Ross slid into the driver’s seat and fired the engine up before carefully backing out.He’d learned not to trust mirrors while in this neighborhood.Some of the clan members were so short they disappeared out of sight entirely.Even being morning, he was careful.Assumptions just got everyone into trouble.
“How long has Dunham been missing?”Keane asked even as he pulled out a wand and hovered the tip of it over his phone.
Ross kicked himself.He should have asked that.“Not long?I’m not sure, Chloe didn’t say.She didn’t sound panicked, though.Just worried because he wasn’t responding.”
“So likely not long.Alright, hopefully we can catch up to him in time.”
He didn’t often get to see Keane actively work magic, and Ross didn’t even pretend to understand how it worked.The two magic users in the clan approached things in very different ways, which added to his confusion.Keane seemed to look at spells more like a computer code, with very precise clauses and schematics.Maria’s approach was more natural, where she invoked the energy to do as she wished using herbs and stones and rituals.More of a magic-by-feel.Ross had no idea if she could use tracking spells.
But he did know trying to wake her up before 9 am would get him stabbed.In the eye.With the first sharp object at hand.Maria was not a morning person.
Ross darted glances as he drove them out of the neighborhood.“Can I ask what you’re doing?”
“Hmm?”Keane’s head came up for a second before the question penetrated.“Oh.I’m doing the magical equivalent of tracing a phone call.Sort of.Dunham’s phone is recognized as having a particular number, right?Well, that acts like an address for the spell.I’m searching for its address.”
“That’s neat.”And clever.Was this common practice or something Keane had devised?
“It’s saved us more than a few times, let me tell you.People get lost too easily.”Keane’s wand and phone both lit up in a faint aura.He put his wand flat in his hand and it immediately swiveled left.“That way.”
Ross turned left at the stop light, putting them onto a major road.They drove like that for a while, Keane giving him directions of ‘straight,’ ‘left,’ and ‘right’ as they drove toward the neighborhood Dunham had adopted as his own.
As they passed the burned-out shell of the old gas station, Ross gave it a lingering look.He’d heard they were going to rebuild, but it hadn’t happened yet.It was rather sad to see it like that, honestly.He had some good memories of the place.It had been drudgery the first few months, sure, but he’d learned about the supernatural world there.He’d met Glenn there.It gave Ross a sort of bittersweet feeling whenever he saw the charred remains.
“Slow down,” Keane cautioned.“I think we’re close.”
Ross slowed, pulling into a residential area with many apartment buildings.Most of them looked rundown, a poorer section neglected and ignored.Yes, this was definitely the right place to draw Dunham’s attention.
“Pull up to the curb.I think we’re right on top of it.”
The apartment building in question looked like the rest, weeds growing out of the cracks of the sidewalks, metal doors dented from kicks, one window covered with cardboard.Keane hopped out without any regard for who might be watching.Ross followed, hoping everyone was at school and work at this hour of the day.And not watching through a window.
Why were all supernatural beings so incautious?Even the wizards!
He was mostly worried about Dunham, who was clearly not nearby.The yards around the apartment complex were narrow, with nothing but dead grass to hide behind.He had a clear view most directions and saw no sight of a dog, much less a werewolf.
Keane groaned and sank abruptly to his heels.“Yup, here’s the phone.”
Ross looked over his shoulder to find that the phone had been dropped, a wide crack now in the screen.It hid behind a clump of weeds at the base of a window, so obviously Dunham had been caught and dropped the phone in the process.The first inklings of worry trickled through his sleep-deprived brain.
Ross knelt as well, touching his fingers to the area.“Keane, can you try tracking him?I know you said the spell doesn’t work right.”
“It gets confused because they shift so much, but I can try.I think we better get the pack over here.”
“Whoa.I do not want the full pack over here.I’ll call Chloe.One werewolf can figure out scent if we need to track him that way.”Like hell Ross wanted to deal with the incessant yipping and howling.A full pack on the hunt got ridiculous pretty quickly.
Chloe answered promptly with, “Did you find him?”
“Found his phone, not him.I’m not sure what went down.Can you come over here and see if you can track him?We’re at the projects’ housing.”
“Sure.Let me grab a few people—”
Ross was quick to nip this in the bud.“No, just you.I don’t think there was a fight here.No signs of a struggle.Calling on the full pack isn’t necessary.”
“Trust me, we track better if we have someone with us.I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Ross stared at the phone, now dark after she ended the call, and sighed.He was worried about Dunham, true enough.But a bunch of yapping, excited wolves sounded like murder for his already sensitive head.He drank more coffee.“Well.This will be fun to figure out where he went.”
Keane pocketed the phone, brows drawn together in worry.“You don’t think someone was chasing him, do you?”
