Lightning Game (GhostWalkers 17)

He kept his movements in tune with the natural rhythm of the wilderness. Their property had been one of the wildest in the area, and nothing had changed in all the years since they’d been gone. When neighboring farms came up for sale, they paid top dollar for them in order to ensure their privacy. They didn’t want the trees to be cut down as they had been in so many other parts of the country. Wildlife had a foothold in the extensive wilderness surrounding their cabin. Black bears, bobcats, coyotes, even a small wolf pack had come back, sustained by the ever-growing resources available to them.

Early on, when they’d first joined the military, they’d brought an expert on wolves with them to work with Edward Sawyer. He was interested in conservation. Every time Diego and Rubin talked to him about the surrounding wilderness and how they needed to protect the trees and wildlife, he actually listened. They hired him to manage their property for them. It turned out to be one of the best investments they’d ever made.

Edward then approached them about his older brother, Rory, who had had an accident at a mill and had returned home. He had spent hours talking with Edward, and had gone with him several times to the Campo property. He wanted to know if they would be interested in what he might be able to do for the forest itself. He had always had an interest in trees and plants. That next spring they brought up an arborist to talk specifically about the trees and flora and fauna in their area. Rory was hired to manage the woods.

More than anything else, hiring the two men helped the Sawyer family through harsh winters and provided them with a decent living. It also promoted goodwill. They weren’t after the small wolf pack that had established a home there, although the wolves claimed a good hundred miles as their territory.

Rubin felt an affinity with the wolves. He had a bit of that DNA in him, enough that he could detect motion immediately and see easily in the dark. He had a highly developed sense of smell. The hairs on his neck and face had extra nerves that allowed him to process information around him, changes in the air current that might indicate activity close to him. He could determine the size of something he couldn’t see, the speed it might be coming at him, even the shape of it. He could move fast, leap over objects, including downed tree trunks if necessary. He could move in absolute silence and go long distances at a steady run without getting winded.

The clouds had turned dark and ominous. In the distance, he could see a long row of dense, towering vertical clouds. Cumulonimbus. He was grateful Jonquille wasn’t outside. The thunderclouds were a portent of a lightning storm. The storms could be quite severe in the mountains, and there were warnings on the trails for hikers to beware of lightning strikes.

The wind picked up, so the canopy overhead swayed above him. Once in cover of the thicker vegetation, he moved even faster. Whitney would know the location of the Campo property. His soldiers would avoid all contact with anyone living in the area. If an outsider was seen, even briefly, it would be noted and the news would go out immediately, carried on the local special channels. They didn’t need telephones. They had age-old methods of leaving signs for one another outsiders weren’t aware of. Most of the time outsiders didn’t see them. A team of soldiers would be seen long before they would spot an old-timer or a young boy hunting rabbits or squirrels. The news would go out far and wide.

Whitney would be very aware that his team would be at a disadvantage. He wouldn’t have them come in on any of the trails or roads backpackers might travel on. He would instruct them to avoid the little communities or farms at all costs. He would tell them not to touch any of the locals. Whitney knew Rubin and Diego’s background. Two young boys who hunted down the men who had raped and killed their sister. They would never stand for anyone killing innocents. They would spend the rest of their lives hunting them. If they believed Whitney was responsible, they would turn their attention to hunting him. That was the last thing he wanted. He might want to pit his soldiers against them, but he wouldn’t want an all-out war.

Which way would they come in? They wouldn’t know Rubin had decided to come early. They would know Jonquille had. They might decide to try to acquire her and see if they could get him to try to take her away from them. Since he didn’t know her, that wasn’t the best of ideas. He doubted that they would want to do that. Most likely they weren’t risking coming up the trails yet, so they wouldn’t be on the mountain. Where would they be?