Apollo's Wolves

Chapter Eight -- Delta

"Leo, where are you?" Percy called into the rainbow misting over the little brook we stopped beside. "We're coming to you, so just wait there. Delta's tracking Amari's scent; we're in Kentucky."

The response was so garbled that not even my wolf senses could figure out what the kid on the other side said; the Iris message connection was awful. It finally cut out, and Percy's shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"Hey, I think I know where he is," Annabeth piped up.

I folded my arms over my chest. "How? None of us could understand what the heck he said."

"I recognized the fountain and the buildings in the background," she explained. "He's in Salt Lake City, Utah."

Jason was already heading for his pegasus. "Let's go! Knowing Leo, he might not stay put."

"Agreed." Percy jumped onto his ride.

I sighed as I shifted, and Jake hopped on as the girls climbed up behind their boyfriends. The pegasi lifted into the sky, and I followed on the ground. I kept trying to pick up Amari's scent, but still had no luck.

At the pace we were keeping, it didn't take us long to reach Salt Lake City. We arrived at the fountain, where a guy and a girl were sitting on the ledge. The guy was aimlessly and sullenly flipping coins into the water, but both he and the girl looked up, startled, when Jake and I charged into the square. "It's OK," Jake told them, sliding off my back. "She's with us."

Leo ran over to him. "Jake! Great to see ya, bro!" The hugged tightly while I shifted back into human form.

The girl came over to me. "You're Amari's twin."

I rolled my eyes. "People keep saying that! Yeah, I'm her twin; so what? It's not as if I intend to stick around and be her sister."

She just shook her head. "Family can mean a lot when you have no one else."

Percy and the others touched down then, saving me from further conversation. "Leo!" Their friend ran over to them, Jake following, and it was a joyful reunion. I kept glancing around at the humans walking nearby, wondering why they didn't stop and gape at the pegasi standing in the middle of the square.

"It's the Mist," the girl told me, as if she could read my mind. I blinked at her. "It keeps mortals from seeing monsters and such." I didn't respond. "I'm Calypso."

"Delta, but you probably already knew that." I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Wait a second; you're a Titan!"

She nodded. "I am."

Something like relief flooded me, and I stepped a hair closer to her. "Great to meet an ally."

Calypso gave me a sideways glance. "Of course I'm an ally; what else would I be?" She sighed. "It's been so long since I've been around people like this; I missed it."

Percy came over tentatively. "Calypso, I-"

The girl cut him off. "Forget about it, OK? I've chosen to forgive you." She smiled. "Besides, Leo found and freed me." She opened her arms to him, and he hugged her. I rolled my eyes.

Leo grabbed Percy's shoulder and spun him out of the hug. "Dude, we have to move," he said urgently. His eyes were wild with something like fear.

"Why?" Percy asked. Then he looked around, realizing that someone wasn't there. "Where's Amari?"

I hadn't noticed that she was missing, too. "Oh, come on! What is it with her and running off?"

Leo shook his head. "She didn't run off this time! It was Ares; he kidnapped her."

I gave him a skeptical look as Percy's hands balled into fists at his sides. "Ares, the god of war, kidnapped Amari, a werewolf/demigod? Really?"

He glared at me. "It's true, Delta."

"Whatever."

"Where'd he take her?" Percy demanded angrily. Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder, and he took a deep breath.

Leo shrugged. "Don't know, man. We were going to try to follow, but they disappeared, and Calypso thought it might be a good idea to stay put and wait for you. You know, strength in numbers."

Jason nodded. "Good move. Delta can probably trace them."

"Not if they disappeared, I can't!" I retorted.

"But you can at least try, right?"

I growled out something I knew they wouldn't understand, which was probably good because it was pretty foul. Shifting again, I began to sniff around. I found Amari's scent, and it was accompanied by the stench of ... blood. My senses perked up, because blood usually meant a dead animal that I could eat. I forced myself to focus and followed the scent as far as I could, the others not far behind me. All of a sudden, the trail stopped. I sniffed all around, searching for any sign of anything, but nothing.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked me.

I shifted back. "I lost her. And whatever it was that smelled like blood."

"Ares," Percy growled.

"Whatever. At any rate, I lost her. The scent just stopped."

Annabeth looked around. "They were headed southeast."

Percy swore; Annabeth smacked him. "Where could he possibly be taking her?" Piper wondered out loud.

"Think like Ares," Jason said. "He'll be taking her someplace that's his turf. An old war camp, maybe."

Annabeth snapped her fingers. "New Mexico!"

Jake nodded. "But that's a pretty big state; we'll have to look everywhere."

"We've got a werewolf and two pegasi; I think we can do it," Jason pointed out.

"Didn't anyone think of the more obvious question?" I spoke up. Everyone looked at me. "Why did he take her?"