Page 75 of Quest of the Wolf

Startled, I scrambled away, but he didn’t come toward me. He rushed out the door.

In the other room, Lorenzo grunted in surprise. The front door banged open. I lunged for the window in time to see Duncan leap the railing and run to his van. Claws scraping the metal, he flung open the door and jumped inside. A couple of seconds later, he leaped back out, carrying a big black case over his shoulder. Still inside of the van, Jasmine and Bolin gaped out the window.

I stared. What the hell?

Without glancing back toward me, Duncan charged into the woods, heading north.

Toward those with the control device? Those calling him? Of course. What else could it be? But why was he taking… whatever was in that case?

“What happened?” Mom asked. “Where’s he going?”

“He’s going to lead me to the ones with the control device, andI’m going to take it from them so they won’t be able to command him any longer.”

Assuming the tracker didn’t fall off. I hoped that magnet was strong.

“Oh, good,” Mom said. “Nobody should command a werewolf, especially not one as powerful as he.”

“I agree.” I grabbed Duncan’s clothes, fished his keys out of his pants pocket, and headed for the van. “Time to see if this plan will work.”

23

“Got him,”Bolin said from the bed in the back of the van as we headed away from Mom’s property. “He’s moving fast.”

Jasmine sat in the passenger seat while I drove faster than recommended on the dirt road, the snow making it sketchier than usual. At least the Roadtrek had good shock absorbers, something Duncan had probably upgraded, the same as the tires. Treasure hunting wasn’t always done on paved streets, after all. I was glad we didn’t have to slow down much for the potholes. I had no idea how great of a range the tracking device had, but even if it had worked from across the world, I would still have felt tense with urgency. It could fall off the locket at any time.

“Heading north,” Bolin added.

“This road doesn’t go north, does it?” Jasmine waved toward the route ahead.

“No. I think we have to go all the way out to the highway and head east, then turn north.” At least we could gain ground on him once we reached pavement. As a bipedfuris, he would be fast but not sixty-miles-per-hour fast.

“Do we have a plan for if it works?” Jasmine asked. “And he leads us to those guys?”

“I have a pocket full of potions and bath bombs.”

Bolin made an aggrieved noise. “Orbs of Entanglement.”

“But the sword and grenades are still missing, right?” Jasmine peered into the glovebox but only found the tools and cassette tape.

“Duncan might have some weapons in the back if you want to search.” I didn’t take my eyes from the road. When the dirt ended and we turned onto asphalt, I picked up speed. “I figure we’ll have to go to fur-and-fangs at some point.”

“Uh,” Bolin said, “I don’t have that option.”

“I hope you have a pocketful of potions,” I told him.

“I have…some.”

“Aren’t you going to beat people with your violin?” Jasmine looked back at Bolin. She’d made that comment earlier but couldn’t know why he’dreallybrought it.

“No. That’s for, uhm. I’m going to play us some battle music to get us in the mood.”

“Oh, yeah?” She sounded curious. “Now might be a good time for that.”

“I’ll start when I don’t need to watch the tracking app so closely. And when you’re not— I mean, it’s easier if you’re not looking back at me.”

Jasmine snorted. “Shy, huh?”

She looked forward.

---