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And Creswyn was the town that serviced the Sinclair pack. “Odd that she didn’t petition the pack to allow them to live on the fringes of pack grounds.”
They’d certainly done it before for outsiders, something I’d discovered during our recent hunt for the psycho granny killer.
He gave me a somewhat amused smile. “Remember your earlier comments re prejudices? Our reservation isn’t immune to them, then or now.”
As evidenced by his mom’s reaction toourrelationship, even if the kernels of her hatred were based on past trauma. “Has Rosie ever gone walkabout like this before?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
Which made the panic I’d heard in Connie’s voice understandable. “Did she say why she lost the scent trail? Even if it was a few hours old, she still should have been able to track it, shouldn’t she?”
It wasn’t like there’d been any rain to wash it away.
“Apparently the scent just stopped. She said it was like someone had taken a knife to it and just sliced it from the ground. She nosed around but couldn’t pick it up again.”
Magic could conceal scents, and a werewolf certainly wouldn’t have sensed its presence. It made the possibility of this being linked to our sorceress a little more likely.
“At least Creswyn is too far away from the sacrifice site for it to be our basilisk. They’re fast mothers, but even they can’t travel that distance so quickly. If it had happened tomorrow night, then it might have been a possibility.”
“A snake wouldn’t have lured Rosie out of her bed, though,” Aiden commented. “And besides, Connie would have picked up the snake’s scent.”
“Unless the basilisk is using magic to conceal its scent and presence.”
He glanced briefly at me. “And can it?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so, but itisa demon, so who knows.” I half shrugged and ate some more slice. It was warm enough that the chocolate on top was already beginning to melt.
We continued on in comfortable silence, the headlights sweeping away the shadows still clinging to the sides of the road while the wisps of pink grew stronger in the sky. The sun was close to peeking over the horizon by the time we reached Connie and Rosie’s place. It was a pretty little white weatherboard cottage on the outskirts of Creswyn, with a white picket fence out front lined with roses. Their sweet scent filled my nostrils as I climbed out of the truck and followed Aiden through the gate then up the steps to the small veranda.
The door opened before Aiden could ring the bell. Connie was tall and stringy, with short white hair that contained a solitary streak of pale red in her slightly longer fringe, and deep golden eyes. Her face was weatherworn but pretty, and her aura a vibrant, churning mix of colors that were fear, anger, and sorrow combined.
She had the air of a woman who didn’t suffer fools—or people in general—gladly.
“It took you long enough, Ranger.” She pointed at me with her chin. “Who’s that?”
“Liz Grace, she’s—”
“A ranger? Because she don’t smell like a wolf to me.”
“I’m a psychic,” I said. “And right now, my psi skills are your only fucking chance to find your partner, so stop being an ass and let us inside.”
She blinked, surprise evident, then nodded. “I like you. Come in.”
I hadn’t read her wrong, which was a relief.
Aiden gave me a somewhat amused look and motioned me forward. I stepped into the hall and was immediately struck by the floweriness of it all—not only was there pale green and pink floral wallpaper, but also vases of roses on the nearby hallstand and several low hanging pots of flowering Christmas cactus hanging in the doorways. Given Connie’s height, she obviously didn’t mind ducking.
Connie motioned us into the living room. “What needs to be done?”
“I’ll need something personal of hers—something that she wears close to her skin.”
Connie hesitated. “I’m not sure there’s anything that fits the bill. Rosie wasn’t much into jewelry and the like.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “Perhaps I can look around myself? My psychometry should be able to pick up something with a strong enough resonance.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then,” Aiden said, “we drop into plan B and organize a full search of the area.”
