Coyote's Howl (Cape High Series Book 17), page 17
“Well, no, because we just—”
“Now, you can’t ask too many questions, Frank, they could share custody,” Al says.
‘I like these two, they’re funny,’ I say, looking up as Pan moves to my side. My tail is wagging, and he looks at it with a slightly raised brow.
“You do, do you?” he asks me, not bothering to lower his voice. “Where did Nico go?”
‘To get the bus schedule from inside.’
“If Nico is his other owner, he went in to get the bus schedule,” Frank says, still holding my leash. “He didn’t say anything about you, though, so how can we be certain that this is your dog?” He reaches up, scratching my neck a bit gingerly. A part of him is worried I’ll bite him if he does it, but he’s brave. I grin at him.
“He looks exactly like—” Al whispers to Frank.
“DON’T say it!” Frank whispers back.
“But he looks EXACTLY like—”
“Do you want to live, or not?”
“The only bus that’s left in the past hour is headed to Mermaid, Texas,” Nico says, stepping out of the bus station. “Did you eat all of their jerky, Lance?”
‘I didn’t get the chance, Pan showed up too early,’ I complain.
“Sorry about that,” Pan says, not sounding that sorry at all. “What’s in Mermaid, Texas?”
“Well…” Nico says, “The only one I can think of is… Cheval. Lance and Rocco went to visit her not that long ago, so I’ve got her coordinates, now.”
“Cheval? I would love to meet her!” Pan says. “In fact, I would like to bring Adanna with us, if I could.”
“Sure. Let’s head back to the others and start out.” I gently take the leash with my teeth, pulling it out of Frank’s hold. “Thank you, gentlemen, for your cooperation,” Pan says with a slight bow. “Lance seems quite fond of you both.”
‘Bye, Frank! Bye, Al! Thanks for the jerky!’ I say as I trot away, walking myself. I hear both of them jerk in shock before Al starts laughing his head off.
“I told you he looked like that Technical guy!” I hear Frank say. “Just wait until I tell the missus.”
“Dora ain’t EVER going to believe you.”
“I’m still going to tell her!”
They’re still arguing over whether their wives will believe it or not until I’m out of hearing distance. I get the feeling they could spend hours arguing over stupid things like this. I shift, still grinning as we run.
“I’m surprised,” Nico says to me. “I thought you were terrified of norms.”
“They were just two old men,” I say, shrugging. “They didn’t mean any harm. And Frank called my coyote form beautiful.” I’m bragging. I don’t like being called pretty in human form, sure, but my coyote, on the other hand—he’s definitely beautiful.
“So your ego got stroked—”
“And they had jerky,” Pan adds.
“And they had jerky,” Nico agrees, “so you weren’t scared in the least.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” I say, feeling a bit sheepish. They both start laughing, and Taurus laughs as he joins us.
“It’s fine, Lance,” Pan says. “The majority of people that you’ll be protecting will be a lot like those two. They don’t want to capture you, they just want to live their lives in peace. You might be a bit cautious when running around in the woods, though. They like to hunt down here.”
“We’ll set you up with a cape or something,” Nico says. “Getting shot can be annoying.”
“How about a glowing collar?” I offer. “Can you make something that would shift sizes with me?”
“Yeah, I can.”
“Is Cheval going to be okay?” I ask.
“I wouldn’t want to go up against her,” Taurus says. “Badmoon doesn’t have a chance in a fair fight—and that’s if he regains his powers again. No, I don’t see him going to her. He’ll probably jump another bus.”
I hope he’s right. I like Cheval.
***
Badmoon had to shoot himself on the bus. It had gotten him strange looks from the woman riding in the seat across from him. She merely looked away when she noticed him looking at her, sticking her nose in the air slightly as she moved the tiny dog in her bag to her other side. He ignores her eyes on his back as he gets off of the bus, walking far slower than he ever had before in his life. This lack of powers is terrible, he thinks as he leans against a concrete pillar to get his breath back.
“Hey, mister, are you okay?” someone asks from behind him. He turns slightly, looking at the dark-skinned teenage girl.
“You look familiar,” he says, his voice creaking more than he likes. “Do I know you?”
“Um, no?” she says. “I think I’d remember you.”
“You look just like Cheval,” he says, a bit stunned.
“You know my grandmother?” she says.
A little smile plays on his lips. “I do,” he says. “I was planning on visiting her, but… it’s so far away.”
“Oh, it’s not far at all!” she says. “I was just heading that way, myself, if… um, would you like to come with me?” she asks. There’s a hint of worry in her eyes that disappears quickly. “You look about the same age as she is—but—”
“She’s a super, right?” he says with a laugh. “It isn’t that I look her age, it’s that she doesn’t look hers.”
“Exactly,” she agrees.
“What’s your name, kid?” he asks as she offers her arm. He takes it, holding on tight. She’s already starting to come into her powers, he notices, probably thirteen. Perfect for what he needs.
“Oh, I’m Whitney,” she says with a wide smile. “Mom named me after Whitney Houston, but I can’t sing, at all.” She hesitates, looking at him a little more closely. “Mister… who did you say you were, again?”
“You can call me… Moon,” he says. “Just Moon.”
“Okay,” she says. “Well, we just need to go this way and we’ll get to Grandma’s place. It’s through the woods, so I always make sure to wear my red hat, see?” She points at the poofy knit hat perched on her braids. “It’s a joke—you know, like little red riding hood? There aren’t any wolves in these woods, so don’t worry.”
“You’d be surprised,” Badmoon says, feeling his teeth elongate slightly. His powers will be back any moment. At least this time he won’t have to shoot himself again. Cheval should be the perfect cover.
Because he hasn’t fully gained his powers yet, he doesn’t even notice the rat that races through the shadows, trailing him.
CHAPTER NINE
“So, Cheval,” Aubrey says, looking curious, “who is she?” We’re sitting in the passenger part of Pan’s plane, along with several others, including a very silent Coyote. I’ll have to thank her for saving his life, later.
“She is one of the first African American capes to actually make a name for herself. Back in the sixties, it was almost impossible to get in. That’s the problem that Andre faced. The only reason my father and Cheval could was because the villain set-up at the time was different from today’s,” Pan says from the pilot seat of their plane. Nico is in the co-pilot seat this time, even though he’s the one that built it. He seems to be redoing some of the plane even as they fly. “Nico, if you would refrain from changing my plane while mid-air, I’d appreciate it. It took me almost an hour to learn how to use it in the first place.”
“An entire hour?” Nico says. “I built it for you to run intuitively.”
“Well, yes, but I also had to get it cleared with the norm government, so I had to actually explain how it worked,” Pan says. “It took quite a while, you know, even with you testifying that you built it. And then they kept trying to buy it from me.”
“So you’re the reason the air force kept calling, huh?” Nico says. “I told them it wouldn’t work for norms. They couldn’t afford to commission me for things made for them, either. They’ve been cutting back on the military funding too much, lately.”
“That is a shame,” Pan agrees. “Of course there’s always the reasoning that supers will save them for free.”
“Mastermental clearly explained that that didn’t involve long-term wars,” Nico says. “Trust me, I’ve heard that conversation several times before.”
“So… what happens if we do have a war?” Jack asks curiously.
“Oh, we have wars all the time,” Nico says, “just not on American soil. We have… reasonably good relations with Mexico and Canada, thankfully. They would have the easiest time waging a war on us.”
“You ever see the movie Canadian Bacon?” Jack asks.
“Yes, yes I have,” Nico says, letting out a laugh. “But back to Cheval. Lance, what do you know about her? Does she have any weaknesses that Badmoon could exploit?”
“Well, no,” I say. “I mean, she knew exactly where and who I was the moment I got onto her land, I think. She’s also really powerful, according to Rocco. But…” Something is nudging at the back of my mind. “Wait, where’s Mom?” I ask, looking around.
“She ran off in search of Badmoon,” Sandra says. “I figured she was riding in your pocket as something—didn’t you run into her during your search?”
“No…” I say. “We never saw her.”
The group is quiet for a moment as almost everyone not driving looks at Skye. “Skye, can you find Lance’s mom?” Nico asks.
“I don’t think there’s enough room in here to do a finding dance,” Skye says.
“Why are people that can fly riding in the plane, anyway?” Aubrey asks, since the small plane is a little bit crowded, especially since Jack brought his metal surfboard on board. “We aren’t going very far, are we?”
“I did it so I can sit next to you!” Skye says, hugging her.
“I wanted to see how well it flew,” Nico says. “Pan here bought it before I got to take it for a test drive.”
“I can’t fly,” Taurus says.
“I just followed the crowd,” Jack says. “Plus, it’s always interesting to see one of Nico’s toys. Look, it’s got a tablet system like the RV had!”
Aubrey sighs and looks at me, her lips twitching slightly with amusement.
“We are approaching Mermaid, Texas,” Pan says, pressing a few buttons and calling a few people to explain what we’re doing. “We have to make sure the local authorities know we’re coming,” he explains over his shoulder as the plane lands. “Otherwise they tend to bring shotguns to greet me.”
“Seriously?” Nico says, looking close to laughing.
“It’s a pain in the neck having to change into costume just to land my plane,” Pan says.
“I made this to land anywhere, though,” Nico says. “You don’t even need a road. Why don’t you just use the stealth settings?”
He waves a hand. Skye gets big-eyed and jumps to her feet, going through the ceiling. “How cool!” she says. “We’re invisible!”
“You could have mentioned that we had that,” Pan says, landing the ship. Nobody says a word about Skye. “I’ve been dealing with far too many norms thanks to this plane.”
“You didn’t ask,” Nico says. “Most of my stuff has this setting.”
We get out, and I look around, curiously. We’re in the middle of a small clearing. It looks like this is the parking lot of a building that’s been abandoned for a while. A few birds fly away as they see us coming out of nothing, and I feel a bit guilty over it. Oh well, they’ll come back soon enough. “So… can you find her, now, Skye?” I ask as Skye lands next to Nico.
“Sure! Nico! Music!” she demands dramatically, waving her hands over her head and striking a pose.
“Do you really need music?” Nico asks her.
“Muuuuu-siiiiic!” she demands. “I must get into the groove!”
“Oh for crying out loud,” he says, waving a hand. The villainous trio’s “theme song” starts blaring in the air and Skye starts dancing crazily, stopping with a flourish and pointing to her left.
“That way!” she declares, panting. We all stare at her. “This is where you throw a cape over my shoulder and try to walk me away,” she stage whispers.
“We know where Lance’s mom is, but can you pick up on Badmoon yet?” Nico asks, completely ignoring her acting ridiculous, now.
“Mmm, nope, he’s still powerless,” she says after a second. “But we know where Lance’s—no… she just reached the massive power source. I’d be able to tell when she leaves, but until then, I don’t think I can pinpoint where she is for… oh, about three miles diameter.”
“So she’s heading towards Cheval?” Nico asks, looking at a hologram of a map.
“Mmhmm,” Skye says, looking away from everyone.
“Skye?” I ask. “Is there something that you’re not telling us?”
“Mmmhmm,” she says.
“What aren’t you telling us?” I ask.
“Wellllll…” We stare at her. “I think I sort of sensed another power earlier, but it wasn’t very big and I was pretty sure it wasn’t Lance’s grandpa or mom, but… I… think I know what family it DOES belong to…” she says. We keep staring at her. “It’s her. You know, the massive power lady that I’ve never met officially but I might have read her comics when I was little and I never COULD pull off the Cheval walk even thought I tried and tried—”
“Skye!” Nico says.
“Well, I think she’s related to the little one,” Skye finishes. “And she just went in.”
“The granddaughter,” I say, irritated with myself. “Mom is following the granddaughter.”
“Who’s probably with Badmoon,” Pan finishes for me.
“I’m on it!” Skye declares, doing a Sailor Moon pose before running off.
***
“Noni! I’m here!” Whitney calls as she opens the front door of the house. “I brought an old friend of yours, too.”
“I’m in the kitchen!” they hear Cheval call. “Who did you bring, honey?” she asks as she steps into the room. She stops, staring at the old man standing next to her daughter. “Whitney? Sweetie, why don’t you go make us all some drinks?”
“I don’t think so,” Badmoon says, shooting up a foot in height. The timing is perfect, much to his inward relief. He’d hoped it would work out this way.
“Wait—how did you—” Whitney says, looking at him in shock. “How did you DO that?” she asks, trying to jerk free of his hold. He doesn’t let her. “You are one creepy old guy, mister!”
“Whitney, honey, stay calm,” Cheval says, starting forward.
“Come any closer and she gets hurt,” Badmoon says. “I’m not going to be here long, so you don’t need to freak out. I just need a place to lay low for a while.”
“So you’re going to use my granddaughter as a hostage to make me help you?” Cheval says calmly. “Who are you hiding from, Badmoon? I wouldn’t think you’d be afraid of anyone.”
“If there was only one of them, I wouldn’t be,” he says irritably. “I smell food. Get us all something to eat, Cheval. Your pretty little granddaughter and I will be waiting for you out here.” He drags the teenage girl to the couch, thinking about how delicate she feels to him. Then he snorts. “My nephew is almost as pretty as you are,” he says, clearly not impressed by that fact.
“You’re crazy,” Whitney says, looking him straight in the eye. She’s bold. At least she has that going for her. “I was trying to HELP you, and here you are using me as a hostage! That is REALLY rude! And let go of me, you’re hurting me.”
“That’s pretty much the point, little girl,” he says, showing his fangs. She just stares at them, clearly not impressed.
“Noni is going to kick your butt,” she says when her look doesn’t do enough for her taste.
“Not when I’ve got you to keep her in line,” he says, dragging her over to the couch and sitting down. She refuses to sit until he pulls her down. “Now shut up and behave.”
“Who are you, anyway? I know all of the villains around here, and you are definitely not one of them. Well, I don’t KNOW, know them, you know, but I know OF them, and no hairy white guy is on the list!”
“I’m not a white guy,” he says. “I’m part Indian.”
“They’re CALLED Native American,” she lectures him, “or American Indians will work, I guess.”
“I was around when they just called us Indians… and they called me a lot worse,” he says. “All of this political correctness came too late for me. Besides, we’ve already decided that I’m a villain. It’s part of the job to not care about that kind of crap.”
“I’m bi-racial,” she says. “My dad is white.”
“So was my mother, and I don’t care,” he says, closing his eyes and leaning back on the couch. He focuses on his other senses, sniffing the air for a moment. His eyes open and his nostrils flare as he picks up on a very familiar scent. “She’s here,” he growls.
“Who’s here?” Whitney demands. “And you REALLY need to do some tweezing, you’ve got nostril hairs that have GOT to be an inch long. Not to mention that beard of yours. It looks like someone glued chunks of hair to your face.”
He gives her a dirty look for all of a second before getting to his feet. “I know you’re here, little niece,” he says, jerking Whitney closer and taking her jaw in his hand. “This little one, she’s barely started gaining her powers, just like your pretty little boy.” He turns, hearing a faint sound. “I wonder, do you value the life of other cape kids as much as you do your son’s? I wouldn’t make any rash moves, even if you don’t. You see, this is the granddaughter of Cheval. If you let her die at my hands, well, she might want to get revenge.”
‘I’m going to finish this, Badmoon,’ Kimi says from the shadows.
“Oh, I don’t think so. If you want me to stop hunting your son, you’re going to tell me exactly what I need to know.”
‘You’re going to die a horrible death,’ she says.
“Who gave you your powers back?” he roars. “WHO?”
Something slams into the back of his head and he takes a step forward from the force of it. He stops, staring around him in confusion. The lapse allows the girl he’s holding to squirm out of his grip, running away down a mirrored hall. Everything is a mirror. He sees reflections of himself from all directions. He lets out a curse. Cheval must have hit him with a mirror. Had it been anyone else, it would have broken. He wishes it had.
