Found in Flames (5 page)

Emily moved easily toward the opening, crawling low on her belly and sticking her nose into the hole.
Joella
watched as the dirt puffed in time with the deliberate sniffing noises Emily was making.

“They’re just barely eight,” Michelle whispered, clutching Emily’s clothes tightly. “They haven’t even learned how to resist the moon. They don’t know the first thing about humans.”

“I’m sure Emily will find them,”
Joella
promised, resting a hand on the mother’s shoulder. The tears in Michelle’s eyes hurt her heart.

Emily crawled out, shook the dirt off her head, and whined at Michelle.

Releasing a breath, Michelle nodded. “Thank you.” She turned, holding the clothes out to
Joella
, and added, “Emily will need these if she shifts back.”

“Oh,”
Joella
said brilliantly. “Of course.” She managed a smile and added, “We’ll find them, Michelle.”

****

Naturally
Joella’s
apartment had been sealed by the local authorities, but Luka hardly cared about that. He slipped in through the back, finding himself somewhat appalled at the ease. No one had noticed a large, dark brown wolf leap the fence in broad daylight. He’d opted to go in in wolf form because escaping would have been easier if he were caught. But now, as he cast his gaze around, he figured he may as well have walked right up to the front door. Whoever was watching TV next door obviously didn’t pay any attention.

Ultimately, though, that didn’t matter. He needed to get a few things and get out. What
did
matter was taking a good sniff around while he was there. It didn’t take long for Luka to deduce that Char had, indeed, stopped by. But he didn’t seem to have lingered, either. Char’s scent was strongest by the front-facing living room window, indicating that he’d only come up to the window.

Luka glanced down, finding a burnt hole in the bottom of the screen of the conveniently opened window, and a haphazardly discarded portion of a newspaper on the carpet at his feet. The paper had Char’s scent, too, so he slammed the window shut a little harder than was necessary, lifted the paper, and turned toward the interior of the apartment as he looked for the message. It didn’t exactly take much effort to find. Char had merely circled the headline in bright red. A warning.

A taunt.

Growling, Luka crumpled the paper and tore the ball to pieces before stalking into the kitchen.

He hadn’t been inside too many human homes, but he knew enough to know that this one was lacking. The kitchen was one wall, consisting of cabinets and minimal appliances. She’d added a countertop appliance at the expense of half her counter space, and from the scent of it, the coffee maker beside the fridge was the most overused. Her refrigerator was plain, with just one magnet, baring a company logo, holding up a handwritten list of groceries. He tugged open the fridge, finding it lacking most of what he’d read on the list.

Leaving the kitchen, Luka turned to follow the hall that would take him to her bedroom. He paused, almost directly across from the closed interior door, as his eyes were drawn to the framed photographs on the wall. There were only three, and one wasn’t actually a picture. It was a college diploma, dated less than three years earlier. Beside it was a picture of a younger
Joella
, a bit too thin for his tastes, smiling and holding on to a woman he had to assume was her mother. They had the same eyes and he could see the similarity in their smiles. Centered above those two was a portrait of
Joella’s
mother, smiling patiently. She looked just a little older than in the other image. He thought briefly of grabbing one for her, just in case something happened to the apartment, but decided against it. He only had so much room in the bag he’d brought with him.

Still, was there really no one else in her life she wanted to remember?

“I have … a job. Just a job.”
That was what she’d said earlier that morning.

Growling again, Luka forced his feet to continue down the hall. He knew full well he didn’t know much about
Joella
. Like why she honestly felt she had no one who cared about her. Why she put up with a job even he knew she loathed. What he didn’t understand was why he wanted to change that. He wanted her to tell him about this job, and this boss who treated her inappropriately, and he suspected that story would make him want to rip the bastard apart limb by limb. For the first time in longer than he cared to think about, he was actually curious about someone else’s backstory. And he didn’t know why, but he suspected that answer was also why he was taking time away from his hunt to pick up a change of clothes.

“Something comfortable,” he rumbled to himself as he moved toward her closet. That had been her stipulation, after all. Most of her pants were jeans or slacks, and since slacks were what she was complaining about he immediately vetoed those. So he grabbed out a pair of jeans and a pair of sweatpants. To those he added a lightweight shirt from her dresser, a slightly heavier shirt for sleeping, and a pair of sandals.

As he folded the clothes into the bag, tucking them next to the shirt he hadn’t bothered to put back on after his last shift, Luka’s eyes roamed the room again. Generic, off-white paint was all that adorned the walls and old, bent blinds covered the lone window. Her dresser was several years old, but in good shape. No mirror, though a handful of makeup supplies rested atop. Her bedding was dark green and rumpled, though other scents in the room told him she wasn’t the one who’d left it that way.

Nothing in the apartment gave him the feeling that she’d really made it a home. It was functional, he supposed, but just barely.

A part of him, which he shoved back immediately after acknowledging it, suddenly just wanted to return to the pack and pull her aside. To put off the hunt for another day. What was one more day?

One
less
day and Justin might still be alive.

Char was still the priority. And standing around in an abandoned apartment was wasting daylight.

Chapter Five

Char had walked right up to her window. Well after sunrise and certainly after the authorities had wrapped the area in their bright yellow caution tape. The front of
Joella’s
apartment faced the center of the complex. And yet no one had reported it. That or the men in charge of solving her supposed murder just didn’t care enough to follow-up on such reports. Given the ease of his own entrance and subsequent departure, Luka was more inclined to believe the former.

Not that it mattered. He had what he’d come for, and something even better. A lead. Char’s scent was less than an hour old.

In no time he’d doubled back to the front of the apartment, again on two legs, and picked up the trail. Following it would be easy as fresh as it was, unless, of course, the bastard had again let himself blow away like an ember on the breeze. But Char’s scent turned just a block beyond the complex, not deeper into the city but instead out, toward the desert shrubbery. In the direction of Luka’s pack. Did he know where they were staying?

Doesn’t matter. He’ll just corner himself going that way.
Not that he particularly wanted Char making it to his den when the den was housing a young family and the human woman Luka had taken it upon himself to protect. Emily and Lew were the only fighters not out on the hunt, and though Luka knew Michelle would fight to defend her pups, none of them were prepared for a face-to-face with Char. And the last thing he wanted was for those pups to grow up like him—without a pack, or even a family, because of a bloodthirsty witch.

Luka ground his teeth, images of his own past flashing across his mind. Choking smoke, thick heat. The undeniable stench of overcooked flesh mixed with singed fur and sprinkled with blood. Then the bodies had come into view. Charred, unrecognizable forms that had once been ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’. Those were his last memories of his family. He refused to do that to one of his own. If it was the last thing he did, Luka would see to it that no other child—human or wolf—would suffer like that at the hands of Char and his family.

So he picked up his pace, jogging toward the tree line Char’s scent led to. Once he passed the trees, he could shift. Four legs would enable him to run faster, and a truly canine snout would pick up the trail better. With a little luck he would finally catch the elusive monster.

****

“What is it?”
Joella
asked as Emily paused and lifted her human-
esque
nose to the air. A faint breeze blew into their faces, but Emily had already explained that that was actually being helpful. It gave her a better idea of what was ahead of them.

The ‘den’, as Emily had referred to it, Luka had claimed for them was behind them. Far enough that
Joella
couldn’t make out the rocks surrounding it. But they still hadn’t found Michelle’s boys and
Joella
was sure she wasn’t the only one who found that odd.

“Animal scent,” Emily replied, lowering her head again. “Mountain lion.”

Joella’s
eyes widened. “Mountain lion? Isn’t that dangerous?” There were always lions in the area outside of the city, so she shouldn’t have been surprised. But that also meant she knew the kind of damage they could do.

“Very,” Emily said. She turned a serious expression to
Joella
and added, “I would understand if you wanted to go back.”

Frowning now,
Joella
shook her head. “No, I want to help.” She swallowed, glancing forward, and asked, “Is it near the boys?”

Emily started forward again, walking at a brisk pace. “I’m afraid so. I’ll probably have to shift again soon.”

Jogging to catch up,
Joella
said, “So I guess ‘werewolves only turn on full moons’ is a lie?”

“Technically,” Emily said. “It’s the only time we’re physically compelled to shift once we reach maturity, so some can certainly choose to live that way.” Her tone made it obvious that she didn’t personally understand such a choice.

“You said ‘once you reach maturity’,”
Joella
said. “What about children, like the boys we’re looking for?”

“It’s different for pups,” Emily replied. “At the boys’ age they shift to wolf form when their emotions spike. Fear, joy, sadness, that kind of thing. Then they have to calm down and really put effort into shifting back to human form. Over time young wolves learn to control the shift.”

I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else….
This was a terrible time to be playing Twenty Questions, anyway. She just couldn’t help herself.
Joella
glanced down at the dirt beneath her feet just in time to catch sight of the distinct impression of a predatory feline. The lion had come this way, and recently since the loose dirt hadn’t been disturbed yet. That realization sent a shot of nervous adrenaline into her system and
Joella
wiped sweaty palms again over her dirty slacks. “The mountain lion—?”

“She’s close,” Emily said, her voice hushed. She’d simultaneously dropped to a knee and was taking sharp, shallow breaths.

Joella
opened her mouth to ask another question, but the sound that followed wasn’t hers.

A loud, gut-churning roar filled the air. It was a sound of warning and danger. A threat
Joella’s
human instincts begged her to heed. But her feet remained locked in place, because she was pretty sure she’d heard something beneath that roar. Something like canine whining and sharp puppy yelps.
The boys!

“Don’t get too close!” Emily instructed as she hurried to shed her clothes. Her body was rolling with the shift before she’d finished, but she managed to step out of her shorts without destroying them. The moment the shift was complete, Emily leapt forward with a howl.

Taking a deep breath,
Joella
moved to gather Emily’s clothes. “Okay, Ella,” she mumbled to herself, “You can handle this. Werewolf trumps ordinary mountain lion… right?” She could only hope so, because otherwise they were all dead.

Joella
followed the sharp, elongated whines until she found what she was searching for. Wolf-Emily was standing her ground, teeth bared and ears flat, against a lone mountain lion. And behind Emily were two smaller wolves, their paws still too big for their bodies, gathered together and whining fearfully. The whole scene was surreal and terrifying.

Seeing some of the people she’d met in the past twenty-four hours turn into wolves was weird enough, but even seeing
them
as canines didn’t really drive it home. They were
wolves
. As fierce and loyal and powerful as any wild wolf. Standing there now, watching Emily try to intimidate the lion, it was easy to recognize the danger. Gone was the laughing, friendly woman she’d been talking to earlier. The transition was startling.

The mountain lion growled lowly and took a partial step forward, to the side. Apparently the wolf thing wasn’t as impressive to a mountain lion. But
Joella
didn’t need to think about that. The only way she could help Emily—or any of them—survive now was to get to the boys. Maybe she could get them away and the four of them could make a grand escape. Surely the lion wouldn’t chase them all the way back to the den?

The snapping sound of angry canine jaws, coupled with a hair-raising growl, pulled
Joella
out of her thoughts. There just wasn’t time to formulate a plan or weigh the options. It was time to act.

“Boys!” she called, needlessly lowering her voice to a projected whisper. “Quick, this way!” As she spoke, she tucked Emily’s clothes under one arm and gestured rapidly toward herself. But only one of the pups seemed to hear her, casting a lingering glance in her direction. They were still whining, still frozen with fear. “Boys!”

The pair looked over at her again, fuzzy ears twitching in all directions. The closer of the two turned as if to move to her and the mountain lion let out a loud, shattering roar.

And all hell broke loose.

Emily intercepted the mountain lion as it lunged forward. Their bodies crashed hard into the dirt, rolling, as fangs and claws pierced fur-covered flesh.
Joella
could barely hear for the deafening growls. The boys sprinted forward, yelping, but just as the nearer of the two reached her the lion’s tail swiped the other. The second pup stumbled, leaping backwards in fear, and with a panicked yelp took off at a run. In the wrong direction.

Time stood still as
Joella
quickly ran through her options.

Just a dozen feet ahead of her Emily was brawling with the mountain lion. Both combatants were bleeding from multiple wounds, but the lion refused to yield.

At her feet the remaining pup was doing his best to howl, the sound coming out as a high-pitched whine.

Behind her was the path to safety, the way back to the den.

And to her left was the direction the other boy had run off in. Toward what, she wasn’t sure, but instinct insisted he wouldn’t know how to double back to find home.

She certainly couldn’t fight with the mountain lion in Emily’s stead, and the child at her feet couldn’t track his fleeing brother. So she dropped to her knees, stroking a gentle hand down the pup’s back to get his attention. “Go that way,” she instructed, pointing back. “Just run and cry, someone will hear you.” She ended the order by swatting his side with the clothes in her other hand, startling him into obeying. With a final glance at the fight, she dropped the clothes and pushed into a run in the direction the other boy had gone.

Please let me find him!

In hindsight,
Joella
supposed she should have been a little more specific with her silent prayers. She’d blindly torn through the prickly, disorienting brush, turning at the sound of a sharp, pain-filled yelp, until all of a sudden the pup was within sight. Up against a rock three times his size and holding an injured front paw off the ground. Spots of blood dotted the dirt around her, but she barely noticed them when she realized why he was cowering.

Standing between them was the man she’d last seen in that darkened alley. The witch who’d killed Luka’s friend, the very same witch who now, supposedly, was after her.

“Char,” she breathed, her stomach dropping to her feet. What the hell was she supposed to do now? What chance did
she
stand against a real life witch?

The boy whimpered again and
Joella
swallowed heavily. Poor odds or not, if she did nothing the boy would be killed.

“Ah,” Char began with a chilling smile as he slid his dark stare to her. “So you know my name now.”

“Leave him alone,”
Joella
demanded, fighting to keep her voice stable.

Dark brow lifting with exaggerated curiosity, the witch asked, “Which ‘him’ are we talking about, exactly?” He gestured toward the pup and added, “This one? Or the bigger, angrier one who rescued you last night?”

Both.
But the ‘bigger, angrier one’ wasn’t her priority right then. “The boy. Leave the boy alone. Let me take him home.”

Char grinned this time. “Pick one,” he replied. “But choose carefully.”

Thrown,
Joella
hesitated. He was clearly playing some kind of game, but what was it? What was the catch here?

“You look confused,” Char continued. “I can either leave this one alone,” he said, “or I can let you take him home. Not both.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said, her mind still racing to figure out his point before she fell for it.

Char only shrugged and tucked his hands into his pockets.

Infuriated,
Joella
drew a breath and strode purposefully to the pup. She lifted him as gently as she could considering that he was already probably half-grown. He helped by curling his paws over her shoulder and holding still, for which she was grateful. She didn’t really have the upper-arm strength for this kind of stunt.

“Home it is, then,” Char said with a smirk.

“Actually,”
Joella
said, glaring at him, “I choose option C. You go straight to hell.”

Char laughed, the sound echoing around them, and shook his head. “How about I bring hell to you?
Volvenda
ignis
.”

Joella
paused, just a couple of feet ahead of him.
What did he just—?
But the answer was already apparent, as bright orange flame shot up from the ground directly in front of her. She stumbled back instinctively, eyes widening as the flame raced out and around, forming a circle around them. Trapping her and the boy inside, inside with Char. The boy whimpered, attempting to nuzzle closer to her, and she couldn’t help but think that she understood. She didn’t want to be there, either.

“What’s it feel like to be a dead girl?” Char asked tauntingly.

Turning to face him for lack of anything better to do,
Joella
snapped, “I’m not dead yet.”

Char shrugged again. “That’s a technicality. But I can let you breathe a little longer … if you’ll tell me where the wolf den is.”

“No way.” She wasn’t about to sell out Luka’s people, even if some of them would probably not have returned the favor.

Sighing as if greatly inconvenienced, Char lifted his hands out at his sides. “Suit yourself.” The flame surrounding them flared, growing taller as the heat spiked, and for an instant
Joella
was sure she and the boy-pup in her arms were about to die. And in the next instant she registered the dark brown shape that seemed to have flown through the rising flame, front paws extended and fangs bared with violent intent.