Shay fell in step beside me. “Tell me again why he’s here?”
I didn’t need to ask who Shay meant by “he.” “You know why. The pack needs him. And the Searchers trust him.”
Ren was already moving through the portal, in wolf form, trotting beside Sabine and Ethan.
“Fine,” Shay said. I was a little surprised when he also shifted, bounding past Adne and into the gem-like hues of the door.
Mason laughed. “He’s a wolf, all right.”
“And he doesn’t want Ren to forget it,” Nev finished. Grinning at each other, they both shifted and took off after Shay.
I heard Connor laughing behind me.
“Your mess,” he said when I glared at him.
“Don’t forget that I know about your housekeeping issues too, Searcher.” I flashed fangs at him before shifting. That wiped the smile off his face. I barked my satisfaction before chasing the others.
The colors were so bright it took me a minute to realize I’d reached our destination. The environment around me was full, too full. Thick leaves bent down, surrounding us, the jade nets of the forest canopy only occasionally pierced by spears of sunlight. It was the mixture of odors that gave me a sense of place . . . and change. While the air of Cinque Terre whispered of sea salt and lemons, it was crisp and dry. This air was heavy, rain-drenched. It poured into my lungs almost like water. I caught the scent of ocean salt and knew it was nearby. But even the sea smell had changed, gained a dark, rich scent of kelp and brine that invoked the vastness of waves and endless shorelines.
“All accounted for?” Silas straightened his vest and pulled out his omnipresent pen and notepad.
I really wish he wasn’t coming with us. Mason’s voice sounded in my head.
You won’t get any argument here, Shay replied, wagging his tail.
“Oh, wait, I forgot my sunscreen,” Connor said. “Silas, be a dear and run back to the Academy to get some. We’ll just wait. Right, guys?”
“Shut up,” Silas said, but he patted his vest and I knew he was double checking to make sure he’d brought his sunscreen.
“Come on.” Ethan waved for us to follow him down a game trail I could barely make out in the dense foliage. “They’ll be waiting for us.”
We walked a quarter mile. With each step a crashing sound grew louder. Ethan turned a sharp corner on the trail; when I reached the same spot, I stopped in my tracks.
It was as if someone had suddenly drawn the shades in a dark room. Blinding sun washed over us as the jungle dropped away, revealing miles and miles of beach with sand so white it resembled snow. The thunder of rolling surf stirred my blood, its sound both an invitation and a warning. I didn’t want to admit it, but the ocean was unsettling. Wolves didn’t belong in the water. Still, the mystery and beauty of endless waves tugged at something inside me. Maybe its very strangeness gave it an inexplicable appeal.
“You going for a swim, Calla?” Connor nudged me with his elbow. I’d been staring at the ocean so long I’d fallen behind. The others were heading for a ramshackle house that looked like it was on the verge of tumbling from the forest line onto the beach in a heap of wood planks and shingles. A long dock stretched from the deck of the house out into the ocean, where three boats bobbed up and down, moored to the rickety structure. I could make out the shape of a man in one of the boats. He didn’t look up at us, too busy with his own tasks to note our arrival.
A woman with long, dark hair stood on the deck, waving to us. When Ethan reached her, he wrapped her in a fierce embrace. She grinned at him but quickly turned her eyes on the gathering wolves. Shay paused in front of her, returning to his human form.
“It’s good to see you again, Scion.” She smiled, and I realized she’d been one of the Guides who had been meeting with Shay and Anika without the rest of us. Her eyes moved to the sword on his back. “And very good to see that.
“Bienvenido, lobos,” she said, gazing at me and my packmates. “I am the Eydis Guide, Inez. Please tell me you don’t bite.”
Ren shifted forms. “Since you asked so nicely, we’ll make an exception.”
The rest of the pack followed Ren’s lead. I wanted to laugh as I watched my friends attempt to look nice instead of menacing as we introduced ourselves.
“Guardians have a sense of humor. Who could have guessed?” She laughed, a belly-deep, genuine sound that made me smile.
“They’re full of surprises,” Ethan said, but went red in the ears when Sabine arched an eyebrow at him.
“Indeed.” Inez threw Sabine a surprised glance. “Come inside. We’ve prepared you some food. We’ll go over the mission parameters while you eat.”
“I love Eydis,” Connor said, throwing his arm around the woman. “Inez never disappoints.”
“We make the most of what we have.” She smiled at him and gazed inquiringly at Silas. “Anika informed me you’d be coming. It’s rare to have a Scribe among us.”
“I merely do what history requires,” Silas said.
Connor shoved Silas toward the door to the house. “Please get to the table so you can eat instead of talk.”
Like the Haldis outpost in Denver, this hideout was built for function—though that function caught me off guard.
“Is this a dive shop?” Shay turned in a circle to look at the masks, fins, and tanks that lined the walls.
“We don’t get a lot of business, but it’s a good cover.” A young man with curly black hair and sparkling eyes answered. “Look at that sword! You must be him.”
“Nothing gets past you, does it, Miguel?” Connor, laughing, hugged the new arrival. “Good to see you, friend.”
“And you, amigo,” Miguel answered before greeting Ethan. “How’s Grumpy?”
“I’ve been worse.” Ethan grinned.
“Can we cut the class reunion short?” Adne’s hands were on her hips. “I’m starving and the clock’s ticking.”
“Class reunion?” I asked.
Adne gestured to three men, who were huddled together, whispering and laughing. “The Three Amigos over there were in the same Academy class. They had quite the reputation.”
“Had?” Connor looked up. “When did our reputation become past tense?”
Adne rolled her eyes, but Inez put an arm around the girl’s shoulders and led her into the next room, beckoning us to follow.