Scrambling to my feet I ran to Pamela’s side, and helped her up as the screams of two very large cats echoed around us.

“What do we do?” Pamela gasped out.

“Get your light going again, we’ll have to make a run for it.”

“What about Will?” She lifted her hand and light blossomed above us, a pure white cluster of what looked like fireflies.

I slid one sword back into its sheath, grabbed her arm and ran deeper into the forest. “He can take care of himself and he told us we had to book it, so let’s go.”

“The lorry’s the other way.”

“But the Druid is this way.” And above all else, we were going to meet with the Druid. One way or another.

18

Pamela and I were totally and completely turned around. Lost didn’t even begin to cover what we were. I briefly Tracked Will. He was way behind us and going further away. My gut feeling was that he led the other cat further from us to give us a chance. The thing was, I had no way to find the Druid on my own, and f**k me, we couldn’t even find our way back to the damn ‘lorry.’

We were crouched in a cluster of trees, the rain seemingly not inclined to ease up, not even for a second. I wiped my face, wishing for a warm fire and some dry clothes.

Beside me, Pamela shivered violently. I’d already given her my jacket and that had helped, but now that we weren’t moving it was harder to keep warm.

“How . . . long . . . are we going . . . to stay . . . out for?” Pamela’s teeth chattered and even in the dim light I could see how little color her face and lips had.

Through the downpour of rain, the trees were becoming visible, highlighted at the tops from the slowly rising sun.

“Not much longer. As soon as it’s light out we can get moving. Can you hang on till then?”

She nodded and hunkered down deeper inside my jacket. My t-shirt was soaked through and my skin was bumpy with gooseflesh. But I’d survive. I was loathe to give up, but without being able to Track the Druid, I had no idea how I’d find her.

I closed my eyes and tried to think happy thoughts. There weren’t many of them.

Jack Feen’s words drifted slowly back to me . . .

You can Track groups of people, groups of supernaturals. It’s why the vampires want you.

My eyes snapped open. And if I could use that now? Maybe I could find the Druid on my own.

I wasn’t sure how to start other than the way I would with a child. Druids were a**holes, notoriously difficult to deal with, went out of their way to be hermit-like, secretive. I let the traits I knew them to have coalesce inside my mind, creating a ‘picture’ of what a Druid should be.

My Tracking ability seemed to hover over the created picture and then with a crack of what felt like lightning through my mind, I could feel the Druid as clearly as if I’d had a picture.

“Bingo.” I stood, my body stiff from sitting crouched under the trees for several hours. “Come on, Pamela, I think I’ve found us a way out of here.”

She didn’t argue, just got groggily to her feet, slipping her fingers into my belt loop. “I don’t think I can make a light,” she said.

“Don’t need one.” I answered, striding off in the direction of the Druid. Different than Tracking someone I had a picture and a name of; in some ways, this was clearer, cleaner. The sense of ‘what’ the Druid was hummed inside my head, yet I had no definite emotions or feelings. I couldn’t tell if the Druid was happy or sad, alive or dead. In its own way, this kind of Tracking was far easier. Or, at least, less emotional. The downside was I suspected it could be any Druid, not necessarily the one we were looking for.

We made our way through a thin patch of trees, over an easily jumpable creek, up the embankment, and then we were looking down on a bare field. I guess there was a part of me that figured we were going to stumble on Stonehenge. Of course, if it were that easy to find a real Druid, the humans would have done it long ago.

The creek we’d hopped coursed out through the bare field, dividing it in half completely and as we watched, the sun rose, highlighting the other niceties of the place. Like the dozen Druids kneeling around an altar.

“I don’t want to go down there,” Pamela said, her voice full of fear. No doubt the altar brought back memories of the priests.

“Good, cause I want you to stay here.” I looked around. “Actually, I want you to climb that tree and wait for me or Will. Got it?”

Her blue eyes, so old for her years lifted to mine. “And if neither of you come?”

Bugger, that was a good question.

“Wait till they” —I pointed at the group below us— “are all gone. Then do your best to track your way back to the road.”

She nodded, and I boosted her into the lower branches of the tree. At a distance, no one would even see her wearing my leather jacket and dark jeans. Only her hair would stand out, but there was nothing to do for that now.

I only held one sword, the other still strapped to my back, the leather ties squeaking in protest with the wet.

Keeping my gait easy, I sauntered down the slope and walked toward the still kneeling group of Druids.

Doing a quick count, I saw that there were thirteen, not an even dozen as my first glance over had shown me. They were wearing light grey robes with hoods that came up and over their heads, draping down past their eyes almost to their mouths. No point in trying to surprise them, at least one of them knew we were coming. Or at least, I assumed one of them did.

I stopped about fifteen feet away from the kneeling group, put the tip of my sword into the ground and leaned on it. “Hey, which one of you knows Will?”

There was a nice overall stiffening, as the group shifted to stare at me, one at a time from under their hoods. I stared right back. Druids, for all their a**holeness, were not generally prone to violence or death magic.

I truly hoped my foggy recollections of them were correct.

One Druid stood and even with the loose hanging robe I could see she was a woman. A ridiculously well endowed, large woman.

She flipped her hood back and my jaw dropped. The lady in red, the woman who’d been trying to take Pamela from me and put her in foster care, was a gods be damned Druid.

“Dr. Daniels, I presume?” I gave her a salute.

“Truly, you have a knack for causing grief, Tracker,” she snapped. “If you’d allow me to take the child, she’d already be in training.”

“She isn’t a Druid.”

Dr. Daniels drew herself up, her bosom heaving. “She could be. We could train her.”

I smiled and laughed in her face. “Please, with what skills? I’m going to take her back to the States with me where a Coven will train her properly.” I actually only had begun to formulate that part of things, but no need for them to know it.

Her eyes flashed. “She belongs here, with us.”

Holding up my hands in mock surrender, I did my best to curb my tongue, but failed miserably. “Listen, you are a serious pain in my ass, don’t tell me that you are the one familiar with Will?” It seemed obvious that she was, but then why didn’t he just phone her, or better yet, call her down to the police station?

A second Druid stood. “Familiar would be the correct word, useless Tracker.”

Ah, here we go, someone to spar with.

“Useless? This from a bunch of bathrobe wearing” —I stepped forward, leaving my sword where it was— “overweight” —there was a gasp from the group— “child-thieving douchebags?”

All of the Druids stood up and the tension rose with them.

“I’m here to speak with one Druid. The one who knows Will the best.” Gods, I seriously hoped it wasn’t Daniels.

Finally, there was movement from the back of the group, and a slender Druid stepped forward, flipping back her hood and baring her face to the rain. Strawberry-blonde hair, and seriously pissed hazel eyes tried to pin me down. She was pretty, but there was something familiar about her . . . her lips twisted downward in a sharp line and my eyebrows went up.

“Fuck me, you're Will’s sister, aren’t you?”

Her frown deepened and with it, so did the likeness. All I could think was that I was so glad I didn’t have to deal with Dr. Daniels.

“I am his sister. Where is my wayward brother? He said he was bringing you in and I’ve been waiting all night.”

I glanced past her to the other Druids. “You sure you want to talk about this in front of them?”

Will’s sister flushed to the edge of her hairline. “They are my family. I hide nothing from them.”

I shrugged. “He was attacked by another cat and drew it away from us.” I Tracked him, felt him slowly making his way closer to us. He was hurt, but his life wasn’t draining away. “He’s on his way now.”

The Druids shifted, and then Dr. Daniels stepped forward. “I told you Will was not welcome here.”

Will’s sister’s spine seemed to snap straight as she whirled on Dr. Daniels. “And I told you repeatedly that you are an initiate. You are to speak when spoken to and otherwise—shut the f**k up!”

Nice, at least I wasn’t the only potty mouth around here.

Dr. Daniels fell back, did an awkward curtsey and turned away, as if by giving us her back she was giving us privacy.

I didn’t want to wait for Will, couldn’t if we wanted to get this case over with. “We need your services.”

“For what?”

“To help block access to the Veil.”

There was a moment of silence, then. “And why do you think I, we, can help you with that?”

Competition is key in any group, and supernaturals, no less. “Well, I’d get one of my Shamans to do it, no problem. They’re tough like that. But they’re across the water and Will thought maybe you might be able to help. He wasn’t sure you had the skills, but figured we could at least ask.”

Will’s sister pursed her lips. “I don’t like you.”