Hunter's Trail (A Scarlett Bernard Novel)

In a flash, Jesse understood. The nova wolf had no way of knowing what Scarlett was—but even before he reached her radius, he would notice that he couldn’t smell her. The absence of proof was proof itself. The nova might not know what she was, but he would certainly know something was off.

 

Scarlett climbed down from the picnic bench like she was going to follow the bargest, but neither of them had any idea where it had gone. By unspoken agreement, they both froze, listening. There was a short, cut-off growl and the sound of bushy plants being trampled. Then silence. “Lights,” Jesse said brusquely. They both dug out their flashlights and switched them on. It would make them an easy target to the nova wolf, Jesse knew, but they were an easy target anyway. They both flashed the beams around the mouth of the bridle path, but aside from some disturbed dirt, there was no sign of the bargest.

 

“Maybe she just went after a rabbit or something,” Scarlett said anxiously.

 

Jesse shook his head. “She’s too well trained to be distracted by a rabbit.” He flashed his beam on Scarlett’s stomach, so the edges of it would illuminate her face. She was looking doubtfully at the bridle path.

 

“That’s really steep,” she ventured. “I’m not sure I can make it down there with my knee. Or, if I do make it down there, I’m not sure I can make it back up.”

 

“Wait here. I’ll see what’s going on, and if we really need you down there, you can slide down on your butt.” She nodded. Scarlett looked so vulnerable, and he wanted to tell her to be careful or to go wait in the car. Then he reminded himself that she was far more protected from the nova wolf than he’d ever be.

 

Jesse held his flashlight with his left hand, using it to support his aching right arm as it held up his weapon. He picked his way down the steep rocky path, which wound around like an infinity knot before leading down into the depths of the park. There was a lot of brush along the path, ranging from knee-high tumbleweeds to wide, stubby trees as tall as Jesse. It was surprisingly dark and felt strangely claustrophobic, especially considering the size of the park. He was very aware of his breathing, which seemed painfully loud and obvious.

 

In front of him, somewhere behind the biggest tree he could see, Jesse heard a pained canine yelp and a series of scuffling sounds. He circled the tree as fast as he could, the flashlight bobbing wildly as he worked to keep his footing. “Where . . . ?” he breathed, and Jesse caught a brief glimpse of motion even as he moved the flashlight past it. He jerked the light back and saw what it had been: the bargest, frozen with its feet planted and its enormous jaws pinning the neck of a limp werewolf to the ground. The werewolf in its jaws was a deep cloudy gray, smaller than the ones he’d seen before. The werewolf wasn’t moving, and at first he thought the nova was already dead. Jesse stepped closer, cautiously, and saw its chest heaving up and down. The acrid scent of urine stung his nostrils, and Jesse realized the nova wolf had wet itself.

 

It was a spooky tableau, mostly because both creatures were just staring at him now, silent and unmoving. It was the least doglike thing either of them had done.

 

He swallowed, mind racing. Of course. Scarlett had said the Luparii would need to use the bargest, which meant they’d need to train it . . . which meant they’d need to teach it restraint. They were trained to kill werewolves on command.

 

It was waiting for his command.

 

Jesse did know the French words for “kill it,” because his French teacher in high school had been afraid of spiders. But if he gave the command, he was killing a defenseless creature, one who had surrendered and posed no threat to him. It wasn’t the same as shooting the nova wolf in a fight, and Jesse found himself unable to force the words out of his mouth.

 

Sensing his hesitation, the nova wolf reared up in a sudden burst of strength, trying to flip itself free, but the bargest let out a low growl and pressed down harder, suppressing the nova easily. The wolf yelped with pain again. It has to be done, Jesse reminded himself. He remembered Kate and Samantha and Ruanna, the women who’d done nothing to deserve the brutality that this monster had shown them. Jesse needed to get justice for those women. He took a deep breath and said, “Tuez-le.”

 

His words were drowned out by the sound of Scarlett screaming behind him.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 46

 

I stood just before the drop-off to the bridle trail, listening as hard as I could for sounds from below. I wanted to yell down to Jesse, make sure he was okay, but I was afraid to spook the nova wolf—or the bargest. What if I yelled at a crucial moment and distracted one of them? If Jesse was actually in danger, there’d be more noise, wouldn’t there?

 

I was focused entirely on the bridle path area, feeling useless, with fear tightening the knots in my stomach. Then I suddenly realized that I was alone, and exposed, and injured, in the dark. It seemed as though Kirsten’s Humans-Go-Home spell had turned the area into an isolated bubble, with just the nova wolf, Jesse, and me.

 

I heard a tiny noise behind me. I couldn’t even identify it, it was so soft. A branch breaking? A scuffle in the dirt? But I turned around slowly, flashlight beam bouncing around the clearing. There was nothing there. In the distance, I saw car lights coming down from the Observatory, people leaving for the night, and I told myself I’d just heard a car sound.

 

And yet . . . something felt wrong. I moved the flashlight beam through the clearing one more time, intending to turn around and yell for Jesse when I was sure it was okay. On the second pass, though, I saw a bright flash of something under one of the picnic tables. Twin glowing spots, menacing in the shadows.

 

Eye shine. Like you see in wolves.

 

I kept the flashlight moving, trying to hide my discovery, but it was too late. The werewolf crept out from under the table, growling. It started to advance on me.