“Do you think I can turn into a cat now?” I joked. “Because that would be awesome.”
“No.” He grinned. “That’s hardwired into my DNA. But I do think you’ll be able to run faster now, especially in your animal form. Did you feel different when we ran after the crash?”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” I admitted. “I was too worried about dodging hungry alligators and getting out of there with both my legs intact. But I kept up with you, no problem, so I’d say that’s a yes.”
Four airboats pulled alongside Danny’s boat, two from one end and two from another. There were nineteen of us total. The short trip over had been uneventful, even though once we crossed into her territory, the air was denser than it had been before, heavy with intent.
She knew we were coming and she was preparing herself.
Ray dropped out of the sky onto the cypress roots next to our boat. “Storm clouds are gathering directly above us. I can’t believe this bokor can mess with the weather, but something is definitely brewing up there.” He pointed to the sky and my eyes tracked upward. Sure enough, big, dark clouds were pulling together, forming a huge front right above our heads.
“She’s going to do everything she can to protect her realm from attack,” I said. “I’m not surprised. She only has two choices. She either has to bide her time or launch a preemptive attack. We have to prepare ourselves for her to pick the latter.”
My father sat in the boat directly across from me. “We all go in at once and scour the area. Naomi’s and Daniel’s scent are all over this area. I know we can find them, but we’ll have to be tenacious about it.”
Behind me, in our boat, James was quietly arguing with Marcy to stay put, but she was loudly having none of it. “You can’t be serious,” she addressed her mate. “There’s no part of me that’s going to sit on the sidelines and watch the people I love get hurt while I can help.” She stood, and James raised his head up to the sky in defeat, reluctantly standing to help her out of the boat. Once she was out, I followed. She handed me the baggies and a pouch with a long strip of fabric to tie around my waist. “Here you go,” she said. “They’re all ready to use. They’re as airtight as I could make them. The important thing to remember is to split the bag open while uttering the words. You can either toss it to the ground or explode it in your fist.” The words she’d given me were in Latin and corresponded to the colors of the spells. “I made a little pouch for them out of an old shirt, and once you wrap the ties around you, I spelled them to stay put. Again, not ideal, but it should work.”
I did as she asked, taking the strip of fabric and tying it around my hips. Once I cinched it tight, I felt the spell activate. I tried to move the pouch, but it wouldn’t budge. “How do I pick the right one, at the right time?”
“There’s no need to pick,” Marcy said. “They are all defensive. Just make sure you pair the color with the right word.”
All the wolves disembarked from the airboats around me and someone shouted, “Alligators!”
I craned my neck around and saw an army of alligators heading toward us from both directions. “Into the trees,” my father ordered. “They can’t climb trees.”
We all began to jump onto the root banks, and then from tree to tree. Some of the younger wolves scampered higher into the branches, trying to scout our situation better. Rourke took the lead and I followed. Within a minute or two we arrived at roughly the same place we’d crossed over into the priestess’s boundary before.
This time nothing happened.
“Spread out,” my father called from his position down from us. “And stay vigilant.”
I could scent both Danny and Naomi, just as my father had said. Their smells were all over this place and it was incredibly frustrating. James and Marcy were behind us, with Tyler bringing up the rear. Ray had taken to the sky again, but he was hovering close. We were all on the lookout for a potential threat.
Behind us, the alligators were thrashing in the water.
“There must be a hundred of them down there,” Ray called from the air. “It’s totally nuts. All their eyes are beady red.”
I took another careful step over some roots and felt something whisper past my neck. We’ve been waiting, the breathy voice said, almost too soft to detect. I stopped in my tracks. “Did anyone hear that?” I called.
Rourke froze ahead of me, sensing my unease, and glanced back. “I didn’t hear anything. Was it the same voice you heard before?”
I nodded. Marcy was right behind me. I turned back to her. “Did you hear it?”
“No, but I believe you,” she answered gravely. “The hairs on my arm are yelling at me.” She lifted her arm, and sure enough, goose bumps had erupted. “We’re definitely inside her zone. I’ve sent out magical feelers and tried to push a few spells through her ward, but nothing is working.”