“I’ll do my best,” Danny muttered.
His apprehension made me turn around. Poor Danny clung to the frayed leather volume in his arms like he held the original Ten Commandments. The “Codex Demon-Summoner” as he called it had come from a “hot” librarian in Ohio. Danny’s interest in the Vixens of Microfiche continued to astound me. He’d wanted to help, except his lack of athleticism and his human status seemed to affect his spirits the farther we ventured into the scabrous and desolate park.
Shayna and I were part of Aric’s hunting party. Taran and Emme had joined their wolves and another group. They weren’t too far from us, but we couldn’t exactly count on their immediate help.
Aric had graciously insisted that Bren and Danny ride with us. I could have kissed him for it. His fellow werebeasts didn’t like a human tagging along, and resented Bren as a lone even more. Aric would help me keep them safe. At least, I hoped.
“We’re here, Celia.” Aric slowed the Jeep in the middle of stone hill path. The hot air beating against my face dwindled to a stop, exposing us to a layer of ozone so thick it slogged through my lungs. Danny took a few puffs of his inhaler, for all the good it did him. Bren shot him a worried glance before leaping out of the back.
I slid out of my sweat-soaked seat. Dunes stretched out in the horizon, laughing and mocking our withering bodies. Cracks crisscrossed the dry earth, forcing the sunbaked sand to resemble a cobblestone path rather than soil. Yup. Bren was right, this place blew.
“According to the werelion who found the last body, we have to hike about a mile that way.” Aric pointed to the dunes. Behind us, three more Jeeps rolled to a stop.
Shayna hurried to me, her pixie face drenched with sweat and bright red from the heat. “Not the best place to track, huh, Ceel?”
“We can handle it,” I said, keeping a close eye on the weres watching Danny. They laughed when he picked up a crumbling stick.
“What the hell are you doing, Dan?” Bren asked.
“It will help me hike through the tougher terrain.”
Bren took it and chucked it behind a large boulder. “Just grab on to my arm. I’ll pull you along the rough spots.”
“You girls together?” a werebear asked, laughing.
Bren winked and grinned. “Nah, I like banging your sister too damn much to play for the other team.”
Aric growled something at the werebear before he could react, cementing him in place. Good for him. I’d already taken a protective stance in front of Danny and Bren. The bear would have to barrel his way through me to get to them. And raging heat or not, I’d kick his ass if he tried to hurt them.
The bear ignored me and narrowed his eyes at Bren. Preternaturals had a tendency to underestimate my petite stature. Stupid mistake on their part.
“Move, Carl.” Aric’s tone broke through the dense air. The bear took the lead without another word or glance back. Aric linked his fingers with mine. “Don’t get between two weres, Celia. Let me handle things.”
“I don’t like bullies,” I told him, not bothering to keep my voice down.
“And neither do I,” Aric answered just as loudly. “Come on, we need to hunt.”
We’d trekked along the hard soil less than a mile when Aric’s head whipped to the side, two breaths behind Bren. Bren threw Dan over his shoulder and bolted up an incline littered with jagged rocks. Danny held tight to the text despite Bren’s spastic movements. Aric and I sprinted after him, leaping over the minilandslide caused by Bren’s racing steps.
Bren ran a few more yards toward a cluster of dead branches. The festering smell of meat kicked me in the face.
Bren put Danny down and began tossing the termite-ravaged wood, building a pile on either side of him. Aric joined him until they uncovered two . . . no, two and a half men left to rot.
“Fresh kills,” Bren said, pointing to the sections of drying blood near one man’s cleanly licked femur.
Aric jerked his head to the right. “The scent originated from that gorge.”
The pounding of paws and boot-clad feet announced the arrival of the rest of the team. Half of the weres had already changed; the anticipation of finding their quarry urged their beasts forward.
Danny cleared his throat but couldn’t hide his gag. “We should try the summoning spell from the gorge. It’s likely where the demon lord cast the lethal blow.”
Bren stared at the bodies. “Or where he started munching on these poor bastards.”
Danny cleared his throat again. “Ah, yeah. Violence like that can help trigger the spell.”
Shayna clutched Koda’s neck, turning her head away from the reek of death. Koda patted her leg and adjusted her against his back. I was glad she’d hitched a ride. The climb along the loose and rolling stones could easily have caused a fall or a sprain.