There was one wolf left.
This one had watched all the action from the sidelines, just behind the tree line. It had huge patches of fur missing and seemed older. Its eyes were cloudy and somewhat vacant, but its pupils were alert, which made sense if the bokor was controlling them like zombie wolves. “I see you,” I called to the wolf. “You’re not fooling us, sorceress. I know this wolf is your puppet.” I waved my hand in the air. “And I know you can see me. I want you to know, we’re coming for you. You’re not going to succeed in hurting my friends. And once I find you, it’s not going to be pretty.”
In response, the wolf turned its muzzle up at me in a gruesome smile. If that dirty thing could talk, it would tell me good luck and have fun trying. Either that or it would tell me to fuck off.
The mangy beast glanced behind him, back over the trees. “What? Aren’t you going to attack us now?” I asked. “Afraid we can kill you just like the others?”
It snapped its maw at us, yellow slime running between its jaws, and then it abruptly turned tail and ran, disappearing into the cypress trees.
“Well, that worked well,” Marcy commented. “Now what? Do we follow it?”
“Yes.” I sighed. “We follow it. I don’t have a better plan, but we’ll have to be watchful. She’s expecting us.”
As we began to track the wolf, Marcy’s back pocket vibrated. She drew her phone out and held it in front of her.
The screen held two words.
MOVE CAREFULLY.
12
“It would be nice if Juanita would explain what’s going on in more than two or three words. An actual phone call would be nice,” I grumbled as we climbed across dead, broken tree roots, trying not to stumble. “Have you ever tried to call her?”
“And how exactly would I call her?” Marcy asked, tripping behind me but catching herself before she tumbled through the roots. “I don’t exactly have a coverage plan that includes friend-to-friend calling with ancient supernaturals. Plus, I’d need her number and she killed my phone. The only thing this phone is good for anymore is her ticker tape messages. She doesn’t leave any traces behind. Nada.”
I stopped for a moment to assess the area. “I feel like we’re going around in circles. It all looks the same. How do the zombie wolves run through this stuff?” The cypress trees were tangly and hard to maneuver around. “It wouldn’t be easy on four legs.”
“Maybe we missed a path?” Marcy said. “I’m thinking there must be a trail of some kind and she’s not letting us see it.”
We’d followed the wolf out of the clearing and into the trees. I knew the actual acreage the bokor inhabited couldn’t possibly be that big. I couldn’t track any scent, because everything smelled like decay, death, and rot. “My guess is she’s either blocking the way to her lair or this realm extends wider than we think.”
“Wait a second.” Marcy held up her hand. “My backside is ringing again.” She reached around and plucked out her phone.
I leaned over to read it with her.
SOUTH.
I sighed. “Seriously? That’s it?” I called into the trees. “I have no idea where south is. We can’t even see the sun from here.” I glanced at the sky to get a sense of our location, but only a sliver of light filtered through the thick overcast.
“Hey, look.” Marcy pointed. “She’s giving us helpful hints.” A tree began to glow off to our left. It was a soft yellow light, radiating outward like someone had turned a nightlight on inside the trunk. “She’s a tricky one, you gotta hand it to her.”
“Tricky, and much too secretive for her own good.” I moved toward the glowing tree, and right as we reached it, another tree in the distance blinked on.
As we picked our way through, Marcy shook her head. “I wish I knew more about this kind of magic. Being able to create an alternate reality is heavy-duty. It’s extremely old magic. This bokor must worship lots of loa to gather that much strength.”
Right as Marcy uttered the word loa, something swished by my face. I batted the air. “We’ve got company.”
There was a short pause, and then a soft voice purred next to my ear. We’ve been waiting a long time for you… female wolf…
I glanced back at Marcy, my eyebrow arched. “You heard that, right?” I asked.
“Heard what?”
“The hot gusty cloud of air that just said, ‘We’ve been waiting a long time for you, female wolf’?”
“Nope,” she said. “But all my hairs are on end again. See?” She held up her arm. “I can sense a presence, but that’s it. I guess those words are only for your ears.”
“But Naomi heard them before. I don’t get it.” I pondered that as another gust blew by me. If I had to guess, it felt like this thing was trying to push me back the way we’d come. “I think the spirit, or whatever, is pissed Juanita is leading us in the right direction. I think it wants me to go back. Something tells me we’re jumping the bokor’s timetable. Maybe she’s not ready for us?” I angled my head up at the treetops. “Is this an inopportune time for you, sorceress?” I called. Hot wind assaulted my body and I stumbled backward, tripping on low-lying branches. “I guess I’m right.”