“What is it?” Bale inquired, and I heard ahitch in her voice I’d never heard before.
“They’re not here,” I growled.
“How do you know that?”
“Iknow.”
She held her hands up and leaned against thedoor to put more distance between us. I shoved my foot down on thegas and drove toward the school where I’d told Corson to wait. As Idrove, I detected traces of River’s scent at different placesthroughout the town. I’d check those locations for some sign ofwhere they’d gone after the school.
At the intersection, I began to turn towardthe school, but Bale grasped my arm and pointed at a sign on theother side of the road. I’d been so focused on getting to theschool that I hadn’t noticed the white sheet draped over the signand tied around the post.Lanavours in thearea. Had to leave. Go straight. Will leave signs,R.
The R barely fit onto the bottom of the notescrawled in what looked like blood. As we drew closer to the sheet,I caught a waxy, unfamiliar scent through the open windows of thetruck. I didn’t know what they’d used to write the note, but itwasn’t blood.
“Lanavours,” I grated.
“They couldn’t have stayed here,” Bale said.“They had no choice but to leave.”
I nodded, but my teeth were beginning tothrob from clenching them so tightly.
Bale squeezed my arm, drawing my attention toher. “Corson and the others will follow the same route we intendedto, for as long as they can. We’re not that far behind them, butyou have to let the humans rest. They can’t keep the same pace wecan.”
“They can sleep in shifts and we’ll keepdriving until we find them.”
“Kobal—”
“We can’t be more than a few hours behind.The humans can rest when we catch up. We can’t stop here in casethe lanavours are still around anyway.” Bale released my arm andsat back. I didn’t look at her again as I drove down the road.“Keep your eye out for another sign.”
“I will.”
***
River
I took over driving for Hawk when the sunrose. It was the first time I’d ever been behind the wheel of avehicle in my life. My hands shook in the beginning, my heartknocked louder than a poltergeist on the walls, but taking hold ofthe wheel made me feel powerful. Now, I just had to keep the truckin the center of the road and stop trying to use both feet on thepedals.
When a squirrel ran out in front of me, Iaccidentally hit both the brake and the gas at the same time, onewith each foot. The truck jerked forward with a squeal. Corson,Erin, and Vargas were thrown up against the cab of the truck by thesudden start then stop. Groans sounded behind me as their bodiesbounced off the metal with multiple heavy thuds.
“Sorry!” I called back to them.
“One foot for both pedals,” Hawk said for theumpteenth time, his eyes red-rimmed from exhaustion as he gazed atme from the passenger seat.
“Okay,” I muttered and forced my left footaway from the brake pedal.
After a while, I got the hang of it and theothers drifted off to sleep, except for Corson. His back wasagainst the window behind Hawk, his eyes half-open as he watchedthe passing scenery. For all I knew, he could be sleeping. Kobalslept with his eyes closed, but they were all different kinds ofdemons, each with their own traits.
“We should leave another sign,” he said aftera half an hour, confirming my doubts as to whether or not he wasawake.
I pulled to the side of the road and jumpedout of the truck without putting it into park. My left foot hungout the door, running over the ground as I scrambled with my rightfoot to find the brake. The truck lurched to a stop and,thankfully, no one was slammed against the cab again.
“You have to put it in park first,” Hawkmuttered without opening his eyes.
“Thanks for the info.”
“Anytime.”
I shifted the stick on the steering wheelinto park and cautiously took my foot off the brake. I held mybreath as I waited to see what would happen, but the truck didn’tmove. Grinning and fighting the urge to pat myself on the back, Ihopped out. Corson’s earrings swung back and forth as he glancedbetween me and the truck with a look that clearly said he believedthe truck was smarter than me.
“I’ve never driven before,” I saiddefensively.
