Page 70 of Curse of the Wolf
I struggled to pick out the odor of a human above everything else but couldn’t and took his word for it. Not only did he have keener senses than I did, but he knew Abrams well.
Duncan took a few steps, trying to skirt the main horde of bugs—or would it be aswarm?—to reach the door he’d indicated. Why he wanted to enter that one over the others, I didn’t know, but Icouldsense magic behind it.
The also-magical bugs shifted to block him.
He stopped. “Hm.”
“What do you think happens if you step on one?” I walked around the core of the mass. Maybe one of us could reach that door while the bugs were focused on the other.
“They look sturdy. It might take you for a ride.” Duncan walked around the other side of the mass, angling for the door.
A hint of whirring joined thetinksas the creatures shifted about. Several moved to block the door before Duncan reached it. They formed a distinct barrier, shifting together when he tried to step around them. A couple opened and closed their orifices, and that tinge of sweetness grew stronger.
The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I caught myself backing away. My instincts told me we didn’t want to inhale a lot of that vapor.
“They’ve got some intelligence about them, don’t they?” Duncan paused his advance again. He sounded like he’d reached the same conclusion about the vapor and was trying not to breathe deeply.
“For chunks of metal without heads, yeah.”
They hadn’t attacked yet, but the blood flowing through my veins was tingling as heat flushed my skin. My magic promised the wolf was available if I wanted to change.
Did I? In my lupine form, I couldn’t open doors, and the thought of gnashing down on metal carapaces held no appeal.
I rubbed my thumb over the grenade in my hand, thinking that might be the more appropriate weapon here. But Duncan’s warning came to mind, and I eyed the barrels as well as the ceiling. The visible metal support beams appeared sturdy, but there was a lot of weight in the cement walls on the floors above.
Duncan backed away from the swarm, circled a few barrels and vats, and walked toward another door. Looking over his shoulder, he watched the metal bugs. When he approached the door, they didn’t move.
“Good try.” I assumed he’d thought he might lure them away so I could get into the first door.
“There might not be anything important in this one.” It wasn’t locked, and Duncan opened it to peek in. “It’s a supply closet larger than my whole van.”
“Yourvanisn’t that large.”
“It’s a reasonably sized space.” He stepped into the closet and shined his light on shelves filled with canned and dehydrated food.
“You can’t tell me you don’t long for more room for your treasure-hunting equipment.”
“Welleveryonelongs for more room for that. Creamed corn? These look more like supplies for a fall-out shelter than ingredients for magical recipes.”
“You don’t think Rue puts that in her wart-infliction potion?”
“She doesn’t have any corn hanging in twists from her ceiling.” Again eyeing the bugs, Duncan walked to another door.
This time, a few moved, but they didn’t rush to block it. When Duncan opened it, out floated strong scents of dried herbs,flowers, and was that a hint of moss? He stood in the doorway, looking upon tables and counters.
“A laboratory?” he mused. “Abrams’s scent is even stronger in here.”
“You think it’s where he does his… what work is it exactly that he does? Besides cloning old-world werewolves?”
“Research. Or so he always told me.” Duncan walked inside.
A couple of bugs skittered after him.
“You’re being followed,” I warned him as he investigated the laboratory.
“I see that.” He disappeared from view. Thumps and clanks drifted out as he opened what sounded like metal drawers and cabinets.
The bugs trailed him around the room. Why did I have a feeling they had cameras and the ability to record?
