Blood Assassin (The Sentinels #2)(87)

“Do you sense something?”

Wolfe put the Jeep in park, then, leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the hot breeze swirling through the vehicle.

He ignored the familiar scents of dry grass and choking dust and the less familiar stench of a distant oil well. And even the occasional whiff of horse dung. Despite the fact it was the twenty-first century, there were still a surprising amount of local ranchers who not only bred and raised horses, but used them as their preferred form of transportation.

It was less difficult to ignore the intoxicating hint of vanilla that teased at his senses.

He had an almost irresistible urge to lean sideways so he could bury his face in the curve of his companion’s neck and suck in the delicate scent.

Thankfully, he wasn’t in the mood to be hit by some nasty spell that might give him boils in sensitive places or make him think he was the Queen of England.

Two things quite possible when you ticked off a witch.

Finally locating the scent that had first caught his attention, he concentrated on the swiftly fading clues.

“There was more than one high-blood in this area.”

“How do you know?” Lana demanded.

He opened his eyes, glancing at her with his usual arrogance.

“I’m a Sentinel.”

“Hmm.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you want to get out?”

“Yes.”

Together they climbed out of the Jeep, Wolfe following the footprints toward a circle of rocks while the Mave studied the hazy horizon. Her natural telepathy allowed her to detect if there were any human minds within a mile or two radius.

She was better than any scout he could have brought with him, although he’d be damned if he’d admit it.

Confident when she remained silent that there weren’t any hidden enemies, Wolfe concentrated on the distinct signs of recent activities.

Circling the rocks, he squatted down to touch the scorched earth.

“There was someone camped here.”

Lana made one last mental sweep of the empty landscape before turning to join him.

“How recent?”

“Within hours.”

She nodded, her brows pulling together as she held up a hand. Wolfe straightened, sensing her sudden tension.

“What is it?”

A faint shiver shook her body. “Magic.”

Wolfe pulled his gun. Not that it would do a damn thing against magic. But he felt better with it in his hands.

“A trap?” he asked.

“No.” She lowered her hand, but the frown remained. “Residue.”

Wolfe had heard that there were a few spells that contained enough magic to linger long after the caster had released them. The thought had always sent a chill down his spine.

“And you can still feel it?”

She nodded. “It was a powerful spell.”

Wolfe straightened, glancing around the remote area. There couldn’t be many reasons for a group of high-bloods to be here. And even fewer reasons for a witch to waste her energy on a spell that was powerful enough it could linger for hours.

“Can you recognize what it was?”

“A binding spell.”

Wolfe studied her pale, beautiful face in confusion. “To hold someone against their will?”

“Or to keep them in stasis.”

Ah. That made sense if Anna had been with them.

“You believe it might be the high-blood we’re searching for?” he asked.

She grimaced. “I’m afraid it might be.”

Wolfe swallowed a sigh of resignation. Of course the blackout had to be caused by a high-blood who had the potential to destroy the entire electrical grid.

It couldn’t possibly have been the result of a squirrel getting into the transformer.

He shoved away the inane thought. Nothing mattered now but locating Anna and halting whatever nefarious scheme Bas had going.

“Why would they come to this location?”

Lana glanced in his direction, but her expression remained distracted.

“What do you mean?”

Wolfe waved a hand toward the emptiness that surrounded them. There was an unmistakable beauty in the stark landscape, but it wasn’t prime terrorist territory.

“There’s no nuclear power plants in the area,” he said. “No multimillion-dollar bank. No large airport. What would be the target?”

“I don’t know.”

Wolfe paced toward the edge of the road, feeling oddly restless. Was it the lingering spell? Or just an unwanted premonition of bad things to come?

“If Bas is behind this he has to have a reason for bringing Anna here,” he pointed out.

Lana made a sound of disgust. “The only thing that motivates him is power.”

Okay. So what the hell would a megalomaniac gain by bringing a potential time bomb to this place at this time?

He was shifting through the various possibilities while his gaze studied the footprints that remained clearly outlined in the loose dust.

Abruptly he realized that there had been more people at the campsite than he’d originally suspected. As well as a heavy wagon being pulled by at least two horses.

“There are at least four separate footprints here,” he muttered, wondering if there was more to Anna’s reappearance in the world after so many years of being hidden. “Is it possible she was stolen from Bas?”