The Flight of the Coveted Luna : The Scion Book 2

Chapter 9

Aoife

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My heart raced as I tried to understand what had just happened, adrenaline still pumping. I was in a dark forest, the scent of it completely different from the forest in my home pack. Somehow I had the feeling that I was incredibly far from home. I looked around frantically, my breathing rough and uneven. I was going to have a panic attack.

“Calm down, Aoife,” Niamh said in my mind. “We are safe for the moment, but we will need to move soon. Something is not right here.”

I took a deep breath; she was right. We had avoided the immediate threats, both my worst nightmares. But… How?

“Niamh,” I started, slowly calming down. “How did we get here? I… I disappeared… invisible, then… then we were here.”

No matter how I tried to rationalize what had happened, I couldn’t. Did some magician whisk me away at the best possible moment? Was someone watching me and helping me when I needed it most?”

“There was no magician,” Niamh said. “That was you.”

I gasped and put my back against a tree, sinking down till I was sitting flat on my a.ss. I vaguely heard my jacket tear but I was too shocked to care.

“That’s not possible,” I whispered as I stared at nothing in particular.

“It is; I felt your power,” Niamh insisted. “I didn’t know the details, but I always knew you were special. The Moon Goddess told me.”

I wanted to ask her why she hadn’t told me, but she had indeed. She’d told me often; I just didn’t believe her. I had trouble believing it even now. Was that really me? I let out a long breath.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted a black bird sitting high up in a nearby tree; it called and then flew off. Was it a Raven? A shiver went down my spine. That seemed ominous; ravens were never a good sign.

“Right now we need a plan,” Niamh said, breaking my thought. “We can’t stay here; there are wolf scents here, not very old.”

Shit. She was right; I had to snap out of it, figure out where we were and what to do. I got up quickly and looked around. First, we needed to leave the forest undetected, then get to the closest human town. There we could melt into the crowds; I could find a temporary place to live, maybe even a job.

I strained my senses; the last thing I needed was to run into patrols if the land belonged to a pack. Alphas did not take kindly to uninvited rogues on their territory and I didn’t want to swap a gilded cage for a very real dungeon.

Dark clouds approached at an unnatural pace; that was ominous and set me on edge. My skin turned cold as I heard a rustling, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Spectral figures zipped through the trees and without a second thought, I turned and fled. I hadn’t seen them clearly; they were somewhat translucent, but I did pick out empty, bloody eye sockets and razor sharp teeth. These beings were not friendly, no; these were deadly.

“What are they?” I asked Niamh, panicked, my mind stretched to its limit after the previous events.

“Slaugh,” Niamh growled.

She didn’t need to say more; the Slaugh were well known and feared in Ireland. They were said to be the souls of the sinful and wicked, ones who were so evil they were not accepted into the otherworld. Instead, they roamed the earth looking for souls to steal and consume. I’d always thought they were just children’s stories, told so they would listen to their parents.

I ran in the dark, trying my best not to make any undue noise. Soon a subtle glow started in the direction I was heading, East. That made sense; for some reason, in the stories Slaugh tended to come from the West. The glow increased as the sun rose and my heart lept. The Slaugh screamed; they hated the light of day and by all accounts, they would disappear at daybreak. Just a few more moments…

I turned, hazarded a look and gasped as I came face to face with one Slaugh that had been right behind me. The air around it swirled with a dark feeling and my energy seeped from me slowly. It reached for me, grabbing my shoulders and lifting me from the ground. I froze in terror. It opened its mouth and screamed in my face just as a ray of sun broke the horizon and pierced it. It screeched and dropped me, dissipating in the warm light.

I dropped to my hands and knees and breathed heavily. Thankfully it hadn’t lifted me very high. s**t; that was close.

“Why are they here, Niamh? What the hell is going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe you attracted their attention when you traveled here,” she replied.

I didn’t respond, instead, I focused on getting out of there and started walking, trying to shake off the sense of dread left by the close shave. At least I finally had an idea of direction. East. The trees thinned and I could see a packhouse in the distance.

I cursed; I’d run the wrong way. The packhouse seemed simple but large. So this was a fairly large pack. Niamh paced uneasily in the back of my mind.

“What’s wrong Niamh?” I asked, concerned. Her instincts were always on point; if she was uneasy there was usually something amiss.

I froze as a woman ran from the front door, sobbing before Niamh could answer. She was wailing and mumbling something. I strained to hear what she was saying; I might as well know something about the pack I had inadvertently visited, uninvited.

The first thing that struck me was her accent, American. A chill went down my spine; could it be? Or was she just a visiting she-wolf?

Then I finally heard what she said.

“Cruel bastard Alpha, he used me… used me up and threw me out. I should have been Luna.”

I’d heard enough; I couldn’t be caught in this territory if that’s what the Alpha did to his own pack members. As a rogue, I would fare much worse. I felt panic approaching; I needed to leave quickly. I turned and retraced my steps, walking away from the rising sun.

Soon the daylight would illuminate the forest completely and it would be far too easy to spot me. I cursed again; if only I had run in the other direction first. I picked up the pace and all but ran.

“Slow down,” Niamh said, a sense of urgency in her tone.

I slowed immediately, trusting her completely. Voices echoed in the distance.

“Can you smell it? Rogue scent,” a gruff voice said.

“Yeah, I can. Better alert the Alpha,” another smoother voice replied.

Shit. s**t. s**t.

I needed to get out of there immediately; every minute I was still there gave them the opportunity to mobilize and find me.

I turned ninety degrees and started moving away quietly. When I felt I had gone far enough away from them, I broke into a full sprint, running with everything I had. I prayed I wouldn’t come across any more wolves and sighed with relief as the trees thinned and I came across a road.

As luck would have it, a car came down the road. I tried to see the driver but it was still too far. Would it be a wolf or a human, a male or female? I didn’t know, but it was my best chance so I had to risk it. If I could hitch a ride then they wouldn’t be able to track my scent and I’d be long gone before they could catch me.

I stepped into the road and flagged down the car, calming my breathing and praying that luck would be on my side. The car was non-descript; a white car that would go unnoticed. It slowed and came to a stop and I breathed a sigh of relief as I spotted a young red-head at the wheel. She was a teen or at most in her early twenties and she was human.

“Hey, I got lost in the forest. Could you give me a ride to the closest town, please?” I asked politely, trying not to show my anxiety.

“Sure,” she said and opened the passenger door for me. “Hop in.”

She was far too trusting but that was in my favor and I wasn’t planning on hurting her anyway. Still, I’d have to give her some friendly advice before she dropped me off.

I climbed in and the smell of incense hit me. The car was clean and some meditation beads hung from the mirror. The girl was dressed in a tie-dyed t-shirt and jeans, her wavy hair flowing down her back. She was a hippie, a flower child, and looked like she’d just come from Woodstock.

“I’m Sarah; nice to meet you. You’re lucky I came by,” she said as she pulled away and drove off. I breathed a sigh of relief, the further we got from that pack, the better I’d feel. “This is a quiet road; I usually don’t drive this way. I’m not even sure why I did today.”

“I’m Eva; nice to meet you too, and I’m extremely grateful that you did drive this way. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise; I’ve been walking a long time,” I said, playing the role although I was truly grateful. I was just still freaked out and I forced myself to stay lighthearted. I also decided that Eva would be a much easier name since it seemed I wasn’t in Ireland anymore.

“So where are you from?” she asked, glancing at me briefly.

“Ireland,” I said, wondering how to ask where I was without sounding crazy. Then I realized that I’d said I was lost so it wouldn’t be weird. “Would you mind telling me where I am?”

“You’re still in White Mountain National Park. I assume you were hiking some mountain trails?” she said, gesturing to the backpack in my lap. I nodded. “The closest town on this route is Conway, that’s still in New Hampshire but further on you’d be crossing into Maine,” she explained. “Sorry if that’s too much information; I just figured since you’re not from around here…”

“Thanks,” I said quickly. “I appreciate it.” I smiled, still not quite knowing where the hell I was. I had to remember the names she’d mentioned and look them up on a map later.

Then another thought crossed my mind and my stomach dropped.

“Are there any lakes close to Conway?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and normal.

“Sure, Echo Lake is close by. You like lakes?” she asked curiously.

I started sweating, remembering the scales, those intelligent eyes, and the smell; my stomach turned.

“No, actually. Had a bad experience with water back there,” I said. “I’d rather not go to Conway then. Is there anywhere else you could drop me off?”

She looked at me and frowned, indecision and curiosity warred on her face. She wanted to ask more about it but didn’t want to pry I guessed.

“Sure. I’m going to Lewiston, in Maine. It’s just over an hour’s drive. There’s a pond there but it’s small enough not to have a name. Other than that, most towns around here are close to a lake.”

Gods, there were lakes all around me. A wave of nausea hit me and I tried taking small breaths. I didn’t want to repay her kindness by throwing up in her car. I looked out at the scenery for a moment, trying to get a grip on myself.

“Lewiston it is,” I said after I’d swallowed the rising bile, and another thought hit me. “Thanks again for helping me out. I’d be happy to contribute to the trip but I’m afraid I’ve run out of US currency; perhaps I can change some money in Lewiston.”

I didn’t have a passport with me, just regular ID; I wasn’t expecting to be in another country. I wondered if they would accept it. Maybe I could convince her to change some money for me. So far, she’d been quite kind and happy to help. I felt a hint of regret as I planned to take advantage of her good nature.

Damn, that also meant finding a job would be hard if not impossible. Humans were as finicky about their countries as Alphas were about their territories.

“That’s okay,” she replied with a sweet smile. “There’s really no need; I was going there anyway.”

“Oh, I insist. You pretty much saved my life.” If only she knew just how true that statement was.

I’d figure the money issue out. For the moment, I just needed to find somewhere to stay and something to eat. Despite my nausea which was only just settling, I was hungry, my stomach empty and uncomfortable. It was the worst feeling. I’d skipped dinner after the confrontation with my mother and it had been crazy since then.

“Is there a hotel in Lewiston?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said. “I mean, they’re not five-star, but decent enough.” I laughed.

“That’s okay. Five-star is beyond my budget anyway,” I said with a smile. “Something like a motel is just fine.”

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we spent it chatting pleasantly. The terrain was green and lush and I cringed, holding my breath any time we got close to a body of water.

Just like she said, we reached Lewiston around an hour later. Thankfully the city was big enough to get lost in; I needed to stay under the radar and blend in. Who was I kidding? I only needed to open my mouth and speak to stick out like a sore thumb. Hopefully, the Slaugh will have moved on and that pack wouldn’t look for the rogue too hard.

Why did I have to cross the ocean when I teleported? Teleported. The word had come unbidden but that was exactly what had happened. I’d teleported across the damn ocean. I wondered if I could do it again, if I could go back, until I remembered what was waiting for me there. No. It might be a lot harder to get by, but being so far from home was best. My family and Brin would never think to look for me there.

“Welcome to Lewiston,” Sarah said, interrupting my thoughts.