Chapter 174: Tracked
It took Pain some time to pull herself together, and even when she did there was no way I was letting her find her own way home. I left her at her doorway, waving as I walked off, feeling a sense of déjà vu. Hadn't I just done the same for Simon?
This day was some major suckage. Thank goodness it was almost over. Dark was falling over Wilding Springs, shadows lengthening before me as the sun set. I breathed in the cooling air as night approached, taking my time on my way home. The streets were quiet, only the odd car driving by to hit me with their headlights. Even that little disruption bothered me.
I needed to be alone.
The park beckoned, a beautiful, wide expanse leading almost all the way to my door. I crossed it on a diagonal, glancing into a stand of trees, remembering the night Sunny, Quaid and I met to talk about retrieving my demon. Thinking of Quaid just made things worse.
I was inside the trees by then, just entering the park, when I felt someone following me. The feeling came in many facets-the sensation of being followed joined by the soft tread of a footfall, the exhale of a breath. Distinctly canine.
Galleytrot. For some reason, the idea he'd tracked me all the way to Pain's and back made me furious. I spun and hunted the darkness with my eyes, letting my demon feed me her sight so I could see through the gloom. Nothing. No one. I was alone, aside from a sleepy squirrel climbing a maple and an owl just waking for a night of hunting.
Maybe I was mistaken. I turned back, continued on, only to feel the same sensation, as if eyes were locked on my back. I heard a soft animal-like chuckle at the same moment.
This time when I spun, I was spitting mad. "Galleytrot!" I hissed his name into the dark. "Stop it! Just come out, you stupid mutt."
Silence. Eerie, dead calm. Nothing moved or even whispered. It was as if the very trees held their breath.
"Galleytrot?" I reached out with my magic, felt for him, found him at last, his mind hiding. Only then did I realize my mistake.
I didn't recognize the touch. Canine, yes, but not my Sidhe dog. I felt my pulse increase, fear thrilling through my veins, making all of my senses sharp and intense. I smelled something coming, a heavy, musky odor as unpleasant as anything I'd encountered, even worse than Galleytrot after a heavy rain.
Steeling myself, I felt further, grasped for the mind dodging me, trying to pin down whoever it was. After a moment of skimming over it I touched another. Distinct, female, canine. She left me as quickly. I grasped for her, found yet another.
It was only then I felt them closing in, multiple followers, all focused on me. Their thoughts skimmed over me, undecipherable but chilling, prodding me, testing me, as though seeking my weaknesses.
I slammed up my shields, my demon roaring in defense. Even my Sidhe side felt outrage. Good, at least we were all on the "save me" page.
Excellent.
Just as I was sure the group of whoevers pursuing me were about to strike, they faded away into the night, the touch of their minds leaving me one by one. I tried to chase them, my courage returning with the surge of my magic and their retreat, but they were gone so quickly I was left, panting and sweating, in the dark, alone and very afraid.
Needless to say, I ran home.
Galleytrot met me at the door, eyes glowing red. "What happened?"
"Were you in the park just now?" I gasped, not from being winded but out of fear.
He shook his head, black mane swinging. "I felt your anxiety."
Nice of him to phrase it that way when I was scared out of my silly mind.
"Come," he said, pushing his way out the door. I followed him, knees shaking even as I chastised myself for being stupid. He reached the spot where I'd stood before I could make it back there, pacing around, nose to the ground. When he stopped, he growled, low and deep in the back of his throat.
"Definitely canine," he rumbled, "but with something else. Underneath." He drew a snuffling breath in the air, head up. "Something... dark. And tainted."
I hugged him around his furry neck as he sat back on his haunches, tongue lolling to the side. "They're gone though, right?"
He nodded before swiping his tongue across my cheek. "You okay?"
"Yes." I sighed and leaned against him. "Just been a crappy day, you know?"
We looked out into the dark together for a moment as my mind settled and my fear retreated. Whoever it was ran from me. So they were afraid. Perfect. Time for me to grow up and act like a witch, not a chicken.
Bwack, bwack.
"You can't tell Mom." I knew that for a fact. She'd freak and she had enough to worry about with Dad.
"Syd..." Galleytrot stood and faced me. "She needs to know."
"About what?" I shrugged and even smiled. "It was obviously nothing. They took off, whoever they were. It's over and done with, and I don't want to worry Mom when she's got so much on her plate." I felt him resisting and added an extra incentive. "I promise if something else happens, I'll tell her, okay?
He hesitated then sighed. "Fine, I won't say anything." Galleytrot butted me with his big head. "But you know what this means, right?"
Sigh. Right. I thought he hung around a lot before? I now had a permanent, drooling shadow.
***
