Zora's Dawn (Defender Book 1) (15 page)

Shax’s
familiar turned out to be a startlingly ugly French Bulldog with huge round
eyes and possibly the most unimaginative name ever of Frenchie. Zora had until
now believed that a witch’s familiar would be attractive, intelligent and
possibly protective. Quite how Frenchie fit into that admittedly vague and
uneducated profile was uncertain. At the moment he was snuffling away in the
back of the Tarago.

Shax
shouted “Buckle up!” which Axel, seated beside her, did with impressive speed.

Zora
reached for her seatbelt which was almost snapped out of her hand as Shax
started the Tarago and took off with a burst of speed Zora was astonished the
vehicle was capable of. They zoomed out of the gates and onto the road with a
total disregard for speed limits or indeed the comfort of the passengers. Zora
was thrown against Sunny as the Tarago swung around a sharp corner which caused
Sabrina to give her a sharp look. She apologised and felt a little pat in her
mind in response. The cat was staring at her with a serene expression so Zora
decided that maybe it was her way of saying “that’s ok”.

Axel
seemed unconcerned by the driving style of Shax, so Zora tried to take her cue
from him. It was not easy to do; Shax was weaving through the cars on the road,
changing lanes with speed and what Zora hoped was precision. If not it was
reckless enthusiasm.

Powers
yelled from the back row, “Shax! Is this a competition to see how close you can
get to the car in front before you overtake? Or are you trying to kill us!”

Shax
laughed. “Don’t worry Powers, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been driving on
Egyptian roads for months. If you can drive in Egyptian traffic you can drive
anywhere!”

Axel
interjected gently. “Perhaps Shax, you should slow down a little, these are not
Egyptian drivers, and this is not Egypt. You will attract the attention of the
local police driving like this.”

Shax
sighed, but complied, slowing the speed but not the frequency of lane changing.
Zora relaxed a little and felt Sunny do the same. She wondered how far they had
to go, Axel had not said anything before they left. She knew enough about the
area to know they were heading north towards the Sunshine Coast. However the
Coast was too far north to be their destination. After another ten minutes or
so Shax turned off the motorway onto a road that was unfamiliar to Zora. But
the mountain they were driving towards was not.

“That’s
Mount Tibrogargan I think. Is that where we are headed Axel?”

Axel
turned in his seat to address her. “Yes little Zora, well not to the mountain
itself, but to a pineapple farm at the foot. The first victim was murdered at
the edge of the pineapple farm. The police believe that he was out walking,
perhaps he had planned to climb the mountain in the dawn light. He often walked
in this area, he lived nearby.”

Cameron
leaned forward. “What is this mountain Zora? It looks strange to me.”

“Oh, it’s
one of the Glasshouse Mountains. They are all that is left of volcanos, I think
they are the cores or plugs. Everything else has been eroded away over time.
This is an ancient land.”

“That’s
pretty cool, but why Glasshouse Mountains? They don’t look like glass.”

Zora
smiled. “Captain Cook named them, apparently to him they looked like the glass
furnaces from his home. I think he must have been really homesick to have
imagined that!”

Shax had
pulled the van over to the side of a small service road as they talked and
turned off the engine. Zora realised with a jolt of nerves that they had
arrived and looked around anxiously. To one side was the pineapple farm and to
the other bushland. The foot of the mountain seemed very close but she knew
that it was a lot further away than it looked. She had no idea where the murder
site was, but she was guessing it was somewhere in the bushland and not the
pineapples.

They all
piled out of the Tarago, the animals included. Sabrina arranged herself around
Sunny’s neck and Frenchie stayed close to Shax. Looking at them Zora wondered
if familiars could talk to each other as well as to selected people. She was
about to ask when she realised that Axel was preoccupied. He was walking slowly
and purposefully along the road, Marcus beside him. Marcus was sniffing the air
in that way he had that was quite disturbing. Were they looking for the spot?
And should she, the defender, be looking also? She decided she should and fell
into step behind them.

“I know it
is here little Zora, but I am unsure as to the exact spot. I think we will find
it easily enough though. It was along this road, not far from where the van is
parked. See if you pick up anything, focus on your pendant.”

Zora did
as Axel asked, wondering briefly if this was some sort of test as surely he
would know the exact spot. Then she pushed all other thoughts out of her head
and tried to do as she was asked. She reached out with her senses, focusing on
a mental picture of the werewolf and holding her pendant in her hand. It felt
cool as it usually did these days with all the supes around her. Holding it
gave her comfort and strength as it always did. She used to think it was her
link to her mother, a way of holding her hand from beyond the grave. Now she
knew it was far more likely the magical properties that gave her strength.

Realising
her thoughts were wandering Zora pulled her mind back to the task at hand. One
slow step, another, and another. They were getting further away from the van
and still she felt nothing. No, wait, scratch that thought. Her pendant was
warming up, just a little. Two more steps and it began to cool again.
You’re
getting warmer, warmer, now cooler
she thought. Was the child’s game of Hot
and Cold a leftover from the past when humankind knew all about the
supernatural beings living among them?

She
stopped, and the two in front of her stopped also, turning to look at her. Zora
didn’t notice, she was too intent on her pendant. She took a small step
backwards, but there was no change. She took another tiny step, and another.
There! It was definitely getting warmer. Another step, and another. It was here
somewhere. As she did at the last site she took a step to one side but her
pendant grew cooler. She stepped back and then took a step to the other side.
Bingo, it grew warmer. Another step to the side, two more and there, her
pendant was hot and she could feel an odd tingle in her feet.

She tilted
her head to one side, it was not the same as before, perhaps another step. The
others watched as Zora took tiny steps around the spot until she froze in place
and once again her hair lifted in the invisible breeze.

“Wow! She
looks like she’s been plugged into a power point! Is that how all the defenders
look?”

Shax
didn’t take her eyes off a glowing Zora as she spoke and neither did Axel as he
answered, “Somewhat, but not to this intensity. I am amazed, I truly am, that
she has this reaction at a site after more than two weeks. She is incredibly
gifted.”

Zora
blinked as he spoke, the glow dying a little in her eyes. This time she was not
as exhausted but still took both the arm Powers offered and the packet of jelly
babies he produced from his pocket gratefully. Axel took her other arm and the
two of them walked her to the van. The rest followed, and soon they were headed
back to the house. Zora was silent, running the visions through her head and
worrying about what Axel would say. The rest chatted about inconsequential
things – Zora was pretty sure they were trying to take their minds off Shax’s driving
style.

Back at
the house the resident guard had food and drinks ready. Axel waited until Zora
had eaten and was on her second cup of coffee before he said anything.
Naturally the rest of them availed themselves of the excellent food and coffee
but Axel contented himself with just coffee while he waited. Sabrina left Sunny
and came to sit in Zora’s lap, gazing up at her with what Zora would have sworn
was a worried expression.

Sunny
reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook. At Zora’s look she shrugged. “I
figure I may as well keep notes of all of your visions. It may help to have it
all written down.”

“Excellent
thinking Sunny.” Putting his coffee down Axel leaned forward a little in his
seat. “Little Zora, you are recovered?”

Zora
nodded, putting her own cup down. She smoothed Sabrina’s coat from ears to tail
while she thought about what she had seen. “It wasn’t the same Axel, it wasn’t
as vivid or as clear.”

“That is
to be expected, there has been a considerable passage of time.”

She
nodded. “Ok, well I saw the victim, he was singing as he walked, enjoying
himself. The werewolf saw him from behind the trees, I don’t think it was
looking for him, it was just out there. But it went straight for him.” She
paused, “Axel the picture isn’t clear. I mean I know what happened but it was
coming in and out of focus, like a television station when the signal is
interrupted.”

“Don’t
worry little Zora, just tell us what you are sure of.”

Zora
thought for a while, replaying the vision in her mind. “Well the victim was
terrified of course, seeing a huge dark shadow coming at him. He ran, but the
werewolf caught him easily, right where I was standing. It told him much the
same as it told the other victim; that he must die for a greater cause.”

She looked
troubled, she knew the next part was significant but was unsure exactly how.
“But it told him he would not suffer or feel much pain, and it didn’t play with
him. It just slit his throat and he died quickly. Then it eviscerated him, and
put the body parts it took into the same esky. It collected the blood from his
throat as he was dying.” She looked at Axel anxiously. “Why didn’t it make the
first victim suffer? Does this mean it will become more and more brutal with
each murder?”

Axel
frowned over his steepled fingers. “I don’t know little Zora, I wish I did. If
the pattern is of more and more brutality then it has become even more
imperative that we stop this werewolf sooner and not later. Was there anything
more that you learned?”

Zora shook
her head. “Not really, I heard the violin music again, and I know the werewolf
was going to Sydney but of course we all know that. There wasn’t much more than
that, it was not as strong as the last place.”

“Of course
not little Zora, but what you learned was both impressive and important. What
it means I do not yet know, perhaps it will become clear in time. But
everything we learn about this werewolf puts us another step closer to finding
it.”

Sabrina
gave Zora a gentle head boop and returned to Sunny. Shax was looking very
thoughtful. “What song was the man singing Zora? Was it the same song as the
violin music you heard?”

Zora
thought a bit, replaying the visions in her head. “I’m not sure what he was
singing, the sound was very poor. I don’t think it was the same as the violin
music though.” She paused as she thought back. “You know the music I heard at
the last site was very similar. Not the same, but the same genre. Kind of a
country feel to it.”

Shax
looked disappointed. “Well that kills that theory. I thought maybe the music and
the victim’s song was somehow linked but I guess not.”

Marcus
looked at her blankly. “I’m not following you Shax. Where were you going with
this music theory?”

Shax
shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I guess I was just looking for something to tie
it all together. There has to be a reason Zora is hearing violin music.”

Axel
nodded. “I agree Shax, but I have no idea just yet what it can be. Still, every
bit of information helps, and every idea helps too. I hadn’t thought to ask
Zora what type of music she hears before. That could be important.” He looked
at the room in general. “We don’t know what ideas might be useful. From now on,
everyone please share your thoughts on this – any thoughts no matter how
inconsequential they may seem to you.”

They all
nodded and Powers spoke up. “I’d like to know what schedule this werewolf is
on. I mean presumably it’s been in Melbourne for a few days, and no murders as
yet. And its travel pattern makes no sense. There has to be some reason for
that.”

Axel
sighed. “Well I hope there is a schedule. No matter how strange if there’s a
schedule there is more of a chance that we can work it out. A were acting at
random is a worrying thing.”

Zora
looked at him uneasily. His tone was so dark she decided she didn’t want to
know why a random werewolf was a worrying thing. She had enough concerns
already she decided. It flashed into her mind that the fairies need to know
basis maybe had some method to it.

“So what
now? Do we go to Melbourne, go to Sydney, interview people that might have seen
something here, what?” Sunny sounded more like herself Zora thought. Now that
was a sidelined issue, Sunny.

Axel
clearly thought the same, as he focused his attention on the blonde. “Ah yes,
Sunny.”