Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1) (28 page)

Ryan texted back, "No trail."

I snarled and told them to return to the apartment then, we had to plan our next move. Dan brought his wolf forward and kept sniffing the air while Alex and I kept our ears pricked and checked for any trace of the man as we took the long way back to the apartment. If we caught anything, we planned on hunting him down. There was nothing, not that we'd expected it. By the time we reached the apartment, our mood was sullen, frustrated, and melancholy. We had been so close. He was taunting us, and we only had half the puzzle pieces. I slumped on the sofa and cursed the Sisters. They should have given us more information. They were allowing the sirens to be slaughtered, for what? I wasn't particularly fond of the parasites, but even I had my limits.
 

Nik dropped the rag on the table and collapsed into an arm chair. Dan sat with Alex and me on one sofa while Ryan sprawled out on the other. I didn't like the distinction being made within the pack. It was not the three of us versus the two of them. We were a united force. We went back over everything we knew and tried to form a plan of attack. If the man had a routine as Kit had said he did, then he would be easy to catch. That being said, he also clearly knew that we were thinking that way and would very likely be trying to evade us. There was also the strong possibility that that man was being set up by the real killer.

I wasn't against the prospect of killing one innocent if it meant we got closer to our goal. He was involved in the sirens one way or another, and therefore he was a fitting target. We got some sleep and prepared ourselves for the hunt that night.
 

29

He already knew Nik and Ryan's faces, so they were held back and stayed at our flanks while Alex and I took point. The man lived in a plain, red brick house with a tidy little garden and cream curtains. It matched the other drab, monotonous houses on the road. No car sat in the driveway, but that wasn't that unusual in the city. I remained in the shadows, tucked up in the tree watching intently in my raven form. Alex had shifted into his dog form. It wasn't perfect, but he could pass as an escaped pet in his sleek black and tan Doberman-cross shape. I watched him with a small smile as he wandered around the road, sniffing at bushes before he lay out on a patch of grass a few doors down from the target's house. There was something comforting in the familiarity of this part of it all. The thrill of knowing the target was right there, hunting him down, and the best part, of course - the kill.

He was only a human, or so we thought, but we couldn't be sure of that. There were many creatures and beings we hadn't come up against yet, so I didn't really acknowledge him as truly a human. I wondered if part of that was morality trying to step in. There was something less pleasurable about killing humans. They were weaker, and they often had no idea what was going on around them. It was like killing a cub. I shrugged and focused on the house. There was movement within it, but the door hadn't opened yet. We didn't want to barge into his house. That would arouse far too much suspicion. Instead we planned on following him, controlling his movements, and taking him out into the woods. People had the natural instinct to move away from creatures that threatened them. We intended on using that to push him in the directions we wanted. I didn't care much about what the humans would think about it all. I was ready for it to be done with.
 

The lights went out behind the cream curtains. My focus intensified, as I knew that this was it. He was getting ready to move. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, but I couldn't wait. I slipped down from the tree and ducked into the shadows of a house a short distance away. I confirmed that no one was watching as I wrapped the shadows close around me, their cold kiss on my skin sending chills down my spine. I'd missed the shadows. I pulled away just a little, rejected their affections and focused on shifting back into my human form. The black jeans were a touch too warm in the humid weather, but a storm was coming and the dark red tank top blended in while still keeping up appearances. I looked like a perfectly normal woman out walking to meet friends or some such.
 

I held back a giggle as the shadows wove themselves around my legs and slipped over my fingers in affectionate dances. I didn't have time to spend enjoying their company. I took a deep breath and quietly asked them to thread their way through my hair. I couldn't hide my eyes, their predatory glint was something I'd never managed to keep from people, but I could hide my white-blonde hair. It was both a curse and a blessing, and at that point, it was a curse. The shadows slipped around my hair and nested themselves on top of my head making my hair appear to be pitch black. I smiled and ran my fingers over my head in thanks.
 

I casually walked out onto the pavement and glanced around before carrying on and following the man. Alex had stirred, but he was making a show of sniffing around the bushes. The man walked wide of him, but paid him no obvious attention. I tilted my head and watched our target. He blended in beautifully. His short hair was well kept but unadventurous; his clothes were the same shirt and jeans that hundreds of other men wore throughout the city. He was a no one. I felt a pang of guilt over taking his life, at the possibility of him being just a human. I shoved it away and reminded myself of the sirens he'd slaughtered for no reason.
 

He took the same route that he had the night before, exactly as Kit had said. His pace was slow and relaxed, his hands tucked into his pockets, and he paid no attention to much of anything around him. The tree-lined suburbs gave way to the older part of the city with its tall, imposing buildings. I was grateful that he hadn't chosen the modern part with all of the glass walls to quietly check for those around him. Instead, we were surrounded by large stone blocks and ancient, heavy wooden doors.
 

Once we were in the heart of the old town, we began to make our move. Alex had shifted into his human form to give him a better advantage and to make himself less obvious in his actions. He appeared out of the shadows on the other side of the road. His figure was much taller than the target's; broader, with clear muscles. Alex had opted to go without a shirt and wore faded blue jeans, better to add to the imposing image he was creating. The target did as we had hoped: He moved away from Alex. I smiled. It was good when things went to plan.
 

Alex moved closer and controlled the man's movements, pushing him down a narrow alley that would cut out into the woods. The man turned down into the alley to try and avoid Alex. We followed him, and he was gone. There was no sign of him. The alley was only just wide enough for Alex and me to stand side by side. It was straight, with no nooks or turning points. There were no doors or windows, just sheer walls that stretched more than six stories up above us. We ran.
 

He must have fled either in fear or because he knew who and what we were. The boys were close behind us when we emerged from the alley out into the woods. We stopped and listened. Even with my wolf ears shifted, I couldn't hear footsteps, breathing, or a heartbeat other than ours. I sniffed the air and caught something. Nik took off after something. I had to hope that was the right thing. He ran as fast as his long legs could carry him, twisting and turning, ducking under the bows of the trees. I struggled to keep up with my far shorter legs. The boys were all ahead of me as we followed the scent of the man through the woods. After what felt like an hour of hard running, we stopped. All of us lowered our heads and breathed deep, our hearts bounding in our chests while our lungs struggled to fill themselves. My muscles burned, but it felt good.
 

We looked at Nik. He said, "It stopped. Dead."

I growled and looked at him, he merely shrugged. "I thought maybe he was a bird shifter, but I can’t pick up a trace of it in the vicinity. I checked up around the trees and such, but there’s nothing. It just vanished.”

How the hell had he managed to lose all of us? I focused on calming my breathing. He was clearly a far more formidable foe than I had given him credit for.
 

We sat down on the warm soil and rested. It had been a while since we had pushed ourselves so hard, and we needed to plan our next move.
 

Ryan looked to Alex and I and said, "How the fuck did he do it? Seriously, how did he manage to vanish into thin air like that?"

I rubbed my temples. I didn't have an answer for him. I didn't know of any one single creature that could do such a thing. There were a couple of gods that could have managed to hide their energies completely, but gods didn’t come down to that plane.
 

Alex simply said, "We don't know. We have no idea."

Dan lay out on his back and stretched while Nik leaned against the closest tree. He mumbled, "I'm sorry."

I offered him a half smile. "You did your best. It seems you're a better tracker than I'd given you credit for."

I needed to give him something positive. It wasn't his fault that the trail had gone dead. He'd done all he could, and he would make me proud as a tracker. I rubbed my face trying to run everything through my head.
 

Dan said, "Can we track Keiran down? He was the one who gave us information last time, maybe he’ll have something more? Maybe he couldn’t help screwing with things a little bit. Fae are known for their games, after all."

It took me a second to remember who Keiran was - Kit! I cursed the fae’s inability to give over their proper name. Keeping track of his various pseudonyms was a pain. "We could, but I don't see what good it would do it at this point. We need to move quickly. If he's still in the city, then he’s unlikely to stay that way for long."

Alex said, "And we don't know how reliable Keiran is. He could be involved in all of this."

Ryan coughed and said, "What about the sirens?" I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "Well, we have an idea of his hunting territory right? And the siren he's likely to go after next?"

"That's assuming that Keiran isn't playing us." Dan couldn't help himself. He hadn’t forgiven Kit from his meeting with him earlier, and the little game with the information didn’t make it any better.
 

Dan pressed, "But what other option do we have? We have no other information, no other leads? Are we supposed to just run around the city in the vain hope that we find him?"

I lay back on the dirt and looked up at the canopy overhead, trying to pull the threads together. We could return to the fae club, but if the fae were involved they'd all stick together, and we'd never get anywhere in time. The humans were entirely useless. They didn't know sirens existed, let alone were being killed. The Sisters wouldn't give us any information. I wondered if it was some twisted game to them.
 

Alex sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I can't think of another option. When is the next one supposed to be?"

Ryan said, "Tomorrow. The abandoned warehouse out on the edge of the city."

I looked at him. "There's only one option for tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "I guess Keiran was pretty sure on that one."

That was suspicious in and of itself. I was beginning to doubt Kit and the fae. The pixie girl could easily have set us up, but it wasn't going to do us any good pacing around trying to see if they were for or against us. I chose to believe they were on our side. The fae had never done anything wrong by me before. They were notorious for their games and malicious intent, but they’d never done me any harm.

I'd entirely forgotten that the shadows were entangled in my hair and glanced over to Alex. He gave me a clear look of "don't."

I curled my lip and looked away. It had to be Dan who asked though, didn't it?
 

I stood, and he said, "I love what you did with your hair. Did you somehow bring forward your raven in a new way or...?"

I shrugged and turned away from him. "When you’re as old as I am, you know all the tricks."

I hoped that he believed I was just maintaining an odd trick with the raven side, given he’d suggested the idea. Given I was far older and more experienced than him, I could have done it, in theory. Shadow has a very distinctive look and feel to it, but most people don’t know that. It was a hidden talent, and I cursed myself for being stupid enough to keep it up around the cubs. I should have removed it the moment we entered the alley.
 

Ryan spoke up with, “Can you explain how you did it? I know I can’t control fire, but maybe it’d help me figure out something else that I can do. Ya know?”

I tried to keep a polite smile on my face, rather than the snarl I wanted. He didn’t mean any harm. It was me who had fucked up. “It’s much like the bit of darkness Dan formed in his hand. I twist the light from the fire, which I wrap around my hair, so that rather than putting light out the fire consumed the energy around it. It’s very difficult, as Dan demonstrated. A handy trick, though.”

Ryan didn't ask any more questions, and Dan seemed reasonably satisfied with my answer. I kept the shadows in their place until I had a quiet moment to send them back on their way. There was too much in allowing them to slip away where Dan or one of the others could feel them brush past them. They were good enough to vanish quickly, and as much as I felt bad, I knew they would forgive me. The boys and I were all exhausted, and the sun was beginning to rise, yet none of us would be able to sleep. We found our way to a cheap cafe that served greasy breakfasts in large portions and refillable coffee. That was exactly what we needed.
 

No one said a word while we ate. The dark mood hung over us like a black cloud. The burning sensation in my muscles had reduced to a dull ache which was passing quickly enough. I sighed softly. I was staring into my black coffee when Alex's hand found its way to brush over mine. I couldn't hold back the flicker of a smile. Not everything was lost.
 

I looked up to see the boys were beginning to look a little brighter. Smiles were starting to form on their faces, and they ordered more food. Wolves were happy when they were eating and hunting. Jaguars, however, being feline, preferred nice, long naps on luxurious bedding. I stretched and yawned. The idea that we wouldn't be able to sleep was fading fast. A nice long nap in a comfortable nest sounded like exactly what I needed in that moment. I caught the scent of something mildly acrid, soil mixed in with sweat, and I put down my coffee in horror. That awful smell was me and the boys.