“Taken? Taken by who?”
“The trickster,” Arach growled. “He's fine, Vervain. We need to go after the one who took him.”
“We can't. We need Torrent to track someone through the Aether.”
“Then go get Torrent!”
I looked down at Viper.
“I'm fine, Starlight. Go.” Viper sat up and looked around. “Arach can fill me in while you're gone.”
I nodded and ran for the tree. With a slap of my palm, I was drawn into the Aether. My thoughts directed me through that living realm of possibilities and to the tracing chamber of Pride Palace. I swung open the door to find the God Squad waiting. The timing was perfect. They must have just assembled and were waiting for my return from Faerie. But they hadn't expected me to come through the tracing room.
Everyone jerked back at my sudden and dragonly appearance.
“Torrent!” I shouted and held out my hand.
“I'm here!” Torrent grabbed my hand, and we went back into the Aether, this time, through a tunnel of Internet.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I had the scent. There was no way that I was going to lose the trickster now. We caught them before they could bleach their trail. Arach had been right to insist that I wait in Faerie. We were going to get them.
“There!” I pointed at the scent trail that my mind translated into a visual mist of pale blue.
Torrent maneuvered the tunnel of Internet, twisting it through the Aether, past bobbing witch spells in their gestational phase, symbols of desires, and memories of those who had come through recently. Among them was doubtless a memory belonging to the trickster. It was the Aether's toll for passage and its source of fuel. But weeding through those memories wouldn't get me anywhere if I didn't know what I was looking for. Nowhere but insane.
So I focused on the trail and directed Torrent to the end of it. “They exited there,” I said.
Torr took us out of the Aether and into a bare room. Motion-activated lights came on, revealing a door. I took the door into a corridor. The click of more motion-activated lights came, and fluorescents buzzed overhead, illuminating the barecement walls and floor. Doors stood to either side and a set of stairs was directly ahead. The place looked very familiar.
“No,” I whispered. Then I ran up the steps.
Torrent chased after me, so he barreled into me when I abruptly stopped in the open doorway. “Umph,” he groaned. Then patted my wings. “Sorry, V.”
I didn't say anything, just stepped out onto the fake grass of Moonshine's V.I.P. level. Thank goodness I was up there and hadn't come out on the bottom floor. Even with faeries being out of the magic closet these days, the sight of a weredragon would not go over well with humans. And there were humans in Moonshine, mixing with gods and faeries alike. But there was no one on the terrace.
I followed the trail numbly. It took me to one of the hills/couches. There, upon the fluffy fake grass, was a star. I picked it up. Gold. Five points. The trail ended with it. I lifted my head and sniffed. Many smells tingled my dragon senses, but the scent that had led me there was attached to the star. That's it. I had followed the star, not the trickster. But that was impossible.
“How?” I growled. “How did they bring this here without leaving another trail?”
I turned to look at the Family Door that led down to the tracing room and guest rooms. It shouldn't have surprised me that the trickster could get past our ward. They had gotten into Heaven, Hell, and Faerie. Still, Iwasshocked. They had come through our private entrance, bypassing security, and left that star for us to find.
“They'll still playing,” Torrent said as he searched the area. “Nothing else here, V. I think they must have come and left.”
“But I don't smell any bleach,” I said. “How did they cover their tracks?”
Torrent's eyes focused ahead of him, then started to move as if he was reading. Because he was. “I'm assuming your dragon tracking skills are similar to a canine's but stronger.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“The only way to keep a smell from a tracking dog would be to put it in an airtight container. Like a zip baggie but thicker. Or they'd have to confuse your nose. Either hurt your sniffer with a chemical or be afraid.”
“Be afraid?” I asked. “Yes, they should be very afraid.”
Torrent blinked and refocused on me. “No, I mean the scent of fear can confuse tracking dogs.”
“Oh.” I looked down at the star. “I don't think it interferes with my tracking. Dragons like fear.”
