AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tala asked the question I couldn’t. “And Aiden?”
“No sign of him,” the ranger said. “But we found his scent and Mac’s tracing it right now. He’ll update us if he finds anything.”
Meaning it was still possible Aiden was alive. But even as part of me rejoiced that glimmer of hope, another whispered that there was no guarantee he would remain so. No guarantee that he was even moving under his own steam. This was all part of a larger plan—one that had yet to be fully revealed.
But it would be, instinct whispered, and all too soon.
“Right,” Tala said. “I’ll take Ms. Grace’s statement and start investigations here. Byron, call in additional people and then go assist Mac. I want this entire mountain searched.”
It won’t do any good, I thought, as Byron slipped back into the scrub. Waverley was now intent on not only taking revenge on the Redferns, but on those of us who kept interfering.
“If all your people are now here,” I asked. “Who’s minding the Redferns?”
Tala frowned. “Maggie—”
“The receptionist I met at the station? She’s also a ranger?”
“In training, but more than capable.” Tala’s tone was clipped.
“I’m not questioning her competence, but whatever else Waverley now has planned, they remain at the core of it all. One lone ranger might not be enough.”
“One lone ranger is all we have at the moment.” She frowned. “Waverley?”
“That’s the vampire’s name—Frederick Waverley.”
“And when the fuck did you learn that?” Blume cut in.
I glanced at him. “Earlier today, but it won’t help as it’s his birth name and he changed it long ago.”
“His birth name would have allowed us to contract the registrar and perhaps even gotten us help.” Blume’s voice was devoid of emotion, but his anger was so fierce his aura was little more than a black haze.
But the fact he knew about the registrar was interesting, as was Tala’s confusion. Obviously, the rangers—and perhaps even werewolves as a whole—weren’t aware of its existence.
Blume must have realized this, because he glanced at her and waved a hand. “Later.”
“It would seem our psychic isn’t the only one keeping secrets. But you guys never were the caring, sharing types.” Her gaze returned to me. “I’ll arrange to get extra people allocated to the Redferns. In the meantime, tell me what happened here.”
By the time I had, the shadows of dusk were closing in, mirroring the trepidation that was settling deeper into my soul.
“If we bring something of Aiden’s to you, do you think you can find him?” she asked.
“Maybe. If he isn’t dead.” I paused, and shrugged. “But Waverley is obviously aware of my psychometry skills, and will have countermeasures in place.”
She raised her eyebrows. “How can magic counter a psychic skill?”
“A witch can counter just about anything as long as they have the skill and knowledge.”
Anything except bullets and death. And that possibility still haunted my inner corridors, and would only grow stronger with the onset of night.
“Have you picked up the wingtip since you arrived here?” Blume asked.
I crossed my arms and tried to ignore the chill that rose at the thought of going anywhere near that shoe again. “Sorry, but I was too busy trying to stay alive to give the damn shoe a second thought.”
He frowned. “But you should still be able to trace him through it, shouldn’t you?”
“That shoe led us into a trap, just as I’d warned. If it were possible to trace him through it, we wouldn’t now be standing in this damn clearing.”
“I still think you should try.” He strode over to the woodbox and grabbed one of the shoes. “Here.”
