by Sharon Green
"And he's gone without a word," Oldon observed as he watched Eric disappear into the woods. "Is that usual?"
"Very," I said while Art simply nodded. "At this point all you can think about is getting to where you need to be for the change. And that time is coming up very quickly now."
Distantly, behind the gray wall surrounding me, I could almost feel the pull of the need myself. Art stirred in the seat next to me, certainly feeling the same thing, but neither of us pulled off the headband to let it happen. The urge was definitely there, but the strength to resist the urge was also there.
A number of minutes went by with nothing happening, and then that urge I'd been feeling eased off a small bit. I had the impression that everyone out in the woods had shifted, but it was the easing that surprised me the most.
"Now that's interesting," Art said from where he sat to my left. "I'm not being pushed so hard any longer, but I don't understand why. I thought the need to change would just keep getting stronger."
"But it's getting weaker instead," I agreed. "Does that mean it isn't the whole night that does the demanding, just a part of it? Why would that be?"
"You're asking me?" he countered with a sound of ridicule. "You're the one who comes up with the answers, so I throw the question back at you. You haven't come across anything to give you even a hint?"
"No hint, and nothing else," I said, trying to think back. "Mykel and his people go into the woods happily instead of desperately, but that's the only thing I noticed. Maybe I'll learn something later on, but for right now all I know is how hungry I am in spite of having already eaten."
"Yes, me too," Art agreed in surprise. "I feel as if I haven't eaten in days."
"You might want to check out what's in that cooler behind you," Oldon put in, having turned to look at us after turning off the car. "I have a thermos with warm blood to keep me company, so the cooler must have something for you folks."
That was an interesting guess, so Art and I turned and lifted the cooler onto the seat between us. Opening the cooler top showed us wrapped up pieces of raw liver and raw chop meat, apparently enough for two people.
"I'll have to remember to hug Freemont for this," I said as I grabbed a small package of liver and began to unwrap it. "This is just what I want right now, and he's the one who has to have known it beforehand."
"And I'll add my own hug," Art said with a grin as he grabbed up another package of liver. "I can almost taste this even before I get it unwrapped."
I was too busy chewing to do more than nod my agreement, but I did notice that Oldon had taken off his day hat and then had poured himself a cup of blood. The scent of the raw liver might have proven hard for him to handle, but with a cup of blood in his hand he didn't seem to be suffering.
Art and I emptied the cooler of food before we put it back where it had come from. Our doctor friend and I also napped for a good chunk of time, but Oldon stayed awake with a Kindle reader. The more the night wore on the more the pressure at the back of my mind thinned and faded, and finally, right after Oldon got back into his day coat and hat the pressure disappeared entirely. That was when the sun came up, and Art and I were just taking off our headbands when Eric reappeared. He opened the car door, got into his clothes, then sat in his seat and closed the door again.
"Now all I need is a cup of coffee," Eric said in a sleepy voice after turning to look at Art and me. "Then I'm heading for bed, after which I ought to remember my name again."
"The coffee we can supply," I told him, handing over the second thermos we'd found in the cooler. "Freemont may not be here this time, but he made sure we'd have everything we needed."
"Bless that man," Eric said as he took the thermos. He also put his seat belt on before starting to pour from the thermos, which meant Oldon was able to start the car and get us going on our way home. I also felt as if I could use a little more sleep, but the need wasn't as pressing as it used to be when I'd spent the night in the woods myself.
It didn't take all that long before we were home, and getting the car into the garage was made easier when Amiol appeared to unlock the door and then lock it again behind us.
"Do I have to say that Freemont sent me?" Amiol asked with a grin when we all got out of the car. "He knew you'd be getting back about now, so he asked if I would help out. Jack is working on breakfast, and as soon as you folks have finished eating you'll want to take a good nap."
None of us disagreed with that idea, and that included Oldon, of course. He took his hat off as we all went into the kitchen, but once inside he – and the rest of us – just stopped short.
"Yes, we have visitors," Freemont said from where he stood, his voice very neutral. "I've already introduced them to Shell and Jack and Bari, but they insisted on waiting until the rest of our team was back before they told us the reason behind this visit."
"And now we can get to that reason quickly," Jaril said while his twin Grail, dressed in his own day coat and holding the hat, simply smiled at me. "There's a problem our task force has that we need the help of your team with, Taz. But before you flatly refuse to help there's something you need to know: the problem involves the family of one of your team."
That last statement killed the refusal I was just about to give, but not entirely. First we needed to find out who Jaril was talking about, but then…