The Silver Dagger

Invasion

"Hey Aiyana."

Oh no, had someone noticed the boys in her room last night? She smiled innocently at the boy behind the front desk. No guilty person here. 

"Hi Michael."

"I haven't seen your dog friend in a while. How's he doing?"

"He's much better."

The boy glanced at Nate and Cliff who had come into the dorm behind her. "That's good. He seemed like a nice dog. Done with finals?"

"No. I have two more, both tomorrow."

"Yuck. You staying in the dorm next year?"

"No. I'm moving into an apartment."

"Oh, well, we'll miss you. By the way, someone came by looking for you."

"Who?"

"One of the girls on your floor came in and said your aunt was looking for you and asked if I'd seen you."

"My aunt? She's not supposed to come until Saturday."

"You should check your phone. She said you weren't answering."

"What time was this?" Cliff demanded.

"About ten."

"Anything on your phone?" Nate asked, noticing she'd pulled it from her pocket.

"No."

"Did you see the woman?" Cliff asked Michael.

"No, she stayed outside. Is something wrong?" Michael asked, looking between Aiyana and Cliff.

"Yeah. It's a family thing. Let me know if you see any dark-haired people with Scottish accents."

Michael looked at her curiously. "Scottish? Aren't you Native American?"

She shrugged, then grabbed a piece of paper from the scrap pile and jotted down her number. "Take a picture if you can, then text me so I can see who it is."

"Sure," he said, taking the scrap of paper, "but my shift is almost over."

"Can you tell the next person then?" she asked sweetly.

He looked up into her eyes and nodded, "Yeah."

His voice sounded strange. She wasn't using coercion again was she? Did that even work on humans?

They had to dodge an older man carrying a refrigerator, a woman with a suitcase, and a girl who was probably their daughter carrying an armful of pillows as they walked through the lobby. People were already starting to move out, lucky them. Aiyana recognized the girl, although she couldn't remember her name, and wished her a happy summer. "Are you staying around here this summer," Cliff asked, "or are you going home?"

"Up here. I'm working at the animal hospital full time this summer and I hope to find a part-time job somewhere. Vet school isn't cheap."

"I thought you had a scholarship."

"It doesn't cover vet school."

She smelled it when they reached the top of the stairs. Another wolf had been in the hallway.

"How many wolves are in this dorm?" Nate asked in a low voice.

"Just one that I know of and that doesn't smell like him."

"Whoever was asking about you was probably just trying to make sure you lived in this dorm," Cliff said.

The scent was even stronger in front of her door. "Let me go in first," Cliff said, as she put the key into the door.