“Sniff the air,” Zul instructed. Crow inhaled, more a snort than a sniff. “Try again.” He demonstrated. Crow sniffed the air. “What do you smell?”
Taking another, deeper inhale, Crow’s nostrils flared. He squinted again as he tried to discern the different scents. Slowly, he replied, “I smell the ponds. They smell cool and wet.”
“Very good. What else?” Zul prompted.
“I smell the flowers, especially the sunfloss. It smells like candy.” Crow’s eyes opened wide. “Ilovecandy, don’t you?”
Zul gave him a close-mouthed smile of indulgence. “I do. What else do you smell?”
Crow took another breath then shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“All right,” Zul said. “I will find your mother. When we find her, sniff her. Memorize her scent, and you will always be able to find her.”
Crow nodded and watched in amazement as Zul took an ostentatious sniff, nostrils flaring. He again caught her scent and felt his groin tighten. Ruthlessly quelling his lust, he took the boy’s hand and said, “Follow me.”
Zul slowly followed the scent trail with unerring accuracy to the hidden bench where Ursula waited for them.
“You found me!” she cried out and opened her arms. Crow ran to her embrace.
“Now Zul has to kiss you,” Crow said.
She tilted her head back, the finely scaled skin over her cheekbones flushing a darker pink. Her expression turned sultry and her voice thickened as she said, “Yes, now he must kiss me.”
Zul chuckled, enjoying the fascinating play of color. “I caught you. I believe it is you who owes me a kiss.”
Ursula smiled. “I do believe you’re correct.” She extended a hand. He captured it in his big paw to help her stand. “Bend down, Zul.”
He bent down and stared into her eyes. She gave him a mischievous grin and darted to the side to give him a peck on the cheek.
It was less than he wanted and more than he hoped for—and the quickly delivered, light touch of her lips made him feel as though he were going to catch fire. After a long moment during which he took several deep breaths to calm his libido, he said, “Crow, take your mother’s scent. Memorize it.”
The child wrapped his arms around his mother’s legs and buried his nose in her skirts. When he lifted his head, he asked, “Can we try again?”
“Yes,” Zul said. “Your mama shall hide again, and this timeyoushall find her.”
You’re teaching him to hunt.
It’s never too early for a Urib warrior breed to learn basic hunting skills.
Ursula gave him a small smile then said, “Yes, let’s try again. This is how people on Earth train scent hounds to track.”
“What’s a scent hound?” Crow asked.
“It’s a dog that finds things by their sense of smell,” she explained.
What’s a dog?
I’ll tell you later.Aloud she said, “The three-minute rule is still in effect.”
“Okay, Mama.”
Crow retreated to the statue, pressed his forearm against the base and head head against his forearm, and began the laborious process of counting to ten. That time, Zul did not bother covering his eyes.
“Did you cover your eyes?” the boy asked.
“No.”
“Youhaveto cover your eyes,” Crow insisted. “It’s the rules. Now I have to count again.”
