Emily snorted. "Why isn't she in charge?"
Callean rubbed his cheek and glanced in the direction his mother had gone with an affectionate smile on his face. "I'm not sure she isn't." He dropped his hand and turned to us. "But you have to keep your end of the bargain. We need Burnbaum's help, even if it isn't much. How can we get a hold of him?"
"I know the new codes. We could get a message through on the radio," Adam spoke up.
Callean gave a nod. "Good. I'll show you the way to the radio tent. I didn't see any guns on any of you, so the rest of you go outside and rummage through the boxes outside these barracks. You should find something to please your thirst for battle." He led Adam outside and we followed.
21
Day had broken during our Hummer ride and I blinked in the harsh light. The reason for the crowds was because of two dozen wooden ammunition boxes that lay on the ground outside the barrack. The tops were tossed aside to reveal guns of all sizes. Small cricket guns, large machine guns, submachine guns, sub sandwich guns, rifles, pistols, everything a gun-nut would ever want. Rick would have been in heaven.
I took the chance to glance around the camp and wasn't surprised to see there were a dozen more barracks buildings lined up in two rows. Even that number of buildings couldn't hold all of Callean's men, and tents were pitched at the end of the road. The main thoroughfare was outside the doors and flaps, and between the barracks were small fire pits for cooking. The grassy plains of the border region were replaced by thickets of marsh-trees and the light smell of swamp. I wondered if the soldiers sent here in past times were supposed to toughen up their immune systems with malaria. A whole fleet of Hummers was parked in the main thoroughfare and those of Callean's men not around the boxes ran here and there gathering up other supplies such as medical kits and fuel for the vehicles.
Emily rubbed her hands as her eyes swept over the goodies. "Now this is what I'm talking about." She dove into the eager snatching of the guns and grabbed what she could. Rick would have been proud.
Luke edged close to me and lightly grasped my arm. "Take what you wish, but remember that nothing beats your natural weapons of claws and teeth," he whispered to me.
I glanced at him and noticed his hands were empty. "Aren't you going to take one?" I wondered.
He shook his head. "No. Zeke detested them and never taught me to shoot."
I snorted. "It's not that hard. Just think of it as the original point-and-click interface. Oh, and aiming. That's pretty important."
Luke smiled, but he didn't make a move toward the piles of guns. They disappeared from the boxes like the popular toy off shelves on Black Friday. I sighed and shrugged. "I guess I'll go barehanded, too."
"They can be useful," Luke countered.
I tapped a finger against my temple. "I'll also stick with my natural defenses and my wits, whatever's left of them."
Emily returned to us with her arms laden with the spoils of war. She dumped rifles, shotguns, and ammo boxes at our feet, and glanced at our empty arms. "You'd better get in there before all the good stuff is gone," she advised us.
"We prefer a more natural approach," Luke told her.
She shrugged and bent down to rummage through her treasures. "All right, but you're missing a lot of good stuff." She pulled out a bowie knife with a blade sharp enough to cut hair. "I don't know who Callean's supplier is but I have to get his number."
The devil she spoke of made his appearance at the end of the road walking toward us with Adam at his side. They had exited a tent and strode toward the chaos that was winding down in front of the empty ammunition boxes. They reached us and their grim faces told me they weren't brimming with good news.
"The message may not have reached Burnbaum," Adam informed us.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Lance could have figured out Burnbaum was still sending messages through the radio and, being unable to decipher the code, he's now broadcasting constantly to jam as many of the airwaves in the southern regions as he can manage," Adam explained.
"So you couldn't talk to Burnbaum because Lance is trying to talk to everyone at once?" I summarized.
Adam nodded. "Exactly. I sent the message several times, but there's no guarantee it reached Burnbaum or any of his men."
"We will have to take that chance and proceed without him," Callean spoke up.
Luke smiled. "Then we can still count on you and your men?"
Callean frowned and glanced over his shoulder. Leonor stood at the Hummers passing weapons and ammunition to the men piling into the vehicles. He rubbed his still-red cheek. "I would not want to attempt to go against God's will," he muttered.
"Then let's get this party started," Emily spoke up. She cocked a rifle and loaded it. The grin on her face made me glad she was on our side. "I have a little bit of revenge to get done, and a lot of ammunition to spend."
Callean looked to Luke. "Does Lance have any other tricks up his long sleeve that we need to know about?"
Luke pursed his lips and nodded. "There is another chemical we need to worry about. Lance calls it the Alpha Formula. He infused his scent into a mixture and when the mixture is sprayed on a werewolf Lance or anyone of his blood have the ability to control them."
Callean's eyebrows crashed down. "Some sort of a mind-control formula?" he guessed.
"Yes, and he may have used it on our friends, including Stacy," Luke told him.
"How quickly does the formula work?" Callean asked him.
"Nearly instantly. He sprayed my retainer and ordered him to kill me," Luke replied.
"Is there any way to have them regain their free wills?" Callean wondered.
"You used to be able to slap them, but Lance said he changed the formula so that wouldn't work anymore," I spoke up.
Callean looked off in the distance and his eyes darted to and fro without seeing anything as he thought about our info. "I see. We must try to do what we can, but be prepared for the worst."
"Are you five coming for the war or not?" Leonor shouted from one of the last empty Hummers.
Callean gathered himself and swung around to glare at Leonor. "You are not coming!" he yelled at her as he marched toward the Hummer.
She snarled back. "Yes, I am, and you're not going to stop me!" She tried to climb into the Hummer, but Callean pulled her out and handed her off to his bodyguards who stood close at hand. Leonor twisted and nipped at them, but they held her tight. "Make sure she remains here. If we don't return in two days leave for the next hiding spot. You'll find money in the barn," he told them. The men nodded and dragged Leonor kicking and screaming into the barrack formerly occupied by us. Callean turned to us and stepped aside so the door was open to us. "Get in. She could escape at any moment."
We piled into the Hummer. Callean took the front passenger seat and was the last inside. He paused before climbing inside, stood on the sideboard and waved to the front vehicle. The front vehicle revved to life and the whole train moved down the road. Callean ducked inside and shut the door. At the helm of the vehicle was Tracker. "How many men and vehicles do we have?"
"A hundred men, fifteen Hummers and five jeeps," Tracker replied.
"Did any refuse to come?" Callean asked him.
The edges of Tracker's stoic lips twitched. "No, sir. All the men are ready to obey your commands."
Callean grinned and leaned back in his seat. "Then we have a fighting chance, but we still don't know what we're up against." He glanced over his shoulder at the three of us stuffed in the back. I was in the center and Emily's guns poked me in the side. "Do you know how large this convoy is?"
"We haven't any idea," Luke replied.
Callean sighed and looked ahead. "Of course not, this is a suicide mission," he muttered.
"The men are aware of that, and they're willing to risk their lives to stop Connor," Tracker told him.
"I hope it doesn't come down to that," Callean returned.
I leaned forward between the front seats an
d glared at Callean. "Come on, we have a chance. It's not like Lance is expecting us."
Callean snorted. "That may be the truth, but Lance didn't get to the top of the food chain by making mistakes and underestimating his enemies."
I grinned. "No, but he made one really big mistake."
Callean turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
"He's not counting on us not killing each other so we can beat the crap out of him," I told him.
Emily barked out a laugh and Callean blinked at me. The corners of his mouth turned up and he chuckled. "You may have something there."
22
Tracker pulled our car into the lead as Luke directed us to the research facility. I got to see the view out of the Hummer windows this time, but there was the usual trees and grasslands. The sun traveled across the sky and nearly finished its daily chore when the landscape grew more wild. There were more trees and tall brush, and the smell changed. We were on the corner of the Prospera, Scientia, and Manutia borders, and it just wasn't that impressive. The light grew dim as our country road bumped us through the trees. Ahead of us a faint fog drifted through the trunks and wafted over our vehicles.
When we entered the fog I noticed my compatriots sniff the air and wrinkle their noses. "Scent screen," I heard Emily mutter as she placed her hand over her face.
Callean bent forward and grabbed a small paper mask from beneath his seat. He fixed it on his face and turned to us. "There are masks beneath your seats," he informed us. I had no idea what he was talking about, but the others quickly retrieved their masks and covered their faces.
I sniffed the air and smelled a hint of something. I took a deep breath and choked on some small, indistinguishable scent. It smelled like an all-topping pizza with an extra helping of mold. I wrinkled my nose and turned to my mask-wearing mate. "What's that smell?" I spoke up.
Luke pressed the mask closer to his face and glanced out the window. "A scent screen. It's a mix of wolf's bane, garlic, and other strong-scented items made into a spray and spread along the ground. It keeps werewolves from tracking the movements of vehicles because our noses are too sensitive to follow any trail."
"So I'm guessing we're on the right trail?" I commented.
Callean nodded. "Yes. Lance may have the ability to hide the scent of his men, but not that of his convoy."
"Then we have a problem," Emily spoke up. "Lance is mad, but he isn't stupid. He'll have spread the spray mixture across several miles to hide his route."
"Do you know how many roads lead out of the research area?" Luke asked her.
She shook her head. "No, but I can guess it's more than one. Lance and Mullen would have made sure they had a way to escape no matter which direction an enemy came from."
Callean half-turned in his seat and looked to Emily. "How would you know about his research facility?" he wondered.
Emily smirked. "I just happen to be a Captain," she revealed.
Callean raised an eyebrow. "A what?"
Emily's smirk slipped off her face and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Damn it, didn't anybody learn about us?" she muttered.
I patted her on the shoulder. "We know about you," I assured her.
She snorted. "That means a lot when you're not the ones who are supposed to fear us."
"You reputation among Lance's men will be to your advantage, but we don't have time to argue over reputation," Luke interrupted. He turned to Callean. "We should send scouts out as soon as possible to gauge where Lance may be traveling. We know he intends to enter Prospera. He knows he's vulnerable so he would take the quickest route."
"Unless he knows we're coming, and then he'd take the longest," Callean argued.
"Then that would mean we'd have to check the entire woods, and these forests stretch across most of northern Scientia," Emily pointed out.
I shook my head. "Not really, at least not if we could get a tiny sniff of their boots." All eyes turned on me, and I shrugged. "Just think about it. If they had guys out here spraying this stuff everywhere then they'd spray most of that stuff near the road they were going to drive. We could find where that is by following their boot tracks from their finish to the start. Their boots should have the strongest smell because they walked in all this stuff."
Callean and Emily's mouths dropped open, Adam raised an eyebrow. Luke's eyes lit up. He leaned over and pecked a quick kiss on my cheek. "That's my mate," he commented.
I blushed and shrugged. "You just gotta know how these scents work."
Callean snapped his jaw shut and frowned. "But there's one flaw in your suggestion. As Laughton mentioned, our noses are too sensitive to follow any trails that exist inside the spray area."
I grinned. "A werewolf can follow the trail if their nose is as worthless as mine."
"Inexperienced," Luke corrected me.
I turned and bowed my head to him. "I accept the correction."
Emily glanced between us and pointed a finger at me. "So we have to follow a novice werewolf's nose in the hopes it will lead us to Lance where we can stop his plans to avoid the destruction of our world?"
I thought about it for a moment and nodded my head. "Yep, that's pretty much it."
Emily leaned back and slapped her hand over her face. "We are doomed."
"Possibly, but it's the best chance we have," Luke argued. He nodded out the windows at the setting sun. The orb no longer shined above the trees, and in a half hour it wouldn't be shining anywhere. "The power of the spray doesn't last very long. If Lance intends to drive the convoy out under cover of darkness then he will do so this night."
"If she can manage to follow the trail then our best option would be to abandon the trucks and go across country to the road," Adam suggested.
Callean frowned, but gave a nod. "Then we will follow your mate, Laughton, and see if she has enough limited talent to ensure our victory."
Suddenly this plan didn't sound so great. "Surely somebody else in our group is as big a novice as I am and can take part of the blame-er, glory for our victory when we find Lance," I suggested.
"My men are all highly trained, older werewolves. Their noses are too sensitive to follow the scent," Callean replied.
Luke wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him. His voice was so low I hardly heard the words he spoke to me. "You led Rick and Steve through the woods. I have faith you can lead us to the main road," he told me.
I sighed and nodded my head. "All right, I'll do it, but don't expect this to be a straight trip. My sniffer isn't all that great and we might be in for a hell of a hike."
"I could use the exercise," Emily spoke up.
Callean turned to Tracker. "We'll stop here." Tracker nodded and pulled the vehicle over. The convoy followed suit and the men piled out of the vehicles. They, too, had masks over their faces.
Callean turned to Luke and me. "First we should see if she can find and follow the scent," he advised us.
I grabbed Luke and led him off toward the trees. "Could we have a chat about me saving the day?" I asked my mate.
"You don't have faith in your abilities," he guessed.
I stopped us three dozen yards from the convoy to avoid any prying wolf ears. "Let me see if I have things straight. We're relying on me not being good at sniffing things to lead all of Callean's men through these unfamiliar woods?"
"That would be correct," he agreed.
"And if I epically fail and get us lost, and Lance really does move out tonight and leave us behind, then we're all doomed, right?"
"That is possibly correct," he replied.
I threw up my arms. "So why are we following my stupid plan and trying to get us lost?"
Luke gently grabbed my hands and held them between us. His eyes looked into mine and there was a smile on his lips. "I know you can do this. You only need to focus on what I taught you in the woods and what you learned on our journeys. Most of all, you need to believe that you can do it."
I sighed and looked awa
y. "All right, I'll try, but you'd better be thinking of a Plan B in case this one has us hearing chopsticks clicking together before we hear Lance's convoy driving down the road."
Luke chuckled. "I'll try my best if you try your best."
I glanced up, grinned, and gave his hand a firm shake. "It's a deal." I pulled loose from his hold and rubbed my hands together. My eyes swept over the foggy ground and I wrinkled my nose. "This stuff really does smell bad. You older werewolves must think it's like a rotting corpse."
"And a landfill full of used diapers," Luke agreed.
"Well, let's see if I can't sniff my way through this stuff and get us to stopping my crazed brother-in-law," I commented.
I lifted my nose to the air and turned my head this way and that sniffing for signs of tracks. There was the horrific odor of decayed compost, too much garlic, and a hint of sardines fresh off the trash heap. I snuffed through the scents and my nose hit upon a focused point on the ground. I hit the ground on all fours and slunk my way in that direction. The trail led me to a path of focused smells that led into the area and back the way they came. I'd hit upon the boots of the scent sprayers.
I stood, turned to Luke and pointed in the direction. "We need to go that way."
He smiled and gave a nod. "Good. Let's tell the others."
23
We hurried back and reconnoitered with our companions at the Hummer. "Was there any luck?" Adam wondered.
"There better have been with all that sniffing around," Emily commented.
"Becky found the trail. Now we need only to lead your men," Luke replied.
Callean's eyes flickered from me to Luke. "You're sure this is the scent?"
I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you want to sniff through all these smells and find it yourself?" I suggested.
Callean grinned and shook his head. "No, I don't believe I would." He climbed atop our Hummer and his personal army crowded around him. We stood on the sidelines and I was glad for Luke's arm around my shoulders. Callean's voice boomed over the whisperings and mumblings of his men. "Organize yourselves into four columns. Take as much as you can carry without making yourself into a target for gunfire."