“Lunar City?” Lincoln asked. He stood beside Brinly’s throne. “Lunar City’s abandoned. From what I’ve heard, it’s nothing but the homeless and hippies.”
“This ain’t no damn hippie,” I replied.
I suddenly detected at least two people in the compound eavesdropping on us. I could smell them, so I knew they were close. Probably hiding behind the edges of the room, which were covered in long, red drapes.
“Before we go down this route, is there anyone Cora has been having issues with? An old friend? A bitter coworker?” Brinly asked.
“Come on, Brin, you know her. No.”
Her face fell, and then she nodded. “So you think it’s someone from our world.”
“Who else would want to get her to go to Lunar City?”
“You have any idea of who was calling her? Does the voice sound familiar?”
I shrugged. “Not to me. They don’t say enough.”
“The woman mentioned something about Cora leaving her behind. Who could she have left behind?”
I shrugged again. “No one. Everyone there either died or are here.”
“It can’t be no one. Whoever this is knew Cora was here a few months ago and is using it to trick her. Did she ever bring up meeting someone at a bar? We went out countless times.”
“Brinly, she hung out with you, with Melanie and with me. That’s about it. She wasn’t making friends with people at a bar, this is why this makes no sense.”
“How far did you track her?”
“To the parking lot. I can only guess I went to where her car was.” Her bright yellow, obnoxious looking car. I never thought I’d miss the sight of it. I held my head down low and sighed. “I don’t get it. No matter if she was killed, kidnapped, or if she left willingly, I should have been able to get a scent.”
“Your tracking skills need work is all, Max. You’re still new, but you’ll get there.”
“It’s true,” a voice added. “The cold isn’t helping matters either.” Out of nowhere, Daggett popped in, cleaning the lens of his glasses with the edge of his t-shirt. I sensed only one other person was watching us now. “Our ability to track scents drops during the cold,” he explained. “Odor molecules move much slower in the winter than they do in the summer, it’s why you’re only getting a faint scent. For a more experienced tracker, it’s not an issue, but you’re…” He hesitated, like he thought I was gonna drop him on his head. “...less seasoned?”
I nodded, slightly irritated. “Right.”
Daggett threw his hands up. “Sorry about Cora, by the way. She’s a sweet girl, a real gem. She carried my naked body through the city and didn’t crack a single joke, so I know she’s good people.”
Was I missing something? Did I need to kick his ass?
“What’s the plan?” Lincoln asked.
I looked back at him and shrugged. “I gotta go to Lunar City and see if she’s there, or who has her.”
“That’s not safe, bro. You go chasing after Cora like this, and you’re going to be walking into the same trap they set up for her.”
“I know, that’s why I’m here. I was hoping for some backup.”
Brinly and Lincoln exchanged looks, and it didn’t take a genius to know that wasn’t a good sign.
“I can’t come with you,” she proclaimed.
That blew me away. “Why not?”
“Her life is more valuable than anyone in our pack,” Lincoln replied. “She’s our queen now, and we can’t expose her to any level of danger. Even for you.”
“It’s not just that, it’s…” Brinly seemed apprehensive, but Lincoln gave her a quick nod, which seemed to confirm something she was already thinking. She set both of her hands on the arms of the throne and pushed off, slowly rising from her seat. Her huge dress fell to her sides and tightened at her stomach, right over a small, but extremely noticeable bump. “We’re expecting,” she announced.
I wasn’t anticipating that. Guess that explains the big dress.
“Oh,” was all I said at first. That wasn’t much of a congrats on my part, but I was never any good at that anyway.
“I love Cora,” Brinly said. “Maybe not as much as you do, but I do love her, and the idea that she’s in danger makes me sick to my stomach. If I was in a position to help, I would in a heartbeat. I feel like I owe so much to both of you.”
“You don’t. And I get it, what you’ve got going on here is important.”
“We still want to help,” Lincoln said. “Because of tradition, I’m unable to leave her side, but we have plenty of people here that could tag along. All you have to do is say the word.”
“Maybe I should do this on my own.”
“Not a good idea,” Daggett said. “The odds aren’t in your favor.”
“How could you possibly know the odds already?”
“You’re one man—albeit a very tall man—but going to their playground all by your lonesome puts you at a very large disadvantage. You’re worm food.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Rickey.”
“He’s right, though,” Brinly said, and Daggett grinned like a dumbass. “Daggett, you’ll go with him.”
Daggett almost pissed his pants. “Wait, me? But I have laundry duty tomorrow.”
“Consider it forgotten.”
“Oh, man…I hate laundry, but I hate dying more.”
I put my hand on his shoulder harshly, and he winced. “Nobody’s dying.”
“That sounds an awful lot like famous last words before we’re all torn apart.”
“It’s settled then,” Brinly announced. “You and Daggett will go to Lunar City, and you’ll keep in contact with us if something were to happen.” She looked
