The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 80

Daniel sat down with his breakfast, picking the seat right across from me. Such an unusual gesture meant he wanted to talk, and that had me carefully maintaining my bored expression.

"What on Earth did you three do out there last night?"

Nina glanced at me, suddenly curious, although Nicky yawned and stabbed her pancakes a few times just to make sure they were completely dead.

I shrugged and pretended I didn't know the real reason behind his question. "We wrestled a bit, then had a screaming contest, although you probably heard that. Afterward, we hunted down a couple of rabbits and enjoyed a few games of hide and seek."

"From the number of trails I found, I think you three ran down every road and large trail. And what did you do along the boundary? The smell of Nightstalker was so strong it practically cloaked my previous scent trails."

I chuckled darkly and grinned just enough to let the tips of my upper teeth glint in the stark white lights of the LEDs above. "I took them on a tour of the area," I said with false innocence. "We made enough trips to ensure anyone who passes by will know they stopped for a visit."

"Their scent overwhelmed your scent wall?" Luke asked Daniel, somewhat skeptical, although he tried not to show such rude behavior.

"Take a quad and go smell it for yourself," he replied while casting me an accusing glance.

Luke shook his head. "I'll take your word for it. If it's that strong, I'll let it air out for a few days."

Luke might not know as many tricks as Nightstalkers did, but he knew some ways to weaken his scent, and he was also aware Nightstalkers had an entire repertoire of methods to make their scent far more potent.

Kelly and Travis had been eager to create a confusion of scent trails. There was no way Daniel would have been able to tell which ones had the amplified scents, which were unaltered, and which ones we'd partially masked. Even if he tried to track the most recent trails, he was bound to be unsuccessful after what the three of us had managed to accomplish in five hours.

It was going to take weeks for the smell to fade.

"Are they still around or did they continue traveling after your visit?" Luke asked me.

"They're in the area and will probably hang around for a few days." I gave Daniel a pointed look. "They did request that you don't try to discover where they are staying. If you want to talk with them, they're willing to meet a handful of people this evening."

Nina looked quite excited. "I'd love to meet them."

Logan gazed at her, somewhat concerned. I knew he was worried about Daniel potentially being outmatched by two Nightstalkers, especially if they were heavily armed.

"I'd like to come," Luke murmured.

Turning to my sister, I said, "And they want to meet you, so you might as well come."

"Me?" she asked, taken aback.

I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow pointedly. "Yes, you. They traveled with me for a couple of weeks while I searched for you. They detected your scent on my clothing right away."

"They knew my scent?"

"The scarf," Luke murmured.

"Oh, right. I guess I can come."

"I assume you told them about the three drugs?" Daniel asked, so focused on this conversation he hadn't even touched his food yet.

"Yes." I gave Nina a level look. "I also told them a scientist was here, and they're willing to talk with you, but one of them has problems with bloodlust. Humans on this trip will have to cloak their scent to the best of our combined abilities. That means a shower with scented soaps and shampoos, clean clothes, and you will have to rub that herb mixture over your skin again. You should also share your perfume with the others."