whipped out his cell phone and started dialing.

“I see the place. I can lead you there,” Sally said, still listening to the whispers on the wind.

“Below Yellowtail Ridge between the dry creek and the lightning tree. About a hundred yards north of the bear cave.” Leonora pinpointed the location.

Jason placed his call and relayed the location in terse sentences. He hung up and turned to Sally. “Will you know if they move?”

“As long as I can hear the trees,” she answered with conviction.

“Great. We’ll roll the windows down on the SUV if we have to. Let’s go. Sorry, Leonora.”

“Don’t worry, Jason. Go now and rescue that little boy. He needs you.”

They ran through the woods together, back toward the SUV. Sally just barely kept up with Jason’s longer strides.

“Throw me the keys. I know where to go,” she called out as they broke through the trees.

The keys jangled as they flew through the air toward her. She loved the fact that he hadn’t questioned her statement. He took her words at face value, though she was a newcomer to the area.

She saw the phone in his hand as they piled into the SUV. He’d barely shut the door before she threw it in drive. All those years driving in crowded city streets had taught her how to handle a vehicle at speed. The country roads were easy enough to navigate.

Jason exchanged terse words with someone on the phone while Sally followed the map in her mind toward where she knew they had to go. She could clearly see where the abduction had taken place.

She took them as far as the road allowed. While Jason had been talking to his people on the phone, he’d removed his boots and socks. He’d also shrugged out of his jacket. She supposed he was preparing in case he needed to be able to shift forms quickly. All he had left was a T-shirt and his jeans. And the phone, of course. From the level of cursing, she surmised he wasn’t getting good news on that end.

The SUV halted in a skid of rocks and pinecones that had built up on the side of the road. Both of them were out of the vehicle before it even stopped rocking. Sally pocketed the keys and began to run. She was fast for a human, but she knew Jason had to hold back to keep pace with her. She did her best to move faster, pouring on speed she didn’t know she had as they made their way on foot up the mountain.

Sally saw the first wolf about a hundred yards into the woods. It paced them while Jason made some sort of gestures with his hands. The wolf nodded once and scurried off ahead. Sally realized they must have signals worked out.

“She’s going to scout ahead for us,” Jason said quietly. He wasn’t even breathing hard. Sally was in shape, but the mad dash had her panting a little. That and seeing an enormous wolf running alongside them…well, it had taken her by surprise. She knew intellectually that these people could turn into wolves, but that didn’t mean she took it for granted that giant versions of dangerous wild beasts running a few feet away from her didn’t make her heart beat faster.

“I’m sorry I’m so slow,” she gasped between breaths. She wanted to say more, but time was of the essence. They kept moving, the wolf barely visible in the trees ahead of them.

“You’re actually faster than I expected. Faster than any human, certainly. Don’t sweat it.”

Sweating was exactly what she was doing. Out of breath and dripping, she almost cursed the Alpha at her side who looked as if he were out for a pleasant stroll. No sweat beaded his upper lip. His lungs breathed steadily and at a much slower rate than her own.

A short yip made her jump.

“Damn.” Jason’s head rose and he seemed to sniff the air.

“What is it?”

“Blood. Lots of blood.” He veered to the right, even though she knew the abduction had taken place elsewhere. She paused mentally even as she followed in his footsteps. She had been listening to the trees sing of the child. But there was another song—another story they sang of—a story of death.

“It’s a bear. The hunters killed it,” she suddenly realized. She had been so preoccupied with the boy, she’d missed it. She mentally kicked herself even as she kicked her heels into high gear to follow Jason. He led the way, but kept his pace slow enough that she could follow.

When he stopped short, she almost ran into his back. A tree steadied her and she felt its presence in her mind. It had witnessed the death of its neighbor. Sally’s unprepared mind saw it all as the tree spoke of the events to her.

“The bear lived in that cave over the rise. The hunters shot it and used its scent to disguise their own. This tree saw it all.” She spoke aloud to Jason, not really registering the fact that a small ring of wolves had formed around them and the giant bear’s carcass.

She was relieved to find that the bear was simply a bear, not one of the bear shifters Jason had pointed out at the restaurant. It was a senseless death of a beautiful animal, but at least the shifters would not be mourning the loss of a member of that family. This old bear had been an aging bachelor, past his prime of life.

“They used his scent to hide their own. Cunning,” Jason said with carefully controlled anger. “We know this bear. Jimmy would not have been afraid of his scent. None of our Pack would.”

“The boy’s name is Jimmy?” It was a nonsensical detail to focus on but she was at a loss.

Jason nodded. “There’s been no trace of him yet. The bear’s scent is confusing the issue. He’s been all over these woods. Tracing him by scent leads us everywhere and nowhere.”

She thought she understood. “Follow me. I know where the abduction took place, but…” She hesitated before breaking the news.

“What?” Jason turned to her, his gaze hard.

“They took him in a van and drove away. I lose the trail at the edge of the woods, where the land turns into farmland. No trees.” She felt helpless, having listened to the rest of the song. The trees knew only what they could see. Where there were no trees, they had no way to know.

Jason’s lips thinned into a tight line. “Show me.”

Sally turned and began running again. At least she’d had a moment to steady her breathing. Jason padded along beside her, barefoot. She supposed he was used to the prickly things on the uneven forest floor, but she wouldn’t want to do it herself. Her delicate human feet would have been punctured and bleeding within the first few yards.

Sally led the way to a tiny clearing several hundred yards farther up the ridge. She had to slow in places to climb and became aware of the Pack of wolves all around them. They were surrounded on all sides, with several following behind. Sally felt the weight of their presence but no danger from them. Not toward her, at least.

When she arrived at the clearing, she was careful to halt just outside, cautioning Jason and his people as well. She didn’t want to disturb evidence or clues before they’d had the opportunity to study the scene.

“He struggled there,” Sally pointed to a patch of forest floor that was freshly turned. “They subdued him.”

“Drugged him,” Jason confirmed with a sniff. “Strong opiates. And they were messy about it.” He strode forward, careful about where he stepped. Sally followed behind when she realized he knew what he was doing. He bent to pick up a leaf that had some sort of fluid congealing on its surface. “They lost some of the drug out of the syringe or dart when he struggled. Could be they only gave him a partial dose.”

“It was a syringe,” Sally confirmed, spotting a flash of silver near her feet. “Watch where you step, Jason. These guys were sloppy.” She bent to retrieve the needle, using a leaf to touch it so she didn’t disturb any fingerprints that might be on it.

“They dragged him off this way,” Jason observed. “The scent is all confused. I think they were using some kind of scent neutralizer in addition to the bear. They learned from their earlier mistakes.” He made some hand gestures to the wolves and a few stayed behind while the rest followed as he led the way toward another, larger clearing.

“They had a four wheeler parked here. One of them drove with the boy in the back while the other three walked.” Sally could see the picture painted by the rustling leaves as they walked. “They had a white panel van waiting at the gravel road up ahead. They put him in the back, tied him down with shiny metal cuffs attached to a chain. The trees saw that much. I assume the chain was attached in some way to the inside of the van.” Their small group broke through the trees and she could clearly see the skid marks on the gravel road where the van had pealed out in a hurry.

“Hold this,” Jason said tersely, handing her his cell phone. She watched in momentary confusion as he stripped off his T-shirt and jeans. A moment later, an absolutely enormous, shaggy wolf stood in his place.

Jason went over the road with his nose to the gravel. His wolf senses must be much more acute than in his human form. He picked up a scent and followed it for some distance in the general area but eventually gave up and shimmered back into his human form. He shrugged into his clothes while she watched and shook his head in disgust.