The Rising (Darkness Rising 3)

Corey stood there, cracking his knuckles.

"You see visions of the future," I said. "That's your power. What's wrong with that?"

"Seriously?" He looked over at me. "Daniel is a demon-hunter. You're a shape-shifter. Apparently, I'm a fortune-teller. On a cool scale, that ranks about a five. Add in the headaches and puking, and I'd knock it down to a two."

"So, because you've decided your power isn't cool enough, you're going to let us walk into a trap?"

"No. I warned you, didn't I?" He caught Daniel's look and shuffled his feet. "Fine. But if anyone starts buying me crystal balls and Tarot cards . . ."

"Of course not," I said. "We can't afford it."

He grumbled, then shoved his hands in his pockets. "There's not much else to tell and I don't know whether it's real or not, so I don't want you guys relying on what I say. Deal?"

"Deal."

"There's a guy waiting for us. A kid, I think. Maybe our age. Brown hair. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Tanned. I didn't see much of his face. I'm not even sure about the--"

"We understand," I said. "Don't second-guess."

"He's in the woods. In a tree."

"A tree?"

"Don't ask me. I just get flashes. Images. I saw Maya in the woods right over there"--he pointed--"and there was a guy in a tree." He jammed his hands into his pockets again. "Hell, now that I'm saying it, I don't even know if he's waiting for us. It could just be a kid goofing off."

"Okay, well, let's just keep that all in mind, then." Daniel turned to me. "Are you ready?"

I nodded.

No one was waiting for us.

After ten minutes, I said, "Maybe this isn't the right spot. We said just inside the forest, but . . ." I peered deeper into the woods. "I'd say we should split up, but considering what Corey saw--"

I stopped and looked at them. "That's what Corey saw. We'd split up. I was in the forest alone."

"Okay," Daniel said. "So we don't split . . ." He trailed off and scowled at me. "That's not what you're going to suggest, is it?"

"Corey didn't see me getting attacked by some guy in a tree--"

"Hey, no," Corey said. "I see still pictures. No action. A snapshot. You were under a tree with a guy in it. For all I know, he jumped you two seconds later."

"But now I'm ready, so we'll get the jump on him."

We had to at least pretend that we'd split up to search for our contact. That meant I couldn't exactly walk around gaping at the treetops. I kept glancing up, but with the dense trees and shadows, every nest looked like someone crouching on a branch. Then, as I passed under a tree, I heard a limb creak.

I looked up. Sure enough, there was someone at least ten meters up, almost hidden by the thick needle-laden branches.

"Guys?" I said.

I waved Daniel and Corey over, and I looked up again.

"I can see you," I said. "Come on down."

The figure didn't move. I walked over and grabbed the trunk. That brought Daniel at a jog, but he didn't try to stop me, just watched as I shimmied up.

I made it almost as far as the first thick branch when the guy jumped onto the limb below him, then onto a neighboring tree and shuffled down a limb, gripping the one above for balance.

I grabbed the nearest branch and swung onto it. I caught a glimpse of the guy--just enough to see that he was young with brown hair, as Corey had seen. He didn't look back, just leaped down a branch, then along it, moving faster now. He swung to the next tree and almost missed. He righted himself, crouched, and jumped to the ground.