Page 77 of Quest of the Wolf

“Not violin rap,” Jasmine said. “That’s not even a thing, is it?”

“That sounds like a challenge, Bolin.” I glanced at him, hoping he appreciated my help in setting him up to fulfill his dreams. Or maybe hisschemes.

As he sat on the bed to play, he gave me a discreet thumbs-up. Soon, notes flowed from the back of the van.

Jasmine cocked her head, probably trying to recognize a familiar song. As Bolin had promised, itwaschallenging from just the beats—the violin version of the beats.

I eyed the GPS map as he started singing—or rather, rapping.

“Oh,” Jasmine said with delight. “That’s what that is. 50 Cent. ‘In da Club.’” She clapped her hands together and started singing to the music.

I watched the dot on the map and decided this was the weirdest army anyone had ever gone into battle with. Maybe I would leave Bolin and Jasmine in the van.

Fat snowflakes hit the windshield. The sky had grown darker. Enough traffic had traveled on the highway that the lanes remained free of snow, but it blanketed the forests and farmlands that we passed. This wasn’t the best weather for storming a villain’s lair.

“He’s going past Deming,” I murmured, though nobody heard me.

The violin and the singing had gotten loud as Bolin and Jasmine shared their enthusiasm for the song. When it ended, they shifted to ‘P.I.M.P.’ and other rap songs I couldn’t name. I was almost relieved when my phone rang.

Austin’s number popped up. As I thumbed the screen to answer, I noticed the date—Christmas Eve—and wondered if he was calling again to invite me up in the morning. We were more than halfway there now. I snorted, imagining his reaction if I brought this strange crew to his friend’s cabin. But my amusement evaporated when I noticed that Duncan had angled to the northeast. Toward the little town of Maple Falls.

A coincidence? All along, I’d been worried that Radomir was up to something in the same area where my son was vacationing.

“Hey, Austin.” I waved for the singers to pause for a minute. “What’s?—”

“Mom, we’re in trouble,” my son blurted before I could finish the question.

“Did you hit another tree?” I asked, though my stomach knotted, certain something far worse had happened.

“No.” He was whispering.

“What happened?” I also caught myself whispering.

Was there someone there with him? Someone he didn’t want to hear the call?

Jasmine and Bolin fell silent and watched me—and listened.

Austin didn’t answer.

What the hell was going on? It couldn’t be anything minor. He was a grown-up now. He wouldn’t call his mother over something small.

“Austin?” I struggled to keep my voice calm. My fingers tightened on the wheel again.

“Where is he?” Jasmine whispered. “At your apartment?”

I shook my head. “A cabin near Maple Falls. Either that or he’s up snowboarding at Baker right now.” The fresh powder would make that appealing, but it was late enough in the day that they might have finished up and returned. “Where are you, Austin?” I asked into the phone again. “What’s wrong?”

The line went dead.

“Shit.”

“We’re about to pass the address for the mushroom farm.” Jasmine pointed at the GPS on Bolin’s phone. Our dot—Duncan—was well past the area and had continued to the northeast.

Worry for my son made me want to abandon our quest to get the control device. Duncan shouldn’t be in any immediate danger. But Austin…

I tried calling him back, but he didn’t answer.

“You’re doing a good job of freaking your mom out,” I told the phone with a scowl.

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