“The ‘wolf boys’?” I chortled, tossing back my head. “Now, that’s something you don’t hear every day.”
“Well”—Naomi blushed, shrugging—“they are always together, those two. It will be easier to find a name that works for both of them. You refer to Ray and myself as ‘the vamps,’ and I agree, it’s easier to group us together, so ‘wolf boys’ is the equivalent for me.”
“I like it. And, Naomi, I think you’re developing a sense of humor, and funny looks good on you. Let me check in with Tyler now so we can plan ahead. Gimme a second.” I held up a finger.
Tyler, are you there? I called.
Yep, he said. We’re about an hour from a city called Homestead. We made good time. Where are you?
Not sure yet. We’re not near any town at the moment. But before we discuss that, I need to let you know I made contact with Dad. He’s fine and the plan is to meet up soon. I hope you’re close. If you are, we’ll wait. Once we get to the airboat place, I’ll let you know our exact location.
Glad you got in touch with Dad. I couldn’t get through no matter how hard I tried. What’s going on with them and the fracture pack? I hope they wiped those assholes off the face of the planet.
Dad said they’ve kept the Made wolves in check, but it sounds like there’s trouble with the priestess. Apparently she’s not in it for the money.
Tyler let out a low whistle in his mind. If she’s not doing it for payment, she’s doing it for—
Power.
Well, fuck.
The airboat place consisted of a few run-down shacks and a couple of cheesed-off backwater guides. They were both dressed in plaid shirts, dirty jeans, big-billed hats, and nasty scowls.
“See, we brought your baby back in perfect condition, no harm, no foul,” Marcy chirped as she jumped out of the pickup. “Now, what I want is for you to show my friend here how to operate the boat we just purchased.” She gestured to Rourke, and both men took a step back as he jumped down from the flatbed.
Rourke grinned and flashed his teeth, pushing his advantage. “I’m a quick learner, boys.” Both guides didn’t move an inch for a few beats.
I was still in the back, but Naomi had taken to the sky to wait for the wolf boys with extra clothes in hand. I walked to the edge of the truck and glanced down the long dock where the airboats were kept. The one we’d purchased was parked at the end, sitting on top of a big wooden platform that sloped downward on either side. The boat looked as though it’d served a long, battered life in the Glades. Two seats were set higher, right in front of the gigantic propeller fan. They were clearly the drivers’ seats. Then there were two rows of passenger seats in front of them. Even from a distance I could see that the benches were covered with peeling red and white striped vinyl. The airboat looked like it could hold about ten people.
The taller of the guides followed my gaze out to the boat. “There ain’t nothin’ in these parts habitable, so I don’t know what you’re looking to find. Ain’t no boats on the channels we don’t know about, neither.” He ambled forward, spitting on the ground. “But if you come to investigate the missin’ folk, that’s something altogether different. Some gone missin’ in this neck of the swamp for a good few years now. Lowlife people, who most don’t care nothin’ about. Trappers mostly. No family to miss ’em. Regular folk blame the meth, but we know there’s more to it than that. Guides who’ve been travelin’ ’round here the longest know there’s a place deep in ’em Glades where things just ain’t right.” He pinned his stare on me. “You coming to see about that?”
I appraised him before I answered. He wasn’t well educated, but he’d been around about a thousand blocks and would likely pick up on a lie. “Yes,” I said. “We’re coming to take a look into that.” I wasn’t surprised humans would pick up on the negative energy after being exposed to it for so long. If the priestesses had been here for a hundred years, like my father had guessed, it was bound to have some residual consequences.