It was then, staring at Dox, that I realized he was scared, and he was covering it by telling us whatever he could. A curl of pity bit at me, but I pushed it down. Dox was here to help us and pitying him would get us nowhere.
He stared at me. “Because IF you can earn their respect, they’ll help us. And if we really are dealing with a Roc and a demon sacrifice, we are going to need their help. All that we can get.”
“That’s a mighty big if,” Liam said, his tone dry.
Dox slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “If a Roc took the foal, we are going to need their help. Besides, the Roc will live on the highest peak around here, if my memory serves me right about the beasts, which would mean it is on Mt. Hood.”
It was my turn to get snarky. “If it’s that damn simple, then let’s just go to Mt. Hood. What’s with all this posturing shit?”
Dox glared at me. “At the base of Mt. Hood is where the different Gangs meet to fight and … mate … on every full moon.”
I didn’t have to ask him if it was a full moon. I knew it without even looking it up. How? Because that’s just the way my life went.
Dox took a deep breath, maybe seeing me get the implications of what we were dealing with. “Which means we will have to go through all of them to get even close to Mt. Hood. And a full moon, when else would be a good time for a sacrifice?”
I let out a groan. I’d kinda been hoping I was wrong. This was fantastic, just what we needed. I Tracked Calliope, to be sure she was still with us. The fact that she was still alive told me the Roc was certainly not working on its own ideas. A steady hum of uncertainty had started up in the foal, making my skin crawl with her growing fear. Whatever was happening, it likely wasn’t all that good. On an impulse, I Tracked the Roc as a species, felt the threads of them tangle around Calliope, and then Tracked ogres as a species, ignoring Dox beside me. The threads of the three types of supernaturals intersected with a precision that made me want to puke.
Liam held up his hand. “Wait, how can a Roc go unseen if it’s so damn big? I know Blaz has his own magic, is the Roc the same?”
Dox spoke before I could. “Likely whoever is running the show has folded the veil, like at Doran’s house. The humans just won’t see it. Nice and simple.”
Time to get this conversation back on track. “Dox, you’re telling me there’s no back door? No way in that you could find for us?”
He scrubbed his hands over his head, rubbing vigorously. “I might be able to get some help. Maybe. But the triplets are a long shot. As in betting on them will either be a windfall or will wipe us out.”
Liam’s eyes met mine, and I nodded. There was no other choice. I knew when we were outnumbered and out-manned; I knew I was no freaking superwoman who would swoop in and save the day. “Dox, whatever help you can find for us, do it. It isn’t just the foal’s life on the line, but Eve’s too. And if there really is a demon involved, maybe more than that.” Not to mention all three of our lives. But that was our choice, to be here and put our lives on the line for the sake of two children who needed us.#p#分页标题#e#
He gave a sharp nod, started the truck, pulled an illegal U-turn, and got back on the interstate. “Portland it is, then.”
With each mile marker we passed, the tension in the truck grew until I choked on it. I rolled the window down, breathing in the deep sharp bite of the west coast winter. Humid, not unlike London, rain spattered down and I lifted my face to it.
“Roll the window up,” Dox snapped.
“Chill out,” I snapped back, leaving the window down.
“Roll it the fuck up! If we’re anywhere close, an ogre can smell the difference between human and supernatural. They don’t have to see us to know that we are trespassing on their territory.”
I rolled the window up. “You could have just said that, no need to get your extra large panties in a twist.”
He glared at me and I glared back. Dox didn’t scare me. The idea of other ogres gave me pause, though.
There was a hell of a lot I didn’t know about that species, despite having Dox as a friend, despite having read everything I could find about them (which wasn’t much) after meeting Dox for the first time. Despite everything that Giselle had taught me.
So we drove with the windows up and recycled air that very quickly smelled like corn chips and sweat socks. Liam’s nose wrinkled up and his mouth clamped shut. Hell, how much worse was it for him with his extra sensitive nose?
Mid afternoon, and we were in the city proper. Clean and picturesque, overcast and dreary, Portland had a relaxed feel to it. Maybe it was the west coast, maybe it was the weather keeping everyone mellow, maybe everyone was taking an afternoon drag, but whatever it was, I could feel it under my skin as we drove.