After the Walker girl finishes wagging her boobs in his face, Ian drives us out to the airport—the last place Inez was seen. On the way he gets a call—the current partner of his ex, I gather, and has a tense little conversation over the phone. When he finishes, I can tell he doesn't feel much like talking, but I want to know what the fuck is going on.

"Who was that?" I ask. Seems like a good place to start.

"Dane Hunter. Ex-cop, private detective."

"You don't like him," I state.

Ian grimaces. "We've had our differences, but he's a good guy."

"He's a Shifter too?" Carlos asks.

"Nope," Ian shakes his head. "Werewolf."

Carlos gives a low whistle. "Shit, I thought those things were really dangerous," he says.

"They are," Ian replies, glancing over at him with a raised brow. "How do you know about werewolves, anyway? Now that I think about it, you didn't seem very surprised when I turned into a bear the first time either. How do you know so much?"

Carlos pulls his long brown hair, which has been loose around his shoulders, back and secures it in a ponytail with an elastic tie.

"My family were like, asesinos back in the day," he says.

"'Asesinos?' Doesn't that mean murderers?"

Carlos shakes his head. "Sort of. 'Killers' is closer, but even that's not quite what it meant to them. More like...slayers, I guess."

"Like, vampire-slayers?" I ask. "Buffy style?"

"No—I mean they killed vampires, sure, but also stuff like werewolves, witches, demons—all kinds of things."

Ian slows his truck and pulls to the side of the road, rolling to a stop. He faces forward, not looking over.

For a moment we all sit in silence, and then he speaks, keeping his voice even with an obvious effort.

"Carlos...are you telling me your family...are witch-hunters?" he asks.

"What? No! I mean ... " Carlos stops and seems to think. "I mean they killed other stuff, too."

"Shit."

"That was a long time ago!" Carlos protests.

"Your aunt tried to kill us two weeks ago. I don't call two weeks a long time," Ian replies, sounding a little strained

"That was..." Carlos trails off, obviously having some sort of revelatory moment. "Shit."

"You haven't told her where we are, have you?"

"What? No. I haven't talked to her since we left the garage."

Ian leans his head against the back of the seat and blows out another long breath. "Thank fuck for that, at least."

"Hey, Toni's not so bad," Carlos protests. "She doesn't kill people, just demons and monsters."

"And into what category do you think she'd have put me an' Sam, huh?" Ian asks pointedly. "Or the Walkers, for that matter?"

Carlos looks blank for a moment, and then his eyes go wide. "No, come on—Toni's Toni, but she's no killer."

"Carlos, you just said your family were asesinos!" Ian yells, smacking his palm against the steering wheel and making us both jump. He sees our reaction, and something in his face instantly changes—shutters—like a light in a window being suddenly turned off. "Sorry," he says, swiping both hands through his hair and across the several days' worth of stubble darkening his chin and jaw. "Sorry. It's just...Jesus Christ, Carlos? You couldn't put two-and-two together?"

"Wait," I interject, "maybe this isn't a bad thing at all. If Carlos was raised in a family of slayers, or whatever, and he still jumped in your truck at the first chance—after seeing us both in our alternate forms—maybe Toni's not just some mindless assassin. Maybe she could even help, if it turns out a witch-hunter or slayer is really who's behind all the stuff going on here."

Ian stares at me like I've grown a second head. "Are you insane? I'm not bringing a 'slayer,' or whatever the hell she wants to be called, into Shifter territory."

Carlos shakes his head. "As mad at her as I am, I think that what happened at the garage was a misunderstanding," he says. "Toni's an exorcist—exclusively—and she's retired, remember? If I explained the situation, I think she'd be willing to help. She wouldn't want to hurt anybody just because they're something more than human."

"My experience says otherwise," Ian replies. "Besides, it's not just the Shifters I'd be worried about. Prejudice goes both ways, you know. If the Walkers found out she was a slayer, I wouldn't bet two cents on her getting out of town in one piece."

No one says anything for a moment. Then Ian puts his truck back in gear and pulls onto the road again.

"You'd best keep your family history to yourself, as well, Carlos" he says after a minute or two. "We're strangers here, and nothing makes a good scapegoat like the new guys in town."

Carlos nods, but he looks unhappy. I don't blame him, but I understand Ian's point. I don't plan on announcing that I'm half demon, either. If people are out looking for targets, it's probably best not to paint them on our backs.

~☆~

When we arrive at the airport, we find Jack's old Dodge Ramcharger parked near a dense copse of trees at the far side of the open ground. There's a single runway, just long enough for small planes, and a number of long, drab buildings which I take to be hangers.

Ian pulls up next to Jack's vehicle and we disembark, but there's no sign of the Walker brothers.

A sharp whistle from the trees directs our attention that way, and a few yards past the edge of the thick wall of saplings, we find Jack and Elliot, already naked and ready to Shift.

"Shame you can't run bear with us," Elliot laments, looking Ian up and down. "I always like to see another Shifter's technique."

Ian nods. "Me as well. Maybe next time."

"Something to look forward to," Jack says, giving him a wink.

"We'll Shift here so we can get everyone's scent," Jack announces, nodding at the three of us. "No sense getting confused by a false trail."

Carlos and I both look on with interest. I've only seen Ian Shift, and I'm curious how the Walkers will transform. Unfortunately, they turn and disappear back into the trees, reemerging a moment later as two enormous bears.

Even knowing that the animals are in fact Elliot and Jack, I can't help feeling a little alarmed as they stroll up to Carlos and me on shaggy, claw-tipped paws and sniff deliberately at our throats.

I'm not sure if a Shifter's coloring as an a animal reflects their human appearance, but it's clear enough to me which is Elliot and which is Jack.

Elliot is a huge brown, very much like a grizzly, with a broad head and a long squarish snout. Jack's fur is sleek and black, and he's not quite as large as Elliot, but he looks less ponderous and more nimble. His nose twitches as he huffs softly and breathes in the scent of my skin.

Both he and Elliot seem to take a long time at it, and I start to grow uncomfortable at their nearness, wondering if maybe they can pick up on something not-quite-human about my smell, and at last Ian comes over and intervenes.

"Okay boys, that's enough," he says, pushing their gigantic heads aside. "I know he smells good, but he's not a scented candle okay? Move along."

They grunt and paw the ground, but obey, shuffling over to sniff Carlos next.

"What was that about?" I ask Ian under my breath. "Do I smell...different?"

"Yeah. Not bad though. Both times I Shifted around you, I noticed it. You smell like...I don't know. Dessert, or something."

"Dessert?" I repeat.

He shrugs. "Something delicious, anyway."

"Great. I'm in a forest full of bears and I smell like a snack."

"Nah, don't worry," he chuckles. "You're mine, remember? And I don't share snacks."

I glance over at him, wondering if his words hold deeper meaning, or if he's just making some kind of weird bear joke.

It'd be nice to know where I stand with him, especially if Sofia is on the prowl, but I'm too afraid to ask him outright.

Finally, Jack and Elliot have had enough of sticking their noses in Carlos's face, and turn to trundle away, disappearing into the brush.

The three of us go a different route, sticking to the more open ground and walking abreast with several yards between us, sweeping for any sign of something unusual. Ian is excused from porter duty on account of his shoulder, so Carlos and I each wear one of the small day-packs Maria lent us. Around noon, we stop and eat the food she'd packed—jerky, fruit, and peanut-butter sandwiches—and then carry on with our search.

We're making a wide circuit of the airport, hoping that if Inez left by means other than the main road, we might come across some sign of her trail.

By early afternoon, I'm ready to go home.

My feet hurt, my back hurts, I'm thirsty but don't want to drink all the water, the mosquitoes are driving me nuts, and I'm nearing exhaustion.

Infuriatingly, Carlos and Ian appear fine, tromping along like there's nothing they'd rather be doing.

I'd call for a break, but I don't want to admit to being the weak link. Instead, I trudge along, slowly sinking deeper into misery, and doing absolutely no good as far as the search is concerned. I'm not even watching where I'm going—which is attested to by the fact that I suddenly collide with something that knocks me straight onto my back.

I stare at the sky for a moment, confused, then raise myself to see what I might have walked into. My confusion increases when I see nothing to account for the unexpected impact.

Getting to my feet, I walk forward again, and once more I'm thrown back—not merely blocked, but repelled by some strong, unseen force.

"Ian? Carlos?" I call as I lift myself again.

They're at my side in a moment, both looking concerned.

"What happened?" Ian asks. "Did you fall?"

"Not exactly," I say. "Hey, walk that way, okay? Tell me what you see."

I point, and they both turn and start walking along the path I'd been following. Rather than walk straight, however, they both begin to veer to one side, as though avoiding some unseen barrier.

"You guys!" I call. "You're not following the line!"

"Yes we are," Carlos argues. "Look, it's—"

He stops as he holds up his arm and sights along it, and realizes that I'm right.

They correct course and try again, but once more they veer away, not noticing until I call for them to stop.

"What the hell?" Ian asks, scratching his head.

I step forward once more, hands held before me, cautiously approaching the spot where I'd impacted the invisible wall.

"It's a barrier, I think," I say. "For you guys, it just steers you aside, keeping you from even noticing you're avoiding the area. For me it's like...an electric fence or something."

As I inch forward, I feel a pressure start to build against my hands, slowly growing to a tingle that quickly becomes painful. I drop my hands and step back.

"I think I could break it," I say. "It's got a certain resonance. I'm pretty sure with enough force, it would shatter, but...I can't do it like this."

"You need to go demon?" Carlos asks, widening his eyes at me. "Here?"

Ian sniffs the air. "There's no one around. Even without Shifting, I can tell Jack and Elliot are pretty far away. Go ahead, Sam."

I hesitate. "I need some energy," I say. "I can't just...change, like you can. I think that's why I woke up as...just me, this morning. I haven't...recharged in a while."

"Oh," Ian says, and then his brows rise as he gets what I'm saying. "Oh—okay. Uh...What should I do?"

"You don't have to do anything," I say, unable to hide a little smirk. "I'll do all the work."

A little bit of color tinges his cheeks that I don't think has anything to do with the day's long hike. I meet his eyes, and it deepens slightly, spreading upward to the roots of his hair.

"Hey Carlos," he says, "take a walk."