Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(65)

We moved on then, cutting through Downtown, and soon we were on a rural road that wound up and down a series of hills before taking us into the forest. Redwoods towered all about us as we pulled over to the side of the road, and we stood there for a long moment, soaking in the beauty of the forest and admiring the majesty of the trees.

“This way,” I finally said, picking a path through the trees as I drew on Fenris’s memory. Fall leaves and brittle twigs crunched underfoot, and squirrels jumped from branch to branch overhead, following us from a safe distance.

Some fifteen minutes later, I finally found the tree—an ancient redwood that had died long ago, its branches withered, its bark dry as dust. Sinking to my knees, I reached into the hollow at the tree’s base, fishing around for the pack.

“Well?” Iannis asked after a long minute. “Is it stuck?”

“No.” Shock reverberated through me, and I sat back, staring dumbly at the tree. “It’s not here.”

“Not here?” Iannis echoed. There was a long moment of silence. “Is it the wrong tree?”

I checked the memory again, then shook my head. “No. Someone must have come and taken the pack.” I sniffed, trying to catch a scent, but the rain had washed away any smell that might have lingered. “Hold on a sec.”

Closing my eyes, I reached for the beast inside me, then changed. The familiar glowing light enveloped my body as I stretched and shifted, bone and muscle cracking and groaning as my body reformed itself. My eyes opened, and I took in a deep breath through my nose, curling my upper lip so the scent gland hidden there was exposed to the air. My sense of smell was much stronger in animal form, and I instantly caught a scent—Fenris’s.

“He was here!” I exclaimed, my mental voice vibrating with excitement. “Fenris was here!”

“Of course he was,” Iannis said irritably. “He came here to drop the pack off. But who took it?”

Ignoring him, I pressed my nose to the ground and followed the scent. It led away from the tree, up a small path, and…

“Where are you going?” Iannis called, rushing to catch up with me.

Annoyed that he wasn’t following, I changed back to human form, then grabbed him by his shoulders. “Don’t you see?” I said, my voice breathless as I shook him. “His scent leads away from the city, not toward it, and I know from his memories that he didn’t go that way when he first came here. Plus, I don’t scent anyone else around, which means…”

“That Fenris came here,” Iannis finished softly. His violet eyes widened in astonishment. “He came here and got his pack!”

“Yes!” Letting out a whoop of excitement, I jumped in the air, then grabbed Iannis’s face and kissed him hard. “He’s alive,” I shouted, breaking into a dance. “Fenris is alive!”

Laughing, Iannis grabbed me by the waist and spun me around, sending the fall leaves around us whirling. The grey clouds above us chose that moment to part, and sunlight shone bright and true into the clearing, lighting up Iannis’s face. Tears gleamed in his eyes, and my own eyes stung as joy and happiness filled my body. Flinging my arms around him, I kissed him again, and we toppled to the ground, rolling about in the leaves and laughing like two giddy children.

Fenris had escaped. Somehow, someway, he’d dragged himself out from beneath the wreckage of that building and come to grab his pack. I didn’t know how he’d found the energy, but he must have shifted enough to heal himself so that he could escape.

“He’ll send a message to us soon,” Iannis said confidently, rolling onto his elbows so he could look at me. His eyes were bright, his entire face shining with joy. “He said he would let us know where he ended up, when he told us that he was planning to leave.”

“I’m sure he will.” But honestly, I didn’t care if Fenris never told us where he’d chosen to start his new life. He was somewhere out in Northia’s wide-open spaces, safe from Garrett’s clutches, free to live his own life, on his own terms. And even though I would always miss him, the knowledge that he was alive and safe was damn well good enough for me.