He was right. Al that blood hadn't slowed the return of the thirst at al . In fact, I wasn't sure, but I thought it might be coming back faster and harder than usual. Maybe overfeeding was counterproductive in some ways.
"The yel ow-eyes are coming in slowly from the south, feeding along the way, trying to get stronger," Riley said. "She's been monitoring them, so I know where to find them. She's going to meet us there, with Diego" - he cast a significant glance toward where I'd just been standing, and then a quick frown that disappeared just as quickly - "and we wil hit them like a tsunami. We wil overwhelm them easily. And then we wil celebrate." He smiled. "Someone's going to get a jump on the celebration. Raoul - give me that." Riley held out his hand imperiously. Raoul reluctantly tossed him the bag with the shirt. It seemed like Raoul was trying to lay claim to the girl by hogging her scent.
"Take another whiff, everybody. Let's get focused!"
Focused on the girl? Or the fight?
Riley himself walked the shirt around this time, almost like he wanted to make sure everyone was thirsty. And I could see from the reactions that, like me, the burn was back for them al . The scent of the shirt made them scowl and snarl. It wasn't necessary to give us the scent again; we forgot nothing. So this was probably just a test. Just thinking about the girl's scent had venom pooling in my mouth.
"Are you with me?" Riley bel owed.
Everyone screamed his or her assent.
"Let's take them down, kids!"
It was like the barracuda again, only on land this time. Fred didn't move, so I stayed with him, though I knew I was wasting time I needed. If I were going to get to Diego and pul him away before the fighting could start, I would need to be near the front of the attack. I looked after them anxiously. I was stil younger than most of them - faster.
"Riley won't be able to think of me for about twenty minutes or so," Fred told me, his voice casual and familiar, like we'd had a mil ion conversations in the past. "I've been gauging the time. Even a good distance away, he'l feel sick if he tries to remember me."
"Real y? That's cool."
Fred smiled. "I've been practicing, keeping track of the effects. I can make myself total y invisible now. No one can look at me if I don't want them to."
"I've noticed," I said, then paused and guessed, "You're not going?"
Fred shook his head. "Of course not. It's obvious we're not being told what we need to know. I'm not going to be Riley's pawn."
So Fred had figured it out on his own.
"I was going to take off sooner, but then I wanted to talk to you before I left, and there hasn't been a chance til now."
"I wanted to talk to you, too," I said. "I thought you should know that Riley's been lying about the sun. This four-day thing is a total crock. I think Shel y and Steve and the others figured it out, too. And there's a lot more politics going on with this fight than he's told us. More than one set of enemies." I said it fast, feeling with terrible urgency the movement of the sun, the time passing. I had to get to Diego.
"I'm not surprised," Fred said calmly. "And I'm out. I'm going to explore on my own, see the world. Or I was going on my own, but then I thought maybe you might want to come, too. You'd be pretty safe with me. No one wil be able to fol ow us."
I hesitated for a second. The idea of safety was hard to resist in that exact moment.
"I've got to get Diego," I said, shaking my head. He nodded thoughtful y. "I get it. You know, if you're wil ing to vouch for him, you can bring him along. Seems like sometimes numbers come in handy."
"Yes," I agreed fervently, remembering how vulnerable I'd felt in the tree alone with Diego as the four cloaks had advanced. He raised an eyebrow at my tone.
"Riley is lying about at least one more important thing," I explained. "Be careful. We aren't supposed to let humans know about us. There are some kind of freaky vampires who stop covens when they get too obvious. I've seen them, and you don't want them to find you. Just keep out of sight in the day, and hunt smart." I looked south anxiously. "I have to hurry!"
He was processing my revelations solemnly. "Okay. Catch up to me if you want. I'd like to hear more. I'l wait for you in Vancouver for one day. I know the city. I'l leave you a trail in..."
He thought for a second and then chuckled once. "Riley Park. You can fol ow it to me. But after twenty-four hours I'm taking off."
"I'l get Diego and catch up to you."
"Good luck, Bree."
"Thanks, Fred! Good luck to you, too. I'l see you!" I was already running.
"I hope so," I heard him say behind me.