Chapter Nineteen
Scott
Scott had never known terror like it, it took him seconds to get a breath into his chest. To make it expand and stop the obscene tightness from taking his wobbling legs from under him.
Think, goddamn it, think. Was this related to George’s past? A past he’d shared but not fully because Scott remained clueless as to George’s real identity. Anger came, but at himself for not pushing harder to know. George was his blissful one, this was not some trivial thing.
Is this the time to start the blaming game?
You don’t even start with me. I don’t have the time to have this conversation. We need to find George.
But where?
Could he have been involved in another traffic incident where someone had drugged George? He shuddered as he pulled out his phone and searched for hospitals in the area. The paramedic he’d hunted down, had he lied to Scott? Was this connected to that incident?
“Hello, St Bart’s. How can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m looking to speak to my bliss—mate George Maybank?”
“Which ward is he in?” the bored-sounding woman asked sending a wave of anxiety through Scott.
“The emergency department.” He would still be there if there had been an accident.
“Putting you through.”
Another female voice, this one sounding more annoyed than bored, came on the phone. “How can I help you?”
“George Maybank, has he been brought in?” he asked, doing his best to sound professional and not like he was about to fall apart.
There was a sound of tapping. “When was he brought in? I have no patient in the department with that name.”
Rude was not something Scott had ever been in his life, yet he ended the call and rang the next hospital.
By the seventh one, he was openly struggling to hold it together. His demon side wanted to tear the city apart, but Scott needed to be sure that they weren’t missing the obvious after George’s recent experience.
When he ended his final call, the sky had darkened further, and he knew without a doubt George was not in any hospital, human or shifter. He called for Miller, his last hope was that maybe George had gone to the woods to see his friend Dougal and had lost track of time. As Dougal had no phone and Scott wasn’t exactly sure whereabouts he lived, he needed the car to take him to the forest.
When it drew up to a halt in front of where he was pacing, Scott’s demon side started to fuss. Let’s translocate.
We don’t know where we need to go to. So, it would be like pissing in the wind trying to hit a pinhead we dropped.
I don’t want to go in the car!
Listen, we don’t know where Dougal lives. So, we are getting in the damn car.
Scott yanked open the door and witnessed the driver's alarmed expression as he met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “What?” he snapped, too worried about George to care if he was offending anyone.
“You’ve left your laptop bag on the bench?” Miller pointed to it.
In all of Scott’s life, he had never shown such disregard for a possession before. He didn’t even debate with himself as he muttered. “It doesn’t matter, take us to the forest. The place where you would normally drop Dakata.”
This was a different place from where Scott usually got dropped. He only knew that because Dakata had made reference to how he had to trudge past Dougal’s. A place that Scott had never seen or been near, that he was aware of.
Miller coughed and nodded, not looking Scott in the eye. “Yes, sir.”
Whatever his issue was, whether it was Scott’s strange behavior or that he probably looked nothing like he usually did, Scott didn’t care. He just needed to find Dougal.
This was all just a misunderstanding. George just needed some space after Scott’s meltdown. They would talk about it in the forest like Scott should have done last night, and everything would be absolutely fine.
Lying will not change things. And we need to get out of this car!
Will you stop jabbering about the fucking car? And I’m not lying, just working to instill a little bit of fucking hope, alright! he snapped angrily. You should just concentrate on our link to George.
I am, his demon sniff-sobbed, I can’t feel him. Nothing, not a thread of his essence. How are we going to find him?
Scott had no answer, and back was the awful ball of fear growing deep in his chest that something was wrong. Really wrong.
Minutes ticked by at a pace that made each second they were in the car feel like an hour. When the car bumped its way down a potholed road before stopping by a group of large trees, Scott looked out the window.
Darkness had fully descended, and though the moon sat clear in the sky, the canopy of leaves left the forest dark.
“Wait here for me.” He didn’t wait for a reply as he got out, and his demon emerged. His clothes fell in ribbons to the ground, once more, none of that was a concern to Scott.
Their head lifted, and they scented the air. I can’t smell him, sense him.
His demon sounded like a wounded animal.
Then we search until we can.
His demon took off, running through the trees, scenting the air, searching for something that would take them to George or Dougal.
Their vision was good, but as the forest grew denser, they had to slow because it became impossible to see broken tree roots and rocks. We should be smelling something, shouldn’t we?
Scott wasn’t sure how long, or how far they’d gone into the forest, but he was sure of something, they were lost. This was not the place they needed to be. There was nothing to indicate Dakata had passed this way which was puzzling. The driver had brought Dakata to the forest more than a dozen times.
I told you not to get in the car.
Why?
Something didn’t feel right.
Then why weren’t you more specific?
His demon snarled and the sounds of a critter scurrying away followed. He swung around in the direction they had come, not answering.
I would have listened if you were clearer.
Yeah, right.
They stayed silent as they used their scent to head back to where the car was. Only when they got there, the car was gone.
Scott’s demon roared, and the branches of the surrounding trees shook violently. Motherfucker.
Their combined distress engulfed them, and the demon headed in the opposite direction from which they’d come. We’re going to end up going in circles.
No, my instincts say we need to check everywhere before we leave this forest.
The force with which his demon spoke left Scott speechless.
Unsure how long they trampled through the dense trees, they came to a halt and their heart skipped a couple of beats.
Can you smell that?
George!
It was faint, but it was there. His demon closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. I can’t scent blood or death.
Never had those words meant so much, Scott worked to control the urge to sob. See, I was right, he’s just lost track of time having fun in his bear form.
He sensed his demon wanted to argue, but for the first time, he refrained.
Come on, we need to find him.
They took off slower than Scott would have liked, but the scent veered off and was mixed with another less familiar scent that Scott knew was Dougal’s.
“What’s got you clambering around these woods in the dark?” asked Dougal. Scott couldn’t actually pinpoint where the voice came from until Dougal stepped out from behind a huge tree. His clothes blended with the foliage, so only the whites of his eyes were obvious.
“George, where is he?” his demon demanded impatiently.
The white disappeared, and Scott fought his demon to take control. Where did he go?
How the fuck do I know, his demon fired back.
Then the white was back. “George left hours ago. I can’t sense him in the forest. He’s not here.”
They deflated, their knees buckled, and they crashed to the ground, wailing, “Georgeeeee.”
“Stop that caterwauling, it won’t do anyone any good.”
His demon was quicker to recover, just. “Sorry. I can’t sense George. It’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the realm.”
Dougal’s coat brushed the side of their arm as he hooked a hand under his. “Get up, we need to go get Dakata so he can summon Merihem. We’re gonna need them all.”
“For what?” they asked together as Dougal hauled them up.
“To get him out of the clutches of his family, ‘cause they’ll be the only ones who’d have taken him,” he said, sounding way to matter-of-fact for Scott.
“You know who his family is?” The hurt left a bitter taste in Scott’s mouth.
“Yes.” He patted their arm. “Now, don’t go getting your demon in a twist, he only told me when he’d had a little too much of my homemade brew. That could make the devil confess after two cups.”
How Dougal could see where they were going, Scott didn’t know and didn’t care. When Dakata and Silas’s house came into view, all he could think about was how Merihem had the skill to locate anyone.
Only if they’re alive.
Why the hell did you have to say that? The sliver of hope that came with thoughts of help fled. All Scott could think about was how, in a few minutes, his life could be over. Because one thing was for sure, if George was dead, then Scott didn’t want to live without him.