Coyote's Howl (Cape High Series Book 17), page 16
The world seems silent as soon as I run past the first tree. It’s an eerie silence—there are no birds flying off, no chattering squirrels, nothing. I shift, sniffing the ground to try and find his scent. The smell of blood lingers in the air, and I turn, chasing after it. I need to find him—
“Hiiii!” Skye says, making me almost trip out of surprise. I look up, seeing her right above me, a curious look on her face. “You could have TOLD me you were coming after him again!” she announces.
‘What gave my mom back her animal forms?’ I ask.
“Ohhh, that feels funny, I didn’t know you had telepathy!” she says. “But I have no clue—did she not have them, before?”
‘No, she didn’t,’ I say, going back to my tracking. The scent has gone stale. I growl before shifting back to my human form. “He must have shifted and healed,” I say, looking around. “Can you find him?”
“Hmmm…” she says, frowning and touching her chin.
“So this is where you went,” I hear Adanna say behind me. “You’re covered in dirt.”
“He’s getting away!” I complain. “Did you see what he did to my grandfather?”
“I did, which is why I’m not going to let you go after him alone,” she says. Before I can argue, I see a panther leap out of the shadows and race past me. It’s followed by a crashing noise as Taurus chases after Panther. “That’s why I brought backup.”
I frown, realizing something. “He has his power blocker still—I need to get Jack. Do you know where he is?”
“He’s with Sandra,” she says, “back this way.” I look over my shoulder for all of a second before chasing after her. Having someone search from above is a good idea, anyway.
***
He can hear them. The cat shifter is silent, but not completely, not to his ears. The man that smells like cattle, he isn’t even trying to be quiet. If he had trouble with the kid they sent earlier, as slow as he’d been, he’s pretty sure he won’t be able to take down two adults—not if one is of the Panther line.
Badmoon races for the sound of moving water, jumping into the small stream as soon as he sees it. The water is freezing, but he ignores it, swimming along for a while before climbing out and shaking so water sprays off of his thick pelt. He runs further, reaching a small farm. It isn’t perfect, he thinks as he shifts to his human form, but—
“Found him again!” he hears a woman say joyfully. “He must have shifted, because he’s SO much easier to find this way.”
Badmoon lets out a curse and shifts back to wolf, racing away from the barn he’d planned on hiding in. If it had been scent that he was tracked by, he could easily—he stops as he realizes what she is, a cape hunter, like Shadowman. He knows how to avoid her, but it’s risky. He veers towards the small one street town, but if she’s following him by something other than scent… He runs down an alley, shifting back into his human form and digging the little power blocking gun out of his pocket. He doesn’t even have time to hesitate, he thinks as he aims it at himself. He shoots, blinking as the light blinds him and almost falling as his powers leave.
He takes all of three seconds to recover, and then runs as fast as his norm strength will allow him to go. He needs to find a place with a large population, so they lose his scent, as well. He can’t be caught now—not when there’s finally a way to get all of his forms back.
He has to find out how she did it. He stops as he walks past a window, staring at himself with a hint of disgust, even if it means being a frail old man, for a while.
***
“Why?” Coyote says as Adanna and I reach the clearing. He’s where I left him, but the collar is gone and Aubrey is healing him. The question makes me pause on the way to Jack, since I need to know the answer as well. “Why did you do it? HOW did you do it?”
“I will not allow my son to be another throw-away in the family line,” Mom says, her hands clenched at her sides. “I’ll do whatever it takes—I was the test.”
“What do you mean, test?” Coyote asks. “Do you mean it could be done again?”
“Yes, it can be done again! We’re going to use it on Lance!”
“There is no reason for that—there was no reason to use it on yourself, either,” Coyote says, looking better—and angrier by the second. “The boy is a coyote shifter. That means he will eventually regain his forms naturally. He is already the next Coyote.”
Mom looks shocked. I feel relieved. So I was right. I sit down, suddenly too weak-kneed to stand anymore. “I’m the Coyote,” I say, letting out a little laugh of relief. “I’m the next Coyote. Mom! I’m the next Coyote!”
“Yes, Lance, I heard him,” she says, flushed and smiling. “Oh, honey, I KNEW you had it in you!” she says, wrapping her arms around me tightly.
“Yeah… I mean, I’m glad,” I say, hugging her back.
“But you have done something extremely stupid,” Coyote snaps. “Now he knows that it can be done!”
“My dad will catch him,” Adanna says. “It’s only a matter of time before they catch up to him!”
“But he still has the power blocking gun,” I say. “That’s why I came here—I need Jack, and we need to tell Nico!”
“Dad couldn’t get a hold of him earlier, that’s why he isn’t here,” Adanna says. “He’s doing something.”
“Well, this is an emergency,” I say. “Jack!” I say, looking around for him. He’s sitting to the side with Sandra. “Sandra, are you feeling better?”
“I’m getting rockier by the moment,” she complains, sitting up. “It’s stiff and annoying, but it isn’t going to kill me. Aubrey told me.”
“Several times,” Jack agrees. “I’m sorry, Lance, he lost me.”
“Well you can’t just sit around watching her turn to stone,” I say, heading for him. “We need to use your com-bracelet to help Panther and Taurus!” I jump onto the board next to him.
“But Sandra—” Jack says, looking torn.
“Oh, go already. All your talking is giving me a headache,” she says, dramatically laying the back of her hand over her eyes.
“Okay, but don’t do anything stupid, got it? That’s my job,” he says, stepping onto the board behind me.
“Should you be in front?” I ask, looking back at him.
“What, think I can’t see over your head well enough?” he asks, laughing. Okay, so he’s almost a foot taller than I am. He doesn’t have to rub it in! I shrug it off, because the sooner we go, the sooner we can help.
“We need to find Skye, she should already know where he is,” I say as we take to the air. I look around, searching for the cape in question. “Once we find her, we’ll find the others. We need to get there before they corner him—he could use his power blocking gun on them.”
“I’m going to try calling Nico again,” he says, tapping on his earbud. “Nico! Hey, Nico, turn off the freaking oldies music and come in!”
“This is classic music,” I hear Nico say. “What’s up, Jack?”
“We’ve got a major problem out here, and nobody could reach you!” Jack says. “We’ve got Badmoon on the run, but he’s got a power blocking gun—he stole it from Rocco and his team. Pan, Skye and Taurus are on his trail, but they don’t have an E.P.B. do they?”
“No,” Nico says, “they don’t. I’m coming as soon as I can.”
“Come quicker than that. Lance and I are going after him, now.”
“Lance is?” Nico says. “Lance, are you okay? How are your power levels?”
“I’m fine, but somehow Mom’s gotten her old forms back—I think it was some sort of experiment.”
“What? How?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I admit, “but she did it for me—except Coyote thinks I’m going to—there’s Skye!” I say, distracted. “Go to her, Jack! She can tell us where everyone else is!”
“Nico I’m hanging up, now. You’ve got our coordinates,” Jack says, tapping on his ear as the board veers toward where Skye is floating. I see a confused expression on her face, and it worries me.
“Skye?” I say. “Have they found him?”
“It’s the weirdest thing,” she says, touching a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “One moment he was there, the next he was completely gone. It’s like he died, or something.”
“That’s not likely,” I say. “Is there any other way to stop you from sensing someone?”
“Well, if they lose their powers I can’t find them. I’m TERRIBLE at finding norms. I can’t do it at all, actually.”
“Well… crap,” I say. “He must have shot himself. Where are Pan and Taurus?”
“We lost his scent,” I hear Pan say from almost a mile away. “He hit the water for a bit, went upstream, and then must have shot himself shortly after. The change in scents threw me off.”
“Well if he’s a norm, now, he shouldn’t have gotten very far,” Taurus says. “We’ll head towards civilization.”
“There’s a town right over there, about a mile away,” Jack says. “I can pick up on the metal.”
“Then we head that way,” Panther says.
“Nico is coming,” I say. “We finally got a hold of him. He should be here any minute, now. We need him before we find Badmoon.”
“We can at least find him before he gets here,” Taurus says. “Head to the town and spread out. We’re looking for an old man.”
“Got it!” Skye says.
“And Skye? At least pretend to be walking on the ground in front of the norms,” Pan says a bit dryly, since Skye is floating upside down at the moment.
“Got it!” she says, flipping over and running towards the town. We follow behind her, and I dare to look down, a little smile on my face.
“I love flying,” I admit. “I hope I get back one of my birds, first.”
“It is pretty awesome,” Jack agrees, tapping on his watch. “We can’t land in town on the board, so we’re going to drop off right over there. I’m not cleared to be in this territory on business.”
“Got it,” I say, jumping off when we get close to the area he pointed at.
“You seem… a lot more cheerful, now,” he says as he lands and steps off of his board. “Did finding out you were the Coyote, or whatever, make such a big difference?”
“How could it not?” I say. “I mean, ever since I was four, I always thought I would… I would never be accepted. I mean, Mom loves me, I know, but… Coyote was the only other family member I had, and he kicked me out before I could understand what it meant. Well, he still doesn’t like me, I don’t think, but he’s got to accept me, now. Plus, I’ll get my forms back, eventually.”
“There’s just Badmoon to take care of, huh?” he says.
“Yeah,” I say, my good mood disappearing again. “Just him.” I walk towards the sound civilization, my ears straining to hear the sound of Badmoon’s voice. He won’t speak unless he absolutely has to—and there’s a good chance that his voice has changed, just like his scent has.
It doesn’t matter. We have to find him, regardless of what he looks like.
***
“I can’t just stand here, waiting for him to come back,” Kimi says, getting to her feet. “I lost my son once, I’m not about to lose him again.”
“Don’t you dare,” Coyote says, even as she’s shifting into a hawk. “KIMI!” he shouts as she takes to the air, speeding away.
“You need to stay calm, sir,” Aubrey says. “Your system has taken quite a shock from losing your powers for this long. She has all of the power of a Coyote, right? She should be fine.”
“It isn’t just strength that wins a fight, little girl,” he says darkly, watching the direction his daughter just went. “He has many, many more years of experience.” He looks grim. “My brother is very skilled at the art of deception.”
Aubrey stays quiet for a moment. “But she’s a mother,” she says softly. “No one can blame her for doing whatever she can to save her son.”
He doesn’t respond, he just closes his eyes for a long moment. “I’m too old for this.”
***
He’d been stupid. No, not stupid, he’d been obsessed with his own way of saving Lance—which had distracted him from his duties. Now Nico races through the sky, cursing himself for exactly what Mastermental accused him of—having too much faith in his computers and not enough faith in the kids he’s training. He’d expected the kid to hole up for a while after losing all of his forms. He’d underestimated him, and a part of him is extremely happy with that fact. The rest of him, however, is irritated with this whole freaking thing. Getting Star Born moved had been a pain in the neck, and had taken far too long because of all the paperwork. Lance had been running around, trying to hunt down the bad guy, and he hadn’t even heard about it until now. That makes him feel sick to his stomach.
“NICO! We’re over here!” Skye yells, waving her arms in the air. She’s right outside a little town, floating in the air. He heads for her, not even blinking as she throws herself at him. “This has been so fun!”
“It isn’t fun,” he hears Taurus say from below, “it’s irritating. Nico, what took so long?”
“I was moving someone annoying,” Nico says, pulling away from Skye. “What’s happened? How are you not finding him?”
“He probably shot himself with the power blocking gun that he stole from Rocco,” Lance says, making Nico look over. “That’s why we needed you. There’s always the chance he’ll shoot one of us.”
“I see,” Nico says, looking at the ground. “Then give me a minute and I’ll get everyone set up for this.”
Lance looks at the town, a frown on his face. “What if he’s already jumped a bus or something?” he asks. “He could be gone already and we’ll never know.”
“We’ll know soon enough,” Nico says. “Sooner or later his powers will come back and he’ll either shoot himself again, or we’ll find him. Either way, he’s not a danger to the norms.”
“He’s only a danger to the really old supers,” Lance says as he turns to the town.
***
“Not here,” I hear Jack say, twenty minutes later. We’ve gone through every building in the town and not found him. Badmoon is long gone. “And this was the last building in the place, so either he’s buried himself in a very deep cave somewhere—”
“Which is possible,” Nico says over the com-link. I’m standing with him, in coyote form, with a leash around my neck. The hope was that I could smell him out—I stand out less in public than Taurus or Pan’s shape-shifted forms. I’d had no luck.
“Or he hopped a bus,” Jack finishes.
“I’ll get a list of all the destinations of the buses that have left within the past hour and a half,” Nico says, grimly. “But if he’s not here, we need to leave. I’ve already gotten a few calls from Century, telling me I’m not getting paid for this.”
‘You could just go into the bus station and ask,’ I say to Nico, seeing him lift a hand into the air. ‘It might make less people stare at us.’ Since everyone sitting outside the shops on the strip are watching us with fascination.
“That’s a coyote,” an older man says, point blank, as he motions to me with his cigarette. “How’d you teach him to walk on a leash like that?”
“He’s just a dog,” Nico lies, his tone saying he knows and they know he’s lying. “Isn’t that right, Lance?”
I let out a half-way convincing yelp of agreement and the man looks at the man next to him. One is black, the other is white, but they don’t seem very different at all, until the older black man grins at his friend.
“Now, Frank, you and I both know that sometimes a coyote jumps a fence. I think there’s a whole new breed of the things, called coydogs, I believe.”
“That ain’t a halfbreed,” the white man says. “I had a halfbreed back in the day. Smartest dog I ever had, beautiful, too, but not nearly as beautiful as that one right there. That’s a full-blooded, bona-fide coyote.”
I sit on my haunches and scratch my ear with a back leg. This is actually extremely entertaining, other than the whole “Badmoon got away” thing. Nico looks at me, and I can practically read his mind. “If you start licking yourself, I’m putting you in detention for a month,” he says almost silently.
I roll over onto my back, waving my paws in the air in surrender. “Okay, fine, let’s go ASK for the bus schedule.”
“Can’t take a coyote into a bus station,” the old men say in tandem. “We’ll watch him for you,” one offers.
“He’s not a pet,” Nico says. “He’s more of… one of my kids. You understand, right?”
“We’ll treat him like he’s our own,” Frank promises. Nico hands over the leash when I get to my feet and walk over to them, sitting down by the men’s metal bench. “Hello, boy,” Frank says. “You like jerky?”
Nico gives me one last warning look as I turn to them, my tongue lolling. I let out a little yelp of agreement, just to encourage them to produce the jerky. It’s strange. When all of this started, I would have been terrified to sit here with two complete strangers, but now… well, I don’t smell any bad intentions coming off of either of them. They’re just enjoying a surprisingly warm winter day, and are a bit amazed at the idea of a coyote on a leash. Frank tosses me a piece of jerky and I snap it out of the air, eating it eagerly.
“You know, that man looked a whole lot like Superior, didn’t he?”
“What’cha talkin’ about, Al? Superior’s been dead for almost twenty some years, now,” Frank says. “I’ll tell you who he looks like—he looks like that new-fangled super they have up in Central. Technical, or something.”
“Technico,” Al provides, “the one that’s got all of Kansas City going hippie with the electrical cars.”
“That’s right. Looked exactly like him.”
“Couldn’t have been,” Al says. “He was wearing a Panther t-shirt. Panther is a villain.”
“I believe that is my dog,” I hear Panther say behind me. I start roaring with laughter inwardly as the two men look up in shock.
