Waggoner crossed his arms and said, “That’s a whole lot of vague talk. You don’t trust me?”
“Don’t take offense to it,” Paige said. “It’s hard to trust anyone. Besides, we’ve got a whole lot of vague information. From what you’ve seen regarding your Vigilant buddies, you can’t blame us for being a little cautious.”
“I suppose not.”
Paige stood just inside the door and told Taylor, “I was thinking we’d only have to go to Texas to meet our friends, but it looks like we may have to go farther.”
“How much farther?”
Wincing, Paige replied, “Hungary. Do you have enough energy stored up to get us all that far?”
Taylor shook her head and rubbed the smooth slopes of her arms. “I’m afraid not. Why don’t I get you guys something hot to drink?”
That sounded good to Cole, but since his partner wasn’t moving, neither was he.
“If we can’t get what we need here, then we can’t stay long,” Paige said. “I’m not a huge believer in signs, but even I can’t deny that every single one of them is pointing us toward the Amriany. We need to get someone we can trust on our side who knows how to deal with Full Bloods. They’re the ones who designed the Jekhibar. We know we need their expertise on that.”
“You have a Jekhibar?” Taylor asked.
Cole recognized the awe in Taylor’s eyes. Considering that expression was on the face of a Dryad, it held more weight than usual. “Yes,” he said.
“And what do you expect to use it for?” There was an unmistakable sternness to Taylor’s question that made it clear she required an answer before she made them regret they’d even considered coming to a Dryad temple.
“The Torva’ox is how the Full Bloods got so powerful,” Paige explained. She wrapped her arms around herself as if she’d just discovered the cold. “The Jekhibar is the only thing I know of that can let us manipulate it.”
“The Unity Stone cannot manipulate the Torva’ox,” she said. “It can only store it.” Taylor’s eyes narrowed and she drew in a breath. When a wind came along to tug at her robe and rustle the jewelry around her waist, she didn’t even shiver. In fact, Cole wondered if every twitch or vaguely human response the nymphs had shown was merely another dance they performed in order to blend in with the world around them. “Do you know about the Mist Born?”
“I never even heard of a Unity Stone,” Cole said.
Smirking as if to a child, Taylor said, “It’s just a translation for Jekhibar. As for the Mist Born, that is what they are called as a group. They are elder beings that have gone unnoticed ever since humans stopped writing legends in favor of reporting simple facts.”
“Great,” Paige sighed. “More problems to deal with. Where have these guys been hiding?”
“The Mist Born hide from no one. They go where they please and do what they will. It is just not in their nature to interfere so blatantly in the affairs of humans. Well, it is not in most of their natures. I believe you know of a Mist Born that was captured by one of your founding fathers and recently released.”
“Kawosa,” Cole said, as if the name itself was a curse.
Taylor nodded. “The First Deceiver has always enjoyed toying with your kind. That is why he appears in so many of your legends. The natives of this country know him as Coyote. Some of your early religious texts depict him as a serpent, but they may have confused him with another.”
Paige chuckled. “You mean like the serpent that tempted Eve with the forbidden apple?”
Taylor nodded again. One time, leaving no room for misinterpretation. “Neither he nor any of his kind are interested in your religions. They simply . . . are. Human storytellers put the rest of the pieces together.”
“We already know about Kawosa,” Cole said. “Do you know of another one like him that may help us?”
“You want to manipulate the Torva’ox,” Taylor continued. “Since you already have a Jekhibar and know well enough to seek out your Amriany brethren, then you are close enough to be given a name.” She closed her eyes and slowly shifted the angle of her head as if hearing a distant song or feeling a lover’s touch beneath the flimsy material wrapped around her flawless body. Finally, she said, “Chuna.”
“That’s his name?” Paige asked.
“Chuna isn’t a him. Chuna isn’t a her.”
“Can you tell us where to find Chuna?”
The Dryad turned and walked farther into the club, speaking in a voice that required the Skinners to follow her if they wanted to hear what she had to say. “I can tell you you’re headed in the right direction. Chuna was last seen in the Amriany regions. I don’t know a lot more than that.”
“Then we’re back to needing a ride to Hungary.”
“I can’t send you from here,” Taylor said, “but I can get you to the Hub.”
“What’s the Hub?” Cole asked.
Taylor patted his cheek and spoke in a voice that was perfectly suited to the sparkling lips that breathed life into every word. “The Hub is where it’s at, baby.”
Chapter Fifteen
Shreveport, Louisiana
It had been the better part of a day since Adderson lost most of his unit on the outskirts of the city. He’d already joined up with the surviving forces of Ravens One through Three and set up a base camp inside an electronics store with metal shutters over the windows. The werewolves had caused more hardship than the recession and taken a similar toll on local businesses. The shelves had nothing on them but dust, and the storerooms were partially filled with empty boxes. Even so, there was still power flowing through the nearby mains, which one of the IRD techs was able to splice and divert into the store’s back room.
It was early morning by the time Adderson stretched his back and worked the kinks from his legs. He made his way to the soldier hunched over the dented metal case containing enough equipment to hack local wireless networks and use them to send and receive encrypted messages. Adderson ignored all the other miniaturized displays as he extended a hand to the squat young Marine with the headset wrapped over his ears. The Marine handed over an earpiece along with a quick warning. “Wasn’t able to raise Command, sir. Got patched straight through to one of the other field units, though.”
“This is Adderson,” he said as soon as the earpiece was fitted in place.
“There’s significant movement southeast of your position.”
“Who am I speaking to?”
“Sergeant Tate, sir.”
The voice wasn’t what Adderson had been expecting. It was almost as tired as his, several years younger, and female. “Where did you get this intel?”
“We’re entrenched in Carthage, Texas, tracking the shifters via satellite.”
“You’re able to keep a fix on them?”
“Upgraded the positioning systems yesterday morning,” she said with a faint hint of relief in her voice. “Got them online about three hours ago. They’re still not quick enough to track the Class Ones, but we can keep a closer eye on the larger packs. There’s three of those headed your way.”
“How many are with you there?”
“Just me, a private, and a sniper. We’ve got a Humvee with a mounted .50 cal but don’t want to gun the engine until it’s time to abandon this position.”
“Are there any Class Twos there to keep you company?”
“For now, no sir. But there’s no way of knowing how many more are on their way.”
“Abandon your position and rendezvous with us in Shreveport,” Adderson said.
“Where in Shreveport, sir?”
After giving her the coordinates, Adderson told her, “Come to us ASAP. Monitor the Delta frequency once you get within range, and if you hear me issue the command to break formation, turn around and head for a safer position. Until then use that .50 cal to chop up as many of those things as you can. Focus on the Class Twos.”