Amalgamate

Chapter 80

His ring tone woke him from a groggy slumber. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Pinching the bridge of his nose he yawned. It had been one hell of a night.

Cahal didn't recognize the number, but that didn't mean anything. He'd given his number out to thousands of women. He rolled over in the bed reaching for the night stand. The room spun around him when he opened his eyes which told him he must've really tied one on last night. But the even bigger pisser, he'd woken up alone. That was unusual. "Who might this be?"

"Maitland, friend of Branigan."

"What do you want?" Cahal sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He opened the drawer in his night stand and palmed six motrin capsules. Jesus, it felt like someone had hit him over the head with a two by four. He swallowed them whole.

"Mairin stole something I'm looking for. She took it from Dugald's and sifted out. Can't find her now, and I want a little help with that."

Cahal laughed despite his headache, "Well, I bet that was really hard for you. Wasn't it wolf?" Trackers weren't the most sought after lore, but they had a very useful ability no other creature did. Not only could they track the person who sifted, but they could track them between realms.

"You up for it?"

"Question is, can you afford me? Wolves are the paupers of this world. Let's not kid ourselves." Laughing into the receiver he laid back down and closed his eyes. The motrin would work in a few minutes.

"How much?"

"Depends. What'd she take?" He didn't really care. He just liked being nosy.

"Friends." Maitland used caution, being careful not to divulge too much information too soon. He may be able to keep Rowan completely out of the exchange.

"Which friends?" He remembered Branigan talking about his wolf brothers. Maitland wasn't a social guy. Something was afoot.

"Does that matter?"

"Does if you wanna do business with me?" Now Cahal knew Maitland was concealing something, and he wanted to know what it was.

"Fine. A boy, Antaine and a woman, Raine." Maitland hoped that would satisfy his curiosity, but he had a feeling that somehow it wouldn't.

"Antaine and Raine." He rolled their names around in his head, but he didn't know them. "She your mate?"

"No."

"Why does Mairin have them? That bitch never comes out of her hidey hole. Haven't seen her in, well, a long damn time. These two must be of significant importance to Vertigen if she took em'. Why does he want em'?"

Damn it! This is how trackers negotiated. They pulled every little piece of information out of you. "Again, does that really matter? I'm not asking you to rescue them, only to locate them for me."

"And then you'll want to hitch a ride, right?" Cahal knew wolves couldn't sift in and out like demons and vamps.

"No, a ride won't be necessary."

Cahal laughed, Maitland was giving it all away, and he didn't even know it, "Who's with you wolf?"

"Tearlach."

"Who else?" Cahal had a feeling there was someone he was protecting and his feelings never lead him astray.

Maitland looked up at Rowan and let his eyes fall to the sand, "No one of any real importance, just a friend."

"Well then, if they aren't important you won't mind giving me a name." He sat up in bed. Something in his gut told him this was big. "And don't lie to me wolf or this conversation is over."