Chapter Twenty-Four
Cadmus made his way through the crowds, uphill, to an area that Jordy had pointed out as a good location to scout for the man-wolf. She had also snagged a set of binoculars for him to take along. Between the pendulum and the scope, he would be in perfect position to take advantage of the view.
He picked out an area to sit, choosing one of the larger rocks that studded the grassy top, and kicking aside an empty candy wrapper that had lodged itself into a crevice.
At least he hoped it was a candy wrapper, and that he wouldn’t find its used contents if it weren’t.
He sat gingerly on the rough surface, before remembering that he was wearing something designed, essentially, for sitting on dirt. Even so, he couldn’t bear to settle in.
He took out the pendulum from his pocket. It was already moving insistently before he even had it out completely, pointing towards a crowded area before him.
Below, he saw the teeming crowds that led to a large, central cluster of vendors, circling tables where people in all manner of costume were obviously consuming their purchases. The smells told him that it was section with the food stalls, even before he spotted the sign that read “Royal Court of Food.”
How pitiful.
It was obviously the lunch hour, where it would be unusually congested. On one hand, it would seem that if man-wolf were here, chances were likely that he would pass through this way, possibly even be down then there right now eating the questionable food products. Based on what he had seen so far, the food was likely to be medieval themed, an excuse to serve indifferently grilled meat on a stick, bastardize the name so it sounded like Olde English, then triple the price for what it would sell for at a food court in a halfway decent shopping mall.
On the other hand, it was difficult to make out individuals. The figures below were one big teeming mass of sweaty, sticky, tacky humanity. Along with their spawn.
If the man-wolf were among them, he would require a healthy dose of luck, and the binoculars that Jordy provided to him.
He placed them over his eyes, and blinked a few times, before he could adjust to looking through them.
They definitely helped with ruling out some of the obvious ones who were facing him, at the edges of the seething mass, and unobscured by others. Good thing man-wolf had been so tall. He could start by picking out the heads of people who stood above the others.
It would take a while, because the area was so big, and if the man-wolf were sitting, he would also have to get up at some time.
He just had to be patient, and screen the entire crowd through the binoculars. One by one if he had to.
He had too much riding on this. He had to succeed. He wouldn’t let anything deter him—
“Whatcha doing, mister?”
He lowered his binoculars, at a young girl with facepainted whiskers and cat ears.
Shit. It was like running across a bear cub in the wild. The parent was always not far behind. And dangerous if they thought you posed a threat to their young.
“Rikki, you get back here!”
“But I want to know what he’s doing, Dad!” A large black man, obviously Rikki’s father, came up. He glowered at Cadmus, his eyes filled with suspicion.
Shit.
* * *
Katie Cooper’s eyes were glittering as they looked upon Aylwyn. Col was beside himself, feelings of possessiveness and jealousy warring with what he knew to be the right thing to do. He should wish her happiness with hisBrodher. Aylwyn was everything he was not: sane, strong, and in control of his faculties, to the point where he was making her laugh in a way she never had with Col.
He noted how she bantered with Aylwyn, how she rested a hand lightly on his arm at times, or teased him back when he said something she found delightful. She was absolutely at ease with Aylwyn, which only made Col want to pummel theBrodher’s face until swelling closed shut his aquamarine eyes.
And Barric, even the normally gloweringBrodherwas flirting with her. Barric, whose speech was oft laced with barbs and mockery, was taking pains to make pleasantries in his exchanges with her. Merek and Tybalt were laughing along, their white teeth flashing as they sat around her on the wooden benches and table of this eating area.
Col felt the painful talons of jealousy rip into him, as she playfully hit Simon on the arm, and instead of freezing up as he normally would, Simon said something that made her laugh. Even Simon was at ease with her. Col tried to look away whenever he could, forcing himself to avoid her, but her nearness was as a summer storm over a peaceful lake; he could not help but react to her presence, to the pleasing sound of her laugh, the sweet scent of flowers that was unique to her alone.
Col should want her to be happy, even if it were with someone other than him. Someone who had better control over his senses, was a better member of a fully functioningWar-Pack, who remembered his duty was first and foremost to be aWaryeor.
Col should, but he couldn’t. His failure rankled, and he clenched his fists, pressing the nails against his palms in an effort to re-center himself. Felt the hard edges digging in, closed his eyes to sharpen his other senses, prayed for help in focusing on his duty.
And then….by the grace of She Who Grants Abundance, his prayer was answered. He opened his eyes, his muscles rigid at attention. It was that scent. He sniffed, hoping to capture it once more, hoping it wasn’t a mistake. Faint, but there it was again.
