“Can you tell how far?”
Cassie shook her head again. “No, just not close.”
Paco nodded and then began examining the tracks before them. He drew several Popsicle sticks from his shirt pocket, something he had done several times already, and planted one of them in the ground near one of the paw prints.
“Why are you doing that?” she asked.
He scrunched up his features in a noncommittal manner. “Just want to mark the sign, make sure we don’t come upon them again and think they’re new. Also, if the others follow along, they’ll know for sure we came this way.”
Cassie glanced over at Alex. “I think he’s been calling in our location. I’m pretty sure he has a GPS.”
“No doubt, but some habits are hard to break.”
Thunder rumbled overhead. The storm clouds Paco had pointed out at sunset had only gathered thicker since nightfall. A patter of raindrops began to fall. Perfect.
“What now?” she asked.
“We’re okay for a bit… probably. Their scent is hard to mask, but eventually, the rain will wash it away. We’ll lose the sign first, though.”
“You mean the tracks?”
Paco grunted. “Yeah, but not just the tracks. You have to look at everything. Scuffs on trees, creased leaves, bruised grass stems, even their hairs left stuck against bark. That’s why it’s so hard to track in the dark. Even with a flashlight, it’s easy to miss things.”
“What if we lose them?”
“Then we wait until morning and try to find them again with better light. Good thing I got the Popsicle sticks, eh?”
She did not want to spend the night sitting in the rain while those things were out there.
“I think we’re good, though. I think I know what they’re doing, where they’re going.”
“Well?”
Paco pulled out his compass. It was one of those fancy kinds with the flip-up mirrored lid. He took a bearing and nodded. “Pretty sure they’re headed for water, for the Moberly River.”
“I thought you said they wouldn’t cross it.”
“I’m not saying they’re going to, and I didn’t say they wouldn’t—just that it’s unlikely. I’m saying that they’re heading toward it. It’s fresh water. All animals need fresh water, even alien wolves that breathe fire.”
At that moment, Alex came over and knelt beside Paco and Cassie, swinging his rifle out of his way. “What’s going on?” He glanced at Paco’s compass. “They change direction?”
“No. Toward the water still,” Paco answered.
Alex nodded. “Good.”
“Can your boys get ahead of them?” Paco asked. “Set up an ambush near the river?”
Alex chewed the inside of his cheek while he considered it. He reached his hand up and wiped rain and sweat from his eyes. “Maybe. Buck can use the helicopter to get ahead of them.”
Helicopter? Why are we driving and walking if they have a helicopter?
“Try it,” Paco said. “A fire team with NVGs in a hide at the edge of the water could make all the difference.”
“I hope there’s trees to climb at the river bank,” said Alex. “I sure as hell wouldn’t want to lie on the ground waiting for these things.”
“There’s trees,” Paco said. “And some high ground. Here, I’ll show you on the map.”
Alex pulled his map out and laid it out on the ground. Both men bent over it while Paco indicated the best place for the soldiers to lie in wait. Then, sitting back, Alex used his radio to talk to Buck, calling out a series of numbers that must have been coordinates for the ambush spot Paco had indicated.
Feeling her energy returning, Cassie began to get bored with the inactivity. She looked about at the others. The four soldiers had remained on sentry, occasionally raising their rifles to look down their scopes. Had she not known they were there, she never would have seen them. Each was little more than a shadow in the dark, like a ninja. The patter of the rainfall picked up, creating a constant drone. At least it had driven away the mosquitoes.
Alex rose and looked at Paco, who sighed and stood up, putting his hands against the small of his back and stretching. “Let’s pick it up, move faster while I can still follow the sign.” He paused and watched Cassie’s face. “Can you do this?”
Probably not, but she’d be damned if she’d admit it. “I’m fine.”
Paco grinned and squeezed her elbow. Then he and Clyde took off, heading north once again.
Alex stood in place, watching her face carefully. “You get tired, you tell me. Otherwise, you stay behind me. Okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Okay, then.” He turned away, following Paco and Clyde.
With a weary sigh, Cassie followed after him.
* * *
For Cassie, the next two hours were rain-drenched agony. She was so exhausted she couldn’t think properly. Her entire world became a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and staggering along behind Alex as they climbed through the underbrush. Several times, she had actually fallen to her knees, certain she wouldn’t be able to get back up again, but each time, Alex was there, helping her back to her feet, encouraging her to go just a little bit farther. Once, she heard a helicopter as it swept over them, and she vaguely knew that was important for some reason, but it was just too hard to make sense of anything. The ground began to rise as they climbed a long slope. Each step felt like wading through mud. She was barely aware when they finally stopped moving, and she dropped to her knees in exhaustion, not knowing or caring where they were. In a moment, Alex was beside her.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” she gasped, unable to see him in the dark but certain his gaze was full of contempt.
“Don’t be,” he whispered near her ear. “You did amazing.”
He remained beside her, and as the minutes passed, she somehow managed to catch her breath again. Now, for the first time, she noticed the low drone of rushing water to their front and below them. “Where are we?”
“Close to the river. Up on a high feature Paco’s used before for hunting. It’s a good vantage point for watching.”
Watching what?
Alex fumbled with the four-eyed night-vision device that hung from Cassie’s neck, lifting it over her face and tightening the straps for her. It was heavy and awkward, and she saw nothing at all—until he flipped a switch on the side of the device. It hummed suddenly and then lit the world up in a flash of green hues. She gasped in surprise. It was literally the difference between night and day… well, almost. Looking about, she noticed for the first time that Alex had already put on his own night-vision device. He looked like an alien, four-eyed insect.
“Your depth perception is going to be off,” he whispered. “It takes some getting used to, but we’re done now. We don’t have any farther to go. The rest of this is Buck’s show.” He placed his hands on either side of her sweaty, rain-soaked cheeks and stared at her. “You ready?”
She nodded, but her heart still hammered in her chest, and she shivered despite the muggy heat.
“I’m proud of you,” he whispered.
He began to crawl, keeping low, to the top of the hill, which she could now see was only about twenty feet away from where she knelt along its reverse slope. Paco and Clyde lay prone at the summit. She began to crawl after Alex, sweaty and exhausted but somehow also exhilarated.
I kept up, she realized with a flush of pride. She crawled between Paco and Alex and lay on her belly at the summit’s edge. The others took up their usual defensive positions, watching outward. Cassie could see the Moberly River below them. She guessed it was about a hundred meters or more to the water’s edge, but it was hard to judge distance with the night-vision devices.
“You sure they’re down there?” Alex whispered to Paco.
Clyde whimpered, and Paco reached out and scratched behind the dog’s ear. “They’re there,” he whispered back.
Cassie’s gaze swept back and forth as she looked for the hellho
unds. The tree line didn’t reach all the way to the water but petered out before the rocky riverbank. But as Paco had promised, there were copses in the open ground in front of the river, and Cassie peered at them, trying to see some sign of the ambush team. She saw nothing.
“Are they there?” she asked.
“The animals or the ambush team?” Paco replied.
“Both.”
“The team is there,” Alex replied.
“How many?” she asked.
“Buck and two others. But I don’t see the animals.”
“These things are smart,” Paco whispered. “And very careful. They won’t approach the water until they’re certain it’s safe. They’re new here. They don’t yet know that they have nothing to fear in these woods.”
Alex aimed down the scope of his rifle, through the NVGs. “They need to fear us.”
Do they? Cassie prayed he was right. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the flow of mana around her, seeking some sign of the creatures. At first, she felt nothing. Then, almost unexpectedly, something drew in power in the forest line below them. Close now, so very close.
“They’re here,” she whispered, feeling her heart pound wildly. “Just below us.” She pointed to the trees.
“Come on,” whispered Paco. “Go for it.”
She didn’t even realize she was holding her breath until spots formed in the corner of her eyes. She exhaled, forcing herself to breathe. Then a hellhound stepped out of the trees and stood silently in the open ground before the riverbank. It lifted its monstrous snout and began sniffing the air. In the green glow of her vision, the hellhound’s dark fur glistened wetly. She knew, without having to be told, that this was Paco’s alpha, the leader of the pack. Three more of the giant wolf creatures cautiously stepped out, clustering around the alpha. The alpha lifted its massive shaggy head to the sky and howled. Immediately, the others joined in.
The howling sent chills down Cassie’s back. Nothing on Earth had ever made a sound like that. Where had these things come from?
Clyde whimpered once more, and the alpha turned and stared up in their direction, its eyes looking as though they were glowing in the green light of the night-vision devices. Paco reached out and placed an arm around the terrified shepherd. Long moments passed with the alpha staring up at them. Then it turned away and trotted toward the riverbank. The other hellhounds followed. Cassie could actually hear her own heartbeat vibrating in her skull.
Beside her, Alex looked down the scope of his rifle. If he was frightened, she couldn’t tell. His finger moved toward the trigger. Could he even hit something that far way, through the rain, and while wearing night-vision glasses? Glancing over at Paco, she saw he was also now aiming down the scope of his hunting rifle. This is just too goddamned surreal.
Menace and expectation hung in the air like a shroud. If something didn’t happen soon, she was certain she would pass out.
“Close your eyes,” Alex whispered, still looking down his scope.
Without thinking about it, she did as she was told—and a moment later, everything went crazy. A huge explosion rocked the night. The ground vibrated beneath her.
God, that was loud! Her eyes flashed open again just as another explosion lit up the night, causing her NVGs to flare out for a moment. She heard the hellhounds howling in rage, fear, or pain. Then, she heard the loud booming of gunfire. She yelped in surprise as Alex began to fire his rifle only inches away from her. This close, the shots were unbelievably loud and painful. Spent casings flew through the air as he fired shot after shot. One of the empty casings landed on the back of her hand, burning her. She brushed at it furiously, rising up from where she lay. Paco grabbed her shoulder and shoved her back down.
“Stay down!” he yelled then pulled back the bolt on his hunting rifle, ramming it forward and loading another bullet into the firing chamber.
She lay where she was, covering her ears with her hands. Please stop, please stop, please stop. And then it did.
The silence, so unexpected after the thunder of the ambush, seemed unnatural. Then, down by the water, a rifle fired once more, and Cassie jerked in surprise. Two more shots followed, and then there was silence again. Cassie, Alex, and Paco remained in place, lying prone. The stench of gunfire, harsh and discordant, clogged her nostrils.
Alex, still aiming down the scope of his rifle, made a sound of acknowledgment into the mike near his lips. He lowered his weapon, turned to face Cassie and Paco. “They’re all down. We got ’em all.”
Cassie concentrated on the surrounding mana but felt nothing.
Paco and Alex rose to their feet, as did the four other soldiers.
So, that’s what an ambush is like, she mused as she rose to her knees. She hadn’t cared for it. In fact, her limbs were still trembling from emotion and fear and the rampant adrenaline coursing through her blood. What she needed was a good night’s sleep. What she wanted was a cold beer, a hot bath, and another cold beer. “What now?”
Paco looked to Alex, who keyed his radio again and began talking as he stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down upon the scene of the carnage below. All four of the hellhounds lay haphazardly in place as if they were only sleeping.
Alex nodded as he spoke and then glanced toward Cassie and Paco. “The helicopter will return to take the carcasses, but it’ll have to make a number of trips and can’t take us as well. The MRAPs are only about three klicks that way.” He pointed behind them, in the direction they had come from. “We can make them in about twenty minutes. You’ll be home before you know it.”
“Home?”
“Well, back to the Magic Kingdom.”
Home away from home. She raised her arms above her head, standing on her toes and stretching. God, she was tired. She wanted to take the damned boots off and massage her aching feet. She had blisters now—she could feel the points of heat on the soles of her feet. Walking was going to be painful for the next few days. Maybe she’d say the hell with the beer and just take a shower and pass out. Maybe she’d pass out in the back of the MRAP. As uncomfortable as those bench seats had been earlier, right now she figured they’d be pretty damned good for lying down on and taking a quick—
A bizarre sensation swept through her like a wave of cold water rushing up her spine. Something was off—something was wrong. She couldn’t say why, but she turned in place and stared down the hill into the woods at its base. There, less than thirty feet away, next to a large pine tree, stood a figure—a huge figure—far too large to be a man.
What the hell? Her hands fell to her sides. The sensation of coldness she had felt a moment ago turned into an electric tingling that coursed through her body, making her numb all over. This was impossible, but she saw the creature clearly through the NVGs. It was like a gorilla only larger and standing upright like a person. Easily nine feet tall, its body was covered in a thick layer of fur. It did nothing but simply stood in place watching her, staring right at her. Clyde darted forward to stand in front of Cassie. Like her, the dog only stared in wonder at the creature, panting.
And then she felt it channel. Her vision flared into a blinding green light. Gasping, she staggered back, falling onto her ass on the wet ground. Clyde whined, as if in pain. Someone swore; another person cried out that he was blind. Cassie ripped the NVGs from her head but saw nothing more than green dots dancing in the darkness. Now, as if released from a spell, Clyde began to bark furiously. It was several moments before she could make out the light of a flashlight shining in her face. It was Paco. He was asking her something. She couldn’t understand his words. Like her, he had removed his NVGs.
“What?” she asked, shaking her head. “What happened?”
“Don’t know,” Paco said.
“I saw someone… some… thing,” Cassie blurted.
“Where?” Paco asked.
Alex was there a moment later, his rifle raised into his shoulder, ready to fire. Like her and Paco, he had also removed his NVGs. He glanced over at her. �
�What did you see?”
“Over there, by that big tree.” Cassie pointed down the hill, but whatever that thing had been, it was gone now.
Alex keyed his radio. “Romeo-1, this is cover party. We have a secondary contact. Danger close.”
Alex turned and whistled at the other four soldiers and then motioned down the hill. Each had also removed their NVGs and had turned on powerful flashlights attached to the barrels of their rifles. Without hesitation, the four soldiers spread out, moving down the hill with Clara leading them. The beams of their flashlights scanned back and forth. Paco followed the four soldiers and then got down on all fours to examine the ground near the tree where Cassie had seen the creature. Cassie stood at the summit of the hill, watching him, feeling useless. Again, she closed her eyes and tried sensing for channeling but felt nothing.
“Wrap it up, Paco,” Alex called out from beside her. “We’re moving.”
Paco looked back over his shoulder. “There was something here, something big.”
“Now!” Alex yelled.
Paco had a look of exasperation on his tired features, but he nodded and trotted back up the hill, followed by Clara and the others.
“New plan,” Alex said to Cassie. “The helicopter is on its way here. You’re getting on it and heading back.”
“I thought there was no room?”
There was a bright flare of fire from down below, along the riverbank, so bright it hurt her eyes. It was followed by another flash of fire, then two more. Within moments, four red fires like miniature suns blazed below. The ambush team had lit the carcasses of the hellhounds on fire, she realized, using something like road flares only much more powerful. The entire riverbank lit up with a surreal bright red glow, chasing away the darkness.
“We just made room,” said Alex. “Come on; let’s move. This site isn’t secure.”
“Let’s go, little sister,” said Paco. “I’ll show you the safest way down. Don’t trip.”
Still shading her eyes, she followed Alex and Paco. Clyde stayed beside her. The four soldiers were close behind: her own personal escort.
Chapter 26
Starlight (The Dark Elf War Book 1) Page 21
